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Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was a novel by Harriet Beeche Stowe, and was published on March 20, 1852. The novel was about a slave who was sold several times and eventually passed away from being whipped too much. The book educated people about the hardships of slavery, and was a hit worldwide. -
Lincoln Gets Voted President
Abraham Lincoln was elected president on November 6, 1860. He was elected the 16th president of the United States and beat an opposing Democratic Party, which made him become the first Republican to win the presidency. He only got 40% of the popular vote, but beat the three other candidates: Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge, Constitutional Union candidate John Bell, and Northern Democrat Stephen Douglas, a U.S. senator for Illinois. -
Southern States' Secession
Secession was a series of events that began on December 20, 1860, and extended through June 8 of the next year. At Montgomery, Alabama, the first seven Southern states to secede formed a provisional government. The frontier states of Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina joined the new government after hostilities broke out at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor on April 12, 1861. As a result, the Union was roughly split along geographic lines. -
Lincoln's Inauguration
Lincoln’s first inauguration was on March 4, 1861. Abraham Lincoln and James Buchanan left the Willard Hotel In Washington D.C. Riding a horse-drawn carriage, they went to the Capitol to have the inauguration. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney directed the presidential oath of office, swearing in Abraham Lincoln as the sixteenth president of the United States. -
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is an island fortification in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, that is best known for being the location of the Civil War's first shots (1861-65). The Battle of Fort Sumter began on April 12, 1861, when Beauregard bombarded Fort Sumter. Anderson and 86 soldiers surrendered the fort on April 13 after a 34-hour exchange of artillery fire. -
First Battle of Bull Run
The First Battle of Bull Run (a.k.a. The Battle of Manassas) was on July 21, 1861. The battle started when about 35,000 Union troops attacked a Confederate force of 20,000 at a small river called Bull Run. The Confederates broke the Union right flank, causing the Federals to retreat back to Washington. This brought up to a Confederate victory. -
Fort Henry
The Battle of Fort Henry was on February 6, 1862. Union Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant and Commodore Andrew Foote attacked Fort Henry in Tennessee to have control over the rivers and supply lines. Instead of surrendering, Confederate Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman and his troops evacuated to Fort Donelson. 10 days later, the fall of Fort Henry cut off Confederate access to two key waterways, leading it to a Union victory. -
Battle of the Ironclads
The Battle of the Ironclads (a.k.a. The Battle of Hampton Roads) was on March 9, 1862. In the battle, the U.S.S. Monitor was against the Merrimack (C.S.S. Virginia) during the American Civil War. It was the first naval battle between the ironclad warships and was where the Confederate tried to break the Union blockade of Southern ports that were enforced in the beginning of the war. The result of the battle was inconclusive, but began a new era in naval warfare. -
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh (a.k.a. The Battle of Pittsburg Landing) was on April 6 to April 7, 1862. The Confederate Army made an unexpected attack on the Union forces that were under General Ulysses S. Grant, which started the battle. The Union won, because the Confederates couldn’t hold their positions, so they had to retreat. Although this happened, both sides suffered their own losses, and there was a total of more than 23,000 casualties. -
Seven Days Battles
The Seven Days Battles (a.k.a. Seven Days Campaign) was on June 25 to July 1, 1862. Six separate battles were fought along the Virginia Peninsula east of Richmond during the battle. Despite the fact that the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, had over 100,000 troops, Confederates led by a new field commander, Gen. Robert E. Lee, were slowly driving them away from their ultimate objective of Richmond and back to the James River. -
Antietam
The Battle of Antietam (a.k.a. The Battle of Sharpsburg) was at Antietam Creek on September 17, 1862. It was a deadly one-day battle where Union General George McClellan started a battle against Robert E. Lee. This was the highest point of Robert E. Lee’s effort to invade the north. The battle ended in a tie. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was on December 13, 1862. The battle started when Ambrose Burnside made more than 120,000 of his troops cross the Rappahannock River and attack Robert E. Lee’s army of 80,000. This made Lee’s defenders retreat with casualties of about 13,000. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was on April 30 to May 6, 1863. The battle was a great victory for the Confederacy and General Robert E. Lee during the Civil War and was also most known for being the battle where Confederate General Thomas Jackson was very injured. The battle was fought in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, where Lee faced Union General Joseph Hooker’s Army of the Potomac. Lee split his army into two groups, which led up to his best victory. -
Battle of Vicksburg
The Battle of Vicksburg was on May 18 to July 4, 1863, which was also called the Siege of Vicksburg. Ulysses S. Grant led the Union, and John C. Pemberton led the Confederates. Grant took many units to attack the city, but had to retreat. After that, Grant decided to lay siege onto the city to wait for the Confederates to starve and lose morale. On Independence Day of 1863, Pemberton and his army surrendered to Grant. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The battle of Gettysburg took place throughout July 1 - July 3 in 1863 during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee wanted to invade the North so that the Lincoln administration could ask for peace. During the first invasion, he was able to attack the Federals, but he couldn’t secure their own. That caused it to fail with a huge loss. -
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address happened on November 19, 1863 when President Lincoln gave remarks at the official dedication ceremony for the National Cemetery of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. Although he wasn’t one of the main speeches that day, his speech was one of the most memorable speeches in history. He talked about the principles of human equality in the Declaration of Independence and the sacrifices of the Civil War and the need for “a new birth of freedom”. -
Appomattox Surrender
On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee to surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, which ended the American Civil War. Lee had no other option, because he had to abandon the Confederate capital of Richmond, was harassed by Union cavalry, and couldn’t join the Confederate force in North Carolina. -
Battle of Appomattox
The Battle of Appomattox Court House was on April 9, 1865 at the Appomattox Court House. This was when Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered of his Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses S. Grant. Lee wanted to rally the remnants of his beleaguered troops, meet Confederate reinforcements in North Carolina and resume fighting. However, due to the result of the battle, it ended the four-year Civil War. -
Lincoln's Assassination
On April 15, 1865, a famous actor and Confederate sympathizer named John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C. Lincoln was shot in the back of his head with a .44-caliber single-shot derringer pistol while watching the performance, “Our American Cousin” in his private box. This also happened five days after Robert E. Lee’s surrender to Appomattox. -
13th Amendment Ratified
On December 18, 1865, slavery became abolished with the 13th amendment. It was formally adopted into the U.S. Constitution after being ratified by the necessary three-quarters of states earlier in the month. The 13th amendment said that, “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude… shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
