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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.

This Week in the Civil War - 480

While the American Civil War engulfed some parts of the country, life elsewhere continued as usual.  On January 8, 1863, ground was broken in Sacramento, California for the nation’s first continental railroad. 

While conducting the war, President Abraham Lincoln found time on July 1, 1862 to sign the Pacific Railroad Bill, promising generous land grants and 30-year government bonds to help finance the effort.  

Spanning nearly 1,800 miles, the line would run through the Rocky Mountains and over the Great Plains, then known as the “Great American Desert,” before reaching its terminus in Omaha, Nebraska.  Most of the areas under construction were little affected by the combat raging in other parts of the country.  The celebrated route became operational on May 10, 1869.