1865 in the United States

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1865
in
the United States
Decades:
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Events from the year 1865 in the United States. The American Civil War ends with the surrender of the Confederate States, beginning the Reconstruction era of U.S. history.

Contents

Incumbents

Federal government

Events

February 17: Columbia, South Carolina burns The burning of Columbia, South Carolina, February 17, 1865.jpg
February 17: Columbia, South Carolina burns
March 4: Andrew Johnson becomes the 16th U.S. vice president President Andrew Johnson.jpg
March 4: Andrew Johnson becomes the 16th U.S. vice president

January–March

April–June

Fires in Richmond, Virginia, burn out of control in the largely abandoned city after Evacuation Sunday (April 2) Richmond Virginia damage2.jpg
Fires in Richmond, Virginia, burn out of control in the largely abandoned city after Evacuation Sunday (April 2)
April 9: Robert E. Lee surrenders Appomattox courthouse.jpg
April 9: Robert E. Lee surrenders
April 14: Lincoln assassinated Lincoln assassination slide c1900 - Restoration.jpg
April 14: Lincoln assassinated
April 15: Johnson succeeds Lincoln as the 17th U.S. president President Andrew Johnson.jpg
April 15: Johnson succeeds Lincoln as the 17th U.S. president
Oath to defend the Constitution of the United States and, among other promises, to "abide by and faithfully support all acts of Congress passed during the . . . rebellion having reference to slaves . . . ," signed by Samuel M. Kennard on June 27, 1865 Samuel M. Kennard oath 1865.jpg
Oath to defend the Constitution of the United States and, among other promises, to "abide by and faithfully support all acts of Congress passed during the . . . rebellion having reference to slaves . . . ," signed by Samuel M. Kennard on June 27, 1865
April 27: Sultana burns Sultana Disaster.jpg
April 27: Sultana burns
"A Terrible List", Liverpool Mercury, November 17, 1865 A Terrible List.jpg
"A Terrible List", Liverpool Mercury, November 17, 1865

July–September

October–December

July 30: Brother Jonathan sinks SS Brother Jonathan 1862.jpg
July 30: Brother Jonathan sinks

Undated

Ongoing

Births

Warren G. Harding Warren G Harding-Harris & Ewing crop.jpg
Warren G. Harding

Deaths

See also

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Wilkes Booth</span> American stage actor and assassin (1838–1865)

John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated United States President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the prominent 19th-century Booth theatrical family from Maryland, he was a noted actor who was also a Confederate sympathizer; denouncing President Lincoln, he lamented the then-recent abolition of slavery in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Surratt</span> American boarding house owner convicted as a conspirator to murder (1823–1865)

Mary Elizabeth Jenkins Surratt was an American boarding house owner in Washington, D.C., who was convicted of taking part in the conspiracy which led to the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Sentenced to death, she was hanged and became the first woman executed by the U.S. federal government. She maintained her innocence until her death, and the case against her was and remains controversial. Surratt was the mother of John Surratt, who was later tried in the conspiracy, but was not convicted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Herold</span> Accomplice of John Wilkes Booth (1842–1865)

David Edgar Herold was an American pharmacist's assistant and accomplice of John Wilkes Booth in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. After the shooting, Herold accompanied Booth to the home of Dr. Samuel Mudd, who set Booth's injured leg. The two men then continued their escape through Maryland and into Virginia, and Herold remained with Booth until the authorities cornered them in a barn. Herold surrendered, but Booth was shot to death by Sergeant Boston Corbett. Herold was tried by a military tribunal, sentenced to death for conspiracy, and hanged with three other conspirators at the Washington Arsenal, now known as Fort Lesley J. McNair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Atzerodt</span> American assassin (1835–1865)

George Andrew Atzerodt was a German American repairman, Confederate sympathizer, and conspirator assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. He was assigned to assassinate Vice President Andrew Johnson, but lost his nerve and made no attempt. Atzerodt was tried by a military tribunal, sentenced to death for conspiracy, and hanged along with three other conspirators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Holt</span> American politician

Joseph Holt was an American lawyer, soldier, and politician. As a leading member of the Buchanan administration, he succeeded in convincing Buchanan to oppose the secession of the South. He returned to Kentucky and successfully battled the secessionist element thereby helping to keep Kentucky in the Union. President Abraham Lincoln appointed him the Judge Advocate General of the United States Army. He served as Lincoln's chief arbiter and enforcer of military law, and supporter of emancipation. His most famous roles came in the Lincoln assassination trials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewis Powell (conspirator)</span> American soldier and conspirator (1844–1865)

Lewis Thornton Powell was an American Confederate soldier who attempted to assassinate William Henry Seward as part of the Lincoln assassination plot. Wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg, he later served in Mosby's Rangers before working with the Confederate Secret Service in Maryland. John Wilkes Booth recruited him into a plot to kidnap Lincoln and turn the president over to the Confederacy, but then decided to assassinate Lincoln, Seward, and Vice President Andrew Johnson instead, and assigned Powell the task to kill Seward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis J. Weichmann</span> Witness to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Louis J. Weichmann was an American clerk who was one of the chief witnesses for the prosecution in the trial following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Previously, he had also been a suspect in the conspiracy because of his association with Mary Surratt's family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Surratt</span> Accused conspirator in assassination of Abraham Lincoln (1844–1916)

John Harrison Surratt Jr. was an American Confederate spy who was accused of plotting with John Wilkes Booth to kidnap U.S. President Abraham Lincoln; he was also suspected of involvement in the Abraham Lincoln assassination. His mother, Mary Surratt, was convicted of conspiracy by a military tribunal and hanged; she owned the boarding house that the conspirators used as a safe house and to plot the scheme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assassination of Abraham Lincoln</span> 1865 murder in Washington, D.C., US

On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth while attending the play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Shot in the head as he watched the play, Lincoln died of his wounds the following day at 7:22 am in the Petersen House opposite the theater. He was the first U.S. president to be assassinated. His funeral and burial were marked by an extended period of national mourning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael O'Laughlen</span> Conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Michael O'Laughlen, Jr. was an American Confederate soldier and conspirator in John Wilkes Booth's plot to kidnap U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, and later in the latter's assassination, although he ended up not directly participating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Arnold (conspirator)</span> Lincoln conspirator (1834–1906)

Samuel Bland Arnold was an American Confederate sympathizer involved in a plot to kidnap U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. He had joined the Confederate Army shortly after the start of the Civil War but was discharged due to health reasons in 1864.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War</span>

During the American Civil War (1861–1865), Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States, was the center of the Union war effort, which rapidly turned it from a small city into a major capital with full civic infrastructure and strong defenses.

John Minchin Lloyd was a bricklayer and police officer in Washington, D.C., in the United States. He was one of the first police officers hired by the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia when its Day Watch was first formed in 1855. He played a role in the trial of the conspirators in the Abraham Lincoln assassination. Arrested but never charged in the conspiracy, Lloyd's testimony was critical in convicting Mary Surratt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward P. Doherty</span> Union Army officer

Edward Paul Doherty was a Canadian-American American Civil War officer who formed and led the detachment of soldiers that captured and killed John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of US President Abraham Lincoln, in a Virginia barn on April 26, 1865, twelve days after Booth had fatally shot Lincoln.

<i>The Conspirator</i> 2010 American historical drama film by Robert Redford

The Conspirator is a 2010 American mystery historical drama film directed by Robert Redford and based on an original screenplay by James D. Solomon. It is the debut film of the American Film Company. The film tells the story of Mary Surratt, the only female conspirator charged in the Abraham Lincoln assassination and the first woman to be executed by the US federal government. It stars Robin Wright as Mary Surratt, together with James McAvoy, Justin Long, Evan Rachel Wood, Jonathan Groff, Tom Wilkinson, Alexis Bledel, Kevin Kline, John Cullum, Toby Kebbell, and James Badge Dale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary E. Surratt Boarding House</span> Historic house in Washington, D.C., United States

The Mary E. Surratt Boarding House in Washington, D.C. was the site of meetings of conspirators to kidnap and subsequently to assassinate U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. It was operated as a boarding house by Mary Surratt from September 1864 to April 1865.

Events from the year 1861 in the United States. This year marked the beginning of the American Civil War.

Events from the year 1862 in the United States.

Frederick Augustus Aiken was an American lawyer, journalist and soldier. A veteran of the Civil War, Aiken was called on to serve as one of the defense attorneys for Mary Surratt, who was tried for conspiracy in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

1865 (MDCCCLXV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar, the 1865th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 865th year of the 2nd millennium, the 65th year of the 19th century, and the 6th year of the 1860s decade. As of the start of 1865, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.

References

  1. Ullrich, Dieter (2020). "The Explosion of the Steamer Eclipse". West Tennessee Historical Society Papers. Faculty Research at Morehead State University. 74: 54–72.
  2. Copy of original document, via Ancestry.com
  3. Cartmell, Donald (2001). The Civil War Book of Lists. Career Press. p. 104.