Timeline of Emancipation

Timeline of Emancipation

1861
April 12
Opening shots fired by the Confederacy

Opening shots fired by the Confederacy against U.S. troops at Fort Sumter, South Carolina.

May 23
The policy of sending runaway slaves back to their owners is reversed

After being inundated with self-emancipating enslaved people seeking protection with the US Army at Fort Monroe, Virginia, General Benjamin Butler declares them “contraband of war,” reversing the policy of sending runaway slaves back to their Confederate owners.

July 7
U.S Fort Marion is overtaken by Confederate forces

The U.S Fort Marion (Castillo de San Marcos) in St. Augustine is overtaken by Confederate forces.

August 6
Congress passes the First Confiscation Act

Congress passes the First Confiscation Act, requiring the confiscation of any enslaved person being used for military purposes by the Confederacy.

1862
February 24
Confederate forces abandon Fernandina

Confederate forces abandon Fernandina on the east coast of Florida. The Union Army occupies the area.

March 11
The Union Army occupied Fernandina

The Union Army occupied Fernandina, Jacksonville, and St. Augustine. They will control St. Augustine until the war ends.

July 17
Congress passes the Second Confiscation Act

Congress passes the Second Confiscation Act, reinforcing the first but now declaring that the enslaved people confiscated from the Confederacy, whether or not they had been used for military purposes, “shall be forever free.”

September 22
President Abraham Lincoln issues the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

Days after the bloody battle at Antietam in Sharpsburg, Maryland, President Abraham Lincoln issues the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation announcing his intention to free the enslaved people held by the Confederacy on January 1, 1863. This measure was undertaken as a strategic step intended to encourage the end of the conflict.

December 31
The beginning of the tradition of “Watch Night”

In anticipation of President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation going into effect, enslaved people gathered in religious spaces to await the stroke of midnight, marking end of slavery. This was the beginning of the tradition of “Watch Night,” a religious celebration connected to the political process of emancipation.

1863
January 1
The Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect

The Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect, freeing enslaved people in areas under control of the Union Army, but exempting those held in bondage in certain areas. The measure also allowed for the enlistment of Black troops into the Union Army.