The month of February draws to a close with four major, strategic cities of the Deep South under Union control: Atlanta, Savannah, Columbia and Charleston. In addition, the port city of Wilmington, North Carolina is also occupied, leaving the Confederacy with no ports from which to sail naval vessels. With the Union coastal blockade now…
While only minor skirmishes occur this day, in Virginia Union General Ulysses S. Grant orders Major General Phil Sheridan‘s force of some 10,000 cavalry to move south of Winchester on a mission to destroy the Virginia Central Railroad and James River Canal. In addition, Sheridan is tasked with capturing Lynchburg, if possible. Indeed, with Sherman…
South Carolina has fallen. Federals now operate out of Wilmington, North Carolina. Richmond is increasingly under pressure by Grant. Union naval vessels float off Florida’s Cedar Keys. The end is near for the Confederacy, evidenced not only by the successes of Federal armies in the South but also the growing number of slaves escaping behind…