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Uncle Tom's Cabin
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin", or "Life Among the Lowly,” is an anti-slavery novel written by Harriet Beacher Stowe. When Stowe’s 18-year-old son died, Stowe was put in the same shoes as other African American mothers who had their children taken from them in an instant. This book is said to have laid the groundwork for the Civil War. The date of this event is when it was published. -
Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter lasted from April 12 to April 13, 1861. Major Robert Anderson was in command of the Union soldiers, who occupied Fort Sumter originally. P.G.T. Beauregard, who was in charge of the Confederate forces, ordered the first shots of the Civil War. Beauregard and his troops fired so many times at Fort Sumter that Anderson and his only 86 men eventually ran out of ammunition and had to surrender. -
First Battle of Bull Run
The First Battle of Bull Run, also known as the Battle of Manassas took place on July 21, 1861. About 35,000 Union troops clashed with 20,000 Confederate troops. After the Confederates were fighting on the defensive for most of the day, they were finally able to break down the right side of the Union Army, sending the northerners scrambling, making them run. It was a major boost for the Confederates as now the people in the North realized that the war would not be won so easily. -
The Battle of the Ironclads
The Battle of the Ironclads, also known as the Battle of Hampton Roads, took place on March 9, 1862. This was the first naval battle of the Civil War. This battle was part of a Confederate effort to break the Union blockade of Southern ports. The battle was between the U.S.S. Merrimack, and the U.S.S Monitor -- two ironclad vessels. The battle didn’t get anywhere, as both ships fled and each crew thought they had won the battle. Nonetheless, it began Naval Warfare in the Civil War. -
Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, the battle lasted from April 6-7, 1862, in Tennessee. The Confederate Army decided to surprise General Ulysses Grant, driving his army back, essentially battering the whole Union Army that day. General Albert Johnston was shot in the leg and died a quick death. -
Robert E. Lee Assumes Command
General Robert E. Lee assumed command of the Confederate Army of West Virginia on June 1, 1862. This is crucial for the Confederates because he is a very smart man and he alone led the Confederates to victory in major battles. -
Seven Days' Battles
The Seven Days’ Battles lasted from June 25 to July 1, 1862. In this series of battles, the Confederates, under Robert E. Lee, drove the Union, under General George B. McClellan, back and foiled the Union’s attempt at capturing the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. -
Antietam
The Battle of Antietam, also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, which was on September 17, 1862, was the bloodiest battle in American history. General Robert E. Lee hoped to take advantage of the Union’s low morale, and he and his men occupied a few towns in Maryland. Lee devised a plan and it fell into Union hands, then the fighting started. In just 12 hours of fighting, there were over 23,000 casualties and about 3,650 dead, including 5,000 casualties on one road, later nicknamed “Bloody Lane.” -
The Emancipation Proclamation
On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation. It said that on Jan. 1, 1863, all slaves should be freed. With this, Lincoln didn’t actually free any slaves, it served as a turning point in the Civil War, shifting the focus from preserving the Union to stopping the idea of slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation was regarded as a war measure. After this, Lincoln and his people soon began working on a Constitutional Amendment to abolish slavery. -
Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, took place on December 13, 1862. This battle involved over 200,000 troops, the highest concentration of troops in the Civil War. Newly appointed Union General Ambrose Burnside had 120,000 troops, while Confederate General Robert E. Lee had 80,000 troops. Even though Lee’s men were outnumbered, they still won, holding off a Union attack. This sent the North’s morale plummeting. -
The Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville lasted from April 30 to May 6, 1863. It was a major victory for the Confederacy. Lee decided to face an army twice his own army’s size. Once the battle started, he split his army, sending some men to attack the Union’s right flank, thus caving in the Union’s line. His right-hand man, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, while attacking the Union with the split army, was shot in the shoulder, and soon died. Eventually, Union General Joseph Hooker surrendered. -
Vicksburg
The Siege of Vicksburg, lasted from May 18, 1863, to July 4, 1863. The Union troops wanted to take control of the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The 47-day siege gave control of the Mississippi River to the Union. The river was extremely vital to Confederate trade and was part of the grand Union plan to cut off outside trade to the Confederacy. This trade also cemented the legacy and value of General Ulysses S. Grant. -
Gettysburg
This battle took place on July 1 and ended on July 3, 1863. Many believe that this was the turning point of the Civil War because it had the most casualties. Confederate General Robert E. Lee wanted to win a battle on Northern soil, following the many recent successes of Confederate soldiers, which would hopefully make Abraham Lincoln negotiate for peace. Lee’s attack on the North eventually failed and there were an estimated 51,000 casualties in total. -
Gettysburg Address
On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered a short, but to-the-point speech that would be remembered as one of the most important speeches in American history. He passionately talked about the Declaration of Independence, freedom and the idea of “human equality” shown in it. He also said that the sacrifices made in the Civil War were with the desire of a “new birth of freedom” and hoped that we would stay unified as one with the Union and its idea of self-government. -
Chattanooga
The Battle of Chattanooga lasted from November 23 to November 25, 1863. It was a series of battles in which the Union routed the Confederates at Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. The victories forced the Confederates back to Georgia thus stopping the frightful siege of the Chattanooga railroad. This paved the way for Union General William Tecumseh Sherman’s Atlanta campaign. -
General Grant Takes Command
President Abraham Lincoln, supporting the Union army, appointed Ulysses S. Grant to take command of all Union armies. Grant, a future President, employed a straightforward tactic, a “take no prisoners” strategy that ultimately forced the feared General Robert E. Lee to surrender, thus effectively ending the bloody Civil War. -
Union Troops Capture Atlanta
Ulysses S. Grant, given control of the Union forces, devised a plan to topple the Confederacy. This plan was said to have included all parts of the Union Army. General William Tecumseh Sherman worked his way to Atlanta, but not without obstacles. Whatever was thrown at Sherman and his commanders, he fought off, the main thing being a scary-looking offensive-minded Confederate General. Atlanta’s mayor eventually surrendered and Sherman burned Atlanta and basked in his victory. -
Appomattox
This battle took place near the Appomattox Courthouse, in central Virginia. General Robert E. Lee took his tired troops westward, but he was surprised by the Union soldiers and a short, but devastating battle ensued. The battle lasted only a few hours, but during this one, General Lee surrendered to General Ulysses Grant, commander in chief of the Union Army in Appomattox Courthouse. This would also be the last battle of the Civil War. -
Lincoln Assassination
At Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C., actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln, the President, who was a strong believer in preserving the Union and abolishing slavery. This happened on April 14, 1865, only five days after Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia, which ended the Civil War. -
Gone With the Wind
Arguably the most controversial story about the South and the Civil War era so far. First, it was a book written by Margaret Mitchell in 1936 and, later, a movie in 1939. The story is about a daughter of a plantation owner, Scarlett O’Hara. The setting is in the South, near Atlanta, around the Civil War. She meets a man named Rhett Butler and he helps her flee the city and eventually they marry and have a daughter. This movie also goes on to show the rough lives of slaves.
