On Sunday, March 26, 1865 as Philip Sheridan’s Union cavalry successfully crossed the James River while headed toward a junction with Grant at Petersburg, Virginia, Lincoln watched their crossing and temporarily conferred with Sheridan. Joining with Grant would allow an even larger Union force to extend the lines and further dilute Lee’s numerically inferior defenders around Petersburg. Writing to Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee on the same day detailed the failed attack against Fort Stedman, noting, “I fear now it will be impossible to prevent a junction between Grant and Sherman, nor do I deem it prudent that this army should maintain its position until the latter shall approach too near.” Clearly, Lee was preparing to abandon Petersburg and Richmond and affect a junction with Joseph Johnston’s Confederates in North Carolina.
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.