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The South seceded
When Abraham Lincoln, a known opponent of slavery, was elected president, the South Carolina legislature perceived a threat. Calling a state convention, the delegates voted to remove the state of South Carolina from the union. The secession of South Carolina plus the secession of ten more states -- Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana,Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina -
The South siezes federal forts
President Buchanan (Lincoln's predecessor) refused to surrender southern federal forts to the seceding states, southern state troops seized them. At Fort Sumter, South Carolina troops repulsed a supply ship trying to reach federal forces based in the fort. -
Lincoln's Inaguration
Lincoln's inauguration on March 4, the new president said he had no plans to end slavery in those states where it already existed, but he also said he would not accept secession. He hoped to resolve the national crisis without warfare. -
Attack on Fort Sumpter
President Lincoln planned to send supplies to Fort Sumter, he alerted the state in advance, in an attempt to avoid hostilities. Anderson offered to surrender after he exhausted his supplies. His offer was rejected, and on April 12, the Civil War began with shots fired on the fort. -
Battle of Bull Run
General-in-Chief Winfield Scott advanced on the South before training his untried troops. Scott ordered General Irvin McDowell to advance on Confederate troops stationed at Manassas Junction, Virginia. McDowell attacked on July 21, and was initially successful, but the introduction of Confederate reinforcements resulted in a Southern victory and a chaotic retreat toward Washington by federal troops. -
Blockade of the South
To blockade the coast of the Confederacy effectively, the federal navy had to be improved. By July, the effort at improvement had made a difference and an effective blockade had begun. The South responded by building small, fast ships that could outmaneuver Union vessels.
