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Although Lincoln doesn't win a popular majority and isn't even on the ballot in nine Southern states, he earns enough electoral votes to beat all other opponents.
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South Carolina officially secedes from the Union
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Mississippi, Florida , Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana , and Texas all first seceded from the union then Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Coralina also seceded from the union.
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Confederate forces under General P.G.T. Beauregard bombard Major Robert Anderson and his Union soldiers at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War officially begins.
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The First Battle of Bull Run pits Union General Irvin McDowell against the new Confederate army. The Second Battle of Bull Run is a resounding victory for Confederate General Stonewall Jackson.
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Union General Ulysses S. Grant's forces are surprised at the town of Shiloh in Tennessee. The ensuing battle results in 13,000 Union and 10,000 Confederate casualties, more than in all previous American wars combined.
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Over the course of seven days of fighting, General Robert E. Lee attacks George McClellan's Union Army of the Potomac near Richmond, Virginia.
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The Battle of Antietam is the bloodiest day in United States history. Over 26,000 men are killed, wounded or missing in action on both sides.
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Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation. It frees all slaves in territory captured by the Union Army, and orders the enlistment of Black soldiers.
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The 13th Amendment is ratified by the States. Slavery is abolished.