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 - 440

Texas Public Radio | By Texas Public Radio

Published November 14, 2012 at 3:14 PM CST

On Saturday, November 15, 1862, Confederate President Jefferson Davis accepted the resignation of his third Secretary of War, George W. Randolph.

Randolph abruptly submitted his resignation for the same reason as four other Confederate secretaries of war; he felt that Davis was too actively intervening in the operations of the war department.

Randolph improved the department’s procurement procedures and authored a national conscription law. Best known for his strengthening the Confederacy's western and southern defenses, Randolph unfortunately feuded with Jefferson Davis over this strategy.

However, Randolph was also suffering with tuberculosis, and his declining health forced his resignation. After temporarily abandoning the South in 1864 for exile in England and France, Randolph returned to Virginia in 1866. He would succumb to tuberculosis in March of 1867.