Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
165 YEARS AGO: Federals advance on Munson’s Hill, a few miles southwest of Washington, and make an embarrassing discovery. Meanwhile, the Confederate commander faces criticism from his superiors.
165 YEARS AGO: The growing tension between George B. McClellan and Winfield Scott results in a harsh exchange after a conference on military strategy.
165 YEARS AGO: Confederates form a defense line across Kentucky while Federals open recruitment efforts, thereby ensuring that turmoil in the state will continue.
165 YEARS AGO: Despite the recent loss of Lexington and the scattering of his forces, John C. Fremont reports that his troops are somehow “gathering around the enemy” in Missouri.
John C. Fremont continues garnering ill will among fellow officers, and Abraham Lincoln endures criticism from politicians for modifying Fremont’s controversial decree.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Sterling Price’s pro-secessionist Missouri State Guards capture a Federal force and a key commercial town in their effort to expel the Federals from their state.