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U.S. Civil War 1861-1865

1864 - Savannah Falls

December 22, 1864 - Sherman's Union army has captured Savannah, Georgia. They now have created a military barrier that stretches from east to west across the South, hampering the Confederate army's attempts to move men and supplies through the region. Sherman sends word to President Lincoln that this lovely coastal city will be spared. Sherman will call Savannah his Christmas gift to Lincoln. Next, the Carolinas will come under attack. 

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1863 - Freedom Rings

January 1, 1863 - President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation. This order grants freedom only to those slaves residing in the states that have left the U.S., called the Confederacy. But the Confederate states refuse to acknowledge Lincoln's order. They obey only the president they elected in 1862, Jefferson Davis.After the Civil War ends, former Confederate states must agree to end slavery to be re-admitted into the United States.

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1865 - Fall of Fort Fisher

January 15, 1865 - In the worst fighting North Carolina has suffered, Union troops have attacked Fort Fisher. The coastal fort guards the mouth of the Cape Fear River. After the fort falls, Union soldiers make their way upriver and capture Wilmington. The Confederacy loses its last open seaport.

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1865 - Uncertain Future

Although the Civil War has ended, Southern military leaders will not abandon their countrymen. More than 60 officers bring their skills to Charlotte. Along with 18 lawyers, 13 doctors and five dentists, these leaders help strengthen Charlotte and insure the Queen City will survive the uncertain days of Reconstruction that lie ahead.

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1865 - Columbia in Flames

February 17, 1865 - Columbia, South Carolina surrenders to General William T. Sherman. Early the next morning, a fire breaks out and spreads, engulfing the town. Some accuse Sherman of setting the fire, others blame drunken soldiers celebrating their victory. Also today, Confederates in Charleston begin to leave their battered city. Charlotteans fear they will be next as Sherman continues to conquer the South.

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1865 - Sherman Enters North Carolina

February 22, 1865 - Columbia, South Carolina has suffered the destruction and occupation by General William T. Sherman's Union troops. Now Sherman begins to move north. The people of Charlotte brace for the attack. But the maneuver is a trick. Sherman turns east towards Goldsboro, North Carolina instead. But Charlotte's relief is short-lived. The South is losing the war.

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1861 - Divided State

February 28, 1861 - Over 90,000 North Carolinians come to the polls to vote. They must decide if they want a resolution that calls their elected representatives to meet at a statewide convention. The convention would put to an official vote whether or not North Carolina should secede from the U.S. By only 651 votes, citizens defeat the resolution. For a few more months, the state will remain part of the U.S.

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1865 - Surrender

April 9, 1865 - General Robert E. Lee, commander of all Confederate armed forces, surrenders at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia. Lee had fought brilliantly at Antietam, Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg. Now the military strategist who once refused President Lincoln's offer to lead the Union troops must admit defeat. Lee surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant, who commands the Union army. More than 600,000 people have died in the Civil War.

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1861 - Sumter

April 12, 1861 - U.S. army troops are stationed at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, an island at the entrance to Charleston Harbor. From across the water, Confederate soldiers open fire with mortar shells on the fort. The Civil War has begun! For the next four years, the war will turn America's countrymen, neighbors and families bitterly against each other.

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1865 - A Nation in Mourning

April 14, 1865The Civil War is over. President Abraham Lincoln is attending Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. with his wife when actor John Wilkes Booth appears in the president's private theater box. Booth, a supporter of slavery, despises the president. He shoots and kills Lincoln, then jumps to the stage and flees. Booth will be found hiding in Virginia 12 days later and be shot. As Americans mourn the loss of Lincoln, they are uneasy. They wonder what will happen next.

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