House Divided: Realities Confronting North and South in the Second Year of Conflict
In the spring and summer of 1862, the Peninsular Campaign led by Union Army General George McClellan is driven back by the Confederates commanded by Robert E. Lee, then defeated once again at Bull Run (Manassas). Ulysses S. Grant's forces defeat the...
Final Stages: Bloody Battles Take Their Toll in Virginia, Summer and Fall, 1864
In Virginia, the Grant/Meade campaign against Lee during the summer and fall of 1864 is not making much headway. These are some of the bloodiest battles of the war, grinding day after day engagements with heavy casualties. When Jeb Stuart, Lee's tru...
Final Stages: Contrast between North and South as 1864 Campaign Season Begins
The Confederate war experience is very different from the experience of the North simply because most of the battles are fought on Southern ground. Looking toward the campaigning season of 1864, the Confederates are desperate but determined. The moo...
Final Stages: Final Days of the Civil War
Both commanders attempt to break the trench deadlock at Petersburg, Lee with Early's raid on Washington and Grant by digging a tunnel under Confederate fortifications and planting explosives. The Battle of the Crater which begins early in the mornin...
Final Stages: Major Battles of 1863: Chattanooga
After occupying Chattanooga, Union forces under William Rosecrans pursue retreating Confederate troops into a trap at Chickamauga and suffer a major loss. As Union troops retreat back to Chattanooga, General Bragg follows too slowly in military hind...
What Price Freedom: Reconstruction and Financial Issues Plague Grant's Administration
The influence of radical Republicans, more progressive as far as blacks are concerned, is diminished as moderate Republicans come into power. They nominate Ulysses S. Grant for the presidency in 1868, perhaps the only man who could be elected during...