Today in History

Month
May 1, 1863

Battle of Port Gibson

May 2, 1863
Stonewall Jackson

During the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate General T.J. "Stonewall" Jackson is accidentally shot by his own men

May 3, 1863
Second Fredericksburg | May 3, 1863

Battle of Second Fredericksburg, also known as the Second Battle of Marye's Heights

May 4, 1862

Battle of Yorktown ended, fought from April 5 - May 4

May 4, 1865

Confederate General Richard Taylor surrendered his forces to General Edward Canby at Citronelle, Alabama

May 5, 1862

Battle of Williamsburg

May 5, 1864
Illustration of troops charging in linear fashion at the Wilderness

Battle of the Wilderness started, fought from May 5-7

May 6, 1861

Arkansas and Tennessee adopt Ordinances of Secession

May 6, 1863
Illustration of two generals in conversation

The Battle of Chancellorsville, fought from April 30 to May 6, ended with a Confederate victory

May 6, 1864
James Longstreet

During the second day of the Battle of the Wilderness, General James Longstreet is seriously wounded in combat

May 7, 1864
Atlanta Campaign | May 7 - September 1, 1864

Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman started his Atlanta Campaign

May 7, 1864

Battle of Rocky Face Ridge, fought from May 7-12, started

May 7, 1864
Illustration of troops charging in linear fashion at the Wilderness

Battle of the Wilderness, fought from May 5-7, ended

May 8, 1822

John Stark, Major General in the American Revolution, died

May 8, 1862

Battle of McDowell, also known as Sitlington’s Hill

May 8, 1864

Battle of Spotsylvania, fought from May 8 - 21, started

May 8, 1864
Dug Gap | May 8, 1864 (August 2020)

Engagement at Dug Gap, Georgia

May 9, 1813
Illustration of the Fort Meigs Battle

Siege of Fort Meigs, fought from April 28-May 9, ended

May 10, 1773
Painting of a tea set.

The Tea Act was passed by Parliament, which granted the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sold in the Colonies

May 10, 1775
This is a sketched map detailing the landscape of Fort Ticonderoga.

Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys seize Fort Ticonderoga

May 10, 1781
The Spanish forces led by Bernardo de Gálvez at the Siege of Pensacola

The Siege of Pensacola ended, with an American Victory

May 10, 1862
Lithograph of Fort Pickens in Pensacola Harbor, Florida

Union forces successively captured Pensacola, Florida

May 10, 1863
portrait

Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, Confederate Lieutenant General, died

May 10, 1865
Photograph of Jefferson Davis

Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured by U.S. troops near Irwinville, Georgia

May 11, 1864
Yellow Tavern

Battle of Yellow Tavern

May 12, 1863

Battle of Raymond

May 12, 1864
Spotsylvania Court House | May 12, 1864 | 4:00 - 5:00 am (November 2019)

Battle of Spotsylvania, fought from May 8 -21, continues with the fight for the Bloody Angle

May 12, 1864

Abner Monroe Perrin, Confederate Brigadier General, died

May 12, 1864
JEB portrait

J.E.B. Stuart, Confederate Major General, died

May 12, 1864

Battle of Rocky Face Ridge, fought from May 7-12, ended

May 12, 1865
Desert landscape with green shrubs and a dark gray sky.

Battle of Palmito Ranch, fought from May 12-13, is considered the last engagement of the Civil War, started

May 13, 1781
Drawing of William Phillips

William Phillips, British Major General, died

May 13, 1864

Battle of Resaca, fought from May 13-15, started

May 13, 1865
Desert landscape with green shrubs and a dark gray sky.

Battle of Palmito Ranch, fought from May 12-13, is considered the last engagement of the Civil War, ended

May 13, 1937

John Clem, known as the Drummer Boy of Chickamauga, died

May 14, 1607
Map of Virginia created in 1624

Jamestown settlers arrive on the North American continent

May 14, 1781

Christopher Greene, American Colonel during the American Revolution, died

May 15, 1864

Battle of Resaca, fought from May 13-15, ended

May 15, 1864
Battle of New Market

Battle of New Market

May 16, 1863
Illustration of soldiers being sired at during the Champion Hill Battle

Battle of Champion Hill, also known as Baker's Creek

May 17, 1863

Battle of Big Black River Bridge

May 18, 1863
This is an illustration of a lone soldier waving the American flag amidst the smoke and dust on the battlefield.

Siege of Vicksburg, which lasted from May 18-June 4, started

May 19, 1863
Battle map of the Siege of Vicksburg on May 19, 1863

First assault on Vicksburg, Mississippi, during the Siege of Vicksburg

May 20, 1824

Cadmus M. Wilcox, Confederate Major General, born

May 20, 1861
History map of the United States: The Secession

North Carolina adopts an Ordinance of Secession

May 20, 1862
Print of a log cabin with grazing animals in the foreground.

President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act

May 20, 1864

Battle of Ware Bottom Church

May 21, 1861
Richmond, Virginia, April, 1865, looking westward

The Confederate Congress agrees to move the Confederate capital from Montgomery, Alabama to Richmond, Virginia

May 21, 1863
Brigade of soldiers marching at Port Hudson

Siege of Port Hudson, which lasts from May 21 to July 9, started

May 21, 1864
This painting depicts the bayonet charge at Spotsylvania.

Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, fought from May 8 - 21, ended inconclusively

May 22, 1781
Painted illustration of the Siege of Ninety Six

Siege of Ninety Six, which lasts from May 22 to June 19, started

May 22, 1802

Martha Washington, wife of George Washington, dies

May 22, 1849
This image depicts Abraham Lincoln sitting and pondering with George McLellan.

Future U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is issued a patent for an invention to lift boats, making him the only U.S. president to ever hold a patent.

May 22, 1856
Political caricature of the caning of Charles Sumner, which occurred on May 22, 1856, depicting Sumner on the floor as Preston Brooks lunges at him in retaliation for a speech given by Sumner criticizing slaveholders.

In the U.S. Capitol Building, Preston Brooks beats Charles Sumner

May 22, 1863
Vicksburg | May 22, 1863 Battle Map

Second assault on Vicksburg occurs

May 23, 1861
History map of the United States: The Secession

Virginia voters ratify the State Convention's decision to secede

May 23, 1864

Battle of North Anna, fought from May 23-26, started

May 24, 1861
Elmer Ellsworth

Zouave leader Elmer Ellsworth was killed in Alexandria by James W. Jackson

May 25, 1787
Constitutional Convention

Constitutional Convention started

May 25, 1862
Third Winchester

Battle of First Winchester

May 25, 1864

Battle of New Hope Church, fought from May 25-26, started

May 26, 1864

Battle of North Anna, fought from May 23-26, ended

May 26, 1864

Battle of Pickett's Mill

May 26, 1865

Surrender of Confederate General E.K. Smith's Trans-Mississippi forces, New Orleans, Louisiana

May 27, 1863
Port Hudson | May 27, 1863 (October 2022)

Union forces move against the Confederate stronghold at Port Hudson

May 28, 1754
This is an image of George Washington leading his troops into battle on horseback.

The French and Indian War started

May 28, 1777
Wick House - Morristown Winter Encampment.

Continental Army ended their first winter encampment at Morristown, NJ

May 28, 1818

P. G. T. Beauregard, Confederate general, is born

May 28, 1864

Battle of Dallas

May 29, 1736
Portrait of Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry, Delegate from Virginia to the Continental Congress during the American Revolution, was born

May 29, 1780
The Battle of Waxhaws

Battle of Waxhaws, also known as Buford’s Massacre

May 29, 1790
Constitution

Rhode Island becomes the last of North America's original Thirteen Colonies to ratify the Constitution

May 29, 1813
Painting of Sackets Harbor

Battle at Sackets Harbor

May 29, 1866
Portrait of Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott, Commanding General of the United States Army from 1841-1861, died

May 30, 1854

The Kansas-Nebraska Act is signed into law

May 30, 1862
Lithograph of a man on horseback in the foreground and soldiers in the background.

Confederates evacuate Corinth, MS, and the Siege of Corinth, which lasted from April 29 to May 30, ended

May 31, 1862
This image depicts several soldiers stationed on the Seven Pines Battlefield.

Battle of Seven Pines, also known as Fair Oaks, fought from May 31 to June 1, started

Month