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Founded is a history podcast that dives deep into the stories you missed about the founding at the United States of America and the people who were a part of it.

We're diving deep into the founding father's diaries and finding all the drama.

The tea was hot before and after they dumped it into the harbor.

So come find all the stories you didn't

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The Hey, everyone. Welcome to episode number 503 of our Civil War podcast. My name is Rich.

And I'm Tracy. Hello, y'all. Thanks for tuning into the podcast. With the last show,

we started our coverage of the Atlanta campaign by giving some background and beginning to set the

stage for the start of the campaign. We focused on what was going on with the Federals as the

calendar turned over from 1863 to 1864. And now with this show, we'll turn our attention to the

Confederates and what was happening on their side of the lines.

On that frigid New Year's Day on January 1st, 1864, just as Abraham Lincoln was hosting a reception

at the White House in Washington, D.C., about 100 miles away in Richmond, Jefferson Davis, was also

hosting a reception at the three-story house that served as the Confederate President's Executive Mansion.

Everyone at the reception in Richmond was acting happy and hopeful as they welcomed in the new year.

But really, they had little reason to be either pleased or optimistic about their causes prospects.

A year ago, as they gathered in the same place for the

same occasion, visions of victory were dancing in their heads. Just a few weeks before that,

Robert E. Lee had slaughtered the Yankees at Fredericksburg, and word had just arrived from

Braxton Bragg that he had defeated the enemy at Murphy's Borough.

...