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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 - 584

Following consultations with President Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee decided to once again invade the North with his Army of Northern Virginia.  Even the loss of Stonewall Jackson and the army’s subsequent reorganization would not deter Lee. 

Congressional and state elections were weeks away, and a successful invasion of the North might convince her electorate of the futility of continuing the war.  So, on Wednesday, June 3, 1863, the first units of Lee’s army of approximately 75,000 men left their encampment along the Rappahannock and began to move in a westerly direction. 

The Gettysburg campaign, which would last nearly two months, had started.  As initial reports arrived of the Confederates’ movements, Joseph Hooker at Falmouth across the river from Fredericksburg did not know what to make of Lee’s actions.