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John Brown, a man who believed he was led by God, led a group of less than twenty men including freed slaves to rob the federal armoury in Harpers Ferry. They were defeated by the local militia the next day. On December 2nd that year he is hanged by the government of Virginia for treason, enraging Northerners that a white man was killed over the slave trade.
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Elected with 40% of the popular vote, Abraham Lincoln's platform was based on containing slavery in the states that had it, but preventing any expansion. The south despised him because they thought he would end slavery.
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South Carolina votes to secede from the Union as a result of the election of President Lincoln.
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Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas also secede from the Union, following South Carolina.
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The Union declares Kansas a state. Included in its constitution is the prohibition of slavery. Southerners battle for the state, eager to encourage the spread of slavery.
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Delegates from six of the seceded states meet in Alabama. They elect Jefferson Davis as the President of the Confederate states of America.
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Upon hearing the Fort is going to be resupplied, Southern Troops bombard Fort Sumter for 40 hours straight. Under the command of West Point Graduate P. Beauregard.
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President Lincoln asks citizens for 75 000 volunteers to put down 'rebels' in the South.
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Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina also secede from the Union, There are now 11 states in the Confederation.
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Colonel Robert E. Lee resigns his commision in the Union army, to later take a post as the commander of the Confederate Army. Lincoln also attempts to block all Confederate ports the day before to stop any foreign aid.
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3000 militia men in the city refused to surrender, but after 9 days of occupation from the Union in which the inhabitants fought deperately, the city was declared "recovered" by the US Secretary of State.
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President Lincoln passes a bill that declares all slaves in the seceded states as free.
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The largest calvary battle ever to take place on American Soil, with 9000 soldiers in each of the Confederate and Union Sides. Prior to the Battle, the Confederate leader General Lee held strong territory here. It marked a turning point of Federal dominance in the east.
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The Battle Of Gettysburg was the battle with the most casualties in the War with an estimated 46 000- 51 000 soldiers wounded or killed in the three day battle. The Confederate Army retreated unpursued by the Union General Meade, back to the safety of the South.
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This Battle was the end of the Union's campaign through Southeasten Tennesee. It was a major defeat of the Union, with the second highest number of casualties next to Gettysburg.
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The Union's goal in this Battle was to take Chattanooga because of the train rails that passed through going to Nashville and Atlanta. Due to a tactical mistake the Union suffered a major loss when the Confederates broke throught their lines.
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The Thirteenth Amendment is passed, abolishing all slavery across the United States.
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The Union moves in to Richmond, causing the Confederates to retreat.
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John Wilkes Booth shoots President Lincoln at Ford's Theatre. The Secretary of State is also involved in an assassination attempt. Four of eight conspirators involved are sentenced to death 46 days later.
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General E. Kirby Smith, Union commander of the Trans-Mississippi Department, accepts the formal terms of surrender of the Confederate Resistance, ending the war.
