Civil War Virtual Timeline

  • 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 Union. After this many states joined them all breaking away from the United States. They did this because
  • Lincoln's First Inaugural Address

    Lincoln's First Inaugural Address

    Since Lincoln already had most of the voters from the North this speech was targeted more towards the people in the South. He pledged to "hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the government." He also claimed that the Union would never be the first to attack.
  • Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter

    Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter

    Lincoln announced plans to supply Fort Sumter. So the Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard bombarded the Fort with canons. The Union surrendered the fort on April 13 and there were no casualties until they evacuated.
  • Lincoln suspends habeas corpus

    Lincoln suspends habeas corpus

    Lincoln suspended habeas corpus to give military authorities power to silence rebels. This means that if someone seemed threatening to military operations they could be arrested.
  • Richmond becomes the capital of the Confederacy

    Richmond becomes the capital of the Confederacy

    On May 8, 1861 the Confederacy decided to make Richmond, Virginia the capitol of the confederacy. They chose Richmond because of Virginia's strategic importance.
  • First Battle of Bull Run is fought

    First Battle of Bull Run is fought

    The First Battle of Bull Run was also known as the Battle of Manassas. It was also one of the first major land battles of the war. The battle took place in Manassas Junction, Virginia and at the end the confederates won.
  • Jefferson Davis elected President of the Confederacy

    Jefferson Davis elected President of the Confederacy

    On November 6, 1861 after the South seceded from the North Jefferson Davis was elected as the President of the Confederacy. He ran without competition and was elected to a six year term. At first he disagreed with succession but then he thought that the Confederacy had a right to leave the Union.
  • The Merrimac and the Monitor fight off the Virginia coast

    The Merrimac and the Monitor fight off the Virginia coast

    This battle was also called the battle of Hampton Roads and it was a huge naval battle. Neither side came out victorious and the battle demonstrated the new ironclad ships technology.
  • Battle of Shiloh

    Battle of Shiloh

    This battle was also known as the battle of Pittsburgh Landing. It was one of the earliest major fights of the Civil War. The battle started when the Confederate army surprise attacked the Union forces. But at the end the Union led by Ulysses S. Grant won.
  • Robert E. Lee is named commander of the Army of Northern Virginia

    Robert E. Lee is named commander of the Army of Northern Virginia

    The highest ranking U.S. general, Wilfred Scott told Lincoln that he should put Lee in command of the army. Lee ignored an offer from the Confederate army and was promoted to major general.
  • Battle of Antietam

    Battle of Antietam

    The Battle of Antietam took place at Antietam creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland. This battle is the bloodiest one day battle in American history. There was a total of 3650 casualties with many more wounded or missing. At the end of the bloody battle the Union was victorious.
  • Emancipation Proclamation is announced

    Emancipation Proclamation is announced

    Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in the middle of the civil war. The Emancipation Proclamation granted freedom to the slaves in Confederate States. Ff the Union Won the war the slaves will be given their freedom by January 1, 1863.
  • Battle of Fredericksburg

    Battle of Fredericksburg

    The Battle of Fredericksburg took place in Fredericksburg, Virginia from December 12-15, 1862. This was considered one of the most one sided battle of the whole war. The Union casualties were almost double the amount of Confederate casualties.
  • Battle of Chancellorsville

    Battle of Chancellorsville

    Maj. Gen. Joseph tried flanking Robert E. Lee's army of Northern Virginia. But Robert E. Lee stopped the flank and the battle was a huge victory for the confederacy.
  • Battle of Gettysburg

    Battle of Gettysburg

    On July 1st the Confederate army met with the Union army at the Potomac. The Confederates attacked from both sides. The battle lasted 3 days but eventually the Union came out victorious.
  • Confederates surrender at Vicksburg

    Confederates surrender at Vicksburg

    The Confederate army lead by General John C. is destroyed by the Union army lead by Ulysses S. Grant. The Confederates had to surrender. This was one of the Unions most successful battles in the war.
  • New York City draft riots

    New York City draft riots

    The New York City draft riots occurred when working class New Yorkers got mad at a new federal draft law. This caused some of the bloodiest and most destructive rioting in U.S. history.
  • Lincoln gives his Gettysburg Address

    Lincoln gives his Gettysburg Address

    On November 19, 1863 Lincoln gave a speech at the battlefield cemetery in Gettysburg. Lincoln honored all the Union soldiers that died and talked about their sacrifice.
  • Atlanta is captured

    Atlanta is captured

    Atlanta was used as a center for military operations and a supply route by the Confederate army. It became a target to the Union army because it was so important to the Confederates. So in 1864 General William Tecumseh and his troops captured Atlanta.
  • Abraham Lincoln defeats George McClellan to win re-election

    Abraham Lincoln defeats George McClellan to win re-election

    In the middle of the civil war Abraham Lincoln easily beat the Democratic nominee. The Democratic nominee was George B. McClellon. Lincoln won 212-21 in the electoral college with 55% of popular vote.
  • Sherman begins his March to the Sea

    Sherman begins his March to the Sea

    Union General William T. Sherman began his March to the Sea on November 15, 1864. The purpose was to scare Georgia's people into abandoning the Confederate cause. They stole food and livestock and burned down the houses of people who tried to fight back.
  • Congress passes the 13th Amendment

    Congress passes the 13th Amendment

    The Congress passed the 13th amendment that abolished slavery in the US. The amendment passed the Senate on April 8, 1864 and the White House on January 31, 1865.
  • Freedmen's Bureau is created

    Freedmen's Bureau is created

    Congress passed a law to provide food, shelter, clothing, medical services, and land to southerners displaced by the war. This law included the newly freed African Americans.
  • Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address

    Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address

    Lincoln gave his second inaugural address during his second inauguration as President. And even though they were so close to winning the war and all the slaves being freed he spoke of sadness instead of happiness. He described how both sides of the war were wrong and he talked about reconstructing the nation.
  • Richmond falls to the Union Army

    Richmond falls to the Union Army

    On April 2, 1865 Confederate lines near Pittsburgh broke after nine month siege. The Confederate army retreated and left Richmond defenseless.
  • Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox

    Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox

    Robert E. Lee ends the civil war by surrendering his 28,000 troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant. He had no other choice because of the constant harassment of Union cavalry and he was blocked from joining forces with the surviving Confederate troops in North Carolina.
  • President Lincoln Assasinated

    President Lincoln Assasinated

    Abraham Lincoln was killed by John Wilkes Booth and he was the first person to assassinate a president. He was killed in his box at Fords theater in Washington. John Wilkes Booth thought that Lincoln was destroying the south he loved because Booth was a supporter of slavery.
  • John Wilkes Booth is killed

    John Wilkes Booth is killed

    John Wilkes Booth was chased down by Union soldiers to a farm in Virginia. He was chased for 12 days after he assassinated Lincoln. Finally they caught him in a farm in Virginia and they burned the farm down. When he got out of the farm to escape the fire he was shot in the neck.

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