On Monday, January 23, 1865 President Jefferson Davis signed an act of the Confederate Congress providing for the appointment of a General-in-Chief of Confederate Armies. Despite Lee’s reluctance to be “gifted” with the responsibility, Congress obviously had that officer in mind when proposing the new command. On the same day General Richard Taylor assumed control of the Confederate Army of Tennessee, given the resignation of John Bell Hood after the disaster at Nashville. With his new command now reduced to approximately eighteen thousand men since the bulk of the army had been sent eastward to stop Sherman, Taylor had a very large area to command but an inadequate force. Joseph Johnston would later complain that, due to desertion and other reasons, he only received five thousand transfers from Taylor.
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.