-
Abraham Lincoln Elected President (First Term)
He was elected to be the 16th president on November 6, 1860. He was the first republican president to ever be elected. The Southern states had been threatening secession if the Republicans gained the White House. By the time he was inaugurated in March, seven states had suceeded and the Confederate States of America was established. -
Confederate States of America Are Formed
They formed for three reasons :The Confederate States felt the United States thought they had broken the Constitution.
The Confederacy argued that the United States had failed to enforce the Fugitive Slave Laws.
The government would not allow slavery in the new territories. -
Attack on Fort Sumter
Beauregard, in command of the provisional Confederate forces at Charleston, South Carolina, demanded the surrender of the Union garrison of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Anderson refused. On April 12, Confederate batteries opened fire on the fort, which was unable to reply effectively. At 2:30 pm, April 13, Major Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter. This is considered the start of the Civil War. -
Period: to
Civil War
-
First Battle of Bull Run
This was the first major land battle of the Civil War. -
Trent Affair
The Trent Affair, also known as the Mason and Slidell Affair, was a international diplomatic incident. The USS San Jacinto, commanded by Union Captain Charles Wilkes, intercepted the British mail packet RMS Trent and removed, as contraband of war, two Confederate diplomats, James Mason and John Slidell. The envoys were bound for Great Britain and France to press the Confederacy’s case for diplomatic recognition by Europe. The conflict was resolved with no war. -
USS Monitor v. CSS Virginia
This engagement, also called the Battle of Hampton Roads, was at that point the most important naval battle of the Civil War. It was significant because it was the first meeting of ironclads, the new type of ships that had plated metal. The two-day event resulted in stalemate. -
Battle of Shiloh
This battle is also referred to as the Battle of Pittsburgh Landing and occured on April 6-7, 1862 in southwestern Tennessee. Beauregard launched a surprise attack on Union General Grant. The Confederates had success on the first day, but were ultimately defeated on the second day. It ended the confederate hope that they could stop the Union from advancing and taking over the Mississippi. -
Capture of New Orleans
The capture of New Orleans was an important event for the Union. Having fought past Forts Jackson and St. Philip, the Union was unopposed in its capture of the city itself. This capture of the largest Confederate city was a major turning point and of huge importance. -
Second Battle of Bull Run
This was the decisive battle of the northern Virginia campaign. It resulted in a Confederate victory, after two days of fighting. There was a total of apporximately 22,000 casualities. -
Battle of Antietam
Also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, this was the bloodiest single day battle in American history. All together the casuality total for both sides was around 23,000. It was not exactly a Union victory, but enough of one that Abraham Lincoln took advantage of the win to issue his Emancipation Proclamation. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation wa an executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. It stated that the slaves in the ten states in rebellion were free. The Proclamation immediately freed 50,000 slaves, with nearly all the rest freed as Union armies advanced. It was more symbolic than anything, considering that Lincoln could not enforce the law in a technically seperate country. -
First Conscription Act
This act provides that ...every able-bodied white male citizen...of the age of 18 years and under the age of 45...be enrolled in the militia...Every citizen so enrolled...shall within six months thereafter, provide himself with a good musket or forelock, a sufficient bayonet and belt"and...not less than twenty-four cartridges...etc. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
Known as Lee's "perfect battle" as he repeatedly broke the tenet of never dividing one's forces in the face of a superior enemy with stunning success, Chancellorsville cost his army 1,665 killed, 9,081 wounded, and 2,018 missing. Hooker's army suffered 1,606 killed, 9,672 wounded, and 5,919 missing/captured. While it is generally believed that Hooker lost his nerve during the battle, the defeat did cost him his command as he was replaced by Meade on June 28. -
Siege of Vicksburg
This was the final major military action in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River and drove Pemberton's Confederate army out of the city and fortress at Vicksburg. Pemberton officially surrendered on July 4, 1863. -
West Virginia Becomes a State
Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861. Very few of the residents of the western counties owned slaves, so they decided to stay with the Union. These western counties formed their own state, becoming the 35th state known as West Virginia. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The battle of Gettysburg was located in Pennsylvania and took place on July 1-3, 1863. It was the battle with the largest number of casualities during the Civil War, with the total for both sides being around 46,000. It is looked at as a turning point in the war, with a Union victory. -
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the most well-known speeches in United States history. It was delivered on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, four and a half months after the Union armies beat the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg. -
Battle of Cold Harbor
The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought from May 31-June 12, 1864. It was a Confederate victory, as General Lee overpowered Grant's army, losing only 1/3 of the amount of men that Grant did. The battle caused a rise in anti-war sentiment in the Northern states. Grant became known as the "fumbling butcher" for his poor decisions. It also lowered the morale of his remaining troops. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
This was conducted around Georgia from November 15, 1864 to December 21, 1864 by William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army in the American Civil War. The campaign began with Sherman's troops capturing the city of Atlanta and ended with them taking over the busy port of Savannah on December 21. He waged total war, meaning he left a lot of destruction in his path. He destroyed and burnt food and water sources and tried to break down the industry of the South. -
Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse
The Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought on the morning of April 9, 1865, was the final battle of the Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee's Army before it surrendered to the Union Army commanded by Ulysses S. Grant. The conditions stated that none of the confederate soldiers would be charged with treason. -
Assassination of President Lincoln
As the Civil War was drawing to a close, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. He was shot while watching a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C. by conspirator John Wilkes Booth. This was part of a bigger conspiracy to revive the Confederate effort by taking out Lincoln and his cabinet.
