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confederacy if formed
South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union on December 20, 1860. South Carolina asked the other slave states to join together in forming a new nation. By February 1861 six other states from the lower south followed South Carolina. They were Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.These seven states formed a new union called the Confederate States of America. -
richmond falls to trhe union army
When the Confederate government moved from Montgomery, Alabama to Richmond, Virginia, the quiet, prosperous Virginia state capital was transformed into a noisy, crowded metropolis that, as Furgurson notes, was capital, military headquarters, transportation hub, industrial heart, prison, and hospital center of the Confederacy. It was also a target for the Union army. -
1st battle of bull run
Union and Confederate armies clashed near Manassas Junction, Virginia, in the first major land battle of the American Civil War. Known as the First Battle of Bull Run (or Manassas), the engagement began when about 35,000 Union troops marched from the federal capital in Washington, D.C. to strike a Confederate force of 20,000 along a small river known as Bull Run. After fighting on the defensive for most of the day, the rebels rallied and were able to break the Union right flank, sending the Fed -
the monitor battles the merrimack
The Northern-built Merrimack, a conventional steam frigate, had been salvaged by the Confederates from the Norfolk navy yard and rechristened the Virginia. With her upper hull cut away and armoured with iron, this 263-foot (80.2-metre) masterpiece of improvisation resembled, according to one contemporary source, “a floating barn roof." -
New Orleans falls to the union
Union troops officially take possession of New Orleans, completing the occupation that had begun four days earlier.The capture of this vital southern city was a huge blow to the Confederacy. Southern military strategists planned for a Union attack down the Mississippi, not from the Gulf of Mexico. -
lee becomes commander of the army in northern virgina
The Army of Northern Virginia, commonly referred to as "Lee's Army," was the Confederacy's main fighting force in the Eastern Theater of the Civil War. Strategically, the Eastern Theater was arguably the most important battleground of the Civil War; comprising the states of Virginia, West Virginia Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia, this zone was home to the capital cities of the Union and the Confederacy, as well as site of the War's most famous battles. -
battle of Antietam
Generals Robert E. Lee and George McClellan faced off near Antietam creek in Sharpsburg, Maryland, in the the first battle of the American Civil War to be fought on northern soil. Though McClellan failed to utlilize his numerical superiority to crush Lee's army, he was able to check the Confederate advance into the north. After a string of Union defeats, this tactical victory provided Abraham Lincoln the political cover he needed to issue his Emancipation Proclamation. Though the result of the b -
battle of fredericksburg
Involed nearly 200,000 combats the largest concentration of troops in any Civil War battle. Ambrose Burnside, the newly appointed commander of the Army of the Potomac, had ordered his more than 120,000 troops to cross the Rappahannock River, where they made a two-pronged attack on the right and left flanks of Robert E. Lee's 80,000-strong Army of Northern Virginia at Fredericksburg. -
signing the emancipation proclamation
President Lincoln read the first draft of this document to his Cabinet members on July 22, 1862. After some changes, he issued the preliminary version on September 22, which specified that the final document would take effect January 1, 1863. Slaves in Confederate states which were not back in the Union by then would be free, but slaves in the Border States were not affected. The president knew the proclamation was a temporary measure and only Congress could abolish slavery, but had the satisfac -
battle of chancellorsville
Late on May 1, 1863, Lee and Jackson conceived one of the boldest plans of the war. Jackson, with 30,000 Confederates, would follow a circuitous route to the Union right and from there conduct an attack on that exposed flank. The May 2, 1863 flank attack stunned the Union XI corps and threatened Hooker’s position, but the victorious Confederate attack ended with the mortal wounding of Stonewall Jackson. -
battle of gettysburg
Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee concentrated his army around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, upon the approach of Union Gen. George G. Meade’s forces. On July 1, Confederates drove Union defenders through Gettysburg to Cemetery Hill. The next day Lee struck the flanks of the Union line resulting in severe fighting at Devil's Den, Little Round Top, the Wheatfield, Peach Orchard, Culp’s Hill and East Cemetery Hill. Southerners gained ground but failed to dislodge the Union host. On the morning of July 3r -
battle of vicksburg
Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s armies converged on Vicksburg, investing the city and entrapping a Confederate army under Lt. Gen. John Pemberton. On July 4, Vicksburg surrendered after prolonged siege operations. This was the culmination of one of the most brilliant military campaigns of the war. -
quantrill burns lawrence
William Quantrill (a former Lawrence school teacher) led 400 Missouri men into Lawrence. They were intent on burning every house and killing every man. Around 200 men were killed that day. The stops on the Quantrill's Lawrence Raid tour tell many of stories of the events on that day. The 90 minute to 2 hour tour begins at the Miller Farm, near where the first person was killed and ends at Oak Hill Cemetery. -
attack on fort wganer
At dusk July 18, Gillmore launched an attack spearheaded by the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, a black regiment. The unit’s colonel, Robert Gould Shaw, was killed. Members of the brigade scaled the parapet but after brutal hand-to-hand combat were driven out with heavy casualties. The Federals resorted to siege operations to reduce the fort. This was the fourth time in the war that black troops played a crucial combat role, proving to skeptics that they would fight bravely if only given the chance -
lincoln delivers the gettysburg address
President Abraham Lincoln was invited to deliver remarks, which later became known as the Gettysburg Address, at the official dedication ceremony for the National Cemetery of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, on the site of one of the bloodiest and most decisive battles of the Civil War. -
lincoln writes the gettysbug address
lincoln writes the gettysburg adress in dediction of the war at gettysburg. -
battle of cold harbor
The battles of Cold Harbor were two American Civil War engagements that took place about 10 miles northeast of Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital. The First Battle of Cold Harbor, more commonly known as the Battle of Gaines’ Mill, was part of the Peninsula campaign of 1862 and resulted in a Union defeat, as Major General George McClellan was forced to abandon plans to march on Richmond. -
appomattox court house
lee surrendered at appomattox court house,virgina signaled the end of the southern states attempt to create a spearate nation. -
grant takes supreme command of the union army
On this day in 1864, President Abraham Lincoln nominates Ulysses S. Grant for the newly revived rank of lieutenant general.The promotion carried Grant to the supreme command of Union forces and capped one of the most remarkable success stories of the war. Born in Ohio in 1822, Grant attended West Point and graduated in 1843. He served in the Mexican War in 1847 to 1848 and on the American frontier in the 1850s. -
lincoln wins re - election
On this day in 1864, Northern voters overwhelmingly endorse the leadership and policies of President Abraham Lincoln when they elect him to a second term. With his re-election, any hope for a negotiated settlement with the Confederacy vanished. In 1864, Lincoln faced many challenges to his presidency. -
sherman burns atlanta
From November 15 until December 21, 1864, Union General William T. Sherman led some 60,000 soldiers on a 285-mile march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. The purpose of this “March to the Sea” was to frighten Georgia’s civilian population into abandoning the Confederate cause. Sherman’s soldiers did not destroy any of the towns in their path, but they stole food and livestock and burned the houses and barns of people who tried to fight back. -
sherman reaches the sea dividing the south
Sherman’s March to the Sea is the name commonly given to the Savannah Campaign by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman taking place from November 15, 1864 to December 21, 1864. which followed the successful Atlanta Campaign. After leaving the decimated city of Atlanta on November 16, Sherman led his troops on a destructive campaign which concluded with the capture of the port city of Savannah on December 21. -
lincoln 2nd inaugural speech
President Abraham Lincoln spoke of mutual forgiveness, North and South, asserting that the true mettle of a nation lies in its capacity for charity. -
lincoln assassinated
John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor and Confederate sympathizer, fatally shot President Abraham Lincoln at a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. The attack came only five days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his massive army at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, effectively ending the American Civil War. -
13th amendment ratified
The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, officially ending the institution of slavery, is ratified. "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." With these words, the single greatest change wrought by the Civil War was officially noted in the Constitution.The ratification came eight months after the end of the war. -
ulysses s. grant becomes prsident
Ulysses S. Grant and his vice-presidential candidate, Schuyler Colfax, are elected by a landslide. -
military draft enacted for the first time in history
The registration of men between the ages of 21 and 36 began exactly one month later, as Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, who had been a key player in moving the Roosevelt administration away from a foreign policy of strict neutrality, began drawing draft numbers out of a glass bowl. The numbers were handed to the president, who read them aloud for public announcement. There were some 20 million eligible young men—50 percent were rejected the very first year, either for health reasons.
