1808 – December 29 — Future President Andrew Johnson is Born
1821 – December 25 — Clara Barton is Born
1827 – December 28 — Union General Robert Latimer McCook, of Ohio’s Fighting McCooks, is Born
1858 – January 0 — John Brown attacks homesteads in Missouri
John Brown raids two homesteads and liberates eleven slaves.
1859 – February 14 — Oregon Joins the Union
Oregon joins the Union as the 33rd state and a free state.
In June, 1858, residents of the territory elected officials as defined by their new constitution. For months the fate of Oregon statehood floated on shifting political coalitions distrustful of changing the fragile balance of power in Congress. It was known Oregon would be a free state, yet its newly elected senators–Joseph Lane and Delazon Smith–were proslavery Democrats. Finally, Congress acted and on February 14, 1859, President Buchanan signed the bill. Oregon joined the federal union.
1859 – July 3 — John Brown Arrives Rents a House Outside of Harper’s Ferry
John Brown rents a home a few miles outside of Harper’s Ferry.
1859 – August 16 — John Brown Meets with Frederick Douglass
John Brown secretly meets with Frederick Douglass at a rock quarry in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Brown tries to convince Douglass to join him in the pending raid on the Federal arsenal.
1859 – October 16 — John Brown Attacks the Federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry
John Brown leads a group of armed abolitionists on a raid of the Federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry.
1859 – October 18 — Federal Troops Storm the Arsenal at Harper’s Ferry
Federal Troops led by Robert E. Lee storm the Federal arsenal and capture John Brown.
1859 – November 2 — John Brown is Hanged in Charlestown, Virginia
John Brown is Hanged in Charlestown, Virginia.
1860 – January 26 — Louisiana Secedes from the Union
Louisiana votes to secede from the Union on January 26, 1860. It is the sixth state to secede.
1860 – November 6 — Abraham Lincoln Elected President
Abraham Lincoln was elected the sixteenth President of the United States.
On this date in 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected President. He won the election with a majority of the votes in the electoral college, but not the popular vote. He did not win a single electoral vote from the South, which supported pro-slavery candidate John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky. Breckenridge was the vice president to James Buchanan, who was leaving office, and the leader of the Southern branch of the Democratic Party. The Northern branch was lead by Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas, who also ran for President. Although Northerners were generally pleased that Lincoln had been elected, abolitionists did not feel that his stance on slavery was strong enough. Abolitionist Wendell Phillips wrote, “Not an abolitionist, hardly an antislavery man, Mr. Lincoln consents to represent an antislavery idea. A pawn on the political chessboard, his value is his position; with fair effort, we may soon charge him for knight, bishop, or queen.” Horace Greeley, the Republican editor of the New York Tribune, praised Lincoln, saying, “His career proves our doctrine sound. He is Republicanism embodied and exemplified. Born in the very humblest Whig stratum of society, reared in poverty, earning his own livelihood from a tender age by the rudest and least recompensed labor…pickup up his education as he might by the evening firelight of rude log cabins…and so gradually working his way upward to knowledge, capacity, esteem, influence, competency…his life as an invincible attestation of the superiority of Free Society, as his election will be its crowning triumph." In the South, it became evident that the mood was grim. The Atlanta Confederacy wrote, “Let the consequences be what they may – whether the Potomac is crimsoned in human gore, and Pennsylvania Avenue is paved ten fathoms deep with mangled bodies, or whether the last vestige of liberty is swept from the face of the American continent, the South will never submit to such humiliation and degradation as the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln.”
1860 – December 20 — South Carolina Secedes from the Union
South Carolina holds a state convention and votes to secede from the Union on December 30, 1860. It is the first state to secede.
1860 – December 26 — Union Forces Move to Fort Sumter
Union forces led by Richard Anderson consolidates his forces at Fort Sumter.
1860 – December 26 — Major Robert Anderson, Moves U. S. Troops from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter
1860 – December 30 — South Carolina troops seize the United States Arsenal at Charleston
1861 – January 3 — Georgia Takes Control of Fort Pulaski
On January 3, 1861, the state of Georgia took control of Fort Pulaski on Cockspur Island at the mouth of the Savannah River.
1861 – January 9 — Mississippi Secedes from the Union
The state convention in Mississippi votes to secede from the Union on January 9, 1861. It is the second state to secede from the Union.
1861 – January 10 — Florida secedes from the Union
1861 – January 11 — Alabama Secedes from the Union
Alabama Secedes from the Union on January 11, 1861. It is the fourth state to secede.
1861 – January 11 — Alabama secedes from the Union
1861 – January 19 — Georgia Secedes from the Union
Georgia votes to secede from the Union on January 19, 1861. It is the fifth state to secede.
1861 – January 19 — Battle of Mill Springs
1861 – January 26 — Louisiana secedes from the Union
1861 – January 29 — Kansas admitted to the Union
1861 – April 12 — Confederate Troops Fire on Fort Sumter
Confederate troops led by Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard opened fire on Union forces at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina.
Confederate forces lead by Brigadier General P.G.T. Beuaregard opened fire on Fort Sumter, under the command of Major Robert Anderson. The firing commenced at 4:30 A.M, effectively beginning the Civil War.
1861 – April 13 — Fort Sumter Surrenders
Union forces surrender Fort Sumter.
Although there are no casualties, Major Anderson surrenders Fort Sumter to Beuaregard. The Confederates bombarded Fort Sumter approximately 4,000 shells for 33 hours.
1861 – April 14 — Union forces evacuate Fort Sumter.
After surrendering Fort Sumter on the previous day, the Union garrison boarded ships and evacuated the site.
After surrendering Fort Sumter on the previous day, the Union garrison boarded ships and evacuated the site. Major Robert Anderson takes the American flag that flew over Fort Sumter with him.
1861 – April 15 — President Abraham Lincoln Calls for Militia
President Lincoln calls for 75,000 volunteers to serve for three months in the Union army, against what he calls an “insurrection.”
1861 – April 17 — Virginia Secedes from the Union
Virginia becomes the 8th state to secede from the Union.
Just a few days after the surrender of Fort Sumter, Virginia becomes the eighth state to secede from the Union.
1861 – April 18 — Federal Troops Evacuate Harper’s Ferry, Virginia
Federal Troops Evacuate Harper’s Ferry, Virginia
1861 – April 19 — 6th Massachusetts is Attacked in Baltimore Maryland
1861 – April 19 — Baltimore Riot of 1861
Confederate sympathizers clashed with members of the Massachusetts militia en route to Washington for Federal service. Four soldiers and twelve civilians were killed in the riot.
Confederate sympathizers clashed with members of the Massachusetts militia en route to Washington for Federal service. Four soldiers and twelve civilians were killed in the riot.
1861 – April 19 — President Lincoln Authorizes Blockading Southern Ports.
After the fall of Fort Sumter, President Lincoln authorized a naval blockade of all Southern ports, a move advocated by General Winfield Scott as part of the Anaconda Plan.
After the fall of Fort Sumter, President Lincoln authorized a naval blockade of all Southern ports, a move advocated by General Winfield Scott as part of the Anaconda Plan.
1861 – April 20 — Robert E. Lee Resigns from the United States Army
1861 – April 23 — Robert E. Lee Assumes Command of the Virginia State Forces
1861 – April 27 — President Lincoln declares martial law in Maryland and suspends the writ of habeas corpus if necessary to control rebellion.
1861 – April 29 — Second Session of the Confederate Provisional Congress Convenes
1861 – April 30 — Forces led by Colonel Thomas J. Jackson Occupy Harper’s Ferry
1861 – August 6 — Congress passes First Confiscation Act
On August 6, 1861, Congress passed the First Confiscation Act, which allowed the Union army to seize any property, including slaves, used by the Confederacy against Federal forces
1861 – September 3 — Confederates Occupy Columbus, Kentucky.
Confederate General Leonidas Polk commits a major political blunder by occupying Columbus, in the previously neutral state of Kentucky
On September 3, 1861, Confederate General Leonidas Polk commits a major political blunder by dispatching troops to occupy Columbus, Kentucky. Polk’s move violated Kentucky’s avowed neutrality and provided the Unionist legislature with grounds for inviting Federal troops to invade the state.
