Abraham Lincoln addresses corruption in the War Department by appointing a new secretary determined to wage more aggressive war.
Category: Politics
The Bottom is Out of the Tub
Desperate for action, Abraham Lincoln calls a meeting of the Army of the Potomac’s top brass without General-in-Chief George B. McClellan.
The Union is Broken For Ever
The year closes with southerners optimistic about gaining independence and northerners pessimistic about preserving the Union.
The Northern Financial Crisis
The suspension of specie payments by the leading northern banks plunges the North into a financial crisis as the year ends.
The Power to Send for Persons and Papers
The U.S. Senate approves a measure creating a joint House-Senate military oversight committee whose investigative methods quickly prove controversial.
President Lincoln’s 1861 Message to Congress
President Abraham Lincoln submits his first annual message to Congress, in which he describes the current state of affairs and reiterates his view that the Union must be preserved by all necessary means.