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Lincoln is elected president
Lincoln becomes the 16th and first republican president of the United States partly due to a deeply divided Democratic party. This day became important because Lincoln would someday become one of the most memoriable Presidents of our country. -
Battle of Fort Summer
General P.G.T leads the Confederate forces around Charleston Harbor, openedon the Union garrison holding fort Summer. On April 13th Major Robert Anderson surrendered the fort and was evacuated the next day. -
Lincoln orders blockade of the south
The Union Blockade was a system used to help keep blockade runners away. Blockade runners were people trying to trade goods, supplies, and arms to and from the confederacy. This was so significant in the Civil War because it prevented people from trading things to and from the confederacy during the war. -
1st Battle of Bull Run (Manassas)
There were engagments fought in the summers of 1861 at a small stream namel Bull Run, Near Manassas in northern Virgina. This was significant for the south because both battles gave millitarys advantage to the Confederacy. -
Monitor vs CSS Virginia
During this first ironclad ship battle it came to a stalemate. Even with no winner it showed the triumph of the industrial warfare. With sides being equally equiped with weapons it made battles much more difficult. -
The battle of Shiloh
This 2 day battle was the bloodiest of any battle at the time in American history. 23,000 people died and many were wounded. On this day General Grant and the Union army got themselves another victory. -
Seven Day Battle
Over a 7 day period the army of Northern Virginia delivered blow after blow at Beaver dam Creek, Gaines' Mill, Savage Station, Glendale and Malvern Hill. Commander Robert E. Lee led his army in a new era of offensive combat that would completely evacuate the Union army from the region. -
Second battle of the Bull run
Like the first battle this one took place in the same area. With more casualties this battle was bigger and better. The union nearly doubled the amount of deaths therfore giving the Confederates a bold victory. -
Antietam
This tactical victory ensured Abraham Lincoln cover that he needed to issue his Emancipation Proclomation. This day still remains the most bloody single day in American history with over 22,000 deaths. -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln declairs that "all persons held as slaves within any state, designated part of state, the people therfore shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, forever free." Even though this event did not fully end slavery, it changed the character of the Civil War. -
The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect
President Abraham Lincolns signs the final Emancipation Proclamation, which ended slavery in the rebelling states. This event brought slavery closer and closer to being over and was a great achievement. -
Battle at Chancellorsville
The Union Army under Gen. Hooker is decisively defeated by Lee's much smaller forces at the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia as a result of Lee's brilliant and daring tactics. Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson is mortally wounded by his own soldiers. Hooker retreats. Union losses are 17,000 killed, wounded and missing out of 130,000. The Confederates, 13, 000 out of 60,000. -
Battle of Gettysburg
In and around the town of Gettysburg Pennsylvania broke out one of the most talked about battles in the Civil War. This battle was the largest number of American casualties in the Civil war and is considered to be the turning point of the war. -
Siege of Vicksburg
Vicksburg, the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River, surrenders to Gen. Grant and the Army of the West after a six week siege. With the Union now in control of the Mississippi, the Confederacy is effectively split in two, cut off from its western allies. -
Gettysburg Adress
This was a world famous speech given by President Lincoln at the dedication of the national cemetery at Gettysburg. This is important because this site was where one of the most decisive battles took place in the American Civil War. -
Battle at Chattanooga
The Rebel siege of Chattanooga ends as Union forces under Grant defeat the siege army of Gen. Braxton Bragg. During the battle, one of the most dramatic moments of the war occurs. Yelling "Chickamauga! Chickamauga!" Union troops avenge their previous defeat at Chickamauga by storming up the face of Missionary Ridge without orders and sweep the Rebels from what had been though to be an impregnable position. "My God, come and see 'em run!" a Union soldier cries. -
Ulysses S. Grant leads the Unions
As a general he was the most succesful leader in the entire war. He defeated the confederate army, the war and secession. Upset by violence in the south and wanting to protect the African Americans, Grant destroyed the Ku Klux Klan in 1871. -
Sherman Captures Atlanta
General William T. Sherman leads his army in to the south and takes major manufacturing centers and railroad hubs. This would end up being a huge loss for the Confederacy. -
Abraham Lincoln Re-election
After a long campaign for re-election Abraham was victorious and became one of the few to be lucky enough to be re-elected. With the joy also immediatly came tragedy. Six weeks later the president was killed in a theater. -
Sherman begins march to the sea
After destroying Atlanta's warehouses and railroad facilities, Sherman, with 62,000 men begins a March to the Sea. President Lincoln on advice from Grant approved the idea. "I can make Georgia howl!" Sherman boasts. -
Savannah, GA falls to the Union
Sherman reaches Savannah in Georgia leaving behind a 300 mile long path of destruction 60 miles wide all the way from Atlanta. Sherman then telegraphs Lincoln, offering him Savannah as a Christmas present. -
13th Amendment passed
The U.S. Congress approves the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, to abolish slavery. The amendment is then submitted to the states for ratification. -
Union Army moves in and occupies Richmond, VA.
Union troops occupy Richmond and Petersburg, Virgina. -
Robert E. Lee surrenders
Gen. Robert E. Lee surrenders his Confederate Army to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at the village of Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Grant allows Rebel officers to keep their sidearms and permits soldiers to keep horses and mules. -
Abraham Lincoln shot and killed
In Washington DC. during a play at Fords Theater a man named John Wilkes Booth whom was a famous actor came in and shot Lincoln. This event shook the country and caused drama.
