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Civil War
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The Union and Confederate armies clashed near Prestonsburg, Kentucky.
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Thomas Clemson takes office as first US superintendent of agriculture.
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Abraham Lincoln makes a speech at Cooper Union in New York and this is responsible for his election to the Presidency.
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The Pony Express was a mail service delivering messages, newspaper, and mail. This system was founded on this day.
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The first Pony Express rider arrives in San Francisco from St Joseph, Missouri.
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Thomas Jackson is assigned to command Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
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Republican Party nominates Abraham Lincoln for president.
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The first railroad tracks reach Kansas. The railroad ran a long side the Mississippi River.
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Abraham Lincoln wins a four-way race for President of the United States.
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South Carolina was the first state to officially leave the United States and create the Confederacy.
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Major Robert Anderson put all of his energy into finishing building Fort Sumter after hearing Lincolns plans.
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Mississippi was the second state to leave the United States.
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Florida was the third state to leave the United States.
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Alabama was the fourth state to leave the United States.
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Georgia was the fifth state to leave the United States and join the Confederacy.
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Louisiana was the sixth state to leave the United States.
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Texas was the seventh state to leave the United States.
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Abraham Lincoln officially becomes the 16th president of the United States of America.
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Confederate forces bombard Major Robert Anderson and his Union soldiers of Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War officially begins.
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Virginia was the eighth state to leave the United States.
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Arkansas was the ninth state to leave the United States and join the Confederacy.
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North Carolina was the tenth state to leave the United States.
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Tennessee was the last state to leave the United States and join the confederacy.
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The First Battle of Bull Run was between the Union and the new Confederate army.
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Stonewall Jackson moves north from Winchester.
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Abraham Lincoln issues General War Order #1, but General McClellan ignores his order.
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The Confederate USS Merrimack goes against the Union USS Monitor in Chesapeake Bay.
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Union General Ulysses S. Grant forces are surprised at the town of Shiloh in Tennessee. This battle caused 13,000 Union and 10,000 Confederate casualties.
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General Robert E. Lee become commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.
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The Second Battle of Bull Run is a victory for Confederate General Stonewall Jackson.
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The Battle of Antietam is the bloodiest day in United States history. Over 26,00 men are killed. The battle ended in a draw, but this stops General Robert E. Lee's invasion of Maryland and he retreats back to Virginia.
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Lincoln issues a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. This declares his intention to free all slaves in any new territory captured by the Union Army.
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Lincoln fired McClellan for the "the slows"
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The Union Army is defeated at the Battle of Fredericksburg in Virginia.
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General Robert E. Lee divides his army and defeats the Union Army.
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Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson dies from wounds that were cause by a shot by his own troops at Chancellorsville.
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The Union Army under General Meade and Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army meet at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania by chance.
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On the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee orders General George Pickett to assault entrenched Union positions. More than half of the 12,000 Confederate soldiers who participated were killed.
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Robert E. Lee orders Longstreet to advance from Seminary Ridge to Cemetery Hill.
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The Battle of Gettysburg came to an end.
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Far to the West on the Mississippi River, General Ulysses S. Grant takes Vicksburg after a long siege.
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When the government attempts to begin conscription, riots break out in New York and other northern cities.
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Union General William Rosecrans is defeated by Confederate General Braxton Bragg at the Battle of Chickamauga, in Tennessee.
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President Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania as a dedication of Soldier's National Cemetery.
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The Battle of Cosby Creek occurred in Tennessee.
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Ulysses S. Grant was officially promoted from Major General to the rank of lieutenant general of the U.S Army.
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Ulysses S. Grant and 120,000 troops march south toward Richmond.
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Thousands of man burn to death as the woods where they are fighting catch on fire.
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General Ulysses S. Grant made a series of tactical mistakes that resulted in the deaths of 7,000 Union soldiers in 20 minutes.
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The war comes to a end, but a nine-month siege begins.
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Union General Sherman captures Atlanta and burns it to the ground.
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Union General Sherman marched to the Sea, destroying Georgia in the process.
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The Confederate Army of Tennessee lost to the Union Army of Cumberland in Nashville.
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Savannah, Georgia is captured. This ended the March to the sea.
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The Battle of Beverly, West Virginia forced Confederates to attack a Union post.
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President of the Confederate States of America Jefferson Davis names three peace commissioners.
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The United States Congress approves the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which will abolish slavery.
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Lincoln is sworn in for his second term as President of the United States.
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The Siege of Petersburg end as Ulysses S. Grant't army breaks through Confederate lines and marches toward Richmond.
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The Union Army captures Richmond, Virginia.
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General Joe Johnston surrenders in North Carolina.
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Abraham Lincoln is shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington D.C.
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General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant in a farmhouse in the town of Appomattox Court House, Virginia. This ending the war.
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The 13th Amendment is ratified by the States and slavery is abolished.
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US President Andrew Johnson vetoes civil rights bill.
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The US Congress rejects the presidential veto.
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Renegade Irish Fenians from US invade Fort Erie, Ontario.
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US House of representatives passes 14th Amendment.
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Tennessee is the first to ratify the 14th Amendment to the US constitution. This guaranteeing civil rights.
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Tennessee becomes the first Confederate state readmitted to the Union.
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David Farragut is appointed as first admiral in US Navy.
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Ulysses S. Grant is names first General of Army.
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President Andrew Johnson formally declares US Civil War over.
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Frederick Douglass is the first US black delegate to a national convention.
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African American men are granted the right to vote in Washington, D.C. despite President Andrew Johnson's veto.
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Peabody Fund forms to promote Black education is southern USA.
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Most of Nebraska becomes the 37th US States.
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The first reconstruction act was passed by US Congress.
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US Congress abolishes peonage in New Mexico
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The US Congress creates the Department of Education.
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Michigan becomes the first state to tax property to support a university.
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Congress passes the second Reconstruction Act over President Andrew Jonson's veto.
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Congress approves the building of the Lincoln Memorial.
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The Reconstruction of the South begins and black voters are able to register.
