Civil War

This Week in the Civil War

00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.

This Week in the Civil War - 439

Texas Public Radio | By Texas Public Radio

Published November 13, 2012 at 3:32 PM CST

On November 14, 1862, anxious to satisfy Lincoln, Army of the Potomac commander General Ambrose Burnside submitted a plan for driving on Richmond.

Burnside proposed reorganizing his command into three grand divisions: the Right Grand Division under General Edwin Sumner, the Center Grand Division under General Joseph Hooker, and the Left Grand Division under General William Franklin.

Burnside believed that restructuring the Army this way under the command of subordinate officers loyal to him would allow the Union army to finish the job against Richmond, completing the task which eluded “Little Mac” just a few months earlier.

Abraham Lincoln wholeheartedly approved Burnside’s plan, and the following day, November 15, the Army of the Potomac began moving toward the Rappahannock River and Fredericksburg, Virginia.