By January 1865 manpower and material shortages were a way of life in the Confederacy. On Friday, January 27, 1865 General Lee wrote the Confederate War Department, noting “the alarming desertion from this army.” Lee complained that the “ration is too small for men who have to undergo as much exposure and labor as ours” and expressed the belief that the Confederate Commissary Department could do a better job of supplying his army with desperately needed essentials. In truth, many Confederates were simply giving up on the war effort and returning home rather than going over to the enemy. However, deserters took rations and weapons with them when they departed; the loss of materials was as severe a blow to Lee’s forces as the loss of the men themselves.
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.