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Secession of South Carolina
The first Secession Convention meets in Columbia, South Carolina. -
Lincoln Elected
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Six additional southern states secede from the Union.
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Abraham Lincoln Elected
Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as the sixteenth president of the United States in Washington, DC. -
Civil War Begins
Southern forces fire upon Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The Civil War has formally begun. -
Lincoln Declaration
President Lincoln issues a public declaration that an insurrection exists and calls for 75,000 militia to stop the rebellion. As a result of this call for volunteers, four additional southern states secede from the Union in the following weeks. Lincoln will respond on May 3 with an additional call for 43,000+ volunteers to serve for three years, expanding the size of the Regular Army. -
Battle of Big Bethel
Battle of Big Bethel, the first land battle of the war in Virginia. -
The Battle of Wilson's Creek
The Union Army under General Nathaniel Lyon, attack Confederate troops and state militia southwest of Springfield, Missouri, and after a disastrous day that included the death of Lyon, are thrown back. The Confederate victory emphasizes the strong southern presence west of the Mississippi River. -
Battle Map
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Battle of Roanoke Island
Battle of Roanoke Island, North Carolina. A Confederate defeat, the battle resulted in Union occupation of eastern North Carolina and control of Pamlico Sound, to be used as Northern base for further operations against the southern coast. -
Jefferson Davis Elected
Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as President of the Confederate States of America. -
The Battle of Shiloh
The first major battle in Tennessee. Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston, a veteran of the Texas War of Independence and the War with Mexico considered to be one of the finest officers the South has, is killed on the first day of fighting. The Union victory further secures the career of Union General Ulysses S. Grant. -
First Battle of Winchester Virginia
After two weeks of maneuvering and battles at Cross Keys and Front Royal, General "Stonewall" Jackson attacks Union forces at Winchester and successfully drives them from the city. The victory is the culmination of his 1862 Valley Campaign. -
The Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect.
Applauded by many abolitionists including Frederick Douglass, there are others who feel it does not go far enough to totally abolish slavery. -
The Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
The bloodiest battle of the Civil War dashes Robert E. Lee's hopes for a successful invasion of the North. -
Sacking of Lawrence, Kansas
In a murderous daylight raid, Confederate and Missouri guerillas under William Clarke Quantrill storm into Lawrence and destroy most of the town. Approximately 150 men and boys are murdered by Quantrill's men. -
The Battle of Chickamauga
The Union Army of the Cumberland under General William Rosecrans is defeated and nearly routed by the Confederate Army of Tennessee commanded by General Braxton Bragg. Rosecrans' army retreats to the supply base at Chattanooga, Tennessee. -
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 broke apart and 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. -
In Georgia, Camp Sumter Prison Camp opens.
Universally referred to as Andersonville Prison Camp, it will become notorious for overcrowded conditions and a high death rate among its inmates. -
Beginning of the Atlanta Campaign
With three Union armies under his command, General William T. Sherman marched south from Tennessee into Georgia against the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General Joseph Johnston, the objective being the city of Atlanta.
