In Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley this day, Union forces deal a decisive blow to Confederates in the Battle of Cedar Creek. So conclusive is the Federal victory over Confederate General Jubal Early‘s army that Confederate resistance in the valley effectively comes to an end. Meanwhile, in Bridgeport, Alabama, Lewis Raymond, Baptist minister and chaplain of the…
Today Confederate Calvary Commander General Joe Wheeler, in an attempt to hamper the Union offensive against Atlanta, begins raiding activities behind Federal lines in North Georgia, targeting Federal railroad supply lines. Wheeler operates in North Georgia and Tennessee for a month. Although the Confederate general does manage to temporarily destroy some stretches of rail, his…
Illinoisan John McBride, soldier in Company D, Fifty-First Illinois, is stationed near Corinth, Mississippi, now occupied by Union forces. Today McBride writes a letter to his mother, vividly describing life in the army and making passing reference to the regimental chaplain, Baptist minister Lewis Raymond of Chicago. Raymond tendered his ministerial services near the beginning…