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1853-1854
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1861-1862
1863-1865
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Major Events during 1861-1862
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Major Military Battles
Fort Sumter was the first official battle. The Confederate Army commanded by General Beauregard beat Union forces. This would not be the last time that we saw General Beaugergard. He was one of the many famous general's that had turned their loyalties to the South. The famous Robert Lee was another, he resigned from the US Army to become one of the best Southern Generals and probably one of the best strategic generals of all American history. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and many other Confederate generals defeated the North at both Battles of Bull Run. Antietam was the bloodiest day of the war and of all history so far. Union forces beat the Confederate Army at Antietam but both suffered heavy loses. This win by General McClellan was enough to allow the Emancipation Proclamation to pass through the House and Senate. The battle of Vicksburg may have been the Confederate's undoing. The Mississippi River was now controlled by the Union, all because the south had lost at Vicksburg. This divided the Confederate Army up into sections, making them less powerful. Gettysburg was another Union victory and was the last real big battle before the end of the war. There were little skirmishes and big skirmishes but after the battle of Gettysburg it almost seemed to signal the end of the Civil War.
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Foreign Relations
Once President Abraham Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation, England, who had abolished slavery almost 50 years earlier, refused to recognize the Confederacy as anything but a bunch of rebel states. This gathered the suport of most modernized European countries. England sided with the Union but in England's port, there were built Confederate ships that would sink a large number of Union ships. France, however, gave money to the Confederate States and allowed ships to be built in their ports. France also tried to distract the US by sending troops to Mexico. France thought that because of the Monroe Doctrine, that the US would immediately go to their rescue. The US had enough problems of their own and did not engage much into the problems of Mexico, a disappointment for France.
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Homestead Act of 1862
This was after the Civil War. It was probably one of the best gift to the South that Lincoln could give. The Homestead Act was made to help out those who had no more money left, especially if you were in the South during the war, money was not very abundant. It cost a total of to buy 160 acres of land. This act lasted until 1976 when it was repealed with the exception of some land in Alaska. The only requirements was that the head of the home must be older than 21 and they must farm the land for 5 years before proving being able prove themselves 'worthy' of keeping the land. If the land seemed unworked or unfit because of the current homesteaders they lost the land but if it was proven 'worked', they were given the deed. This was ideal for former slaves, immigrants, and any person that needed/wanted a new start.
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