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Washington City, District of Columbia in the 1860s: 1 through 10 of 62

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  1. Davis Resolutions
    date May 14, 1860map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Slavery

    The Davis Resolutions were a set of agreements voted on by Congress in an attempt to end the feuding over the issue of slavery in the territories. The issue had been debated for months to decide whether the people in the territory should make decisions on domestic affairs or if the government of the United States should make the decisions. Jefferson Davis was a big proponent of the people in the...

  2. Crittenden Attempts to Stave off Secession
    date December 18, 1860map Washington City, District of Columbiatags African-Americans, Slavery, Migration/Transportation, Law

    Prior to the Secession of the Confederate States, many people in the United States wanted a compromise in order to prevent secession and the Civil War that would follow. James McPherson noted that in order for the Senate to filter through the proposed compromises they formed the “Committee of Thirteen” which included William H. Seward, Stephen Douglas, Benjamin Wade, and John J. Crittenden....

  3. How Shall They Be Remembered?
    date February 20, 1861 to February 25, 1861map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Veterans, American Revolution, Civil War, Abraham Lincoln

    During the years of his term in office, President Lincoln read two letters that were to remind him of how our nation was forged.  Abraham Lincoln, like most other presidents, received letters giving him praise and thanks for all the work he had done.  Abraham Lincoln also received mail detailing news from the battle front and giving support from the home front.  Two of those letters focused more...

  4. Lincoln fears attack on the Capital and summons troops
    date April 11, 1861map Washington City, District of Columbiatags War

    On April 11th, 1861 President Lincoln stated that he received information and “positive knowledge' of an attack on the city of Washington. He then put a call out for the military and said to “hold them in readiness at a moments warning.' (The Louisville Daily Journal, April 11, 1861, p. 1) The heightened tensions near Fort Sumter, after attempting to supply the fort with provisions, awakened...

  5. President Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus
    date April 27, 1861map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Crime/Violence

    From Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, President Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus, which prevented illegal imprisonment. This enraged Maryland citizens who were at the heart of the matter. They felt that this surrender of privileges of free men was unnecessary. One reason for the suspension was due to John Merrymen. He blew up a railroad bridge in Baltimore County...

  6. Undying Devotion: The Glorification of Sacrifice
    date July 14, 1861map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Cult of Death, Victorian Era, Love letter, Rhode Island, Battle of Bull Run, Civil War

    Encamped in the wilderness of Virginia, mere days before his death in the first battle of the Civil War, a young major set pen to paper and began to write. In poignant eloquence, Sullivan Ballou described the conflicting forces at the heart of his identity. Though consumed by undying love for his wife, his patriotic devotion drove him forward toward battle—and death.“[M]y love of Country,”...

  7. Obtaining a Pass to Face Suffering Soldiers
    date November 4, 1861 to November 8, 1861map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Health/Death, War

    While residing in his hometown of Washington, DC, a Doctor Snyder was summoned by the Head Quarters City Guard to tend to the soldiers of the Army of the Potomac who were currently stationed in Virginia.However, in order to reach the Army in Virginia, where he was to spend four days, he had to first obtain a pass For Civilians from the Provost Marshal's Office in Washington.The pass was of great importance...

  8. Special War Order No. 1 Issued
    date January 31, 1862map Washington City, District of Columbiatags War

    On January 31, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued Special War Order No. 1 in order to successfully implement his General War Order No. 1 issued long before. Specifically pertaining to the Army of the Potomac, the Federal forces were ordered to form an expedition to seize and occupy “a point upon the Railroad South Westward of what is known of [sic] Manassas Junction.' To be carried out on...

  9. Confederate Privateersmen to be treated as POW's
    date February 4, 1862map Washington City, District of Columbiatags War

    On February 4, 1862, it had been decided by the Federal government in Washington, D.C. to consider all captured Confederate rebel privateersmen as prisoners of war and not pirates. Outlined by the government, such prisoners were to then be exchanged for the hostages in custody of the United States. Rather than simply executing the rebels, the humane and important course of action taken by the Federal...

  10. Reports of Southern Atrocities at Manassas Published
    date April 1, 1862 to May 5, 1862map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Crime/Violence, Government, Politics, War

    There had been reports of horror coming from the battlefield at Manassas. In April 1862, the Senate Committee on the Conduct of War was asked to investigate accusations of Confederate crimes against Union dead and wounded at the First Battle of Manassas. On May 5, 1862, The Chicago Tribune published the Committee's report, including excerpts of testimony and their conclusions. The testimony was...

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