OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Federal troops invade northern Virginia and seize the strategic town of Alexandria, but a promising young officer becomes one of the war’s first casualties.
Tag: Robert E. Lee
An Uneasy Hold on Harpers Ferry
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Robert E. Lee directs Thomas J. Jackson to assemble Confederate troops at strategic Harpers Ferry, Va. Command then shifts from Jackson to Joseph E. Johnston, who soon learns that the place is highly vulnerable to attack.
The Old Dominion Mobilizes
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: After Virginia seceded from the Union, the governor mobilizes state militia to defend against an impending Federal invasion from Washington.
The Very Best Soldier Goes South
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: U.S. Colonel Robert E. Lee meets with influential statesmen and receives an offer to command the Federal army.
The Texas Secession
Delegates to the Texas State Convention at Austin voted 166 to 7 to secede from the United States, and the Federal military commander in the state controversially turns over all property to the Texans.
Panic Has Seized the Country
President Jefferson Davis holds a cabinet meeting in Charlotte and weighs the Confederacy’s rapidly dwindling options. Davis reluctantly considers armistice proposals while contemplating implications of surrender.