American Civil war research project

American Civil War
Lorenzo Coleman
EnglishIII/ D.Johnson
4/29/08

















The American Civil War which is also known by several other names, was a civil
war between the United States Of America (the Union) And the Confederate States
of America (Southern slave states). The Union was led by Abraham Lincoln and
the Republican party, while the Confederates were led by Jefferson Davis. The
Republicans opposed the expansion of slavery into terrtories owned by the United
States, and the presidental election of 1860 resulted in seven states declaring their
secession from the Union right before Lincoln could take office. The Union
rejected the secession, flagging it as a rebellion.

On April 12,1861, The Confederate forces attacked a U.S. military installation at
Fort Sumter In South Carolina. Lincoln responded by calling for a large volunteer
army, then four more Southern states declared their secession. In the war's first
year, the Union assumed control of the border states and established a naval
blockade as both sides massed armies and resources. In 1862, battles such as
Shiloh and Antietam caused massive casualties unprecedented in U.S. military
history. In September 1862, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation made ending
slavery in the South a war goal, which complicated the Confederacy's manpower shortages.

In the East, Confederate commander Robert E. Lee won a series of victories over
Union armies, but Lee's reverse at Gettysburg in early July, 1863 proved the
turning point. The capture of Vicksburg and Port Hudson by Ulysses S. Grant
completed Union control of the Mississippi River. Grant fought bloody battles of
attrition with Lee in 1864, forcing Lee to defend the Confederate capital at
Richmond, Virginia. Union general William Sherman captured Atlanta, Georgia,
and began his famous March to the Sea, devastating a hundred-mile-wide swath of
Georgia. Confederate resistance collapsed after Lee surrendered to Grant at
Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.



The war, the deadliest in American history, caused 620,000 soldier deaths and an
undetermined number of civilian casualties, ended slavery in the United States,
restored the Union by settling the issues of nullification and secession and
strengthened the role of the federal government. The social, political, economic
and racial issues of the war continue to shape contemporary American thought.




Timeline Of The American Civil War :
1861
February 9 - The Confederate States of America is formed with Jefferson Davis as president.

April 12 - At 4:30 AM Confederates under General Pierre Beauregard open fire

with 50 cannons upon Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War

begins.

April 17 - Virginia secedes from the Union, followed within 5 weeks by Arkansas,

July 21 - The Union Army under Gen. Irvin McDowell suffers a defeat at Bull

Run 25 miles southwest of Washington. Confederate Gen. Thomas J. Jackson

earns the nickname "Stonewall," as his brigade resists Union attacks. Union troops

fall back to Washington. President Lincoln realizes the war will be long. "It's

damned bad," he comments.

1862
February 6 - Victory for Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in Tennessee, capturing Fort
Henry, and ten days later Fort Donelson. Grant earns the nickname "Unconditional
Surrender" Grant.

June 25-July 1 - The Seven Days Battles as Lee attacks McClellan near
Richmond, resulting in very heavy losses for both armies. McClellan then begins a
withdrawal back toward Washington.

August 29/30 - 75,000 Federals under Gen. John Pope are defeated by 55,000
Confederates under Gen. Stonewall Jackson and Gen. James Longstreet at the
second battle of Bull Run in northern Virginia. Once again the Union Army
retreats to Washington. The president then relieves Pope.

September 17 - The bloodiest day in U.S. military history as Gen. Robert E. Lee
and the Confederate Armies are stopped at Antietam in Maryland by McClellan
and numerically superior Union forces.

September 22 - Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves issued by
President Lincoln.

January 1 - President Lincoln issues the final Emancipation Proclamation freeing
all slaves in territories held by Confederates.

January 25 - The president appoints Gen. Joseph (Fighting Joe) Hooker as

Commander of the Army of the Potomac, replacing Burnside.

January 29 - Gen. Grant is placed in command of the Army of the West, with

orders to capture Vicksburg.

March 3 - The U.S. Congress enacts a draft, affecting male citizens aged 20 to 45,

but also exempts those who pay $300 or provide a substitute. "The blood of a poor

man is as precious as that of the wealthy," poor Northerners complain.

May 10 - The South suffers a huge blow as Stonewall Jackson dies from his

wounds.

June 3 - Gen. Lee with 75,000 Confederates launches his second invasion of the

North, heading into Pennsylvania in a campaign that will soon lead to Gettysburg.

July 1-3 - The tide of war turns against the South as the Confederates are defeated

at the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania.

July 13-16 - Antidraft riots in New York City include arson and the murder of

blacks by poor immigrant whites. At least 120 persons, including children, are

killed and $2 million in damage caused, until Union soldiers returning from

Gettysburg restore order.

July 18 - 'Negro troops' of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment under Col.

Robert G. Shaw assault fortified Rebels at Fort Wagner, South Carolina. Col. Shaw

and half of the 600 men in the regiment are killed.

October 16 - The president appoints Gen. Grant to command all operations in the

western theater.

November 19 - President Lincoln delivers a two minute Gettysburg Address at a

ceremony dedicating the Battlefield as a National Cemetery.

1864

March 9 - President Lincoln appoints Gen. Grant to command all of the armies of

the United States. Gen. William T. Sherman succeeds Grant as commander in the west.

June 3 - A costly mistake by Grant results in 7,000 Union casualties in twenty

minutes during an offensive against fortified Rebels at Cold Harbor in Virginia.

October 19 - A decisive Union victory by Cavalry Gen. Philip H. Sheridan in the

Shenandoah Valley over Jubal Early's troops.

1865
January 31 - The U.S. Congress approves the Thirteenth Amendment to the
United States Constitution, to abolish slavery. The amendment is then submitted to
the states for ratification.

March 25 - The last offensive for Lee's Army of Northern Virginia begins with an
attack on the center of Grant's forces at Petersburg. Four hours later the attack is broken.

April 15 - President Abraham Lincoln dies at 7:22 in the morning. Vice President
Andrew Johnson assumes the presidency.

April 18 - Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston surrenders to Sherman near
Durham in North Carolina.

May 4 - Abraham Lincoln is laid to rest in Oak Ridge Cemetery, outside Springfield, Illinois.


In May - Remaining Confederate forces surrender. The Nation is reunited as the
Civil War ends. Over 620,000 Americans died in the war, with disease killing
twice as many as those lost in battle. 50,000 survivors return home as amputees.