-
Lincoln Elected
Lincoln's election thus served as the main catalyst of the American Civil War. This election resulted in the first Republican president being elected. The United States had become increasingly sectionally divided during the 1850s, primarily over extending slavery into the Western territories. -
South Carolina Secedes
South Carolina became the first state to secede from the federal Union on December 20, 1860. The victory of Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 presidential election triggered cries for disunion across the slaveholding South -
Confederation Formed
Convinced that white supremacy and the institution of slavery were threatened by the November 1860 election of Republican Abraham Lincoln to the U.S. presidency on a platform that opposed the expansion of slavery into the western territories, the Confederacy declared its secession in rebellion against the United States -
Naval Battles: Monitor and Merrimack
The Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack is famous because it was the first clash between ironclad warships. This battle changed the future of naval warfare. It took place on March 8, 1862 and March 9, 1862. -
The Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, allowed Union troops to penetrate the Confederate interior. The carnage was unprecedented, with the human toll being the greatest of any war on the American continent up to that date. -
First and Second Battle of Bull Run
During the Civil War, he lost the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861, and was succeeded by George B. McClellan. He took part in the Second Battle of Bull Run (August 29–30, 1862) as a major general and corps commander, was relieved of command for his conduct in battle, but was later exonerated. -
Battle of Antietam
Antietam, the deadliest one-day battle in American military history, showed that the Union could stand against the Confederate army in the Eastern theater. It also gave President Abraham Lincoln the confidence to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation at a moment of strength rather than desperation. -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free. -
Gettysburg
Gettysburg is a borough and town in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It’s known for Gettysburg National Battlefield, site of a turning point in the Civil War, now part of Gettysburg National Military Park. The park also includes the Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center, displaying Civil War artifacts, and Gettysburg National Cemetery, where a memorial marks the site of Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Gettysburg Address. -
Siege of Vicksburg
A victory at the siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1863 gave the Union control of the Mississippi River in the American Civil War. Following the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862, General Ulysses S. Grant's Union army moved south. Grant hoped to secure control of the Mississippi River for the Union. -
Lincoln Re-elected
Lincoln's re-election ensured that he would preside over the successful conclusion of the Civil War. Lincoln's victory made him the first president to win re-election since Andrew Jackson in 1832, as well as the first Northern president to ever win re-election. -
Robert E. Lee Surrenders
Confederate General Robert E. Lee agreed to surrender his Army of Northern Virginia marking a symbolic end to the Civil War on April 9, 1865. -
the civil war
The Civil War in the United States began in 1861 after decades of simmering tensions between northern and southern states over slavery states rights and westward expansion.