American Civil War Timeline
Posted on 02. Jan, 2009 by admin in American Civil War
The following is a very brief overview of the main events in the American Civil War timeline.
1860
6th November
Abraham Lincoln is elected President of the United States.
20th November
South Carolina Secedes from the Union.
1861
9th January - 1st February
The remaining six Lower South states secede.
4th February - 11th March
A convention of delegates from the seceded states writes a constitution in Montgomery, Alabama and elects Jefferson Davis and Alexander H. Stephens as provisional President and Vice-President respectively of the Confederate States Of America.
4th March
Lincoln's first Inaugural Address.
12th - 13th April
Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter results in its surrender.
15th April - 8th June
Four states of the Upper South secede after Lincoln calls for volunteers.
Early May
Winfield Scott briefs President Lincoln about a strategy known as the Anaconda Plan.
11th May
Camp Jackson affair, St Louis, Missouri
14th May
Great Britain proclaims its neutrality
20th May
Confederate Congress votes to move national government from Montgomery, Alabama to Richmond, Virginia. Kentucky declares neutrality.
10th June
France declares its neutrality.
21st July
Battle of First Manassas or Bull Run.
25th July
US Senate passes Crittenden-Johnson Resolutions, stating that the Union is not fighting to interfere with slavery.
6th August
First Confiscation Act approved by US Congress.
10th August
Battle of Wilson's Creek or Oak Hills, Springfield Missouri.
30th August
John C. Fremont declares martial law and declares slaves in Missouri free.
3rd September
Confederate forces under Gideon Pillow enter Kentucky, ending neutrality in that state.
10th September
Confederate Albert Sydney Johnston is appointed to command Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas and Kentucky.
1st November
George B. McClellan replaces Winfield Scott as general-in-chief of the US Army
6th November
Jefferson Davis is elected provisional president by the Confederacy.
7th November
Samuel Du Pont captures Port Royal Sound.
8th November
USS San Jacinto captures British mail packet Trent.
9th November
Don Carlos Buell and Henry Halleck are appointed to departments in Kentucky and Missouri.
2nd December
The second session of the 37th US Congress opens.
1862
19th January
Battle of Mill Springs or Logan's Cross Roads, Kentucky.
6th February
Union gunboats force the surrender of Fort Henry, Tennessee.
13th - 16th February
Battle of Fort Donelson, Tennessee, results in the Union's capture of 15,000 Confederates.
25th February
President Lincoln signs the Legal Tender Act, which creates national Treasury notes, soon called "greenbacks".
26th February
Don Carlos Buell captures Nashville, Tennessee.
7th - 8th March
Battle of the Pea Ridge or Elkhorn Tavern, Arkansa.
9th March
CSS Virginia battles USS Monitor in Hampton Roads.
11th March
Lincoln's War Order No. 3 relieves McClellan as general-in-chief of the army and consolidates western commands under Halleck.
17th March
George B. McClellan starts moving his Union troops to Virginia Peninsula.
28th March
Battle of Glorieta Pass.
6th - 7th April
Battle of Shilof or Pittsburgh Landing.
16th April
Confederate Congress passes its first National Conscription Act.
26th April
Union gunboats force New Orloeans to surrender.
8th May
"Stonewall" Jackson wins the battle of McDowell.
20th May
Abraham Lincoln signed into law the Homestead Act.
30th May
Confederates evacuate Corinth, Mississippi.
31st May - 1st June
Battle of Seven Pines or Fair Oaks.
1st June
Robert E. Lee takes command of Confederate army at Richmond.
6th June
Confederates surrender at Memphis, Tennessee.
19th June
Lincoln signs a law prohibiting slavery in the territories.
25th June - 1st July
Seven Days battles reverse a tide of Union military success as Lee drives McClellan away from Richmond in action at:
- Mechanicsville on 26th June
- Gaine's Hill on 27th June
- Savage Station on 29th June
- Glendale or Frayser's Hill on 1st July
11th July
Halleck becomes general-in-chief of the US Army.
13th July
General Nathan Bedford Forrest raids Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
17th July
Second Confiscation Act approved by US Congress.
9th August
Battle of Cedar Mountain.
28th - 30th August
Battle of Second Manassas or Bull Run.
30th August
Battle of Richmond, Kentucky, launches Braxton Bragg's invasion of Kentucky.
17th September
Battle of Antietamor Sharpsburg ends Lee's first invasion of the North;battle of Munfordville, Kentucky.
19th September
Battle of Iuka, Mississippi.
22nd September
Lincoln issues Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.
4th October
Battle of Corinth, Mississippi.
8th October
Battle of Perryville or Chaplin Hills, Kentucky.
20th October
Lincoln requests that John McClernand raises troops for an offensive against Vicksberg, Mississippi.
24th October
William Rosecrans replaces Buell as commander of Union forces in Kentucky and Tennessee.
5th November
Ambrose E. Burnside replaces McClellan as commander of the Army of the Potomac.
24th November
Joseph E. Johnston is assigned to the Confederate command in the West.
7th December
Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas.
13th December
Battle of Fredericksburg.
20th December
Confederates under Earl Van Dorn raid Holly Springs, Mississippi.
31st December - 2nd January
Battle of Murfreesboro or Stone's River, Tennessee.
1863
1st January
Lincoln issues Final Emancipation Proclamation.
11th January
Federal gunboats capture Fort Hindman, Arkansas.
25th January
Joseph Hooker replaces Burnside as commander of the Army of the Potomac.
30th January
Ulysses S. Grant assumes command of the expedition against Vicksburg, Mississippi.
25th February
US Congress passes the National Banking Act.
3rd March
US Congress passes the Enrollment Act, which institutes a national draft.
7th March
Nathaniel Banks' Federal force moves to Baton Rouge to cooperate with Grant's Vicksburg expedition.
2nd April
Women take to the streets in the Richmond "bread riot" to protest against food shortages.
16th April
David Porter's flotilla runs past Vicksburg's batteries.
17th April
Confederate Benjamin Grierson launches a raid into Mississippi to divert attention from Grant's offensive.
24th April
Confederate Congress enacts the Tax-In-Kind law, a highly unpopular measure requiring agricultural producers to give a portion of various crops to the national government.
30th April
Porter ferries part of Grant's army across the Mississippi River.
1st May
Battle of Port Gibson, Mississippi.
2nd May
Grierson's raiders reach Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
1st - 4th May
Battle of Chancellorsville.
10th May
"Stonewall" Jackson dies.
12th May
Grant defeats Confederates at Raymond, Mississippi.
14th May
Grant defeats Confederates at Jackson, Mississippi.
16th May
At the Battle of Champion's Hill, Mississippi, Grant defeats Pemberton.
17th May
Grant defeats Pemberton again at the Battle of Big Black River.
18th May - 4th July
Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
27th May
Banks attacks and besieges Port Hudson. This is the first major engagement for African American soldiers.
7th June
Confederate attack on Milliken's Bend.
9th June
Cavalry battle at Brandy Station.
11th June
Bank's attack repulsed at Port Hudson.
14th - 15th June
Second Battle of Winchester.
14th June
Bank's attack repulsed for the third time at Port Hudson.
23rd June
Rosecrans advances on Tullahoma, Tennessee.
28th June
General George G. Meade replaces Joseph Hooker in command of the Federal Army of the Potomac.
1st - 3rd July
Battle of Gettysburg.
3rd July
Bragg retreats to Chattanooga, Tennessee.
4th July
Pemberton surrenders Vicksburg to Grant.
9th July
Fall of Port Hudson.
13th - 14th July
Lee's Confederates recross the Potomac River into Virginia, ending the main phase of the Gettysburg campaign. Simultaneously, mobs in New York City opposed to conscription start rioting, killing and wounding hundreds of people, many of them African American citizens, resented as a visible cause of the war and the draft.
19th July
Union attack on Fort Wagner lef by 54th Massachusetts (Coloured) Infantry.
15th August
Burnside begins campaign for Knoxsville, Tennessee.
16th August
Rosecrans begins campaign for Chattanooga.
21st August
Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas.
2nd September
Burnside occ
8th September
Battle of Sabine Pass, Texas.
8th - 14th September
Lee detaches General Longstreet with one-third of the arny's infantry to go west and reinforce Confederate operations in Georgia and Tennessee. Meade moves south against Lee, but only heavy skirmishing results.
9th September
Rosecrans occupies Chattanooga.
18th September
Longstreet's troops begin to reinforce Bragg's army.
19th September
Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia commences.
20th September
Longstreet breaks Rosecrans's line.
23rd September
Bragg lays siege to Chattanooga.
24th September
Hooker leaves for Chattanooga with XI and XII Corps.
14th October
Battle of Bristoe Station.
upies Knoxville.
17th October
Grant made commander of all the Union forces in the West.
19th October
Thomas replaces Rosecrans.
23rd October
Grant arrives at Chattanooga.
4th November
Longstreet detaches to attack Burnside at Knoxville.
7th November
Battle of Rappahanock Station.
19th November
President Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address.
20th November
Sherman arrives at Chattanooga with reinforcements.
23rd November
Thomas seizes Orchard Knob.
24th November
Hooker drives Confederates off Lookout Mountain.
25th November
Sherman's attack stalls. Thomas's men storm Missionary Ridge.
26th November - 2nd December
Battle of Mine Run.
28th November
President Lincoln issues a Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, offering pardons to any Confederate willing to take an oath of allegiance.
29th November
Longstreet repulsed by Burnside at Knoxville.
1st December
Bragg resigns as the commander of the Army of Tennessee.
27th December
Johnston assumes command of the Army of Tennessee.
1864
3rd March
Sherman leaves Vicksburg on Meridian campaign.
4th March
Sherman completes Vicksburg campaign.
12th March
Grant is commissioned lieutenant-general to command all Federal armies. He made the Army of the Potomac his headquarters and exerted direct command over it.
18th March
Sherman takes command of Union forces in the West.
25th March
Banks begins Red River campaign.
8th April
Richard Taylor defeats Banks at Sabine Crossroads, louisiana.
12th April
Forrest's massacre of black soldiers at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.
4th - 6th May
Battle of the Wilderness.
6th May
Sherman starts Atlanta campaign.
8th - 21st May
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House.
9th May
McPherson's flanking movements stalls.
11th May
Battle of Yellow Tavern. General J.E.B. Stuart is mortally wounded and dies the next day.
13th -16th May
Battle of Resaca.
15th May
Battle of New Market.
18th May
Battle of Yellow Bayou, Louisiana, last battle of the Red River campaign.
23rd - 27th May
Battle of the North Anna River; Sherman outflanks Johnston's position at Allatoona, Georgia.
25th - 27th May
Battle around Dallas, Georgia.
1st - 3rd June
Battle of Cold Harbor.
5th June
Battle of Piedmont.
8th June
Lincoln renominated for president.
12th June
Army of the Potomac starts to cross James River.
14th June
Lieutenant-general Leonidas Polk killed at Pine Mountain.
15th -18th June
Opening engagements around Petersburg, while Confederate general Jubal Early arrives near Lynchburg to launch his long and crucial campaign in the Shenandoah Valley.
22nd - 23rd June
Battle for the Weldon Railroad near Petersburg.
27th June
Sherman's assault on Kennesaw mountain repulsed.
4th - 9th July
Sherman maneuvres across Chattahoochee River.
9th July
Battle of Monocracy.
11th - 12th July
Early's Confederates stand on the outskirts of Washington; President Lincoln comes under long-range fire.
17th July
Hood replaces Johnston as commander of Tennessee.
20th July
Hood repulsed at Peachtree Creek.
22nd July
Hood fails to turn Sherman's army at battle of Atlanta. Major-general James B. McPherson killed.
24th July
Second battle of Kernstown.
28th July
Hood's attack at Ezra Church repulsed.
30th July
Dramatic explosion of mine at Petersburg turns into the Battle of the Crater.
5th August
Farragut wins battle of Mobile Bay.
18th - 25th August
Battles of the Weldon Railroad and Reams' Station.
23rd August
Lincoln submits to his cabinet a sealed memo stating that "it seems extremely probable that this Administration will not be reelected"
29th August
McClellan nominated for president.
31st August
Battle of Jonesboro, Georgia.
1st September
Battle of Jonesboro concluded; Hood evacuates Atlanta.
2nd September
Sherman occupies Atlanta.
14th - 17th September
The Beefsteak Raid.
19th September
Third battle of Winchester; Price with 12,000 men crosses into Missouri.
22nd September
Battle of Fisher's Hill.
27th September
Anderson's attack on Centralia, Missouri.
28th September
Hood moves to strike at Sherman's supply line.
29th September - 7th October
Fighting around Richmond and Petersburg at Fort Harrison, Chaffin's Bluff, New Market Heights, Darbytown Road, and Boydton Plank Road.
9th October
Cavalry fights at Tom's Brook.
18th October
Hood crosses into Alabama.
19th October
Battle of Cedar Creek.
23rd October
Price defeated at Westport and beins his retreat.
27th October
Battle of Burgess' Mill.
30th October
Sherman shifts Schofield's troops to support Thomas in Middle Tennessee.
8th November
President Lincoln reelected with 55% of votes.
15th November
Sherman's troops burn Atlanta and begin the March to the Sea.
19th November
Hood opens push into Middle Tennessee.
23rd November
Milledgville, capital of Georgia, falls to Sherman.
29th November
Schofield escapes at Spring Hill, Tennessee.
30th November
Schofield repulses Hood at Battle of Franklin; Lieutenant-General Patrick Cleburne killed.
2nd December
Hood besieges Nashville.
13th December
Sherman captures Fort McAllister.
15th - 16th December
Thomas routs Hood's army.
21st December
Sherman occupies Savannah.
25th December
Butler repulsed at Fort Fisher, North Carolina.
1865
15th January
Fort Fisher falls to Porter and Terry. Hood relieved of command of Army of Tennessee.
31st January
Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery passed in Congress.
1st February
Sherman begins Carolina campaign.
5th - 7th February
Battle of Hatcher's Run.
6th February
Lee appointed commander-in-chief of all Confederate armies by Congress.
17th February
Columbia falls to Sherman.
18th February
Charleston seized by Union troops.
22nd February
Wilmington surrenders to Schofield. Johnston recalled to command Confederate forces against Sherman.
2nd March
Early's last remnant destroyed at the Battle of Waynesboro.
4th March
Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address.
13th March
Confederate Congress approves raising of black troops.
16th March
Sherman pushes back Hardee at Averasborough, North Carolina.
17th March
Major-General E.R.S. Canby attacks Mobile, Alabama.
19th - 21st March
Sherman repulses Johnston's attack at Bentonville, North Carolina.
24th March
Sherman occupies Goldsboro, North Carolina, ending the Carolina campaign.
25th March
Attack on Fort Stedman.
28th March
Lincoln, Grant, Sherman and Porter confer on peace terms.
29th - 31st March
Final campaign in Virginia begins with fighting around the Dinwiddle Court House.
1st April
Battle of Five Forks.
2nd April
Confederate government evacuates Richmond.
3rd April
Richmond falls.
8th April
Sherman resumes march on Johnston.
9th April
Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox Court House.
12th April
Official surrender of Confederate forces at Appomattox.
April
Mobile falls to Canby, Johnston tells President Jefferson Davis that resistance is hopeless.
13th April
Raleigh falls to Sherman.
14th April
Lincoln assassinated at Ford's Theater in Washington.
18th April
Sherman and Johnston sign broad surrender agreement.
21st April
President Johnston and cabinet reject Sherman's terms.
26th April
Johnston accepts same terms as Grant gave Lee.
10th May
President Davis is captured at Irwinsville, Georgia.
13th May
Last battle of the war, at Palmito Ranch, Texas.
23rd - 24th May
Grand Review in Washington, DC.
26th May
General Edmund Kirby Smith surrenders Confederate forces west of the Mississippi River.
18th December
Thirteenth Amendment takes effect.
