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South Carolina Secedes
Website South Carolina was the first southern state to secede from the Union. Four days after President Abraham Lincoln's election, South Carolina's legislature called for a convention to consider succession. In Charleston, the convention passed with a vote 169-0 for the first ordinance of secession. -
Abraham Lincoln inaugurated
Website Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. Lincoln turned to historical documents. for inspiration while composing his inaugural address. Since Lincoln took office shortly after seven Southern states seceded from the Union and formed the Confederacy, his speech was very important. In his address, Lincoln had to keep Northern support without pushing away the South, so he called for compromise. -
Attack on Fort Sumter
Website The attack on Fort Sumter was the first attack of the Civil War. General Beauregard, commander of the Confederate forces at Charleston, demanded the surrender of the Union of Fort Sumter. When garrison commander refused, Confederate batteries opened fire on the fort. Major Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter, evacuating the garrison on the following day. -
Virginia Secedes
Website Virginia was the first Southern state to secede after the surrender of Fort Sumter. They passed a succession bill 88 to 55 although Virginians voted down a similar bill on April 4th, by a vote of 89 to 45. On May 23rd, citizens from eastern Virginia voted to join the Confederacy although western Virginians wanted to remain in the Union. -
1st Battle of Bull Run
Website The Battle of the 1st Bull Run is also called the Battle of the 1st Manassas. The Union troops entered Virginia on July 16th, 1861 hoping to successfully cut off railroad access to Manassas. General Beauregard was the Confederate commander while Brigadier General Irvin McDowell was the commander of the Union. The Confederates ended up winning the battle and there were many casualties as a result. -
Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac
Website The Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac was a naval battle, famous for being the first fight between two ironclad warships, the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia. The battle took place off Sewell's Point, a narrow place near the mouth of Hampton Roads, Virginia. After two days, the battle was inconclusive but became clear it that ironclad ships were the future of naval warfare. -
McClellan Returns to Washington after the Peninsula Campaign
Website The Peninsula Campaign was McClellen's plan for the Union army to ship 121,500 of his men to the tip of the York-James Peninsula, then fight his way west to Richmond even though he was sure the rebel armies were in northern Virginia. McClellan believed that Richmond held the fate of the Confederacy, yet he would not send his men marching overland toward the Confederate capital. -
Battle of Shiloh
Website The Battle of Shiloh was held around a tiny church in Shiloh, Tennessee. General Grant's army, was assaulted by surprise by General Johnston's forces. The Battle was filled with desperate fighting and Grant's army almost failed until General Buell arrived with reinforcements. The confederates soon fell back, but Union troops were too tired to keep fighting. Over 3,482 men died at the Battle of Shiloh. -
2nd Battle of Bull Run
Website The 2nd Battle of Bull Run was a larger scaled battle than the 1st Battle of Bull Run which was fought on the same land. During the battle, General Stonewall Jackson destroyed Union communications and supplies. General John Pope of the Union army of Virginia tried to attack Jaskson's lines but he was denied. Lee ordered General Longstreet to counterattack, forcing Union troops to retreat, badly defeated. -
Battle of Antietam
WebsiteThe Battle of Antietam was made up of 3 parts. In the first part the federal force attacked Stonewall Jackson's men in a cornfield. In the second part, the Union attacked and the Confederates fired in defense from a sunken road. In the third part, the Union army tried to fight it's way over a narrow bridge with the Confederate army above the bridge shooting down on them. As a result, no land was gained so neither side won. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
Website The Battle of Fredericksburg was the Civil War’s first urban combat and it had the largest concentration of soldiers. Major General George G. Meade's Union attack gained momentum when it exploited a gap in Jackson's lines but Jackson’s powerful counterattack blocked his efforts. In total, 9,000 were killed, wounded and missing for the Confederate victory. -
Emancipation Proclamation Takes Effect
Website The final Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Abraham Lincoln, ending slavery in the rebelling states. Since the proclamation freed slaves only in rebellious areas, it didn't actually free any one because the seceded states were not considered under Union control. The proclamation also allowed black soldiers to fight for the Union. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
Website The Battle of Chancellorsville was led by Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker who took the V, XI, and XII Corps to turn the Confederate line. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson devised an plan to surge forward in an overwhelming attack, crushing the Union XI Corps. Jackson was killed by one of his own men, hurting the Army of Northern Virginia. The battle is considered to be Lee's greatest Confederate victory. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Website The Battle of Gettysburg took place between the Union army, led by Major Gen. George Meade and Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Confederate soldiers. Although the Confederates were successful at first, the battle turned against Lee on the 3rd when he didn’t have any other options left. The Battle of Gettysburg was one of the most crucial battles of the Civil War. -
Surrender of Vicksburg
Website The Battle of Vicksburg was between Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s armies and the Confederate army of Lt. Gen. John Pemberton. It was one of the most brilliant military campaigns of the war. The Confederate army lost and surrendered at Vicksburg, so the Confederacy was effectively split in half. -
Battle at Fort Wagner
Website Fort Wagner's location made it a very difficult battle for the Union. The Battle at Fort Wagner consisted of two attacks. The first attack on July 11th was commanded by Brigadier-General George C. Strong, that reached the Confederate fort before being forced back with heavy losses. The attack on July 18 was just as bad as the first one, with the Union losing 25% of their forces. -
Lincoln Delivers Gettysburg Address
Website Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address four months after the Battle of Gettysburg. In his surpsingly short speech, dedicating a cemetary to soldiers who fought and died in the battle, Lincoln explained that the reason for their sacrifice was for the preservation of the Union and ending slavery. He also said that the Civil War wasn't just to save the Union, but to fight for freedom and equality for all. -
Grant Displays Fighting Style at Cold Harbor
Website The Battle at Cold Harbor took place in Virginia. Ulysses S. Grant was promoted to lieutenant general and immediately, tried to execute a new strategy for defeating the Confederacy. Union forces would pound and hammer the Confederate armies, trying to inflict losses of men and supplies. His new fighting style did not work, and Grant expressed his regrets from Cold Harbor in one of his battle memoirs. -
Atlanta Burns to the Ground
Website During the Civil War, Atlanta was an important railroad and military supply city. When Union troops invanded in 1864, Confederate General John Bell Hood evacuated Atlanta and Union General William T. Sherman ordered all public buildings destroyed. The capture of Atlanta also helped secure President Abraham Lincoln's re-election. -
Sherman Reaches Savannah
Website After stoping at Milledgeville, Sherman reached Savannah, Georgia. It was defended by General Hardee with 10,000 men but after a few days, Hardee knew it would be impossible to hold Savannah so he withdrew his army into South Carolina. Sherman declared Savannah a "Christmas present" for President Lincoln. -
Sherman Set out for the Sea
Website Sherman's march to the sea was led by Maj. Gen. William Sherman of the Union Army and began after his troops captured Atlanta. Sherman made up an army of 60, 000 men who were to live off the land. Some people consider him the first one to use "total war" tactics because his troops destroyed the Confederacy's ability to fight. -
Lincoln Delivers 2nd Inaugural Address
Website President Abraham Lincoln's second Inaugural Address was one of the shortest inaugural addresses on record. It was delivered during the final days of the Civil War and only a month before he was assassinated. Lincoln spoke of the war and forgiveness for the North and the South in his address. -
Richmond, the Confederate Capital, Falls
Website Besides being the political home of the Confederacy, Richmond was a center of rail and industry, military hospitals, and prisoner-of-war camps and prisons. Richmond went up in flames when the Union siezed it, but it's evacuation is still controversial because the officers in command disagreed over who gave the orders to torch stockpiles of supplies within the city. -
Surrender at Appomattox
Website The Battle at Appomattox Court House was led by General Robert E. Lee and General Grant. It was the final engagement between the Confederate Army and the Union Army. Lee had no choice but to surrender when he realized that the Union cavalry was backed up by two corps of Union infantry. -
Robert E. Lee Surrenders Commission
<ahref='http://library.thinkquest.org/3055/netscape/people/lee.html' >Website</a> General Robert E. Lee's surrender to the Union's Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Court House, Virginia essentially ended the U.S. Civil War. The Confederate leader surrendered his 28,000 troops after being forced to abandon the Confederate capital, Richmond, blocked from joining the rest of the Confederate force in North Carolina, and harassed by the Union cavalry.
