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Period: to
civil war
civil war -
Union Party
The Constitution Union Party, meeting in Baltimore, creates a platform taken heavily from the U. S. Constitution and selects John Bell of Tennessee for President and Edward Everett of Massachusetts for Vice-President. It represents southern Whigs and Know-nothings (American Party). Sometimes called the Bell-Union Party -
James Chesnut
James Chesnut becomes the first Southerner to resign from the Senate. He is quickly followed by James H. Hammond -
Robert Anderson
Major Robert Anderson reports Fort Sumter is being threatened in Charleston as federal forces begin to improved Fort Moultrie and Fort Sumter in the harbor. -
James Buchanan
Outgoing President James Buchanan sends a distressed State of the Union message to Congress. In it he states that secession is unconstitutional, says the federal government lacks the authority to prevent it and calls for a constitutional amendment allowing Southern states to retain slaves as property. -
Lewis Cass
Lewis Cass tenders his resignation as Secretary of State over President Buchanan's refusal to reinforce federal troops in Charleston. -
John Crittenden
Pro-Union Senator John Crittenden of Kentucky proposes the Crittenden Compromise, which allowed states south of the old Missouri Compromise line to determine for themselves whether they entered the Union slave or free. -
South Carolina
South Carolina succeeds from the union -
They Move
Major Robert Anderson transfers his command from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter on his own initiative. He felt it was impossible to hold Fort Moultrie against South Carolina militia. -
Robert Anderson
As requested, John Floyd tenders his resignation as Secretary of War. Charges come out later in the day that he had misdirected funds to contractors and guns to the South. Neither charge will be fully investigated and his guilt (or innocence) is still a hotly debated subject -
Charleston falls
Federal arsenal at Charleston falls into the hands of the Rebels -
Mississippi
Mississippi secceeds from the union -
Florida
Florida succeds from the union -
Alabama
Alabama succeeds from the union -
Georgia
Georgia succeeds from the union -
Louisiana
Louisiana succeeded from the union -
Texas
Texas succeeds from the union -
Abraham Lincoln becomes president
Lincoln officially becomes the 16th president of the United States of America -
Virginia
Virginia succeeds from the union -
Arkansas
Arkansas succeeds from the union -
North Carolina
North Carolina succeeds from the union -
Seven Pines
Battle of Seven Pines -
Gaines Mill
Battle of Gaines Mill -
Malvern Hill
Battle of Malvern Hill -
Harpers Ferry
Battle of Harpers Ferry -
Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson takes 12,000 prisoners -
Sharpsburg
Battle of Sharpsburg -
Antietam
Following the preemptive strike at Antietam President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves in states or portions of states still in rebellion on January 1, 1863 -
Ambrose E. Burnside
Ambrose E. Burnside assumes command of the Army of the Potomac, relieving George B. McClellan -
Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg -
stone river
Battle of Stone's River -
Kelly's Ford.
Battle of Kelly's Ford. -
Lookout Mountain
Battle of Lookout Mountain -
Missionary Ridge, Chattanooga
Battle of Missionary Ridge, Chattanooga -
Ringgold Gap
Battle of Ringgold Gap -
Battle of Fort Sanders
Battle of Fort Sanders (earlier known as Ft. Loudon or Loudoun) -
Battle of Ripley
Battle of Ripley -
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman enters Knoxville, formally ending the siege -
Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Burnside is relieved of command (Department of the Ohio) -
Leonidas Polk
Leonidas Polk ordered to take command of the Army of Mississippi. -
Joe Johnston
Joe Johnston takes command of the Army of Tennessee in Dalton -
Olustee
Battle of Olustee -
Westport
Battle of Westport -
Burgess Mill
Battle of Burgess Mill -
Johnsonville
Battle of Johnsonville -
Griswoldville
Battle of Griswoldville -
Buckhead Creek
Battle of Buckhead Creek -
Franklin
Battle of Franklin -
Waynesborough
Battle of Waynesborough -
Stoney Creek
Battle of Stoney Creek -
Nashville
Battle of Nashville -
Kinston
Battle of Kinston -
Bentonville
Battle of Bentonville -
Five Forks
Battle of Five Forks -
Selma
Battle of Selma -
Fort Blakely
Battle of Fort Blakely -
James Johnston
James Johnston, a pro-Union politician, is appointed provisional governor of Georgia. -
Robert S. Granger
General Robert S. Granger declares Emancipation Day in Texas, the date when all Negroes are officially set free. Now celebrated as Juneteenth -
Lewis Payne
Conspirators Lewis Payne, George A. Atzerodt, David Herold and Mary Surratt are hung in Washington, D. C. for the assassination of President Lincoln -
Andrew Johnson
President Andrew Johnson appoints the Joint Committee on Reconstruction to determine which Southern states are entitled to representation in Congress -
KKK
The Ku Klux Klan is organized at the law offices of Thomas M. Jones in Pulaski, Tennessee. The name derives from the Greek word kykos (circle) and was suggested by John B. Kennedy, who anglicized it to Ku Klux. James R. Crowe added the word Klan because of the predominant Scottish-Irish population of the area -
BIRTHDAY PARTY
The first formal observation of President Lincoln's birthday is held in Washington, D. C. President Andrew Johnson attends -
Freedman's Bureau
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
Texas repeals the actions of the Secessionist Convention -
President Johnson
President Johnson vetos the Civil Rights Act of 1866 on the grounds that it was unconstitutional -
USA
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
Congress appropriates $100,000 to buy Ford's Theater. It will house the Army Medical Museum, the Office of the Surgeon General and War Department records until 1893 -
New Jersey
New Jersey ratifies the 14th Amendment -
North Carolina
North Carolina rejects the 14th Amendment -
Philadelphia
A fire in the Philadelphia ship-yard accidently destroys a number of ships used during the Civil War -
South Carolina rejects
On the 6th anniversary of secession, South Carolina rejects the 14th Amendment -
right to vote
Blacks in Washington D. C. gain the right to vote in a bill passed over President Andrew Johnson's veto -
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia rejects thousand of votes cast by Negroes, who were granted universal suffrage under the Reconstruction Act. -
Philip Sheridan
General Philip Sheridan assumes command of the 5th Military district encompassing Louisiana and Texas. He designates New Orleans as his headquarters. -
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ratifies the 14th Amendment -
William P. Seward
William P. Seward signs a treaty with Russia buying Alaska for 2 cents an acre. Democrats called it "Seward's Folly" -
Alaska
Senate ratifies treaty purchasing Alaska -
Nebraska
Nebraska ratifies the 14th Amendment -
Bills
Congress passes a bill admitting Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina into the Union. Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas, having refused to ratify the fourteenth amendment, were refused admission into the Union -
Edwin Stanton
President Andrew Johnson demands the resignation of Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War. -
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant becomes ad interim Secretary of War
