Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
Abraham Lincoln bids farewell to the people of Springfield as he and his family begin their trip to Washington. Lincoln’s journey through Illinois and into Indiana is marked by enthusiastic receptions and multiple speeches emphasizing unity and the importance of preserving the Union.
Southern states began taking steps toward leaving the Union, while some northerners began talking of keeping the South in the Union, even by force if necessary.
Don Carlos Buell receives orders to turn his Federal command over to William S. Rosecrans for his failure to stop the Confederates’ escape from Kentucky and his refusal to chase them into eastern Tennessee.
Adam R. Johnson leads 35 Confederate partisans out of Henderson, Kentucky, to raid the Federal arsenal across the Ohio River at Newburgh, Indiana.