1. American Civil War

2. Fort Sumter Sumter today Old Fort Sumter
The first engagement of the Civil War took place at Fort Sumter on April 12 and 13, After 34 hours of fighting, the Union surrendered the fort to the Confederates. From 1863 to 1865, the Confederates at Fort Sumter withstood a 22 day siege by Union forces. During this time, most of the fort was reduced to brick rubble.
Sumter today
Old Fort Sumter

3. Fort Sumter
Charleston, South Carolina
Union Commander: Major Robert Anderson
Confederate Commander: General Beauregard
April 12-14, 1861
Casualties: None
Winner: Confederate

4. Fort Sumter
Significance: First battle of Civil War. No casualties on either side raised false hopes for a quick bloodless war. General Beauregard was a student of Major Anderson while at West Point.

5. Fort Sumter Video

6. First Bull Run First Battle of Bull Run July 1861
Public demand pushed General-in-Chief Winfield Scott to advance on the South before adequately training his untried troops. Scott ordered General Irvin McDowell to advance on Confederate troops stationed at Manassas Junction, Virginia. McDowell attacked on July 21, and was initially successful, but the introduction of Confederate reinforcements resulted in a Southern victory and a chaotic retreat toward Washington by federal troops.

7. First Bull Run
Manassas, Virginia
Union Commander: General Winfield Scott
Confederate Commander: General Stonewall Jackson
July 21, 1861
Casualties: Union-2,446, Confederate-1,600
Winner: Confederate
Stonewall Jackson

8. First Bull Run
Significance: First major engagement of the war. Confederates routed an unprepared Union force. Casualties shocked the North and South.
They now believed the war would not be easily won. During this battle, Gen. Thomas J. Jackson earned the name, “Stonewall.”

9. Shiloh
Shiloh was a decisive battle in the war. The South needed a win to make up for land lost in Kentucky and Ohio. It also needed to save the Mississippi Valley. Memphis and Vicksburg were now vulnerable to Union attack, and after Corinth there is now doubt that those cities would be the next targets.
However, Grant and his men had been rid of their over-confidence by the battle of Shiloh. They now knew that hopes for and easy victory over the south were ill-founded. Grant knew then that this war was going to be, in the words of a Union Soldier, "A very bloody affair."

10. Battle of Shiloh Shiloh, Tennessee Union Commander:
General Ulysses Grant
Confederate:
General Albert Sydney Johnston
April 6-7, 1862
Casualties: Union-13,047
Confederate-11,600
Winner: Union

11. Significance:
The first battle with truly large casualties. The Confederacy caught General Grant by surprise and almost destroyed his army the first day. On the second day Grant was reinforced and forced the Confederates back to the Mississippi. This ended the South’s hope of ever regaining Tennessee. The casualties were higher than any America had ever seen. Unfortunately, there would be many more “Shilohs” to come.

12. To the right is a monument where he fell.
Confederate General Albert Sydney Johnston was considered the finest General in either army before the war began. He bled to death on the first day of Shiloh from a wound to the leg.

13. Seven Days Battle Richmond, Virginia June 25-July 1 1862
Casualties: Union: 15,849
Confederate: 20,141
Victor: Confederacy
Significance: Fought outside Richmond, this was General Lee’s first major victory over the North. Though outnumbered, General Lee attacked General McLellan forcing him to retreat to Washington DC.

14. Second Bull Run Manassas, Virginia August 29-30, 1862
Casualties: Union: 16,085
Confederate: 9,197
Victor: Confederate
Significance: Almost the same battle field as the first battle, this was a complete Confederate victory. General Lee cements his legacy as a great general. General Lee defeats General John Pope.

15. Generals McClellan vs. Lee
The single bloodiest day of the Civil War
Antietam
Generals McClellan vs. Lee

16. Battle of Antietam Antietam Creek: Sharpsburg, Maryland
Union Commander:
General George McClellan
Confederate Commander:
General Robert E. Lee
September 17, 1862
Casualties: Union-12,410
Confederate-13,724
Winner: Union

17. Battle of Antietam
Significance: One of only 2 major battles fought in the North. The single bloodiest day in US history. Robert E. Lee invaded Maryland hoping the state would defect to the South. Instead, Lee was pinned down at Antietam creek by George McClellan. The Union forced Lee back to the South. This was the Union’s first major victory. This victory was what Lincoln needed to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

18. Antietam Clip

19. Antietam Creek

20. Battle of Fredericksburg Fredericksburg, Virginia December 13, 1862
Casualties: Union:12,653
Confederate: 5,377
Winner: Confederate
Significance: This battle was part of a Union campaign to capture Richmond, the Rebel’s capital. General Lee crushed General Burnside’s Army ending the Union’s overall plans.

21. Union General Ambrose Burnside

22. Chancellorsville
General Ambrose Burnside was replaced with Joseph Hooker. Hooker immediately set out to reorganize the Army of the Potomac, a task at which he succeeded. In the end of April 1863, he launched his attack on Confederate forces. One part of his army crossed the Rappahannock south of Fredericksburg, the other crossed the river 12 miles to the north. Hooker successfully outflanked Lee. However, when Hooker's forces encountered their first serious opposition, he ordered an end to the advance and a partial withdrawal.

23. Chancellorsville, Virginia

24. The Battle of Chancellorsville Chancellorsville, Virginia May 1-4, 1863
Casualties: Union: 17,000
Confederate: 12,800
Winner: Confederate
Significance: Lincoln’s quest for a winning general continues with General Joseph Hooker. General Hooker was totally outclassed by General Lee and General Stonewall Jackson. However, Stonewall Jackson was accidentally shot by one of his own troops and dies a week later.

25. Joseph Hooker
Robert E. Lee

26. Mass grave at Chancellorsville
(only known picture)

27. Vicksburg
At  the time of the Civil War, the Mississippi River was the single most important economic feature of the continent; the very lifeblood of America. Upon the secession of the southern states, Confederate forces closed the river to navigation, which threatened to strangle northern commercial interests.
Following the failure of the May 22, 1863, assault, Grant realized that Vicksburg could not be taken by storm and decided to lay siege to the city. Slowly his army established a line of works around the beleaguered city and cut Vicksburg off from supply and communications with the outside world.

28. Vicksburg
Commencing on May 26, Union forces constructed thirteen approaches along their front aimed at different points along the Confederate defense line. The object was to dig up to the Confederate works then tunnel underneath them, plant charges of black powder, and destroy the fortifications. Union troops would then surge through the breach and gain entrance to Vicksburg.

29. Vicksburg, Mississippi
May 19- July 4, 1863
Union Commander:
General Ulysses Grant
Confederate:
General Joseph E. Johnston
May 19- July
Casualties: Union: 9,000
Confederate: 9,000
Winner: Union

31. Vicksburg
video
Significance: One of the most important strategic victories for the Union because it split the Confederacy in half. The CSA lost control of the Mississippi River. General Grant proves himself again.

32. After Decades of Refusing to Do So, Vicksburg is Again Celebrating Independence Day
On July 4, 2013, the 150th anniversary of the end of a great Civil War battle fought for possession of the city, Vicksburg, Mississippi celebrated in style.
According to the Vicksburg Daily News, the city had a “Independence Day firework extravaganza,” concerts, a “battle of the bands” with one group dressed in Confederate gray and the other in Union blue, and other events “too many to mention.” The News made a point of reporting that “most of Vicksburg was there” for the celebration, and that “a very large number of businesses and residences” in the city were decorated with American flags.
Those facts are significant, because Independence Day has not always been acknowledged with such pomp in Vicksburg. In fact, for most of the last 150 years it was not officially celebrated at all. That’s because of what happened in Vicksburg on July 4, 1863.

33. Gettysburg -
Little Roundtop
Robert E. Lee

34. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Union Commander :
General George Meade
Confederate Commander:
General Robert E. Lee
July 1-3, 1863
Casualties: Union-23,049
Confederate-28,063
Winner: Union

35. Significance:
The turning point of the war. After success at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, Lee invades the North again. After trying to break the Union lines for 2 days, Lee tries a frontal assault on entrenched Union forces. This was known as Pickett’s charge. This attempt failed miserably. Lee ultimately retreats to Virginia. This would be the last chance for the South to win the war and threaten the North. Deadliest battle of the war.

36. He is best remembered for two great events: the action at Little Round Top, on the second day of Gettysburg (July 2, 1863), when then-Colonel Chamberlain and the 20th Maine held the extreme left flank of the Union line against a fierce rebel attack, and the surrender of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox, when Grant chose Chamberlain to receive the formal surrender of weapons and colors (April 12, 1865).
Joshua Chamberlain. Former teacher turned hero at Gettysburg.

37. Battle of Chickamauga Chickamauga, Georgia August 19-20, 1863
Chickamauga was one of the few battles in the Civil War that the Confederates outnumbered the Union. It was the worst defeat of the Union in the Western Theatre and slowed the Union's advance to Atlanta. The armies stretched across about six miles of battle front on land that was not very good for a fight. Dense woods covered most of the battlefield, so artillery was not very useful and soldiers could only see about a half a football field distance in front of them when the air was clear - add the smoke and dust of the battle and they could barely see 20 feet in front of them. The battle lasted two days, with confusion reigning as generals struggled to keep track of their troops let alone direct them. After the first day the Union was taking a defensive position as they tried to regroup their forces. On the second day confusion among the Union generals caused a hole to open in the union line near Brotherton Cabin allowing Confederates to roll forward and two Union corps retreating from the battlefield. This left Union Major-General George H Thomas exposed and in danger. Thomas led his men in a stubborn defense on Snodgrass Hill where he earned the nickname, "The Rock of Chickamauga." After the defense, Thomas is able to make a safe and orderly retreat to Chattanooga. While the Confederates won the battle the price, like in many of the Civil War's battles was high. Killed, wounded and missing for the Confederate amounted to 18,000 of the 66,000 engaged. Union casualties were 16,000 of the 58,000 involved.

39. Battle of Chickamauga Chickamauga, Georgia August 19-20, 1863
Casualties: Union: 16,170
Confederate: 18,454
Winner: Confederate
Significance: A huge needed victory for the South. A smaller Union Army was routed by the larger Rebel Army. The second bloodiest battle of the war.
Army of the Cumberland vs. Army of Tennessee

40. Photo of the dead at Chickamauga

41. Atlanta (Sherman's March)

42. Atlanta, Georgia (Sherman’s March to the Sea)
Union Commander: General William Sherman
Confederate Commander: General John Hood
July 20-September 2, 1864
Casualties: Union-31,623
Confederate-35,044
Winner: Union

43. Sherman’s March to the Sea
(minutes 30-40)

44. Significance:
The siege of Atlanta by General Sherman ended with the burning of the city by Union troops. Sherman wanted to kill or destroy everything calling this tactic “Total War.” This battle was immortalized in the movie “Gone With The Wind”. After burning Atlanta, Sherman began his famous march to the sea, during which his troops looted and plundered their way across Georgia, destroying everything in their path.

45. The Battle of the Wilderness Northern Virginia May 5-6, 1864
Casualties: Union: 17,500
Confederate: 10,500
Winner: Draw (Grant will continue his advance)
Significance: Lee must stop Grant from reaching Richmond. Lee outmaneuvered Grant but was unable to stop him from advancing towards the South’s capital. This battle, in thick woods and brush, saw some of the most horrific fighting of the war.

46. Battles of Petersburg Petersburg, Virginia June 20, 1864-April 2, 1865
Casualties: Union: 42,000
Confederate: 28,000
Winner: Union
Significance: Numerous battles, spelled the end of the Confederacy. Lee halted Grant but couldn’t defeat him. Both sides dug trenches (a preview of World War I). Richmond eventually falls.

47. Surrender at Appomattox
Causalities: Union: 1,312
Confederate: 8,200
Winner: Union
Significance: On April 9, 1865 Robert E. Lee surrendered his army of Northern Virginia in a little village called Appomattox Courthouse. Lee surrendered formally to Grant. The papers of formal surrender were signed in the home of Wilmer McLean, whose first house was damaged during the first battle of the Civil War. The war is over!

48. Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia
Lee surrendered to Grant in this home.

49. Not everyone believes it’s over
Not everyone believes it’s over. The war has at least one more causality. Abraham Lincoln has 5 days left to live.