While Confederate President Jefferson Davis quietly moves forward in preparing for secretive peace negotiations with the United States in Washington, Federal troops under Union General William S. Sherman execute a reconnaissance mission from Pocotaligo to the Salkehatchie River, South Carolina. With each passing day, anxiety grows among residents of the state of South Carolina. Confederate…
For several months, various parties have attempted to find a way to bring Union and Confederate officials to the table to negotiate a peace settlement. To date, no formal talks have taken place. Nonetheless, a new effort to arrange high level discussions offers a hint of bearing fruit. Francis Preston Blair, Sr., an aged…
In Minonk, Illinois, the Minonk Baptist Church, a mere six years old, today dedicates the congregation’s first meeting house. Meanwhile, the First Baptist Church of Webster, Massachusetts celebrates this day the 50th anniversary of their congregation with a “historical discourse.” Far southward in Union-controlled Knoxville, Tennessee, the First Baptist Church meeting house, established 1843, has…