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Jefferson Davis comes out in favor of secession for the first time.
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Lincoln speaks at the Cooper Institute in New York City.
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Abraham Lincoln is elected the 16th President of the United States defeating Stephen Douglas, John Breckinridge and John Bell.
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South Carolina calls for a convention on December 17 to decide if the state should secede from the Union.
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Georgia calls for a convention of Southern states to form an independent nation.
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South Carolina's convention officially approves the Ordinance of Secession.
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Governor Francis W. Pickens takes office
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Governor Francis Pickens of South Carolina demands President Buchanan to take control of Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie
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South Carolina's representatives withdraw from the U. S. House.
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Charleston is notified by telegraph that a man of war with troops is coming to him.
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The Convention of Seceded States adopts a provisional constitution forming the Confederate States of America.
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Jefferson Davis is elected the provisional president of the Confederate States of America.
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The convention selects Alexander Stephens, as vice-president.
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The Civil War began with shots fired on the fort and Fort Sumter eventually was surrendered to South Carolina
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Lincoln suspends Habeas Corpus. Now, people could be imprisoned without being seen by a judge.
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Robert E. Lee orders Stonewall Jackson to remove the weapons and equipment from the arsenal at Harpers Ferry.
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First Battle of Bull Run takes place.
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Lincoln appoints George B. McClellan as commander of the Union Army.
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Jefferson Davis appoints Judah Benjmamin as his Secretary of War. This basically puts him in charge of the Confederate Army.
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Kentucky becomes the 13th Confederate state, making the Confederacy more powerful.
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The Battle of Ft. Donelson takes place.
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Confederate forces attacked Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant at Shiloh, Tennessee.
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Officer David Farragut led an assault up the Mississippi River. He was now in command of New Orleans.
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Major-General Henry Halleck was named general-in-chief of the Union army.
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The Union Army is now allowed to hire African Americans. They are now allowed to fight in the war for their own freedom.
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The Battle of Antietam takes place, known as the 'bloodiest single day' battle in American History.
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President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves in states.
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Lincoln's plan for Emancipation is published in the Union newspapers showing freedom to the slaves.
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On November 7, Lincoln replaced McClellan with Major-General Ambrose E. Burnside because Lincoln was very impatient with McClellan not getting the job done.
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General Ambrose E. Burnside was defeated in a series of attacks against Confederate forces at Fredericksburg, Virginia so Burnside was replaced with General Joseph Hooker.
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The Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect from this point on.
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Lincoln signs the National Banking Act, leading to the creation of all banks.
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The National Conscription Act is signed forcing able bodied males aged 18-35 into joining the Union Army.
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Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia.
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After the defeat at Gettysburg, General Lee sends a letter of resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
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This was a battle that took place in Lawrence, Kansas, this was caused because of the issue of slavery.
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Union and Confederate forces met on the Tennessee-Georgia border, near Chickamauga Creek.
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General Braxton Bragg tries to split General William Rosecran's forces as they try to return to the safety of Chattanooga.
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Lincoln declares Thanksgiving a national holiday to be celebrated the last Thursday in November.
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At the dedication of the National Cemetery in Gettysburg, President Lincoln delivers a two-minute speech known as the Gettysburg Address.
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The first 500 prisoners of war arrive at the Confederate prison camp, Andersonville. This was the harshest prison camp of the Civil War.
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Congress passes the Coinage Act of 1864. This act states the the inscription "In God we Trust".
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In an inconclusive battle, General Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee battle for days southwest of Fredericksburg.
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The Battle of Picketts Mill took place.
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Robert E. Lee defeats General Ulysses S. Grant and General George Meade.
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The Arlington National Cemetary is established by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton about 200 acres land from Robert E Lee's house.
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Lincoln signs away the fee that someone could pay to avoid being drafted into the Union Army.
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The Republican party re elected President Abraham Lincoln as its presidential candidate, and Andrew Johnson for vice-president.
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A group of Confederate operatives that call themselves the Confederate Army of Manhattan set fires in more then 20 places in New York.
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The Battle of Nashville took place.
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The Confederate forces capture Fort Stedman from the Union forces.
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On April 2, Lee evacuated Richmond, the Confederate capital, and headed west to join with other forces.
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Two commanders met at Appomattox Courthouse, and agreed on the terms of surrender. Lee's men were sent home on parole, soldiers with their horses, and officers with their side arms. All other equipment was surrendered.
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After attempting to break-out of the Union envelopment, Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysess S. Grant.
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John Wilkes Booth shoots President Lincoln at Fords Theater during a performance of My American Cousin.
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John Wilkes Booth is captured in a barn in Virginia at the Garret's farm and is shot and killed by Boston Corbett.
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Confederate troops were defeated between the end of April and the end of May. Jefferson Davis was captured in Georgia on May 10.
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General Granger arrives in Texas and tells them about the Emancipation Proclamation. Now this day is called Juneteenth.
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General Lew Wallace was hanged in the yard of the Old Capitol Prison.
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Major Henry Wirz is hanged. He was the leader of the atrocious war camp of Andersonville.
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Texas repeals the actions of the Secessionist Convention.
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President Johnson vetos the Civil Rights Act of 1866 on the grounds that it was unconstitutional.
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Congress approves the five cent piece, known as the nickel.
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Congress creates the rank of Admiral. David Farragut is appointed to that rank.
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Following the Civil War, Tennessee becomes the first state readmitted to the Union.
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The Atlantic Cable is established allowing transatlantic telegraph communication.
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The first train robbery takes place.
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Jesse James and his gang robs a bank in Lexington, Missouri and leave with 2000$
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A fire in the Philadelphia ship-yard accidently destroys a number of ships used during the Civil War.
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On the 6th anniversary of secession, South Carolina rejects the 14th Amendment.
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Blacks in Washington D. C. gain the right to vote in a bill passed over President Andrew Johnson's veto.
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Kentucky rejects the 14th Amendment.
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The first reconstruction act sets up five military districts in the South, each under the control of a military commander.
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Massachusetts ratifies the 14th Amendment.
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Congress passes a bill admitting Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina into the Union.
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Johnson suspends Stanton as Secretary of War after the two clash over reconstruction plans.
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Ulysses S. Grant becomes Secretary of War.
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The United States officially takes possesion of Alaska from Russia.
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Congress looks into impeaching Johnson for his lack of effectiveness and unwillingness to follow through with reconstruction.
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Former Minnesota farmer Oliver Hudson Kelley founds the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry. This order is known as the farmers organization Grange.
