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Robert E. Lee is named commander of the Army of Northern Virginia
1862 On June 1 Lee is given command of the Army of Northern Virginia, the main Confederate army in the eastern theater of the war. Union troops are poised at the gates of Richmond. Lee commences a series of counterattacks at the Seven Days Battle that drives the enemy away from the Confederate capital -
South Carolina votes to secede from the United States
South Carolina became the first state to secede from the federal Union -
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Confederacy
The Confederate States of America, commonly referred to as the Confederate States, the Confederacy, or the South, was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865 -
Jefferson Davis elected president of the Confederacy
On February 9, 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
At 4:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861, Confederate troops fired on Fort Sumter in South Carolina's Charleston Harbor. Less than 34 hours later, Union forces surrendered -
First Battle of Bull Run is fought
The first land battle of the Civil War was fought on July 21, 1861, just 30 miles from Washington—close enough for U.S. senators to witness the battle in person. Southerners called it the Battle of Manassas, after the closest town -
The Merrimack and the Monitor fight of the Virginia coast
Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack in the American Civil War, naval engagement at Hampton Roads -
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Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the American Civil War fought on April 6–7, 1862. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater. -
battle of antietam
The Battle of Antietam, also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General -
Lincoln suspended habeas corpus
President Abraham Lincoln issued this Presidential Proclamation 94 suspending the writ of habeas corpus during the Civil War. The writ of habeas corpus is a tool preventing the government from unlawfully imprisoning individuals outside of the judicial process. -
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Battle of Fredericksburg
he Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. -
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." -
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Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. -
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Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg marked the turning point of the Civil War. With more than 50,000 estimated casualties. -
Confederates surrender at Vicksburg
The war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket.” The Vicksburg Campaign began in 1862 and ended with the Confederate surrender on July 4, 1863 -
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New York City draft riots
The New York City draft riots, sometimes referred to as the Manhattan draft riots and known at the time as Draft Week, were violent disturbances in Lower Manhattan, widely regarded as the culmination -
54th Massachusetts fighting a Second Battle of Fort Wagner
On July 18, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment led a second U.S. assault against Fort Wagner. The Second Battle of Fort Wagner served as the 54th Massachusetts's trial by fire. The all-Black volunteer regiment first experienced combat only two days prior in a comparatively minor skirmish -
Lincoln gives his Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address was a speech given by President Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, at the official dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. -
Congress passes the 13th Amendment
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 -
Anaconda Plan
Anaconda plan, military strategy proposed by Union General Winfield Scott early in the American Civil War. -
Richmond becomes the capital of the
However, on May 8, 1861, 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 -
The Battle of the Crater
The Battle of the Crater took place during the American Civil War, part of the Siege of Petersburg. It occurred on Saturday, July 30, 1864, between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee, and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major General George G. Meade -
Atlanta is captured
William T. Sherman's troops at Atlanta was repulsed with heavy losses. Hood and Sherman continued to battle for the crucial Confederate city throughout the summer until Hood was finally forced to abandon Atlanta to Union forces on September 1, 1864. -
Abraham Lincoln defeats George McClellan to win re-election
Near the end of the American Civil War, incumbent President Abraham Lincoln of the National Union Party easily defeated the Democratic nominee, former General George B. McClellan, by a wide margin of 212–21 in the electoral college, with 55% of the popular vote -
Sherman begins his March to the Sea
The March to the Sea, the most destructive campaign against a civilian population during the Civil War (1861-65), began in Atlanta on November 15, 1864, and concluded in Savannah on December 21, 1864. Union general William T -
Freedmen's Bureau is created
On March 3, 1865, 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
President Lincoln giving his Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865 In his Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865, a re-elected President Abraham Lincoln wanted to unify a broken nation -
robert e. lee surrenders at appomattox
On this day, Confederate General Robert E. Lee agreed to surrender his Army of Northern Virginia, marking a symbolic end to the Civil War on April 9, 1865 -
Appomattox Court House--Surrender of Lee’s forces
The Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought in Appomattox County, Virginia, on the morning of April 9, 1865, was one of the last battles of the American Civil War -
President Lincoln assassinated
he was shot in the back of the head by John Wilkes booth -
John Wilkes Booth is killed
John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated United States President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington