The Civil War Book

On this day in the Civil War, Confederate General Braxton Bragg successfully withdraws his army from Kentucky.

General Braxton Bragg

(Photo Credit: Library of Congress) 

On this day in the Civil War, Union troops are defeated by Confederates at the Battle of Ball’s Bluff.

Federal Colonel Edward Baker, a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln, is killed.

On this day in the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln formally establishes Thanksgiving as a national holiday.

On this day in the Civil War, the Confederate army under General Jubal Early attacks the Federal army commanded by General Philip Sheridan. During the initial onslaught by the Confederates, General Sheridan is attending a meeting in Washington. The Federal troops are initially pushed back, however; General Sheridan rallies the troops as he returns at full gallop.

The Federal troops win the battle and General Sheridan and his horse Rienzi gain national fame by their ride to the battlefield.

Rienzi is on display at the National Museum of American History in Washington D.C.

On this day in the Civil War, President Lincoln meets with his cabinet to discuss the future military service of General Winfield Scott.