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Abraham Lincoln Takes Action
On January 27, President Lincoln issued a war order authorizing the Union to launch a unified aggressive action against the Confederacy. -
The Peninsular Campaign
In April, General McClellan's troops left northern Virginia to begin the Peninsular Campaign. By May 4, they occupied Yorktown, Virginia. -
The Battle of Fredericksburg
On November 7, Lincoln replaced General McClellan with Major-General Ambrose E. Burnside. Burnside's forces were defeated in a series of attacks against entrenched Confederate forces at Fredericksburg, Virginia, and Burnside was replaced with General Joseph Hooker. -
The First Conscription Act
In March of 1863, President Lincoln made men between the ages 20 and 45 viable to serve in the military unless they paid a fee or found a substitute. He chose to do this because of various recruiting issues. Many of those in poverty saw the act as unfair and caused a riot to ensue in New York City. -
The Vicksburg Siege
After General Grant of the Union army had won many victories around Vicksburg, Mississippi, he decided to siege the city. After what took six weeks, General Pemberton of the Confederacy surrendered the city along with over 30,000 men. -
The Battle of Gettysburg
General Maede had replaced General Hooker and was the commander for the Army of the Potomac. General Lee had recently defeated soldiers in Winchester, Virginia, and continued to push forward to Pennsylvania. Maede decided to follow Lee to Pennsylvania and eventually encountered his troops in Gettysburg. This event was known as the Battle of Gettysburg. Union troops ended with a victory and was later addressed by President Lincoln with the Gettysburg Address. -
Sherman Marches through North and South Carolina
Union General Sherman destroyed everything in his path during his move from Georgia to South Carolina -
The Assassination of President Lincoln
On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln was watching a performance of “Our American Cousin” at Ford's theater in Washington D.C. He was shot by John Wilkes booth, a confederate sympathizer and famous actor. The original plan was to kidnap him and take him to Richmond, but the President failed to sit in the original seats where the men were waiting. -
Final Surrenders among Remaining Confederate Troops
The remaining of the Confederate troops were defeated between the end of April and May. On May 10th, in Georgia, Jefferson Davis was captured.