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Henry Repeating Rifle
Benjamin Henry invented the first ever repeating rifle, calling it the Henry Repeating Rifle. This gun was used by both sides during the war. Although this particular repeating rifle wasn't used as much as others, it definitly popularized the type of gun. -
The Pony Express
A mail service that used horseback riders in 157 Pony Express relay stations across the deserts, mountains, plains, and prairies to deliver messages between the Paific and Atlantic coast all in ten days. This service made instant messaging a little bit easier than most other services during the Civil War. -
President Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln is elected the sixteenth president of the United States on November 6th, 1860 -
First Secession Convention
The Secession had there first convention in Columbia, South Carolina. -
Crittenden Compromise Fail
A series of constitutional amendments proposed in Congress that was supposed to be a compromise between proslavery and antislavery supporters. It failed many times and finally came to an end in the early winter of 1860. -
South Carolina secedes
South Carolina secedes from the Union. And joins the Confederate States of America. -
Mississppi Secedes
The state of Mississppi seceded from the Union in early 1861, joining the Confederate States of America. -
Florida Secedes
The state of Florida seceded from the Union in early 1861, joining the Confederate States of America. -
Alabama Secedes
The state of Alabama seceded from the Union in early 1861, joining the Confederate States of America. -
Confederate States of America
Jefferson Davis is appointed the first president of the Confederate States of America. Eleven states have been seceded from the Union and are now apart of the Confederat. States like South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, and more. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
Southern forces fired at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. This is the officaly beginning of the Civil War. -
Battle of Philippi
The first land battle of the war. Its more over the lines of being a skirmish, rather than a battle. Union Victory. -
Battle of Big Bethel
The first real battle on land. Philippi was a small little skirmish and was fought in a creek. Confederate Victory. -
Battle of Bull Run
The first major battle of the war. Union forces were pushed back and retreated to Washington. Confederate victory -
Battle of Wilson's Creek
The Union Army attacks some Confederate troops, militia, and Missouri State Guard southwest of Springfield, Missouri. -
Battle of Ball's Bluff
Union troops cross the Potomac River, where they were forced to retreat back to the rivers edge. A lot of Union soldiers drowned trying to recross the river. Confederate victory. -
Battle of Mill Springs
The Union army attacks a confederate held gap in Tennesee, to get into Kentucky. Although they didn't gain complete control, the Union forces weakened the Confederate holds on Kentucky. Union victory. -
Battle of Fort Henry
The Union captured a Confederate held fort (Fort Henry) and this victory reopened the possiblity of Union control over the Tennessee River. Union Control. -
Battle of Roanoke Island
Union forces defeated the Confederate hold of the area and claimed the land as their own. Used it for futher operations agaisnt the southern coast. -
Battle of Pea Ridge
A major battle of the Civil War where the Union army drove out Confederate troops of Missouri into Arkanas and took control of the Mississppi River. -
Battle of the Hampton Roads
A famous and argubably the most important naval battle of the Civil War. Union victory. -
Battle of Shiloh
The first major battle in Tennessee. And the first major battle of the Civil War that saw a long-scale death and injury toll. Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston, a veteran in three different wars is killed on the first day of fighting. Union victory. -
Homestead Act
President Lincoln signed the Homestead Act into a law. It encourages western migration by providing settlers 160 acres of public land. In exchange, homesteaders paid a small fee and had to complete five years of residence before getting ownership of the land. -
Robert E. Lee
A soldier of the Confederate army. Later became the general of the Northern Army in Virginia. -
Second Battle of Bull Run
General Lee of the Confederancy sent half of army in Northern Virginia to attack the federal supply base at Manassas. Confederate victory. -
Battle of Antietam
This battle consisted of only one day of fighting, yet there was a total of 23,000 casaultities, making it the bloodiest day of the Civil War. Union victory. -
Battle of Stones River, Tennessee
A costly battle fought for control of the middle of Tennessee. Union victory. -
Battle of Second Winchester
A battle fought in Virginia, where Confederate troops defeat Union troops, clearing the Shenandoah Valley of Union forces. -
West Virginia
The northwestern parts and counties of Virginia broke away because of the violence, declaring themselves as West Virginia and the offical thirty fifth state of the Union. -
Siege of Vicksburg
The Siege of Vicksburg was a major battle in the Civil War. The Union Army surrounded the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi and eventually took control. The siege took much longer than your typical battle. It began on May 18, 1863 and lasted over a month until July 4, 1863. -
54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry
Union naval and land forces attack Confederate defenses near Charleston, South Carolina. Among the Union troops is the 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry, the first African American regiment of volunteers to see combat -
New York City draft riots
Draft riots begin in New York City and elsewhere as disgruntled workers and laborers, seething over the draft system that seemingly favors the rich, attack the draft office and African American churches. The riots continue through July 16. -
Battle of Chickamauga
The Union Army of the Cumberland is defeated and nearly routed by the Confederate Army of Tennessee. The Union army retreats to the supply base at Chattanooga, Tennessee. Confederate victory. -
Siege of Chattanooga
Confederate forces surround the occupied city of Chattanooga. General Ulysses S. Grant is assigned to command the troops there and begins immediate plans to relieve the besieged Union army. -
Second Battle of Chattanooga
Union forces break the Confederate siege of the city in successive attacks. The most notable event is the storming of Lookout Mountain on November 24 and Battle of Missionary Ridge the following day. The decisive Union victory sends the Confederate Army south into Georgia on November 30. -
Siege of Knoxville
Confederate troops lay siege to the city of Knoxville held by Union forces. The Confederate finally attacks on November 30 but is repulsed with heavy losses. The arrival of Union reinforcements forces them to withdraw to Greeneville, Tennessee, where the corps will spend the winter. -
CSS H.L. Hunley and USS Houstonic
First Successful Submarine Attack of the Civil War. The CSS H.L. Hunley, a seven-man submergible craft, attacked the USS Houstonic outside of Charleston, South Carolina. Struck by the submarine's torpedo, the Housatonic sank, taking all but five of her crew with her. Likewise, the Hunley was also lost and never heard from again until discovered in 1995 at the spot where it sank after the attack. -
Lieutenant General Grant
Ulysses S. Grant is appointed lieutenant general, a rank revived at the request of President Lincoln. Grant assumes command of all Union Armies in the field the following day. -
Battle of Sabine Crossroads
Battle of Sabine Crossroads or Mansfield, Louisiana, the first major battle of the Red River Campaign in Louisiana. -
Battle of Pleasant Hill
Battle of Pleasant Hill, Louisiana. The Union Army under defeats the attempt by Confederate forces to drive them out of Louisiana. Unfortunately, the result of the campaign would be less than desired as it drew to a close in the first week of May with Confederates still in firm control of most of the state. -
Battle of Fort Pillow
After a rapid raid through central and western Tennessee, Confederate cavalry attacked and overwhelmed the Union garrison at Fort Pillow, located on the Mississippi River. Among those garrisoning the fort were African American troops, many of whom were murdered by angry troopers after they had surrendered. -
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
Lee successfully stalls Grant's drive toward Richmond. -
Battle of the Wilderness
The opening battle of the "Overland Campaign" or "Wilderness Campaign". General Ulysses S. Grant, accompanying the Army of the Potomac issued orders for the campaign to begin on May 3. Lee responded by attacking the Union column in the dense woods and underbrush of an area known as the Wilderness, west of Fredericksburg, Virginia. -
Battle of Yellow Tavern
Six miles north of Richmond, Confederate cavalry blocked a force of Union cavalry. Confederate General Stuart was mortally wounded during the encounter. -
Battle of Cold Harbor
Relentless and bloody Union attacks fail to dislodge Lee's army from its strong line of defensive works northeast of Richmond, Virginia. -
President Lincoln's Second Term
Abraham Lincoln is nominated by his party for a second term as president. -
Battle of Fort Fisher
Assault and capture of Fort Fisher, North Carolina. Union occupation of this fort at the mouth of the Cape Fear River closes access to Wilmington, the last southern seaport on the east coast that was open to blockade runners and commercial shipping -
The Capture of Columbia
Sherman's Army captures Columbia, South Carolina while Confederate defenders evacuate Charleston, South Carolina. -
Battle of Wilmington
Wilmington, NC, falls to Union troops, closing the last important southern port on the east coast. On this same day, Joseph E. Johnston is restored to command the nearly shattered Army of the Tennessee, vice President John B. Hood who resigned a month earlier. -
Battle of Fort Stedman
Touted as "Lee's last offensive", Confederate troops attack and briefly capture the Union fort in the Petersburg siege lines in an attempt to thwart Union plans for a late March assault. By day's end, the southerners have been thrown out and the lines remain unchanged. -
Battle of Five Forks
The Confederate defeat at Five Forks initiates General Lee's decision to abandon the Petersburg-Richmond siege lines. -
Fall of Petersburg and Richmond
General Lee abandons both cities and moves his army west in hopes of joining Confederate forces in North Carolina. -
Battle of Appomattox Court House and Surrender,
After an early morning attempt to break through Union forces blocking the route west to Danville, Virginia, Lee seeks an audience with General Grant to discuss terms. That afternoon in the parlor of Wilmer McLean, Lee signs the document of surrender. On April 12, the Army of Northern Virginia formally surrenders and is disbanded. -
Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln
President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by actor John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC. On the same day, Fort Sumter, South Carolina is re-occupied by Union troops. -
Johnston Surrender
General Joseph Johnston signs the surrender document for the Confederate Army of the Tennessee and miscellaneous southern troops attached to his command at Bennett's Place near Durham, North Carolina. -
Capture of Davis
Confederate President Jefferson Davis is captured near Irwinville, Georgia.
