April 12, 1861:

Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter

May 23, 1861:

General Benjamin F. Butler, Union commander at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, refuses to return three escaped slaves to rebel masters, thus inaugurating the “contraband” policy.

July 21, 1861:

The 1st battle of Bull Run.

July 22 and July 25, 1861:

Congress passes the Crittenden-Johnson Resolution, stating the North fought with no intention of overturning the institution of slavery.

August 6, 1861:

Passage of the 1st Confiscation Act, allowing the confiscation of any slave directly assisting the Confederate war effort.

August 30, 1861:

John C. Fremont issues a decree of Emancipation and Martial Law, freeing the slaves of all enemy slaves in the Department of the West.

October 14, 1861:

War Secretary allows Department of the South commander, Brigadier General Thomas W. Sherman, to recruit fugitive slaves as soldiers.

March 13, 1862:

Congress adopts new articles of war forbidding Union officers from returning fugitive slaves.

April 10, 1862:

Congress passed Lincoln’s requested resolution offering compensation for any slave state in the Union that would abolish slavery.

April 16, 1862:

Congress passes a plan to abolish slavery in Washington, D. C., offering $300 compensation to slave owners.

May 9, 1862:

Major General David Hunter, commander of the Department of the South, issues an Emancipation Proclamation abolishing slavery in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Hunter’s decree was countermanded by President Lincoln on May 22.

July 17, 1862:

Congress passes the Militia Act, allowing blacks to be used in non-combat roles in the military.

July 17, 1862:

Congress passes the 2nd Confiscation Act, providing for the seizure and emancipation of any slave owned by a disloyal master.

September 17, 1862:

Union victory at the battle of Antietam, Maryland.

September 22, 1862:

Lincoln issues the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation giving rebellious states 90 days to come back into the Union or risk the emancipation of slaves.

January 1, 1863:

Emancipation Proclamation issued which includes specific provision for the enlistment of African-American soldiers.

May 22, 1863:

Bureau of United States Colored Troops created.

May 27, 1863:

Battle of Port Hudson becomes one of the first major Civil War engagements to involve black soldiers.

June 7, 1863:

The 9th and 11th Louisiana Corps of African Descent distinguish themselves at Battle of Milliken’s Bend (Mississippi).

June 1-3, 1863:

The battle of Gettysburg.

July 18, 1863:

Battle of Fort Wagner (South Carolina) involves the black 54th Massachusetts which suffers 262 casualties.

February 8, 1864:

Major William Bradford stations the 13th Tennessee Cavalry at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.

March 24, 1864:

Forrest subordinate Colonel W. L. Duckworth uses the threat of “no quarter” to secure the surrender of the Union garrison at Union City, Tennessee.

March 26, 1864:

Forrest launches unsuccessful attack on Union garrison at Paducah, Kentucky.

March 28, 1864:

Major-General Stephen Hurlbut orders the 6th USCHA under Major Lionel F. Booth to Fort Pillow.

April 12, 1864:

Fort Pillow Massacre.

April 13, 1864:

Truce negotiated by Confederate officer Col. Charles Anderson and Acting-Master William Ferguson allows Union dead and wounded to transfer to Union vessels Platte Valley and Olive Branch.

April 16, 1864:

Congressional debate concerning the Fort Pillow Massacre.

April 17-20:

Battle of Plymouth, North Carolina, where accusations of a slaughter of African-American troops were raised.

April 18, 1864:

Battle of Poison Springs, Arkansas results in African-American soldiers being executed instead of taken prisoners.

April 18, 1864:

President Lincoln gives public speech in Baltimore and hints at retaliation for the Fort Pillow Massacre.

April 19, 1864:

Daniel W. Gooch and Benjamin F. Wade leave to investigate the Fort Pillow Massacre, visiting Cairo and Mound City, Illinois; Columbus, Kentucky; and Fort Pillow and Memphis, Tennessee.

April 21, 1864:

Joint Resolution of Congress officially authorizes an investigation by the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War. War Department starts its own investigation.

May 4-6, 1864:

Cabinet members submit opinions on a response to the Fort Pillow massacre.

May 6, 1864:

Official publication of the report of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War with witness testimony.

May 6, 1864:

40,000 additional copies of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War’s report on the Fort Pillow Massacre are approved for publication.

May 17, 1864:

President Lincoln directs Edwin Stanton to issue formal response to the Confederate government for the Fort Pillow massacre.

June 10, 1864:

Battle of Brice’s Cross Roads, Mississippi, where the actions of African-American troops prompt Forrest to initiate an explanation from Union General Cadwallader Washburn.

June 15, 1864:

Congress passes equal pay provision for black troops, but applies it only to those black soldiers free at the beginning of the war.

July 30, 1864:

Battle of the Crater (Petersburg, Virginia) - African American troops, 4th division, 9th corps are slated to lead attack but withdrawn prior to the attack

October 2, 1864:

Battle of Saltville, Virginia, where accusations of Confederate slaughter of African-American troops were made.

November 1864:

Re-election of Abraham Lincoln

January 31, 1865:

House of Representatives passes the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery (ratified on December 18, 1865).

March 3, 1865:

Congress enforces equal pay provision on all African-American soldiers.

April 15, 1865:

Death of Abraham Lincoln

December 18, 1865:

Thirteenth amendment ratified

June 16, 1866:

Passage of the Fourteenth Amendment (ratification 1868)

March 2, 1867:

Passage of the 1st Military Reconstruction Act

March 23, 1867:

Passage of the 2nd Military Reconstruction Act

July 19, 1867:

Passage of the 3rd Military Reconstruction Act

March 12, 1868:

Passage of the 4th Military Reconstruction Act

February 27, 1869:

Passage of the Fifteenth Amendment (ratified, 1870)

May 31, 1870:

Passage of the 1st Force or Ku Klux Klan Act

February 24, 1871:

Passage of the 2nd Force or Ku Klux Klan Act

April 19, 1871:

Passage of the 3rd Force or Ku Klux Klan Act

March 2, 1877:

Congress declares that Rutherford B. Hayes is the winner of the contested presidential election of 1876, thus leading to the end of Reconstruction.

October 15, 1883:

The United States Supreme Court rules in the Civil Rights Cases.