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Jefferson Davis comes out in favor of secession for the first time
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After being photographed by Matthew Brady, Abraham Lincoln speaks at the Cooper Institute in New York City.
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Southern Democrats hold a convention in Richmond where they select John C. Breckinridge as their nominee for President
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Lieutenant Colonel William Hardee is replaced by Major John F. Reynolds as commander of cadets at West Point
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Republican Abraham Lincoln wins the Presidential election with 39.7% of the vote, defeating Stephen Douglas, John Breckinridge and John Bell.
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South Carolina calls for a convention on December 17 to decide if the state should secede from the Union
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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.
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Georgia calls for a convention of Southern states to form an independent nation.
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South Carolina Secessionist Convention is called to order. The convention decides unanimously to secede from the United States and appoints a committee to draw up the needed documents.
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Charleston is notified by telegraph that a man of war with troops is on the way
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Confederate Convention in Montgomery adopts the "Stars and Bars" as the nation's flag
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Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated President of the United States. 7 states had already seceded.
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Beginning at 4:30 am on the 12th and continuing until the morning of the 13th, Confederate batteries along the shore of Charleston Harbor fire on Fort Sumter under the command of Major Robert Anderson. Anderson arranges a surrender with Texas Senator Louis Wigfall on the morning of the 13th.
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Robert E. Lee orders Stonewall Jackson to remove the weapons and equipment from the arsenal at Harpers Ferry
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Arkansas secedes from the Union
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About 25 miles southwest of Washington the first major battle of the Civil War pits Irvin McDowell [US] against P. G. T. Beauregard [CS] and Joe Johnston [CS]. Virginia
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Tennessee votes to adopt the Constitution of the Confederate States of America
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Battle of the Mules
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Battle of Carnifex Ferry General William Rosecrans [US] defeats General John Floyd [CS]
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Battle of Lexington
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Battle of Ft. Donelson
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After a duel with Confederate ships at English Turn, Commadore Farragut's fleet weighs anchor at New Orleans and demands the surrender of the largest city and most important port in the South. By the time Farragut arrives the city was partially on fire.
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Jefferson Davis replaces wounded Army of Northern Virginia commander Joseph E. Johnston with Robert E. Lee
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Battle of Gaines Mill [US]
Battle of First Cold Harbor [CS]
Battle of the Chickahominy [Alternate] John Bell Hood [CS] and George Pickett [CS] breakthrough Fitz John Porter's [US] line, forcing Union troops south of the Chickahominy River and severing McClellan's supply line to Eltham's Landing (White House, West Point) -
Robert E. Lee [CS] attacked George B. McClellan [U.S.], whose men made a gallant stand in front of the James River. Lee called off his attack after failing to break the Union line.
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Second Bull Run[US]
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Stonewall Jackson takes 12,000 prisoners
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Battle of Antietam (Union)
Army of the Potomac under McClellan [US] defeats the Army of Northern Virginia under Lee [CS], resulting in the bloodiest day in American history. -
Battle of Fredericksburg General Ambrose Burnside and the Army of the Potomac is soundly beaten by Lee's Army of North Virginia.
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Battle of Stone's River [US]
Battle of Murfreesboro [CS] Braxton Bragg forces William Rosecrans to retreat, but Rosecrans returns to defeat Bragg on January 2, 1863. -
The Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect
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Abraham Lincoln relieves General Ambrose Burnside [US} from command of the Army of the Potomac, replacing him with General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker.
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Battle of Chancellorsville
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West Virginia becomes the 35th state to enter the United States, but the first to enter where the terms slave and free no longer mattered
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Battle of Gettysburg
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General Robert E. Lee [CS] advances into Pennsylvania where he meets George Meade [US]. First battling north of the city, by the second day Union forces had retreated south, forming a strong line as men arrived almost continuously. On the third day, the infamous Pickett's Charge marked the end of the Confederates hope for a victory The bloodiest three days in American history
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John Pemberton, commander of Confederate forces at Vicksburg asks Ulysses S. Grant for terms. Grant demands an unconditional surrender. Pemberton refuses. Late in the evening, Grant offers excellent terms and Pemberton accepts.
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General Braxton Bragg [CS] tries to split General William Rosecrans [US] forces as they try to return to the safety of Chattanooga. A second day breakthrough at the Brotherton Cabin forces the federals into a retreat, halted only by the Rock of Chickamauga, General George Thomas on Snodgrass Hill
The bloodiest two days in American history -
At the dedication of the National Cemetery in Gettysburg President Lincoln delivers a two-minute speech. Immediately following the speech he calls it a "flat failure." The speech is known today as the Gettysburg Address
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Three Union armies attacked the Army of Tennessee atop Missionary Ridge, east of downtown Chattanooga. Patrick Cleburne stopped William Tecumseh Sherman from the north, although outnumbered 10 to 1. Joe Hooker was seriously delayed by burnt bridges and failed to hit the southern end of Bragg's line near Rossville, Georgia. Thomas' Army of the Cumberland struck the center, breaking Bragg's line and forcing a retreat. Sheridan, ordered to pursue, was stopped dead in his tracks.
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109 Union officers led by Colonel Thomas Rose escape from Libby Prison on the banks of the James River in Richmond. 59 reach Union lines
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Battle of the Wilderness Ulysses S. Grant [US] is badly beaten on the field by Robert E. Lee [CS] but rather than retreat, Grant advances to Spotsylvania Court House. Union: 17,666 Confederate: 7,750
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Army of the James under General Benjamin Butler [US] lands at Bermuda Hundred and City Point, east of Petersburg. The Army is comprised of two corps totaling nearly 40,000 men.
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Battle of Spotsylvania Court House In an inconclusive battle, General Ulysses S. Grant [US] and Robert E. Lee [CS] battle for days southwest of Fredericksburg Union 18,399
Confederate 9,000 -
Battle of Picketts Mill
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Battle of Cold Harbor
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Battle of Old River Lake
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President Lincoln, nominated for a second term, calls for an amendment abolishing slavery
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18 Union ships sail past the entrance to Mobile Bay. The C. S. S. Tennessee, prize ironclad of the Confederate Navy awaited the attack. As the U. S. S. Tecumseh sinks Admiral David Farragut orders "Damn the torpedoes, go ahead." His flag vessel Hartford took the lead. The ships destroyed the Confederate fleet
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Battle of Nashville
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On the River Queen five men, US President Abraham Lincoln, US Secretary of State William Seward, CS Vice-president Alexander Stephens, along with John Campbell and RMT Hunter discuss peace terms at the Hampton Roads Conference near Fort Monroe. The conference was a failure.
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Lincoln outlines his second term talking directly to the Confederate people "...with malice toward none; with charity for all..." Andrew Johnson, replacing Henry Hamlin as Vice-president gives a rambling, drunk speech. He had been given too much whiskey as medicine by a doctor.
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Battle of Kinston
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Confederacy allows the induction of "negro soldiers." The measure did not state that blacks who fought for the Confederacy would be free, although that was apparently the understanding
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Battle of Averasborough (Taylor's Hole) William Hardee tries to halt the federal advance near this small town. Slocum easily turned his flank.
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Battle of Fort Stedman Confederates break Union line at Petersburg General John B. Gordon captured Fort Stedman, a Union outpost on the line around besieged Petersburg, eventually punching a hole 3/4 of mile wide. Confederate units then made a desperate attempt to hit the federal supply base at City Point. With overwhelming force the federal troops turned back the advance, recaptured the fort and retook the lines
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Battle of Dinwiddle Court House In a tactical victory for the Confederates, George Pickett [CS] turns back Phil Sheridan cavalry and elements of the Fifth Corps.
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Battle of Five Forks George Pickett [CS] could not withstand the federal envelopment move around Petersburg that began here.
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After attempting to break-out of the Union envelopment, Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysess S. Grant at the home of Wilmer McLean in Appomattox Court House
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United States President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated on Good Friday by John Wilkes Booth in Ford's Theatre, Washington, D. C.
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The first formal observation of President Lincoln's birthday is held in Washington, D. C. President Andrew Johnson attends
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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
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Texas repeals the actions of the Secessionist Convention
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President Johnson vetos the Civil Rights Act of 1866 on the grounds that it was unconstitutional
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The United States declares that a state of peace exists with Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia
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Congress overrides President Andrew Johnson's veto of the Civil Rights Act
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Tennessee ratifies the 14th Amendment. This quick ratification meant Tennessee would not suffer under 2nd Reconstruction
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Congress establishes "general of the armies" and Ulysses S. Grant is immediately promoted to 4-star general and put in this position. William Tecumseh Sherman assumes the rank of Lt. General.
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The U. S. Secret Service begins an investigation into the Ku Klux Klan
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A proclaimation of peace with Texas is issued by United States President Andrew Johnson
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Blacks in Washington D. C. gain the right to vote in a bill passed over President Andrew Johnson's veto
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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.
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Alexandria, Virginia rejects thousand of votes cast by Negroes, who were granted universal suffrage under the Reconstruction Act.
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General Philip Sheridan assumes command of the 5th Military district encompassing Louisiana and Texas. He designates New Orleans as his headquarters.
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Congress passes the 2nd Reconstruction Act over Andrew Johnson's veto
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William P. Seward signs a treaty with Russia buying Alaska for 2 cents an acre. Democrats called it "Seward's Folly"
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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
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President Andrew Johnson demands the resignation of Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War.
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Ulysses S. Grant becomes ad interim Secretary of War
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Edwin Stanton suspended by President Andrew Johnson
