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Abraham Licoln is elected the sixteenth President. The first Republican president in the nation who oppoeses slavey. Lincoln, a Kentucky born lawyer and former Whig representative for Congress ran opposed against Stephen Douglas, Doug Bell, and John C. Breckinridge
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Texas was the 7th state to secede from the Union when the state votes 166 to 8 in favor of the measure. The Texans who did so over the objection of Sam Houston. The events that made people want to secede were: John Brown's raid on the federal army. Houston called a convention in order for people to vote.
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Houston was supposed to stop Texas from seceeding from the Union. He was forced out of office for not pledging allegiance to the Confederate States of America. He died on July 26, 1863. He is the only person to have been forced out of office in two states.
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On April 12, 1961 at 4:30 am General Beauregard in command of the Confederate army opened fire on Fort Sumter. Anderson didn't return fire until 2 hours later. At about 7:00 am Capt. Abner Doubleday was awarded first defensive shot. The battle lasted about 34 hours and the Confederates won.
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At 3:00 am 4 Confederate gunboats coming down the bay towards Galvston. Soon afterward Rebel forces commenced a land attack. The Union forces in Galveston were under three companies of the 42nd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Galveston remained under the Conderates for the rest of the war.
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Gen. Robert E. Lee awaited the approach of the Union Gen. George G. Meade's forces. Early Union succes faltered as the Confederate pushed back against the Iron Brigade. The following day Lee struck Union flanks leading to heavy battle at Devil's Den, Little Round Top, the Wheatfield, Peach Orchard, Culp's Hill, and East Cemetary Hill. Lee's second invaisiom of the North had failed resulting in about 51,000 casualties.
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The Battle of Sabine Pass turned back one of several Union attempts to invade Texas in the Civil War. At 4:30 pm Union gunboats began advancing towards the pass. Firing on the fort as they steamed foward. The Confederate forces under Lt. Richard Dowling had them shoot cannons. One of which hit the boiler of the Sachem which exploded and killed many soldiers. In the end the Confederate's captured 300 Union soldiers.
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The Union hoped to capture everything along Louisiana and continue to Texas. The plan called for Admiral David Porter to take a floatilla of 20 gunboats up the Red River. Gen. Nathaniel Banks was to take 34,000 troops by land and attack them in Louisiana. It was a failure as most predicted. This caused the Union to stay out of parts of the South
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Confederate Gen. Edmund Smith signed the surrender terms. Bringing a formal end to the bloodiest war in U.S, history.
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Since March, gentlemen preluded between U.S. Union and Confederate forces on the Rio Grande. In spite of this agreement Theodore H. Barrett dispatched an expedition. They were to attack the Rebel outposts and camps on May 11. On May 12, expeditionary forced arrived and found no one there.
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Union soldiers land in Galveston led by Gordon Granger bring new of the end of the Civil War. This was two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation. That meant that all slaves were now free. This law had little impacts on Texas because of the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the law
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Under the administration of Andrew Jackson new legislature passed "black codes". Outrage from the North erupted support for the approach of Presidential Reconstruction. Which led to triumph of the more radical Republican party. During this process Blacks gained a voice in government.
