Union forces under the command of General Jacob Cox, marching inland from the sea with the intention to unite with Sherman’s northern bound troops, on Tuesday, March 14, 1865 occupied Kinston, North Carolina Sherman’s troops at Fayetteville simultaneously carried out a reconnaissance to the Black River to the south of Kinston. The Confederate high command acknowledged that Union forces in North Carolina had to be attacked before Cox’s and Sherman’s forces united, but while Lee supported such an attack, he counseled that “the greatest calamity that can befall us is the destruction of our armies. If they can be maintained, we may recover from our reverses, but if lost we have no resource.” Clearly, at this point of the war a manpower shortage negatively impacted the Confederacy’s future.
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.