Chronological History of the American Civil War

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Republican Party picked him to be Abraham Lincoln’s running mate mostly for geographical reasons; they needed an East Coast politician to balance Lincoln’s Midwest roots, and Hamlin’s non-existent legislative record as a House representative, a U.S. Senator and Maine’s Governor made him a safe choice. (The man had a short attention span; he served as governor for two months before deciding he

preferred the Senate). Before his nomination, Hamlin had never met Lincoln. During his term the Civil War raged across the country - although Hamlin must have barely noticed; he spent most of his time with his family in Maine. Finally, in 1864, he joined the war effort, serving for three months as a cook in the Coast Guard before quitting. Later, Hamlin would complain to his wife that he was “the most unimportant man in

Washington, ignored by the President, the cabinet, and Congress.” Lincoln must have agreed; he dropped Hamlin from his ticket when he ran for a second term, replacing him with Tennessee Senator Andrew Johnson. On April 15, 1865, the morning after Lincoln’s assassination, Johnson was sworn in as commander-in-chief. Nevertheless, Hamlin could not be completely dislodged from public office. He remained in politics, cavorting around Europe with his wife as a diplomat to Spain, until the age of 75.” — M.J. Stephey Lincoln's First Near-Miss with Death A few facts you might not know about the Great American Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln and family often would reside seasonally on the grounds of the Soldiers’ Home to escape the heat and political pressure of downtown Washington, as did President James Buchanan before him. It was located just a few miles from the White House. President Lincoln’s Cottage at the Soldiers’ Home also served as the Summer White House for Presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and Chester A. Arthur after the war. Secret Service was created on July 5, 1865 in Washington, D.C., mainly to suppress counterfeit currency, so even if they were around, they would not have been much help. You see President Lincoln was shot at—and almost killed— nearly two years before he was assassinated. Late one August evening in 1863, after an exhausting day at the White House, Lincoln rode alone by horse to the Soldiers’ Home, his family’s summer residence. Private John W. Nichols of Company K (pictured) at the gate heard a shot ring out and, moments later, the horse galloped into the compound, with a bareheaded Lincoln clinging to his steed. Lincoln explained that a gunshot had gone off at the foot of the hill, sending the horse galloping so fast it knocked his hat off. Two soldiers retrieved Lincoln’s hat, which had a bullet hole right through it. The president asked the guards to keep the incident under wraps: he didn’t want to worry his wife Mary. Whoever fired the shot remains a mystery to this day. Origin of Arlington National Cemetery A few facts you might not know about the Great American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Virginia estate had been the family estate Lee’s wife Mary Anna (Custis) Lee (a great- granddaughter of Martha Washington). The home was confiscated very early in the war by the Union and turned into a cemetery. As war descended on Virginia, Lee and his wife Mary fled their 1,100-acre Virginia estate, known as Arlington, which overlooked Washington, D.C. In 1863, the U.S. government confiscated it for nonpayment of $92.07 in taxes. Meanwhile, Lincoln gave permission for a cemetery to be built on the property, including a burial vault on the estate’s former rose garden. The idea was that, should Lee ever return, he would “have to look at these graves and see the carnage that he had created,” according to Lee’s biographer Elizabeth Brown Pryor. After the war, the Lees quietly investigated reclaiming Arlington, but took no action before they died. In 1877, their oldest son, George Washington