On Monday, November 7, 1864 when the Second Congress of the Confederate States of America convened for its second session, President Jefferson Davis sent a surprisingly optimistic message, downplaying the loss of Atlanta, Georgia. Davis noted, “There are no vital points of the preservation of which the continued existence of the Confederacy depends.” Promising that military supplies would be procured, Davis described the Confederacy’s financial picture as “far from discouraging.” Urging an end to most exemptions from military service, the president recommended that the government use slaves for work as army non-combatants but did not outright reject their use as soldiers if the situation later demanded it. He concluded his message, acknowledging that the Confederacy favored a negotiated peace which would insure independence rather than “unconditional submission and degradation.”
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.