Saturday Oct. 12 1861
CONFEDERATE COMMISSIONERS COMMENCE CRUISE

The blockade runner Theodora slipped successfully out of Charleston harbor, South Carolina today on a mission that would prove momentous. Under cover of storm and darkness she carried John Slidell of Louisiana and James Mason of Virginia, Commissioners of the Confederacy to France and Britain respectively. Their mission was to be to persuade the governments to which they were being sent to recognize the existence of the Confederate States of America as a sovereign and independent nation. United States Navy Secretary Gideon Welles knew all about their mission and ordered US vessels to intercept them if possible--but Welles thought they were on a ship named CSS Nashville and confusion ensued.



Sunday Oct. 12 1862
CHAMBERSBURG CAVALRY CAVALCADE CONCLUDES

James Ewell Brown Stuart had led his cavalrymen on yet another “ride around McClellan”, an event which was in danger of becoming a regular occurrence. In this case he had crossed the Potomac and ridden straight for Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, pausing only long enough to rip down every telegraph wire he passed. Arriving in that city he had proceeded to confiscate every horse, burn public buildings, wreck everything that couldn’t be carried, and generally cause a nuisance. Realizing yesterday that he had perhaps overstayed his welcome, they departed for Maryland. Today they crossed back over the Potomac to the safety of Virginia.



Monday Oct. 12 1863
MANASSAS MISERY MIGHT MULTIPLY

Everyone seemed to be aware by now that the Army of Northern Virginia was on the move, with one apparent exception. Robert E. Lee was not supposed to be able to launch a major offensive this soon, with all the action supposed to be going on in the West. Nevertheless he seemed to be doing exactly that, passing to the west and now curving north around the Army of the Potomac. Continuing on their present course would bring them back to the blood-soaked fields of Manassas for yet a third time, and continuing past that would put them in Washington D. C. That city’s first citizen sent yet another worried telegram to Gen. George Meade today: “What news this morning?” Lincoln wrote.



Wednesday Oct. 12 1864
DRED DECIDER DEFINITELY DECEASED

The case which became known as the Dred Scott Decision was one of the landmarks of American legal history. Was a slave taken by his master to live in a “free” state thereby made free, even if later taken back to a state where slavery was legal? The case, which was pursued and financed by abolitionist groups for years, finally made it to the U.S Supreme Court, and the ruling was written by Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney. It declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional and Scott again a slave, and greatly deepened the rift between North and South that would eventually lead to so many deaths. One such, albeit not by hostile action, occurred to Taney himself. He died, of old age, in Washington. Taney was 89.

October 12, 1870

Robert E. Lee dies
General Robert Edward Lee, the commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, dies peacefully at his home in Lexington, Virginia. He was 63 years old.

Lee was born to Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee and Ann Carter Lee at Stratford Hall, Virginia, in 1807. His father served in the American Revolution under George Washington. Lee attended West Point and graduated second in his class in 1829. He did not earn a single demerit during his four years at the academy.

Lee sided with the Confederacy and spent the first year of the war as an advisor to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. He assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia when Joseph Johnston was wounded in battle in May 1862. Over the next three years, Lee earned a reputation as one of the greatest military leaders in history for his use of brilliant tactics and battlefield leadership. His invasions of the north, at Antietam and Gettysburg, however, ended in defeat.

After Lee surrendered his army at Appomattox in 1865, he returned to Richmond and an uncertain future. With his military career over, he accepted the presidency of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia. Under his leadership, the struggling institution's enrollment increased from a few dozen to more than 300 students. He contributed to faculty stability, revamped the curriculum, and improved the physical condition of the campus. He also became a symbol of the defeated South, a dignified and stoic figure who was lionized by North and South alike. He suffered a stroke on September 28, 1870, and lingered for two weeks before passing. The school changed its name to Washington and Lee College soon after he died.