Civil War

This Week in the Civil War

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 - 644

Texas Public Radio | By Texas Public Radio

Published August 27, 2013 at 3:25 PM CDT

On Wednesday, August 26, 1863 at Abingdon, Virginia the controversial, former United States Secretary of War and Confederate general John B. Floyd died. Born in 1783, Floyd graduated from South Carolina College and eventually entered the legal profession and politics.

Elected Virginia governor in 1849, Floyd joined the James Buchanan administration in 1857 as Secretary of War. He left the administration after Lincoln’s election, surrounded by rumors that he had transferred large stores of government arms into the South in the anticipation of the Civil War.

Joining the Confederacy, Floyd was appointed a general and eventually commanded Fort Donelson from which he fled shortly before its 1862 surrender, fearing that he would be tried for treason if captured. Removed from command, Floyd’s declining health prevented further service to the Confederacy.