Civil War timeline By BrendanMason Dec 20, 1860 South Carolina votes to secede from the United States Mar 4, 1861 Lincolns first inaugural address Apr 12, 1861 Confederates force fire on For Sumter May 8, 1861 Richmond becomes the capital of the Confederacy Jun 21, 1861 First Battle of Bull Run Nov 6, 1861 Jefferson Davis elected president of the Confederacy. Mar 8, 1862 The Merrimac and the Monitor fight of the Virginia coast Confederates surrender at Vicksburg Apr 6, 1862 Battle of Shiloh Jun 1, 1862 Robert E. Lee is is named commander of the army of Northern Virginia Sep 17, 1862 Battle of Antietam Dec 11, 1862 Battle of Fredricksburg Jan 1, 1863 Emancipation proclamation was announced Apr 30, 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville Jul 1, 1863 Battle of Gettysburg Jul 11, 1863 New York City draft riots Sep 15, 1863 Lincoln suspends habeas corpus Nov 19, 1863 Lincolns Gettysburg address Aug 28, 1864 Atlanta is captured Nov 8, 1864 Abraham Lincoln defeats George McClellan to win re-election Nov 15, 1864 Sherman begins his March to the Sea Jan 31, 1865 Congress passes the 13th Amendment Mar 3, 1865 Freedmen's Bureau is created Mar 4, 1865 Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address Apr 9, 1865 Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox Apr 15, 1865 President lincoln assasinated Apr 26, 1865 John Wilkes Booth is Killed