On April 27th, 1865, the steamboat Sultana which was carrying over 2,000 passengers--many who were Union POWs--exploded near Memphis,TN on the Mississippi River. One of it's boilers overheated and exploded which resulted in the death of at least 1,164 people which remains the worst maritime disaster in American history.  

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We move on with more Behind The Battles and this week we take a look at the other president---Jefferson Davis. Serving several high ranking positions in the United States government, when it came time for him to choose a side after his state of Mississippi's secession, he chose to side with the secessionists. We will cover his early life and his foray into politics, becoming president of the Confederacy, his capture and his later life up until his death.  

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We have come to end of Abraham Lincoln's story and unfortunately his life. We cover the assassination with the events leading up to it, the search for Booth and the other conspirators and wrap it up by taking a look at Lincoln's legacy as president.  

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On part three of Abraham Lincoln's story, we take a look at his presidency. With the nation in war we see how he navigated that as well as some of his policies, appointments, and everything in between leading up to that fateful day at Ford's Theater.  

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In part two of the Abraham Lincoln series, we take a look at the lead up to the 1860 election in which Abe is thrust back into the political game. We will also breakdown the election and the prelude to the states seceding.  

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We start off the debut episode of Behind The Battles the only way it should be started. We go through the life of Abraham Lincoln in an epic 4 part series! First up in part one, we will cover his early life, his beginnings as a lawyer and his early career in politics. 2025 is going to be HUGE!

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THE WAR IS OVER! That's right, we have reached the end of the bloodiest war on American soil. We start off the episode with the battle of Columbus, GA on April 16th, 1865, where Wilson's Raid comes to an end. Some historians have argued that this battle was the actual last battle of the war instead of the widely accepted battle of Palmito Ranch.  

Next up is the small battle of Anderson, SC on May 1st. The Union troops arrived in Anderson to look for the fleeing Jefferson Davis, when he was not located they looted the city.  

May 12th-13th, The Battle Of Palmito Ranch, the OFFICIAL last battle of the war. This battle basically took place because of a young Union Colonel hoping to make a name for himself and move up in rank according to some historians. A pointless battle, which some consider a post war action, it nevertheless was the last battle of the war. THE WAR IS OVER.  

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Even though General Lee surrendered his troops at Appomattox Court House April 9th, 1865, that didn't mean the war was over. On the very same day of Lee's surrender, the battle of Fort Blakeley took place where the Union took the last major Confederate port.  

On April 13th-15th the last battle between Sherman and Johnston took place at the battle of Morrisville. After this battle, all hope was lost and Johnston surrenders his army to Sherman just two weeks later, which is the largest surrender of the war. We will cover the surrender in detail.  

For the last battle of this episode we will go to Georgia for the battle of West Point on April 16th which is the first part of a two pronged attack. One section of the Union Army would attack West Point while another would move down to Columbia. The point of taking out West Point was to take out the river crossing there. We will cover what some say is last battle of the war next week, which is Columbia.

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The time has come as we have reached the de facto end of the war with General Grant's army finally stopping General Lee. After being on the run since the fall of Petersburg, Lee's luck finally runs out at the battle of Appomattox Station on April 8th, 1865 where he is forced to surrender his army the next day at Appomattox Court House. Although there is still around 160,000 Confederate troops in other armies, the war is basically over once Lee surrenders as the other armies soon follow suit. The official end is near.

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We are getting closer to the end with this week's battles taking us one day away from Lee's surrender. At this point, Lee and his army are still retreating hoping to get rations and supplies, but the Union are one step ahead the whole way.  

The Confederates suffer a huge defeat in the battle of Sailor's Creek on April 6th, 1865 where a large portion of Lee's Army was captured, including Kershaw and Ewell.  

The next day at the battle of Cumberland Church, all hope is lost as he is forced to retreat to Appomattox Court House, only for the Union to make it there first. It is after this battle that Grant sends Lee a letter asking for his surrender, but Lee is quite finished. Not yet.  

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