Year by year · 19th century

1863

1863 in world history: 28 events, 19 births, 12 deaths, 1 work, 5 states founded and 5 that came to an end. 1,044 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 1 January

    Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation comes into force

    Abraham Lincoln's proclamation declared enslaved people in the rebelling Confederate states free. It turned the Civil War into a war against slavery and opened the Union army to Black soldiers.

  2. 2 January

    Union holds the field at the Battle of Stones River

    A failed Confederate assault on the final day of fighting near Murfreesboro, Tennessee, led Braxton Bragg to withdraw. The costly Union success lifted Northern morale after the defeat at Fredericksburg.

  3. 17 February

    Committee that became the Red Cross meets in Geneva

    Five Genevans, including Henri Dunant, founded a committee to aid wounded soldiers, inspired by Dunant's account of Solferino. It became the International Committee of the Red Cross.

  4. 2 May

    Stonewall Jackson is shot by his own men at Chancellorsville

    Returning from a night reconnaissance, General Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson was hit by fire from Confederate pickets. He died of pneumonia eight days later, a grave loss to Lee.

  5. 10 May

    Stonewall Jackson dies of pneumonia

    Eight days after being wounded by his own men at Chancellorsville, General Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson died. Lee said he had lost his right arm.

  6. 1 July

    The Battle of Gettysburg begins in Pennsylvania

    Confederate and Union forces collided at Gettysburg, opening the largest battle ever fought in North America. Three days later Lee's army withdrew, having suffered some 23,000 of the roughly 50,000 casualties.

    North America

  7. 2 July

    Union troops hold Little Round Top on Gettysburg's second day

    Confederate assaults struck the Union left at Little Round Top, the Wheatfield and the Peach Orchard. The Union line held its high ground by a narrow margin, setting the stage for Pickett's Charge the next day.

  8. 3 July

    Pickett's Charge fails on the final day of Gettysburg

    Some 12,500 Confederates advanced across open fields against the Union centre on Cemetery Ridge and were cut down. The repulse ended Lee's invasion of the North and is often called the high-water mark of the Confederacy.

  9. 4 July

    Vicksburg surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant

    After a 47-day siege, John Pemberton surrendered Vicksburg and nearly 30,000 men. With Port Hudson falling days later, the Union controlled the Mississippi and split the Confederacy in two.

  10. 18 July

    The 54th Massachusetts leads the assault on Fort Wagner

    The 54th Massachusetts, one of the first Black regiments in the Union army, led a night attack on Fort Wagner near Charleston. The assault failed with heavy losses, but the regiment's courage changed Northern opinion.

  11. 3 October

    Lincoln proclaims a national day of Thanksgiving

    Amid the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November a national day of thanksgiving. The proclamation answered years of campaigning by the editor Sarah Josepha Hale and began an annual federal holiday.

  12. 29 October

    A Geneva conference founds the Red Cross movement

    An international conference called by the Geneva committee of Henri Dunant closed by adopting resolutions for national relief societies for wounded soldiers. The Red Cross movement and the 1864 Geneva Convention followed.

  13. 19 November

    Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address

    At the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery, Abraham Lincoln spoke for about two minutes. His short address recast the Civil War as a struggle for 'a new birth of freedom' and government 'of the people'.

  14. 25 November

    Union troops storm Missionary Ridge

    At Chattanooga, Union soldiers charged up Missionary Ridge beyond their orders and routed Braxton Bragg's Confederate army. The victory opened the way into Georgia.

    Georgia

  15. Treaty · Peace

    Treaty of Coche

    The Treaty of Coche was the agreement signed in April 1863 at the Coche estate near Caracas that ended the Federal War in Venezuela.

  16. Battle

    Battle of Rangiriri

    The Battle of Rangiriri was fought on 20–21 November 1863 in the Waikato, New Zealand, during the British invasion of the Waikato.

  17. Siege

    Siege of Vicksburg

    The Siege of Vicksburg, from May to 4 July 1863, ended with the surrender of the Confederate fortress on the Mississippi River in Mississippi to Union forces under Ulysses S.

  18. Event

    Frankfurt Congress of Princes

    The Frankfurt Congress of Princes was a meeting of German sovereigns convened by Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria in Frankfurt in August 1863 to approve an Austrian plan for reforming the German Confederation.

  19. Event

    Rionegro Convention

    The Rionegro Convention was the constituent assembly that met at Rionegro, Antioquia, in 1863 after the Liberal victory in the Colombian civil war of 1860–1862.

ProfileState891 states with a known seat in 1863Open the atlas at 1863 →

In the profiles

  • SurinameSlavery is abolished on 1 July, now commemorated as Keti Koti
  • VenezuelaThe Treaty of Coche ends the Federal War
  • Republic of El SalvadorRafael Carrera takes San Salvador and overthrows Gerardo Barrios
  • Swiss ConfederationThe International Committee of the Red Cross is founded in Geneva
  • Bahá'í FaithBahá’u’lláh declares his mission in the Garden of Ridván in Baghdad

Wars and longer events

Born in 1863 19

Died in 1863 12

Works 1

States founded 5

States that came to an end 5

Great speeches

The Gettysburg AddressAbraham Lincoln

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1863. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1863
MLA
“1863.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1863. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1863.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1863.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1863’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1863 (Accessed: ).