Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin near Hodgenville, Kentucky, on February 12, 1809. Despite the lack of a formal education, he became a successful lawyer, politician, and celebrated speaker before taking the nation’s highest office and leading the Union through the Civil War.
On February 8, 1693, a royal charter officially established the College of William and Mary. Today it’s the second-oldest college in America (behind Harvard).
On February 3, 1690, the Massachusetts Bay Colony issued the first paper money in America. Known as a “bill of credit,” it was a popular experiment that was quickly put into use in the other colonies.
On January 29, 1861, Kansas was admitted to the Union as America was on the brink of Civil War.
John C. Frémont was born on January 21, 1813 in Savannah, Georgia. An explorer and soldier, he developed the first scientific map of the American West and was known as “The Pathfinder.”
George Dewey, the only man to hold the rank of Admiral of the Navy, died on January 16, 1917. He was a hero of the Civil War and the Spanish-American War.
On January 6, 1912, New Mexico became the 47th state admitted to the Union.
Andrew Johnson was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, on December 29, 1808. The Reconstruction President, he faced the difficult task of replacing Abraham Lincoln and leading the US through the years following the Civil War. His greatest legacy is as the first US president to be impeached.
On December 13, 1862, Union forces launched a bloody attack during the Battle of Fredericksburg. However, the tide turned and it became one of the most one-sided battles of the war.