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1861 – The War Begins
April 12, 1861: Confederate forces attack Fort Sumter in South Carolina, marking the start of the Civil War.
April 15, 1861: President Abraham Lincoln calls for 75,000 troops to suppress the rebellion.
July 21, 1861: The First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) occurs in Virginia, a Confederate victory. -
1862 – Key Battles and Emancipation Steps
February 1862: Union captures Forts Henry and Donelson in Tennessee.
April 6-7, 1862: The Battle of Shiloh results in heavy casualties on both sides, with the Union emerging victorious.
September 17, 1862: The Battle of Antietam in Maryland, the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, ends in a tactical draw.
September 22, 1862: Lincoln issues the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, announcing that slaves in Confederate states will be freed on January 1, 1863. -
1863 – Turning Point
January 1, 1863: Lincoln formally issues the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves in Confederate-held territories.
July 1-3, 1863: The Battle of Gettysburg, a turning point in the war, ends with a decisive Union victory.
July 4, 1863: The Confederacy loses the Siege of Vicksburg, splitting the South in two along the Mississippi River.
November 19, 1863: Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address, reaffirming the principles of equality and the Union. -
1864 – Union Victories
May 5-7, 1864: The Battle of the Wilderness in Virginia is a bloody confrontation with no clear winner, but it marks the start of Ulysses S. Grant's aggressive strategy.
November 8, 1864: Abraham Lincoln is re-elected president.
November 15, 1864: Union General William Tecumseh Sherman begins his "March to the Sea" through Georgia, devastating Confederate infrastructure. -
1865 – The War Ends
April 9, 1865: Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia, effectively ending the Civil War.
April 14, 1865: President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.
May 9, 1865: The last Confederate army under General Edmund Kirby Smith surrenders, officially ending the war.