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xx Chronology of the Civil War Era January 29 Kansas, a free state, is admitted to the Union. February 4–18 The fi rst session of the Provisional Confederate Con- gress meets and elects Jefferson Davis as provisional president. February 23 Texas secedes. March 4 Lincoln is inaugurated as the 16th president of the United States. April 12 Southern forces begin bombardment on federal forces garrisoned in Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. Fort Sumter surrenders on April 13. The war has begun. April 17 Virginia secedes. April 19 Lincoln declares a blockade of Southern ports. April 22 Lee assumes command of Confederate forces in Vir- ginia. At the time, Lee served more as a military ad- viser to President Davis than as a combat commander. May 6 Arkansas secedes. May 20 North Carolina secedes. Kentucky announces neutral- ity. The new capital of the Confederacy is announced: Richmond, Virginia. June 2 Confederate general P. G.T. Beauregard, who was the commander of Confederate forces that fi red on Fort Sumter, assumes command of combat forces in north- ern Virginia. June 8 Tennessee secedes. July 20 The First Battle of Bull Run begins, near Manassas, Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C. This is the fi rst major battle between large Union and Confederate forces, ending with the Northern troops routed and re- treating back to their home base in Washington, D.C. This battle, between two opposing armies of unifi ed forces, marked the beginning of high casualty rates. Until that time, only about 20 men, engaged in minor skirmishes, had died in the confl ict. There were about 800 men killed on both sides of this engagement, with about 4,500 total casualties. Although there would be far worse casualties in later battles, Bull Run opened up many eyes to the reality that this war was going