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The secession of 11 southern states
South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina all seceded (chronological order) -
Lincoln wins the US presidential election
He was the candidate of the explicitly antislavery Republican Party. His victory caused seven southern states to secede and organise the Confederate States of America -
GB adopted a compromise position
Whilst not recognising the confederacy as a separate sovereign state, Britain did recognise it as 'belligerent status' -
Initiative now favours union
David replaces Beauregard with General Bragg, New Orleans captured by Union. The Peninsula campaign -
The Anaconda Plan
General Winfield Scott's naval blockade of Atlantic and Golf Port (180+) and about 3,500 miles of coastline -
The civil war began
Confederate forces opened fire on the Union-held Fort Sumter at the entrance to the harbour of Charleston, South Carolina. This claimed no victims. After a 34 hour bombardment, Major Robert Anderson surrendered his command of about 85 soldiers to some 5,500 besieging Confederate troops under Beauregard. Within weeks, four more southern states left the union to join the Confederacy -
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The American Civil War
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Battle of First Manassas
Confederate generals Beauregard and Joe Johnston beat union forces lead by George McDowell. Confederate casualties reached 2000 and union casualties reached 3000. Beauregard could've marched to DC and could've potentially won the war but his army was disorganised and short of supplies so was in no condition to attack
The confederacy suffered 2000 casualties and the union suffered 3000. Victory could have confed. complacent and overconfident and the spurred the union on -
The Trent Affair
Captain Charles Wilkes intercepted the British mail packer RMS Trent and captured 2 confederate envoys -
Battle of Shiloh
Key battle in the west. General Grant's forces nearly destroyed by General Johnston but saved when General Buell's forces arrived. Johnston killed and Beauregard takes command and retreats. The first battle to show how big the casualties would be: 10,600 for union and 13,000 for confederacy. The illusion of a short war were shattered by this battle -
The Seven Days
Lee's disjointed attacks and defective command structure cost him a victory. Confederacy lost 20,614 and the union lost 15,849 men -
Battle of Second Manassas
Pope and McClellan attack Johnston but get defeated by Lee's forces. Lincoln reluctantly re-appointed McClellan as commander in chief. -
Battle of Antietam
Single bloodiest day of the war so far, union lost 12,000 and Lee lost 11,000. Lee's failure to win a decisive victory meant there was little chance of British intervention. McClellan's inability to follow up on his victory at Antietam led to Lincoln to replace his with Burnside. Lee had failed to achieve any of aims. Can be seen as a major turning point: within days, Lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation. Went from a war for the union to a way for freeing slaves -
Battle of Fredericksburg
On the 13th of December, Burnside launched a series of suicidal attacks that lost 11,000 men. Lee lost less than 5,000 men -
Lincoln publicly issued the Emancipation Proclamation
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Lincoln replaces Burnside with Hooker
And the first black regiment in the North was created -
Lincoln signs the conscription act
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Battle of Chancellorsville
Union casualties were around 1,606 with confederate casualties around 1,665. 'Stonewall' Jackson was killed, a loss that Lee likened to losing his right arm.
Lee was at his most brilliant militarily and this battle affirmed his military genius. Lee had 65,000 men as opposed to Hookers 130,000 men. -
Battle of Vicksburg
Union victory after a 47 day siege: Pemberton's troops surrendered to Grant's troops. Together with the victory at Gettysburg a day before, this marked a turning point in the fortunes of the Union army. Union casualties were at an estimated 4,910 and confederate casualties were at an estimated 32,363.. The union now controlled the entire Mississippi valley which made it difficult for the confed. to get supplies -
Battle of Gettysburg
It was the bloodiest battle in American history and claimed over 50,000 combined casualties. The myth of Lee's invincibility was shattered after his success over almost a years worth of battles. However it was not the main turning point as if Lee had won he could not have held a single Northern city for any length of line. Also events in the west made it very unlikely that union morale would collapse -
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The Wilderness-Petersburg campaign
May: Grant's forces were mauled by Lee's in the wilderness but Lee's forces suffered twice the losses, losses they could ill afford. After 31 days, Grant's men had suffered more than 31,000 casualties. In June, Grant changed his policy and moved his forces south to Petersburg - a railway hub that connected Richmond to the rest of the eastern confederacy. This showed Grant's flexibility as a military leader -
Some 900,000 men had fought for confederates but the union had enlisted 2.1 million men