Major Battles of the Civil War | U.S. History Review

This video discusses some of the major battles of the U.S. Civil War. One of the issues related to understanding Civil War battles is the difference between the naming conventions of the North and South. The North tended to name battles for nearby rivers or bodies of water, whereas the South named them after nearby towns or cities. The first major engagement of the war was the Battle of Bull Run (Northern name) or the First Battle of Manassas (Southern name) on July 21st, 1861 in Virginia, about 25 miles west-southwest of Washington, D.C. The South won this battle. Other battles: Shiloh (Northern victory), Second Battle of Bull Run (Southern victory), Antietam (Draw), Fredericksburg (Southern victory), Chancellorsville (Southern victory), Gettysburg (Northern victory and turning point of the war), Siege of Vicksburg (Northern victory), Fall of Atlanta (Northern victory for General Sherman), Sherman’s march to the sea, which broke Southern resolve and lead to a faster end to the war with the surrender of the army of Northern Virginia at the Appomattox Court House.