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19th Century

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19th Century Timeline

Civil Rights 19th Century North America

Lincoln Urges Equal Aid for Soldiers' Families

During the American Civil War, Union armies included growing numbers of Black soldiers who faced unequal pay and benefits compared to white troops. President Abraham Lincoln maintained close correspondence with abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner on civil rights matters. On May 19, 1864, Lincoln wrote Sumner proposing legislation to ensure widows and children of fallen soldiers received equal treatment regardless of race. The letter reflected Lincoln's evolving commitment to racial equality amid the ongoing conflict and the push for the 13th Amendment.

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Military 19th Century North America

Union Assault at Cold Harbor Repulsed in Civil War

By spring 1864, Union General Ulysses S. Grant had launched his Overland Campaign to destroy Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia rather than merely capture Richmond. After inconclusive fighting at the Wilderness and Spotsylvania, Grant maneuvered southeast, seizing the Cold Harbor crossroads in late May. On June 3, Grant ordered a massive frontal assault by three corps against Lee's entrenched lines, which had been reinforced overnight with formidable earthworks and artillery. The attack collapsed within minutes under devastating Confederate fire, resulting in roughly 7,000 Union casualties in under an hour while Lee suffered far fewer. Grant later called the assault his greatest regret, yet the armies remained locked in position until mid-June.

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Politics 19th Century North America

Nevada Becomes 36th U.S. State

During the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln sought additional Republican votes in Congress and electoral support for his reelection. Nevada Territory, with a population well below the usual 60,000 threshold for statehood, had boomed after the 1859 Comstock Lode silver discovery. On October 31, 1864, Congress rushed through legislation admitting Nevada as the 36th state despite its small population of around 40,000. Lincoln signed the proclamation the same day. The new state quickly ratified the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery and provided crucial support in the 1864 election.

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Military 19th Century North America

Sherman Begins March to the Sea in Civil War

By late 1864, Union forces under General William Tecumseh Sherman had captured Atlanta after a grueling campaign, dealing a major blow to Confederate morale and logistics. With his supply lines vulnerable and facing orders to continue operations, Sherman decided on a bold strategy of total war against the Southern economy. On November 15, he set out from Atlanta with approximately 60,000 troops, destroying railroads, factories, and crops in a scorched-earth advance toward Savannah. The army moved in multiple columns, foraging off the land and systematically wrecking infrastructure to undermine Confederate support. The March to the Sea lasted about a month and ended with the capture of Savannah just before Christmas. It demonstrated the effectiveness of psychological and economic warfare in...

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Civil Rights 19th Century North America

Sand Creek Massacre Targets Cheyenne and Arapaho Camp

During the American Civil War, tensions escalated on the Colorado plains as settlers clashed with Native tribes amid shrinking hunting grounds and broken treaties like the 1851 Fort Laramie agreement. On November 29, 1864, Colonel John Chivington led about 700 Colorado militia volunteers in a surprise attack on a peaceful encampment of roughly 500 Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho people along Big Sandy Creek, many of whom had sought U.S. protection and displayed an American flag. The assault killed over 200, predominantly women, children, and elders, despite the camp's surrender status. Some soldiers, including Captain Silas Soule, refused to participate and later testified against the action. Congressional and military investigations condemned the event as a massacre, though Chivington faced no lasting...

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Civil Rights 19th Century North America

U.S. House Passes 13th Amendment Abolishing Slavery

By late 1864 the American Civil War had dragged on for nearly four years with Union forces gaining ground but slavery still legal in Confederate states. President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves in rebel areas, yet a permanent constitutional solution was needed. On January 31, 1865, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the 13th Amendment by the required two-thirds majority after earlier Senate approval. The amendment stated that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist in the United States. It was then sent to the states for ratification, which came later that year. The vote marked a decisive congressional commitment to end slavery nationwide.

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Politics 19th Century North America

Hampton Roads Peace Conference Held

By early 1865, the American Civil War had dragged on for nearly four years with mounting casualties and Confederate resources dwindling. President Abraham Lincoln sought to explore negotiated ends to the conflict while insisting on Union restoration and emancipation. On February 3, Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward met Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens and two other commissioners aboard the steamer River Queen in Hampton Roads, Virginia. The four-hour discussion covered armistice terms, slavery's future, and possible foreign alliances but foundered on core disagreements. No agreement emerged, and fighting continued. The conference highlighted the irreconcilable positions as the war neared its conclusion.

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Military 19th Century North America

Confederacy Authorizes Enlistment of Black Soldiers

By early 1865, the American Civil War had turned decisively against the Confederacy, with Union forces outnumbering and outsupplying Southern armies after years of attrition. Confederate President Jefferson Davis and General Robert E. Lee endorsed limited use of enslaved African Americans as soldiers to bolster dwindling ranks, despite long-standing opposition rooted in slavery ideology. On March 13, 1865, the Confederate Congress passed and Davis signed legislation allowing the enlistment of Black men, though the law did not grant freedom to those who served and left implementation to the president. A few companies formed in Richmond in the war's final weeks, but no large units saw combat before the Confederate surrender at Appomattox. The measure represented a desperate last-ditch effort amid...

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Military 19th Century North America

Battle of Bentonville Begins in American Civil War

In the final months of the American Civil War, Union General William T. Sherman advanced through the Carolinas after his March to the Sea campaign. Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston gathered scattered forces for a last stand to disrupt Sherman's supply lines. On March 19, 1865, Johnston launched a surprise attack near Bentonville, North Carolina, against elements of the Union XIV and XX Corps. Fighting intensified over three days with heavy casualties on both sides. Union reinforcements eventually forced a Confederate withdrawal. The battle represented one of the war's final major engagements in the Eastern Theater.

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Military 19th Century North America

Appomattox Campaign Opens Final Phase of U.S. Civil War

By early 1865 the American Civil War had dragged on for four years, with Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant pressing Confederate armies in Virginia while William T. Sherman advanced through the South. Confederate General Robert E. Lee commanded the Army of Northern Virginia, which was increasingly short of supplies and manpower after years of attrition. On March 29, Grant launched a major offensive southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, aiming to cut Lee's supply lines and force a decisive engagement. Union troops maneuvered around Confederate positions in a series of movements that became known as the Appomattox Campaign. The offensive quickly gained momentum, leading to the fall of Petersburg and Richmond within days and ultimately Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House...

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Military 19th Century North America

Union Forces Occupy Confederate Capital Richmond

By early April 1865, General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia faced collapse after defeats at Five Forks and the breaking of Petersburg lines during the American Civil War. Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered the evacuation of Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital, on April 2. On April 3, Union troops under Major General Godfrey Weitzel entered the city without resistance as fires set by retreating Confederates raged. Federal forces quickly restored order, raised the U.S. flag over the Capitol, and began occupation duties. The fall symbolized the imminent end of the Confederacy, occurring just days before Lee's surrender at Appomattox.

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Military 19th Century North America

Robert E. Lee Surrenders at Appomattox Court House

By early 1865, the American Civil War had dragged on for four years with devastating losses on both sides, as Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee faced mounting pressure from Union armies led by Ulysses S. Grant. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, reduced to around 26,000 troops after prolonged campaigns, attempted a final breakout but found itself surrounded near Appomattox, Virginia. On April 9, Lee met Grant in the McLean House to negotiate terms, resulting in the formal surrender of the army. The agreement allowed Confederate soldiers to return home with their horses and sidearms, emphasizing reconciliation over harsh punishment. This event effectively ended major combat operations in Virginia and signaled the collapse of the Confederacy.

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Politics 19th Century North America

John Wilkes Booth Assassinates President Lincoln

As the American Civil War drew to a close in April 1865, President Abraham Lincoln had just delivered his second inaugural address calling for national reconciliation. On the evening of April 14, actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth entered the presidential box at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., during a performance of the comedy Our American Cousin. Booth shot Lincoln in the back of the head with a single bullet before leaping to the stage and escaping. The president was carried across the street to the Petersen House, where he died early the next morning. The assassination shocked the nation still reeling from four years of conflict.

Event Detail Assassination Attempts

Politics 19th Century North America

Abraham Lincoln Dies After Shooting at Ford's Theatre

As the American Civil War neared its conclusion following General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, President Abraham Lincoln attended a performance of the comedy Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on the evening of April 14. Confederate sympathizer and actor John Wilkes Booth entered the presidential box and shot Lincoln in the back of the head before leaping to the stage and escaping. Lincoln was carried across the street to the Petersen House, where doctors attended him through the night. He succumbed to the wound at 7:22 a.m. on April 15. Vice President Andrew Johnson was sworn in as the 17th president later that day, assuming leadership during the critical early phase of Reconstruction.

Event Detail Assassination Attempts

Law 19th Century North America

John Wilkes Booth Cornered and Killed in Virginia

In the chaotic aftermath of President Abraham Lincoln's assassination on April 14, 1865, Union forces launched a massive manhunt across Maryland and Virginia for the actor-turned-assassin John Wilkes Booth and his accomplices. Booth, aided initially by sympathizers, hid in rural areas while federal cavalry scoured the countryside. On April 26, troops surrounded the Garrett farm near Port Royal, Virginia, where Booth and David Herold had taken refuge in a tobacco barn. After Herold surrendered, soldiers set the barn ablaze; Booth was shot in the neck, either by Sergeant Boston Corbett or possibly by his own hand, and died hours later. His death closed the immediate chapter on the conspiracy that claimed Lincoln's life.

Event Detail Assassination Attempts

Disaster 19th Century North America

SS Sultana Explodes in Worst U.S. Maritime Disaster

Just weeks after the American Civil War ended and days after Abraham Lincoln's assassination, the side-wheel steamboat SS Sultana was overloaded with paroled Union prisoners of war returning north from Confederate camps. Carrying over 2,300 people—far exceeding its capacity of about 376—the vessel departed Memphis, Tennessee, on April 26 and steamed up the Mississippi River. In the early morning hours of April 27, approximately seven miles north of Memphis near present-day Marion, Arkansas, one of its boilers exploded violently, followed by two others, igniting fires and scattering debris. Hundreds died instantly from the blast, scalding steam, or drowning in the dark, swollen river; many survivors succumbed to injuries or exposure in the following days. The official death toll reached around...

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Military 19th Century North America

Final Battle of American Civil War Fought

More than a month after Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, Confederate forces in Texas remained active under commanders like Edmund Kirby Smith. Union Colonel Theodore H. Barrett launched an expedition from Brazos Santiago toward Confederate positions near Brownsville. Skirmishing began on May 12 at Palmito Ranch along the Rio Grande, involving cavalry and infantry on both sides with some reports of activity from the Mexican shore. Confederate forces under Colonel John S. Ford counterattacked effectively the next day. The engagement ended with a Confederate victory but no strategic change as the war concluded shortly afterward.

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Military 19th Century North America

Last Major Confederate Army Surrenders

Following General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox in April and Joseph E. Johnston's capitulation in North Carolina, scattered Confederate forces remained in the Trans-Mississippi theater. On May 26, 1865, General Edmund Kirby Smith, commanding the Confederate Department of the Trans-Mississippi, formally surrendered his troops at Galveston, Texas. The agreement covered approximately 43,000 soldiers still under arms west of the Mississippi River. This act completed the military collapse of the Confederacy and allowed Union forces to occupy remaining southern territory without further large-scale fighting.

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Civil Rights 19th Century North America

Union General Announces Freedom for Texas Slaves

By mid-1865, the American Civil War had concluded with Confederate surrender, yet enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation lagged in remote areas like Texas, home to over 250,000 enslaved people. Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston with federal troops to restore order and implement federal authority in the Department of Texas. On June 19, 1865, Granger issued General Order No. 3, publicly declaring that in accordance with the presidential proclamation, all slaves were free and that former owners must recognize their liberty. The announcement came more than two years after Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and two months after Appomattox. Enslaved Texans, previously isolated from news of the war's end, learned of their freedom through military decree. Immediate celebrations erupted among...

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Military 19th Century North America

Stand Watie Surrenders Final Significant Confederate Army

By spring 1865, Confederate resistance had largely collapsed following General Robert E. Lee's surrender in Virginia, yet isolated forces continued operations in the western territories. Cherokee leader and Confederate Brigadier General Stand Watie commanded the First Indian Brigade, composed of Cherokee, Seminole, Creek, Choctaw, and Chickasaw soldiers in the Trans-Mississippi Department. On June 23, 1865, at Doaksville in the Choctaw Nation near Fort Towson in Indian Territory, Watie signed a cease-fire agreement with Union Lt. Col. Asa C. Matthews. This action marked him as the last Confederate general in the field to lay down arms. Watie's troops dispersed, ending organized Confederate military presence in the region.

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Civil Rights 19th Century North America

13th Amendment Ratified, Abolishing Slavery

As the American Civil War concluded, Congress had passed the 13th Amendment in January 1865 to end slavery nationwide following the Emancipation Proclamation's limitations. Ratification required approval by three-fourths of the states, including some former Confederate ones under Union-recognized governments. On December 6, 1865, Georgia became the 27th state to ratify, meeting the threshold exactly. Secretary of State William H. Seward later certified the amendment on December 18. The text prohibited slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for crime, fundamentally altering the legal status of millions.

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Civil Rights 19th Century North America

13th Amendment Formally Adopted

Following the Civil War's end and the ratification push to permanently end slavery, Georgia became the 27th state to approve the amendment on December 6, 1865, meeting the three-fourths threshold among the 36 states. On December 18, Secretary of State William Seward certified and proclaimed the 13th Amendment as part of the Constitution, declaring that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude would exist in the United States except as punishment for crime. This action came after Congress passed the measure in early 1865, with the Senate acting in 1864 and the House in January 1865, building on Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation but providing a constitutional guarantee. The amendment freed the remaining enslaved people in border states like Kentucky and Delaware where the...

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Other 19th Century North America

American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Founded

In mid-19th century America, widespread animal mistreatment in urban streets, work animals, and entertainment went largely unaddressed amid rapid industrialization and population growth in cities like New York. Henry Bergh, a wealthy diplomat influenced by European animal protection efforts, returned to the United States determined to advocate for humane treatment. On April 10, 1866, he established the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New York City, securing its charter from the state legislature shortly after. The organization focused initially on enforcing existing anti-cruelty laws and raising public awareness through investigations and prosecutions. Bergh personally patrolled streets to intervene in cases of abuse.

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Military 19th Century North America

Fetterman Fight Claims 81 U.S. Soldiers

During Red Cloud's War, tensions escalated between U.S. forces building forts along the Bozeman Trail and Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes defending their hunting grounds in Wyoming Territory. On December 21, 1866, a relief party led by Captain William J. Fetterman pursued decoy warriors into an ambush near Fort Phil Kearny. Approximately 2,000 Native warriors overwhelmed the 81 soldiers in a swift and decisive engagement. No U.S. troops survived the battle, marking the worst Army defeat on the Plains until Little Bighorn. The incident prompted reevaluation of military tactics against Native coalitions.

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