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Educational Videos for Students (Cartoons on Bullying, Leadership & More)

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Helping kids learn about the Civil War! Watch our Civil War video for elementary students video

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Students can get a visual for where the Civil War ended

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Kids History: Daily Life During the Civil War

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Kids learn about what daily life was like during the Civil War. With men at war, the women and children were on the homefront.

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Timeline
History >> Civil War

The American Civil War was fought between the southern states and the northern states. The southern states didn't want the North telling them what to do or making laws they didn't want. As a result, many southern states decided to break away and form their own country called the Confederacy. The North, however, wanted to stay as one united country; and so a war began. The Civil War, and the major events leading up to the war, lasted from 1860 to 1865.

Abraham Lincoln with Soldiers by Unknown

Events Before the War
Harpers Ferry Raid (October 16, 1859) - Abolitionist John Brown attempts to start a rebellion by taking over the Harpers Ferry arsenal. The uprising is quickly put down and John Brown is hanged for treason. Many people in the North, however, consider him a hero.

Abraham Lincoln Elected President (November 6, 1860) - Abraham Lincoln was from the northern part of the country and wanted to put an end to slavery. The southern states didn't want him president or making laws that would affect them.

South Carolina Secedes (Dec. 20, 1860) - South Carolina became the first state to secede, or leave, the United States. They decided to make their own country rather than be part of the USA. Within a few months several other states including Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana would also leave the Union.

Jefferson Davis by Matthew Brady

The Confederation is formed (Feb. 9, 1861) - The southern states form their own country called the Confederate States of America. Jefferson Davis is their president.

Abraham Lincoln becomes President (March 4, 1861) - Now that President Lincoln is in office, he wants to restore the Union. In other words, get all the states back into the same country.

The Civil War
The Civil War Begins (April 12, 1861) - The South attacks Fort Sumter South Carolina and starts the war.

More States leave the Union (April 1861) - within a short period of time Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas all leave the Union to join the Confederacy.

Union Blockade (April 19, 1861) - Abraham Lincoln announces the Union Blockade where the Union Navy will attempt to keep supplies from entering or leaving the Confederacy. This blockade will weaken the Confederacy later in the war.

Many Battles of 1861 and 1862 - Throughout 1861 and 1862 there were many battles where lots of soldiers from both sides were wounded and killed. Some of the major battles include the First and Second Battles of Bull Run, The Battle of Shiloh, The Battle of Antietam, and the Battle of Fredericksburg. There was also the famous sea battle between the two ironclad battleships the Monitor and the Merrimac. These ships had iron or steel plates on their sides for armor making them much stronger and changing war on the seas forever.

Emancipation Proclamation (Jan. 1, 1863) - President Lincoln issues an executive order freeing many of the enslaved and laying the groundwork for the Thirteenth Amendment.

The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1, 1863) - A major battle where the North not only wins the battle, but starts to win the Civil War.

Sherman Captures Atlanta (Sept. 2, 1864) - General Sherman captures the city of Atlanta, Georgia. Later in the year he would march to the sea and capture Savannah, Ga. On his way he would destroy and burn much of the land his army passed through.

Engineers of the 8th New York State
Militia in front of a tent
from the National Archives

The Civil War Ends
General Robert E. Lee surrenders (April 9, 1865) - General Lee, the leader of the Confederate Army, surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant at The Appomattox Court House in Virginia.

President Lincoln is Assassinated (April 14, 1865) - While attending the Ford's Theatre, President Lincoln is shot and killed by John Wilkes Booth.

Reconstruction of the South (1865-1877) - The South is occupied by Federal troops while state governments, economies, and infrastructure are rebuilt.

Overview Major Events Civil War Life

People Battles

Works Cited

History >> Civil War

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Kids learn about the timeline and events that took place during the American Civil war in history.

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Students can see what it would have been like for them if they had been born during the Civil War

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Ulysses S. Grant | Article

Library of Congress

Ulysses S Grant was the biggest hero of the Civil War. Johnny Clem might well have been the smallest. Ten years old when he ran away from home and joined the second Michigan Regiment, the drummer boy won fame at the battle of Shiloh, where he put down his drum, picked up a gun, and shot a Confederate colonel. All across the Union, Clem was celebrated as a hero. But Johnny Clem wasn't the only young person to be affected by the Civil War. In fact, it would be hard to find a kid that wasn't.

When war broke out in 1861, kids across the North and the South said goodbye to their fathers, brothers, uncles, and cousins -- or joined the military themselves. As many as 20% of Civil War soldiers were younger than 18. That was the minimum recruiting age for Union soldiers, but many people willingly overlooked the law. The Confederacy set no minimum age. Many young soldiers enlisted as musicians -- drummers, fifers, or buglers. In theory, musicians didn't fight. But once a battle began, these kids often armed themselves - to save their own lives or the lives of their friends.

It's hard to imagine the horrors teenage soldiers experienced. They charged through hailstorms of bullets while the bodies of their friends fell all around them. They listened as wounded men pleaded for their mothers, for a drink of water, or for death to come. They assisted surgeons, standing by as they sawed off mangled arms and legs - often without an anesthetic. They endured the horrors of Andersonville, a Confederate prison in which thousands of Union men died of starvation and disease. They were killed in battle or suffered physical and mental wounds that they would carry for the rest of their lives.

If the greatest horrors of the war occurred on the battlefields, civilians experienced their own shares of hardship. Families whose men went to war made up for their absence. Kids helped run family farms and businesses. They planted and harvested crops, chopped wood, and butchered animals for food. They drove horses, cooked, and cared for siblings. They wrote letters to their absent relatives, and prayed for them to come home safe. Many never did.

In the South, where most of the war's major battles were fought, civilian children endured even more misery. They huddled underground as bullets pierced the walls of their homes and artillery burst all around them. They stood by as their homes were turned into command posts or field hospitals. They tended wounded soldiers and watched them die. When the battles ended their homes and farms were often in ruins. Their fields and even their yards were littered with rotting corpses. Their animals and their food crops were destroyed or taken by soldiers. They faced disease and even starvation.

Yet for some Southern children - African American slaves - this brutal war meant freedom. Even before the war, enslaved children had escaped to the North with their families and on their own. As soon as the war began, African Americans began to slip behind Union lines and seek refuge. After President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, this stream of refugees turned into a flood.

Often, home for emancipated slaves was no more than a wooden packing crate in a primitive encampment. Food was scarce, and disease rampant. As many as half of all blacks in such encampments died of diseases such as malaria and typhoid. But still, there was hope. Sympathetic Northerners set up schools to teach blacks of all ages to read and write. And like young Northern whites, young African Americans joined the army and fought for the Union cause. They, too, experienced the horrors of war, at places such as Fort Wagner, South Carolina, and Saltville and Petersburg, both in Virginia.

Still, through all of the madness of war, children remained children. In schoolyards and farmyards, boys dressed as soldiers marched and played war. Girls imitated the nurses of the U.S. Sanitary Commission, which provided medical care to the soldiers. Kids read magazines such as Our Young Folks that contained stories of soldiers like Johnny Clem and encouraged kids to sacrifice for the war effort. And sacrifice they did, sending food packages, bandages, and clothing to soldiers in the field.

When the war ended in 1865, children felt both joy and sadness. Many soldiers returned home safe, but some came home wounded. Others didn't make it home at all. Almost every child in America had lost a relative in the war. While Northern children celebrated victory, young Southerners shared the humiliation of defeat. Many young African Americans enjoyed freedom for the first time. But that freedom would be limited by racism.

No matter who they were or where they lived, young people across America were glad that the bloodiest war in American history had ended at last. But for most kids who survived, the war would never quite be over. It had forced them to endure hardships and to grow up fast enough to take on adult responsibilities. It had shown them just how horrible the world could be. And they would never forget it.

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Kids in the Civil War | American Experience | PBS

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When war broke out in 1861, kids across the North and the South said goodbye to their fathers, brothers, uncles, and cousins - or joined the military themselves.

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Students get a chance to play a game while testing their knowledge of the Civil War

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This game will test your knowledge of the affiliation of the states and figures of the Civil War, the locations of the major battles, and the advantages the sides had over each other. With each answer you provide you'll learn a wealth of information!

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This game will test your knowledge of the affiliation of the states and figures of the Civil War, the locations of the major battles, and the advantages the sides had over each other. With each answer you provide you'll learn a wealth of information!

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Differences between the North and South during the Civil War

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Differences between the North and South during the Civil War

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Civil War

The Civil War was a bloody battle fought between the Northern and Southern states of the United States of America. A civil war is a war fought between citizens of the same country. The Civil War in the United States was a war that had been years in the making. For decades, the North and the South fought over several economic and social issues.

Cultural Differences

By the 1820s, people all throughout America were attending religious gatherings. A lot of these gatherings focused on social reform. This was called the Second Great Awakening. Many were thinking about how they could live a better, more moral life. This is when the abolition movement was born in the North. Abolitionists were people who believed in abolishing or getting rid of slavery.

In the North, the abolitionist movement took hold of many different people. All around the region, newspapers, speeches, and books were being written about bringing slavery to an end in the South. In the South, the Southerners were very concerned. Their economy and way of life were dependent upon slavery.

Economic Differences

In the South, life revolved around the cultivation of cash crops. The production of these raw materials was dependent on the hard work of slaves. Raw material production on that scale required a lot of labor. If farmers had to pay for that labor, they wouldn't have made much profit at all. Indigo, tobacco, rice, and cotton were grown in the South and sent all over the world, including the factories that dominated the northern region.

In the North, the economy was based primarily on urban, factory lifestyles. The heavily populated cities of the North, like Boston, New York, and Cincinnati, were brimming with textile mills and other early manufacturing plants. As a result, in the North, women and children were typically in the workplace as well as the men.

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north & south differences in the civil war lesson for kids - video & lesson transcript | study.com

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North & South Differences in the Civil War Lesson for Kids - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

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The Civil War was a bloody battle fought between the Northern and Southern states of the United States of America. A civil war is a war fought between citizens of the same country. The Civil War in the United States was a war that had been years in the making.

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Map Description
Historical Map of the American Civil War: the Battle of Harpers Ferry - September 15, 1862

Illustrating

- Battle positions

Credits
Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Department of History.

Related Links
About the Secession About the American Civil War About the Confederate States of America

More History

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Map of the Battle of Harpers Ferry - September 15, 1862

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Map Description Historical Map of the American Civil War: the Battle of Harpers Ferry - September 15, 1862 Illustrating - Battle positions Credits Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Department of History.

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This incredible map allows students to click on any of the battles in the Civil War to learn about their significance.

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National Geographic Battle of Gettysburg

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National Geographic Battle of Gettysburg

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The sky turned a glowing red as the sun rose over Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on July 1, 1863. The fields outside of town were orderly and quiet, with a few large wood-and-stone barns scattered throughout the landscape. Nothing indicated that by the day's end the largest battle ever fought on the North American continent would be in full force on those very fields.

The bloodiest battle of the Civil War was about to begin.

THE ROAD TO GETTYSBURG

The Civil War started in the United States two years earlier, in 1861. The war was mostly over the issue of slavery. At the time, many white citizens owned Black enslaved people. Then-President Abraham Lincoln was against slavery and wanted to end it. Many people in the northern states agreed with him; most people in the southern states, however, relied on enslaved people to farm their crops and did not want slavery to end.

That year, 11 southern states broke away from the United States, which was also known as the Union. These southern states formed what was called the Confederate States of America. The country had officially entered the Civil War.

For the next two years, battles were fought. Both sides experienced multiple wins and losses. But by 1863, the Confederate Army was in high spirits. In May, despite being outnumbered, they scored a victory over the Union soldiers, also known as the Yankees, in Chancellorsville, Virginia.

Confederate General Robert E. Lee thought if his men got another win, northerners might withdraw their support for the war. His troops began marching north in June.

THE BATTLE

When news reached southern Pennsylvania that Lee's army was on its way, residents fled. The area was mostly deserted by the time the Confederate soldiers appeared-except for the Union Army awaiting their arrival. Tipped off by intelligence reports, the Yankees were able to predict when the southerners would arrive-and had camped out in Cashtown to wait for them.

At first the Confederates outnumbered the Yankees. Overwhelmed by the sheer size of the southern army, the Union was forced to retreat from Cashtown to Gettysburg and wait for more troops. There, led by General George Meade, the Union regrouped and set up renewed defenses.

By the second day the Yankees numbered around 94,000 soldiers; the Confederates around 72,000. General Lee attacked first. Both sides took heavy losses, but Meade's Union defense lines held strong.

On the final day of the battle, General Lee decided to stage an aggressive attack. He sent General George Pickett-with approximately 12,500 men-on a direct charge against the Union Army. Pickett's attack ultimately failed, resulting in over half of his men being injured or killed. General Lee and the Confederate Army retreated.

The Battle of Gettysburg remains the deadliest battle of the Civil War. As many as 23,000 Yankees and 28,000 Confederates were killed, wounded, or captured over the course of just three days.

AFTERMATH

Although the war went on for almost two more years, Gettysburg was a turning point toward the final Union victory in 1865. And that victory meant more than holding together the United States as a country. It also meant the end of slavery-the institution that had divided the nation since its founding in 1776.

President Lincoln said it best in his address on November 19, 1863, to dedicate the cemetery for soldiers killed at Gettysburg. The battle not only ensured that the United States would not "perish from the Earth" but also eventually gave the nation "a new birth of freedom."

Today millions of people visit the battlefield every year. There they shed tears or stand in silent tribute to the courage and sacrifice of the soldiers who lost their lives at Gettysburg.

TEXT ADAPTED FROM SUMNER'S BLOODIEST DAYS: THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG AS TOLD FROM ALL SIDES, AND THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS BOOK EVERYTHING BATTLES by John Perritano and James Spears

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Learn about the Civil War's bloodiest fight.