Union Gen. William S. Rosecrans and his army are penned up in Chattanooga. Confederate Gen. Braxton’s Bragg’s forces control most routes in and out of the city; Union supplies have difficulty reaching Chattanooga. To make matters worse, today Confederate Major Gen. Joseph Wheeler and his men intercept a Union supply train, overpowering the guards. Confederate…
Today Union raiders create havoc in Wright City, Missouri, a town in a border state evidencing mixed, vocal loyalties. Targeting buildings where Southern sympathizers are known to gather, the militia first strike the Baptist church, torching the meeting house. As the church blazes, the raiders move on to two local businesses, setting fire to a…
William C. Quantrill — former Confederate soldier serving under General Benjamin McCullough and currently leader of a ruthless Western band of guerrillas with southern sympathies — leads his outlaw gang toward Lawrence, Kansas. The foray marks Quantrill’s westernmost advance. Previously confining his raids in an area from western Missouri to the Kansas border, the guerrilla…