The War Department issued General Order 143 on May 22, 1863, creating the United States Colored Troops. By the end of the Civil War, roughly 179,000 black men (10 percent of the Union Army) served as soldiers in the U.S. Army, and another 19,000 served in the Navy.

John Wilkes Booth, wanted for the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, was found hiding in a barn near Bowling Green, Virginia, by a platoon of New York Cavalry and shot on April 26, 1865.

The first engagement of the Civil War took place at Fort Sumter on April 12 and 13, 1861. After 34 hours of fighting, the Union surrendered the fort to the Confederates. Major Robert Anderson informed Secretary of War Simon Cameron of the surrender in this telegram, dated April 18.

On April 9, 1865, Generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee met in the parlor of a house in Appomattox Court House, VA, to discuss the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia.

“Recruiting in the New York City Hall Park”

“The Double Pike” By Owen G. Warren, March 16, 1865

On March 10, 1864 Ulysses S. Grant was officially promoted to the highest rank in the United States Army — Lieutenant General.