Civil War timeline

By Alexa E
  • Republican party is formed

    Republican party is formed
    One of the two major political parties of the U.S now. Formed by anti-slavery activists from the Whig and Democratic parties.
  • Kansas-Nebraska Act passed

    Kansas-Nebraska Act passed
    Aimed to organize the Nebraskan and Kansas territory and allowed the people to decide to be slave owners or not.
  • Lincoln elected president

    was the sixteenth president.
  • South Carolina votes to secede from U.S

    Seceded after Lincoln became president.
  • Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter

    Confederate guns fired up on Fort Sumter, started the beginning of the civil war.
  • Richmond becomes the capital of the Confederacy

    Richmond becomes the capital of the Confederacy
    The decision was made to name the City of Richmond, Virginia as the new Capital of the Confederacy. The Confederate capital was moved to Richmond in recognition of Virginia's strategic importance.
  • First Battle of Bull Run

    The first full scale battle of the civil war. Made the North and South realize the war would be bloody.
  • Jefferson Davis elected president for the C.S.A

    Davis was the president for the entirety of the C.S.A. Was supposed to serve six years but the C.S.A only lasted 4
  • The Merrimac and the Monitor fight of the Virginia coast

    Where the warship USS Monitor and CSS Virginia fought which was apart of the new beginning for naval warfare.
  • battle of Shiloh

    battle of Shiloh
    Also known as the battle of Pittsburgh Landing. Took place in southwestern Tennessee. Confederates made a surprise attack here in hopes that this would bring them a victory.
  • Robert E. Lee named commander for the North Virginia army.

    Helped the Confederacys main fighting force in the Eastern Theater of the civil war.
  • Battle of Antietam

    Had about 22,000 men killed
  • Lincoln suspends habeas corpus

    Lincoln suspends habeas corpus
    The habeas corpus gave the military the right to arrest and hold union dissenters
  • Battle of Fredericksburg

    one of the deadliest fights of the civil war.
  • Emancipation Proclamation is announced

    The declaration of all enslaved people becoming free. during the third year of the civil war.
  • Battle of Chancellorsville

    Battle of Chancellorsville
    A major battle that resulted in a Confederate victory. This battle killed Confederate general Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson
  • Battle of Gettysburg

    only lasted three days.
  • Confederates surrender at Vicksburg

    Confederates surrender at Vicksburg
    Marks the end of the 47 day long military operation of Vicksburg. This was a key event to the civil war.
  • Lincoln gives Gettysburg Address

    Gave this speech to honor the men that died in the battle. Given on cemetery hill in Gettysburg.
  • Atlanta is captured

    Atlanta is captured
    A major loss for the confederacy. Captured by General Sherman and was a huge railway hub and industrial center.
  • Lincoln defeats McClellan in the election

    Near the end of the civil war, Lincoln defeated the former general McClellan.
  • Sherman begins his march to the Sea

    Sherman begins his march to the Sea
    The most destructive and hurtful campaign against a civilian population.
  • Freedmans Bureau is created

    Freedmans Bureau is created
    An act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedman and Refugees. Provided food, clothing, and shelter for any people in distress, including newly freed African Americans.
  • Lincoln gives his second inaugural address

    Lincoln gives his second inaugural address
    As the civil war approached its final weeks, Lincoln gave his second inaugural address from the East Portico of the U.S capital.
  • Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox

    Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox
    Lee's Army of North Virginia was trapped and surrounded by union forces at Appomattox Court House.
  • President Lincoln assassinated

    Lincoln was assassinated in Fords theater. He was killed by John Wilkes booth.
  • John Wilkes booth is killed

    After killing Lincoln, John ran away and was tracked down to later be shot in the neck by a federal soilder.