Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Despite initial reluctance, the Lincoln administration approves establishing a national agency to improve military healthcare for volunteer soldiers.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Tennessee voters confirm the state legislature’s resolution to secede from the Union. However, eastern Tennessee remains largely pro-Union, and political leaders in that region look to form a separate state with Federal military support.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Prominent U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas dies at age 48 after battles with various illnesses. Douglas was a key Democrat who supported the Lincoln administration’s war effort, and his death begins a period of national mourning.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: A conference between Federal officers and Missouri state officials leads to open warfare between the Federals and pro-Confederate Missouri State Guard.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Federals win a minor victory that clears Confederates out of the Kanawha Valley of western Virginia and secures the railroad line between Washington and the West.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: The first land battle of the war takes place in northern Virginia, and Confederates blockade the Potomac waterway into Chesapeake Bay.