Today Edgar Harkness Gray (1813-1894) becomes the first Baptist appointed as Chaplain of the U.S. Senate. A Vermont native, Gray was converted to the Baptist faith at the age of twelve. Following a period of schooling, he was ordained to the ministry and served churches in Maine and Massachusetts before accepting the pastorate of Washington…
Today in Georgia, Sherman‘s army burns the Washington County courthouse as they march eastward to the coast. As is the case each day of the march, white citizens alternately remain out of sight or express great anger as the invaders plunder and destroy. Many black slaves, on the other hand, flee from their masters and…
Today Nevada is admitted into the Union as the 36th state. Statehood arrives eight days prior to the 1864 presidential elections, and is earlier than originally planned in order to provide a voting edge for President Lincoln and the Republican Party. Hurrying Western territories into statehood is a broader strategy utilized during the war and…