Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Heavy skirmishing erupts at the foot of Laurel Hill as George B. McClellan’s Federals prepared to attack Robert S. Garnett’s Confederate defenders. Garnett expresses doubt about his capability to defend against the advancing enemy, as McClellan strategizes for an impending battle at Laurel Hill and Rich Mountain.
165 YEARS AGO: The C.S.S. Sumter completes her first raid on U.S. shipping, Federals strengthen their blockade, and a Federal crew takes on Confederate privateers.
165 YEARS AGO: Secessionists defeat a Federal detachment in a minor clash as both sides scramble to link with their main forces in southwestern Missouri.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: The Confederate government acquired a merchant steamer and converted her into a naval cruiser named the C.S.S. Sumter. Led by Captain Raphael Semmes, the Sumter runs the Federal blocked and enters the Gulf of Mexico to begin her career of waging war on U.S. shipping.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: President Abraham Lincoln holds a special cabinet meeting in which General Irvin McDowell explains his plan to invade northern Virginia, crush the Confederate army, and capture Richmond.
Federal forces crack down on suspected secessionism in Baltimore in the ongoing effort to keep Maryland in the Union.