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 - #868

Texas Public Radio | By Texas Public Radio

Published July 7, 2014 at 3:49 PM CDT

In just one week Confederate General Jubal Early’s 30,000 man force in the Shenandoah Valley had pushed northeastward nearly 100 miles, threatening Washington, D.C. and throwing the Union war effort into a panic. Until sufficient Union troops were transferred to adequately protect Washington, the northern capital primarily was defended by militia units under the command of General Lew Wallace. At the 1862 battle of Shiloh Grant had looked in disfavor on Wallace; the youngest major general of the North had been transferred away from the immediacy of combat for many months. Now, with few regular Union troops available to defend the national capital and with Early’s force getting closer and closer to Washington, the fate of the North rested squarely on the shoulders of the discredited Lew Wallace.