The Civil War

The Civil War

The Civil war began in 1861 with the battle of Fort Sumter. The confederate troops attacked first because Fort Sumter guarded the only entrance to the Charleston harbor. The union commander was Major Robert Anderson. On April 12, 1861 before the sun rose, the confederate began to shoot. The Fort had only a slight chance of making it so after 34 hours Fort Sumter surrendered. The confederates won that battle, but how many more battle would they try to win?

After the battler of Fort Sumter, there was another battle called the battle of Bull Run. The first battle of Bull Run was also known as the first battle of Manassas. The North's hopes of winning were quickly shattered. Lincoln hired a new general for the north who was General George G. McClellan. McClellan also brought 100,000 trained, high disciplined soldiers with him. McClellan called them the "army of the proteomic. McClellan also planned to attack Richmond. In June of 1862, the confederate army got a new leader, General Robert E. Lee. Lee was a Graduate from the U.S military academy, and he also served in the Mexican war. He was willing to make unpredictable moves to throw the union forces off balance, and that's why he was hired.

On June 26th, he attacked launching a series of clashing known as "The Seven Days' Battle" that forced the union army to retreat. Lincoln ordered general John Pope to march on Richmond from Washington. Jackson wanted to defeat pope's army before it could join with McClellan's larger army of the Potomac. The South had won the Battle.

When the first battle of Bull Run ended, the second one began. This battle lasted for three days. Jackson's troops met popes union on the battlefield in 1862. On the second day, pope hurled his men against the confederates because he found Jackson troops along an unfinished rail' road. By the third day, the union army had almost less that half their army behind them. The confederates won a major victory, and General Robert E. Lee decided to take the war to the North.

On September 4th, 1862, about 40,000 confederate soldiers began crossing into Maryland. This Act started the battle of Antietam. Once they arrived, General Lee issued a proclamation to the people of Maryland, urging them to join the confederates. Union soldiers found a copy of Lee's Battle which had been left at an abandoned confederate camp. McClellan had discovered that Lee was planning on attacking Harpers Ferry. McClellan planned a counterattack. The Two armies met along Antietam creek in Maryland on September 17th, 1862. The battle lasted for hours. By the time the battle was over, the union suffered more than 12,000 me. This battle was the bloodiest single day battle of the civil war and of U.S history. Antietam was an important victory for the union.

The siege of Vicksburg was next. David Farragut, a New Orleans confederacy