November 21
November 21
Judah Benjamin becomes Confederate secretary of war
On this day in 1861, Confederate President Jefferson Davis names Judah Benjamin the secretary of war. AJew who was born in the West Indies in 1811, Judah Benjamin was an…
A Year In History: 1861
Also Within This Year in History:
1861
In 1861, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as America’s 16th president. Just weeks later, the newly formed Confederacy attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, igniting the American Civil War. To fund the conflict, Congress enacted the country’s first income tax. Elsewhere in the world, multiple states on the Italian Peninsula united to form the Kingdom of Italy, while multiple European powers invaded Mexico to collect unpaid debts. Back in Britain, The Times gave readers the first-ever published weather forecast.
December 9
December 9
Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War created
On this day in 1861, Congress creates the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War in an effort to monitor both military progress and President Abraham Lincoln’s administration. The…
December 21
December 21
Trent crisis escalates
On this day in 1861, Lord Lyons, the British minister to the United States, meets with Secretary of State William Seward concerning the fate of James Mason and John Slidell,…
December 26
December 26
Mason and Slidell freed
On this day in 1861, Confederate diplomatic envoys James Mason and John Slidell are freed by President Abraham Lincoln’s administration, heading off a possible war between the United States and…
