On November 26, 1789, the nation celebrated Thanksgiving for the first time under a presidential proclamation. Decades later, President Lincoln issued a similar proclamation that made the holiday permanent.
The last of the “log cabin presidents,” James A. Garfield was born November 19, 1831, near Cleveland, Ohio, to impoverished farmers.
On October 19, 1864, North and South converged at Cedar Creek, Virginia in what would be the last Confederate attempt to invade the North.
Poet, author, and activist Julia Ward Howe died on October 17, 1910, in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.
On September 12, 1862, the Civil War Battle for Harpers Ferry began.
On July 9, 1863, Confederate forces surrendered Port Hudson, Louisiana, ending a 48-day siege.
David Glasgow Farragut was born in Campbell’s Station (now Farragut), Tennessee, on July 5, 1801.
On June 10, 1889, the United Confederate Veterans (UCV) was founded in New Orleans.
On May 8, 1864, the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House began.