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The Republican convention in Chicago nominates Abraham Lincoln as its presidential candidate on the third ballot.
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Abraham Lincoln is elected president, the first Republican, receiving 180 of 303 possible electoral votes and 40 percent of the popular vote.
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Pres. Buchanan delivers his State of the Union message to Congress that has convened on the previous day. He says the slave states are sovereign and their rights cannot be interfered with, so they should be left alone.
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A delegation of South Carolina congressmen meet with Pres. Buchanan and say that if reinforcements go to Charleston it would be a sure way to bring about a war.
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Seven senators and 23 representatives from the southern states issue a manifesto urging secession and the organization of a Southern Confederacy.
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The South Carolina convention votes 159 - 0 for secession. Another resolution establishes a committee to draft the ordinance of secession and then adjourns to Charleston because of smallpox in the city.
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South Carolina secedes from the Union. Followed within two months by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas.
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The four South Carolina congressmen resign from the U.S. House of Representatives, their letter of resignation being presented to Congress on Dec. 24.
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South Carolina commissioners are received by Pres. Buchanan as "private gentlemen", since he cannot recognize them as representatives of a sovereign power
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Pres. Buchanan replies to the South Carolina commisioners saying he cannot and will not withdraw the Federal troops from Charleston.
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Florida secedes from the Union by a vote of 62 to 7 at a state convention at Tallahassee.
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Alabama secedes from the Union by a vote of 61 to 39 at a state convention at Montgomery
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Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis presents resolutions to the Senate to affirm that the Federal government cannot only prohibit slavery in the territories.
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The Confederate States of America is formed with Jefferson Davis, a West Point graduate and former U.S. Army officer, as president.
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Abraham Lincoln is sworn in as 16th President of the United States of America.
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At 4:30 a.m. Confederates under Gen. Pierre Beauregard open fire with 50 cannons upon Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War begins.
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President Lincoln issues a Proclamation calling for 75,000 militiamen, and summoning a special session of Congress for July 4.
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25 year distinguished veteran of the United States Army and former Superintendent of West Point, is offered command of the Union Army. Lee declines.
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Virginia secedes from the Union, followed within five weeks by Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina, thus forming an eleven state Confederacy with a population of 9 million, including nearly 4 million slaves. The Union will soon have 21 states and a population of over 20 million.
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The Union Army under Gen. Irvin McDowell suffers a defeat at Bull Run 25 miles southwest of Washington. Confederate Gen. Thomas J. Jackson earns the nickname "Stonewall," as his brigade resists Union attacks. Union troops fall back to Washington. President Lincoln realizes the war will be long. "It's damned bad," he comments.
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President Lincoln issues General War Order No. 1 calling for all United States naval and land forces to begin a general advance by February 22, George Washington's birthday.
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Victory for Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in Tennessee, capturing Fort Henry, and ten days later Fort Donelson. Grant earns the nickname "Unconditional Surrender" Grant.
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Confederate surprise attack on Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's unprepared troops at Shiloh on the Tennessee River results in a bitter struggle with 13,000 Union killed and wounded and 10,000 Confederates, more men than in all previous American wars combined. The president is then pressured to relieve Grant but resists.
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17 Union ships under the command of Flag Officer David Farragut move up the Mississippi River then take New Orleans, the South's greatest seaport.
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Gen. Robert E. Lee assumes command, replacing the wounded Johnston. Lee then renames his force the Army of Northern Virginia. McClellan is not impressed, saying Lee is "likely to be timid and irresolute in action."
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75,000 Federals under Gen. John Pope are defeated by 55,000 Confederates under Gen. Stonewall Jackson and Gen. James Longstreet at the second battle of Bull Run in northern Virginia. Once again the Union Army retreats to Washington. The president then relieves Pope.
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Lee invades the North with 50,000 Confederates and heads for Harpers Ferry, located 50 miles northwest of Washington.
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The bloodiest day in U.S. military history as Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Armies are stopped at Antietam in Maryland by McClellan and numerically superior Union forces. By nightfall 26,000 men are dead, wounded, or missing. Lee then withdraws to Virginia.
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Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves issued by President Lincoln.
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The president replaces McClellan with Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside as the new Commander of the Army of the Potomac.
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President Lincoln issues the final Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves in territories held by Confederates and emphasizes the enlisting of black soldiers in the Union Army.
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The U.S. Congress enacts a draft, affecting male citizens aged 20 to 45, but also exempts those who pay $300 or provide a substitute.
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The Union Army under Gen. Hooker is decisively defeated by Lee's much smaller forces at the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia as a result of Lee's brilliant and daring tactics. Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson is mortally wounded by his own soldiers. Hooker retreats. Union losses are 17,000 killed, wounded and missing out of 130,000. The Confederates, 13, 000 out of 60,000.
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The South suffers a huge blow as Stonewall Jackson dies from his wounds.
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Gen. Lee with 75,000 Confederates launches his second invasion of the North, heading into Pennsylvania in a campaign that will soon lead to Gettysburg.
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The tide of war turns against the South as the Confederates are defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania.
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Vicksburg, the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River, surrenders to Gen. Grant and the Army of the West after a six week siege. With the Union now in control of the Mississippi, the Confederacy is effectively split in two, cut off from its western allies.
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Anti-draft riots in New York City include arson and the murder of blacks by poor immigrant whites. At least 120 persons, including children, are killed and $2 million in damage caused, until Union soldiers returning from Gettysburg restore order.
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The president meets with abolitionist Frederick Douglass who pushes for full equality for Union 'Negro troops.'
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President Lincoln delivers a two minute Gettysburg Address at a ceremony dedicating the Battlefield as a National Cemetery.
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President Lincoln appoints Gen. Grant to command all of the armies of the United States. Gen. William T. Sherman succeeds Grant as commander in the west.
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A costly mistake by Grant results in 7,000 Union casualties in twenty minutes during an offensive against fortified Rebels at Cold Harbor in Virginia.
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Union forces miss an opportunity to capture Petersburg and cut off the Confederate rail lines. As a result, a nine month siege of Petersburg begins with Grant's forces surrounding Lee.
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At Atlanta, Sherman's forces battle the Rebels now under the command of Gen. John B. Hood, who replaced Johnston.
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Democrats nominate George B. McClellan for president to run against Republican incumbent Abraham Lincoln.
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Atlanta is captured by Sherman's Army. "Atlanta is ours, and fairly won," Sherman telegraphs Lincoln. The victory greatly helps President Lincoln's bid for re-election.
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A decisive Union victory by Cavalry Gen. Philip H. Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley over Jubal Early's troops.
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Abraham Lincoln is re-elected president, defeating Democrat George B. McClellan.
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After destroying Atlanta's warehouses and railroad facilities, Sherman, with 62,000 men begins a March to the Sea.
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Sherman reaches Savannah in Georgia leaving behind a 300 mile long path of destruction 60 miles wide all the way from Atlanta. Sherman then telegraphs Lincoln, offering him Savannah as a Christmas present.
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The U.S. Congress approves the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, to abolish slavery. The amendment is then submitted to the states for ratification.
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A peace conference occurs as President Lincoln meets with Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens at Hampton Roads in Virginia, but the meeting ends in failure - the war will continue.
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Inauguration ceremonies for President Lincoln in Washington.
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The last offensive for Lee's Army of Northern Virginia begins with an attack on the center of Grant's forces at Petersburg. Four hours later the attack is broken.
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Grant's forces begin a general advance and break through Lee's lines at Petersburg. Confederate Gen. Ambrose P. Hill is killed. Lee evacuates Petersburg. The Confederate Capital, Richmond, is evacuated. Fires and looting break out. The next day, Union troops enter and raise the Stars and Stripes.
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President Lincoln tours Richmond where he enters the Confederate White House.
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Gen. Robert E. Lee surrenders his Confederate Army to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at the village of Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Grant allows Rebel officers to keep their sidearms and permits soldiers to keep horses and mules.
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Lincoln and his wife Mary see the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater. At 10:13 p.m., during the third act of the play, John Wilkes Booth shoots the president in the head. Doctors attend to the president in the theater then move him to a house across the street.
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President Abraham Lincoln dies at 7:22 in the morning.
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Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston surrenders to Sherman near Durham in North Carolina.
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The first formal observation of President Lincoln's birthday is held in Washington.
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President Johnson vetos the Civil Rights Act of 1866 on the grounds that it was unconstitutional
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The United States declares that a state of peace exists with Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia
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Congress overrides President Andrew Johnson's veto of the Civil Rights Act.
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Thirty-ninth Congress approves the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
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Congress establishes "general of the armies" and Ulysses S. Grant is immediately promoted to 4-star general and put in this position. William Tecumseh Sherman assumes the rank of Lt. General.
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A proclamation of peace with Texas is issued by United States President Andrew Johnson.
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The U. S. Secret Service begins an investigation into the Ku Klux Klan.
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A fire in the Philadelphia ship-yard accidently destroys a number of ships used during the Civil War.
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On the 6th anniversary of secession, South Carolina rejects the 14th Amendment.
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Blacks in Washington D. C. gain the right to vote in a bill passed over President Andrew Johnson's veto.
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Congress passes the Tenure of Office Act, denying the right of the President to remove officials who had been appointed with the consent of Congress.
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Alexandria, Virginia rejects thousand of votes cast by Negroes, who were granted universal suffrage under the Reconstruction Act.
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Congress passes the 2nd Reconstruction Act over Andrew Johnson's veto.
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William P. Seward signs a treaty with Russia buying Alaska for 2 cents an acre.
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Congress passes a bill admitting Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina into the Union. Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas, having refused to ratify the fourteenth amendment, were refused admission into the Union.
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President Andrew Johnson demands the resignation of Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War.
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Edwin Stanton suspended by President Andrew Johnson.
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Ulysses S. Grant becomes ad interim Secretary of War.
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Russia turns over Alaska to the United States.
