Outline of the Civil War Links

by Gordon Leidner of Great American History

By clicking on the links below you will be taken to, with a few exceptions, other websites that provide information on the Civil War. Great American History is not responsible for the content on these other websites.

For those educators interested in providing their students a test in which this outline can be used to find answers, go to Civil War Quizzes by Great American History page.



I. Background and Causes of the War

    A. Economic developments in the U.S.
    Economics of the Civil War
    Causes--Economic and Sectional Differences
    The Economics of the Civil War

    B. Slavery
    Causes of the Civil War: A Balanced Answer
    Cooper Union Address
    The History Place: Abraham Lincoln
    Wikipedia: Origins of the Civil War
    C. States Rights vs. Strong Federal Government
    Causes of the Civil War: N. Georgia Perspective
    Slavery and the Civil War


II. Political and Social Catalysts for the War

    A. Missouri Compromise
    Missouri Compromise:Wikipedia
    Missouri Compromise:Infoplease

    B. Kansas-Nebraska Act
    US History: The Kansas-Nebraska Act
    The History Place: Kansas-Nebraska Act

    C. Dred Scott Decision
    The History Place: Dred Scott
    Dred Scott v. Sandford

    D. John Brown’s Raid
    Gerrit Smith: Harper’s Ferry and the Aftermath
    John Brown's Raid

    E. Uncle Tom’s Cabin
    Wikipedia: Uncle Tom's Cabin

    F. Lincoln Douglas Debates
    Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858
    Lincoln-Douglas Debates and Debate sites

    G. Presidential Election of 1860
    Lincoln Wins the Republican Nomination in 1860
    Wikipedia: US Presidential Election in 1860
    United States Presidential Election of 1860


III. Major Political and Military Leaders

    A. Southern Political Leaders

      1. Jefferson Davis
      Jefferson Davis
      Jefferson Davis Biography
      Jefferson Davis Bio
      Jefferson Davis from Wikipedia

      2. Alexander Stephens
      Wikipedia: Alexander H. Stephens
      Alexander Stephens Biography

      3. Robert B. Rhett, Louis T. Wigfall, William L. Yancey, Robert Toombs
      Causes of the Civil War: The Fire-Eaters
      Robert B. Rhett from Wikipedia
      Louis Wigfall from Wikipedia
      William Lowndes Yancey from Wikipedia
      Robert Augustus Toombs from Wikipedia

    B. Northern Political Leaders

      1. Abraham Lincoln
      Abraham Lincoln Online
      Abraham Lincoln Research Site
      Abraham Lincoln from Wikipedia
      The History Place Presents Abraham Lincoln (Timeline)
      Lincoln’s War Cabinet
      Lincoln's Faith in God
      A Short Biography of Abraham Lincoln

      2. William H. Seward
      William H. Seward
      Wikipedia: William H. Seward

      3. Stephen A. Douglas, Charles Summer, Salmon P. Chase
      Stephen A. Douglas Image
      Wikipedia: Stephen A. Douglas
      Stephen A. Douglas NNDB
      Wikipedia: Charles Sumner
      Wikipedia: Salmon P. Chase

    C. Southern Military Leaders

      1. Robert E. Lee
      R. E. Lee
      Robert E. Lee
      Robert E. Lee Image
      Wikipedia: R. E. Lee

      2. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson and James Longstreet
      “Stonewall” Jackson NNDB
      Wikipedia: Stonewall Jackson
      Wikipedia: James Longstreet
      The Longstreet Chronicles

      3. Albert Sidney Johnston and Joseph E. Johnston
      Wikipedia: Albert Sidney Johnston
      Wikipedia: Joseph E. Johnston Biography

      4. Various Others
      U.S. Civil War Generals
      Wikipedia: Nathan Bedford Forrest

    D. Northern Military Leaders

      1. Ulysses S. Grant
      U. S. Grant Home Page
      Wikipedia: Ulysses S. Grant
      The White House: Ulysses S. Grant

      2. William Tecumseh Sherman and George B. McClellan
      William Tecumseh Sherman
      Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman
      Wikipedia: W. T. Sherman
      George B. McClellan Image
      Wikipedia: G. B. McClellan

      3. Phil Sheridan, George G. Meade, Joshua L. Chamberlain
      Wikipedia: Philip Henry Sheridan
      Wikipedia: George Meade
      George Gordon Meade
      Joshua L. Chamberlain
      Wikipedia: Joshua L. Chamberlain

      4. George H. Thomas, William Rosecrans, Robert Anderson, and Various Others
      George H. Thomas, William Rosecrans, Don Carlos Buell, Robert Anderson
      Wikipedia: George H. Thomas
      Wikipedia: William Rosecrans
      Wikipedia: Maj. Robert Anderson
      U.S. Civil War Generals


IV. Events & Battles of 1861-1862

    A. Events

      1. Secession of the Confederate States
      Wikipedia: The Confederate States of America
      Secession of the Southern States

      2. Fort Sumter
      Crisis at Fort Sumter
      Wikipedia: Fort Sumter

      3. Mobilization of the North and South
      The History Place: Abraham Lincoln (Proclamation for Volunteers)

      4. European Intervention and the Trent Affair
      Wikipedia: The Trent Affair
      Wikipedia: John Slidell

    B. Battles

      1. First Manassas (Bull Run)
      First Manassas
      First Manassas
      Wikipedia: First Bull Run

      2. Forts Henry and Donelson
      Wikipedia: Fort Henry
      Forts Henry and Donelson
      Fort Donelson
      Fort Donelson Official Records
      Fort Donelson

      3. Shiloh (Pittsburg’s Landing)
      Battle of Shiloh Facts
      Battle of Shiloh
      Wikipedia: Battle of Shiloh

      4. Shenandoah Valley
      History Animated: The Valley Campaign
      Wikipedia: First Battle of Kernstown
      Wikipedia: Front Royal
      Wikipedia: First Battle of Winchester I
      Wikipedia: Battle of Cross Keys
      Wikipedia: Battle of Port Republic

      5. Seven Days
      Wikipedia: Seven Days Battles
      Seven Days Campaign

      6. Second Manassas (Bull Run)
      Second Battle of Bull Run
      Second Manassas
      Wikipedia: Second Bull Run

      7. Antietam (Sharpsburg)
      Civil War Trust: Antietam
      Antietam on the Web
      Wikipedia: Battle of Antietam

      8. Fredericksburg
      The Battle of Fredericksburg, 1862
      Wikipedia: The Battle of Fredericksburg
      Civil War Trust: Fredericksburg

      9. Murphreesboro (Stone’s River)
      Stone's River
      Stone's River Official Report
      Wikipedia: Battle of Stone's River

    10. The Trans-Mississippi
    Wikipedia: Battle of Wilson's Creek
    Wikipedia: Battle of Pea Ridge


V. Naval War

    A. The Navies

      1. Blockaders and Blockade Runners
      Wikipedia: Union Blockade
      Naval War of American civil War
      Wikipedia: Confederate States Navy
      The History Place: Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation of Blockade

      2. Ironclads
      Wikipedia: The USS Monitor
      Battle Between the Monitor & the Virginia (Merrimack)
      The CSS Virginia Home Page
      Wikipedia: Ironclad Warship

    B. Naval Battles

      1. USS Monitor vs. the CSS Virginia (Merrimack)
      Battle Between the Monitor & the Virginia
      Wikipedia: Naval Battles of the American civil War
      Wikipedia: Battle of Hampton Roads

      2. New Orleans
      New Orleans During the Civil War
      Naval Battle of New Orleans

      3. Charleston Harbor
      Wikipedia: Second Battle of Charleston Harbor
      Wikipedia: Hunley Submarine

      4. Mobile Bay
      Wikipedia: Battle of Mobile Bay
      Civil War Trust: Mobile Bay

      5. The CSS Alabama and the USS Kearsarge
      CSS Alabama
      Wikipedia: CSS Alabama
      Wikipedia: USS Kearsarge


VI. Events & Battles of 1863

    A. Events

      1. Emancipation Proclamation and The Thirteenth Amendment
      The Emancipation Proclamation
      Wikipedia: The Emancipation Proclamation
      The Thirteenth Amendment from Great American History
      Wikipedia: The Thirteenth Amendment

      2. The Gettysburg Address
      Wikipedia: The Gettysburg Address
      Text of The Gettysburg Address
      Our documents: The Gettysburg Address

    B. Battles

      1. Chancellorsville
      Civil War Trust: Chancellorsville
      Chancellorsville
      Wikipedia: Battle of Chancellorsville

      2. Gettysburg
      Wikipedia: Battle of Gettysburg
      The Battle of Gettysburg
      History Net: Gettysburg

      3. Vicksburg
      NPS Vicksburg Page
      Wikipedia: The Siege of Vicksburg

      4. Chickamauga
      Wikipedia: Battle of Chickamauga
      Chickamagua- A Civil War Battle
      Chickamagua Campaign

      5. Chattanooga
      National Park service: Chattanooga and Chickamauga
      Wikipedia: Chattanooga Campaign
      Wikipedia: Second Battle of Chattanooga
      Chattanooga- Civil War


VII. Events & Battles of 1864-1865

    A. Events

      1. Presidential Election of 1864
      Wikipedia: Presidential Election of 1864
      Overview of the 1864 Election

      2. Copperhead Activities in the North
      Wikipedia: Copperheads (politics)
      Brittanica: Copperheads (Peace Democrats)

      3. Surrender of Lee
      Wikipedia: Battle of Appomattox and Surrender of Lee
      Surrender at Appomattox

      4. Passage of the Thirteenth Amendment
      Harper's Weekly Thirteenth Amendment
      The Thirteenth Amendment from Great American History
      Wikipedia: The Thirteenth Amendment

      5. Assasination of Lincoln
      Abraham Lincoln's Assasination
      The Assasination of Abraham Lincoln
      Wikipedia: The Assasination of Abraham Lincoln

    B. Battles

      1. Atlanta
      History Animated: Battle for Atlanta
      The Atlanta Campaign
      Wikipedia: Battle of Atlanta

      2. Wilderness
      Wikipedia: Battle of the Wilderness
      Civil War Trust: The Wilderness

      3. Spotsylvania Courthouse
      National Park Service: Spotsylvania Court House
      Spotsylvania Court House: Offical Records
      Wikipedia: Battle of Spotsylvania Court House

      4. Cold Harbor
      Wikipedia: Cold Harbor
      Battle of North Anna and Cold Harbor: Official Records

      5. Sherman’s March
      Sherman's March
      The History Channel: Sherman's March
      Wikipedia: Sherman's March

      6. Franklin
      John Bell Hood: Franklin
      Wikipedia: The Second Battle of Franklin

      7. Petersburg
      Wikipedia: The Second Battle of Petersburg
      Civil War Trust: Petersburg

      8. Nashville
      Nashville
      Wikipedia: The Battle of Nashville

      9. Appomattox Campaign
      Civil War Trust: Appomatox Courthouse
      Wikipedia: Battle of Appomattox Court House
      Appomatox Courthouse: Official Records


VIII. Civilians and Miscellaneous

    A. Women During the Civil War
    Women in the Civil War
    Wikipedia: Harriet Beecher Stowe
    Wikipedia: Women in the American Civil War
    About.com: Women and the Civil War

    B. African-Americans in the Civil War
    National Archives: Black Soldiers in the Civil War
    Wikipedia: Frederick Douglass
    Wikipedia: Harriet Tubman
    United States Colored Troops: The Civil War
    Wikipedia: Fifty-Fourth Massachussetts Infantry
    A Short Biography of Frederick Douglass
    Wikipedia: The Underground Railroad
    Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System
    Our History as News

    C. Native Americans in the Civil War
    Native Americans in the American Civil War
    Wikipedia: Native Americans in the Civil War
    Native Americans in the Civil War

    D. Religious leaders and events in the Civil War
    Religious Revival in Civil War Armies
    Civil War and Religion
    The Christian Commission
    Wikipedia: The United States Christian Commission

    E. Hospitals & Medicine
    Medicine in the American Civil War
    Wikipedia: Clara Barton
    Civil War Medicine

    F. Prisons
    Civil War Prisons
    Civil War Prison Camps
    Andersonville NPS Site
    Wikipedia: Andersonville Historic Site

    G. Photography and Matthew Brady
    Wikipedia: Matthew Brady
    Selected Civil War Photographs
    Center for Civil War Photography
    Wikipedia: Photographers of the Civil War

    H. Railroads
    Wikipedia: Confederate Railroads in the Civil War
    Historynet: Railroads in the Civil War
    Railroads in the Civil War

    I. Newspapers and the Press
    Harper's Weekly Civil War Newspapers
    Civil War Newspapers
    Wikipedia: Horace Greeley

    J. Weapons of War
    Wikipedia: Lists of Weapons of the Civil War
    Wikipedia: Field Artillery in the Civil War
    Civil War Weapons
    Civil War Technology

    K. Civil War Food and Cooking
    Civil War Food
    How Civil War Soldiers Lived
    Civil War Rations: Food?

    L. Civil War Music
    Civil War Music Teacher's Guide
    Music of the Civil War
    Poetry and Music of the War Between the States
    Wikipedia: Music of the Civil War

    M. Hispanic-Americans in the Civil War
    Wikipedia: Hispanics in The Civil War
    The Civil War in the West
    Hispanics in the Confederacy
    Hispanics in The Civil War

    IX. Reconstruction

      A. The Struggle for Equality
      African-American Leaders During Reconstruction
      Wikipedia: Reconstruction
      Reconstruction

      B. Actions of the US Government
      The History Place- Abraham Lincoln: A Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction
      Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution
      Wikipedia: Andrew Johnson

      C. Ratification of 13th, 14th, 15th Amendment
      The Thirteenth Amendment
      Wikipedia: The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States
      Wikipedia: The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States
      Wikipedia: The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States


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