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Jefferson Davis comes out in favor of secession for the first time
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Joseph E. Johnston appointed Quartermaster General
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Abraham Lincoln is elected President and Hannibal Hamlin is the new Vice of the United States.
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James Chesnut becomes the first Southerner to resign from the Senate. He is quickly followed by James H. Hammond
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In December of 1860, as states were seceding from the Union, Senator John J. Crittenden proposed a compromise in a desperate attempt to prevent a Civil War. The compromise would call for slavery being legal in states south of the 36 Degree 30' North latitude. President Lincoln didn't accept the compromise.
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Outgoing President James Buchanan sends a distressed State of the Union message to Congress. In it he states that secession is unconstitutional and says the federal government lacks the authority to prevent it and calls for a constitutional amendment allowing Southern states to retain slaves as property.
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Union Maj. Robert Anderson evacuates Ft. Moultrie for Ft. Sumter in Charleston Harbor
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The first Secession Convention meets in Columbia, South Carolina.
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South Carolina legislators vote to secede from the Union.
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Major Robert Anderson transfers his command from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter on his own initiative. He felt it was impossible to hold Fort Moultrie against South Carolina militia.
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Mississippi: Jan. 9
Florida: Jan. 10
Alabama: Jan. 11
Georgia: Jan. 19
Louisiana: Jan. 26
Texas: Feb. 1
Virginia: Apr. 17
Arkansas: May 6
North Carolina: May 20
Tennessee: Jun. 8 -
Jefferson Davis inaugurated as provisional President of the Confederate States of America
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Abraham Lincoln becomes 16th President of the United States
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Beginning at 4:30 am on the 12th and continuing until the morning of the 13th, Confederate batteries along the shore of Charleston Harbor fire on Fort Sumter under the command of Major Robert Anderson. Anderson arranges a surrender with Texas Senator Louis Wigfall on the morning of the 13th.
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Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus meaning people could be imprisoned without being seen by a judge or having the right to a trial.
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First land engagement of the Civil War between American and Confederate forces. It was a minor affair that lasted less than 20 minutes and resulted in no fatalities.
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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.
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President Lincoln appoints George B. McClellan as Commander of the Department of the Potomac, replacing McDowell.
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First major Civil War battle fought west of the Mississippi River, and the scene of the death of Nathaniel Lyon, the first Union general killed in combat. The bloody Southern victory on August 10, 1861, focused greater national attention on the war in Missouri.
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In Leesburg, Virginia, 1,070 casualties occurred and ended in a Confederate victory. Lincoln was stunned by the loss. The death of Baker, the only U.S. Senator ever to be killed in battle, was particularly shocking, as was the disparity in casualties. As a result, a concerned Congress established the Congressional Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, which would lead Union commanders to second-guess their decisions for the rest of the war.
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George McClellan replaces Lt. General Winfield Scott as general-in-chief of U.S. Army
McClellan began his work swiftly, ensuring that Kentucky would not secede from the Union. He then commanded forces during the Rich Mountain campaign in what is now West Virginia to ensure that the portion of the state would not be fully taken by Confederates. This success, combined with the defeat of General Irvin McDowell at the battle of First Bull Run, led McClellan to become commander of the Army of the -
The Confederates surrendered Fort Henry in Tenessee to the Union. This allowed the Union Army to gain a signifiacant amount of control over the Mississippi River.
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Ft. Donelson unconditionally surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant
After capturing Fort Henry on February 6, 1862, Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant advanced cross-country to invest Fort Donelson. On February 16, 1862, after the failure of their all-out attack aimed at breaking through Grant’s investment lines, the fort’s 12,000-man garrison surrendered unconditionally. This was a major victory for Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and a catastrophe for the South. It ensured that Kentucky would stay in the Union -
Marching from Fort Monroe, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan’s army encountered Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder’s small Confederate army at Yorktown behind the Warwick River. It ended in 182 Union fatalities and 300 Confederate fatalities but an inconclusive victory.
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Shiloh ended in a Union victory where both sides suffered terrible losses. The Union army led by Grant captured two Confederate forts in Tennessee and continued to push on toward the Mississippi River. The two day battle at Shiloh produced more than 23,000 casualties and was one of the bloodiest battles.
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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.
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In McDowell, Virginia, where 256 Union soldiers died, 498 Confederate soldiers died, and ended in a Confederate victory, the Battle of McDowell occurred. It was considered a part of the campaign by Major Thomas Jackson during the Civil War in the United States.
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The bloodiest single day in American military history ended in a draw, but the Confederate retreat gave Abraham Lincoln the “victory” he desired before issuing the Emancipation Proclamation.
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Despite heavy Confederate casualties (9,000), the Battle of Second Bull Run (known as Second Manassas in the South) was a decisive victory for the rebels, as Lee had managed a strategic offensive against an enemy force (Pope and McClellan’s) twice the size of his own.
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Jackson took possession of Harpers Ferry, then led most of his soldiers to join with Lee at Sharpsburg. After paroling the prisoners at Harpers Ferry, A.P. Hill’s division arrived in time to save Lee’s army from near-defeat at Sharpsburg.
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The Union Army under General Ambrose E. Burnside suffers a horrible defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg in Virginia. Fourteen individual assaults on an entrenched Confederate position cost the Union 13,000 casualties.
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The Emancipation Proclamation, allowing slaves in rebelling states to be free, went into effect.
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Abraham Lincoln relieves General Ambrose Burnside from command of the Army of the Potomac, replacing him with General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker.
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Fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, ithis s widely considered to be Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s greatest victory during the American Civil War. This battle is also when Thomas Jackson was shot in a friendly fire.
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Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson died on May 10 and was buried in Lexington, Virginia.Eight days after being shot in battle,
he died eight days later from pneumonia, a complication of having his left arm amputated from the incident. -
From July 1 to July 3, the Battle of Gettysburg took place in Pennslyvania. Known as the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, it was known as the turning point and gives the North a morale boost.
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Confederates surrender to the Union in Vicksburg, Mississippi. This specifically gives the Union the Mississippi River and the upper hand.
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Union Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and 272 of his troops were killed on Fort Wagner, which is near Charleston, South Carolina. He was the commander of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, possibly the most famous regiment of African-American troops during the war.
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Ending in a Confederate victory, the battle took place in Chickamauga, Georgia. There were ten Confederate generals who had been killed or wounded and overall included nearly 20,000 Confederate casualties.The Union also suffered about 16,000 casualties, which made this battle the costliest one in the war’s western theater.
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President Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address which honors the fallen soldiers who died "in vain". He wants to bring the Union and Confederacy together at that moment in time as he sees it as an opportunity for unity. He wants to dedicate the land in Pennslyvania to those who fought in the Battle of Gettysburg.
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Three Union armies attacked the Army of Tennessee; Grant ordered Sherman to attack Tunnel Hill. Sherman’s first attack was a failure, butGeneral George H. Thomas managed to completely break the center of the Confederate line. This ended in a third victory in three days which compelled a Confederate withdrawal and opened up the South to a Union invasion.
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109 Union officers led by Colonel Thomas Rose escape from Libby Prison on the banks of the James River in Richmond. 59 of the Union officers reach Union lines.
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U.S. Grant was promoted to Lieutenant General and named general-in-chief of the Armies of the United States by President Lincoln.
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Nevada and Colorado territories are admitted into the Union.
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Grant marched the Union army south with the hope of capturing Spotsylvania Court House. Lee's Confederates, however, managed to get ahead of the Federals and block the road. For the next two weeks, the battle would go on with an estimated total of 30,000 causualties.
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Grant makes a costly mistake losing 13,000 men when he wanted to launch a huge assault on Lee's army but Hancock's Union corps did not arrive in time which allowed Lee to entrench.
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Abraham Lincoln is re-elected president, defeating Democrat George B. McClellan. Lincoln wins with 55 percent of the popular vote and 212 of 233 electoral votes
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Ending in a Union victory, there were about 8,587 casualties. This battle decimated the Army of Tennessee. Also, fourteen Southern generals died, which was more than any other battle in the war. Union troops later then retreated to Nashville.
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Hood and his army were forced to retreat, taking a fatal blow to the size of their army and were no longer a viable fighting force. The Army of Tennessee was basically destroyed by the Union army commanded by General George Thomas.
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Sherman reaches Savannah in Georgia and left behind a 300 mile long path of destruction 60 miles wide all the way from Atlanta.
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The first attack on Fort Fisher in North Carolina occurs.
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From January 13th to the 15th, The Union Army set up an assault and also ended in a Union victory. There was an estimated number of 1,341 Union casualties and 583 Confederate casualties.
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The U.S. Congress approves the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which called to abolish slavery.
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Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated for his second term as President of the United States.
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Confederate General Robert E. Lee makes Fort Stedman his last attack of the war in an attempt to break out of Petersburg, Virginia. The attack failed and Lee was forced to evacuate. Two weeks later, Lee surrenders.
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Another Union victory, there was 830 Union deaths and 2,950 Confederate casualties. The battle triggered Lee’s retreat from Petersburg as the two armies began a race that would end a week later at Appomattox Court House.
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Lincoln offers generous terms to Lee for his surrender and both Grant and Lee meet at Appomattox Court.
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5 days after Lee's surrender, Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in Ford's Theater and died the day after he was shot.
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The Battle of Palmito Ranch was a small skirmish between 250 men of the 62nd U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment and 50 men of the 2nd Texas Cavalry Regiment under the command of Lt. Col. David Branson.
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Henry Wirz, the camp commander of the prison war camp Andersonville is hanged in Washington, D.C. He was tried and found guilty by a military tribunal for the malnutrition and mistreatment common at Andersonville.
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The Thirteenth Amendment finally becomes a part of the U.S. Constitution
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New Freedman's Bureau bill passed by Congress. President Andrew Johnson vetoes the bill that authorized military trial for those accused of "depriving Negroes of the Civil Rights" on the same day
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Texas repeals the actions of the Secessionist Convention
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President Johnson vetos the Civil Rights Act of 1866 on the grounds that it was unconstitutional
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The United States declares that a state of peace exists with Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia
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Congress allocates $100,000 to buy Ford's Theater. The theater will house the Army Medical Museum, the Office of the Surgeon General and War Department records until 1893.
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The first United States federal law to define US citizenship and affirmed that all citizens were equally protected by the law.It was intended to protect the civil rights of African-Americans.
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Commander in Chief of the United States Army, Winfield Scott who was also a Mexican War hero, died on May 29.
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The Senate passed the 14th Amendment by a vote of 33 to 11.
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Tennessee becomes the first state readmitted to the Union.
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"General of the Armies" is established by Congress. Ulysses S. Grant is promoted to 4-star general and put in this position. William Tecumseh Sherman takes the rank of Lt. General.
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Ohio ratifies the 14th Amendment
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Kentucky rejects the 14th Amendment
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Blacks in Washington D. C. gain the right to vote in a bill passed over President Andrew Johnson's veto
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Virginia rejects the 14th Amendment
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New York ratifies the 14th Amendment
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Nebraska becomes a state
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Federal army restores military rule to Mississippi
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Congress passes the 2nd Reconstruction Act over Andrew Johnson's veto
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Senate ratifies treaty purchasing Alaska
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Congress passes a bill admitting Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina into the Union. Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas, having refused to ratify the fourteenth amendment, were refused admission into the Union
