At first glance, today is a typical Sunday at the Union Baptist Church in Tennessee’s Stockton Valley in Loudon County. Inside the plain meeting house with perhaps one hundred or more persons present, preaching and singing fill the morning hours as the temperature rises this hot August day. The sounds wafting through the open windows…
Their spirits bolstered by victory at the skirmish known as the Battle of Blackburn’s Ford, Confederate forces, anticipating a clash with U.S. Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell’s 35,000 troops, begin consolidating in preparation. Some troops arrive in the Manassas area by train, the first time in history for troops to be transported by train. Meanwhile, in…
Tension is felt both North and South. Soldiers and civilians alike realize a major battle is at hand in Virginia. Yet the tension is only partially expressed in fear. Many are in a celebratory mood, as North and South are both convinced that God is on their side and victory nigh. Tens of thousands…