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First Election of Abraham Lincoln
Perhaps the most important election in U.S. history, President Abraham Lincoln is elected, and South Carolina secedes from the United States of America, a new country called the Confederate States of America. By February 1861, Alabama, Florida, Texas, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi had seceded into the CSA. -
First state secedes from the Union
Convinced that their way of life, based on slavery, was irretrievably threatened by the election of President Abraham Lincoln,the seven states of the Deep South (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas) seceded from the Union during the following months. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
Had the confederacy not attacked Fort Sumter there is a chance that the Confederate States would still exist today, although by now slavery would most likely have been abolished anyway in the south. -
First Battle of Bull Run
July 21, 1861- First major battle of the Civil War, in which untrained Northern troops and civilian picnickers fled back to Washington. This battle helped boost Southern morale and made the North realize that this would be a long war. -
Antietam
Civil War battle in which the North succeeded in halting Lee's Confederate forces in Maryland. Was the bloodiest battle of the war resulting in 25,000 casualties. -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of the bloody civil war. -
The Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg, fought from July 1 to July 3, 1863, is considered the most important engagement of the American Civil War. After a great victory over Union forces at Chancellorsville, General Robert E. Lee marched his Army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania in late June 1863. -
The Battle of Vicksburg
Vicksburg, MS. Description: 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. -
The Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln at the November 19, 1863, dedication of Soldier's National Cemetery, a cemetery for Union soldiers killed at the Battle Of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. -
The Fall of Atlanta
Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply center of Atlanta, Union forces commanded by William T. Sherman overwhelmed and defeated Confederate forces defending the city under John B. Hood. Union Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson was killed during the battle. -
Confederacy Surrenders
The Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought on the morning of April 9, 1865, was one of the last battles of the American Civil War. It was the final engagement of Confederate Army general Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia before it surrendered to the Union Army under Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. -
Assassination of Lincoln
April 15, 1865, Petersen House, Washington, D.C.
