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Abraham Lincoln is elected sixteenth president of the United States.
First Republican president in the nation who represents a party that opposes the spread of slavery in the territories of the United States -
The first Secession Convention meets in Columbia, South Carolina
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South Carolina secedes from the Union.
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Six additional southern states secede from the Union.
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The southern states that seceded create a government at Montgomery, Alabama.
The Confederate States of America are formed. -
Jefferson Davis is appointed the first President of the Confederate States of America
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The Civil War has formally begun
Southern forces fire upon Fort Sumter, South Carolina. -
President Lincoln issues a public declaration
calls for 75,000 militia to stop the rebellion. As a result of this call for volunteers, four additional southern states secede from the Union in the following weeks. Lincoln will respond on May 3 with an additional call for 43,000+ volunteers to serve for three years, expanding the size of the Regular Army. -
Battle of Big Bethel
first land battle of the war in Virginia. -
Wheeling Convention
At the culmination of the Wheeling Convention, the region that composed the northwestern counties of Virginia broke away from that state to form West Virginia, officially designated and accepted as the thirty fifth state of the Union -
The Battle of Bull Run
fought near Manassas, Virginia. The Union Army under General Irwin McDowell initially succeeds in driving back Confederate forces under General Pierre Gustav Toutant Beauregard, but the arrival of troops under General Joseph E. Johnston initates a series of reverses that sends McDowell's army in a panicked retreat to the defenses of Washington. It is here that Thomas Jonathan Jackson, a professor at VMI, will receive everlasting fame as "Stonewall" Jackson. -
Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri.
The Union Army under General Nathaniel Lyon, attack Confederate troops and state militia southwest of Springfield, Missouri, and after a disastrous day that included the death of Lyon, are thrown back. The Confederate victory emphasizes the strong southern presence west of the Mississippi River. -
Fort Hatteras at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
falls to Union naval forces. This begins the first Union efforts to close southern ports along the Carolina coast. -
Battle of Ball's Bluff, Virginia.
Colonel Edward D. Baker, senator from Oregon and a friend of President Lincoln, led troops across the Potomac River only to be forced back to the river's edge where he was killed. The ensuing Union withdrawal turned into a rout with many soldiers drowning while trying to re-cross the icy waters of the Potomac River. -
Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky.
The Union victory weakened the Confederate hold on the state. -
Surrender of Fort Henry, Tennessee
The lost of this southern fort on the Tennessee River opened the door to Union control of the river. -
Battle of Shiloh
Confederate soldiers were under General Johnston, Union soldiers under General Grant. Major land battle of the Western front. Though the Union army finally one, it came at a great cost, 1300 soldiers died from the Union army, and 1100 from the Confederate army. This was the bloodiest battle in -
Second Battle of Bull Run
Offensive campaign by Confederate general Robert Lee against Union general John Pope. Fought on a much larger scale than the first battle of Bull Run. While General Pope forced Lee into a defensive position and effectively utilized his artillery, Lee brilliantly counterattacked with devastating force, forcing Pope to withdraw his army. -
Battle of Antietam
First major battle of the Civil War to take place on Union soil. Is the bloodiest single day battle in American history, with over 22,000 soldiers dead or injured. Union general was McClellan, while confederate general was Robert Lee. Resulted in a Union victory, though casualties were devastating for both sides. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Issued by Lincoln, it was an executive order that would order the emancipation of all slaves in any state that did not end their rebellion against the Union by January 1, 1863. Also showed that ending slavery was now the principal effort of the Union in the Civil War. -
Battle of Chancorville
The Union army was led by General Hooker, and the Confederate army was led by Robert Lee. Though Lee had much smaller forces, he convincingly won the battle. Union deaths were 17,000, while Confederate deaths were 13,000. -
Battle of Gettysburg
is considered the most important engagement of the American Civil War. -
Battle of Fort Pillow
more accurately the Massacre of Fort Pillow, was essentially a massacre of black federal troops by soldiers under Confederate general Forrest.Fort Pillow marked one of the bleakest, saddest events of American military history. -
Lincoln is reelected
Though it should come as no surprise, Lincoln's reelection was significant to the Union as it showed abolishing slavery was still the principal objective of the Civil War, and maintained the Lincoln was still concerned about protecting the Union. -
Battle of Nashville
Fought in Tennessee, battle was fought between Union commander General Thomas, and Confederate commander John Hood. Union quickly took the offensive and overwhelmingly won this battle. Was one of the most significant battles of the war. -
General Robert E. Lee surrenders
Official end of the war, General Robert Lee surrenders to General Ulysses Grant at Appomattox court house in Virginia. With this surrender, the Union officially emerges victorious after the long war. -
Lincoln's Assasination
Five days after the Civil War ended, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in Ford's theater by John Wilkes Booth. This was part of a larger conspiracy to revive the Confederate cause, though it ultimately failed. -
Confederate President Jefferson Davis is captured near Irwinville, Georgia.
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The final battle of the Civil War takes place at Palmito Ranch, Texas.
It is a Confederate victory. -
The Civil War officially ends
General Simon Bolivar Buckner enters into terms for surrender of the Army of the Trans-Mississippi, which are agreed to on June 2, 1865 -
Slavery is abolished
As the Union's principal objective in the war was abolishing slavery, the first official act after the war ended was officially abolishing slavery. This ushered into a new era of American prosperity.
