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South Carolina votes to secede from the United States.
Not only did South Carolina secede from the Union, seven other states seceded as well. South Carolina acted first, by a holding a convention to secede from the United States. -
Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address
Lincoln's speech was really addressed towards the South. He promised not to interfere where slavery still existed and was against secession of federal property. -
Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter
The attack on Fort Sumter was the official beginning of the American Civil War. It was the Confederate victory. -
First Battle of Bull Run is fought.
This was the first major land battle of the Civil War. There were 3,000 Union casualties and 1,750 for the Confederates. -
Jefferson Davis elected President of the Confederacy
Jefferson Davis was elected President for the Confederacy not the United States. He served a six year term. -
The Merrimac and the Monitor fight of the Virginia coast Confederates surrender at Vicksburg
This was part of the Confederate effort to break the Union blockade of Southern ports. This was history's first naval battle between warships. -
Battle of Shiloh
This battle began when the Confederate Army had a surprise attack on the Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant. This battle took place in southwestern Tennessee. -
Robert E. Lee is named commander of the Army of Northern Virginia
He led the Army of Northern Virginia from 1862 until its surrender in 1865 and earned a reputation as a skilled tactician. Robert E. Lee became known as the best confederate general as commander of the confederate army. -
Battle of Antietam
Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was against Union General George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac. Lee attempted to invade the north. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
This was a major defeat to the Union Army. The Union outnumbered the Confederates. This battle was the low point of the Civil War. -
Emancipation Proclamation is announced
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. It states if the rebels did not end the fighting and rejoin the Union by January 1, 1863, all slaves in the rebellious states would be free. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville is considered General Robert E. Lee’s greatest military victory. Commander Joesph Hooker led the battle for a win in the South due to poor choices and this was a huge disappointment for the North. -
Battle of Gettysburg
This marked the turning point of the Civil War. This was a Union victory. Gettysburg ended Confederate general Robert E. Lee’s quest to invade the North and bring the Civil War to a end. -
New York City draft riots
The anger of working-class New Yorkers over a new federal draft law during the Civil War sparked five days of riots. These riots were some of the bloodiest and most destructive rioting in U.S. history. -
Lincoln suspends Habeas Corpus
President Lincoln suspends habeas corpus throughout the Union for any cases relating to prisoners of war, spies, traitors, or Union soldiers. This allows for extended detainment of prisoners without jury trials. -
Lincoln gives his Gettysburg Address
President Lincoln gives his address at the dedication of a military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War. Lincoln says in his speech why the Union had to fight, and win, the Civil War. -
Atlanta is captured
Union Army General William Tecumseh Sherman lays siege to Atlanta, Georgia. Sherman’s Atlanta campaign was one of the most decisive victories of the Civil War. -
Abraham Lincoln defeats George McClellan to win re-election
President Abraham Lincoln of the National Union Party defeated the Democrat General George B. McClellan, in the electoral college, with 55% of the popular vote. -
Sherman begins his March to the Sea
Union General Sherman's scorched-earth March to the Sea campaign begins. On November 15, 1864, Union General William T. Sherman begins his expedition across Georgia by torching the industrial section of Atlanta and pulling away from his supply lines. -
Congress passes the 13th Amendment
The Congress passed on January 31, 1865, the 13th amendment that abolished slavery in the United States. -
Freedmen's Bureau is created
Congress passed this. It is an act to establish a Bureau to provide food, shelter, clothing, medical services, and land to displaced Southerners, including newly freed African Americans. -
Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address
Abraham Lincoln gave his second inaugural address on Saturday, March 4, 1865. This was his second inauguration as President of the United States. Lincoln spoke of forgiveness in North and South. -
Richmond falls to the Union Army
Richmond, Virginia, falls to the Union, the most significant sign that the Confederacy is nearing its final days. For ten months, General Ulysses S. they struck all along the Petersburg line, and the Confederates collapsed. -
Richmond becomes the capital of the Confederacy
The Confederate Capital City of Montgomery, Alabama, decision was made to name the City of Richmond, Virginia as the new Capital of the Confederacy. The Confederate capital was moved to Richmond in recognition of Virginia's importance. -
Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox
In Appomattox Court House, Virginia, Robert E. Lee surrenders his 28,000 Confederate troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant. This effectively ended the American Civil War. On April 9, Lee sent a message to Grant announcing his willingness to surrender. -
President Lincoln assassinated
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.He was shot in the head by Confederate John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln died the next morning. -
John Wilkes Booth is killed
John Wilkes Booth is killed when Union soldiers track him down to a Virginia farm 12 days after he assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. Twenty-six-year-old Booth was one of the most famous actors in the country when he shot Lincoln during a performance at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C.
