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Civil War
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Jefferson Davis comes out in favor for succession.
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Lincoln speaks at the Cooper Institute in NYC.
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Southern delegates hold a National Democratic convention in Richmond. Party leaders urge a "wait and see" approach.
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Abraham Lincoln is elected president.
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James Chesnut becomes the first Southerner to resign from the Senate. He is quickly followed by James H. Hammond.
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Georgia calls for a convention of Southern states to form an independent nation.
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First meeting about succession meets in Columbia, South Carolina.
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South Carolina leaves US.
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Lincoln's opposition to a section of the Crittenden Compromise becomes public, ending the proposal's potential as a possible solution.
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Charleston is notified by telegraph that a man of war with troops is on the way.
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Mississippi succeeds.
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Florida succeeds.
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Alabama succeeds.
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Georgia succeeds.
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Louisiana succeeds.
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Texas succeeds.
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Virginia succeeds.
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Arkansas succeeds.
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North Carolina succeeds.
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Tennessee succeeds.
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Roanoke Island, North Carolina.
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Siege of Fort Donelson, Tennessee.
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Battle Of Hampton Roads, Virginia.
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Siege of Yorktown, Virginia.
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Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee.
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Battle of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
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Second battle of Bull Run in Manassas, Virginia.
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Battle of Richmond, Kentucky.
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Battle of South Mountain, Maryland.
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Battle of Antietam / Sharpsburg.
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Freed slaves in the South.
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April 10, Battle of Franklin, Tennessee.
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Account of the bloody confederate slaughter in Franklin, Tennessee.
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Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia.
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Second battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia.
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Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
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Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
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Battle Of Chickamauga, Georgia.
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Lincoln gives his most famous speech, the Gettysburg Address.
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Battle Of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
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Battle of Fort Pillow, Tennessee.
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Battle Of The Wilderness, Virginia.
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Battle of Resaca, Georgia.
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Battle of New Market, Shenandoah County, Virginia.
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Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia.
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Battle of Petersburg, Virginia.
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Battle of Atlanta, Georgia.
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Battle of the Crater, Siege of Petersburg, Virginia.
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Battle of Fisher’s Hill, Virginia.
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Battle of Nashville, Tennessee.
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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.
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A peace conference occurs as President Lincoln meets with Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens at Hampton Roads in Virginia, but the meeting ends in failure, the war will continue.
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The last offensive for Lee's Army of Northern Virginia begins with an attack on the center of Grant's forces at Petersburg. Four hours later the attack is broken.
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Grant's forces begin a general advance and break through Lee's lines at Petersburg. Confederate Gen. Ambrose P. Hill is killed. Lee evacuates Petersburg. The Confederate Capital, Richmond, is evacuated. Fires and looting break out. The next day, Union troops enter and raise the Stars and Stripes.
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President Lincoln tours Richmond where he enters the Confederate White House. With "a serious, dreamy expression," he sits at the desk of Jefferson Davis for a few moments.
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Gen. Robert E. Lee surrenders his Confederate Army to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at the village of Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Grant allows Rebel officers to keep their sidearms and permits soldiers to keep horses and mules."After four years of arduous service marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources," Lee tells his troops.
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The Stars and Stripes is ceremoniously raised over Fort Sumter. That night, 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.
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President Abraham Lincoln dies at 7:22 in the morning. Vice President Andrew Johnson assumes the presidency.
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John Wilkes Booth is shot and killed in a tobacco barn in Virginia.
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The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, is finally ratified. Slavery is abolished.
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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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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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Cholera epidemic begins in New York when an infected passenger arrives in New York.
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Thirty-ninth Congress approves the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
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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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Congress creates the rank of Admiral. David Farragut is appointed to that rank.
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The U.S. Secret Service begins an investigation into the Ku Klux Klan.
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A proclamation of peace with Texas is issued by United States President Andrew Johnson.
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Texas rejects the 14th Amendment.
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A fire in the Philadelphia ship-yard accidentally destroys a number of ships used during the Civil War.
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Nebraska becomes a state.
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Federal army restores military rule to Mississippi (2nd Reconstruction).
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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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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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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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Senate ratifies treaty purchasing Alaska.
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Senate ratifies treaty purchasing Alaska.
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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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Ulysses S. Grant becomes ad interim Secretary of War.
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Russia turns over Alaska to the United States.
