(Tuesday, February 9, 1864, afternoon; during the American Civil War) — U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, escorted by artist Francis B. Carpenter, walked more than a mile today to Mathew Brady’s Washington studio, where he sat for several photographs, including a profile view later used on the Lincoln-head penny and another view for the five dollar bill.
Video: 'Civil War Missionary Ridge Radio Drama'
(Wednesday, November 25, 1863, 6 p.m. local time; during the Battle of Missionary Ridge, part of the Chattanooga Campaign of the American Civil War) — Following the Union victory in the Battle of Lookout Mountain yesterday, Union forces under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assaulted Missionary Ridge and defeated the Confederate Army of Tennessee, commanded by Gen. Braxton Bragg.
Video: 'Lookout Mountain Tennessee - Civil War Battle - Battle Above the Clouds'
(Tuesday, November 24, 1863; during the Battle of Lookout Mountain, part of the Chattanooga Campaign of the American Civil War) — Eastern Theater troops under Union Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker defeated the Confederates in the Battle of Lookout Mountain today in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and began a movement toward Gen. Braxton Bragg’s left flank at Rossville, Georgia.
(Monday, November 9, 1863; during the American Civil War) — U.S. President Abraham Lincoln watched actor John Wilkes Booth in the role of Raphael in The Marble Heart today from the same box at Ford’s Theatre in Washington that Lincoln would be assassinated by Booth 17 months later.
(Monday, October 19, 1863; in the Western Theater of the American Civil War) — Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, in command of the newly formed Division of the Mississippi, replaced Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans today as Commander of the Army of the Cumberland with Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas following last month’s defeat at the Battle of Chickamauga.
Video: Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation Speech with Music
(Saturday, October 3, 1863; during the American Civil War) — U.S. President Abraham Lincoln today proclaimed the last Thursday in November Thanksgiving Day in an attempt to foster a sense of American unity between the Northern and Southern states.
(Friday, August 21, 1863; during the American Civil War) — The pro-Union town of Lawrence, Kansas, was attacked today by William Quantrill’s pro-Confederate raiders, who killed an estimated 200 men and boys. The raid became notorious in the North as one of the most vicious atrocities of the Civil War.
Video: 'Colonel Robert Gould Shaw: 54th Massachusetts Regiment'
(Saturday, July 18, 1863, 7:45-10:00 p.m. local time; during the Second Battle of Fort Wagner of the American Civil War) — The first formal African American military unit, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, unsuccessfully assaulted Confederate-held Fort Wagner on Morris Island, South Carolina, today but their valiant fighting still proves the worth of African American soldiers during the war. Continue reading First formal African-American military unit defeated at Fort Wagner 150 years ago this hour (1863)
Video: 'History Channel Gettysburg Documentary Part 6' (July 4, 1863, at 9:05)
(Saturday, July 4, 1863, evening local time; during the Battle of Gettysburg, part of the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War) — One day after the Battle of Gettysburg ended, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee began to withdraw his forces from Gettysburg to Virginia after Union Gen. George Meade decided not to attack Lee’s troops at Seminary Ridge.
Video: 'GETTYSBURG Reunion'
(Thursday, July 3, 1913) — During a 50th anniversary reunion at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Civil War veterans today re-enacted Pickett’s Charge, which ended with embraces and handshakes between the former enemies.
