Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
165 YEARS AGO: The standoff in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley continues. Federal General Robert Patterson feebly tries to engage Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederates, but Johnston has other ideas.
165 YEARS AGO: Henry H. Sibley tries to persuade Jefferson Davis that he could lead a force into the New Mexico Territory and claim her for the Confederacy.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Heavy skirmishing erupts at the foot of Laurel Hill as George B. McClellan’s Federals prepared to attack Robert S. Garnett’s Confederate defenders. Garnett expresses doubt about his capability to defend against the advancing enemy, as McClellan strategizes for an impending battle at Laurel Hill and Rich Mountain.
165 YEARS AGO: The C.S.S. Sumter completes her first raid on U.S. shipping, Federals strengthen their blockade, and a Federal crew takes on Confederate privateers.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: The 37th Congress of the United States assembles at President Abraham Lincoln’s request. The Republicans hold a strong majority, but they are split between conservatives wanting to wage war only to reunite the Union and radicals seeking to wage war to end slavery.
165 YEARS AGO: Secessionists defeat a Federal detachment in a minor clash as both sides scramble to link with their main forces in southwestern Missouri.