-
Abraham lincoln is elected president for the first time.
Abraham Lincoln, who had declared "Government cannot endure permanently half slave, half free..." is elected president, the first Republican, receiving 180 of 303 possible electoral votes and 40 percent of the popular vote. -
South Carolina secedes from the United States
The doctrine of state's rights, the legality of secession, and the institution of black slavery had been issues of debate in the United States for decades before the election of Abraham Lincoln brought on the secession of the Southern states. -
The South attackes Fort Sumter
The attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861 marked the beginning of the American Civil War. With the booming of cannons over the harbor in Charleston, South Carolina, the secession crisis gripping the country escalated into a shooting war. -
1st Battle of Bull Run
The Union and Confederate forces met at Manassas, Virginia. Both sides planned to attack the other’s left flank with the majority of their armies. -
General William T. Sherman captures the Confederate city of Atlanta
William T Sherman and his troops marched south and burned most of atlanta -
Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation
Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves issued by President Lincoln -
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam forced the Confederate Army to retreat back across the Potomac River. -
Lincoln appoints Ulysses S. Grant as commander of the union army
At the beginning of the Civil War, Grant was appointed commander of the 21st Illinois Regiment and saw service fighting Confederate guerrillas in Missouri. In August 1861, he was appointed brigadier general of volunteers by President Lincoln. -
The Battle of Gettysburg
Of the more than 2,000 land engagements of the Civil War, Gettysburg ranks supreme. Although the Battle of Gettysburg did not end the war, nor did it attain any major war aim for the North or the South, it remains the great battle of the war. -
Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address
On November 19, 1863, at the dedication of a military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln delivers one of the most memorable speeches in American history. In just 272 words, Lincoln brilliantly and movingly reminded a war-weary public why the Union had to fight, and win, the Civil War.
