Historical Events
Battle of Fort Sumter
Apr 12 Fort Sumter in South Carolina is attacked by the Confederacy, beginning the American Civil War
Federal Army Mobilized
Apr 15 Federal army of 75,000 volunteers is mobilized by President Abraham Lincoln at the start of the American Civil War
- Apr 16 US President Abraham Lincoln outlaws business with Confederate States (US Civil War)
- Apr 17 Indianola TX - "Star of West" taken by Confederacy
- Apr 17 Virginia secedes from the Union (US Civil War)
Lee Rejects Union Command
Apr 18 Colonel Robert E. Lee turns down offer to command Union armies (US Civil War)
- Apr 19 Baltimore riots - 4 soldiers, 9 civilians killed
- Apr 19 Lincoln orders blockade of Confederate ports (Civil War)
- Apr 23 Arkansas troops seize Fort Smith on the Arkansas River
- Apr 23 Robert E. Lee named commander of Virginia Confederate forces (US Civil War)
- Apr 25 Battle of Lavaca, fought in Texas, Union victory (US Civil War)
- Apr 25 The Union Army arrives to reinforce Washington, D.C. (US Civil War)
Stonewall Jackson Takes Command
Apr 27 Confederate General Robert E. Lee orders Colonel Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson to take command of Harpers Ferry, Virginia [1]
- Apr 27 US President Abraham Lincoln suspends writ of habeas corpus (US Civil War)
- Apr 27 West Virginia secedes from Virginia after Virginia secedes from Union (US Civil War)
- Apr 29 Maryland's House of Delegates votes against seceding from Union (US Civil War)
- Apr 30 US President Abraham Lincoln orders Federal Troops to evacuate Indian Territory (US Civil War)
Famous Birthdays
- Apr 9 Charles Holroyd, English artist and curator, Director of the National Gallery (1906-16), born in Potternewton, Leeds (d. 1917)
- Apr 15 Bliss Carman, Canadian poet, born in Fredericton, New Brunswick (d. 1929)
- Apr 16 Isaac Murphy, American jockey (won 628 races), born in Clark County, Kentucky (d. 1896)
- Apr 19 Edward Vermeulen, Flemish writer, born in Beselare, Belgium (d. 1934)
- Apr 23 Edmund Allenby, Viscount Allenby, British Fieldmarshal, General at Battle of Megiddo, born in Brackenhurst, England (d. 1936)
- Apr 25 Marco Enrico Bossi, Italian concert organist, composer and teacher, born in Salò, Lombardy, Kingdom of Italy (d. 1925)
- Apr 27 Georgy Catoire, Russian composer, born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1926)
- Apr 27 Johan Skjoldborg, Danish writer (Dynaes-Digte), born in Øsløs, Thisted, Denmark (d. 1936)
- Apr 27 William Arms Fisher, American composer, librettist (Going Home), musicologist, and educator, born in San Francisco, California (d. 1948)
Famous Deaths
- Apr 4 Franz Anton von Kolowrat-Liebsteinsky, Bohemian and Austrian statesman (Minister-President of Austria 1848), dies at 83
- Apr 4 John McLean, American jurist (US Supreme Court Justice, 1829-61; Ohio Supreme Court Justice (1816-22) and US Postmaster General (1823-28), dies at 76
Elisha Otis (1811-1861)
Apr 8 American founder of the Otis Elevator Company and inventor of a safety device that prevents elevators from falling if the hoisting cable fails, dies of diphtheria at 50
