Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Delegates to a state convention in North Carolina unanimously approves an ordinance dissolving ties with the Union. North Carolina becomes the 10th state to join the Confederacy.
In March, the Arkansas State Convention voted against secession. But now that Abraham Lincoln had issued his militia proclamation against the South, the reconvened Convention delegates overwhelmingly approved leaving the Union.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: The Confederate Congress approved waging a new form of naval warfare by authorizing expenditures to build ironclad warships. Meanwhile, Confederates expel the last Federal troops from Texas and continue their military buildup to defend against the U.S.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Robert E. Lee directs Thomas J. Jackson to assemble Confederate troops at strategic Harpers Ferry, Va. Command then shifts from Jackson to Joseph E. Johnston, who soon learns that the place is highly vulnerable to attack.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Benjamin Butler oversteps his authority and sends his Federal troops to seize the troublesome city of Baltimore.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Confederates keep a tenuous hold on hostile northwestern Virginia while Unionists consider seceding from the rest of the state.