The state of Virginia played a prominent role in the American Civil War. Not only was Richmond the capital of the Confederate States of America (a group of 11 states that broke away from the United States before the Civil War), but hundreds of battles took place in the state. Although the Confederates won several important battles in Virginia, such as those at Bull Run and Chancellorsville, the Union Army (Army of the Potomac) decimated the Confederates in central Virginia battle sites, in what came to be known as General Grant’s (Union Commander) Overland Campaign. In the end, The Confederate Army was too weakened by the campaign and surrendered in 1865. |
