 50 major battles  5000 minor battles  Fought from  Countless skirmishes  Land battles were fought east of the Mississippi River and south of the Ohio River  Sea battles Atlantic coast and in the Gulf of Mexico Major river battles were fought on the Mississippi.

 April 1861 Charleston Harbor  Fort Sumter was one of the last forts under federal control located in seceding states.  Confederate forces 24-hour bombardment against it and, by attacking federal property, had committed an act of open rebellion. Lincoln believed he had no choice but to call for troops to respond against the Confederacy. Civil War began.

 September 1862 Antietam Creek, Maryland  First major battle on northern soil.  Deadliest one-day battle in American history, with over 26,000 casualties, but neither side won a victory.  Lee failed to win and the Union’s “claimed” victory encouraged Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation

 July 1863, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania  Lee hoped that an invasion of Union territory would significantly weaken Northern support for the war effort.  Three-day battle, as many as 51,000 were killed. Deadliest battle  Gettysburg marked the beginning of the end Lee gave up attempts to invade the Union Four months later, Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery.

 May–July 1863 Vicksburg, Mississippi  Grant laid siege to Vicksburg The army that controlled the city controlled the whole Mississippi River Seven-week siege Anaconda Plan  Confederate troops and supplies in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas were cut off from the Confederacy. Vicksburg + Gettysburg = turning point of the war.

 July–September 1864 Six weeks before capturing this vitally important center of Confederate manufacturing and railway traffic.  Sherman’s goal was to disrupt the Confederacy’s capacity to resupply its troops throughout the South.  Burned Atlanta to the ground  Marched across Georgia to the Atlantic Ocean destroying EVERYTHING  South knew it would lose the war,  North knew it would win.  Lincoln easily won reelection against a candidate who wanted a truce with the Confederacy.