American Civil War Essay

Camden Wright

Mrs. Doerr

ELA 8

10 February 2023 The American Civil War

“The conflict was the costliest and deadliest war ever fought on American soil, with some 620,000 of 2.4 million soldiers killed, millions more injured” (“Civil War”). This conflict would be known as the American Civil War. From 1861-1865 the Confederacy and Union were at war with each. The Union army went through many generals during the war, the most famous being General Ulysses S. Grant. The Confederate army was led by General Robert E. Lee, who had many supporting officers. Years before, opposition grew in the government because of the attempts to maintain the balance of free and slave states in the Union and westward expansions (“Civil War”). The American Civil War

“When Abraham Lincoln, the candidate of the explicitly antislavery Republican Party, won the 1860 presidential election, seven Southern states carried out their threat and seceded, organizing as the Confederate States of America”(Webber and Hassler). This was the final straw for Southerners. Georgia, Texas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida were the states. These states formed the Confederate States of America or the Confederacy (“Civil War).

The first conflict between the Confederacy and the Union was at Union-controlled Fort Sumter. “On April 12, after Lincoln ordered a fleet to resupply Sumter, Confederate artillery fired the first shots of the Civil War” (“Civil War”). The bombardment lasted thirty-four hours and concluded with zero casualties. (Warren and Hassler). After the battle, four more states succeeded the Union, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and Arkansas. This action left Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and other slave states as border states (“Civil War”). This marked the beginning of the Civil

Grant took Vicksburg (Mississippi) in the Siege of Vicksburg, a victory that would prove to be the turning point of the war in the western theater”(“Civil War”). This Union victory gave them full control of the Mississippi River. It also split the Confederacy in half. Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana were split from the rest of the Union. The Siege of Vicksburg and the Battle of Gettysburg was a key turning point in the war (“Libguides: American history: The Civil War and reconstruction: Major battles and campaigns of the Civil War”). In mid-1864 the Battle of Atlanta transpired (“Libguides: American history: The Civil War and reconstruction: Major battles of the Civil War”). “The Battle of Atlanta was fought on July 22, 1864, though the city of Atlanta did not fall to Union forces until September 2nd”(“Libguides: American history: The Civil War and reconstruction: Major battles and campaigns of the Civil War”). This battle had a large effect on the election. Before the battle, no one was sure who would be elected. With this major victory for the Union, Lincoln gained in the polls and won the election (“Libguides: American history: The Civil War and reconstruction: Major battles and campaigns of the Civil War”). The war ended 9 months later when Lee surrendered at Appomattox on April 9, 1865. “On the eve of victory, the Union lost its great leader: The actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth assassinated President