American Civil War Battles and Strategies Quiz

The American Civil War

• McClellan lets Lee escape, leading to Lincoln firing him again, ending in a draw.
• Lincoln uses this battle to write the Emancipation Proclamation, which declares freedom for all slaves in rebelling territories but not in border states or the North.

Emancipation Proclamation

• Issued on January 1, 1863, to prevent Great Britain from interfering in the war.
• Ensures that Great Britain, which had already abolished slavery, does not join the Civil War on the side of the South.

Turning Point Battles of 1863

• Battle of Chancellorsville: Confederate victory, but Jackson is killed by friendly fire.
• Battle of Gettysburg: Union victory, 51,000 dead in 3-day battle, bloodiest battle of the war.
  • Gettysburg Address: Lincoln raises Northerners' spirits and continues to fight to preserve the Union.
• Battle of Vicksburg: Grant captures Fort Vicksburg, controlling the Mississippi River, and the Union gains control of the river.

Drafts and Military

• 1862: South begins a military draft, where non-slave households are infantry, while slaveholders are ranking officials.
• 1863: North begins a military draft, sparking riots in Northern cities, with the option to pay $300 to get out of it or have someone take your place.
• African Americans: Initially not allowed to fight, but after Emancipation, 180,000 black men serve in the military for the North, including the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.
• Women: Begin to serve as nurses, including Clara Barton, who later founds the American Red Cross.

End of the Civil War

• Sherman's March to the Sea: Total War, bringing women and children into war, burning Atlanta, GA to Savannah, GA, 300 miles long and 50 miles across.
• Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address: War is coming to an end with a Union victory, wants to ensure the South is welcomed back, and calls for malice towards none, with charity for all.
• Appomattox Courthouse, April 9, 1865: Grant captures Lee, and the Civil War is over.

Warfare

• Use of Cavalry: Mounted men on horseback.
• Rifles: Vastly improved, bullet-shaped, with rifling (grooves in the barrel).
• Artillery: Exploding shrapnel.
• Ironclad ships: Union - Monitor, Confederate - Merrimack, iron-built boats, battle on March 9, 1862.

Union Generals

• Battle of 2nd Bull Run: Union - Pope and McClellan, Confederate - Lee, easy victory for Lee.
• Battle of Shiloh, 1862: Grant in TN, forced a Confederate retreat, helped capture the Mississippi River.
• Battle of New Orleans, 1862: Admiral Farragut captures New Orleans.
• Battle of Fredericksburg: General Ambrose Burnside, easy victory for Lee.
• Battle of Antietam: Lee wants to bring War to North, goes to Border State Maryland, September 17, 1862, McClellan - 70,000 to Lee's - 40,000, Union Troops charge repetitively, 26,000 dead, bloodiest day in U.S. history, Lee and his forces retreat back to V.A.

Test your knowledge on the American Civil War battles and strategies, including the use of cavalry, improved rifles, artillery, ironclad ships, and key battles like 2 Bulls Run, Shiloh, and New Orleans in 1862.