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Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was an anti slavery novel published in 1852 that is said to have laid the groundwork for the entire civil war. The book follows the character Uncle Tom, a slave, and the book depicts the horrors of slavery. This book helped get the word out about slavery and begin the abolitionist movement. -
Harpers Ferry Raid
On October 16th 1859 a slavery abolitionist named John Brown decided that he was going to try to start a slave revolt by taking over the arsenal of weapons at Harpers Ferry and attempting to free slaves. This revolt failed and John Brown was later hanged for treason. -
Abraham Lincoln Becomes President
On November 6th 1860 Abraham Lincoln becomes the President of the United States with the intention of restoring the union after many of the states left after thinking they were being treated unfairly by the federal government. Because at the time US citizens felt more loyalty to their states than to the union so they thought they had the right to leave. -
Fort Sumter Attacked
At Fort Sumter there was an attack where the fort was bombarded for 33 hours. After which the union forces had no choice but to surrender the fort. This is the attack that started the civil war. This was from April 12-13 1861 -
First Battle Of Bull Run
This was the first real battle that happened in the civil war and it ended in a close defeat for the union about 2700 soldiers died on the union side while only 1900 dies on the confederate side even though the confederates had less of an army on their side. This occurred on July 21st 1861 -
Battle of the Ironclads
This was the battle that showed that iron ships could be very useful for battle. In this battle the confederates took a union ship and used it to destroy wooden ships belonging to the union showing that iron ships deserve to be used in battle. This happened on March 9th 1862 -
Battle of Shiloh
This battle provided a crucial victory for the union army. The union army led by General Ulysses S. Grant. This victory allowed Grant to begin a massive operation in Mississippi Valley later that year. This battle happened on April 7th 1862 -
Antietam Battle
In the battle of Antietam There was a lot of People that were killed and although there was no clear winner the Union had technically won due to the confederates retreating, Although Modern day analysts say that the battle ended in a stalemate military wise. The battle of Antietam took place on September 17th, 1862. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
This battle was done so that the army of the Potomac could make their way to Richmond without being blocked by General Robert E. Lee. This however didn’t happen and the battle ended in a crushing defeat for the union. This battle occurred from December 11th to the 15th 1862 -
Emancipation Proclamation
On January 1st 1863 President Lincoln Makes an order to free many slaves in the south which helped lay the groundwork for the 13th Amendment which outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for a crime. This was a big accomplishment in the mission to outlaw slavery. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
This battle was fought by generals Robert E. Lee and Joseph Hooker. This battle was another crushing defeat for the union as Lee had an army less than half the size of hookers while still inflicting more casualties. This happened from April 30th to May 6th 1863 -
Stonewall Jackson dies
Stonewall Jackson was a confederate leader who was very good at his job and led the confederates to many victories during the war. However one night while he was returning to his troops he was mistakenly shot by his own men. This would later be bad for the confederates because Stonewall Jackson was one of the best generals. He died on May 10th 1863 -
Siege of Vicksburg
This was an important battle for the union because it was the ending to the Vicksburg Campaign. Vicksburg was the confederates last stronghold on the Mississippi river Therefore capturing the Stronghold would complete the second part of the northern strategy, The Anaconda Plan. The siege lasted from May 18th to July 4th 1863. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The battle of Gettysburg is widely considered one of the most important battles of the civil war. During this battle the confederate army was coming off of a victory so they decided to march their army into Virginia where they found the union's army and then the battle occurred. This battle was a major turning point in the war. This occurred on July 1st 1863. -
Sherman Burns Atlanta
On September 2nd 1864 Union General Sherman captures Atlanta and makes the decision to burn Atlanta to the ground. He did this because after he captured it he knew that he couldn’t stay in one place for very long so he decided to leave but didn't want to leave Atlanta to be recaptured so he burned it. -
Sherman's March to sea
From November 15th 1864 to December 21st 1864, Sherman abandoned his supply line and began his path of destruction to prove that the confederate population and government were unable to protect from invaders. He did this as a form of psychological warfare and making the confederates believe that the union was too powerful to handle. -
Ulysses S Grant takes control of all union Armies
After defeats in battle Abraham Lincoln decides to appoint Ulysses S. Grant to control all union armies in his search for a good general after the last two had failed. Grant would prove his worth later as he led the union to victory and later became president. This happened in 1865 -
Battle of Appomattox Court House
This battle was very important to the Civil war because this was the battle where General Robert E. Lee Surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant. This battle was the beginning of the end for the confederates because during the war General Lee was a big part due to his skills of being a general so when news of the surrender spread to other confederate soldiers they saw it as an end to the war. This battle occurred on April 9th 1865 -
Lincoln Assasination
On April 14th 1865 President Abraham Lincoln was shot in the head while watching a play. He died the following day at 7:22 am. This event was tragic because the civil war was finally coming to a close and Abraham Lincoln wasn’t able to see what happened after his efforts. He was shot by famous stage actor John Wilkes Booth. -
Slavery Abolished
On December 6th 1865 the 13th amendment was ratified by the United States. This however was only the beginning. Everyone knew that there was much more work to be done to turn this into the nation it was meant to be. Even now there are still problems with racial inequality that we haven’t fixed.
