On Wednesday, February 1, 1865 President Abraham Lincoln wrote General Ulysses Grant a note which read, “Let nothing which is transpiring, change, hinder, or delay your Military movements, or plans.” Clearly Lincoln doubted whether the upcoming Hampton Roads Conference with Confederate representatives would accomplish anything of substance, given his insistence that the war end with a reunited nation and the Confederacy’s desire to see an end to the conflict with southern independence assured. On the same day in Richmond, Virginia Jefferson Davis, yielding to pressure on his administration, accepted the resignation of the controversial Secretary of War James A. Seddon. A Virginia delegation in the Confederate Congress had even called for the resignation of all Cabinet officials, forcing Davis to defend his right to select his own advisors.
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.