On Sunday, February 19, 1865, driving against Wilmington, North Carolina, Federal troops commanded by Jacob D. Cox moved to outflank Fort Anderson and its Confederate defenders west of the Cape Fear River. By the evening of the 19th Union troops had marched fifteen miles around the Confederate defenses and f\ought several skirmishes. To hold the Confederates at Fort Anderson in place Union forces demonstrated in front of that fortification, and the Union fleet fired its cannons in support of the Union infantry. That night Fort Anderson’s Confederate defenders evacuated to Wilmington, knowing that they would soon be outflanked by the ever aggressive Federals. As in the case of Columbia and Charlestown, South Carolina, Wilmington, North Carolina would soon see a Union flag flying over this remaining Confederate stronghold.
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.