-
Period: to
Civil War
-
Election of 1860
The presidential election of 1860 demonstrated the necessity of taking a side on slavery. The newly formed Republican party adopted an anti-slavery platform that led to a narrow victory for Abraham Lincoln, arguably the greatest president in US history and also set the die for secession. Individuals who once associated with the Democratic or Whig parties yet who were anti-slavery realigned to join the Republicans. Those who were pro-slavery from the other noncommittal parties joined the Democrat -
Robert E Lee
In early 1861, President Abraham Lincoln invited Lee to take command of the entire Union Army. When Virginia declared its secession from the Union in April 1861, Lee chose to follow his home state. Whenever he had a plan, General Lee took the initiative and acted at once.On April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at the village of Appomattox Court House.After the surrender, Lee returned to Richmond. He assumed the presidency of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University). -
Battle of Fort Sumter
On April 10, 1861, Brig. Gen. Beauregard demanded the surrender of the Union Garrison of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Garrison commander Anderson refused. At 2:30 PM on April 13, Major Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter, evacuating the garrison on the following day. The bombardment of Fort umter was the opening engagement of the American War. -
Thomas Stonewall Jackson
He was ordered to go to Richmond as part of the cadet corps. It was during the Battle of Bull Run in the Civil War when Jackson assumed his nickname. Amidst the tumult of battle, Brigadeer-General Barnard E. Bee stated, "There is Jackson standing like a stone wall." As the war continued, Jackson continually impressed his Confederate compatriots with his skill on the battlefield and in planning conferences. Jackson was a Southern hero, and he was loved and respected. -
Battle of Bull Run
The Union and Confederate forces met at Manassas, Virginia. Both sides planned to attack the other’s left flank with the majority of their armies. This was the first major land battle of the Civil War. It was also the battle that made the war become real to many. Before the First Battle of Bull Run, many in the north and the south had romanticized the war. However, with the deaths of troops and civilians, the reality of war was brought home. -
George McClellan
He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. McClellan's leadership skills during battles were questioned by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, who eventually removed him from command, first as general-in-chief, then from the Army of the Potomac.McClellan as a poor battlefield general. -
Jefferson Davis
Davis was elected to a 6-year term as President of the Confederate States of America on November 6, 1861. During his presidency, Davis was not able to find a strategy to defeat the larger, more industrially developed Union. Davis' insistence on independence, even in the face of crushing defeat, prolonged the war. After Davis was captured in 1865, he was charged with treason, though not tried, and stripped of his eligibility to run for public office. This limitation was removed in 1978. -
Ulysses S. Grant
February 1862, he took Fort Donelson in Tennessee, which was the first Union victory of strategic importance. As the fierce battles of the Civil War continued, some began to question General Grant's military leadership. General Grant's military strategy was on target as he defeated General Lee at Petersburg. Finally, on April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House. Grant wrote generous terms of surrender that helped to begin the process of uniting the nation again. -
Monitor and Merrimac
The Battle of Hampton Roads, often referred to as the Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack (or Merrimac), The battle was a part of the effort of the Confederacy to break the Union blockade, which had cut off Virginia's largest cities, Norfolk and Richmond, from international trade.The major significance of the battle is that it was the first meeting in combat of ironclad warships. -
Winfield Scott and the Anaconda Plan
Despite his Southern origins, Scott opposed secession. Scott proposed the “Anaconda Plan” as the means to slowly crush the South from a variety of directions. The plan emphasized the blockade of the Southern ports, and called for an advance down the Mississippi River to cut the South in two. In the end, the framework of the plan helped bring an end to the Civil War. -
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam forced the Confederate Army to retreat back across the Potomac River. President Lincoln saw the significance of this and issued the famous Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
Under the command of General Burnside, Union Troops crossed the Rappahannock River and occupied Fredericksburg. Confederate troops withdrew and occupied the heights above the town. The Confederates were well situated. In assaults south of the town, as well as above the town, in Marye's heights, Union troops failed to dislodge the Confederates. Union troops suffered massive casualties and were forced to withdraw. -
Battle of Vicksburg
The importance of Vicksburg to the Confederacy was that it was the last major fort on the Mississippi still in Confederate hands and thus still remaining an obstacle for Union supply shipments.The victory turned out to have even greater importance for the North because they got Lt. Gen Pemberton's Army of the Mississippi to retreat to Vicksburg and surrender with the city. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg culminated in favor of the Union army on account of the blind faith in inexperienced commanders placed by the Confederates. The subsequent days witnessed the popular Emancipation Proclamation and the empowerment of the people with President Lincoln's famous definition of democracy – government of, for and by the people. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation promised a better future to million of slaves of Afro-American origin. It marked the end of their degradation, and served as a watershed in their quest to acquire recognition and dignity in the country of their birth. The Proclamation also encouraged them to aspire for full citizenship.The Emancipation Proclamation helped to turn the tide in favor of the Union. -
Gettysburg Address
Abraham Lincoln, president of the Union (the northern states), had problems with various pressure groups who wanted the war, which had killed 250,00 of America's young people, to end, even at the cost of giving in to Confederate demands.
The Gettysburg address, given while the war was still raging, served to bolster the spirits of the north by focussing on the ultimate goals. -
Sherman’s March
Sherman demolished everything along his way- the stores, the factories, the railways- everything. In doing so he practically cut off the supplies to Lee's armies which were facing the North. -
Appomattox Court House
Appomattox, Virginia is the site where Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War, officially surrendered to Union forces. The surrender took place in the Appomattox Court House on 9 April 1865. Sporadic fighting occurred for additional months, but the loss of General Lee and his army set in motion the final conclusion of the Civil War. Southern states were subsequently occupied by United States troops, and the Era of Reconstruction began. -
Lincoln's Assassination
Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., as the American Civil War was drawing to a close, just six days after the surrender of General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant and Union forces. The assassination was planned and carried out by John Wilkes Booth as part of a larger conspiracy in an effort to rally the remaining Confederate troops to continue fighting.
