The United States of America. The greatest country in the world, or at least so they say, has had its share of bloodshed on its own soil. The US Civil War was one of the bloodiest wars of all time. Below is the first year's timeline of how the war went. Nobody alive today is going to know this unless they've studied it in history class. But there was a time not too long ago, when people who were around during this terrible time probably had long conversations about it with your parents or grandparents. Sadly, only in one on one conversations can you truly understand the horror of what transpired during this five year period.

In January of 1861 the southern states seceded from the Union. The election of Abraham Lincoln was pretty much the cause, as the South felt that he would free the slaves, thus taking away their source of labor on the plantations. Yes, this was a war of economics. Aren't they all?

In February of 1861 the southern states created their own government and created their own Confederate Constitution. It was similar to the US constitution but gave more autonomy to each individual state.

In March of 1861 Lincoln was inaugurated as President of the United States. He stated at his address that he had no plans to abolish slavery but he would also not accept the South seceding from the Union. He said he hoped that he would be able to resolve this problem without going to war.

In April of 1861 was the attack on Fort Sumter. Lincoln was going to send supplies to the fort and warned the state of South Carolina in advance. But they thought this was a trick. The commander of the fort offered to surrender but his offer was refused. The first shots of the Civil War were fired in Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861.

In June of 1861 several things happened. A new state, West Virginia, was created and four of the slave states decided to stay in the Union. These states were Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland and Missouri. They were divided in their loyalties but ultimately decided to stay in the Union.

In July of 1861 was the first Battle Of Bull Run. General McDowall was ordered to attack the South even though his troops were not properly trained. The attack occurred on July 21. While it was initially successful, Confederate reinforcements caused the Union troops to retreat back towards Washington.

Also in that same month there were some shakeups in the Union command. Lincoln realized that there was a need for organized military training so he replaced General McDowall with General George B. McClellan. Also during the month of July the Union started a large blockade of Confederate ports so that they couldn't get supplies. In response to this, the South just built smaller and faster ships that could outmaneuver the Union ships.

The war was now in full swing.

In our next installment we look at the year 1862.