Civil War Timeline

  • Period: to

    Civil war

    7 states left the Union and the first shots of the civil war were fired at Fort Sumter
  • Confiscation Act

    Making it legal to confiscate any property used to aid the rebels.
  • Contraband of war

    Virginia treats slaves as contraband if war or property.
  • Militia Act

    Militia Act
    U.S. Congress passed this act making the president to use black troops in combat.
  • The Emancipation Proclamation

    The Emancipation Proclamation
    It became official, freeing all slaves in confederate areas.
  • Period: to

    1st South Carolina

    Some white officers recruit several black regiments.
  • Bureau of Colored Troops

    Bureau of Colored Troops
    Between 128,000 and 200,000 ex slaves, free blacks and white officers were under the bureau of Colored Troops.
  • African American troops

    African American troops
    President Lincols opinion about using African American troops changes over time.
  • Freedmen's Bureau

    The war department creates the "American Freedmen's Inquiry Commission" to report.
  • Appomattox Court House

    Appomattox Court House
    Lee surrenders to Union General Grant, which ends the long war.