Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
165 YEARS AGO: Political turmoil and military maneuvering continue in the bitterly divided state of Missouri.
165 YEARS AGO: News of the previous day’s Confederate victory at Bull Run prompts celebrations in the South and depression in the North. An influential New York publisher writes a desperate letter to President Lincoln asking him to consider seeking peace with the South.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Confederate forces cross the Rio Grande and confront Federals at Fort Fillmore in their effort to conquer the New Mexico Territory.
165 YEARS AGO TODAY: The young, promising General George B. McClellan takes command of the demoralized Federal forces that had been defeated at Bull Run.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Letter from Lt. Col. Robert McAllister, 1st New Jersey Infantry, to his friend.
165 YEARS AGO: Kentucky Congressman John J. Crittenden teams with Tennessee Senator Andrew Johnson to introduce a congressional resolution that aims to define the purpose of the Federal war effort.