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| 1861, Jan.–May |
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| Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina seceded from the Union. | 1 |
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| Jan. 9 |
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| The ship Star of the West was fired upon by a battery at Charleston. | 2 |
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| Feb. 4 |
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| Delegates of the seven seceding states met at Montgomery, Ala., and formed a provisional government, taking the name Confederate States of America. | 3 |
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| Feb. 8 |
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| Jefferson Davis was elected president and Alexander H. Stephens vice president of the Confederacy. | 4 |
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| March 4–1865, April 15 |
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| ABRAHAM LINCOLN, 16th president. | 5 |
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