Question:
Select two of the following:
Battles of Antietam, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, or Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House
- Explain the significant of the event.
- Provide details examples.
You must explain with details for both events you select.
1. Battles of Antietam:
Significance: The Battle of Antietam, which took place on September 17, 1862, is considered the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with a total of over 23,000 casualties. It was a pivotal moment in the Civil War as it marked a turning point in favor of the Union Army.
Details/examples: The Battle of Antietam was fought near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and was the first major battle to take place on Union soil. General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia faced off against Major General George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac. The battle was a tactical standoff, but Lee's retreat back into Virginia was seen as a Union victory. This gave President Abraham Lincoln the opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared all enslaved individuals in Confederate-held territories to be free.
2. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House:
Significance: The surrender of General Robert E. Lee to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, effectively ended the Civil War, representing the final moments of the Confederacy's struggle for independence.
Details/examples: After a series of defeats and surrenders by Confederate armies in the spring of 1865, Lee's Army of Northern Virginia found itself surrounded at Appomattox by Grant's Union forces. Recognizing the futility of further resistance, Lee met with Grant in the parlor of Wilmer McLean's home to discuss terms of surrender. The two generals agreed on generous terms that allowed Confederate soldiers to return to their homes with their horses and possessions and assured that they would not face prosecution for treason. The surrender at Appomattox marked the end of the Civil War and set the stage for the process of Reconstruction in the defeated South.
Can you make that shorter?
1. Battle of Antietam: The Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history and a turning point in the Civil War, as it allowed President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
2. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House: General Robert E. Lee's surrender to General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Court House marked the end of the Civil War and set the stage for Reconstruction in the South.