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Jefferson Davis, future leader of the Confederate States of America, admits that he's in favor of Secession.
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Abraham Lincoln delivers his Copper Union Speech
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The Pony Express begins where riders on horseback carry mail along the Oregon Trail
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Abraham Lincoln is chosen by the Republicans as their presidential nominee
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The Southern Democrats select John C. Breckinridge for their nominee for president.
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Abraham Lincoln's election enraged the South extremely. Not one southern voter had voted for Lincoln yet he still won. This made the south feel powerless in government.
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South Carolina calls for a convention to discuss Secession
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The resignation of these senators is a foreshadowing of future secession in the southern states.
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South Carolina is the first state to secede from the union. South Carolina sets an example that many southern states follow with its secession.
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Major-General Robert Anderson moves his troops to Fort Sumter in Charlston South Carolina.
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Jefferson Davis is inaugerated as President of the Confederate States of America. He is the first and last Confederate President.
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Confederates open fire on Fort Sumter. No one was harmed.
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Major Robert Anderson surrenders the fort after the Confederates had been bombarding it.
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Robert E. Lee becomes the commander of the Virginia forces.
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Arkansas and Tennessee secede from the union, being the last two states to secede, and join the Confederate States of America
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Virginia is torn by the issue of slavery, and half of the state decides to join the Union and form West Virginia.
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The first major battle of the Civil War, Bull Run, erupts in Virginia.
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McClellan was appointed as the first commander of the Union army.
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Ulsses S. Grant was promoted to brigadier general.
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George McClellan takes over as general-in-chief of the U.S. army. He replaced Lt. General Winfield Scott.
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Lincoln issues war authorizing agressive action against the Confederates.
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Ulysses S. Grant wins for the Union at Fort Henry.
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Ulsses S. Grant wins again at For Donelson. The battle started on the 11th and ended on the 16th.
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An inconclusive battle at Yorktown.
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A two day battle where both sides suffered major casualties. The Union was victorious.
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The Homestead Act was passed, allowing any American Citizen to claim 160 acres of land.
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Another Confederate victory at Bull Run. Also known as Manassas Second.
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Confederates Win a battle in Richmond, their capitol.
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A three day battle that is the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. The battle was inconclusive.
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McClellan is replaced by General Ambrose E. Burnside as the new commander of the Army of the Potomac.
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The Emancipation Proclomation is announced. The war is now about ending slavery, not just to to preserve the union.
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Conscription is passed, and now men can be drafted for the war.
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A Confederate victory at Salem Church, a two day battle.
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General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, a Confederate general who led the first battle of Bull Run, dies from his wounds. He was shot by his own men on his ride back from a battle and died several days after.
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General Lee begins to march North to Pennsylvenia to get supplies for his men.
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Hooker is replaced by George G Meade as Commander of the Army of the Potomac
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The Union wins at Gettysburg, a major 3 day battle considered the turning point of the war. Massive Casualties on both sides.
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Vicksburg surrenders to the union the day after Gettysburg. Vicksburg and Gettysburg hurt Confederate Morale extremely.
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Anti-Draft riots break out in New York City
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President Lincoln dedicates a portion of Gettysburg to be a national cemetary for soldiers of both sides. One of the most famous and remembered speaches in American History.
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Union victory at Athens.
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Inconclusive Battle at Monton's Ford.
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Lincoln appoints Ulysses S. Grant to command all of the armies of the United States. General Sherman takes his place as the western commander.
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Union Victory at the Battle of Monett's Ferry
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Nine Month Siege of Petersburg begins
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Union victory at the battle of Killdeer Mountain
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Confederate Victory at Memphis
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General Sherman captures Atlanta Georgia.
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Confederates win the battle of Saltville
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Lincoln is Re-eclected, defeating former General McClellan.
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Sherman's March begins where him and his army destroy everything in their path as they march north.
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Congress Approves the 13th Amendment of the United States which abolishes slavery.
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A Peace Conference between Lincoln and the Confederate Vice President Fails.
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General Robert E. Lee Surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant in the Appomattox Court House in Virginia.
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While attending Ford's Theater the President is shot by John Wilkes Booth.
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The following morning after being shot in the head, President Abraham Lincoln dies.
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General Johnston surrenders to General Sherman in North Carolina.
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Booth was shot and killed in a tobacco barn in Virginia.
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Presiden Abraham Lincoln is laid to rest in the Oakfield Cemetary outside Springfield Illinois.
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The 13th Amendment is ratified and officially added to the constitution. Slavery is Abolished.
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The Ku Klux Klan is formed
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A black delegation led by Fredrick Douglass meet with President Johnson to discuss black suffrage. The meeting ends in controversy.
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Texas Repeals the actions of the Secessionist Convention.
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Congress passes Civil Rights Bill over Johnson's Veto
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In Memphis Tennesse whites assault African Americans for nearly three days
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Tennesse returns to the union and is the first former Confederate state to return to the union.
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The 14th Amendment was proposed, but won't be ratified for another 2 years.
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Congress passes another Freedman Bill, overriding another Veto.
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Riots break out at a Black Suffrage Convention in New Orleans and Whites attacked African Americans and Radical Republicans
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Union troops are demobilized in the South and half of the remaining troops are African American.
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Congress imposes Radical Reconstruction when the Republicans gained control of Reconstruction. Southerners got harsher treatment than in Lincoln or Johnson's reconstruction plans.
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Congress grant African American men in Washington D.C. the right to vote, overriding Johnson's Veto.
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Nebraska becomes a state.
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Congress Passes the Tenure of Office act, denying presidents the right to remove officials that have the consent of Congress.
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The Federal government restores military rule to Mississippi
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In Alexandria Virginia thousands of votes submitted by African American Voters were Rejected.
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Congress passes the Second Reconstruction Act over Johnson's veto.
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Congress admits all states but Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas who have not ratified the 14th Amendment.
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President Johnson violates the Tenure of Office Act by suspending the Secretary of War Edwin Stanton.
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Russia turns Alaska over to the United States.
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Reconstruction Elections held under the Radical Reconstruction Plan in every state but Texas
