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South Carolina secedes from the United States.
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Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas secede from the United States -
Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as the sixteenth president of the United States in Washington, DC. -
Confederate forces fire upon Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The Civil War formally begins.
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US Congress passes and President Lincoln signs the Confiscation Act of 1861. This act permits court proceedings for the confiscation of property, including enslaved people, used to support the Confederacy.
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Surrender of Fort Donelson, Tennessee. This critical fort on the Cumberland River left the river in Federal control. It was here that US General Ulysses S. Grant gained his nickname "Unconditional Surrender" Grant. -
Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as President of the Confederate States of America.
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First Battle of Winchester, Virginia. After two weeks of maneuvering and battles at Cross Keys and Front Royal, Confederate General "Stonewall" Jackson attacks US forces at Winchester and successfully drives them from the city. The victory is the culmination of his 1862 Valley Campaign.
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President Lincoln approves the Confiscation Act of 1862, or Second Confiscation Act. This act expands the terms of the previous Confiscation Act, allows broader seizure of Confederate property, the emancipation of enslaved people in Federally occupied territory, and prohibits the return of fugitive slaves.
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Battle of Stones River, Tennessee. Fought between the US Army of the Cumberland under General William Rosecrans and the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General Braxton Bragg, the costly Federal victory frees middle Tennessee from Confederate control and boosts Northern morale. -
Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi begins. US forces under General Ulysses S. Grant attack Confederate defenses outside the city on May 19-22. If Vicksburg falls, the Mississippi River will be completely controlled by the United States.
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Dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg. President Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address.
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US General Ulysses S. Grant is appointed lieutenant general, a rank revived at the request of President Lincoln. Grant assumes command of all United States Armies in the field the following day.
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Abraham Lincoln is nominated for a second term as president.
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The Battle of Cedar Creek, Virginia. In an early morning surprise attack, Jubal Early's Confederates successfully attack and drive troops of the Army of the Shenandoah from their camps on the banks of Cedar Creek south of Middletown, Virginia. Hearing the fight from his headquarters at Winchester, General Philip Sheridan rides southward, rallying dispirited troops who return to the battlefield. -
Abraham Lincoln is reelected president of the United States.
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General Sherman's Army of Georgia begins the March to the Sea. -
President Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated for his second term as president in Washington, DC.
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President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by actor John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC. On the same day, Fort Sumter, South Carolina is re-occupied by US troops.
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General Simon Bolivar Buckner agrees to terms of surrender of the Army of the Trans-Mississippi, which are agreed to on June 2, 1865. With this surrender of the last large Confederate army, the Civil War officially ends. (Confederate Brigadier General Stand Waite did not surrender until June 23, and one Confederate ship, the CSS Shenandoah, docked in Liverpool and surrendered to the Royal Navy on November 6, 1865.)