Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
Federals break an unofficial truce by reinforcing Fort Pickens, a vital installation near Pensacola, Florida. This changes the strategic landscape and intensifies the conflict.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Confederates demand the surrender of Fort Sumter, putting North and South on the brink of war.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: The South Carolinians receive word that President Abraham Lincoln will attempt to resupply Fort Sumter, which prompts President Jefferson Davis to make a fateful decision.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: President Abraham Lincoln orders the reinforcement of Fort Pickens at Pensacola, but mix-ups in orders make it more difficult than intended.
Confederates grow increasingly suspicious of William H. Seward’s vague pledge that the Federals would abandon Fort Sumter.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Secretary of State William H. Seward meets with an intermediary to Confederate envoys and submits an extraordinary memo to President Abraham Lincoln offering to head the administration behind the scenes.