Novem: Two of the Confederate officials who were sailing towards England are seized by the U.S. Novem: McClellan is appointed as general-in-chief of the Union forces after the resignation of the aged Winfield Scott. Frémont is relieved for his unauthorized military proclamation of emancipation in Missouri. J: The Union Army under the command of Gen. Irvin McDowell is defeated at Bull Run, 25 miles southwest of Washington. J: The Congress authorizes a call for 500,000 men. May 29, 1861: Richmond becomes the capital of the Confederacy. Elmer is killed by an innkeeper and becomes the first officer to fall for the Union cause. Ellsworth cross the Potomac River from Washington and capture Alexandria, Virginia, and vicinity. May 24, 1861: Union troops under Colonel Elmer E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army.

Ma: Abraham Lincoln inaugurated as the president of the US.Īp: The Confederate forces under Gen. Pierre Beauregard attack Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina.Īp: President Lincoln summons a special session of Congress.Īpril 17 – : 4 more states – Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia – secede from the Union.Īp: President Lincoln issues a Proclamation of Blockade against Southern ports.Īp: Robert E. These included Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.įebruary 9, 1861: Seceded states form the Confederate States of America. January 9 – February 1, 1861: Six other states follow South Carolina and secede from the Union. The vessel was carrying Union troops and supplies to Fort Sumter. January 9, 1861: Union hired steamship, Star of the West, was fired upon by the seceded South Carolina Artillery. November 6, 1860: Abraham Lincoln wins presidential elections.ĭecem: South Carolina secedes from the Union. October 16-18, 1859: John Brown, an abolitionist, attacks the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia in order to gather arms for slave insurrection.ĭecember 2, 1859: John Brown is hanged for murder and treason. Given below is the chronology of events in the American Civil War: 1859 are some of the questions that naturally come to anybody’s mind. How it all began, who played what role, what made it last for four long years and what went on during all this time, etc. Civil War Timeline makes an interesting read for all the history lovers.

War divides the nation 1861 map