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Civil War Timeline
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Jefferson Davis in Favor
Jefferson Davis comes out in favor of secession for the first time -
Pemberton Mill Collaspse
In Lawrence, Massachusetts, the Pemberton Mill collapses, trapping 500 people in the ruins and eventually killing 250 after the ruins catch fire. The incident inspires Elizabeth Stuart Phelps's story "The Tenth of January." -
England Strike
Twenty thousand New England shoe workers strike and subsequently win higher wages. -
Lincoln Attacks Slavery
In a speech at the Cooper Union Institute in New York, Abraham Lincoln attacks slavery and insists that the Federal government has "the power of restraining the extension of the institution." -
The Pony Express
The 'Pony Express' mail service used horseback riders in 157 Pony Express relay stations across the prairies, plains, deserts, and mountains of the Western United States to deliver messages between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts in about ten days. -
Lincoln Nominated for President
Lincoln's election for President was followed by South Carolina's succession from the Union. Its senators had resigned from Congress and several of the Southern states were looking to leaving it as well. -
Stephen Douglas Debate
The Democrats reconvene in Baltimore to select a nominee, but Douglas can't make the necessary 2/3 majority until the anti-Douglas delegates leave on June 22 and the floor rules are changed to require 2/3 vote of the members present. On June 23rd the Convention nominates Stephen Douglas and Herschal V. Johnson -
John C. Breckinridge
Southern Democrats hold a convention in Richmond where they select John C. Breckinridge as their nominee for President -
Lincoln for President
Abraham Lincoln is elected sixteenth president of the United States, the first Republican president in the nation who represents a party that opposes the spread of slavery in the territories of the United States. -
South Carolina Secedes from the Union
South Carolina was the first state to vote to secede from the Union and was the founding state of the Confederate States of America. -
Confederate States are formed
The southern states that seceded create a government at Montgomery, Alabama, and the Confederate States of America are formed. -
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis is appointed the first President of the Confederate States of America at Montgomery, Alabama, a position he will hold until elections can be arranged. -
Beginning of Civil War
The war fought in the United States between northern (Union) and southern (Confederate) states from 1861 to 1865, in which the Confederacy sought to establish itself as a separate nation. -
Lincoln Issues a Public Declaration
President Lincoln issues a public declaration that an insurrection exists and calls for 75,000 militia to stop the rebellion. As a result of this call for volunteers, four additional southern states secede from the Union in the following weeks. Lincoln will respond on May 3 with an additional call for 43,000+ volunteers to serve for three years, expanding the size of the Regular Army. -
Virginia is Divided
With Western Virginia going to the Union and driving out its Confederate soldiers, the state of Virginia becomes two separate states. General McClellan tells Abraham Lincoln that the West Virginians were not in support of the Ordinance of Secession. -
Union Blockades Confederate Posts
The Union Navy maintained blockades on Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports of the Confederate States of America designed to prevent the passage of trade goods, supplies, and arms to and from the Confederacy. -
Battle of Bethel
The Battle of Big Bethel was one of the earliest land battles of the American Civil War. It took place on the Virginia Peninsula, near Newport News, on June 10, 1861. -
First Battle of Bull Run
The first battle of the American Civil War, fought in Virginia near Washington, D.C. The surprising victory of the Confederate army humiliated the North and forced it to prepare for a long war. A year later the Confederacy won another victory near the same place. -
First United States Income Tax
The first United States income tax was imposed in July 1861, at 3% of all incomes over 800 dollars in order to help pay for the war effort in the American Civil War -
Battle of Wilson Creek
The Union Army under General Nathaniel Lyon, attack Confederate troops and state militia southwest of Springfield, Missouri, and after a disastrous day that included the death of Lyon, are thrown back. The Confederate victory emphasizes the strong southern presence west of the Mississippi River. -
Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky
The Union victory weakened the Confederate hold on the state. -
Battle of Roanoke Island, North Carolina
A Confederate defeat, the battle resulted in Union occupation of eastern North Carolina and control of Pamlico Sound, to be used as Northern base for further operations against the southern coast. -
Battle of Pea Ridge (Elkhorn Tavern), Arkansas
The Union victory loosened the Confederate hold on Missouri and disrupted southern control of a portion of the Mississippi River. -
Battle of Shiloh
The battle began when the Confederates launched a surprise attack on Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant (1822-85) in southwestern Tennessee. After initial successes, the Confederates were unable to hold their positions and were forced back,resulting in a Union victory. -
Fort Falls into Union Control
A Union fleet of gunships under Admiral David Farragut passes Confederate forts guarding the mouth of the Mississippi River. On April 25, the fleet arrived at New Orleans where they demanded the surrender of the city. Within two days the forts fall into Union hands and the mouth of the great river is under Union control. -
Homestead Act
The Homestead Act opened up settlement in the western United States, allowing any American, including freed slaves, to put in a claim for up to 160 free acres of federal land. -
First Battle of Winchester, Virginia
After two weeks of maneuvering and battles at Cross Keys and Front Royal, General "Stonewall" Jackson attacks Union forces at Winchester and successfully drives them from the city. The victory is the culmination of his 1862 Valley Campaign. -
Second Battle of Bull Run
It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen. John Pope's Army of Virginia, and a battle of much larger scale and numbers than the First Battle of Bull Run. -
Battle of Antietam
he Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg, Maryland, resulted in a win for the Union but the battle is the bloodiest single day in the civil war with the Union suffering 12,401 casualties with 2,108 dead and Confederate casualties 10,318 with 1,546 dead. -
Gatling Gun
Richard Gatling's Gatling Gun appears this year, and initially uses a single barrel and a paper cartridge. -
Emancipation Proclamation
A document by Abraham Lincoln that freed all Confederate slaves, and had followed from the statements he made after 1862's Battle of Antietam. -
Congress Passes First Conscription Act
The act stated that men aged between 20 and 45 were required to register for service, but the law favored the rich because for $300.00 you could hire a substitute to fight in your place therefore avoiding going to war. -
The Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia.
General Lee's greatest victory is marred by the mortal wounding of "Stonewall" Jackson, who dies on May 10. Soon after, Lee asks Jefferson Davis for permission to invade the North and take the war out of Virginia. -
The Union Uses African-American Troops
The United States War Department issued General Order Number 143, establishing a "Bureau of Colored Troops" to facilitate the recruitment of African-American soldiers to fight for the Union Army. By the end of the civil war, about 178,000 free blacks and freed slaves served in the army. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg was an important battle in the war, with Lee's invasion of a northern state (from Maryland to Pennsylvania). Some 23,000 Union soldiers and over 20,000 Confederate soldiers were killed by the end of the third day. -
Draft Riots
Draft Riots begin in New York City and elsewhere as disgruntled workers and laborers, seething over the draft system that seemingly favors the rich, attack the draft office and African American churches. The riots continue through July 16. -
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee, is occupied by Union forces under General William Rosecrans whose Army of the Cumberland will soon invade northern Georgia. -
The Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia
The Union Army of the Cumberland under General William Rosecrans is defeated and nearly routed by the Confederate Army of Tennessee commanded by General Braxton Bragg. Rosecrans' army retreats to the supply base at Chattanooga, Tennessee. -
The Mine Run Campaign
Meade's Army of the Potomac marches against Lee's Army of Northern Virginia south of the Rapidan River, east of Orange Court House. Lee reacts and throws up a line of defenses along the banks of Mine Run Creek. After several days of probing the defenses, Meade withdraws north of the Rapidan and goes into winter quarters. -
Siege of Knoxville, Tennessee
Confederate troops under General James Longstreet lay siege to the city of Knoxville held by Union forces under General Ambrose Burnside. Longstreet finally attacks on November 30 but is repulsed with heavy losses. The arrival of Union reinforcements forces him to withdraw to Greeneville, Tennessee, where his corps will spend the winter. -
Escape from Libby Prison, Richmond
After weeks of digging, 109 Union officers made their escape from the notorious Libby Prison, the largest and most sensational escape of the war. Though 48 of the escapees were later captured and two drowned, 59 were able to make their way into Union lines. -
First Successful Submarine Attack of the Civil War
The CSS H.L. Hunley, a seven-man submergible craft, attacked the USS Houstonic outside of Charleston, South Carolina. Struck by the submarine's torpedo, the Housatonic broke apart and sank, taking all but five of her crew with her. Likewise, the Hunley was also lost and never heard from again until discovered in 1995 at the spot where it sank after the attack. -
Camp Sumter Prison Camp opens
Universally referred to as Andersonville Prison Camp, it will become notorious for overcrowded conditions and a high death rate among its inmates. -
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant is appointed lieutenant general, a rank revived at the request of President Lincoln. Grant assumes command of all Union Armies in the field the following day. -
The Red River Campaign begins
As part of an overall Union strategy to strike deep into various parts of the Confederacy, a combined force of army and navy commands under General Nathaniel Banks begins a campaign on the Red River in Louisiana. -
Battle of Pleasant Hill, Louisiana
The Union Army under Banks defeats the attempt by Confederate forces under General Richard Taylor to drive them out of Louisiana. Unfortunately, the result of the campaign would be less than desired as it drew to a close in the first week of May with Confederates still in firm control of most of the state. -
Beginning of the Atlanta Campaign
With three Union armies under his command, General William T. Sherman marched south from Tennessee into Georgia against the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General Joseph Johnston, the objective being the city of Atlanta. -
Battle of Yellow Tavern
Six miles north of Richmond, Confederate cavalry under General J.E.B. Stuart blocked a force of Union cavalry under General Philip Sheridan. General Stuart was mortally wounded during the encounter. -
Attack on the Defenses of Washington
Jubal Early's troops arrive on the outskirts of Washington, DC, and trade cannon fire with a token Union force remaining in the forts around the city. President Lincoln observes the skirmishing from Fort Stevens as reinforcements from the Army of the Potomac arrive and quickly fill in the works. Early withdraws that evening. -
General John Bell Hood
General John Bell Hood replaces General Joseph Johnston as commander of the Army of Tennessee. This change in command signals a new Confederate strategy to thwart Sherman's campaign, though the end result will be disastrous for the southern cause. -
Assault and capture of Fort Fisher, North Carolina
Union occupation of this fort at the mouth of the Cape Fear River closes access to Wilmington, the last southern seaport on the east coast that was open to blockade runners and commercial shipping. -
The Thirteenth Amendment Ratified
The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution officially abolished and continues to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. -
Peace Conference
A peace conference occurs as President Lincoln meets with Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens at Hampton Roads in Virginia, but the meeting ends in failure - the war will continue. -
The Battles of Averasborough and Bentonville, North Carolina
Sherman's army is stalled in its drive northward from Fayetteville but succeeds in passing around the Confederate forces toward its object of Raleigh. -
The Fall of Petersburg and Richmond
General Lee abandons both cities and moves his army west in hopes of joining Confederate forces under General Johnston in North Carolina. -
End of Civil War
The final battle of the Civil War takes place at Palmito Ranch, Texas. It is a Confederate victory. Robert E. Lee's surrender of the Confederate army at Appomattox courthouse to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9th was the end of the war. -
Abraham Lincoln Assassinated
President Lincoln was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth while attending the comedy "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. He died the next day. -
General Joseph Johnston
General Joseph Johnston signs the surrender document for the Confederate Army of the Tennessee and miscellaneous southern troops attached to his command at Bennett's Place near Durham, North Carolina. -
Surrender of Confederate Forces
General Richard Taylor surrenders Confederate forces in the Department of Alabama, Mississippi and East Louisiana. -
Ku Klux Klan Formed
A group of Confederate veterans convenes to form the secret society the "Ku Klux Klan." The KKK wished to ensure the local African American population did not gain civil and legal rights. -
Fisk University Opens - Nashville
The work of Fisk's founders was sponsored by the American Missionary Association — later part of the United Church of Christ, with which Fisk retains an affiliation today. -
Royal Aeronautical
The Royal Aeronautical Society is formed in London. The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. -
Transatlantic Telegraph
Transatlantic telegraph cable successfully laid (1,686 miles long) -
Peace Within the States
The United States declares that a state of peace exists with Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia -
Civil Rights Act of 1866
The first United States federal law to define citizenship and affirm that all citizens are equally protected by the law. It was mainly intended to protect the civil rights of persons of African descent born in or brought to the U.S., in the wake of the American Civil War. -
Congress Overide
Congress overrides President Andrew Johnson's veto of the Civil Rights Act -
Cholera
Cholera epidemic begins in New York when an infected passenger arrives in New York. -
Mary Ellen Pleasant
Mary Ellen Pleasant was kicked off a streetcar in San Francisco and began arguing against laws prohibiting black people from riding them. -
Second Battle at Custoza
Second Battle at Custozza: the Austrian Imperial army, joined by the Venetian Army decisively defeated the Italian army, despite the Italians' strong numerical advantage. -
Philadelphia Fire
A fire in the Philadelphia ship-yard accidently destroys a number of ships used during the Civil War -
Nebraska Becomes A State
Nebraska was admitted as the 37th state of the United States in 1867. It is the only state in the United States whose legislature is unicameral and officially nonpartisan. -
African American Voting
African-American men are granted the right to vote in the District of Columbia. -
Youssef Karam
Maronite nationalist leader Youssef Karam leaves Lebanon on board of a French ship for Algeria -
Nebraska
Nebraska is admitted as the 37th U.S. state -
Tenure of Office Act
The Tenure of Office Act was a United States federal law (in force from 1867 to 1887) that was intended to restrict the power of the President of the United States to remove certain office-holders without the approval of the Senate. -
Kidder Masacre
A Sioux and Cheyenne war party kills U.S. Second Lieutenant Lyman Kidder, along with an Indian scout and ten enlisted men in Kansas. -
School of Dental Medicine
In Boston, Massachusetts, the Harvard School of Dental Medicine is established as the first dental school in the United States. -
Midway Island
The United States takes control of Midway Island. -
Charles Dickens
In a New York City theater, British author Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States. -
Grange
Former Minnesota farmer Oliver Hudson Kelley founds the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry. Today this order is known as the farmers organization Grange.
