First Battle of Bull Run:
-The First Battle of Bull Run, also known as Battle of First Manassas (the name used by Confederate forces) -Fought on July 21, 1861 in Prince William County, Virginia, near the city of Manassas, not far from Washington, D.C. -It was the first major battle of the American Civil War. |
Battle of Antietam:
-Due to General McClellan's hesitation the North was attacked by Lee's forces. The North was able to hold off the South in the bloodiest single day battle of the war. The hesitation by McClellan caused Lincoln to replace him. Also, convinced Lincoln to write/issue the Emancipation Proclamation. |
Fredericksburg vs Chancellorsville:
-At Fredericksburg Gen. Burnside mistakenly thought he could charge up a hill and overtake the Confederates. The Union suffered heavy losses and Burnside resigned as General. -At Chancellorsville the Confederates scored another victory but at a high cost (Pyrrhic). Gen. Stonewall Jackson was shot and died 8 days later. |
Battle of Gettysburg:
-Northern and Southern forces met on accident at Gettysburg. The first two days saw the South push the North back to Cemetery Ridge. On the 3rd day Lee sent Gen. Pickett over the Ridge where they were easy targets for the North. The South had to retreat. The failed charge was known as "Pickett's Charge." |
Sherman's March to the Sea:
-General Sherman led about 60,000 soldiers on a 285 mile march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. The purpose was to frighten Georgia's civillian population into abandoning the Confederate cause. Sherman's soldiers didn't burn down any towns but they stole food and livestock and burned down houses and barns who tried to fight back. |
Surrender at Appomattox:
-Harried mercilessly by Federal troops and continually cut off from turning south, Lee headed west, eventually arriving in Appomattox County on April 8. Heading for the South Side Railroad at Appomattox Station, where food supplies awaited, the Confederates were cut off once again and nearly surrounded by Union troops near the small village of Appomattox Court House. Despite a final desperate attempt to escape, Lee’s army was trapped. General Lee surrendered his remaining troops to General Grant at the McLean House on the afternoon of April 9. |
Lincoln's Assassination:
-Shortly after 10 p.m. on April 4th 1865 after John Wilkes Booth entered the president's box at Ford's Theater in Washington DC and fatally shot President Abraham Lincoln. Booth escaped through the back door and Lincoln was carried across the street to Peterson's boarding house where he died the next. |