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John Smith, an abolitionist, plans to take control of the U.S. arsenal in Harper's Ferry with free slaves and some other white men to lead a major revolt.
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Abraham Lincoln wins the election of 1860, this upsets the South since he seemed like a threat to their "King Cotton."
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On this day South Carolina left the Union, it was the first to do so but would soon be followed by more states.
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More states join South Carolina to form the Confederate States of America under President Davis. These states include NC, MS, FL, AL, GA, LA, TX, VA, AR, and TN.
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After the Confederates seceded from the Union they were left with many enemy bases on their land, during a Union attempt to deliver supplies to Fort Sumter they decided to start attacking. The Union started returning fire and this was seen as the start of the Civil War.
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This was the first major battle of the Civil War, the Union decided to attack the Confederates at Bull Run. The Confederates were outnumbered by at least 10,000 men but stood strong, they eventually flanked the Union and caused them to retreat.
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Admiral David Farragut attacked the Confederates from the Gulf of Mexico, they were expecting an attack from the Mississippi river. The two sides fought for a few days until New Orleans was free of Confederate rule, Union soldiers started piling in and made it their own.
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The Union decides to fight the Confederates again, this time they feel they are more prepared. They were waiting for the Confederates to arrive when General Lee decided to take them by surprise and attack their supply base. At the main battle both sides are being battered and losing many men, Pope eventually retreats. In the end the rest the Confederate soldier held their ground well and won the battle.
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Lincoln promised to free all slaves in Rebel states as of January 1st. He didn't want it to seem like he was stepping down to the Confederates so he waited for the Union to be successful and them implemented it.
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Grant surrounds Pemberton and sieges Vicksburg. After non-stop fighting Pemberton retreats on July 4th. The Confederates had well over 30,000 casualties while the Union had under 5,000. Grant got full control of the Mississippi.
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Largest battle of North America. Both sides had equal casualties although the Union had more soldiers. Lee wanted to invade the Union, he was of course stopped before he got there and the battle broke out. After major casualties on both sides Lee fled and let the Union win.
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Grant wanted to go straight for the Confederate capital in Richmond. They fought for days until they stopped in a draw. The Union had many casualties.
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Horrible loss for the Union, Grant made many mistakes. The Union lost around 7,000 men in half an hour.
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Sherman decides to burn the city of Atlanta to stop John Hood.
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General Lee surrenders at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia, he refused to make his soldiers suffer any more than they had to. This marked the end of the Civil War.
