Edmund Kirby Smith urges Confederate foreign envoy John Slidell to get France to intervene on the Confederacy’s behalf so that the French puppet regime in Mexico will have a friendly neighbor to the north.

Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
Edmund Kirby Smith urges Confederate foreign envoy John Slidell to get France to intervene on the Confederacy’s behalf so that the French puppet regime in Mexico will have a friendly neighbor to the north.
A Federal force led by Frederick Steele advances westward from Helena, Arkansas, to capture the state capital of Little Rock.
Confederates try lifting the siege of Vicksburg by preparing to attack the Federal outpost at Milliken’s Bend, on the west bank of the Mississippi River.
Federal forces push from Missouri into northwestern Arkansas, as Confederates in Arkansas are asked to provide support east of the Mississippi River.
Confederates try to re-enter Missouri from Arkansas, and a fierce skirmish results.
In distant Texas, a Federal expedition threatened to break an informal truce before news arrived that the war was over.