Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

You are here

Home

History Timeline

1863 - Gettysburg

July 1, 1863 - The Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania marks the turning point of the Civil War. The Confederates, led by General Robert E. Lee, try to invade the North. They are thwarted by the Union army in the three-day battle that will leave more than 40,000 men on both sides dead, wounded, captured or missing in action. Lee retreats into Virginia.

Date of Event:

1865 - Davis' Telegram

April 18, 1865 - In the closing days of the Civil War, Confederate President Jefferson Davis stops in Charlotte. He spends two weeks in the Queen City. Davis holds several meetings with his advisors, or cabinet. As Davis is giving a speech from the porch of businessman Lewis Bates' home, the Confederate president is interrupted by a messenger. The telegram says that Abraham Lincoln has been assassinated.Jefferson Davis in CharlottePlaque on S. Tryon St.

Date of Event:

1826 - The Southern Economy

Slave markets in Mecklenburg County are held twice each year. The highest price paid for a slave this year is $568. While many labor as farm-hands under back-breaking conditions on plantations throughout the South, some others are taught skills. Men who learn woodworking, black-smithing, and masonry -- and women who become seamstresses or cooks -- become indispensable to the plantation household and the South's economy.

Date of Event:

1865 - Slavery Ends in North Carolina

December 4, 1865 - North Carolina's legislature agrees to abolish slavery. The state approves, or ratifies, the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution. This is one requirement the state must meet if it wants to be re-admitted into the United States. North Carolina had left the U.S., or seceded, more than four years earlier.

Date of Event:

1862 - Charlotte's War Effort

Fifteen hundred Mecklenburg men and boys go to work at Charlotte's Confederate Navy Yard, where shells, gunpowder and ammunition, called ordnance, are made. The navy yard has been moved from Norfolk, Virginia to Mecklenburg County to be near the iron works, and farther from enemy troops. Women do their part, too. They spin, weave and sew to make uniforms. 

Date of Event:

1835 - States' Rights

North Carolina's legislature passes a law proclaiming that states have the right to regulate slavery, not the federal government. But this decision is just part of a growing conflict within and among the states. By 1848, this issue will dominate and determine the outcome of presidential elections.

Date of Event:

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. 

Date of Event:

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.

Date of Event:

1843 - Business at the Mint

June 15, 1843 - Green Washington Caldwell is appointed superintendent of Charlotte's Mint. This doctor, former congressman and lawyer is well acquainted with the business of manufacturing coins. He is married to Jane McComb, whose father, Samuel, began one of Charlotte's first gold mines.

Date of Event:

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.

Date of Event: