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Antietam
This was the bloodiest day on American soil. More people died this day than 9/11, with a difference of about 10, 000 people. Union general McClellan, had the opportunity to take out the Confederate army after the battle, but he didn't take the chance. Because of this, President Abraham Lincoln relieved McClellan of his duties after the battle. Nobody won this battle. -
Fredericksburg
This is one of the battles the South won. They won because they had better generals than they North did. The South positioned themselves at the bottom of a hill, and shot at the Union's soldiers as they charged down the hill, thus making the Union easy targets. After the battle, all the wounded Union soldiers were still on the hill dying. Richard Kirkland, a confederate soldier, grabbed water and crawled onto the battle field and gave the wounded soldiers water. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln this day. The proclamation freed more than 3.5 million slaves. This proclamation made slaves free, but only in the rebellious states. Abraham Lincoln worded the proclamation like this because he didn't want the border states to secede too. After this, slaves could now fight in the Civil War. -
Gettysburg
This battle is considered to be the turning point of the Civil War. Before this battle the South won every battle, but from now on, the North started winning more. President Abraham Lincoln later gave his famous speech, the Gettysburg Address, here where the battle took place. 23, 049 Union soldiers died, and 28, 063 Confederate soldiers died. Confederate General Lee lost more than a third of his soldiers there. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
It started in Atlanta, Georgia and it ended in Savannah, Georgia. The purpose of this was to scare the southerners. The Union army went from city to city stealing food and livestock and burning down houses. They also freed slaves along the way, but most of the slaves didn't want to be saved. This is considered "total war" because civilians were involved too, not just soldiers. -
Surrender of the South
The South and the North met at the McLean house in Virginia. There, both sides negotiated the South's surrender. Union general Ulysses S. Grant told his troops to not celebrate the North's victory. General Grant allowed the South to go back to their homes, and Union soldiers gave Confederate soldiers their supplies. The Civil War officially ended that day, but not everybody would know this until later.
