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United States Civil War
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Cooper Union Address
Lincoln gives the Cooper Union Address, in which he validated the Federal Government banning slavery in new territories. This was Lincoln's most influential speech and many people believe it won him the presidency. -
Adopts A Constitustion
The Confederate States of America adopts a Constitution -
Richmond
Southern delegates hold a National Democratic convention in Richmond. -
Joseph E. Johnston
Joseph E. Johnston appointed Quartermaster General -
John F. Reynolds
Lieutenant Colonel William Hardee is replaced by Major John F. Reynolds as commander of cadets at West Point -
William Henry Gist
Governor William Henry Gist notifies other Deep South states that South Carolina is considering secession as an option -
Lincoln Becomes President
-He became the sixteenth president of the Unites States
-Republican -
Fort Moultrie
Robert Anderson makes his third request for reinforcements at Fort Moultrie -
Georgia
Georgia calls for a convention of Southern states to form an independent nation. -
South Carolina Secedes From the Union
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Charleston
Charleston is notified by telegraph that a man of war with troops is on the way -
More States Seceed
Mississippi, Alambama, and Georgia all seceed from then Union -
Kansas Admitted
Kansas admitted as the 34th state -
Confederate States of America
In Montgomery, Alabama, the convention to form the Confederated States of America opened. Four days later, with Jefferson Davis as president, seven southern states officially set up the C.S.A. -
Lincoln Sworn Into Office
Abraham Lincoln is sworn in as president of the United States -
Fire on Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter in Charleston was under attack by the Confederates. -
Rounding Up Troops
President Lincoln calls for 75,000 volunteers to fight -
Bull Run
The first Battle of Bull Run, Led by generals such as Stonewall Jackson, Confederate victory over a Union army invading Virginia. -
Battle Of Hatteras
The first of a series of battles that saw the Confederates loose control of most of the North Carolina coastline -
Battle of Cheat Mountain
A Confederate defeat in West Virginia, notable as the first battle commanded by General Lee. -
Battle Of Port Royal
Important Union victory against the land fortifications of Port Royal. The victory gave the Union control of the coastal islands of South Carolina. -
Lincoln Takes Action
President Lincoln issued a war order authorizing the Union to launch aggressive action against the Confederacy. -
Shiloh
Confederate surprise attack on Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's unprepared troops at Shiloh on the Tennessee River results in a bitter struggle with 13,000 Union killed and wounded and 10,000 Confederates, more men than in all previous American wars combined. -
Second Battle of Bull Run
75,000 Federals under General John Pope are defeated by 55,000 Confederates under General Stonewall Jackson and General James Longstreet at the second battle of Bull Run in northern Virginia. -
Battle of Richmond
Confederate victory over a small Union army, most of which was captured. -
Headed for Harpers Ferry
Lee invades the North with 50,000 Confederates and heads for Harpers Ferry, located 50 miles northwest of Washington. -
Antietam
The bloodiest day in U.S Military history. General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Armies are stopped at Antietam in Maryland by McClellan and numerically superior Union forces. By nightfall 26,000 men are dead, wounded, or missing. Lee then withdraws to Virginia. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves issued by President Lincoln. -
Battle of Perryville
Battle in which half of a Union army fought a Confederate army that thought most of the Union army was elsewhere. The Confederates withdrew when it became clear that they were outnumbered three to one. -
McClellan Replaced
The president replaces McClellan with General Ambrose E. Burnside as the new Commander of the Army of the Potomac. Lincoln had grown impatient with McClellan. Lincoln accuses him of having the "slows". -
Battle of Fredricksburg
Burnside started with a reasonable plan. He intended to march south quickly. However, when he reached Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock River, his pontoon bridges were missing, and so he could not cross before Lee arrived and fortified a very strong position just back from the river. Burnside came to the conclusion that as Lee would expect him to try and outflank this strong position, he would simply launch a frontal assault -
Emancipation Proclamtion Issued
President Lincoln's final Emancipation Proclamation is issued, freeing all slaves in
Confederate territories, and abolishing the practice of slavery. -
General Joseph Hooker
General Joseph Hooker is appointed by President Lincoln as the new commander of the Potomac Army. -
Battof of Chancellorsville
General Hooker's Union Army is defeated by Lee's forces at the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia. Lee's innovative strategies are at the heart of his success, but it is still a small victory for the Confederates, as General Stonewall Jackson is fatally wounded by his own men. -
General Stonewall Dies
General Stonewall Jackson dies as the result of his wounds. -
Second Attempt
General Lee with 75,000 Confederates launches his second invasion of the North, heading into Pennsylvania in a campaign that will soon lead to Gettysburg. -
New Commander
President Lincoln appoints General George G. Meade as commander of the Army of the Potomac, replacing Hooker. Meade is the 5th man to command the Army in less than a year. -
Battle Of Gettysburg
General Lee's Confederate soldiers are defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg.This is the most famous and most important Civil War Battle that occurred over three hot summer days, July 1 to July 3, 1863, around the small market town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. -
Battle of Chickamauga
Union and Confederate forces met on the Tennessee-Georgia border, near Chickamauga Creek. After the battle, Union forces retreated to Chattanooga, and the Confederacy maintained control of the battlefield. -
Gettysburg Address
President Lincoln delivers a two minute Gettysburg Address at a ceremony dedicating the Battlefield as a National Cemetery. -
Battle of Chattanooga
General Bragg's siege army, which has been holding General Rosecrans' Unions forces trapped in Chattanooga, is defeated by Grant's Union forces. -
General Grant
President Lincoln appoints General Grant to command all of the armies of the United States. -
Battle at the Wilderness
The opening battle of Grant’s sustained offensive against the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia the battle was fought in the Wilderness. -
Cold Harbor
A costly mistake by Grant results in 7,000 Union casualties in twenty minutes during an offensive against fortified Rebels at Cold Harbor in Virginia. -
The Siege at Petersburg
Grant hoped to take Petersburg and then approached the Confederate capital from the south. The attempt failed, resulting in a ten month siege and the loss of thousands of lives on both sides -
George B. McClellan For President
Democrats nominate George B. McClellan for president to run against Republican incumbent Abraham Lincoln. -
Lincoln Re-Elected
Abraham Lincoln is re-elected president, defeating Democrat George B. McClellan. Lincoln carries all but three states with 55 percent of the popular vote and 212 of 233 electoral votes. -
March To Sea
After destroying Atlanta's warehouses and railroad facilities, Sherman, with 62,000 men begins a March to the Sea. President Lincoln on advice from Grant approved the idea -
Battle of Franklin
General Hood, commanding the Confederate army left behind by Sherman, attacked a well defended Union position. Although the Union troops withdrew overnight, Hood’s men suffered three times their losses, crippling the army -
Battle of Nashville
General George H. Thomas and 55,000 Federals, which includes african american troops, defeat John B. Hood's Confederate Army of Tennessee at Nashville. -
General Sherman
Sherman reaches Savannah in Georgia leaving behind a 300 mile long path of destruction 60 miles wide all the way from Atlanta. Sherman then telegraphs Lincoln, offering him Savannah as a Christmas present. -
Thirteenth Amendment
The U.S. Congress approves the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, to abolish slavery. The amendment is then submitted to the states for ratification. -
Lincoln's Second Inauguration
Inauguration ceremonies for President Lincoln in Washington. -
Lincoln tours Richmond
President Lincoln tours Richmond where he enters the Confederate White House. -
Lee Surrenders
General Robert E. Lee surrenders his Confederate Army to General Ulysses S. Grant at the village of Appomattox Court House in Virginia. -
Celebrations in Washington
Celebrations break out in Washington because of the surrender -
Lincoln Shot
The Stars and Stripes is ceremony took place, and later thaat night, Lincoln and his wife went to see the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater. At 10:13 p.m., during the third act of the play, John Wilkes Booth shoots the president in the head. Doctors attend to the president in the theater then move him to a house across the street. He never regains consciousness. -
Lincoln Dead
President Abraham Lincoln dies at 7:22 in the morning. -
President Andrew Johnson
Vice President Andrew Johnson assumes the presidency after Lincoln was shot and killed -
General Joseph E Johnston Surrenders
Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston surrenders to Sherman near Durham in North Carolina. -
Booth is Dead
John Wilkes Booth is shot and killed in a tobacco barn in Virginia. -
Veto of the Civil Rights Act
President Johnson vetos the Civil Rights Act of 1866 -
Declaration Of Peace
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 Rules
Congress overrides President Andrew Johnson's veto of the Civil Rights Act -
Congress Rules Again
Congress overrides Andrew Johnson's veto of the Freedman's Bureau bill -
Ulysses S. Grant
Congress establishes "general of the armies" and Ulysses S. Grant is immediately promoted to 4-star general and put in this position. -
Peace with Texas
A proclaimation of peace with Texas is issued by United States President Andrew Johnson -
New Jersey
New Jersey ratifies the 14th Amendment -
New Freedman's Bureau Bill
New Freedman's Bureau bill passed by Congress. -
Ships Wrecked
A fire in the Philadelphia ship-yard accidently destroys a number of ships used during the Civil War -
South Carolna
On the 6th anniversary of secession, South Carolina rejects the 14th Amendment -
Blacks Can Vote
Blacks in Washington D. C. gain the right to vote in a bill passed over President Andrew Johnson's veto -
Virginia
Virginia rejects the 14th Amendment -
New York
New York ratifies the 14th Amendment -
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania ratifies the 14th Amendment -
West Virginia
West Virginia ratifies the 14th Amendment -
Michigan
Michigan ratifies the 14th Amendmen -
Maine
Maine ratifies the 14th Amendment -
Nebraska
Nebraska becomes a state -
Tenture Of Office Act
Congress passes the Tenure of Office Act, denying the right of the President to remove officials who had been appointed with the consent of Congress -
Admitted Into the Union
Congress passes a bill admitting Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina into the Union. Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas, having refused to ratify the fourteenth amendment, were refused admission into the Union
