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Civil War Timeline-Carlino
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Jefferson Davis Favors Secession
Jefferson Davis comes out in favor of secession for the first time. -
Lincoln Speaks at Cooper Institute
After being photographed by Matthew Brady, Abraham Lincoln speaks at the Cooper Institute in New York City. -
Lincoln is Elected President
Abraham Lincoln becomes the 16th president of the United States. He was a member of the Republican party. -
South Carolina Calls For Convention
South Carolina calls for a convention on December 17 to decide if the state should secede from the Union. -
South Carolina Secedes from the Union
South Carolina is the first state to ever secede from the Union. The Southerners were unhappy with Lincoln's plans to end slavery... their way of life. -
Confederate States of America is Formed
The Confederate States of America was formed with Jefferson Davis, a West Point graduate and former U.S. Army officer, as president. -
Lincoln's Inauguration
Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated and says that he had no plans to end slavery in states where it already existed, but would not accept secession. He hoped to resolve the national crisis without warfare. -
Attack on Fort Sumter
At 4:30am, Confederates under General Pierre Beauregard open fire with 50 cannons upon Fort Sumter in Charlestown, South Carolina. The Civil War begins. -
First Battle of Bull Run
The Union Army, under General Irvin McDowell, suffers a defeat at Bull Run, 25 miles west of Washington, D.C. Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson earns his nickname "Stonewall" as his brigade resists Union attacks. -
George McClellan Appointed Commander
Abraham Lincoln replaces McDowell with George B. McClellan as Commander of the Department of the Potomac. -
Lincoln Issues General War Order #1
President Lincoln issues General War Order No. 1 calling for all United States naval and land forces to begin a general advance by February 22, George Washington's birthday. -
Battle of Shiloh Begins
Confederate surprise attack on Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's unprepared troops at Shiloh on the Tennessee River results in a bitter struggle with 13,000 Union killed and wounded and 10,000 Confederates, more men than in all previous American wars combined. The president is then pressured to relieve Grant but resists. -
Second Battle of Bull Run
75,000 Federals under Gen. John Pope are defeated by 55,000 Confederates under Gen. Stonewall Jackson and Gen. James Longstreet at the second battle of Bull Run in northern Virginia. Once again the Union Army retreats to Washington. The president then relieves Pope. -
Battle of Antietam
The bloodiest day in U.S. military history as Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Armies are stopped at Antietam in Maryland by McClellan and numerically superior Union forces. By nightfall 26,000 men are dead, wounded, or missing. Lee then withdraws to Virginia. -
Fredericksburg
Army of the Potomac under Gen. Burnside suffers a costly defeat at Fredericksburg in Virginia with a loss of 12,653 men after 14 frontal assaults on well entrenched Rebels on Marye's Heights. "We might as well have tried to take hell," a Union soldier remarks. Confederate losses are 5,309. -
Emanicipation Proclamation
President Lincoln issues the final Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves in territories held by Confederates and emphasizes the enlisting of black soldiers in the Union Army. The war to preserve the Union now becomes a revolutionary struggle for the abolition of slavery -
Chancellorsville
The Union Army under Gen. Hooker is decisively defeated by Lee's much smaller forces at the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia as a result of Lee's brilliant and daring tactics. Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson is mortally wounded by his own soldiers. Hooker retreats. Union losses are 17,000 killed, wounded and missing out of 130,000. The Confederates, 13, 000 out of 60,000. -
Stonewall Jackson Dies
The South suffers a huge blow as Stonewall Jackson dies from his wounds, his last words, "Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees." -
Lincoln Meets Douglass
The president meets with abolitionist Frederick Douglass who pushes for full equality for Union 'Negro troops.' -
Gettysburg Address
President Lincoln delivers a two minute Gettysburg Address at a ceremony dedicating the Battlefield as a National Cemetery. -
General Grant Commands All Armies
President Lincoln appoints Gen. Grant to command all of the armies of the United States. Gen. William T. Sherman succeeds Grant as commander in the west. -
McClellan Nominated for President
Democrats nominate George B. McClellan for president to run against Republican incumbent Abraham Lincoln. -
Lincoln is Re-Elected
Abraham Lincoln is re-elected president, defeating Democrat George B. McClellan. Lincoln carries all but three states with 55 percent of the popular vote and 212 of 233 electoral votes. -
Sherman's March to the Sea Begins
After destroying Atlanta's warehouses and railroad facilities, Sherman, with 62,000 men begins a March to the Sea. President Lincoln on advice from Grant approved the idea. -
Sherman Reaches Savannah
Sherman reaches Savannah in Georgia leaving behind a 300 mile long path of destruction 60 miles wide all the way from Atlanta. Sherman then telegraphs Lincoln, offering him Savannah as a Christmas present. -
13th Amendment is Approved
The U.S. Congress approves the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, to abolish slavery. The amendment is then submitted to the states for ratification. -
Lee Surrenders
Gen. Robert E. Lee surrenders his Confederate Army to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at the village of Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Grant allows Rebel officers to keep their sidearms and permits soldiers to keep horses and mules. -
Lincoln Gets Shot
The Stars and Stripes is ceremoniously raised over Fort Sumter. That night, Lincoln and his wife Mary see the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater. At 10:13 p.m., during the third act of the play, John Wilkes Booth shoots the president in the head. Doctors attend to the president in the theater then move him to a house across the street. He never regains consciousness. -
Lincoln Dies
President Abraham Lincoln dies at 7:22 in the morning. Vice President Andrew Johnson assumes the presidency. -
13th Amendment Ratifed
The Thirteeth Amendment of the United States Constitution, passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, is finally ratified. It states that slavery, in any state, is illegal.
