On the same day in which Abraham Lincoln would be assassinated, at Charlestown, South Carolina Union General Robert Anderson, who in 1861 had surrendered Fort Sumter, triumphantly restored to its halyard the same flag which he had lowered in defeat some four years earlier. After such a long time, the American flag once again flew over the fort which had become the very symbol of the American Civil War. With the guns of the Union fleet thundering in salute, the clergyman/abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher spoke; for the American North the recapture of Fort Sumter was an occasion of solemn joy, which ended with nighttime fireworks from the Union fleet. It was a joyful occasion which would end hours later when the dreadful news of Lincoln’s death would reach Charlestown.
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.