Empowered by his re-election last month, U. S. President Abraham Lincoln issues a proclamation for 300,000 more volunteers to serve in the military in order to finish the task of defeating the Rebellion. The Confederacy, by way of contrast, has exhausted efforts to recruit new soldiers. Twice as many solders have deserted as are now…
Today is an appointed National Day of Thanksgiving in the United States, the second official annual holiday that in the years to come is known simply as Thanksgiving. Union battlefield successes in 1863 led President Abraham Lincoln to set aside the last Thursday in November as an official holiday of national thanksgiving, and further military…
St. Augustine, Florida has been under Union control since March 1862. Along with Beaufort, South Carolina and environs, St. Augustine serves as a Northern-controlled freemen’s colony, providing opportunities for former slaves — or contrabands (the wartime term for slaves freed by the Union Army) — to receive basic education, learn trades and acquire farming skills. Leading…