Today Union General Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate General Robert E. Lee clash yet again as Union forces continue maneuvering in an effort to outflank Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and advance upon Richmond. Today’s action takes places less than 20 miles from the Confederate capital in the Battle of Totopotomoy Creek, also known as…
Prior to the war, “Lee Town” in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa became a refuge for escaped slaves fleeing from Missouri, as well as slaves freed by Missouri slave owners who came to oppose the peculiar institution. The Underground Railroad was nearby. Some freedman passed through Lee Town; others, finding protection, stayed. Soon after the Civil War…
Today Lieutenant James Hill (1822-1899) of Company I of the 21st Iowa Infantry, having previously served as an unofficial spiritual counselor to his soldiers, is unanimously elected regimental chaplain. But Hill, a Baptist minister, does not give up his arms. Instead, he continues to lead his troops in battle and becomes known as the “fighting…