Today Union General Ulysses S. Grant refuses yet another request from the Confederacy to exchange prisoners. While the practice of prisoner exchange was common earlier in the war, Grant, albeit reluctantly, is now determined to play hardball. Refusing to exchange prisoners with the enemy, in effect, further pressures the Confederate’s decimated army ranks. Meanwhile, far…
At dawn the Battle of Gettysburg resumes on the third day. The morning silence is broken by the Union XII Corps, as from atop Culp’s Hill they begin an artillery bombardment on Confederate forces embedded downhill and nearby. Within hours, Confederate Gen. Richard S. Ewell attacks the federals in an attempt to seize Culp’s Hill,…
Today the Confederacy temporarily reverses Southern misfortunes on the Mississippi River, as the ironclad CSS Arkansas engages Union naval forces and damages some 19 ships before retreating. The days of the Arkansas are limited, however. Pursued by the Union ironclad Essex, the Southern vessel experiences mechanical trouble and runs aground. The crew blows up the…