Today at 4 a.m. Confederate Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his cavalry raiders make a daring raid on Memphis, Tennessee, a town controlled by some 6,000 Federal forces. Galloping down the streets of Memphis, the Rebel forces set about looking for Union generals stationed in Memphis, in order to capture them, while freeing Confederate…
Today U.S. President Abraham Lincoln wires encouraging words to General Ulysses S. Grant, entrenched at Petersburg against a determined but outnumbered Confederate enemy. “Hold on with a bull-dog grip, and chew & choke, as much as possible,” Lincoln instructs the general, the objective being to wear down the enemy, no matter now long it takes.…
In Georgia, Union General William T. Sherman, hunkered down overlooking Atlanta, gives General George Stoneman free reign to ride south of Atlanta in an effort to disrupt the rebel supply line. Stoneman’s Raid is underway, with Macon as the destination. The disruption of Southern railroads between Atlanta and Macon is the prime objective. At Petersburg,…