Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
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.
Letter from 2nd Lt. Thomas Lightfoot, 6th Alabama Volunteer Infantry, to his cousin.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: George B. McClellan orders Federal troops across the Ohio River to begin anticipated incursion into predominantly Unionist western Virginia.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Pennsylvania militia arrest a Maryland farmer in his Maryland home for suspected secessionist activity. This provokes a controversial legal dispute between the president and the U.S. chief justice and leads to ongoing violations of civil liberties during the war.