Walter Coffey's Blog, page 23

The Missouri Incursion Begins

Sterling “Pap” Price organizes a new Confederate Army of Missouri to move north and reclaim the state for the Confederacy. The planned route involved capturing supplies, rallying loyalists, and causing diversions in Missouri, Kansas, and the Indian Territory.Continue reading

Prisoner Exchange Remains Suspended

Conditions in prison camps like Andersonville and Elmira continue deteriorating. Even so, Ulysses S. Grant instructs Federal prisoner exchange agents to refuse any Confederate offers to exchange prisoners, largely due to the Confederates’ refusal to recognize black soldiers as legitimate prisoners.Continue reading

Atlanta: Sherman’s Armies Start Moving

William T. Sherman’s Federals begin a major (and risky) movement to the west and south of Atlanta to cut the supply lines leading into the city and starve the Confederate Army of Tennessee into submission.Continue reading

The Second Battle of Ream’s Station

Confederates score a decisive victory that decimates the Federal Second Corps, but it does little to stop the Federals from extending their siege lines south of Petersburg.Continue reading

Lincoln Predicts His Own Defeat

As doubts continue growing about President Abraham Lincoln’s reelection chances, Lincoln asks his cabinet members to endorse a confidential memo acknowledging that he would probably not win the upcoming presidential election.Continue reading

A Most Disgraceful Affair

Nathan Bedford Forrest leads Confederate cavalry in a daring raid on Memphis, which is designed to relieve Federal pressure on northern Mississippi.Continue reading

The Second Battle of the Weldon Railroad Ends

The fighting that began between Federals and Confederates south of Petersburg on August 18 continues the next day over a section of the Weldon Railroad that the Federals will not relinquish to the Confederates.Continue reading

The Second Battle of the Weldon Railroad

Fighting breaks out southwest of the Petersburg siege lines when Federals try moving beyond the Confederates’ flank to sever the Weldon Railroad.Continue reading

Republicans Press for Peace

Plummeting northern morale puts President Abraham Lincoln under intense pressure to save his reelection hopes by renewing peace negotiations with the Confederacy.Continue reading

Burning Out the Hornets

Philip Sheridan takes over Federal forces in the Shenandoah Valley, and after skirmishing and maneuvering, begins to carry out Ulysses S. Grant’s instructions to ravage the region and weaken the Confederate war effort.Continue reading