1861-1865

Civil War

The defining conflict of American history, fought across 23 states and territories — from major pitched battles to thousands of small skirmishes.

7,685 engagements recorded

Featured engagements

Notable Civil War battles

Bleeding Kansas — Battle of Black Jack

The Battle of Black Jack took place on June 2, 1856, when antislavery forces, led by the noted aboli...

Pottawatomie Massacre

The Pottawatomie massacre occurred on the night of May 24–25, 1856, in the Kansas Territory as a dir...

Sack of Lawrence (Bleeding Kansas)

Lawrence, Kansas was founded in 1854 by antislavery settlers from Massachusetts, many supported fina...

Spirit Lake Massacre Aftermath — Minnesota Frontier Defense

Spirit Lake Massacre shaped Minnesota's frontier defense posture before the 1862 war. The 1857 Spiri...

Battle of Marais des Cygnes

The Battle of Marais des Cygnes took place on October 25, 1864, in Linn County, Kansas, during Price...

Anderson's Fort Sumter Garrison — Winter 1860-61

The Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina, by the...

Fort Moultrie — Confederate Recapture December 1860

The Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina, by the...

Battle of Boonville

The First Battle of Boonville was a minor skirmish of the American Civil War, occurring on June 17, ...

Skirmish at Huntersville

A Union cavalry raid on the Confederate supply depot at Huntersville, Pocahontas County, West Virgin...

Skirmish at Drummondtown (Accomac Court House)

The Battle of Cockle Creek, October 5, 1861, was a minor naval engagement off Chincoteague, Virginia...

Mound City Naval Station — Confederate Raid Threat

Battles of the American Civil War were fought between April 12, 1861, and May 12–13, 1865 in 19 stat...

Camp Defiance — Cairo Illinois Defense

The siege of Vicksburg was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American...

Engagements by state

VA2,042 MO544 WV480 KY480 TN479 GA438 MS436 SC397 NC382 LA310 AL269 MD244 AR234 PA172 FL153 OK122 TX120 KS85 OH75 MN54

Bleeding Kansas — Battle of Black Jack

The Battle of Black Jack took place on June 2, 1856, when antislavery forces, led by the noted abolitionist John Brown, attacked the encampment of Henry C. Pate...

Pottawatomie Massacre

The Pottawatomie massacre occurred on the night of May 24–25, 1856, in the Kansas Territory as a direct response to escalating pro-slavery violence. John Brown ...

Sack of Lawrence (Bleeding Kansas)

Lawrence, Kansas was founded in 1854 by antislavery settlers from Massachusetts, many supported financially by the New England Emigrant Aid Company. The town be...

Spirit Lake Massacre Aftermath — Minnesota Frontier Defense

Spirit Lake Massacre shaped Minnesota's frontier defense posture before the 1862 war. The 1857 Spirit Lake Massacre in Iowa sent shockwaves through southwestern...

Battle of Marais des Cygnes

The Battle of Marais des Cygnes took place on October 25, 1864, in Linn County, Kansas, during Price's Missouri Campaign during the American Civil War. It is al...

Anderson's Fort Sumter Garrison — Winter 1860-61

The Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina, by the South Carolina militia. It ended with the surrender of the ...

Fort Moultrie — Confederate Recapture December 1860

The Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina, by the South Carolina militia. It ended with the surrender of the ...

Battle of Boonville

The First Battle of Boonville was a minor skirmish of the American Civil War, occurring on June 17, 1861, near Boonville in Cooper County, Missouri. Although ca...

Skirmish at Huntersville

A Union cavalry raid on the Confederate supply depot at Huntersville, Pocahontas County, West Virginia in 1861. This action was part of Union operations to disr...

Skirmish at Drummondtown (Accomac Court House)

The Battle of Cockle Creek, October 5, 1861, was a minor naval engagement off Chincoteague, Virginia early in the American Civil War.

Mound City Naval Station — Confederate Raid Threat

Battles of the American Civil War were fought between April 12, 1861, and May 12–13, 1865 in 19 states, mostly Confederate, the District of Columbia, and six te...

Camp Defiance — Cairo Illinois Defense

The siege of Vicksburg was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Major General Ul...

Action at Carnifex Ferry

The following Union Army and Confederate Army units and commanders fought in the Battle of Carnifex Ferry of the American Civil War on September 10, 1861, in Ni...

Syracuse Skirmish (Morgan County)

The siege of Syracuse in 397 BC was the first of four unsuccessful sieges Carthaginian forces would undertake against Syracuse from 397 to 278 BC. In retaliatio...

Skirmish at Ivy Mountain Kentucky

The Battle of Salyersville, also called Battle of Half Mountain was the largest of the many skirmishes in Magoffin County, Kentucky, during the American Civil W...

Opothleyahola's Retreat Pursuit

The Battle of Kings Mountain occurred during the southern campaign of the American Revolutionary War, when British Major Patrick Ferguson arrived in North Carol...

Jayhawker Raid on Westport

The Battle of Westport was a battle of the American Civil War fought on October 23, 1864, in modern Kansas City, Missouri. Union forces under Major General Samu...

Battle of Balls Bluff

The Battle of Ball's Bluff was an early battle of the American Civil War fought in Loudoun County, Virginia, on October 21, 1861, in which Union Army forces und...

Battle of Munson's Hill

Confederates occupied Munson's Hill in sight of Washington; Quaker guns displayed; withdrew without battle

Battle of Dry Wood Creek

The Battle of Dry Wood Creek, also known as the Battle of the Mules, was fought on September 2, 1861, in Vernon County, Missouri, during the American Civil War....

Bunker Hill — Skirmish (November 1861)

The Battle of Bunker Hill was a small skirmish near Bunker Hill, West Virginia, on July 15, 1861, as part of the Manassas Campaign of 1861.

Skirmish at Bird's Point and Cairo Area (MO)

Grant's early seizure of Bird's Point in 1861 secured the strategic Cairo junction and prevented Confederate control of the river confluence.

Sacking of Humboldt, Kansas (1861)

In 1861, Humboldt, Kansas became a flashpoint during the early years of the American Civil War. The attack on the city was led by John Allen Mathews, who organi...

Battle of Belmont MO Nov 7 1861

Grant's first battle, fought November 7, 1861, near Belmont, Missouri, resulted in tactical stalemate despite Grant's initial capture of the Confederate camp. G...

Fort McHenry Occupation and Defense (1861)

Following South Carolina's declaration of secession on December 20, 1860, state authorities demanded that the U.S. Army abandon its facilities in Charleston Har...

Skirmish at New Creek (1861)

The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest labor uprising in United States history and is the largest armed uprising since the American Civil War. The conflic...

Battle of Head of Passes (October 1861)

The Battle of the Head of Passes was a bloodless naval battle of the American Civil War. It was a naval raid made by the Confederate river defense fleet, also k...

Summersville West Virginia Skirmishes

The Battle of Charleston was a Confederate victory in Kanawha County, Virginia, on September 13, 1862, during the American Civil War. Troops led by Major Genera...

Confederate Occupation of Bowling Green

The Confederate government of Kentucky was established as a shadow government during the American Civil War by Confederate sympathizers and county delegates, re...

Capture of CSS Ivy — Lower Mississippi Operations

CSS Ivy was a sidewheel steamer and privateer that played a notable role in Confederate riverine operations during the early American Civil War. She was purchas...

Battle of Port Royal

The Battle of Port Royal was one of the earliest amphibious operations of the American Civil War, in which a United States Navy fleet and United States Army exp...

Pohick Church Skirmish

The Pohick Church Skirmish of September 1861 was an inconclusive engagement in Northern Virginia between Union and Confederate forces. The action occurred durin...

Action at Elkwater

This action at Elkwater in September 1861 was part of General Robert E. Lee's Cheat Mountain campaign, one of the few Confederate operations in western Virginia...

New River Bridge Skirmish (Gauley Bridge)

The Battle of Stones River, also known as the Second Battle of Murfreesboro, was fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the ...

East Tennessee Bridge Burning 1861

The East Tennessee bridge burnings were a series of guerrilla operations carried out during the American Civil War by Southern Unionists in Confederate-held Eas...

Elk River Crossing Skirmish

The Battle of Stones River, also known as the Second Battle of Murfreesboro, was fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the ...

Washington MO Skirmish (Franklin County)

This 1861 skirmish in Franklin County, Missouri was part of the early Union efforts to secure Missouri and prevent Confederate control of the state. Union force...

Huttonsville West Virginia Skirmish

The Battle of Philippi occurred in the immediate aftermath of the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861, which marked the commencement of hostilities ...

Skirmish at Keyser (Cumberland Road)

New Creek (later Keyser) was the western terminus of Union-controlled B&O track and a critical logistics depot. Holding it was essential to supplying Union forc...

Annandale Skirmish

Minor skirmish in Northern Virginia during early 1861, part of the initial military maneuvering between Union and Confederate forces in the region. Limited hist...

Engagement at Hopkinsville (Christian County)

One of Forrest's earliest significant actions; Hopkinsville in western Kentucky was repeatedly contested throughout the war

Skirmish at Russellville (Logan County)

The Russellville Convention created the Confederate Government of Kentucky; Logan County was a stronghold of Confederate sympathy in western Kentucky

Martinsburg — Skirmish (July 2 1861)

Colonel Stonewall Jackson's operations against the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1861 were undertaken with two principal objectives: disrupting a critical supp...

Warsaw Skirmish (Benton County)

The Battle of Cole Camp occurred on June 19, 1861, as part of the broader Union campaign to secure Missouri during the early stages of the American Civil War. F...

Leesburg Occupation (Confederate, 1861)

Confederate forces occupied Leesburg commanding the Potomac River crossings in Loudoun County, threatening Union positions in Maryland.

Battle of Big Bethel

The Battle of Big Bethel, also known as the Battle of Bethel Church or Great Bethel, was one of the earliest land battles of the American Civil War. It took pla...

Battle of Carnifex Ferry Sep 10 1861

The Battle of Carnifex Ferry took place on September 10, 1861 in Nicholas County, Virginia, as part of the Operations in Western Virginia Campaign during the Am...

Skirmish at Belington, Barbour County (1861)

Union forces under McClellan engaged Confederates near Belington as part of the Laurel Hill–Rich Mountain campaign.

Shelbina Skirmish 1861

Union forces successfully engaged Confederate forces at Shelbina in Shelby County, Missouri in 1861 during the struggle for Missouri. This action supported Unio...

Action at Beaufort SC — Town Defense

The Battle of Beaufort, also known as the Battle of Port Royal Island, was fought on February 3, 1779, near Beaufort, South Carolina, during the American Revolu...

First Capture of Charleston

The Battle of Charleston was a Confederate victory in Kanawha County, Virginia, on September 13, 1862, during the American Civil War. Troops led by Major Genera...

Skirmish at Pruntytown, Taylor County (1861)

Union cavalry drove Confederate irregulars from Pruntytown in Taylor County during the campaign to secure the B&O Railroad corridor.

First Capture of Romney

The 2012 presidential campaign of Mitt Romney officially began on June 2, 2011, when former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney formally announced his candidacy ...

Fort Washington Demonstration

The only permanent fort defending Washington from the south. Its brief abandonment in 1861 alarmed Northern authorities; its reoccupation and reinforcement were...

Battle of Booneville (Missouri, Sep 1861)

The Battle of Booneville was fought on July 1, 1862, in Booneville, Mississippi, during the American Civil War. It occurred in the aftermath of the Union victor...

Battle of Opequon Creek (First)

The Third Battle of Winchester, also known as the Battle of Opequon or Battle of Opequon Creek, was an American Civil War battle fought near Winchester, Virgini...

Round Mountain Indian Territory

The Battle of Round Mountain was the first battle in the Trail of Blood on Ice campaign for the control of Indian Territory during the American Civil War that o...

Sibley Skirmish (Jackson County)

Sibley's 1863 Campaign, also called Sibley's Expedition was a punitive expedition led by Brigadier General Henry Hastings Sibley following the Dakota War of 186...

Battle of Fort Sumter — April 1861

The Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina, by the South Carolina militia. It ended with the surrender of the ...

Confederate Occupation of Pensacola Navy Yard (Alabama waters)

The standoff at Pensacola was one of the first crises of the Civil War; Bragg's forces held the navy yard for months before withdrawing in May 1862

Battle of Rowlett's Station

The Battle of Rowlett's Station was a land battle in the American Civil War, fought at the railroad whistle-stop of Rowlett's in Hart County, Kentucky, on Decem...

Fort Milroy — Cheat Mountain Pass Defense (1861)

The Battle of Cheat Mountain, also known as the Battle of Cheat Summit Fort, took place from September 12 to 15, 1861, in Pocahontas County and Randolph County,...

Beallsville Skirmish

Beallsville, Maryland in upper Montgomery County witnessed a minor skirmish in 1861 as Union and Confederate forces competed for control of the Potomac River bo...

Battle of Summersville

The Battle of Carnifex Ferry took place on September 10, 1861, in Nicholas County, Virginia (now West Virginia), as part of the broader Operations in Western Vi...

Battle of Harpers Ferry (1861)

The Battle of Harpers Ferry was fought September 12–15, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. As Confederate Army General Robert E. ...

Harpers Ferry 1861 Occupation

Fort Collier was constructed as part of Confederate defensive preparations in the northern Shenandoah Valley following General Joseph E. Johnston's decision to ...

Battle of Lucas Bend

The Battle of Lucas Bend took place on January 11, 1862, near Lucas Bend, four miles north of Columbus on Mississippi River in Kentucky as it lay at the time of...

Skirmish at Moundsville

Marshall County had a significant pro-Confederate population; early skirmishing established Union control of the county seat.

Action at Belington

Part of the campaign to secure Barbour County and the upper Tygart Valley following the Battle of Philippi.

Fort Massac — Ohio River Garrison

The Illinois campaign, also known as Clark's Northwestern campaign, was a series of engagements during the American Revolutionary War in which a small force of ...

Vienna Skirmish (June 17, 1861)

The Battle of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mountain near Vienna on 12 September 1683 after the city had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months. T...

Skirmish at Fort Clark (1861)

The Skirmish at Fort Elliott or the Fort Elliott incident was a minor engagement between Texas ranchmen led by Clay Allison and Native American warriors on Octo...

Battle of Chicamacomico (Hatteras Banks)

One of the war's more unusual engagements — a footrace down a barrier island. The Confederate raid demonstrated vulnerability of Union garrisons on Hatteras Isl...

Battle of First Bull Run – Chinn Ridge

The First Battle of Bull Run, called the Battle of First Manassas by Confederate forces, was the first major battle of the American Civil War. The battle was fo...

Potomac Flotilla — Aquia Creek Operations

The Battle of Aquia Creek was an exchange of cannon fire between Union Navy gunboats and Confederate shore batteries on the Potomac River at its confluence with...

Battle of Cheat Mountain Summit

The Battle of Cheat Mountain, also known as the Battle of Cheat Summit Fort, took place from September 12 to 15, 1861, in Pocahontas County and Randolph County,...

San Antonio and Texas Posts Surrender 1861

Confederate seizure of all U.S. military posts in Texas without battle; gave Confederacy tremendous materiel.

Confederate Occupation of Columbus Kentucky

Polk ordered seizure of Columbus KY violating neutrality; Grant responded seizing Paducah; ended Kentucky neutrality

Action at Huntersville (Pocahontas County)

Huntersville was a Confederate base in Pocahontas County during the 1861 mountain campaigns, used to threaten the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike.

Capture of Beaufort South Carolina

The Battle of Beaufort, also known as the Battle of Port Royal Island, was fought on February 3, 1779, near Beaufort, South Carolina, during the American Revolu...

Skirmish at Big Sewell Mountain

The Battle of Droop Mountain occurred in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, on November 6, 1863, during the American Civil War. A Union brigade commanded by Brig...

Accotink Creek Skirmish

The Accotink Creek Skirmish of February 1861 was an inconclusive early engagement in Northern Virginia. The action occurred during the initial period of the Civ...

Fort Sumter — Major Anderson Surrenders April 14 1861

The Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina, by the South Carolina militia. It ended with the surrender of the ...

Fort Pickens Operations

The Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina, by the South Carolina militia. It ended with the surrender of the ...

Capture of Pensacola Navy Yard by Confederates

The Battle of Santa Rosa Island was an unsuccessful Confederate attempt to take Union-held Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island, Florida.

Skirmish at Coalsmouth (St. Albans)

Union troops skirmished with Confederate forces near Coalsmouth (now St. Albans) as Federal forces advanced up the Kanawha.

Jayhawker Raid on Harrisonville

Kansas Jayhawkers raided Harrisonville in retaliation for Confederate guerrilla activity, intensifying the cycle of violence.

Battle of Blue Mills Landing

The action at Blue Mills Landing, also known as the Battle of Liberty, was a battle of the American Civil War that took place on September 17, 1861, in Clay Cou...

Harpers Ferry — First Union Occupation and Confederate Seizure

The Battle of Harpers Ferry was fought September 12–15, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. As Confederate Army General Robert E. ...

Occupation of Hilton Head Island — November 1861

Hilton Head Island held strategic importance during the American Civil War as a barrier island located off the coast of South Carolina in the Lowcountry region....

Action at Dranesville

The Battle of Dranesville was a small battle during the American Civil War that took place between Confederate forces under Brigadier General J. Stuart and Unio...

Skirmish at Cheat Mountain Pass

The Battle of Rich Mountain took place on July 11, 1861, in Randolph County, Virginia as part of the Operations in Western Virginia Campaign during the American...

Skirmish at Davis Mountains (Fort Davis Area)

The Battle of the Florida Mountains was an action of the Apache Wars. Forces involved were Chiricahua Apache warriors and mounted Confederate States militia. Th...

Battle of Port Royal Sound

The Battle of Port Royal was one of the earliest amphibious operations of the American Civil War, in which a United States Navy fleet and United States Army exp...

Battle of Athens

The Battle of Athens was an American Civil War skirmish that took place in northeast Missouri in 1861 near present-day Revere and southeast Iowa along the Des M...

Easton MD Union Occupation (1861)

Talbot County seat occupied by Federal troops. Local secessionist leaders arrested to prevent Maryland's Eastern Shore counties from joining the Confederacy.

Aldie Skirmish (1861)

The Aldie Skirmish of June 1861 was a minor engagement in Northern Virginia between Union and Confederate cavalry forces during the early operations of the Civi...

Centreville Earthworks Occupation

The 1861 Union occupation of the Centreville earthworks in Northern Virginia, following Confederate withdrawal, represented a tactical advance in Union efforts ...

First Battle of Philippi

The Battle of Philippi formed part of the Western Virginia Campaign of the American Civil War and was fought in and around Philippi, Virginia, on June 3, 1861. ...

Engagement at Chincoteague Island

The Battle of Cockle Creek, October 5, 1861, was a minor naval engagement off Chincoteague, Virginia early in the American Civil War.

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