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Events that built up to and occurred during the Civil War.
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Jefferson Davis speaks about why slavery is crucial and should be allowed in territories. He was trying to unite the democratic party and explaining why slaveowners should be protected. -
Lincoln delivers the Cooper Union Address, where he validates the Federal Government's decision in banning slavery in new territories. -
A mail service called the Pony Express was established, stretching from Missouri to California. It was crucial in tying the new state of California with the rest of the nation. -
Former members of the American and Whig parties meet up in Baltimore to create the Constitutional Union Party, electing John Bell as a candidate for president and Edward Everett as vice president.
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Lincoln is elected the 16th president of the United States of America. -
Robert Anderson reports that Fort Sumter is being threatened in Charleston. -
Georgia hosts a convention in which it entertains the idea of the Southern States succeeding to form their own nation.
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in 1860, South Carolina officially breaks away from the United States of America, making it the first state to do so. -
South Carolina congressmen resign due to the secession. However, since the Union does not acknowledge secession their names stay on the roll.
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South Carolina proposes their "Declaration of Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union", essentially their version of the Declaration of Independence.
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Kansas is admitted to the Union, becoming the 34th US state. It was meant to be a slave state but due to controversy became a free state.
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Jefferson Davis is elected the provisional president of the Confederate States of America. -
The first battle of the Civil War happens at Fort Sumter in South Carolina, it lasted two days and was a confederate victory.
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Virginia secedes from the Union, followed by Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina. -
Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus, meaning people could now be imprisoned without seeing a judge beforehand. -
The Union Army is defeated at Bull Run, where Thomas Jackson earns his nickname "Stonewall" Jackson. -
This resolution is passed by Congress in order to give a reason for going to war. It states that this war is not to abolish slavery, but instead to preserve the Union. -
General Ulysses S. Grant captures Paducah, Kentucky without spilling blood, giving the Union control of the Tennessee River. -
President Lincoln appoints George McClellan as commander of the Union Army, replacing Winfield Scott. -
Jefferson Davis appoints Judah Benjamin as his Secretary of War, putting him in charge of the Confederate Army. After he resigned, Davis appointed him Secretary of State. -
Kentucky becomes the 13th confederate state, expanding the confederacy. -
McClellan was issued his first General War Order from Lincoln, telling all land and sea forces to advance. McClellan ignores this order.
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Ulysses S. Grant captures both Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. -
Greenbacks were introduced by Lincoln as unified money for the United States. -
The confederates surprise Ulysses Grant's troops at Shiloh. 13,000 union soldiers are dead or wounded and 10,000 confederate soldiers are dead or wounded. -
Lee attacks McClellan near Richmond, both sides suffer heavy losses. -
Joseph Johnston attacks McClellan's forces in front of Richmond and nearly defeats them. -
The Union army is now allowed to hire African Americans to work in the army. -
The Union army is defeated by confederate troops under Stonewall Jackson and James Longstreet's command. -
Deemed the "bloodiest single-day battle in US history", Lee is stopped at Antietam in Maryland by McClellan and his troops. -
Lincoln begins to grow tired of McClellan's procrastination, eventually replacing him with Ambrose Burnside, using the excuse of him having "the slows" -
Lincoln orders 39 Sioux Native Americans to be hanged, which is ironic during a period in which he is fighting to free another specific group of people. -
President Lincoln releases the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves. -
Grant is now placed in charge of the Army and is given orders to capture Vicksburg. -
The Conscription Act is signed which forces men who are able-bodied between the ages of 18 and 35 to join the army. This led to riots in New York. -
The Battle of Chancellorsville took place between May 1st and May 4th, which ended in a Confederate victory. This was the battle in which General Stonewall Jackson died. -
Considered the major turning point of the war, in the Union's favor, this battle the Confederates were devasted with the casualties of 28,000 men and the Union with 20,000 men. -
Eventually, Vicksburg surrenders to the Union. This is considered an aid to the turning point in the war, alongside Gettysburg. -
After the devastating and humiliating loss at Gettysburg, Lee attempts to resign. Jefferson Davis refuses his request. -
This battle in Lawrence, Kansas, involved William Quantrill's raiders killing over 200 men and boys. -
Lincoln holds a speech at the military cemetery in Gettysburg, honoring the men who have fallen in the war and encouraging others to help finally end the conflict. This speech boosted northern morale. -
John Morgan, a Confederate cavalry leader, and a few of his men escape the Ohio state prison by cutting a hole in their cell and climbing through the ventilation system. He is later killed in the war by the Union army. -
Known as the harshest prison camp of the Civil war, 500 prisoners arrive there, captured by the Confederates. Many did not survive. -
Making a grave mistake, Grant attempts to fight fortified rebels in Cold Harbor, Virginia. This results in 7,000 union casualties in 20 minutes. -
The Arlington National Cemetery is established by the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, and was created using 200 acres of land from Robert E. Lee's home. -
Lincoln signs against the fee that people are able to pay to avoid being drafted into the Union army. -
The Confederate spy, Belle Boyd is arrested by Union forces and held at the old Capital prison. -
Atlana is captured by Sherman's Union troops. -
Lincoln is re-elected in 1864, he won with an overwhelming amount of votes. -
A group of Confederate operatives calling themselves the "Confederate Army of Manhattan" set fires in more than 20 places. However, their attempt at burning New York down was unsuccessful. -
At Waynesboro, Georgia, the Union must prevent the Confederate troops from interfering with General Sherman's plan to destroy part of the south by marching to Savannah, Georgia. -
The rebel army in Hood, Nashville, lose to the Union army. -
The confederate forces capture Fort Stedman from the Union's control. -
Confederate President Davis and his cabinet flee Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital. The next day it is captured by the Union. -
General Lee surrenders to General Grant at Appomattox courthouse, marking the end of the Civil War. -
John Wilkes Booth assassinates Lincoln at Ford's Theater. Lincoln is pronounced dead early the next morning. -
John Wilkes Booth is captured in a barn in Virginia. He is shot and killed by Boston Corbett. -
General Granger arrives in Texas to tell them about the Emancipation Proclamation, it is now celebrated as the holiday "Juneteenth". -
Four conspirators for Lincoln's assassinator are hanged. These men are Davide Harold, George Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, and Mary Surratt. -
Henry Wirz is hanged for his crimes at the prison camp of Andersonville. He was the leader of this prison, becoming the only soldier hung for his crimes. -
The 13th Amendment is ratified by 3/4 of the states. This abolishes slavery in the United States.
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Jonathan Shank and Barry Ownby form the KKK in resistance to reconstruction and to repress free African Americans. -
The last issue of the Liberator is published, however, there is no need for this newspaper anymore as slaves are now free.
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Freedmen's Bureau is passed by congress in order to help poor whites and former black slaves in the South. -
Texas repeals the actions of the Secessionist Convention.
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President Johnson vetos the Civil Rights Act of 1866 because it was unconstitutional. -
Congress overrides Andrew Johnson's attempt to veto the Civil Rights Act. -
The 14th Amendment is ratified, giving civil rights to freed African Americans. -
After the war, Tennesee is the first state readmitted to the Union. -
Congress passes the legislation officiating the rank of General of the Army. Ulysses S. Grant is the first to hold this title. -
The Atlantic Cable is established, allowing transatlantic telegraph communication for the first time. -
The US secret service begins an investigation in the Ku Klux Klan. -
African American men are given the right to vote in a bill that passed over President Johnson's veto. -
The first Reconstruction Act sets up five military districts in the south, each under the control of a military commander. With the Army Appropriations Act now passed, Johnson has less control over the army. The final act passed, the Tenure Office Act, states that Johnson is unable to remove cabinet members without the Senate's consent. -
Virginia rejects votes cast by Black people, who were granted universal suffrage under the Reconstruction Act. -
African Americans stage a ride in on streetcars in New Orleans to protest segregation. -
President Johnson announces the purchase of Alaska, the second to last state added to the United States. -
Johnson vetoes the third reconstruction act which spells out election procedures in the south as well as reasserts congressional control over reconstruction in the south. Congress overrides his veto. -
President Johnson demands that Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War, resigns. -
President Johnson suspends Edwin Stanton after the two clashed over Johnson's lenient treatment of the former confederate states. -
The United States officially takes possession of Alaska from Russia with a purchase of 7.2 million. -
Congress begins to consider impeaching President Johnson for his lack of effectiveness and inability to follow through with reconstruction.
