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Abraham Lincoln was elected 16th President of the US who had hopes of ending slavery in all states.
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Seven senators and 23 representatives from the southern states issue a manifesto urging secession and the organization of a Southern Confederacy.
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The first ever Secession Convention met in Columbia, South Carolina.
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South Carolina seceded from the Union which caused Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas all to secded as well.
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Major-General Robert Anderson moved his troops from Ft. Moultrie in Charleston, SC, to Ft. Sumter.
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Jefferson Davis was elected as President of the Confederacy which was the name given to the southern states that seceded from the US.
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Southern troops began firing at the fort, but no one died. 4,000 rounds were fired without any casualties.
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With the hope of winning the war, President Davis chose Robert E. Lee to lead the Virginian troops and eventually lead the entire Confederacy troops.
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Maj. Gen. George McClellan was appointed as first commander of the Union forces.
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After Lincoln fired Gen. McClellan for having the "slows," Ulysses S. Grant was promoted to Brigadier General.
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Fort Henry in Tennessee was captured by General Grant and the Union army. Grant earned his nickname, "Unconditional Surrender."
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Union troops deafeated Confederate troops behind Brig. Gen, Ulysses S. Grant which gave him a promotion to Major General and earned him the nickname, "Unconditional Surrender."
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President Lincoln relieved Gen. McClellan because he sufferred from the "slows" and had the oppurtunity to end the war multiple times, but couldn't get the job done.
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Gen. Stonewall Jackson defeated Union troops at the Second Bull Run where the Union believed they had him trapped, but managed to hold his ground and pull out a victory.
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Bloodiest single day battle which had more than 26,000 casualties. Gen. McClellan's men found Gen. Lee's plans wrapped around cigars in the woods.
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Emancipation Proclamation was passed which freed all slaves living in free states because the South didn't belong to the US at the time.
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President Lincoln signed the first Conscription Act which produced the first wartime draft in United States history.
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The Battle of Gettysburg begins which became the bloodiest battle in the war and resulted in a Union victory.
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After the Union army had defeated Gen. Lee and his troops at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, he offered his resignation to President Davis, but Davis rejected it.
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After the Battle of Gettysburg, President Lincoln gave his "Gettsyburg Address" speech which honored the brave men who died in the battle and reminded the nation why they were fighting this war in the first place.
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President Lincoln gave General Grant complete control of all of the armies of the US. Gen. William T. Sheman became commander in the west.
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Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman believed that in order to win the war, you must destroy southern materials and their psychological will to wage war and tore through southern states destroying everything and everyone in his path.
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The Democrats nominate George McClellan to run against the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln.
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While on General William T. Sherman's destructive war path, Union troops finally captured their target, the city of Atlanta.
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President Lincoln was scared that because of the war, he wouldn't be re-elected, but a couple of victories won by Ulysses S. Grant got Lincoln the necessary votes to be re-elected.
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US Congress approved the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, to abolish slavery.
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General Grant defeated the Confederates at Petersburg and the capital, Richmond, was evacuated. The next day Union troops captured Richmond and put the American flag on the city.
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General Robert E. Lee finally surrenders to the Union army at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia.
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John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln while watching a play at Ford's Theater and is immediately rushed to medical help. On April 15, the President died at 7:22 in the morning.
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Remaining Confederate troops finally surrender thus ending the American Civil War. 620,000+ were killed in this war.
