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The Civil War
The Civil War -
Fort Sumter
The seven states in that had already suceeded in 1861 had claimed possession of all fort and arsenals in there territories. The fort was of no significant value but it was just a symbol to the Union. The Union decided not to evacuate but give supplies to the fort because they were being starved out. The south got word that they were sending supplies so they decided to attack. After 34 hours the North decided to surrender. there was only one death by acciedent and showed that the war had began. -
Peninsula Campaign
On May 31, Johnston led Confederates in an attack against two Federal corps south of the Chickahominy River. In the two-day Battle of Seven Pines and Fair Oaks, the rebels were able to drive back one Union corps and inflict heavy casualties. Johnston became injured and Lee replaced him. Through June Lee prepared a counteroffensive. McClellen was afraid Lee had 200,000 troops though he only had 85,000. Lee flanked them from the right and defeated McClellens troops. The victors were the south. -
The First Battle of Bull Run
General McDowell mounted a offensive army to clear a path to Richmont thus, ending the war quickly. The south was not going to go down without a fight so General Beauregard of the South decided to meet the fighting force at Bull Run. The South was outmanned after two hours of fighting, so they retreated up to Henrey House hill. The north pushed up the hill but then the south reinforcements arrived. They then crushed the Union force and had them retreat. As a result the southerners got false hope -
Second Bull Run
General Pope had turned to confront Jacksons assault. After a firefight Pope prepared his troops for an overnight attack. Pope sent small assaults on confederate forces. The Federal troops were held off with heavy casualties on both sides. Later, Pope mistook a troop shift for a retreat, and pursued. The Confederates then fired artillary, causeing a defeated Pope to retreat. The loss lowered moral in the north and bolstered the souths moral. Making it a decisive victory for the south. -
Battle of Hapton Roads
This battle was an effort to stop the blockades the Union on the ports by using boats. The North built Merrimack that had been salvadged by the south was put up against the Monitor of the North. The monitor was faster but took longer to shoot. Halfway through the Monitor was hit and went into shallow water. The Merrimack was old and sprung a leak so they also retreated. Even though the battle was said to of been won by the North the south opened the ports and monitor and virginia went down. -
Battle of Shiloh
Confederate generals had launched a surprise attack on general Grant. After the initial sucess confederates lost the line. Both sides had severe casualties with a total of 23,000. In February, Grant took Fort Henry and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland. Grant then aimed for Memphis and Charleston. Since the Federal troops were focused on an advance, Confederate general Johnston seized the opportunity and attacked while their gaurd was down. Neither side "won" but the north gained the two forts. -
Battle of Antietam
On Setember 17 1862 General Lee faced off against the Union general McClellan. The area was next to the Potomac river and Farmer Millers corn field where the union ran down Lee's line and broke the line. It was in Sharpsburgh Maryland and it also had the most casualty's in a one day battle in all of Americas history. Although it was not a clean victory, the Union did do its job in keeping the Confederates from advancing. Lincoln then gave the Emancipation Proclamation -
Vicksburg
The city of Vicksburg was a key factor in the war. Controlling it detemined who controlled the rivers. Grant moved his army of 40,000 to the west bank of the Mississippi. Grant quickly moved northeast after crossing the river. While he abandoned his troops supply lines, grant had taken Port Gibson. Grant then used a seige tactic on Vicksburg. The city was surrendered and Northern morale bolstered. This marked the turning point in the war. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
Due to the time of year, the new General Burnside had to wait for pontoon bridges to cross the Rappahannock river. This gave General's Longstreet and Jackson time to take a good defensive position. On December 13th General Franklin took the Union Left Wing to Longstreets division where they failed very bad. The outcome of the war was that people felt that the loss was Lincoln's fault for pressuring Burnside with an impossible feat. Secretary William Seward was also a problem causing issues. -
battle of Chancellorsville
Said to be one of greatest wins General Lee ever had for the Confederates. The Confederates were outnumbered two to one but yet they still won. By spliting the army into two the south was able to corner the Union soldiers. General Hooker of the Union left 27,000 of his own men behind on the retreat after stonewall Jacksons plan. Lee now had the strategic initiative which would soon take him to gettysburgh -
The battle of Gettysburg
After the battle of Chancellorsville General Lee decided to attack the fleeing Union. This would gain them the recognition of Britain and France. The South decided to meet the North at Gettysburg and after the first day they took the upper hand sending the North up Cemetery Hill. On the second day General Longstreet was fighting of little round top and opened fire on General Sickle who kept his ground. On the third day Pickett led a charge and lost half his men. This lost there chances of help. -
Chickmauga
It was Autumn and the South and North were fighting over controll of a railroad in the center of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The South was retreating from Chattanooga and into Chickmauga,Georgia when General Longstreet arrived. He brought 65,000 men and they chose to go on the offense and attack the Union in two wings which led them to win. Even though the South won the battle they also had suffered more casualties leading to the need for smarter warfare. -
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address was one of the most important speeches ever made in American history. In 272 words President Lincoln was able to explain the importance of the civil war and why it was needed. This speech also showed that lincoln wasnt only doing it to save the Union, but to also support Freedom and equality for all. -
Battle of the Wilderness
The battle began when Richard Ewell clashed with the Union's 5th Corps. The undergrowth and trees made fighting chaotic and difficult. Men on both sides became prisoners from stumbling upon enemy camps. The first day was inconclusive. On the second day, the Confederate troops would attack Federal openings on the line. Despite heavy casualties Grant managed to hold the line. The battle ended inconclusive but had started the battle of Spotsylvania after Grant advanced troops to the city. -
Soptsylvania
For 12 days Soptsylvania court saw some of the bloodiest fights in the Civil war. 29,000 total casualties, both sides suffered. On May 9th Grant send troops to the confederate left. Lee countered the troops and held the line. The Confederates had built a huge salient in their lines pointing north toward the Federals. Days of rain passed while Grant looked for openings. When he realized the fight had been lost, he relocated troops towards Richmond, forcing Lee to again readjust his troops. -
Petersburg Campaign
The Petersburg Campaign was one of the last battles of the Civil War. The Union Army began a seige of the two cities, Petersburg, and Richmond. During the series of summer battles, union losses were severe. General Lee still held Richmond/Petersburg and Grant had Fort Harrison. Through destroying southern railroads, the South had run out of food/supplies. Moral dropped and left Lee with 50,000 troops to Grant's 120,000. After a final blow, Lee surrendered to Grant on April 9th. -
Mobile Bay
Mobile Bay was the most important bay in all of Alabama. It was protected by Fort Morgan, the Ironclad Tennesee and had a long string of mines in the entrance to the bay. Farragut's fleet sailed into Mobile Bay on the morning of Aug. 5, 1864. The Union ship Tecumseh hit a mine and sank. Farragut then climbed into the rigging of his flagship Hartford and told his fleet to continue dispite the mines. The fleet sailed in and fought until the bay surrendered on the 23rd. -
Sherman's March
After they lost Atlanta, the Confederate army headed west into Tennessee and Alabama, attacking Union supply lines as they went. Sherman prevented a wild goose chase by splitting his troops into two groups. Sherman took 62.000 troops and waged total war, destroying anything in his path. By destroying munitions, towns, railroads, and any source of materials, Sherman made it so that the south were limited on supplies. It was brutal but had lowered southern morale and hastened the end of the war. -
The surrender at Appomattox
Appomattox was the sight of the official ending of the civil war. This is the area in which Wilmer McLean's house was and this was the spot that General Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant making the Union win the civil war. After fleeing Petersburgh to go fight with the rest of his confederate army. This enabled the Union to succeed in ending slavery. -
Lincoln's Assasination
A man named John Wilkes Booth and his southern sympathizers devised a plan.Lincoln was to attend Laura Keene's acclaimed performance of "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Lincoln was in a private box with his wife. At 10:50 Booth slipped into the private box, shooting him with his .44 handgun. The attempt to throw the government into dispair failed and Booth and his conspirers were killed. They were the first people to be put to death under the new government.
