Today the Battle of Olustee or Battle of Ocean Pond is fought in Baker County, Florida. It is the largest battle fought in Florida during the war. The battle is part of a Union offensive in Florida. Major General Quincy A. Gillmore, commander of the Union’s Department of the South headquartered at Hilton Head, South…
As winter drags on, food and supplies become an ever greater concern for the armies of the Confederacy. General Robert E. Lee, with President Jefferson Davis‘ approval, has already resorted to impressment to feed the Army of Northern Virginia, to the dissatisfaction of many local civilians. Yet the issue is far from resolved, and Davis…
Amidst the ugliness of war, beautiful things yet happen. Baptist musician William Batchelder Bradbury (1816-1868) inspires Fanny Crosby (1820-1915) to write sacred music. Crosby writes her first hymn today, giving it to Bradbury as a gift. Bradbury has long been a Baptist, having joined the Charles Street Baptist Church in Boston, Massachusetts at age fifteen.…