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The first election of President Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln won the party's presidential nomination. In the November 1860 election, Lincoln again faced Douglas, who represented the Northern faction of a heavily divided Democratic Party, as well as Breckinridge and Bell. -
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11 Southern States seceded from the Union
1.South Carolina-December 20, 1860
2. Mississippi-January 9, 1861
3. Florida-January 10, 1861
4. Alabama-January 11, 1861
5. Georgia-January 19, 1861
6. Louisiana-January 26, 1861
7. Texas-February 1, 1861
8. Virginia-April 17, 1861
9. Arkansas-May 6, 1861
10. Tennessee-May 6, 1861
11. North Carlolina-May 20, 1861 -
Confederate States of America is formed and Jefferson Davis is named its President
The Confederate States of America is formed with Jefferson Davis as president. Jefferson Davis was from Kentucky. After the war, he was imprisoned for two years and indicted for treason but never tried. -
Attack on Fort Sumter by the Confederacy
At 4:30 AM Confederates under General Pierre Beauregard open fire with 50 cannons upon Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War begins. -
The surrender of Fort Sumter to the Confederacy
At 4:30 AM Confederates under General Pierre Beauregard open fire with 50 cannons upon Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War begins. Couple days later, Virginia secedes from the Union, followed within 5 weeks by Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina, thus forming an eleven state Confederacy. -
First Battle of Bull Run or First Manassas
This battle took place in Prince William Country, Virginia. It was the first major battle. The Union Army under Gen. Irvin McDowell suffers a deafeat at Bull Run 25 miles southwest of Washington. Union troops fall back to Washington. -
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant gets Union victories at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in Tennessee
This event started on Feburary 6, 1862 and ended on Feburary 16, 1862. Grant earns the nickname "Unconditional Surrender" Grant. On Feburary 16, the fort’s 12,000-man garrison surrendered unconditionally. This was a major victory for Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and a catastrophe for the South. It ensured that Kentucky would stay in the Union and opened up Tennessee for a Northern advance along the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. -
Battle of the Ironclads
This battle started on March 8, 1862 and ended March 9, 1862. The Confederate Ironclad 'Merrimac' sinks two wooden Union ships then battles the Union Ironclad 'Monitor' to a draw. Naval warfare is changed forever, making wooden ships no longer around. The Peninsular Campaign begins as McClellan's Army of the Potomac advances from Washington down the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay to the peninsular south of the Confederate Capital of Richmond, Virginia then begins an advance toward Richmon -
Battle of Shiloh
This battle started on April 6, 1862 and ended on April 7, 1862. Confederate surprise attack on Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's unprepared troops at Shiloh on the Tennessee River results in a terrible struggle with 13,000 union killed and wounded and 10,000 Confederates, more men than in all previous American wars combined. The president is then pressured to relieve Grant but resists. "I can't spare this man; he fights," Lincoln says. -
David Farragut and the Union Navy captures the seaport of New Orleans
17 Union ships under the command of Flag Officer David Farragut move up the Mississippi River then take New Orleans, the South's greatest seaport. Later in the war, sailing through a Rebel mine field Farragut utters the famous phrase "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" -
General Robert E. Lee is given command of the Army of Northern Virginia
Gen. Robert E. Lee assumes command, replacing the wounded Johnston. Lee then renames his force the Army of Northern Virginia. McClellan is not impressed, saying Lee is "likely to be timid and irresolute in action." -
The 7 Days Battle
The 7 Days Battle started on June 25, 1862 and ended on July 1, 1862. Lee atacks McClellan near Richmond. There was very heavy losses for both armies. McClellan then begins a withdrawal back toward Washington. -
Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas
It started August 28, 1862 and ended on August 30, 1862. This battle was located in Prince William Country, Virginia. 75,000 Federals under Gen. John Pope are defeated by 55,000 Confederates under Gen. Stonewall Jackson and Gen. James Longstreet at the second battle of Bull Run. The Union Army retreats to Washington. -
Battle of Antietam
The bloodiest day in U.S. military history as Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Armies were stoped at Antietam in Maryland by McClellan. Later on, 26,000 men are dead, wounded, or missing. Lee then withdraws to Virginia. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg started on December 11, 1862 and ended on December 15, 1862. Army of the Potomac under Gen. Burnside suffers a costly defeat at Fredericksburg in Virginia with a loss of 12,653 men after 14 assaults on well entrenched Rebels on Marye's Heights.On December 15, Burnside called off the offensive and recrossed the river, ending the campaign. -
President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation
President Lincoln issues the final Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves in territories held by Confederates and emphasizes the enlisting of black soldiers in the Union Army. The war to preserve the Union now becomes a revolutionary struggle for the abolition of slavery. -
The Union enacts or passes a law creating the first military draft of men into the army
The U.S. Congress enacts a draft, affecting male citizens aged 20 to 45, but also exempts those who pay $300 or provide a substitute. "The blood of a poor man is as precious as that of the wealthy," poor Northerners complain. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
This battle started April 30, 1863 and ended May 6, 1863. It was located in Spotsylvania Country, Virginia. Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker’s well-executed crossing of the Rappahannock fords on April 30. Late on May 1, 1863, Lee and Jackson conceived one of the boldest plans of the war. -
Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson dies
The South suffers a huge blow as Stonewall Jackson dies from his wounds, his last words, "Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees." "I have lost my right arm," Lee laments. -
The Fall or Capture of Vicksburg
It started on May 18, 1863 and ended on July 4, 1863. Vicksburg, the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River, surrenders to Gen. Grant and the Army of the West after a six week siege. With the Union now in control of the Mississippi, the Confederacy is effectively split in two, cut off from its western allies. -
Battle of Gettysburg
This battle lasted 3 days, going from July 1, 1863 to July 3, 1863. It was the most imporatnt engagement of the American Civil War.The war turns against the South as the Confederates lost at the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. -
The opening of the Confederate prisoner of war camp Andersonville
This event lasted from the beginning of the month to the end of it. The first inmates began arriving at the Andersonville prison in February 1864, while it was still under construction. It was located in Geogia. Andersonville was built to hold 10,000 men, but within six months more than three times that number were incarcerated there. -
Battles at the Wilderness or The Wilderness Campaign
The Battles at the Wilderness occured on May 5, 1864 to May 7, 1864. The beginning of a massive, coordinated campaign involving all the Union Armies. In Virginia, Grant with an Army of 120,000 begins advancing toward Richmond to engage Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, now numbering 64,000, beginning a war of attrition that will include major battles at the Wilderness. -
Battle at Spotsylvania
This battle started on May 8, 1864 and went to May 21, 1864. Following the Battle of the Wilderness, Grant marched the Union army south with the hope of capturing Spotsylvania Court House.Lee's Confederates, however, managed to get ahead of the Federals and block the road. For the next two weeks, the two armies slugged it out in some of the fiercest fighting of the Civil War. -
Battle at Cold Harbor
The Battle at Cold Harbor started on May 31, 1864 and ended on June 12, 1864. Confederate reinforcements soon arrived and clashed with the Union Sixth and Eighteenth Corps when they reached Cold Harbor that evening. General Grant was poised for a major assault to General Lee’s right flank and cut off the Confederates off from Richmond, but when Maj. General Hancock's Second Corps arrived after a midnight march too fatigued to support the Union left flank, the operation was postponed until the f -
Battle at Petersburg
Battle at Petersburg was a series of battles fought from June 15, 1864 to March 18, 1864. Union forces miss an opportunity to capture Petersburg and cut off the Confederate rail lines. As a result, a nine month siege of Petersburg begins with Grant's forces surrounding Lee. -
President Lincoln is re-elected for a 2nd term
Abraham Lincoln is re-elected president, defeating Democrat George B. McClellan. Lincoln carries all but three states with 55 percent of the popular vote and 212 of 233 electoral votes. "I earnestly believe that the consequences of this day's work will be to the lasting advantage, if not the very salvation, of the country," Lincoln tells supporters. -
Union Gen. William T. Sherman burns Atlanta,GA. to the ground and begins his March to the Sea
After destroying Atlanta's warehouses and railroad facilities, Sherman, with 62,000 men begins a March to the Sea. President Lincoln on advice from Grant approved the idea. "I can make Georgia howl!" Sherman boasts. -
Union Gen. William T. Sherman finishes his March to the Sea and captures Savannah, GA.
He reaches Savannah in Georgia leaving behind a 300 mile long path of destruction 60 miles wide all the way from Atlanta. Sherman then telegraphs Lincoln, offering him Savannah as a Christmas present. -
The Confederate capitol of Richmond, Virginia falls or is captured by the Union Army
Grant's forces begin a general advance and break through Lee's lines at Petersburg. Confederate Gen. Ambrose P. Hill is killed. Lee evacuates Petersburg. The Confederate Capital, Richmond, is evacuated. Fires and looting break out. The next day, Union troops enter and raise the Stars and Stripes. -
The Confederacy and Gen. Robert E. Lee surrender to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, VA.
Gen. Robert E. Lee surrenders his Confederate Army to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at the village of Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Grant allows Rebel officers to keep their sidearms and permits soldiers to keep horses and mules. "After four years of arduous service marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources," Lee tells his troops. -
President Lincoln dies and Vice President Andrew Johnson takes over as President of the U.S.
President Abraham Lincoln dies at 7:22 in the morning. Vice President Andrew Johnson assumes the presidency. He becomes the 17th president of pronounced states' rights views. After Lincoln's death, President Johnson proceeded to reconstruct the former Confederate States while Congress was not in session in 1865.
