Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
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.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Federal troops invade northern Virginia and seize the strategic town of Alexandria, but a promising young officer becomes one of the war’s first casualties.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: The Provisional Confederate Congress votes to adjourn after approving the relocation of the national capital from Montgomery, Ala., to Richmond, Va. President Jefferson Davis had initially opposed the move, but with significant support from Virginians and military considerations, the transfer is approved.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Delegates to a state convention in North Carolina unanimously approves an ordinance dissolving ties with the Union. North Carolina becomes the 10th state to join the Confederacy.
In March, the Arkansas State Convention voted against secession. But now that Abraham Lincoln had issued his militia proclamation against the South, the reconvened Convention delegates overwhelmingly approved leaving the Union.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: The Confederate Congress approved waging a new form of naval warfare by authorizing expenditures to build ironclad warships. Meanwhile, Confederates expel the last Federal troops from Texas and continue their military buildup to defend against the U.S.