What Happened in 1863

Wheeler's October 1863 Raid

Wheeler's October 1863 Raid (October 1–9, 1863) was a large cavalry raid in southeastern Tennessee during the American Civil War. Maj. Gen. Joseph... Read more

Battle of Baxter Springs - Quantrill's Raiders Massacre Union Black Troops

Description: After conducting many raids in Kansas, including the massacre at Lawrence, Quantrill decided to winter in Texas. Along with other... Read more

Battle of Blue Springs

Description: Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, commander of the Department of the Ohio, undertook an expedition into East Tennessee to clear the roads... Read more

First Battle of Auburn - Start of the Bristoe Campaign

Description: After the retreat from Gettysburg, the Confederate army concentrated behind Rapidan River in Orange County. The Federals advanced to... Read more

Second Battle of Auburn

Description: As the Federal army withdrew towards Manassas Junction, Owens and Smyth’s Union brigades (Warren’s II Corps) fought a rearguard action... Read more

Battle of Bristoe Station - Confederates Destroy Railroad

Description: On October 14, 1863, A.P. Hill’s corps stumbled upon two corps of the retreating Union army at Bristoe Station and attacked without... Read more

Battle of Charlestown

The Battle of Charlestown was a small engagement between Confederate cavalry forces under Brig. Gen. John D. Imboden and the Union forces under... Read more

Battle of Buckland Mills - Union Cavalry Ambushed

Description: After defeat at Bristoe Station and an aborted advance on Centreville, Stuart’s cavalry shielded the withdrawal of Lee’s army from the... Read more

Battle of Pine Bluff

Description: At 8:00 am, October 25, Col. Powell Clayton sent a company of cavalry toward Princeton which ran into Brig. Gen. John S. Marmaduke’s... Read more

Battle of Wauhatchie - Longstreet Defeated

Description: In an effort to relieve Union forces besieged in Chattanooga, Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas and Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant initiated the... Read more

Battle of Collierville

Description: Four minor battles occurred in 1863 at Collierville, Tennessee, during a three-month period. The November 3 fight was intended to be a... Read more

Battle of Droop Mountain

Other Names: None Location: Pocahontas County Campaign: Averell’s Raid on the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad (November 1863) Date(s):... Read more

Second Battle of Rappahannock Station

The Second Battle of Rappahannock Station took place on November 7, 1863, near the village of Rappahannock Station (now Remington, Virginia), on... Read more

Battle of Campbell's Station

Description: In early November 1863, Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, with two divisions and about 5,000 cavalry, was detached from the Confederate Army... Read more

Abraham Lincoln Delivers The Gettysburg Address

On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered a short speech at the close of ceremonies dedicating the battlefield cemetery at... Read more

Third Battle Of Chattanooga

On November 23, 1863, the Battle of Chattanooga began. Over the next three days, Union forces drove Confederate troops away from Chattanooga,... Read more

Battle of Lookout Mountain - Marks Start of Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign

Description: From the last days of September through October 1863, Gen. Braxton Bragg’s army laid siege to the Union army under Maj. Gen. William... Read more

Battle of Missionary Ridge

The Battle of Missionary Ridge was fought November 25, 1863, as part of the Chattanooga Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the Union... Read more

Battle of Ringgold Gap - Joseph Hooker's Union Forces Defeated

Description: Following the Union victory at Missionary Ridge and the Rebel retreat, Yankee troops set out in pursuit. Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne’s... Read more

Battle of Mine Run - Lee's Confederates Bombarded

Description: Payne’s Farm and New Hope Church were the first and heaviest clashes of the Mine Run Campaign. In late November 1863, Meade attempted... Read more

Battle of Fort Sanders - Poor Gunpowder Quality Hinders Longstreet

Description: In attempting to take Knoxville, the Confederates decided that Fort Sanders was the only vulnerable place where they could penetrate... Read more

Ex Parte Vallandigham

THIS case arose on the petition of Clement L. Vallandigham for a certiorari, to be directed to the Judge Advocate General of the Army of the United... Read more

Church of the Company Fire

The Church of the Company Fire (December 8, 1863) is the largest fire to have ever affected the city of Santiago, Chile. Between 2,000 and 3,000... Read more

Lincoln Attempts Reconstruction with the Ten Percent Plan

December 8: President Lincoln announces the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction. It offers pardon and restoration of property -- except... Read more

Abraham Lincoln Issues Amnesty Proclamation

I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do proclaim, declare, and make known to all persons who have, directly or by implication,... Read more