KEY PEOPLE FROM THE CIVIL WAR

Union and Confederacy

Abraham Lincoln1809-1865

elected President of the United States in 1860. Served as President of the Union during the Civil War and until his death in 1865.

Lincoln was opposed to slavery. January, 1863 President Lincoln issued the

Emancipation Proclamation. This proclamation freed all slaves in the Confederate states at war with the Union.

November, 1863 Lincoln gave famous speech called The Gettysburg Address. This speech inspired the Union to keep fighting in the Civil War.

Assassinated by John Wilkes Booth April 15, 1865

Abraham Lincoln1809-1865

Jefferson Davis

By February 1861 seven southern states had seceded from the United States. They formed their own government called the Confederate States of America (Confederacy).

Jefferson Davis was elected President of the Confederacy (South) in 1861.

Davis ordered the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter which began the Civil War.

Jefferson DavisPresident of the Confederacy

Robert E. Lee1807-1870

Born and raised in Virginia Personally disapproved of slavery Served in the United States army before the

Civil War began. He resigned from the US army and accepted

a position as a commander in the Virginia army.

General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Grant in Appomattox Court House, Virginia on April 9, 1865 ending the Civil War.

Robert E. LeeGeneral in the Confederate Army

William Tecumseh Sherman

Union General Used a method of warfare called total war (the

aim of total war is to destroy the opposing army as well as the people’s will to fight.)

Sherman burned the city of Atlanta during the Civil War. From Atlanta, Sherman’s army marched towards Savannah. As they marched they destroyed anything that might help the South fight.

Soldiers caused $100 million dollars worth of damage in Sherman’s “March to the Sea”.

William Tecumseh ShermanGeneral in the Union Army

Ulysses S. Grant Union General Led Union forces in the Battle of

Vicksburg.

Ulysses S. GrantGeneral in the Union Army