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Abraham Lincoln is elected President.
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South Carolina secedes from the Union. Later, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas also secede.
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The Confederate States of America is formed and Jefferson Davis is president.
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Abraham Lincoln is sworn in as 16th President of the United States of America.
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At 4:30 a.m. Confederates fire with 50 cannons upon Fort Sumter, prompting the start of the Civil War.
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The Union Army suffers a defeat at Bull Run 25 miles southwest of Washington and Confederate Gen. Jackson is given the nickname "Stonewall," as his army resists Union attacks.
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General Ulysses S. Grant advance to capture Fort Donelson and on February 16th, Grant's forces capture Fort Donelson.
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17 Union ships move up the Mississippi River then take New Orleans, the South's greatest seaport.
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The Seven Days Battles as Lee attacks McClellan near Richmond, resulting in very heavy losses for both armies and the battle lasts until July 1st.
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75,000 Federals are defeated by 55,000 Confederates at the second battle of Bull Run in northern Virginia, lasting until August 30th.
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The bloodiest day in U.S. military history as Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Armies are stopped at Antietam in Maryland by McClellan and numerically superior Union forces, resulting in 26,000 men dead, wounded, or missing by nightfall.
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Army of the Potomac suffers a defeat at Fredericksburg in Virginia with a loss of 12,653 men after 14 attacks on Rebels on Marye's Heights.
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President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves in territories held by Confederates and stresses the enlisting of black soldiers in the Union Army.
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The Union Army is defeated by Lee's much smaller forces at the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia as a result of Lee's brilliant and daring tactics and Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson is wounded by his own soldiers, while the battle lasts until May 4th.
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The war turns against the South as the Confederates are defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, lasting until July 3rd.
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President Lincoln delivers a two minute Gettysburg Address at the Battlefield as a National Cemetery.
