Gathering war clouds do not keep the wedding bells from ringing: Woodson Reilly Cummings (born January 8, 1838) marries Elizabeth Mann Houchins in Monroe County, Virginia. In February 1862, the couple’s first child is born. Calls for enlistment conflict Cummings, whose Baptist religious convictions are opposed to fighting. His wife and young son don’t want…
The Missouri Secession Convention comes to a close, and delegates issue the following statement: “That at present there is no adequate cause to impel Missouri to dissolve her connection with the Federal Union.” While the decision is not surprising, one less border state is in play in the tug-of-war between the Union and the Confederacy,…
Seeking ways to supply Fort Sumter, Abraham Lincoln explores a plan devised by Gustavus V. Fox, Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Fox proposes to send an ocean-going steamer south to Charleston (illustrated), accompanied by three warships, tugboats, and launches for ferrying supplies from the steamer to the Fort. Not all Washington officials are keen on…