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 - 756

Texas Public Radio | By Texas Public Radio

Published January 30, 2014 at 1:56 PM CST

While lethargy may have seized the Northern electorate during the winter months of early 1864, Abraham Lincoln remained absolutely committed to winning the civil war. On Monday, February 1, 1864 the president ordered that 500,000 Northerners be drafted on March 10 to serve for a period of three years or for the duration of the war.

He acted under the terms of a conscription act passed by Congress in March 1863. Clearly, Lincoln desired a larger Northern army which would overwhelm and defeat the Confederacy as quickly as possible. On the same day Congress passed an act reviving the rank of lieutenant general.

Congress had General Ulysses Grant, the conqueror of Vicksburg, in mind for a promotion to lead an expanded Union army to victory over the Confederacy.