Civil War Timeline

1860

November 6, 1860 Abraham Lincoln, who had declared "Government cannot endure permanently half slave, half free...“is elected president, the first Republican, receiving 180 of 303 possible electoral votes and 40 percent of thepopular vote.

December 20, 1860

South Carolina secedes from the Union.

1861

Western Theater 1861

Eastern Theater 1861

January 1861- The South SecedesWhen Abraham Lincoln, a known opponent of slavery, was elected president, the South Carolina legislature perceived a threat. Calling a state convention, the delegates voted to remove the state of South Carolina from the union known as the United States of America. The Secession of South Carolina was followed by the secession of six more states -- Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas -- and the threat of Secession by four more -- Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. These eleven states eventually formed the Confederate States of America.

January 9, 1861

Mississippi seceded from the Union

January 10, 1861

Florida seceded from the Union

January 11, 1861

Alabama seceded from the Union

January 19, 1861

Georgia seceded from the Union

January 26, 1861

Louisiana seceded from the Union

January 29, 1861

Kansas seceded from the Union

February 1, 1861

Texas seceded from the Union

February 1861

The South

creates a

Government

February 1861 At a convention in Montgomery, Alabama, the

seven seceding states created the Confederate Constitution, a document similar to the United States Constitution, but with greater stress on the autonomy of each state. 

Jefferson Davis  was named provisional president of the Confederacy until elections could be held.

February 1861

The South seizes Federal Forts When President Buchanan (Lincoln's predecessor)

refused to surrender southern federal forts to the seceding states, southern state troops seized them. At Fort Sumter, South Carolina troops repulsed a supply ship trying to reach federal forces based in the fort. The ship was forced to return to New York, its supplies undelivered.

March 4, 1861

Lincoln is inaugurated At Lincoln's inauguration the new president said he had no plans to end slavery in those states where it already existed, but he also said he would not accept secession. He hoped to resolve the national crisis without warfare.

March 11, 1861

Confederate Constitution

“We, the people of the Confederate States, each State acting in its sovereign and independent character, in order to form a

permanent federal government, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, and secure the blessings of liberty to

ourselves and our posterity~invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God~do ordain and establish this Constitution for

the Confederate States of America…”

April 12-14, 1861

Attack on Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter AttackWhen President Lincoln planned to send supplies to Fort Sumter, he alerted the state in advance, in an attempt to avoid hostilities. South Carolina, however, feared a trick. On April 10, 1861, Brig. Gen. Beauregard, in command of provisional Confederate forces at Charleston, South Carolina, demanded the surrender of the Union garrison of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbour.

The Garrison commander Anderson refused. On April 12, Confederate batteries opened fire on the fort, which was unable to reply effectively. At 2:30 p.m., April 13, Major Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter, evacuating on the garrison the following day.

The bombardment of Fort Sumter was the opening engagement of the American Civil War. Although there were no casualties during the bombardment, one Union artillerist was killed and three wounded (one mortally) when a cannon exploded prematurely when firing a salute during the evacuation. From 1863 to 1865, the Confederates at Fort Sumter withstood a 22 month siege by Union forces. During this time, most of the fort was reduced to brick rubble. Fort Sumter became a national monument in 1948.

April 17, 1861

Virginia seceded from the Union

May 6, 1861

Arkansas seceded from the Union

May 20, 1861

North Carolina seceded from the Union

June 1861

West Virginia is born

Residents of the western counties of Virginia did not wish to secede along with the rest of the state. This section of Virginia was admitted into the Union as the state of West Virginia on June 20, 1863.

July 18, 1861

First Battle of Bull RunPublic demand pushed General-in-Chief Winfield Scott to advance on the South before adequately training his untried troops. Scott ordered General Irvin McDowell to advance on Confederate troops stationed at Manassas Junction, Virginia. McDowell attacked on July 21, and was initially successful, but the introduction of Confederate reinforcements resulted in a Southern victory and a chaotic retreat toward Washington by federal troops.

Battle of Bull Run On 16 July, 1861, the untried Union army under Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, 35,000

strong, marched out of the Washington defenses to give battle to the Confederate army, which was concentrated around the vital railroad junction at Manassas

The Confederate army, about 22,000 men, under the command of Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard, guarded the fords of Bull Run.

On July 18, McDowell reached Centreville and pushed southwest, attempting to cross at Blackburn's Ford. He was repulsed.

This action was a reconnaissance-in-force prior to the main event at Manassas / Bull Run. Because of this action, Union commander McDowell decided on the flanking maneuver he

employed at First Manassas. Result (s): Confederate victory Location: Prince William County and Fairfax County Date (s): July 18, 1861 Principal Commanders: Brigadier General Irvin McDowell [US]; Brigadier General P.G.T.

Beauregard [CS] Forces Engaged: Brigades Estimated Casualties: 151 total (US 83; CS 68)

July 21, 1861 The Union Army under Gen. Irvin McDowell

suffers a defeat at Bull Run 25 miles southwest of Washington. Confederate Gen. Thomas J. Jackson earns the nickname "Stonewall," as his brigade resists Union attacks. Union troops fall back to Washington. President Lincoln realizes the war will be long. "It's damned bad," he comments.

July 27, 1861 President Lincoln appoints

George B. McClellan as Commander of the Department of the Potomac, replacing McDowell

July-November 1861

A Blockade of the South. To blockade the coast of the Confederacy effectively, the federal

navy had to be improved. By July, the effort at improvement had made a difference and an effective blockade had begun. The South responded by building small, fast ships that could outmaneuver Union vessels. On November 7, 1861, Captain Samuel F. Dupont's warships silenced Confederate guns in Fort Walker  and Fort Beauregard. This victory enabled General Thomas W. Sherman's troops to occupy first Port Royal and then all the famous Sea Islands of South Carolina.

1862

January 31, 1862 President Lincoln

issues General War Order No. 1 calling for all United States naval and land forces to begin a general advance by Feb 22, George Washington's birthday.

March 1862 The Peninsular Campaign begins as McClellan's

Army of the Potomac advances from Washington down the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay to the peninsular south of the Confederate Capital of Richmond, Virginia then begins an advance toward Richmond.

March 8, 1862

McClellan Loses Command. On March 8, President Lincoln -- impatient

with General McClellan's inactivity -- issued an order reorganizing the Army of Virginia and relieving McClellan of supreme command.

April 6-7, 1862 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. The president is then pressured to relieve Grant but resists. "I can't spare this man; he fights," Lincoln says.

April 24, 1862 17 Union ships under the command of Flag

Officer David Farragut move up the Mississippi River then take New Orleans, the South's greatest seaport. Later in the war, sailing through a Rebel mine field Farragut utters the famous phrase "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"

May 31, 1862 The Battle of Seven Pines as Gen. Joseph E.

Johnston’s Army attacks McClellan's troops in front of Richmond and nearly defeats them. But Johnston is badly wounded.

July 11, 1862 After four months as his

own general-in-chief, President Lincoln hands over the task to Gen. Henry W. (Old Brains) Halleck

August 29-30, 1862 75,000 Federals under Gen. John Pope are

defeated by 55,000 Confederates under Gen. Stonewall Jackson and Gen. James Longstreet at the second battle of Bull Run in northern Virginia. Once again the Union Army retreats to Washington. The president then relieves Pope.

September 4-9, 1862 Lee invades the North with 50,000

Confederates and heads for Harpers Ferry, located 50 miles northwest of Washington

September 17, 1862 The bloodiest day in U.S. military history as

Gen. 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.

Antietam On September 17, Confederate forces under General Lee were caught

by General McClellan near Sharpsburg, Maryland. This battle proved to be the bloodiest day of the war

2,108 Union soldiers were killed and 9,549 wounded 2,700 Confederates were killed and 9,029 wounded. The battle had no clear winner, but because General Lee withdrew to

Virginia, McClellan was considered the victor. The battle convinced the British and French -- who were

contemplating official recognition of the Confederacy -- to reserve action, and gave Lincoln the opportunity to announce his Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation (September 22), which would free all slaves in areas rebelling against the United States, effective January 1, 1863.

September 22, 1862 Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation freeing

slaves issued by President Lincoln

November 7, 1862 The president replaces McClellan with Gen.

Ambrose E. Burnside as the new Commander of the Army of the Potomac. Lincoln had grown impatient with McClellan's slowness to follow up on the success at Antietam, even telling him, "If you don't want to use the army, I should like to borrow it for a while."

1863

January 1, 1863 President Lincoln issues the final

Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves in territories held by Confederates and emphasizes the enlisting of black soldiers in the Union Army. The war to preserve the Union now becomes a revolutionary struggle for the abolition of slavery.

Emancipation Proclamation In an effort to placate the slave-holding border states, Lincoln resisted

the demands of radical Republicans for complete abolition. Yet some Union generals, such as General B. F. Butler, declared slaves escaping to their lines "contraband of war," not to be returned to their masters.

Other generals decreed that the slaves of men rebelling against the Union were to be considered free. Congress, too, had been moving toward abolition.

In 1861, Congress had passed an act stating that all slaves employed against the Union were to be considered free.

In 1862, another act stated that all slaves of men who supported the Confederacy were to be considered free.

Lincoln, aware of the public's growing support of abolition, issued the Emancipation Proclamation  on January 1, 1863, declaring that all slaves in areas still in rebellion were, in the eyes of the federal government, free.

January 25, 1863 The president appoints Gen. Joseph (Fighting

Joe) Hooker as Commander of the Army of the Potomac, replacing Burnside.

March 3, 1863 Because of recruiting difficulties, the U.S.

Congress enacts an act was passed making all men between the ages of 20 and 45 liable to be called for military service The U.S. Congress enacts a draft, affecting male citizens aged 20 to 45, but also exempts those who pay $300 or provide a substitute. "The blood of a poor man is as precious as that of the wealthy," poor Northerners complain.

May 1-4, 1863 The Union Army under Gen. Hooker is decisively

defeated by Lee's much smaller forces at the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia as a result of Lee's brilliant and daring tactics. Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson is mortally wounded by his own soldiers. Hooker retreats. Union losses are 17,000 killed, wounded and missing out of 130,000. The Confederates, 13, 000 out of 60,000.

May 10, 1863 The South suffers a huge blow as Stonewall

Jackson dies from his wounds, his last words, "Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees."

"I have lost my right arm," Lee laments.

June 3, 1863 Gen. Lee with 75,000

Confederates launches his second invasion of the North, heading into Pennsylvania in a campaign that will soon lead to Gettysburg.

July 1-3, 1863The Battle of Gettysburg  A chance encounter between Union and Confederate forces

began the Battle of Gettysburg. In the fighting that followed, Meade had greater numbers and better defensive positions. He won the battle, but failed to follow Lee as he retreated back to Virginia. Militarily, the Battle of Gettysburg was the high-water mark of the Confederacy; it is also significant because it ended Confederate hopes of formal recognition by foreign governments.

On November 19, President Lincoln dedicated a portion of the Gettysburg battlefield as a national cemetery, and delivered his memorable “Gettysburg Address."

July 4, 1863 Union General Grant won several victories around

Vicksburg, Mississippi, the fortified city considered essential to the Union's plans to regain control of the Mississippi River. On May 22, Grant began a siege of the city. Vicksburg, the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River, surrenders to Gen. Grant and the Army of the West after a six week siege giving up the city and 30,000 men. With the Union now in control of the Mississippi, the Confederacy is effectively split in two, cut off from its western allies.

July 10, 1863Fort Wagner South Carolina Union artillery on Folly Island together with Rear Adm. John Dahlgren's fleet of

ironclads opened fire on Confederate defenses of Morris Island. The bombardment provided cover for Brig. Gen. George C. Strong's brigade, which crossed Light House Inlet and landed by boats on the southern tip of the island. Strong's troops advanced, capturing several batteries, to within range of Confederate Fort Wagner. At dawn, July 11, Strong attacked the fort. Soldiers of the 7th Connecticut reached the parapet but, unsupported, were thrown back.

July 18: -- After the July 11 assault on Fort Wagner failed, Gillmore reinforced his beachhead on Morris Island. At dusk July 18, Gillmore launched an attack spearheaded by the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, a black regiment. The unit's colonel, Robert Gould Shaw, was killed. Members of the brigade scaled the parapet but after brutal hand-to-hand combat were driven out with heavy casualties. The Federals resorted to siege operations to reduce the fort. This was the fourth time in the war that black troops played a crucial combat role, proving to skeptics that they would fight bravely if only given the chance.

August- December 1863Bombardment of Fort Sumter 

Federal batteries erected on Morris Island opened fire on August 17 and continued their bombardment of Fort Sumter and the Charleston defenses until August 23. Despite a severe pounding, Fort Sumter's garrison held out. Siege operations continued against Fort Wagner on Morris Island.

September 6, 1863Charleston Harbor

The night of September 6-7, Confederate forces evacuated Fort Wagner and Battery Gregg pressured by advancing Federal siegeworks. Federal troops then occupied all of Morris Island. On September 8, a storming party of about 400 marines and sailors attempted to surprise Fort Sumter. The attack was repulsed.

September 19, 1863The Battle of Chickamauga

On September 19, Union and Confederate forces met at Chickamauga Creek in Tennessee. After a brief period of fighting, Union forces retreated to Chattanooga, and the Confederacy maintained control of the battlefield. After Rosecrans's debacle at Chickamauga, Confederate General Braxton Bragg's army occupied the mountains that ring the vital railroad center of Chattanooga.

November 1863

The Battle of Chattanooga Grant, brought in to save the situation,

steadily built up offensive strength, and on November 23- 25 burst the blockade in a series of brilliantly executed attacks. Union forces pushed Confederate troops away from Chattanooga. The victory set the stage for General Sherman's Atlanta Campaign.

1864

February 20, 1864 In February, the commander of the Department of the South, Major

General Quincy A. Gillmore, launched an expedition into Florida to secure Union enclaves, sever Rebel supply routes, and recruit black soldiers. Brig. General Truman Seymour moved deep into the state, occupying, destroying, and liberating, meeting little resistance on February 20, he approached Brig. General Joseph Finegan's 5,000 Confederates entrenched near Olustee. One infantry brigade pushed out to meet Seymour's advance units. The Union forces attacked but were repulsed. The battle raged, and as Finegan committed the last of his reserves, the Union line broke and began to retreat. Finegan did not exploit the retreat, allowing most of the fleeing Union forces to reach Jacksonville.

May 20, 1863Ware Bottom Church

Confederate forces under General P.G.T. Beauregard attacked Butler's Bermuda Hundred line near Ware Bottom Church. About 10,000 troops were involved in this action. After driving back Butler's advanced pickets, the Confederates constructed the Howlett Line, effectively bottling up the Federals at Bermuda Hundred. Confederate victories at Proctor's Creek and Ware Bottom Church enabled Beauregard to detach strong reinforcements for Lee's army in time for the fighting at Cold Harbor.

June 1864

The Battle of Cold Harbor Grant again attacked Confederate forces at Cold

Harbor, losing over 7,000 men in twenty minutes. Although Lee suffered fewer casualties, his army never recovered from Grant's continual attacks. This was Lee's last clear victory of the war.

July 1864

Confederate Troops Approach Washington, D.C.

Confederate General Jubal Early led his forces into Maryland to relieve the pressure on Lee's army. Early got within five miles of Washington, D.C., but on July 13, he was driven back to Virginia.

August 1864General Sherman's Atlanta Campaign

Union General William T. Sherman departed Chattanooga, and was soon met by Confederate General Joseph Johnston. Skillful strategy enabled Johnston to hold off Sherman's force -- almost twice the size of Johnston's. However, Johnston's tactics caused his superiors to replace him with General John Bell Hood, who was soon defeated. Hood surrendered Atlanta, Georgia, on September 1; Sherman occupied the city the next day. The fall of Atlanta greatly boosted Northern morale.

September- November 1864Sherman in Atlanta 

After three and a half months of incessant maneuvering and much hard fighting, Sherman forced Hood to abandon Atlanta, the munitions center of the Confederacy. Sherman remained there, resting his war-worn men and accumulating supplies, for nearly two-and-a-half months.

October 26-29 1864Franklin-Nashville Campaign  General John B. Hood's Army of Tennessee, in

an attempt to cross the Tennessee River at Decatur, Alabama encountered Union forces under the command of Brig. General Robert S. Granger for most of the battle, numbered only about 5,000 men, but successfully prevented the much larger Confederate force from crossing the river.

October 27-28, 1864Boydton Plank Road (aka Hatcher's Run, Burgess' Mill) Directed by Major General Winfield Scott Hancock, divisions from

three Union corps (II, V, and IX) and Gregg's cavalry division, numbering more than 30,000 men, withdrew from the Petersburg lines and marched west to operate against the Boydton Plank Road and Southside Railroad. The initial Union advance on October 27 gained the Boydton Plank Road, a major campaign objective. But that afternoon, a counterattack near Burgess' Mill spearheaded by Major General Henry Heth's division and Wade Hampton's cavalry isolated the II Corps and forced a retreat. The Confederates retained control of the Boydton Plank Road for the rest of the winter.

November 1864Sherman's March to the Sea General Sherman continued his

march through Georgia to the sea. In the course of the march, he cut himself off from his source of supplies, planning for his troops to live off the land. His men cut a path 300 miles in length and 60 miles wide as they passed through Georgia, destroying factories, bridges, railroads, and public buildings.

November 1864Abraham Lincoln Is Re-Elected The Republican party nominated President Abraham Lincoln as its

presidential candidate, and Andrew Johnson for vice-president. The Democratic party chose General George B. McClellan for president, and George Pendleton for vice-president. At one point, widespread war-weariness in the North made a victory for Lincoln seem doubtful. In addition, Lincoln's veto of the Wade-Davis Bill -- requiring the majority of the electorate in each Confederate state to swear past and future loyalty to the Union before the state could officially be restored -- lost him the support of Radical Republicans who thought Lincoln too lenient. However, Sherman's victory in Atlanta boosted Lincoln's popularity and helped him win re-election by a wide margin.

December 1864

Sherman at the Sea

After marching through Georgia for a month, Sherman stormed Fort McAllister on December 13, 1864, and captured Savannah itself eight days later.

1865

January 1865The Fall of the Confederacy Transportation problems and successful

blockades caused severe shortages of food and supplies in the South. Starving soldiers began to desert Lee's forces, and although President Jefferson Davis approved the arming of slaves as a means of augmenting the shrinking army, the measure was never put into effect.

February 1865

Sherman Marches through North

and South Carolina

Union General Sherman moved from Georgia through South Carolina, destroying almost everything in his path.

March 6,1864Natural Bridge Maj. Gen. John Newton had undertaken a joint force expedition

(including 2nd U.S. Colored Infantry and 99th U.S. Colored Infantry) to engage and destroy Confederate troops that had attacked at Cedar Keys and Fort Myers and were allegedly encamped somewhere around St. Marks. The Navy had trouble getting its ships up the St. Marks River. The Army force, however, had advanced and, after finding one bridge destroyed, started before dawn on March 6 to attempt to cross the river at Natural Bridge. The troops initially pushed Rebel forces back but not away from the bridge. Confederate forces, protected by breastworks, guarded all of the approaches and the bridge itself. The action at Natural Bridge lasted most of the day, but, unable to take the bridge, the Union troops retreated to the protection of the fleet.

April 1865

Fallen Richmond On March 25, General Lee attacked General

Grant's forces near Petersburg, but was defeated -- attacking and losing again on April 1. On April 2, Lee evacuated Richmond, the Confederate capital, and headed west to join with other forces.

April 14, 1865 The Stars and Stripes is

ceremoniously raised over Fort Sumter.

That night, Lincoln and his wife Mary see the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theatre. 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 theatre then move him to a house across the street. He never regains consciousness.

April 15, 1865 President Abraham

Lincoln dies at 7:22 in the morning. Vice President Andrew Johnson assumes the presidency.

April 26, 1865 John Wilkes Booth is

shot and killed in a tobacco barn in Virginia.

May 4, 1865 Abraham Lincoln is laid to rest in Oak Ridge

Cemetery, outside Springfield, Illinois.

December 6, 1865 The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States

Constitution, passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, is finally ratified. Slavery is abolished.