This is a list of battles and skirmishes of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 during the year 1865, the final year of the war. During the year, Union forces were able to capture the last major Confederate ports still open to shipping, along with the Confederate capital, and forced the surrender of the four major Confederate commands.

In the Eastern Theater, a combined Union army and naval force captured Fort Fisher

Fort Fisher

Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865....

 at the mouth of the Cape Fear River in January, closing the port of Wilmington, North Carolina

Wilmington, North Carolina

Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...

 to Confederate shipping (the city itself would be captured the following month). On April 1 and 2, Union forces commanded by Lieutenant General U.S. Grant launched a series of attacks on the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia

Army of Northern Virginia

The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...

 near Petersburg, Virginia, overunning the Confederate fortifications. As a result, General Robert E. Lee was forced to evacuate both that city and Richmond, ending the nine month siege operations. Lee attempted to flee southwards to North Carolina to unite with other Confederate forces but was surrounded and forced to surrender at Appomattox Court House

Appomattox Court House National Historical Park

The Appomattox Court House National Historical Park is a National Historical Park of original and reconstructed nineteenth century buildings. It was signed into law August 3, 1935. The village was made a national monument in 1940 and a national historical park in 1954...

 on April 9.

In North Carolina, General Joseph Johnston was appointed commander of all Confederate forces in the state and ordered to defeat Union forces under Major General William T. Sherman. The resulting Carolinas Campaign

Carolinas Campaign

The Carolinas Campaign was the final campaign in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. In January 1865, Union Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman advanced north from Savannah, Georgia, through the Carolinas, with the intention of linking up with Union forces in Virginia. The defeat of ...

 culminated in the Battle of Bentonville

Battle of Bentonville

At 3 p.m., Confederate infantry from the Army of Tennessee launched an attack and drove the Union left flank back in confusion, nearly capturing Carlin in the process and overrunning the XIV Corps field hospital. Confederates under Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill filled the vacuum left by the retreating...

 on March 19 to 21, in which the Confederates gained an initial advantage over one portion of the Union army but was forced to retreat when the rest of the army arrived. When he received news of Lee's surrender, Johnston also surrendered both his Army of Tennessee

Army of Tennessee

The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. It was formed in late 1862 and fought until the end of the war in 1865, participating in most of the significant battles in the Western Theater...

 and the remaining Confederate forces in the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida at the Bennett Place, North Carolina

Bennett Place

Bennett Place, sometimes known as Bennett Farm, in Durham, North Carolina was the site of the largest surrender of Confederate soldiers ending the American Civil War, on April 26, 1865.-History:...

 on April 26.

In the Western Theater, Major General James Wilson lead his cavalry corps in a raid through Alabama and Georgia, destroying Confederate manufacturing plants and defeating Nathan Bedford Forrest at the Battle of Selma

Battle of Selma

The Battle of Selma was a military engagement near the end of the American Civil War. It was fought in Selma, Alabama, on April 2, 1865. Union Army forces under Major General James H...

. Around Mobile, Alabama (the last port still held by the Confederates), Major General Edward R.S. Canby started siege operations against the forts protecting the city on March 31, first capturing Spanish Fort on April 8 and Fort Blakely the following day. The Confederates evacuated the city of Mobile without a fight on April 11. The capture of Mobile freed additional troops to assist Wilson's cavalry to the north. Both this and word of the Confederate surrenders in Virginia and North Carolina convinced Richard Taylor, commander of the Cofederate Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana, to surrender to Canby at Citronelle, Alabama

Citronelle, Alabama

Citronelle is a city in Mobile County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 3,659. It is included in the Mobile metropolitan statistical area.-History:This was long part of the territory of thousands of years of indigenous peoples...

 on May 4. Forrest followed with the surrender of his command on May 9.

Due to slow communications, Confederate forces in the Trans-Mississippi Theater

Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War

The Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War was the major military and naval operations west of the Mississippi River. The area excluded the states and territories bordering the Pacific Ocean, which formed the Pacific Coast Theater of the American Civil War.The campaign classification...

 didn't receive word of the Confederate surrenders in the east for several weeks. The last organized engagement of the war was fought at Palmito Ranch

Battle of Palmito Ranch

The Battle of Palmito Ranch, also known as the Battle of Palmito Hill and the Battle of Palmetto Ranch, was fought on May 12–13, 1865, during the American Civil War. It was the last major clash of arms in the war...

, Texas on May 13 and 14. Confederate Lieutenant General Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of the Trans-Mississippi Department

Trans-Mississippi Department

The Trans-Mississippi Department was an administrative subdivision of the Confederate States of America west of the Mississippi, consisting of Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Indian Territories recognized by the CSA, and parts of Western Louisiana...

, surrendered his forces at Shreveport, Louisiana

Shreveport, Louisiana

Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....

 on June 2, while Confederate forces in the Indian Territory

Indian Territory

The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...

surrendered on June 23 at Doaksville, Indian Territory. The Confederate raider CSS Shenandoah

CSS Shenandoah

CSS Shenandoah, formerly Sea King, was an iron-framed, teak-planked, full rigged ship, with auxiliary steam power, captained by Commander James Waddell, Confederate States Navy, a North Carolinian with twenty years' service in the United States Navy.During 12½ months of 1864–1865 the ship...

, which had been in the Pacific Ocean during the months of April and May, only received word of the end of the war on August 2. Fearing execution as pirates if it surrendered to Union forces, the ship instead sailed to Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

, United Kingdom, and surrendered to British authorities on November 6.

January

13th to 15th

Fort Fisher II, N.C.

Second Battle of Fort Fisher

The Second Battle of Fort Fisher was a joint assault by Union Army and naval forces against Fort Fisher, outside Wilmington, North Carolina, near the end of the American Civil War...

• Military units: Union Terry's Provisional Corps, Department of Virginia and North Carolina
  Department of Virginia and North Carolina
  The Department of Virginia and North Carolina was a United States Military department encompassing Union-occupied territory in the Confederate States during the Civil War. In 1863 it was formed by the merging of two previously existing departments: the Department of Virginia and the Department of...
  
  , Confederate Department of North Carolina, Cape Fear District
• Losses: Union 1,207 to 1,627 Confederate 400 to 500 killed and wounded 1,400 to 1,500 prisioners

February

2nd to 3rd

Rivers Bridge, S.C.

• Military units: Union Grand Army of the West and Confederate Military Division of the West
• Losses: Union 92 killed and wounded Confederate 170 killed and wounded

5th to 7th

Battle of Hatcher's Run, Virginia

Battle of Hatcher's Run

The Battle of Hatcher's Run, also known as Dabney's Mill, Armstrong's Mill, Rowanty Creek, and Vaughn Road, fought February 5–7, 1865, was one in a series of Union offensives during the Siege of Petersburg, aimed at cutting off Confederate supply traffic on Boydton Plank Road and the Weldon...

• Military units:Union Army of the Potomac
  Army of the Potomac
  The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
  
   and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia
  Army of Northern Virginia
  The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
  
  
• Losses: Union 1,559 Confederate 1,000

19th to 20th

Town Creek, N.C.

• Military units: Union Third Division, XXIII Corps
  XXIII Corps
  XXIII Corps can refer to:*XXIII Corps *XXIII Corps *XXIII Corps *XXIII Russian Corps...
  
   and Confederate infantry brigade, Cape Fear District, Department of North Carolina
• Losses: Union unknown Confederate 395

20th

Forks Road, N.C.

• Military units: Union Terry's Provisional Corps, Department of North Carolina and Confederate Cape Fear District, Department of North Carolina
• Losses: Union 53 Confederate unknown

March

2nd

Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia

Battle of Waynesboro

The Battle of Waynesboro was fought on March 2, 1865, in Augusta County, Virginia, during the American Civil War. It was the final battle for Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal Early, whose force was destroyed.-Background:...

• Military units: Union Army of the Shenandoah
  Army of the Shenandoah
  Army of the Shenandoah refers to two armies in the American Civil War:* Confederate Army of the Shenandoah* Union Army of the Shenandoah...
  
   and Confederate Army of the Valley District
• Losses: Union 30 Confederate 1,600

6th

Battle of Natural Bridge, Fl.

Battle of Natural Bridge

The Battle of Natural Bridge was a battle during the American Civil War, fought in what is now Woodville, Florida, near Tallahassee, on March 6, 1865...

• Military units: Union and Confederate volunteers
• Losses: Union 148 Confederate 25

7th to 10th

Wyse Fork, N.C.

Battle of Wyse Fork

The Battle of Wyse Fork was a battle fought in the Carolinas Campaign of the American Civil War, resulting in a Union Army victory.-Background:...

• Military units: Union Grand Army of the West and Confederate Department of North Carolina
• Losses: Union 1,300 Confederate 1,500

10th

Monroe's Cross Roads, N.C.

• Military units: Union 3rd Cavalry Division, Grand Army of the West and Confederate Hampton's Cavalry command, Army of the South
• Losses: Union 183, Confederate 86

16th

Battle of Averasborogh, N.C.

Battle of Averasborough

The Battle of Averasborough or The Battle of Averasboro, fought March 16, 1865, in Harnett and Cumberland counties, North Carolina, as part of the Carolinas Campaign of the American Civil War, was a prelude to the climactic Battle of Bentonville, which began three days later.Union Maj. Gen. William...

• Military units: Union Grand Army of the West and Confederate Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida
• Losses: Union 683 Confederate 865

19th to 21st

Battle of Bentonville, N.C.

Battle of Bentonville

At 3 p.m., Confederate infantry from the Army of Tennessee launched an attack and drove the Union left flank back in confusion, nearly capturing Carlin in the process and overrunning the XIV Corps field hospital. Confederates under Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill filled the vacuum left by the retreating...

• Military units: Union Grand Army of the West and Confederate Army of the South
• Losses: Union 1,527 Confederate 2,606

25th

Battle of Fort Stedman, Virginia

Battle of Fort Stedman

The Battle of Fort Stedman was fought on March 25, 1865, during the final days of the American Civil War. The Union Army fortification in the siege lines around Petersburg, Virginia, was attacked in a pre-dawn Confederate assault by troops led by Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon. The attack was the last...

• Military units: Union Army of the Potomac and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia
• Losses: Union 1,017 Confederate 2,681

27th to April 8th

Battle of Spanish Fort, Ala.

Battle of Spanish Fort

The Battle of Spanish Fort took place from March 27 to April 8, 1865 in Baldwin County, Alabama, as part of the Mobile Campaign of the Western Theater of the American Civil War....

• Military units: Union Department of the Gulf and Confederate Department of East Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama
• Losses: Union 657 Confederate 741

29th

Battle of Lewis's Farm, Va.

Battle of Lewis's Farm

-External links:*...

• Military units: Union Army of the Potomac and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia
• Losses: Union 381 Confederate 371

31st

Dinwiddle Court House, Va

Battle of Dinwiddie Court House

The Battle of Dinwiddie Court House was a minor engagement in the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War that was the immediate prelude to the decisive Battle of Five Forks. On March 29, 1865, with the Cavalry Corps and the II and V Corps of the Army of the Potomac, Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan...

• Military units: Union Army of the Shenendoah and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia
• Losses: Union 354 Confederate 760

31st

White Oak Road, Va

Battle of White Oak Road

The Battle of White Oak Road, also known as The Battle of Hatcher’s Run, Gravelly Run, Boydton Plank Road, White Oak Ridge was fought on March 31, 1865, during the American Civil War. It set the stage for the Confederate defeat at the Battle of Five Forks the following day.On March 30, 1865, Gen....

• Military units: Union V Corps and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia
• Losses: Union 1,781 Confederate 900 to 1,235

31st

Johnson County, Tenn.

• Military units: Union and Confederate irregulars
• Losses: Union one Confederate 15

April

1st

Battle of Five Forks, Va.

Battle of Five Forks

The Battle of Five Forks was fought on April 1, 1865, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, in Dinwiddie County, during the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War. The battle, sometimes referred to as the "Waterloo of the Confederacy," pitted Union Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan against...

• Military units: Union Army of the Shenandoah and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia
• Losses: Union 830 Confederate 3,000

2nd to 9th

Battle of Fort Blakely, Ala.

Battle of Fort Blakely

-Sources:**-External links:*...

• Military units: Union Department of the Gulf and Confederate Department of East Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama
• Losses: Union 775 Confederate 3,700

2nd

Battle of Selma, Ala.

Battle of Selma

The Battle of Selma was a military engagement near the end of the American Civil War. It was fought in Selma, Alabama, on April 2, 1865. Union Army forces under Major General James H...

• Military units: Union and Confederate
• Losses: Union 359 Confederate 2,700

Petersburg III, Va.

• Military units: Union Armies of the Potomac, the Shenandoah, and the James
  Army of the James
  The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia.-History:...
  
   and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia
• Losses: Union 3,894 Confederate 4,852

Sutherland Station, Va.

Battle of Sutherland's Station

The Battle of Sutherland's Station was an American Civil War conflict fought on April 2, 1865, in Dinwiddie, Virginia during the Appomattox Campaign....

• Military units: Union Army of the Potomac and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia
• Losses: Union 366, Confederate 600

3rd

Namozine Church, Va.

Battle of Namozine Church

The Battle of Namozine Church, Virginia was a minor engagement that occurred on April 3, 1865 during the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War. The battle was the first engagement between units of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia under the command of General Robert E...

• Military units: Union Army of the Potomac and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia
• Losses: Union 81 Confederate unknown

5th

Amelia Springs, Va.

Battle of Amelia Springs

The Battle of Amelia Springs, Virginia was a minor engagement that occurred on April 5, 1865 during the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War...

• Military units: Union Army of the Potomac and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia
• Losses: Union 158 Confederate unknown

6th

Sayler's Creek, Va.

Battle of Sayler's Creek

-External links:* * : Maps, histories, photos, and preservation news...

• Military units: Union Army of the Potomac and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia
• Losses: Union 1,148 Confederate 7,700

Rice's Station, Va.

Battle of Rice's Station

The Battle of Rice's Station was a minor engagement in Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War that was the immediate prelude to the Battle of Sayler's Creek. On April 6, 1865, Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's command reached Rice's Station, only to discover that it was blocked by...

• Military units: Union Army of the Potomac and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia
• Losses: Union 66 Confederate unknown

6th to 7th

High Bridge, Va.

Battle of High Bridge

The Battle of High Bridge was fought on April 6–7, 1865, near the end of the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War. On April 6, the Confederate cavalry fought stubbornly to secure the Appomattox River bridges. On April 7, elements of the Union II Corps came up against Lt. Gen. James...

• Military units: Union Army of the Potomac and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia
• Losses: Union 847 Confederate 100

7th

Cumberland Church, Va.

Battle of Cumberland Church

The Battle of Cumberland Church was fought on April 7, 1865, as part of the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War.Near 2 p.m. on April 7, the advance of the Union II Corps encountered Confederate forces entrenched on high ground near Cumberland Church. The Union forces attacked twice but...

• Military units: Union Army of the Potomac and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia
• Losses: Union 571 Confederate unknown

8th

Appomattox Station, Va.

Battle of Appomattox Station

The Battle of Appomattox Station was fought April 8, 1865, during the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War. Maj. Gen. George Armstrong Custer's Union cavalry, en route to Appomattox Station, clashed with the reserve artillery of the Confederate Third Corps, Army of Northern Virginia, under...

• Military units: Union Army of the Potomac and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia
• Losses: Union 48 Confederate 1,000 captured unknown killed and wounded

9th

Dingle's Mill, S.C.

Battle of Dingle's Mill

The Battle of Dingle’s Mill was an American Civil War battle that took place near Sumterville, Sumter County, South Carolina.-Background:Major General Q. A. Gillmore ordered a provisional division assembled under the command of Brigadier General Edward E. Potter. Potter was ordered to destroy the...

• Military units: Union expedition, Department of the South and Confederate militia and regulars
• Losses: Union unknown Confederate unknown

Battle of Appomattox Court House, Va.

• Military units: Union Armies of the Potomac, the James, and the Shenandoah and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia
• Losses: Union 164 Confederate 500

16th

West Point, Georgia

Battle of West Point

The Battle of West Point was fought on April 16, 1865 in West Point, Georgia, during General James H. Wilson's raid of the south during the American Civil War. This battle was fought at Fort Tyler seven days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S...

• Military units: Union Wilson's Cavalry Corps and Confederate militia and artillerymen
• Losses: Union 36 Confederate 264

18th

Boykin's Mill, S.C.

Battle of Boykin's Mill

Site of the last Union officer killed in action during the American Civil War, Boykin’s Mill also hosted the final battle on South Carolina soil. Brigadier General Edward E. Potter took command of the two Northern brigades—2700 men—recently landed at Georgetown. Colonel Edward N...

• Military units: Union expedition, Department of the South and Confederate militia
• Losses: Union two Confederate unknown

May

12th to 13th

Battle of Palmito Ranch, Tex.

Battle of Palmito Ranch

The Battle of Palmito Ranch, also known as the Battle of Palmito Hill and the Battle of Palmetto Ranch, was fought on May 12–13, 1865, during the American Civil War. It was the last major clash of arms in the war...

• Military units: Union and Confederate Department of the Trans-Mississippi, Subdistrict of the Rio Grande
• Losses: Union 30, Confederate 118

26th

Sea of Okhotsk, near Russia

• Military units: CSS Shenadoah
• Losses: Capture of Union whaling ship

June

22nd to 23rd

Bering Sea, near the coast of Alaska

• Military units: CSS Shenadoah
• Losses: Capture of seven U.S. whaling ships

23rd

Doaksville, Oklahoma

Battle of Doaksville

Brigadier General Stand Watie surrendered the last major Confederate army, which took place in the small town of Doaksville in Indian Territory on June 23, 1865. There was no battle.-External links:*...

• Military units: Union and Confederate irregulars
• Losses: none (Confederate surrender)

26th

Bering Sea, near the coast of Alaska

• Military units: CSS Shenandoah
• Losses: Capture of six U.S. whaling ships.

28th

East Cape Bay, Alaska

• Military units: CSS Shenandoah
• Losses: Capture of eleven U.S. whaling ships

Sources

• Fonvielle, Jr., Chris E. Last Rays of Departing Hope: The Wilmington Campaign. Savas Publishing Company, 1997. ISBN 1-882810-09-0
• Gragg, Rod. Confederate Goliath: The Battle of Fort Fisher. Harper Collins, 1991. ISBN 0-060-16096-9
• Kennedy, Frances H. The Civil War Battlefield Guide, Second Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. ISBN 0-395-74012-6
• Trudeau, Noah Andre. Out of the Storm: The End of the Storm, April–June 1865. Little, Brown and Company, 1994. ISBN 0-316-85328-3