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Lincoln's Speech at Cooper Institute
Abraham Lincoln addresses gathering at the Cooper Institute in New York, attacking slavery and insisting that the Federal government has "the power of restraining the extension of the institution." -
The Pony Express
The Pony Express began fast overland mail service, operating between St. Joseph, Mo., and Sacramento Calif., it offered 8-10 day delivery service with an emergency time of 7days, 7 hours. Riders changed horses at 153 spaced from 7 to 20 mi. apart. -
South Carolina calls for Southern Confederacy
The South Carolina Secession Convention proposes that a convention meet in Montgomery, Alabama, to create a constitution for the new Southern Confederacy. -
Period: to
United States Civil War
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Abraham Lincolns Elected 16th President of the United States
Abraham lincol wins 1860 Presidential Election with 180 electoral votes and 1, 865,593 popular votes -
South Carolina Legislature Approves Bill
South Carolina legislature approves bill calling for secession convention to begin December 17, 1860 -
U.S. Congress Convenes
The 36th Congress of the United States, second session, begins in Washington, D.C. -
The Committee of Thirty-three
is created by the U. S. House of Representatives composed of one representative from each of the 33 states, to analyze the crisis. The Chairman of the Committee, Ohio Rep. Thomas Corwin, reports a slavery protection amendment on January 4, 1861, which was never ratified. -
The Committee of Thirty-three
is created by the U. S. House of Representatives composed of one representative from each of the 33 states, to analyze the crisis. The Chairman of the Committee, Ohio Rep. Thomas Corwin, reports a slavery protection amendment on January 4, 1861, which was never ratified. -
South Carolina Representative Meet with Buchanan
A South Carolina delegation of U. S. House Representatives warns President Buchanan not to attempt reinforcement of Fort Sumter, which would be an act of coercion and war. The delegation presented Buchanan with a written statement promising not to attack the forts but admonishing him not to try to reinforce them. -
Southern Manifesto
Twenty-three representatives and seven senators from the South issue "a manifesto whcih urged secession and the organization of a Southern Confederacy." -
South Carolina Secedes
South Carolina secedes from the Union. -
Georgia seizes Fort Pilaski
The fort was seized by Georgia troops. It was recaptured by a Union force under Q. A. Gillmore on April 11, 1862, after a two-day bombardment in which the Federals used rifled cannon for the first tme in the war. -
Alabama seizes Federal Installations
Afull week before Alabama secedes from the Union, Gov. A. B. Moore orders the seizures of federal militray installations within the state. By the end of the next day Alabama troops controlled Fort Gsines, Fort Morgan, and the U.S Aresenal at Mount Vernon -
Crittenden Compromise
The Senate refuses to consider the Crittenden Compromise, one of several failed attempts to ease tension between the North and South. -
Withdrawal of Southern Congressmen
Members from the seceding states had designated January 21, as th day of their mass resignations. One by one, Southern members of the House and Senate stood in the wall of each, making their resignation speeches. -
Louisiana Secedes from the Union
The Secession Convention in Louisiana, in session since January 23, 1861, approves an ordinance of secession (by a vote of 113-17), becoming the sixth state to secede. -
Kansas Admitted to the Union
After years of confrontations, often violent, between pro- and anti-slavery squatters attempting to have their say in whether slavery would be legal in the state, "bleesing" Kansas is admitted to the Union as the 34th State, with an antislavery constitution. -
Battle of Bull Run
First major land battle of the armies in VIrgina. -
The First Income Tax
The first federal income tax was levied to help pay for the Union war effort. In the summer of 1861, Slamon P. Chase reported to the COngress that he would need $320 million over the next fiscal year to finace the war. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Maj. Gen. John C. Fremont, commander of the Union Army is St. LOuis, proclamied that all slaves owned by confederates in Missouro were "forever free." -
McClellan Appointed General-in-Chief
President Abrahan Lincoln appoints George B. McClellan as general-in-chief of all Union forces. -
Capture of Fort Henry
Fort Henry's fall opened the Tennessee River to Union gunboats and shipping as far as Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The capture of Fort Henry broke the communications of the extended Confederate line and Joseph E. Johnston decided to withdraw his main army to Nashville. He left 15,000 men to protect Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River. -
Habeas Corpus Restored
Abraham Lincoln ends the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus and issues an amnesty to political or state prisoners no longer deemed dangerous -
Capture of Fort Donelson
With the fall of Fort Donelson, the two major water transportation routes in the Confederate west, bounded by the Appalachians and the Mississippi River, became Union highways for movement of troops and material. -
1st Session of the First Confederate Congress
The provisional Confederate Congress, which had met for four sessions between February 4, 1861 and February 17, 1862, was replaced by a permanent legislature on February 18, 1862. Elections for the First Confederate Congress were held on November 6, 1861 and held it first (of four) sessions in Richmond, Virginia, from February 18 to April 21, 1862. -
Surrender of Nashville
After the fall of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston knew he could no longer hold Nashville. He leaves Nathan Bedford Forrest in charge of the rear-guard to salvage what he can and falls back to Murfreesboro. Union General Don Carlos Buell, still advancing cautiously, reaches the now undefended city of Nashville on February 23. The mayor of Nashville surrenders the city on February 25 to Gen. Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel. -
Lincoln Become General-in-Chief
President Abraham Lincoln relieves George B. McClellan as general-in-chief and takes direct command of the Union armies. Gen. McClellan retains command of the Army of the Potomac. -
Confederate Draft
Confederate Congress introduced the draft. Under the Conscription Act, all healthy white men between the ages of 18 and 35 were liable for a three year term of service. The act also extended the terms of enlistment for all one-year soldiers to three years. -
Slavery Abolished in Washington, D.C
President Abraham Lincoln signs the congressional bill abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia. One million dollars was appropriated to compensate owners of freed slaves, and $100,000 was set aside to pay District slaves who wished to emigrate to Haiti, Liberia or any other country outside the United States. -
Hunter Enlists Black Troops
The first black regiment (The 1st South Carolina Volunteer Infantry) was organized in the Department of the South by General David Hunter at Hilton Head, South Carolina. -
Death of Stonewall Jackson
The South suffers a huge blow as Thomas J. Jackson dies from his wounds, his last words, "Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees." "I have lost my right arm," Robert E. Lee laments. -
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history. -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issues the final Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves in territories held by Confederates and emphasizes the enlisting of black soldiers in the Union Army. -
Lee's Second Invasion of the North
Gen. Robert E. Lee with 75,000 Confederates launches his second invasion of the North, heading into Pennsylvania in a campaign that will soon lead to Gettysburg. -
West Virginia Admitted to the Union
West Virginia (formed from several pro-Union Virginia counties and calling for the abolition of slavery in its constitution) is admitted to the Union as the 35th state (counting the eleven that had seceded). -
Battle of Gettysburg
The tide of war turns against the South as the Confederates are defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, the largest battle ever conducted in the Western Hemisphere, and generally considered to be the turning point of the American Civil War. The battle of July 1 had pitted over 25,000 Confederates against 18,000 Federals, and ranks in itself as the twenty-third largest battle of the war. -
Surrender of Vicksburg
Vicksburg, the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River, surrenders to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the West after a six week siege -
Assault on Fort Wagner
The 54th Massachusetts Regiment, consisting of black soldiers, assaults Fort Wagner in South Carolina. The regiment sustains heavy losses, and though it does not take the fort, it gains heroic status as a result of its bravery. Col. Robert Gould Shaw and half of the 600 men in the regiment are killed. -
Manassas Station Operations
Jackson routed a Union brigade near Union Mills (Bull Run Bridge), inflicting several hundred casualties and mortally wounding Union Brig. Gen. G.W. Taylor. Richard S. Ewell's Division fought a brisk rearguard action against Joseph Hooker's division at Kettle Run, resulting in about 600 casualties. During the night of August 27-28, Jackson marched his divisions north to the First Manassas battlefield, where he took position behind an unfinished railroad grade. -
Grant Appointed Commander in Chief in the West
President Lincoln appoints Gen. Ulysses S. Grant to command all operations in the western theater. -
The Gettysburg Address
President Abraham Lincoln delivers a two minute Gettysburg Address at the military cemetery dedication ceremony in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. -
Lincoln's Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction
In this early plan for reintegrating the South with the Union, Lincoln offered a full pardon to any Southerner, except those who had held high offices in the Confederacy and those who had mistreated black prisoners of war. Those receiving amnesty would be required to swear that they would support the Constitution of the United States and the Union. -
Andersonville Prison
The first Northern prisoners arrive at the Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia, the largest Confederate military prison during the American Civil War. More than 13,000 Union prisoners died there, mostly of severe neglect. -
Grant Appointed Commander-in-Chief
President Abraham Lincoln appoints Ulysses S. Grant Lieutenant General and Commander in Chief of all the armies. Gen. William T. Sherman succeeds Grant as commander in the west. Grant's plan is to defeat Robert E. Lee's army. He crosses the Rapidan (May 3) and begins the advance from near Chancellorsville through the Wilderness. -
Fort Pillow Massacre
Casualties were high and only sixty-two of the U.S. Colored Troops survived the fight out of 262. The Confederates evacuated Fort Pillow that evening so they gained little from the attack except a temporary disruption of Union operations. A Federal congressional investigating committee subsequently verified that more than 300 blacks, including women and children, had been slain after the fort surrenedered. -
Battle of New Hope Church
After Johnston retreated to Allatoona Pass on May 19-20, Sherman decided that he would most likely pay dearly for attacking Johnston there, so he determined to move around Johnston's left flank and steal a march toward Dallas. Johnston anticipated Sherman's move and met the Union forces at New Hope Church. Sherman mistakenly surmised that Johnston had a token force and ordered Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's corps to attack. This corps was severely mauled. -
Battle of Pickett's Mill
After the Union defeat at New Hope Church, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman ordered Maj. Gen. O.O. Howard to attack Gen. Joseph E. Johnston' s seemingly exposed right flank. The Confederates were ready for the attack, which did not unfold as planned because supporting troops never appeared. The Rebels repulsed the attack causing high casualties (1600 Union, 500 Confederate). -
The Wade-Davis Bill
Each state's constitution was to be required to abolish slavery, repudiate secession, and disqualify Confederate officials from voting or holding office. In order to qualify for the franchise, a person would be required to take an oath that he had never voluntarily given aid to the Confederacy. President Abraham Lincoln's pocket veto of the bill presaged the struggle that was to take place after the war between President Andrew Johnson and the Radical Republicans in Congress. -
Battle of Fort Stevens
Jubal A. Early withdrew during the second night, marching toward White's Ford on the Potomac, ending his invasion of Maryland. -
Davis Replaces Johnston with Hood
President Jefferson Davis relieves Joseph E. Johnston of command of the defense of Atlanta and places John Bell Hood in charge. In a meeting with his men two days later William T. Sherman instructs them to expect an attack at any moment, given Hood's aggressive nature. Sherman had found out about the change in command thanks to the Atlanta newspapers. -
Battle of Marais de Cygnes
Maj. Gen. Sterling Price led an expedition into Missouri which Union forces under Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis and Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton finally countered around Kansas City, Missouri. Price withdrew south, and Pleasonton, commanding in the field, pursued him into Kansas and fought him at Marais des Cygnes. After an artillery bombardment that began at 4:00 am, Pleasonton's men attacked furiously. Although outnumbered, they hit the Rebel line, forcing them to withdraw. -
Battle of Decatur
As Gen. John B. Hood began the Franklin-Nashville Campaign during the fall of 1864, his Army of Tennessee demonstrated against Decatur, Alabama, October 26-29, in an attempt to cross the Tennessee River. Union forces, under the command of Brig. Gen. Robert S. Granger for most of the battle, numbered only about 5,000 men, but successfully prevented the much larger Confederate force from crossing the river. -
Congress Approves 13th Amendment
The U.S. Congress approves the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, to abolish slavery. The amendment is then submitted to the states for ratification. -
Lee Appointed General-in-Chief
Confederate General Robert E. Lee is appointed General-in-Chief. -
Freedmen's Bureau
Congress establishes the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands to aid former slaves and white refugees. Its main purpose was to help the newly-freed former slaves acquire some of the things that they had previously been denied, such as at least a rudimentary education and an opportunity to learn jobs skills outside manual labor. -
Confederacy Enlists Black Troops
In a desperate search for manpower, Jefferson Davis signs an act allowing slaves to enlist in the Confederate army. Few join, and those who do see no action before the war ends. -
Capture of Richmond
Ulysses S. Grant orders a general advance against Robert E. Lee's lines at Petersburg .Lee decides to evacuate Petersburg. President Jefferson Davis, his family and government officials, are forced to flee from Richmond. Fires and looting break out. The next day, Union troops enter and raise the Stars and Stripes. -
Assassination of Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary see the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater. At 10:13 p.m., during the third act of the play, John Wilkes Booth shoots the president in the head. Doctors attend to the president in the theater then move him to a house across the street. He never regains consciousness. Abraham Lincoln died the next morning (April 15) at 7:22 a.m. in the Petersen Boarding House. He was 56 years old. Vice President Andrew Johnson assumes the presidency. -
John Wilkes Booth Killed
Union cavalry corner John Wilkes Booth in a tobacco barn in Bowling Green, Virginia. Cavalryman Boston Corbett shoots the assassin dead. -
Burial of Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln is laid to rest in Oak Ridge Cemetery, outside Springfield, Illinois. -
Black Code Enacted in Mississippi
Mississippi becomes the first state to establish a system of black codes to sharply limit the rights of freed blacks. -
Habeas Corpus Restored
The Writ of Habeas Corpus is restored. -
New Freedman's Bureau
New Freedman's Bureau bill passed by Congress. -
Ending the War
President Johnson ended war in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. -
Ford's Theater
Congress appropriates $100,000 to buy Fords Theater. It will house the Army Medical Museum, the Office of the Surgeon General and War Department records until 1893. -
Congress passed The Civil Rights Bill
Congress passed The Civil Rights Bill of 1866, over the veto of President Johnson; granted blacks the rights and privileges of American citizenship; formed the basis for the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment is ratified. This gives civil rights to all the freed African Americans. -
Tennessee
Following the Civil War Tennessee becomes the first state readmitted to the Union. -
General of the Army
Congress passes the legislation making General of the Army a rank. Ulysses S. Grant is the first to hold that title. -
Investigating the KKK
The U. S. Secret Service begins an investigation into the Ku Klux Klan. -
Civil War Over
President Johnson formally declared the Civil War over (fighting had stopped months earlier). -
Ships Destroyed
A fire in the Philadelphia ship-yard accidentaly destorys a number of ships used during the Civil War. -
Right to Vote
Blacks in Washington D. C. gain the right to vote in a bill passed over President Andrew Johnson's veto -
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. -
Alexandria, 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
General Philip Sheridan assumes command of the 5th Military district encompassing Louisiana and Texas. He designates New Orleans as his headquarters. -
2nd Reconstruction Act Paaed
Congress passes the 2nd Reconstruction Act over Andrew Johnson's veto -
"Seward's Folly"
William P. Seward signs a treaty with Russia buying Alaska for 2 cents an acre. Democrats called it "Seward's Folly". -
Reconstruction of South begins
Reconstruction of South began, black voter registration. -
Congress admits States to the Union
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. -
Third Reconstruction Act Passed
Congress passed third Reconstruction Act, over President Andrew Johnson's veto. -
Ad Interim Secretary of War
Ulysses S. Grant becomes ad interim Secretary of War -
Russia Turns Over Alaska
Russia turns over Alaska to the United States
