-
Jefferson Davis speaks for secession
Jefferson Davis comes out in favor of secession for the first time. -
Copper Institute
Abraham Lincoln speaks at the Cooper Institute in New York City. -
Union Party
The Constitution Union Party, meeting in Baltimore, creates a platform taken heavily from the U. S. Constitution and selects John Bell of Tennessee for President and Edward Everett of Massachusetts for Vice-President. -
Considering Secession
Governor William Henry Gist informs South states that South Carolina is considering secession. -
Abraham Lincoln elected President
Abraham Lincoln is elected presdient, first republican, receving 180 of 303 electoral votes and 40 percent of popular vote. -
Secede convention
South Carolina calls for a convention to decide if the state should secede from the Union -
Senate breaking
James Chesnut becomes the first Southerner to resign from the Senate. -
Fort Sumter threatened
Robert Anderson reports Fort Sumter is being threatened in Charleston. -
Independent Nation
Georgia calls for a convention of Southern states to form an independent nation. -
South Carolina seceds
South Carolina seceds from Union. Followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas. -
Confederate States formed
The Confederate States of America is formed with Jefferson Davis as president -
Lincoln sworn in as President
Abraham Lincoln is sworn in as 16th President of the United States of America. -
Fort Sumter
Confederates attack Fort Sumter in Charlestown, South Carolina. Civil War Begins -
President Lincoln issues Proclamation
President Lincoln issues a Proclamation calling for 75,000 militiamen, and summoning a special session of Congress for July 4. -
Virgina seceds
Virginia secedes from the Union, followed by Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina, Confederacy of 11 states and Union of 21 states -
Blockade of Sothern ports
President Lincoln issues proclamation to block all Southern ports to stop ability from getting supplies for war. -
500,000 men
Lincoln calls for 500,000 men for the Union Army -
1st Bull Run
The Union army with General Irvin McDowell gets defeated at Bull Run. Confederate Thomas J. Jackson earns the nickname "Stonewall," -
George B. MclCellan
Lincoln appoints George B. McClellan as commander of the department of Potomac -
McClellan general-in-chief
Lincoln appoints McClellan as generral-in-chief of the entire Union army -
Unconditional Surrender
Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Henry, and ten days later Fort Donelson. Grant earns the nickname "Unconditional Surrender" -
Shiloh
Confederate surprise attack on Ulysses S. Grant's and his troops at Shiloh on the Tennessee River. 13,000 Union killed and wounded and 10,000 Confederates. -
Battle of Seven Pines
Joseph E. Johnston's Army attacks McClellan's troops in front of Richmond and almost defeats them. Johnston is badly wounded. -
Seven Days Battle
June 25-July 1. Lee attacks McClellan near Richmond, resulting in losses for both armies. McClellan then begins a withdrawal back toward Washington. -
2nd Bull Run
John Pope is defeated by 55,000 Confederates under Stonewall Jackson and James Longstreet at the second battle of Bull Run in northern Virginia. -
Lee Invades North
Lee invades the North with 50,000 Confederates and heads for Harpers Ferry, northwest of Washington. -
Antietam
The bloodiest day in U.S. military history as Robert E. Lee is stopped at Antietam in Maryland by McClellan and numerically superior Union forces. 26,000 men are dead, wounded, or missing. Lee then withdraws to Virginia. -
Emancipation Proclamtion
President Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves. -
McClellan replaced
Lincoln grows impatient with McClellan and his slowness, He replaces him with Ambrose E. Burnside -
Loss at Fredericksburg
Burnside suffers a costly defeat at Fredericksburg in Virginia. -
Slaves to soilders
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. -
Capturing of Vicksburg
Grant is placed in command of the Army of the west and given orders to capture Vicksburg -
Draft
The U.S. Congress enacts a draft, affecting male citizens aged 20 to 45, but exempts those who pay $300 or provide a substitute. -
Chancellorsville
The Union Army under under Hooker is defeated by Lee's smaller forces at the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia. Stonewall Jackson is wounded by his own soldiers. -
Stonewall Jackson dies
Stonewall Jackson dies from his wounds suffered at Chancellorsville -
Lee's second attempt
Lee with 75,000 Confederates leads his second invasion of the North, heading into Pennsylvania. -
Gettysburg
The war turns as the confederates are defeated in Gettysburg Pennsylvania. -
Vicksburg surrenders
Vicksburg surrenders to Grant. It was the confederates last stronghold -
Riots in New York
Anti-draft riots in New York City include arson and the murder of blacks by poor immigrant whites. -
Lincoln and Frederick Douglass
The president meets with Frederick Douglass who pushes for full equality for Union Negro troops -
Chickamauga
A victory by Braxton Braggs leaves Union Army under siege -
Grant appointed
The president appoints Grant to command all operations in the west. -
Gettysburg Adress
President Lincoln delivers a two minute Gettysburg Address at a ceremony dedicating the Battlefield as a National Cemetery. -
Chattanooga
The Rebel siege of Chattanooga ends as Union forces under Grant defeat Braxton Braggs -
Grant commands all
President Lincoln appoints Grant to command all of the armies of the United States. -
Cold Harbor
A mistake by Grant results in 7,000 Union casualties in twenty minutes during an battle against fortified Rebels at Cold Harbor in Virginia. -
Petersburg
Union forces miss an opportunity to capture Petersburg and cut off the Confederate rail lines. A nine month siege of Petersburg begins with Grant's forces -
Sherman in Atlanta
At Atlanta, Sherman's forces battle the Rebels -
McClellan versus Lincoln
Democrats nominate George B. McClellan for president to run against Abraham Lincoln. -
Atlanta captured
Atlanta is captured by Sherman's Army. -
Lincoln re-elected
Abraham Lincoln is re-elected president, defeating Democrat George B. McClellan. -
March to Sea
After destroying Atlanta Sherman, with 62,000 men begins a March to the Sea. -
Hood loses Nashville
Hood's Rebel Army of is crushed at Nashville -
Sherman reaches Savannah
Sherman reaches Savannah in Georgia leaving behind a destroyed Atlanta -
Thirteenth Amendment approved
The U.S. Congress approves the Thirteenth Amendment. -
War continues
A peace conference occurs as President Lincoln meets with Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens in Virginia, but the meeting ends in failure, the war continues -
Lee tries for Northern Virgina
The last offensive for Lee's Army of Northern Virginia begins with an attack of Grant's forces at Petersburg. -
Lee leaves Petersburg
Grant's forces begin a general advance and break through Lee's lines at Petersburg. Lee evacuates. -
Lee surrenders
Robert E. Lee surrenders his Confederate Army to Ulysses S. Grant at the village of Appomattox Court House in Virginia. -
Lincoln shot
Lincoln and his wife see a play at Ford's Theater. During the play John Wilkes Booth shoots the president in the head. -
Lincoln dies
President Abraham Lincoln dies in the morning. Vice President Andrew Johnson takes over. -
John Wilkes Booth caught
John Wilkes Booth is shot and killed in a tobacco barn in Virginia. -
Civil War ends
Remaining Confederate forces surrender. The civil war ends. -
Lincoln Buried
Abraham Lincoln is buried in Oak Ridge Cemeter in Illinois. -
Freedman's Bureau
New Freedman's Bureau bill passed by Congress. President Andrew Johnson vetoes. -
Secessionist Convention
Texas repeals the actions of the Secessionist Convention -
Civil Rights Act vetoed
President Johnson vetos the Civil Rights Act of 1866 because it was unconstitutional -
United States at peace
The United States at peace with Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia -
Ford's Theater bought
Congress appropriates $100,000 to buy Ford's Theater. -
Congress overrides Johnson
Congress overrides President Andrew Johnson's veto of the Civil Rights Act -
Winfield Scott dies
Winfield Scott dies, West Point, NY -
Freedman's Bureau Bill passed
Congress overrides Andrew Johnson's veto of the Freedman's Bureau bill. -
General of Armies
Congress establishes "general of the armies". -
Ku Klux Klan
The U. S. Secret Service begins an investigation into the Ku Klux Klan -
African Americans given right to vote
African Americans in Washington D. C. gain the right to vote in a bill passed over President Andrew Johnson's veto. -
Nebraska
Nebraska becomes a state -
Tenure of Office Act
Congress passes the Tenure of Office Act. -
Virginia ignores Reconstruction Act
Alexandria, Virginia rejects votes cast by Negroes, who were granted universal suffrage under the Reconstruction Act. -
Reconstruction Act
Congress passes the 2nd Reconstruction Act. -
Buying Alaska
William P. Seward signs a treaty with Russia buying Alaska for 2 cents an acre. -
Edwind Stanton
President Andrew Johnson demands the resignation of Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War. -
Johnson suspends Stanton
Edwin Stanton suspended by President Andrew Johnson. -
Secretary of War
Ulysses S. Grant becomes ad interim Secretary of War. -
Alaska for America
Russia turns over Alaska to the United States.
