MAPS OF HISTORY · ON THIS DAY · April 12

THE DAY IN HISTORY · APRIL 12

April 12 in history

1864 — Fort Pillow

12 Apr 1864 — Confederate troops under Forrest massacre surrendering soldiers, most of them Black, after the fort has fallen — perhaps 200 dead. Named here soberly for what it was: the war’s racial hatred, armed. “Remember Fort Pillow” became the cry of Black regiments.

READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR MAP → · THE FULL STORY →

1927 — The Shanghai purge

12 Apr 1927 — Chiang turns on his communist allies: Green Gang enforcers and soldiers kill hundreds of unionists and militants in a morning, thousands in the weeks after, here and across the south. The First United Front dies in its victory. Remember the date — everything after 1927 follows from it.

READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE CHINA IN REVOLUTION MAP → · THE FULL STORY →

1945

Franklin Roosevelt dies at Warm Springs. Harry Truman, president for minutes, is told for the first time about the atomic bomb.

READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE WW2 MAP →