Civil War Timeline - Chronological Order
Event
Date
Significance
Fort Sumter Bombarded
April 12, 1861
Fort is captured and the South Strike
the first blow. First military action of
the Civil War.
Lincoln calls for 75,000
volunteers
April 15, 1861
Troops are called to save the union.
Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and
Tennessee decide not to supply troops
and they separate from the Union.
First Battle of Bull Run
July 21, 1861
Confederate victory in North Virginia,
led by General “Stonewall” Jackson.
Stopped the Northern Advance.
An American war ship
was stopped by a
British ship, the
“Trent”, and seized two
Confederate
ambassadors who were
on their way to Britain.
November
1861
Relations between the North and
Britain worsened. There was
resentment on both sides and it also
brought the North states and Britain
into a war against one another. War
was adverted when Lincoln released
two ambassadors.
Battle of Shiloh
April 6&7,
1862
Union General Ulysses Grant and
Confederate General Johnston fought a
deadly battle in the state of Mississippi.
It was the most important battle fought
for control of the southwest. The
Union was victorious after they
received reinforcements. The battle
established Grant’s reputations as an
effective northern commander.
Battle of Antietam
September
17, 1862
General Lee attacked Maryland in an
attempt to invade the North. General
George McClellan’s Union army was
able to stop the invasion and forced
Lee back into Virginia. This battle had
long-term results and it helped
persuade Britain not to recognize the
South in its fight for independence.
Lincoln issues
Emancipation
Proclamation
September
22, 1862
January 1,
1863
It stated that on January 1, 1863 all
slaves in the Confederate controlled
South would be free. Lincoln hoped
that the Confederates to surrender
before January 1 to preserve the
institution of slavery. But it had the
opposite effect. Southerners looked
upon the Proclamation as a final
statement that the North was going to
abolish slavery if it won the war. It
made some Southerners more
determined to fight. In reality the
Proclamation did not free a single slave
since slavery was still legal in the
border states and in areas of the
South, occupied by Union forces. But
the Civil War had now become a war to
save the Union and to free the slaves.
Emancipation Proclamation increased
support for the North in Britain and in
France. Also thousands of Blacks
volunteered to join the Union Army
after the announcement of the
Proclamation.
Chancellorsville
May 3&4,
1863
General Lee won a victory for the
South at the Battle of Chancellorsville
in North Virginia. But then another
popular military leader was lost by the
South when “Stonewall” Jackson was
mistakenly killed by Confederate
troops.
Battle of Gettysburg
July 1-3, 1863
Robert E. Lee thought it was essential
to attack the North and capture enemy
supplies. He hoped this bold move
would change the direction of the war.
Between July 1-3 Lee’s Confederate
Army fought
the decisive Battle of Gettysburg, in
southern
Pennsylvania. For three days
Confederate troops battled Union
troops under General George Meade.
Lee’s artillery and troops kept
bombarding and attacking the Union
position who refused to give up their
position. On July 3, General Pickett led
15,000 Confederates across open fields
and charged the Union lines. Union
artillery and troops mowed down the
charging troops and only about 100
soldiers reached the Union positions.
The failure of “Pickett’s Charge” meant
that Lee was defeated. Many
historians believe that this was the
turning point of the war. Lee escaped
with his remaining troops to Virginia.
The North won another battle at
Vicksburg when General Grant
captured the Confederate city of
Vicksburg. The starving city of
Vicksburg and 30,000 Confederate
troops had to surrender to grant after a
two month siege. This battle is
significant since it cut the South in two
and Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas
could not help the other Confederate
States. It also meant that the entire
Mississippi River was under the control
of the Union troops. The South would
now have major problems with
transportation.
Battle of Vicksburg
July 4, 1863
Gettysburg Address
November
1863
For several months after the battle of
Gettysburg thousands of decaying
bodies lay on the battlefields. Pressure
mounted to bury the dead and create a
national cemetery to honour those who
had died. Lincoln gave his famous
Gettysburg Address at the cemetery to
honour the thousands of Americans
who had died fighting each other.
St. Alban’s Raid
1864
Increased tensions between Britain and
the Northern States since Confederates
living in Canada conducted a raid on
St. Alban’s Vermont. They robbed
three banks and stole $200,000. They
wanted the North to declare war on
Canada but this did not occur.
Atlanta captured by
Union Troops
September 2,
1864
Union General William Sherman
invaded and captured Atlanta.
Everything in the path of the Union
army was confiscated or destroyed.
The city of Atlanta was set on fire and
much of the city was destroyed.
Nothing was left to help the enemy
continue its fights.
Savannah surrenders
December 21,
1864
Sherman’s troops marched to
Savannah and created a 100km path of
total destruction. Plantations were
looted and burned and all livestock,
grain, and food was taken or
destroyed. Savannah surrendered to
General Sherman and the South was
mortally wounded and could not fight
much longer.
Richmond Falls
April 3, 1865
Richmond was the Confederate’s
capital and the confederates fought
desperately to save their capital. The
Union General Grant lead 100,000
troops into Richmond and had 60,000
Union casualties in less than a month.
Finally on April 3, 1865 Lee’s
Confederate army was worn out and
surrendered.
Lee surrenders at a
town called Appomattox
Courthouse
April 9, 1865
Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee
met to discuss the peace terms.
Lincoln had told Grant to offer
generous peace terms to their fellow
Americans. Confederate troops had to
take an oath of loyalty to the U.S.A.
Confederate soldiers had to surrender
their weapons. The terms of surrender
were generous because Lincoln wanted
to lessen the angry feelings of
Southerners. He did not want revenge
and wanted to avoid any additional
humiliation. He wanted southerners to
reunite with their fellow-Americans and
work together to make the country
strong once more.
Lincoln is Assassinated
April 14, 1865
President Lincoln was shot while
watching a play at Ford Theatre in
Washington, DC. He was shot by prosouthern actor John Wilkes Booth.
Both was a member of an extremist
group that planned to kill a number of
northern leaders in revenge for the
South’s defeat. Lincoln’s death shook
the country. He became the greatest
martyr who gave his life for the
northern cause in the Civil War.
Hundred of thousands of Americans
gathered along the route of his funeral
train as it carried his body back to
Springfield, Illinois. Some southerners
were happy to see Lincoln shot since
they were taught to hate Lincoln as the
enemy. Andrew Johnson was sworn in
as the 17th president on April 15, 1865.
Jefferson Davis is
captured
May 10, 1865
Jefferson Davis the leader of the
Confederate states of America is finally
captured, disguised as a women. He
was imprisoned for two years and was
often confined in chains. This angered
many southerners. The Civil War was
over but the hate and the bitterness of
defeat remained with many
southerners as they attempted to
rebuild the devastated South.