Killing Jeff Davis by Dr. Bruce Venter
9,576
Published 2016-07-13
In 1864, Brigadier General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick led his Union cavalrymen on an ambitious assault of the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia, with the help of Colonel Ulrich Dahlgren. Kilpatrick and Dahlgren split forces after crossing the Rappahannock River, resulting in a devastating Confederate ambush and Dahlgren’s murder. Dr. Bruce Venter, author of Kill Jeff Davis: The Union Raid on Richmond, 1864, gives a lecture and holds a roundtable discussion about the raid, providing the minute-by-minute details surrounding Dahlgren’s rumored mission to assassinate the Confederate President.
The Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid was an attempt to free Federal prisoners of war and to spread word of President Abraham Lincoln’s “Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction.” Allegedly, Dahlgren was found carrying papers with instructions to burn Richmond, kill Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and decimate his administration. It is not clear who these orders came from, or if these orders were accurate, but some scholars say they were forged by Confederates. Nevertheless, the raid was a Union failure and ended in Confederate victory. Venter’s book focusses on the controversies and debates surrounding the American Civil War’s Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid. This roundtable event covers, in detail, the Raid’s poor execution, the veracity of newly discovered documents, myths, and misperceptions, all with the input from a panel of Civil War experts.
Lecture Date: June 25, 2016
Length: 126 minutes
All Comments (8)
-
Thank you very sincerely for this fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable lecture.
-
The title of the book is "Kill Jeff Davis," not "Killing Jeff Davis." You should correct the title of your video.
-
skipping introduction to start: 7:00
-
I believe the man in charge of the southern prisons was the brother of Mary Lincoln.
-
Nothing about Stanton? meaning it is half truth
-
Kilpatrick is the last General from Sussex County, New Jersey.
-
Please, announcer, "Calvary" is where Jesus died. "Ca-val-ry" is what you are talking about.
