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September 17, 1862 in Sharpsburg, Maryland.

The single bloodiest day in American history. 23,000 wounded or killed. The battle showed that the Union could outstand the Confederacy in the East.

Union victory

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December 11-15, 1862

One of the most significant battles of the war. Heavy Union casualties and boosted Confederate hoped.

Confederate victory.

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January 1, 1863

Abraham Lincoln declares that “all persons held as slaves…  henceforward shall be free.”

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Emancipation Proclamation - Definition, Dates & Summary

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Issued after the Union victory at Antietam on September 22, 1862, the Emancipation Proclamation carried moral and strategic implications for the ongoing Civil War. While it did not free a single enslaved person, it was an important turning point in the war, transforming the fight to preserve the nat…

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May 8-July 4, 1863 in Vicksburg, Mississippi

Union gains control of the Mississippi River, splitting the South down the middle.

Union victory

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July 1-3, 1863 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Stopped Confederate momentum in the East and killed the chance of European intervention. This was a turning point in the war.

Union victory

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November 19, 1863 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

President Abraham Lincoln gives one of the greatest political speeches of all time, emphasizing the founders words, “All men are created equal.” Though the speech was meant to dedicate the grounds of Gettysburg for a memorial, Lincoln ended up putting the Civil War into the context of the fight for American freedom.

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November 25, 1863 in Chattanooga, Tennessee

The Union drove the Confederacy back to Georgia.

Union victory

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March 4, 1865 at the US Capitol

Lincoln emphasizes that the time has come to “bind up the nation’s wounds… with malice toward none.” Lincoln’s goal was now to preserve the Union.

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Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, 1865 (Presidential Inauguration Series)

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April 9, 1865

General Robert E. Lee surrenders to the Union at Appomattox Courthouse in Appomattox County, Virginia.

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December 6, 1865

Abolished slavery in the US