Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
165 YEARS AGO: The Kentucky pro-Union legislature enacts anti-secession measures while secessionist leaders, including the former U.S. vice president, urges his fellow Kentuckians to resist the Federal occupation of their state.
165 YEARS AGO: John C. Fremont leaves St. Louis to lead his Army of the Southwest against the secessionist Missouri State Guards of Sterling Price.
165 YEARS AGO: Confederates strengthen their defense line across Kentucky, as William T. Sherman gives his Federal superiors a gloomy report of affairs in the state.
165 YEARS AGO: Confederates scramble to defend the North Carolina coast, including efforts to take back Forts Clark and Hatteras at Hatteras Inlet.
165 YEARS AGO: Federal forces attack a Confederate detachment near Cheat Mountain in northwestern Virginia.
165 YEARS AGO: Jefferson Davis meets with his Confederate army commanders to discuss military strategy at Centreville in northern Virginia.