President-elect Abraham Lincoln meets with influential Congressman Francis P. Blair, Jr. and publishes an editorial about possibly bringing a southerner into his cabinet.
Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
President-elect Abraham Lincoln meets with influential Congressman Francis P. Blair, Jr. and publishes an editorial about possibly bringing a southerner into his cabinet.
One of the greatest Federal military disasters of the war finally ends, leaving bitter resentment in the Red River Valley of Louisiana.
The Federal Red River campaign is fizzling out. Frederick Steele’s Army of Arkansas begins returning to Little Rock, while Federal naval forces on the Red River in Louisiana are in grave danger of being stranded in shallow water.
Confederates continue to harass the Federals retreating down the Red River in Louisiana. David D. Porter’s Federal naval flotilla reaches Alexandria, Louisiana, but it still faces potential destruction as the Red River continues falling.
Nathaniel P. Banks’s Federals move out of Grand Ecore, Louisiana, on their way back to their expedition’s starting point at Alexandria. Meanwhile, the Federal naval squadron continues to struggle to get back down the Red River and out of harm’s way.
The deadline arrives for Nathaniel P. Banks to return Federal troops on loan from William T. Sherman. But the situation becomes complicated because Banks fails to reach Shreveport and the Red River is falling dangerously low.