Civil War 1865 Timeline Maps and Exhibits

American Civil War
Timeline 1865

Western Theater - click to enlarge

Eastern Theater - click to enlarge

The Cavalry at Appomattox
A Tactical Study of Mounted Operations During the Civil War's Climactic Campaign, March 27-April 9, 1865

January 1865 -- Fort Fisher, North Carolina
After Admiral David D. Porter's squadron of warships had subjected Fort Fisher to a terrific bombardment, General Alfred H. Terry's troops took it by storm on January 15, and Wilmington, North Carolina, the last resort of the blockade-runners, was sealed off.

January 13-15, 1865 Fort Fisher

January 1865 -- The Fall of the Confederacy.
Transportation problems and successful blockades caused severe shortages of food and supplies in the South. Starving soldiers began to desert Lee's forces, and although President Jefferson Davis approved the arming of slaves as a means of augmenting the shrinking army, the measure was never put into effect.

The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government
Whether we agree with Jefferson Davis or not, knowledge of his point of view is essential to understanding the causes of the Civil War. The forward by McPherson helps to give balance and explanation.

February - Sherman Marches through North and South Carolina.
Union General Sherman moved from Georgia through South Carolina, destroying almost everything in his path.

February 3, 1865 Rivers' Bridge / Owens' Crossroads

February 3 -- Rivers' Bridge
Confederate force under McLaws held the crossings of the Salkehatchie River against the advance of the right wing of Sherman's Army. Federal soldiers began building bridges across the swamp to bypass the road block. In the meantime, Union columns worked to get on the Confederates' flanks and rear. On February 3, two Union brigades waded the swamp downstream and assaulted McLaws's right. McLaws retreated toward Branchville after stalling Sherman's advance for only one day.

February -- A Chance for Reconciliation Is Lost.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis agreed to send delegates to a peace conference with President Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward, but insisted on Lincoln's recognition of the South's independence as a prerequisite. Lincoln refused, and the conference never occurred.

February 5-7 Hatcher's Run / Dabney's Mill / Rowanty Creek
February 12-22, 1865 Wilmington / Forks Road / Sugar Loaf Hill
March 2 Waynesboro

March 4 Abraham Lincoln Second Inaugural Address

March 5 --Skirmish At Gamble's Hotel
500 federal soldiers, under the command of Colonel Reuben Williams of the 12th Indiana Infantry, marched into the Florence area to destroy the railroad depot. These federal troops were met by a group of Confederate soldiers who drove them away with the help of 400 reinforcements from the area home guard. The Columns is a popular name for The Harwell House at Rankin Plantation, a beautiful antebellum home that dates back over 100 years. The name refers to the 22 Greek style, Doric columns that surround the home on three sides.

March 6, 1865 Natural Bridge Florida

March 6 --Natural Bridge
Union Major General John Newton had undertaken a joint force expedition (including 2nd U.S. Colored Infantry and 99th U.S. Colored Infantry) to engage and destroy Confederate troops that had attacked at Cedar Keys and Fort Myers and were allegedly encamped somewhere around St. Marks. The Navy had trouble getting its ships up the St. Marks River. The Army force, however, had advanced and, after finding one bridge destroyed, started before dawn on March 6 to attempt to cross the river at Natural Bridge. The troops initially pushed Rebel forces back but not away from the bridge. Confederate forces, protected by breastworks, guarded all of the approaches and the bridge itself. The action at Natural Bridge lasted most of the day, but, unable to take the bridge, the Union troops retreated to the protection of the fleet.

March 7-10, 1865 Wyse Fork / Wilcox's Bridge / Second Southwest Creek
March 10, 1865 Monroe's Cross Roads / Fayetteville Road / Blue's Farm
March 16, 1865 Averasborough / Smiths Ferry / Black River
March 19-21, 1865 Bentonville / Bentonsville
March 25 Fort Stedman

March 27-April 8 -- Spanish Fort.
Maj. Gen. E.R.S. Canby's forces, the XIII and XVI corps, moved along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay, forcing the Confederates back into their defenses. Union forces then concentrated on Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely. On March 27, 1865, Canby's forces rendezvoused at Danley's Ferry and immediately undertook a siege of Spanish Fort. The Union had enveloped the fort by April 1, and on April 8 captured it. Most of the Confederate forces, under the command of Brig. Gen. Randall L. Gibson, escaped and fled to Mobile, but Spanish Fort was no longer a threat.

April 2 -- Selma.
Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson, commanding three divisions of Union cavalry, about 13,500 men, led his men south from Gravelly Springs, Alabama, on March 22, 1865. Opposed by Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest, Wilson skillfully continued his march and eventually defeated him in a running battle at Ebenezer Church, on April 1. Continuing towards Selma, Wilson split his command into three columns. Although Selma was well-defended, the Union columns broke through the defenses at separate points forcing the Confederates to surrender the city, although many of the officers and men, including Forrest and Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor, escaped. Selma demonstrated that even Forrest, whom some had considered invincible, could not stop the unrelenting Union movements deep into the Southern Heartland.

March 29 Lewis's Farm / Quaker Road / Military Road
March 31 White Oak Road / Hatcher's Run / Gravelly Run
March 31 Dinwiddie Court House
April 2-9, 1865 Fort Blakely

April 2-9-- Canby's forces, the XVI and XIII corps, moved along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay, forcing the Confederates back into their defenses. Union forces then concentrated on Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely. By April 1, Union forces had enveloped Spanish Fort, thereby releasing more troops to focus on Fort Blakely. Brig. Gen. St. John R. Liddell, with about 4,000 men, held out against the much larger Union force until other Confederate forces disengaged and Spanish Fort fell on April 8, allowing Canby to concentrate 16,000 men for the attack on April 9. Sheer numbers breached the Confederate earthworks compelling the Confederates to capitulate. The siege and capture of Fort Blakely was basically the last combined-force battle of the war. African-American forces played a major role in the successful Union assault.

April -- Fallen Richmond.
On March 25, General Lee attacked General Grant's forces near Petersburg, but was defeated -- attacking and losing again on April 1. On April 2, Lee evacuated Richmond, the Confederate capital, and headed west to join with other forces.

April 1 Five Forks
April 2, 1865 Ebenezer Church / Selma / Alabama
April 2, 1865 Hill's Plantation / Cache River / Cotton Plant
April 2 Petersburg / The Breakthrough
April 2 Sutherland's Station
April 3 Namozine Church
April 5 Amelia Springs
April 6 Sailor's Creek / Hillsman Farm
April 6 Rice's Station
April 6-7 High Bridge
April 7 Cumberland Church / Farmville
April 8 Appomattox Station
April 8 Spanish Fort
April 9 Fort Blakely Alabama

April 9 -- Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse.
General Lee's troops were soon surrounded, and on April 7, Grant called upon Lee to surrender. On April 9, the two commanders met at Appomattox Courthouse, and agreed on the terms of surrender. Lee's men were sent home on parole -- soldiers with their horses, and officers with their side arms. All other equipment was surrendered.

April -- The Assassination of President Lincoln.
On April 14, as President Lincoln was watching a performance of "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., he was shot by John Wilkes Booth, an actor from Maryland obsessed with avenging the Confederate defeat. Lincoln died the next morning. Booth escaped to Virginia. Eleven days later, cornered in a burning barn, Booth was fatally shot by a Union soldier. Nine other people were involved in the assassination; four were hanged, four imprisoned, and one acquitted.

April 1865 -- Final Surrenders among Remaining Confederate Troops.
Remaining Confederate troops were defeated between the end of April and the end of May. Jefferson Davis was captured in Georgia on May 10.

May 1 -- Battle of Anderson South Carolina
The battle was one of the final conflicts of the war, taking place three weeks after Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House. Confederate forces suffered no casualties and the Union forces had two casualties in the skirmish that took place.

May 12-13, 1865 Palmito Ranch / Palmito Hill

May 12-13 -- Palmito Hill Texas
Union Col. Theodore H. Barrett dispatched an expedition to attack reported Rebel outposts and camps.

Nov. 1865 -- The Execution of Captain Henry Wirz
The notorious superintendent of the Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia, was tried by a military commission presided over by General Lew Wallace from August 23 to October 24, 1865, and was hanged in the yard of the Old Capitol Prison on November 10.

December 18
Thirteenth Amendment to Constitution ratified, abolishing slavery.

American Civil War Book Titles
Lee The Last Years After his surrender at Appomattox, Robert E. Lee lived only another five years - the forgotten chapter of an extraordinary life. These were his finest hours, when he did more than any other American to heal the wounds between North and South	Robert E. Lee This book not only offers concise detail but also gives terrific insight into the state of the Union and Confederacy during Lee's life. Lee was truly a one of kind gentleman and American, and had Virginia not been in the south or neutral, he ultimately would have led the Union forces.	Ulysses S. Grant : Memoirs and Selected Letters Grant wrote his "Personal Memoirs" to secure his family's future. In doing so, the Civil War's greatest general won himself a unique place in American letters. His character, sense of purpose, and simple compassion are evident throughout this deeply moving account, as well as in the letters to his wife, Julia	Grant Takes Command: 1863 - 1865 The enigmatic commander in chief of the Union forces through the last year and a half of the Civil War. It is both a revelatory portrait of Ulysses S. Grant and the dramatic story of how the war was won.
The Beginning and the End: The Civil War Story of Federal Surrenders Before Fort Sumter and Confederate Surrenders After Appomatox Surrenders continued for months after Appomattox. The background of Johnston's surrender in North Carolina, Taylor's in Alabama , Jones's in Florida, the same day that Davis was captured�and Kirby-Smith's, west of the Mississippi	Lee's Miserables: Life in the Army of Northern Virginia from the Wilderness to Appomattox The words of the soldiers themselves provide a view of the army's experiences in camp, on the march, in combat, and under siege�from the battles in the Wilderness to the final retreat to Appomattox. It sheds new light on such questions as the state of morale in the army, the causes of desertion, ties between the army and the home front	Lee's Last Retreat: The Flight to Appomattox Lee's troops were more numerous and far less faithful to their cause than has been suggested. Lee himself made mistakes in this campaign, and defeat wrung from him an unusual display of faultfinding	Two Great Rebel Armies: An Essay in Confederate Military History The Army of Northern Virginia was able to compile a large number of impressive victories during the war. The Army of Tennessee was only able to win at Chickamauga, and even that victory proved barren strategically.

Civil War Documentary DVD Titles
The Last Days of the Civil War - April 1865: The Month That Saved America, Civil War Combat: The Tragedy At Cold Harbor The remarkable succession of events leading from the fall of Richmond to Appomattox.	Blue Vs. Gray - Killing Fields Relive the most vicious fighting of the Civil War, in which General Ulysses S. Grant forcibly reversed the tide of the conflict by paying with the blood of thousands. It was a desperate time for the Union	Civil War Combat: America's Bloodiest Battles The violent mayhem of the hornet's nest at Shiloh, the valiant charge on the sunken road at Antietam, the carnage in the wheat field at Gettysburg, and the brutal fighting at Cold Harbor	Civil War Journal - The Conflict Begins These four programs from the History Channel series Civil War Journal cover critical aspects of the early days of the war.

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American Civil War Timeline 1865

American Civil War
Timeline 1865