One year after the United States Army seized control of Alexandria, Louisiana, the Union abandons the town. Union Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks orders that the town be left intact, but two corps, ignoring the general’s orders, set about plundering and burning the city. By the end of the day, the flames have spread and the…
Today in Virginia the Confederacy suffers misfortune when General J.E.B. Stuart, one of the South’s best cavalry leaders, is wounded in the Battle of Yellow Tavern. While Union General Ulysses S. Grant battles Confederate General Robert E. Lee in the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, Grant takes advantage of his numerically superior forces by sending…
Many church buildings fall prey to the battles of and movement of troops during the war. One such structure this month is the Enon Baptist Church of Chesterfield County, Virginia. As a part of the grand Union strategy of capturing Richmond, Union Mayor General Benjamin Butler is working his way toward Chesterfield County between Richmond…