OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Captain Charles Wilkes of the U.S.S. San Jacinto halts the neutral British steamship R.M.S. Trent on the open sea and seizes two Confederate envoys under dubious circumstances.
Category: Navy
The Fall of Port Royal
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: After struggling through a horrific storm on the Atlantic, the Federal naval squadron attacks and captures a vital Confederate port.
The Battle of Belmont
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Ulysses S. Grant’s Federal army narrowly escapes destruction in southwestern Missouri but gains important battle experience.
Federals Prepare to Attack Port Royal
165 YEARS AGO: A massive Federal armada of 77 war vessels begins arriving off Port Royal, S.C., with plans to bombard the forts guarding the port into submission.
The Port Royal Campaign
165 YEARS AGO: A massive Federal army-navy expedition leaves Hampton Roads to capture Port Royal, South Carolina, between Charleston and Savannah.
A Most Destructive Invention
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: The Confederacy unveils a new metal-plated ram to break the Federal blockade at the mouth of the Mississippi River.