Major Events of the Civil War

Abraham Lincoln Elected President

Nov 6, 1860

Lincoln becomes the newest President of the United States, and the first republican President. He recieved 180 of 303 possible electoral votes and 40 percent of the popular vote.

South Carolina Secedes

Dec 20, 1860

South Carolina becomes the first state to leave the union. . Followed within two months by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas.

Jefferson Davis becomes President of the Confederate States

Feb 9, 1861

Attack on Fort Sumter

Apr 12, 1861

History Channel: Fort SumterAt 4:30 a.m. Confederates under Gen. Pierre Beauregard open fire with 50 cannons upon Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War begins.

American Civil War

Period: Apr 12, 1861 to Apr 9, 1865

Death of Lincoln's Son

Feb 20, 1862

President Lincoln is struck with grief as his beloved eleven-year-old son, Willie, dies from fever, probably caused by polluted drinking water in the White House.

Battle of Antietam

Sep 17, 1862

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. By nightfall 26,000 men are dead, wounded, or missing. Lee then withdraws to Virginia.

Battle of Gettysburg

Period: Jul 1, 1863 to Jul 3, 1863

http://www.historyplace.com/civilwar/battle.htm

Lincoln Delivers Famed Gettysburg Address

Nov 19, 1863

http://www.historyplace.com/civilwar/cwar-pix/address-1.jpg

13th Amendment Ratified

Jan 31, 1865

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.

General Lee Surrenders

Apr 9, 1865

Gen. Robert E. Lee surrenders his Confederate Army to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at the village of Appomattox Court House in Virginia. The war is all but over.