Civil War -- 1863
Brackets indicate dates and entries that follow logically from information in primary sources but are not explicitly stated.
- 1863
- January 1
- Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect; Galveston, Texas, retaken by Confederates
- January 4
- Arrives in Richmond
- January 16
- Confers with Robert E. Lee
- February [8-22]
- Ill at home
- March [5-8]
- Ill at home
- March [11-18]
- Confers with Lee in Richmond
- March [13-14]
- Varina Davis leaves for Montgomery, Alabama
- April 2
- Makes impromptu speech during Richmond bread riot
- April [7-22]
- Ill at home
- April 14
- Varina Davis returns to Richmond
- May 1-4
- Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia
- May 6
- Confers with James Longstreet
- May [7-11]
- Ill at home
- May 10
- Stonewall Jackson dies
- May 11-12
- Attends Jackson's funeral ceremonies
- May [14-17]
- Confers with Lee in Richmond
- May 16
- Battle of Champion Hill, Mississippi; Pemberton retreats into Vicksburg and is invested by the 18th
- May 18-19
- Ill at home
- June 19
- Meets with Rose O. Greenhow before her departure for Europe (see Greenhow's letter to Davis, July 16)
- July [1-8]
- Ill at home
- July 1-3
- Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
- July 4
- Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, ends in surrender
- July 9
- Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana, ends in surrender
- August [24]-September [7]
- Consults with Lee in Richmond
- September 19-20
- Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia
- October-November
- Inspects Braxton Bragg's army near Chattanooga, then makes tour with numerous public appearances through Alabama, eastern Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, returning to Richmond on November 7 (see speeches at Missionary Ridge and Wilmington)
- November 19
- Lincoln delivers Gettysburg Address
- November 21-24
- Consults with Lee at Orange Court House, Virginia
- November 21-24
- Battle of Chattanooga, Tennessee
- December 14-15
- Meets with Lee in Richmond
