Soldier, geologist, and explorer John Wesley Powell was born on March 24, 1834, in Mount Morris, New York. A Civil War veteran, Powell explored and produced some of the first accurate maps of the West and later was director of the US Geological Survey.
On March 9, 1862, the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimack) fought in the first battle between two ironclad warships. The battle changed naval warfare around the world, as major navies halted construction of wooden ships to build iron monitors.
Carl Christian Schurz was born on March 2, 1829, in Liblar, Prussia, Germany (present-day Erftstadt). Schurz commanded forces during the Civil War, reformed the Civil Service and was a vocal proponent of forest preservation.
Winslow Homer was born on February 24, 1836, in Boston, Massachusetts. Largely self-taught, he was one of the most prominent painters of the 1800s.
On February 21, 1885, the Washington Monument was dedicated, 37 years after its cornerstone was laid.
On February 16, 1862, Ulysses S. Grant scored an important and morale-boosting victory at the Battle of Fort Donelson. Grant captured more soldiers in that one battle than all American generals combined up to that time.
William McKinley Jr. was born on January 29, 1843, in Niles, Ohio. As America’s 25th president, he guided the country during the Spanish-American War, expanded our overseas territories, and promoted rapid economic growth.
Timothy H. O’Sullivan died from tuberculosis on January 14, 1882. He was a well-known photographer who captured the brutality of the Civil War and the untamed beauty of the Western United States.
On January 13, 1865, Union forces launched the Second Battle of Fort Fisher. The fort, dubbed the “Gibraltar of the Confederacy,” was the largest in the South and key to Confederate international trade.