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Copperheads
During the 1860s the Copperheads were a vocal faction of Democrats in the Northern United States(Union) who opposed the Civil War, and wanted peace with the Confederates. Republicans started calling anti-war Democrats "Copperheads", linking them to the venomous snake. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter was the first battle of the Civil War. When the Confederates attacked Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina. The Union shortly returned the invitation, and the battle began. This was shortly after President Abraham Lincolns' inauguration. -
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
Chamberlain was commissioned a lieutenant colonel in the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment in 1862 and fought at the Battle of Fredericksburg. He became commander of the regiment in June 1863. On July 2, during the Battle of Gettysburg(which earned him a medal of honor), Chamberlain's regiment occupied the extreme left of the Union lines at Little Round Top. -
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh(fought on April 6 & 7), also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle of the Civil War and was considered the bloodiest battle in American history until the coming September when the Battle of Antietam took place. After two long days of battle, the Confederates were forced to retreat and the Union took their victory. -
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam, also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, was fought on Union soil and is the bloodiest single-day in American history. With a combined tally of 22,717 dead, wounded, or missing. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was a presidential proclamation and a executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln. It changed the federal legal status of more than 3 million enslaved people in the designated areas of the South from slave to free. As soon as a slave escaped the governments control by either running away or through advances of federal troops, the slave became legally free. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Fought July 1-3 near the town of Gettysburg, PA, involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war and is often described as the turning point of the war. -
The Battle of Cold Harbor
Hanover County, near Mechanicsville, Virginia. Fought May 31st to June 12th, 1864. It was one of the last battles of the Civil War and known in America's history as one the most bloodiest and lopsided battles. Thousands of Union soldiers were killed or wounded in a hopeless frontal assault against the fortified positions of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's army. -
General Ulysses S. Grant
Grant was the Commanding General at the conclusion of the Civil War. He was elected as the 18th President of the United States in 1868, serving from 1869 to 1877. He worked closely to President Lincoln on his road to victory during the war over the Confederacy. Grant led the Republicans in their effort to remove the vestiges of Confederate nationalism and slavery, protect African-American citizenship and civil rights, implement reconstruction and support economic prosperity. -
The Battle and Surrender at Appomattox
On the afternoon of April 9th, 1865, Southern General Robert E. Lee signed the surrendering documents saying that the Union had won the war and slavery would be abolished throughout America. Parades and celebration started on April 12th. That event triggered a series of subsequent surrenders across the South, signaling the end of a four year long war. -
Lincoln's Assassination
Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, while attending the play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.. Shot in the head as he watched the play, Lincoln died the following day at 7:22 a.m., in the Petersen House opposite the theater. He was the first American president to be assassinated,] his funeral and burial marked an extended period of national mourning.
