Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
165 YEARS AGO: Robert E. Lee returns to Richmond after his three-month campaign in western Virginia that many southerners consider a miserable failure.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: President Lincoln decides the time is right for Winfield Scott to retire as U.S. general-in-chief, who had been leading troops in the Army since the War of 1812. Lincoln looked to George B. McClellan as Scott’s replacement.
165 YEARS AGO: Confederate officials reorganize the army forces in northern Virginia, while Jefferson Davis takes issue with P.G.T. Beauregard’s report on the Battle of Bull Run.
165 YEARS AGO: John C. Fremont touts the recapture of Lexington and Springfield as great victories, but they do little to change the tumultuous military situation in Missouri.
165 YEARS AGO: A massive Federal army-navy expedition leaves Hampton Roads to capture Port Royal, South Carolina, between Charleston and Savannah.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Remnants of the popularly elected Missouri legislature gather at Neosho to approve seceding from the Union, even though a Unionist government operated at Jefferson City.