Explore US civil war map showing map of confederate states / civil war states, it was a civil war in the U.S. which was fought between the U.S. (the North or Union), and the South (Confederacy), which was created by states that seceded.
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List of Notable American Civil War Battles
Battle Name
Date
Location
Victor
Description
Battle of Fort Sumter
April 12–13, 1861
Charleston Harbor, South Carolina
Confederate
The bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter marked the beginning of the Civil War.
First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas)
July 21, 1861
Manassas, Virginia
Confederate
The first major land battle of the war, resulting in a Confederate victory and a chaotic retreat of Union forces.
Battle of Shiloh
April 6–7, 1862
Hardin County, Tennessee
Union
A bloody battle with heavy casualties on both sides; the Union emerged victorious.
Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg)
September 17, 1862
Sharpsburg, Maryland
Inconclusive (Strategic Union Victory)
The bloodiest single-day battle in American history; led to the Emancipation Proclamation.
Battle of Fredericksburg
December 11–15, 1862
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Confederate
Noted for its intense urban combat and significant Union casualties.
Battle of Chancellorsville
April 30 – May 6, 1863
Spotsylvania County, Virginia
Confederate
Considered General Lee's greatest victory, but resulted in the mortal wounding of Stonewall Jackson.
Battle of Gettysburg
July 1–3, 1863
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Union
The turning point of the war; the Union repelled Lee's invasion of the North.
Siege of Vicksburg
May 18 – July 4, 1863
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Union
Gave the Union control of the Mississippi River, effectively splitting the Confederacy.
Battle of Chickamauga
September 19–20, 1863
Walker County, Georgia
Confederate
Marked the end of a Union offensive in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia.
Battle of Chattanooga
November 23–25, 1863
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Union
Opened the Deep South to Union invasion after breaking the Confederate siege.
Battle of the Wilderness
May 5–7, 1864
Spotsylvania County, Virginia
Inconclusive
Characterized by fierce combat in dense woods, resulting in heavy casualties.
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
May 8–21, 1864
Spotsylvania County, Virginia
Inconclusive
Notable for brutal trench warfare and the infamous "Bloody Angle."
Battle of Cold Harbor
May 31 – June 12, 1864
Hanover County, Virginia
Confederate
Remembered for its frontal assaults against fortified positions, resulting in high Union casualties.
Siege of Petersburg
June 1864 – April 1865
Petersburg, Virginia
Union
A prolonged series of battles around Petersburg, leading to the fall of Richmond.
Battle of Appomattox Court House
April 9, 1865
Appomattox County, Virginia
Union
Resulted in General Lee's surrender to General Grant, effectively ending the war.
Union, Confederate, and Border States in the American Civil War
State
Affiliation
Slavery Status
Year Admitted to Union
Border State
California
Union
Free
1850
No
Connecticut
Union
Free
1788
No
Delaware
Union
Slave
1787
Yes
Illinois
Union
Free
1818
No
Indiana
Union
Free
1816
No
Iowa
Union
Free
1846
No
Kansas
Union
Free
1861
No
Kentucky
Union
Slave
1792
Yes
Maine
Union
Free
1820
No
Maryland
Union
Slave
1788
Yes
Massachusetts
Union
Free
1788
No
Michigan
Union
Free
1837
No
Minnesota
Union
Free
1858
No
Nevada
Union
Free
1864
No
New Hampshire
Union
Free
1788
No
New Jersey
Union
Free
1787
No
New York
Union
Free
1788
No
Ohio
Union
Free
1803
No
Oregon
Union
Free
1859
No
Pennsylvania
Union
Free
1787
No
Rhode Island
Union
Free
1790
No
Vermont
Union
Free
1791
No
West Virginia
Union
Free
1863
No
Wisconsin
Union
Free
1848
No
Alabama
Confederate
Slave
1819
No
Arkansas
Confederate
Slave
1836
No
Florida
Confederate
Slave
1845
No
Georgia
Confederate
Slave
1788
No
Louisiana
Confederate
Slave
1812
No
Mississippi
Confederate
Slave
1817
No
North Carolina
Confederate
Slave
1789
No
South Carolina
Confederate
Slave
1788
No
Tennessee
Confederate
Slave
1796
No
Texas
Confederate
Slave
1845
No
Virginia
Confederate
Slave
1788
No
Missouri
Union
Slave
1821
Yes
American Civil War
Sources of the American Civil War
Rooted in ingrained political, social, and economic differences, the American Civil War (1861–1865) was among the most important wars in American history. Slavery—especially its spread into other territories—was the main culprit. While the Southern states relied on enslaved labor for their agricultural economy, especially for cotton output, the North, where slavery had been abolished or was in process of ending, preferred limiting its spread. Temporary fixes were the Missouri Compromise (1820), Compromise of 1850, and Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), but tensions grew with the Dred Scott v. Sandford ruling (1857), which said Congress lacked jurisdiction to control slavery in the territories and African Americans could not be U.S. citizens. The last impetus for secession came from Abraham Lincoln's 1860 election opposing the spread of slavery. Eleven Southern states had broken away from the Union by February 1861 to establish President Jefferson Davis's Confederate States of America.
Significant Events Tragic Enough to Cause War
Starting South Carolina on December 20, 1860, secession followed Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. Four additional states—Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee—joined the Confederacy after Lincoln took office in March 1861. Officially starting on April 12, 1861, Lincoln sought 75,000 volunteers to quell the insurrection when Confederate soldiers fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. Though they had slavery, border states like Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, and Delaware stayed in the Union; West Virginia broke away from Virginia to live with the Union.
Important Campaigns and Battles
Among the most fierce conflicts in American history, the Civil War witnessed several Northern dreams for a rapid triumph were dashed in July 1861 by the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas). The Union began the Peninsula Campaign in Virginia in 1862, but ran afoul of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. With over 22,000 deaths, the Battle of Antietam (September 17, 1862) turned out to be the deadliest single-day conflict in American history. Lincoln's Union triumph allowed him to proclaim enslaved people in Confederate states free with the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, therefore orienting the war's emphasis toward abolition. With Union troops defeating Lee's army and therefore extinguishing Confederate ambitions for European acceptance, the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863) signaled a turning point. General Ulysses S. Grant's triumph at Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, guaranteed Union rule over the Mississippi River, therefore severing the Confederacy.
The Part African Americans Played in the War
With over 200,000 members of the Union Army and Navy, African Americans were integral in the Civil War. One of the first Black units, the 54th Massachusetts infantry Regiment shown bravery during the Battle of Fort Wagner. Further undermining the Confederate economy, the Emancipation Proclamation urged enslaved people to flee and join the Union cause. If Black troops were taken prisoner by Confederate forces, they suffered prejudice, little pay, and cruel treatment; however, their services were crucial to Union success.
Home Front and Economic Effects
Both the Union's and the Confederate home fronts suffered greatly throughout the Civil War. Driven by industrial output, the Northern economy grew quickly as manufacturers of weapons, uniforms, and supplies generated Dependent on slaves and farmland, the Southern economy fell apart amid Union blockades and infrastructural damage. In the Confederacy, inflation surged, and shortages of food and commodities set up upheaval. With personalities like Clara Barton pioneering battlefield medical treatment, women in both areas assumed new responsibilities as nurses, manufacturing workers, and administrators.
Full War and the March to the Sea
Using a tactic of total war to destroy Confederate infrastructure and morale, General William Tecumseh Sherman started his "March to the Sea," in 1864. Burning railroads, ruining farms, and grabbing supplies, his army proceeded from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. This campaign accelerated the end of the war and wrecked the South. Grant's Overland Campaign in Virginia tired Lee's army, which resulted in the Siege of Petersburg and Richmond, the Confederate capital, falling in April 1865.
The Civil War's Final Thought
When Robert E. Lee turned himself in to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia, the Civil War virtually came to an end on April 9, 1865. Other Confederate forces turned themselves over during the following two weeks. Shockingly the country was rocked on April 14, 1865 when Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth killed President Lincoln at Ford's Theatre. Aiming to unite the nation and handling the difficulties of including previously enslaved individuals into society, Andrew Johnson took over the presidency and oversaw the early years of Reconstruction.
Death and Debris
With an estimated 620,000 to 750,000 casualties including both troops and civilians, the Civil War was the worst war in American history. Given limited medical expertise and hostile combat circumstances, disease accounted for the most of the deaths. Cities like Charleston, Atlanta, and Richmond experienced great damage while the South endured overall devastation. Racial tensions and sectional divides that persisted for decades inflicted severe wounds on American society as well.
Reconstruction and Following Up
Reconstruction (1865–1877) was the post-war effort to reconstruct the South and include African Americans into society. The 13th Amendment (1865) outlawed slavery; the 14th Amendment (1868) gave previously enslaved people citizenship; and the 15th Amendment (1870) guaranteed voting rights irrespective of race. But white Southerners' opposition resulted in Black Codes and the Ku Klux Klan emerging to stifle Black political and social advancement. Federal soldiers entered the South to enforce new laws, but Reconstruction finally came to an end with the Compromise of 1877, which withdrew federal troops and let Southern governments apply segregationist practices also known as Jim Crow laws.
Civil War Legacies
The Civil War rebuilt the United States, strengthening the federal government and eradicating the institution of slavery. It affected military strategies, medical developments, and governmental policies as well as set the stage for the 20th century civil rights movement. Examined for lessons on democracy, fairness, and national unity, the conflict continues to be a major chapter in American history. Memorials, battlefields, and historical places help to preserve the memory of those who fought and died so that the costs paid during this pivotal fight never fade.
