Video: 'Ken Burns - The Civil War: Episode 8 - War Is All Hell (1865) | Ken Burns Documentary' (Mar. 25, 1865, 36:26)

(Saturday, March 25, 1865, 4:15 a.m. local time; during the American Civil War) — The Battle of Fort Stedman was fought today as the Union Army fortification in the siege lines around Petersburg, Virginia, was attacked in a pre-dawn Confederate assault by troops led by Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon.

The attack was the last serious attempt by Confederate troops to break the Siege of Petersburg. After an initial success, Gordon’s men were driven back by Union troops of the IX Corps commanded by Maj. Gen. John G. Parke.

Video: 'PBS The Civil War: Episode 8 - War Is All Hell 1865' (Mar. 13, 1865, at 26:30)

(Monday, March 13, 1865; during the American Civil War) — Confederate President Jefferson Davis signed a measure today allowing black slaves to enlist in the Confederate States Army with the promise they would be set free.

(Saturday, March 11, 1865; during the Carolinas Campaign, part of the American Civil War) — Union forces under General William T. Sherman occupied Fayetteville, North Carolina, today.

Video: 'The Conquerors - Episode 8: Sherman's March to the Sea (History Documentary)' (Dec. 22, 1864, at 22:13)

(Thursday, December 22, 1864; during the American Civil War) — One day after capturing Savannah, Georgia, and concluding his March to the Sea, Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman said today in a message to President Abraham Lincoln: “I beg to present you as a Christmas-gift the city of Savannah.”

Video: 'The Conquerors - Episode 8: Sherman's March to the Sea (History Documentary)' (Dec. 20, 1864, at 21:29)

(Tuesday, December 20, 1864; during the American Civil War) — Confederate forces evacuated Savannah, Georgia, today as Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman nearly completed his March to the Sea.

Video: 'Civil War Journal - The Battle of Franklin & Nashville' (Dec. 16, 1864, at 38:30)

(Friday, December 16, 1864; the Battle of Nashville, part of the Franklin-Nashville Campaign during American Civil War) — The two-day Battle of Nashville ended today as Major General George Thomas’s Union forces defeated Lieutenant General John Bell Hood’s Confederate Army of Tennessee.

Video: 'Civil War Journal - The Battle of Franklin & Nashville' (Dec. 15, 1864, at 37:47)

(Thursday, December 15, 1864; the Battle of Nashville, part of the Franklin-Nashville Campaign during the American Civil War) — The two-day Battle of Nashville began today in Davidson County, Tennessee, as Union forces commanded by Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas attacked Confederate troops led by Gen. John Bell Hood.

Video: 'The Conquerors - Episode 8: Sherman's March to the Sea (History Documentary)' (Dec. 13, 1864, at 19:14)

(Tuesday, December 13, 1864, 5:00 p.m. local time; during the Battle of Fort McAllister (1864) of the American Civil War) — Union forces today overwhelmed a small Confederate force defending the strategically important Fort McAllister near Savannah, Georgia, a major Federal objective during the final stages of Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea.

Video: 'The Inner Workings of the Lincoln Presidency: Salmon P. Chase Biography (1995)'

(Tuesday, December 6, 1864; during the American Civil War) — President Abraham Lincoln nominated Salmon P. Chase to be chief justice of the United States today, succeeding Roger Taney, who died Oct. 12, 1864. Chase was installed as chief justice nine days later.

(Friday, November 25, 1864, beginning around 8:45 p.m. local time; during American Civil War) — A group of Confederate operatives calling themselves the Confederate Army of Manhattan started fires today (the day after Thanksgiving Day, what is now known as Black Friday) in more than 20 locations in an unsuccessful attempt to burn down New York City.