Former U.S. vice president John C. Breckinridge leads a Confederate force in a campaign to regain the Louisiana capital of Baton Rouge.

Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
Former U.S. vice president John C. Breckinridge leads a Confederate force in a campaign to regain the Louisiana capital of Baton Rouge.
After capturing Fort Pillow, the Federal Western Flotilla immediately targets Memphis, the Confederacy’s fifth largest city, further down the Mississippi River.
Confederates launch a surprise attack on the Mississippi River to keep the Federals from continuing downstream to capture Fort Pillow and Memphis.
April 27, 1865 – The steamboat Sultana exploded and sank on the Mississippi River. As many as 1,800 recently released Federal prisoners of war were