-
Davis Has some words
Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis presents resolutions to the Senate to affirm that the Federal government cannot only prohibit slavery in the territories, but must actually protect slaveholders there. -
Lincoln Speaks at Instituite
After being photographed by Matthew Brady, Abraham Lincoln speaks at the Cooper Institute in New York City. -
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention, meeting in Charleston, South Carolina, cannot agree on a nominee. The only thing they can agree on is to continue the debate in Baltimore the next month -
Democratic Party holds Convention
The Democratic Party holds its convention in Charleston, SC. -
Republican Conventio
Republican Convention is held in Chicago, Illinois. William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase and Abraham Lincoln of Illinois are the leading contenders from a field of 12 candidates. Lincoln wins on the third ballot. Hannibal Hamlin of Maine, an outspoken, long-time abolitionist is chosen for vice-president. -
Governer Gist sends message
Governor Gist sends a message to the Legislature that "...our institutions are in danger from the fixed majorities of the North..." -
James Chestnut
James Chesnut becomes the first Southerner to resign from the Senate. He is quickly followed by James H. Hammond -
Anderson Makes Request
Robert Anderson makes his third request for reinforcements at Fort Moultrie -
Francis Takes Office
Governor Francis W. Pickens takes office -
Telegraph sends notice
Charleston is notified by telegraph that a man of war with troops is on the way -
Convention of Seceeded States
The Convention of Seceded States adopts a provisional constitution forming the Confederate States of America -
Stephens becomes VP
After privately considering William Yancey, Howell Cobb, Robert Toombs, Alexander Stephens, and Robert Barnwell Rhett for President of the Confederate States of America, the Convention settles on Jefferson Davis. They select Alexander Stephens, both pro-Union and a friend of Abraham Lincoln, as vice-president -
Battle Begins
Beginning at 4:30 am on the 12th and continuing until the morning of the 13th, Confederate batteries along the shore of Charleston Harbor fire on Fort Sumter under the command of Major Robert Anderson. Anderson arranges a surrender with Texas Senator Louis Wigfall on the morning of the 13th. -
First Land Engagement
Beginning at 4:30 am on the 12th and continuing until the morning of the 13th, Confederate batteries along the shore of Charleston Harbor fire on Fort Sumter under the command of Major Robert Anderson. Anderson arranges a surrender with Texas Senator Louis Wigfall on the morning of the 13th. -
Bull Run
About 25 miles southwest of Washington the first major battle of the Civil War pits Irvin McDowell [US] against P. G. T. Beauregard [CS] and Joe Johnston [CS]. -
North Carolina Falls
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 Falls
Lexington, Missouri falls to Confederate forces under Sterling Price. -
Scott Relieved from Duty
Winfield Scott relieved from duty as Supreme Comander of the United States. -
Lincoln Appoints Mclellan
President Lincoln appoints McClellan as general-in-chief of all Union forces after the resignation of the aged Winfield Scott. Lincoln tells McClellan, "...the supreme command of the Army will entail a vast labor upon you." McClellan responds, "I can do it all." -
Interantional Diplomatic Crisis
The beginning of an international diplomatic crisis for President Lincoln as two Confederate officials sailing toward England are seized by the U.S. Navy. England, the leading world power, demands their release, threatening war. Lincoln eventually gives in and orders their release in December. "One war at a time," Lincoln remarks. -
Battle of Ft. Donelson
Battle of Ft. Donelson -
Grant demands surrender
General Ulysses S. Grant demands the unconditional surrender of the garrison from an old friend, Simon Bolivar Buckner -
Daivs Innagurated
Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as President of the Confederate States of America. -
Battle of Pea Ridge [US]
Battle of Pea Ridge [US] -
Confederate Ships duel
After a duel with Confederate ships at English Turn, Commadore Farragut's fleet weighs anchor at New Orleans and demands the surrender of the largest city and most important port in the South. By the time Farragut arrives the city was partially on fire. -
Seven Days Battle
The Seven Days' Battles before Richmond. General Lee's army attacks the "Army of the Potomac" under General George McClellan in a succession of battles beginning at Mechanicsville on June 26 and ending at Malvern Hill on July 1. -
Battle of Second Bull Run
The Battle of Second Bull Run (or Second Manassas) 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. -
Battle at Antietam
The Battle of Antietam (or Sharpsburg), 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. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia. The Army of the Potomac, under General Ambrose Burnside, is soundly defeated by Lee's forces after a risky river crossing and sacking of the city. -
Union Victory at Stones River
Battle of Stones River, Tennessee. Fought between the Union Army of the Cumberland under General William Rosecrans and the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General Braxton Bragg, the costly Union victory frees middle Tennessee from Confederate control and boosts northern morale. -
The Emancipation Proclamtion
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. -
Drafting Military Soliders
Conscription, or the drafting of soldiers into military service, begins in the North. It had begun in the South the year before. -
Union Forces begin Campaign
Union forces in the east begin a new campaign in Virginia to flank Lee's Army of Northern Virginia at Fredericksburg. In the west, a Union army has begun a campaign to surround and take Vicksburg, Mississippi, the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River. -
Lee's Greatest Victory
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. -
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. -
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. -
Draft Riot Begins
Draft Riots begin in New York City and elsewhere as disgruntled workers and laborers, seething over the draft system that seemingly favors the rich, attack the draft office and African American churches. The riots continue through July 16. -
The Gettysburg Address
President Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address -
Mine Run
The Mine Run Campaign. Meade's Army of the Potomac marches against Lee's Army of Northern Virginia south of the Rapidan River, east of Orange Court House. Lee reacts and throws up a line of defenses along the banks of Mine Run Creek. After several days of probing the defenses, Meade withdraws north of the Rapidan and goes into winter quarters -
Lincoln Issues Oath
Lincoln Issues his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, which would pardon those who participated in the "existing rebellion" if they take an oath to the Union. -
Ecape from Libby Prison
Escape from Libby Prison, Richmond. After weeks of digging, 109 Union officers made their escape from the notorious Libby Prison, the largest and most sensational escape of the war. Though 48 of the escapees were later captured and two drowned, 59 were able to make their way into Union lines. -
Submarine Attack
First Successful Submarine Attack of the Civil War. The CSS H.L. Hunley, a seven-man submergible craft, attacked the USS Houstonic outside of Charleston, South Carolina. Struck by the submarine's torpedo, the Housatonic broke apart and sank, taking all but five of her crew with her. Likewise, the Hunley was also lost and never heard from again until discovered in 1995 at the spot where it sank after the attack -
Sumter Prison Camps
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 -
Grant appointed 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. -
Red River Campaign begins
The Red River Campaign begins. As part of an overall Union strategy to strike deep into various parts of the Confederacy, a combined force of army and navy commands under General Nathaniel Banks begins a campaign on the Red River in Louisiana. -
Battle of Sabine Crossroads
Battle of Sabine Crossroads or Mansfield, Louisiana, the first major battle of the Red River Campaign in Louisiana. -
Lincoln nominated for second term
Abraham Lincoln is nominated by his party for a second term as president. -
Assault on Petersburg
Assault on Petersburg, Virginia. After withdrawing from the lines at Cold Harbor, the Army of the Potomac crossed the James River and with troops from the Army of the James attacked the outer defenses of Petersburg, the primary junction for several southern railroads. After four days of bloody attacks, Grant accepts that only a siege can systematically isolate the city and cut off Confederate supplies to the capital of Richmond. -
Lincoln relelected president
Abraham Lincoln is reelected president of the United States. -
March To Sea
General Sherman's Army of Georgia begins the "March to the Sea" -
Conference is failure
On the River Queen five men, US President Abraham Lincoln, US Secretary of State William Seward, CS Vice-president Alexander Stephens, along with John Campbell and RMT Hunter discuss peace terms at the Hampton Roads Conference near Fort Monroe. The conference was a failure. -
Johnson Replaces Hamlin
Lincoln outlines his second term talking directly to the Confederate people "...with malice toward none; with charity for all..." Andrew Johnson, replacing Henry Hamlin as Vice-president gives a rambling, drunk speech. He had been given too much whiskey as medicine by a doctor. -
Confederates break Union line
Confederates break Union line at Petersburg -
Battle of Five Forks
Battle of Five Forks
George Pickett [CS] could not withstand the federal envelopment move around Petersburg that began here. -
Lee Surrenders 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 -
Battle of Anderson
The battle was one of the final conflicts of the war, taking place three weeks after Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House. Confederate forces suffered no casualties and the Union forces had two casualties in the skirmish that took place. -
Wirz Executed
The notorious superintendent of the Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia, was tried by a military commission presided over by General Lew Wallace from August 23 to October 24, 1865, and was hanged in the yard of the Old Capitol Prison on November 10. -
Johnson Appoints Comittee
President Andrew Johnson appoints the Joint Committee on Reconstruction to determine which Southern states are entitled to representation in Congress -
13th Admendment Ratified
The notorious superintendent of the Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia, was tried by a military commission presided over by General Lew Wallace from August 23 to October 24, 1865, and was hanged in the yard of the Old Capitol Prison on November 10. -
Garrison Publishes
William Lloyd Garrison publishes the last issue of The Liberator. His goal of the "extermination of chattel slavery" had been met. -
Lincoln's Birthday
The first formal observation of President Lincoln's birthday is held in Washington, D. C. President Andrew Johnson attends -
Texas Repels at convention
Texas repeals the actions of the Secessionist Convention -
Johnson vetos Civil RIghts act
President Johnson vetos the Civil Rights Act of 1866 on the grounds that it was unconstitutional -
Congress buys fords 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 -
Congress approves 14th admendment
Thirty-ninth Congress approves the 14th Amendment to the Constitution -
"General of the 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. -
KKK Investigated
The U. S. Secret Service begins an investigation into the Ku Klux Klan -
Proclamtion of Peace
A proclaimation of peace with Texas is issued by United States President Andrew Johnson -
FIRE
A fire in the Philadelphia ship-yard accidently destroys a number of ships used during the Civil War -
6th Anv. of Secession
On the 6th anniversary of secession, South Carolina rejects the 14th Amendment -
Kentucky rejects 14th
Kentucky rejects the 14th Amendment -
Blacks Gain right to vote
Blacks in Washington D. C. gain the right to vote in a bill passed over President Andrew Johnson's veto -
Cornhuskers
Nebraska becomes a state -
Tenture 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. -
Johnson's veto passed
Congress passes the 2nd Reconstruction Act over Andrew Johnson's veto -
Maryland
Maryland rejects 14th ADMNT. -
Seward signs treaty
William P. Seward signs a treaty with Russia buying Alaska for 2 cents an acre. Democrats called it "Seward's Folly" -
Stanton suspended
Edwin Stanton suspended by President Andrew Johnson -
Grant Secof War
Ulysses S. Grant becomes ad interim Secretary of War -
Alaska
ALASKA NOW IN US
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