Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: President Abraham Lincoln convenes his cabinet to discuss what to do about Fort Sumter amidst differing opinions. Lincoln weighs the costs of abandonment versus holding the fort, and then decides to send someone there to assess the garrison’s condition.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Three Confederate commissioners arrive in Washington to negotiate the peaceful transfer of Fort Sumter from U.S. to Confederate hands. Secretary of State William H. Seward takes it upon himself to discuss the situation with the commissioners despite President Abraham Lincoln’s instruction not to do so.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Many of Abraham Lincoln’s advisors recommend abandoning Fort Sumter, but Lincoln considers a different course of action.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Abraham Lincoln begins his first full day as president by receiving an ominous message from Robert Anderson at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.
Major Robert Anderson’s Federal garrison at Fort Sumter faces isolation while South Carolina officials seek its surrender. But the South Carolinians will need the new Confederate government to back them up.
Tensions in South Carolina escalate as Robert Anderson’s Federal garrison remains at Fort Sumter. Despite requests for withdrawal, President Buchanan upholds the garrison’s position. The South Carolina militia takes defensive actions, leading to a standoff. Both sides avoid engagement while preparing for potential conflict, maintaining an uneasy truce in Charleston Harbor.