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Jefferson Davis appo ainteds Confederate president
The 7 seceded states created a Confederate Constitution. The document stressed more state's rights than the Union Constitution. Jefferson Davis was appointed president until elections could be held -
Lincoln becomes preisdent
Lincoln is inagurated as president of the U.S.A. At that moment, South Carolina had already seceded from the Union. This started a chain reaction of states secedeing. -
Attack of Fort Sumter
Shots were fired at Fort Sumter after Lincoln tried to send supplies to the Fort. This was the first battle between the Confederacy and the Union. Marked the begining of the Civil War. -
Four More States Join the Confederacy
The attack on Fort Sumter prompted four more states to join the Confederacy. With Virginia's secession, Richmond was named the Confederate capitol. This made the Confederacy more powerful -
West Virginia is born
Residents of Western counties did not wish to secede from Virgina. West Virginia was formed. It was admitted to the Union -
Abraham Lincoln Takes Action
On January 27, President Lincoln issued a war order authorizing the Union to launch a unified aggressive action against the Confederacy. General McClellan ignored the order. -
"Stonewall" Jackson Defeats Union Forces
Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, commanding forces in the Shenandoah Valley, attacked Union forces in late March, forcing them to retreat across the Potomac. As a result, Union troops were rushed to protect Washington, D.C. -
Antietam
Confederate forces under General Lee were caught by General McClellan near Sharpsburg, Maryland. This battle proved to be the bloodiest day of the war; 2,108 Union soldiers were killed and 2,700 Confederates were killed. The battle had no clear winner, but because General Lee withdrew to Virginia, McClellan was considered the victor. -
Emancipation Proclamation
In an effort to placate the slave-holding border states, Lincoln resisted the demands of radical Republicans for complete abolition. Generals decreed that the slaves of men rebelling against the Union were to be considered free. Congress, too, had been moving toward abolition. In 1861, Congress had passed an act stating that all slaves employed against the Union were free. -
The Battle of Chancellorsville
On April 27, Union General Hooker crossed the Rappahannock River to attack General Lee's forces. Lee split his army, attacking a surprised Union army in three places and almost completely defeating them. Hooker withdrew across the Rappahannock River, giving the South a victory, but it was the Confederates' most costly victory in terms of casualties. -
The Siege of Petersburg
Grant hoped to take Petersburg, below Richmond, and then approach the Confederate capital from the south. The attempt failed, resulting in a ten month siege and the loss of thousands of lives on both sides. -
Confederate Troops Approach Washington, D.C.
Confederate General Jubal Early led his forces into Maryland to relieve the pressure on Lee's army. Early got within five miles of Washington, D.C., but on July 13, he was driven back to Virginia. -
Abraham Lincoln Is Re-Elected.
he Republican party nominated President Abraham Lincoln as its presidential candidate, and Andrew Johnson for vice-president. The Democratic party chose General George B. McClellan for president, and George Pendleton for vice- president. At one point, widespread war-weariness in the North made a victory for Lincoln seem doubtful. -
The Fall of the Confederacy
Transportation problems and successful blockades caused severe shortages of food and supplies in the South. Starving soldiers began to desert Lee's forces, and although President Jefferson Davis approved the arming of slaves as a means of augmenting the shrinking army, the measure was never put into effect. -
Sherman Marches through North and South Carolina
Union General Sherman moved from Georgia through South Carolina, destroying almost everything in his path. This was done in order to destoy the Southern economy for the Confederacy. Successful and devastating. -
A Chance for Reconciliation Is Lost
Confederate President Jefferson Davis agreed to send delegates to a peace conference with President Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward, but insisted on Lincoln's recognition of the South's independence as a prerequisite. Lincoln refused, and the conference never occurred. -
Fallen Richmond
On March 25, General Lee attacked General Grant's forces near Petersburg, but was defeated -- attacking and losing again on April 1. On April 2, Lee evacuated Richmond, the Confederate capital, and headed west to join with other forces. -
Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse
General Lee's troops were soon surrounded, and on April 7, Grant called upon Lee to surrender. On April 9, the two commanders met at Appomattox Courthouse, and agreed on the terms of surrender. Lee's men were sent home on parole -- soldiers with their horses, and officers with their side arms. All other equipment was surrendered. -
The Assassination of President Lincoln
On April 14, as President Lincoln was watching a performance of "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., he was shot by John Wilkes Booth, an actor from Maryland obsessed with avenging the Confederate defeat. Lincoln died the next morning. Booth escaped to Virginia. Eleven days later, cornered in a burning barn, Booth was fatally shot by a Union soldier. Nine other people were involved in the assassination; four were hanged, four imprisoned, and one acquitted. -
Final Surrenders among Remaining Confederate Troops
Remaining Confederate troops were defeated between the end of April and the end of May. Jefferson Davis was captured in Georgia on May 10.