Today in History

Month
Apr 1, 1823

Simon Bolivar Buckner, Confederate Lieutenant General during the Civil War, was born

Apr 1, 1865
A chromolithograph print by Kurz & Allison showing a charge led by Union general Philip Sheridan at the Battle of Five Forks

Battle of Five Forks

Apr 2, 1865

A. P. Hill, Confederate Lieutenant General during the Civil War, died

Apr 2, 1865
USCT at Petersburg 1864

The Third Battle of Petersburg, also known as the Petersburg Breakthrough

Apr 2, 1865
Depiction of the Battle of Fort Blakeley

Battle of Fort Blakeley, fought from April 2-9, started

Apr 2, 1865
Map of Selma, Alabama

Battle of Selma

Apr 3, 1842
Dahlgren's Cavalry Raid Historic Highway Marker

Ulric Dahlgren, Union Colonel during the Civil War, was born

Apr 3, 1864
Little Missouri River by Elkin's Ferry

Battle of Elkin’s Ferry, fought from April 3-4, started

Apr 3, 1865
Richmond Flour Mills

Richmond and Petersburg are occupied by Federals

Apr 4, 1792
Black-and-white image of a man in a western suit.

Thaddeus Stevens, American lawyer and politician, was born

Apr 4, 1802
Portrait of Dorothea Lynde Dix

Dorothea Dix, Superintendent of Army Nurses during the Civil War and, was born

Apr 4, 1818
Flag at Antietam

The US Congress adopts the flag with 13 stripes and 20 stars, representing the states

Apr 4, 1841
Portrait of William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison, American Brigadier General during the War of 1812 and 9th President of the United States, died

Apr 4, 1864

Battle of Elkin’s Ferry, fought from April 3-4, ended

Apr 4, 1901

George Thomas “Tige” Anderson, Confederate Brigadier General during the Civil War, died

Apr 5, 1614

Pocahontas marries John Rolfe

Apr 5, 1764
Print shows sugarcane processing, probably in the West Indies, with an overseer directing others at a press and boiling operation.

The Sugar Act was passed by Great Britain to tax sugar and other goods to pay for the Seven Years War

Apr 5, 1839

Robert Smalls, former slave, sailor, and Congressman, was born

Apr 5, 1862

Siege of Yorktown, which lasted from April 5 to May 4, started

Apr 6, 1862

Battle of Shiloh, also known as Pittsburg Landing, fought from April 6-7, started

Apr 6, 1862
Albert Sidney Johnston

Albert Sidney Johnston, Confederate General during the Civil War, died

Apr 6, 1865
High Bridge

Battle of High Bridge, fought from April 6-7, started

Apr 6, 1865

Battle of Sailor's Creek, also known as Sayler's Creek

Apr 7, 1862
Shiloh National Cemetery

Battle of Shiloh, also known as Pittsburg Landing, fought from April 6-7, started

Apr 7, 1865
High Bridge

Battle of High Bridge, fought from April 6-7, ended

Apr 7, 1865
Map shows the locations of troops surrounding Lee's headquarters at Cumberland Church, Va. This was a small skirmish on April 7, 1865, just north of Farmville in Cumberland County, immediately following the action at Highbridge and Rice's Station.

Battle of Cumberland Church, also known as Farmville

Apr 8, 1862
Fallen Timbers | Apr 8, 1862

Battle of Fallen Timbers

Apr 8, 1864

Battle of Mansfield, also known as Sabine Crossroads

Apr 8, 1865
Photograph of Appomattox Station

Battle of Appomattox Station

Apr 9, 1864
Prairie D'Ane Battlefield

Battle of Prairie D’Ane, fought from April 9-13, started

Apr 9, 1865
This painting portrays Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House.

Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox Court House

Apr 9, 1865
Rising above the Tensaw River, the Blakeley Bluffs provide an exceptional example of the intersection between historical and environmental conservation.

Battle of Fort Blakeley, fought from April 2-9, ended

Apr 10, 1827

Lewis “Lew” Wallace, Union Major General during the Civil War, was born

Apr 10, 1862

Battle of Fort Pulaski, fought from April 10-11, started

Apr 10, 1865
Drawing of a general surrounded by soldiers.

Robert E. Lee gives final address to troops

Apr 11, 1862

Battle of Fort Pulaski, fought from April 10-11, ended

Apr 12, 1776
Flag of North Carolina

North Carolina is the first colony to authorize its delegates to vote for independence with the Halifax Resolves

Apr 12, 1861
Bombardment of Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor: 12th & 13th of April, 1861

The Battle of Fort Sumter, fought from April 12-14, started

Apr 12, 1864
Wood engraving of confederate massacre of federal troops after the surrender at Fort Pillow

Capture of Fort Pillow, Tennessee, by Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest

Apr 12, 1865
Smoke filling the air and ships occupying the water at Mobile Bay

The city of Mobile, Alabama surrenders to a Union army expedition eight months after the Battle of Mobile Bay

Apr 13, 1743
Portrait of Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson, Founding Father and Third President of the United States, was born

Apr 13, 1864
Prairie D'Ane Battlefield

Battle of Prairie D’Ane, fought from April 9-13, ended

Apr 14, 1780
Map of South and North Carolina

Battle of Monck's Corner

Apr 14, 1861
April 12, 1861, Bombardment of Fort Sumter

The Battle of Fort Sumter, fought from April 12-14, ended

Apr 14, 1865

The United States flag was raised over Fort Sumter, South Carolina

Apr 14, 1865
Restored colored slide image showing an illustration of Lincoln being shot

Abraham Lincoln is shot at Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth

Apr 15, 1741

Charles Willson Peale, American painter and soldier, was born

Apr 15, 1781
The Maham tower built in front of Fort Watson

Siege of Fort Watson, which lasted from April 15-23, started

Apr 15, 1865
This photo offers a headshot of Abraham Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln, Sixteenth President of the United States, died

Apr 16, 1862
A photograph of the 29th Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers, U.S. Colored Troops, in formation near Beaufort, S.C.

Slavery was abolished in the District of Columbia

Apr 17, 1790
A portrait of Benjamin Franklin by Joseph-Siffred Duplessis

Benjamin Franklin, Delegate from Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress, Ambassador to France, died

Apr 17, 1861

Virginia adopts an Ordinance of Secession and schedules a referendum for May 23

Apr 18, 1865

Sherman and J. Johnston sign an armistice at Durham Station, North Carolina

Apr 19, 1775
Young colonial militiamen exchange fire against British redcoats at sunrise in this painting.

Battles of Lexington and Concord

Apr 19, 1861
USS Baron DeKalb Ironclad

President Lincoln declares a blockade of Southern ports

Apr 20, 1769
Painting of Pontiac

Chief Pontiac, Ottawa War Chief, died

Apr 21, 1775
Flight of Lord Dunmore / Ogden; American Colortype Co., N.Y.

The Gunpowder Incident

Apr 21, 1863
Lithograph of the Wheeling Suspension Bridge in West Virginia

Generals Jones and Imboden begin Confederate raid on the B&O Railroad, Virginia (now West Virginia)

Apr 21, 1865
Engine "Nashville" of the Lincoln funeral train

Lincoln’s funeral train leaves D.C.

Apr 22, 1778
Portrait of John Paul Jones

John Paul Jones leads American raid on Whitehaven, England

Apr 23, 1781
Photograph of the Native American burial mound that Fort Watson was built on top of.

Siege of Fort Watson, which lasted from April 15-23, ended

Apr 23, 1791

James Buchanan, Fifteenth President of the United States, was born

Apr 23, 1813
Stephen Douglas

Stephen A. Douglas, American educator and politician, was born

Apr 24, 1862
Map showing the defenses of the Mississippi below New Orleans and Farragut's attack 24 April 1862.

Federal fleet passes forts below New Orleans, Louisiana

Apr 25, 1777
Connecticut and parts adjacent Map

Battle of Ridgefield, also known as Compo Hill, fought from April 25-28, started

Apr 25, 1781
Topographical drawing of Hobkirk Hill

Battle of Hobkirk Hill, also known as the Second Battle of Camden

Apr 26, 1865

General Joseph Johnston surrenders to General William T. Sherman at Durham Station, North Carolina

Apr 26, 1865

John Wilkes Booth was captured and killed in the Garrett Barn, Port Royal, Virginia

Apr 27, 1813

Battle of York

Apr 27, 1813
Sketch of Zebulon Pike

Zebulon Pike, American Brigadier General during the War of 1812, died

Apr 27, 1822

Ulysses S. Grant, General-In-Chief during the Civil War and Eighteenth President of the United States, was born

Apr 27, 1865

Explosion of the riverboat Sultana

Apr 28, 1758

James Monroe, 5th President of the United States, was born

Apr 28, 1777
Connecticut and parts adjacent Map

Battle of Ridgefield, also known as Compo Hill, fought from April 25-28, ended

Apr 28, 1905

Fitzhugh Lee, Confederate Major General during the Civil War, died

Apr 29, 1862
Lithograph of a man on horseback in the foreground and soldiers in the background.

Siege of Corinth, which lasted from April 29 - May 30, started

Apr 30, 1863

Battle of Hog Mountain (Crooked Creek)

Apr 30, 1863
Illustration of two generals in conversation

Battle of Chancellorsville, which lasted from April 30 to May 6, started

Month