OCTOBER 17, 1863:
Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, is officially coronated
Emperor of Mexico by Emperor Napoleon III of France. The Confederacy waits in
expectation that the French puppet “Empire” will join the Civil War on the side
of the South. This never happens.
Ulysses S. Grant is given overall command of the Western
Theatre (west of the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River) by
President Lincoln.
