Against the backdrop of the Union’s inability, to this point, to capture either Richmond or Atlanta, and the attendant restlessness among many Northerners, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln recognizes the growing possibility of defeat in the upcoming November elections. The Democratic platform is one of immediate peace and the end of emancipation, and many Northerners seem…
St. Augustine, Florida has been under Union control since March 1862. Along with Beaufort, South Carolina and environs, St. Augustine serves as a Northern-controlled freemen’s colony, providing opportunities for former slaves — or contrabands (the wartime term for slaves freed by the Union Army) — to receive basic education, learn trades and acquire farming skills. Leading…
Today Confederate Calvary Commander General Joe Wheeler, in an attempt to hamper the Union offensive against Atlanta, begins raiding activities behind Federal lines in North Georgia, targeting Federal railroad supply lines. Wheeler operates in North Georgia and Tennessee for a month. Although the Confederate general does manage to temporarily destroy some stretches of rail, his…