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Civil War Timespan
Events that occurred between these dates during the American Civil War. -
Davis Speaks About Slavery In Territories
Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis presents resolutions as to why slavery should be allowed in the territories. He also gave reasons as to why the nation should protect slaveholders. His intention was to unite the Democratic party. -
The Pony Express
The Pony Express begins going from Saint Louis, Missouri to Sacremento, California. It had 119 stations that were each 12 miles apart. They made it possible for more letters to be delivered in a more timely manner. -
Constitutional Union Party is Formed
The former members of the American and Whig parties meet in Baltimore and form the Constitutional Union Party, They elect John Bell to be their candidate for president and Edward Everett as candidate for vice president. -
Grace Bedell Writes a Letter to Lincoln
Grace Bedell, an 11 year old girl, writes Lincoln. In her letter she tells him that a beard would make his face look better because it is so thin. Lincoln immediatly decides to let his whiskers grow out. -
Lincoln Is Elected President
Abraham Lincoln is elected sixteenth president of the United States, the first Republican president in the nation who represents a party that opposes the spread of slavery in the territories of the United States. -
Succession is Urged
Seven senators and twenty-three representatives issue a manifesto urging southern secession. It also recommends forming a Southern Confederacy. -
The Southern States Begin To Think About Secession
The first Secession Convention meets in Columbia, South Carolina. -
South Carolina Secedes From the Union
In 1860, South Carolina officially breaks away from the United States of America. -
Congressmen of South Carolina Resign
The South Carolina Congressmen resign due to secession. However, their names remain on the roll because the Union still does not agknowledge secession. -
South Carolina's Declaration
South Carolina issues their "Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Seccession of South Carolina from the Federal Union". This was South Carolina's version of the "Declaration of Independence". -
Six More Southern States Secede From Union
Following South Carolina, six additional southern states secede from the Union. -
Davis Elected Confederate President
Jefferson Davis is appointed the first President of the Confederate States of America at Montgomery, Alabama, a position he will hold until elections can be arranged. -
Lincoln's Inauguration
Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as the sixteenth president of the United States in Washington, DC. -
Fort Sumter
Southern forces fire upon Fort Sumter, South Carolina. This is the opening scene of the Civil War. -
Union Crosses Potomac
Union forces cross the Potomac River and occupy Arlington Heights, the home of future Confederate General Robert E. Lee -
Skrimish in Western Virginia
A skirmish near Philippi in western Virginia, is the first clash of Union and Confederate forces in the east. -
Battle of Big Bethel
Battle of Big Bethel, the first land battle of the war in Virginia. -
The First Battle of Bull Run
Fought near Manassas, VA. Thomas Jackson earns the nickname "Stonewall" here. -
Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
Fort Hatteras at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, falls to Union naval forces. This begins the first Union efforts to close southern ports along the Carolina coast. -
Lexington, Misouri
Lexington, Missouri falls to Confederate forces under Sterling Price. -
Battle of Mill Springs
Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky. The Union victory weakened the Confederate hold on the state. -
Surrender of Fort Henry, Tennessee.
Surrender of Fort Henry, Tennessee. The loss of this southern fort on the Tennessee River opened the door to Union control of the river. -
Battle of Roanoak Island
Battle of Roanoke Island, North Carolina. A Confederate defeat, the battle resulted in Union occupation of eastern North Carolina and control of Pamlico Sound, to be used as Northern base for further operations against the southern coast. -
Surrender of Fort Donelson, Tennessee
Surrender of Fort Donelson, Tennessee. This primary southern fort on the Cumberland River left the river in Union hands. It was here that Union General Ulysses S. Grant gained his nickname "Unconditional Surrender". -
Jefferson Davis Inauguration
Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as President of the Confederate States of America. -
Battle of the First Ironclad Ships
The naval battle between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia (the old USS "Merrimack"), the first "ironclads", is fought in Hampton Roads, Virginia. -
Battle of Memphis, Tennessee
A Union flotilla under Commodore Charles Davis successfully defeats a Confederate river force on the Mississippi River near the city and Memphis surrenders. The Mississippi River is now in Union control except for its course west of Mississippi where the city of Vicksburg stands as the last southern stronghold on the great river. -
First Battle of Winchester
First Battle of Winchester, Virginia. After two weeks of maneuvering and battles at Cross Keys and Front Royal, General "Stonewall" Jackson attacks Union forces at Winchester and successfully drives them from the city. The victory is the culmination of his 1862 Valley Campaign. -
The Second Battle of Bull Run
The Battle of Second Bull Run is fought on the same ground where one year before, the Union army was defeated and sent reeling in retreat to Washington. Likewise, the result of this battle is a Union defeat. -
The Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam, Maryland, the bloodiest single day of the Civil War. The result of the battle ends General Lee's first invasion of the North. Following the Union victory, President Lincoln will introduce the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order that freed every slave in the Confederate States. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect. Applauded by many abolitionists including Frederick Douglass, there are others who feel it does not go far enough to totally abolish slavery. -
Conscription in the North Begins
Conscription, or the drafting of soldiers into military service, begins in the North. It had begun in the South the year before. -
The Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia. General Lee's greatest victory is marred by the mortal wounding of "Stonewall" Jackson, who dies on May 10. Soon after, Lee asks Jefferson Davis for permission to invade the North and take the war out of Virginia. -
Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi
Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi begins. Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant attack Confederate defenses outside the city on May 19-22. If Vicksburg falls, the Mississippi River will be completely controlled by the Union. -
The Gettysburg Campaign continues
The Gettysburg Campaign continues. Confederates pass through York and reach the bridge over the Susquehanna River at Columbia, but Union militia set fire to the bridge, denying access to the east shore. Southern cavalry skirmishes with Union militia near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. -
The Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The bloodiest battle of the Civil War dashes Robert E. Lee's hopes for a successful invasion of the North. -
Vicksburg Surrenders
Vicksburg, Mississippi, surrenders to the Union Army under Grant. The capture of Vicksburg gives the Union complete control of the Mississippi River, a vital supply line for the Confederate states in the west. At Gettysburg, Lee begins his retreat to Virginia. -
Sacking of Lawrence, Kansas
In a murderous daylight raid, Confederate and Missouri guerillas under William Clarke Quantrill storm into Lawrence and destroy most of the town. Approximately 150 men and boys are murdered by Quantrill's men. -
Army of the Cumberland occupies Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee, is occupied by Union forces under General William Rosecrans whose Army of the Cumberland will soon invade northern Georgia. -
Siege of Knoxville, Tennessee
Confederate troops under General James Longstreet lay siege to the city of Knoxville held by Union forces under General Ambrose Burnside. Longstreet finally attacks on November 30 but is repulsed with heavy losses. The arrival of Union reinforcements forces him to withdraw to Greeneville, Tennessee, where his corps will spend the winter. -
Andersonville Prison Camp Opens
In Georgia, Camp Sumter Prison Camp opens. Universally referred to as Andersonville Prison Camp, it will become notorious for overcrowded conditions and a high death rate among its inmates. -
Ulysses S. Grant is appointed lieutenant general
Ulysses S. Grant is appointed lieutenant general, a rank revived at the request of President Lincoln. Grant assumes command of all Union Armies in the field the following day. -
Battle of Sabine Crossroads
Battle of Sabine Crossroads or Mansfield, Louisiana, the first major battle of the Red River Campaign in Louisiana. -
Capture of Fort Pillow
Capture of Fort Pillow, Tennessee. After a rapid raid through central and western Tennessee, Confederate cavalry under Nathan Bedford Forrest attacked and overwhelmed the Union garrison at Fort Pillow, located on the Mississippi River. -
Beginning of the Atlanta Campaign
With three Union armies under his command, General William T. Sherman marched south from Tennessee into Georgia against the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General Joseph Johnston, the objective being the city of Atlanta. -
Battle of Yellow Tavern
Six miles north of Richmond, Confederate cavalry under General J.E.B. Stuart blocked a force of Union cavalry under General Philip Sheridan. General Stuart was mortally wounded during the encounter. -
Lincoln Nominated for 2nd Term
Abraham Lincoln is nominated by his party for a second term as president. -
Battle of Kennesaw Mountain
After weeks of maneuvering and battles, Sherman's Army of the Cumberland and Army of the Tennessee smash headlong into Johnston's carefully planned defenses at Big and Little Kennesaw. -
Battle of Peachtree Creek
The first major battle around the city of Atlanta. General Hood sends his army out of the city's defenses to attack the approaching Federal troops under George Thomas. After several hours of fierce fighting, Hood withdrew back to his own defensive works. -
Lincoln is Reelected
Abraham Lincoln is reelected president of the United States. -
Assault and capture of Fort Fisher
Assault and capture of Fort Fisher, North Carolina. Union occupation of this fort at the mouth of the Cape Fear River closes access to Wilmington, the last southern seaport on the east coast that was open to blockade runners and commercial shipping. -
Sherman's Army leaves Savannah
Sherman's Army leaves Savannah to march through the Carolinas. -
Lincoln is Inaugurated for 2nd Term
President Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated for his second term as president in Washington, DC. -
The Fall of Petersburg and Richmond
General Lee abandons both cities and moves his army west in hopes of joining Confederate forces under General Johnston in North Carolina. -
Lincoln is Assassinated
President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by actor John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC. On the same day, Fort Sumter, South Carolina is re-occupied by Union troops. -
Confederate Forces Surrender in Areas
General Richard Taylor surrenders Confederate forces in the Department of Alabama, Mississippi and East Louisiana. -
President Davis is Captured
Confederate President Jefferson Davis is captured near Irwinville, Georgia. -
Final Battle
The final battle of the Civil War takes place at Palmito Ranch, Texas. It is a Confederate victory. -
The Grand Review of General Sherman's Army
The Grand Review of General Sherman's Army in Washington, DC took place on this day. -
General Buckner Surrenders
General Simon Bolivar Buckner enters into terms for surrender of the Army of the Trans-Mississippi, which are agreed to on June 2, 1865.The Civil War officially ends. -
Last Issue of "The Liberator" is Published
The last issue of the abolitionist magazine The Liberator is published in Boston. -
Freedmen’s Bureau and Civil Rights Bills Passed
In early 1866, Congress passed the Freedmen’s Bureau and Civil Rights Bills and sent them to Johnson for his signature. The first bill extended the life of the bureau, originally established as a temporary organization charged with assisting refugees and formerly enslaved people -
"Black Codes" Passed in Southern States
New southern state legislatures passed restrictive “Black Codes” to control the labor and behavior of former enslaved people and other African Americans. -
Fisk University is Established
Fisk University, a historically black university, is established in Nashville, Tennessee. -
Civil Rights Act of 1866
The United States Congress overwhelmingly passes the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the first federal legislation to protect the rights of African-Americans. -
State of Peace with Southern States
The United States declares that a state of peace exists with Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. -
Fords Theater Purchased
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. -
14th Amendment is Passed
U.S. Congress passes Fourteenth Amendment, affirming citizenship for African Americans -
Tennessee Readmits to the Union
Tennessee readmitted to the Union -
Peace with Texas
A proclamation of peace with Texas is issued by United States President Andrew Johnson. -
Longest Bridge in the World is Built
The economy in the North was still booming from the Industrialization associated with the war which led to the construction of the longest bridge in the world, at the time that connected Ohio and Kentucky. -
African-American Men Can Vote
African-American men are granted the right to vote in the District of Columbia. -
First Reconstruction Act Passed
First Reconstruction Act passed by the U.S. Congress; overturning Johnson's veto -
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. -
Reconstruction Act of 1867
Congress passed the Reconstruction Act of 1867, which temporarily divided the South into five military districts and outlined how governments based on universal (male) suffrage were to be organized. -
The Alaska Purchase
The Alaska Purchase was the United States' acquisition of Alaska from the Russian Empire in 1867 by a treaty ratified by the U.S. Senate. -
The Klu Klux Klan Reorganizes
The Ku Klux Klan reorganizes into a paramilitary organization led by a former Confederate General, Nathan Bedford Forrest -
States Readmit to Union
Congress passes a bill readmitting Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina into the Union. -
Edwin Stanton Resigns
President Andrew Johnson demands the resignation of Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War. -
Congress Debates Impeaching President Johnson
Due to his lack of effectiveness with reconstruction, Congress looks into impeaching President Johnson.