Part 2: Fury Unleashed

Years of built up tension are finally released when the opening shots of the Civil War are fired on Fort Sumter.

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Gene Thorp- The Washington Post. Published April 12, 2011.

Part 1: The Road to War

Nov. 1860 to April 11, 1861

Gene Thorp Nov. 1, 2010

Abraham Lincoln's election spurred the slave-holding states of the Deep South to secede.

Oct. 1861 to April 5, 1862

Gene Thorp Oct. 7, 2011

The North continues its efforts to crush the rebellion and pushes the Confederacy to the brink of collapse.

April 6 to Sept. 1, 1862

Gene Thorp March 4, 2012

Confederate armies pull together and push the Federals back to the gates of Washington.

Sept. 1, 1862 to March 1863

Gene Thorp Sept. 7, 2012

The first Confederate invasion is stopped in the fall, while winter Union counterthrusts meet with disaster.

April 12, 1861 to June 30, 1865

Gene Thorp April 12, 2011

Press the play button and watch the war unfold over time.

The Washington Post continues its special coverage of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War.