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Fort Sumter
On April 10, 1861, General Beauregard, in command of the provisional Confederate forces at Charleston, South Carolina, demanded the surrender of the Union garrison and Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. On April 12, Confederate batteries opened fire on the fort, which was unable to reply effectively. On April 13, Major Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter, evacuating the garrison on the following day. There were no casualties at Fort Sumter. -
First Bull Run
On July 16, 1861, the Union army under General Irvin McDowell marched from Washington against the Confederate army. On the 21st, McDowell crossed at Sudley Ford and attacked the Confederate left flank on Matthews Hill. Fighting fought throughout the day as Confederate forces were driven back the Henry Hill. By July 22, the shattered Union army reached the safety of Washington. The casualties for this battle is 4,700 (US 2950, CS 1,750) -
Shiloh
On April 6, 1862, 40,000 Confederate soldiers under the command of Albert Sidney Johnston poured out of the nearby woods and struck the encamped divisions of Union soldiers occupying ground near Pittsburgh Landing on the Tennessee River. Repeated Rebel attacks failed. Fighting continued until after dark, but the Union line held. By the next morning, the Federals had been reinforced by the Army of Ohio under General Don Carlos Buell and numbered about 54,000 men. Shiloh produced 23,000 casualties -
Antietam Battle
The Battle of Antietam is considered the bloodiest day in the history of American war, with over 23,000 soldiers wounded, killed, or missing. The Union held off the invasion of the Confederacy, although President Abraham Lincoln was very unhappy that the Confederates were allowed to retreat back to Virginia. Still, the battle was declared a Union victory and Lincoln followed it with the Emancipation Proclamation, which officially made slavery the primary cause of the war. -
Battle of Perryville
The Battle of Perryville was fought in Kentucky in 1862. In the summer of 1862, Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg launched an invasion of the key border state of Kentucky, hoping to divert Union attention from the Southern strongholds at Vicksburg and Chattanooga, as well as to encourage volunteers to join the Rebel army. On October 7th, Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell's Army of the Ohio, in pursuit of Bragg, converged on the crossroads town of Perryville. There was 7,612 casualties on both sides. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought on December 11, 1862. The Battle of Fredericksburg saw Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia successfully hold off an assault by Ambrose Burnside's Army of the Potomac. The Confederates achieved a stunning victory and it provided a much-needed morale boost to the South. However, Lee had a hard time replacing the men and supplies used in the battle, which a theme that repeated itself for the Confederates throughout the war. Over 18,000 men were killed. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was the result of a Union attack on the Confederacy in May 1863. The two sides met in Spotsylvania County in Virginia. It was a Confederate victory but it came at a great cost as Stonewall Jackson was killed in action. The Union had a 2 to 1 advantage, with 133,000 men to the South's 60,000. The Union had 17,000 casualties and the Confederates had 12,000. This battle was fought in Virginia. -
Battle of Vicksburg
The Battle of Vicksburg was fought on May 18-July 4, 1863 in Vicksburg Mississippi. On May 19, Grant’s troops arrived in front of the defenses of Vicksburg, and General Grant decided to initiate an immediate assault on Vicksburg. However, the Confederates had spent most of the last seven months constructing strong defenses.Another attack from the Union troops was repulsed with heavy losses. All in all, 2,166 officers as well as 27,230 men surrendered at Vicksburg. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gerrysburg was fought in Pennsylvania on July 3, 1863. Gen. Robert E. Lee launched his second invasion of the Northern states. Lee sought to capitalize on recent Confederate victories and defeat the Union army on Northern soil. On July 3rd, Lee attacked the Union center on Cemetery Ridge and was repulsed in what is now known as Pickett’s Charge. Lee's second invasion of the North had failed, and had resulted in heavy casualties on both sides. 51,000 soldiers were killed in action. -
The Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness took place in Virginia from May 5 - May 7, 1864. It was part of Ulysses S. Grant's plan to destroy Robert E. Lee's army and take advantage of the fact that the Confederates had few soldiers and supplies. There was no clear winner in this battle. There is also no record of casualties in this battle. -
Battle of Cold Harbor
The Battle of Cold Harbor took place May 31-June 12, 1864 in Virginia. In the summer of 1864, the Union Army of the Potomac was fighting its way south towards Richmond, Virginia. In a series of battles collectively known as the Overland Campaign, the Union army had suffered more than 50,000 casualties but had also forced Robert E. Lee’s hard-bitten Confederate veterans to abandon much of northern Virginia. Both armies held their ground and kept up with the fire. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman’s March to the Sea is the name commonly given to the Savannah Campaign by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman taking place from November 15, 1864 to December 21, 1864. which followed the successful Atlanta Campaign. After leaving the decimated city of Atlanta on November 16, Sherman led his troops on a destructive campaign which concluded with the capture of the port city of Savannah on December 21. It is known for its boldness as well as the destruction to the South. -
Appomattox Court House
On April 9, 1865, near the town of Appomattox Court House, Virginia, General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses S. Grant. Days earlier, Lee had abandoned the Confederate capital of Richmond and the city of Petersburg; his goal was to rally the remnants of his beleaguered troops, meet Confederate reinforcements in North Carolina and keep fighting. But the resulting Battle of Appomattox Court House effectively brought the four-year Civil War to an end.
