U.S. Civil War Trivia

Some battles (and additional surrenders) took place later, but Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House in Virginia is considered the unofficial end of the Civil War.

Chickamauga was the first major battle fought in Georgia and is considered the second bloodiest battle of the Civil War. It was the most significant Union defeat in the Western Theater. Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas, who assumed command of the remaining forces after Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans was driven from the field, held until twilight. His stalwart stand earned Thomas the nickname "The Rock of Chickamauga."

As a Union soldier, Abner Doubleday fired the first shot in defense of Fort Sumter, and played a pivotal role in the early part of the Battle of Gettysburg. After the war, he obtained a patent on the cable car railway in San Francisco. His greatest claim to fame, however, has to do with something he didn't do.

In 1908, 15 years after Doubleday's death, the Mills Commission declared him to have been the inventor of the game of baseball. This idea has been thoroughly debunked by historians, and Doubleday never claimed to have created the game. However, his name continues to be associated with baseball to this day.

South Carolina seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860; Mississippi followed suit about three weeks later on January 9.

In September 1990, "The Civil War" was the first-ever broadcast to air on PBS for five consecutive nights. It became the most-watched program in the network's history. Considered groundbreaking at the time, the film earned numerous accolades for director Ken Burns.