With Atlanta now safely in Union hands, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is able to rest a bit easier. The capture of the Southern city bolsters the president’s re-election prospects, and, assuming Lincoln’s re-election (which is not yet a given, despite Atlanta) almost assures a United States victory over the rebellious Southern states. Against this backdrop,…
While many communities in the North finally receive confirmation of the Union’s triumph over Atlanta, this day, as decreed by President Abraham Lincoln two days earlier, is a national day of celebration in the United States, following the Union victories at Atlanta and Mobile Bay. Although Lincoln’s proclamation for this day’s celebratory cannon salutes in…
Sam Richards, Atlanta businessman, former Unionist and member of the city’s Second Baptist Church, today writes of how “it is strange to go about Atlanta and see only Yankee uniforms.” “The enemy,” he continues, “behave themselves pretty well except in the scramble for tobacco and liquor during which every store in town nearly was broken…