Timeline: 1863

January

1:    President Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation
2:    End of the Battle of Stones River (December 31,1861-January 2, 1863, also known as the Second Battle of Murfreesboro
11:  Battle of Arkansas Post
30: Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assumes immediate command of the expedition against Vicksburg

February

2-3: Passage of the Vicksburg and Warrenton batteries, and capture of the steamers A. W. Baker, Moro, and Berwick Bay by the Queen of the West
3:    Yazoo Pass Expedition begins (February 3-April 12)
13: Passage of the Vicksburg batteries by the Indianola
14:  Confederates capture the Queen of the West
24: Confederates capture the Indianola and More
26: President Abraham Lincoln signs the National Banking Act into law

March

3:   National Conscription Act is signed, leading to the New York Draft Riots in July
19: The Georgiana is destroyed on her maiden voyage while attempting to run the blockade into Charleston, South Carolina
22:  Confederate attack on Mount Sterling (Ky.)
28: Skirmish at Hurricane Bridge (W. Va.)
31:  Battle of Somerset (Dutton’s Hill)

April

1-16:  Expedition, including the 12th Wisconsin Infantry, from Jackson, Tenn., to the Hatchie River, and skirmishes
7:    First Battle of Charleston Harbor
12:  End of the Yazoo Pass Expedition (February 3-April 12)
16:  Passage of the Vicksburg batteries by gunboats and transports
17-May 2: Grierson’s Raid from La Grange, Tenn., to Baton Rouge, La.
18-24:  Expedition, including the 12th Wisconsin Infantry, from Memphis, Tenn., to the Coldwater, Miss., including action at Hernando on the 18th, and a skirmish on the 19th at Perry’s Ferry
20:   Battle of Washington in Beaufort County, North Carolina
22:   Passage of the Vicksburg and Warrenton batteries by transports
29:   Bombardment of Grand Gulf, Miss., and passage of the batteries
29-May 5:  Scout from La Grange, Tenn., into Northern Mississippi
30-May 6:  Battle of Chancellorsville

May

1:    Battle of Port Gibson (Miss.)
6:    End of the Battle of Chancellorsville (April 30-May 6), Deaths of Stonewall Jackson and Hiram Berry, More Coverage, Defeat of Hooker’s Army

• 6th Wisconsin Infantry – Company B was the Prescott Guards
• plus the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 26th Wisconsin Infantries

11-15: Expedition from La Grange, Tenn., to Panola, Miss., and skirmishes on the 11th at Coldwater and the 14th at Walnut Hill, Miss
14:  Battle of Jackson (Miss.)
16:  Battle of Champion Hill (Miss.)
17:  Battle of Big Black River Bridge (Miss.)
18:  Siege of Vicksburg begins

• 2nd Wisconsin Cavalry – Company D was the Saint Croix Rangers
• 8th Wisconsin Infantry – Company C was the Eau Claire Badgers
• 12th Wisconsin Infantry – Company A was the Lyon Light Guards (from Prescott)
• 16th Wisconsin Infantry – Company G was the Chippewa Valley Guards
• 20th Wisconsin Infantry – Company A included many Pierce County men
• plus the 11th, 14th, 17th, 18th, 23rd, 25th, 27th, 29th, 33rd Wisconsin Infantries, and the 1st, 6th, and 12th Batteries of Wisconsin Light Artillery

22:  Siege of Port Hudson (La.) begins

• 4th Wisconsin Infantry – Company G was the Hudson City Guards

June

9:   Battle of Brandy Station (Va.)
11: Morgan’s Great Raid begins
14: Second Battle of Winchester
17: Battle of Aldie
20: West Virginia admitted to the Union as the 35th state

July

1-3: Battle of Gettysburg

• 6th Wisconsin Infantry – Company B was the Prescott Guards
• plus the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 26th Wisconsin Infantries

4:    Vicksburg (Miss.) captured
4:    Battle of Helena (Ark.)
4-5: Fight at Monterey Pass/Gap
5:    Jackson Expedition (Miss.), and more
9:    Siege of Port Hudson (La.) ends (the 4th Wisconsin Infantry participated, but much of Company G was not involved)
10-11: First Battle of Fort Warner
13:  Draft Riots in New York City
18:  Second Battle of Fort Wagner (made famous in the movie Glory)
18:  Beginning of the Siege of Charleston Harbor (July 18-September 7), also known as the Second Battle of Charleston Harbor
26: Morgan’s Raid, or The Great Raid of 1863 (June 11 to July 26, 1863)

• in Tennessee (June 11 to July 2)
  • Battle of Tebbs Bend, or Green River (July 4)
• in Kentucky (July 2 to July 8)
• in Indiana (July 8 to July 13)
  • Battle of Corydon
• in Ohio (July 13 to July 26)
  • Battle of Salineville (July 26, 1863)
• in West Virginia (July 19)
  • Battle of Buffington Island (July 19, 1863)

August

21: Quantrill’s Raiders attack Lawrence (Kan.)
21: Second Battle of Chattanooga

September

7:     End of the Second Battle of Charleston Harbor (July 18-September 7)
7-8:  Second Battle of Fort Sumter
7-9:  Third Battle of Cumberland Gap
19-20: Battle of Chickamauga (Ga.)
22:   Battle of Blountville

October

1-9: Wheeler’s Raid of October 1863
07:   Battle of Farmington (Tenn.)
10: Battle of Blue Springs
14: Battle of Bristoe Station
15: Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley sinks during a test
27:  Battle of Brown’s Ferry
28-29: Battle of Wauhatchie

November

16: Battle of Campbell’s Station
17: Siege of Knoxville begins
19: President Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the military cemetery
23: Third Battle of Chattanooga begins
24: Battle of Lookout Mountain
25: Battle of Missionary Ridge
26: Battle of Mine Run
27: Battle of Ringgold Gap
27: Confederate cavalry leader John Hunt Morgan and several of his men escape the Ohio state prison, and return safely to the South
29:  Battle of Fort Sanders

December

08:  President Lincoln’s Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction
14:  Battle of Bean’s Station
25:  Confederate batteries on John’s Island attacked USS Marblehead near Legareville, South Carolina, in the Stono River and sustained 20 hits as USS Pawnee and mortar schooner C. P. Williams added firepower to the return bombardment. After more than an hour, the Confederates broke off the engagement and withdrew.