South Carolinian Robert Smalls, a former slave who had worked in Charleston’s shipyards, became a hero to the North in May 1862 when he commandeered the Confederate transport CSS Planter in Charleston Harbor and steered the ship to safety and freedom for himself and his crew of slaves and their families, behind nearby Union naval…
Today Union Navy Admiral David Farragut manages to slip two of his ships back past the forts of Vicksburg, Mississippi in preparation for a campaign to attack the city. Having probed the city’s defenses, Farragut now prepares for an impending rendezvous with land forces. The Vicksburg campaign officially commences six days hence, when U. S.…
This year’s biennial meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention is scheduled to take place in May in Columbus, Mississippi. That state, however, is now under imminent threat from the southward push of the Union Navy and federal soldiers. At the same time, there is some talk of canceling the meeting altogether. Holding the meeting “seems…