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Period: to
Civil War
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The Battle of Fort Sumter
The battle of Fredericksburgh was a four day battle, and it ended on December 15, 1862. On December 11 the union engineers laid five pontoon bridges across the Rappahannock under fire. On the 12th the Federal army crossed over the bridge. On December 15, Burnside called off the offensive and re-crossed the river, ending the campaign. This lead to a Confederate victory. -
First Bull Run
July 21, 1861
The Union and Confederate forces met at Manassas. Both sides planned to attack the other’s left flank with the majority of their armies. The Confed. were able to build up enough troops on the Union right side to overrun that flank leading to a retreat to the North. The Confederate army did not pursue the fleeing troops. Victory for the Confederate forces. However, approximately 5,000 men died. 3,000 were Union soldiers. This was the first major land battle of the Civil War. -
The Battle of Hampton Roads
On March 8, 1862, from herberth at Norfolk, the Confederate ironclad Virginia steamed into Hampton Roads where the boat sank in Cumberland and ran Congress aground. On March 9, the Union unbreakable monitor having fortuitously arrived to do the battle, began the first engagement of the unbreakable boat in history. The two ships fought each other to a standstill, but Virginia retired. The battle was an inconclusive win. -
Shiloh
April 6, 1862 - April 7, 1862
Confederate forces led by General Johnston attacked Union General Grant's army at Pittsburg Landing. The Union forces were not prepared but they still managed to hold their own until the arrival of General Buell's army and other reinforcements at Pittsburg Landing. The Confederates lost their leader to a stray bullet. On April 7th, Grant launched a counterattack and the Confederates retreated to Corinth. Approximately 23,746 men died. 13,047 were Union soldiers. -
Antietam
September 17, 1862 – September 18, 1862
This was the first battle of the Civil War to be fought on northern soil and the bloodiest day in U.S. history with more than 22,000 casualties. It was fought along the Antietam Creek in Sharpsburg. General Robert E. Lee (Confederate general) had a complex plan, but a copy of it reached George B. McClellan. A series of head on attacks overran an area later called Bloody Lane. The Union victory allowed Lincoln to the issue of the Emancipation Proc. -
Fredericksburg
The battle of Fredericksburg was a 4 day battle, and it ended on December 15, 1862. On December 11 the union engineers laid 5 pontoon bridges across the Rappahannock under fire. On the 12th the Federal army crossed over the bridge. On December 15, Burnside called off the offensive and re-crossed the river, ending the campaign. This lead to a Confederate victory. -
Chancellorsville
On the morning of May 2, Lt. Gen. T.J. Jackson directed his corps on a march against the Federal left flank, which was reported to be “hanging in the air.” At 5:20 pm, Jackson’s line surged forward in an overwhelming attack that crushed the Union XI Corps. On May 3, the Confederates attacked with both wings of the army and massed their artillery at Hazel Grove. This battle was considered by many historians to be Lee’s greatest victory. The war finally ended on May 6, 1863. -
Siege of Vicksburg
May 18, 1862 - July 3, 1863
An attempt to take the city by land from the north by General William Tecumseh Sherman failed and as did an attempt by Grant. Grant moved his army of 40,000 troops to the west bank of the Mississippi. General John C. Pemberton, led his forces out in an effort to link up with Johnston. By early June, the Confederate garrison was desperately short of ammunition and on the brink of starvation. The surrender of Vicksburg marked the turning point of the war. -
Gettysburg
Gettysburg began on July 1, 1863. Over the next few hours bloody fighting raged along Sickles line as well as in a nearby wheat field and on the slop. Early on the morning of July 3, Union forces of the Twelfth Army Corps pushed back a Confederate threat against Culp's Hill after a seven hour fire fight and gained back a strong position. In conclusion of the war the north ended up winning this burial war. -
Chickamauga
September 18, 1863 - September 20, 1863
Union General William Rosecrans had pushed Braxton Bragg's Army out of Chattanooga and gathered his army of some 60,000 at Chickamauga. Bragg's men attacked the Union, anchored by a large Union corps led by George Thomas. A reserve division arrived in time to help Thomas, and the last of Rosecrans' troops were able to retreat. Confederate casualties numbered close to 20,000. The Union suffered some 16,000 casualties. Confederate victory. -
Wilderness
May 5, 1864 - May 7, 1864
Grant ordered 115,000 soldiers to cross the Rapidan. The Confed. Corps led by Richard E. Well clashed with the Union's Corps. The Federals drove back A.P. Hill's Confederates nearly a mile. The rebels were aided from collapse by the arrival of a corps led by James Longstreet. Battle of the Wilderness ended inconclusively, though the Union Army suffered more than 17,500 casualties. Grant didn’t retreat. -
Spotsylvania
Spotsylvania began on May 8, 1864. For 12 days Spotsylvania Court House saw some of the bloodiest fighting of the Civil War. On May 9 Grant sent the Army of the Potomac's 2nd Corps to turn the Confederate left, Robert E. Lee was able to counter the movement on May 10. Late at night Lee ordered his battered troops to fall back and form a new line a half-mile behind, which had been hastily fortified by Confederate engineers. This war was won by the North yet again. -
Battle of Petersburg
June 15, 1864 - June 18, 1864
March from Cold Harbor, Meade’s Army crossed the James River. Butler’s leading elements crossed the Appomattox River and attacked the Petersburg defenses. The 5,400 defenders of Petersburg under command of Gen. Beauregard were driven back to Harrison Creek. He stripped the Howlett Line to defend the city, and Lee rushed reinforcements to Petersburg from the Army of Northern Virginia. Confederate Victory. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman’s troops arrived in Savannah on December 21, 1864, about three weeks after they left Atlanta. The city was undefended when they got there. (The 10,000 Confederates who were supposed to be guarding it had already fled.) Sherman presented the city of Savannah and its 25,000 bales of cotton to President Lincoln as a Christmas gift. Early in 1865, Sherman and his men left Savannah and pillaged and burned their way through South Carolina to Charleston. In April, the Confederacy surrendered. -
Lincoln's Assassination
Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14 1865. He died the following morning. His assassonaters name was John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln was assassonated at the Ford Theater in Washington, DC.
