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The War Between The States
It began in 1861, when General
B. General P.G. T. Beauregard
opened fire upon Fort Sumter in
Charleston, South Carolina.
There were no casualties. When
it ended four years later
623,026 American lives would be
lost--the most American lives in
any U.S. war.
Twenty-four states fought
against the eleven that claimed
their right to secede from the
Union shortly after the election
of Lincoln. The origins of the
conflict had been decades in the
making as Congress argued
whether new states would enter
the Union as “slave states” or
“free”
The Army of Lincoln had 50% more
men than the army of Jefferson
Davis. Emboldened by Union
defeats at The First Battle of
Bull Run and then at Richmond,
Lee crossed the Potomoac and was
checked by Mclellan’s army at
the Battle of Antietam—the
bloodiest single day in American
history. Gettysburg is often
cited as the turning point for
the Union, setting the stage for
Sherman’s “March to the Sea”.
Confederate General Robert E.
Lee surrendered to Ulysses S.
Grant at Appomattox Court House
in April 1865. Major naval
battles included the Battle of
Hampton Roads, The Battle of
Mobile Bay and the Battle of
Drewry’s Bluff. |
