Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
165 YEARS AGO: Demoralized Federal troops begin a long retreat out of southwestern Missouri after their defeat at Wilson’s Creek.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Federals not only suffer a second major defeat within a month, but they lose an army commander as well.
165 YEARS AGO: Opposing forces inadvertently advance upon each other in southwestern Missouri, setting the stage for a battle.
165 YEARS AGO: Simon Cameron responds to Benjamin F. Butler’s request to clarify the Lincolns administration’s policy on fugitive slaves escaping into Federal military lines, one day after Confederates burned a refuge for escapees.
165 YEARS AGO: Robert E. Lee seeks to unify Confederate forces in western Virginia, but internal divisions and rivalries among commanders hinder cooperation. Various independent commands operate without collaboration, resulting in ineffective resistance against Federal forces in the Kanawha Valley.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Abraham Lincoln reluctantly signs a bill into law allowing Federal commanders to seize slaves from people supporting the Confederacy. But this law does not provide clear enforcement guidelines, thus raising constitutional concerns.