Civil War Battles (1861-1865)

Succession of the South

Dec 20, 1860

The day that South Carolina declared that they were succeeding from the union. Ten other southern states declared that they were joining the confederacy during the next six months.

Battle of Fort Sumter

Apr 12, 1861

The battle was the first of the civil war but unlike all other battles, it had no casualties during warfare. The one casualty came when a cannon misfired/exploded when a salute was trying to be shot off.

Battle of Shiloh

Apr 7, 1862

The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee. It resulted in 23,741 casualties. 13,047 were apart of the union and 10,694 were apart of the confederacy. Two different Union armies combined to beat one large confederate army. The Union army was led by General Grant. He won many wars along the rivers the same as he did with this one because of his unique tactics. The battlefield is between a church called Shiloh and Pittsburgh landing along the Tennessee river.

Second Battle of Bull Run

Aug 28, 1862

This was a similar battle to the first battle of bull run but on a much larger scale. Stonewall Jackson successfully led the confederate army to a stalemate with the Union. This caught General Pope's attention and that was why it was deemed successful. Pope's only jobs were to protect Washington D.C. and to protect the Shenandoah valley but he almost failed at both when he had to retreat. He had to retreat because the confederate forces wiped out union flanks in this battle.

Battle of Antietam

Sep 17, 1862

The battle of Antietam was also called the battle of Sharpsburg was also a major turning point for the Union. There were 23,100 casualties in total. This was another battle that General George McClellan coordinated poorly. The union almost lost because of his plans even though they had almost double the amount of men than the confederacy had. It was fought around Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland.

Battle of Fredericksburg

Dec 13, 1862

The battle of Fredericksburg resulted in 17,929 casualties with 13,353 coming from the Union and 4,576 coming from the Confederacy. It ended with a confederate victory and they pushed back the union so the union couldn't penetrate deeper into confederate territory.It had 200,000 combatants engage in this battle, the most of any battle.The plan was to cross the river as a union army and block off Lee's route to Richmond.The problem with the plan was that it required speed.The union failed at this

Battle of Chancellorsville

May 6, 1863

This battle resulted in an unknown amount of casualties. Its was labeled as 'Lee's perfect battle' because he split up his forces to conquer a much bigger opposing army. This battle though resulted in the death of Stonewall Jackson when he was shot in the right arm by an ally. He amputated the arm but it caused the case of pneumonia that killed him.

Battle of Gettysburg

Jul 3, 1863

It was fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. There were 51,000 casualties with 23,000 being from the union and 28,000 being from the confederacy. It had the most casualties of any battle of the war and it is often described as the turning point of the war. This was the battle that stopped General Robert E. Lee from further penetrating the north's land.

Battle of Chickamauga

Sep 20, 1863

This battle marked the end of a Union offensive attempt called the Chickamauga campaign. The battle was fought in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia. There were 34,624 casualties which ranks second to The Battle of Gettysburg. Chickamauga is a Cherokee word that many historians suspect means 'River of Death'. It got its name for the suspected breeding grounds of small pox but it's ironic that a huge battle was fought around it and named after it.

Battle of Spotsylvania

May 21, 1864

This was the second major battle that General Grant engaged General Lee. It resulted in a total of 30,000 deaths with 18,000 from the Union and 12,000 from the confederacy. The battle didn't end in a win for either side after 12 days of fighting. Union troops repeatedly tried to break through the front line of Lee's forces but they were unable to do so. The union again had almost double the amount of men and Grant's goal for his army was to diminish Lee's forces.