On Tuesday, June 21, 1864 President Abraham Lincoln took a steamer to City Point, Virginia to visit the Army of the Potomac. After a heartfelt greeting from Grant and his staff, the president and Grant with armed escort road by horseback to visit George Meade’s command. Riding into a camp of black troops, the president was surrounded by admirers who profusely thanked him for their deliverance from slavery. Observers saw tears in the president’s eyes, and his voice broke while speaking to those troops. After visiting with General Benjamin Butler on the following day, Lincoln returned to Washington, D.C. His visit was important; in the coming weeks he would be politically assailed as much as Grant would be criticized. Both men needed the absolute support of the other.
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.