Aboard the River Queen at Union-controlled Hampton Roads, Virginia, leaders of the United States and Confederate States meet to discuss the possibility of peace. Present are U.S. president Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State William H. Seward for the Union, and for the Confederates, vice president Alexander H. Stephens, Assistant Secretary of War John A. Campbell,…
For several months, various parties have attempted to find a way to bring Union and Confederate officials to the table to negotiate a peace settlement. To date, no formal talks have taken place. Nonetheless, a new effort to arrange high level discussions offers a hint of bearing fruit. Francis Preston Blair, Sr., an aged…
The “Jackson Greys” regiment of Virginia, formed on the grounds of the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, this month is transferred to Sewell’s Point on the coast. Located at the mouth of Hampton Roads, Sewell’s Point is a major strategic coastal point in the war. On May 18-19, 1861, Federal gunboats exchanged fire with Confederate batteries…