Hunger plagues Confederate soldiers entrenched at Petersburg. A Confederate scout the previous week spotted some 3,000 head of cattle behind Union lines. Major General Wade Hampton, in turn, set about crafting a plan to steal the cattle to bolster food supplies. Today Hampton sets out with 3,000 men (one for each cow, perhaps?) via a…
One day after the fall of Atlanta the news is ever so slowly traveling by word of mouth, as communications infrastructure in the Atlanta area is largely destroyed. The Confederate capital is in the dark regarding Atlanta as the Richmond Daily Dispatch reports of ongoing fighting near the city: “We have news of fighting near…
Today marks the beginning of the battle that will decide the fate of Atlanta. In what becomes known as the Battle of Jonesborough, Union General William T. Sherman maneuvers his forces in an offensive designed to draw the Confederate’s Army of the Tennessee out of the city of Atlanta. Confederate Lieutenant General William J. Hardee,…