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Civil War Timeline
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Pemberton Mill Collapses
A Mill in Massachusetts collapsed under the intense weight of heavy machinery crammed in to boost revenue. 115 people were killed and around 165 sustained serious or critical injuries. During rescue efforts in the night, bonfires were used and an oil lamp was accidentally knocked over. The flames quickly engulfed the rubble and killed anyone who was unfortunate enough to be caught inside. The findings of malpractice and cheap structure became a rallying point for better business reform. -
Wiyot Massacre
Over 100 members of the Wiyot tribe in California are slaughtered by white settlers, setting the same tone of conflict towards natives that the original settlers did. -
Cooper Union Speech
Abraham Lincoln, not yet the Republican nominee, gives his longest address at over 7,000 words in Cooper Union, New York. In it, he describes his views on slavery and how he wishes that it not be expanded West. He believes that the founding fathers would believe the same. Some historians argue that this was Lincoln's most important speech, as it could be attributed to him winning the Presidential Election. -
Right to Strike Speech
During his campaign, Abraham Lincoln makes a speech following a series of strikes originating from Lynn, Massachusettes. He defends the right to strike, as it follows the same philosophy as fighting against a tyranical government. -
Pony Express Established
The Pony Express, a mail service that uses a track relay style of mail delivery, begins operation and opens up a way to deliver from the Atlantic to the Pacific in only 10 days. -
Lincoln Becomes Republican Nominee
Abraham Lincoln wins the Republican Nomination in Chicago, Illinois in the 1860 Presidential Election. -
Lincoln Elected President
Abraham Lincoln is elected to become the 16th President of the United States. This election will ultimately spark the fuse towards the secession of 10 southern states. -
South Carolina Seceds
South Carolina is the first state to secede from the union as a result of Abraham Lincoln's Presidential Election Win. -
South Carolina's Declaration
4 days after seceding from the union, South Carolina issues the "Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union", noted as being very similar to the United States' own Declaration of Independence. -
Crittenden Compromise Rejected
A bill proposed by Senator John Crittenden as a last-ditch effort to prevent southern states from leaving is dashed. -
Mississippi Secedes
Mississippi becomes the second state to abandon the U.S. and join the Confederacy. -
Florida Secedes
Florida secedes from the union a day after Mississippi and joins the Confederates. -
Alabama Secedes
Following Florida's suit, Alabama departs from the U.S. a day after its predecesor. -
Georgia Secedes
After its neighbor, Georgia joins the Confederacy. -
Louisiana Secedes
Joining its southern neighbors, Louisiana leaves the USA for the CSA. -
Texas Secedes
The largest state in the current union leaves it for a new one in the Confederacy. -
Lincoln Inaugurated
Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as 16th President of the United States. At this point, most of the Southern states have seceded, leaving Lincoln with a huge problem as soon as he walks in the door. -
Fort Sumter is Captured
The first military act of the Civil War commences when Confederate soldiers advance upon a Union controlled fort with 50 cannons in Charleston, South Carolina. Knowing that the fort would be captured, Union forces pulled the plug on the supply line to the fort and surrendered it with relative ease. -
Virginia Secedes
Virginia abandons the union through heavy conflict that results in the state splitting in two, creating West Virginia -
Arkansas Secedes
After roughly a month, Arkansas becomes the next state to join the Confederacy. -
North Carolina Secedes
North Carolina leaves the union to join the growing Confederacy. -
Tennessee Secedes
Six months after the first secession, Tennessee becomes the tenth and final state to join the Confederacy. -
The 1st Battle of Bull Run
30,000 untrained Union troops are defeated by Confederate forces, setting a weary tone for the U.S. Lincoln recruits one million more soldiers, foreseeing the long war ahead. -
Fort Henry Captrued
Union General Ulysses S. Grant leads his forces into western Tennessee with 4 gunboats down the Tennessee River. Grant would only accept "Unconditional Surrender", earning him that nickname. -
Fort Donelson Captured
Grant leads his forces on the same campaign that captured Fort Henry down the Cumberland River to take Fort Donelson just 11 days later. -
Confederate Ship Virginia Strikes First
Confederates sink and recover a Union ironclad warship named the Merrimack off the coast of Virginia. The ship was later dubbed The Virginia and sunk 3 wooden Union ships. -
Union Ship Monitor Strikes Back
After the capture of The Merrimack, now dubbed The Virginia, the Union sends another ironclad behemoth, The U.S.S. Monitor, to sink it. The two faced off and ultimately, The Virginia retreated to fight another battle, ending the confrontation in a draw. -
Battle of Shiloh
Union forces regroup near a church in Tennessee without sending scouts of digging trenches. They are surprised by Confederates hiding there and must retreat for the time being. They counterattack the next day and come out on top, losing 25,000 of their 100,000 men in the process. -
Seven's Day Battles
General McClellan finally meets General Lee, engaging in battle between the New York and James Rivers. Even with less men and more casualties, Lee intimidated McClellan into a retreat after a week of fighting. -
African Americans Allowed into War
Congress finally allows African Americans from the Union and freed slaves from the South to enlist in the U.S. Military, bringing them one step closer to citizenship. -
Antietem
Lee makes a plan to advance on Washinton D.C., but his men leave the plans wrapped around cigars, found by the Union troops at abandoned Confederate camps. McClellan is gifted an easy victory from the Mud March blunder, but decides against chasing down the battered and beaten Confederate force. -
McClellan Fired
After not going for the kill when the Confederates were vulnerable, Lincoln removes General McClellan for having "the slows." -
Fredericksburg
Union Major Burnside launches an offensive on Confederate Fredericksburg, Virginia, only to be stopped in 4 days by General Lee's trenched forces. -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Lincoln declares the freedom of all slaves in Confederate states. Having no political power in the South, it did nothing at the moment but send the South a message of what happens if the North wins, as well as discourage Britain and France from entering the war. -
Gettysburg, Day 1
Union and Confederate forces stumble upon each other in Gettysburg. Upon noticing each other, Union Officer George Meade secures the high ground at Cemetery Hill with 90,000 soldiers while General Lee takes the rest of the town. -
Gettysburg, Day 2
General Longstreet makes an advance on Cemetery Hill, only to be halted by Joshua Chamberlain at Devil's Den. -
Gettysburg, Day 3
Lee makes another advance on the Union lines, again stopped, this time by artillery. Both sides fear an offensive. The South believes that the North will counterattack, while the North believes the South will send their cavalry. A fence in the middle of the battle will stop both of those, and the North is victorious in holding Gettysburg. -
Vicksburg Captured
After months of offensives and shelling, the Confederates surrender Vicksburg, a town along the Mississippi River, crucial to the Anaconda Plan. -
Union Takes the Mississippi River
After the capture of Vicksburg, the Union is able to secure the rest of the Mississippi River, marking a heavy decline in the Confederates' defensive advantage. -
Conscription Riots in New York
In response to a new draft, and the ability for the rich to buy their way out of it, 4 days of rioting and lynching occur in New York. The military is forced to step in and quell the riots. -
U.S. Establishes Income Tax
In a wartime economic crisis, the United States government imposes its first tax on salary. This specific tax would come to an end in 1872. -
Writ of Habeus Corpus Suspended
President Lincoln incarcerates over 13,000 Confederate sympathizers by suspending the requirement for them to appear in court prior to being jailed. -
Gettysburg Address
Following the outcome of the Battle of Gettysburg, President Lincoln makes one of the most famous speeches in history. He was expected to take about 2 hours, but instead only needed 2 minutes to bring the brothers pitted against each other together in American Unity. -
Grant Appointed to Commander
General Ulysses S. Grant is promoted to Commander of the Union Army, known as "Unconditional Surrender" for his tactic of accepting nothing but it. -
Fort Pillow Massacre
Confederate Soldiers shot and killed more than 200 Prisoners of War under the direction of General Forrest. -
Keensaw Mountain
One of the largest offensives ever sent by General Sherman, while the battle ended in Union defeat, with 3,000 casualties to the Confederate's 1,000, it failed to deter Sherman from his assault on Atlanta. -
Draft Dodging Abolished
After an overwhelming trend of paying off people to avoid conscription, President Lincoln closes the loophole, forcing anyone to be drafted to report to duty themselves. -
Atlanta
Confederate Troops attempt to hold Union forces at Atlanta on Bald Hill to no avail. -
Johnsonville
An artillery unit under the command of General Forrest strikes a Union supply base, destroying millions of dollars worth of resources just before the Presidential Election. -
Lincoln Re-Elected
In a landslide victory, Abraham Lincoln won his second term as President against George "The Slows" McClellan. -
Sherman's March to Sea Begins
After taking Atlanta, General Sherman starts his famous campaign by burning the city to the ground. -
The Confederate Army of Manhattan
A group of Confederate operatives led by Jacob Thompson who snuck into New York City attempted to burn it down by starting fires in 20 different locations, including hotels and museums. The fires either failed to start or were contained quickly, ultimately leading to failure. -
Sherman's March to Sea Concludes
Finally capturing the port of Savanah, Georgia, General William Sherman completes his conquest of destruction through the southern states. -
Richmond Captured
General Grant finally completes his mission by reaching the Confederate capital city of Richmond, all but ending the war. -
Lee Surrenders
At the Appomattox Court House, General Robert E. Lee submits his nation's independence to General Ulysses S. Grant. -
Lincoln Assassinated
Just five days after winning the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln was fatally shot in the back of the head by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. His unconscious body is rushed to a boarding house where doctors would pronounce him dead the next morning. -
Johnson Inaugurated
After President Lincoln's assassination, his Vice President Andrew Johnson is inaugurated the next day as the Seventeenth President. -
Corbett Kills Booth
A Union Cavalry unit caught John Wilkes Booth in a Virginia barn. Before he could be arrested, Cavalryman Thomas "Boston" Corbett shot and killed Booth. He was arrested for disobeying orders but was shortly released afterward and was glorifyed as a hero by the media. -
Confederate Government Dissolved
Confederate President Jefferson Davis assembles his cabinet one last time before disbanding them. -
Palmito Ranch
The last battle with casualties in the Civil War takes place in deep Texas, where the Confederates would come out victorious. Their win was in vain, however, since General Lee had surrendered over a month ago at this point. -
Wirz Executed
Major Henry Wirz, the man in charge of the Andersonville P.O.W. camp, is hanged for the malnourishment and torture of prisoners. He would become the only man to be charged with a war crime during the Civil War, as the rest of the Confederacy was pardoned as one of the first parts of Reconstruction. -
Thirteenth Amendment Ratified
After 3/4 of the current United States vote to enact the 13th Amendment, it becomes illegal for any person to own another or to force them into non agreed-upon labor. -
Ku Klux Klan Established
Six Confederate Army Veterans create the Klan to resist Reconstruction and continue to oppress freed slaves and Northerners. -
Fisk University Established
One of the first majority black universities is established, signifying a great leap forward in progression. -
Capitol Dome Completed
After 11 years of construction, the 288-foot dome that crowns the Capitol Building is completed under architect Thomas U. Walter. -
Congress Passes Civil Rights Act
Congress passes a bill that defines citizenship and states that both white and black Americans are equally protected by the law. -
Johnson Vetoes Civil Rights Act
Andrew Johnson vetoes the first of many civil liberties bills. This sets the tone of Johnson opposing civil progression and Congress fighting to override him. -
Congress Overrides Johnson's Veto
After the veto from President Johnson, Congress decisively powers through it and overrules the veto, ultimately enacting the bill as law. -
National Union Convention
A 3-day convention is held in Philidelphia to mediate Radical Republicans, who want to eradicate slavery completely, and Reconstructionists, who wish to preserve it in some states. -
Tennessee Rejoins the Union
Tennessee becomes the first Confederate state to be readmitted into the United States. -
Grant Becomes General of the Army
Congress passes legislation to have a position for "General of the Army(5-Star General)" Ulysses S. Grant is the first to hold this title. -
Johnson's Reconstruction Campaign
President Andrew Johnson attempts to gain support for Reconstruction and Democrats running for office. Everything took a turn for the worse when Confederate hecklers crashed his speech in Cleveland and ruined Johnson's favorable media coverage after he was caught saying "I don't care about my dignity" to supporters encouraging him. -
House of Reps. Election
Despite President Johnson's Democratic support campaign, the Republican Party dominates in the polls. -
South Divided Into Military Districts
The conquered Confederate States are regrouped into 5 Union controlled districts until they would eventually earn back their statehood. -
D.C. Grants Voting RIghts
The District of Columbia becomes the first place in the U.S. where African American men are given the right to vote in elections. -
Nebraska Admitted
Nebraska became the 37th to join the rebuilding United States. -
Mississippi Turned Over
The Federal Army discontinues military reign over Mississippi during the enactment of the 2nd Reconstruction Act. -
Tenure of Office Act
Congress passes a bill that states that the President cannot remove any official appointed with the consent of Congress, preventing President Johnson from clearing out the Republicans in the government at the time. -
Alexandria Rejects Voters
Alexandria, Virginia rejected thousands of African American votes, violating the Reconstruction Act that granted them sufferage. -
Seward's Folly
The United States agrees to purchase the Alaska territory from Russia for a total $7,200,000 at just 2 cents an acre. Thought to be barren, the land would later be discovered to be rich in resources. -
States Re-Enter the Union
Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and the Carolinas are allowed back into the United States. -
14th Amendment Debates
States argue endlessly over the possible ratification of the 14th Amendment which would give African Americans civil liberties and equal protection under the law. Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas are rejected for refusal to ratify. -
Reconstruction Committee Selected
The House of Representatives handpicked a new group of Congressmen tasked with spearheading Reconstruction efforts.
