Key Civil War Battles – Graphic Organizer

Directions: Around the room are descriptions of the major battles that occurred during the Civil War. For each battle, complete the

information found in the graphic organizer below.

Battle Location Leaders- North and South Notes on the Battle Winner/Significance

Fort Sumter

April 12, 1861

Charleston County, South Carolina

Union: Major Robert Anderson Confederacy: Brig. Gen P.G.T. Beauregard

- Confederacy fired the first shots;

- Lincoln attempted to send food to soldiers in the fort

- Confederacy

- Leads other states to secede from the Union

- Beginning of Civil War

First Battle of

Bull Run

(Manassas)

July 21, 1861

Fairfax County and Prince William County, Virginia

Union: Irvin McDowell Confederacy: P.G. T. Beauregard

- First major land battle;

- Demonstrates that the battle would be long and costly

- 4,700

- Confederacy

- Earns Thomas Jackson the nickname of ‘Stonewall’

Hampton Roads

– Monitor v.

Merrimack

March 8, 1862

Hampton Roads/Chesapeake Bay, Virginia

Union: Lt. John Worden Confederacy: Capt. Franklin Buchanan and Lt. Catesby R. Jones

- Monitor= Union

- Merrimack/Virginia= Confederacy

- 433 deaths

- Unknown

- First battle of iron-sided ships no more

wooden ones!

Battle of Shiloh

April 6-7, 1862

Hardin County, Tennessee

Union: Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell Confederacy: Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston and Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard

- Series of attacks and counterattacks to capture the ‘Hornet’s Nest’

- 23,746

- More casualties than in all previous American wars combined

- Union victory helps to make Grant famous

Battle of

Antietam

(Sharpsburg)

Sept. 17, 1862

Washington County, Maryland

Union: Maj. Gen. George McClellan Confederacy: Gen. Robert E. Lee

- McClellan loses command of Union forces after failure to defeat Lee

- 23,1000

- Single bloodiest day of war

- Prompts Lincoln to issue Eman. Proc.

Battle Leaders- North and

South

Location Notes on Battle Winner/Significance

Battle of

Chancellorsville

May 1863

Spotsylvania County, Virginia

Union: Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker Confederacy: Gen. Robert E. Lee and ‘Stonewall’ Jackson

- 24,000 casualties

- Jackson killed by own men

- Considered Lee’s greatest victory

“Jackson lost his left arm, but I have lost my right arm.” ~ Lee

Battle of

Vicksburg

(ended)

July 4, 1863

Warren County, Mississippi

Union: Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant Confederacy: Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton

- 35,285 deaths

- 2nd

part of Anaconda Plan

- Union victory Grant is appointed General-in-Chief

Battle of

Gettysburg

July 1-3, 1863

Adams County, Pennsylvania

Union: Maj. Gen. George S. Meade Confederacy: Gen. Robert E. Lee

- Back and forth between two sides

- Bloodiest battle of the Civil War 51,000 deaths

- Union victory Gettysburg Address issued months later

Battle of Atlanta

July 22, 1864

*Begins

Sherman’s March

to the Sea*

Fulton County, Georgia

Union: Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman Confederacy: Gen. John Bell Hood

- 12,140 casualties

- Miscalculation on Hood’s part led to defeat

- Union victory

- Began Sherman’s ‘total war’ initiative

Appomattox

Courthouse

April 9, 1865

Appomattox County, VA

Union: Ulysses S. Grant Confederacy: Robert E. Lee

- Lee had given up attempting to protect Richmond and sought to rejoin with other forces.

- Lee was forced to surrender when he realized Grant’s forces outnumbered his.

- Surrender happened three days later at the Appomattox Courthouse.