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Constitutional Union Party Forms
A political party made up of former whigs who opposed secession over the issue of slavery. They later supported John Bell as their presidential candidate. -
Jefferson Davis In Favor of Secession
For the first time, soon to be President of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis announces he is in favor of secession. -
Pony Express Begins
Mail is being sent nationally by means of horseback. The Pony Expressed stopped being in service on October 24th, 1861. -
Meeting of Constitutional Union Party
This party met in Baltimore and was in favor of John Bell of Tennessee for President and Edward Everett of Massachusetts for Vice-President. They were sometimes called the Bell-Union party. -
Republican Convention
This convention was held in Chicago. They chose to represent Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin rather than William H. Sherman and Salmon P. Chase. -
Democratic Convention Makes a Decision
The convention meets on June 18th but can't make the 2/3 requirement to select a nominee. They finally select Stephen Douglas on June 23rd. -
Southern Democrats Decide
Southern Democrats hold a convention in Richmond where they select John C. Breckinridge as their nominee for President. -
Abraham Lincoln Elected President
This election was extremely controversial, as the majority of the north voted for Lincoln while the majority of the south voted for Douglas. Lincoln won without any electoral votes from the south. -
South Carolina Calls a Meeting
South Carolina calls for a convention on December 17 to decide if the state should secede from the Union. This foreshadows their secession in December. -
South Carolina Secedes
Upset over the issue of the presidential election, South Carolina is the first state to secede from the union. They begin the formation of the Confederate States of America. -
Confederate States of America
This union consisted of the 11 states that seceded. They were in favor of slavery and opposed Lincoln as president. -
Lincoln is Sworn In
Abraham Lincoln goes through the inauguration process. He is sworn in as President with Hannibal Hamlin as his Vice President. -
Fort Sumter
Lincoln refused to surrender the fort to Jefferson Davis and left it up to him to become the aggressor. No one dies but it is the unofficial start of the war. -
Lincoln Calls for Troops
As a result of Fort Sumter, Lincoln called for 75,000 troops. He wanted the militia to grow so the union could overpower the south. -
Lincoln Declares Blockade
Lincoln called for the Southern ports to be blocked. This was part of the Anaconda Plan. -
Richmond
The capital of the Confederacy was moved from Montgomery to Richmond Virginia. This solidified Virginia's place in the Confederate States. -
Tennessee Secedes
The last state to secede was Tennessee, joining the formation of the Confederacy. -
Bull Run
This was the first official battle of the Civil War. The union ended up retreating, resulting in a Confederate victory. -
McDowell Replaced
Irvin McDowell was commander of Union forces in the east but was replaced by George McClellan. Lincoln made this decision after Bull Run when he realized they needed more training and organization. -
West Virginia
Delegates in the western part of Virginia pass a measure calling to become an independent state. They were loyal to the Union and did not want to remain part of the Confederacy. -
Fort Henry
At the battle of Fort Henry, the Union had its first major victory. This helped cut off the Confederacy's access to important waterways. -
Fort Donelson
At this battle, Ulysses S. Grant demands that they will not give up until the Confederates surrendered. This is where he acquired the nickname "Unconditional Surrender." -
Battle of Ships
The USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia fight the first battle between ironclad ships. Neither side won, but they both claimed victory. -
Penninsula Campaign
McClellan's army began its march up the Virginia Peninsula to try and take the south's capital. -
The Battle Of Shiloh
This was a key battle for control of the Mississippi River. The Confederacy overpowered the Union for the majority of the battle until the Union called for reinforcements. This battle was declared as a Union victory. -
Shenandoah Valley Campaign
Stonewall Jackson's offensive move began with a battle at Kernstown, Virginia. Although it resulted in a Union victory, Jackson kept pushing on. -
Seven Days Battle
This was a series of battles that drove the Union army away from the Confederate Captial, Richmond VA. It ended on July 1st, 1862. -
Second Battle of Bull Run
This battle resulted in another victory for the Confederacy at Bull Run. This set up Robert E Lee's invasion of the North. -
Antietam
This was the bloodiest single-day battle of the Civil War resulting in over 26,000 casualties. The Union had a chance to end the war there, but McClellan let the south retreat. This caused Lincoln to fire McClellan. -
Emancipation Proclamation Announced
Lincoln announced his intent to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. It would change the status of slaves in the south to free people. -
Emancipation Proclamation Issued
Lincoln's executive order was put into place and freed all slaves in Confederate states. -
Hooker Replaces Burnside
Ambrose Burnside had replaced McClellan as commander of the Union army. However, he caused delays as well and was replaced by Joseph Hooker. -
Chancellorsville
Stonewall Jackson attacked Hooker's army with 30,000 men and it was a Confederate victory, but Jackson was accidentally fatally wounded. The next day, Lee defeated another section of the Union army. -
West Virginia Becomes a State
West Virginia was admitted into the U.S. as the 35th state. It was the first to enter without free or slave being discussed. -
Meade Takes Hooker's Place
After the Union is defeated in Chancellorsville, Joseph Hooker resigned from command. George Meade replaced him and was given command of the Army of the Potomac. -
Gettysburg
Union leader John Buford with 90,000 men and Confederate leader A. P. Hill with 75,000 men met at Gettysburg for the bloodiest battle in the war. It ended on July 3rd with a Union victory. -
Vicksburg
Grant defeated the southern army on Vicksburg on the Mississippi River and eventually Pemberton too. The Confederates surrendered there and within a week the Union controlled the Mississippi River. -
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Forrest was an important part of the Battle of Chickamauga. Afterward, Forrest criticized Bragg, saying that he didn't capitalize on the victory as much as he should have. -
Johnston Replaces Bragg
Braxton Bragg, commander of the Army of Tennessee resigned to go take care of his wife. Shortly after, Joseph E. Johnston was given his spot. -
Gettysburg Address
Nearly four months after the battle, Lincoln made a famous speech on the battlefield honoring those who died there. It was only two minutes long but it was the most powerful. -
Andersonville
This was the harshest war prison in the war. They cramped 33,000 men in about 26 acres of land without food water or adequate shelter. The commander was Henry Wirz. -
Atlanta Campaign
General William T. Sherman and 98,000 men headed southeast along the Western and Atlantic Railroad. On September 2nd, they captured an important railroad hub. -
Bermuda Hundred Campaign
General Benjamin Butler and 33,000 soldiers attempted to disperse the Confederate army, but failed and resulted in 6,600 casualties. However, they secured the supply base at City Point. -
Wilderness
This battle was in Virginia between General Robert E. Lee and Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. Neither side won and there were 27,500 casualties. -
Spotsylvania
This was the fourth bloodiest battle of the civil war resulting in 30,000 casualties. -
Battle Of The Crater
Union miners dug a 511-foot long underground mine shaft below the Confederate works and packed it with 400 kegs of black powder. Despite their efforts, the Union army lost and it even resulted in some generals being fired. -
Cedar Creek
This battle solidified Union control of the Shenandoah Valley and prevented further Confederate resistance in the valley. It almost ensured that Lincoln would be re-elected. -
Lincoln Wins 1864 Election
Although he was convinced he would lose, Lincoln won the 1864 election against McClellan. He won with 55% of the popular vote. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman and some 60,000 of his soldiers headed toward Savannah, Georgia from Atlanta. They stole food and livestock and burned the houses and barns of people who tried to fight back in order to scare southerners out of supporting the Confederacy. -
Sherman Gifts Savannah
When Sherman’s troops arrived in Savannah, the city was undefended when they got there since the Confederates who were supposed to be guarding it had fled. Sherman presented the city of Savannah to President Lincoln as a Christmas gift. -
Lincoln Outlines Second Term
Lincoln outlined 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 gave a drunk speech since he'd been given whiskey as medicine. -
Battle of Fort Stedman
Confederates broke the Union line at Petersburg and General John B. Gordon captured Fort Stedman. The Confederates tried to take back City Point but the Union protected it. -
Lee Surrenders
After attempting to break-out of the Union envelopment, Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant at the home of Wilmer McLean at Appomattox Court House. -
Davis Abandons Richmond
Former President of the Confederate States, Jefferson Davis, abandoned Richmond so that it would not be captured by the Union. -
Lincoln is Assassinated
At Ford's Theater, John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in the head and he died the next day. -
Lincoln Dies
Lincoln did not die the same day he was shot but passed at 7:22 in the morning the next day. Andrew Johnson assumed the presidency after Lincoln died. -
Johnston Surrenders
Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to Sherman near Durham in North Carolina. -
Booth is Killed
Twelve days after the assassination, John Wilkes Booth is shot and killed in a burning tobacco barn in Virginia. -
Lincoln is buried
Abraham Lincoln was buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery, outside Springfield, Illinois. -
Thirteenth Amendment Ratified
The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, is finally ratified. Slavery is abolished. -
Civil Rights Act of 1866
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was the first federal legislation to protect the rights of African-Americans. Andrew Johnson vetoed the bill, but Congress overrode the veto on April 9th. -
Memphis Race Riot
In Memphis, Tennessee, 46 African Americans were killed by white civilians and many churches, schools, and houses were destroyed. -
U.S. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands
As part of the Reconstruction era, Congress renewed the charter for the Bureau. This helped newly freed African-Americans in the United States. -
United States Judicial Circuits Act
This act reduced the number of circuit courts to nine and the number of Supreme Court justices to seven. -
Tennessee Readmitted
Tennessee was the first state to be readmitted to the Union after the Civil War. -
General of Army
After fighting fiercely during the Civil War, General Ulysses S. Grant became the first person to receive the ranking, "General of Army." -
New Orleans Riot
Whites attacked a group of African Americans parading in front of Mechanics Institute in New Orleans resulting in 40 men dead, and 150 wounded. -
National Union Convention
Delegates met with President Johnson in Philadelphia to discuss ways to help President Johnson appease both the Radical Republicans and more modern Republicans. -
Peace With Texas
President Andrew Johnson issued a proclamation of peace with Texas. -
Elections for the United States House of Representatives
The election for who would be in the House of Representatives for the 40th United States Congress happened a year after the end of the Civil War. -
The Peabody Fund Established
The Peabody Fund provided money and teachers for the education of newly freed slaves. -
Nebraska Is Admitted
Nebraska is admitted as the 37th U.S State. -
First Reconstruction Act
The North was angered that the South would be returning their former Confederate leaders to power, so they passed the 1st Reconstruction Act, which divided the South into five military districts and outlined how the new governments would be designed. -
Peonage Outlawed
Peonage was a system where an employer would compel a worker to pay off a debt by working. On March 2nd, peonage was outlawed by Congress. -
Tenure of Office Act
This Act was a United States federal law that was meant to restrict the power of the President. It stated that the President could not remove certain office holders without the approval of the Senate. -
Second Reconstruction Act
The Second Act clarified and stated that it was the military commanders who were responsible for registering voters and elections in their territories. -
African Americans Voting
In Tuscumbia, Alabama, African Americans voted in the municipal election. -
Protest Ride-Ins
To protest segregation in New Orleans, African Americans staged a ride-in. -
Third Reconstruction Act
The Third Reconstruction Act gave supreme power to the five Union generals controlling Reconstruction in the five districts of the South. These generals had the right to remove any official from office if the Union generals believed the officials delayed the process of Reconstruction. -
Robert T. Freeman
Robert T. Freeman was the first black man to graduate from Harvard Dental School at the age of 21.
