Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

CIVIL WAR

124

THE END OF THE WAR

On April 9, 1865, with his army surrounded and his troops

exhausted and hungry, Confederate general Robert E. Lee

surrendered to Union general Ulysses S. Grant at

Appomatox Courthouse, Virginia. More than 600,000

Americans died during the war, and many more

were injured. The economic cost to both sides was

enormous. The destruction was particularly bad in

the South, where Union General Sherman’s

march through Georgia devastated the region.

President Lincoln made a speech urging the two

sides to reconcile, but only six days after the

surrender he was assassinated.

COVERING THE WAR

The Civil War was the first war to be widely

photographed and reported in the media.

Newspapers sent journalists to the field

and received their on-the-scene

reports by telegraph. Artists drew

war sketches for magazines, and

photographers such as Matthew

Brady captured the faces—and

the horrors—of the war.

CASUALTIES OF WAR
More than half a million Americans died in the Civil
War, and many times that number were wounded. The
sick and wounded were treated at hospitals set up near
the battlefield (above) or on hospital ships. More than
twice as many Civil War soldiers died of disease as
were killed on the battlefield. Dysentery, malaria, and
typhoid spread quickly, and medical staff struggled with
unsanitary conditions and shortages of food, medicine,
and sterile medical equipment.

General

Robert E. Lee

General

Ulysses S. Grant

YANKS AND REBS

Three million people fought in

the Civil War, most as infantrymen.

Southern soldiers were nicknamed

“Johnny Reb,” short for rebel; Northern

soldiers were called “Billy Yank.”

Union

soldier

CIVIL WAR HISTORY

1860 Abraham Lincoln

is elected president.

1860-61 Eleven Southern

states leave the Union to

form the Confederacy.

1861 Confederates attack Fort

Sumter, SC; Civil War begins.

1862 Confederate victory

at Fredericksburg, VA.

1862 Naval battle between

the battleships Monitor

and Merrimack.

1862 Battle of Shiloh, TN.

1863 Lincoln issues

Emancipation Proclamation.

1863 Confederate victory

at Chancellorsville, VA.

1863 Confederate defeat at

Gettysburg marks turning point.

1863 Union victories

at Vicksburg, MS and

Chattanooga, TN.

1864 Union General Sherman

captures Atlanta, GA, and begins

“march to the sea.”

1864 Confederate General Lee

surrenders to Union General

Grant; Civil War ends.

1865 Slavery abolished.

Confederate

soldier

A reenactment society performs a

salute in front of the state capitol

building in Little Rock, Arkansas.

A POPULAR WAR

No other war in American

history has captured more

interest than the Civil War. It is

the subject of numerous books,

movies, television shows, and

websites, and its battlefields and

monuments are popular tourist

sites. Many people participate in full

battle reenactments, complete with

replica uniforms and weapons.

Abolitionist movement

African americans

Slavery

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