The Civil War Timeline

By lizzymorris

  • Abraham Lincoln elected president

    Lincoln won the plurality of the popular vote in a four candidate field. Almost all of his votes came from the Northern United States, as the Republicans held little appeal to voters in the Southern United States.

  • South Carolina votes to secede from the United States

    South Carolina was the first state to secede from the federal union. The presidential victory of Abraham Lincoln triggered disunion across the slave holding south.

  • Jefferson Davis elected president of the Confederacy

    Delegates to the Montgomery Convention unanimously elected Jefferson Davis as the provisional president of the Confederate States of America and he was inaugurated on February 18.

  • Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter

    Confederate forces initiated the American Civil War by firing on the Union-held Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. This action followed South Carolina's secession from the Union in December 1860 and a standoff between the Union and the Confederacy over control of the fort.

  • First Battle of Bull Run is fought

    This was the first major land battle of the American Civil war resulting in a Confederate Victory. This battle is also significant because it marked the beginning of the fighting in war.

  • The Merrimac and the Monitor fight of the Virginia coast

    While the battle was inconclusive, the Monitor's action's prevented the destruction of the Union navy. The Merrimack's machinery is restored, and her wooden superstructure is replaced with an iron-covered citadel mounting 10 guns.

  • Robert E. Lee is named commander of the Army of Northern Virgina

    Robert E. Lee was appointed commander of the Army of Northern Virginia on June 1, 1862, after General Joseph E. Johnston was wounded at the Battle of Seven Pines. He led the army until its surrender at Appomattox Court House in 1865.

  • Battle of Antietam

    This battle was fought in Maryland resulting in a Union Victory and ending the confederate invasion of the North

  • Battle of Fredericksburg

    This was one of the largest and deadliest battles in the Civil war. It featured the first opposed river crossing in American military history.

  • Emancipation Proclamation is announced

    This declared that all enslaved persons in Confederate states were to be free. This proclamation while not immediately ending slavery had a significant impact on the war and nation. It transformed the wars character by making the abolition of slavery a central union goal.

  • Battle of Gettysburg

    This was a three day battle which was fought between the union and confederate armies between July 1 and 3.

  • Lincoln give his Gettysburg Address

    Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg address at the dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery in Gettysburg Pennsylvania. This was delivered in just two minutes.

  • President Lincolns Assasination

    President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, a confederate sympathizer and actor, while attending a play at Ford's Theater in Washington D.C. Booth shot Lincoln in the head.

  • John Wilkes Booth is Killed

    John Wilkes Booth was killed at age 26 years old. He was shot in the neck by a federal solider, while he was attempting to fight his way out of the burning tobacco bar where he had hidden.