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the Confederate States of America formed
February 9, 1861 - Twith Jefferson Davis, a West Point graduate and former U.S. Army officer, as president. -
Lincoln is sworn in
March 4, 1861 - Abraham Lincoln is sworn in as 16th President of the United States of America -
Blockades
mid-April 1861, when President Lincoln proclaimed a blockade of all southern ports, the U.S. Navy had less than 42 ships available to patrol some 3,500 miles of Confederate coastline. -
The Anaconda Plan
n May 1861, Union General-in-Chief Winfield Scott proposed blockading the southern coast while gunboats drove down the Mississippi River. -
Bull Run
A little river known as Bull Run near Manassas Junction, Virginia saw the first major land battle of the Civil War on July 21, 1861, when a Union force of 35,000 marched from Washington, D.C. to strike the main Confederate army. After fighting on the defensive for much of the day, the Confederates rallied --thanks to the arrival of a brigade led by Thomas J. Jackson, who earned his famous nickname "Stonewall" that day--and broke the Union right flank, sending the Federals into retreat. -
Abraham Lincoln Takes Action
President Lincoln issued a war order authorizing the Union to launch a unified aggressive action against the Confederacy. General McClellan ignored the order. -
McClellan Loses Command
President Lincoln impatient with General McClellan's inactivity issued an order reorganizing the Army of Virginia and relieving McClellan of supreme command. McClellan was given command of the Army of the Potomac, and ordered to attack Richmond. This marked the beginning of the Peninsular Campaign. -
The Battle of Shiloh
Confederate forces attacked Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant at Shiloh, Tennessee. By the end of the day, the federal troops were almost defeated. Yet, during the night, reinforcements arrived, and by the next morning the Union commanded the field. When Confederate forces retreated, the exhausted federal forces did not follow. Casualties were heavy 13,000 out of 63,000 Union soldiers died, and 11,000 of 40,000 Confederate troops were killed. -
A New Commander of the Union Army
Major-General Henry Halleck was named general-in-chief of the Union army -
Antietam
September 17, 1862, George McClellan's Army of the Potomac clashed with Robert E. Lee's invading Army of Northern Virginia near Antietam Creek at Sharpsburg, Maryland -
Emancipation Proclamation.
In an effort to placate the slave-holding border states, Lincoln resisted the demands of radical Republicans for complete abolition. Yet some Union generals, such as General B. F. Butler, declared slaves escaping to their lines "contraband of war," not to be returned to their masters. Other generals decreed that the slaves of men rebelling against the Union were to be considered free. Congress, too, had been moving toward abolition. In 1861, Congress had passed an act stating that all slaves emp -
Chancellorsville
ate April 1863, Joseph Hooker led the Army of the Potomac across the Rappahannock River and into the dense woods around Chancellorsville. Leaving a small force at Fredericksburg, Robert E. Lee marched most of his Army of Northern Virginia against the Federals. -
The Vicksburg Campaign
Union General Grant won several victories around Vicksburg, Mississippi, the fortified city considered essential to the Union's plans to regain control of the Mississippi River. On May 22, Grant began a siege of the city. After six weeks, Confederate General John Pemberton surrendered, giving up the city and 30,000 men. The capture of Port Hudson, Louisiana, shortly thereafter placed the entire Mississippi River in Union hands. The Confederacy was split in two -
The Battle of Chickamauga
Union and Confederate forces met on the Tennessee-Georgia border, near Chickamauga Creek. After the battle, Union forces retreated to Chattanooga, and the Confederacy maintained control of the battlefield -
The Battle of Chattanooga
On November 23-25, Union forces pushed Confederate troops away from Chattanooga. The victory set the stage for General Sherman's Atlanta Campaign -
Battle of Olustree
Confederate victory over a Union invasion of north eastern Florida -
Battle of Sabine Crossroads
Union army under General Banks attacking into northern Louisiana defeated by a confederate army under General Richard Taylor -
Battle of Pleasant Hill
Taylor tries a second attack but is repulsed. Banks still decides to withdraw, after a support force fails to arrive -
Battle of Fort Pillow
Confederate capture of Fort Pillow was marred by the probable murder of the black soldiers present in the Union garrison. -
Battle of Mobile Bay
Unsuccessful Union attempt to capture the port of Mobile, although the Confederate fleet there was forced to surrender and the port effectively closed -
Lee becomes general
Lee became general in chief of the South -
Petersburg and Richmond
General Grant and General Meade's Army moved to the south of Richmond. During the winter of 1864-65 the Union army attacked many times, but could not break through. After nine months General Lee was forced to retreat toward Lynchburg giving up both Petersburg and Richmond. The Confederate burned Richmond before leaving to keep the Union from getting equipment and supplies -
Appomattox Courthouse
General Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia.
Confederate soldiers were allowed to keep their belongings including pistols and horses and could return home -
Lincoln's assassination
On Good Friday, April 14 Lincoln was assassinated. He was attending a performance at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D. C. The assassin was and actor named John Wilkes Booth. After twelve days of running Booth was fatally shot. He had been part of a group of co-conspirators including Lewis Powell, Lewis Payne, who stabbed Secretary of State Seward that same night. Seward lived. After a manhunt for the eight conspirators four were hanged and the four others were imprisoned -
Johnston surrenders
Johnston surrendered to Sherman. -
first formal observation
The first formal observation of President Lincoln's birthday is held in Washington, D. C. President Andrew Johnson attends -
New Freedman's Bureau bill passed
New Freedman's Bureau bill passed by Congress. President Andrew Johnson vetoes the bill that authorized military trial for those accused of "depriving Negroes of the Civil Rights" on the same day -
Texas repeals the actions
Texas repeals the actions of the Secessionist Convention -
veto of the Civil Rights Act of 1866
President Johnson vetos the Civil Rights Act of 1866 on the grounds that it was unconstitutional -
United States declares that a state of peace
The United States declares that a state of peace exists with Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia -
Congress passes the Tenure 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. -
Virginia rejects thousand of votes
Alexandria, Virginia rejects thousand of votes cast by Negroes, who were granted universal suffrage under the Reconstruction Act. -
General Philip Sheridan assumes command
General Philip Sheridan assumes command of the 5th Military district encompassing Louisiana and Texas. He designates New Orleans as his headquarters. -
Massachusetts ratifies
Massachusetts ratifies the 14th Amendment -
passes the 2nd Reconstruction Act
Congress passes the 2nd Reconstruction Act over Andrew Johnson's veto -
Edwin Stanton is illegally restored
Edwin Stanton is illegally restored to Secretary of War by the U. S. Senate -
Johnson removes Edwin Stanton
President Andrew Johnson removes Edwin Stanton from office and informs the Senate of his actions -
House votes to impeach
The U. S. House votes to impeach President Andrew Johnson, 126-47 -
Louisiana adopts a new state constitution
Louisiana adopts a new state constitution outlawing segregation and incorporating the language of the 13th and 14th amendments. -
Congress passes congressional representation
Congress passes congressional representation for North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Louisiana over President Andrew Johnson's veto
