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A timeline of the most significant events taking place during the Civil War
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Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis speaks about why slavery should be allowed in the territories. He also argues that slaveholders should be protected. -
Lincoln gives the Cooper Union Address in which he validates the Federal Government banning slavery in New Territories. This was a very influential speech and people believe it is what won him the presidency. -
The Pony Express is founded, operating between April 1860- October 1861. It travailed all the way from St. Joseph to Sacramento and was made up of riders on horseback that would deliver mail. This was replaced later with the telegraph. -
There is a Democratic convention held in Charleston, South Carolina. This was because they were to nominate a candidate for presidency. The party was divided. They would later meet again after Lincoln was elected on December 20, when South Carolina secedes. The meeting plan would later become known as the secession hall. -
Supporting the republican party, Abraham Lincoln is selected as a candidate to run for president. -
The government printing office would print and bind information that would be stored and documented by the government. It also distributed printing supplies to other government offices. -
Lincoln is elected president by a landslide. With the North's support, Lincoln won the popular vote as well as the electoral vote. -
This was proposed by Kentucky Senator John J. Crittenden and it was in attempt to prevent the Civil War. The compromise included the guarantee and permanence of slavery in the slave states and re-drew the slave and free state border lines that were originally in the Missouri compromise. -
Being the first state in the South to secede, South Carolina pulls away, leading to a string of other southern states to leave the U.S following Lincoln's election. -
South Carolina issues their "Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Seccession of South Carolina from the Federal Union" Which is essentially their Declaration of Independence. -
Following shortly after South Carolina, Mississippi is the next state to secede from the United States to join to Confederate States -
The day after Mississippi, Florida secedes from the United States to join the Confederate States -
The day after Florida, Alabama secedes from the United States for the Confederate States -
Georgia Secedes from the United States after Alabama to join the Confederate States. -
Louisiana secedes from the United States days after Georgia to join the Confederate States. -
Texas secedes from the Untied States days after Louisiana to join the Confederate States. -
This is considered the opening scene of the war. War was declared when the confederates demanded the surrender of the fort and the Union refused. Forced to be the aggressor, the confederates fired on the fort. There were no causalities but the south had made the first move, officially starting the war. -
Months after the last state, Texas seceded, Virginia secedes from the United States. -
About a month following Virginia, Arkansas secedes from the United States. -
Shortly after Arkansas, North Carolina secedes from the United States. -
Being the last of the southern states to secede, Tennessee secedes from the United States shortly after North Carolina. -
Considered the first major battle of the Civil War, the Battle of Bull Run took place in a little creek outside of Washington D.C in
Manassas, Virginia 3 months after Fort Sumter. The Union is too disorganized and retreats, the confederates to tired to follow them. -
Jefferson Davis is elected President of the Confederate States of America. Davis ran without opposition and this election confirmed the decision made by the Confederate Congress earlier in the year. -
General Ambrose Burnside leads a Union force and captures Roanoke Island. This victory effectively gives the union control of North Carolina's ports (except Wilmington) making it more difficult for the Confederacy to get supplies. -
The Union capture of the Confederate fort near Tennessee-Kentucky border. -
Union General Ulysses S Grant became known as "Unconditional Surrender" Grant when he leads the Union forces to not surrender and the Confederates end up surrendering at the Battle of Fort Donelson. -
Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the President of the Confederate States of America after being elected in November. -
A Union Victory, General Ambrose Burnside led 11,000 soldiers into the town to find that the Confederates has burned it in anticipation of the Union coming. -
Taking place near a church in Tennessee named Shiloh, this battle would show the importance of using scouts, trench warfare and building fortifications. -
Union forces bombard the fort and with new rifle cannons, are able to breech the walls within 2 days. This fort guards access to Savannah Georgia. -
After a month long siege, the Union captures Fort Macon -
This battle occurred for a second time from August 29-30 near Manassas Virginia. This battle ended in the Confederates driving the Union out of Virginia. -
Fought along Antietam Creek at Sharpsburg, Maryland, this was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. Led by McClellan, the Union lost over 12,000 men and this is the point that swayed Lincoln to fire McClellan. -
Due to McClellan's hesitation and caution in leading the Union, Lincoln relieves McClellan of his title. McClellan misses multiple chances to end the Civil War but is too cautious to do it. -
Fought for 3 days, the Battle of Stone River was fought in the middle of Tennessee. Both sides take heavy causalities. Confederate General Braggs withdraws and the Union maintains control of the central Tennessee area. -
Lincoln writes the Emancipation Proclamation to free all slaves in the south. At the time, it is a pointless document because the southern states had seceded but when they re-join, it frees all slaves. -
Major General Daniel Harvey Hill takes command of Confederate forces in North Carolina. -
Lincoln offers a full pardon to the thousands of Union deserters if they surrender and return to their units. At this point in the war, both sides of the war have massive desertion rates. -
For the first time in U.S history, congress passes a wartime draft of U.S citizens between the ages of 20 and 45. -
North Carolina issues and order drafting slaves and men between 18-45 from counties in the central part of the state. Most of the men are sent to Wilmington. -
In Spotsylvania County, Virginia, the battle begins, ending May 6. Stonewall Jackson is accidentally shot by his own men and due to General Lee's planning, it is a major Confederate win. -
Days after the Battle of Chancellorsville, Stonewall's arm is amputated and he dies of pneumonia. He is buried in Lexington, Virginia. -
Resulting in the death of five men, 700 pounds of gunpowder explodes in the factory located at the Tuckaseegee Ford on the Catawba River. This is detrimental to the Confederacy because they need to gun powder, so the mill is rebuilt. -
With the Victory in Chancellorsville, Lee decided to launch a second Northern invasion. This was the largest cavalry battle in North American history. There is no definite winner of the battle but the Union suffered more causalities then the Confederates. -
Becoming the 35th State, Virginia splits and West Virginia joins the Union. -
Considered the turning point of the war, Gettysburg lasted from July 1- July 3 and was a Union victory that would boost morale. It was considered the bloodiest battle of the Civil War and Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address to dedicate some of the field as a resting place for fallen soldiers. -
After the Battle of Gettysburg, Lincoln gives his infamous Gettysburg Address, which would dedicate a cemetery for the fallen soldiers. -
Lincoln states his plan of re-united the United States along with his Proclamation of Amnesty. This proclamation addressed areas of concern for post Civil War issues when the confederate states re-joined the U.S -
The Confederate Prison Camp Andersonville had its first day of operation with 500 prisoners of war. The camp would be known as the worst camp in the Civil War. It had an insufficient water and food supply and unsanitary conditions. The prison also operated at over 4 times its maximum capacity. -
Congress passed the "Coinage Act" which states that all coins used as U.S currency must be engraved which the phrase, " In God we Trust" -
The Overland Campaign is a series of battles fought in Virginia that caused irreparable damage to the Army of Northern Virginia. It would also be considered the beginning of the end of the Confederacy.
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The Battle of Piedmont was fought in Augusta County and resulted in a Union Victory. -
Two American journalists Joseph Howard Jr. and Francis Mallison attempted to use the uneasiness of people during the war to profit. They attempted to circulated a false proclamation from Lincoln in the papers which stated a conscription of 400,000 men. This would cause a panic and people would abandon the Union money and buy gold. With the inflation in gold, the newspapers would make more money and the two men would profit. However within days of the paper being published, it was shut down. -
The Union Army, led by Ulysses S. Grant, was moving south toward Richmond Virginia. Just 10 miles short of Richmond was Cold Harbor where from May 31-June 12, would be a battle in which both sides stood ground. Grant ordered multiple attacks until June 3 and then after until June 12, they held fire. By the 12th, Grant withdrew and moved South and East. This resulted in a Confederate victory. -
Taking place in what is now Northwest Washington D.C, the Battle of Fort Stevens was a Union Victory. This battle would be the last Rebel invasion of a Northern State during the Civil War. -
As they moved down Shenandoah River valley, the Union troops turned on their Confederate trailers and then began the battle of Tom's Brook. Confederates were outnumbered 2 to 1 and forced to retreat. -
With the recent Union Victories, Lincoln is re-elected President in the 1864 election winning the popular vote by 55% -
A secret service of Confederates set fire to 13 buildings throughout Manhattan, including hotels, theaters and apartments. The fires were quickly extinguished and it was assumed that this was the doing of the Confederates. Later on, it was learned that it was a wild attempt to separate New York from the rest of the Union with fire as revenge for the damage that the Union has caused in advancing south. -
Spanning from December 15-16, the Union troops overran the Confederate trenches and drove the rebels back. The next day the Union attacked again, totally wiping out the Confederates. General Hood and his men retreated to Mississippi. -
Passed January 31, this amendment abolished slavery. This amendment showed that the south's rebellion would not be tolerated. -
Also known as Battle of Hare's Hill, was fought during the final weeks of the Civil War. The Union's fortification around Petersburg Virginia was attacked early in the morning by the Confederates. The Battle ended in a Union Victory. -
With the advance of the Union Army, Davis and other officials in the Confederate Congress flee Richmond. Davis was captured by the North and imprisoned for two years. -
General Lee surrenders to General Grant at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia. This essentially ends the Civil War. -
At Fords Theater in Washington D.C, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth days after the end of the Civil War. -
In a barn in Virginia at the Garret's farm, John Wilkes Booth is captured after being on the run for the assassination of Lincoln. He is shot and killed by Boston Corbett. -
Three weeks after his assassination, Lincoln is finally laid to rest. Before that however, the U.S mourns his loss and there is a Funeral Pagent that spanned 1,700 miles. Lincoln is carried to his final burial place in the presidential car on the train. He was buried with his son in Springfield, Illinois. -
Four people were condemned to death after being on trial for conspiring the assassination of Lincoln. Among them is Mary Surratt who became the first woman to be executed in the U.S by federal authorities and the only woman until 1953. -
A Swiss immigrant and Commander of Andersonville, Wirz is hanged for the murder of soldiers held in the prison camp during the Civil War. A few of these charges were for personally murdering a soldier but most are for giving orders to others in the camp. His trial lasted over 2 months and around 160 witnesses testified. While he did show indifference to prisoners, some evidence against him was fabricated and he was found guilty. -
After being passed and waited to be ratified, the 13th Amendment in ratified, abolishing slavery. -
The last issue of the Liberator is published since it is no longer needed now that slavery is abolished. -
Founded in Nashville Tennessee, Fisk University was one of the first institutes of higher education to open it's doors to former slaves merely nine months after the end of the Civil War. -
The bill was first introduced by Senate Judiciary Chairman Lyman Trumbull of Illinois and the bill mandated that "all persons born in the United States," with the exception of American Indians, were "hereby declared to be citizens of the United States." The Bill granted all "full and equal benefits of the law" -
Tension in the south led to a three day riot known as the Memphis Massacre. This was caused by a white police officer attempting to arrest an black ex-soldier. It is unknown who started the gunfire, but it turned into a violent riot that ended in the destruction of schools, churches and deaths and injuries. It was so bad that General Stoneman declared Martial Law and sent black and white troops to restore order. -
Of the major groups leading the suffrage movement, one was the American Equal Rights Association. It was founded at the eleventh National Women's Rights Convention by suffrage leaders Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. The goal was to have equal rights for all. -
Congress passed the 14th Amendment which would be ratified in 1868. This amendment extended the rights on the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people. -
Tennessee becomes the first seceded state to be readmitted to the Union following the Civil War. A week before it's readmittence, it ratified the 14th Amendment. -
The first transatlantic cable is established making a permanent link between the two continents. This would forever change the relationships between the two lands politically, personally and commercially. -
The National Labor Union advocates for an eight hour work day. It as founded in 1866 and was led by William H. Sylvis. The goal was to pave the way for other unions and labor reforms. -
Howard University was founded and open to all people of any sex or race. -
Despite President Andrew Johnson's veto, the senate overrode the veto three years before the law was passed that allowed all men regardless of race to vote. -
The Reconstruction Acts became part of a time period known as the Radical Reconstruction. The acts essentially imposed rules that stated that all states needed to accept the 14th Amendment and it controlled the south in five military districts. It also stated that Confederate officials were temporarily not allowed in any political business. -
This act stated that military district commanders had to hold state constitutional conventions. President Andrew Johnson veto'd this but the senate overrode him and the act was passed. -
The U.S purchases Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million. The treaty was negotiated and signed by U.S secretary of state and the Russian Minister. This would be the 49th state to be added. -
This act proposed state constitutions could be ratified by taking majority vote of each state. -
In New Orleans, streetcars were segregated with majority of cars being for white people and a scarce few for African Americans. In protest, African Americans would try to ride the white cars or refuse to ride in the streetcars. William Nichols was riding in a white car and refused to get off the car when demanded to. When he was forced to leave the car, he went limb and the police were called and he was arrested. -
This act gives military commanders the authority to remove state officials from office. -
Alaska is officially added to the United States after President Andrew Johnson signed the treaty May 28th. -
Johnson is considered to be too lenient on the south and congress discusses his impeachment. Congress voted against his impeachment twice but once he dismisses his Secretary of War in 1868, he is impeached. -
Andrew Johnson suspends Edwin Stanton as Secretary of War after they argue about reconstruction plans. He is replaced with Ulysses S. Grant.