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Lincoln Takes Office
Included in his inagural address included many lines from the nation's founding documents. He believed that the U.S. citizens had the power to change their government. He also opposed the idea that the southern states could leave the Union because of slavery. -
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The Civil War
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Attack on Fort Sumter
Attack on Fort Sumpter was the one of the very first battles of the war. Confederates opened fire on the fort which was unable to reply effectively. It was the opening engagement of the American Civil War. -
Battle of Bull Run
Was on of the first major land battle of the armies in Virginia. The Union army marched from Washington against the Confederate army. McDowell crossed at Sudley Ford and atatcked the Confederate left flank on Matthews Hill. -
Battle of Pea Ridge
Rather than attack Curtis' fortifications, Van Dirb proposed to march around the Union Right flank near Pea Ridge. In the course of the process, the Southern forces wer divided. Van Dorn's two wings were seperated bv Pea Ridge and compelled to fight. -
The Battle of Shiloh
40,000 Confederate soldiers poured out of the woods and drove forces from their camps and threatned to overwhelm General Grant's command. Rebel attacks failed. Massed artillery helped to turn the tide as Confederates surrounded, captured, and killed most of the Union's troops. -
Seven Days' Battles
Lee attacked by launching a series of clashes that were known for the name for these battles. The clashes forced the Union army to retreat from near Richmond, Virginia. This angered Lincoln so he sent General John Pope to march all the way to Washington. -
Battle of Cold Harbor
This was one of the battlea that the Union army suffered. They came across over 7,000 casualties. It delayed Grant's plans to take the Confederate capitol. -
Second Battle of Bull Run
This was a 3 day battle and was also known as the Second Battle of Manassas. Jackson's troops met Pope's Union forces on the battlefield. The Confederates crushed the Unions army's assault and forced it to retreat in defeat. -
Battle of Antietam
The bloodiest in a single day battle in American military history. It ended in a draw. But, the Confederates retreated and gave Lincoln the "victory" he desired for issuring the Emancipation Proclamation. -
Battle of Fredricksburgh
One of the largest and deadliest battles of the Civil War. It featured the first major opposed river crossing in American military history. Nearly 200,000 casualties occured. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln issued it. It declared that "all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states. It applied only to states thata are seceded from the Union, leaving slavery untouched in the loyal border states. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
Hooker intended to secretly march northwest with the rest of the army, then cross the Rappahannock in Lee's and Jackson in rear. Charging from the woods, Jackson's men caught them completely by surprise and quickly captured 4,000 prisoners. The Union won bot lost Jackson a few days later. -
Siege of Vicksburg
Located at the 200-foot high cliffs above the Mississippi River so it was an "impossible" invasion. Farragut's guns had trouble getting to to reach the city above. Grant's troops cutt off the city by shelling it repeatedly. On July 4th, Pemberton surrendered. -
Battle of Gettysburgh
The Confederates drove the Union defenders through Gettysburgh to Cemetery Hill. The next day Lee struck the flanks of the Union line. Southerners gained ground, but failed to dislodge the Union host. -
Battle of Chickamauga
Toni P The Battle of Chickamauga was one of the major clashes of arms between the forces of the Federal North and the Confederate South. The Federal Army of the Cumberland versus the Confederate Army of Tennessee in what was later called “The Bloody Battle in the West”. -
Gettysburg Address
This was at the ceremony of the Gettysburg battlefield cemetery. It was a speech from President Lincoln that he praised the Union soldiers and "renewed" commitment to winning the war. -
Battle of Chattanooga
The Union forces struck out and captired Orchard Knob and Lookout Mountain. Union soldiers assaulted and carried the seemingly impregnable Confederate position on Missionary Ridge. Ferderals held Chattanooga will become a supply base later on. -
Battle of Spotsylvania
This was a two week battle and was a series of combats along the Spotsylvania front. The Union attack was against the Bloody Angle at dawn. Captured nearly a division of Lee's army and came near to cutting the Confederate in half. -
Lincoln is Re-Elected President (Second Term)
With his re-election, any hope for a negotiated settlement with the Confederacy vanished. In 1864, Lincoln faced many challenges to his presidency. The war was now in its fourth year, and many were questioning if the South could ever be fully conquered militarily. -
Assasination of President Lincoln
Aiming his pistol at the President’s head, John Willks Booth fired one shot at point-blank range. The .44-caliber bullet entered Lincoln’s brain in the left ear. He died at Petersen’s boarding house, across the street from Ford’s Theatre, less than twelve hours later.
