Today Charleston, Illinois, a small town sharply divided over the war, erupts in rioting. The trouble begins when Copperheads (Northern Democrats who want to sign a peace treaty with the Confederate States) assemble at the courthouse. Armed and ready for confrontation, the Copperheads wait for opportunities to assault soldiers and abolitionists. The wait is not…
Today in the hotly-contested border state of Kentucky, a Confederate cavalry force led by Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, captures Paducah, Kentucky with little resistance. The raid is an effort to capture Union supplies; Paducah is a considerable prize. Meanwhile, the Union garrison, having retreated upon learning of the rebels’ approach, is garrisoned in the…
The Civil War has raised racial tensions to new heights in the South and in some areas of the North. The number of openly racist Northerners is such that U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is not assured of re-election in the coming 1864 election. Hoping to tip the presidential election away from Lincoln and force the…