1863 in the United States

Federal government

• President: Abraham Lincoln (R-Illinois)
• Vice President: Hannibal Hamlin (R-Maine)
• Chief Justice: Roger B. Taney (Maryland)
• Speaker of the House of Representatives:

Galusha A. Grow (R-Pennsylvania) (until March 4)

Schuyler Colfax (R-Indiana) (starting December 7)

• Congress: 37th (until March 4), 38th (starting March 4)

January

• January 1
  • President Lincoln issues the second executive order of the Emancipation Proclamation, specifying ten Confederate states in which slaves were to be freed.^[1]
  • The first claim under the Homestead Act is made for a farm in Nebraska.
• January 3 – The Thomas Nast drawing of the modern Santa Claus appears on the cover of Harper's Weekly, although Santa existed previously.
• January 8 – Ground is broken in Sacramento, California, on the construction of the First transcontinental railroad in the United States.
• January 11 – American Civil War: Battle of Arkansas Post – General John McClernand and Admiral David Dixon Porter capture the Arkansas River for the Union.
• January 29 – In the Bear River Massacre, the U.S. Army attacks a Shoshone encampment in present-day Idaho led by Chief Bear Hunter killing hundreds.

February

• February 3 – Samuel Clemens first uses the pen name Mark Twain in a Virginia City newspaper, the Territorial Enterprise.
• February 10
  • The world-famous midgets General Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren get married in New York City; P. T. Barnum takes an entrance fee.
  • The first fire extinguisher patent is granted to Alanson Crane in Virginia.^[2]
• February 16 – Kansas State Agricultural College is established as the first land grant college newly created under the 1862 Morrill Act.
• February 24 – Arizona Territory is organized.
• February 26 – Abraham Lincoln signs the National Banking Act into law.

March

• March 3
  • Idaho Territory is organized by the U.S. Congress.
  • The Enrollment Act is signed, leading to the week-long New York Draft Riots.
  • Third Legal Tender Act is passed.
  • Issue of gold certificates is authorized.
  • President Abraham Lincoln approves charter for the National Academy of Sciences.
• March 19 – The SS Georgiana is destroyed on her maiden voyage while attempting to run the blockade into Charleston, South Carolina. Lost to history, the wreck is discovered March 19, 1965 (exactly 102 years later) by E. Lee Spence.
• March 31 – The charter of Boston College is approved by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, establishing the college.
• March – La Salle University is established as a Catholic college in Philadelphia.

April

• April 2 – Southern bread riots: In Richmond, Virginia, about 5,000 people, mostly poor women, riot to protest the exorbitant price of bread.
• April 20 – American Civil War – The Battle of Washington ends inconclusively in Beaufort County, North Carolina.

May

• May 1–4 – American Civil War: Battle of Chancellorsville – General Robert E. Lee defeats Union forces with 13,000 Confederate casualties, among them Stonewall Jackson (lost to friendly fire), and 17,500 Union casualties.
• May 14 – American Civil War: Battle of Jackson (MS) – Union General Ulysses S. Grant defeats Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, opening the way for the siege of Vicksburg.
• May 18 – American Civil War: The siege of Vicksburg begins (ends Saturday, July 4, when 30,189 Confederate men surrender).
• May 21
  • American Civil War: The siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana, by Union forces begins.
  • The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is formed in Battle Creek, Michigan.
• May 28 – American Civil War: The 54th Massachusetts, the first African-American regiment, leaves Boston, Massachusetts to fight for the Union.

June

• June 9 – American Civil War: The Battle of Brandy Station, Virginia ends inconclusively.
• June 14 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Winchester – A Union garrison is defeated by the Army of Northern Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley town of Winchester, Virginia.
• June 17 – American Civil War: The Battle of Aldie in the Gettysburg campaign ends inconclusively.
• June 20 – West Virginia is admitted as the 35th U.S. state (see History of West Virginia).

July

• July 1–3 – American Civil War: Battle of Gettysburg – Union forces under George G. Meade turn back a Confederate invasion by Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg, the largest battle of the war (28,000 Confederate casualties, 23,000 Union).
• July 4 – American Civil War: Battle of Vicksburg – Ulysses S. Grant and the Union army capture the Confederate city Vicksburg, Mississippi, after the town surrendered. The siege lasted 47 days.
• July 9 – The siege of Port Hudson ends and the Union controls the entire Mississippi River for the first time.
• July 13 – American Civil War: New York Draft Riots – In New York City, opponents of conscription begin 3 days of violent rioting, which would later be regarded as the worst in the history of the U.S. with around 120 killed.
• July 18 – American Civil War: The first formal African American military unit, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, unsuccessfully assaults Confederate-held Fort Wagner but their valiant fighting still proves the worth of African American soldiers during the war. Their commander, Colonel Robert Shaw is shot leading the attack and was buried with his men (450 Union, 175 Confederate).
• July 26 – American Civil War: Morgan's Raid – At Salineville, Ohio, Confederate cavalry leader John Hunt Morgan and 375 of his volunteers are captured by Union forces.
• July 30 – Indian Wars: Chief Pocatello of the Shoshone tribe signs the Treaty of Box Elder, promising to stop harassing the emigrant trails in southern Idaho and northern Utah.

August

• August 8 – American Civil War: Following his defeat in the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee sends a letter of resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis (Davis refuses the request upon receipt).
• August 17 – American Civil War: In Charleston, South Carolina, Union batteries and ships bombard Confederate-held Fort Sumter (the bombardment does not end until Thursday, December 31).
• August 21 – American Civil War: Battle of Lawrence – Lawrence, Kansas is attacked by William Quantrill's raiders, who kill an estimated 200 men and boys. The raid becomes infamous in the North as one of the most vicious atrocities of the Civil War.

September

• September 6 – American Civil War: Confederates evacuate Battery Wagner and Morris Island in South Carolina.
• September 10 – American Civil War: Confederate Major-General Sterling Price evacuates the Arkansas state capital of Little Rock after his defensive line is breached at Bayou Fourche, eight miles below the city.
• September 16 – Robert College of Istanbul–Turkey, the first American educational institution outside the United States, is founded by Christopher Robert, an American philanthropist.

October

• October 3 – President Lincoln designates the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day
• October 5 – The Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Rail Road starts operations in Brooklyn, New York; this is now the oldest right-of-way on the New York City Subway, the largest rapid transit system in the United States and one of the largest in the world.
• October 14 – American Civil War: Battle of Bristoe Station – Confederate General Robert E. Lee forces fail to drive the Union army out of Virginia.
• October 15 – American Civil War: The first successful submarine, the CSS Hunley sinks during a test, killing Horace Lawson Hunley (its inventor) and a crew of seven.
• October 29 – American Civil War: Battle of Wauhatchie – Forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant, having fought through the night, ward-off a Confederate attack led by General James Longstreet. Union forces thus open a supply line into Chattanooga, Tennessee.

November

• November 16 – American Civil War: Battle of Campbell's Station – Near Knoxville, Tennessee, Confederate troops led by General James Longstreet unsuccessfully attack Union forces under General Ambrose Burnside.
• November 17 – American Civil War: The Siege of Knoxville begins – Confederate forces led by General James Longstreet place Knoxville, Tennessee under siege (the 2-week-long siege and 1 failed attack are unsuccessful).
• November 19 – American Civil War: U. S. President Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address at the military cemetery dedication ceremony in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
• November 23 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chattanooga III begins – Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant reinforce troops at Chattanooga, Tennessee and counter-attack Confederate troops.
• November 24 – American Civil War: Battle of Lookout Mountain – Near Chattanooga, Tennessee, Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant capture Lookout Mountain and begin to break the Confederate siege of the city led by General Braxton Bragg.
• November 25 – American Civil War: Battle of Missionary Ridge – At Missionary Ridge in Tennessee, Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant break the siege of Chattanooga by routing Confederate troops under General Braxton Bragg.
• November 26 – American Civil War: Battle of Mine Run – Union forces under General George Meade position against troops led by Confederate General Robert E. Lee (Meade's forces can not find any weaknesses in the Confederate lines and give up trying after 5 days).
• November 27 – American Civil War: Confederate cavalry leader John Hunt Morgan and several of his men escape the Ohio state prison, and return safely to the South.

December

• December 8 – President Lincoln issues the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction.
• December 10 – Leland Stanford, the 8th Governor of California, is succeeded by Frederick Low.
• December 25 – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow writes the poem Christmas Bells, or, as it is better known I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.

Ongoing

• American Civil War (1861–1865)