Civil War Annotated Timeline

Fort Sumter

Apr 12, 1861

Fort SumterIn Charleston, South Carolina. On April 12th, Confederate General Brig. Beauregard opened fire on the fort, commanded by Union General Robert Anderson. Unable to reply effectively, the Union surrendered. Battle lasted till the 14th. Confederate victory.

Battle of Bull Run (1st)

Jul 21, 1861

B.R.1On July 21, General Irvin McDowell marched Union troops from the capital in Washington, D.C. to attack a Confederate force led by General Joseph E. Johnston along a river known as Bull Run at Manassas, Virginia. After fighting on the defensive for most of the battle, the Confederates rallied together and charged at the Union, breaking through the right flank, It sent the Union into a panic. Confederate victory.

Battle of Hampton Roads

Mar 8, 1862

Hampton Roads
In Hampton Roads, Virginia, Union Lieutenant John Worden
and Confederate Captian Franklin Buchanan faught each other with ironcalds. The battle went on from March 8-9th. The two faught each other to a standstill. There was no winner.

Battle of Shiloh

Apr 6, 1862

Shiloh In Hardin County, Tennessee, Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston's forces attacked Union General Ulysses S. Grant's. After fighting till April 7th, the Union eventually prevailed. They forced the Confederates to withdraw, and they followed after them. Union victory.

Battle of Bull Run (2nd)

Aug 29, 1862

B.R.2In nothern Virginia, Manassas, a large Union force led by John Pope waited for McClellan's army to reach them. General Robert E. Lee sent in half of his army, led by "Stonewall" Jackson, to attack first. The following day, August 30th, when the rest of Lee's army arrived, it forced Pope to withdraw his battered army toward Washington that night. Confederate victory.

Battle of Antietam

Sep 16, 1862

AntietamOn September 16, George B. McClellan confronted Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at Sharpsburg, Maryland. It was the bloodiest day in American military history. Union got the Confederacy to retreat acroos the Pontomac river, and Lincoln saw the significance of this and issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Battle went on till the 18th.

Battle of Fredricksburg

Dec 11, 1862

fredricksburgNear Fredricksburg, Virginia, the battle of Fredricksburg took place from December 11th-15th. Burnside Union, Lee Confederate. The Federal army crossed over the river, and Burnside mounted a series of futile frontal assaults on Prospect Hill and Marye’s Heights. In the end, Burnside called off the offensive and recrossed the river. Confederate win.

Emancipation Proclamation

Jan 1, 1863

E.P As the nation went into its third year of the bloody Civil War, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. It said that all people who are slaves within the rebellious slaves are now free. However, it had limitations. It did not affect the border states, and it depended upon Union vicrtory in the Civil War for the south to comply.

Battle of Chancellorsville

Apr 30, 1863

ChancellorvilleFought in Virginia, Chancellorsville, from April 30th to May 6th, 1863, this battle is one of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's greatest victories of the Civil War. When facing an army led by Union General Joseph Hooker that was twice his size, he was able to force the Union to retreat across the Rappahannock River. However, amazing General "Stonewall" Jackson was mortally wounded. Confederate win.

Siege of Vicksburg

May 18, 1863

Vicksburg In Vicksburg, Mississippi. May 18th of 1863, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s armies entrapped a Confederate army under Lt. Gen. John Pemberton. On July 4, Vicksburg surrendered after prolonged siege operations. Union victory. resulted in the Confederacy being officially split in half.

Battle of Gettysburg

Jul 1, 1863

Gettysburg
Faught from July 1st-3rd, near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Confederate General Robert E. Lee's forces clashed with Union General George G. Meade's forces. After Picket's Charge failed, Lee was forced to retreat back into Virgina. Union victory.

Siege of Atlanta

May 5, 1864

AtlantaIn Georgia, Atlanta, Union General William T. Sherman made a massive Atlanta campaign on May 5, 1864, against a Confederate force under General Joseph E. Johnston. His replacement was Gen. John B. Hood, whose more reckless tactics failed to halt Sherman's advance. Hood evacuated Atlanta during the night of August 31, and Sherman moved in the next day.

Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse

Apr 9, 1865

Appomattox C.With his army surrounded, his men weak and exhausted, Robert E. Lee realized that he needed to consider surrendering his Army to General Grant. After a series of notes between the two generals, they agreed to meet on April 9, 1865, at the house of Wilmer McLean in the village of Appomattox Courthouse, Virgina.The meeting lasted approximately two and one-half hours, and the Confederacy officially surrendered to he Union.

Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Apr 14, 1865

LincolnOn Friday, April 14th 1865, John Wilkes Booth assasinated President Abraham Lincoln with a shot to the back of the head. At Ford's Theater, Lincoln had been there to watch the evening performance of Our American Cousin. Little did he know, that Booth and his co-conspirators were planning on killing him that night. After Booth shot Lincoln, he jumped down 11 ft from the State Box to the stage bellow and took off.

Ratification of the 13th Amendment

Dec 6, 1865

R.O.13 This was an amendment that would free all slaves in the United States of America. Lincoln believed that a constitutional amendment was necessary to ensure the end of slavery. In 1864, Congress debated several proposals.The House passed the measure in January 1865 and it was sent to the states for ratification. When Georgia ratified it on December 6,185, the institution of slavery ceased to exist in the Union