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Abraham Lincoln is elected as the first president to oppose the expansion of slavery within U.S. territory
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South Carolina becomes the first state to secede from the Union.
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The Confederate States of America are founded
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Southern forces fire on Fort Sumter to formally begin the Civil War
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The Battle of First Bull Run ends in a decisive Confederate victory
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The first naval battle between ironclad warships occurs at Hampton Roads
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Ulysses S. Grant secures his military career with victory at the Battle of Shiloh
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Robert E. Lee becomes commander of the Confederate Army at the Battle of the Seven Pines
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Confederates secure victory at the Battle of Second Bull Run
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The Union win the Battle of Antietam in the single bloodiest day of the Civil WAR
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The Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect
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Southern invasion of the North is ended at the Battle of Gettysburg
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Vicksburg surrenders giving the Union complete control of the Mississippi River
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Lincoln issues the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction offering pardons for those who returned their loyalty to the Union
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General Sherman's army begin the March to the Sea, destroying everything in their path
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The March to the Sea is completed as Sherman's Army captures Savannah, Georgia
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Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox Court House
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Abraham Lincoln is assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C.
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The final battle of the Civil War takes place at Palmito Ranch, Texas
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The Tennessee army surrenders and the Civil War officially ends
