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Presidential election of 1860
Republican Abraham Lincoln defeated Southern Democrat John C. Breckenridge, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, and Constitutional Union candidate John Bell. -
South Carolina secedes from the union
When the ordinance was adopted on December 20, 1860, South Carolina became the first slave state in the south to declare that it had seceded from the United States -
Forming of the confederate states of america
representatives from South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana met in Montgomery, Alabama, with representatives from Texas arriving later, to form the Confederate States of America -
Lincoln’s first inaugural address
delivered on Monday, March 4, 1861, as part of his taking of the oath of office for his first term as the sixteenth President of the United States -
Battle of fort Sumter
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)
the first major battle of the American Civil War (1861-65), fought at a small meandering stream and tributary of the Potomac River named Bull Run near Manassas in northern Virginia -
Jefferson Davis appointed president of Confederacy
American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865 -
First battle of ironclads
it was the first meeting in combat of ironclad warships -
Battle of Shiloh
With more than 23,000 casualties, Shiloh was the first battle of the Civil War that saw large-scale death and suffering -
Siege of New Orleans by Union
naval action by 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 theater of the war -
(Second) Battle of Bull Run
much larger in scale and in the number of casualties than the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) fought in July 1861 on much of the same ground -
Battle of Antietam
Over 23,000 men fell as casualties in the 1-day Battle of Antietam, making it the bloodiest day in American history. The Union victory at Antietam resulted in President Abraham Lincoln issuing his Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation -
Emancipation Proclamation
all states still in rebellion on January 1, 1863, he would declare their slaves “then, thenceforward, and forever free.” -
Battle of Vicksburg (siege)
Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's armies converged on Vicksburg, investing the city and entrapping a Confederate army under Lt. Gen. John Pemberton -
Battle of Gettysburg
a Union victory that stopped Confederate General Robert E. Lee's second invasion of the North -
Draft Riots begin in New York City
known at the time as Draft Week, were 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 -
54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry in combat
one of the first official black units in the U.S. armed forces. Their courageous assault on Fort Wagner played a key role in bringing about an end to slavery -
Sacking of Lawrence, Kansas by Confederates
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 -
Gettysburg Address
dedication of Soldier's National Cemetery, a cemetery for Union soldiers killed at the Battle Of Gettysburg during the American Civil War -
First Successful Submarine Attack of the Civil War
hand-cranked Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley torpedoed the mighty USS Housatonic in Charleston Harbor -
Battle of the wilderness Virginia
Overland Campaign against the Confederate army of Northern Virginia that ultimately, after many weeks and horrendous casualties, forced Gen. Robert E. Lee's men back to the defenses at Richmond -
Fall of Atlanta, Georgia
Union forces commanded by William T. Sherman, wanting to neutralize the important rail and supply hub, defeated Confederate forces defending the city under John B. Hood -
Lincoln wins a second term
Northern voters overwhelmingly endorse the leadership and policies of President Abraham Lincoln when they elect him to a second term. With his re-election, any hope for a negotiated settlement with the Confederacy vanished -
Sherman's Army of Georgia arrives at Savannah, Georgia
Ulysses S. Grant, then in command of all Union armies, and President Sherman allegedly declared that “Until we can repopulate Georgia, it is useless to Treasury agent A.G. Browne arrived in town several days before -
Assault and capture of Fort Fisher, North Carolina
The Second Battle of Fort Fisher was a successful assault by the Union Army, Navy and Marine Corps against Fort Fisher, south of Wilmington, North Carolina, near the end of the American Civil 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
William T. Sherman arrived in Fayetteville on a dreary day and in a foul mood. The Union Army had crossed into North Carolina, and Fayetteville native. The occupying 14th Corps, which was to provide security in the city, -
Battle of Appomattox Courthouse (Lee surrenders)
Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses S. Grant -
Lincoln assassinated
assassinated by well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, while attending the play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C
