and vicksburg which was important. isant to ask both of you why this particular seti -- city strategically important. is it just one of those accidental places of conflict. >> it is not accidental. this can be answered in a single word. was a relatively new city at the time of the civil war. it was small still. what made it important was if location, it's that on the bank of the tennessee river. there is river transportation available. ways butost important not just for men, as well as supplies. it keeps that in the field. whether by the river or railroad. there were critical railroads at chattanooga. atlanta which was then called terminus of all things, that railroad first reached chattanooga. atlantic went to the in charleston, the only trunk throught right chattanooga. across -- and and made itroad is what such an important military price. small, imazing is how would not call it a count. it was at the time when these came together. >> i think that is very true. it is not a big place when you consider when craig ment

and vicksburg which was important. i want to ask both of you why is this particular city strategically important. or is it just one of those accidental places of conflict. >> it is not accidental. this can be answered in a single word. the single word is transportation. chattanooga was a relatively new city at the time of the civil war. it was small still. 2500 population, 2000 white population. what made it important was if location, it's that on the bank of the tennessee river. there is river transportation available. for the army in the 19th century, the two most important ways but not just for men, as well as supplies. it keeps that in the field. by the river or railroad. there were critical railroads at chattanooga. in 1850, atlanta which was then called terminus of all things, that railroad first reached chattanooga. then the east-west -- went to the atlantic in charleston, the only trunk line went right through chattanooga. that crossroads and across -- and the railroad is what made it such an important military

there are only other -- three other battles -- gettysburg, vicksburg and mobile bay. that makes is very hallowed ground. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] we are standing up along fort anderson. we talk with an author about the history of the fort and its role during the civil war. >> rolling thunder. ira. -- fire. >> we are actually standing on the parapet of the crest of fort anderson, which was the largest confederate fort and the interior that guarded the western land approach and the river approach to the seaport of wilmington. the fort was initially started in march of 1862, construction was ongoing throughout the war and there were still working on it when it was attacked in february of 1865. the fort was built on top of the old seaport of brunswick. this was the leading seaport on the cape fear river in colonial times, in fact it was the first enduring settlement on the cape fear river. after the americ

vicksburg and the c.s.s.labama -- a massive propeller-driven ship built in secrecy in england for the confederacy. all are made precisely to scale. 1 inch here translates to 8 feet on the real vessel. where did th did dad buy a book on ship building? >> i don't remember anybody ever teaching him how to do this. it's just something you have to be born with. >> william atteridge jr. is born in 1929 in highland park, illinois, a suburb of chicago. from an early age, he's fascinated by the ships he sees on lake michigan and dreams of one day setting sail. in 1951, during the korean war, william joins the navy and travels the pacific on the u.s.s. valley forge. the 22-year-old specializes in cosmetic maintenance, doing the detail work. >> the "45" that you see on the u.s.s. valley forge, he was one of the guys that painted the numbers on the aircraft carrier he was on. >> william is honorably discharged in 1955, returns home, gets married, and starts a family. larry's the youngest of three kids. the family settles

charles: because after gettysburg and vicksburg, can they gain the strategic offensive? no. can they win a political victory? yes. the prisoner of war issue is another one that lincoln gets tagged with as a reason he is unpopular. why do the prisoners of war become a hot topic? thomas? >> the confederacy's official policy toward africa american troops is to have them executed when captured, same thing for officers. although it is not predominantly what happens, you will see some atrocities. but with regards to the prisoner of war issue in brings the exchange to a halt, because the confederacy refuses to exchange their soldiers for african-american soldiers, because they do not see them on an equal level. charles: ok. you had your hand up? >> one thing they talked about forhow overcrowded and how the southern prisons, for the north, the union soldiers -- like how they were treated. it says it might have been a little over exaggerated because these were well educated men, so they knew how to write and their imagination got the best of them at times. but just from the pictures

from port hudson in vicksburg, they have learned, you do not just go cruising up here. you have to think this one through. s closest the ironclad to the fort, because they are the least vulnerable. the rest of the fleet together. farragut has 14 ships, some armored with iron, and the monitors. on the fortress side, he puts the armored ships last to the wooden ships. when uss tecumseh hits one of these mines and sinks in a few minutes, with almost all of her crew. only 21 survived. everybody stops. the brooklyn is the lead ship and has a cow catcher, what farragut calls it, that will try to deflect mines for other ships. tecumseh goes down. everybody stops. the forts are pounding them as they bunch up together. when soldiers and airmen, human beings, come under fire, they bunch up together. it is primordial and instinctual and it gets you killed. so farragut claims the rigging to see what is happening. they say torpedoes, sir. he does say damn the torpedoes , and then steps back from being an admiral and gets down to the tactical level of four and says for bells which me

vicksburg and the c.s.s.labama -- a massive propeller-driven ship built in secrecy in england for the confederacy. all are made precisely to scale. 1 inch here translates to 8 feet on the real vessel. where did this all begin? did dad buy a book on ship building? >> i don't remember anybody ever teaching him how to do this. it's just something you have to be born with. >> william atteridge jr. is born in 1929 in highland park, illinois, a suburb of chicago. from an early age, he's fascinated by the ships he sees on lake michigan and dreams of