America’s 250th Scavenger Hunt – STOP SIX

KEY FIGURES:
Abraham Lincoln: The 16th President of the U.S. who led the North through the war.
Jefferson Davis: The President of the Confederate States.
Ulysses S. Grant: The final commanding General who led the Union to victory.
Robert E. Lee: The most famous Confederate General.

KEY EVENTS:

1861:
- April 12 (Fort Sumter): The first shots are fired. Southern forces attacked a federal fort in South Carolina, officially starting the war.
- July 21 (First Battle of Bull Run): People originally thought the war would be over in 90 days. This first big battle—a win for the South—shocks the North and proves the fighting will be long and difficult.

1862:
- April 6–7 (Battle of Shiloh): Fought in Tennessee, the scale of the violence here is terrifying. More Americans died or were wounded in these two days than in all previous U.S. wars combined.
- September 17 (Battle of Antietam): This remains the bloodiest single day in American history. Even though neither side clearly won, it gave President Lincoln the confidence to announce he was going to free enslaved people.

1863:
- January 1 (Emancipation Proclamation): Lincoln officially makes the war about ending slavery. This also allows Black soldiers to formally join the Union Army to fight for their freedom.
- July 1–3 (Battle of Gettysburg): The South tries to invade the North (Pennsylvania) but is stopped. This is seen as the "beginning of the end" for the Southern cause.
- July 4 (Fall of Vicksburg): The Union captures this key city on the Mississippi River. This "clips the wings" of the South by cutting their territory in half.

1864: The Final Push
- March (Grant Takes Command): Lincoln puts General Ulysses S. Grant in charge of everything. Grant’s strategy is simple: keep moving forward and never let the Southern army rest.
- September 2 (Fall of Atlanta): The North captures Atlanta, a major supply hub. This huge win helps Lincoln get re-elected because it shows the North is finally winning.
- November 30 (Battle of Franklin): Five hours of absolute chaos in Tennessee. The Southern army suffers a massive blow, losing thousands of men and six of their generals in a single afternoon.
- Nov–Dec (March to the Sea): General Sherman marches his troops across Georgia, destroying anything the Southern army could use (like railroads and food) to force an end to the war.

1865:
- April 3 (Fall of Richmond): The North captures the South’s capital city.
- April 9 (Appomattox Court House): General Lee (the South's top leader) admits defeat and surrenders to General Grant. The main fighting is over.
- April 14 (Assassination of Lincoln): Just days after the victory, Lincoln is killed at a theater. The nation must figure out how to move forward without its leader.
- December 6 (13th Amendment): The Constitution is officially changed to say that slavery is illegal everywhere in the United States forever.