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The Civil War
The Civil War in the United States began in 1861, after decades of tension between northern and southern states over slavery, states’ rights and westward expansion. The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 caused seven southern states to secede and form the Confederate States of America, and soon four more states joined them.
The War Between the States ended with Confederate surrender in 1865.
The conflict was the deadliest war ever fought in America, with 620,000 of 2.4 million soldiers killed, millions more injured and much of the South left in ruin.
In 1854, the U.S. Congress approved the Kansas-Nebraska’s act, which essentially opened all new territories to slavery.
Pro- and anti-slavery forces struggled violently in “Bleeding Kansas”.
The abolitionist John Brown’s convinced more and more southerners that their northern neighbors were bent on the destruction of the institution that sustained them.
Abraham Lincoln’s election in November 1860 was the final straw, and within three months seven southern states: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas had seceded from the United States.
The Battle Between Union And Confederate Forces
The Battle Between Union And Confederate Forces
In March 1861, Confederate forces (those who was in favour of the slavery) started the conflict, attacking Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. Sumter's commander surrendered after less than two days of bombardment.
Four more Southern States: Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee joined the Confederacy after Fort Sumter.
In the First Battle of Bull Run on July of 1861, Confederate soldiers forced a greater number of Union forces to retreat towards Washington D.C., leading Lincoln to call for 500,000 more recruits.
In fact, both sides initial call for troops had to be extended after it became clear that the war would not be a short conflict.
The Civil War in Virginia
The Civil War in Virginia
After of continuous conflicts and battles in the Civil War in Virginia on 1862, the Union victory at Antietam would prove decisive as it stopped the Confederate advance in Maryland and forced them to retreat.
Lincoln used the occasion of the Union victory at Antietam to publice a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation which freed all enslaved people in the rebellious states.
In the spring of 1863, Union's plans for a offensive were frustated by a surprise attack by the general Robert E. Lee’s forces on May.
The Confederates, leaded by the general Lee won a costly victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, and Lee launched another invasion of the North in June, but over three days, the Confederates suffered casualties of close to 60 percent, and loosed this battle.
Lee’s remaining forces were able to escape into Virginia, ending the last Confederate invasion of the North.
Also in July 1863, Union forces had a victory that would prove to be the turning point of the war in the western.
<---- Confederate general Robert E. Lee
The End Of The Civil War (1864-1865)
The End Of The Civil War (1864-1865)
Petersburg under siege
William Tecumseh Sherman
Lincoln put William Tecumseh Sherman in control of the West.
Grant led the Army of the Potomac towards Lee’s troops in northern Virginia and put Petersburg under siege for the next nine months.
Sherman beated Confederate forces to take Atlanta by September of 1864, and began devastating the west Confederate zones, called “March to the Sea”.
Lee’s forces made a last attempt at resistance, attacking and capturing the Fort Stedman, but he failed.
Grant accepted Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9 of 1865.
Sherman received Johnston’s surrender on April 26 of 1865, effectively ending the Civil War.
The Murdered of Lincoln
The Murdered of Lincoln
On the eve of victory, the Union lost its leader:
The Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes murder President Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington on 14 of April in 1685.
John Wilkes
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