History of the america civil war

In November ofPresident Lincoln traveled to the small Pennsylvania town and delivered the Gettysburg Address, which expressed firm commitment to preserving the Union and became one of the most iconic speeches in American history.

History of the america civil war: › Topics › Civil War.

Fact 7: Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee did not meet on the field of battle until May of Grantand Virginia born Robert E. The two men had very little in common. Lee was from a well respected First Family of Virginia, with ties to the Continental Army and the founding fathers of the nation. While Grant was from a middle-class family with no martial or family political ties.

Lee was offered command of the federal army amassing in Washington, inbut he declined the command and threw his hat in with the Confederacy. Lee's early war career got off to a rocky start, but he found his stride in June of after he assumed command of what he dubbed the Army of Northern Virginia. Grant, on the other hand, found early success in the war but was haunted by rumors of alcoholism.

Bythe two men were by far the best generals on their respective sides. In March ofGrant was promoted to lieutenant general and brought to the Eastern Theater of the war, where he and Lee engaged in a relentless campaign from May of to Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House eleven months later. The war bankrupted much of the South, left its roads, farms, and factories in ruins, and all but wiped out an entire generation of men who wore the blue and the gray.

More thanmen died in the Civil War, more than any other war in American history. The southern states were occupied by Union soldiers, rebuilt, and gradually re-admitted to the United States over the course of twenty difficult years known as the Reconstruction Era. It was clear to many that it was only a matter of time before slavery would be fully abolished.

As the war drew to a close, but before the southern states were re-admitted to the United States, the northern states added the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution.

History of the america civil war: The American Civil War was

The amendments are also known as the "Civil War Amendments. The 14th Amendment has played an ongoing role in American society as different groups of citizens continue to lobby for equal treatment by the government. The United States government has identified battles that had a significant impact on the larger war. Many of these battlefields have been developed—turned into shopping malls, pizza parlors, housing developments, etc.

Since the end of the Civil War, veterans and other citizens have struggled to preserve the fields on which Americans fought and died. The American Battlefield Trust and its partners have preserved tens of thousands of acres of battlefield land. Civil War Article. The Civil War profoundly shaped the United States as we know it today. The Union victory at Antietam would prove decisive, as it halted the Confederate advance in Maryland and forced Lee to retreat into Virginia.

Lincoln had used the occasion of the Union victory at Antietam to issue a preliminary Emancipation Proclamationwhich freed all enslaved people in the rebellious states after January 1, He justified his decision as a wartime measure, and did not go so far as to free the enslaved people in the border states loyal to the Union. Still, the Emancipation Proclamation deprived the Confederacy of the bulk of its labor forces and put international public opinion strongly on the Union side.

SomeBlack Civil War soldiers would join the Union Army by the time the war ended inand 38, lost their lives.

History of the america civil war: The Union won the American Civil

The Confederates gained a costly victory in the Battle of Chancellorsvillesuffering 13, casualties around 22 percent of their troops ; the Union lost 17, men 15 percent. Over three days of fierce fighting, the Confederates were unable to push through the Union center, and suffered casualties of close to 60 percent. Also in JulyUnion forces under Ulysses S.

Grant took Vicksburg Mississippi in the Siege of Vicksburga victory that would prove to be the turning point of the war in the western theater. National Archives The Civil War started because of uncompromising differences between the free and slave states over the power of the national government to prohibit slavery in the territories that had not yet become states.

Library of Congress For three long years, from toRobert E. James McPherson is a leading Civil War historian. Related Articles. View All Related Resources.

History of the america civil war: The War Between the

Call to Arms. Save 11 Acres — Nearly Untouched — at Gettysburg! You can save this land, land including the same groves of trees that sheltered troops as the fighting raged near Seminary Ridge on the first day of Campaign Details. Donate now. Add to My Battlefields Educators Library. Related Battles. Bull Run Battle Facts. Estimated Casualties.

What were they built to honor? How many still exist? Historians and experts look at the role of slavery in the Civil War and its effect on the U. President Abraham Lincoln delivers one of the most moving and infamous speeches in U. Which of the admired Civil War generals would you want to lead your army?