2.  It all began in South Carolina in 1861.  Confederate forces, under the leadership of General P.G.T. Beauregard surrounded Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor and threatened to take control of the fort  President Lincoln did not want to fight, but needed to get supplies to Union troops at the fort.  Lincoln informed the Confederates that he was going to send troops to bring the Union Soldiers food and supplies  On April 12 th, 1861, Confederate forces fired cannons at the fort in an effort to take the fort.  Fort Sumter and the union troops there, surrendered on April 14 th, 1861

3.  The first official battle of the Civil War took place at Manassas, Virginia. The Union called this battle First Battle of Bull Run.  This battle took place on July 21, 1861  Many important people from Washington D.C. went to see this battle  The Union troops were sure that the Confederates would be soundly defeated and that the war would be over.

4.  The Union troops made the first attack  Many of the Confederates began to retreat  A Confederate General stood his ground and yelled at the troops to fight  According to legend, a young Confederate said, “look at General Jackson, he is standing like a stone wall.”  This encouraged the Confederates to rally and fight the Union  The Union troops were forced to retreat and fall back to Washington D.C.

5.  The Union Army was under the leadership of General Winfield Scott (at first).  General Scott suggested the “Anaconda Plan.”  This plan called for a three pronged strategy › First, attack from the North › Secondly, attack from the West (western theater) › Third, set up a naval blockade along the Atlantic coast so the Confederates could not get any supplies › Using this plan, the Union would “squeeze” the Confederates to death

6.  The Confederate government was headed by President Jefferson Davis  He chose a former Union officer to lead the Confederate forces  This General’s name was Robert E. Lee  The Confederates knew that they could not become independent without help from Europe.

7.  The Confederate Army had a three stage plan › First, they had to defend the South from Northern invasion › Secondly, they had to launch an offensive attack in the North to show France and England they were strong › Thirdly, they had to have support from either France or England and be recognized as sovereign -independent