SEPTEMBER 5, 1864:
Abraham
Lincoln orders “A Day of National Rejoicing” in honor of the fall of Atlanta
and Mobile Bay. While the United States rejoices, restored Louisiana and
Tennessee both adopt new State Constitutions reorganizing their governments and
abolishing slavery.
In Petersburg, General Wade Hampton C.S.A. leads a “Beefsteak
Raid” against a vast herd of cattle destined for Union field kitchens. His men
capture 2,500 head and eleven supply wagons. They also free more than 300 Rebel
P.O.W.s.
Problematically, the Confederates lack feed or grazing land
and are forced to slaughter the cattle as soon as possible and salt the meat
(as much as possible) to prevent spoilage. They use up much of their dwindling
salt stocks in the process.
The Beefsteak Raid is a windfall that offsets the ever more
self-evident end for the war a week or two at most. The fresh meat boosts the
stamina of Southern troops temporarily. The Army of Northern Virginia feasts on
steak for days, even trading some across the lines for fresh vegetables. When
the steak runs out, the men go back to eating cornmeal.
The Rebs have a good time taunting the Union troops ---
thanking them for dinner --- while the beef lasts. The Union troops are not
discommoded in the least. The Beefsteak Raid doesn’t put even put a ding in the
Union’s seemingly endless supplies. Lincoln, hearing of the Raid, laughs it off
as “the durn slickest piece o’ cattle rustling of which I ever heard tell.”
