-
Republican Party is formed
The Republican Party was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists who opposed the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which allowed for the potential extension of slavery to the western territories. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act passed
The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise, created two new territories, and allowed for popular sovereignty -
Abraham Lincoln elected president
16th president of the United States. He won the presidential election without the support of a single Southern state because of Lincoln's devoted refusal to allow for the expansion of slavery. -
South Carolina votes to secede from the United States
South Carolina voted to secede, and issued its “Declaration of the Immediate Causes.” -
Jefferson Davis elected president of Confederacy
He was the first and only president of the Confederate States of America. He was inaugurated on February 18. -
Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter
Confederate forces initiated the American Civil War by firing on the Union-held Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. -
Lincoln suspends habeas corpus
Determined to keep the Maryland lines open, on April 27 Lincoln issued an order to General Winfield Scott authorizing him to suspend the writ of habeas corpus -
Richmond becomes the capital of the Confederacy
the Confederate government moved the capital to Richmond, the South's second-largest city. The move served to solidify the state of Virginia's new Confederate identity and to sanctify the rebellion by associating it with the American Revolution -
Richmond falls to the Union Army
The Rebel capital of Richmond, Virginia, falls to the Union, the most significant sign that the Confederacy is nearing its final days. -
First Battle of Bull Run is fought
Bull Run was the first full-scale battle of the Civil War, in Prince William County, Virginia. -
The Merrimac and the Monitor fight of the Virginia Coast
The Battle of Hampton Roads was the first engagement of ironclad warships during the Civil War and was fought between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia. -
Battle of Shiloh
It resulted in a Union victory, although with heavy casualties on both sides. The battle took place near Shiloh Church in Tennessee -
Robert E. Lee is named commander of the Army of Northern Virginia
This happened after General Joseph E. Johnston was wounded at the Battle of Seven Pines. He led the army throughout the rest of the American Civil War. -
Battle of Antietam
Considered the bloodiest single day in American military history. While the battle resulted in a Union tactical victory, it was a strategic stalemate as Lee was able to retreat back to Virginia. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
Clash between Union and Confederate forces on December 11–15, 1862, during the American Civil War. Union Army of the Potomac, led by Major General Ambrose Burnside, against the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee -
Emancipation proclamation is announced
Declared that all enslaved persons in Confederate states were to be free. While it didn't immediately abolish slavery nationwide, it was a big step towards ending it and transformed the Civil War into a struggle against slavery. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
The battle was characterized by Robert E. Lee's strategic brilliance in outmaneuvering the larger Union Army, led by Joseph Hooker, in the woods around Chancellorsville -
Battle of Gettysburg
Over 51,000 casualties, known as the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War. Union forces, led by General George Meade, successfully attacked Confederate, causing General Robert E. Lee's second invasion of the North. -
Confederates surrender at Vicksburg
Vicksburg's strategic location on the Mississippi River made it a critical win for both the Union and the Confederacy. The Confederate surrender there ensured Union control of the Mississippi River and cleaved the South in two. -
New York City draft riots
were a series of violent protests against the federal draft law enacted during the Civil War. These riots, lasting about four days. -
Lincoln gives his Gettysburg Address
The speech, lasting just over two minutes, was given to commemorate the Union soldiers who died during the Battle of Gettysburg and to dedicate the cemetery. -
Congress passes the 13th Amendment
abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime -
Atlanta is captured
part of Sherman's Atlanta Campaign, during the American Civil War. The capture was a significant strategic and psychological victory for the Union, boosting morale and contributing to President Lincoln's re-election -
Sherman begins his March to the Sea
Union General William Tecumseh Sherman began his March to the Sea from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. This campaign, also known as the Savannah Campaign, aimed to cripple the Confederate war effort -
Abraham Lincoln defeats George McClellan to win re-election
Abraham Lincoln was re-elected president in 1864, defeating George McClellan, a former Union Army general. -
Freedman's Bureau is created
Congress passed “An Act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees” to provide food, shelter, clothing, medical services, and land to displaced Southerners, including newly freed African Americans. -
Lincoln gives his second inaugural address
Previewed his plans for healing a once-divided nation, as the Civil War neared its end. -
Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox
It marked the end of major fighting and effectively bringing the war to a close. -
President Lincoln Assassinated
President Lincoln was shot by John Milks Booth at Ford's Theatre. Lincoln's soldiers brought him across Tenth Street so he could pass away peacefully. -
John Wilkes Booth is killed
In attempting to fight his way out of the burning tobacco barn in which he had hidden, John Wilkes Booth was shot in the neck by a Federal soldier.