Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

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U.S. Civil War 1861-1865

1864 - Place to Worship

Before the Civil War began, black slaves attended church with their white masters, but sat in the balconies. Now, as slaves win their freedom they want churches of their own. The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church of Philadelphia helps start a congregation in Charlotte. By 1900 there will be seven churches in the city where African Americans can worship: AME, Baptist and Presbyterian. 

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1865 - Last Cabinet Meeting

April 20, 1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis meets with his complete Cabinet, or advisors, for the last time. Although their headquarters are on Tryon Street at the branch of the Bank of North Carolina, this final gathering is held at Williams Phifer's home on North Tryon Street. Historians will record that the meeting was moved to the Phifer House due to the illness of a Cabinet member.

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1864 - End of the Navy Yard

January 7, 1864 - An explosion causes a terrible fire at the Confederate Navy Yard in Charlotte. No one can determine how it happened. The navy yard is destroyed.

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1862 - A Nation at War

February 22, 1862 - Determined to break away from the U.S., the Confederate States of America have organized their own government. Today they inaugurate their president, Jefferson Davis, a former U.S. senator from Mississippi. But the U.S. will not give in. They will fight the Confederates for control of the South.

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1864 - Sherman's March

September 2, 1864 - General William T. Sherman and his troops enter and destroy Confederate military supplies at Atlanta, Georgia. Now, the Union army has a base in the heart of the Confederacy. Two months later, Sherman and his men will leave Atlanta and begin their famous March to the Sea, ending in Savannah.

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1865 - Chaos

May 7, 1865 - There is panic in Charlotte as the Civil War ends. Reveling Union soldiers are drunk. Some desperate people who have lost all their possessions resort to stealing, or looting, from stores. Slaves have run away from farms, leaving no one to plant and harvest crops. Captain M.C. Runyan arrives with soldiers from New Jersey. They will help restore order to the city, and many citizens welcome them.

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1864 - Savannah Falls

December 22, 1864 - Sherman's Union army has captured Savannah, Georgia. They now have created a military barrier that stretches from east to west across the South, hampering the Confederate army's attempts to move men and supplies through the region. Sherman sends word to President Lincoln that this lovely coastal city will be spared. Sherman will call Savannah his Christmas gift to Lincoln. Next, the Carolinas will come under attack. 

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1863 - Freedom Rings

January 1, 1863 - President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation. This order grants freedom only to those slaves residing in the states that have left the U.S., called the Confederacy. But the Confederate states refuse to acknowledge Lincoln's order. They obey only the president they elected in 1862, Jefferson Davis.After the Civil War ends, former Confederate states must agree to end slavery to be re-admitted into the United States.

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1865 - Fall of Fort Fisher

January 15, 1865 - In the worst fighting North Carolina has suffered, Union troops have attacked Fort Fisher. The coastal fort guards the mouth of the Cape Fear River. After the fort falls, Union soldiers make their way upriver and capture Wilmington. The Confederacy loses its last open seaport.

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1865 - Uncertain Future

Although the Civil War has ended, Southern military leaders will not abandon their countrymen. More than 60 officers bring their skills to Charlotte. Along with 18 lawyers, 13 doctors and five dentists, these leaders help strengthen Charlotte and insure the Queen City will survive the uncertain days of Reconstruction that lie ahead.

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