On Wednesday, December 28, 1864 in a conference at Washington, D.C., President Abraham Lincoln asked Union General Ulysses Grant “what you now understand of the Wilmington expedition, present and prospective.” Grant immediately replied, “The Wilmington expedition has proven a gross and culpable failure….Who is to blame I hope will be known.” In truth, Admiral David Porter, Grant, and most army officers squarely fixed the blame for the failed expedition on General Benjamin Butler. Convinced also, President Lincoln at a Cabinet meeting two days later announced that Butler would be removed from command of the Union Army of the James. After protecting his controversial political ally and military appointee for most of the war, Lincoln could no longer afford to retain Benjamin Butler and now prepared to abandon him.
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.