What happened on this day during the Civil War - April 16th?

1. April 16, 1862 - Confederate Congress, following numerous Western Theater losses in the past three months, issues the first-ever conscription act in American military history. This would be just the first of three Confederate conscription acts.
2. April 16, 1862 – Lincoln signs a bill outlawing slavery in the District of Columbia.
3. April 16, 1863 – Grant turns his attention again towards Vicksburg by sending gunboats and transports to the region. He will eventually capture the city in a couple months. The city was deemed impregnable by the citizens, hailing it as the “Gibraltar of the West”.
4. April 16, 1864 – An official report from the ward department lists 146,634 prisoners of war.

For a complete timeline of the American Civil War, click here.