On April 12, 1861, General P.G.T. Beauregard, in command of the Confederate forces around Charleston Harbor, opened fire on the Union garrison holding Fort Sumter. At 2:30pm on April 13 Major Robert Anderson, garrison commander, surrendered the fort and was evacuated the next day.
Battle of Rich Mountain
Battle of Rich Mountain
Baltimore, Maryland
Virginia
The Battle of Rich Mountain was one of the early battles of the civil war. It took place on July 11, 1861, near Rich Mountain in Randolph County, Virginia, which is currently part of West Virginia. Led by General George B. Mclellan the Union force defeated Confederate forces led by General Robert S. Garnett.
First Battle of Bull Run
This was the first major battle of the armies in Virginia. On July 16th, 1861 the untried Union army under Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell marched from Washington against the confedrate army, which was drawn up behind Bull Run beyond Centreville. On the 21st, McDowell crossed at Sudley Ford and attacked the Confedrate left flank on Matthews Hill. Fighting raged throughout the day as confederate forces were driven back to Henry Hill. Late in the afternoon Confederat reinforcements extended and broke the Union right flank. The Federal retreat rapidly deteriorated into a rout. Thomas J. Jackson earned the nickname "Stonewall". By July 22, the shattered Union army reached the safety of Washington.
Battle of Shiloh
The bloody Battle of Shiloh was a Confederate loss. There were ovr 23,000 causaulties. General Grant realized that union would only be saved if they were to kill all the Confederates.
Battle of New Orleans
Naval action by Union forces seeking to capture the city during the American Civil War. A Union naval squadron of 43 ships under Admiral David G. Farragut entered the lower Mississippi near New Orleans and soon breached the heavy chain cables that were stretched across the river as a prime defense. Realizing that resistance was useless Confederate General Mansfield Lovell withdrew his 3,000 troops northward, and the city fell on April 25. On May 1 General B.F. Butler led 15,000 Union troops into the city to take command for the remainder of the war. The permanent loss of New Orleans was considered one of the worst disasters suffered by the Confederacy in the western theatre of the war.
Battle of Antietam
The Union morale was low after thier defeats in Viginia. Confederates determined to attack the Union soil hoping to gain an early peace. General McClellan caught up with Lee's troops at Sharpsburg, Mayland. After only one single day of fighting there were at least 23,000 people dead. Lincoln wanted to destroy the Rebel army but that was ignored. McClellan allowed the rebels to retreat into Virginia.
Battle of Fredericksburg
On November 14, Burnside, now in command of the Army of the Potomac, sent a corps to occupy the vicinity of Falmouth near Fredericksburg. The rest of the army soon followed. Lee reacted by entrenching his army on the heights behind the town. On December 11, Union engineers laid five pontoon bridges across the Rappahannock under fire. On the 12th, the Federal army crossed over, and on December 13, Burnside mounted a series of futile frontal assaults on Prospect Hill and Marye’s Heights that resulted in staggering casualties. Meade’s division, on the Union left flank, briefly penetrated Jackson’s line but was driven back by a counterattack. Union generals C. Feger Jackson and George Bayard, and Confederate generals Thomas R.R. Cobb and Maxey Gregg were killed. On December 15, Burnside called off the offensive and recrossed the river, ending the campaign
Second Battle of Bull Run
McClellan was overly cautious as he waited outside of Richmond, Virginia. Lincoln turned to John Pope with his 50,000 troops in Northern Virginia. Robert E. Lee lured Pope into battle and later defeated him. Lincoln put McClellan back in command, telling his cabinet members, "we must use the tools we have." The smaller Confederate forces were more effective because they had better commanders.
Battle of Chancellorsville
General Joseph Hooker was in command of the Union army. Lee sent stonewall Jackson in for a surprise attack, nearly destroying the Union army the first day. This battle was General Lee's greatest vicory, defeating a force twice its size, Lee determined to invade he North again hoping that if they could win then the world would be over. Lee marched North, and Lincoln replaced Hooker with General Geaorge Meade. Confederates on the lookout for a rumored shoe supply skirmished with Union cavalry. Both sides rushed troops to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
The Seige of Vicksburg
General Grant began the Unions' seige of Vicksburg in May 1863. With constant shelling of the city, citizens were forced to dig into hillsides to try to escape the barrage. After forty-eight days, the city surrendered. Four days later the last Confederate fort on the Mississippi surrendered as well.
Battle of Gettysburg
The battle of Gettysburg was the turning of the war. It was a major loss for the Confederates. Lee was overconfident after his victory at Chancellorsville. Lee pushed his troops into battle here against the advice of James Longstreet. Half of Pickett's Charge died, and Lee finally gave up the fight and retreated back to Virginia. After this Britain refused to recognize the Confederacy.
Battle of Chicamauga
Batle of Chattanooga
Bragg pursue to the city, but the Union soldiers were ready to defend the city. Confederate troops prepared to starve them out. Grant arrived and opened a supply line to feed the trapped Union troops. The siege ended, and the Union won the two battles that followed. This gave the Union control of the railroad center at Chattanooga and would allow Grant access to Georgia,mwhichmthe heart of the lower south.
The Seige of Petersburg
Marching from Cold Harbor, Meade’s Army of the Potomac crossed the James River on transports and a 2,200-foot long pontoon bridge at Windmill Point. Butler’s leading element crossed the Appomattox River and attacked the Petersburg defenses on June 15. The 5,400 defenders of Petersburg under command of Gen. Beauregard were driven from their first line of entrenchments back to Harrison Creek. On June 16, the II Corps captured another section of the Confederate line; on the 17th, the IX Corps gained more ground. Beauregard stripped the Howlett Line (Bermuda Hundred) to defend the city, and Lee rushed reinforcements to Petersburg from the Army of Northern Virginia. The II, XI, and V Corps from right to left attacked on June 18 but was repulsed with heavy casualties. By now the Confederate works were heavily manned and the greatest opportunity to capture Petersburg without a siege was lost.