Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
Ulysses S. Grant arrives in Washington to accept his promotion to lieutenant-general, making him commander of all Federal armies in the field. Grant was welcomed by President Lincoln and other officials at the White House, where he was urged to address potential military rivalries in his upcoming speech.
A U.S. warship seizes a British merchant vessel in neutral waters, which threatens to cause an international crisis.
U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward unilaterally declines an offer by French Emperor Napoleon III to mediate the conflict between the U.S. and the Confederacy.
President Abraham Lincoln meets with the secret Senate Republican caucus committee and shrewdly arranges for the committee members and his cabinet to explain their differences face to face.
Republican senators gather in an extraordinary caucus to determine how to better manage the war effort after the terrible defeat at Fredericksburg.
Northerners learn of the true disaster at Fredericksburg, which sparks enough outrage to make this the greatest crisis of the Lincoln presidency to date.