January 17
January 17
Heavy rain traps Union Army
On January 17, 1865, Union General William T. Sherman’s army is rained in at Savannah, Georgia, as it waits to begin marching into the Carolinas. In the fall of 1864,…
A Year In History: 1865
This Year in History:
1865
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
January 31
January 31
House passes the 13th Amendment
On January 31, 1865, the U.S. House of Representatives passes the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery in America. The amendment read, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude…shall exist within…
February 6
February 6
Confederate general John Pegram killed
On February 6, 1865, Confederate General John Pegram, age 33, is killed at the Battle of Hatcher’s Run (also called Dabney’s Mill), Virginia. Pegram graduated from West Point in 1854,…
February 17
February 17
Union army sacks Columbia, South Carolina
On February 17, 1865, the soldiers from Union General William Tecumseh Sherman’s army ransack Columbia, South Carolina, and leave a charred city in their wake. Sherman is most famous for…
March 3
March 3
Freedmen’s Bureau created
On March 3, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln signs a bill creating the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. Known as the Freedmen’s Bureau, this federal agency oversaw the difficult…
March 13
March 13
Confederacy approves Black soldiers
On March 13, 1865, with the main Rebel armies facing long odds against much larger Union armies, the Confederacy, in a desperate measure, reluctantly approves the use of Black troops.…
March 19
March 19
Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina
On March 19, 1865, at the Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina, Confederate General Joseph Johnston makes a desperate attempt to stop Union General William T. Sherman’s drive through the Carolinas…
March 27
March 27
Lincoln, Sherman and Grant plan final stages of Civil War
On March 27, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln meets with Union generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman at City Point, Virginia, to plot the last stages of the Civil…
March 29
March 29
Appomattox, the final campaign in the Civil War, begins
On March 29, 1865, the final campaign of the Civil War begins in Virginia when Union troops under General Ulysses S. Grant move against the Confederate trenches around Petersburg. General…
April 3
April 3
Confederate capital of Richmond is captured
The Rebel capital of Richmond, Virginia, falls to the Union, the most significant sign that the Confederacy is nearing its final days. For ten months, General Ulysses S. Grant had…
April 4
April 4
President Lincoln dreams about his assassination
According to the recollection of one of his friends, Ward Hill Lamon, President Abraham Lincoln dreams on this night in 1865 of “the subdued sobs of mourners” and a corpse…
April 9
April 9
Robert E. Lee surrenders
In Appomattox, Virginia, on April 9, 1865, Robert E. Lee surrenders his 28,000 Confederate troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the American Civil War. Forced to abandon the Confederate capital…
April 10
April 10
After surrendering to Union, General Lee gives final address to troops
One day after surrendering to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, Confederate General Robert E. Lee addresses his army for the last time. “After four years of arduous service, marked by…
April 14
April 14
John Wilkes Booth shoots Abraham Lincoln
President Abraham Lincoln is shot in the head at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1865. The assassin, actor John Wilkes Booth, shouted, “Sic semper tyrannis! (Ever thus…
April 15
April 15
President Lincoln dies
At 7:22 a.m., Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, dies from a bullet wound inflicted the night before by John Wilkes Booth, an actor and Confederate sympathizer.…
April 21
April 21
Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train leaves D.C.
On April 21, 1865, a train carrying the coffin of assassinated President Abraham Lincoln leaves Washington, D.C. on its way to Springfield, Illinois, where he would be buried on May…
April 23
April 23
“Panic has seized the country,” writes Confederate President Jefferson Davis
Confederate President Jefferson Davis writes to his wife, Varina, of the desperate situation facing the Confederates. “Panic has seized the country,” he wrote to his wife in Georgia. Davis was…
April 26
April 26
Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth dies
John Wilkes Booth is killed when Union soldiers track him down to a Virginia farm 12 days after he assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. Twenty‑six‑year‑old Booth was one of the most…
April 27
April 27
Union soldiers die in steamship explosion
The steamboat Sultana explodes on the Mississippi River near Memphis, killing 1,700 passengers including many discharged Union soldiers. The Sultana was launched from Cincinnati in 1863. The boat was 260…
May 4
May 4
President Lincoln is buried in Springfield, Illinois
On May 4, 1865, Abraham Lincoln is laid to rest in his hometown of Springfield, Illinois. His funeral train had traveled through 180 cities and seven states before reaching Springfield.…
