Virginia's Civil War Timeline

These are a few of the major events and battles that took place in Virginia during the War between the States.

1860

February-: U.S. Senator Jefferson Davis introduces a bill that would prohibit restrictions on slavery.
November 6-: Abraham Lincoln is elected president of the United States.

1861

February 9th-: Jefferson Davis is elected president of the Confederate States of America.
April 12-: Fort Sumter (of the United States) is fired on by South Carolina troops. This starts the war.
April 17th-: Virginia breaks away from the Union. Richmond becomes the Confederate capital.
May 24-: In Arlington, Virginia, a Union soldier is shot off the roof of a htel while he is trying to remove a Confederate flag. The hotel keeper, who fired the shot, ws then killed by Union troops.
July 21-: The First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) occurs. At this time, many Northeners thought the war would be over quickly. Residents of Washington brought picnic lunches to enjoy watching this battle. The Confederates won a shocking and forceful victory.

1862

March 9-: In Hampton Roads, Virginia, the Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac (the Virginia) takes place. This was a battle between two ironclad ships. The Merrimac was a Union ship that was re-built and named the Virginia by the Confederates.
April 4-: The Army of the Potomac (the North) arrives in the Chesapeake Bay area and starts heading towards Richmond. It takes over Williamsburg and Yorktown on the way.
April 16-: President Jefferson Davis signs the Conscription Act which drafts men into the army.
May 14-: The Union army almost takes Richmond but stops six miles before they make it there.
June 1-: Robert E. Lee takes over in charge of the Army of Northern Virginia.
June 25-July2: The Seven Days' Battle forces the North to retreat from near Richmond. The battle has very high casualties: Union 16,000 and Confederate 20,000.
August 28-30-: The Second Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) has similar results to the first one--Confederates win.
December 13-: The Union loses again in the Battle of Fredericksburg.

1863

January 1-

The Emancipation Proclamation, by President Lincoln, frees the slaves in rebel states.

May 1-4-

Battle of Chancellorsville is another big Confederate victory.

December 12-

The Confederate government in Richmond stops all food supplies shipped from the North to Union prisoners in the South.

1864

May 5-6-

Grant's Union troops meet a battle on their way towards Richmond. The Battle of the Wilderness is fought in Orange County, Virginia. Nobody wins.

May 8-12-

The Battle of Spotsylvania is fought. Lee's army holds off the attack.

May 15-

The Confederate troops hold strong in the Shenandoah Valley.

June 1-3

The Battle of Cold Harbor

June 15-18

Battle in Petersburg begins Grant's ten month siege of the city.

October 19-

The Confederate forces are pushed out of the Shenandoah Valley which is one of their last sources for supplies.

1865

February 2-

President Lincoln meets with peace delegates in Hampton Roads, Virginia.

March 27-28-

Lincoln meets with his generals at City Point, Virginia. He wants the war to end quickly without much more bloodshed. He offers generous surrender terms for the Confederates.

April 1-

The Battle of Five Forks, Virginia is one of the last battles in the war.

April 5-

Lincoln tours Richmond which Union troops had just taken over.

April 6-

The last battle is fought at Sayler's Creek, Virginia.

April 9-

General Robert E. Lee surrenders in Appomattox Courthouse (that's the name of a town), Virginia.

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