Union - Government/Miliarty
In Washington, President Lincoln meets again with GEneral McClellan. Lincoln is informed that operations have not begun at Harper's Ferry because the canal boats sent north to form a pontoon bridge over the Potomac were too large for the locks.
Confederacy - Government/Civilian
Throughout the Confederacy it was a day of fasting and prayer, following a proclamation by President Davis.
President Davis writes General Joseph E. Johnston, who was in command of the main Confederate army in Virginia. He was aware that the enemy appeared to be concentrating on Johnson's front, and that the general believed his position could be turned. Davis directed Johnston to make sure that the heavy guns could be removed, along with stores, and that lines of retreat be planned. "Recent disasters have depressed the weak, and are depriving us of the aid of the wavering. Traitors show the tendencies heretofore concealed, and the selfish grow clamourous for local,and personal, interests. At such an hour, the wisdom of the trained, and the steadiness of the brave, possess a double value."
Union - Military
Missouri
Union forces under John Pope move south along the west shore of the Mississippi from Commerce toward New Madrid, Missouri. Confederate batteries protect the Mississippi River at Island No. 10 north of New Madrid on both the Missouri and Eastern sides.
Arkansas
There is a skirmish at Osage Springs, Arkansas, near Fayetteville, where another Union colunm is threatening.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sea of Gray, by Tom Chaffin
Sea of Gray: Around the World Odysssey of the Confederate Raider Shenandoah, by Tom Chaffin
Hill and Wang, 2006
372 pages plus appendices, notes, bibliography, acknowledgments and index, plus 16 b&w photos
Description
The sleek black 222-foot auxiliary steamer Sea King left London on October 8, 1864, ostensibly bound for Bombay. The subterfuge was ended off the shores of Madeira, where the ship was rechristened and outfitted for war. With new gunports cut to accommodate additional cannons, the CSS Shenandoah commenced the last, most quixotic sea story of the Civil War: the 5,800 mile, around-the-world cruise of the Confederacy's third most successful commerce raider. Before her voyage was over, thirty-two Union merchant and whaling ships and their cargoes would be destroyed. But it was after ship and crew had rounded Africa's Cape of Good Hope, stopped long enough in Australia to cause a diplomatic crisis, and navigated the ice floes of Okhotsk, the Bering Sea, and the Arctic Ocean that their journey took its most fearful turn.
Four months after the Civil War was over, the Shenandoah's Captain, James Waddell, finally learned he was, and had been, fighting without cause or state. In the eyes of the Union, he had gone from being an enemy combatant to being a pirate-a hangable offense. Now fearing capture by Union and British men-of-war, with his polglot crew rife with hints of mutiny, and with his supplies dwindling, Waddell elected to camouflage the ship, circumnavigate the ship, and attempt to surrender on English soil.
Assembled from hundreds of original documents, including intimate shipboard journals kept by Shenandoah officers, Sea of Gray is a masterful narrative of men at sea.
Table of Contents
1. Of ice floes and Arctic fires
2. "A good, capital ship in every respect"
3. Black cruiser on a Thames night
4. Les Desertas
5. "A Bucket of sovereigns
6. Crossing the Royal yards
7. King Neptune's Court
8. Breezing up
9. A Decidedly Recherche Affair
10. "The old sea dogs chuckled"
11. "Doubtful shoals"
12. Ascension Island
13. Pacific Spring
14. Sea of Okhotsk
15. Bering Sea
16. The Hardest Blow against Yankee commerce
17. "A sort of choking sensation"
18. "Long gauntlet to run"
19. "A perfect hell afloat"
20. "The old ship became fainter and fainter"
Appendix A: The Shenandoah's Prizes
Appendix B: Scheduke of Deck Watches
Notes
Notes on sources
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index
Sunday, February 27, 2011
27 February, 1862: Thursday
Government - Confederacy
The Confederate Congress gives President Davis the power to suspend the writ of habeus corpus. Davis orders martial law for the threatened cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia.
Military (Navy) - Union
The USS Monitor goes to sea for trials and an unknown destination.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
The Confederate Congress gives President Davis the power to suspend the writ of habeus corpus. Davis orders martial law for the threatened cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia.
Military (Navy) - Union
The USS Monitor goes to sea for trials and an unknown destination.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
26 February, 1862: Wednesday
Government - Union
In Washington, President Lincoln talks with General McClellan, who was about to leave for Harper's Ferry. Lincoln was expecting him to lead offensive operations into Virginia.
President Lincoln also signed the Loan and Treasury Bill creating a national currency of the United States notes and providing for sale of stock to finance the currency.
Government - Confederacy
Kentucky senator William E. Simms declares in the Confederate Congress that the Confederacy would defend her rights to the last extremity.
Military - Confederacy
There is a Confederate scout toward Nashville.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
In Washington, President Lincoln talks with General McClellan, who was about to leave for Harper's Ferry. Lincoln was expecting him to lead offensive operations into Virginia.
President Lincoln also signed the Loan and Treasury Bill creating a national currency of the United States notes and providing for sale of stock to finance the currency.
Government - Confederacy
Kentucky senator William E. Simms declares in the Confederate Congress that the Confederacy would defend her rights to the last extremity.
Military - Confederacy
There is a Confederate scout toward Nashville.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Friday, February 25, 2011
25 February, 1862: Tuesday
Confederate - Government
President Davis sends a message to the Confederate Congress reviewing the war, calling for sterner measures, and stating, "we have been so exposed as recently to encounter serious disasters." DAvis thought the financial system was adequate and the postal department was improving. He wanted to establish a Supreme Court. Naval construction was proceeding despite limited resources, the need for more soldiers was being met, and streneous efforts were being made to reinforce armies in the threatened West.
Major General E. Kirby Smith is assigned to command in east Tennessee.
Union - Military
Union trips move into Nashville in full force. The city will be held throughout the war. Its capture without bloodshed had been made possible by Grant's victory at Fort Donelson, although it was formally occupied by the troops of GEneral Beaull.
Virginia
There is a small skirmish in Loudoun County.
Missouri
There is fighting at Keetsville in Barry County, Missouri.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Davis sends a message to the Confederate Congress reviewing the war, calling for sterner measures, and stating, "we have been so exposed as recently to encounter serious disasters." DAvis thought the financial system was adequate and the postal department was improving. He wanted to establish a Supreme Court. Naval construction was proceeding despite limited resources, the need for more soldiers was being met, and streneous efforts were being made to reinforce armies in the threatened West.
Major General E. Kirby Smith is assigned to command in east Tennessee.
Union - Military
Union trips move into Nashville in full force. The city will be held throughout the war. Its capture without bloodshed had been made possible by Grant's victory at Fort Donelson, although it was formally occupied by the troops of GEneral Beaull.
Virginia
There is a small skirmish in Loudoun County.
Missouri
There is fighting at Keetsville in Barry County, Missouri.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Thursday, February 24, 2011
24 February, 1862: Monday
Union - Washington
Funeral services are held in WAshington for Willie Lincoln, His brother Tad shows signs of improvement.
Union - Military
Tennessee
Troops under General Don CArlos Buell reached the north bank of the Cumberland river at Nashville as troop transports began arriving. Civilians and Confederate troops continued to evacuate the city, with Nathan Bedford Forrest's calvary acting as rear guard.
Virginia
There is fighting at Lewis Chapel, near Pohick Church.
Western Virginia
Union troops under General Nathanial Banks occupied Harper's Ferry in western Virginia, which was strategically situated at the junction of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.
Missouri
There is fighting at Mingo Creek, near St. Francisville
There is fighting at New Madrid
There is fighting in St. Clair county
There is fighting in Henry County
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Funeral services are held in WAshington for Willie Lincoln, His brother Tad shows signs of improvement.
Union - Military
Tennessee
Troops under General Don CArlos Buell reached the north bank of the Cumberland river at Nashville as troop transports began arriving. Civilians and Confederate troops continued to evacuate the city, with Nathan Bedford Forrest's calvary acting as rear guard.
Virginia
There is fighting at Lewis Chapel, near Pohick Church.
Western Virginia
Union troops under General Nathanial Banks occupied Harper's Ferry in western Virginia, which was strategically situated at the junction of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.
Missouri
There is fighting at Mingo Creek, near St. Francisville
There is fighting at New Madrid
There is fighting in St. Clair county
There is fighting in Henry County
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
23 February, 1862: Sunday
Union - Government/Military
President Lincoln names Andrew Johnson as military governor of Tennessee, to be confirmed on March 4 by the Senate. The Departmentof the Gulf is constituted under Major GEneral Benjamin F. Butler, and John Pope assumes command of the Army of the Mississippi at Commerce, Missouri.
Union - Military
Arkansas
Union troops occupy Fayetteville in the northwestern part of the state.
Missouri
Pea Ridge Prairie
There is fighting around Pea Ridge Prairie, Missouri to the north.
Little RiverUnion forces in Missouri also carry out reconnaissances of several days from Greenville to Little River.
South Carolina
Unionn troops carry out reconnaisances on Bull River and Schooner Channel.
Confederacy - Civilian
Citizens and soldiers continue to evacuate Tennessee, as Union soldiers and gunboats draw nearer.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln names Andrew Johnson as military governor of Tennessee, to be confirmed on March 4 by the Senate. The Departmentof the Gulf is constituted under Major GEneral Benjamin F. Butler, and John Pope assumes command of the Army of the Mississippi at Commerce, Missouri.
Union - Military
Arkansas
Union troops occupy Fayetteville in the northwestern part of the state.
Missouri
Pea Ridge Prairie
There is fighting around Pea Ridge Prairie, Missouri to the north.
Little RiverUnion forces in Missouri also carry out reconnaissances of several days from Greenville to Little River.
South Carolina
Unionn troops carry out reconnaisances on Bull River and Schooner Channel.
Confederacy - Civilian
Citizens and soldiers continue to evacuate Tennessee, as Union soldiers and gunboats draw nearer.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
22 February, 1862: Saturday
Union - Government
In Washington, DC, Washington's Birthday is observed. Lincoln, mourning the death of his young son, does not attend the observances.
The Army of the Potomac, ordered forth on or before this date by the President, had not moved.
Confederate - Goverment
On a rainy day in Richmond, Jefferson Davis is inaugerated as President of the Confederate States of America, in Richmond, Virginia. "The tyranny of an unbridled majority, the most odious and least responsible form of despotism, has denied us both the right and the remedy. Therefore we are in arms to renew such sacrifices as our fathers made to the holy cause constitutional liberty," Davis said in his speech. "Civil War there cannot be between States held together by their volition only."
Union - Military
Texas
There is brief fighting at Aransas Bay.
Virginia
A Union expedition operates to Vienna and Flint Hill
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Indepencence.
Kentucky
General Don Carlos Buell's forces begin moving in force from Bowling Green, Kentucky toward Nashville, Tennessee.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
In Washington, DC, Washington's Birthday is observed. Lincoln, mourning the death of his young son, does not attend the observances.
The Army of the Potomac, ordered forth on or before this date by the President, had not moved.
Confederate - Goverment
On a rainy day in Richmond, Jefferson Davis is inaugerated as President of the Confederate States of America, in Richmond, Virginia. "The tyranny of an unbridled majority, the most odious and least responsible form of despotism, has denied us both the right and the remedy. Therefore we are in arms to renew such sacrifices as our fathers made to the holy cause constitutional liberty," Davis said in his speech. "Civil War there cannot be between States held together by their volition only."
Union - Military
Texas
There is brief fighting at Aransas Bay.
Virginia
A Union expedition operates to Vienna and Flint Hill
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Indepencence.
Kentucky
General Don Carlos Buell's forces begin moving in force from Bowling Green, Kentucky toward Nashville, Tennessee.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Monday, February 21, 2011
21 February, 1862: Friday
Military/Diplomatic - Union
Tangier, Morocco
US Console James de Long seized two officers from the Confederate cruiser, CSS Sumter, John Smith and T.T. Tunstall. (After a long furor the pair will be released.)
New York City
Convicted slave trader Nathaniel Gordon is hanged.
Military - Confederate
New Mexico Territory
Up the valley of the Rio Grande in New Mexico territory, about 2600 Confederates under Brigadier General H.H. Sibley marched toward Fort Craig, held by Union forces under Colonel E. R. S. CAnby. The engagement of Valverde resulted from a contest over a ford by which the Confederates intended to cut off the fort on the west side of the Rio GRande. After brisk fighting, the Union forces withdrew to the fort, and the Confederate column continued its march north, toward Santa FE, bypassing Fort Craig.
Canby's men had 3810 men, with 68 killed, 160 wounded and 35 missing. Confederates lost 31 killed, 154 wounded, and 1 missing
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Tangier, Morocco
US Console James de Long seized two officers from the Confederate cruiser, CSS Sumter, John Smith and T.T. Tunstall. (After a long furor the pair will be released.)
New York City
Convicted slave trader Nathaniel Gordon is hanged.
Military - Confederate
New Mexico Territory
Up the valley of the Rio Grande in New Mexico territory, about 2600 Confederates under Brigadier General H.H. Sibley marched toward Fort Craig, held by Union forces under Colonel E. R. S. CAnby. The engagement of Valverde resulted from a contest over a ford by which the Confederates intended to cut off the fort on the west side of the Rio GRande. After brisk fighting, the Union forces withdrew to the fort, and the Confederate column continued its march north, toward Santa FE, bypassing Fort Craig.
Canby's men had 3810 men, with 68 killed, 160 wounded and 35 missing. Confederates lost 31 killed, 154 wounded, and 1 missing
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Sunday, February 20, 2011
20 February, 1862
Union - Civilian/Government
The 12-year old son of Abraham Lincoln, William Wallace "Willie" Lincoln, age 12, dies in the late afternoon from typhoid. A "weeping president" tries to console his "distraught wife."
Civilian - North and South
Casualty lists from the Fort Donelson battle begin arriving in both the North and South.
Military - Confederacy
KentuckyOn the Mississippi River, the Confederate bastion of Columbus, Kentucky is evacuated by Confederate troops. Troops begin to withdraw into the middle South.
Tennessee
Governor Isham Harris announces the removal of Tennessee's capitol from Nashville to Memphis. The Confederate Army, reassembling at Nashville, was pulling back to Murfeesboro, southeast of the city, at the command of General Albert Sydney Johnson.
Military - Union
North Carolina
Union troops make an expedition in Currituck Sound.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
The 12-year old son of Abraham Lincoln, William Wallace "Willie" Lincoln, age 12, dies in the late afternoon from typhoid. A "weeping president" tries to console his "distraught wife."
Civilian - North and South
Casualty lists from the Fort Donelson battle begin arriving in both the North and South.
Military - Confederacy
KentuckyOn the Mississippi River, the Confederate bastion of Columbus, Kentucky is evacuated by Confederate troops. Troops begin to withdraw into the middle South.
Tennessee
Governor Isham Harris announces the removal of Tennessee's capitol from Nashville to Memphis. The Confederate Army, reassembling at Nashville, was pulling back to Murfeesboro, southeast of the city, at the command of General Albert Sydney Johnson.
Military - Union
North Carolina
Union troops make an expedition in Currituck Sound.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Saturday, February 19, 2011
19 February, 1862: Wednesday
Government - Confederacy
President Davis writes General Joseph E. Johnston that "Events have cast on our arms and our hopes the gloomiest shadows, and at such a time we must show redoubled energy and resolution."
The new Confederate Congress counts the electoral votes, and also orders the release of 2,000 Union prisoners of war.
Military - Union
Tennessee
Union forces from Generaral Grant's command occupy Clarksville.
Grant, intent on heading toward Tennessee, sends him men in that direction. An internal squabble begins and Grant's men are accused of entering the territory of General Don CArlos Buell, who was also slowly advancing south toward Nashville from the Bowling Green, Kentucky area.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at West Plains.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Davis writes General Joseph E. Johnston that "Events have cast on our arms and our hopes the gloomiest shadows, and at such a time we must show redoubled energy and resolution."
The new Confederate Congress counts the electoral votes, and also orders the release of 2,000 Union prisoners of war.
Military - Union
Tennessee
Union forces from Generaral Grant's command occupy Clarksville.
Grant, intent on heading toward Tennessee, sends him men in that direction. An internal squabble begins and Grant's men are accused of entering the territory of General Don CArlos Buell, who was also slowly advancing south toward Nashville from the Bowling Green, Kentucky area.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at West Plains.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Friday, February 18, 2011
18 February 1862: Tuesday
Government - Union
President Lincoln proclaims that the people should celebrate Washington's Birthday.
Government - Confederacy
In Richmond, the First Congress of the Confederate States of America opened. Before this, the old, unicameral secession convention had been the Provisional Congress, but the elections of the had established a formal two-house legislature.
Military - Union
Missouri
Skirmishing takes place at Independence and at Mount Vernon in Missouri.
Arkansas
There is skirmishing at Bentonville, Arkansas
North Carolina
A Union expedition operates around Winton, North Carolina.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln proclaims that the people should celebrate Washington's Birthday.
Government - Confederacy
In Richmond, the First Congress of the Confederate States of America opened. Before this, the old, unicameral secession convention had been the Provisional Congress, but the elections of the had established a formal two-house legislature.
Military - Union
Missouri
Skirmishing takes place at Independence and at Mount Vernon in Missouri.
Arkansas
There is skirmishing at Bentonville, Arkansas
North Carolina
A Union expedition operates around Winton, North Carolina.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Thursday, February 17, 2011
17 February 1862: Monday
Government - Union
There is much jubilation in Washington as news of the surrender of Fort Donelson arrives. "Unconditional Surrender" Grant is promoted to Major GEneral of Volunteers.
Government - Confederacy
In Richmomnd, news of the fall of Fort Donelson is greeted with consternation. The Provisional Congress of the Confederate States adjourns.
Comnfederacy - Military/Civilian
Tennessee
Generals Floyd and Pillow arrive in arrive in Nashville. The city is in a panic, and many citizens are leaving before the expected arrival of Union troops.
Confederacy - Military
Arkansas
Fighting continues at Sugar Creek.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
There is much jubilation in Washington as news of the surrender of Fort Donelson arrives. "Unconditional Surrender" Grant is promoted to Major GEneral of Volunteers.
Government - Confederacy
In Richmomnd, news of the fall of Fort Donelson is greeted with consternation. The Provisional Congress of the Confederate States adjourns.
Comnfederacy - Military/Civilian
Tennessee
Generals Floyd and Pillow arrive in arrive in Nashville. The city is in a panic, and many citizens are leaving before the expected arrival of Union troops.
Confederacy - Military
Arkansas
Fighting continues at Sugar Creek.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
McCord Civil War exhibit spotlights Gettysburg
TheRegionalNews.com (Illinois): McCord Civil War exhibit spotlights Gettysburg
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the American Civil War.
To mark the milestone, the Mc-Cord Gallery & Cultural Center in Palos Park will bring back its Abraham Lincoln and Civil War exhibit of rare, often never-before-seen artifacts.
“Gettsyburg, Lincoln and the Civil War in America,” will be on exhibit from Thursday to Sunday, Feb. 24 through 27, at the McCord Gallery and Cultural Center, 9602 W Creek Road. It is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cost is $10 for McCord members and $12 for adults. Students and children under 18 are free. There will be musket demonstrations throughout the weekend.
The exhibit returns after a hiatus last year. Nearly 80 percent of the artifacts are on display for the first time at McCord, and in many cases, the state. The gallery will have an emphasis on the Battle of Gettysburg and Gen. George Armstrong Custer, both during the Civil War and the Battle of Little Bighorn.
“A lot of the items have stories behind them that are very interesting,” docent Dr. Joseph Matheu said. A shingle from the Appomattox Court House, where the Confederacy officially surrendered, is featured with a note from the judge authenticating it.
A special reception will be held both Friday, Feb. 25, and Saturday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $50. There will be refreshments served and lectures presented by Dr. Ted Karamanski, professor of history at Loyola University. Guests will be able to handle selected weapons during the evening receptions and Abraham Lincoln will make a special guest appearance.
“These really are not to be missed,” Mayor John Mahoney said at the Village Council meeting on Monday. “To be able to see these items up close and personal, and the collections over the years, are quite outstanding, even for the Chicago area, let alone a little town like Palos Park.”
The McCord House will be filled with museum quality artifacts from private collections. Among the items on display are authentic uniforms, flags, swords, muskets, letters, slave shackles and an amputation kit. Docents will be on hand to discuss the significance of the items.
Matheu said many of the letters tell interesting stories and describe battles in detail such as Gettysburg, Antietam and the Battle of the Wilderness. Also on display is a six-page hand-written letter by Chief Joseph Red Fox, who was 7 years old when he witnessed the massacre at Little Bighorn. The letters will have highlighted passages of importance for those that do now want to read them in their entirety.
One of five uniforms with direct connections to Gettysburg will be one of the prized artifacts as well as the sword of Gen. George Meade, who led the Union army to a victory at Gettysburg. There is also a sword from Pickett’s Charge, the doomed assault ordered by Gen. Robert E. Lee on the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg.
“It’s hard to find a relic from Pickett’s Charge,” Matheu said.
Plenty of artifacts are associated with Gen. Custer. There are items from the 7th Cavalry and a gun that was part of Custer’s personal collection that was used by his brother or cousin, Matheu said. The gun was brought in, covered in blood, by a Native American in Montana about three years after Little Bighorn. There are signatures from Sitting Bull and Rain in the Face, who is believed to have killed Tom Custer. There is a book signed by Libby Custer, the general’s wife, and fired and unfired shells from the battle that took Custer’s life.
“It’s a nice bridge to Custer’s final days at Little Big Horn,” Matheu said of the exhibit.
It would not be a Civil War exhibit without some Abraham Lincoln memorabilia, which had been featured in previous exhibits at McCord. Guests will be able to view a piece of blood-stained fabric from the dress of actress Laura Keene. She was performing a lead role in “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre the night Lincoln was shot. Keene was one of the first people to assist Lincoln after he was mortally wounded.
Roughly a half dozen pieces of fabric from Keene’s dress are in existence.
On display will also be part of the lace of the curtain pulled back while Lincoln was watching the play and wallpaper from the theater box as well as from his Springfield home when he worked as an attorney.
Information about the exhibit and how to purchase tickets for the evening receptions can be found online at mccordgallery org
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the American Civil War.
To mark the milestone, the Mc-Cord Gallery & Cultural Center in Palos Park will bring back its Abraham Lincoln and Civil War exhibit of rare, often never-before-seen artifacts.
“Gettsyburg, Lincoln and the Civil War in America,” will be on exhibit from Thursday to Sunday, Feb. 24 through 27, at the McCord Gallery and Cultural Center, 9602 W Creek Road. It is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cost is $10 for McCord members and $12 for adults. Students and children under 18 are free. There will be musket demonstrations throughout the weekend.
The exhibit returns after a hiatus last year. Nearly 80 percent of the artifacts are on display for the first time at McCord, and in many cases, the state. The gallery will have an emphasis on the Battle of Gettysburg and Gen. George Armstrong Custer, both during the Civil War and the Battle of Little Bighorn.
“A lot of the items have stories behind them that are very interesting,” docent Dr. Joseph Matheu said. A shingle from the Appomattox Court House, where the Confederacy officially surrendered, is featured with a note from the judge authenticating it.
A special reception will be held both Friday, Feb. 25, and Saturday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $50. There will be refreshments served and lectures presented by Dr. Ted Karamanski, professor of history at Loyola University. Guests will be able to handle selected weapons during the evening receptions and Abraham Lincoln will make a special guest appearance.
“These really are not to be missed,” Mayor John Mahoney said at the Village Council meeting on Monday. “To be able to see these items up close and personal, and the collections over the years, are quite outstanding, even for the Chicago area, let alone a little town like Palos Park.”
The McCord House will be filled with museum quality artifacts from private collections. Among the items on display are authentic uniforms, flags, swords, muskets, letters, slave shackles and an amputation kit. Docents will be on hand to discuss the significance of the items.
Matheu said many of the letters tell interesting stories and describe battles in detail such as Gettysburg, Antietam and the Battle of the Wilderness. Also on display is a six-page hand-written letter by Chief Joseph Red Fox, who was 7 years old when he witnessed the massacre at Little Bighorn. The letters will have highlighted passages of importance for those that do now want to read them in their entirety.
One of five uniforms with direct connections to Gettysburg will be one of the prized artifacts as well as the sword of Gen. George Meade, who led the Union army to a victory at Gettysburg. There is also a sword from Pickett’s Charge, the doomed assault ordered by Gen. Robert E. Lee on the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg.
“It’s hard to find a relic from Pickett’s Charge,” Matheu said.
Plenty of artifacts are associated with Gen. Custer. There are items from the 7th Cavalry and a gun that was part of Custer’s personal collection that was used by his brother or cousin, Matheu said. The gun was brought in, covered in blood, by a Native American in Montana about three years after Little Bighorn. There are signatures from Sitting Bull and Rain in the Face, who is believed to have killed Tom Custer. There is a book signed by Libby Custer, the general’s wife, and fired and unfired shells from the battle that took Custer’s life.
“It’s a nice bridge to Custer’s final days at Little Big Horn,” Matheu said of the exhibit.
It would not be a Civil War exhibit without some Abraham Lincoln memorabilia, which had been featured in previous exhibits at McCord. Guests will be able to view a piece of blood-stained fabric from the dress of actress Laura Keene. She was performing a lead role in “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre the night Lincoln was shot. Keene was one of the first people to assist Lincoln after he was mortally wounded.
Roughly a half dozen pieces of fabric from Keene’s dress are in existence.
On display will also be part of the lace of the curtain pulled back while Lincoln was watching the play and wallpaper from the theater box as well as from his Springfield home when he worked as an attorney.
Information about the exhibit and how to purchase tickets for the evening receptions can be found online at mccordgallery org
NY town plans statue of Civil War hero surgeon
Wall Street Journal: NY town plans statue of Civil War hero surgeon
OSWEGO, N.Y. — A central New York town plans to erect a statue of Dr. Mary Walker, a Civil War surgeon who is the only woman awarded a Medal of Honor.
Town of Oswego officials tell the Post-Standard of Syracuse that the 6-foot-tall bronze statue will be dedicated April 30 in front of town hall. Most of the $53,000 cost was covered by individual donations.
Walker was born in the Lake Ontario town in 1832. After earning a medical degree in Syracuse, she and her doctor husband ran a medical practice in Rome. Walker served as a surgeon for the Union Army and received the Medal of Honor in 1865.
It was rescinded by Congress along with 900 others in 1917, then reinstated in 1977.
Walker died in 1919 and is buried in her hometown.
OSWEGO, N.Y. — A central New York town plans to erect a statue of Dr. Mary Walker, a Civil War surgeon who is the only woman awarded a Medal of Honor.
Town of Oswego officials tell the Post-Standard of Syracuse that the 6-foot-tall bronze statue will be dedicated April 30 in front of town hall. Most of the $53,000 cost was covered by individual donations.
Walker was born in the Lake Ontario town in 1832. After earning a medical degree in Syracuse, she and her doctor husband ran a medical practice in Rome. Walker served as a surgeon for the Union Army and received the Medal of Honor in 1865.
It was rescinded by Congress along with 900 others in 1917, then reinstated in 1977.
Walker died in 1919 and is buried in her hometown.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
16 February, 1862: Sunday
Confederates - Military
At daybreak, boats with 400 reinforcements arrive at Fort Donelson, but it's too late. During the night, Nathan Bedford Forrest and his calvary had fled southeast rather than surrender. Generals Floyd and Pillow boated across the Cumberland and made their getaway also. A few others "here ad there" simply walked away.
But a majority of the Confederate force there, along with General Simon Buckner, stayed behind.
Buckner asked for terma, Grant eeplied: "No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works."
Buckner surrendered.
Estimates of the number of soldiers who surrendered range from 5,000 to 15,000. Confederate casulaties were estimated at 1,500.
Grant had 27,000 or so men under his command. He lost 500 killed and 2108 wounded, and 224 missing.
The fall of Fort Henry and then Fort Donelson were a catastrophe for the south. The way to Tennessee was now wide open. Kentuck was lost, and two important rivers were in Union hands.
In Nashville, Tennessee, Governor Isham Harris packed up the state papers and left, after hearing the news from the retreating trroops from Hardee's command.
On the Cumberland, the gunboat St. Louis destroyed the Tennessee ironworks.
Arkansas
There is action at Pott's Hill on Sugar Creek.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
At daybreak, boats with 400 reinforcements arrive at Fort Donelson, but it's too late. During the night, Nathan Bedford Forrest and his calvary had fled southeast rather than surrender. Generals Floyd and Pillow boated across the Cumberland and made their getaway also. A few others "here ad there" simply walked away.
But a majority of the Confederate force there, along with General Simon Buckner, stayed behind.
Buckner asked for terma, Grant eeplied: "No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works."
Buckner surrendered.
Estimates of the number of soldiers who surrendered range from 5,000 to 15,000. Confederate casulaties were estimated at 1,500.
Grant had 27,000 or so men under his command. He lost 500 killed and 2108 wounded, and 224 missing.
The fall of Fort Henry and then Fort Donelson were a catastrophe for the south. The way to Tennessee was now wide open. Kentuck was lost, and two important rivers were in Union hands.
In Nashville, Tennessee, Governor Isham Harris packed up the state papers and left, after hearing the news from the retreating trroops from Hardee's command.
On the Cumberland, the gunboat St. Louis destroyed the Tennessee ironworks.
Arkansas
There is action at Pott's Hill on Sugar Creek.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
15 February, 1862: Saturday
Union - Military
Missouri
There is a skirmish near Flat Creek.
In St. Louis, Brig. Gen. John M. Schofield assumes command of the District of St. Louis.
Georgia
There is action at Venus Point
Mississippi
From Cairo, Il, a Union expedition moves down the Tennessee to Eastport - starting today and arriving there on the 22nd.
Confederates - Military
Tennessee
At 5 am, on a cold morning, the Confederate division of General Gideon Pillow moves forward to assault the enclosing Union lines. He is aided by Buckner's division. After hot fighting, McClernand's right is broken, and an escape route to Nashville is opened. However, because of indecision on Pillow's part, the order for the armies to move out is not given.
Brigadier General Floyd, frustrated that use is not made of this escape route, returns to the fortifications.
Later that night, the Confederate generals meet again. Floyd, who had been Secretary of War under Buchanan, is afraid that he'll be arrested for treason, and, turns his command over to General Pillow, who in turn turns it over to Gen. Simon Buckner - meaning Buckner is the one who has to stay behind and surrender.
On the Union side, Grant orders his left under CF Smith forward, but the advance is checked. McClernand's divisions, aided by those of Lew Wallace, reclose the gap Floyd had opened earlier.
By evening the troops were nearlty in their old positions. In the battle lines that night, "Mother" Mary Ann Bickerdyke administers to the wounded.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Missouri
There is a skirmish near Flat Creek.
In St. Louis, Brig. Gen. John M. Schofield assumes command of the District of St. Louis.
Georgia
There is action at Venus Point
Mississippi
From Cairo, Il, a Union expedition moves down the Tennessee to Eastport - starting today and arriving there on the 22nd.
Confederates - Military
Tennessee
At 5 am, on a cold morning, the Confederate division of General Gideon Pillow moves forward to assault the enclosing Union lines. He is aided by Buckner's division. After hot fighting, McClernand's right is broken, and an escape route to Nashville is opened. However, because of indecision on Pillow's part, the order for the armies to move out is not given.
Brigadier General Floyd, frustrated that use is not made of this escape route, returns to the fortifications.
Later that night, the Confederate generals meet again. Floyd, who had been Secretary of War under Buchanan, is afraid that he'll be arrested for treason, and, turns his command over to General Pillow, who in turn turns it over to Gen. Simon Buckner - meaning Buckner is the one who has to stay behind and surrender.
On the Union side, Grant orders his left under CF Smith forward, but the advance is checked. McClernand's divisions, aided by those of Lew Wallace, reclose the gap Floyd had opened earlier.
By evening the troops were nearlty in their old positions. In the battle lines that night, "Mother" Mary Ann Bickerdyke administers to the wounded.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Who is MaryAnn Bickerdyke
From Wikipedia:
Mary Ann Bickerdyke (July 19, 1817 – November 8, 1901), also known as Mother Bickerdyke, was a hospital administrator for Union soldiers during the American Civil War.
She was born in Knox County, Ohio, to Hiram Ball and Annie Rodgers Ball. She later moved to Galesburg, Illinois.
After the outbreak of the Civil War, she joined a field hospital at Fort Donelson, working alongside Mary J. Stafford. Bickerdyke also worked closely with Eliza Emily Chappell Porter of the Northwest Sanitary Commission. She later worked on the first hospital boat. During the war, she became chief of nursing under the command of General Ulysses S. Grant, and served at the Battle of Vicksburg. When his staff complained about the outspoken, insubordinate female nurse who consistently disregarded the army's red tape and military procedures, Union Gen. William T. Sherman threw up his hands and exclaimed, "She ranks me. I can't do a thing in the world."
Bickerdyke was a nurse who ran roughshod over anyone who stood in the way of her self-appointed duties. She was known affectionately to her "boys", the grateful enlisted men, as "Mother" Bickerdyke. When a surgeon questioned her authority to take some action, she replied, "On the authority of Lord God Almighty, have you anything that outranks that?"
Mother Bickerdyke became the best known, most colorful, and probably most resourceful Civil War nurse. Widowed two years before the war began, she supported herself and her two half-grown sons by practicing as a "botanic Physician" in Galesburg, Illinois. When a young Union volunteer physician wrote home about the filthy, chaotic military hospitals at Cairo, Illinois, Galesburg's citizens collected $500 worth of supplies and selected Bickerdyke to deliver them (no one else would go).
She stayed in Cairo as an unofficial nurse, and through her unbridled energy and dedication she organized the hospitals and gained Grant's appreciation. Grant sanctioned her efforts, and when his army moved down the Mississippi, Bickerdyke went too, setting up hospitals where they were needed. Sherman was especially fond of this volunteer nurse who followed the western armies, and supposedly she was the only woman he would allow in his camp. By the end of the war, with the help of the U.S. Sanitary Commission, Mother Bickerdyke had built 300 hospitals and aided the wounded on 19 battlefields including the Battle of Shiloh and Sherman's March to the Sea.
"Mother" Bickerdyke was so loved by the army that the soldiers would cheer her as they would a general when she appeared. At Sherman's request, she rode at the head of the XV Corps in the Grand Review in Washington at the end of the war.
After the war ended, she worked for the Salvation Army in San Francisco, and became an attorney, helping Union veterans with legal issues. She ran a hotel in Salina, Kansas for a time. She received a special pension of $25 a month from Congress in 1886, and retired to Bunker Hill, Kansas. She died peacefully after a minor stroke.
A statue of her was erected in Galesburg, and a hospital boat and a liberty ship, the Mary Bickerdyke, were named after her.
Mary Ann Bickerdyke (July 19, 1817 – November 8, 1901), also known as Mother Bickerdyke, was a hospital administrator for Union soldiers during the American Civil War.
She was born in Knox County, Ohio, to Hiram Ball and Annie Rodgers Ball. She later moved to Galesburg, Illinois.
After the outbreak of the Civil War, she joined a field hospital at Fort Donelson, working alongside Mary J. Stafford. Bickerdyke also worked closely with Eliza Emily Chappell Porter of the Northwest Sanitary Commission. She later worked on the first hospital boat. During the war, she became chief of nursing under the command of General Ulysses S. Grant, and served at the Battle of Vicksburg. When his staff complained about the outspoken, insubordinate female nurse who consistently disregarded the army's red tape and military procedures, Union Gen. William T. Sherman threw up his hands and exclaimed, "She ranks me. I can't do a thing in the world."
Bickerdyke was a nurse who ran roughshod over anyone who stood in the way of her self-appointed duties. She was known affectionately to her "boys", the grateful enlisted men, as "Mother" Bickerdyke. When a surgeon questioned her authority to take some action, she replied, "On the authority of Lord God Almighty, have you anything that outranks that?"
Mother Bickerdyke became the best known, most colorful, and probably most resourceful Civil War nurse. Widowed two years before the war began, she supported herself and her two half-grown sons by practicing as a "botanic Physician" in Galesburg, Illinois. When a young Union volunteer physician wrote home about the filthy, chaotic military hospitals at Cairo, Illinois, Galesburg's citizens collected $500 worth of supplies and selected Bickerdyke to deliver them (no one else would go).
She stayed in Cairo as an unofficial nurse, and through her unbridled energy and dedication she organized the hospitals and gained Grant's appreciation. Grant sanctioned her efforts, and when his army moved down the Mississippi, Bickerdyke went too, setting up hospitals where they were needed. Sherman was especially fond of this volunteer nurse who followed the western armies, and supposedly she was the only woman he would allow in his camp. By the end of the war, with the help of the U.S. Sanitary Commission, Mother Bickerdyke had built 300 hospitals and aided the wounded on 19 battlefields including the Battle of Shiloh and Sherman's March to the Sea.
"Mother" Bickerdyke was so loved by the army that the soldiers would cheer her as they would a general when she appeared. At Sherman's request, she rode at the head of the XV Corps in the Grand Review in Washington at the end of the war.
After the war ended, she worked for the Salvation Army in San Francisco, and became an attorney, helping Union veterans with legal issues. She ran a hotel in Salina, Kansas for a time. She received a special pension of $25 a month from Congress in 1886, and retired to Bunker Hill, Kansas. She died peacefully after a minor stroke.
A statue of her was erected in Galesburg, and a hospital boat and a liberty ship, the Mary Bickerdyke, were named after her.
Monday, February 14, 2011
14 February 1862, Friday
Union - government
In Washington (as well as Richmond) news from the West - and the status of Fort Donelson - is anxiously awaited.
President Lincoln grants amnesty to all political prisoners who will take an oath not to aid the rebellion.
Confederate - Military
Kentucky
The rear guard of General Hardee's remnants leave the town of Bowling Green and soon afterwards, Union soldiers march in.
Tennessee
After a day of bombardment between the Union gunboats and the fort (see Union military below) a coucil of Confederate generals discuss how they can escape the fort if necessary.
Union - Military
Kentucky
There is skirmishing near Cumberland Gap.
Missouri
There is skirmishing at Crane Creek.
Western Virginia
There is skirmishing at Bloomery.
Tennessee
General Grant is assigned by the War Department to command the District of West Tennessee, and William Tecumseh Sherman is assigned the District of Cairo.
At Fort Donelson, four ironclads and two wooden gunboats on the Cumberland attack the fort. Nothing much happens on the land side.
After heavy bombardment from the fort, the gunboats are forced to withdraw downstream to the north. Flag Officer Foote is wounded and his ironclads St. Louis and Louisville drift away, their steering mechanisms destroyed.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
In Washington (as well as Richmond) news from the West - and the status of Fort Donelson - is anxiously awaited.
President Lincoln grants amnesty to all political prisoners who will take an oath not to aid the rebellion.
Confederate - Military
Kentucky
The rear guard of General Hardee's remnants leave the town of Bowling Green and soon afterwards, Union soldiers march in.
Tennessee
After a day of bombardment between the Union gunboats and the fort (see Union military below) a coucil of Confederate generals discuss how they can escape the fort if necessary.
Union - Military
Kentucky
There is skirmishing near Cumberland Gap.
Missouri
There is skirmishing at Crane Creek.
Western Virginia
There is skirmishing at Bloomery.
Tennessee
General Grant is assigned by the War Department to command the District of West Tennessee, and William Tecumseh Sherman is assigned the District of Cairo.
At Fort Donelson, four ironclads and two wooden gunboats on the Cumberland attack the fort. Nothing much happens on the land side.
After heavy bombardment from the fort, the gunboats are forced to withdraw downstream to the north. Flag Officer Foote is wounded and his ironclads St. Louis and Louisville drift away, their steering mechanisms destroyed.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Sunday, February 13, 2011
13 February, 1862: Thursday
Civilian Government - West Virginia
West Virginia
Meeting in Wheeling, the West Virginia Constitutional Convention adopts a provision that no slave or free person of color should come into the state for permanent residence.
Confederates - Military
Kentucky
The Confederates evacuate Bowling Green. Fire destroys a number of the town's buildings.
Tennessee
Confederate John B. Floyd had arrivved with more troops and took over command of the Fort from General Pillow.
Union - Military
Tennesse
The gunboat Carondelet bombards the fort in the morning.
Next, on the left flank, C. F. Smith launches an attack, from the right flank, McClernand's troops move forward.
The weather had been fair and mild at the start of the day, but in the afternoon it changed to sleety rain, with ten above zero temperatures.
Fort Heiman
There is a brief skirmish at Fort Heiman on the Tennessee.
Missouri
Springfield is once more occupied by Union troops.
North Carolina
A Union expedition leaves North River for the Albermarle Canal.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
West Virginia
Meeting in Wheeling, the West Virginia Constitutional Convention adopts a provision that no slave or free person of color should come into the state for permanent residence.
Confederates - Military
Kentucky
The Confederates evacuate Bowling Green. Fire destroys a number of the town's buildings.
Tennessee
Confederate John B. Floyd had arrivved with more troops and took over command of the Fort from General Pillow.
Union - Military
Tennesse
The gunboat Carondelet bombards the fort in the morning.
Next, on the left flank, C. F. Smith launches an attack, from the right flank, McClernand's troops move forward.
The weather had been fair and mild at the start of the day, but in the afternoon it changed to sleety rain, with ten above zero temperatures.
Fort Heiman
There is a brief skirmish at Fort Heiman on the Tennessee.
Missouri
Springfield is once more occupied by Union troops.
North Carolina
A Union expedition leaves North River for the Albermarle Canal.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Saturday, February 12, 2011
12 February, 1862: Wednesday
Union - Military
Tennessee
The Union forces spend the day surrounding Fort Donelson. Grant's army is ranged in a semicircle upon hills near the Fort and town of Dover.
North Carolina
Union naval forces capture Edenton, North CArolina, as they expand their operations from Roanoke Island.
Western Virginia
There is skirmishing at Moorefield
Missouri
There is skirmishing at Springfield.
Confederate - Military
Tennessee
At Fort Donelson, although Union soldiers are ranged in front of the Fort, Confederates are still being brought in from across the river to the east.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Tennessee
The Union forces spend the day surrounding Fort Donelson. Grant's army is ranged in a semicircle upon hills near the Fort and town of Dover.
North Carolina
Union naval forces capture Edenton, North CArolina, as they expand their operations from Roanoke Island.
Western Virginia
There is skirmishing at Moorefield
Missouri
There is skirmishing at Springfield.
Confederate - Military
Tennessee
At Fort Donelson, although Union soldiers are ranged in front of the Fort, Confederates are still being brought in from across the river to the east.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Friday, February 11, 2011
11 February 1862: Tuesday
Union - Military
Tennessee
Union troops under the command of General John A. McClernand advance from Fort Henry across toward Fort Donelson as General Grant's army began its march. Gunboat under the command of Foote move from the Tennessee to the ohio at Paducah and then up the Cumberland.
South Carolina
Edisto Island is occupied by Union troops.
Confederates - Military
Tennessee
Brigadier GEneral Simon Bolivar Buckner arrives at Fort Donelson as more troops come in.
Kentucky
Confederates evacuate Bowling Green, Kentucky, leaving only Columbus on the now useless Kentucky line.
Texas
There are three days of "activity" at Aransas Pass, Texas.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Tennessee
Union troops under the command of General John A. McClernand advance from Fort Henry across toward Fort Donelson as General Grant's army began its march. Gunboat under the command of Foote move from the Tennessee to the ohio at Paducah and then up the Cumberland.
South Carolina
Edisto Island is occupied by Union troops.
Confederates - Military
Tennessee
Brigadier GEneral Simon Bolivar Buckner arrives at Fort Donelson as more troops come in.
Kentucky
Confederates evacuate Bowling Green, Kentucky, leaving only Columbus on the now useless Kentucky line.
Texas
There are three days of "activity" at Aransas Pass, Texas.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Thursday, February 10, 2011
10 February, 1862: Monday
Union - Military
North Carolina
To the north of Pimlico Sound, the remainder of the Confederate "Mosquito" Fleet is destroyed when Union forces fight a victorious engagement at Elizabeth City, North CArolina - the head of an important inland waterway to Virginia.
After assuring themselves of being in control of the coastal area, they turn their attention to New Berne.
South Carolina
There is a skirmish at Barnwell's Island.
Tennessee
The three Union wooden gunboats that had moved up the Tennessee to Florence, Alabama, after the fall of Fort Henry, return. General Grant's build-up against Fort Donelson is nearing completion.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
North Carolina
To the north of Pimlico Sound, the remainder of the Confederate "Mosquito" Fleet is destroyed when Union forces fight a victorious engagement at Elizabeth City, North CArolina - the head of an important inland waterway to Virginia.
After assuring themselves of being in control of the coastal area, they turn their attention to New Berne.
South Carolina
There is a skirmish at Barnwell's Island.
Tennessee
The three Union wooden gunboats that had moved up the Tennessee to Florence, Alabama, after the fall of Fort Henry, return. General Grant's build-up against Fort Donelson is nearing completion.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
9 Feb 1862: Sunday
Union - Government
Washington DC
The War Department orders the imprisonment of Malcom Ives, a correspondent of the New York Herald, on spying charges.
Brigadier Eneral Charles P. Stone is arrested and sent to Fort Lafayette in New York Harbor without specific charges. He had been the Union commander at the Battle of Ball's Bluff in the fall of 1861, and allegedly had consorted with the enemy. (Never brought to trial or officially charged, he will be releaased on August 16, 1862. The case was a cause ceebre in its day.)
Confederate - Military
Tennessee
At Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland River, Brigadier general Gideon J. Pillow assumes command of the forces at Fort Donelson.
Union-Military
North Carolina
At Roanoke Island, cleanup operations continue by the victorious Union soldiers.
Missouri
A light skirmish occurs at Marshfield.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Washington DC
The War Department orders the imprisonment of Malcom Ives, a correspondent of the New York Herald, on spying charges.
Brigadier Eneral Charles P. Stone is arrested and sent to Fort Lafayette in New York Harbor without specific charges. He had been the Union commander at the Battle of Ball's Bluff in the fall of 1861, and allegedly had consorted with the enemy. (Never brought to trial or officially charged, he will be releaased on August 16, 1862. The case was a cause ceebre in its day.)
Confederate - Military
Tennessee
At Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland River, Brigadier general Gideon J. Pillow assumes command of the forces at Fort Donelson.
Union-Military
North Carolina
At Roanoke Island, cleanup operations continue by the victorious Union soldiers.
Missouri
A light skirmish occurs at Marshfield.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
8 Feb, 1862: Saturday
Government/Personal - Union
In the White House, Willie continues to be desperately ill with typhoid.
He asks General McClellan if there is any further news from the West - what had happened to canal boats sent up to Harper's Ferry to bridge the Potomac. What about McClellan's comtemplated movements?
Military - Union
North Carolina
General Burnside with about 7,500 troops moves inland on Roanoke Island against less than 2,000 Confederates under the command of General Henry A. Wise.
Wise is ill, and his force is temporarily under the command of Colonel H. M. Shaw.
Burnside's troops advance rapidly to the center of the low-lying, sandy, tree-covered island, and overrun the Confederate entrenchments, , pushing them to the north end of the island. Shaw had no recourse but to surrender his 2,000 men, including some reinforcements that came too late for the fight.
Confederate casualties were 23 killed and 62 eounded
Union casualties were 37 killed, 214 wounded, and 13 missing.
30 guns also fell inro Union hands.
While a relatively small engagement, numbers wise, Roanoke Island had considerable importance. Control of Pimlico Sound gave the Union a first rate base on the Atlantic Coast for operations against North Carolina.
Western Virginia
There is a skirmish at the mouth of the Blue Stone River.
Missouri
There is a small skirmish at Bolivar, Missouri.
Kansas
The Union declares martial law throughout Kansas.
Government and Civilian - Confederacy
Richmond learns of the loss of Roanoke and is concerned, a back door to Richmond has been opened and a vital Southern state is dangerously threatened.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
In the White House, Willie continues to be desperately ill with typhoid.
He asks General McClellan if there is any further news from the West - what had happened to canal boats sent up to Harper's Ferry to bridge the Potomac. What about McClellan's comtemplated movements?
Military - Union
North Carolina
General Burnside with about 7,500 troops moves inland on Roanoke Island against less than 2,000 Confederates under the command of General Henry A. Wise.
Wise is ill, and his force is temporarily under the command of Colonel H. M. Shaw.
Burnside's troops advance rapidly to the center of the low-lying, sandy, tree-covered island, and overrun the Confederate entrenchments, , pushing them to the north end of the island. Shaw had no recourse but to surrender his 2,000 men, including some reinforcements that came too late for the fight.
Confederate casualties were 23 killed and 62 eounded
Union casualties were 37 killed, 214 wounded, and 13 missing.
30 guns also fell inro Union hands.
While a relatively small engagement, numbers wise, Roanoke Island had considerable importance. Control of Pimlico Sound gave the Union a first rate base on the Atlantic Coast for operations against North Carolina.
Western Virginia
There is a skirmish at the mouth of the Blue Stone River.
Missouri
There is a small skirmish at Bolivar, Missouri.
Kansas
The Union declares martial law throughout Kansas.
Government and Civilian - Confederacy
Richmond learns of the loss of Roanoke and is concerned, a back door to Richmond has been opened and a vital Southern state is dangerously threatened.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Monday, February 7, 2011
7 Feb, 1862: Friday
Union - Government/Personal
Washington, DC
Willie Lincoln, youngest son of President Lincoln, lies in the White House, critically ill.
Union - Military
Tennessee
General Grant makes a reconnaissance of Fort Donelson on the Cumberland near Dover, Tennessee. His troops establish themselves near Fort Henry, captured the previous day.
The gunboats used in the attack on Fort Henry move back down the Tennessee to the Ohio, prepatory to moving up the Cumberland River to Fort Donelson.
North Carolina
After moving vessels over the shallow bar at Hatteras Inlet on the Outer Banks, General Ambrose E. Burnside's expedition heads toward Roanoke Island. Commodore Louis M. Goldsborough's squadron attacks and routes the few Confederate naval defenders, and in the afternoon and into the evening, Ambrose's troops land on the island.
Western Virginia
Union forces reoccupy Romney, as the Confederates pull back toward Winchester, Virginia.
There is a small expedition and skirmish at Flint Hill and Hunter's Mill. Union batteries shell Harper's Ferry.
Confederacy - Military
Kentucky
Confederate General Albert S. Johnston,realizing his Kentucky line has been wrecked, hurries troops to Fort Donelson. General Gideon Pillow, from Clarksville, TEnnessee and General John B. Floyd from Russellville, Kentucky, are ordered to Donelson.
At Bowling Green, Kentucky, Johnston, Beauregard and William Joseph Hardee meet to discuss the seriousness of the situation.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Washington, DC
Willie Lincoln, youngest son of President Lincoln, lies in the White House, critically ill.
Union - Military
Tennessee
General Grant makes a reconnaissance of Fort Donelson on the Cumberland near Dover, Tennessee. His troops establish themselves near Fort Henry, captured the previous day.
The gunboats used in the attack on Fort Henry move back down the Tennessee to the Ohio, prepatory to moving up the Cumberland River to Fort Donelson.
North Carolina
After moving vessels over the shallow bar at Hatteras Inlet on the Outer Banks, General Ambrose E. Burnside's expedition heads toward Roanoke Island. Commodore Louis M. Goldsborough's squadron attacks and routes the few Confederate naval defenders, and in the afternoon and into the evening, Ambrose's troops land on the island.
Western Virginia
Union forces reoccupy Romney, as the Confederates pull back toward Winchester, Virginia.
There is a small expedition and skirmish at Flint Hill and Hunter's Mill. Union batteries shell Harper's Ferry.
Confederacy - Military
Kentucky
Confederate General Albert S. Johnston,realizing his Kentucky line has been wrecked, hurries troops to Fort Donelson. General Gideon Pillow, from Clarksville, TEnnessee and General John B. Floyd from Russellville, Kentucky, are ordered to Donelson.
At Bowling Green, Kentucky, Johnston, Beauregard and William Joseph Hardee meet to discuss the seriousness of the situation.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Sunday, February 6, 2011
6 Feb, 1962: Thursday
Government - Confederates
President DAvis spends time writing discontented officers over friction in command.
Miitary - Confederate
Brigadier GEneral Lloyd Tilghman, in command of the defense of Fort Henry, knowing himself to be under threat from both land and water, sends most of his garrison via hospital boat across to the stronger Fort Donelson on the Cumberland.
Tilghman and a few men stay behind to defend Fort Henry and delay pursuit.
At 11 am, Flag Officer Andrew Foote of the Union with his four ironclads, followed by three gunboats, attack the fort. The defenders fire back and 59 shots hit the flotilla, only a few causing damage. The boiler of Essex is peirced, scalding 28 officers and men.
Shortly before 2 pm, Tilghman surrenders. Captured are 12 officers, 66 men, and 16 patients on the hospital boat.
The Confederates lost 5 killed, 6 wounded, 5 disabled and 5 missing for a total of 21 casualties. The Union forces lose 11 men killed, 31 injured, and 5 missing.
Grant's army of 15,000 does not arrive in time for the battle.
At Fort Donelson, Brigadier GEneral Bushrod R. Johnson succeeds Tilghman in command, and calls for reinforcements.
Military - Union
With Fort Henry in the hands of the Union, a major impediment to the advance south is removed. Union troops are now able to bypass the Mississippi and use the Tennessee. However, ten miles away on the Cumberland is a much more formidable fortification, Fort Donelson.
Foote takes his ironclads northward for repairs.
Alabama
Florence
The three wooden gunboats used in the attack on Fort Henry proceed on a raid up the Tennessee to Florence, Alabama.
South Carolina
There is a Union reconnaissance to Wright River.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President DAvis spends time writing discontented officers over friction in command.
Miitary - Confederate
Brigadier GEneral Lloyd Tilghman, in command of the defense of Fort Henry, knowing himself to be under threat from both land and water, sends most of his garrison via hospital boat across to the stronger Fort Donelson on the Cumberland.
Tilghman and a few men stay behind to defend Fort Henry and delay pursuit.
At 11 am, Flag Officer Andrew Foote of the Union with his four ironclads, followed by three gunboats, attack the fort. The defenders fire back and 59 shots hit the flotilla, only a few causing damage. The boiler of Essex is peirced, scalding 28 officers and men.
Shortly before 2 pm, Tilghman surrenders. Captured are 12 officers, 66 men, and 16 patients on the hospital boat.
The Confederates lost 5 killed, 6 wounded, 5 disabled and 5 missing for a total of 21 casualties. The Union forces lose 11 men killed, 31 injured, and 5 missing.
Grant's army of 15,000 does not arrive in time for the battle.
At Fort Donelson, Brigadier GEneral Bushrod R. Johnson succeeds Tilghman in command, and calls for reinforcements.
Military - Union
With Fort Henry in the hands of the Union, a major impediment to the advance south is removed. Union troops are now able to bypass the Mississippi and use the Tennessee. However, ten miles away on the Cumberland is a much more formidable fortification, Fort Donelson.
Foote takes his ironclads northward for repairs.
Alabama
Florence
The three wooden gunboats used in the attack on Fort Henry proceed on a raid up the Tennessee to Florence, Alabama.
South Carolina
There is a Union reconnaissance to Wright River.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Saturday, February 5, 2011
5 February, 1862: Wednesday
England
Queen Victoria lifts all prohibition against shipping gunpowder, arms, ammunition and military stores from the United Kingdom
Union - Government
Indiana senator Jesse D. Bright is expelled from the US SEnate by a vote of 32 to 14 for alleged complicity with enemies of the United States.
Mrs. Lincoln gives a ball that evening, which is held in the East Room.
Union - Military
Tennesse and Kentucky
Troops continue to debark north of Fort Henry on the Tennessee to cooperate with the gunboats in the coming Union attack. They are to move on the Fort early on the 6th.
(CF Smith)
General Charles Ferguson Smith's force is sent west of the river to take the unfinished Fort Heiman, located over the bluffs of Fort Henry, and find it has been evacuated.
In Fort Henry, Confederate Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman has over 3,000 men. The fort itself is partially inundated.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Queen Victoria lifts all prohibition against shipping gunpowder, arms, ammunition and military stores from the United Kingdom
Union - Government
Indiana senator Jesse D. Bright is expelled from the US SEnate by a vote of 32 to 14 for alleged complicity with enemies of the United States.
Mrs. Lincoln gives a ball that evening, which is held in the East Room.
Union - Military
Tennesse and Kentucky
Troops continue to debark north of Fort Henry on the Tennessee to cooperate with the gunboats in the coming Union attack. They are to move on the Fort early on the 6th.
(CF Smith)
General Charles Ferguson Smith's force is sent west of the river to take the unfinished Fort Heiman, located over the bluffs of Fort Henry, and find it has been evacuated.
In Fort Henry, Confederate Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman has over 3,000 men. The fort itself is partially inundated.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Friday, February 4, 2011
4 February, 1862: Tuesday
Confederates - Government
In Richmond, the Virginia house of delegates discusses enrolling free Negroes in the Confederate army.
Secretary of WAr Judah P. Benjamin cracks down on speculators, particularly in sales of saltpeter needed for gunpowder.
The Richmonmd Examiner publishes an ediorial, pointing out that "the Southern people are not sufficiently alive to necessity of exertion in the struggle they are involved in. Better to fight even at the risk of losing battles, than remain inactive to fill up inglorious graves."
Confederate generals appeal to troops, whose terms were about to expire, to re-enlist.
Union - Military
Kentucky and Tennessee
Union troops begin landing in the rain on the banks of the Tennessee north of Fort Henry. Gunboats carry out a reconnaissance to the fort on the east bank of the river just north of the Kentuckt-Tennessee state line.
BibliographyThe Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
In Richmond, the Virginia house of delegates discusses enrolling free Negroes in the Confederate army.
Secretary of WAr Judah P. Benjamin cracks down on speculators, particularly in sales of saltpeter needed for gunpowder.
The Richmonmd Examiner publishes an ediorial, pointing out that "the Southern people are not sufficiently alive to necessity of exertion in the struggle they are involved in. Better to fight even at the risk of losing battles, than remain inactive to fill up inglorious graves."
Confederate generals appeal to troops, whose terms were about to expire, to re-enlist.
Union - Military
Kentucky and Tennessee
Union troops begin landing in the rain on the banks of the Tennessee north of Fort Henry. Gunboats carry out a reconnaissance to the fort on the east bank of the river just north of the Kentuckt-Tennessee state line.
BibliographyThe Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Thursday, February 3, 2011
3 February, 1862: Monday
Union - Government
In Washington, President Lincoln declines the offer of war elephants from the King of Siam because the nation "does not reach a latitude so low as to favor the multiplication of the elephant."
Lincoln also writes to General McClellan about the confict between their ideas of operations in Virginia. Lincoln wished McClellan to go directly overland south, while McClellan wanted to land on the coast and march toward Richmond.
The Administration decides that crews of captured privateers be considered prisoners of war.
In the US Senate, Zachariah Chandler of Michigan presents a resolution from the Michigan legislature which urges the putting down of insurrection, confiscation of property of Southerners, and abolition of slavery. Many such petitions and pleas of this nature are made to Congress at this time, but there were also those who protested the trend toward making it a war against slavery.
Union - Military
Illinois - Ketucky
Troop transports move from Cairo to Paducah, and the gunboat fleet begins heading up the Tennessee or south toward Fort HEnry.
Virginia
There is a Union reconnaissance to Occoquan Village.
From Wikipedia on Zacharia Chandler
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
In Washington, President Lincoln declines the offer of war elephants from the King of Siam because the nation "does not reach a latitude so low as to favor the multiplication of the elephant."
Lincoln also writes to General McClellan about the confict between their ideas of operations in Virginia. Lincoln wished McClellan to go directly overland south, while McClellan wanted to land on the coast and march toward Richmond.
The Administration decides that crews of captured privateers be considered prisoners of war.
In the US Senate, Zachariah Chandler of Michigan presents a resolution from the Michigan legislature which urges the putting down of insurrection, confiscation of property of Southerners, and abolition of slavery. Many such petitions and pleas of this nature are made to Congress at this time, but there were also those who protested the trend toward making it a war against slavery.
Union - Military
Illinois - Ketucky
Troop transports move from Cairo to Paducah, and the gunboat fleet begins heading up the Tennessee or south toward Fort HEnry.
Virginia
There is a Union reconnaissance to Occoquan Village.
From Wikipedia on Zacharia Chandler
Zachariah Chandler (December 10, 1813 – November 1, 1879) was Mayor of Detroit (1851–52), a four-term U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan (1857–75, 1879), and Secretary of the Interior under U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant (1875–77).
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Military Terminology
Currently the main source for these daily reports from the front is EB Long's The Civil War Day By Day, an Almanc. In it, he uses such words as skirmish, engagement, action and the like, but doesn't really describe what they actually are. A skirmish is easy to understand...but the rest - they're all interchangeable according to dictionary.com.
Skirmish - a fight between small bodies of troops, esp. advanced or outlying detachments of opposing armies.
engagement - an encounter, conflict, or battle
action - a military encounter or engagement; battle, skirmish, or the like
expedition - an excursion, journey, or voyage made for some specific purpose, as of war or exploration.
Skirmish - a fight between small bodies of troops, esp. advanced or outlying detachments of opposing armies.
engagement - an encounter, conflict, or battle
action - a military encounter or engagement; battle, skirmish, or the like
expedition - an excursion, journey, or voyage made for some specific purpose, as of war or exploration.
2 February, 1862: Sunday
Union - Military
Tennessee
There is a skirmish in Morgan County.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Tennessee
There is a skirmish in Morgan County.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
1 February, 1862: Saturday
Union-military
Illinois
On January 28 Ulysses Grant had told General Hallleck, in St Louis, that he planned, with permission, to take Fort Henry, located on the Tennessee River. Halleck had granted his permission on the 30th. Now, at Cairo, Grant continues to prepare for his upcoming campaign.
Kentucky
There is a skirmish near Bowling Green.
Kansas
At Leavenworth, Indian chiefs and Union authorities meet.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Illinois
On January 28 Ulysses Grant had told General Hallleck, in St Louis, that he planned, with permission, to take Fort Henry, located on the Tennessee River. Halleck had granted his permission on the 30th. Now, at Cairo, Grant continues to prepare for his upcoming campaign.
Kentucky
There is a skirmish near Bowling Green.
Kansas
At Leavenworth, Indian chiefs and Union authorities meet.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
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