Video: 'The US Civil War - Second Battle of Fort Fisher, January 1865, US Civil War'
(Sunday, January 15, 1865; during the American Civil War) — The Second Battle of Fort Fisher near Wilmington, North Carolina, ended today as Union forces captured the “Gibraltar of the South,” depriving the Confederates of their last major seaport.
(Sunday, January 8, 1865; during the American Civil War) — In response to the Confederacy’s efforts to enlist African-American slaves as soldiers in the closing days of the war, Major General Howell Cobb famously wrote today in a letter sent to Confederate Secretary of War James A. Seddon: “if slaves make good soldiers our whole theory of slavery is wrong.”
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.
Image: John Wilkes Booth, Edwin Booth and Junius Booth, Jr. (from left to right) in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in 1864.
(Friday, November 25, 1864, evening local time; during American Civil War) — Actor John Wilkes Booth (later the assassin of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln) played Mark Antony today in a benefit performance of Julius Caesar at the Winter Garden Theater in New York City (with his brothers Junius, Jr. and Edwin). This landmark production raised funds to erect a statue of Shakespeare in Central Park, which remains to this day. Continue reading John Wilkes Booth acts in ‘Julius Caesar’ benefit performance in New York City 150 years ago tonight (Nov 25 1864)
