The three-day Battle of Hatcher’s Run, fought in and around the trenches of Petersburg, is over. Despite having briefly broken through the Union lines, the Confederates lose the battle, gaining no ground in their defeat. Today Confederate General Robert E. Lee offers a stark assessment of the battle. His men having fought in severe winter…
Prior to the war and despite the growing abolitionist movement, discriminatory laws against black citizens were common in the North. Known as “black laws,” the regulations often prevented blacks from voting, serving on juries, testifying in court against a white person or signing contracts. Freedom, in short, while real nonetheless came with restrictions for black…
In the Battle of Hatcher’s Run, Virginia that begins this day, Union forces fail to cut off several Confederate supply routes during the Siege of Petersburg. The fighting goes on for three days in a pitched battle, after which the two sides settle back down into their former positions. The Federals, however, do manage to…