-
Uncle Tom’s Cabin Published, March 1852
To prove to Northerners how poorly slaves are treated, a book by Harriet Beecher Stowe is published. The book tells a story about a slave who saves a slave owner’s daughter, who thanks Tom by purchasing him and treating him well. The thankful owner dies and asks for his slaves to be released, but his wish isn’t granted and Tom ends up being beaten to death. The book’s popularity led to Northerners being aware and was likely a factor to the North’s opposition to slavery. -
Battle of Fort Sumter, April 1861
Located in South Carolina, this Union-occupied landmark was the first battle between the North and South. It started after President Lincoln asked for supplies to be delivered to the garrison. The ship turned away after the South fired on it. While the battle lasted over a day, neither side caused any casualties to the other. The North had to surrender, and lost the fort until 1865. -
Union Blockade, April 1861 - April 1865
President Lincoln prevented the Confederacy from exchanging materials in other countries to give themselves a better chance in war. Surrounding the rebelling states, the Union had about five hundred ships blockade for almost four thousand miles. This significantly reduced the Southerners’ weaponry and likely played a factor into the Confederates eventually losing the war. -
First Battle of Bull Run, July 1861
President Lincoln’s people were excited for him to strike back, and his plan was to strike a path to Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy. With mostly even men, the battle was long and the confederates barely broke through union opposition. Being so close to the Union’s capital, the retreat of the Union passed through innocent Northerners. Meanwhile, the South couldn’t push to the capital as their army had been in combat for hours and were now very tired. -
Battle of the Ironclads, March 1862
The U.S.S. Monitor and C.S.S. Virginia circled around each other for hours, but their shots at each other reflected on the hard material of the ships. The Virginia ended up retreating, but neither ship was severely damaged, and the two started a change to navy ships. -
Battle of Shiloh, April 1862
The Union was currently defending the Area around the Mississippi River in the South when the other side decided to counterstrike. General Grant’s soldiers were very tired and did not expect the confederates to arrive on the evening of April 6th. The entire army started to attack on the morning of April 7th, forcing the Confederacy into retreat and preventing the Confederacy from forcing the North to Northern Mississippi - but had over twenty thousand deaths. -
Second Battle of Bull Run, August 1862
Lincoln in frustration demoted General McClellan from the general of the entire Union army to being the general of the Potomac army. Even with this, he allowed McClellan to attack Richmond, Virginia once again. General Lee of the confederates was aware of this plan and placed his troops accordingly. Even with over nine thousand deaths and half the soldiers of his opponent, Lee successfully flanked once again and forced the opposition to retreat, proving how well a tactician he is. -
Battle of Antietam, September 1862
General Lee first tried to bring the war north by heading to Sharpsburg in Maryland, where the two sides would battle in a cornfield over twelve hours. Losing over twenty three thousand men on both sides, this is the most amount of americans who died in a single day. The south’s eventual retreat led to Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. -
Battle of Fredericksburg, December 1862
General Burnside headed for Richmond, the Confederacy capital, and was put under pressure by Southern troops. Multiple attacks from the Confederacy forced the North to retreat, even if they had over fourty thousand more people than the South - this was the Union’s low point during the war. -
Emancipation Proclamation, January 1863
Lincoln spoke his opinion on the war, setting guidelines for the Union as the third year of the destructive civil war came to be. Lincoln declared that all slaves in Confederate states are now free. The speech was considered a massive change to slavery’s eventual downfall and is a document saved in the District of Colombia as it’s an important document to human rights. -
Battle of Chancellorsville, April-May 1863
General Lee tested his luck by fighting an army almost twice his size, with the Union army having an advantage of 55,000. The confederates split their army into two and having one cross a river and the other fighting head on, and the flank ended up killing half of the Union troops. On the way home, a soldier fired important soldier ‘Stonewall’ Jackson mistaking him for the enemy, which led to his death and mourning. -
Battle of Vicksburg, May-June 1863
Grant’s army pushed the Confederates into Vicksburg, Mississippi - the last spot the North needed to before capturing every fort near the river. Pressure over the next few days and the other side taking the town over along with their lack of supplies caused General Pemberton to surrender, and Lincoln calling the battle ‘the key to the war’. Along with General Lee’s defeat in the upcoming battle, the South was discouraged. Notably, a confederate camel died too. -
Battle of Gettysburg, July 1863
The Confederacy tried to battle the Union forces again thanks to his confidence in the recent battles. This is why he went North to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to fight a long three-day battle. With over fifty thousand deaths on both sides, the North had weakened the South and forced them to retreat, giving them a confidence boost and causing ‘the turning point of the war’. -
Gettysburg Address, November 1863
To honor the people who fought for unity in Gettysburg, Lincoln spoke in Gettysburg. He also made sure to state his view on wishing unity, that all men were created equal. His speech starts with the iconic line ‘four score and seven years ago,’ which represents eighty-seven years - and eighty seven years before the speech is 1776, when the nation was created. -
Battle of Wilderness, May 1864
General Grant, knowing how smart the opposition is, attempted to destroy General Lee’s army, and found them in a forested area in Virginia. These conditions were not good for Grant: they tried to push forward in the forest, but was attacked by Lee trying to navigate. Knowing his, he fled - this would lead to the battle of Spotsylvania Court House. The winner of the battle was not decided, where both armies claim to have won, and the casualties on both sides are about even. -
Atlanta Campaign, May-September 1864
Union General Sherman planned to destroy the Army of the Tennessee, preventing the Confederates from getting supplies and eventually forcing the end of the war, doing the latter by sieging Atlanta, Georgia. After a long five months of battling, he failed to defeat the army but took over Atlanta and cut off supplies. This influenced towards Lincoln to win the presidential election in 1864, quickened the process for the Union to win the war, and preceded Sherman’s March to the Sea. -
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, May 1864
After fleeing from the previous battle, Grant went southeast to find better conditions for a fight, but the Confederates got to a good area in the Spotsylvania Court House first. Over the next two weeks, the fighting had different ways of assaults, such as twenty-four hour straight hand-to-hand fighting. In the end, neither side won, as the Confederates retreated before their army was destroyed and the Union didn’t back down. -
Sherman’s March to the Sea, November-December 1864
With Atlanta captured, Sherman went from the city to Savannah, Georgia (west to east Georgia) to convince Georgia’s people to join the Union. Sherman’s army only took supplies from the people and didn’t destroy property unless the owner opposed him. Midway through, the Confederates organized an army of three thousand people to fight Sherman’s sixty thousand and was promptly defeated. The strategy of using civilians as soldiers is called ‘total war’ and was used after the civil war. -
Surrender at Appomattox, April 1865
Confederate and General Robert E. Lee surrenders and lets the Union win the war along with twenty eight thousand soldiers in Appomattox. After being forced out of his capital by the Union and cornered by the North, he went to the courthouse and surrendered, marking the end of such a bloody conflict. -
Lincoln’s Assassination, April 1865
As revenge for losing the war, well-known confederate actor John Wilkes Booth planned to shoot President Lincoln at the loudest scene of a movie. Being an actor, Booth knew where Lincoln was located and he was confident enough to bring a gun with only one bullet. His team also planned to kill the vice president and the secretary of state, but both failed. The significance is obvious: the president who united the nation died a painful death thanks to the confederates.
