civil war timeine

republican party founded

Southern forces fire upon Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The Civil War has formally begun.

The first Secession Convention meets in Columbia, South Carolina.

end of BC

south carolina seceeds from the union

Six additional southern states secede from the Union

The southern states that seceded create a government at Montgomery, Alabama, and the Confederate States of America are formed.

Jefferson Davis is appointed the first President of the Confederate States of America at Montgomery, Alabama, a position he will hold until elections can be arranged.

lincoln was elected yay!

President Lincoln issues a public declaration that an insurrection exists and calls for 75,000 militia to stop the rebellion. As a result of this call for volunteers, four additional southern states secede from the Union in the following weeks. Lincoln will respond on May 3 with an additional call for 43,000+ volunteers to serve for three years, expanding the size of the Regular Army.

Union forces cross the Potomac River and occupy Arlington Heights, the home of future Confederate General Robert E. Lee. It is during the occupation of nearby Alexandria that Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, commander of the 11th New York Infantry and a close friend of the Lincolns, is shot dead by the owner of the Marshall House just after removing a Confederate flag from its roof.