Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Confederate envoys seek to garner foreign support but faced opposition due to foreign hostility toward slavery. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward declares U.S. commitment to preserving the Union and warns the foreign powers not to recognize Confederate independence.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Three Confederate commissioners arrive in Washington to negotiate the peaceful transfer of Fort Sumter from U.S. to Confederate hands. Secretary of State William H. Seward takes it upon himself to discuss the situation with the commissioners despite President Abraham Lincoln’s instruction not to do so.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Jefferson Davis prioritizes securing foreign recognition for the new Confederacy by appointing three commissioners for diplomatic missions to three influential European nations. Meanwhile, Federal military officers continue to resign to go South, and Confederate officials approach Robert E. Lee to do the same.
U.S. troops slaughter Cheyenne Indians on their reservation, despite earlier peace assurances. This paves the way toward permanently banishing Native Americans from Colorado.
The famed Confederate commerce raider C.S.S. Florida, which had been captured under dubious circumstances in October, suspiciously sinks before she could be returned.
The Federal steam sloop U.S.S. Wachusett captures the famed Confederate commerce raider C.S.S. Florida in the waters of a neutral country, which sparks international outrage. This daring seizure draws both praise and condemnation from various quarters.