battles

Fort Sumter

First battle of the Civil War; Confederates fired first, officially starting the war.

First Battle of Bull Run / Manassas

Showed the war would be long and deadly, not quick or easy.

Antietam

Bloodiest single-day battle in U.S. history; Union 'victory' allowed Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

Fredericksburg

Major Union defeat; showed strength of Confederate defense and poor Union leadership.

Chancellorsville

Confederate victory despite being outnumbered; General Stonewall Jackson was killed.

Gettysburg

Turning point of the war; stopped Confederate invasion of the North; major Union victory.

Vicksburg

Gave Union control of the Mississippi River, splitting the Confederacy in half.

Sherman’s March to the Sea

Used total war tactics to destroy Southern resources.

Atlanta Campaign

Boosted Northern morale and helped Lincoln win reelection.

Cold Harbor

Showed the brutal cost of Grant’s war of attrition strategy.

Petersburg

Long siege that weakened Confederate supply lines and led to the fall of Richmond.

Appomattox Court House

Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Grant; effectively ended the Civil War.