Civil War

Abraham Lincoln

The 16th president of the United States. After his election, 11 states seceded from the Union, and the Civil War began. He ran the country during the war and his initial main goal was to restore the Union. By late 1862, however, he had expanded the goal of the war to include ending slavery. The Civil War ended on April 9, 1865. Five days later, on April 14, John Wilkes Booth assassinated the president at Ford's Theater. He is remembered as a man who grew up in poverty but became the eloquent and humane president who presided over the end of slavery in the United States.

Appomattox Court House

Is the name of the town and place in Virginia where Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate Army, surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant, commander of the Union Army. The surrender occurred on April 9, 1865, ending the United States Civil War.

Battle of Antietam

The battle occurred in Maryland on September 17, 1862. The entire battle took place over a 12-hour span and is considered one of the deadliest of the war. More than 25,000 troops were killed, wounded, or went missing; over 13,000 of these were on the Confederate side, while over 12,000 were Union troops

Battle of Fort Sumter

- Began on April 12, 1861, was the first battle of the United States Civil War. It marked the beginning of fighting between the North and the South, though conflict had been escalating for years.

Battle of Gettysburg

A major Civil War battle in which Union soldiers defeated Southern troops. The battle took place over a three-day period from July 1 to July 3, 1863. The Confederate defeat at Gettysburg was considered a turning point in the war. Each side suffered more than 20,000 casualties.

Battle of Shiloh

A bitter Civil War battle that took place in southwestern Tennessee on April 6 and 7, 1862. After heavy fighting for two days, the Union troops managed to hold their original position. Confederate troops were forced to withdraw to Corinth, Mississippi. Both sides claimed victory at this battle, but the Confederates lost about 27 percent of their troops, while the Union lost 20 percent.

Bull Run

The name of a small stream near Manassas, Virginia. It is the site of two Civil War battles, fought in the summers of 1861 and 1862. The location was strategically important because it was the site of a railroad junction. In the first battle, the Confederate troops defeated the Union troops. Stonewall Jackson earned his nickname at this battle. The result of this battle was that both sides realized the war would be a long and difficult struggle. In the second battle, Confederate troops led by Robert E. Lee again defeated the Union soldiers. This battle lasted for days instead of hours and killed many more troops than the first battle.

Civil War

A war between two different groups of citizens of the same country that are both trying to gain control of the government. Civil wars are fought for many reasons. These include different political philosophies, different ethnicities, or an unequal distribution of economic resources.

Confederacy aka Confederate States of America

A term describing a union of states or nations that does not have a strong central government. This was a group of 11 Southern states that seceded, or broke away, from the United States in 1860–61 and then fought against the Union in the Civil War. These states believed that Northerners were trying to take away their rights—especially slavery, which would shift business to Northern factories instead. Other differences included views about states’ rights, and tariffs

Emancipation

The act of freeing someone from another person’s control, as in freeing someone from slavery.

Emancipation Proclamation

A statement issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the Civil War. The proclamation said that all enslaved people in the Confederate states were free.

Gettysburg Address

Was a speech that President Abraham Lincoln gave on November 19, 1863, when he went there to dedicate a national cemetery. Four months earlier the battle had been fought there, and more than 43,000 Union and Confederate soldiers had been killed or wounded. Lincoln’s speech was short, only 272 words and took 2 minutes. But it eloquently honored the men who had died. He connected the war to the Declaration of Independence and to the higher purpose of creating a government based on the principles of freedom and equality. The speech is remembered today as one of the most powerful speeches in American history.

Harpers Ferry, Virginia

In1859, John Brown led a raid on a United States government arsenal in this town. An abolitionist, Brown was in favor of abolishing slavery, and he intended to give weapons to enslaved African Americans, enabling them to help fight for the cause. Brown and his men were captured, convicted of treason, and hanged. Confederate forces destroyed the armory in 1861, but the town was still an important supply depot for the Union. In September 1862 Confederate Major General Stonewall Jackson led an assault on the town, more than twelve thousand Union soldiers eventually surrendered.

Jefferson Davis

Was chosen as the president of the Confederacy by the Confederate Convention. When the Civil War began that April, he had to create a plan to fight against the Northern states, which had the advantage of greater material and human resources. One of his greatest accomplishments was choosing Robert E. Lee as the commander of the Confederate army. After the end of the war he was captured in Georgia and charged with treason. He was held in prison for two years, but never put on trial. The federal government took away his citizenship. But in 1978, Congress restored his citizenship in a gesture to improve relations between the North and South.

Robert E. Lee

Was the commander of the Confederate army during the United States Civil War. When the Civil War began, he was offered the command of the Union army. However, his loyalty to Virginia made him refuse the position and resign from the United States Army. Instead, he joined the Confederate army. After the war, he became president of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia. Although his legacy is that of an icon of the Confederate cause, he opposed secession and did not believe in slavery.

Siege of Vicksburg

This city was on a high bluff on the east side of the Mississippi River and the Union wanted to gain control of the Mississippi and cut the western part of the Confederacy off from the eastern part. For about six weeks the Union surrounded the city keeping food and supplies out, while firing cannons in. Union troops-controlled access to the city until the people inside were nearly starved and the commander of the city was forced to surrender. The victory gave the Union control of the Mississippi River, dividing the Confederacy in half and allowing Union ships to freely sail up and down the river. The victory came one day after the Battle of Gettysburg and these two victories are, together, considered the turning point of the Civil War.

Thirteenth Amendment

Ratified on December 6, 1865, it abolished slavery and involuntary servitude throughout the United States, except as punishment for a convicted crime. This landmark legislation freed four million enslaved people, finalizing the emancipation only partially addressed by the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.

Thomas Johnathan “Stonewall” Jackson

When the Civil War began in 1861, he joined the Confederate Army and was soon made a brigadier general. He earned his nickname because he kept his brigade standing firm “like a stone wall” against the opposing forces. He was accidentally shot in the arm by his own men and died a week later, on May 10, 1863, from complications related to that injury. He worked closely with Confederate Army commander Robert E. Lee and was considered one of the most capable generals in the Confederate Army.

Ulysses S. Grant

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, he proved himself a strong leader and was given command of Union troops in Galena, Illinois. On February 16, he achieved the first major Union victory of the war where he forced the Confederate army to surrender 15,000 troops. He continued to be successful in the western campaign, winning several victories and gaining control of the Mississippi River. His ability to learn from mistakes and adapt to new circumstances became his greatest military strength. In March of 1864, President Abraham Lincoln put him in charge of the entire Union army. In 1865 General Lee surrendered to him, in effect ending the war. In 1868 he was elected the 18 th president of the United States and served two terms.

William Tecumseh Sherman

Was a Union general during the Civil War who inflicted significant damage on the South while fighting there. In 1864 he decided to invade Georgia. The troops first went to Atlanta, where they captured and burned much of the city. They then undertook the “March to the Sea” to Savannah. During this attack his troops destroyed supplies, railroads, and anything else that might have been useful to the Confederate forces.