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Period: to
American Civil War
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Jefferson Davis comes out in favor of secession
Jefferson Davis wants to push forward for the southern states to secede. -
Abraham Lincoln speaks at the Cooper Institute in New York City.
Lincoln delivers a speach at a instituite in New York. -
The Democratic National Convention
Democrat meeting in Charleston, South Carolina can not decide on a nominiee. -
The Constitution Union Party
Union Party has meeting in Baltimore and creates platform from U.S. constitution and selects John Bell as president to represent the whigs and know-nothings. -
Republican Convention is held in Chicago, Illinois
William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase and Abraham Lincoln of Illinois are the leading contenders from a field of 12 candidates. Lincoln wins ballot and Hannibal Hamlin is vice president. -
Southern delegates hold a National Democratic convention
Party leaders urge a "wait and see" approach. -
June 28, 1860 Southern Democrats hold a convention in Richmond
They select John c. Breckinridge as their nominie for president. -
Lieutenant Colonel William Hardee is replaced
Lieutenant Colonel William Hardee is replaced by Major John F. Reynolds as commander of cadets at West Point. -
Lincoln Becomes President
Abraham Lincoln is the first republican to receive more than half of electoral votes and only forty percent of the popular vote. -
South Carlina Secedes
South Carolina is the first state to secede from the union and start on its own. -
The Convention of Seceded States
Seceded States adopt a provisional constitution forming the Confederate States of America. -
Run for President
After considering William Yancey, Howell Cobb, Robert Toombs, Alexander Stephens, and Robert Barnwell Rhett for President of the Confederate States of America, the Convention settles on Jefferson Davis. -
P. G. T. Beauregard
P. G. T. Beauregard appointed Brigadier General. -
Charleston
Jefferson Davis orders General P. G. T. Beauregard to Charleston. -
13th Amendment
The U. S. Congress passes a proposed 13th Amendment stating that the Congress will not abolish or interfer with slavery where it exists. -
Fort Sumter
Confederate batteries along the shore of Charleston Harbor fire on Fort Sumter under the command of Major Robert Anderson. -
Lincoln calls for volunteers
Lincoln asks for only three months of service from each volunteer. -
After a duel with Confederate ships
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. -
Battle of Philippi
First land engagement of the Civil War between American and Confederate forces. -
Bull Run
About 25 miles southwest of Washington the first major battle of the Civil War -
British mail packey trent
Confederate commissioners to London and Paris, is halted in the Bahama Channel by the U.S. warship San Jacinto. -
Battle of Ft. Donelson
General Ulysses S. Grant demands the unconditional surrender of the garrison from an old friend, Simon Bolivar Buckner. -
Battle of Hampton Roads
The duel of the ironclads, The Monitor and The Merrimac.First use of a turreted gun. -
Battle of Shiloh
Ulysses S. Grant defeats Albert Sidney Johnston in southwest Tennessee.P. G. T. Beauregard assumed command following Johnston's death -
Wounded Army
Jefferson Davis replaces wounded Army of Northern Virginia commander Joseph E. Johnston with Robert E. Lee. -
Battle of Gaines Mill
John Bell Hood and George pickett breakthroughFitz John Porter's line, forcing union troops south of the Chickahominy River and severing McClellan's supply line to Eltham's Landing. -
Battle of Malvern Cliffs
Robert E. Lee attacked George B. McClellan,whose men made a gallant stand in front of the James River. Lee called off his attack after failing to break the Union line. -
Second Bull Run
General John Pope lost to General Robert E. Lee. General James Longstreet's 28,000 man assault on August 30 was the largest simultaneous assault of the war in this Confederate victory. -
Battle of Harpers Ferry
Stonewall Jackson takes 12,000 prisoners. -
Battle of Antietam
Army of the Potomac under McClellan defeats the Army of Northern Virginia under Lee, 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. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect. -
Abraham Lincoln relieves General Ambrose
Abraham Lincoln relieves General Ambrose Burnside from command of the Army of the Potomac, replacing him with General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
General "Fighting Joe" Hooker's Army of the Potomac is defeated by Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia as it crosses the Rappahannock on the way to Richmond. -
West Virginia
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. -
Battle of Gettysburg
General Robert E. Lee advances into Pennsylvania where he meets George Meade. First battling north of the city, by the second day Union forces had retreated south, forming a strong line as men arrived almost continuously. Bloodiest three day battle. -
John Pemberton
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. -
Battle of Chickamauga
General Braxton Bragg tries to split General William Rosecransforces as they try to return to the safety of Chattanooga. -
National Cemetery
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. -
Battle of Missionary Ridge
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. -
Battle of Ripley
In a letter to Jefferson Davis, Bragg admits that he and Davis erred in leaving him in command after Chickamauga. -
109 Union officers
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. -
Fitzhugh Lee
Fitzhugh Lee traps Ulric Dalhgreen's cavalry following a raid on Richmond, killing Dahlgreen and 109 of his men. -
U. S. Senate confirms
U. S. Senate confirms Ulysses S. Grant as Lieutenant General. -
Republican Michael Hahn
Republican Michael Hahn is inaugrated governor of Louisiana. -
Grant meets George
Grant meets George Gordon Meade, commander of the Army of the Potomac, in Virginia. -
Battle of the Wilderness
Ulysses S. Grant is badly beaten on the field by Robert E. Lee but rather than retreat, Grant advances to Spotsylvania Court House. -
Army of the James
Army of the James under General Benjamin Butler lands at Bermuda Hundred and City Point, east of Petersburg. The Army is comprised of two corps totaling nearly 40,000 men. -
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
In an inconclusive battle, General Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee battle for days southwest of Fredericksburg. -
Battle of Cold Harbor
Robert E. Lee defeats General Ulysses S. Grantand General George Meade. -
18 Union ships
18 Union ships sail past the entrance to Mobile Bay. The C. S. S. Tennessee, prize ironclad of the Confederate Navy awaited the attack. -
On the River Queen five men
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. -
Lincoln outlines
Lincoln outlines his second term talking directly to the Confederate people. -
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. -
Battle of Five Forks
George Pickett could not withstand the federal envelopment move around Petersburg that began here. -
After attempting to break-out
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. -
Lincoln is assassinated
United States President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated on Good Friday by John Wilkes Booth in Ford's Theatre, Washington, D. C. -
General Richard Taylor
General Richard Taylor surrenders the remaining troops in Alabama and Mississippi based on an agreement signed two days earlier. -
Secretary of War Edwin Stanton
Secretary of War Edwin Stanton orders Union troops to stand guard at Ford's Theater to prevent it from reopening following the assasination of President Lincoln. -
John T. Ford
John T. Ford agrees to lease Ford's Theater to the War Department. -
President Andrew Johnson appoints
President Andrew Johnson appoints William Marvin provisional governor of Florida. -
The first formal observation
The first formal observation of President Lincoln's birthday is held in Washington, D. C. President Andrew Johnson attends. -
New Freedman's Bureau bill passed by Congress
New Freedman's Bureau bill passed by Congress. President Andrew Johnson vetoes the bill that authorized military trial for those accused of "depriving former slaves of the Civil Rights" on the same day. -
Congress appropriates $100,000 to buy Ford's Theater
Congress appropriates $100,000 to buy Ford's Theater. It will house the Army Medical Museum, the Office of the Surgeon General and War Department records until 1893. -
Congress overrides
Congress overrides President Andrew Johnson's veto of the Civil Rights Act. -
Thirty-ninth Congress
Thirty-ninth Congress approves the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. -
Connecticut
Connecticut approves the 14th Amendment. -
New Hampshire
New Hampshire ratifies the 14th Amendment. -
Tennessee
Tennessee ratifies the 14th Amendment. This quick ratification meant Tennessee would not suffer under 2nd Reconstruction. -
Congress establishes
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. -
The U. S. Secret Service
The U. S. Secret Service begins an investigation into the Ku Klux Klan. -
Ohio
Ohio ratifies the 14th Amendment. -
Kentucky
Kentucky rejects the 14th Amendment. -
Blacks in Washington D. C.
Blacks in Washington D. C. gain the right to vote in a bill passed over President Andrew Johnson's veto. -
Virginia
Virginia rejects the 14th Amendment. -
Kansas
Kansas ratifies the 14th Amendment. -
Missouri
Missouri ratifies the 14th Amendment. -
Louisiana
Louisiana rejects the 14th Amendment. -
Delaware
Delaware rejects the 14th Amendment. -
Nebraska
Nebraska becomes a state. -
Federal army
Federal army restores military rule to Mississippi.
