Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
165 YEARS AGO: Kentucky Congressman John J. Crittenden teams with Tennessee Senator Andrew Johnson to introduce a congressional resolution that aims to define the purpose of the Federal war effort.
165 YEARS AGO: The U.S. Congress defiantly resolves that the defeat at Bull Run will not stop the Federals from achieving ultimate victory.
165 YEARS AGO: The U.S. Congress begins debating on how to pay for the war, with various member proposing such things as borrowing, taxing, and confiscating rebel property. These also spark debates over the implications for slavery and wartime policies. The anti-war minority also makes itself heard.
165 YEARS AGO: The battle that many hoped would end the war takes place in northern Virginia near a stream named Bull Run.
165 YEARS AGO: The Federal army reaches Centreville in northern Virginia, while Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederates slip out of the Shenandoah Valley undetected and head east.
165 YEARS AGO: In western Virginia, a Federal force looks to clear Confederates out of the Great Kanawha Valley while Confederates try to coordinate and consolidate their forces.