Civil
War Timeline
November 6, 1860 -
Abraham Lincoln is elected president receiving 180 of 303 possible electoral
votes and 40 percent of the popular vote.
December 20, 1860 - South
Carolina secedes from the Union. Followed within two months by Mississippi,
Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas.
February 9, 1861 - The
Confederate States of America is formed with Jefferson Davis as president.
March 4, 1861 - Abraham
Lincoln is sworn in as 16th President of the United States of America.
April 12, 1861 - At 4:30
a.m. Confederates under Gen. Pierre Beauregard open fire with 50 cannons upon
Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War begins.
April 15, 1861 -
President Lincoln issues a Proclamation calling for 75,000 militiamen, and
summoning a special session of Congress for July 4.
April 17, 1861 - Virginia
secedes from the Union, followed within five weeks by Arkansas, Tennessee, and
North Carolina, thus forming an eleven state Confederacy with a population of 9
million, including nearly 4 million slaves. The Union will soon have 21 states
and a population of over 20 million.
April 19, 1861 -
President Lincoln issues a Proclamation of Blockade against Southern ports. For
the duration of the war the blockade limits the ability of the rural South to
stay well supplied in its war against the industrialized North.
April 20, 1861 - Robert
E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army. Lee then goes to Richmond, Virginia, is
offered command of the military and naval forces of Virginia, and accepts.
July 4, 1861 - The
Congress authorizes a call for 500,000 men.
July 21, 1861 - The Union
Army under Gen. Irvin McDowell suffers a defeat at Bull Run 25 miles southwest
of Washington. Confederate Gen. Thomas J. Jackson earns the nickname
"Stonewall," as his brigade resists Union attacks. Union troops fall
back to Washington. President Lincoln realizes the war will be long.
July 27, 1861 - President
Lincoln appoints George B. McClellan as Commander of the Department of the Potomac,
replacing McDowell.
September 11, 1861 -
President Lincoln revokes Gen. John C. Frémont's unauthorized military
proclamation of emancipation in Missouri. Later, the president relieves Gen.
Frémont of his command and replaces him with Gen. David Hunter.
November 1, 1861 -
President Lincoln appoints McClellan as general-in-chief of all Union forces
after the resignation of the aged Winfield Scott.
November 8, 1861 - The
beginning of an international diplomatic crisis for President Lincoln as two Confederate
officials sailing toward England are seized by the U.S. Navy. England, the
leading world power, demands their release, threatening war. Lincoln eventually
gives in and orders their release in December.
January 31, 1862 -
President Lincoln issues General War Order No. 1 calling for all United States
naval and land forces to begin a general advance by Feb 22, George Washington's
birthday.
February 6, 1862 -
Victory for Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in Tennessee, capturing Fort Henry, and ten
days later Fort Donelson. Grant earns the nickname "Unconditional
Surrender" Grant.
February 20, 1862 -
President Lincoln is struck with grief as his beloved eleven year old son,
Willie, dies from fever, probably caused by polluted drinking water in the
White House.
March 8-9, 1862 - The
Confederate Ironclad 'Merrimac' sinks two wooden Union ships then battles the
Union Ironclad 'Monitor' to a draw. Naval warfare is thus changed forever,
making wooden ships obsolete.
In March - The Peninsular
Campaign begins as McClellan's Army of the Potomac advances from Washington
down the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay to the peninsular south of the
Confederate Capital of Richmond, Virginia then begins an advance toward
Richmond.
April 6-7, 1862 -
Confederate surprise attack on Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's unprepared troops at
Shiloh on the Tennessee River results in a bitter struggle with 13,000 Union
killed and wounded and 10,000 Confederates, more men than in all previous
American wars combined.
April 24, 1862 - 17 Union
ships under the command of Flag Officer David Farragut move up the Mississippi
River then take New Orleans, the South's greatest seaport.
May 31, 1862 - The Battle
of Seven Pines as Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's Army attacks McClellan's troops in
front of Richmond and nearly defeats them. But Johnston is badly wounded.
June 1, 1862 - Gen.
Robert E. Lee assumes command, replacing the wounded Johnston. Lee then renames
his force the Army of Northern Virginia.
June 25-July 1, 1862 -
The Seven Days Battles as Lee attacks McClellan near Richmond, resulting in
very heavy losses for both armies. McClellan then begins a withdrawal back
toward Washington.
July 11, 1862 - After
four months as his own general-in-chief, President Lincoln hands over the task
to Gen. Henry W. (Old Brains) Halleck.
Aug 29-30, 1862 - 75,000
Federals under Gen. John Pope are defeated by 55,000 Confederates under Gen.
Stonewall Jackson and Gen. James Longstreet at the second battle of Bull Run in
northern Virginia. Once again the Union Army retreats to Washington. The
president then relieves Pope.
September 4-9, 1862 - Lee
invades the North with 50,000 Confederates and heads for Harpers Ferry, located
50 miles northwest of Washington.
September 17, 1862 - The
bloodiest day in U.S. military history as Gen. Robert E. Lee and the
Confederate Armies are stopped at Antietam in Maryland by McClellan and
numerically superior Union forces. By nightfall 26,000 men are dead, wounded,
or missing. Lee then withdraws to Virginia.
September 22, 1862 -
Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves issued by President
Lincoln.
November 7, 1862 - The
president replaces McClellan with Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside as the new Commander
of the Army of the Potomac.
December 13, 1862 - Army
of the Potomac under Gen. Burnside suffers a costly defeat at Fredericksburg in
Virginia with a loss of 12,653 men after 14 frontal assaults on well entrenched
Rebels on Marye's Heights. Confederate losses are 5,309.
January 1, 1863 -
President 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. The war to preserve the Union now becomes a
revolutionary struggle for the abolition of slavery.
January 25, 1863 - The
president appoints Gen. Joseph (Fighting Joe) Hooker as Commander of the Army
of the Potomac, replacing Burnside.
January 29, 1863 - Gen.
Grant is placed in command of the Army of the West, with orders to capture
Vicksburg.
March 3, 1863 - The U.S.
Congress enacts a draft, affecting male citizens aged 20 to 45, but also
exempts those who pay $300 or provide a substitute.
May 1-4, 1863 - The Union
Army under Gen. Hooker is decisively defeated by Lee's much smaller forces at
the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia as a result of Lee's brilliant and
daring tactics. Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson is mortally wounded by his
own soldiers. Hooker retreats
May 10, 1863 - The South
suffers a huge blow as Stonewall Jackson dies from his wounds.
June 3, 1863 - Gen. Lee
with 75,000 Confederates launches his second invasion of the North, heading
into Pennsylvania in a campaign that will soon lead to Gettysburg.
June 28, 1863 - President
Lincoln appoints Gen. George G. Meade as commander of the Army of the Potomac,
replacing Hooker.
July 1-3, 1863 - The tide
of war turns against the South as the Confederates are defeated at the Battle
of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania.
July 4, 1863 - Vicksburg,
the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River, surrenders to Gen.
Grant and the Army of the West after a six week siege. With the Union now in
control of the Mississippi, the Confederacy is effectively split in two, cut
off from its western allies.
July 18, 1863 - 'Negro
troops' of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment under Col. Robert G. Shaw
assault fortified Rebels at Fort Wagner, South Carolina.
August 21, 1863 - At
Lawrence, Kansas, pro-Confederate William C. Quantrill and 450 proslavery
followers raid the town and butcher 182 boys and men.
September 19-20, 1863 - A
decisive Confederate victory by Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee at
Chickamauga leaves Gen. William S. Rosecrans' Union Army of the Cumberland
trapped in Chattanooga, Tennessee under Confederate siege
October 16, 1863 - The
president appoints Gen. Grant to command all operations in the western theater.
November 19, 1863 -
President Lincoln delivers a two minute Gettysburg Address at a ceremony
dedicating the Battlefield as a National Cemetery.
November 23-25, 1863 -
The Rebel siege of Chattanooga ends as Union forces under Grant defeat the
siege army of Gen. Braxton Bragg.
March 9, 1864 - President
Lincoln appoints Gen. Grant to command all of the armies of the United States.
Gen. William T. Sherman succeeds Grant as commander in the west.
May 4, 1864 - The
beginning of a massive, coordinated campaign involving all the Union Armies. In
Virginia, Grant with an Army of 120,000 begins advancing toward Richmond to
engage Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, now numbering 64,000, beginning a war
of attrition that will include major battles at the Wilderness (May 5-6),
Spotsylvania (May 8-12), and Cold Harbor (June 1-3).
June 3, 1864 - A costly
mistake by Grant results in 7,000 Union casualties in twenty minutes during an
offensive against fortified Rebels at Cold Harbor in Virginia.
June 15, 1864 - Union
forces miss an opportunity to capture Petersburg and cut off the Confederate
rail lines. As a result, a nine month siege of Petersburg begins with Grant's
forces surrounding Lee.
July 20, 1864 - At
Atlanta, Sherman's forces battle the Rebels now under the command of Gen. John
B. Hood, who replaced Johnston.
August 29, 1864 -
Democrats nominate George B. McClellan for president to run against Republican
incumbent Abraham Lincoln.
September 2, 1864 -
Atlanta is captured by Sherman's Army.
October 19, 1864 - A
decisive Union victory by Cavalry Gen. Philip H. Sheridan in the Shenandoah
Valley over Jubal Early's troops.
November 8, 1864 -
Abraham Lincoln is re-elected president, defeating Democrat George B.
McClellan. Lincoln carries all but three states with 55 percent of the popular
vote and 212 of 233 electoral votes.
November 15, 1864 - After
destroying Atlanta's warehouses and railroad facilities, Sherman, with 62,000 men
begins a March to the Sea. President Lincoln on advice from Grant approved the
idea.
December 15-16, 1864 -
Hood's Rebel Army of 23,000 is crushed at Nashville by 55,000 Federals
including Negro troops under Gen. George H. Thomas. The Confederate Army of
Tennessee ceases as an effective fighting force.
December 21, 1864 -
Sherman reaches Savannah in Georgia leaving behind a 300 mile long path of
destruction 60 miles wide all the way from Atlanta. Sherman then telegraphs
Lincoln, offering him Savannah as a Christmas present.
January 31, 1865 - 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.
February 3, 1865 - 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.
March 4, 1865 -
Inauguration ceremonies for President Lincoln in Washington.
March 25, 1865 - 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.
April 2, 1865 - 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.
April 4, 1865 - President
Lincoln tours Richmond where he enters the Confederate White House.
April 9, 1865 - 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.
April 14, 1865 - 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.
April 15, 1865 -
President Abraham Lincoln dies at 7:22 in the morning. Vice President Andrew
Johnson assumes the presidency.
April 18, 1865 -
Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston surrenders to Sherman near Durham in North
Carolina.
April 26, 1865 - John
Wilkes Booth is shot and killed in a tobacco barn in Virginia.
May 4, 1865 - Abraham
Lincoln is laid to rest in Oak Ridge Cemetery, outside Springfield, Illinois.
In May 1865 - Remaining
Confederate forces surrender. The Nation is reunited as the Civil War ends.
December 6, 1865 - The
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, passed by Congress on
January 31, 1865, is finally ratified. Slavery is abolished.