Eastern Theater of the American Civil War Facts for Kids

The Eastern Theater of the American Civil War included the U.S. states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia and the coastal seaports and fortifications of North Carolina. There were many battles fought in this area, especially in northern and eastern Virginia. Several battles were fought between the Union Army of the Potomac and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. There was so much fighting in Virginia because the Confederate capital was at Richmond, Virginia.

The Eastern Theatre was the scene of several key battles. These included the First Battle of Bull Run, the bloody Battle of Antietam and the greatest battle, the Battle of Gettysburg. Only 100 miles separated the two capital cities, Washington, D.C. the Union capital and the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia. Between the two lay the Shenandoah Valley, a natural corridor that could hide entire armies.

Principal commanders of the Eastern Theater

After the fall of Fort Sumter in April 1861, both sides scrambled to create armies. President Abraham Lincoln issued a call for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the rebellion. This immediately caused the secession of four additional states, including Virginia. The United States Army had only around 16,000 men, with more than half spread out in the West. The army was commanded by the elderly Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott, veteran of the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War. On the Confederate side, only a handful of federal officers and men resigned and joined the Confederacy. The formation of the Confederate States Army was a matter initially undertaken by the individual states.

Campaign	Effective Dates of the Campaign	Notes
Battle of Fort Sumter	April 12–13, 1861	War started, CSA victory
First Battle of Bull Run	July 16–22, 1861	First Manassas, CSA victory
Peninsula Campaign	March 17 - August 3, 1862
Jackson's Valley Campaign	May 15 - June 17, 1862
Second Battle of Bull Run	August 7 - September 2, 1862	("Second Manassas" for Confederate service)
Maryland Campaign	September 3–17, 1862	("Sharpsburg" for Confederate service)
Battle of Fredericksburg	November 9 - December 15, 1862
Battle of Chancellorsville	April 27 - May 3, 1863
Gettysburg Campaign	June 29 - July 3, 1863
Battle of the Wilderness	May 4–7, 1864
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House	May 8–21, 1864
Overland Campaign	May and June 1864
Siege of Petersburg	June 4, 1864 - April 2, 1865
Valley Campaigns of 1864	August 7 - November 28, 1864
Appomattox Campaign	April 3–9, 1865

President Lincoln visiting the Army of the Potomac at the Antietam battlefield, September 1862. Photo by Alexander Gardner.
Valley Campaign: Kernstown to McDowell
Valley Campaign: Front Royal to Port Republic
Peninsula Campaign, map of events up to the Battle of Seven Pines
Northern Virginia Campaign, August 7–28, 1862
Maryland Campaign, actions September 3 to September 15, 1862
Overview of the Battle of Antietam
Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862
Overland Campaign, from the Wilderness to crossing the James River
Richmond-Petersburg theater, fall 1864
Grant's final Petersburg assaults and the start of Lee's retreat
June 26–27, 1862. Battles of Mechanicsville and Gaines's Mill
June 30, 1862. Battle of Glendale
July 1, 1862. Battle of Malvern Hill
May 1, 1863. Hooker loses his nerve
May 2. Jackson's flank attack
May 3. Lee's assaults against Chancellorsville
May 3. Battles of Second Fredericksburg and Salem Church
May 4–6. Union withdrawals
Initial movements in the campaign, through July 3; cavalry movements shown with dashed lines
Battle of Gettysburg, July 1, 1863
Battle of Gettysburg, July 2
Battle of Gettysburg, July 3
Retreat, July 5–14
Shenandoah Valley operations, May–July 1864
Shenandoah Valley operations, August–October 1864
Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, USA