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A peace conference occurs as President Lincoln meets with Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens at Hampton Roads in Virginia, but the meeting ends in failure - the war will continue
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After being photographed by Matthew Brady, Abraham Lincoln speaks at the Cooper Institute in New York City.
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The Pony Express was the most heavily relied upon mail service. It was the fastest way of communication before the telegraph.
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Theodore Parker, reformer and abolitionist, passed away. He spoke openly against slavery and his words were later adapted by Abraham Lincoln.
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Southern delegates hold a National Democratic convention in Richmond. Party leaders urge a "wait and see" approach.
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A Republican Party organization, known as the Wide Wakes, rioted in Illinois with Stephen A. Douglas supporters.
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Lincoln won the election with 180 electoral votes. Breckenridge came in second with 72, then Bell with 39, and Douglass with 12.
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James Chesnut becomes the first Southerner to resign from the Senate. He is quickly followed by James H. Hammond
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Delegates met in Columbia, South Carolina in order to discuss the Southerners idea of secession.
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A compromise in hopes to resolve the succession crisis. It included four Congressional resolutions and six proposed amendments. It was rejected by the north as it benefited the south more.
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South Carolina secedes from the states on December 20th, 1860. This was the first state to secede.
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The second state to secede from the union was Mississippi on January 9th, 1861.
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Florida becomes the third state to secede from the Union.
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Alabama seceded from the Union on January 11, 1861.
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Georgia becomes the fifth state to secede from the Union. Georgia seceded on January 19th, 1861.
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Louisiana seceded from the Union on January 26th, 1861.
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Texas seceded from the Union on February 1st, 1861.
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The Confederate States of America were formed with Jefferson David as the first- and last- president. These states all defied Lincolns presidency in order to try and hold onto their power in government.
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Virginia seceded from the Union 8th from all the other states.
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Arkansas becomes the 9th state to secede from the Union.
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North Carolina declared its secession on May 20th, 1861.
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Tennessee is the 11th and last state to secede from the Union. Their secession was declared on June 8th, 1861.
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President Lincoln issues General War Order No. 1 calling for all United States naval and land forces to begin a general advance
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Victory for Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in Tennessee, capturing Fort Henry, and ten days later Fort Donelson. Grant earns the nickname "Unconditional Surrender" Grant.
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President Lincoln's eleven-year-old son dies from fever caused by polluted drinking water in the White House.
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The Confederate Ironclad 'Merrimac' sinks two wooden Union ships then battles the Union Ironclad 'Monitor' to a draw. Naval warfare is now changed forever, making wooden ships a waste of time.
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Confederate surprise attack on Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's unprepared troops at Shiloh on the Tennessee River results in a struggle with 13,000 Union killed and wounded and 10,000 Confederates, more men than in all previous American wars combined.
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17 Union ships under the command of David Farragut move up the Mississippi River to take New Orleans, the South's greatest seaport.
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The Battle of Seven Pines as Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's Army attacks McClellan's troops in front of Richmond and nearly defeats them. But Johnston is badly wounded.
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Gen. Robert E. Lee assumes command, replacing the wounded Johnston. McClellan is not impressed as he thinks he does not have the best way of war and can be rather timid.
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McClellan moved onto Richmond and landed on the peninsula between the York and James Rivers. Lee moved against McClellan resulting in a series of battles spanning the length of seven days.Even though Lee had less men, he was still able to intimidate McClellan into retreating.
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After four months as his own general-in-chief, President Lincoln hands over the task to Gen. Henry W. Halleck.
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President Lincoln issues the final Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves in territories held by Confederates and emphasizes the enlisting of black soldiers in the Union Army. The war to preserve the Union now becomes a revolutionary struggle for the abolition of slavery.
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The president appoints Gen. Joseph Hooker as Commander of the Army of the Potomac, replacing Burnside.
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Gen. Grant is placed in command of the Army of the West, with orders to capture Vicksburg.
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The U.S. Congress enacts a draft, affecting male citizens aged 20 to 45, but also exempts those who pay $300 or provide a substitute
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The South suffers a huge blow as Stonewall Jackson dies from his wounds.
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Gen. Lee with 75,000 Confederates launches his second invasion of the North, heading into Pennsylvania in a campaign that will soon lead to Gettysburg.
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President Lincoln appoints Gen. George G. Meade as commander of the Army of the Potomac, replacing Hooker. Meade is the 5th man to command the Army in less than a year.
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The tide of war turns against the South as the Confederates are defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania.
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Anti-draft riots in New York City include arson and the murder of blacks by poor immigrant whites. At least 120 persons, including children, are killed and $2 million in damage caused, until Union soldiers returning from Gettysburg restore order.
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President Lincoln delivers a two minute Gettysburg Address at a ceremony dedicating the Battlefield as a National Cemetery.
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President Lincoln appoints Gen. Grant to command all of the armies of the United States. Gen. William T. Sherman succeeds Grant as commander in the west.
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A costly mistake by Grant results in 7,000 Union casualties in twenty minutes during an offensive against fortified Rebels at Cold Harbor in Virginia.
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Union forces miss an opportunity to capture Petersburg and cut off the Confederate rail lines. As a result, a nine month siege of Petersburg begins with Grant's forces surrounding Lee.
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At Atlanta, Sherman's forces battle the Rebels now under the command of Gen. John B. Hood, who replaced Johnston.
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Democrats nominate George B. McClellan for president to run against Republican incumbent Abraham Lincoln.
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A decisive Union victory by Cavalry Gen. Philip H. Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley over Jubal Early's troops.
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Abraham Lincoln is re-elected president, defeating Democrat George B. McClellan. Lincoln carries all but three states with 55 percent of the popular vote and 212 of 233 electoral votes.
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After destroying Atlanta's warehouses and railroad facilities, Sherman, with 62,000 men begins a March to the Sea.
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Hood's Rebel Army of 23,000 is crushed at Nashville by 55,000 Federals including Negro troops under Gen. George H. Thomas. The Confederate Army of Tennessee ceases as an effective fighting force.
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Sherman reaches Savannah in Georgia leaving behind a 300 mile long path of destruction 60 miles wide all the way from Atlanta. Sherman then telegraphs Lincoln, offering him Savannah as a Christmas present.
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The U.S. Congress approves the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, to abolish slavery. The amendment is then submitted to the states for ratification.
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Jefferson Davis signs law authorizing black men and slaves to serve in Confederate Army.
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Grant's forces begin a general advance and break through Lee's lines at Petersburg. Fires and looting break out. The next day, Union troops enter and raise the Stars and Stripes.
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John Wilkes Booth shoots President Lincoln in the head. Doctors attend to the president in the theater then move him to a house across the street.
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President Abraham Lincoln dies at 7:22 in the morning. Vice President Andrew Johnson assumes the presidency.
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Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston surrenders to Sherman near Durham in North Carolina.
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John Wilkes Booth is shot and killed in a tobacco barn in Virginia.
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Remaining Confederate forces surrender. The Nation is reunited as the Civil War ends. Over 620,000 Americans died in the war, with disease killing twice as many as those lost in battle. 50,000 survivors return home as amputees.
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Surrender of Confederate General E.K. Smith's Trans-Mississippi forces, New Orleans, Louisiana
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The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, is finally ratified. Slavery is abolished.
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The first formal observation of President Lincoln's birthday is held in Washington, D. C. President Andrew Johnson attends
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Congress appropriates $100,000 to buy Ford's Theater. It will house the Army Medical Museum, the Office of the Surgeon General and War Department records until 1893
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The United States declares that a state of peace exists with Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia
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Cholera epidemic begins in New York when an infected passenger arrives in New York.
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White civilians and police kill 46 African Americans and destroy 90 houses, schools, and churches in Memphis, Tennessee.
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Thirty-ninth Congress approves the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. This defined citizenship as those born into the US and that those should not be denied of equal rights and law.
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Congress establishes "general of the armies" and Ulysses S. Grant is immediately promoted to 4-star general and put in this position. William Tecumseh Sherman assumes the rank of Lt. General.
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Police kill more than 40 black and white Republicans and wound more than 150.
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A secret organization to intimidate African Americans and restore white rule is founded in Pulaski, Tennessee.
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A fire in the Philadelphia ship-yard accidently destroys a number of ships used during the Civil War
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Blacks in Washington D. C. gain the right to vote in a bill passed over President Andrew Johnson's veto
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Congress divides the former Confederacy into five military districts and requires elections in which African American men can vote.
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Congress passes the Tenure of Office Act, denying the right of the President to remove officials who had been appointed with the consent of Congress.
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Alexandria, Virginia rejects thousand of votes cast by Negroes, who were granted universal suffrage under the Reconstruction Act.
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General Philip Sheridan assumes command of the 5th Military district encompassing Louisiana and Texas. He designates New Orleans as his headquarters.
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William P. Seward signs a treaty with Russia buying Alaska for 2 cents an acre. Democrats called it "Seward's Folly"
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Congress passes the 2nd Reconstruction Act over Andrew Johnson's veto
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Congress passes a bill admitting Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina into the Union. Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas, having refused to ratify the fourteenth amendment, were refused admission into the Union
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President Andrew Johnson demands the resignation of Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War.
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Ulysses S. Grant becomes ad interim Secretary of War after Edwin Stanton is demanded to resign.
