Civil War Timeline

  • Republican Party is formed

    Republican Party is formed
    The republican party was formed in response to the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. It consisted of mostly people from the North.
  • Kansas-Nebraska Act passed

    Kansas-Nebraska Act passed
    The Kansas-Nebraska allowed for popular sovereignty for the new States and Kansas and Nebraska will be the first two states to be decided by it.
  • Abraham Lincoln elected president

    Abraham Lincoln elected president
    Lincoln was elected president in 1860, almost all of Lincoln's votes came from the Northern United States.
  • South Carolina votes to secede from the United States

    South Carolina votes to secede from the United States
    South Carolina was the first state to secede from the United States as a result of the election of Abraham Lincoln and fear that he would get rid of slavery.
  • Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter

    Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter
    When Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter it was marked as the beginning of the Civil War.
  • Richmond becomes the capital of the Confederacy

    Richmond becomes the capital of the Confederacy
    Richmond was the Souths second largest city and it was moved to become the capital of the confederacy after Virginia seceded.
  • First Battle of Bull Run is fought

    First Battle of Bull Run is fought
    The first battle between union and Confederate was fought in Virginia. It began when around 35,000 union troops marched from the federal capital in Washington D.C. to strike a Confederate force of 20,000 along the river known as Bull Run. The battle ended with a Confederate victory.
  • Jefferson Davis elected president of the Confederacy

    Jefferson Davis elected president of the Confederacy
    Jefferson Davis was elected as a compromise between moderates and radicals for a 6 year term.
  • The Merrimack and the Monitor fight of the Virginia coast

    The Merrimack and the Monitor fight of the Virginia coast
    Merrimack was known as the confederate and Monitor was known as the Union. They fought to control the Hampton Roads and the battle ultimately ended in a stalemate.
  • Battle of Shiloh

    Battle of Shiloh
    The Battle of Shiloh ended with a victory for the Union. The Battle of Shiloh was called the bloodiest battle because of two days of carnage.
  • Robert E. Lee is named commander of the Army of Northern Virginia

    Robert E. Lee is named commander of the Army of Northern Virginia
    Robert E. Lee is named commander of the Army of Northern Virginia during the peninsula campaign which followed the wounding of Joseph E Johnston.
  • New York City draft riots

    New York City draft riots
    New York City draft riots were intended to express their anger at the draft, but the protests turned into riots against African Americans by Irish rioters.
  • Battle of Antietam

    Battle of Antietam
    The Battle of Antietam was a union victory. This victory gave President Lincoln the opportunity to announce the Emancipation proclamation, this made Battle of Antietam one of the key turning points of the Civil war.
  • Lincoln suspends habeas corpus

    Lincoln suspends habeas corpus
    Lincoln suspended habeas corpus because it was his response to the rioting by Confederate sympathizers in Maryland.
  • Battle of Fredericksburg

    Battle of Fredericksburg
    The Battle of Fredericksburg was a confederate victory and also one of the largest and deadliest battles of the war.
  • Emancipation Proclamation is announced

    Emancipation Proclamation is announced
    The Emancipation Proclamation declared "That all persons held as slaves... are, and henceforward shall be free." It gave slaves the opportunity to live freely in the United States.
  • Battle of Chancellorsville

    Battle of Chancellorsville
    The Battle of Chancellorsville ended with a Confederate victory and stopped an attempted flanking movement.
  • Battle of Gettysburg

    Battle of Gettysburg
    The Battle of Gettysburg was a union victory that was fought around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was known to be the turning point of the war.
  • Confederates surrender at Vicksburg

    Confederates surrender at Vicksburg
    The Confederates surrender at Vicksburg because their supply's were nearly gone after holding out for more than 40 days.
  • Lincoln gives his Gettysburg Address

    Lincoln gives his Gettysburg Address
    A summary of the Gettysburg address is that the best way to honor the sacrifice of the dead soldiers is to keep fighting for them and the nation.
  • Atlanta is captured

    Atlanta is captured
    Sherman attempted to destroy Tennessee and capture Atlanta, while he failed to destroy Tennessee he was able to force the surrender of Atlanta.
  • Abraham Lincoln defeats George McClellan to win re-election

    Abraham Lincoln defeats George McClellan to win re-election
    Abraham Lincoln was re-elected president in 1864, defeating George McClellan
  • Sherman begins his March to the Sea

    Sherman begins his March to the Sea
    The purpose of Shermans March to the sea was to frighten Georgia's civilian population into abandoning the confederate cause.
  • Congress passes the 13th Amendment

    Congress passes the 13th Amendment
    The 13th amendment officially abolished slavery in the United States.
  • Freedman’s Bureau is created

    Freedman’s Bureau is created
    Freedman’s Bureau provided food, shelter, clothing, medical services, and land to displaced southerners, included newly freed African Americans.
  • Lincoln gives his second inaugural address

    Lincoln gives his second inaugural address
    Lincolns second inaugural address was to claim that both the South and North had to share some of the blame for the sin of slavery.
  • Richmond falls to the Union Army

    Richmond falls to the Union Army
    Richmond falling to the Union Army was important because its capture signaled the end of the confederacy.
  • Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox

    Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox
    Robert E. Lee surrendered to spare further suffering to his men.
  • President Lincoln assassinated

    President Lincoln assassinated
    President Lincoln was assassinated in Washington D.C. by John Wilkes Booth, who shot him from behind using a pistol. After shooting president Lincoln, Booth shouts "Sic Semper Tyrannis"
  • John Wilkes Booth is killed

    John Wilkes Booth is killed
    John Wilkes Booth was the man who assassinated president Lincoln. Just a little over a week later, John Wilkes Booth was shot and killed by a soldier named Boston Corbett.