# data[].attributes.body
The Battle of Fort Sumter was the first battle of the Civil War. Confederates demanded the surrender of the under supplied fort that guarded Charleston Harbor. Abraham Lincoln sent supplies and not troops so that he would not look like the aggressor. Jefferson Davis ordered the forces to fire on the fort before the supplies arrived. The Union was forced to surrender two days later before the supplies had arrived. No one died in the battle. Known as the bloodless battle of the bloodiest war, this was a Confederate victory.

# data[].attributes.body
The First Battle of Bull Run was the first major battle of the Civil War. Also called the "Battle of Manassas" or "The Picnic Battle," the battle was a Confederate victory. The Union showed original success when General Irvin McDowell attacked General P.G.T. Beauregard. The Confederates were forced back to Henry Hill where General Thomas Jackson arrived with reinforcements. He reportedly stood like a "stone wall" during the battle. He was given the name, "Stonewall Jackson." The Confederates pushed the Union back. Their first attempt to capture Richmond had failed. The Union's belief of a quick war was also foiled.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Battle of the Ironclads at Hampton Roads

# data[].attributes.subject
The Battle of the Ironclads at Hampton Roads

# data[].attributes.body
The Virginia, an ironclad, attacked the Union Blockade at Hampton Roads, Virginia. An ironclad is a ship that is plated with iron to prevent gunfire from damaging the ship. The Virginia was a repurposed Union ship called the Merrimack. This is why the Union called it as such. The Virginia made quick of the Cumberland and the Congress, two Union wooden ships. The next day, the Monitor, another ironclad, attacked the Virginia while protecting the unprotected Minnesota. Neither ship could do any damage to each other, so when the Virginia returned to port, the battle was considered a draw.

# data[].attributes.body
The Battle of Antietam was the first push of the Confederacy into the Union. Led by General Robert E. Lee, the Confederates split up into four groups and divided to cause confusion in the Union. A group of Union soldiers found Lee's plans and reported them to their general, George McClellan. McClellan hesitated to advance to Lincoln's dismay, but the two met at Antietam, near Sharpsburg, Maryland. It was the bloodiest day in American History. It was considered a Union victory since Lee could not accomplish any of his plans. Despite this, General McClellan was fired by Lincoln, who was upset that his general did not pursue Lee's weakened army.

# data[].attributes.body
After General McClellan was fired, Lincoln put the army of the Potomac in the hands of General Ambrose Burnside. This was already the Union's third time attempting to capture Richmond after the defeats at Bull Run. Lee, after losing at Antietam, moved his troops to Virginia. Burnside began plans to attack the transportation hub of Fredericksburg, Virginia. General Lee dug trenches in the hills South of the city, known as Murray's Heights, to become fortified. The Union troops launched shells into the city before crossing the Rappahannock River as shown above. Burnside, who wanted to get on Lincoln's good side and destroy the Confederate Army, daftly launched a full frontal assault. Burnside led his troops directly into the entrenched Confederates. The Rebels, with their superior positioning, held back wave after wave of Union troops with artillery and cavalry. After fourteen charges, Burnside retreated back over the river. The Confederates had won again. Burnside resigned from the position after this battle.

# data[].attributes.body
The next general leading the Army of the Potomac was General Joseph Hooker, who replaced Burnside after the embarrassing defeat at Fredericksburg. Once again, the Union wanted to make a run for the Confederate capital, Richmond. Hooker planned to surround Lee from all sides. Hooker outnumbered Lee two to one, but Lee divided his troops to attack the front and the flank, or the side, of the Union army. Lee attacked the front, and Jackson attacked the flank. A devastating blow, Hooker retreated. Another Confederate victory. He too, resigned. However, Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson died at the battle due to friendly fire. Jackson had his arm amputated, but died later due to pneumonia. Lee reportedly said after the loss of Jackson, "He has lost his left arm, and I have lost my right."

# data[].attributes.body
At Vicksburg, General Ulysses S. Grant aimed to capture the last stronghold on the Mississippi, Vicksburg. Just days before, Grant had captured Jackson, Mississippi, then marched west toward the Mississippi River to surround Vicksburg. Grant laid siege to the fort with 77,000 troops. The Confederates had 30,000 troops. Vicksburg was constantly being fired on from the river, along with the Confederates being starved of supplies. After 47 days of disease and death, the Confederates surrendered on Independence Day making a Union victory. The victory at Vicksburg was another turning point in the war, spurring patriotism around the country. Lincoln referred to Vicksburg as the key because it divided the South in half with full control of the Mississippi. In fact, the South was completely surrounded.

# data[].attributes.body
Trying to gain Europe’s support after the victories at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, the army of Northern Virginia, under General Robert E. Lee, led an attack on the Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg, which housed a lot of supplies. The outnumbered Union troops took the high ground along Little Round Top, Round Top, and Cemetery Ridge. On the second day, the Confederates tried to gain control of the Round Tops. General Meade, the next general after Hooker, held them off. On the third day of fighting, General Lee ordered Major General Pickett to lead a charge toward the Union artillery, meant to create panic in the Union lines. General Longwood advised against this, but Lee, being the more senior officer, ignored the suggestion. The charge, known as Pickett’s Charge, was a devastating failure. Lee vastly underestimated the Union number of cannons. Half of the troops in the charge died. Lee later retreated from Gettysburg, back to Virginia on Independence Day. This was a huge turning point for the Union for many reasons. France and Britain would no longer support a losing country in a war. General Lee, overcome by guilt, would never be himself again. He was tainted by his mistake and was very unsure of himself in the future. Lincoln, however, was very angry at General Meade. Meade did not pursue Lee’s weak army after they retreated from Gettysburg. This would have saved countless lives and put an end to the war.

# data[].attributes.body
The Battle of Fort Wagner in South Carolina was an example that African-American soldiers are no different than Whites. On the beach with the fort in sight, the 54th Massachusetts, a division of all African-Americans, volunteered to lead the first wave of the attack. No one else volunteered for the suicide mission. The sandy walls of the fort had cannons pointing at the beach where the regiment would advance. Under Colonel Robert Shaw, three hundred troops died including Shaw. The Union could not capture the fort despite making it farther than expected.

# data[].attributes.body
This would be the final attempt to get the capital of the Confederacy. General Ulysses S. Grant led troops to the battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Courthouse, and Cold Harbour. The war was not looking too good for the South. Lee's troops fiercely defended the city, but ultimately, Grant settled in for a siege that surrounded the city and essentially, Richmond. Grant was able to get supplies and troops from the North. The South could get neither. Nine months later, after long fighting, the Confederate lines broke. With that, the door to Richmond was open. Wide open.

# data[].attributes.body
In August of 1864, David Farragut, the highest ranking officer in the Navy, led an attack on Mobile Bay, Alabama. This was the last major port in the Confederacy that was not already taken. Farragut joined the Navy when he was just twelve years old. With eighteen ships, Farragut found stiff resistance. He even climbed to the top of a ship and tied himself there to get a better point of view. The Confederacy, with forts on either side, were prepared. There were mines with torpedoes. Farragut said, "🤬 the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" The bay fell to Union forces marking the fall of the last port east of the Mississippi.

# data[].attributes.body
Sherman's March to the Sea was one of the most destructive acts of the Civil War. General William Tecumseh Sherman, after burning Atlanta to the ground, marched to the sea, destroying the South. During the Scorched Earth Campaign, he used total war to push the South to his knees. This strategy involved attacking not only the army, but the infrastructure, homes, and people as well. Without this, the war could have persisted for longer and caused more misery and death. Sherman made "Sherman Neckties" from railroads which his army wrapped around trees and bent into necktie shapes and "Sherman Sentinels," the chimneys of burnt houses. He reached the city of Savannah, Georgia in late December to find it deserted. He told Lincoln, "I beg to present to you, as a Christmas gift, the City of Savannah..." After capturing the city, Sherman headed north to surround Richmond.

# data[].attributes.body
The war was soon to be over. Jefferson Davis, along with his cabinet, prepared to leave the city after the fall of Fredericksburg. They burnt the bridges and other supplies useful to the Union. Days later, the Union army entered the city and pillaged it. There were explosions throughout the city. The war was over. General Lee would surrender to General Grant at Appomattox Courthouse marking the end of the deadliest war in American history.