On Monday, January 16, 1865 in Richmond, Virginia the Confederate Senate overwhelmingly endorsed a resolution, declaring that the Confederate Congress believed that the South’s premier military leader, General Robert E. Lee, should be assigned as General-in-Chief of all armies of the Confederacy, while Pierre Beauregard should assume command of the Confederate forces in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida and Joseph Johnston should be assigned command of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. When Jefferson Davis also urged Lee to extend his command authority over all Confederate armies, Lee on January 19 responded reluctantly, noting even if he accepted the assignment, “If I had the ability I would not have the time.” Yet many Southerners saw in the elderly Lee the best, and perhaps last, chance the South had for victory.
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.