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Civil War timeline
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Lincoln campaign
While campaigning for the presidency, Abraham Lincoln made a speech defending the right to strike. This was called the Lyceum Address and it helped his campaign for President. -
Pony Express
The US Pony Express mail system began when one horse and rider carrying a bulging mail pouch began the 10 1/2-day runs from San Francisco, Calif., to St. Joseph, Mo. Riders left St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, Ca., at the same time. This started America's first form of a postal service. -
The Republican Convention Votes
The Republican Convention in Chicago nominated Abraham Lincoln for US president and Senator Hannibal Hamlin of Maine as Vice President. Other presidential candidates included William Seward and Salmon Chase. -
Market Street Railroad in SF
Workers started laying track for Market Street Railroad in SF. It was one of the first railroads here and it was made mainly by Chinese workers. -
Election of 1860
On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United States. Lincoln was up against John C. Breckenridge, John Bell, and Stephan Arnold Douglas. Most of the Southern states were against him because he supported abolition. -
South Carolina Discussed Secession
South Carolina’s legislature called a special convention to discuss secession from the Union. They wanted to succeed format the Union because they did not believe in the direction the UNinob was heading in and they wanted to be able to make their own choices and be independent of them. -
Crittenden Compromise Failure
The Crittenden Compromise was an unsuccessful proposal to permanently enshrine slavery in the United States Constitution, and thereby make it unconstitutional for future congresses to end slavery. It was introduced by the United States Senator John J. Crittenden (Constitutional Unionist of Kentucky) on December 18, 1860. -
South Carolina Secedes From the United States
South Carolina became the first state to secede from the federal Union on December 20, 1860. The victory of Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 presidential election triggered cries for disunion across the slaveholding South. -
Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union
The South Carolina Declaration of Secession, formally known as the Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union, was a proclamation issued on December 24, 1860, by the government of South Carolina to explain its reasons for seceding from the United States. -
Evacuation of Fort Moultrie
Major Robert Anderson worried that South Carolina Troops would attack the Fort, so he evacuated everyone to Fort Sumter where they would be in a more defensible position. Here, they spike cannons and burn their carriages to prevent Southerners from using Moultries' weapons against Fort Sumter. -
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States Secede the Union (January)
Mississippi was second to secede on January 9, 1861. then Florida seceded, then Alabama seceded, then Georgia seceded, and finally, for January, Lousianna Seceded on January 26, 1861. They all followed and Agreed with South Carolina and wanted to be separate from the Union. -
Texas Secedes
Texas declared its secession from the Union on February 1, 1861, and joined the Confederate States on March 2, 1861, after it had replaced its governor, Sam Houston, who had refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy. -
South Creates its Own Government
At a convention in Montgomery, Alabama, the seven seceding states created the Confederate Constitution, a document similar to the United States Constitution, but with greater stress on the autonomy of each state. Jefferson Davis was named provisional president of the Confederacy until elections could be held. -
Lincolns Inaguration
The first inauguration of Abraham Lincoln as the 16th president of the United States was held on Monday, March 4, 1861, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. -
Attack on Fort sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina by the South Carolina militia. It ended with the surrender by the United States Army, beginning the American Civil War. -
Virginia secedes
On April 17, 1861, Virginia politicians voted to secede from the Union. The move came just days after the Civil War had erupted at Fort Sumter and after President Abraham Lincoln had called for 75,000 volunteers. -
Arkansas secedes
On May 6, 1861, a body of men chosen by Arkansas voters in an election held on February 18, 1861, voted to remove Arkansas from the United States of America. They joined the Confederacy. -
North Carolina secedes
North Carolina seceded from the Union on May 20, 1861, and the state's involvement in the Civil War began.
North Carolina had a long complicated battle within the state whether to secede or remain in the Union. The major issue that drove states to secession was slavery, but North Carolina's economy did not depend on slavery as much as the Deep South states did -
Tennessee secedes
On June 8, 1861, Tennessee seceded from the Union, the 11th and final state to join the Confederacy. But over six month, as all the Deep South states seceded, Tennessee's course had not always been certain. At one point, secession seemed unlikely. Tennessee was geographically divided on the issue. -
First Battle of Bull Run
The First Battle of Bull Run, also known as the Battle of First Manassas, was the first major battle of the American Civil War. The battle was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, just north of the city of Manassas and about 30 miles west-southwest of Washington, D.C -
Battle of Mill springs
The Battle of Mill Springs, also known as the Battle of Fishing Creek in Confederate terminology, and the Battle of Logan's Cross Roads in Union terminology, was fought in Wayne and Pulaski counties, near current Nancy, Kentucky, on January 19, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. -
Abraham Lincoln Takes Action
On January 27, President Lincoln issued a war order authorizing the Union to launch a unified aggressive action against the Confederacy. General McClellan ignored the order. -
Battle of Fort Henry
The Battle of Fort Henry was fought on February 6, 1862, in Donelson, Stewart County, Tennessee, during the American Civil War. It was the first important victory for the Union and Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in the Western Theater. -
The Battle of Hampton Roads
The Battle of Hampton Roads was the first engagement of ironclad warships during the Civil War and was fought between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia. While neither side could claim victory, the battle demonstrated the viability of ironclad technology and provided a glimpse into the future of naval warfare. -
The Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh was an early battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. The battle is named after a small church in the vicinity named Shiloh which ironically translates to "place of peace" or "heavenly peace". -
The Battle of Seven Pines
Battle of Seven Pines, also called Battle of Fair Oaks, (May 31–June 1, 1862), in the American Civil War, a two-day battle in the Peninsular Campaign, in which Confederate attacks were repulsed, fought 6 miles (10 km) east of the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia. -
The Seven Days Battles
Seven Days' Battles, (June 25–July 1, 1862), series of American Civil War battles in which a Confederate army under General Robert E. Lee drove back General George B. McClellan's Union forces and thwarted the Northern attempt to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. -
The battle of Harper's Ferry
The Battle of Harpers Ferry was fought September 12–15, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. Jackson captured over 12,700 Union troops at Harpers Ferry - the largest single capture of Federal forces during the entire war. -
The battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam was a Union victory. The Union lost approximately 12,400 men to the Confederate's 10,700, but the Union had driven the Confederates from the field and ended the Confederate invasion. The battle was Ohioan George McClellan's greatest success during the American Civil War. -
The Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. Confederate soldiers were strategically placed behind a stone wall along the Sunken Road. The battle resulted in significant casualties for the Union Army. The entire Battle of Fredericksburg resulted in 12,653 Union casualties and 4,201 Confederate casualties. -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." -
Battle of Arkansas coast
On January 11, 1863, Union General John McClernand and Admiral David Porter capture Arkansas Post, a Confederate stronghold on the Arkansas River. The victory secured central Arkansas for the Union and lifted Northern morale just three weeks after the disastrous Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia -
The Enrollment Act of 1863
The Enrollment Act of 1863 also known as the Civil War Military Draft Act, was an Act passed by the United States Congress during the American Civil War to provide fresh manpower for the Union Army. The Act was the first genuine national conscription law. -
Battle Of Chancellorsville
On April 27, Union General Hooker crossed the Rappahannock River to attack General Lee's forces. Lee split his army, attacking a surprised Union army in three places and almost completely defeating them. Hooker withdrew across the Rappahannock River, giving the South a victory, but it was the Confederates' most costly victory in terms of casualties. -
Port Hudson
The siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana, was the final engagement in the Union campaign to recapture the Mississippi River in the American Civil War. The capture of Port Hudson in Louisiana gave Union forces control of the Mississippi River and was a significant turning point in the Civil War. -
The Vicksburg Campaign
Vicksburg's strategic location on the Mississippi River made it a critical win for both the Union and the Confederacy. The Confederate surrender there ensured Union control of the Mississippi River and cleaved the South in two. -
The Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. The Union's eventual victory in the Battle of Gettysburg would give the North a major morale boost and put a definitive end to Confederate General Robert E. Lee's bold plan to invade the North. -
The Battle of Chickamauga
Chickamauga was the largest Confederate victory in the Western theater. At the end of a summer that had seen the disastrous Confederate loss at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, the triumph of the Army of Tennessee at Chickamauga was a well-timed turnaround for the Confederates. -
The Siege of Knoxville
On November 17, 1863, Confederate General James Longstreet places the city of Knoxville, Tennessee, under siege. After two weeks and one failed attack, he abandoned the siege and rejoined General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. -
The Gettysburg Adress
The Gettysburg Address is a speech that U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered during the American Civil War at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Gettysburg Address is a speech that U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered during the American Civil War at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. -
Ulysses S. Grand Promotion
Abraham Lincoln appoints Ulysses S. Grant commander in chief of all Union armies. George McClellan had just been fired for having the "slows" and Ulysses S. Grant was his replacement. -
The Battle of Sabine Crossroads or Mansfield
The Battle of Mansfield, also known as the Battle of Sabine Crossroads, on April 8, 1864, in Louisiana formed part of the Red River Campaign during the American Civil War, when Union forces were attempting to occupy the Louisiana state capital, Shreveport. -
Battle of Pleasant Hill
The Battle of Pleasant Hill occurred on April 9, 1864, and formed part of the Red River Campaign during the American Civil War when Union forces aimed to occupy the Louisiana state capital, Shreveport. Estimated casualties totaled 3,100 men for the Union and 2,000 soldiers for the Confederacy. -
Battle of the WIlderness
The Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5–7, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. -
The Battle of Spotsylvania
The inconclusive Battle of Spotsylvania Court House was the second major engagement in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign, a major Union offensive to chase down Robert E. Lee, destroy his forces, and defeat the Confederacy. -
The Battle of Cold Harbor
Battle of Cold Harbor, (May 31–June 12, 1864), disastrous defeat for the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–65) that caused some 18,000 casualties. Continuing his relentless drive toward the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, General Ulysses S. -
The Siege of Petersburg
On Jun 15 - 18, 1864, Ulysses S. Grant's assault on Robert E. Lee's armies at Petersburg failed to capture the Confederacy's vital supply center and resulted in the longest siege in American warfare. The Siege of Petersburg was the result of Grant's inability to break through properly manned and constructed Confederate defenses. -
Abraham Lincoln Is Re-Elected
Lincoln's re-election ensured that he would preside over the successful conclusion of the Civil War. Lincoln's victory made him the first president to win re-election since Andrew Jackson in 1832, as well as the first Northern president to ever win re-election. -
Sherman at the Sea
Union General William T. Sherman led some 60,000 soldiers on a 285-mile march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. The purpose of Sherman's March to the Sea was to frighten Georgia's civilian population into abandoning the Confederate cause. -
Fort Monroe and Hampton, Virginia
Fort Monroe played an important part in numerous Union initiatives: a crucial link in the Anaconda Plan's naval blockade, the launch point for the 1862 Peninsula Campaign, and logistical support for gunboat operations based out of City Point during the late-war Petersburg Campaign. -
Battle of Dove Creek
Dove Creek, Battle of. In the controversial battle of Dove Creek on January 8, 1865, about 160 Confederates and 325 state militiamen attacked a large encampment of migrating Kickapoo Indians some twenty miles southwest of the site of present San Angelo. The Texans were routed after a desperate fight. -
Fort Fisher
Sometimes referred to as the "Gibraltar of the South" and the last major coastal stronghold of the Confederacy, Fort Fisher had tremendous strategic value during the war, providing a port for blockade runners supplying the Army of Northern Virginia. -
The battle of Forks Road
Elements of Union and Confederate armies fought the Battle of Forks Road, February 2-21, 1865, for possession of Wilmington, North Carolina, the South's main seaport and most important city. The Battle of Forks Road in Wilmington, North Carolina. -
The Battle of Rivers' Bridge
The Battle of Rivers' Bridge was a battle of the American Civil War fought on February 3, 1865. Although historically not a large battle, the Battle at River's Bridge was significant because it is the last defensive effort of the Confederates against the march of Sherman's army to Columbia. -
Hatcher's Run
The Battle of Hatcher's Run, also known as Dabney's Mill, Armstrong's Mill, Rowanty Creek, and Vaughn Road, fought February 5–7, 1865, was one in a series of Union offensives during the siege of Petersburg, aimed at cutting off Confederate supply traffic on Boydton Plank Road and the Weldon Railroad west of Petersburg, Virginia. -
The Battle of Bentonville
The Battle of Bentonville, fought March 19-21, 1865, was the last full-scale action of the Civil War in which a Confederate army was able to mount a tactical offensive. This major battle, the largest ever fought in North Carolina, was the only significant attempt to defeat the large Union army of Gen. William T. -
The battle of Cox's Bridge
Major-General William T. Sherman ordered movements to close the Carolinas leg of the Great March. I’m mixing definitions there a bit, as “Great March” was somewhat a post-war term applied by the veterans as they recalled the roads from Atlanta to Washington, D.C. -
the battle of Appomattox Station
The Battle of Appomattox Station was fought between a Union Army cavalry division under the command of Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia artillery units commanded by Brigadier General Lindsay Walker with support from some dismounted cavalrymen, artillerymen armed with muskets, and some stragglers on April 8, 1865, at Appomattox Station, Virginia during the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War. -
Lee surrenders
President Davis Abandons Richmond and burns it so it can not be captured by the union, then Lee and Grant meet at Appomattox Court House to draw terms of surrender. The war ended on generous terms per Lincoln's request, and all remaining resistance stops within one month of this. -
Assassination of President Lincoln
John Wilkes Booth held that belief, and it was the motive behind his plot to murder President Abraham Lincoln. On April 14, 1865, while watching the play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Mary, Lincoln was assassinated by Booth. -
Black Codes
The result was a set of Black Codes passed in early 1866. These granted a set of rights: to own property, make contracts, and some other innovations. They also included new vagrancy and apprentice laws, which did not mention Blacks explicitly but were clearly directed toward them. -
Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was the first United States federal law to define citizenship and affirm that all citizens are equally protected by the law. It was mainly intended, in the wake of the American Civil War, to protect the civil rights of persons of African descent born in or brought to the United States. -
Proclamation on the End of the Confederate Insurrection
In a presidential proclamation issued on April 2, 1866, President Johnson declared that the insurrection that had existed in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Florida, and Virginia, was at an end. The one exception was Texas. -
Memphis Massacre of 1866
The Memphis massacre of 1866 was a series of violent events that occurred from May 1 to 3, 1866 in Memphis, Tennessee. The racial violence was ignited by political and social racism following the American Civil War, in the early stages of Reconstruction. -
14th ammendment passed
On June 13, 1866, the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed. This Amendment, known as one of the three Reconstruction Amendments, granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States.” The 14th Amendment forbid states to deny any person “life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” or to deny any person “equal protection of the laws.” -
Tennessee Re-Joins Union
Tennessee became the first Confederate state to be readmitted into the Union. The Volunteer State had also been the last to withdraw from the Union, after holding a statewide referendum on June 8, 1861. -
Andrew Johnson formally declared an end to the Civil War
President Andrew Johnson formally declared an end to the Civil War today. Although bloodshed ended over a year before, there had never been a formal declaration of peace and reunification in the country before today. -
National Labor Union
The National Labor Union was the first national labor federation in the United States. Founded in 1866 and dissolved in 1873, it paved the way for other organizations, such as the Knights of Labor and the AFL. It was led by William H. Sylvis and Andrew Cameron. Wikipedia -
General Courts First Two African American Members
Two African Americans sat in the Massachusetts Legislature on November 6, 1866, Massachusetts elected its first two African American members of the Massachusetts General Court: Edward Garrison Walker (also known as Edwin G. Walker), a lawyer from Charlestown, and Charles Lewis Mitchell, a printer from Boston's Ward 6. It is the first time black representatives have participated in this branch of the American government. -
Ex Parte Milligan
Ex parte Milligan, 71 U.S. 2, was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court that ruled that the use of military tribunals to try civilians when civil courts are operating is unconstitutional. Ex parte Milligan became well known as the leading U.S. Supreme Court case that found the president went beyond his legal powers to suppress dissenters during the American Civil War. The decision also helped establish the tradition that presidential and military action "based on war" had limits. -
John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge Opening
The John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge was opened to traffic on January 1, 1867, and was originally known as the Cincinnati-Covington Bridge, spans the Ohio River between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky. Its central span of 1057 feet was the longest in the world at the time. -
African-American Met Get To Vote In Washington D.C.
On January 8, 1867, African American men gain the right to vote in the District of Columbia despite the veto of its most powerful resident, President Andrew Johnson. The Republican-controlled Senate overrode Johnson by a vote of 29-10 three years before a constitutional amendment granted the right to vote to all men regardless of race. -
West Virginia University Established
Founded in 1867, West Virginia University has a long and rich history as a land-grant university. it was founded by Alexander Martin. He was a Methodist minister from Scotland who served from the founding of the school in 1867 until 1875. -
Nebraska becomes a state
Nebraska was admitted to the Union as the 37th state. Congressional Republicans had passed a statehood bill for Nebraska in 1866, but President Andrew Johnson vetoed the measure. A second attempt in February of 1867 was more successful, with Congress overriding Johnson's veto to establish statehood for Nebraska. -
The Reconstruction Acts of 1867
The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 began the period of time known as Radical Reconstruction. Some of the new measures included All males, regardless of race, but excluded former Confederate leaders who were permitted to participate in the constitutional conventions that formed the new governments in each state. -
Atlantic Cable Quartz Lode Mine
The gold mine was named on June 15, 1867, with the name commemorating the completion of the laying of the second transatlantic cable. The mine's founders were Alexander Aiken, John B. Pearson, and Jonas Stough. They were camped on Flint Creek and their horses had drifted off. -
FIrst elevated Railroad (NY)
The first elevated railroad in the USA begins service in New York. Construction on the line began on July 1, 1867.[8] The first column was erected on October 7, 1867, and was tested in December 1867. The cable was a loop, driven by a stationary engine, that ran between the rails for propulsion of the cars, and then returned under the street. The line opened for business on July 3, 1868. -
Kidder Massacre
The Kidder Fight, of July 2, 1867, refers to a skirmish near what is now Goodland, Kansas involving a detachment of ten enlisted men and an Indian scout of the United States 2nd Cavalry under the command of Second Lieutenant Lyman S. Kidder who were attacked and wiped out by a mixed Lakota and Cheyenne forces. -
US takes control of Midway Island.
The coral atoll—consisting of Eastern Island and the larger Sand Island to the west—has a total land area of just 2.4 square miles (6.2 square km). Midway was formally annexed by the U.S. in 1867, and the same year a coal depot was established for transpacific steamers, but it was never used. -
USA buys Alaska
On October 18, 1867, the U.S. formally takes possession of Alaska after purchasing the territory from Russia for $7.2 million, or less than two cents an acre. Indigenous peoples settled the unforgiving territory thousands of years earlier.