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Uncle Tom's Cabin is published
This was an anti-slavery novel and was said to have helped lay the groundwork for the civil war -
Republican Party is formed
This is one of the two major political parties in the United States -
Kansas-Nebraska Act passed
This act allowed people in the Kansas-Nebraska territories to decide for themselves to allow slavery in there territory -
Dred Scott v. Sandford decision is rendered
This case was considered the worst decision ever rendered by the Supreme Court -
John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry
John Brown was an Abolitionist and this raid on Harper's Ferry was to initiate an armed slave revolt by taking over the United States Arsenal -
John Brown is hanged
John Brown was executed by hanging -
Abraham Lincoln elected president
Lincoln had won the presidential election of 1860 -
South Carolina votes to secede from the United States
South Carolina was the first slave state to secede from the United States -
Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter
The Confederate forces surrounded the fort and began to fire at the fort at 2:30 pm on April 12, 1861 -
Richmond becomes the capital of the Confederacy
The Confederate capital is moved to Richmond due to it's strategic importance -
Lincoln suspends habeas corpus
Lincoln argued that it was both necessary and constitutional to suspend habeas corpus without congress -
First Battle of Bull Run
Battle took place after confederates attacked Fort Sumter which belonged to the Union Army. The battle took place in Manassas, 25 miles out from Washington D.C -
Jefferson Davis elected president of the Confederacy
Jefferson Davis was elected president of the Confederate States of America. He ran unopposed and was elected to serve a 6 year term -
The Merrimac and the Monitor fight of the Virginia coast
Was history's first duel with ironcald warships -
Battle of Shiloh
The Confederates attacked the unprepared Federal soldiers however General Grant launched an overwhelming counteroffensive attack -
Robert E. Lee is named commander of the Army of Northern Virginia
He commanded the Northern Virginia Army from 1862 until his surrender in 1865 -
Battle of Antietam
This battle was also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg. The battle was fought at Antietam Creek in Maryland. The battle was fought between the Confederate army and the Union army -
Emancipation Proclamation is announced
The Emancipation Proclamation was announced by Abraham Lincoln and it announced that if all the rebels didn't rejoin the union and end the fighting the rebellious states slaves would be free -
Battle of Fredericksburg
This was battle was fought in and around Fredricksburg between Robert E Lee's Confederate army and the Union army -
Battle of Chancellorsville
This battle resulted in a Confederate victory -
Battle of Gettysburg
This battle was considered the most important engagement of the Civil War -
Confederate surrender at Vicksburg
Vicksburg was the last major stronghold on the Mississippi river and capturing it was the second part of the Northern strategy also known as the Anaconda Plan -
New York City draft riots
These riots were due to the need for men to fight in the ongoing war so they were drafted -
Lincoln gives his Gettysburg Address
The speech was given four moths after the Union Army's defeated the Confederates at Gettysburg -
Congress passes the 13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery -
Atlanta is captured
The Union army took the city after overwhelming and defeating the Confederate army -
Abraham Lincoln defeats George McClellan to win re-election
Abraham Lincoln wins the 1864 election against George McClellan -
Sherman begins his march to the sea
General Sherman of the Union army led 60,000 soldiers from Atlanta to Savannah Georgia to frighten the civilian population to abandon the Confederate cause -
Freeman's Bureau is created
This was an agency of the United States directing issues such as Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands -
Lincoln gives his second inaugural address
Lincoln was inaugurated for his second time during the final days of the civil war and a month before he was assassinated -
Richmond falls to the Union Army
The city fell to the Union army in 1865 and large parts of the city were destroyed by fires during the evacuation -
Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox
Robert E. Lee surrenders his 28,000 troops to Union General Grant -
President Lincoln assassinated
President Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theater in Washington D.C. by John Wilkes Booth -
John Wilkes Booth is killed
John Wilkes Booth was killed after being hunted down by Union soldiers 12 days after the assassination of President Lincoln
