After Sherman’s loss at Kennesaw Mountain, large scale fighting seemed over for a time. Joseph Johnston began preparing new defensive positions along the Chattahoochee River, well behind his Kennesaw defenses. The most significant event of Tuesday, June 28, 1864 involved the departure of Jubal Early’s Confederates from Stauton, Virginia. Since the Shenandoah Valley ran from the southwest to the northeast, it was a logical invasion route against the North and was a route that led directly toward Washington, D.C. In fact, as soon as the Union War Department learned of Early’s deployment, Washington, D.C. was abuzz over speculation that Early’s specific target was the North’s national capital. Even if Early’s deployment proved unsuccessful, it certainly was a nuisance which the Union War Department could not overlook nor underestimate.
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.