20 keybattlesincivilwar

1. Battle Date Location Outcome Significance
1. Battle of Fort Sumter

April, 1861 Charleston, South
Carolina
Confederate
Victory
This was the battle that initiated the
start of the Civil War. General P.G.T
Beauregard was ordered by
Jefferson Davis to attack if the
federal soldiers at Fort Sumter
wouldn’t surrender. General
Anderson didn’t and the
confederates opened fire, eventually
causing him to surrender.
2. First Battle of Bull Run

July, 1861 Manassas,
Virginia
Confederate
Victory
This was the first actual battle of the
Civil War. General McDowell, the
commander of the Union army, was
ordered to march his poorly trained
army to fight at Manassas, Virginia.
At first, it seemed as though the
Union was winning, however,
General “Stonewall” Jackson of the
confederacy held firm and pushed
the Union back.
3. Battle of Fort Henry

February,
1862
Along the
Tennessee River
(Western
Tennessee)
Union Victory This battle allowed Tennessee and
Cumberland River to be taken by
the Union. It was one of Union’s first
important victories. After the capture
of Fort Henry, General Grant
attacked Fort Donelson (which was
nearby) causing them to surrender
as well.
4. Battle of Roanoke Island

February,
1862
Roanoke Island,
North Carolina
Union Victory This battle allowed the Union to take
control over Roanoke Island and
eventually gain control of North
Carolina’s coast.
5. Battle of Pea Ridge

March, 1862 Northwest
Arkansas
Union Victory This battle helped secure Missouri
for the Union.
6. Battle of Hampton Roads

March, 1862 Hampton Roads,
Virginia
Draw. Neither
ship was
sunk.
Although, the
Union
claimed they
won.
This battle changed the way naval
battles were fought. It made wooden
ships obsolete and revolutionized
naval battle. The Confederates
placed iron on an old wooden
steamship, called Merrimack and
made it indestructible. Soon, the
Union followed and made a same
kind of ship called the Monitor. The

2. battle never had an absolute winner
since neither ship was able to do
serious damage to each other.
7. Battle of Shiloh

April, 1862 Shiloh,
Tennessee
Union Victory In this battle, General Johnston
(Confederate) led and assaulted
Grant's army at Pittsburg Landing.
Grant's army struggled at this
unexpected attack, but was able to
hold it off until General Buell showed
up with his army in addition to other
reinforcements at Pittsburg Landing.
The Union won the battle but
suffered a great loss of soldiers. For
the Confederates, they lost their
leader Johnston.
8. Battle of New Orleans

April-May,
1862
New Orleans,
Louisiana
Union Victory This wasn’t really considered a
battle, but when Admiral David G.
Farragut led 43 Union naval ships to
lower Mississippi near New Orleans,
confederate general, Mansfield
Lowell fled with his troops and the
Union took over the city in April
25th. On May 1st, General B.F.
Butler took 15,000 troops to New
Orleans and claimed the city for the
rest of the war. The loss of New
Orleans was considered a
disastrous mistake to the
Confederates.
9. Seven Days Battle

June-July,
1862
Richmond,
Virginia
Confederate
Victory
This was a series of battles in which
the Confederates prevented the
Union from capturing their capitol,
Richmond. The Confederates under
Robert E. Lee was able to push the
Union back through Lee’s offensive
strategies. The Confederates’
victory ended the Peninsula
Campaign and successfully
defended Richmond.
10. Second Battle of Bull Run
(Manassas)

August,
1862
Manassas,
Virginia
Confederate
Victory
General McClellan joined General
Pope’s troops after their failure to
capture Richmond. General Pope's
troops were forced north by the
Confederates under the command
of General Lee. While retreating
north, Pope's troops were attacked
by General Jackson from the east.
Lee and General Longstreet later
joined with Jackson and they forced
the Union soldiers out of the

3. battlefield. Pope's troops retreated
north and were later joined by
McClellan as they fled to
Washington D.C.
11. Battle of Antietam

September,
1862
Sharpsburg,
Maryland
Inconclusive,
but due to
South’s
retreat, North
gained a
strategic
victory.
This was one of the bloodiest battles
in the Civil War. After the General
Lee’s retreat, Lincoln gave the
Emancipation Proclamation, in
which all slaves in the South were
free. As a result of this, many Africa-
Americans joined the Union army.
12. Battle of Fredericksburg

December,
1862
Fredericksburg,
Virginia
Confederate
Victory
General Ambrose Burnside was put
in charge, due to McClellan’s
countless defeats. His plan was to
cross the Rappahannock River with
an army of 120,000 troops straight
to the South’s capital of Richmond.
The attack was a failure as General
Lee attacked from high ground,
preventing them from crossing. The
casualties for the Union were about
12,500 while the Confederate
suffered only 5,000 casualties. With
this failed attempt, General Burnside
asked to be relieved from his
service.
13. Battle of
Murfreesboro(Stones River)

December-
January,
1862-1863
Murfreesboro,
Tennessee
Union Victory In this battle, Confederate general
Bragg was able to push the Union
back, but the Union held strong
under the command of General
Rosecrans. After repeated assaults
from Union, General Bragg withdrew
his forces from Stones River once
the Union gained reinforcements.
This victory boosted Union’s morale
and helped start the New Year with
a win.
14. Battle of Chancellorsville

April-May,
1863
Chancellorsville,
Virginia
Confederate
Victory
This battle is considered to be one
of the greatest Confederacy
victories because Hooker’s cavalry
was no match against Jackson’s
forces. Unfortunately, this battle also
resulted in the death of General
Thomas Jackson as one of his own
men shot him at night, thinking he
was from the Union. He died of
blood poisoning a few days later.
15. Battle of Gettysburg July, 1863 Adams County,
Pennsylvania
Union Victory This battle was by far the most
important battle of the Civil War, as
it was a turning point for the Union.

4. General Lee tested the Union on the
first day and was followed by
General Longstreet on the second
day. However, due to the Pickett’s
disastrous charge on the third day,
where only 1/3 of the Confederate
soldiers survived, the Confederates
suffered a huge defeat which they
would never recover from. This was
one of the bloodiest battles of the
Civil War, and a crucial victory for
the Union.
16. Battle of Chickamauga

September,
1863
Catoosa County
and Walker
County, Georgia
Confederate
Victory
In this battle, General Rosecrans of
the Union attempted to maneuver
the Confederate army out of
Tennessee. Although he succeeded
in repeatedly forcing General Bragg
of the Confederacy to retreat, there
was flaw in which a gap was created
that forced 1/3 of the union Troops
to retreat. Unable to deal with the
incoming Confederate troops, the
Union army retreated to
Chattanooga, handing the victory to
the Confederates
17. Battle of Chattanooga

November,
1863
Chattanooga,
Tennessee
Union Victory This battle occurred right after the
battle of Chickamauga. General
Bragg’s army laid siege on the
Union army under Gen. Rosecrans
at Chattanooga. The Union army
was cut from various supplies.
However, after a new supply line
was made, the Union soldiers
heavily attacked the Confederate
armies. In this battle, one out of the
two major armies of the
Confederates was completely
destroyed.
18. Battle of the Wilderness

May, 1864 Spotsylvania
County, Virginia
Inconclusive This was a very intense battle
between the two sides led by
Generals Grant and Meade of the
Union and General Robert E. Lee of
the Confederates. It was fought in
the woods and it was so intense that
even the trees caught on fire and
soldiers couldn’t recognize their own
side due to all the smoke. Thus, a
lot of them ended up killing each
other. No really won this battle,
however, General Grant continued
his attacking till the end.
19. Battle of Atlanta July, 1864 South Atlanta, Union Victory At first, General Hood of the

5. Georgia Confederates outmaneuvered
General Sherman of the Union. But,
when two of Hood’s divisions ran
into the Union’s reserve force, they
ended up being driven back.
Confederate attacks continued, and
at one point they broke through the
Union front at the hurt house, but
Sherman’s mass attacks interrupted
their progress. In the end, the Union
line was restored and Hood suffered
many casualties.
20. Battle of Nashville

November,
1864
Davidson County,
Tennessee
Union Victory In this battle, General John Hood
became desperate and led his army
towards Nashville in an attempt to
drive out General Sherman out of
Georgia for the final time. However,
General Hood is once again unable
to succeed in his plan due to the
Union’s assault and hands the
victory to the Union once more. In
the end, Hood retreated to a place
called Tupelo and resigned.