Civil War Timeline

By moxxy
  • Jefferson Davis Speech

    Jefferson Davis Speech

    The Senator of Missiippi Jeefferson Davis performs a famous speech about the ambitions he has to grow slavery and protect slave owners.
  • Abraham Lincoln's First Speech

    Abraham Lincoln's First Speech

    Lincoln gives the Cooper Union Address Speech at the Cooper Union in the New York City.
  • The Beginning of the Pony Express

    The Beginning of the Pony Express

    From April 3rd, 1860 to October 26th, 1861 between Missouri and California the Pony express operated as the first American horse-based mailing service. During it's operations they were able to reduce the time for messages to travel between the east and west US coast to ab out 10 days the only issue with the pony express is that during their 18 months of operation they went bankrupt because the faster telegram service was established.
  • Liuncoln gains the Republican Nominee

    Liuncoln gains the Republican Nominee

    Abe Lincoln wins the Republican Party presidential nomination and was able to beat William H. Seward.
  • Official US Printing Office Established

    Official US Printing Office Established

    The US government established the Government Printing Office, which allows for a smoother environment within the government as they now don't have to use another printing office.
  • Lincoln is Elected as President

    Lincoln is Elected as President

    Abraham Lincoln wins the 1860 election and his Vice President Andrew Johnson are elected. Lincoln would beat John C. Breckinridge and this would further put division between the North and South.
  • James Buchanan and the Union Address

    James Buchanan and the Union Address

    President James Buchanan sent his State of Union Address to the United States Congress. This address is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current condition of the nation.
  • Secession Convention

    Secession Convention

    The first ever Secession Convention is held in South Carolina. This is due to the winning of Abraham Lincoln in the election and his plan to end slavery
  • Cabinet Out the Window

    Cabinet Out the Window

    The Current President of 1860 James Buchanan fires his entire Cabinet and this is because Abraham Lincoln is going to become the new president.
  • South Carolina Curve Ball

    South Carolina Curve Ball

    After the election of Abraham Lincoln, South Carolina feels threatens to leave the union and actually ends up leaving the Union.
  • Mississippi's Sucedes

    Mississippi's Sucedes

    Mississippi is the 2nd state to officially secede from the Union.
  • Florida's Sucession

    Florida's Sucession

    Florida is the 2nd state to officially secede from the Union.
  • Alabama leaves the Union

    Alabama leaves the Union

    Alabama is the 4th state to officially secede from the Union
  • The Domino Effect Continues

    The Domino Effect Continues

    Georgia is the 5th state to officially secede from the Union after the succession from South Carolina, Mississippi and Florida.
  • Louisiana Joins the Party

    Louisiana Joins the Party

    Louisiana secedes from the Union as the 6th state to officially leave and was the last to leave during the January month.
  • The Confederate States of America is Born

    The Confederate States of America is Born

    With the 6 states that have currently left the Union form the Confederate states of America.
  • Time for Change - Fort Sumter

    Time for Change - Fort Sumter

    Fort Sumter was a sea fort that was built on an artificial island and protected Charleston, South Carolina from possible naval invasion. By 1861 49 years after the War of 1812, it was still incomplete. For the 33 hours that the Confederates took fire on the Union-occupied territory, 4,000 shells were fired and no one was killed however minor injuries were suffered.
  • Robert E Lee's Decision

    Robert E Lee's Decision

    Robert E. Lee denied the offered to join the Union and decides to join the Confederacy, this isn't because he supported the idea, but rather was loyal to his home state of Virginia.
  • Civil War Kickoff

    Civil War Kickoff

    Union forces under General Irvin McDowell try to flank Confederate positioning and were forced to turn back. Which result in the first ever battle of the Civil War result in a Confederate victory.
  • Jefferson Davis Becomes President

    Jefferson Davis Becomes President

    Jeffereson Davis is elected as the first ever president of the Confederate States of America.
  • Fort Henry Captured

    Fort Henry Captured

    First major Union Victory at Fort Henry and would fall under Union Control.
  • Battle of Shiloh

    Battle of Shiloh

    The Battle of Shiloh was an early battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. The battle was named after the Church in the area they fought in which resulted in Union Victory.
  • Battle of New Orleans

    Battle of New Orleans

    Huge naval battle and had the first ever battle of ironclads which completely changed naval warfare. Major Union victory.
  • Battle of Seven Pines

    Battle of Seven Pines

    It was a two-day battle in the Peninsular Campaign, in which Confederate attacks were repulsed, fought 6 miles east of the Confederates Capital of Richmond Virginia. This could have lead to the capture of the Capital however McClellan still lead the Union Army.
  • Pacific Railway Act

    Pacific Railway Act

    This act offered government incentives to assist “men of talent, men of character, men who are willing to invest” in developing the nation's first transcontinental rail line.
  • Second Battle of Bull Run

    Second Battle of Bull Run

    The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War resulting in Confederate Victory
  • Battle of Antietam

    Battle of Antietam

    Was claimed to be the bloodiest battle of the Civil War and resulted over 20,000 casualties.
  • Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

    Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

    Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, this threatened that any union state must free all the enslaved people in the states in rebellion if those states did not return to the Union by January 1, 1863.
  • General McClellan is fired

    General McClellan is fired

    After the congressional mid-term elections, U.S. president Abraham Lincoln relieved Union general George B. McClellan Lincoln stated that McClellan had the "slows" which was his reason for his removal.
  • Battle of Fredericksburg

    Battle of Fredericksburg

    This battle was fought from December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. Union Victory
  • Final Emancipation Proclamation

    Final Emancipation Proclamation

    Lincoln issues the final Emancipation Proclamation, officially allowing black soldiers and sailors into Union forces this would provide a huge advantage to the Union in the war as they now had access to even more willing and able men to fight.
  • Cherokee Abolish Slavery

    Cherokee Abolish Slavery

    Cherokee Nation abolishes slavery and states that they will support the Union.
  • Battle of Chancellorsville

    Battle of Chancellorsville

    Confederates were victorious at the Battle of Chancellorsville, however Stonewall Jackson is fatally wounded by one of his own men.
  • Stonewall Jackson's Death

    Stonewall Jackson's Death

    Stonewall Jackson dies due to infection caused by the bullet wound from his own soldier.
  • Lee's Big invasion.

    Lee's Big invasion.

    General Robert E. Lee launches his second invasion in North, and sends over (75000 Confederates) which will lead to Gettysburg.
  • Battle of Gettysburg

    Battle of Gettysburg

    Confederates are defeated swiftly in a three day battle, this is a huge win for the Union and would be one of the turning points of the war.
  • Battle of Chickamauga

    Battle of Chickamauga

    Tennessee Confederate Army lead by Braxton Bragg's defeats a Union force commanded by General William Rosecrans.
  • Gettysburg Address

    Gettysburg Address

    Lincoln makes one of his most famous speeches in two minutes at a ceremony that dedicated the battlefields fought on for the dead soldiers to be remembered and have their deaths not be in vain.
  • Revenge at Chattanooga

    Revenge at Chattanooga

    General Ulysses S Grant defeats the Confederates ending the rebel Siege of Chattanooga which was a grueling two day battle.
  • Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction

    Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction

    Lincoln offers his conciliatory plan for reunification of the United States with his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction. During this point in the civil war he needed to make some points about the preliminary plans for the postwar reconstruction of the nation.
  • Andersonville War Camp

    Andersonville War Camp

    One of the worst ever prison camps to open up during the Civil War near Andersonville, Georgia.
  • Jackson's Valley campaign

    Jackson's Valley campaign

    Which was Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's spring 1862 campaign through the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia during the American Civil War.
  • Wade-Davis Bill

    Wade-Davis Bill

    Congress passes the punitive Wade-Davis Bill, which was a bill "to guarantee to certain States whose governments have been usurped or overthrown a republican form of government," proposed for the Reconstruction of the South.
  • Confederate threat on Washington

    Confederate threat on Washington

    The Confederates made false advances towards Washington to spook Lincoln the high command. This is because Washington was heavily guarded already and tried to use this to psyche out Lincoln to make him think they were going to attack Washington.
  • A Chance to close the war

    A Chance to close the war

    Union troops miss a possible opportunity to capture Petersburg and cut off Confederate rail lines that would have lead to the end of the Civil War
  • Atlanta is Captured

    Atlanta is Captured

    General Sherman captures Atlanta, Georgia and he was able to destroy the Army of the Tennessee, capture Atlanta and cut off vital Confederate supply lines
  • Lincoln Defeats the Man he Fired

    Lincoln Defeats the Man he Fired

    Lincoln defeats McClellan in the 1864 presidential election.
  • Nevada is a State

    Nevada is a State

    Nevada became the 36th state on October 31, 1864, after telegraphing the Constitution of Nevada to the Congress days before the November 8 presidential election.
  • Sand Creek Massacre

    Sand Creek Massacre

    This was a massacre of Cheyenne and Arapaho people by the U.S. Army in the American Indian Wars that occurred on November 29, 1864, when a 675-man force of the Third Colorado Cavalry under the command of U.S. Volunteers Colonel John Chivington attacked and destroyed a village of Cheyenne and Arapaho people in southeastern Colorado Territory, killing and mutilating an estimated 69 to over 600 Native American people.
  • Battle of Nashville

    Battle of Nashville

    It was a two-day battle in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign that represented the end of large-scale fighting west of the coastal states in the American Civil War.
  • 13th Amendment Passed

    13th Amendment Passed

    This amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime in the United States
  • Union troops advance through Columbia

    Union troops advance through Columbia

    The state capital of Columbia, South Carolina, was captured by Union forces under Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman. Much of the city was burned, although it is not clear which side caused the fires.
  • Freedmen's Bureau Established

    Freedmen's Bureau Established

    It was an agency of early Reconstruction, assisting freedmen in the South which was established by US congress.
  • "Negro Soldier Law" is ratified

    "Negro Soldier Law" is ratified

    Allows for people of color to enlist in the army and it is signed by Jefferson Davis which allowed the south access to a bigger pool of soldiers as they were desperate.
  • Petersburg and Richmond Fall

    Petersburg and Richmond Fall

    Petersburg and Richmond Fall under Union control and Richmond is completely evacuated by the Confederates, this will spell the end of the Civil War.
  • Lee Surrenders

    Lee Surrenders

    Lee surrenders to Grant at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia, this would result in the final nail in the coffin as the Union have now officially won.
  • Lincoln is Assassinated

    Lincoln is Assassinated

    Actor John Wilkes Booth assassinates Lincoln while attending the play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater. Wilkes Booth was an actor which is why he was able to sneak up on Lincoln. It is also stated that his security left the premises to go drink after deeming the area "safe."
  • Andrew Johnson is the New President

    Andrew Johnson is the New President

    After the death of Lincoln Andrew Johnson is quickly states as the new president.
  • General Johnston Surrenders

    General Johnston Surrenders

    Sherman accepts the surrender of Confederate General Joe Johnston in North Carolina. The domino effect will continue as the southern generals will begin to surrender or flee down to South America.
  • Jefferson Davis is Captured

    Jefferson Davis is Captured

    President of the Confederate States of America Jefferson Davis is captured under President Johnson, this is truly the end of the confederates.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1866

    Civil Rights Act of 1866

    Declared all persons born in the United States to be citizens, "without distinction of race or color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude."
  • Riots in Memphis

    Riots in Memphis

    The Memphis massacre of 1866 was a series of violent events that occurred from May 1 to 3, 1866 in Memphis, Tennessee. The racial violence was ignited by political and social racism following the American Civil War, in the early stages of Reconstruction.
  • Ex Parte Milligan

    Ex Parte Milligan

    It was a big decision made by the US Supreme Court that the use of military tribunals to try civilians when civil courts are operating is unconstitutional.
  • The 14th Amendment

    The 14th Amendment

    This granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States—including former enslaved people—and guaranteed all citizens “equal protection of the laws.”
  • Judicial Circuits Act

    Judicial Circuits Act

    This act reduced the circuits from ten to nine, redrew their boundaries, and authorized the gradual reduction of Supreme Court seats from ten to seven.
  • Tennessee rejoins the Union

    Tennessee rejoins the Union

    After the war, the state legislature ratified the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution on July 18, 1866, and was the first state readmitted to the Union on July 24, 1866.
  • Grant earns tittle as General of the Army

    Grant earns tittle as General of the Army

    U.S. Congress passes legislation authorizing the rank of General of the Army Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. Grant was the first person to receive this rank.
  • National Union Convention

    National Union Convention

    The goal of the convention was to reconcile the Radical Republicans in Congress with the Reconstruction policies of President Andrew Johnson.
  • It's Finally Over

    It's Finally Over

    President Johnson formally declares the end of the American Civil War over.
  • H.O.R. Elections

    H.O.R. Elections

    The Republican Party wins in a landslide despite President Andrew Johnson's Swing Around the Circle tour.
  • World's Largest Suspension Bridge

    World's Largest Suspension Bridge

    John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge opens up between Cincinnati, Ohio and Covington, Kentucky this became the longe st suspension bridge in the world at the time. The Bridge was orignally known as the Cinncinati Covington Bridge.
  • Not Exact Dated Events

    Not Exact Dated Events

    Yellow fever kills 3,093 in New Orleans.At historic Fountain Point, Michigan, an artesian water spring gushes continuously until the present day. 1867–1873 – Chinese, Scandinavian and Irish immigrants lay 30,000 miles (48,000 km) of railroad tracks in the United States. Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, Massachusetts opens its doors for the first time, becoming the first school for the deaf in the
  • Nebraska

    Nebraska

    Nebraska joins the US and is admitted as the 37th US state. They would be a huge benefit to the agriculture in the US and is best known for their corn production.
  • Kidder massacre

    Kidder massacre

    A sioux and Cheyenne war party kills a US Second Lieutenant Lyman Kidder also along with an Indian scout and ten ten enlisted men in Kansas. This would later lead to the Removal of the Sioux and Cheyenne from Kansas.
  • Railroad Elevation

    Railroad Elevation

    First elevated railroad is established in New York City and it begins operations. The idea of the elevated railroad system allows people to travel on foot or be vehicle without the obstruction of a train in the crammed environment that is NYC.
  • Public Health Education

    Public Health Education

    The Harvard School of Dental Medicine is established and is the first dental school in the United States. This also contained the Public Health department and was located on a 21-acre campus in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston which was 3.3 miles south of Cambridge campus.
  • Manifest Destiny Pursues

    Manifest Destiny Pursues

    US takes possession of Alaska from Russia paying 7.2 million dollars for the land. In today's money that is roughly $140,647,621.62 dollars the US spent to acquire that land.
  • Medicine Log Treaty

    Medicine Log Treaty

    Native Americans sign a the Lodge treaty which forces the tribes to relocate to a reserved location in western Oklahoma. This was an agreement that was first made with the Kiowa and Comanche tribes the US government and tribal chiefs met in a traditional Native American ceremony location.
  • NYC Theater Reading

    NYC Theater Reading

    In a New York City theater, the British author Charles Dickens, gives his first public reading in the United States. He is best known for writing the novels The Picwick Papers, Oliver Twist, and A Christmas Carol.
  • Angola Horror

    Angola Horror

    49 People die on a train wreck in Angola New York thiswould be called the Angola Horror the train left on a December morning from Cleveland and was due to arrive in Buffalo New York at 1:30 p.m. John D Rocefeller actually planned to make this trip but arrived a few minutes early and avoided death. The last car plunged 40 feet into an ice covered slope passengers were immediately killed.
  • Andrew Johnson Impeachment

    Andrew Johnson Impeachment

    The House Committee on Reconstruction reported resolution of impeachment against Johnson. House voted 126 to 47 to impeach Johnson of high crimes and misdemeanors.
  • Treaty of Fort Laramie

    Treaty of Fort Laramie

    It was an agreement between the US and the Oglala, Miniconjou, and Brule brands of Lakota People which was to create the Great Sioux Reservation which provided the Indians food, clothing if they moved to the designated area.
  • Decoration Day

    Decoration Day

    The first ever decoration day and is was issued by General John A. Logan.
  • Unification

    Unification

    Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina are all readmitted to the U.S. This is the start of the patching of the US.
  • Wyoming Formed into a State

    Wyoming Formed into a State

    Carved from sections of Dakota, Utah, and Idaho territories, Wyoming Territory came into existence by act of Congress on July 25, 1868. Wyoming would officially be declared a state.
  • Grant is President

    Grant is President

    Ulysses S Grant wins the US presidential election of 1868 and beats Horatio Seymour in this election, he would go down as one of the presidents with the worse gambling addiction.
  • Indian Wars

    Indian Wars

    Battle of Washita River: In the early morning, United States Army Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer leads an attack on a band of Cheyenne living on reservation land with Chief Black Kettle, killing 103 Cheyenne.
  • Civil War Rebels are Saved

    Civil War Rebels are Saved

    President Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all Civil War rebels, however he does not pardon anyone who were war camp associates, this is because of the terrible environments the put Union POWs through at those camps. Even if they didn't do this, they were still guilty by association.