The year draws to a close with some encouraging news for the United States: the coastal city of Biloxi, Mississippi surrenders to Union forces hours before the calendar turns. The success on the Mississippi coast caps a string of coastal victories for the United States Navy during 1861. So successful has the U.S. Navy been…
In the deep South, Union forces now have a secure hold on the South Carolina coast. Beaufort is under control of the 100th Pennsylvania Regiment, the men of whom are convinced they are following the directive of God in ensuring the welfare of the freedmen under their protection, following a victorious fall campaign against Confederate…
As the year draws to a close, a total of eleven Baptist churches are active in the Confederate capital city of Richmond, Virginia, including three African churches. A number of the urban congregations have, by this time, settled into a weekly routine of Sunday AM, Sunday PM, and Wednesday PM services that will remain familiar…