Civil War Timeline- Lucy Bent

Civil War Timeline- Lucy Bent

Period: Jan 1, 1860 to Dec 31, 1865

Lincoln Speaks at the Cooper Institute

Feb 2, 1860

Lincoln speaks at the Cooper Institute about his campaign to end slavery as the sixteenth president of the United States.

Abraham Lincoln is elected President

Nov 6, 1860

Northern Abolitionist Abraham Lincoln is successful in the 1860 Presidential Election against Stephen Douglass.

Southern Unity

Dec 14, 1860

Georgia calls all southern states together to try and form a separate nation from the Union.

Edwin Stanton

Dec 20, 1860

Edwin Stanton officially becomes Attorney General allong side Lincoln in the cabinet.

South Carolina secedes from the Union

Dec 20, 1860

Southern Slave state South Carolina is the first state to secede from the Union.

Southern secession dates following South Carolina

Jan 9, 1861

Mississippi- January 9, 1861
Florida- January 10, 1861
Alabama- January 11, 1861
Georgia- January 19, 1861
Louisiana- January 26, 1861
Texas- February 1, 1861
Virginia- April 17, 1861
Arkansas- May 6, 1861
North Carolina- May 20, 1861
Tennessee- June 20, 1861

Davis inaugurated into office

Feb 8, 1861

Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the first and only president of the Confedrate States of America.

Confederates fire on Fort Sumter on Charleston Harbor

Apr 12, 1861

Confederate soldiers suprise attack at Fort Sumter giving an unofficial start to the Civil War. It ended on April 13, 1861 in a Confederate victory.

Battle of Phillippi

Jun 3, 1861

This was the first land engagement between the Union and the Confederate forces of the Civil War.

Battle of Bull Run

Jul 21, 1861

This very bloody and impressive battle gave the Confederacy a morale boost as the first official battle of the Civil War.

Moniter and Marrimack Battle

Mar 8, 1862

This battle happened between the naval fleets of both armies, the Moniter (Union) and the Merrimack (Confederacy).

Battle of Shiloh

Apr 6, 1862

The Union army, lead by Ulysses S. Grant captured two Confederate forts in Tennessee. Both sides suffered terrible loses at this Union victory.

Robert E. Lee

Jun 1, 1862

Jefferson Davis replaceswounded Army of Northern Virginia commander Joseph E. Johnston with Robert E. Lee.

Battle of Antietam

Sep 17, 1862

This was single, bloodiest battle of the whole entire Civil War ending in a Union victory.

Battle of Fredricksburg

Dec 11, 1862

This surprise attack battle in Fredricksburg, Virginia ended in a Confederate victory.

Emancipation Proclamation

Jan 1, 1863

Lincoln adds the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution freeing all slaves in Northern and Southern territories.

Battle of Chancellorville

May 1, 1863

Union defeated Robert E. Lee lead by General Joe Hooker on their way to Richmond. Stonewall Jackson is killed during this battle.

Battle of Gettysburg

Jul 1, 1863

Known as the turning point of the Civil War, this was the bloodiest three days in American history. Robert E. Lee was defeated by George Meede.

Battle of Chickamauga

Sep 19, 1863

General Braxton Bragg tries to split General William Rosecrans of Union forces as they try to return to safety. There were many losses at this battle.

Gettysburg Address

Nov 19, 1863

Lincoln addresses the battlefield where the Battle of Gettysburg occurred and dedicates the area as a National Graveyard.

Ulysses S. Grant appointed Union General

Mar 9, 1864

President Lincoln appoints Ulysses S. Grant the commander of United States armies. William Sherman replaces Grant as the Commander of the west.

Grant's Campaign

May 4, 1864

This is the beginning a massive coordinated plan involving all Union armies. In VA, Grant with an army of 120,000 begins advancing toward Richmond to engage Lee army of Northern VA of 64,000, beginning a war of attrition which will include battles of Wilderness, Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor.

Petersburg

Jun 15, 1864

The Union mises their opportunity to capture Petersburg and instead, a nine-month siege starts with Grant's forces surrounding Lee.

Sherman's March to the Sea

Sep 2, 1864

William T. Sherman's army captures Atlanta and starts it march up the southern-eastern sea board destrying everything in its path.

Lincoln is Re-elected

Nov 8, 1864

Lincoln is re-electedin the 1864 election against his ex-commander of his army, George McClellan, whom he fired for having the "slows."

Thirteenth Amendment

Jan 31, 1865

Congress approves the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery and sends it to the states to be ratified.

Peace Offering

Feb 3, 1865

Lincoln meets with Confederate vice-president Alexander Stephens and tries to peacefully end the war but it does not end well and the war continues.

Battle of Fort Stedman

Mar 25, 1865

General John B. Gordon, a Confederate General, captured Fort Stedman, a Union outpost on the line around besieged Petersburg.

Lincoln's Assassination

Apr 4, 1865

Arbraham Lincoln is shot by John Wilkes Booth, a southern sympathizer, in the back of the head. He dies the next morning.

Lee Surrenders

Apr 9, 1865

Robert E. Lee surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant's army at the Appomattox Court House.