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Lincoln became the first Republican president, but had only received 40% of the popular vote. The announcement of Lincoln's victory was very controversial in Southern states.
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South Carolina became the first state to offically secede from the Union, followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana in January of 1861.
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Under General P.G.T. Beauregard, Confederate soldiers attack Major Robert Anderson and Union soldiers at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. Two days later, Major Anderson surrenders.
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Union General Irvin McDowell is defeated by the Confederate Army, causing him to retreat to Washington.
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This battle was the bloodiest day in US history. Over 26,000 men were killed, wounded or missing on both sides. The battle officially ended with a draw, but stopped General Robert E. Lee's invasion of Maryland.
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Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, which frees slaves in territory captured by the Union Army as well as orders the enlistment of black soldiers. At this point, it had become a war over slavery.
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Gettysburg was one of the bloodiest battles of the war, as well as a turning point. It also marks the farthest advance of the Confederate Army into Union territory.
On the third day of battle, General Lee ordered General George Pickett to assault entrenched Union soldiers. More than half of the Confederate soldiers were killed as they walked across a field into gunfire. -
The United States Congress passes the Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery. The amendment is ratified by the staes on December 6.
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General Lee surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant in Appomattox Court House in Virginia, ending the war.
