-
-
Abraham Lincoln addresses gathering at the Cooper Institute in New York, attacking slavery.
-
Governor William Henry Gist notifies other Deep South states that South Carolina is considering secession as an option.
-
U.S. politician Stephen Douglas, leader of the Democratic Party and one of the four presidential candidates, brings his campaign to Atlanta, where he spoke against secession.
-
Abraham Lincoln is elected the 16th president of the United States, receiving 180 of 303 electoral votes. He is the first Republican president who represents a party that opposes the spread of slavery.
-
South Carolina Senator James Chestnut Jr. resigns his seat in the U.S. Senate. South Carolina legislature approves a bill calling for a secession convention.
-
South Carolina Senator James Henry Hammond resigns his seat. He was one of the strongest supporters of the Southern way of life, slavery, and secession.
-
Georgia calls for a convention of Southern states to form an independent nation. Only South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama are invited.
-
The first Secession Convention meets in Columbia, South Carolina.
-
South Carolina becomes the first state to secede from the Union. In the next two months, so will Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Alabama.
-
Federal arsenal at Charleston falls into the hands of the rebels. General Scott again writes to Buchanan, urging the reinforcement of Fort Sumter.
-
All the succeeded states create a government at Montgomery, Alabama called the Confederate States of America. Jefferson Davis, a former army officer, is chosen as president.
-
Abraham Lincoln is sworn in as the 16th President in Washington D.C..
-
Confederates under General Pierre Beauregard open fire upon Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War Begins.
-
Abraham Lincoln issues a Proclamation calling for 75,000 militia men, and a special Congress meeting on July 4th.
-
President Lincoln issues a Proclamation of Blockade against Southern ports. This prohibits the South from staying well supplied during the war.
-
Union forces cross the Potomac River and occupy Arlington Heights.
-
The Battle of Bull Run is fought near Manassas, Virginia. The Union army under General Irvin McDowell retreats and loses.
-
President Lincoln appoints George B. McClellan as Commander of the Department of the Potomac. He replaces McDowell.
-
Under General Nathaniel Lyon, the Union attacks Confederate troops south of Springfield, Missouri. The Confederate troops win.
-
Colonel Edward Baker led troops across the Potomac River only to be forced back to the river's edge. Many soldiers died to the icy water.
-
Grant and the Union army capture Fort Henry in Tennessee, and 10 days later Fort Donelson.
-
Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as President of the Confederate States of America.
-
The naval battle between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia is fought in Hampton Roads, Virginia
-
The first major battle is fought in Tennessee. The Union, being led by Ulysses S. Grant, wins.
-
17 Union Ships under David Farragut move up the Mississippi River to take New Orleans, the South's greatest seaport.
-
Joseph E. Johnston's Army attacks McClellan's troops in front of Richmond and nearly defeats them.
-
A Union fleet under Commander Charles Davis defeats a Confederate river force on the Mississippi River. The Union is now in Union control.
-
General Lee's army attacks McClellan's army near Richmond, resulting in losses for both armies. McClellan begins a withdrawal back towards Washington D.C.
-
75,000 Federals under John Pope are defeated by 55,000 Confederates under Jackson and Longstreet in northern Virginia. Once again, the Union Army retreats.
-
Lee invades the north with 50,000 Confederates and heads for Harpers Ferry. The Union army defeats them under the command of McClellan.
-
Confederate forces surround Chattanooga, Tennessee. General Grant is put in charge of the blockaded Union army.
-
President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves held by Confederates.
-
Conscription, (the drafting of soldiers into military service) begins in the North, one year after the South.
-
The Union army under General Hooker is defeated to the Confederates under Lee. General Stonewall Jackson is badly wounded.
-
General Stonewall Jackson dies from his wounds from the Battle of Chancellorsville.
-
The Seige of Vicksburg, Mississippi begins. In the end, the Union's capture of Vicksburg gives them complete control of the Mississippi.
-
The Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania becomes the bloodiest battle of the civil war when the Confederates loose to invading the North.
-
The Union Army, under General William Rosecrans is defeated at the Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia.
-
The Union Army under General Meade marches against Lee's Army near the Rapidan River.
-
The Confederate Army under General Longstreet siege the city of Knoxville, occupied by Union forces.
-
109 Union officers dig to escape the Libby Prison in Richmond.
-
The Confederate Submarine, the CSS H.L. Hunley strikes the Union's USS Housatonic with a torpedo.
-
The first major battle of the Red River Campaign is fought in Mansfield, Louisiana.
-
Lee's army attacks the Union in the woods of Wilderness, Virginia.
-
The Union's plans failed to march towards Richmond, Virginia. Over 7,000 Union Soldiers died in the first 20 minutes of fighting.
-
Outnumbered almost two to one, Confederates gain a major victory at Battle of Brice's Crossroads in Baldwyn, Mississippi.
-
Confederates drive Union troops from their camps on the banks of Cedar Creek near Middletown, Virginia.
-
Abraham Lincoln is re-elected president, beating McClellan.
-
General Sherman and 62,000 men begin the March to the Sea after destroying Atlanta's railroad facilities.
-
After less than a month, Sherman's army arrives at Savannah, Georgia. The troops will then head to Fort McAllister and force the Confederates to leave the city.
-
The U.S. Congress approves the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, to abolish slavery.
-
Sherman's Army leaves Savannah to march through the Carolinas. Once there, they capture Columbia, while Confederates evacuate Charleston, South Carolina.
-
Confederate troops under General John B. Gordon capture the Union Fort Stedman in Petersburg, Virginia. By nightfall, the Confederate troops were driven out.
-
When the Confederate troops suffer a defeat in Virginia at the Battle of Five Forks, Lee cancels plans to siege Petersburg.
-
One-third of Lee's Army is cornered along the banks of Sailor's Creek and killed.
-
President Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington D.C..
-
The Confederate Army of Tennessee signs the surrender document in Durham, North Carolina.
-
General Richard Taylor surrenders Confederate forces in the Department of Alabama, Mississippi and East Louisiana.
-
C.S.A. President Jefferson Davis is captured near Irwinville, Georgia.
-
The final battle of the Civil War takes place at Palmito Ranch, Texas. It is a Confederate victory.
-
President Johnson vetos the Civil Rights Act of 1866 ( granted citizenship and the same rights to all men) on the grounds that it was unconstitutional
-
The United States declares that a state of peace exists with Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia
-
Congress buys Ford's Theater for $100,000. It will house the Army Medical Museum, the Office of the Surgeon General and War Department records until 1893
-
Congress overrides President Andrew Johnson's veto of the Civil Rights Act
-
Cholera epidemic begins in New York when an infected passenger arrives in New York.
-
Thirty-ninth Congress approves the 14th Amendment to the Constitution
-
Congress establishes "general of the armies" and Ulysses S. Grant is immediately promoted to 4-star general and put in this position.
-
Congress creates the rank of Admiral. David Farragut is appointed to that rank
-
The U. S. Secret Service begins an investigation into the Ku Klux Klan
-
A proclamation of peace with Texas is issued by United States President Andrew Johnson
-
Congress temporarily places most of the South under military rule. North Carolina is under the rule of General Canby.
-
After overriding President Johnson's veto, black male citizens in the District of Columbia are granted the right to vote.
-
States may be readmitted if their new state constitutions provide for black suffrage.
-
Congress passes the Second Reconstruction Act. Military commanders in each southern district are to register all qualified adult males to vote.
-
Alexandria, Virginia rejects thousands of votes cast by blacks. This was against the Reconstruction Act.
-
Congress enacts the third Reconstruction Act. It affirms the authority of the military district commanders to remove state officials from office.
-
Johnson violates the Tenure of Office Act when he suspends Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton and replaces him with Grant during a congressional recess.
-
The Reconstruction Prospect identified the sectional crisis in North Carolina and surrounding southern states.
-
Johnson insists on the removal of the radical Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, in defiance of the Tenure of Office Act.
-
By the end of 1867, new elections have been held under the Radical Reconstruction plan in every southern state except Texas.
