Abraham Lincoln ( February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865 ) was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865.

Their impolitic occupation of Columbus, Kentucky on September 3, 1861, two days before Johnston arrived in the Confederacy's capital, Richmond, Virginia, after his cross – country journey, drove Kentucky from its stated neutrality and the majority of Kentuckians into the Union camp.

* Connelly, Thomas L. Army of the Heartland: The Army of Tennessee 1861 – 1862.

The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861 – 1865.

* Weigley, Russell F. A Great Civil War: A Military and Political History, 1861 – 1865.

The American Civil War ( 1861 – 1865 ), in the United States often referred to as simply the Civil War and sometimes called the " War Between the States ", was a civil war fought over the secession of the Confederate States.

Land warfare in the East was inconclusive in 1861 – 62, as the Confederacy beat back Union efforts to capture its capital, Richmond, Virginia, notably during the Peninsular Campaign.

* 1861 – First performance of Arthur Sullivan's debut success, his suite of incidental music for The Tempest, leading to a career that included the famous Gilbert and Sullivan operas.

* 1861 – Stanislas de Guaita, French occultist ( d. 1897 )

* 1861 – American Civil War: The war begins with Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.

* 1796 – George N. Briggs, American politician, 19th Governor of Massachusetts ( d. 1861 )

* 1861 – Union forces attack Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

* 1861 – The United Kingdom annexes Lagos, Nigeria.

* 1861 – Edith Roosevelt, American wife of Theodore Roosevelt, 27th First Lady of the United States ( d. 1948 )

* 1861 – Sammy Jones, Australian cricketer ( d. 1951 )

* 1811 – Elisha Otis, American inventor and businessman, founded the Otis Elevator Company ( d. 1861 )

This became poignantly true during the most serious test of American cohesion in the U. S. Civil War ( 1861 – 1865 ).

* 1861 – American Civil War: Maryland's House of Delegates votes not to secede from the Union.

* 1861 – First ascent of Weisshorn, fifth highest summit in the Alps.

* 1861 – American Civil War: Fort Sumter surrenders to Confederate forces.

* 1861 – Iván Persa, Hungarian-Slovene writer and catholic priest ( d. 1935 )

* 1861 – American Civil War: US Navy squadron captures forts at Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina.

The Robber Barons: The Great American Capitalists, 1861 – 1901 ISBN 99918-47-99-5

* 1766 – Collin McKinney, American surveyor, merchant, politician, and preacher, helped draft the Texas Declaration of Independence ( d. 1861 )

* 1861 – American Civil War: in order to help pay for the war effort, the United States government levies the first income tax as part of the Revenue Act of 1861 ( 3 % of all incomes over US $ 800 ; rescinded in 1872 ).

In late August 1861, General John C. Frémont, the 1856 Republican presidential nominee, issued, without consulting Washington, a proclamation of martial law in Missouri.

President Lincoln rejected two geographically limited emancipation attempts by Major General John C. Frémont in August 1861 and by Major General David Hunter in May 1862, on the grounds that it was not within their power, and it would upset the border states loyal to the Union.

In this capacity he negotiated several treaties, one of the most important being with Cherokee chief John Ross, which was concluded in 1861.

The population of the parish rose from 6, 471 in 1841 to 14, 999 in 1851 and 32, 299 in 1861 and John Davies described it as " the most dynamic place in Wales ".

Over the period 1858 to 1861, John McDouall Stuart led six expeditions north from Adelaide into the outback, culminating in successfully reaching the north coast of Australia and returning, without the loss of any of the party's members ' lives.

Groups associated with John Thomas met under various names, including Believers, Baptised Believers, the Royal Association of Believers, Baptised Believers in the Kingdom of God, Nazarines ( or Nazarenes ) and The Antipas until the time of the American Civil War ( 1861 – 1865 ).

* 1861 – American Civil War: The Trent Affair: Confederate diplomatic envoys James M. Mason and John Slidell are freed by the United States government, thus heading off a possible war between the United States and United Kingdom.

* 1796 – John Stevens Henslow, English botanist and geologist ( d. 1861 )

The articles comprising London Labour and the London Poor were initially collected into three volumes in 1851 ; the 1861 edition included a fourth volume, co-written with Bracebridge Hemyng, John Binny and Andrew Halliday, on the lives of prostitutes, thieves and beggars.

* Sir Halford John Mackinder ( 1861 – 1947 ), author of The Geographical Pivot of History, co-founder of the London School of Economics, along with the Geographical Association.

* 1785 – John McLean, U. S. Supreme Court Justice ( d. 1861 )

* 1861 – The Great Comet of 1861 is discovered by John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales, Australia.

* 1861 – American Civil War: Western Department Union General John C. Fremont is relieved of command and replaced by David Hunter.

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By the end of August 1861, Grant was given charge of the District of Cairo by Maj. Gen John C. Fremont, an outside Lincoln appointment, who viewed Grant as " a man of dogged persistence, and iron will.

* May 12 – John Martin Poyer, United States Navy Commander and the 12th Governor of American Samoa ( b. 1861 )

Both of Keynes's parents outlived him: father John Neville Keynes ( 1852 – 1949 ) by three years, and mother Florence Ada Keynes ( 1861 – 1958 ) by 12 years.

The Eberhard Faber Pencil Company, originally the A. W. Faber Company, was founded by John Eberhard Faber ( 1822 – 1879 ) in 1861.

In 1861 John Butterfield, who since 1858 had been using the Butterfield Overland Mail, also switched to the Central Route to avoid traveling through hostile territories during the American Civil War.

During the Civil War ( 1861 – 65 ), postal services in the Confederacy were provided by the CSA Post Office Department, headed by Postmaster General John Henninger Reagan.

Frederick and Mary had two children together who survived infancy: a daughter, Marion ( born October 28, 1861 ) and a son Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. Their first child, John Theodore Olmsted, was born on June 13, 1860 and died in infancy.

It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen. John Pope's Army of Virginia, and a battle of much larger scale and numbers than the First Battle of Bull Run ( First Manassas ) fought in 1861 on the same ground.