165 YEARS AGO: President Lincoln issues orders formally relieving John C. Fremont from command due to allegations of corruption and mismanagement. But getting the orders to Fremont would be another matter.
Category: Military
Worrying the Administration Into a Battle
165 YEARS AGO: The Federal defeat at Ball’s Bluff outrages northerners, sends the Lincolns into mourning, and increases calls for an “all-out war” against the Confederacy.
The Battle of Ball’s Bluff
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Federal forces suffer another horrific defeat when they are driven off a cliff overlooking the Potomac River at Leesburg, Virginia.
Shaking the Enemy Out of Leesburg
165 YEARS AGO: Federal forces converge on an isolated Confederate unit at Leesburg, a Virginia town up the Potomac River from Washington. However, confusion over troop positions leads to conflicting orders that cause Federal confusion.
We Thirst Not for Your Blood
165 YEARS AGO: M. Jeff Thompson leads 3,000 secessionist Missourians in disrupting Federal operations and engaging in several skirmishes in southeastern Missouri.
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.