Important People, Dates, and Battles. Civil War Important People, Dates, and Battles.

1861 January - When Abraham Lincoln, a known opponent of slavery, was elected president, the South Carolina legislature perceived a threat. Calling a state convention, the delegates voted to remove the state of South Carolina from the union known as the United States of America. The secession of South Carolina was followed by the secession of six more states -- Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas -- and the threat of secession by four more -- Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. These eleven states eventually formed the Confederate States of America.

1861 March 1861- Lincoln is officially inaugurated as President. His Plan: Leave slavery alone in states that it already existed. Make it clear that he would not accept secession from the Southern states. Try to end the national crisis without war.

1861 April- an attack on Ft. Sumter April 12th marks the beginning of the Civil War and causes four more states (Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina) to secede from the Union. It is interesting to note that despite their acceptance of slavery, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri did not join the Confederacy.

1862 January – Lincoln officially declares an order of war. March- Battles using the Monitor and the Merrimac. April- Battle of Shiloh is one of the first major battles of the war. The Union under Grant loses 13,000 men and the Confederate forces lose 11,000 men.

1862 May – “Stonewall” Jackson defeats Union forces. September – Battle of Harper’s Ferry December- Battle of Fredricksburg

1863 January – Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln, aware of the public's growing support of abolition, declared that all slaves in areas still in rebellion were, in the eyes of the federal government, free. March- the war has gone on longer than anyone anticipated by this time. Therefore, in March 1863 the government issues its first Conscription Act. This act declares all men between the ages of 20 and 45 liable to be called for military service. Service could be avoided by paying a fee or finding a substitute.

1863 June-July- The Gettysburg Campaign Confederate General Lee decides to take the war to the enemy and sets out to find the Union forces. The actual Battle of Gettysburg begins July 1st 1863. This was a “moral” victory for the Confederates, but this battle also marks the end of the confederacy’s hopes of recognition by foreign governments.

1864 July – Confederate troops approach Washington D.C. They come within five miles of the city before being pushed back to Virginia. August – Sherman’s Campaign. Sherman takes Atlanta on September 2nd greatly boosting the morale of the North.

Sherman’s Campaign After taking Atlanta, Sherman remains in Georgia until November building up men and supplies. After two and a half months Sherman takes his men and continues through Georgia cutting a path of destruction 300 miles in length and 60 miles wide destroying factories, bridges, railroads, and public buildings.

1864 November- Abraham Lincoln Is Re-Elected. The Republican party nominated President Abraham Lincoln as its presidential candidate, and Andrew Johnson for vice-president. At one point, widespread war-weariness in the North made a victory for Lincoln seem doubtful. However, Sherman's victory in Atlanta boosted Lincoln's popularity and helped him win re-election by a wide margin

1865 Things rapidly decline for the South beginning in 1865. January - Transportation problems and successful blockades caused severe shortages of food and supplies in the South. Starving soldiers began to desert Lee's forces, and although President Jefferson Davis approved the arming of slaves as a means of augmenting the shrinking army, the measure was never put into effect. February – Sherman moves through Georgia and South Carolina destroying everything in its path.

1865 February – Confederate President Davis agrees to send delegates to negotiate peace with Lincoln on the condition that Lincoln recognize the Confederacy’s independence. Lincoln refuses to do so and the chance at reconciliation is lost. April – Lee attacks Grant and loses causing him to abandon Richmond, the Confederate capital.

1865 April 9th – Grant and Lee meet at the Appomattox Courthouse where Lee surrenders. This surrender officially ends the war. April 14th – President Lincoln is assassinated while at the theater.