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Fort Sumter
General Beauregard demanded the surrender of Fort Sumter from General Anderson. General Anderson refused. The confederate army began firing at the fort, until April 13th when General Anderson surrendered the fort and evacuated the following day. -
Battle of Bull Run (1st)
The Battle of Bull Run (or Manassas) was the first major battle of the civil war. The Union, led by General McDowell, invaded the South and attacked General Beauregard's Confederate army in Manassas, Virginia. The South victored, which convinced both sides of the war that the North had underestimated the confederacy. This caused the North to rethink their battle plan. -
Battle of Hampton Roads
This inconclusive battle took place on sea. There were 4 union warships and 1 confederate warship. Virginia (the confederate ship) sank one ship and ran another one aground. Virginia fought the other ships, but eventually retired. -
Battle of Shiloh
General Ulysses Grant's army was attacked by confederate General Beauregard's army The fighting lasted until April 7th, when the Union took the victory. The confederated fell back until another offensive attack in August. -
Battle of the Second Bull Run
"Stonewall" Jackson ordered his confederate army to attack the Union. Pope, the leader of the North, had his army retreat on August 30, 1862. This gave the Confederacy another victory, but General Lee ordered his army to pursue the Union. -
Battle of Antietam
General McLellan led the Union and attacked Lee's army of the Confederacy in Sharpsburg, Maryland. The battle lasted from September 16-18, 1862. Lee was outnumbered 2-1, and McLellan sent in only three-fourths of his army. Lee withdrew from battle, giving the Union the victory. -
Battle of Fredricksburg
Union commander Ambrose Burnside sent his army to occupy Falmouth, which is near Fredricksburg. Confederate general Lee responded by sending his army to attack. The battle lasted until December 15, when Burnside called for his army to retreat. Burnside was then replaced by Joseph Hooker. -
Emancipation Proclomation
In retaliation to the Battle of Antietam, President Abraham Lincoln decided to pass a bill freeing all slaves in the south, which was considered a military action. This act, however, did not free the slaves along the border state. That would not have been considered an act of war, which would mean Lincoln didn't have the power to create this. Unfortunately, Union troops weren't close enough to the South to enforce this so it didn't accomplish much. Some slaves ran away and joined the union army. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
General Hooker led the Union army to attack the Confederates, led by both General Lee and General Jackson at Chancellorsville on April 30, 1863. This battle lasted until May 6, when Hooker had his army retreat towards the North. This battle was considered Lee's greatest victory. -
Siege of Vicksburg
On May 18, General Ulysses Grant's army surrounded Vicksburg and trapped Lt. Pemberton's confederate army inside. This lasted until July 4, when Pemberton surrendered Vicksburg. Grant's victory boosted his reputation and made him General-in-Chief of the Union armies. -
Battle of Gettysburg
General Lee sent his full army onto General Meade's union army in Gettysburg. Reinforcements were brought in from both sides of the battle. The fighting lasted until July 3rd, and on July 4th, General Lee withdrew his army, giving the Union another victory. -
Siege of Atlanta
General Hood of the confederacy determined to attack General Sherman's union army. Hood miscalculated the time it took to march to attack, however, and didn't get to start the battle until afternoon. The Union troops stood strong, and General Hood's army suffered very high casualties. -
Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse
Early on April 9. General Lee had his army march into Appomattox Courthouse. General Grant's army, however, managed to surround Lee's army on three sides. General Lee surrendered. This was the last battle of the civil war in Virginia. -
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
John Wilkes Booth, hated Lincoln with a passion because his beliefs were the exact opposite of the president's. Booth heard Lincoln's speech about giving certain blacks the right to vote. Booth immediately turned to thoughts of assassinating the president. He learned that on April 14, Lincoln would be at Ford Theater watching a play. He snuck into the section that Lincoln was at, and shot him in the back of the head. Lincoln died at 7:22 A.M the next morning. -
Ratification of the 13th Amendment
On January 31, 1865, the 13th amendment was passed, which outlawed slavery to all of the United States. It claimed that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States..." It was then ratified on December 6, 1865.
