Virginia history expert, Rick Britton, joins Les Sinclair to tell us about  150 Years Ago This Week: The two biggest news stories were the capture of Atlanta, GA–the South’s second most important city–by Union Gen. William T. Sherman, and, for the North’s 1864 presidential election, the acceptance of the Democratic nomination by Union Gen. George B. McClellan (the man who was removed from the command of the Army of the Potomac because he moved too slowly). In the election, Union soldiers were able to vote in the field–in absentia–by the deployment of mobile, voting wagons. They voted overwhelmingly for Abe Lincoln.

And his upcoming FREE Talk on Wednesday, Sept. 10th – “Cyrus McCormick, Rockbridge County Inventor” – Until McCormick’s reaper came along, wheat was being harvested much as it had been for centuries!