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

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

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.

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

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 giving themselves an

important victory. 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,

Georgia

Union Victory At first, General Hood of the

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.