One continuing achievement for the Confederacy by mid-August 1864 remained at sea where her commerce raiders continued to prey on Union shipping. In August 1864 the C.S.S. Tallahassee left Wilmington, North Carolina on a three week cruise up the east coast of the United States, seeking Union shipping while boldly defying the Union’s warships. Within a week the Tallahassee seized seven Union merchant ships off New Jersey. Sailing further north, by August 12 she seized six more Union ships off New York, and by the 16th of August she captured eleven more ships off the New England coastline. Running the Union blockade off Wilmington on August 25, the Tallahassee triumphantly returned home after taking a total of thirty-one Union prizes, despite being pursed on the high seas by the Union Navy.
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.