Timeline of The Civil War

By Moussa

  • John Brown

    John Brown, in an attempt to amass arms for a slave insurrection, attacks the federal armory and arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia.

  • Abraham Lincoln Is elected President

    Abraham Lincoln is elected President, with Hannibal Hamlin as his Vice President.

  • South Carolina Votes to Seceded

    As a consequence of Lincoln’s election, a special convention of the South Carolina legislature votes to secede from the Union.

  • Star of The West

    Star of the West, an unarmed merchant vessel secretly carrying federal troops and supplies to Fort Sumter, is fired upon by South Carolina artillery at the entrance to Charleston harbor.

  • States that Secedded

    Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas follow South Carolina’s lead and secede from the Union.

  • New Confederate President

    February
    Delegates from six seceded states meet in Montgomery, Alabama, to form a government and elect Jefferson Davis President of the Confederate States of America.

  • Fort Sumter

    Fort Sumter is bombarded and surrenders to South Carolina troops led by P. G. T. Beauregard.

  • Rest of the States Secede

    Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina secede from the Union.

  • "StoneWall"

    Confederate forces win a victory at the First Battle of Manassas. Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson earns the nickname “Stonewall” for his tenacity in the battle.

  • Grant & Forts

    General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Henry, Tennessee. Ten days later he accepts the “unconditional and immediate surrender” of Fort Donelson. These victories open up the state of Tennessee for Union advancement.

  • Jacksons Campain

    Stonewall Jackson’s Shenandoah Valley campaign begins successfully with a victory at the Battle of McDowell in Virginia.
  • Period: to

    Mcallens Army

    Lee forces McClellan’s army to retreat, ending the threat to Richmond in the Seven Days’ campaign.

  • Calvary War

    Confederate cavalry under Jeb Stuart clash with the Union mounts of Alfred Pleasonton in an all day battle at Brandy Station, Virginia. Some 18,000 troopers—approximately nine thousand on either side—take part, making this the largest cavalry battle on American soil. In the end, Stuart will hold the field. Yet this battle signals the rise and future domination of Union cavalry in the eastern theater.

  • The Battle of Gettysburg

    The Battle of Gettysburg is fought in Pennsylvania. General George G. Meade compromises his victory by allowing Lee to retreat South across the Potomac.

  • Again the Battle of Mansas

    The South is again victorious at the Second Battle of Manassas.

  • The Emancipation Proclamation

    President Lincoln issues the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.

  • Mcllen FIRED

    General McClellan receives Lincoln’s order relieving him of command of the Army of the Potomac.

  • General E.Lee Wins BAttle of Fredericksburg

    Lee wins the Battle of Fredericksburg decisively.

  • The Emancipation Proclamation Issued

    Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, which declares that slaves in the seceded states are now free.

  • Gettysburg Adress

    Lincoln delivers his Gettysburg Address, in which he reiterates the nation’s fundamental principle that all men are created equal.

  • Grant is Responisble ofr the Entire Army

    Newly commissioned to the rank of lieutenant general, Ulysses S. Grant is given official authority to command all of the armies of the United States.

  • Lincoln Signs a Bill

    Lincoln signs a bill repealing the fugitive slave laws

  • William Sherman

    After forcing the Confederate army of John Bell Hood out of Atlanta, Georgia, General William T. Sherman captures the city, a major munitions center for the South.

  • Licoln Reelcted

    Lincoln is reelected President, with Andrew Johnson as Vice President.

  • Thomas Wins Battle of Nashviller

    General George Henry Thomas wins the Battle of Nashville, decimating John Bell Hood's Confederate Army of Tennessee.

  • Savvanah Falls to Sherman

    Savannah falls to Sherman’s army without resistance. Sherman gives the city to Lincoln as a Christmas present.

  • Lee Surrenders

    Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia to Grant at Appomattox.

  • Lincoln Shot

    John Wilkes Booth shoots President Lincoln at Ford’s Theater; Secretary of State William H. Seward is stabbed and wounded in an assassination attempt inside his Washington home. April 15
    Lincoln dies, and Andrew Johnson is inaugurated as President.

  • Lincoln Revenge

    All eight conspirators are convicted for the assassination of President Lincoln; four are sentenced to death