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Presidenet Lincoln gives the Cooper Union Address. This was Lincoln's most influential speech about banning slavery in new territories and many people think it won him the election.
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The Pony Express begins going from Saint Louis, Missouri to Sacremento, California. There were 119 stations all 12 miles apart. This made it possible for letters to be delivered quicker then in the past and helped transportation for the war.
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The former members of the American and Whig parties get together in Baltimore and form the Constitutional Union Party. In this party they elect John Bell as President and Edward Everett as Vice President.
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The first Republican President is elected with a majority of the electoral and popular votes. Lincoln plans to abolish slavery during his presidency.
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South Carolina is the first southern state to sucede from the Union. This is the beginning of the Confederacy being formed.
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Most of the southern states have suceded and the Confederacy is born. Jefferson Davis is the President of this new nation.
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The opening scene of the war when the Confederates under General Beauregard open fire upon Fort Sumter, South Carolina.
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Lincoln issues a blockade against all Southern ports. He does not want them to be supplied during the war by any industry. They want them to win the war with their own inventions.
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The Union army under General McDowell loses the Battle of Bull Run, the first battle of the war to Stonewall Jackson and his Confederate troops.
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Lincoln appoints George McClellan as general in chief of all Union forces after resignation of Winfield Scott.
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Union General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Henry in Tennessee, 10 days after Fort Donelson. This earns him his nickname "Unconditional Surrender".
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The Confederates surprise attack Grant's unprepared troops by the Tennesee River. Many men on both sides are killed but the Union wins.
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Under the Union command of Officer Farragut, 17 ships move up the Mississippi River and take New Orleans. This takes about their major seaport.
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Under General Pope the Union is defeated by the Confederates under General Stonewall Jackson and General James Longstreet. This battle takes place in northern Virginia but the Union Army retreats to Washington.
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The Union under McClellan are victorious in this battle in Maryland. Under General Robert Lee, the Confederates withdraw to Virginia from this bloodiest day battle in history.
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President Lincoln frees all slaves in Confederate territory by issuing the final Emancipation Proclamation. This angers the Confederates greatly.
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Congress puts a draft in effect that takes male citizens aged 20 to 45 for war. They have to fight unless they pay $300 or have a substitute fight for them.
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The turning point of the war occurs when the Confederates are defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. This is a 3 day war where the Union looks to end the war for good.
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The Union wins the Battle of Vicksburg when the Confederates surrender and this gives the Union control of the Mississippi. This splits the Confederacy is two, giving them no western allies.
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President Lincoln gives his famous Gettysburg Address speech. He speaks of the war as the ceremony is about naming the Battlefield as a National Cemetery.
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President Lincoln appoints General Grant as commander of all the Union armies. He replaces McClellan who Lincoln was angry with for having 'the slows'.
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Democrat George B. McClellan runs for president against President and Republican Abraham Lincoln. Eventually Lincoln will go on to be re-elected on November 8th.
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Sherman's Army captures Atlanta. With this Union victory President Lincoln has a good chance for re-election.
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A Union victory led by General Philip H. Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley. They defeated Jubal Early's troops in this decisive battle.
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Sherman reaches Savannah, Georgia all the way from Atlanta. Sherman did well but left behind much destruction.He offers Savannah to Lincoln as a Christmas present.
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The last attack from Lee's Army occurs in Northern Virginia. It begins with an attack on Grant's forces at Petersburg but that attack only lasts four hours.
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General Robert E. Lee finally surrenders at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant. Officers are allowed to keep their sidearms and soldiers can keep their horses and mules.
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John Wilkes Booth shoots President Lincoln in Ford's Theater. He suffers through the night and dies the next morning due to his head wound.
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After the remaining Confederate forces surrender, the Nation is reunited. The Civil War is finally over and a victory parade is held on Pennsylvania Ave to help boost the Nation's morale for the future.
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The Thirteenth Amendment passed by Congress on January 31, is finally ratified and put in the Constitution to be put in effect. This amendment abolishes slavery.
