First Battle of

Bull
Run:
The First
Battle of Bull Run was fought on

Second Battle of
Bull
Run:
This was obviously
the second battle fought at

July 21, 1861 near Manassas, Virginia. This

was the first major battle of the civil war. This
was a significant battle. It shattered the
Norths hopes of winning the war quickly. An
important general was General Thomas
Stonewall Jackson. Jackson earned his
nickname Stonewall because he refused to
move his Confederate unit while the north was
advancing on both sides. He stood like a
Stonewall. This tactic was key to winning the
battle. The Confederates won this battle.

Manassas. It was fought on August 28-30,

1862. This battle destroyed the North badly.
However, this battle was important because it
caused General Robert E. Lee to take his
armies to the North. This battle was a 3 day
battle, with many, many casualties. Robert E.
Lee was an important general in this battle.
Robert E. Lee was a new general, and he took
risks to throw the Union off balance.

Battle of
The
Battle of Antietam was fought on
Antietam
September 17, 1862 at Antietam Creek in

Battle of Shiloh

Maryland. It was the bloodiest single-day battle

ever of the Civil War and U.S. history. There
were about 25,000 casualties on both sides.
This battle was extremely important for the
Union. This was the first battle they ever won.
Plus, it stopped Robert E. Lees Northward
advance. An interesting fact about this is that
Union soldiers found a copy of lees battle plan,
which had been left at an abandoned
Confederate camp. The Union won this battle.

The Battle of Shiloh was fought on April 6th

7th , 1862. This was a fairly important battle, in
which the Union gained greater control of the
Mississippi River Valley. Both the 2 sides
though lost some ground. And, they both
claimed the victory. But really, the victor was
the Union. Ulysses S. Grant was in important
General. During the Battle of Shiloh, the rebels
attacked Grants camp in the morning. Grant
directed his army, and they were able to push
back the rebels.

Siege of
Vicksburg

The city of Vicksburg, Mississippi was located on a

200-foot high cliff above the Mississippi. The
geography of this city made it impossible to invade.
Admiral Farragut tried to order the city to
surrender, so General Grant began the Siege of
Vicksburg in mid-May, 1863, in which Grants
troops cut off the city and shelled it completely.
They starved the city into surrender. On July 4 th,
Vicksburg surrendered. General Grant was
important in this Siege because he used logic to
force the city into surrender. Plus, immediately
after Vicksburg surrendered, Grant sent food in to
the city. The Union won this battle. This battle
was significant because the fate of the Confederacy
was sealed when Vicksburg fell.

Wilderness
Campaign

The Union armies fought from May to June in

northern and central Virginia in what was called the
Wilderness campaign. It was a series of battles
designed to capture the Confederate Capital of
Richmond, Virginia. However, the Confederates
won this battle. Robert E. Lee was an important
General in this battle. He and his army caused the
Union to have suffered 7,000 casualties in just a
few hours. Also, Lees army formed a solid
defense, and the Union could not execute their
attack. This battle was important, because
although Lincoln was discouraged by this failure, it
made him launch the campaign of General
Sherman.

Battle of
Gettysburg
The
Battle of Gettysburg began on July 1, 1863,

and lasted until July 3rd, 1863. This battle was

extremely important because it was a major
turning point in the war. It finally turned the
tide against the Confederates. Everything from
then on was in favor of the Union. General
Pickett was important because he led the Union
across the Emmetsburg Road to fight the
Confederates to win the battle. The Union won
this battle.