| Date | Event |
|---|
| 1826, Feb. 9 | Born, Jackson County, Ill. |
| 1846-1848 | Lieutenant, United States Army |
| 1851 | Began law practice |
| 1852 | Elected to Illinois legislature |
| 1855 | Married Mary Simmerson Cunningham (died 1923) |
| 1858 | Elected to Congress as representative from the eleventh Illinois district |
| 1861 | Colonel, 31st Illinois Regiment |
| 1862-1865 | General, United States Army |
| 1866-1870 | Representative-at-large from Illinois, United States Congress |
| 1868 | Conceived idea of Memorial Day |
| 1871-1877,1879-1886 | United States senator from Illinois |
| 1884 | Vice-presidential candidate on Republican ticket with James Gillespie Blaine |
| 1886, Dec. 26 | Died, Washington, D.C. |
