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Republican Party is formed
In 1854, the Republican Party was founded in the Northern United States by forces opposed to the expansion of slavery, ex-Whigs, and ex-Free Soilers. The Republican Party quickly became the principal opposition to the dominant Democratic Party and the briefly popular Know Nothing Party. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act passed
It became law on May 30, 1854. The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise, created two new territories, and allowed for popular sovereignty -
Abraham Lincoln elected president
The national outcome of the 1860 election gave Lincoln a victory in both the popular vote and the electoral vote, with just under 40 percent of the popular vote, which totaled 1,866,452, and 180 electoral votes. -
South Carolina votes to secede from the US
South Carolina became the first state to secede from the federal Union on December 20, 1860. The victory of Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 presidential election triggered cries for disunion across the slave holding South. -
Attack on Fort Sumter
The attack on Fort Sumter marked the beginning of the American Civil War. It was a pivotal moment where Confederate forces bombarded the fort, forcing its surrender, and escalating tensions between the North and South. -
Richmond becomes the capital of the Confederacy
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. The Confederate capital was moved to Richmond in recognition of Virginia's strategic importance. -
First Battle of Bull Run is fought
The first land battle of the Civil War was fought on July 21, 1861, just 30 miles from Washington—close enough for U.S. senators to witness the battle in person. Southerners called it the Battle of Manassas, after the closest town. -
Jefferson Davis elected president of the Confederacy
On November 6, 1861, Davis was elected president for a six-year term. He took office on February 22, 1862.He was chosen because, unlike Toombs, he was a credible military leader, having fought in the Mexican War and later served as Secretary of War under Franklin Pierce. -
The Merrimack and the Monitor fight of the Virginia coast
Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack, (March 9, 1862), in the American Civil War, naval engagement at Hampton Roads, Virginia, a harbour at the mouth of the James River, notable as history's first duel between ironclad warships and the beginning of a new era of naval warfare. -
The Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh in April 1862 saw Confederate forces initially gain ground against Union troops under General Ulysses S. Grant, but reinforcements overnight shifted the tide, leading to a Union victory despite heavy casualties on both sides. -
New Orleans
New Orleans in 1862 was a vibrant city on the Mississippi River, known for its rich culture, diverse population, and bustling trade. However, during that time, it was also a focal point of the American Civil War, with Union forces capturing the city, leading to significant changes and challenges for its residents. -
Robert E. Lee is named commander of the Army of Northern Virginia
1862 On June 1 Lee is given command of the Army of Northern Virginia, the main Confederate army in the eastern theater of the war. Union troops are poised at the gates of Richmond. -
Battle of Antietam
23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after twelve hours of savage combat on September 17, 1862. The Battle of Antietam ended the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's first invasion into the North and led Abraham Lincoln to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. -
Lincoln suspends habeas corpus
President Abraham Lincoln issued this Presidential Proclamation 94 suspending the writ of habeas corpus during the Civil War. The writ of habeas corpus is a tool preventing the government from unlawfully imprisoning individuals outside of the judicial process. -
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Battle of Fredericksburg
For the Confederates, the victory at Fredericksburg boosts morale and reinvigorates Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, which goes on to triumph again at Chancellorsville in May 1863. The war continues for two-and-a-half more years. -
Emancipation Proclamation is announced
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." -
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Battle of Chancellorsville
There were two significant consequences to the Battle of Chancellorsville. First, the death of General Stonewall Jackson was devastating to the Confederate war effort. Second, the victory enabled General Lee to move north into Maryland and invade Pennsylvania. -
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The Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. The battle involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war and is often described as the war's turning point. -
Confederates surrender at Vicksburg
The war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket.” The Vicksburg Campaign began in 1862 and ended with the Confederate surrender on July 4, 1863. -
New York City draft riots
The New York Draft Riots occurred in July 1863, when the anger of working-class New Yorkers over a new federal draft law during the Civil War sparked five days of some of the bloodiest and most destructive rioting in U.S. history. -
Lincoln gives his Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address was a speech given by President Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, at the official dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery (now called the Gettysburg National Cemetery) at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. -
The Battle of Chattanooga
The Battle of Chattanooga was a major clash during the American Civil War in 1863. It took place in Tennessee and was a pivotal Union victory. The battle opened up the South for Union control, boosting morale and setting the stage for further Union advances. -
Congress passes the 13th Amendment
Only through the Thirteenth Amendment did emancipation become national policy. It was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House on January 31, 1865. The joint resolution of both bodies that submitted the amendment to the states for approval was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on February 1, 1865. -
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The Siege of Petersburg.
The Siege of Petersburg in 1864 was a prolonged conflict during the American Civil War where Union troops besieged the Confederate stronghold of Petersburg, Virginia, aiming to capture it and cut off Confederate supply lines to Richmond. Lasting nearly ten months, it was a pivotal campaign that eventually led to the fall of Petersburg and the surrender of Confederate forces. -
Atlanta is captured
Despite the implication of finality in its name, the battle occurred midway through the Atlanta campaign, and the city did not fall until September 2, 1864, after a Union siege and various attempts to seize railroads and supply lines leading to Atlanta. -
Abraham Lincoln defeats George McClellan to win re-election
The 1864 United States presidential election was the 20th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 8, 1864. Near the end of the American Civil War, incumbent President Abraham Lincoln of the National Union Party easily defeated the Democratic nominee, former General George B. -
Sherman begins his March to the Sea
The March to the Sea, the most destructive campaign against a civilian population during the Civil War (1861-65), began in Atlanta on November 15, 1864, and concluded in Savannah on December 21, 1864. Union general William T. -
Freedman’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 gives his second inaugural address
On March 4, 1865, as the Civil War entered its final weeks, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address from the East Portico of the U.S. Capitol. -
Richmond falls to the Union Army
On April 2, 1865, the Confederate government and military began to evacuate Richmond. Union forces had routed the Confederates at Five Forks and began a general assault at Petersburg. General Lee advised President Davis to begin to evacuate on the morning of the 2nd -
Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox
Appomattox County, VA | Apr 9, 1865. Trapped by the Federals near Appomattox Court House, Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union general Ulysses S. Grant, precipitating the capitulation of other Confederate forces and leading to the end of the bloodiest conflict in American history. -
President Lincoln assassinated
Lincoln was shot shortly after 10 p.m. on April 14, 1865, and died the next morning at 7:22 – 158 years ago this week. When Booth assassinated Lincoln, the Civil War was close to ending. -
John Wilkes Booth is killed
For twelve days, John Wilkes Booth led the U.S. Army on a chase through Maryland and Virginia before finally being caught in a barn near Port Royal, Virginia. Cornered alongside fellow conspirator David Herold and surrounded by federal troops, Herold quickly surrendered. Booth refused.