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South Carolina votes to secede from the United States
South Carolina became the first State to secede from the U.S. -
Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address
Abraham Lincoln made his first Inaugural address to the nation -
Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter
When Confederate troops marched into the fort on the afternoon of April 14, 1861, over 3,300 shells had been fired at the fort during the initial 34-hour bombardment by 43 Confederate guns. -
Lincoln suspends habeas corpus
On April 27, 1861, Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus between Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia to give military authorities the necessary power to silence dissenters and rebels -
Richmond becomes the capital of the Confederacy
However, on May 8, 1861, in the Confederate Capital City of Montgomery, Alabama, the decision was made to name the City of Richmond, Virginia as the new Capital of the Confederacy -
First Battle of Bull Run is fought
First Battle of Bull Run, also called First Battle of Manassas , Battle of First Manassas, or Manassas Junction, (July 21, 1861) -
Jefferson Davis elected President of the Confederacy
Jefferson Davis was elected as the first and only President of the Confederacy -
The Merrimac and the Monitor fight of the Virginia coast
On March 9, 1862, the Monitor and the Merrimack fought their historic duel off Hampton Roads, Va., the first battle between ironclads. -
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, allowed Union troops to penetrate the Confederate interior -
Robert E. Lee is named commander of the Army of Northern Virginia
Originally called the Confederate Army of the Potomac, the confederate forces were renamed the Army of Northern Virginia when Robert E. Lee assumed command on June 1, 1862 -
The Battle of Antietam
A battle where 23,000 total soldiers were killed, wounded, or missing in combat and halted the Confederates first invasion of Northern Virginia -
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The Battle of Fredericksburg
This was a long battle that the Confederates won in the end while suffering 6,000 losses and the Union suffered about 12,500 losses -
The Emancipation Proclomation
The Emancipation Proclamation is a document created by Abraham Lincoln that declared all slaves that were in rebellious states, free slaves -
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Battle of Chancellorsville
Despite the heavy casualties sustained there, the Battle of Chancellorsville is considered Gen. Robert E. Lee's greatest military victory -
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Battle of Gettysburg
The historic Battle of Gettysburg takes place and lasts 3 days, and is known as one of the bloodiest battles in American history -
Confederates surrender at Vicksburg
On the hot afternoon of July 3, 1863, a cavalcade of horsemen in gray rode out from the city along the Jackson Road -
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New York City Draft Riots
Draft Riot of 1863, major four-day eruption of violence in New York City resulting from deep worker discontent with the inequities of conscription during the U.S. Civil War -
The Gettysburg Adress
Lincoln delivered one of the most famous speeches in United States history at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery on November 19, 1863 -
Atlanta is captured
On August 28, 1864, Union Army General William Tecumseh Sherman lays siege to Atlanta -
The 1864 Presidential Election
The 1864 United States presidential election, the 20th quadrennial presidential election, was held on Tuesday, November 8, 1864. -
Sherman begins his March to the Sea
Union General Sherman's scorched-earth March to the Sea campaign begins -
Congress passes the 13th Amendment
Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States -
Freedmen's Bureau is created
On March 3, 1865, Congress passed “An Act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees” to provide food, shelter, clothing, medical services, and land to displaced Southerners, including newly freed African Americans -
Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address
In his Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865, a re-elected President Abraham Lincoln wanted to unify a broken nation -
Richmond falls to the Union Army
On the morning of Sunday April 2, 1865 Confederate lines near Petersburg broke after a nine month seige. The retreat of the army left the Confederate capital of Richmond, 25 miles to the north, defenseless -
Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox
After the fall of Richmond, the Confederate capital, on April 2, 1865, officials in the Confederate government, including President Jefferson Davis, fled. The dominoes began to fall. The surrender at Appomattox took place a week later on April 9 -
President Lincoln was Killed
President Lincoln was shot in the head by John Wilkes Booth and killed after the war was ended -
John Wilkes Booth is killed
On April 26, 1865 the man who Killed Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth, is killed