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Uncle Toms's Cabin is Published
Uncle Tom's Cabin was an anti-slavery novel, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It was the best selling book of of the 19th century, and it fueled the abolitionist cause and laid groundwork for the civil war. -
Republican Party is Formed
The republican party was formed by anti-slavery Whigs who met to discuss the formation of a new party. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act Passed
The act allowed for people in the Kansas and Nebraska areas to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery within the borders. -
Dred Scott v. Stanford Decision is Rendered
Dred Scott was a slave who's master, had resided in Wisconsin and Illinois, which were both free states, while he owned Mr Scott. The court determined that Dred Scott was not entitled to freedom, since he was not considered a citizen of the US -
John Browns Raid on Harpers Ferry
The US military arsenal at Harpers Ferry is where an armed group of abolitionists, led by John Brown attacked. The assault was an attempt to make progress in a plant to establish an independent stronghold of freed slaves. Brown was captured during this raid. -
John Brown is hanged
After being captured at Harpers Ferry, John Brown was convicted of treason and hung. -
Abraham Lincoln elected president
Abe Lincoln was the 16th president of the US, and the first ever republican president. Lincoln received only 40% of the popular vote, but beat three other candidates, John Breckinridge, John Bell, and Stephen Douglas. -
South Carolina Votes to Secede from the United States
After the election of Lincoln, who spread a message of containing slavery, South Carolina was the first state to secede from the union, and was a founding member of the Confederacy. -
Confederate Forces Fire on Fort Sumter
US Major Robert Anderson occupied a fort in South Carolina, after their succession from the US, and created a standoff with the states militia forces. When finding out Lincoln was supporting the fort, the Confederates bombarded the fort. Anderson and his soldiers ended up surrendering. -
First Battle of Bull run is Fought
The first major battle of the civil war. 35,000 union troops marched to Bull Run to strike the confederate force of only 20000, however the Confederated took the victory -
Jefferson Davis is elected President of the Confederacy
Jefferson Davis ran for the Confederate presidency without any opposition, and was elected to a 6 year term -
The Merrimack and the Monitor fight of the Virginia Coast
This battle is a naval engagement on Hampton Roads on the Virginia Coast. The Merrimack was commanded by Confederate Commodore Franklin Buchanan. The Monitor was under the command of Union Lieutenant John Worden. The battle was indecisive -
Battle of Shiloh
Confederate soldiers under the command of General Albert Sidney Johnston attacked the encamped divisions of Union soldiers. The attack drove the soldiers from their camps. Confederate forces surrounded the soldiers and killed and captured many. The Union soldiers were backed up by the Army of Ohio and together they weakened and defeated the Confederate army. -
Robert E Lee is named Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia
Robert E Lee started out as a military officer in the US army, and was later named commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, where we would lead for the rest of the war. -
Battle of Antietam
Fought between Confederate Robert E. Lee's army and Union General George B McClellan's army fought near Antietam Creek in Maryland. The union soldiers halted a confederate advance to gain military supplies. It is considered the bloodiest day in American History. The Battle was ultimately inconclusive, but is seen as a union strategic win -
Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle fought in Fredricksburg Virginia between Confederate Robert E Lee's army and Union Major Ambrose Burnsides army. The union troops were attacked by Confederates while trying to cross into Fredricksburg. This battle was one of the biggest confederate wins. There was about 18000 casualties all together. -
Emancipation Proclamation
An executive order given by Abraham Lincoln, granting freedom to slaves in the confederate states if the states did not return to the union by January 1st, 1863, and if the union won the war. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
This battle was fought in Chancellorsville, Virginia, between union troops commanded by general Joseph Hooker and Confederate troops commanded by Robert E Lee. Chancellorsville is known as Lee's "perfect battle", because he took a large risk that resulted in a confederate win. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Considered to be the most important engagement in the civil war, and is the wars "turning point". Union Major General George Meade's Army defeated attacks by Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army. It was the largest battle ever fought in North America.Confederate casualties were 28,063, which was more than a third of Lee's Army. -
Confederates surrender at Vicksburg
Vicksburg was the last large Confederate stronghold. Union general Ulysses S. Grant's Armies converged on Vicksburg, and entrapped the Confederate army under General John Pemberton. After the attack, Vicksburg was surrendered to the union. -
New York City Draft Riots
The NYC Draft Riots were violent protests in Manhattan. It was a protest of working-class discontent with new laws to draft men to fight in the Civil War. -
Lincoln Suspends Habeas Corpus
Federal troops arrested John Merryman, for training and leading a drill company for Confederate service. Merryman's lawyer petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus. After service of the writ was refused, it was ruled on that the president did not have the power to suspend the writ. Lincoln ignored the ruling, and suspended habeas corpus anyway, to hold Merryman -
Lincoln Gives His Gettysburg Address
President Abraham Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address, at the dedication ceremony for the National Cemetery of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, on the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. -
Atlanta is captured
Union forces commanded by William T. Sherman, defeated Confederate forces defending the city under John B. Hood. After ordering the evacuation of the city, Sherman burned most of the buildings down. The victory greatly increased northern morale. -
Abraham Lincoln Defeats George McClellan to Win Re-Election
In the middle of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln of the defeated the Democratic nominee, former General George B. McClellan -
Sherman begins his March to the Sea
Sherman led about 60,000 soldiers on a 285-mile march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. The purpose of this was to scare Georgia's civilian population into abandoning the Confederate cause -
Congress passes the 13th Amendment
The Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution abolished slavery except as punishment for a crime -
Freedman's Bureau is Created
Founded by Abraham Lincoln, was an agency of the Department of War to supply freedmen and their families necessities such as food and shelter -
Lincoln Gives His Second Inaugural Address
In his second inaugural address, Lincoln discussed the war and slavery -
Richmond becomes the Capital of the Confederacy
Richmond, Virginia was the 2nd capital of the confederacy, and served as the capital for most of the war -
Richmond falls to the Union Army
The fall of the Confederacy capital, Richmond represented the Confederacy's final days. It signified the Unions greatest prize and the real beginning of the end for the confederacy -
Robert E Lee Surrenders at Appomattox
Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses S. Grant. Lee's goal was to rally the remnants of his troops, meet Confederate reinforcements in North Carolina and continue fighting. However the next battle that was fought in Appomattox, brought the war to an end -
President Lincolns Assassination
While sitting with in Ford's Theater in Washington D.C., Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed by a man named John Wilkes Booth. While escaping, Wilkes had to make a jump, and broke his leg in the process -
John Wilkes Booth is Killed
John Wilkes Booth was tracked down 12 days after the assassination. While staying at the farm of Richard Garrett, Federal troops arrived on their search but soon rode on. A tip led the Union soldiers back to the Garrett farm, where they discovered Booth. Booth refused to come out, so he building was set on fire to flush Booth, but he was shot while still inside.
