The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded from the Union to preserve slavery in the United States, which they saw as threatened because of the election of Abraham Lincoln and the growing abolitionist movement in the North. The war lasted a little over four years and culminated in the dissolution of the Confederacy, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and the abolition of slavery, freeing four million African Americans. Decades of controversy over slavery came to a head when Abraham Lincoln, a Republican who opposed slavery's expansion, won the 1860 presidential election.
American Civil War: The Battle of Jackson, Mississippi takes place
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), which was...
Events Before
First Legal Tender Act of 1862 is passed by US Congress, authorizing the United States note (greenback) into circulation
First Legal Tender Act of 1862 is passed by US Congress, authorizing the United States note (greenback) into circulation, the first fiat paper money that is legal tender in America
First pasteurization test is completed by Frenchmen Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard
First pasteurization test is completed by Frenchmen Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard
Chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (28) weds Feozva Nikitichna Leshcheva at Nikolaev Engineering Institute's church in Saint Peter
Chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (28) weds Feozva Nikitichna Leshcheva at Nikolaev Engineering Institute's church in Saint Petersburg, Russia
First baseball enclosure opens at Union Grounds in Brooklyn
Union Grounds was a baseball park located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York. The grounds opened in 1862, its inaugural match being played on May 15.
Belgian-French engineer Étienne Lenoir builds the first automobile with an internal-combustion engine
Belgian-French engineer Étienne Lenoir builds the first automobile with an internal-combustion engine
Events After
Alfred Stieglitz is born
Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer, known for american photographer, was born on 1864-01-01.
Qi Baishi is born
Qi Baishi, Chinese painter, known for chinese painter, was born on 1864-01-01. Qi Baishi (1 January 1864 – 16 September 1957) was a Chinese painter, noted for the whimsical, often playful style of…
White chapel murder victim and possible Jack the Ripper victim Mary Ann Nichols (18) weds printer's machinist William Ni
White chapel murder victim and possible Jack the Ripper victim Mary Ann Nichols (18) weds printer's machinist William Nichols
Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer marries Elizabeth Clift Bacon
Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer marries Elizabeth Clift Bacon
Battle of Gate Pā (Pukehinahina): 1,700 British troops suffer their worst defeat of the New Zealand Wars at the hands of
Battle of Gate Pā (Pukehinahina): 1,700 British troops suffer their worst defeat of the New Zealand Wars at the hands of 230 entrenched Māori warriors in Tauranga [1]
More from the 1860s
Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation to free enslaved people in Confederate states
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865.
Slavery is abolished in the Dutch East Indies for areas under direct rule
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies, was a Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which declared independence on 17 August 1945.
Alfred Stieglitz is born
Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer, known for american photographer, was born on 1864-01-01.
Qi Baishi is born
Qi Baishi, Chinese painter, known for chinese painter, was born on 1864-01-01. Qi Baishi (1 January 1864 – 16 September 1957) was a Chinese painter, noted for the whimsical, often playful style of…
Frequently Asked Questions
- What happened on May 14, 1863?
- The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded from the Union to preserve slavery in the United States, which they saw as threatened because of the election of Abraham Lincoln and the growing abolitionist movement in the North. The war lasted a little over four years and culminated in the dissolution of the Confederacy, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and the abolition of slavery, freeing four million African Americans. Decades of controversy over slavery came to a head when Abraham Lincoln, a Republican who opposed slavery's expansion, won the 1860 presidential election.
- Why is American Civil War: The Battle of Jackson, Mississippi takes place historically important?
- The war lasted a little over four years and culminated in the dissolution of the Confederacy, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and the abolition of slavery, freeing four million African Americans. Decades of controversy over slavery came to a head when Abraham Lincoln, a Republican who opposed slavery's expansion, won the 1860 presidential election.