Today Union General Ulysses S. Grant refuses yet another request from the Confederacy to exchange prisoners. While the practice of prisoner exchange was common earlier in the war, Grant, albeit reluctantly, is now determined to play hardball. Refusing to exchange prisoners with the enemy, in effect, further pressures the Confederate’s decimated army ranks. Meanwhile, far…
Today U.S. President Abraham Lincoln wires encouraging words to General Ulysses S. Grant, entrenched at Petersburg against a determined but outnumbered Confederate enemy. “Hold on with a bull-dog grip, and chew & choke, as much as possible,” Lincoln instructs the general, the objective being to wear down the enemy, no matter now long it takes.…
Today in the Shenandoah Valley Union forces rout Confederate troops in the Battle of Guard Hill (also known as the Battle of Crooked River). The Union victory proves to be the definitive turning point in Federals taking control of the Valley from the Confederates. Soon, Robert E. Lee‘s army, confined to the trenches around Petersburg…