Civil War Timeline
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The United States Civil War goes by many names and on most internet sites is reduced to one or two line entries of events on their timelines. At Uncommon History, our Civil War Timeline provided the summary list of events, but also provides additional content to each event on the timeline.
As we approach the Sesquicentennial memorial of the War of Northern Aggression, the link to more information on each event will become active on the 150th anniversary of that event.
1859
October 25, 1859 – John Brown indicted as the leader of the Raid on Harper’s Ferry
October 27, 1859 – Trial of John Brown
December 2, 1859 – John Brown hanged for his raid on Harper’s Ferry
1860
* Total population of 31,183,582
* 3,950,528 slaves (13% of the population)
November 6, 1860 – Abraham Lincoln elected president
December 18, 1860 – Crittenden Compromise
Dec 20, 1860 – South Carolina secedes from the Union
December 26th, 1860 - U.S. Major-General Robert Anderson moves troops from Ft. Moultrie, in Charleston, South Carolina, to Ft. Sumter.
1861
January 9th, 1861 – Mississippi secedes from the Union
January 10th, 1861 – Florida secedes from the Union
January 11th, 1861 – Alabama secedes from the Union
January 19th, 1861 – Georgia secedes from the Union
January 26th, 1861 – Louisiana secedes from the Union
February 1st, 1861 – Texas secedes from the Union
February 9, 1861 – The Confederate States of America is created; Jefferson Davis chosen as president
March 4, 1861 – 16th President of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln, is sworn in
April 12, 1861 – 50 cannon open fire upon Fort Sumter in Charleston Bay, South Carolina
April 15, 1861 – President Lincoln issues a Proclamation calling for 75,000 militiamen
April 17, 1861 – Virginia secedes from the Union
April 19, 1861 – President Lincoln issues a Proclamation of Blockade against Southern ports
April 20, 1861 – Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army and accepts an offer to command the military and naval forces of Virginia
May 6, 1861 – Arkansas secedes from the Union
May 20th, 1861 – North Carolina secedes from the Union
June, 1861 – Anti-Slavery section of Western Virginia created from part of Pro-Slave Virginia creating the State of West Virginia
June 8th, 1861 – Tennessee secedes from the Union
July 4, 1861 – The US Congress authorizes a call for 500,000 men
July 21, 1861 – First Battle of Bull Run
July 27, 1861 – President Lincoln replaces Department of the Potomac Commander, McDowell, with General George B. McClellan
August 10, 1861 – Battle of Wilson’s Creek (Battle of Oak Hills)
Nov 1, 1861 – President Lincoln appoints McClellan as general-in-chief of all Union forces
November 7, 1861 – Battle for Port Royal, South Carolina
Nov 8, 1861 – US Navy seizes two Confederate government officials on their way to England
1862
January 31, 1862 – Abraham Lincoln issues General War Order No. 1
Feb 6, 1862 - General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Henry
Feb 16, 1862 - General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, earning the nickname “Unconditional Surrender” Grant
March 1862 – Lincoln relieves McClellan from command
March 7-8, 1862 – Battle of Pea Ridge (Elkhorn Tavern)
March 8-9, 1862 – Battle of the “Monitor” and the “Merrimac”
April 1862 – General McClellan’s troops leave northern Virginia and begin the Peninsular Campaign
April 6-7, 1862 – The Battle of Shiloh
April 10-11, 1862 – Fort Pulaski, Georgia
April 24-25, 1862 – Battle for New Orleans
May 31, 1862 – The Battle of Seven Pines
June 1, 1862 – Confederate General Johnston is wounded. He is replaced by General Robert E. Lee who then renames his force the Army of Northern Virginia
June 25-July 1, 1862 – The Seven Days Battles
July 11, 1862 – President Lincoln appoints General Henry W. Halleck as General-In-Chief
Aug 29-30, 1862 – Second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas)
Sept 17, 1862 – Battle of Antietam, Maryland
October 25, 1862 – Post Antietam tensions rise as telegrams are traded between General McClellan and President Lincoln
October 26, 1862 – General George McClellan finally sets the Army of the Potomac in motion
Nov 7, 1862 – US President Abraham Lincoln replaces General McClellan with General Ambrose E. Burnside as the Commander of the Army of the Potomac.
Dec 13, 1862 – Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia
1863
Jan 1, 1863 – President Lincoln issues the final Emancipation Proclamation
Jan 25, 1863 – US President Abraham Lincoln replaces General Burnside with General Joseph (Fighting Joe) Hooker as Commander of the Army of the Potomac
Jan 29, 1863 – General Ulysses S. Grant is placed in command of the Army of the West
March 3, 1863 – The U.S. Congress enacts the first US military draft
May 1-4, 1863 – Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia
May 10, 1863 – General “Stonewall” Jackson accidentally shot and killed by his own troops
June 3, 1863 – General Robert E. Lee launches his “Second invasion of the North” pointing his 75,000 man army into Pennsylvania
June 28, 1863 – US President Abraham Lincoln replaces General Hooker with General George G. Meade as commander of the Army of the Potomac
July 1-3, 1863 – Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
July 4, 1863 – Confederate forces surrender to General Ulysses S. Grant at Vicksburg
September 8, 1863 – Second Battle of Sabine Pass
Sept 19-20, 1863 – Battle of Chickamauga
October 16, 1863 – President Lincoln appoints General Ulysses S. Grant to overall command in the Western theater
October 23, 1863 – President Jefferson Davis relieves Leonidas Polk from his Army of Tennessee corps command
October 26, 1863 – U.S. Grant’s planned “Cracker Line” is formed in order to better supply the Union army trapped at Chattanooga.
October 27, 1863 – Ohio Engineers under Grant build a pontoon bridge across the Tennessee River at Brown’s Ferry.
October 28, 1863 – General James Longstreet makes an attempt to knock out the “Cracker Line.” Defended by Union Brigadier General John W. Geary’s troops, the Cracker Line held and was not attacked again.
Nov 19, 1863 – President Lincoln delivers the “Gettysburg Address”
November 23-25, 1863 – Battle of Missionary Ridge
1864
February 14-20, 1864 – Meridian Expedition
March 9, 1864 – President Lincoln appoints General Ulysses S. Grant to commander of all armies of the United States. General William T. Sherman appointed Commander in the west.
March 10 to May 22, 1864 – Red River Campaign (Red River Expedition)
April 8, 1864 – Battle of Mansfield (Battle of Sabine Crossroads or Pleasant Grove)
May 5-6, 1864 – The Wilderness
May 8-12, 1864 – Spotsylvania
June 1-3, 1864 – Cold Harbor
June 15, 1864 – Nine month siege of Petersburg begins
July 20, 1864 – Battle for Atlanta, Georgia begins
Sept 2, 1864 – Atlanta is captured by Union forces under General William T. Sherman
Oct 19, 1864 – Shenandoah Valley campaign
October 19, 1864 – Battle of Cedar Creek
October 23, 1864 – Battle of Westport; Kansas City, Missouri
Nov 15, 1864 – General William T. Sherman begins his March to the Sea with 62,000 men
December 15-16, 1864 – Battle of Nashville
December 21, 1864 – General William T. Sherman captures Savannah, Georgia
1865
January 1, 1865 – US Congress passes the 13th Ammendment abolishing slavery
March 25, 1865 – Petersburg
April 9, 1865 – General Robert E. Lee surrenders his Confederate Army to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court, Virginia
May 12 – May 13, 1865 – Battle of Palmetto Ranch (Battle of Palmetto Hill)
Conclusion
Thus concludes this Civil War Timeline. The story does not end here however, as the people of the United States continue their struggles to this very day. The internal battles are waged less obtrusively, but the issues of racism, religion, freedoms and much more maintain a daily dose of debate in American society.
