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Presidential Election of 1860
The 19th presidential election. It ended with Abraham Lincoln winning. It was heavily based on the politics of slavery. -
South Carolina secedes from the Union
South Carolina became the first slave state in the south to declare that it had seceded from the United States. -
Forming of Confederate States of America
Representatives from the six seceded states met in Montgomery, Alabama, to formally establish a unified government, which they named the Confederate States of America. -
Sacking of Lawrence, Kansas by Confederates
Was an attack during the American Civil War by the Quantrill's Raiders, a Confederate guerilla group led by William Quantrill, on the Unionist town of Lawrence, Kansas. -
Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address
Lincolns inauguration was a widely controversial one, as he was "against" slavery. Part of his taking of the oath of office for his first term as the sixteenth President -
Battle of Fort Sumter
The bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina by the Confederate States Army, and the return gunfire and subsequent surrender by the United States Army, that started the American Civil War. -
(First) Battle of Bull Run (Manassas)
This was fought on July 21, 1861 in Prince William County, Virginia, just north of the city of Manassas and about 25 miles west-southwest of Washington, D.C. -
Jefferson Davis becomes President of Confederate States
Jefferson was elected on a 6-year term as the first permanent President of the Confederate States -
First Battle of Ironclads
it was the first meeting in combat of ironclad warships, i.e., the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia. -
Battle of Shiloh
A battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee -
Siege of New Orleans by Union
Union forces seeking to capture the city during the American Civil War. The permanent loss of New Orleans was considered one of the worst disasters suffered by the Confederacy in the western theatre of the war. -
(Second) Battle of Bull Run
It was a stunning Confederate victory over the Union Army of Virginia. Over 20,000 men fell as casualties at this fight. -
Battle of Antietam
The eighth-costliest land battle of the American Civil War (22,717 casualties). A heavy battle between the Confederates and the Union. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Granted freedom to the slaves in the Confederate States if the States did not return to the Union by January 1, 1863. In addition, under this proclamation, freedom would only come to the slaves if the Union won the war. -
Battle of Vicksburg (siege)
The final major military action in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. (Union victorious) -
54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry in combat
The unit was the first African-American regiment organized in the northern states during the Civil War. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The most important engagement of the American Civil War. After a great victory over Union forces at Chancellorsville, General Robert E. Lee marched his Army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania in late June 1863. -
Draft Riots begin in New York City
Violent disturbances in Lower Manhattan, widely regarded as the culmination of working-class discontent with new laws passed by Congress that year to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War. -
Gettysburg Address
A speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, and one of the best-known speeches in American history. It is best known for its outright voice in being against slavery. -
Sherman's Army of Georgia arrives at Savannah, Georgia
The Atlanta Campaign was a series of battles fought in the Western Theater of the American Civil War throughout northwest Georgia and the area around Atlanta during the summer of 1864. -
First Successful Submarine Attack of the Civil War
The hand-cranked Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley torpedoed the mighty USS Housatonic in Charleston Harbor (no real effect on war). -
Battle of the Wilderness Virginia
The first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War. -
Fall of Atlanta, Georgia
A very important victory for the Union. Took over very important Southern Land. -
Lincoln Wins a Second Term
Although Lincoln was hated across almost half of America, he won a second term which surprised many, even some of his own voters. -
Assault and Capture of Fort Fisher, North Carolina
Another successful win for the Union army. This was an important win as it was near the end of the war. -
Lincoln’s 2nd Inaugural Address
Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address was delivered on March 4, 1865, during the final days of the Civil War and only a month before he was assassinated. -
Sherman’s Troops Occupy Fayetteville, NC
The Union Army captured and destroyed the Confederate arsenal, a building where weapons were made and stored, in Fayetteville, North Carolina. -
Battle of Appomattox Courthouse (Lee surrenders)
Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders his 28000 troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the American Civil War in favor of the Union. -
Lincoln Assassinated
The 16th President of the United States, was assassinated by well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth right after the end of the Civil War.
