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Election of President Abraham Lincoln.
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States Secedeing from the Union
- South Carolina-December 20th, 1860
- Mississippi-January 9th, 1861
- Florida-January 10th, 1861
- Alabama-January 11th, 1861
- Georgia-January 19th, 1861
- Louisiana-January 26th, 1861
- Texas-February 1st, 1861
- Virginia-April 17th,1861
- Arkansas-May 6th, 1861
- Tennessee-May 6th, 1861
- North Carolina-May 20th, 1861
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Confederate States of America is formed and Jefferson Davis is named its President.
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Attack on Fort Sumter by the Confederacy
On April 12, 1861, General P.G.T. Beauregard, in command of the Confederate forces around Charleston Harbor, opened fire on the Union garrison holding Fort Sumter. -
The surrender of Fort Sumter to the Confederacy.
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First Battle of Bull Run or First Manassas
Fought in Prince William County, Virginia, near Manassas, not far from Washington D.C. First major battle of the Civil war. -
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General Ulysses S. Grant gets Union victories at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in Tennessee
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Battle of the Ironcalds
On March 8, 1862, from her berth at Norfolk, the Confederate ironclad Virginia steamed into Hampton Roads where she sank Cumberland and ran Congress aground. On March 9, the Union ironclad Monitor having fortuitously arrived to do battle, initiated the first engagement of ironclads in history. -
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Battle of Shiloh
On the morning of April 6, 1862, 40,000 Confederate soldiers under the command of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston poured out of the nearby woods and struck a line of Union soldiers occupying ground near Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. -
David Farragut and the Union Navy captures the seaport of New Orleans.
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General Robert E. Lee is given command of the Army of Northern Virginia.
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The 7 Days Battle
With a Federal army of more than 100,000 well-supplied soldiers poised on its eastern flank, the citizens of Richmond, Virginia warily awaited news from the tenuous lines along the swampy Chickahominy River. -
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Battle of Fredericksburg
On December 11, Union engineers laid five pontoon bridges across the Rappahannock under fire. -
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Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas
In order to draw Pope’s army into battle, Jackson ordered an attack on a Federal column that was passing across his front on the Warrenton Turnpike on August 28. -
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Battle of Antietam
Fought near Sharpsburg, Maryland in 1862. -
President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation.
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The Union enacts or passes a law creating the first military draft of men into the army.
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Battle of Chancellorsville
Rather than retreat before this sizable Federal force, Lee opted to attack Hooker while he was still within the thick wilderness. -
Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson dies.
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The Fall or Capture of Vicksburg
In May and June of 1863, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s armies converged on Vicksburg, investing the city and entrapping a Confederate army under Lt. Gen. John Pemberton. On July 4, Vicksburg surrendered after prolonged siege operations. -
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Battle of Gettysburg
On July 1, early Union success faltered as Confederates pushed back against the Iron Brigade and exploited a weak Federal line at Barlow’s Knoll. -
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The opening of the Confederate prisoner of war camp Andersonville
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Battles at the WIlderness or The Wilderness Campaign
On May 5, 1864, the Union Army of the Potomac once again locked horns with the Army of Northern Virginia in the dense thickets known as the Wilderness of Spotsylvania. -
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Battle at Spotsyvania
Battle of the Wilderness, Grant marched the Union army south with the hope of capturing Spotsylvania Court House. -
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Battle at Cold Harbor
On May 31, Maj. General Sheridan’s cavalry seized the vital crossroads of Old Cold Harbor. -
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Battle at Petersburg
Marching from Cold Harbor, Meade’s Army of the Potomac crossed the James River on transports and a 2,200-foot long pontoon bridge at Windmill Point. Butler’s leading elements crossed the Appomattox River and attacked the Petersburg defenses on June 15. -
President Lincoln is re-elected for a 2nd term.
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Union General William T. Sherman burns Atlanta, Georgia to the ground and begins his March to the Sea.
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UNion General WIlliam T. Sherman finisheds his March to the Sea and captures Savannah, Georgia.
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The Confederate capitol of Richmond, Virginia falls or is captured by the Union army.
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The Confederacy and General Robert E. Lee surrender to Grant at Appomatox Courthouse, Virginia.
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President Lincoln dies and Vice President Andrew Johnso takes ove as President of the U.S.
