Existing comment:
1863:
January 1 -- President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation.
April - May -- Recognizing the importance of Harpers Ferry to the defense of Washington, Chief Engineer, Gen. John Barnard (USA) plans and recommends extensive fortifications in and around Harpers Ferry.
April 30 - May 6 -- Battle of Chancellorsville.
June -- Federal troops add 100-pounder artillery piece and a series of breastworks on Maryland Heights.
June 16 -- 2nd Confederate invasion of the North.
June 17 -- Federal troops evacuate Harpers Ferry and man fortifications on Maryland Heights.
June 20 -- West Virginia admitted to the Union as the 35th state.
June 30 -- Federals abandon Maryland Heights and withdraw to Frederick, Maryland.
June 30 -- Virginia cavalry attacks Union cavalry on Bolivar Heights, capturing Federal soldiers and occupying Harpers Ferry.
July 1 - 3 -- Battle of Gettysburg.
July 4 -- Battle of Vicksburg. [Odd sign. July 4 is when the battle ended at Vicksburg, which had been under siege for a considerable time, as the Confederates surrendered.]
July 7 -- Federal troops reoccupy Maryland Heights.
July 14 -- Federal troops reoccupy Harpers Ferry and reconstruct Potomac pontoon bridge.
July 14 -- 1st Connecticut Cavalry attacks the 12th Virginia Cavalry near Bolivar Heights. 12th Virginia captures 25 Federal cavalry.
??? MISSING ANYTHING ???
1864:
January 10 -- Col. John S. Mosby's Partisan Rangers (CSA) suffer a rare defeat following their failed ambush of Maj. Henry Cole's Maryland Cavalry (USA) on Loudoun Heights.
May 5 - 7 -- Battle of the Wilderness.
May 8 - 21 -- Battle of Spotsylvania.
May 15 -- Battle of New Market.
May 31 - June 12 -- Battle of Cold Harbor.
June 9 -- Siege of Petersburg begins.
July 4 -- 3rd Confederate invasion of the North.
July 4 -- Gen. Jubal Early (CSA) forces Union soldiers to withdraw to Maryland Heights. Bombardment by Federal troops force Early back, delaying attack on Washington.
July 7 -- Federal forces reoccupy Harpers Ferry.
July 9 - 12 -- Battle of Monocacy.
August - October -- Shenandoah Valley Campaign.
August - December -- Gen. Philip Sheridan (USA) establishes base of operations at Harpers Ferry. Soldiers construct earthwork defenses along the crest of Bolivar Heights, connecting six artillery redoubts with a series of infantry trenches.
September 16 - 17 -- Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (USA) convenes Council of War with Sheridan and overnights in Harpers Ferry.
September 19 -- Battle of 3rd Winchester.
September 22 -- Battle of Fisher's Hill.
September 23 -- 1,500 prisoners from Winchester and Fisher's Hill are processed through Harpers Ferry, some are temporarily held in John Brown's Fort.
October 19 -- Battle of Cedar Creek.
November 8 -- President Lincoln is reelected.
1865:
March 3 -- Freedman's Bureau is established.
April 2 -- Richmond, Va., capital of the Confederacy falls.
April 5 -- Notorious Confederate guerilla and Harpers Ferry native John Mobberly is shot and killed by Federal cavalry near Lovettsville, Va.
April 9 -- Gen. Robert E. Lee (CSA) surrenders to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (USA) at Appomattox.
April 14 -- President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated.
April 26 -- Gen. Joseph E. Johnston (CSA) surrenders the Army of Tennessee and other troops under his command.
May 23 - 24 -- The Grand Review of the Armies military procession is held in Washington, D.C. to honor the Union army and the conclusion of the war.
June 30 -- Federal troops at Harpers Ferry are mustered out of service.
December 6 -- 13th Amendment to the Constitution is adopted. It officially abolished and continues to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. |