On April 12, 1861, Confederate batteries opened fire on the fort, and after a 34-hour bombardment, Major Anderson surrendered. Meanwhile, the Union implemented the Anaconda Plan, a strategy to strangle the Southern economy through a naval blockade and control of the Mississippi River.
Critical Battles That Won the Civil War
The Political Schism and Secession Winter The origins of the conflict lie not on a battlefield, but within the halls of Congress and the rhetoric of the 1860 election. Grant captured Forts Henry and Donelson, and followed up with a grueling victory at Shiloh.
The Confederacy hoped for a swift victory, launching the Northern Virginia Campaign against Washington D. The central issue was the expansion of slavery into the western territories, a question that exposed the deep sectional divide between the industrializing North and the agrarian South.
Critical Battles That Won Civil War
The first major land battle, the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), shattered Northern illusions of a quick war, revealing the Confederacy’s military capability and the long, bloody road ahead. The Gettysburg Address and the High Water Mark Mid-1863 marked a dramatic shift in momentum.
More About Key events in the civil war
Looking at Key events in the civil war from another angle can help expand the discussion and give readers a second clear paragraph under the same section.
More perspective on Key events in the civil war can make the topic easier to follow by connecting earlier points with a few simple takeaways.
