Today U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, over the objection of some advisors, decides to attempt to resupply Fort Sumter on April 6. The die is cast. Lincoln knows that Confederate forces in Charleston will resist the resupply efforts, which in turn could well lead to the formal beginnings of the war that is inevitable. Meanwhile, Mississippi…
A mere twenty-four hours after Abraham Lincoln takes the U. S. presidential oath, the Confederate States of America, disdainful of the “black” U. S. president (as they call Lincoln), unveils the “Stars and Bars,” the first Confederate flag, while Texas formally accepts Confederate statehood. White Baptist reaction in the South is mixed. While Basil Manly,…
The day before his inauguration, U. S. President-elect Abraham Lincoln finalizes his Cabinet appointees. Among his Cabinet is former presidential candidate (1860) Edward Bates of Missouri, appointed as Postmaster General. A former slaveowner, Bates no longer owns slaves nor supports slavery. The story of Bates’ emancipation of his slaves intersects the world of Baptists, as…