Civil War Turning Point

The Civil War was the bloodiest war in American history, having more American casualties than both World Wars, the Vietnam war, the Korean war, and the Revolutionary War. Initially, the North was expected to completely destroy the South and win in one fell swoop. After the first battles, however, it was soon revealed to both sides that this war would not be won by just a few victories. From the first battle at Fort Sumter, to the turning point of the war at Gettysburg, or the deadliest battle of the Civil War at Antietam, here are some of the key battles that shaped the war and the people that fought in them.

Secession. The South had seceded from the Union, for a multitude of reasons. Meanwhile, in Charleston Harbor, Major Robert Anderson had moved his troops from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter, an intimidating fort located in the middle of the harbor. A month later, with food supply dwindling, the Confederacy asked Anderson to surrender himself and his 85 soldiers. He refused. At 4:30 A.M. the next day, the first shots of the war were fired. For 34
The North had been losing badly to the South up until this point, and was desperate to find a new commander that would lead the army to victory. The South wanted to convince the slave state, Maryland, to join the Confederacy. They also wanted to gain support from Europe to continue to fuel the war. He decided that a “show of strength” on Union soil would take out two birds with one stone. Union and Confederate armies met at Sharpsburg on September 16th, 1862. They fought all day in cornfields, on sunken country roads, and at the namesake of the battle; Antietam creek. Taking heavy casualties, Robert E. Lee, the acting Confederate general, retreated. The Union general, George Mcclellan, did not attack the retreating army, wanting to take the safer route. Lincoln fires Mcclellan because of this, and the North found the general they were so desperately looking for; Ulysses S.