Battles and significant events of the war

Battles and Significant Events of the War

Fort Sumter

In April of 1861, the Confederate army opened fire on a Fort Sumter. For nearly two hours, the Union did not respond. By doing this, Lincoln was suggesting that the Confederates were still apart of the Union, as if they never seceded. Eventually, they were forced to fire back. The firing continued all day. The Confederacy eventually surrendered and the North returned with the flag of Fort Sumter.

First Battle of Bull Run

http://www.britishbattles.com/abes/1861/bull-run/battle-of-first-bull-run-l.jpg

This was the first major battle in the Civil War. In July of 1861, Irvin McDowell led the union on a surprise attack on the confederacy where they thought they could defeat the rebels easily. The confederates gave a surprisingly strong counter attack. Both sides realized what a long war this was you to be. Contrary to what the union thought would happen, the Confederacy won the battle. This was the bloodiest battle in American history up to this point, as the picture to the right shows.


Shiloh

This battle was fought in April of 1862 in southern Tennessee. Ulysses S. Grant led a Union army down the banks of the Tennessee River. Confederate forces, led by Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and P. G. T. Beauregard, attacked the army on surprise. The confederates were winning on the first day, but by the second, a union victory was clear.

Merrimack vs. Monitor

Merrimack was an iron clad that was left behind by the Union. The confederates captured it and used it as their own. In the first battle between ironclads, the Merrimack (renamed Virginia) and the Monitor (a Union vessel) fought so that the Confederate ship would stop destroying Union ones. The naval battle resulted in a draw.

Antietam

Antietam was the first major battle to be fought on union soil. It was fought in September of 1862. The Union outnumbered the Confederacy two to one but Robert E. Lee had ares with concentrated soldiers to attack the union soldiers that had been dispersed. Also, A.P. Hill brought his troops from
Harper's Ferry on a surprise counterattack. The battle was inconclusive but tactically, it was a union victory. McClellan was replaced because of the unsure victory.

Chancellorsville

This battle was fought between April and May of 1863. Although Lee's army was half the size of Hooker's, the battle still ended in a confederate victory. Lee split his army in two to attack the union army from both sides, even with being so outnumbered. In the battle, Lee lost Thomas J. Jackson.


Vicksburg

This becomes the bloodiest battle in US history. In July of1863, this is the major turning point in war. It will be the furthest north the confederacy will get in the war. The South was forced to surrender.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/VicksburgMay22.png/818px-VicksburgMay22.png

Gettysburg

This was fought at the same time as Vicksburg which was July of 1863 Lee surrendered and a day
later, the union defeated the confederacy at Vicksburg. Because of this, these two battles were
considered a major turning point in the war.

Sherman's March

In November of 1864, General Sherman marched from the captured city of Atlanta to the port of Savannah by mid-December. On the way, Sherman destroyed everything in his way, including industry, civilian property, and southern transportation. This march interrupted the south'a economy.

Appomattox Courthouse

Th battle of Appomattox Courthouse was on the the last of the civil war. Lee was trying to meet up with another part of the confederate army in South Carolina but the union had trapped him. Realizing there were two more union regimens, Lee had no choice to surrender. This signaled the end of the Civil War.

Civil War Medicine

Three fourths of all procedures were amputations. Chloroform was used as a antiseptic. Twice as many soldiers fall from wounds and disease than on the battle field. The most serious wounded were put first in line at infirmaries. Clean bandages for all soldiers were necessary to stop the infection of bacteria and disease.

Battle Technology/Tactics

The Civil War was known as the first "modern war" because of all the advancements in technology at the time. New rifles and deadly ammunition, known as the minie ball. These advances created faster-loading guns with a longer range, better accuracy, and higher kill rate. The railroad was also a huge technological factor in the civil war. This faster way of transportation made it easier for supplies to get on the battle field. Tactics in the civil war included Infantry, which was made of foot-soldiers who fought with arms across battlefields of the United States.

Life as a Soldier

Soldier life in the civil war was very difficult. Soldiers spent months away from home to fight for their cause while they faced long hours of drills, sometimes not enough food or shelter, disease, and many days marching. Boredom was common at camps and with moments of terror on the battlefield.