Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

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U.S. Civil War 1861-1865

1864 - End of the Navy Yard

January 7, 1864 - An explosion causes a terrible fire at the Confederate Navy Yard in Charlotte. No one can determine how it happened. The navy yard is destroyed.

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1862 - A Nation at War

February 22, 1862 - Determined to break away from the U.S., the Confederate States of America have organized their own government. Today they inaugurate their president, Jefferson Davis, a former U.S. senator from Mississippi. But the U.S. will not give in. They will fight the Confederates for control of the South.

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1864 - Sherman's March

September 2, 1864 - General William T. Sherman and his troops enter and destroy Confederate military supplies at Atlanta, Georgia. Now, the Union army has a base in the heart of the Confederacy. Two months later, Sherman and his men will leave Atlanta and begin their famous March to the Sea, ending in Savannah.

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1865 - Chaos

May 7, 1865 - There is panic in Charlotte as the Civil War ends. Reveling Union soldiers are drunk. Some desperate people who have lost all their possessions resort to stealing, or looting, from stores. Slaves have run away from farms, leaving no one to plant and harvest crops. Captain M.C. Runyan arrives with soldiers from New Jersey. They will help restore order to the city, and many citizens welcome them.

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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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