1861

The coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and East Florida are delineated into a Confederate Department, under the command of Gen. Robert E. Lee, CSA.

The Federal occupation of Prestonsburg, KY.

1862

Start of the Federal expedition from Helena to Moro, AR.

Affair near Piketon, KY.

Skirmish at Jumperstown, MS.

Confederate attack at Lamar, MO, resulting in the burning of a nearly a third of the town.

Skirmish near Nashville, TN.

Skirmish at Barbee’s Cross Roads Manassas Gap and Warrenton, VA.

Federal operation in Augusta, Bath, and Highlands Counties, VA, and Pendleton and Pocahontas Counties, WV.

Lincoln removes McClellan,  A tortured relationship ends when President Lincoln removes General George B. McClellan from command of the Army of the Potomac. McClellan ably built the army in the early stages of the war but was a sluggish and paranoid field commander who seemed unable to muster the courage to aggressively engage General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.

McClellan was a promising commander who served as a railroad president before the war. In the early stages of the conflict, troops under McClellan's command scored several important victories in the struggle for western Virginia. Lincoln summoned "Young Napoleon," as some called the general, to Washington to take control of the Army of the Potomac a few days after its humiliating defeat at the Battle of First Bull Run in July. Over the next nine months, McClellan capably built a splendid army, drilling his troops and assembling an efficient command structure. He also developed extreme contempt for the president, and he often dismissed Lincoln's suggestions out of hand. In 1862, McClellan led the army down Chesapeake Bay to the James Peninsula, southeast of the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia. During this campaign, he exhibited the timidity and sluggishness that later doomed him. During the Seven Days' battles, McClellan was poised near Richmond but retreated when faced with a series of attacks by Lee. McClellan always believed that he was vastly outnumbered, though he actually had the numerical advantage. He spent the rest of the summer camped on the peninsula while Lincoln began moving much of his command to General John Pope's Army of Virginia.

After Lee defeated Pope at the Second Battle of Bull Run in late August, he invaded Maryland. With the Confederates crashing into Union territory, Lincoln had no choice but to turn to McClellan to gather the reeling Yankee forces and stop Lee. On September 17, 1962, McClellan and Lee battled to a standstill along Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg. Lee retreated back to Virginia and McClellan ignored Lincoln's constant urging to pursue him. For six weeks, Lincoln and McClellan exchanged angry messages, but McClellan stubbornly refused to march after Lee. In late October, McClellan finally began moving across the Potomac in feeble pursuit of Lee, but he took nine days to complete the crossing. Lincoln had seen enough. Convinced that McClellan could never defeat Lee, Lincoln notified the general on November 4 of his removal. A few days later, Lincoln named General Ambrose Burnside to be the commander of the Army of the Potomac.

After his removal, McClellan battled with Lincoln once more-for the presidency in 1864. McClellan won the Democratic nomination but was easily defeated by his old boss.



1863

Skirmish at Vermillionville, LA.

Skirmish at Holly Springs, MS.

Skirmish at Neosho, MO.

Skirmish at la Fayette, Moscow, and in Loudon County, TN.

Skirmish at Hartwood Chruch, VA.

Skirmish at Mill Point, WV.

1864

Multiple skirmishes at Shoal Creek, AL

Start of Federal expedition from Lewisburg to Fort Smith, AR.

Winter-time Federal operations against Indians in the Colorado Territory.

Skirmish at Big Pigeon River and Bloomfield, KY.

Beginning of Federal operation in Mississippi County, MO.

Beginning of Federal expedition from Rolla to Licking, in Texas County, MO.

Beginning of Federal expedition from Springfield, MO, to Fort Smith, AR.

Skirmishes in front of Forts Haskell and Morton, VA.

Beginning of Confederate operations in the Kanawha Valley, WV, including the burning of the US steamers Barnum and Fawn on the Big Sandy River.

Civil War Quote:

"Upon my weary heart was showered smiles, plaudits, and flowers, but beyond them I saw troubles and thorns innumerable."
- Jefferson Davis

Source:
The Chronological Tracking of the American Civil War Per the Official Records of the War of Rebellion, Second Edition, Ronald A Mosocco, published by James River Publications, Williamsburg, VA, 1993