Harper's FerryJohn Brown was a strict abolitionist who believed God spoke to him. He led terrorist attacks at Pottawotamie Creek and Harper's Ferry to promote his beliefs. Harper's Ferry was a United States arsenal and armory in West Virginia. Brown needed weapons to continue with his defiance and raided Harper's Ferry on October 16, 1859, along with several followers. John Brown and his group believed their actions would persuade others to take up arms with them, but that was not the case. They were soon surrounded by local militia. Colonel Robert E. Lee arrived with United States Marine and promptly killed or captured the raiders. John Brown was wounded, but went to trial. He was charged with treason and hanged for his crimes.
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Lincoln's ElectionBy the time of the 1860 presidential election, the trans-regional tensions of America had reached their boiling point. After the events in Bleeding Kansas, the Compromise of 1850, the supreme court ruling in the Dred Scott decision. All of these factors lead to an extreme sense of dissatisfaction in the South. Southern whites felt that the federal government was favoring the North and rigging phony compromises to further their own ends. Now, the South was a powder keg, not only ready for a spark, but actively searching for one. Thus, when republican candidate Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860, it was the last straw. Soon, Southern states were seceding left and right, and within a year the nation had exploded into civil war.
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Fort SumterFort Sumter was a Federal fort located near Charleston, South Carolina. When the South seceded, Fort Sumter remained in Union hands, but located in the Confederacy. The Army there had no way of receiving provisions without taking action that could be perceived as acts of war. Abraham Lincoln found himself in a difficult position. Should he abandon his forces there, or send them provisions and provoke the South into fighting? He chose the latter. In December, 1860, the North began attempting to resupply the fort. In response, the fort was placed under siege. The Governor of South Carolina offered the fort an ultimatum to evacuate the fort immediately. The commander of the fort refused, and on April 12, 1861, the Confederate artillery opened up on the fort. After 34 hours of shelling, the fort, greatly outnumbered and lacking adequate supplies and armament, surrendered. Surprisingly, there was no loss of life at this opening act of the Civil War.
AntietamThe Battle of Antietam is the single bloodiest day in American history. Nearly 23,000 Americans were killed in action near Antietam Creek, in Sharpsburg, Maryland. This was also the first battle of the war to take place on Union territory. George McClellan commanded the Union forces and Robert E. Lee the Confederates. The battle consisted of a series of attacks and counterattacks by both sides around the Confederate lines near the Antietam Creek. Overall, McClellan's superior numbers were not enough, or used effectively, to defeat Lee. Robert E. Lee did; however, suffer staggering losses and was forced to withdraw.
Emancipation ProclamationThe Emancipation Proclamation was an order issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. It was an order given to the United States Army and Navy as an expression of the President's commander-in-chief position. It proclaimed that all slaves in the South were now free, and that the Army should treat them as such. The Emancipation Proclamation did not, by any means, make slavery illegal or grant citizenship to slaves. The Emancipation Proclamation was especially important because it placed freeing the slaves on the North's agenda and discouraged many Europeans from joining the South like they had intended. In the long term, this proclamation led to the adoption of the 13th Amendment, which freed American slaves.
Andersonville PrisonAndersonville, Georgia was the host of the largest POW camp in the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. It was built in early 1864 as a more secure location to hold war prisoners. The prison only existed for 14 months, but housed more than 45,000 Union POW's. This prison was known for its brutal treatment and terrible conditions. Nearly 13,000 prisoners died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, and exposure to the elements. The compound covered 261 acres in the forests of Georgia. This prison is forever synonymous with brutal treatment and terrible mortality rates.
14th AmendmentThe fourteenth amendment was ratified in July of 1868, just four years after the previous amendment. The main contribution made by the 14th Amendment was its "citizenship clause." In it, the amendment stated that anyone born in the United states should be considered a citizen. This was important because it effectively overturned the previous supreme court ruling in the Dred Scott case. The main goal of the amendment was to stop the abusive Black Codes enacted after the 13th Amendment's ratification, which made restrictions on black's rights.
Surrender at Appomattox CourthouseIn April 1865, Robert E. Lee was forced to accept the inevitable. His Army was slowly being surrounded by Grant's forces. On April 9, Lee agreed to meet with the Union generals in the house of Wilmer McLean near the Appomattox Courthouse. Their meeting lasted two and a half hours, where the leaders of both armies brought an end to the Civil War.
Black CodesAfter the Thirteenth Amendment freed black slaves, the South still had no desire to embrace the freedmen into their society with open arms. Freed blacks faced roadblocks at every turn, always put at a disadvantage by these so-called Black Codes, which effectively segregated the South racially. The Black codes also shared many similarities with the Jim Crowe laws that would come later much later in the 19th century.
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Bull RunBull Run was the site of the first major land battle between the Union and the Confederacy in the Civil War. The battle only lasted for one day, on July 21, 1861. This action was intended to be the first in a campaign to seize the Confederate capital of Richmond. Brigadier General Irvin McDowell led his green Union troops in a flanking maneuver against equally green Confederate troops. The move was poorly executed and the Confederate Colonel Thomas Jackson soon arrived with reinforcements to turn the tide back in the Confederate's favor. Thomas Jackson earned the nickname "Stonewall" because of the defense of his position in which the Confederates managed to hold their ground against the Union forces. Jackson led a counterattack against the Union and the unseasoned troops had soon retreated back towards Washington D.C., ending the battle in an early victory for the Confederacy.
VicksburgThe city of Vicksburg, Mississippi served as a fortress city for the Confederates. In May of 1863, Ulysses S. Grant beat back the Confederate forces to the defensive lines around the city. Grant led two large offensives against the defenses, but both were beaten back. He then decided to lay siege to the city from May 25-July 4. On Independence Day, the Confederates surrendered from a lack of supplies. This Union victory was extremely important because it seized the Mississippi River for the North.
Gettysburg & Gettysburg AddressThe Battle of Gettysburg was fought from July 1-July 3, 1863. This battle occurred at the same time as the Battle of VIcksburg. Both clashes served as major turning points in the war. The Confederacy only launched offensives in the North on two occasions, and one of them was at Gettysburg. Robert E. Lee was emboldened by his recent victory at Chancelorsville and led his men north towards Gettysburg. Major General George Meade led the Army of the Potomac to meet Lee. On the third and final day of the battle, the Confederates made a final attack on the Union's forces at Cemetery Hill. Known as Pickett's charge, this attack was defeated and heavy casualties were inflicted, forcing the Confederate Army to retreat back to Virginia. Following the battle, Abraham Lincoln arrived in the town of Gettysburg, where he delivered a speech that would become famous and iconic of his presidency. His Gettysburg Address reflected on the foundations of the country and brought to attention the fact that Americans were fighting Americans on American soil and laying down their lives, perhaps in vain, to fight for their freedoms.
13th AmendmentThe thirteenth amendment to the US Constitution, banning slavery and involuntary servitude, was ratified on April 8, 1864. This amendment was passed mainly as a reaction to the Emancipation Proclamation. The problem with the Proclamation was that it only drew its authority from President Lincoln and its effects weren't universal(border states didn't have to free their slaves under the Emancipation Proclamation). The formal passing of the 13th Amendment through congress recognized the nation-wide shift towards freedom for all those of African descent, ending slavery officially.
15th AmendmentRatified in February of 1870, the 15th was the last of the Reconstruction Amendments. This amendment was the ruling passed through congress that no citizen shall be denied the right to vote because of their race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Giving all citizens(with the exception of women) the right to vote had a profound impact on how the events of the next century would unfold. This amendment increased the rights of blacks and laid the foundations for civil rights movements in the 1960's, and enabled for the elections of black senators in the years following the amendment's ratification.
Assassination of Abraham LincolnFive days after the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse, the Reconstruction was already under way. President Abraham Lincoln was attending a play with his wife at Ford's Theater in Washington D.C. John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer, made his way to the President's booth and shot him in the back of the head, fatally wounding him. The assassination of the President was one step in a conspiracy plot to eliminate the heads of state of the Union. After shooting Lincoln, Booth fled the theater, suffering a broken leg from the fall from the President's suite. John Wilkes Booth received medical attention for his leg, and then headed south, where he believed he would be welcomed as a hero. The search for Booth became the largest in U.S. history. The hunt lasted twelve days. Union cavalry finally cornered Booth and an accomplice in a barn in rural Virginia. The soldiers set fire to the barn and shot Booth in the neck. He suffered for hours before he died of his wound. Abraham Lincoln was the first of four presidents in history to be assassinated.
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