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Civil War Timeline
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Jefferson Davis, first and only president of the Confederacy, comes out in favor of secession for the first time.
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Southern delegates held a National Democratic convention in Richmond, VA. Party leaders urge a "wait and see" approach.
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Joseph E. Johnston appointed Quartermaster General of Confederate forces.
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Governor William Henry Gist notifies other Deep South states that South Carolina is considering secession as an option. This is two months prior to their actual secession.
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Abraham Lincoln gets elected president with 180 electoral votes and 1,865,593 popular votes, more than Breckenridge, Douglas, and Bell.
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In Preston County, Western Virginia held its first organizational meeting, expressing a desire to "adhere to the Union".
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Major Robert Anderson reported Fort Sumter was being threatened in Charleston as federal forces began to improved Fort Moultrie and Fort Sumter in the harbor.
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The first Secession Convention meets in Columbia, South Carolina.
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South Carolina Secessionist Convention was called to order. The convention decided unanimously to secede from the United States. Three days later, South Carolina's convention officially approved the Ordinance of Secession.
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South Carolina is the first to secede from the United States. This is justified by the Declaration of the Immediate Causes
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Only six weeks after the secession of South Carolina, Mississippi joined the movement as the second state to secede from the Union.
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Florida quickly announced their secession the day immediately following Mississippi's secession. This encouraged even more states to follow the movement.
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Alabama is the next to secede the day after Florida's announcement. The Republic of Alabama flag was designed by a group of Montgomery women which explains why a woman is depicted on the flag.
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Georgia hops on the bandwagon the day after Alabama joining the secession movement.
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Winter of 1861, one week after the announced secession of Georgia, Louisiana joined the movement being the sixth state to secede.
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The seventh state to secede themselves from the Union was Texas, just six days after Louisiana.
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The Confederate States of America is formed in hopes of eventual, secession from the Union.
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Lincoln becomes the sixteenth president of the United States. He represented the Republican Party.
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Southern forces fired upon Fort Sumter, South Carolina. This act of violence was the official first act of The Civil War.
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Virginia took longer to announce their secession. About a month and a half after Texas, Virginia joined the movement.
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Arkansas waited less than a month after Virginia being the ninth state to secede.
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North Carolina was the tenth state to secede, 14 days after Arkansas. This is also five months after South Carolina.
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Tennessee was the last out of the ten states to reach secession. Within the time span of December 20, 1860- June 6, 1861, each of the states were seceded.
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The Battle of Bull Run or First Manassas, was fought near Manassas, Virginia. The result was a win for the Confederate side.
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Battle of Mill Springs was fought in Kentucky. The Union victory weakened the Confederate hold on the state.
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Surrender of Fort Henry, Tennessee took place in February. The lost of this southern fort on the Tennessee River opened the door to Union control of the river.
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Battle of Roanoke Island took place in North Carolina. With a Confederate defeat, the battle resulted in Union occupation of eastern North Carolina.
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Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as President of the Confederate States of America.
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The Battle of Pea Ridge was a major battle that took place in Arkansas. The Union victory loosened the Confederate hold on Missouri and disrupted southern control of a portion of the Mississippi River.
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The Battle of Shiloh was the first major battle in Tennessee. Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston is killed on the first day of fighting. The Union victory further secures the career of Union General Ulysses S. Grant.
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The Battle of Seven Pines was near Richmond, Virginia. General Joseph Johnston, commander of the Confederate army, is wounded and replaced by Robert E. Lee who renames his command the "Army of Northern Virginia".
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The Union successfully defeats a Confederate river force on the Mississippi River near the city and Memphis surrenders. The Mississippi River is now in Union control.
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General Lee's army attacks the "Army of the Potomac" under General George McClellan in a succession of battles beginning at Mechanicsville on June 26 and ending at Malvern Hill on July 1.
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Battle of Stones Rive was fought in Tennessee. The costly Union victory frees middle Tennessee from Confederate control and boosts northern morale. The battle went on until January 3rd of 1863.
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The Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect. Applauded by many abolitionists, this abolished slavery.
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Conscription, or the drafting of soldiers into military service, begins in the North. It had begun in the South the year before.
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The Battle of Chancellorsville was in Virginia. General Lee's greatest victory is marred by the mortal wounding of "Stonewall" Jackson, who had his arm amputated and ended up dying on May 10th, days later due to infection.
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West Virginia becomes the 35th state to enter the United States, but the first to enter where the terms slave and free no longer mattered
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The Gettysburg Campaign invasion plan continues. Confederates pass through York and reach the bridge over the Susquehanna River at Columbia, but Union militia set fire to the bridge, denying access to the east shore.
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The bloodiest battle of the Civil War dashes Robert E. Lee's hopes for a successful invasion of the North.
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Draft Riots begin in New York City as angered workers and laborers, seething over the draft system that seemingly favors the rich, attack the draft office and African American churches. The riots continue through July 16.
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In a murderous daylight raid, Confederate and Missouri guerrillas under William Clarke Quantrill storm into Lawrence and destroy most of the town. Approximately 150 men and boys are murdered by Quantrill's men.
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Dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg. This is where President Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address.
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Lincoln issues his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, which would pardon those who participated in the "existing rebellion" if they take an oath to the Union.
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After weeks of digging, 109 Union officers made their escape from the notorious Libby Prison, the largest and most sensational escape of the war. Though 48 of the escapees were later captured and two drowned, 59 were able to make their way into Union lines.
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The first successful submarine attack of the Civil War included the CSS H.L. Hunley being attacked the USS Houstonic outside of Charleston, South Carolina.
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Ulysses S. Grant is appointed lieutenant general at the request of President Lincoln. Grant assumes command of all Union Armies in the field the following day.
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As part of an overall Union strategy to strike deep into various parts of the Confederacy, a combined force of army and navy commands under General Nathaniel Banks begins a campaign on the Red River in Louisiana.
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With three Union armies under his command, General William T. Sherman marched south from Tennessee into Georgia against the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General Joseph Johnston, the objective being the city of Atlanta.
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Confederate troops under General Hood evacuate the city of Atlanta. General Sherman's army occupies the city and its defenses the following day.
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Abraham Lincoln is reelected president of the United States beating out his competition, Democratic nominee, former General George B. McClellan.
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General Sherman's Army of Georgia begins the "March to the Sea"
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Harassed only by scattered Georgia militia, Sherman's Army of Georgia arrives at Savannah, Georgia, completing the famous "March to the Sea". At Savannah, his troops will take Fort McAllister and force Confederate defenders to evacuate the city.
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The Confederate Army under John Bell Hood is thoroughly defeated and the threat to Tennessee ends.
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Assault and capture of Fort Fisher in North Carolina. Union occupation of this fort closes access to Wilmington, the last southern seaport on the east coast that was open to blockade runners and commercial shipping.
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Sherman's Army captures Columbia, South Carolina while Confederate defenders evacuate Charleston, South Carolina.
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Joseph E. Johnston is restored to command the nearly shattered Army of the Tennessee, vice John B. Hood who resigned a month earlier.
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President Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated for his second term as president in Washington, DC.
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Attack on Fort Stedman in Petersburg, Virginia. Confederate troops under General John B. Gordon attack and briefly capture the Union fort in the Petersburg in an attempt to prevent Union plans for a late March assault. By day's end, the southerners have been thrown out and the lines remain unchanged.
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The Battle of Five Forks, Virginia. The Confederate defeat here initiates General Lee's decision to abandon the Petersburg-Richmond siege lines.
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The Battle of Sailor's Creek, Virginia. A portion of Lee's Army- almost one-third of it- is cornered along the banks of Sailor's Creek and defeated.
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President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by actor John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC. On the same day, Fort Sumter, South Carolina is re-occupied by Union troops.
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General Joseph Johnston signs the surrender document for the Confederate Army of the Tennessee and miscellaneous southern troops attached to his command at Bennett's Place near Durham, North Carolina.
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President Jefferson Davis of the Confederacy is captured near Irwinville, Georgia.
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The first formal observation of President Lincoln's birthday is held in Washington, D. C. President Andrew Johnson attends
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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 overrides President Andrew Johnson's veto of the Civil Rights Act
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Winfield Scott dies, West Point, NY
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Thirty-ninth Congress approves the 14th Amendment to the Constitution
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Connecticut is the first to ratify the 14th Amendment, followed by New Hampshire a week later.
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Congress overrides Andrew Johnson's veto of the Freedman's Bureau bill
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New Jersey is the fourth state to ratify the 14th Amendment
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On the 6th anniversary of secession, South Carolina 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 naming Lincoln its capital.
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Alexandria, Virginia rejects thousand of votes cast by Negroes, who were granted universal suffrage under the Reconstruction Act
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Congress passes the 2nd Reconstruction Act over Andrew Johnson's veto
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Senate ratifies the treaty purchasing Alaska from Russia.
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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
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Ulysses S. Grant becomes ad interim Secretary of War
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Seward bought Alaska from Russia. Critics called this Seward's Folly.
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Edwin Stanton is illegally restored to Secretary of War by the U. S. Senate
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Ohio rescinds its ratification of the 14th Amendment. The Federal government refuses to recognize the action and counts Ohio as for ratification.
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President Andrew Johnson removes Edwin Stanton from office and informs the Senate of his actions
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The U. S. House votes to impeach President Andrew Johnson, 126-47
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The 4th Reconstruction Act is passed by Congress
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The Impeachment Trial of Andrew Johnson opens. He is charged with violation of the Tenure of Office Act
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The Senate votes 35 guilty, 19 not guilty in the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. It is one vote shy of the necessary 2/3rds majority.
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Republican Convention nominates Ulysses S. Grant to run for President of the United States and Schuyler Colfax as Vice-president
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Florida ratifies the 14th Amendment
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Congress passes congressional representation for North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Louisiana over President Andrew Johnson's veto
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Charges of treason against Jefferson Davis are dropped, based on the general amnesty granted by President Johnson months previous.
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Ulysses S. Grant inaugurated President of the United States
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Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia are made legally required to ratify the 15th amendment
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Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas are required to ratify the 15th amendment
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The U. S. Congress passes an act authorizing the submission of the Constitutions of Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas to a Vote of the People.
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President Grant issues Presidential Proclamation submitting the Texas Constitution to the voters
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Rampant speculation in the gold market is countered by the sale of U. S. gold. The price falls dramatically, resulting in panic in the financial markets.
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Both houses of the General Assembly of Virginia ratify the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments to the U.S. Constitution
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President Grant appoints Edwin Stanton a justice of the Supreme Court.
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Edwin M. Stanton dies, Washington, D. C.
