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Confederate States of America is formed
Confederate States of America, also called Confederacy, in the American Civil War, the government of 11 Southern states that seceded from the Union in 1860–61, carrying on all the affairs of a separate government and conducting a major war until defeated in the spring of 1865. -
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Lincoln is elected president
The 1860 United States presidential election was the 19th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 1860. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
On April 12, 1861, forces from the Confederate States of America attacked the United States military garrison at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
On April 12, 1861, forces from the Confederate States of America attacked the United States military garrison at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. Less than two days later, the fort surrendered. No one was killed. The battle, however, started the Civil War, the bloodiest conflict in American history -
First Battle of Bull Run
northerners who had expected a quick, decisive victory reeling, and gave rejoicing southerners a false hope that they themselves could pull off a swift victory. -
Battle of Shiloh
The battle was the costliest engagement of the Civil War up to that point, and its nearly 24,000 casualties made it one of the bloodiest battles in the entire war. -
President Lincoln declares a blockade of Southern ports
President Abraham Lincoln sided with Seward and proclaimed the blockade on April 19. Lincoln extended the blockade to include North Carolina and Virginia on April 27. By July of 1861, the Union Navy had established blockades of all the major southern ports. -
Battle of Antietam
Union victory at Antietam provided President Abraham Lincoln the opportunity he had wanted to announce the Emancipation Proclamation, making the Battle of Antietam one of the key turning points of the American Civil War -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared that all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are, and henceforward shall be free. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg, fought in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, from July 1 to July 3, 1863, ended with a victory for Union General George Meade and the Army of the Potomac. The three-day battle was the bloodiest in the war, with approximately 51,000 casualties. -
Gettysburg Address
President Abraham Lincoln wrote and delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863, to commemorate a new national cemetery at Gettysburg during the American Civil War. The Gettysburg Address's significance is that it sought to give meaning to the sacrifice of soldiers who died during the war.