Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
Abraham Lincoln signs the most controversial bill of his presidency into law, providing for the first national military draft in U.S. history.
President Abraham Lincoln signs several bills into law that are met with intense opposition from the Democrat minority in Congress.
After nearly a month, the last Federal transport finally clears Yazoo Pass in an effort to get to the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
The National Council of Cherokee Indians approves resolutions repealing its ordinance of secession, renouncing its support for the Confederacy, declaring new support for the U.S., and abolishing slavery in the Cherokee Nation.
A U.S. warship seizes a British merchant vessel in neutral waters, which threatens to cause an international crisis.
Confederates begin trying to salvage the partially sunken U.S.S. Indianola, while the Federals try stopping them by sending a “gunboat” down the Mississippi River to confront them.