-
Abraham Lincoln elected president
Abraham Lincoln is elected as the 16th president, where he became the first republican to win a presidency. In this election he faced against Douglas. Since his election many states have decided to secede due to his beliefs on slavery. -
South Carolina votes to secede from the United States
First state to secede, this is influenced by the election of Lincoln. Since the election the South Carolina legislatures though it was best to leave the union. -
Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter
Confederate troops fired on Fort Sumter in South Carolina's Charlestons harbor. This even is used to mark the start of the Civil War. -
Anaconda Plan
Anaconda plan, military strategy proposed by Union General Winfield Scott early in the American Civil War. The plan called for a naval blockade of the Confederate littoral, a thrust down the Mississippi, and the strangulation of the South by Union land and naval forces -
Richmond becomes the capital of the Confederacy
Once Virginia seceded, 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. -
First Battle of Bull Run is fought
The First Battle of Bull Run is fought 30 miles from Washington. The battle is fought so close to Washington the U.S. senators can watch it. -
Jefferson Davis elected president of the Confederacy
On February 9, Davis was unanimously elected to the provisional presidency of the Confederacy by a constitutional convention in Montgomery, Alabama including delegates from the six states that had seceded: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Alabama. -
The Merrimac and the Monitor fight of the Virginia coast
Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack in the American Civil War, naval engagement at Hampton Roads, Virginia, a harbor at the mouth of the James River, notable as history’s first duel between ironclad warships and the beginning of a new era of naval warfare. -
Battle of Shiloh
This battle is also known as the Battle of Pittsburgh Landing. Union won and since the Souths defeat at Shiloh it ended the Confederacy hope to blocking the Union advance into Mississippi. -
Robert E. Lee is named commander of the Army of Northern Virginia
Robert E. Lee served as military advisor to President Jefferson Davis until June 1862 when he was given command of the wounded General Joseph E. Johnston's embattled army on the Virginia peninsula. -
Battle of Antietam
This battle ended the spread of Confederates into the North. This showed the people that the Union could stand against the Confederate. -
Lincoln suspends habeas corpus
President Lincoln used the authority granted him under the Act on September 15, 1863, to suspend habeas corpus throughout the Union in any case involving prisoners of war, spies, traitors, or any member of the military. He subsequently both suspended habeas corpus and imposed martial law in Kentucky on July 5, 1864. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The Union lost against the Confederate and strengthened the cause. -
Emancipation Proclamation is announced
Abraham Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation as the nation approached its third year of the civil war. The Prclamation declared that people who had slaves in the rebellious states are now to be free. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
Victory for the Confederacy and huge victory for General Robert E. Lee, it was said that this was the best battle for him. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Marked the turning point of the civil war, 3 day war fought southwest of Harrisburg Pennsylvania. Union won and the Confederate took a defeat in this battle. -
Confederates surrender at Vicksburg
Since the loos of general John C. Pemberton's Confederate army and a Union victory they surrendered. The Union then controlled the Mississippi River and the Confederacy was split in half. -
New York City draft riots
draft riots were complex — anti-Black, anti-rich, anti-Republican. From an assault on draft headquarters, the rioters went on to attacks on wealthy homes, then to the murder of African Americans. They marched through the streets, forcing factories to close, recruiting more members of the mob. -
54th Massachusetts fighting a Second Battle of Ft. Wagner
Union forces were forced to end their attempt to capture Fort Wagner. The Confederates held the Fort until September 7, 1863, when they abandoned it after over sixty days of constant Union shelling of the structure. -
Lincoln gives his Gettysburg Address
Speech given by Lincoln, at the official dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery. This speech is given to the honor the men who had fought and died in the Gettysburg battle to preserve the Union. -
The Battle of the Crater
The battle of the Crater was part of the Petersburg Campaign and was the result of the unusual attempt on the part of Union forces, to break through the Confederate defenses just south of the critical railroad hub of Petersburg, Virginia, during the American Civil War. At this battle the Confederate battery was blown up and most of one infantry regiment was too. This caused a Crater. -
Atlanta is captured
Sherman's goal was to destroy the Army of the Tennessee, capture Atlanta and cut off vital Confederate supply lines. While Sherman failed to destroy his enemy, he was able to force the surrender of Atlanta in September 1864, boosting Northern morale and greatly improving President Abraham Lincoln's re-election bid -
Abraham Lincoln defeats George McClellan to win re-election
President Lincoln went against George McClellan and defeated him. The election only consisted of the states that haven't seceded from the Union. -
Sherman begins his March to the Sea
The purpose of Sherman's March to the Sea was to frighten Georgia's civilian population into abandoning the Confederate cause. Sherman's soldiers did not destroy any of the towns in their path, but they stole food and livestock and burned the houses and barns of people who tried to fight back. -
Freedmen's Bureau is created
On March 3, 1865, 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
Lincoln gave his second inaugural address which he wanted to unify a broken nation. After the Civil War some people were still divided and he wanted to rise above that and fix it. And he also reflected upon the war. -
Richmond falls to the Union Army
Richmond falling to the Union army is important to the Union because it shows that its a signal the end of Confederacy. -
Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox
Confederate General Robert E. Lee agreed to surrender his army of Northern Virginia, this marked a symbolic end to the Civil War. -
Appomattox Court House--Surrender of Lee’s forces
Confederates would be paroled after surrendering their weapons and other military property. If surrendered soldiers did not take up arms again, the United States government would not prosecute them. Grant also allowed Confederate officers to keep their mounts and side arms. -
Lincolns Assassination
John Wilkes Booth assassinated Lincoln in the Ford's Theater in Washington DC, where he was shot in the head and died the next morning. His death plugged the Countries despair greatly. -
John Wilkes Booth is killed
John Wilkes Booth assassinated Lincoln in the Fords theater. He was found in Port Royal, Virginia by some detectives found him and cornered him. HE refused to come out so the detectives lit the barn on fire with him in it. -
Congress passes the 13th Amendment
It forbids moveble slavery across the United States and in every territory under its control, except as a criminal punishment.