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Saturday, January 29, 2011

29 January, 1862: Wednesday

Government/Military - Confederacy
Major General Earl Van Dorn assumes command of the Trans-Mississippi District of the Confederacy.


Military
Virginia
A small group of Union soldiers breaks up a group of Confederate dancers at a party at Lee's House on the Occoquan.

Missouri
Skirmishing begins and will last for several days around Blue Springs, Missouri.

A bit about Van Dorn from Wikipedia:
Earl Van Dorn (September 17, 1820 – May 7, 1863) was a career United States Army officer, fighting with distinction during the Mexican-American War and against several tribes of Native Americans. He also served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, noted for his defeats at Pea Ridge and Corinth in 1862, and his murder by a civilian in the spring of 1863.

Known to be short,[1] impulsive, and highly emotional, Van Dorn was also a noted painter, writer of poetry, was respected for his skill at riding a horse, and also known for his love of women. This last trait would lead to his death in 1863, when his alleged womanizing became public knowledge. A reporter at the time dubbed him "the terror of ugly husbands" shortly before Van Dorn's murder.

Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971

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