The Battle of Fort Sumter marked the igniting point of the American Civil War, a cataclysmic conflict that tore the nation apart. Situated on an island at the entrance to Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, Fort Sumter held strategic significance as a federal stronghold in…
Read MoreOn April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Court House in Virginia, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, marking a critical moment in American history and effectively ending the Civil War. Lee’s decision to surrender came after several military setbacks…
Read MoreThe Battle of Shiloh, sometimes called the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, took place on April 6–7, 1862, near Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee. The battle marked a turning point in the war, demonstrating the ferocity and scale of the conflict while foreshadowing the immense casualties that…
Read MoreOn April 3, 1865, the end of the Civil War looked to be in reach when General Ulysses S. Grant captured the capital of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia. The fall of Richmond marked a pivotal moment in the war and represented the beginning of…
Read MoreOn January 9, 1861, the United States moved one step closer to going to civil war. On that day, A crew on The Star of the West, a ship hired by the U.S. government to supply American troops, found itself caught in between working for…
Read MoreOn December 20, 1860, a secession convention in South Carolina voted unanimously to secede from the Union. Fearing that Republican Abraham Lincoln’s administration would appoint antislavery officials who would undermine slavery, slaveholders chose to abandon the Constitution and form their own nation. To justify…
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