Video: May 3, 1862 (at 58:52)

(Saturday, May 3, 1862, during the Siege of Yorktown, part of the American Civil War) — Yorktown, Virginia, was evacuated today by Gen. Joseph Johnston’s troops, overwhelmed by the enormous force of the Army of the Potomac without a major battle.

Video: Butler occupies New Orleans (at 11:08)

(Thursday, May 1, 1862, during the American Civil War) — Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler, with an army of 5,000 men, occupied the city of New Orleans today without resistance.

Video: April 25, 1862 (at 47:09)

(Friday, April 25, 1862, during the American Civil War) — U.S. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant wrote his wife Julia today from Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, to inform her that he had been removed from field command two weeks before by Gen. Henry W. Halleck after the frightful losses (including nearly 3,500 deaths) in the victory of the Battle of Shiloh.

Video: April 24, 1862 (at 52:08)

(Thursday, April 24, 1862, 3:00 a.m. local time, during the American Civil War) — Flag Officer David Farragut’s Federal fleet was able to slip past Confederate Forts Jackson and St. Philip on the Mississippi River, making its way up-river towards New Orleans.

Video: April 21, 1862 (at 57:38)

(Monday, April 21, 1862, during the American Civil War) — Chaplain A. M. Stewart wrote today about conditions during the Siege of Yorktown.

Video: April 16, 1862 (at 55:37)

(Wednesday, April 16, 1862, during the American Civil War) — President Jefferson Davis today signed into law a conscription act passed by the Confederate Congress the previous day. It mandated three years of service for all males between 18 and 35 years of age.

Video: Fort Pulaski

(Friday, April 11, 1862, during the American Civil War) — The two-day Battle of Fort Pulaski on Cockspur Island, Georgia, near the mouth of the Savannah River, ended today as the fort fell to Union forces.

Video: April 11, 1862 (at 47:45)

(Friday, April 11, 1862, during the American Civil War) — U.S. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was removed from field command today by Gen. Henry W. Halleck after the frightful losses (including nearly 3,500 deaths) in the victory of the Battle of Shiloh.

(Friday, April 11, 1862, during the American Civil War) — In a letter to his brother Charles Francis Adams Jr., in London, journalist, historian, academic and novelist Henry Brooks Adams wrote today: “Someday science may have the existence of mankind in its power, and the human race commit suicide, by blowing up the world.”

Video: April 7, 1862 (at 51:17)

(Monday, April 7, 1862, part of the American Civil War) — Union gunboats and 2,000 troops today took the Confederate fortress at Island Number Ten near New Madrid, Missouri, leaving the Mississippi River open as far south as Memphis.