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South Carolina Secedes
Location- Charleston, South Carolina
The convention had been called by the governor and legislature of South Carolina once Lincoln's victory was assured. Delegates were elected on December 6, 1860, and the convention convened on December 17. Its action made South Carolina the first state to secede. Support for the Union was negligible, -
Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural Address
On this day in 1861, Abraham Lincoln becomes the 16th president of the United States. In his inauguration speech Lincoln extended an olive branch to the South, but also made it clear that he intended to enforce federal laws in the states that seceded -
Battle of Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter, near Charleston, South Carolina, that started the American Civil War. Following declarations of secession by seven Southern states, South Carolina demanded that the U.S. Army abandon its facilities in Charleston Harbor -
Battle of Gloucester Point
The Battle of Gloucester Point, Virginia was an inconclusive exchange of cannon fire on May 7, 1861 between a shore battery on the York River manned by Virginia forces and the Union gunboat. Three weeks after the start of the American Civil War. -
Battle of Bull Run
Three months after the Civil War erupted at Fort Sumter, Union military command still believed that the Confederacy could be crushed quickly and with little loss of life. In July, this overconfidence led to a premature offensive into northern Virginia by General McDowell. Searching out the Confederate forces, McDowell led 34,000 troops -
More on the Battle of the Bull Run
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Battle of Hampton Roads
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The Battle of Shiloh
On the morning of April 6, Johnston's force surprised Grant in an attack that slowly pushed the Union troops back from the high ground they occupied towards the Tennessee River. The Fighting was fierce. Many of the Union troops fled to the rear upon the initial Confederate assault and by afternoon General Johnston was confident that victory was within his grasp. -
The Battle of Seven Pines
On May 31, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston attempted to overwhelm two Federal corps that appeared isolated south of the Chickahominy River. -
Seven Days Battle
The Seven Days Battles was a series of six major battles over the seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia during the American Civil War.The Seven Days ended with McClellan's army in relative safety next to the James River, having suffered almost 16,000 casualties during the retreat. -
Battle of Richmond
The Battle of Richmond,fought August 29–30, 1862, was a stunning Confederate victory. The battle took place on and around what is now the grounds of the Blue Grass Army Depot, outside Richmond, Kentucky -
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the South. Fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek.Was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Union soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle. -
The Battle of Clark's Mill
On November 7, 1862, between 1200 and 1500 well-armed Confederate combat soldiers moved into our part of south central Missouri. They carried four 6-lb. cannons with them, cannons that shot six-pound cannon balls. Their mission was to destroy all mills, blockhouses, and other structures in this area. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
On this day in 1862, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia repulses a series of attacks by General Ambrose Burnside's Army of the Potomac at Fredericksburg, Virginia. The defeat was one of the most decisive loses for the Union army. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
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Battle of Gettysburg
The battle with the largest number of casualties. -
Gettysburg Address
Shortly after the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin asked David Wills of Gettysburg to oversee the cleanup of the battle's aftermath. All across the battlefield lay the bodies of soldiers from both armies, bloating and rotting in the summer heat. -
The Battle of Franklin Blog
March 9 – Ulysses S. Grant receives formal promotion to Lt. General, the highest rank, only previously held by President George Washington. -
Battle of Atlanta
The fall of Atlanta was especially noteworthy for its political ramifications. In the 1864 election, former Union General George B. McClellan, a Democrat, ran against President Lincoln on a peace platform calling for truce with the Confederacy -
The March to the Sea
On this day in 1864, Union General William T. Sherman begins his expedition across Georgia by torching the industrial section of Atlanta and pulling away from his supply lines. For the next six weeks, Sherman's army destroyed most of the state before capturing the Confederate seaport of Savannah, Georgia -
Abolition of Slavery
Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States -
Battle of Appomattox Court House
The Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought on the morning of April 9, 1865, was the final engagement of Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia before it surrendered to the Union Army under.
