Civil War Timeline
November 6, 1860 Election of 1860 - Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, is elected as president which was the final event that triggered the South’s decision to leave the union.
December 18, 1860 Crittenden Compromise - In last minute decision, Senator John Crittenden of Kentucky proposed a constitutional amendment that would guarantee the right to hold slaves in all territories south of 36°30’. Lincoln, however, said that he could not accept this compromise because it violated the Republican position against extension of slavery into the territories.
January 1861 Secession of the Deep South - Calling a state convention, the delegates voted to remove the state of South Carolina from the union. The secession of South Carolina was followed by the secession of six more states -- Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. These states formed the Confederate States of America.
February 1861 Confederate Government Created - At a convention in Montgomery, Alabama, the seven seceding states created the Confederate Constitution. It was similar to the United States Constitution, but had greater stress on the self-government of each state. Jefferson Davis was named provisional president of the Confederacy until elections could be held.
March 4, 1861 Lincoln's Inauguration - At Lincoln's inauguration on March 4, 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.
April 12, 1861 Fort Sumter - When President Lincoln planned to send supplies to Fort Sumter, he alerted the state in advance, in an attempt to avoid complications. South Carolina, however, feared a trick. The commander of the fort, Robert Anderson, was asked to surrender immediately. Anderson offered to surrender, but only after he had used his supplies. His offer was rejected, and on April 12, the Civil War began with shots fired on the fort. Fort Sumter eventually was surrendered to South Carolina.
April 1861 Secession of the Upper South - The attack on Fort Sumter prompted four more states to join the Confederacy: Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas. With Virginia's secession, Richmond was named the Confederate capitol.
June 20, 1861 Birth of West Virginia - Citizens 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.
June 1861 Four Slave States Stay in the Union - Four other slaveholding states might have seceded, but instead remained in the Union. The decision of Delaware, Maryland, Missouri, and Kentucky not to join the confederacy was partly because of Union sentiment in those states and partly the result of shrewd federal policies.
July 21, 1861 First Battle of Bull Run - The Public pushed General-in-Chief Winfield Scott to advance on the South before adequately training his 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.
August 6, 1861 Confiscation Acts - The Confiscation Act allowed any property used by the Confederates during the American Civil War to be confiscated and included freeing any slaves who were forced to participate in the war by the Confederacy. Benjamin Butler had been the first Union general to declare slaves as contraband. The Confiscation Act was an attempt to set a uniform policy throughout the army.
November 8, 1861 Trent Affair - Late in 1861, a Union warship stopped the British mail steamer the Trent and forcibly removed two Confederate diplomats bound for Europe. Britain was outraged at the upstart Americans and threatened war, but luckily, Lincoln released the prisoners and tensions cool.
March 9, 1862 Monitor vs. Merrimac - Confederate engineers converted a scuttled Union frigate, the U.S.S. Merrimac, into an iron-sided vessel rechristened the C.S.S. Virginia. In the first naval engagement between ironclad ships, the Monitor fought the Virginia to a draw, but not before the Virginia had sunk two wooden Union warships off Norfolk, Virginia.
March 8, 1862 McClellan Loses Command - President issued an order reorganizing the Army of Virginia and dismissing McClellan of supreme command. McClellan was given command of the Army of the Potomac, and ordered to attack Richmond. This marked the beginning of the Peninsular Campaign.
April 1862 Peninsula Campaign - General McClellan's troops left northern Virginia to begin the Peninsular Campaign. By May 4, they occupied Yorktown, Virginia. At Williamsburg, Confederate forces prevented McClellan from meeting the main part of the Confederate army, and McClellan halted his troops, awaiting reinforcements.
August 1862 Second Battle of Bull Run - It was the conclusion of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Major General John Pope's Army of Virginia, and a battle of much larger scale and numbers than the First Battle of Bull Run. The result of the battle was an overwhelming Confederate victory, but the Union army was left largely intact.
September 1862 Antietam - 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 to reserve action, and gave Lincoln the opportunity to announce his Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation which would free all slaves in areas rebelling against the United States.
December 1862 Fredericksburg - General McClellan's slow movements, combined with General Lee's escape, and continued raiding by Confederate cavalry, dismayed many in the North. On November 7, Lincoln replaced McClellan with Major-General Ambrose E. Burnside. Burnside's forces were defeated in a series of attacks against entrenched Confederate forces at Fredericksburg, Virginia, and Burnside was replaced with General Joseph Hooker.
January 1863 Emancipation Proclamation - It declared the freedom of all slaves in those areas of the rebellious Confederate States of America that had not already returned to Union control. The proclamation made the end of slavery a central goal of the war and was highly controversial in the North. It was not a law passed by Congress but a presidential order empowered by his position as "Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy". It first affected only those slaves that had already escaped to the Union side, but as the Union armies conquered the south, thousands of slaves were freed each day until nearly all were free by the summer of 1865.
May 1863 Vicksburg - Union artillery bombarded Vicksburg for seven weeks before the Confederates finally surrendered the city. Federal warships now controlled the full length of the Mississippi and cut off Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas from the rest of the Confederacy.
July 1863 Gettysburg - Meade had greater numbers and better defensive positions. He won the battle, but failed to follow Lee as he retreated back to Virginia. The Battle of Gettysburg was the high-water mark of the Confederacy. It is also 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."
November 1864 Election of 1864 - 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. Lincoln's veto of the Wade-Davis Bill 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 landslide.
April 9, 1865 Surrender at Appomattox - The two commanders met at Appomattox Courthouse, and agreed on the terms of surrender. Lee's men were sent home on parole. All other equipment was surrendered.
January 31, 1865 Thirteenth Amendment - It states that it officially abolished, and continues to prohibit, slavery, and, with limited exceptions, prohibits involuntary servitude.
April 15, 1865 Assassination of Lincoln- On April 14, as President Lincoln was watching a performance of "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., he was shot by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln died the next morning. Booth escaped to Virginia. Eleven days later, Booth was shot by a Union soldier. Nine other people were involved in the assassination; four were hanged, four imprisoned, and one acquitted.
