Short answers, pulled from the story.
The American Civil War began on the 12th of April 1861 when Confederate forces fired at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. Abraham Lincoln won the presidential election four months earlier on the 6th of November 1860 which triggered seven Southern slave states to secede.
Of the 168,649 men procured through the draft only 50,663 were actually conscripted while 117,986 were substitutes. Approximately 120,000 men evaded conscription in the North and another 280,000 soldiers deserted during the war.
The three-hour Battle of Hampton Roads proved ironclads were effective warships despite ending as a draw between Virginia and Monitor. The Confederacy scuttled Virginia to prevent its capture while the Union built many copies of Monitor.
The Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg on the 17th of September 1862 proved the bloodiest single day in both the Civil War and US military history. Lincoln restored Pope's troops to McClellan leading this clash after Lee led 45,000 Army of Northern Virginia troops into Maryland.
Confederates abandoned Richmond on the 9th of April 1865 before Lee surrendered to Grant following the Battle Appomattox Court House. This event set the motion for the end of the war which had lasted from 1861 to 1865.