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After South Carolina secedes Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas follow, forming the Confederate States of America
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Grant wins first important Union victory in West, at Fort Donelson; Nashville falls
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Lee defeats Hooker at Chancellorsville; “Stonewall” Jackson, Confederate general, dies (May). Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania stopped at Gettysburg by George Meade—Lee loses 20,000 men—the greatest battle of the war
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Ulysses S. Grant named commander-in-chief of Union
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Sheridan defeats Confederates at Five Forks; Confederates evacuate Richmond. On April 9, Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox.
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Battle of Verdun
