By the first of May 1864 an impending attack in Virginia by the Army of the Potomac was certain; exactly how, where, and when Grant would attack was the question. Lee’s Confederate force was as ready as it could be, given its depleted numbers and inferior equipment. The South also anticipated a drive into Georgia by Sherman, an attack by Benjamin Butler from Virginia’s James River, increased Union activity in the Shenandoah Valley, and a Federal attack against Mobile, Alabama. Yet, after three long years of war the Southern armies remained a viable threat to the Union. With a Northern presidential election soon to be, no one could assume that the war would soon end. In fact, many feared that the bloodiest period of the war was yet to be.
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.