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Civil War Timeline
Civil War Timeline -
Jefferson Davis Speaks for Slavery
Senator Jefferson Davis, from Mississippi, explains why slavery should still be allowed in the territories. -
Shoe Workers Strike
20,000 New England shoe makers strike so they can get higher wages. -
Lincoln Visits Five Points
Lincoln visits Five Points, the slum in America. There, he spent time with the children in Sunday school and later, the visit helped with his campaign. -
All Aboard the Pony Express
The Pony Express was a mail delivering service with 119 stations each 12 miles apart. This made it faster for people to communicate, via letter. -
Union Party Forms
The former members of the American and Whig parties meet and from the Constitutional Union Party with John Bell their elected president and Edward Everett as vice-president. -
Albert Hicks
Albert Hicks, who was a pirate, was convicted of murder. He was hanged at present day Liberty Island, New York in front of many people. -
Congratulations Lincoln!
Lincoln was elected president with 180 electoral votes and 1,865,593 popular votes. He led the Union soldiers through a tough Civil War. -
Fort Sumter Threatened
Robert Anderson says that Fort Sumter is being threatened in Charleston. -
Time for Independence!
Georgia calls to all the southern states to form an independent nation and drop from the Union. -
Goodbye South Carolina
South Carolina succeeds from the Union because they wanted to keep slavery from being outlawed. Shortly after, many other southerns states dropped as well following South Carolina. -
Mississippi Follows South Carolina
Mississippi succeeds from the Union following South Carolina. Mississippi is the 2nd state succeed. -
Confederate States Form!
After many states drop from the Union, the Confederate states are formed. They are led by President Jefferson Davis. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
Major Anderson sends Lincoln a message saying that southern troops are demanding a surrender. Lincoln refuses to surrender. -
Lincoln is Inaugurated
Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as the 16th President of the Unites States -
Abraham Lincoln becomes president
Lincoln becomes the 16th president of the United States. He represented the Republican Party. -
War Begins!
President Jefferson Davis is forced into being the aggressor and declares war. He begins firing on the fort and luckily, no one dies but 4,000 rounds were fired. -
Robert E. Lee Resigns
Lee resigns from the United States Army saying that he can not raise his hand against his home. He goes back to Virginia and is offered the command of military and naval forces of Virginia. -
1st Battle of Bull Run
The Union troops are moving towards Richmond with 30,000 inexperienced soldiers. The Union army is disorganized and can't make an advancement on the Confederates. The Union troops retreat with the Confederates too tired to follow. -
Welcome George B. McClellan!
Lincoln appoints McClellan Commander. He replaces Irvin McDowell. -
Congratulations Jefferson Davis!
Jefferson Davis becomes the one and only president of the Confederate States. He led the Confederate Soldiers through a tough Civil War. -
Invasion of Western Tennessee
Ulysses S. Grant invades Tennessee and took control over two forts, Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, which were near the Cumberland River. Grant earns the nickname "Unconditional Surrender." -
Confederate Soldiers Change Naval Warfare!
A Confederate boat, named Merrimac, sinks two wooden ships from the Union and then battled the Union soldiers. This ended in a draw but changed Naval warfare by making wooden boats, obsolete. -
Surprise at the Shiloh
Ulysses S Grant gathers his troops at a church, named Shiloh, near the Mississippi border. Grant did not think to send scouts out and the Confederates attack early in the morning. Grant surprises them back the next day. This mini attack showed everyone the importance of scouts, fortresses, and trenches.
Battle lasted from April 6-7, 1862. -
New Orleans is Taken by the Union
Seventeen Union boats sail up the Mississippi River and take New Orleans from the Confederates. This happened under David Farragut's command. -
Seven Day's Battles
A 7 day battle(June 25 - July 1) where Robert E. Lee moved against McClellan. This battle was fought between the York and James River -
Goodbye Lincoln, Hello Halleck
Lincoln was his own general-in-chief for four months when he finally gave up that position so General Henry W. (Old Brains) Halleck. -
2nd Battle of Bull Run
75,000 Union soldiers are defeated by 55,000 Confederate solders. This took place in Virginia where the Union Army retreated to Washington. -
Antietam
The bloodiest, single day battle in the U.S. military history. Robert E. Lee and his army was stopped at Antietam, in Maryland, by George McClellan and his army. By night, 26,000 men are dead, hurt, or missing. Lee retreats to Virginia. -
Emancipation Proclamation Issued
The Emancipation Proclamation states that if the southern states did not stop rebelling, this document would go into effect. -
George McClellan = FIRED!
Abraham Lincoln fires McClellan because of his poor work strategies and vulnerability of his troops. -
Emancipation Proclamation goes into Effect
The Confederates did not quit their rebellions, therefore, the Proclamation went into effect. This document freed the slaves from the southern states. -
Burnside Replaces "Fighting Joe"
Lincoln relieves General Ambrose Burnside from command of the Union Army of the Potomac. He replaces Burnside with General Joseph Hooker, also known as Fighting Joe. -
RIP Stonewall
The Confederacy suffers a hard loss of Stonewall Jackson. He died from his wounds, which he got from battle. "Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees." Those were his last words. -
Gettysburg Turning Point 1
Union and Confederates meet by chance in a small farm town in PA. The shooting starts while reinforcements were requested by both sides. The Union, with 90,000 men, secures Cemetery Hill. Confederates, with 75,000 men, secure the town. -
Gettysburg Turning Point 2
Confederates push through Union troops who left Little Round Top unguarded. Joshua L. Chamberlain, from the Union side, stops the pushing of the Confederates. The Union had orders to protect the hill top at all costs. -
Gettysburg Turning Point 3
Robert E. Lee is confident he could break the Union lines by ordering his troops to advance. The troops are badly injured the by Union. Confederates lose and Union has a major morale boost. Lincoln produced a famous speech called "Gettysburg Address" which unified the nation. -
Vicksburg
Confederate soldiers surrender to Grant at the Mississippi River. Since the Union now had control of the Mississippi, the Confederates were split into two. -
Defeat at Chickamauga
The Confederates defeat the Union in Tennessee. This leaves the Union army from Cumberland, trapped in Chattanooga. -
Four Score and Seven Years Ago
Lincoln gives the Gettysburg Address speech in order to try to unify the nation during the times of war. -
Chattanooga Revenge
The Union get their revenge from the Confederates by storming up the Missionary Ridge without order. This surprised the Confederates and caused them to have a defeat. -
Union Officers Escape!
109 Union officers escaped from Libby Prison onto the banks of the James River in Richmond, Virginia.
59 Union officers reach Union lines. -
New Union Commander!
Lincoln appoints Ulysses S. Grant the Union Commander because Lincoln loved Grants war strategies and and how he worked. He soon became known as "Unconditional Surrender." -
Capture of Fort Pillow
The Capture of Fort Pillow took place in Tennessee after a raid through central and western Tennessee. -
Battle of the Wilderness
Ulysses S. Grant leads his Union troops into Confederate territory, which happens to be in the woods. The battle, which lasted for two days, ended in a draw. Grant would not retreat and he ordered his troops to move even more south. -
Lee Beats Grant!
Ulysses S. Grant is badly beaten by Robert E. Lee on the battle field. Grant only progresses forwards rather than retreating. -
Battle of Pickett's Mill
Union army bombarded Confederate soldiers at New Hope Church. Surprise attacked surprised the Confederates. -
Ohhhhh Grant
Grant made a 7,000 causality mistake in twenty minutes . This happened at Cold Harbor in Virginia. -
Re-election of Lincoln
Lincoln is re-elected president defeating, democrat, George B. McClellan. Lincoln holds 55% popular vote and 212 out of 233 electoral votes. -
Battle of Nashville
This battle took place is Tennessee where the Union troops stormed the Confederate trenches and battled them. Eventually, the Union troops defeated the Confederate troops. -
Sherman Destroys Everything in His Path
Sherman reached Savannah, Georgia leaving behind a 300 mile long path of destruction all the way from Atlanta. Sherman then send a telegraph to Lincoln offering Savannah as a Christmas Present. -
Capture of Fort Fisher
Union army captures Fort Fish, North Carolina. They cut off all access to Wilmington for the Confederates. -
13th Amendment Approved
The U.S. Congress approves the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery. The amendment was then submitted to the states for ratification. -
Sherman Captures South Carolina
Sherman's Army captures Columbia, South Caroline and Confederates had to evacuate Charleston. -
Lincoln is Inaugurated.......Again!
Abraham Lincoln is once again inaugurated, for his second term, not knowing his tragic end would soon come:( -
Battle of Fort Stedman
Robert E. Lee fires his last attack of the war in desperation to break out of Petersburg. This attempt failed and within a week Lee was evacuating his positions around Petersburg. -
RIP Lincoln :(
Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in Ford's Theater. This happened during a play production while Booth, sneaked up behind Lincoln and shot him in the back of the head. -
Joseph Johnston Surrenders
General Joseph Johnston sign the surrender document on behalf of the Confederate Army of Tennessee and southern troops near Durham, North Carolina. -
Richard Taylor Surrenders
General Richard Taylor surrenders Confederate forces in Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana. -
Goodbye Jefferson Davis
President Jefferson Davis, of the Confederates, was captured near Irwinville, Georgia. -
Final Battle of Civil War
The last battle of the Civil War took place at Palmito Ranch in Texas and ended with a Union loss and Confederate win. -
James-Younger Gang
Jesse and Frank James turned to crime after being Confederate guerrillas. They preformed their first, of many, armed bank robbery in broad day light in Liberty, Missouri. -
Immigrant Ship Sinks
An immigrant ship, Monarch of the Seas, sinks in Liverpool, England. The sinking caused 738 people to die. -
Civil Rights Act
Civil Rights Act was one of the first United States federal law that defined citizenship and confirmed and equally protected every citizen of the United States. -
Memphis Race Riots
The Memphis Race Riots occurred in Memphis, Tennessee on May 1st through the 3rd. The riots broke out due to the fact that white soldiers believed that many African American soldiers killed multiple police officers because they were arresting other black soldiers. Because of these riots, the 14th amendment was passes to ensure equal rights between all citizens. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment is ratified which gives civil rights to all the free slaves. -
Welcome Back Tennessee!
After the war, Tennessee is the first state to be accepted back into the Union. -
The First 5-Start General
Congress creates the rank of General of the Us Army. The first, and proud General went to Ulysses S. Grant. He retired two years later in 1869 and General William T. Sherman took over his position. -
The Atlantic Cable
The Atlantic Cable allowed telegraph communication for the first time transatlantic! This made communication much easier. -
Ku Klux Klan
The U.S. Senate begins a search into the Ku Klux Klan, also known as the KKK. The Ku Klux Klan was an all white discrimination group against the African Americans. -
New Orleans Race Riots
These riots also broke out due to segregation of the African American race. This riot took place outside the Mechanics Institute because the Louisiana state legislature banned African Americans right to vote. Democrats attacked Republicans, which were mostly black, because they were parading outside the Institute. -
14th Amendment Ratified!
In order for an amendment to be ratified, 3/4 of the states had to approve. On this date, the last state needed to ratify was Ohio and they did. -
African American Males are Given the Right to Vote!
After long, hard years of being sold and bought as a slave, the African American slaves were finally freed and finally able to vote! -
Voting Rights to Blacks
Blacks have the right to vote in Washington D.C. They gain this right to vote in a bill passed over by President Andrew Johnson's veto. -
Welcome Nebraska!
Nebraska becomes a state!! -
1st Reconstruction Act
The first reconstruction act, out of three, split the Confederate states into 5 different military districts all under the control of the of a Northern General. The districts responsibilities were to protect life and property. -
Virginia Ignores Reconstruction
Virginia rejects any votes by African Americans. Which is not aloud due to the Reconstruction. -
Welcome Alaska!
America purchases Alaska from Russia. 586, 412 square miles was bought and negotiated by Andrew Johnson's Secretary of State, William Seward, for $7.2 million dollars. The United states was paying about 2 cents per acre of land. -
Andrew Johnson Announcement
President Andrew Johnson announces to America the purchase of Alaska from Russia. -
Royal Mail Ship Sinks
A hurricane in the British Virgin Islands sinks the Royal Mail Ship. The hurricane destroys Derwent and Wye and damages Conway, Solent, and Tyne. The hurricane kills 166 people from the two ships. -
Andrew Johnson Impeachment
Congress wants to impeach him because he does not work very well and his lack of unwillingness with the reconstruction.
