- January 18
- Battle of Fort Moultrie, South Carolina. [1]
- January 19
- Union occupies Fort Anderson, North Carolina. [1]
- January 23
- Battle of City Point, Virginia (James River, Trent's Reach). [1]
- General Robert E Lee named Commander-in-Chief of Confederate Armies. [1]
- January 25
- The CSS Shenandoah arrives in Melbourne, Australia. [1]
- January 28
- President Jefferson Davis names three peace commissioners. [1]
- January 31
- US Congress passes 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery in America. [1]
- February 1
- 13th amendment approved (National Freedom Day). [1]
- General Sherman's march through South Carolina begins. [1]
- February 3
- Hampton Roads Peace Conference, Lincoln and Stephens reach an impasse. [1]
- February 5
- Battle of Hatcher's Run, Virginia (Armstrong's Mill, Dabney's Mill). [1]
- February 6
- John Pegram, US Confederate Brigadier-General, dies in battle at age 33. [1]
- Second day of battle at Dabney's Mills (Hatcher's Run). [1]
- February 7
- John Henry Winder, US Confederate Brigadier-General/provost marshal, dies at age 64. [1]
- February 15
- Union army begins shelling Columbia, South Carolina. [598.9]
- February 17
- Battle of Charleston, South Carolina. [1]
- Columbia, South Carolina, burns down. [1]
- February 18
- Battle of Fort Moultrie, South Carolina; occupied by Federals. [1]
- Evacuation of Charleston, South Carolina; Sherman's troops burn the city. [1]
- Union troops force Confederates to abandon Fort Anderson, North Carolina. [1]
- February 22
- Battle of Wilmington, North Carolina (Fort Anderson) occupied by Federals. [1]
- February 27
- Civil War skirmish near Sturgeon, Missouri. [1]
- March 2
- General Early's army is defeated at Waynesborough. [1]
- March 3
- Coinage Act creates 3-cent coin of 25 percent nickel and 75 percent copper, legal tender up to 60 cents; 1-cent coin now legal tender to only 4 cents. [646.18]
- March 4
- Confederate congress approves final design of "official flag". [1]
- March 6
- Battle of Natural Bridge, Florida. [1]
- March 7
- Battles round Kinston, North Carolina. [1]
- March 8
- Battle of Kingston, North Carolina (Wilcox's ridge, Wise's Forks). [1]
- March 9
- Hugh McCulloch begins term as Treasury Secretary. [482.38] [709.36]
- March 10
- William Henry "Little Billy" Chase Whiting, Confederate General-Major, dies at age 48. [1]
- Battle of Monroe's Crossroads, North Carolina. [1]
- March 11
- General Sherman's Union forces occupy Fayetteville, North Carolina. [1]
- March 12
- Affair near Lone Jack, Missouri. [1]
- March 13
- US Confederate Congress calls on black slaves for field service. [1]
- March 16
- Battle of Averasboro, North Carolina (1,500 casualities). [1]
- March 18
- Battle of Wilson's raid to Selma, Alabama. [1]
- Congress of Confederate States of American adjourns for last time. [1]
- March 19
- Battle of Bentonville - Confederates retreat from Greenville, North Carolina. [1]
- March 20
- Second day of Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina. [1]
- March 21
- Battle of Bentonville ends, last Confederate effort to stop Sherman. [1]
- March 22
- Raid at Wilson's: Chickaswas, Alabama, to Macon, Georgia. [1]
- March 23
- General Sherman/Cox' troops reach Goldsboro, North Carolina. [1]
- March 25
- Battle of Bluff Spring, Florida. [1]
- Battle of Fort Stedman, Virginia: in front of Petersburg. [1]
- Battle of Mobile, Alabama (Spanish Fort, Fort Morgan, Fort Blakely). [1]
- March 27
- Siege of Spanish Fort, Alabama: captured by Federals. [1]
- March 29
- Appomattox campaign, Virginia, 7582 killed. [1]
- Battle of Quaker Road, Virginia. [1]
- March 30
- Battle at Five Forks, Virginia. [1]
- March 31
- Battle of Boydton, Virginia (White Oaks Roads, Dinwiddie Court House). [1]
- General Pickette moves to Five Forks, abandoning the defense of Peterburg. [1]
- April 1
- Battle at Blakely, Alabama. [1]
- Battle of Five Forks, Virginia, signalling end of Lee's army. [1]
- April 2
- Ambrose Powell Hill, Confederate General, killed in action at age 39. [1]
- Battle of Fort Blakely and Selma, Alabama. [1]
- Battle of Petersburg, Virginia (Fort Gregg, Sutherland's Station). [1]
- CSA President Jefferson Davis flees Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. [1]
- General A P Hill is killed by a Federal Picket. [1]
- Lee's line is broken at Petersberg. [1]
- April 3
- Battle at Namozine Church, Virginia (Appomattox Campaign). [1]
- Union forces occupy Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, and Petersburg, Virginia. [1]
- April 4
- Lee's army arrives at Amelia, Courthouse. [1]
- April 5
- Battle at Amelia Springs/Jetersville, Virginia (Appomattox Campaign). [1]
- April 6
- John Austin Wharton, US Confederate General-Major, dies at age 36. [1]
- Reuben B Boston, US Confederate cavalry Colonel, dies in battle. [1]
- Battle of Sayler's Creek, one-third of Lee's army cut off. [1]
- April 7
- Battle of Farmville, Virginia. [1]
- April 8
- General Robert E Lee surrenders at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. [1]
- April 9
- Thomas Alfred Smyth, Irish/US Union General-Major, dies at age 32. [1]
- Federals capture Fort Blakely, Alabama. [1]
- At Appomattox, Virginia, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders his 28,000 troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the American Civil War. [1] [129] [486.32]
- April 10
- At Appomattox, General Lee issues General Order #9, his last. [1]
- April 11
- Battle of Mobile, Alabama - evacuated by Confederates. [1]
- Lincoln urges a spirit of generous conciliation during reconstruction. [1]
- April 13
- Battle of Raleigh, North Carolina. [1]
- April 14
- John Wilkes Booth, an actor and Confederate sympathizer, fatally shoots US President Abraham Lincoln at a play at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. [1] [129] [618.77]
- Lewis T. Powell bursts into US Secretary of State William Seward's home, seriously wounding him and three others. [129]
- Mobile, Alabama, is captured. [1]
- April 15
- President Abraham Lincoln dies, at 7:22 am, morning after being shot by John Wilkes Booth, the first US president to be assassinated. [1] [5] [129] [547.52]
- Andrew Johnson is sworn in as 17th US President. [603.66]
- April 16
- Robert C Tyler, US Confederate Brigadier-General, dies in battle. [1]
- Battle of Columbus and West Point, Georgia (Fort Tyler). [1]
- April 18
- Confederate General Johnson surrenders to General Sherman in North Carolina. [1]
- April 22
- Francis Washburn, US Union Colonel/General Major, dies of injuries. [1]
- April 23
- James Dearing, US Confederate Brigadier-General, dies at age 24. [1]
- April 26
- Battle of Durham Station, North Carolina (Greensboro). [1]
- Battle of Fort Tobacco, Virginia. [1]
- Confederate General J E Johnston surrenders Army of Tennessee, at Durham, North Carolina. [1]
- April 27
- 1450 of 2000 paroled Union POWs on their way home are killed when river steamer "Sultana" explodes on the Mississippi River. [1]
- April 30
- US Congress authorizes the copper-nickel 3-cent coin. [403.60]
- General Sherman's "Haines's Bluff" at Snyder's Mill, Virginia. [1]
- May 2
- President Johnson offers $100,000 reward for capture of Jefferson Davis. [1]
- May 3
- The US purchases the site of the future Carson City Mint. [403.60] [405.22]
- May 4
- Battle of Citronville, Alabama; Richard Taylor surrenders. [1]
- Battle of Mobile, Alabama. [1]
- Abraham Lincoln, the 16th U.S. president, is buried in Springfield, Illinois. [129]
- May 10
- CSA President Jefferson Davis is captured by Union Cavalry in Irwinsville, Georgia. [1] [492.32]
- Surrender of Sam Jones. [1]
- May 11
- Jeff Thompson surrenders. [1]
- May 12
- Last land action of Civil war at Palmito Ranch, Texas. [1]
- May 13
- South Brownsville, Texas, (Palmito Ranch) final engagement of Civil War PVT John J Williams of 34th Indiana is last man killed. [1]
- May 23
- Victory parade in Washington, District of Columbia (Grand Review). [1]
- May 26
- Battle of Galveston, Texas, surrender of Edmund Kirby Smith. [1]
- June 2
- At Galveston, Kirby-Smith surrenders the Trans-Mississippi Dept. [1]
- June 23
- At Fort Towson, General Stand Watie surrenders last sizeable army. [1]
- July 5
- William P. Wood becomes first chief of the US Secret Service. [417.56] [450.46] [511.36] [677.28]
- August 20
- President Johnson proclaims an end to "insurrection" in Texas. [1]
- September 3
- Army commander in South Carolina orders Freedmen's Bureau to stop seizing land. [1]
- October 11
- President Johnson paroles Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens. [1]
- October 25
- The ship SS Republic sinks off the coast of Georgia, USA, with a shipment of 20,000 gold $20 coins. [445.60] [555.30]
- November 9
- Confederate General Lee surrenders to Union General Grant at Appomattox. [1]
- December 18
- First US cattle importation law passed. [1]
- The 13th Amendment of the US Constitution is ratified, ending slavery. [505.70]
- December 24
- Several Confederate veterans form the Ku Klux Klan in Pulaski, Tennessee. [1]
1866
- April 2
- President Andrew Johnson ends war in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. [1]
- April 7
- US Congress appropriates $250,000 for plates, engraving, printing, and paper for national currency. [399.22]
- April 10
- The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by philanthropist and diplomat Henry Bergh. [1] [129]
- April 12
- Congress passes the Contraction Act, calling for the retiring of greenback paper money. [486.32]
- May 16
- US Congress authorizes copper-nickel 5-cent piece (replaces silver half-dime). [1] [5] [406.88] [627.36]
- June 11
- The Mint releases the 1866 Shield 5-cent coin to circulation. [646.59]
- June 13
- US Congresses passes the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, repudiating Confederate debt. The amendment is referred to state legislatures for ratification. [1] [413.50] [646.59]
- July 13
- Federal legislation imposes 10 percent tax on state bank note circulation. [513.22]
- July 23
- Congress authorizes the sale of the Charlotte and Dahlonega Mint buildings. [420.62]
- July 24
- Tennessee becomes first Confederate state re-admitted to Union. [1]
- August 20
- President Andrew Johnson officially declares the American Civil War to be ended. [1] [5]
- September 18
- The Grand Masonic Lodge of Nevada lays the cornerstone for the Carson City Mint. [451.38] [516.66]
1867
- March 2
- US Congress passes the first Reconstruction Act. [1]
- March 19
- The former Charlotte Mint is re-opened as an assay office. [606.38]
- March 23
- US Congress passes second Reconstruction Act over President Johnson's veto. [1]
- March 30
- The Russian empire sells the Alaskan territory to the USA for US$7.2 million (2 cents per acre). [1] [129] [437.109] [474.144]
- April 2
- US Senate confirms Henry R. Linderman as US Mint Director. [397.52]
- April 9
- The Alaska purchase is ratified by the United States Senate. [5]
- May 1
- Reconstruction of South begins, black voter registration. [1]
- November 15
- Stock tickers are introduced at the New York Stock Exchange. [129] [453.66]
1868
- May 30
- Memorial Day first observed when two women in Columbus Mississippi placed flowers on both Confederate and Union graves. [1]
- June 22
- Arkansas re-enters US. [1]
- June 25
- Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina re-admitted to US. [1]
- July 9
- The 14th Amendment to the US Constitution is ratified. [5]
- December 1
- John D Rockefeller begins anti oil war. [1]
- December 3
- Trial of Jefferson Davis starts. [1]
- December 25
- Despite bitter opposition, President Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all persons involved in the Southern rebellion (the Civil War). [1]
1869
- February 15
- Charges of Treason against Jefferson Davis are dropped. [1]
- March 18
- Congress passes the Act to Strengthen the Public Credit, by paying off US obligations in coin. [483.56]
- May 10
- The final railroad spike is driven in Utah, completing the US Transcontinental Railroad. [1] [572.15]
- May 11
- Colonel Hiram Whitley becomes Chief of the Secret Service Division. [404.44] [408.32]
- May 15
- Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman's Suffrage Association in the USA. [1] [5]
- July 1
- US mint at Carson City, Nevada opens. [1] [511.36]
- September 24
- "Black Friday" in the US: Wall Steet panic after Gould and Fisk attempt to corner gold; U.S. government begins to sell off large quantities of gold. [1] [5]
- October 16
- The Cardiff Giant, one of the most famous American hoaxes, is discovered. [5]
- November 15
- Free US postal delivery formally inaugurated. [1]
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