President Abraham Lincoln signs a bill into law establishing the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, which became known as the Freedmen’s Bureau. The Bureau’s purpose was to facilitate the transition of former slaves to freedom.
Tag: Abraham Lincoln
Lee Proposes a Military Convention
Robert E. Lee proposes to meet with Ulysses S. Grant to discuss the possibility of “a satisfactory adjustment of the present unhappy difficulties by means of a military convention…”
Sheridan’s Valley Raid
Ulysses S. Grant plans a coordinated offensive against all major Confederate targets. Part of this consists of Philip Sheridan’s Federals doing one more sweep through the devastated Shenandoah Valley.
A King’s Cure for All the Evils
Minnesota becomes the 15th state to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution permanently abolishing slavery.
Compensated Emancipation and the Hampton Roads Fallout
President Abraham Lincoln unveils a new plan for slave emancipation, and members of Congress demand to know what happened at Hampton Roads.
Peace Conference at Hampton Roads
President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State William H. Seward meet with three Confederate envoys to discuss a possible end to the war. Lincoln insists that no terms can be accepted without restoring the Union and ending slavery.