Lincoln elected president, 1860 -- Southern states secede, 1860/1861 -- Confederacy takes shape, 1861 -- Attack on Fort Sumter, 1861 -- Preparing for war, 1861 -- Battle of First Bull Run, 1861 -- Trent affair, 1861 -- West Virginia becomes a state, 1861/1863 -- Liberties, 1861/1865 -- Emancipation Proclamation, 1861/1865 -- George McClellan controversy, 1861/1862 -- Mid-term midterm elections, 1862 -- Diplomacy, 1861/1865 -- Prisoners of war, 1861/1865 -- Peace movements, 1861/1865 -- Black soldiers, 1861/1865 -- Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 -- Military draft, 1862/1864 -- Sherman's Georgia campaign, 1864 -- Presidential election, 1864 -- Arming the slaves, 1861/1865 -- Hampton Roads conference, 1865 -- Confederacy surrenders, 1865 -- President Lincoln assassinated, 1865.