Civil War, This Battle Gave Abraham Lincoln the Perceived Victory He Desired to Release the Emancipation Proclamation
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Important Battles of the Civil War These battles represent significant events in the American Civil War. The important event(s) of the battle or its aftermath follow the name of the battle in text. 1. First Bull Run (First Manassas) Virginia First significant action of The American Civil War, Bull Run shocked the North into the realization that it would not be a three-month war. The battle falsely buoyed the South's hopes of negotiating an end to the war. Casualties: 4,700 2,950 Union 1,750 Confederate 2. Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing) April 6, 1862 - April 7, 1862 Tennessee At the time, Shiloh was both the bloodiest single day and bloodiest two-day battle in American history. It served as America's introduction to the "total warfare" of the rest of the Civil War. Until Ulysses S. Grant's advance down the Tennessee River, engagements in the Civil War had been relatively small. The engagement also saw the death of Sidney Albert Johnston, on whom Jefferson Davis had pinned his hopes in the West. Casualties: 23,741 13,047 Union 10,694 Confederate 3. Antietam September 17, 1862 Maryland Bloodiest day of the Civil War, this battle gave Abraham Lincoln the perceived victory he desired to release the Emancipation Proclamation. The costly battle also ended Robert E. Lee's advance into Maryland. Casualties: 23,100 4. Vicksburg (surrendered July 4, 1863) Mississippi Lincoln realized early in the war that control of the Mississippi was a major goal of the Western forces. Ulysses S. Grant delivered the city when the Army of Mississippi surrendered after a prolonged siege. In response Lincoln proclaimed "I have found the man who can win this war." Casualties: 19,233 10,142 Union 9,091 Confederate 5. Seven Days Retreat {June 25, 1862 to July 1, 1862 With the success of George McClellan's Peninsula Campaign, Lincoln and Edwin Stanton agreed on closing the recruitment offices in the north. Then Lee replaced Joe Johnston as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia and aggressively pursued the Army of the Potomac as it retreated down Virginia's Lower Peninsula. Lincoln and Stanton had to admit they were wrong and re-open the offices. 6. Gettysburg July 1, 1863 to July 3, 1863 Pennsylvania George Meade won the largest and most costly battle in American history fought on the farms and hillsides of southern Pennsylvania. The Union victory ended Lee's belief that a single massive victory would defeat the Army of the Potomac. Casualties: 51,000 23,000 Union 28,000 Confederate 7. Chattanooga November 23, 1863 to November 25, 1863 Tennessee Following the worst defeat of any United States army at Chickamauga Lincoln dispatched three of his best generals (Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, and Joseph Hooker) to Chattanooga. Six weeks later Grant broke out of the city, drove the Confederate Army into Georgia, and began preparing for the Spring campaigns. Casualties: 12,485 5,815 Union 6,670 Confederate 8. Fort Sumter April 12, 1861 to April 13, 1861 South Carolina First action between United States and Confederate forces, this artillery duel resulted in the surrender of the bastion of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor but no casualties. It served as an indication that the South was willing to fight for federal property it considered to be its own following secession. Casualties: none .