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Harper's Ferry
John Brown had an armed raid on the town in which all of his men were killed or executed for trying to abolish slavery. -
South Secedes
South Carolina was the first state to secede. Other states who were upset with the possibility of losing slavery soon followed. -
Lincoln's First Election
Abraham Lincoln is elected president over a deeply divided Democratic party. He only received 40% of popular vote. -
Confederate States of America Established
Consisted of the governments of eleven Southern states who had seceded from the Union. These states formed this Confederate States of America in an attempt to preserve slavery, states' rights, and political liberty for white males. -
1st Battle of Bull Run
This was also known as the Battle of Manassas. It was the first major battle of the civil war, in which the Union realized that the Confederacy was a formidable opponent through their defeat in this battle. -
Trent Affair
An international diplomatic incident in which a Union captain, Captain Charles Wilkes intercepted the British mail packet RMS Trent and two Confederate diplomats, James Mason and John Slidell. -
1st Confiscation Act
This gave the Union the power to confiscate any property that they was being used in support of the Confederacy. This included the confiscation of slaves. This became an important step to the universal emancipation of slaves. -
Monitor vs Merrimac
It was the beginning of Iron Clads, a new type of naval warfare. This forever changed the face of naval battles, not only in the United States, but also the rest of the world. The Northern Merrimac won. -
Shiloh
The battle of Shiloh was also known as the Battle of Pitsburgh's Landing. It was one of the only major battles in the West. It was fought in Southwestern Tennesse.The two day battle at Shiloh produced more than 23,000 casualties and was the bloodiest battle in American history at its time. -
Capture Of New Orleans
The Union having fought past Fort Jackson and Fort Philip, was unopposed in its capture of the city. The capture of this city was a major victory for the Union seeing as how New Orleans was the Confederacy's largest city. -
Capture of Atlanta
It was a battle of the Atlanta Campaign fought during the American Civil War. In the fight, they seized important rail and supply center of Atlanta. This was very influential to the re-election of Lincoln in that it showed that the Union was making significant progress towards winning the war, thus giving a boost to Lincoln's election campaign. -
First Income Tax
Levied to help pay for the Union war effort. It called for a 3% tax on incomes over $800. Although the bill quickly passed in both the House and the Senate, it was never put into operation, although it still paved the way for the next bill of its kind. -
Antietam
Single most bloody battle of all United States history. The North caused the South to retreat. In this battle, 23,110 men were killed, wounded, or listed missing after this battle. -
Writ of Habeas Corpus suspended
Lincoln passed a law that said writers could not talk about the negativities of the war. The chief justice of the Supreme Court issued a ruling that President Lincoln did not have the authority to suspend habeas corpus, but Lincoln insisted that he needed to suspend the rules in order to put down the rebellion in the South. -
2nd Confiscation Act
This law was passed by the Union Congress during the American Civil War. It formed a legal basis for President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclomation. -
Homestead / Morril Land Grant Acts
Gave any adult US citizen who had never bore arms against the US Government 160 acres of goverment survey land. -
Emancipation Proclomation
This law was directed to all of the areas in the Confederacy and all segments of the executive branch including the army and navy of the Union to free slaves in the 10 states of the Confederacy. While the Emancipation Proclamation did not actually free a single slave, it did serve as an important turning point in the war, transforming the fight to preserve the nation into a battle for freedom. -
National Draft Law Instated
This law made it legal to be forcefully enlisted in the military if one was drafted. Although one was expected to go to war once enlisted it was possible for people to pay to have someone else go to war in their place. -
Vicksburg
The final military action in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of manuevers, Union General Grant and his army crossed the Mississippi and succesfully captured this Confederate stronghold. This success led to Grant being appointed General-in-Chief of the Union. -
Lincoln's Re-election
With the CIvil War now in it's fourth year and Northern voters highly endorsing the leadership an policies of Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln was re-elected in 1864. Lincoln's re-election all but ended any hope for a negotiated settlement with the Confederacy. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
After leaving the city of Atlanta on November 16, Major General Sherman led his troops on a destructive campaign which concluded with the capture of the port city of Savannah on December 21. The purpose of this was to frighten the Confederacy’s civilian population into abandoning the Confederate cause. Sherman’s soldiers didn’t destroy any of the towns in their path, but they stole food and livestock and burned the houses and barns of people who tried to fight back. -
13th Amendment
This amendment had formally abolished slavery in the United States. The amendment states that , " Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime wherof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or an place subject to their jursidiction." -
Capture of Richmond
The capital of the Confederate States was seized by the union. This serves as one of the most evident signs that the Confederacy was nearing its final days. -
Surrender at Appomattox
When Confederate general Robert E. Lee submitted to Union general-in-chief Ulysses S. Grant this practically ended the Civil War. After the fall of Richmond Lee and his army had retreated west to the village of Appomattox Court House when the Union forces made them raise a white flag. Within hours Grant hosted his adversary in the drawing room of a house. Now Lee accepted generous terms from Grant, who allowed the officers to keep their sidearms and horses. Lee then issued his farewell orders. -
Lincoln's Assassination
Five days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army at Appomattox Court House, ending the Civil War, John Wilkes Booth, an actor and Confederate sympathizer, fatally shot President Lincoln at a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. News of the presidnt's death quickly travled, causing those who had recently rejoiced at the end of the Civil War to now reel from the sudden death of Lincoln.