Category Archives: 1860s

Chief Justice rules against Lincoln


"The Civil War - Episode One: The Cause (1861)" (habeas corpus suspended @ 1:08:16)

(Monday, May 27, 1861) — Chief Justice William B. Taney ruled today that the military arrest of John Merryman in Maryland violated the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus and President Lincoln didn’t have the authority to suspend this privilege.

Lincoln suspends Writ of Habeas Corpus


"The Civil War - Episode One: The Cause (1861)" (habeas corpus suspended @ 1:08:16)

(Saturday, April 27, 1861) — The writ of habeas corpus, a legal action or writ by means of which detainees can seek relief from unlawful imprisonment, was suspended by President Abraham Lincoln today in Maryland and parts of midwestern states, including southern Indiana, during the American Civil War.

Battle of Fort Sumter ends


"The Civil War - Episode One: The Cause (1861)" (Fort Sumter surrender at 49:30)

(Saturday, April 13, 1861, 2:00 p.m. ET) — After 34 hours of bombardment, Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, was forced to surrender to the Confederates, ending the Battle of Fort Sumter that opened The American Civil War.