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Two Different Worlds
Before the Civil War the country was divided on many issues economically and cuturally. The biggest unresolved issue was slavery. Tension had been boiling over for years with territorial compromises, Fugitive Slave Laws, the Dred Scott decision and Uncle Toms Cabin but, the situation became worst with John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry. This would ultimately light the fuse for Civil War. -
The South Secedes from the Union
In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the U.S. because many southerners felt their way of life was being threaten. South Carolina became the first state to secede from Union.Soon Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas would follow. Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina would later join former the Confederacy. Jefferson Davis would become their first and only president basing its new nations foundation on states rights and preservation of slavery. -
Jefferson Davis
After the Confederacy was formed, a constitutional convention met at Montgomery, Alabama and considered Davis and Robert Toombs of Georgia as a possible president. Davis, who had widespread support from six of the seven states, easily won. He was seen as the "champion of a slave society and embodied the values of the planter class," and was elected provisional Confederate President by acclamation. He was inaugurated on February 18, 1861 -
Battle of Ft. Sumter
With their new nation the Confederacy demanded that the Union disband their forces at all Southern outposts. Tensions boiled over as Union Major Robert Anderson refused to surrender Ft. Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. Soon bombardment of the base began and on April 14, 1861 the fort was surrendered. The Civil War had begun. -
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American Civil War
The American Civil War was a war fought from 1861 to 1865 to determine the survival of the Union or independence for the Confederacy. Among the 34 states in January 1861, seven Southern slave states individually declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America. -
First Battle of Bull Run
Many thought this war would be a 90 day war but soon that would prove wrong. The first battle of the Civil War would be an Confederate victory and bring forth the legend of Stonewall Jackson as a military legend. Both sides would soon realize by the casualities that this would be a long war. -
The Battle of Hampton Roads
The Battle of Hampton Roads was the most noted and arguably most important naval battle of the American Civil War from the standpoint of the development of navies. The major significance of the battle is that it was the first meeting in combat of ironclad warships -
Battle of Shiloh
At the time Shiloh was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War in the Western Theartre. This battle would also bring Ulyseses S. Grant to the forefront of the war -
Battle of Antietam
This was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Union soil. It is the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with a combined tally of dead, wounded, and missing at 22,717. -
Emancipation Proclamation
In a single stroke President Lincoln changed the legal status, as recognized by the United States federal government, of 3 million slaves in the designated areas of the South from "slave" to "free." It had the practical effect that as soon as a slave escaped the control of the Confederate government, by running away or through advances of federal troops, the slave became legally free. Eventually it reached and liberated all of the designated slaves. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
While the Union struggled to find Generals to end the war the Confederacy began to appreciate Robert E. Lee. He beat back advances during the Pennisula Campaign and Fredricksburg. Now he cemented his legacy as a great commader with his victory at Chancellorsville. Chancellorsville is known as Lee's "perfect battle" because his risky decision to divide his army in the presence of a much larger enemy force resulted in a significant Confederate victory. -
Frederick Douglass
Former slave and orator Frederick Douglass was the premier black reformer during the Civil War. Douglass and the abolitionists argued that because the aim of the Civil War was to end slavery, African Americans should be allowed to engage in the fight for their freedom. Because of this the United States War Department issued a General Order establishing the Bureau of Colored Troops to facilitate the recruitment of African-American soldiers to fight for the Union Army. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The battle involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war and is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Meade's Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, ending Lee's attempt to invade the North. -
Siege at Vicksburg
General Grant and his Army would force the city of Vicksburg to surrender.The Confederate surrender following the siege at Vicksburg is sometimes considered, when combined with Gen. Robert E. Lee's defeat at Gettysburg, the turning point of the war. It cut off the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas from the rest of the Confederacy, and gave controll of the Missisippii River to the Union. Because of these accomplishments Grant was given controll of all Union forces. -
Overland Campaign
Grant and Lee would fight in a series of bloody battles in Virginia. Even though Grant suffered signifigant loses, rather than retreat he continued to pursue Lee with superior man power and resources. Something the Confederacy could not spare. -
Battle of Atlanta
Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply center of Atlanta, Union forces commanded by William T. Sherman overwhelmed and defeated Confederate forces defending the city under John B. Hood. After taking the city, Sherman's troops headed south-southeastward toward Milledgeville, the state capital, and on to Savannah with the March to the Sea. Sherman intiated the concept of total war and purposely made war on civilians. -
Franklin-Nashville Campaign
After the defeat of Atlanta forces under General John Bell Hood made their way to Tennesee in an attempt to gain control of Nashville. Hood made several wreckless charges inflictling heavy loses to his army. The Union led by General George Thomas counterattack sensing their vunerabilty. The Confederates were routed and no longer during the war were able to amount any real threat to the Union in the West. -
Siege at Petersburg
The Siege at Petersburg was a preview for World War I as trench warfare dominated for 9 months. Grant forces drove Lee's forces back towards Petersburg within sight of Richmond. Eventually Grant broke Lee's lines and the Union was able to lay siege to the Confederate capital of Richmond. -
Surrender at Appomattox
After breaking at Petersburg, Lee's forces retreated west with Grants forces right behind them. Grants forces caught up with them at Appomattox and cut them off. After several failed attempts to break out Lee finally surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse. By Lee surrendering his forces, other Confederate forces west would follow suite ending the Civil War.
