https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/facts.htm Oct 27, 2021 "The Union included the states of Maine, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, California, Nevada, and Oregon. Abraham Lincoln was their President. The Confederacy included the states of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. Jefferson Davis was their President. Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri were called Border States. In 1865, the Union won the war." National Park Service
https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/index.htm Jun 1, 2022 "4,000,000 freed. 750,000 dead. 1 nation saved. From 1861 to 1865, the American union was broken as brother fought brother in a Civil War that remains a defining moment in our nation's history. Its causes and consequences, including the continuing struggle for civil rights for all Americans, reverberate to this day. From the battlefields to the homefront, the cost of the war was steep...its lessons eternal." NPS
https://www.battlefields.org/learn "The Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War created and defined our nation. Through our rich collection of resources, you can learn about why we are the way we are."
https://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/American-Civil-War/273689 Jun 3, 2022 "At 4:30 am on April 12, 1861, Confederate artillery in Charleston, South Carolina, opened fire on Fort Sumter, which was held by the United States Army. The bombardment set off a savage four-year war between two great geographic sections of the United States. One section was the North—23 Northern and Western states that supported the federal government. The other section was the South—11 Southern states that had seceded (withdrawn) from the Union and formed an independent government called the Confederate States of America. The struggle between these two combatants is generally known as the American Civil War, though it is also referred to as the War Between the States or the War of the Rebellion." TABLE OF CONTENTS: Introduction | The Basic Issue of States’ Rights | The Basic Issue of States’ Rights | The Slavery System in the South | Abolitionists and Their Work | Expansion of Slavery | Efforts to Save the Union | The War Begins at Fort Sumter | Comparison of Rival Forces | The First Year of War | The War in the East, 1862 | From Antietam to Gettysburg | Campaigns in the West, 1862 to 1864 | The Final Phase, 1864–65 | The War at Sea | Foreign Affairs During the War | War on the Home Front | Costs of the War | Military Innovations | Some Major Civil War Battles | Additional Reading | Britannica School
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/brief-overview-american-civil-war Nov 20, 2008 "The war resolved two fundamental questions left unresolved by the revolution: whether the United States was to be a dissolvable confederation of sovereign states or an indivisible nation with a sovereign national government; and whether this nation, born of a declaration that all men were created with an equal right to liberty, would continue to exist as the largest slaveholding country in the world." American Battlefield Trust
https://gettysburg.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p4016coll2 "Special Collections is home to many unique 19th century resources. This digital repository offers a sampling of a broader collection that includes political cartoons, letters, photographs, maps, artifacts, and more relating to the Civil War Era." Collections include Artifacts, Letters, Lithographs, Maps, Newspapers, Paintings, Pamphlets, Photographs, Political Cartoons, and Sheet Music.
https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war#/home "The Civil War was America's bloodiest and most divisive conflict, pitting the Union Army against the Confederate States of America. The war resulted in the deaths of more than 620,000 people, with millions more injured and the South left in ruins." HISTORY
https://www.sutori.com/story/sherman-s-march-to-the-sea--NZ9EcqFuZcnaQZPn62bt15ZS "After capturing and burning Atlanta two months prior on September 2nd, 1864, the Union plan was for you, General William T. Sherman, and your forces to move towards Mobile, Alabama. As the bay of Mobile had already been taken, the town no longer holds any military significance to your eyes, and you come up with an alternative that is to move towards Savannah, Georgia or Charleston, South Carolina."
https://americanliterature.com/author/ambrose-bierce/short-story/an-occurrence-at-owl-creek-bridge "Set during the American Civil War, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek" is Bierce's most famous short story. It was first published in the San Francisco Examiner in 1890. It then appeared in Bierce's 1891 collection Tales of Soldiers and Civilians. We encourage students and teacher to use our An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Study Guide https://americanliterature.com/an-occurrence-at-owl-creek-bridge-study-guide to learn more about the story."
https://americanhistory.si.edu/lincoln/introduction "This website is based on an exhibition that was on view at the National Museum of American History from January 16, 2009 to May 29, 2011. His story is as familiar to Americans as any children’s fable. He was born in a log cabin. He became the 16th president. He freed the slaves and saved the Union. He was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre. How did an unschooled, backwoods politician rise to the presidency and guide the nation through its greatest crisis? Who was this individual who helped to define our country’s future through the force of his leadership and intellect?"
https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/mourning-during-the-civil-war Dec 14, 2020 "Mourning is the process of grieving the death of a loved one. In the mid-nineteenth century, middle- and upper-class Americans observed an elaborate set of rules that governed behavior following the death of a spouse or relative. The astronomical rate of death during the American Civil War (1861–1865) often hindered the mourning process, transformed the ways in which individuals and communities responded to death, and heightened women‘s public role in mourning traditions." Encyclopedia Virginia Virginia Humanities
https://americanhistory.si.edu/lincoln/introduction Jan 16, 2009 "His story is as familiar to Americans as any children’s fable. He was born in a log cabin. He became the 16th president. He freed the slaves and saved the Union. He was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre. How did an unschooled, backwoods politician rise to the presidency and guide the nation through its greatest crisis? Who was this individual who helped to define our country’s future through the force of his leadership and intellect?" National Museum of American History
https://acwm.org/the-impending-crisis Apr 27, 2024 The American Civil War Museum will launch a major exhibition at ACWM-Tredegar in Richmond, Virginia, on April 27th, 2024. Titled The Impending Crisis, this exhibit will delve into the events, individuals, and topics that led to the division of the United States on the verge of civil war. The Impending Crisis exhibit takes visitors on a journey through differing national viewpoints on faith, politics, and patriotism in the years leading up to the Civil War. While touring the exhibit, visitors meet both well-known and lesser-known people, hearing their words, seeing the families and communities they built, and the extreme hardships they suffered. Visitors gain a better understanding of what was truly at stake during this pivotal time in the nation’s history, and how the actions to engage in a civil war remade America. The American Civil War Museum
https://www.hbhistory.org/civilwar September 2nd & 3rd, 2023 HB Central Park
Camps open to the Public on Saturday and Sunday Battle Times: Sat: 1:30 and 4 PM / Sun: 11 and 2 PM
Always Free to the Public! Schedules subject to change.
LIVING HISTORY. Southern California's Largest Living History Event
The Huntington Beach Historical Society is proud to host the 30th annual Civil War Days Living History Event in Huntington Beach Central Park during the 160th anniversary of America's Civil War. Living history events like Civil War Days allow people to experience vivid recreations of life in our past in ways that would not otherwise be possible, and learn about some of the most important moments in our collective history. This event is facilitated by hundreds of dedicated volunteers portraying people from all walks of life, and as always, our events are free to the public. Come out to see this grand display this Labor Day Weekend!
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/photo/union-confederacy "South Carolina left the Union first. Other states in the Deep South (dark gray) seceded next. The debate in the Upper South (light gray) lasted longer, but by the middle of 1861, they too, seceded. Lincoln knew that the Border States (light blue), where slavery was permitted, were crucial to the Union cause. The keep them in the Union (dark blue), he initially refused to free slaves as part of the war effort." MAP BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3701s.cw0004000 Blair, R. Baxter, et al. Hart-Bolton American history maps. Chicago: Denoyer-Geppert Co., to 1927, 1917. Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2009578549/>.
Yankee or Confederate 150 Word R.A.F.T.
Role • Audience • Format • Topic •
Role: 1861 Yankee or Confederate
Audience: Family member or close friend
Format: 1860 Letter
Topic: Explain the reasons or causes that have led you to remain a Yankee or Confederate after the War Between the States began in 1861. Do friends and family keep you in the United States of America or Confederate States of America? Do political issues sever your Union ties? Is the Union or Confederate cause just or unjust?
Learning Target
Learning Target: I will explain how the Emancipation Proclamation changed the Civil War.
Discuss the following terms: Emancipation Proclamation, Total War, and Appomattox Court House.
https://acwm.org provides numerous resources and includes these popular lessons: SOLDIERS, AFRICAN AMERICANS, BATTLES, WOMEN, HOMEFRONT, EMANCIPATION, LEADERS and SLAVERY.
https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/in-service-and-servitude/nQISf_5t-uXhIg "The origins of Richmond’s most contested and beloved boulevard. This exhibit is a partnership between the American Civil War Museum, the Library of Virginia, The Valentine , and the Virginia Museum of History and Culture." The American Civil War Museum
https://contestedfranchise.com "An exploration of voting rights in the Civil War era and how the 15th Amendment changed everything, but did little." The American Civil War Museum
https://embattledemblem.com "A short history of how the Confederate battle flag acquired its many meanings: pride of the Confederate fighting man and symbol of his memory, emblem of white supremacy and racial terror, an icon of regional identity, and a vessel for culture war politics today." The American Civil War Museum
https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/in-service-and-servitude/nQISf_5t-uXhIg "Learn about the individual lives and stories of the domestic staff at the Confederate President’s House."
https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/the-life-of-monument-avenue/7QISDq2RzUeiLA "As a mirror in which Richmond views itself, and by which it has encouraged outsiders to view it, Monument Avenue has reflected a variety of meanings and evolving values in a changing city." The American Civil War Museum
https://richmonduprising.com "Placing two Richmond protests side-by-side suggests enduring questions about protesting in America." The American Civil War Museum
Civil War Youtube Links
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZrhqv_T1O1vGjphtbnTVXpNpiFKUpVy8 Apr 21, 2021 A series of short, four-minute informational videos on basic Civil War topics such as battlefields, preservation, leadership, illnesses and amputations, veterans, troops, women in the Civil War, and more. American Battlefield Trust
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3IwgtrMKKM Nov 14, 2016 Historian Matthew Pinsker presents a quick rundown of the battles at South Carolina's Fort Sumter and the start of the U.S. Civil War. HISTORY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejF4Tvlx4V0 Apr 30, 2021 The Civil War was a conflict filled with bloody battles, but one clash in particular echoed through time and is now remembered as the deadliest day in the Civil War: the Battle of Antietam. While the Union declared the battle a victory for their side, it was certainly a hollow one, with staggering casualties on both sides -- and a missed opportunity to end the war once and for all. The date was September 17, 1862, and the Civil War had already been tearing the country apart for more than a year. As the tide of bloodshed approached Sharpsburg, Maryland, morale in both armies was at an abysmal low. Someone needed a decisive victory. What both sides got was anything but. Here's the untold truth of the Battle of Antietam.
A high casualty count 0:00 | An unimportant battle 1:22 | Close-range combat 2:28 | A hailstorm of bullets 3:02 | The scene at the hospitals 3:57 | Soldiers with families 4:53 | An unnecessary battle 5:47 | Photos of the battle 6:54 | Changing the tide of the war 7:30 | It drove Europe out of the war 8:35 Grunge Read Full Article: https://www.grunge.com/377161/the-truth-about-the-deadliest-day-of-the-civil-war
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt3Y5FhxwKE Oct 25, 2019 The opposing forces crave information on one another and both sides send troops from the relative safety of their trenches out between the lines to gain information, capture prisoners or exact revenge. The men from the previous trench scenes leave their tranches on the dangerous assignment. One kicks over his coffee pot in anger. The men meet in the nearby woods with deadly consequences. A young Confederate is captured and taken back toward union lines amidst screaming artillery rounds. American Battlefield Trust
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG2nkqfKS5I Sep 24, 2015 Clip from an American Artifacts visit to the Museum of the Confederacy: https://www.c-span.org/video/?306787-5/white-house-confederacy C-SPAN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1VnD-PRVh8 Jan 22, 2016 The confederate flag is a controversial symbol. What it means has changed over time and can depend on who you are and where you come from. And to further complicate this, there wasn't just one confederate flag--there were dozens--and the flag we've come to know as the confederate flag has a history as complicated as it is contentious. The Good Stuff Learn more about the Civil War at PBS Learning Media https://ca.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/teaching-the-civil-war
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP0_wnaW-a0 Feb 25, 2021 Examine the myth of the Lost Cause: a campaign created by pro-Confederates after the Civil War to promote the lie that they seceded for state's rights. In the 1860’s, 11 southern states withdrew from the United States and formed the Confederacy. They seceded in response to the growing movement for the nationwide abolition of slavery. Yet barely a year after the Civil War ended, southern sources began claiming the conflict was about state’s rights. How did this revisionist history come about? Karen L. Cox examines the cultural myth of the Lost Cause. TEDEd View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/debunking-the-myth-of-the-lost-cause-a-lie-embedded-in-american-history-karen-l-cox
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv7YhVKFqbQ Jul 24, 2018 Take a closer look at the life of escaped slave and American icon Harriet Tubman, who liberated over 700 enslaved people using the Underground Railroad. TEDEd View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-courage-of-harriet-tubman-janell-hobson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt65UV6Fspc Sep 9, 2014 Learn more about The Lincoln's Gamble at https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Lincolns-Gamble/Todd-Brewster/9781451693898 Todd Brewster, author of Lincoln’s Gamble: The Tumultuous Six Months That Gave America The Emancipation Proclamation and Changed the Course of the Civil War, tells us five things about the complicated 180 days leading up to the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Simon & Schuster Books
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViuUanTUy10 Apr 17, 2020 Following his victory against George McClellan in the 1864 presidential election, Abraham Lincoln once again found himself leading a divided country. However, the division this time was not only between North and South, but also whether the Union should treat the rebel states with leniency or with vengeance upon the conclusion of the conflict. Learn how the panel inside the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument portrays this disagreement and how the magnanimous nature of Abraham Lincoln shaped not only the end of the war, but also the course of history. Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/132/presidential-addresses-and-messages/5161/the-second-inaugural-address-of-president-abraham-lincoln-washington-dc-march-4-1865
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhzBYakZZW0&t Apr 22, 2020 HISTORY’s three-night miniseries event, “Grant,” will premiere over three consecutive nights beginning on Monday, May 25 at 9PM ET/PT on HISTORY. The television event will chronicle the life of one of the most complex and underappreciated generals and presidents in U.S. history – Ulysses S. Grant. “Grant,” tells the remarkable and quintessentially American story of a humble man who overcomes incredible obstacles, rises to the highest ranks of power and saves the nation not once, but twice. With a seamless blend of dramatic scenes, expert commentary and beautifully enhanced archival imagery, this series uncovers the true legacy of the unlikely hero who led the nation during its greatest test: The Civil War and Reconstruction – the herculean task to reconcile the North and the South. One of the most courageous and unexpected initiatives of Grant’s presidency was protecting the right to vote for the four million freed slaves in the face of violent and widespread resistance. HISTORY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm-YkVo9a3w May 20, 2013 At the end of the Civil War, both Union and Confederate soldiers were buried in Arlington. This laid the groundwork for a truly national cemetery. Smithsonian Channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL-dGrHe_x8 Sep 20, 2023 The Canadian story of the American Civil War, told in two parts. Through the eyes of the Canadians who helped start the war, to those who fought it, to the leaders influenced by it, we unravel one of the most pivotal events in the continent's history. From the pubs of Saint John to the docks of Halifax, from Southern Ontario battlefields to the battlements of Quebec City, find out which Canadians were on the right and wrong sides of history. This is the story of two nations facing each other down over a tenuous border for a century, and the war that changed everything. Canadiana
1 Why was Appomattox chosen for Southern surrender? 3:45 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXoXBaxdedQ&list=PLoOtt67_zQczm6RyfgalhkfO_QiI_wcAu&index=1 2 What lead to the South's surrender at Appomattox? 5:01 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hALRWFIXhbI&list=PLoOtt67_zQczm6RyfgalhkfO_QiI_wcAu&index=2 3 Historic profile of Wilmer McLean 5:19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0vf8qOvQ2s&list=PLoOtt67_zQczm6RyfgalhkfO_QiI_wcAu&index=3 4 Role of black soldiers in Civil War and Battle of Appomattox 2:50 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A60FyH4QxNw&list=PLoOtt67_zQczm6RyfgalhkfO_QiI_wcAu&index=4 5 Profile of Generals Grant & Lee and their meeting at Appomattox 5:51 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD-coFuWjtk&list=PLoOtt67_zQczm6RyfgalhkfO_QiI_wcAu&index=5 6 Closer look at General Orders No. 9 Lee's farewell address 3:35 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCL7udqT_-E&list=PLoOtt67_zQczm6RyfgalhkfO_QiI_wcAu&index=6 7 Paroles given to Confederate soldiers at Appomattox 4:34 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbQoa2Xl3Z8&list=PLoOtt67_zQczm6RyfgalhkfO_QiI_wcAu&index=7 8 Fox 21/27 Morning News Civil War art relics at Library of Congress 3:11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DEHuhCYnX0&list=PLoOtt67_zQczm6RyfgalhkfO_QiI_wcAu&index=8 9 Fox 21/27 Morning News - 150th anniversary of the Assassination of Lincoln 4:19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8K9YgtUw7Os&list=PLoOtt67_zQczm6RyfgalhkfO_QiI_wcAu&index=9 10 Bob Grebe's Virginia - Robert E. Lee's tenure at W&L 5:11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtUI6ek4YkA&list=PLoOtt67_zQczm6RyfgalhkfO_QiI_wcAu&index=10
Yes, there are Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and the other obvious heroes of the Civil War. But there are also many names you may never have heard of. From famous politicians to everyday citizens, people from all walks of life played important, sometimes revolutionary, roles during the war. Find out more about who some of these people were and how they changed history. National Park Service
Check our database of over 6 million soldiers, as well as information on regiments, battles, and more. https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm
The Civil War culminated 80 years of sectional tensions and ideologies of freedom and government authority were debated...https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/politicians.htm
Learn about the men who developed strategy and led the troops of the Union and Confederacy into battle. https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/military.htm
From women’s rights, to abolition, to states’ rights, and the ideology of freedom, the Civil War era was a time of social...https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/activists.htm
A war that pitted neighbors who shared a common language and heritage against each other created many opportunities... https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/spies.htm
Religious figures’ opinions on freedom and society rallied congregations and acted as prominent examples for their causes. https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/religious-figures.htm
The Civil War and its effects touched the lives of virtually every man, woman and child in both the North and South. https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/civilians.htm
Last updated: May 14, 2015
