Key Battles: Be able to list at least two facts about each of the following Battles or Events of the Civil War
Fort Sumter
Battle of Bull Run
Battle of Antietam
Gettysburg
Vicksburg
March to the Sea
Fort Sumter:
1. Fort Sumter was located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina and was the site of the first shots fired of the Civil War on April 12, 1861.
2. The Confederate forces, under General P.G.T. Beauregard, bombarded the fort for two days before Union forces, led by Major Robert Anderson, surrendered.
Battle of Bull Run:
1. The Battle of Bull Run, also known as the Battle of First Manassas, was fought on July 21, 1861, in Manassas, Virginia, and was the first major land battle of the Civil War.
2. The Confederate forces, commanded by General Pierre G.T. Beauregard and General Thomas J. Jackson (Stonewall Jackson), won a decisive victory over the Union forces, led by General Irvin McDowell.
Battle of Antietam:
1. The Battle of Antietam, also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, took place on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history.
2. General Robert E. Lee led the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, while General George B. McClellan commanded the Union Army of the Potomac. The battle ended in a tactical draw but was considered a strategic Union victory, as it halted Lee's first invasion of the North.
Gettysburg:
1. The Battle of Gettysburg was fought from July 1 to July 3, 1863, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and is considered the turning point of the Civil War.
2. General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was defeated by General George G. Meade's Union Army of the Potomac, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. It is known for Pickett's Charge, a failed Confederate assault that was repulsed.
Vicksburg:
1. The Siege of Vicksburg took place from May 18 to July 4, 1863, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and was a significant Union victory.
2. General Ulysses S. Grant's Union Army besieged the Confederate-controlled Vicksburg, resulting in the surrender of Confederate General John C. Pemberton's army. This victory gave the Union control of the Mississippi River, effectively splitting the Confederacy in two.
March to the Sea:
1. The March to the Sea was a military campaign led by General William T. Sherman from November to December 1864, during which Union forces captured and destroyed the Confederate cities and resources in Georgia.
2. The goal of the March to the Sea was to demoralize the Confederate population and eliminate their ability to continue fighting. Sherman's troops wreaked havoc along their path, destroying railroads, factories, and crops, and taking supplies for their own use.