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The Civil War Timeline
December 18,1860 -- The Crittenden Compromise
January 1861 -- The South Secedes.
When 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.
Ordinances of Secession
January 7 - Speech of Tennessee Governor Isham G. Harris
January 9 - Mississippi seceded from the Union.
January 10 - Florida seceded from the Union.
January 11 Alabama seceded from the Union. Speech of E.S. Dargan
January 19 Georgia seceded from the Union.
January 26 Louisiana seceded from the Union.
January 29 Kansas admitted to the Union.
February 1 Texas seceded from the Union.
February 1861-- The South Creates a Government.
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's Inauguration.
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 9 - Address of George Williamson to the Texas Secession
Convention
March 11 1861-- Confederate Constitution.
April 1861 -- Attack on Fort Sumter.
When 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 the provisional Confederate forces at
Charleston, South Carolina, demanded the surrender of the Union
garrison of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.
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 the garrison on 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 Virginia seceded from the Union.
April 25 Second Message of Isham Harris to the Tennessee Assembly
April 1861-- Four More States Join the Confederacy.
The attack on Fort Sumter prompted four more states to join the
Confederacy. With Virginia's secession, Richmond was named the
Confederate capitol.
May 6 Arkansas seceded from the Union.
May 18-19, 1861 Sewell's Point
May 20 North Carolina seceded from the Union.
May 29-June 1, 1861 Aquia Creek
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.
June 1861-- Four Slave States Stay in the Union.
Despite their acceptance of slavery, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland,
and Missouri did not join the Confederacy. Although divided in their
loyalties, a combination of political maneuvering and Union military
pressure kept these states from seceding.
June 3, 1861 Philippi / Philippi Races
June 10, 1861 Big Bethel / Bethel Church
June 17, 1861 Boonville
July 2, 1861 Hoke's Run / Falling Waters / Hainesville
July 5, 1861 Carthage
July 11, 1861 Rich Mountain
July 18, 1861 Bull Run / Blackburn's Ford
July 21, 1861 First Manassas / First Bull Run
July -- First Battle of Bull Run.
Public 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.
July 1861-- General McDowell Is Replaced.
Suddenly aware of the threat of a protracted war and the army's need
for organization and training, Lincoln replaced McDowell with
General George B. McClellan.
July - November -- 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.
August 10, 1861 Wilson's Creek / Oak Hills
August 21 -- Confederate Assignments
Brig General Roswell S. Ripley CS Army Assigned to command of the
Dept. South Carolina
Brig General John B. Grayson CS Army assigned to command of Dept of
Middle and East Florida
August 26, 1861 Kessler's Cross Lanes
August 28-29, 1861 Hatteras Inlet Batteries / Fort Clark / Fort
Hatteras
September 2, 1861 Dry Wood Creek / Battle of the Mules
September 10, 1861 Carnifex Ferry
September 12-15 1861 Cheat Mountain Summit
September 13-20, 1861 Lexington / Battle of the Hemp Bales
September 17, 1861 Liberty / Blue Mills Landing
September 19, 1861 Barbourville
October 3, 1861 Greenbrier River / Camp Bartow
October 9, 1861 Santa Rosa Island
October 21, 1861 Camp Wildcat / Wildcat Mountain
October 21, 1861 Fredericktown
October 21, 1861 Ball's Bluff / Leesburg
October 25, 1861 Springfield / Zagonyi's Charge
October 29 -- Sherman Moves
The Sherman Expedition sails from Hampton Roads Virginia
November 7, 1861 Belmont
November 8-9, 1861 Ivy Mountain / Ivy Creek / Ivy Narrows
November 19, 1861 Round Mountain
December 9, 1861 Chusto-Talasah / Caving Banks
December 13, 1861 Camp Allegheny / Allegheny Mountain
December 20, 1861 Dranesville
December 26, 1861 Chustenahlah
December 17, 1861 Rowlett's Station / Woodsonville / Green River
December 28, 1861 Mount Zion Church
January 1863 -- 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 1
Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder, who became the Confederate commander of
military forces in Texas on November 29, 1862, gave the recapture of
Galveston top priority. At 3:00 am on New Year's Day, 1863, four
Confederate gunboats appeared, coming down the bay toward Galveston.
Soon afterward, the Rebels commenced a land attack. The Union forces
in Galveston were three companies of the 42nd Massachusetts
Volunteer Infantry Regiment under the command of Col. Isaac S.
Burrell. The Confederates captured or killed all of them except for
the regiment's adjutant. They also took Harriet Lane, by boarding
her, and two barks and a schooner. Cdr. W.B. Renshaw's flagship,
U.S.S. Westfield, ran aground when trying to help Harriet Lane and,
at 10:00 am, she was blown up to prevent her capture by the
Confederates. Galveston was in Confederate hands again although the
Union blockade would limit commerce in and out of the harbor.
Galveston. Soon afterward, the Rebels commenced a land attack.
January 1, 1863 Galveston
January 8, 1863 Springfield
January 9-11, 1863 Hartville
January 9-11, 1863 Arkansas Post / Fort Hindman
January 29, 1863 Bear River / Massacre at Boa Ogoi
February 3, 1863 Dover / Fort Donelson
March 1863 -- The First Conscription Act.
Because of recruiting difficulties, an act was passed making all men
between the ages of 20 and 45 liable to be called for military
service. Service could be avoided by paying a fee or finding a
substitute. The act was seen as unfair to the poor, and riots in
working-class sections of New York City broke out in protest. A
similar conscription act in the South provoked a similar reaction.
March 3, 1863 Fort McAllister I
March 5, 1863 Thompson's Station
March 13-15, 1863 Fort Anderson / Deep Gully
March 17, 1863 Kelly's Ford / Kellysville
March 20, 1863 Vaught's Hill / Milton
March 25, 1863 Brentwood
March 30-April 20, 1863 Washington
April -- Charleston Harbor
Maj. Gen. David Hunter prepared his land forces on Folly, Cole's,
and North Edisto Islands to cooperate with a naval bombardment of
Fort Sumter. On April 7, the South Atlantic Squadron under Rear
Admiral S.F. Du Pont bombarded Fort Sumter, having little impact on
the Confederate defenses of Charleston Harbor. Although several of
Hunter's units had embarked on transports, the infantry were not
landed, and the joint operation was abandoned.
The ironclad warships Keokuk, Weehawken, Passaic, Montauk, Patapsco,
New Ironsides, Catskill, Nantucket, and Nahant participated in the
bombardment. Keokuk, struck more than 90 times by the accurate
Confederate fire, sunk the next day.
April 7, 1863 Charleston Harbor / Fort Sumter
April 11-May 4, 1863 Suffolk / Fort Huger / Hill's Point
April 10, 1863 Franklin
April 12-13, 1863 Fort Bisland / Bethel Place
April 13-15, 1863 Suffolk / Norfleet House Battery
April 14, 1863 Irish Bend / Nerson's Woods / Franklin
April 17, 1863 Vermillion Bayou
April 26, 1863 Cape Girardeau
April 29, 1863 Grand Gulf
April 29-May 1, 1863 Snyder's Bluff / Snyder's Mill
April 30-May 6, 1863 Chancellorsville
May 1, 1863 Port Gibson / Thompson's Hill
May 1-2, 1863 Chalk Bluff
May 1863 -- The Battle of Chancellorsville.
On April 27, Union General Hooker crossed the Rappahannock River to
attack General Lee's forces. Lee split his army, attacking a
surprised Union army in three places and almost completely defeating
them. Hooker withdrew across the Rappahannock River, giving the
South a victory, but it was the Confederates' most costly victory in
terms of casualties.
May 10 Stonewall Jackson dies
Stonewall Jackson dies of pneumonia following amputation of his arm
at Chancellorsville
May 1863 -- The Vicksburg Campaign.
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. After six weeks, Confederate General John
Pemberton surrendered, giving up the city and 30,000 men. The
capture of Port Hudson, Louisiana, shortly thereafter placed the
entire Mississippi River in Union hands. The Confederacy was split
in two.
May 3, 1863 Fredericksburg II / Marye's Heights
May 3-4, 1863 Salem Church / Banks' Ford
May 12, 1863 Raymond
May 13, Big Black River (Map) skirmishes at Baldwin's Ferry and
Hall's Ferry
May 14, 1863 Jackson
May 16 Champion Hill / Bakers Creek
May 17 Big Black River Bridge
May 18-July 4, 1863 Vicksburg
May 21, 1863 Plains Store / Springfield Road
May 21-July 9, 1863 Port Hudson
June 7, 1863 Milliken's Bend
June 9 -- Battle of Brandy Station, 1863.
The victorious Confederate Army of Northern Virginia streamed into
Culpeper County after its victory at Fredericksburg. Under the
leadership of Gen. Robert E. Lee, the troops seemed invincible and
massed around Culpeper preparing to carry the war north into
Pennsylvania.
By June 5, two infantry corps under Longstreet and Ewell were camped
in and around Culpeper. Six miles north of town, holding the line of
the Rappahannock River, Gen. J.E.B. Stuart bivouacked his cavalry
troopers, screening the Confederate Army against surprise by the
enemy.
June 9, 1863 Brandy Station / Fleetwood Hill
June 17, 1863 Aldie
June 17-19, 1863 Middleburg
June 13-15, 1863 Winchester Second
June 13 -- The Gettysburg Campaign.
Confederate General Lee decided to take the war to the enemy. On
June 13, he defeated Union forces at Winchester, Virginia, and
continued north to Pennsylvania. General Hooker, who had been
planning to attack Richmond, was instead forced to follow Lee.
Hooker, never comfortable with his commander, General Halleck,
resigned on June 28, and General George Meade replaced him as
commander of the Army of the Potomac.
June 20 -- West Virginia admitted to the Union
June 20-21, 1863 LaFourche Crossing
June 21, 1863 Upperville
June 24-26, 1863 Hoover's Gap
June 28, 1863 Donaldsonville
June 29–30, 1863 Goodrich's Landing / The Mounds / Lake Providence
June 30, 1863 Hanover
July 1 -- 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 1-2, 1863 Cabin Creek
July 4, 1863 Helena
July 6-16, 1863 Williamsport / Hagerstown / Falling Waters
July 8, 1863 Boonsboro
July 9, 1863 Corydon
July 10-11, 1863 Fort Wagner / Morris Island
July 16, 1863 Grimball's Landing / Secessionville / James Island
July 18-September 7, 1863 Fort Wagner / Morris Island
July 12-13, 1863 Kock's Plantation / Cox's Plantation
July 10 -- Fort 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.
July 16 -- Secessionville
To divert Confederate reinforcements from a renewed attack on Fort
Wagner, Gen. Gillmore designed two feints. An amphibious force
ascended Stone River to threaten the Charleston & Savannah Railroad
bridge. A second force, consisting of Terry's division, landed on
James Island on July 8. Terry demonstrated against the Confederate
defenses. On July 16, the Confederates attacked Terry's camp at
Grimball's Landing. Because of incomplete reconnaissance of the
difficult, marshy ground, the disorganized Confederate attack was
soon aborted. Their mission accomplished, Federal troops withdrew
from the island on July 17.
July 17, 1863 Honey Springs / Elk Creek / Shaw's Inn
July 19, 1863 Buffington Island / St. Georges Creek
July 23, 1863 Manassas Gap / Wapping Heights
July 24-25, 1863 Big Mound
July 26, 1863 Salineville / New Lisbon Road / Wellsville
July 26, 1863 Dead Buffalo Lake
July 28, 1863 Stony Lake
August - December -- Bombardment 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.
Aug 17-Aug 23, 1863 Fort Sumter / Charleston Harbor / Morris Island
August 21, 1863 Chattanooga
August 21, 1863 Lawrence / Lawrence Massacre
September 3-5, 1863 Whitestone Hill
September 6 -- Charleston 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 1, 1863 Devil's Backbone / Backbone Mountain
September 7-8, 1863 Charleston Harbor / Battery Gregg
September 8, 1863 Sabine Pass II
September 8 -- Fort Griffin Texas
About 6:00 am on the morning of September 8, 1863, a Union flotilla
of four gunboats and seven troop transports steamed into Sabine Pass
and up the Sabine River with the intention of reducing Fort Griffin
and landing troops to begin occupying Texas. As the gunboats
approached Fort Griffin, they came under accurate fire from six
cannons. The Confederate gunners at Fort Griffin had been sent there
as a punishment. To break the day-to-day monotony, the gunners
practiced firing artillery at range markers placed in the river.
Their practice paid off. Fort Griffin's small force of 44 men, under
command of Lt. Richard W. Dowling, forced the Union flotilla to
retire and captured the gunboat Clifton and about 200 prisoners.
Further Union operations in the area ceased for about a month. The
heroics at Fort Griffin--44 men stopping a Union
expedition--inspired other Confederate soldiers.
September 10, 1863 Bayou Fourche / Little Rock
September 18-20, 1863 Chickamauga
September 19 -- The 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.
September 22, 1863 Blountsville
September 29, 1863 Stirling's Plantation / Fordoche Bridge
October 6, 1863 Baxter Springs
October 10, 1863 Blue Springs
October 13, 1863 Auburn / Catlett's Station / St. Stephen's Church
October 14, 1863 Bristoe Station
October 14, 1863 Auburn / Coffee Hill
October 16-18, 1863 Fort Brooke
October 19, 1863 Buckland Mills / Buckland Races / Chestnut Hill
October 25, 1863 Pine Bluff
October 28-29, 1863 Wauhatchie / Brown's Ferry
November 3, 1863 Collierville
November 6, 1863 Droop Mountain
November 7, 1863 Rappahannock Station
November 16, 1863 Campbell's Station
November 23-25, 1863 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