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Civil War Timeline
Civil War Timeline -
Shoe worker Strike
Tens of thousands of shoe workers walked off the job and marched in parades down the street. They did this in demand of higher pay, and were successful. Abraham Lincoln, who was campaigning for president at the time, announced his support for the shoe maker strike. -
Cooper Union Speech
Abraham Lincoln gave a speech at Cooper Union in New York City. Lincoln delivered a forceful argument against the spread of slavery, and became an overnight sensation and a leading candidate for the upcoming presidential election. -
Pony Express
Overland mail between California and Missouri is carried over the Oregon Trail for eighteen months by this series of riders on horseback. -
Lincoln's New Approach
Presidential Candidates at this time did not participate in campaigning in the 1860's. Lincoln's new method of using posters, images and slogans eventually helped him win over his voters. -
Emmanuel Leutze
Emmanuel Leutze is commissioned by Congress to paint the mural "Westward Ho the Course of Empire Takes Its Way" for the U.S Capitol. This mural represents frontier settlement. -
Abraham's Victory
Republican Abraham Lincoln wins the Presidential election with 39.7% of the vote, defeating Stephen Douglas, John Breckinridge and John Bell. -
South Carolina's First Meeting
South Carolina calls for a convention on December 17 to decide if the state should secede from the Union. The State of South Carolina warned that if the Republicans won, they would have to use their Constitutional right to withdraw from the Union. -
James Buchanan
Outgoing President James Buchanan sends a State of the Union message to Congress. In it he states that secession is unconstitutional, he says the federal government lacks the authority to prevent it and calls for a constitutional amendment allowing Southern states to retain slaves as property. -
South Carolina Secedes
A South Carolina Secession Convention is called to order. South Carolina decides to secede from the United States in response to Abraham's presidency. They become the first southern state to leave the union. -
Lincoln's Opposition
Lincoln's opposition to a section of the Crittenden Compromise becomes public, ending the proposal's potential as a possible solution. (The Crittenden Compromise was an attempt to prevent the secession of southern states and avoid the Civil War.) -
Confederacy
The Confederate States of America is formed with Jefferson Davis, a West Point graduate and former U.S. Army officer, as president. On February 8, 1861, representatives of those states announced the formation of the Confederate States of America, with its capital at Montgomery, Alabama. -
Fort Sumter Attacked
At 4:30 a.m. Confederates under General Pierre Beauregard opened fire with 50 cannons upon Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War begins. -
Lincoln's Response
President Lincoln Calls Congress into Emergency Session. Three days after the attack on Fort Sumter, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation calling forth the state militias, 75,000 troops, in order to suppress the rebellion. -
Secession Increase
Virginia secedes from the Union, followed within five weeks by Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina, thus forming an eleven state Confederacy with a population of 9 million, including nearly 4 million slaves. -
Blockade
President Lincoln issues a Proclamation of Blockade against Southern ports. For the duration of the war the blockade limits the ability of the rural South to stay well supplied in its war against the industrialized North.The Union continued to blockade the South throughout the Civil War until the war ended in 1865 -
Bull Run
The Union Army under General Irvin McDowell suffers a defeat at Bull Run 25 miles southwest of Washington. Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson earns the nickname "Stonewall," as his army resists Union attacks. -
Wilson's Creek
Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri.The Union Army under General Nathaniel Lyon, attack Confederate troops and state militia southwest of Springfield, Missouri. The victory emphasizes the strength of the south -
Battle of Ball's Bluff
The Battle of Ball’s Bluff in Virginia produced the war’s first martyr and led to the creation of a Congressional committee to monitor the conduct of the war. Colonel Edward D. Baker and a friend of President Lincoln, led troops across the Potomac River only to be forced back to the river's edge where he was killed. T -
Battle of Belmot
An early battle in the career of U.S. Grant. An attempt to create a diversion in the Mississippi campaign, most significant for the battlefield experience it gave Grant. -
Battle of Port Royal
Important Union naval victory against the land fortifications of Port Royal. The victory gave the Union control of the coastal islands of South Carolina. -
Surrender of Fort Henry
The surrender of Fort Henry was the first important Union victory of the Civil War. The lost for the south allowed the north to take control of the river -
Surrender of Fort Donelson
Union general Ulysses Grant begins his assault on Fort Donelson, Tennessee. On 02, 16, the Confederates surrender the fort, allowing the Union another victory. -
Confederate
Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as President of the Confederate States of America.Davis faced difficulties throughout the war as he struggled to manage the Southern war effort, maintain control the Confederate economy and keep a new nation united. -
Battle of Winchester
After two weeks of battles at Cross Keys and Front Royal, General "Stonewall" Jackson attacks Union forces at Winchester and successfully drives them from the city. -
Battle of Seven Pines
General Joseph Johnston, commander of the Confederate army in Virginia is wounded and replaced by Robert E. Lee. Both sides claimed victory but Johnston's wounding had profound influence on the war: it led to the appointment of General Robert E. Lee as Confederate commander. -
Seven days' Battle
Featured six different battles along the Virginia Peninsula east of Richmond. The Union Army of the Potomac, led by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, was over 100,000 men strong yet was steadily driven away from the ultimate goal of Richmond and back to the James River by Confederates led by a new field commander—Gen. Robert E. Lee. -
The Battle of the Second Bull Run
The Battle of Second Bull Run was fought over several days in late August 1862. It was a stunning Confederate victory over the Union Army of Virginia. Over 20,000 men fell as casualties at this fight. -
Battle of Sharpsburg
This was the bloodiest single day of the Civil War. It was General Lee's first invasion of the North. Following the Union victory, President Lincoln will introduce the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order that freed every slave in the Confederate States. -
Battle of Fredricksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was an early battle of the civil war and stands as one of the greatest Confederate victories. Led by General Robert E. Lee, the Army of Northern Virginia routed the Union forces led Maj Gen. Ambrose Burnside. -
Battle of Stones River
Fought between the Union Army of the Cumberland under General William Rosecrans and the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General Braxton Bragg, the costly Union victory frees middle Tennessee from Confederate control and boosts northern morale. -
Emaciation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect. Applauded by many abolitionists including Frederick Douglass, there are others who feel it does not totally abolish slavery. But overall, it was a win for the north. -
Draft
Drafting of the soldiers for military service begins in the North. -
Stonewall Dead
Stonewall Jackson is shot accidentally by his own army at the Battle of Chancellorsville, VA. Soon after, Lee asks Jefferson Davis for permission to invade the North and take war out of Virginia -
Mississippi Surrenders
Vicksburg, Mississippi, surrenders to the Union Army under Grant. The capture of Vicksburg gives the Union complete control of the Mississippi River. -
Draft Riots
Draft Riots begin in New York City as workers and laborers, upset over the draft system that seemingly favors the rich, attack the draft office and African American churches. The riots continue through July 16. -
Invasion of Kansas
Invasion of Lawrence, Kansas. In a daylight raid, Confederate and Missouri guerrillas under William Clarke Quantrill storm into Lawrence and destroy most of the town.150 men and boys are murdered by Quantrill's men. -
President's Speech
President Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address Speech. After a very long introduction, people expected his speech to be almost 2 hours long. When they realized that it wasn't nearly that much, they got upset. -
The Battle for Chattanooga
Union forces break the Confederate siege of the city in successive attacks. The decisive Union victory sends the Confederate Army south into Georgia where General Bragg reorganizes his forces -
Siege of Knoxville, Tennessee
Confederate troops under General James Longstreet siege to the city of Knoxville held by Union forces. Longstreet finally attacks on November 30 but is struck with heavy losses. The arrival of Union reinforcements forces him to withdraw to Greeneville, Tennessee, where his corps will spend the winter. -
Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction
Lincoln Issues his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, which would pardon those who participated in the "existing rebellion" if they take an oath to the Union. -
Libby Prison Escape
After weeks of digging, 109 Union officers made their escape from Libby Prison, the largest and most sensational escape of the war. Though 48 of the escapees were later captured and two drowned, 59 were able to make their way back into the Union -
Lieutenant Grant
Ulysses S. Grant is appointed lieutenant general, a rank made at the request of President Lincoln. Grant now can command all Union Armies in the field the following day. -
Battle of Pleasant Hill, Louisiana
The Union Army defeats the attempt by Confederate forces under General Richard Taylor to drive them out of Louisiana. Unfortunately, the result of the campaign would be less than desired as the Confederates were still in firm control of most of the state. -
Lincoln
Lincoln is nominated by his party to run a second term as president. -
Attack on the Defenses of Washington
Early's troops arrive on the outskirts of Washington, DC, and trade cannon fire with a strong Union force remaining in the forts around the city. President Lincoln observes the fight from Fort Stevens as reinforcements from the Army of the Potomac arrive and quickly fill in the works. -
2nd Term
Abraham Lincoln is elected to serve a second term as the President. -
March to Sea
Union General William T. Sherman led some 60,000 soldiers on a 285-mile march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. The purpose of this “March to the Sea” was to frighten Georgia's civilian population into abandoning the Confederate cause. -
Battle of Franklin, Tennessee
The Battle of Nashville, Tennessee shattered the Confederate Army of Tennessee and marked the end of major Confederate offensives in the Western theater during the Civil War. -
End of March to Sea
Sherman's Army of Georgia arrives at Savannah, Georgia, completing the famous "March to the Sea". At Savannah, his troops will take Fort McAllister and force Confederate defenders to leave the city. -
The Battle of Nashville, Tennessee
The Confederate Army is thoroughly defeated and the threat to Tennessee ends. -
Assault and capture of Fort Fisher
Union occupation of this fort at the mouth of the Cape Fear River closes access to Wilmington, the last southern seaport on the east coast that was open to blockade runners and commercial shipping. -
Attack on Fort Stedman, Petersburg.
Confederate troops attack and briefly capture the Union fort in the Petersburg siege lines in an attempt to prevent Union plans from a late March assault. By the end of the day, the southerners have been thrown out. -
The Fall of Petersburg and Richmond
The Union Army under the overall command of Ulysses S. Grant, launched an assault on General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's Petersburg, Virginia trenches and fortifications after the Union victory at the Battle of Five Forks on April 1, 1865. -
The Battle of Sailor's Creek
A portion of Lee's Army- almost one-third of it- is cornered along the banks of Sailor's Creek are ultimately die. -
Lincoln's Assassination
President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by actor John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC. On the same day, Fort Sumter, South Carolina is re-occupied by Union troops. -
Davis Captured
Confederate President Jefferson Davis is captured near Irwinville, Georgia. -
Last Battle
The final battle of the Civil War takes place at Palmito Ranch, Texas. It is a Confederate victory. -
Potomac Review
The Grand Review of the Army of the Potomac in Washington, DC. The Grand Review of the Armies was a military procession and celebration in Washington, D.C., on May 23 and May 24, 1865, following the close of the American Civil War. -
Review of Sherman's Army
The Grand Review of General Sherman's Army in Washington, DC -
Civil War comes to an end
The Civil War officially ends. The war ended in Spring, 1865. Robert E. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865. -
Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 is passed by Congress, the first federal law protecting the rights of African Americans. It is vetoed by President Johnson, but the veto overridden by Congress. -
Grand Army
The first post of the Grand Army of the Republic forms in Decatur, Illinois, and subsequently became a major political force. -
KKK
The U. S. Secret Service begins an investigation into the Ku Klux Klan -
Peace with Texas
A proclamation of peace with Texas is issued by United States President Andrew Johnson -
Southern Reconstruction
The final Congressional elections of the year and election of additional Republicans lead to southern reconstruction being taken over by the federal government and freedman's rights backed. -
Rejection
Georgia rejects the 14th Amendment -
Repeating Rejection
North Carolina rejects the 14th Amendment -
Ships destroyed
A fire in the Philadelphia ship-yard accidentally destroys a number of ships used during the Civil War -
South Carolina
On the 6th anniversary of secession, South Carolina rejects the 14th Amendment -
KKK's Plan
The Klu Klux Klan forms secretly to discourage blacks from voting, issuing in a brutal and shameful era of terror and crime amid southern states as civil rights for freed slaves emerged from the Civil War Era and made hesitant progress throughout the majority of the 20th Century. -
Equality
Blacks in Washington D. C. gain the right to vote in a bill passed over President Andrew Johnson's veto -
Nebraska
Nebraska becomes a state -
Congress
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. -
Treaty of Cession
Secretary of State William H. Seward consummates the sale of Alaska to the United States from Russia for $7.2 million dollars, approximately two cents per acre, by signing the Treaty of Cession of Russian America to the United States. -
Bill of Union
Congress passes a bill admitting Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina into the Union. -
President Johnson
President Andrew Johnson demands the resignation of Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War. -
Grant
Ulysses S. Grant becomes ad interim Secretary of War -
Edwin Stanton
Edwin Stanton suspended by President Andrew Johnson -
Alaska
Russia turns over Alaska to the United States -
Americans
The Grange organizes to protect the interest of the American farmer.
