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Civil War Timeline
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Jefferson Davis and Secession
Jefferson Davis comes out in favor of secession for the first time -
National Democratic Convention
Southern delegates hold a National Democratic convention in Richmond. Party leaders urge a "wait and see" approach. -
Joseph E. Johnston
Joseph E. Johnston appointed Quartermaster General -
Lieutenant Colonel William Hardee
Lieutenant Colonel William Hardee is replaced by Major John F. Reynolds as commander of cadets at West Point -
Abraham Lincoln Elected President
Recieved 180 of the 303 electoral votes and 40% of the popular vote -
South Carolina's Convention
South Carolina calls for a convention to decide whether to secede from the Union -
Fort Sumpter is being threatened in Charleston
Major Robert Anderson reports Fort Sumter is being threatened in Charleston as federal forces enter the area. -
Reinforcements are requested a third time by Maj. Anderson
Robert Anderson makes his third request for reinforcements at Fort Moultrie -
Tennessee considering secession
Governor Isham Harris calls for a session of the Tennessee government to consider secession -
Georgia wants independence
Georgia calls for a convention of Southern states to form an independent nation. -
South Carolina Secedes from Union
South Carolina is the first state to secede from the Union to form the Confederacy -
South Carolina secedes from Union
South Carolina's convention officially approves the idea of secession -
Representatives withdrawl
All South Carolina government seats withdrawl from US congress -
Mississippi
Mississippi is the 2nd state to secede from the Union and into the Confederacy -
Florida
Florida is the 3rd state to secede frm the Union -
Alabama
the 4th state to secede from the Union forces -
Georgia
Georgia secedes from the Union and is the 5th state to do so -
Louisiana
Louisiana is the 6th state to secede from the Union -
Texas
Texas is the 7th state to secede from the Union joining SOuth Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana -
Constitution for Confederate States of America
The Convention of Seceded States adopts a provisional constitution forming the Confederate States of America -
Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America is formed with Jefferson Davis, a West Point graduate, as their president -
Lincoln is Sworn in as President
Lincoln was sworn in a president of the USA -
First Shots Fired
at 4:30am the Confederates under Gen. Pierre Beauegard open fire with 50 cannons at Fort Sumpter in Charleston, South Carolina. -
Lincoln issues proclomation
President Lincoln issues a Proclamation calling for 75,000 militiamen, and summoning a special session of Congress for July 4. -
Virginia Secedes from Union
Virginia secedes from the Union, followed within five weeks by Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina -
Robert E. Lee resigns his commision in the US Army
Lee then goes to Richmond, Virginia, is offered command of the military and naval forces of Virginia, and accepts. -
Lincoln issues a Proclamation of Blockade against Southern ports.
or the duration of the war the blockade limits the ability of the rural South to stay well supplied in its war against the industrialized North. -
Battle of Philippi
First land engagement of the Civil War between American and Confederate forces -
Bull Run
A small stream of northeast Virginia southwest of Washington, D.C., near Manassas. -
Supreme Court duties
Winfield Scott relieved from duty as Supreme Comander of the United States. -
Fort Donelson
The Union attack on Fort Donelson and that is near Fort Henry in which they attack later -
Ulysses S. Grant and his nickname
After taking the fort Ulysses S. Grant demands unconditional surrender to the Confederate side hence his nickname Unconditional Surrender. -
Monitor and Merrimick Battle
At the moment when the Confederates evacuated Manassas a strange naval battle occurred in Hampton Roads. -
Battle of Shiloh
Ulysses S. Grant defeats Albert Sidney Johnston in southwest Tennessee. Beauregard assumed command following Johnston's death -
Robert E. Lee takes charge
Jefferson Davis replaces wounded Army of Northern Virginia commander Joseph E. Johnston with Robert E. Lee -
Battle of Perryville
Braxton Bragg and Don Carlos Buell fight the largest battle on Kentucky soil. The battle is generally regarded as a draw, although Buell claimed victory. -
Grant gets command of Tennessee
Major General Ulysses S. Grant is given command of the Department of Tennessee. -
McClennan fired
Lincoln orders McClellan to be releived of command because he did not pursue Lee following the Confederate loss at Antietam -
Lincoln's Amendments
On the first day of the new Congress President Abraham Lincoln proposes 3 amendments to the U. S. Constitution. First, all slaves would be gradually emancipated until 1900. Second, slaves freed during the war would remain free. Third, the United States would pay for consensual colonization -
Emancipation Proclomation
The Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect by Abraham Lincoln by freeing all slaves in southern states -
Loncoln Replaces Gen. Ambrose Burnside
Abraham Lincoln relieves General Ambrose Burnside from command of the Army of the Potomac, replacing him with General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
It was a major battle in the Civil War with General Robert E. Lee being victorious over Union Gerneral Ambrose Burnside -
Another loss for the Union
General "Fighting Joe" Hooker's Army of the Potomac is defeated by Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia as it crosses the Rappahannock on the way to Richmond -
West Virginia
West Virginia becomes the 35th state to enter the United States, but the first to enter where the terms slave and free no longer mattered -
Gettysburg
This is the first day of a 3 day battle that could be the turning point of the Civil War -
The Final Day Of Gettysburg
General Robert E. Lee advances into Pennsylvania where he meets George Meade. First battling north of the city, by the second day Union forces had retreated south, forming a strong line as men arrived almost continuously. On the third day, the infamous Pickett's Charge marked the end of the Confederates hope for a victory. It was the bloodiest three days in American history -
Lincoln's Letter
In a letter to Nathaniel Banks, Abraham Lincoln states 'I am an anti-slavery man' and goes on to state he would never return a "negro" freed under the Emancipation Proclamation to slavery. -
Lee resigns
Robert E. Lee offers his resignation to Jefferson Davis. Davis refuses the offer. -
Lincoln meets Frederick Douglass
President Lincoln meets with former slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Among the topics discussed are the treatment and pay of black soldiers in the U. S. Army -
Gettysburg Address
At the dedication of the National Cemetery in Gettysburg President Lincoln delivers a two-minute speech. Immediately following the speech he calls it a "flat failure." The speech is known today as the Gettysburg Address -
Union Prisoners escape
109 Union officers led by Colonel Thomas Rose escape from Libby Prison on the banks of the James River in Richmond. 59 reach Union lines -
Bermuda Hundred and City Point
Army of the James under General Benjamin Butler [US] lands at Bermuda Hundred and City Point, east of Petersburg. The Army is comprised of two corps totaling nearly 40,000 men. -
Lee beats Grant Badly
Ulysses S. Grant is badly beaten on the field by Robert E. Lee but rather than retreat, Grant advances to Spotsylvania Court House. -
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
This battle never really came to a conclusion because Grant And Lee went back and fourth for days battling eachother. -
Orderes to destroy another general
Ordered to pursue and destroy General Nathan Bedford Forrest, General John Sturgis leaves Memphis with a force of 8,100 men -
Republican Niomination
The Republican National Convention nominates Abraham Lincoln to run for President and Andrew Johnson to run for Vice-President -
Lee wants to settle indiffernces
Robert E. Lee sends a message to Ulysess S. Grant asking for a conference to "iron out differences" between the North and the South. -
Lincoln issues surrneder instructions
Abraham Lincoln issues instructions on surrender discussions. He gives Grant wide-ranging powers on military matters, but reserves political matters for himself -
Negro Soldiers in Confederacy
Confederacy allows the induction of "negro soldiers." The measure did not state that blacks who fought for the Confederacy would be free, although that was apparently the understanding -
Lincoln's Meeting
Lincoln held a council of war with Ulysses S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, and David Porter on the River Queen at City Point -
Battle of Five Forks
George Pickett could not withstand the federal envelopment move around Petersburg that began here -
President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated
United States President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated on Good Friday by John Wilkes Booth in Ford's Theatre, Washington, D. C. -
Lincoln dies
Abraham Lincoln dies in a boardinghouse opposite Ford's Theater. Andrew Johnson takes the oath of office -
Confederat Armies Surrender
Sherman and Johnston reach agreement on the surrender of all remaining armies in the Confederacy. -
Lincoln's Funeral
The nation mourns U. S. President Abraham Lincoln at his funeral in Washington, D. C. -
Union Demands Surrender
General William T. Sherman [US] learns of President Johnson's rejection of his surrender terms to Joe Johnston. General Grant, who personally delivered the message, orders Sherman to commence operations against Johnson within 48 hours. Sherman is incensed but obeys orders. -
Lee surrenders one army
After attempting to break-out of the Union envelopment, Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysess S. Grant at the home of Wilmer McLean in Appomattox Court House -
Ford Theater not to re-open
Secretary of War Edwin Stanton orders Union troops to stand guard at Ford's Theater to prevent it from reopening following the assasination of President Lincoln -
Johnson's idea for reconstruction
President Andrew Johnson appoints the Joint Committee on Reconstruction to determine which Southern states are entitled to representation in Congress -
Lincoln's Birthday
The first formal observation of President Lincoln's birthday is held in Washington, D. C. President Andrew Johnson attends -
New Freedman's Bureau bill passed by Congress
New Freedman's Bureau bill passed by Congress. President Andrew Johnson vetoes the bill that authorized military trial for those accused of "depriving Negroes of the Civil Rights" on the same day -
US declares state of peace
The United States declares that a state of peace exists with Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia -
Ford's Theater
Congress appropriates $100,000 to buy Ford's Theater. It will house the Army Medical Museum, the Office of the Surgeon General and War Department records until 1893 -
Grant is head of armies
Congress establishes "general of the armies" and Ulysses S. Grant is immediately promoted to 4-star general and put in this position. William Tecumseh Sherman assumes the rank of Lt. General. -
A new rank is established
Congress creates the rank of Admiral. David Farragut is appointed to that rank -
Blacks gain the right to vote
Blacks in Washington D. C. gain the right to vote in a bill passed over President Andrew Johnson's veto -
Nebraska
Nebraska becomes part of the United States -
Congress passes the Tenure of Office Act
Congress passes the Tenure of Office Act, denying the right of the President to remove officials who had been appointed with the consent of Congress. -
Alaska
William P. Seward signs a treaty with Russia buying Alaska for 2 cents an acre. Democrats called it "Seward's Folly" -
Back into the Union
Congress passes a bill admitting Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina into the Union. Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas, having refused to ratify the fourteenth amendment, were refused admission into the Union
