Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Prominent U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas dies at age 48 after battles with various illnesses. Douglas was a key Democrat who supported the Lincoln administration’s war effort, and his death begins a period of national mourning.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: A conference between Federal officers and Missouri state officials leads to open warfare between the Federals and pro-Confederate Missouri State Guard.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Federals win a minor victory that clears Confederates out of the Kanawha Valley of western Virginia and secures the railroad line between Washington and the West.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: The first land battle of the war takes place in northern Virginia, and Confederates blockade the Potomac waterway into Chesapeake Bay.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: William S. Harney is ousted as Federal commander in Missouri due to his suspected leniency toward secessionists. This leaves his successor, Nathaniel Lyon, with free reign to destroy secessionism in the state.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Benjamin F. Butler causes another controversy, this time by refusing to return fugitive slaves to their masters. This military policy of designating escapees as “contraband of war” is endorsed by the Lincoln administration, which sets a wartime precedent.