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Lincoln Assassination
Lincoln was assasinated in Ford's Theatre on April 15th 1856. The assassin, a fanatic pro-slavery advocate named John Wilkes Booth, sought to avenge the Confederacy's defeat in the American Civil War. -
Abraham Lincoln Elected President
Lincoln, a Kentucky-born lawyer and former Whig representative to Congress, first gained national stature during his campaign against Stephen Douglas of Illinois. In the November 1860 election, Lincoln again faced Douglas, who represented the Northern faction of a heavily divided Democratic Party, as well as Breckenridge and Bell. The announcement of Lincoln’s victory signaled the secession of the Southern states. -
South Carolina votes to secede
South Carolina became the first state to secede from the federal Union on December 20, 1860. The victory of Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 presidential election triggered cries for disunion across the slave-holding South. -
Jefferson Davis voted Pres. of Confederacy
Davis was unanimously elected to the provisional presidency of the Confederacy by a constitutional convention in Montgomery, Alabama including delegates from the six states that had seceded: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Alabama. -
Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter
By the time Lincoln took office on March 4, 1861, rumors were circulating of a threatened Confederate attack at Fort Sumter. Northern Republicans, backed by an abolitionist press, demanded military action. “Reinforce Fort Sumter at all hazards!” became the union’s cry. Lincoln agreed to re-supply the fort with food rather than weapons. “Every man must be for the United States or against it,” said Senator Stephen Douglas. “There can be no neutrals in this war.” -
Richmond becomes the capital of the Confederacy
in the Confederate Capital City of Montgomery, Alabama, the decision was made to name the City of Richmond, Virginia as the new Capital of the Confederacy. The Confederate capital was moved to Richmond in recognition of Virginia's strategic importance. -
First Battle of Bull Run is fought
The Union army performed well that morning, but by early afternoon the Confederates had brought in reinforcements, forcing an intense battle over Henry Hill. When Union generals finally called retreat, the frightened soldiers fled for their lives. "I saw the 12th New York regiment rush out of the woods". Soldiers threw down their weapons and ran from the battlefield, sweeping up civilians in the retreat. Near the battlefield, a group of senators was eating lunch. -
The Merrimac and the Monitor fight of the Virginia coast
The Northern-built Merrimack, a conventional steam frigate, had been salvaged by the Confederates from the Norfolk navy yard and rechristened the Virginia. With her upper hull cut away and armoured with iron, this 263-foot (80.2-metre) masterpiece of improvisation resembled, according to one contemporary source, “a floating barn roof.” -
Battle of Shiloh
After the Union victories at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in 1862, General Johnston withdrew from Kentucky and left much of the western and middle of Tennessee to the Federals. This permitted Gen. Grant to push his troops toward Mississippi The encounter proved devastating—not only for its tactical failure, but for the extreme number of casualties. After Shiloh, both sides realized the magnitude of the conflict, which would be longer and bloodier than they could have imagined. -
Robert E. Lee is named commander of the Army of Northern Virginia
On June 1 Lee is given command of the Army of Northern Virginia,
the main Confederate army in the eastern theater of the war. -
Battle of Antietam
Lee invaded Maryland in September. He wanted to move the focus of fighting away from the South and into Federal territory. Victories could lead to the capture of the Federal capital in Washington, D.C. Confederate success could also influence impending Congressional elections in the North and persuade European nations to recognize the Confederate States of America. President Abraham Lincoln was counting on McClellan to bring him the victory to keep Republican control of the Congress. -
Lincoln suspends habeas corpus
In 1862, President Lincoln issued Presidential Proclamation 94 which suspended the writ of habeas corpus. (The writ of habeas corpus is a tool preventing the government from unlawfully imprisoning individuals outside of the judicial process). Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution states that "the Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it." -
Battle of Fredericksburg
Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan was removed from command of the Army of the Potomac. His replacement, Gen. Ambrose Burnside, feeling pressure to move quickly, developed a plan to beat Lee to the Confederate capital of Richmond.
From his camps around Virginia, Burnside planned to abandon the army’s movement southwest in favor of a quick dash southeast toward the lower Rappahannock River. There, he would cross quickly and position himself between Lee and the direct route to Richmond. -
Emancipation Proclamation is announced
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." The Emancipation Proclamation was limited in many ways. It
- applied only to states that had seceded from the Union
-exempts parts of the Confederacy already under Northern control
-freedom depended upon Union victory. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
General Burnside lasted only a single campaign as the head of the Army. Lincoln appointed Joseph Hooker to take charge. Hooker's energy polished the Union army into tip-top condition, and he declared them “the finest army on the planet.” Hooker orchestrated a plan to confront Lee and drive him from his camp at Fredericksburg. Lee didn't back down but instead met Hooker’s challenge head on, engaging him in one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. resulted in a victory for the South. -
Battle of Gettysburg
After a year of defensive victories in Virginia, Lee’s objective was to win a battle north of the Mason-Dixon line in the hopes of forcing a negotiated end to the fighting. His loss at Gettysburg prevented him from realizing that goal. Instead, he fled south with a wagon train of wounded soldiers straining toward the Potomac. Union general Meade failed to pursue the retreating army, missing a critical opportunity to trap Lee and force a Confederate surrender. -
Confederates surrender at Vicksburg
The Mississippi River was the primary conduit for supplies and communication through the south as well as a vital lifeline for goods going north. To Confederate President Davis, Vicksburg was the "nailhead that holds the South together." President Lincoln remarked, “Vicksburg is the key!” The Vicksburg Campaign began in 1862 and ended with the Confederate surrender on July 4, 1863. -
New York City draft riots
Draft Riot of 1863, major four-day eruption of violence in New York City resulting from deep worker discontent with the inequities of conscription during the U.S. Civil War -
54th Massachusetts fighting a Second Battle of Ft. Wagner
The 54th Mass. Volunteer Regiment led a second U.S. assault against Fort Wagner. The all-Black regiment first experienced combat only two days prior in a minor skirmish.The planned assault on Fort Wagner offered the regiment a chance to prove themselves, and their commander, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, jumped at the opportunity. The 54th’s assault on Fort Wagner became the first time the all-Black unit fought alongside White troops. In addition, the 54th received the honor of leading the charge. -
Lincoln gives his Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address was a speech given by President Lincoln on November 19, 1863 at the official dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was an important occasion for the Nation to honor those who had given their lives during the Battle of Gettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. North and South lost more than 7,000 men during the battle, 45,000 were wounded, and more than 10,000 were captured or missing. -
Congress passes the 13th Amendment
The Emancipation Proclamation, declared by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 during the American Civil War, only freed slaves held in confederate states. Only through the Thirteenth Amendment did emancipation become national policy.It was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House on January 31, 1865. The joint resolution of both bodies that submitted the amendment to the states for approval was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on February 1, 1865. -
Atlanta is captured
Grant assigned his friend Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman to command the fifth advance against Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’s army. Johnston was charged with defending Atlanta, the largest industrial, logistical, and administrative center outside of Richmond. Atlanta was at the junction of four railroads that connected all remaining Confederate-held territory east of the Mississippi River. -
Abraham Lincoln defeats George McClellan to win re-election
In 1864, Abraham Lincoln was re-elected president in the midst of the Civil War. Lincoln defeated Democratic candidate George McClellan, a former Union Army general. -
Sherman begins his March to the Sea
Union general William T. Sherman abandoned his supply line and marched across Georgia to the Atlantic Ocean to prove to the Confederate population that its government could not protect the people from invaders. He practiced psychological warfare; he believed that by marching an army across the state he would demonstrate to the world that the Union had a power the Confederacy could not resist. -
Freedmen's Bureau is created
Congress passed “An Act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees” to provide food, shelter, clothing, medical services, and land to displaced Southerners, including newly freed African Americans. -
Lincoln gives his second inaugural address
With the end of the brutal four-year Civil War within sight, many people on both sides felt anger and frustration toward their fellow Americans. Lincoln attempted to rise above the divisiveness and start the process of healing. Instead of placing blame, or rejoicing in the sanctity of the imminent northern victory, Lincoln instead offered conciliatory words to citizens in both the North and the South. -
Appomattox Court House and Surrender of Lee’s forces
April 8, the Confeds. discovered that the army was blocked by Federal cavalry. Commanders tried to break through the screen, hoping that horsemen were unsupported by other troops. But Grant had anticipated Lee’s attempt to escape and ordered two corps under the commands of Gen. Gibbon and Griffin, to march at night to reinforce Union cavalry and trap Lee. On April 9, Corps drove back Confeds. Rather than destroy his army and sacrifice the lives of his soldiers, Lee decided to surrender the Army -
Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox
The overall Confederate surrender took place in stages over the following two months, with other Confederate armies reaching surrender agreements after Lee met with Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House. -
John Wilkes Booth is killed
Booth and an accomplise had been on the run for 12 days after the assasination of Lincoln and they were caught up with by the NY Cavalry in a tobacco barn in Virginia. Booth and his accomplise tried to bluff the Cavalry but Booth's partner soon surrendered but Booth set the barn on fire and was shot by a detective.