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Civil War and Reconstruction

Decades of tension between the northern and southern states finally boiled over into war in 1861 when South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas seceded from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America. The North and South had developed notable differences socially, economically and politically. The most significant difference was their opinions on slavery and the right of the federal government to stop its spread.

On April 12, 1861, the Confederacy attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, leading to four years of war between the Union and Confederacy. The fighting came to an end in 1865, and President Andrew Johnson formally declared the end of the war in August 1866. Historians find it hard to estimate the total number of deaths because of issues with recordkeeping, but most agree between 600,000 and 700,000 soldiers died alongside an untold number of civilians.

The period after the Civil War is called Reconstruction. From 1865 to 1877, the federal government worked to rebuild the nation and readmit former Confederate states to the United States. In addition, around 4 million African Americans had been freed from slavery and began building new lives with many registering to vote and running for office. Some objected to these changes. New laws called Jim Crow in the South pushed back against these new freedoms, and groups like the Ku Klux Klan used violence to maintain racial barriers in American life.

Handwritten ordinance of secession with 65 signatures.
Florida Convention of the People, Ordinance of Secession, 10 January 1861, Florida Memory, State Archives of Florida, Series S972, s972_b001_01.
January 10, 1861
Secession Convention in Tallahassee

Following President Abraham Lincoln's election, Florida Governor Madison Starke Perry called for Florida to prepare for secession. A convention of delegates met in Tallahassee on January 10, 1861, and voted to adopt an ordinance of secession.

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Engraving of the Confederate cabinet in Montgomery, including Jefferson Davis seated at the table.
The Cabinet of the Confederate States at Montgomery, 1861, Florida Memory, Reference Collection, RC05595.
February 4, 1861
Secession Convention in Montgomery

At a meeting in Montgomery, Alabama, on February 4, 1861, representatives from Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Florida drafted a provisional constitution for the Confederate States.

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Print showing cannons firing from Confederate batteries toward the burning Fort Sumter.
Currier & Ives, Bombardment of Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor: 12th & 13th of April, 1861, 1861, Library of Congress, 90711987.
April 12, 1861
Battle of Fort Sumter

On April 12, 1861, the American Civil War officially began with the Battle of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina, when Confederate forces opened fire on the fort. The U.S. Army surrendered the next day and evacuated.

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Print showing Union and Confederate troops in combat during the First Battle of Bull Run.
The First Battle of Bull Run, Va., Sunday Afternoon, July 21, 1861, Library of Congress, 2003681590.
July 21, 1861
The First Battle of Bull Run

On the morning of July 21, 1861, the first major battle of the Civil War began at Bull Run, a river in Virginia. Under the command of P. G. T. Beauregard, the Confederate forces defeated the Union. President Lincoln and his administration realized that the war would not be over quickly.

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Print of the defeat of the Confederates on Santa Rosa Island showing several figures firing their weapons.
Defeat of the Rebels on Santa Rosa Island, By a Party of Wilson's Zouaves, 6th Regiment New York Volunteers, October 1861, Florida Memory, Reference Collection, RC11040.
October 9, 1861
Battle of Santa Rosa Island

Over 1,000 Confederate soldiers crossed Pensacola Bay late in the evening on October 8, 1861, and began attacking the Union in the early hours of October 9. The Confederates failed to take Fort Pickens. The fort was one of four Southern forts that remained in Union hands throughout the war.

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Illustration of federal troops marching through Second Street with crowds of people watching.
National Troops Marching Through Second Street - New Fernandina, Florida, 1862, Florida Memory, Reference Collection, RC04644.
March 3, 1862
Union Captures Fort Clinch on Amelia Island

The Confederates seized Fort Clinch in 1861 but abandoned it in March after a string of defeats in Tennessee weakened their forces. This allowed the Union to take control of the fort. It became a refuge for hundreds of enslaved people who fled Florida and southeast Georgia.

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Map of the United States showing the Union Pacific Railway network with scenic illustrations along the border of the map.
New Map of the Union Pacific Railway, the Short, Quick and Safe Line to All Points West, [1883], Library of Congress, 98688838.
July 1, 1862
President Lincoln Signs the Pacific Railway Act

On July 1, 1862, President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act, supporting the construction of a transcontinental railroad that would connect the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean. Construction technically began in 1863, but most of the work was completed after the Civil War.

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Hand-colored print showing an eastern view of the Burnside Bridge over Antietam Creek in Maryland with soldiers sitting on the top of the stone bridge.
Burnside Bridge, Eastern View, ca. 1862, Library of Congress, Civil War Photograph Collection, 2011646193.
September 17, 1862
Battle of Antietam (or Sharpsburg)

On September 17, 1862, Union and Confederate forces clashed near the mouth of Antietam Creek near the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland. The Battle of Antietam is recognized today as the bloodiest single-day battle in U.S. history. More than 22,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were killed or injured, and many local citizens helped care for the wounded or bury the dead. Civilians also lost land, horses and crops because of the battle.

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First page of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Emancipation Proclamation, 1 January 1863, National Archives at Washington, DC, 299998.
January 1, 1863
Emancipation Proclamation

On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. It declared that all enslaved people within rebellious states (the Confederacy) were freed. It did not end slavery in the places that were already under Union control.

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Print showing Union troops during the Battle of Gettysburg.
Thomas Kelly, The Battle of Gettysburg, ca. 1867, Library of Congress, 2006681070.
July 3, 1863
Union Wins the Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg started on July 1, 1863, and lasted three days. It was a turning point for the Union in the Civil War, though both sides suffered heavy losses. The Florida Brigade suffered a higher loss rate than any other Confederate brigade in the battle.

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Print of Union soldiers charging up an incline during the Siege of Vicksburg.
Siege of Vicksburg, c. 5 July 1888, Library of Congress, 2003663945.
July 4, 1863
Union Victory at the Siege of Vicksburg

From May to July 1863, the U.S. Army laid siege to the town of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Many civilians took shelter from the constant gunfire in dugout caves. The Confederate Army surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant on July 4.

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Print of Union soldiers charging up a steep hill toward a line of Confederate soldiers during the Battle of Missionary Ridge.
Kurz & Allison, Battle of Missionary Ridge - Fought November 23-25, 1863, c1886, Library of Congress, 91480843.
November 25, 1863
Union Wins the Battle of Missionary Ridge

On November 25, 1863, Union forces broke through the Confederate's line of defense at Missionary Ridge and ended their siege of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Among the Confederate troops at Missionary Ridge were five of Florida's infantry regiments and the 1st Florida Cavalry, Dismounted, which means they fought on foot rather than horseback.

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Color print of a Union force composed primarily of free Black men from the United States Colored Troops advancing on Confederate troops firing from trenches in a large clearing during the Battle of Olustee.
Kurz & Allison Lithographic Print of the Battle at Olustee - Olustee Battlefield, Florida, 1894, Florida Memory, General Collection, N046635.
February 20, 1864
Battle of Olustee

The largest battle of the Civil War in Florida took place in a pine forest near Olustee in Baker County. Among the Union forces were three regiments of Black soldiers, including the 1st North Carolina Colored Infantry, the 8th U.S. Colored Infantry, and the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.

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Print of General William T. Sherman on horseback as Union soldiers dismantle railroad tracks and telegraph poles in the foreground and a newly freed African American family crosses the tracks.
Felix Octavius Carr Darley, Sherman's March to the Sea, c1883, Library of Congress, Popular Graphic Arts Collection, 96512373.
November 15, 1864
Sherman's March to the Sea Begins

Union General William T. Sherman's March to the Sea was one of the most destructive military campaigns against civilians during the Civil War. Starting on November 15, 1864, Sherman and his troops marched from Atlanta to Savannah in a 20-day campaign that destroyed food sources and horrified Georgia's citizens.

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Map of Natural Bridge with lines denoting the number of miles between locations on the map.
Map of Natural Bridge, in Relation to Tallahassee and Shell Point, 1865 - Leon County, Florida, 1865, Florida Memory, General Collection, N034550.
March 6, 1865
Picture postcard of President Abraham Lincoln and his son Tad looking at a large photographic album.
Mathew B. Brady, President Lincoln, With His Son Tad, 6 February 1864, Florida Memory, Print Collection, PR08928.
April 14, 1865
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

On April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C. President Lincoln was carried to a house across the street where doctors continued trying to treat him. At 7:22am on April 15, President Lincoln was pronounced dead.

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Book page with a mix of the typed and handwritten text for the proposal of the Thirteenth Amendment.
Joint Resolution Proposing the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, 31 January 1865, National Archives at Washington, DC, Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, 1408764.
December 6, 1865
States Ratify the Thirteenth Amendment

When Georgia ratified the Thirteenth Amendment on December 6, 1865, the state provided the final vote necessary for the amendment to become part of the U.S. Constitution. The amendment banned slavery across the United States and in its territories, except as a criminal punishment.

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Draft payment for the Purchase of Alaska.
Draft for Payment for the Purchase of Alaska, 1 August 1868, National Archives at Washington, DC, 301666.
March 30, 1867
The Alaska Purchase

U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward purchased Alaska from Russia on March 30, 1867, for $7.2 million. Some Americans saw the potential for gold, fur, fisheries and trade with Asia, while others thought the land was useless.

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Handwritten book page containing the proposal for the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
Joint Resolution Proposing the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, 13 June 1866, National Archives at Washington, DC, 1408913.
July 9, 1868
States Ratify the Fourteenth Amendment

Ratified on July 9, 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment contains five sections. The most well-known sections are those that grant citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States and guarantee all citizens the right to due process and equal protection under the law.

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Illustration showing African American men lined up to vote.
Alfred R. Waud, The First Vote of African Americans in Virginia, 1867, Florida Memory, Digital Collection, DLN004262.
February 3, 1870
States Ratify the Fifteenth Amendment

On February 3, 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified, stating that the right to vote in the United States could not be denied based on race, color or former enslavement. As a result, African American men were guaranteed the right to vote in the U.S. Constitution, but Black Codes, Jim Crow laws and groups like the Ku Klux Klan prevented African American voters from exercising their rights.

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Print of the Battle of the Little Bighorn with Native Americans on horseback in foreground and no visible U.S. soldiers.
Charles M. Russell, The Custer Fight, ca. 1905, Library of Congress, 99472670.
June 25, 1876
Battle of the Little Bighorn

The Battle of the Little Bighorn began on June 25, 1876. The battle was part of the U.S. government's attempts to force Native Americans in the region to move onto reservations. Led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment attacked a Lakota, Dakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho camp near the Little Bighorn River in the Montana Territory. Custer and his men were quickly defeated, leading to the name "Custer's Last Stand."

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Henry Laurens Dawes.
Hon. Henry Laurens Dawes of Mass., [between 1860 and 1875], Library of Congress, Brady-Handy Photograph Collection, 2017894082.
February 8, 1887
President Cleveland Signs the Dawes Act

On February 8, 1887, President Grover Cleveland signed the Dawes Act, which allowed the U.S. government to break up tribal lands and give Native families their own plots. All remaining land would then be sold to non-Native settlers. The Dawes Act weakened Native communities and governments, and it also led to the loss of almost 150 million acres of Native land.

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  • "Dawes Act (1887)," U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, last modified February 8, 2022.

  • "The Dawes Act," National Park Service, last modified July 9, 2021.

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