On Monday, March 13, 1865 after signing the bill authorizing the use of Negro troops, Jefferson Davis then sent the Confederate Congress a message which invited instant criticism. Davis requested that Congress stay in session, given the perils which faced the Confederacy and noted the need for “further and more energetic legislation.” He accused Congress of retarding action, given its failure to promptly address legislation. Presidential criticism of Congress may have been necessary, but it only alienated many in both chambers of that body. On the 16th the Congress responded to Davis, noting “Nothing is more desirable than …cordial cooperation between all departments of Government” and lamented his “message so well calculated to excite discord and dissension….” Clearly, at this stage of the war the Confederate government was warring with itself.
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.