Civil War - Events

The Battle of Adairsville was fought near Adairsville, Georgia, during the Atlanta Campaign. The battle included a series of skirmishes as Union General William T. Sherman pursued Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston south through Northern Georgia. Although the fighting served mainly as a delaying action, Johnston used the movement from Adairsville to set up a possible trap near Cassville, which failed when Confederate forces under John Bell Hood withdrew.

The Battle of Aldie was fought between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America on June 17, 1863. The outcome of the battle was inconclusive.

The Battle of Amelia Springs was fought in Amelia County, Virginia, on April 5-6, 1865, during the Appomattox Campaign. Union and Confederate cavalry clashed after Union troops returned from a raid on the Army of Northern Virginia’s supply train near Painesville. The battle ended without a clear winner but helped force General Robert E. Lee’s retreating army to move around Jetersville.

The Battle of Antietam was fought on September 17, 1862, during the Maryland Campaign. Union forces under George McClellan attacked Robert E. Lee’s army at the Cornfield, West Woods, Sunken Road, and Burnside Bridge. Although the battle ended without a decisive tactical winner, McClellan stopped Lee’s advance, making Antietam a strategic Union success. The battle caused nearly 23,000 casualties and led President Abraham Lincoln to issue the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation five days later.

Antietam Battle facts, including dates, casualties, participants, who won, and more interesting details you might not know. This fact sheet provides a quick overview of the battle and is for kids doing research and students preparing for the AP U.S. History (APUSH) exam.

The Appomattox Campaign was the final campaign of General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War. Union victories at Five Forks, Petersburg, Sailor’s Creek and Appomattox Station trapped Lee’s army and destroyed its remaining supply routes. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, ending the Army of Northern Virginia’s participation in the war.

The Battle of Appomattox Court House was fought on April 9, 1865, during the Appomattox Campaign. After several Union victories forced General Robert E. Lee to retreat west from Petersburg, Union forces blocked his escape near Appomattox Court House. The battle ended with a Union victory. Leading Lee to surrender the Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant.

The Surrender at Appomattox Court House took place on April 9, 1865, when General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. The surrender ended the Appomattox Campaign and severely weakened the Confederate war effort, but it did not immediately end the war.

The Battle of Appomattox Station was fought on April 8, 1865, during the Appomattox Campaign. Union General George Armstrong Custer captured Confederate supply trains at Appomattox Station, then attacked General Reuben Lindsay Walker’s artillery detachment. The Union victory denied General Robert E. Lee’s army badly needed food, ammunition and clothing, while placing Union forces across Lee’s line of retreat.

The Battle of Arkansas Post, also known as the Battle of Fort Hindman, was fought from January 9–11, 1863, during the Vicksburg Campaign. Union forces under John A. McClernand and David D. Porter overwhelmed Thomas J. Churchill’s Confederate garrison and captured nearly 4,800 soldiers. Although the victory contributed little to the Vicksburg Campaign, it eliminated a Confederate threat to Union shipping on the Mississippi River.

The Atlanta Campaign was an 1864 Union offensive into Northern Georgia, led by General William T. Sherman against the Confederate Army of Tennessee. The campaign started when Sherman advanced from the area near Chattanooga, Tennessee, and ended after John Bell Hood evacuated Atlanta. Sherman occupied the city, securing a major Union victory and strengthening President Abraham Lincoln’s reelection campaign.

The Battle of Atlanta was fought between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America on July 22, 1864, near Atlanta, Georgia. Union forces under General William T. Sherman defeated Confederate forces under General John B. Hood after Hood launched attacks against the Union left flank and center. Although Confederate forces still held Atlanta after the battle, Hood’s army suffered heavy losses, and Sherman later forced the evacuation of the city.

The Battle of Averasboro was fought on March 16, 1865, during the Carolinas Campaign, as Confederate General William J. Hardee tried to delay the left wing of Union General William T. Sherman’s army. Although the battle ended without a clear winner, Hardee slowed General Henry W. Slocum’s advance by nearly two days. The delay gave General Joseph E. Johnston time to gather Confederate troops for the Battle of Bentonville.

The Battle of Bean’s Station was fought on December 14, 1863, during the Knoxville Campaign. Confederate General James Longstreet attacked Union cavalry under General J.M. Shackelford and forced the Federals to retreat. The Confederate victory produced few lasting military gains and was the final major engagement of Longstreet’s Knoxville Campaign.

The Battle of Beaver Dam Creek was fought on June 26, 1862, during the Peninsula Campaign and resulted in a tactical Union victory. Confederate General Robert E. Lee attempted to overwhelm Fitz John Porter’s isolated 5th Corps, but delays and poor coordination allowed Union forces to repulse repeated Confederate attacks. Despite the victory, George B. McClellan ordered Porter to withdraw and shifted his supply line to the James River, giving Lee an important strategic advantage. It was also part of the Seven Days Battles.

The Confederate Surrender at Bennett Place was negotiated by General William T. Sherman and General Joseph E. Johnston near Durham Station, North Carolina, in April 1865. Johnston surrendered 89,270 Confederate soldiers, making it the largest surrender by either side during the Civil War. The agreement ended hostilities in the East, although several Confederate forces remained in the field.

The Battle of Bentonville was fought from March 19 through March 21, 1865, during General William T. Sherman’s Carolinas Campaign. General Joseph E. Johnston attacked General Henry W. Slocum’s left wing before Sherman could unite with General John M. Schofield at Goldsboro. The battle ended in a Union victory and became the largest Civil War battle fought in North Carolina. It was also the last major Confederate offensive of the Civil War.

The Bermuda Hundred Campaign was a failed Union offensive into Virginia in May 1864. General Benjamin Butler and the Army of the James tried to threaten Richmond and cut the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad, but Confederate forces under General P. G. T. Beauregard stopped the advance. After fighting at Port Walthall Junction, Swift Creek, Chester Station, Proctor’s Creek, and Ware Bottom Church, Confederate defenses trapped Butler’s army on the Bermuda Hundred peninsula.

Big Bethel Battle facts, including dates, location, casualties, leaders, who won, and more interesting facts you might not know.

Considered by many historians to be the first major land engagement of the American Civil War, the Battle of Big Bethel was fought on June 10, 1861 at the southern end of the Virginia Peninsula.