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Abraham Lincoln is elected sixteenth president of the United States, the first Republican president in the nation who represents a party that opposes the spread of slavery in the territories of the United States.
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First secession meeting held in Colombia, South Carolina.
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South Carolina secedes from the Union.
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Mississippi follows South Carolina and becomes the second state to secede.
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Six additional southern states secede from the Union.
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Kansas enters the United States of America as the 34th state.
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Texas joins prior seceded states adding a more powerful threat to the the Union.
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The southern states that seceded create a government at Montgomery, Alabama, and the Confederate States of America are formed.
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Jefferson Davis is appointed the first President of the Confederate States of America.
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Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as the sixteenth president of the United States in Washington, DC.
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Southern forces fire upon Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The Civil War has formally begun.
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Lincoln calls for 75000 volunteers for civil war preparations.
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President Lincoln issues a public declaration that an insurrection exists and calls for 75,000 militia to stop the rebellion.
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Confederates capture a Navy yard in Norfolk Virginia.
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Battle of Big Bethel, the first land battle of the war in Virginia.
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The Battle of Bull Run (or First Manassas), is fought near Manassas, Virginia.
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Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri.The Union Army under General Nathaniel Lyon, attack Confederate troops and state militia southwest of Springfield, Missouri.
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Fort Hatteras at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, falls to Union naval forces. This begins the first Union efforts to close southern ports along the Carolina coast.
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Lexington, Missouri falls to Confederate forces under Sterling Price.
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Jefferson Davis is elected president for a six year term.
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Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky. The Union victory weakened the Confederate hold on the state.
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Surrender of Fort Henry, Tennessee. The lost of this southern fort on the Tennessee River opened the door to Union control of the river.
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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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The confederate ironclad Merrimac enters Hampton Roads and destroys Union warships.
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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. "I can't spare this man; he fights," Lincoln says.
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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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The Seven Days Battles as Lee attacks McClellan near Richmond, resulting in very heavy losses for both armies. McClellan then begins a withdrawal back toward Washington.
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After four months as his own general-in-chief, President Lincoln hands over the task to Gen. Henry W. (Old Brains) Halleck.
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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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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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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. The war to preserve the Union now becomes a revolutionary struggle for the abolition of slavery.
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The president appoints Gen. Joseph (Fighting Joe) Hooker as Commander of the Army of the Potomac, replacing Burnside.
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Gen. Grant is placed in command of the Army of the West, with orders to capture Vicksburg.
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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. "The blood of a poor man is as precious as that of the wealthy," poor Northerners complain.
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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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The president meets with abolitionist Frederick Douglass who pushes for full equality for Union 'Negro troops.'
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A decisive Confederate victory by Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee at Chickamauga leaves Gen. William S. Rosecrans' Union Army of the Cumberland trapped in Chattanooga, Tennessee under Confederate siege.
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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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In the west, Sherman, with 100,000 men begins an advance toward Atlanta to engage Joseph E. Johnston's 60,000 strong Army of Tennessee.
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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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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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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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Celebrations break out in Washington.
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The Stars and Stripes is ceremoniously raised over Fort Sumter. That night, 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. He never regains consciousness.
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President Abraham Lincoln dies at 7:22 in the morning. Vice President Andrew Johnson assumes the presidency.
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The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, is finally ratified. Slavery is abolished.
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Congress was not in favor with Johnson's initiatives for the south, showed this with refusal to seat representatives.
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Freedman's Bureau was a temporary agency to aid the former slaves by providing relief. Johnson didnt believe in these efforts.
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This was Johnson's second veto. this really split up the Congress and the president. Soon to establish the 14th ammendment.
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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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The 14th ammendment provided citzenship to all ex- slaves and protected rights for all citzens.
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New Hampshire ratifies the 14th Amendment
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Congress creates the rank of Admiral. David Farragut is appointed to that rank
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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 proclaimation of peace with Texas is issued by United States President Andrew Johnson
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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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Nebraska becomes a state
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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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Federal army restores military rule to Mississippi (2nd Reconstruction).
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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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General Philip Sheridan assumes command of the 5th Military district encompassing Louisiana and Texas. He designates New Orleans as his headquarters.
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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. Democrats called it "Seward's Folly"
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Senate ratifies treaty purchasing Alaska
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Ulysses S. Grant becomes ad interim Secretary of War
