battles

  1. Fort Sumter (1861)

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

  2. First Battle of Bull Run / Manassas (1861)

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

  3. Antietam (1862)

    1. Significance: Bloodiest single-day battle in U.S. history; Union “victory” allowed Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation

  1. Fredericksburg (1862)

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

  2. Chancellorsville (1863)

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

  3. Gettysburg (1863)

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

  4. Vicksburg (1863)

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

  5. Sherman’s March to the Sea (1864)

    1. Significance: Used total war tactics to destroy Southern resources a

  6. Atlanta Campaign (1864)

    1. Significance: Boosted Northern morale and helped Lincoln win reelection

  7. Cold Harbor (1864)

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

  8. Petersburg (1864–1865)

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

  1. Appomattox Court House (1865)

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