January 13-15, 1865 - Battle of Fort Fisher. More information about the Fort Fisher CLICK HERE. January 31, 1865 - The United States Congress approved the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, to abolish slavery. The amendment was then submitted to the states for ratification. February 1865 - Sherman makes his way from Georgia through North and South Carolina, burning and destroying most of what lies in his path. February 3, 1865 - A peace conference is held in Hampton Roads, Virginia. President Lincoln met with Confederate Vice-President Alexander Stephens. Jefferson Davis' insistence that Lincoln recognize the South's independence as a prerequisite doomed the meeting and it ended in failure. March 4, 1865 - President Lincoln gives his second Inaugural address in Washington D.C., "With malice toward none; with charity for all...let us strive on to finish the work we are in...to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations." March 6, 1865 - Battle of Natural Bridge. More information about the Battle of Natural Bridge CLICK HERE. March 25, 1865 - Siege at Petersburg ends. More information about the Siege at Petersburg CLICK HERE. April 2, 1865 - The Confederate capital of Richmond is evacuated as fires and looting breaks out. The next day, Union troops enter and raise the Stars and Stripes. April 4, 1865 - President Lincoln tours Richmond, Va., where he enters the Confederate White House. With a "serious, and dreamy expression" he sits at the desk of Jefferson Davis for a few moments. April 9, 1865 - Lee Surrenders! General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate Army to General Ulysses S. Grant at the village of Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Grant allowed Rebel officers to keep their sidearms and permits soldiers to keep horses and mules. Lee tells his troops, "After four years of arduous service marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources." April 14, 1865 - Lincoln Assassinated! More information about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln CLICK HERE. April 21, 1865 - Lincoln's funeral. More information about Lincoln's funeral CLICK HERE. May 1, 1965 - Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, favored a quick military trial and execution for the conspirators in the assassination of President Lincoln. There were others who objected to having a military trial for civilians, saying it was unconstitutional. President Johnson requested Attorney General James Speed to prepare an opinion on the legality of such a trial. Speed concluded in his opinion use of a military trial would be proper. Speed reasoned that an attack on the commander-in-chief before the full cessation of the rebellion constituted an act of war against the United States, making the War Department the appropriate body to control the proceedings. The prisoners were kept under close wraps at two locations. Dr. Mudd and Mary Surratt were first jailed at the Old Capitol Prison, while the other six prisoners were kept imprisoned on the ironclad vessels the Monttauk and the Saugus. Later, as the trial began, the prisoners were kept in separate cells at the Old Arsenal Penitentiary. The male prisoners were shackled to balls and chain, with their hands held in place by an inflexible iron bar. From the time of their arrest until midway through their trial, all the prisoners - under orders from Secretary Stanton - were forced to wear canvas hoods that covered their entire head and face. May 1, 1865 - President Johnson issued and order that the alleged conspirators be tried before a nine person military commission. May 8, 1865 - The Military Commission convened for the first time in a newly created courtroom on the 3rd floor of the Old Arsenal Penitentiary in Washington. Seated left to right in the photo: Lt. Col. David R. Clendenin, Brev. Col. C.H.Tompkins, Brig. Gen. T.M.Harris, Brig. Gen. Albion P. Howe, Brev. Brig. Gen. James A. Elkin, Maj. Gen. Lewis Wallace, Maj. Gen. David Hunter, Brev. Maj. Gen. August V. Kautz, Brig. Gen. Robert S. Foster, Special Judge Advocates Hon. John A. Bingham, Col. Henry L. Burnett, Judge Advocate and recorder Brig. Gen. Joseph Holt. May 9, 1865 - On the evening of May 9th, General John Hantranft visited each prisoner's cell to read the charges against them. Hantranft later wrote, "I had the hood of each prisoner removed, entered the cell alone with a lantern, delivered the copy, allowed them to read it, and in several instances by request, read the copy again to them, before replacing the hood." May 12, 1865 - Testimony in the Lincoln assassination conspiracy trial began. The rules of the Commission made the position of the defendants even more grave; conviction could come on a simple majority vote and a majority of 2/3rds could impose the death sentence. Over the course of the next 7 weeks, the Commission would hear from 361 witnesses. as the witnesses paraded to the stand, spectators lucky enough to get admission passes from Major General Hunter would move in and out of the nonchalant atmosphere of the courtroom. The prosecution offered evidence to show that the conspiracy against Abraham Lincoln and other high government officials began sometime after the Battle of Gettysburg, probably in the summer of 1864. Witness Sanford Conover reported Confederate Secret Service head Jacob Thompson as identifying the goal of the conspiracy as to "leave the country without a head" by killing not only Lincoln, but also Vice President Johnson, Secretary of War Stanton, Secretary of State Seward, and General Grant. Conover, a former employee of the Rebel war department, quoted Thompson as saying there was "no provision in the Constitution of the United States by which, if these men were removed, they could elect another President." Several witnesses testified that by the fall of 1864 a proposal to assassinate or abduct Union leaders, presumably made by Booth, was under active review by Confederate officials in both Canada and Richmond. CLICK HERE for Sentences and Executions.