william prescott smith, they provided the first support for the union by sending marines and robert eva lee to .arpers ferry to counteract they were instrumental in moving troops and supplies to and from washington. then maintaining the main line of the b&o throughout the war. one of the aspects that make the civil war that the first modern war was that railroad and its application to moving supplies and troops. the u.s. army did not have a component until the civil war when it created the united states military railroad. part of that railroad was the construction corps commanded by hermann howe. given regiments of white crews. they work whatever was handy pair they were not interested in the work. they were short term. they never learned the job very well. there were not interested. at the same time, ask slaves began to pass through union lines. known as contraband, they were allowed to work for the union army. seized on the opportunity of men used to hard labor, thrilled to work, and thrilled to be away from slaveowners -- they readily adapted themselves to railroad construction. by the e

robert eva lee pushed mcclellan -- robert e. lee pushed mcclellan back and it ended the effort to capture richmond. it left the war pretty much where it started a year before. first of all, i want us to talk letter toellan's lincoln he wrote, but i want to read this comment in a letter to his wife that he wrote about the same time. think i have began to see purpose in all that, and the events of the next few days will prove it. if i had succeeded in taking richmond now, the fanatics of the north might be too powerful and the reunion in possible. " this is a pretty amazing statement. "i think i have began to see god's wise purpose in all this, and the events of the next few days will prove it. if i had succeeded in taking richmond now, the fanatics of the north might be too powerful in the reunion in po mpossible." from distancing himself that, but it is an adjusting notion that if he had succeeded, the fanatics might have on by abolishing slavery -- might have won by abolishing slavery. a very interesting letter in many ways. le

that is where the emptiness attacks on marie's height, where robert eva lee spent with he and five hours camera away at the elevated and entrenched lines on gain's no is the 8000 men in the process. he is deemed old and ferocious. when burnside does the same in fredericksburg, he is called stubborn and stupid. the difference was, when hooded told his brigade to rush at the enemy without firing, they succeeded. thosea humphreys dave instructions to his militia, they failed. dismissal from the command of the army of the potomac did not result from the battle of vicksburg. his failures perceived real there. but rather as a result of a failed offensive five weeks later the history has called the mud march. initially considering renewing his attacks in fredericksburg on september 14, or inside conducted a flawless retreat in stafford county under lee's knows the following night. president lincoln reassured the army that the reverse at fredericksburg was not an error nor a failure other the indian accident. many in the army and the press blamed the administration for insisting there watching a

eva pilgrim joins us live, from ft. lee, new jersey, and you've been tracking that major storm and those travel advisories. police lowering speed limits and asking travelers to stay off the roads? >> that's right, tom. 15 states in the path of that major storm. in maine, police there lowering the speed limit on the turnpike from 70 to 45. the roads so icy in vermont, that authorities there are asking drivers to stay off a 30-plus-mile stretch of interstate. tom. >> all right, more on that storm? just a moment. eva, thank you. >>> from roads to america's airports tonight, the skies over america are filled at this hour. take a look at the map. airlines crisscrossing the country carrying nearly 3 million passengers today alone. for many of them it was a slow going at the start. abc's david kerley is at reagan washington national airport. >> reporter: passengers heard the order. by the nearest exit. >> please evacuate. >> reporter: instead of heading home, they headed out of dallas love field. firefighters working what turned o

eva lee to a huge amount of economic growth. they said it would at $1 trillion if he took into account the economic growth generated by tax cuts. this will be an issue that will dog republicans throughout the conference and afterwards. host: we are getting word from the white house in 2018 the next focus will be in reducing government spending, most notably taking aim at welfare and other entitlement programs. do you know anything more about that? guest: i have written quite a bit about this welfare reform issue. you are going to see potentially in the new year and executive order coming from the administration. not clear exactly what it will do. the underlying goal is to undo some of the obama era welfare programs. they had been quietly speaking ath house republicans about potential bill on welfare reform as well. it is in the very early stages so it is unclear with the substance of the bill will be. disobeying issue both congress and -- this will be an issue both congress and the president title next year. host:'s work is avai