Confederacy - Military/Government
Major General T. C. Hindman assumes command of the Trans-Mississippian District.
Union - Military
Virginia
General McClellan on the Chickahominy had split his large army, putting three corps on the northeast side of the river, reportedly to enable him of took up with General McDowell's troops, expected from the north. Only two corps were on the south side of the Chickahominy.
Realizing this, General Joseph E. Johnston of the Confederates attacked the corps of Erasmus Keyes and S. P. Heintzelman at Fair Oaks (aka Seven Pines), east of Richmond.
In a series of failures to move at appointed times, the Confederates did not get their attack going until about 1 pm,, and the the fighting was done by separate units, with others failing to get into action. Nevertheless, the Confederates made some inroads on the defenders. President Davis himself toured the battle area.
McClellan, hearing the firing, ordered Edwin V. Sumner's corps to cross the Chickahominy to aid his compatriots. Sumner had not waited for orders but moved quickly over the shaky bridges and swampy bottom lands. The reinforcements blunted the Confederate drive and, as the day ended, the impetus was gone from the Southern assault.
General Joseph E. Johnston was severely wounded, and was succeeded for a few hours by G.W. Smith, and shortly afterward by Robert E. Lee. For the first time, Lee took over a major army (an army that would soon be heralded as the Army of Northern Virginia.)
At the end of the day little had been decided except that Johnston had failed to rout or destroy the two isolated corps. During the night Union positions were considerably strengthened.
In the Shenandoah, Stonewall Jackson hurried his troops south of Winchester through heavy rain with about 15,000 men, squeezing between converging Fremont and McDowell. There was some skirmishing near Front Royal, but the troops were too late to halt the Confederates or destroy them as President Lincoln had wished.
Missouri
There is skirmishing at Salt River near Florida, also near Neosho and Waynesville.
Mississippi
There is skirmishing at Tuscumbia Creek.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Germans love reenacting the American Civil War
PRI (Public Radio International): Germans love reenacting the American Civil War
On a warm spring morning about 50 miles north of Berlin, Union troops and their Confederate rivals prepare for battle. They are camped out for the weekend at a Wild West theme park in Templin.
About 60 people, mostly Germans, are dressed head to toe in 1860s-period clothing. Women wear hoop skirts. The men are in handmade uniforms with lots of colorful piping and brass buttons. A few young soldiers swing their bayonets. "I'm a simple soldier, a private," said Tobias Melchurs.
Melchurs, 21, is a business student. But this weekend, he is fighting on the side of the North in two battles -- the bombardment of Fort Sumter and the first battle of Bull Run.
Melchurs belongs to one of the several German groups that engage in American Civil War reenactments about once a month.
Like many of the participants here, Melchurs feels a personal connection to the war.
"There were about 200,000 who had German roots that fought in the Civil War," Melchurs said. "I think it is important for our history."
Every person I speak with mentions this number: 200,000. Many of the participants actually model their characters in the reenactments after one of these German immigrant soldiers. They say it helps them feel closer to the history.
But a lot of the bloodier and more tragic parts of the war seem glossed over – like the punishing number of deaths and the issue of slavery. Ute Frevert, a historian, and head of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, said this sometimes happens when people try to re-live history.
"It is more about fantasies," Frevert said. "That's fair enough; life needs fantasies."
And Frevert pointed out that the fantasy of war is not often indulged in Germany. After World War II, any talk of military glory became socially taboo here.
"As a German I have to be hesitant in the post-1945 culture, because wars are not something that Germans are used to finding fascinating and kind of exciting and appealing," she said.
So for those at the reenactment, it is appealing that the U.S. Civil War took place in another country, in another time. It is safer, even romantic. A lot of fantasies have built up around the Confederacy, thanks to the movie, "Gone with the Wind;" it is a staple of German popular culture.
On the other side of camp, the Confederate soldiers are busy preparing for the battle. More people want to be on the Confederate side, so the Union troops sometimes have to recruit local reenactors from the American Revolutionary War. Chris McLarren plays a confederate captain from Texas. He is actually an American. He said the Germans are totally immersed in the history.
"The Germans like to do things 110 percent sometimes," McLarren said. "They are perfectionists in many ways and they want to do this the way it was then."
Beyond the history, these events also provide something else — camaraderie. Young private Tobias Melchurs said people at school think he is weird to do this. On the weekend, though, he is just one of the guys.
"The battle is one thing, but we all enjoy it to sit at the fire in the evening or late at night," Melchurs said. "Brothers in arms, yes?"
As we talk, the battle starts. Guns and cannons fire and smoke fills the air.
For these Confederate and Union reenactors, playing war is a safe game in a country that can't help, but remember.
On a warm spring morning about 50 miles north of Berlin, Union troops and their Confederate rivals prepare for battle. They are camped out for the weekend at a Wild West theme park in Templin.
About 60 people, mostly Germans, are dressed head to toe in 1860s-period clothing. Women wear hoop skirts. The men are in handmade uniforms with lots of colorful piping and brass buttons. A few young soldiers swing their bayonets. "I'm a simple soldier, a private," said Tobias Melchurs.
Melchurs, 21, is a business student. But this weekend, he is fighting on the side of the North in two battles -- the bombardment of Fort Sumter and the first battle of Bull Run.
Melchurs belongs to one of the several German groups that engage in American Civil War reenactments about once a month.
Like many of the participants here, Melchurs feels a personal connection to the war.
"There were about 200,000 who had German roots that fought in the Civil War," Melchurs said. "I think it is important for our history."
Every person I speak with mentions this number: 200,000. Many of the participants actually model their characters in the reenactments after one of these German immigrant soldiers. They say it helps them feel closer to the history.
But a lot of the bloodier and more tragic parts of the war seem glossed over – like the punishing number of deaths and the issue of slavery. Ute Frevert, a historian, and head of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, said this sometimes happens when people try to re-live history.
"It is more about fantasies," Frevert said. "That's fair enough; life needs fantasies."
And Frevert pointed out that the fantasy of war is not often indulged in Germany. After World War II, any talk of military glory became socially taboo here.
"As a German I have to be hesitant in the post-1945 culture, because wars are not something that Germans are used to finding fascinating and kind of exciting and appealing," she said.
So for those at the reenactment, it is appealing that the U.S. Civil War took place in another country, in another time. It is safer, even romantic. A lot of fantasies have built up around the Confederacy, thanks to the movie, "Gone with the Wind;" it is a staple of German popular culture.
On the other side of camp, the Confederate soldiers are busy preparing for the battle. More people want to be on the Confederate side, so the Union troops sometimes have to recruit local reenactors from the American Revolutionary War. Chris McLarren plays a confederate captain from Texas. He is actually an American. He said the Germans are totally immersed in the history.
"The Germans like to do things 110 percent sometimes," McLarren said. "They are perfectionists in many ways and they want to do this the way it was then."
Beyond the history, these events also provide something else — camaraderie. Young private Tobias Melchurs said people at school think he is weird to do this. On the weekend, though, he is just one of the guys.
"The battle is one thing, but we all enjoy it to sit at the fire in the evening or late at night," Melchurs said. "Brothers in arms, yes?"
As we talk, the battle starts. Guns and cannons fire and smoke fills the air.
For these Confederate and Union reenactors, playing war is a safe game in a country that can't help, but remember.
Monday, May 30, 2011
30 May 1862: Friday (Confederates evacuate Corinth, MS)
Union - Government
President Lincoln continues to urge his commanders in the Shenandoah, Banks, Fremont and McDowell via telegraph, to - to press on to capture or destroy Jackson.
Confederates - Military
Mississippi
Beginning on the night of the 29th and extending into the morning of the 30th, General PVT Beauregard, with great skill and efficiency, pulls his beleaguered Confederate army out of besieged Corinth and heads south toward Tupelo. The immense Union army under Halleck sits a few miles outside the town to the north, oblivious to the strategy going on so short a distance away, though there were those who were aware that the Confederates planned a move.
Military - Union
Mississippi
Later on this day, May 30, Halleck's troops move cautiously into the important rail and road center after more than a month's campaigning. Although the Union troops were successful, the evacuation by Beauregard, the slowness of the campaign, and the general lack of battle or results tarnished Halleck's victory.
Nearby, Booneville was captured by Union troops and the Tuscumbria Bridge was destroyed.
Tennessee
Cypress Creek Bridge is destroyed by Union forces.
Virginia
Heavy rains fall on the Virginia Peninsula, making movement difficult.
In the Shenandoah, McDowell's forces under James Shields reach Front Royal, where there is a skirmish as Stonewall Jackson and his troops begin to fall back from near Harper's Ferry to avoid the trap being set by Fremont and McDowell's converging forces.
Other fighting in Virginia is at Fair Oaks and Zuni.
North Carolina
Fighting occurs at Tranter's Creek.
Western Virginia
Fighting occurs at Lewisburg and Shaver's River.
_____________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln continues to urge his commanders in the Shenandoah, Banks, Fremont and McDowell via telegraph, to - to press on to capture or destroy Jackson.
Confederates - Military
Mississippi
Beginning on the night of the 29th and extending into the morning of the 30th, General PVT Beauregard, with great skill and efficiency, pulls his beleaguered Confederate army out of besieged Corinth and heads south toward Tupelo. The immense Union army under Halleck sits a few miles outside the town to the north, oblivious to the strategy going on so short a distance away, though there were those who were aware that the Confederates planned a move.
Military - Union
Mississippi
Later on this day, May 30, Halleck's troops move cautiously into the important rail and road center after more than a month's campaigning. Although the Union troops were successful, the evacuation by Beauregard, the slowness of the campaign, and the general lack of battle or results tarnished Halleck's victory.
Nearby, Booneville was captured by Union troops and the Tuscumbria Bridge was destroyed.
Tennessee
Cypress Creek Bridge is destroyed by Union forces.
Virginia
Heavy rains fall on the Virginia Peninsula, making movement difficult.
In the Shenandoah, McDowell's forces under James Shields reach Front Royal, where there is a skirmish as Stonewall Jackson and his troops begin to fall back from near Harper's Ferry to avoid the trap being set by Fremont and McDowell's converging forces.
Other fighting in Virginia is at Fair Oaks and Zuni.
North Carolina
Fighting occurs at Tranter's Creek.
Western Virginia
Fighting occurs at Lewisburg and Shaver's River.
_____________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Sunday, May 29, 2011
29 May 1862: Thursday
Confederates - Government
President Davis writes a letter to Georgia governor Joseph E. Brown over matters of States' rights and Confederate government rights - one in a long string of letters between the two on that subject.
Confederates - Military
Virginia
Stonewall Jackson's men demonstrate near Harper's Ferry.
Behind Jackson, the Union troops were massing, 15,000 under Fremont, McDowell's 20,000, and to the north, Banks remnant of about 5,000.
On the Chickahominy there was skirmishing near Seven Pines, and farther north some operations along the South Anna.
Mississippi
During the night, Beauregard, finally seeing there was no hope against Halleck's huge Union army near Corinth, gave orders to pull out toward Tupelo. To give the impression of reinforcements, however, he had trains and troops made loud noises in an effort to fool the waiting Union troops.
There is a skirmish near Booneville.
Western Virginia
There is a skirmish near Wardensville.
South Carolina
There is a skirmish at Pocotaligo
Arkansas
There is a skirmish at Kickapoo Bottom. and at Whitesburg.
_____
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Davis writes a letter to Georgia governor Joseph E. Brown over matters of States' rights and Confederate government rights - one in a long string of letters between the two on that subject.
Confederates - Military
Virginia
Stonewall Jackson's men demonstrate near Harper's Ferry.
Behind Jackson, the Union troops were massing, 15,000 under Fremont, McDowell's 20,000, and to the north, Banks remnant of about 5,000.
On the Chickahominy there was skirmishing near Seven Pines, and farther north some operations along the South Anna.
Mississippi
During the night, Beauregard, finally seeing there was no hope against Halleck's huge Union army near Corinth, gave orders to pull out toward Tupelo. To give the impression of reinforcements, however, he had trains and troops made loud noises in an effort to fool the waiting Union troops.
There is a skirmish near Booneville.
Western Virginia
There is a skirmish near Wardensville.
South Carolina
There is a skirmish at Pocotaligo
Arkansas
There is a skirmish at Kickapoo Bottom. and at Whitesburg.
_____
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Delaware history: Du Pont family, company crucial to Civil War story
DelawareOnline: Delaware history: Du Pont family, company crucial to Civil War story
It's the snazzy braided uniform coat for Hagley Museum archivist and exhibit curator Lucas Clawson.
The glittering gold ceremonial sword for a visitor.
The American flag, housed in a shrouded case just like the flag that inspired "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., for a group of women gathered around it.
There's no telling which piece of memorabilia will capture a visitor's imagination in Hagley Museum and Library's new exhibit, "An Oath of Allegiance to the Republic: the du Ponts and the Civil War."
A jewelbox of a show, and an exquisite example of the kind of local exhibit that can be done by a small regional museum, the installation looks at Delaware and the Civil War through the role of the du Pont family and its powderworks. The result is a compact, yet comprehensive, look at political, business, community, military and family roles and activities.
The show is only one of the many ways Delaware is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, and it highlights the many ways the state participated.
"Often, Delaware is overlooked because there weren't any battles here, and it's assumed we went easily into the Union," says Joan Reynolds Hoge-North, deputy director for Museum Administration.
Not so, according to the exhibit, which starts with the story of DuPont President Henry du Pont, appointed by Gov. William Burton in his first executive order as commander of the state militia, as part of Democrat Burton's efforts to placate Republicans.
Du Pont immediately issued an order demanding that all members of the military had to take an oath to the Union, which du Pont considered the only true Constitutional move.
Burton's second order was to take away du Pont's power to make such sweeping decisions, especially in the heated, uncertain days leading up to the war.
The Hagley show will stay on view through July 2012, with special lectures and other events spread throughout the year. It's part of a five-year effort called "A Sesquicentennial Commemoration of the Great State of Delaware in the American Civil War."
Memorial Day had its beginnings in Civil War
The Baltimore Sun: Memorial Day had its beginnings in Civil War
Birmingham, Ala (Reuters) --- Bands will play, soldiers will march and wreaths will be laid on Monday as America commemorates the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice.
While Memorial Day celebrates the brave soldier, it also serves as a reminder of war's grimmest reality.
Men love war. It's exciting and glorious," said Charleston, South Carolina historian Robert Rosen, but, he added, "There is a price."
In 1866, the Civil War had ended and few wanted to remember the bloody conflict, which killed more than 620,000 men, more than almost all subsequent wars, according to Rosen.
While 24 cities vie for the title of the first Memorial Day celebration, President Lyndon Johnson proclaimed Waterloo, New York, the birthplace in 1966.
Even with Civil War wounds fresh in 1866, Waterloo pharmacist Henry Wells had noted that traffic to the graves of veterans had thinned. He feared a day when people forgot the horrors of war, according to Waterloo historian Caren Cleaveland.
"The first Memorial Day was organized as a day of mourning. The city was draped in black and the parade was solemn," said Cleaveland, chairperson of the American Civil War Memorial in Waterloo.
Originally, May 30 was the celebration day, designated in an 1868 order by General John Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, a Union veterans organization.
That year, President James Garfield became the first president to lay a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. Five thousand joined him in decorating graves on the former estate of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, according to History.com.
In 1971, Congress made designated the last Monday in May as a national holiday for Memorial Day to give Americans a three-day weekend.
Many now consider that weekend the start of the summer season and are more likely to indulge in beaches and barbecues than think about the holiday's original meaning or take part in memorial events.
RECONCILIATION GOAL
While the one original goal of the day was reconciliation of the opposing sides in the Civil War, it would take World War One for the South to fully embrace the holiday in lieu of its own designated day.
Many Southern states still recognize a Confederate Memorial Day, though not all on the same dates, for the fallen men in gray.
Southern women are credited in many cities for beginning "Decoration Day" by putting flowers on soldier's graves, a precursor of Memorial Day.
In April of 1862, a group of women and a Michigan chaplain in Arlington Heights, Virginia declared 'How lonely and cheerless the bare graves of the soldiers look." They began an annual pilgrimage to dead fighters' graves with bouquets, according to The Center for Civil War Research.
On the eve of Confederate General Joseph Johnston's expected defeat as the war sputtered to a complete end, Sue Vaughn called on the 'Daughters of the Southland' to gather on April 26, 1865.
They met at the cemetery to 'garland the graves of our fallen braves' in commemoration of their valor and patriotism,' according to The Center for Civil War Research.
The Civil War saw African Americans serving as Union soldiers in significant numbers in the conflict that saw the end of slavery, and Yale historian David W. Wright uncovered evidence freed slaves held what could be considered the first memorial day on May 5, 1865 in Charleston.
They staged a parade 10,000 people strong on a racecourse, once the playground for the wealthy. It had transformed into a prison camp for Union soldiers and the burial ground for 257 of them. The freed slaves marked the day with songs of liberty.
In that case, the first memorial ceremony for America's bloodiest war may have been where the Civil War fighting started -- at Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor 150 years ago.
Today, Memorial Day commemorates the dead from every war, including modern day Afghanistan and Iraq.
Birmingham, Ala (Reuters) --- Bands will play, soldiers will march and wreaths will be laid on Monday as America commemorates the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice.
While Memorial Day celebrates the brave soldier, it also serves as a reminder of war's grimmest reality.
Men love war. It's exciting and glorious," said Charleston, South Carolina historian Robert Rosen, but, he added, "There is a price."
In 1866, the Civil War had ended and few wanted to remember the bloody conflict, which killed more than 620,000 men, more than almost all subsequent wars, according to Rosen.
While 24 cities vie for the title of the first Memorial Day celebration, President Lyndon Johnson proclaimed Waterloo, New York, the birthplace in 1966.
Even with Civil War wounds fresh in 1866, Waterloo pharmacist Henry Wells had noted that traffic to the graves of veterans had thinned. He feared a day when people forgot the horrors of war, according to Waterloo historian Caren Cleaveland.
"The first Memorial Day was organized as a day of mourning. The city was draped in black and the parade was solemn," said Cleaveland, chairperson of the American Civil War Memorial in Waterloo.
Originally, May 30 was the celebration day, designated in an 1868 order by General John Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, a Union veterans organization.
That year, President James Garfield became the first president to lay a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. Five thousand joined him in decorating graves on the former estate of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, according to History.com.
In 1971, Congress made designated the last Monday in May as a national holiday for Memorial Day to give Americans a three-day weekend.
Many now consider that weekend the start of the summer season and are more likely to indulge in beaches and barbecues than think about the holiday's original meaning or take part in memorial events.
RECONCILIATION GOAL
While the one original goal of the day was reconciliation of the opposing sides in the Civil War, it would take World War One for the South to fully embrace the holiday in lieu of its own designated day.
Many Southern states still recognize a Confederate Memorial Day, though not all on the same dates, for the fallen men in gray.
Southern women are credited in many cities for beginning "Decoration Day" by putting flowers on soldier's graves, a precursor of Memorial Day.
In April of 1862, a group of women and a Michigan chaplain in Arlington Heights, Virginia declared 'How lonely and cheerless the bare graves of the soldiers look." They began an annual pilgrimage to dead fighters' graves with bouquets, according to The Center for Civil War Research.
On the eve of Confederate General Joseph Johnston's expected defeat as the war sputtered to a complete end, Sue Vaughn called on the 'Daughters of the Southland' to gather on April 26, 1865.
They met at the cemetery to 'garland the graves of our fallen braves' in commemoration of their valor and patriotism,' according to The Center for Civil War Research.
The Civil War saw African Americans serving as Union soldiers in significant numbers in the conflict that saw the end of slavery, and Yale historian David W. Wright uncovered evidence freed slaves held what could be considered the first memorial day on May 5, 1865 in Charleston.
They staged a parade 10,000 people strong on a racecourse, once the playground for the wealthy. It had transformed into a prison camp for Union soldiers and the burial ground for 257 of them. The freed slaves marked the day with songs of liberty.
In that case, the first memorial ceremony for America's bloodiest war may have been where the Civil War fighting started -- at Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor 150 years ago.
Today, Memorial Day commemorates the dead from every war, including modern day Afghanistan and Iraq.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
28 May 1862: Wednesday
Government- Union
President Lincoln wires General McDowell and tells him that his move toward the Shenandoah to attack Jackson was "for you a question of legs. Put in all the speed you can."
Government-Confederacy
President Davis writes his wife: We are steadily developing for a great battle, and under God's favor I trust for a decisive victory." He was disappointed that a planned offensive by General Joseph E. Johnston's army had not been launched against McClellan.
Military - Union
Mississippi
There is a skirmish in front of Corinth.
Western Virginia
There is a skirmish at Charlestown.
Virginia
Confederate supplies in Ashland are destroyed, as is a bridge on the Virginia Central Railroad on the Santa Ana.
________________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln wires General McDowell and tells him that his move toward the Shenandoah to attack Jackson was "for you a question of legs. Put in all the speed you can."
Government-Confederacy
President Davis writes his wife: We are steadily developing for a great battle, and under God's favor I trust for a decisive victory." He was disappointed that a planned offensive by General Joseph E. Johnston's army had not been launched against McClellan.
Military - Union
Mississippi
There is a skirmish in front of Corinth.
Western Virginia
There is a skirmish at Charlestown.
Virginia
Confederate supplies in Ashland are destroyed, as is a bridge on the Virginia Central Railroad on the Santa Ana.
________________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Friday, May 27, 2011
27 May 1862: Tuesday
Confederates - Military
Virginia
As General Banks troops cross the Potomac at Williamsport, Jackson begins to push northward again, toward Harper's Ferry. He skirmishes at Loudon Heights.
Near Richmond there is fighting at Slash Church, White Oaks, and Hanover Court House.
Mississippi
Minor fighting continues near Corinth, with skirmishing on Bridge Creek.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Monegan Springs near Osceola
Arkansas
There is a skirmish at Big Indian Creek in White County.
________________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Virginia
As General Banks troops cross the Potomac at Williamsport, Jackson begins to push northward again, toward Harper's Ferry. He skirmishes at Loudon Heights.
Near Richmond there is fighting at Slash Church, White Oaks, and Hanover Court House.
Mississippi
Minor fighting continues near Corinth, with skirmishing on Bridge Creek.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Monegan Springs near Osceola
Arkansas
There is a skirmish at Big Indian Creek in White County.
________________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Thursday, May 26, 2011
26 May 1862: Monday
Government - Union
President Lincoln wires to McClellan that Banks is apparently safe at Williamsport on the Potomac and asks: "What impression have you, as to entrenchments-works-for you to contend with in front of Richmond? Can you get near enough to throw shells into the city?
Union - Military
Virginia
As Stonewall Jackson's men occupy Winchester, and prepare to continue north to Harper's Ferry, General Banks keeps pulling back what's left of his troops. Fremont and McDowell's troops march to intercept Jackson's line of retreat.
McClellan remains inactive along the Chickahominy near Richmond, even as Lincoln's communicays hint rather broadly that he should be doing something.
Western Virginia
There is a skirmish near Franklin.
Arkansas
There is a skirmish at Calico Rock.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Crow's Station near Licking
Mississippi
There is a skirmish at Grand Gulf.
Military - Confederacy
The Confederates extend their Trans-Mississippi Department to include Arkansas, the Indian Territory, Missouri, west Louisiana and Texas.
________________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln wires to McClellan that Banks is apparently safe at Williamsport on the Potomac and asks: "What impression have you, as to entrenchments-works-for you to contend with in front of Richmond? Can you get near enough to throw shells into the city?
Union - Military
Virginia
As Stonewall Jackson's men occupy Winchester, and prepare to continue north to Harper's Ferry, General Banks keeps pulling back what's left of his troops. Fremont and McDowell's troops march to intercept Jackson's line of retreat.
McClellan remains inactive along the Chickahominy near Richmond, even as Lincoln's communicays hint rather broadly that he should be doing something.
Western Virginia
There is a skirmish near Franklin.
Arkansas
There is a skirmish at Calico Rock.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Crow's Station near Licking
Mississippi
There is a skirmish at Grand Gulf.
Military - Confederacy
The Confederates extend their Trans-Mississippi Department to include Arkansas, the Indian Territory, Missouri, west Louisiana and Texas.
________________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
25 May 1862: Sunday (Battle of Winchester, VA)
Union - government
From Washington, President Lincoln wire to McClellan: I think the time is near when you must either attack Richmond or give up the job and come to the defense of Washington." He informs McClellan of what is happening in the Shenandoah.
The Administration called for all troops available anywhere and declared that all railroads were to be used when needed for transport of troops and munitions. Secretary of War Stanton called upon the states for help in furnishing men.
Confederacy - Military
Virginia
Stonewall Jackson overcomes his religious scruples and orders his forces to attack on a Sunday. They attack the retreating troops of Banks, at Winchester. For a time the Union troops successfully hold them off, but eventually they break and begin to pull back toward Harper's Ferry. Jackson doesn't pursue them.
Confederates: 16,000 men and 400 casualties-68 killed, 329 wounded, 3 missing
Union: 8,000 men. 2019 casualties: 62 killed, 243 wounded, 1714 missing or captured.
A substantial amount of supplies, munitions and wagons fall into Confederate hands.
The Confederates have now cleared all but a small portion of the Shenandoah Valley, to the consternation of Washington and the North.
However, Union forces are on the way - Fremont from the west and McDowell from the east. Their intent is to get to Jackson's rear and cut off his retreat.
Union - Military
Down near Richmond, there is a Union expedition from Bottom's Bridge on the Chickahominy to James River.
South Carolina
There is fighting between James and Dixon's islands.
Missouri
Operations begin, and will last for several days, around Miami and Waverly.
________________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
From Washington, President Lincoln wire to McClellan: I think the time is near when you must either attack Richmond or give up the job and come to the defense of Washington." He informs McClellan of what is happening in the Shenandoah.
The Administration called for all troops available anywhere and declared that all railroads were to be used when needed for transport of troops and munitions. Secretary of War Stanton called upon the states for help in furnishing men.
Confederacy - Military
Virginia
Stonewall Jackson overcomes his religious scruples and orders his forces to attack on a Sunday. They attack the retreating troops of Banks, at Winchester. For a time the Union troops successfully hold them off, but eventually they break and begin to pull back toward Harper's Ferry. Jackson doesn't pursue them.
Confederates: 16,000 men and 400 casualties-68 killed, 329 wounded, 3 missing
Union: 8,000 men. 2019 casualties: 62 killed, 243 wounded, 1714 missing or captured.
A substantial amount of supplies, munitions and wagons fall into Confederate hands.
The Confederates have now cleared all but a small portion of the Shenandoah Valley, to the consternation of Washington and the North.
However, Union forces are on the way - Fremont from the west and McDowell from the east. Their intent is to get to Jackson's rear and cut off his retreat.
Union - Military
Down near Richmond, there is a Union expedition from Bottom's Bridge on the Chickahominy to James River.
South Carolina
There is fighting between James and Dixon's islands.
Missouri
Operations begin, and will last for several days, around Miami and Waverly.
________________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
24 May 1862: Saturday
Union - Government
Washington, DC
Early in the morning, President Lincoln confers with Edwin Stanton and others and issues new orders. Fremont in western Virginia is instructed to head for the Shenandoah to cut off Jackson from retreat.
McDowell, near Fredericksburg, is instructed to lay aside the movement on Richmond and send 20,000 men toward the Shenandoah: "Your object will be to capture the forces of Jackson & Ewell."
In two messages to McClellan, Lincoln explains that the defeat in the valley was due to thinning the line to get troops for elsewhere. "In consequence of GE. Banks critical position I have been compelled to suspend Gen. McDowell's movement to join you." [This diversion of troops gives McClellan another excuse to blame the Administration for his delays and failures on the Peninsula, and to say he was undermined, despite having more than 100,000 troops.]
Confederacy - Military
Virginia
There is significant skirmishing at Berryville, Strasburg, Middletown and elsewhere in the Shenandoah. Stonewall Jackson and his troops attempt to cut off Banks' retreat route to Winchester on the Valley Pike. Most of the Union soldiers get away in time, however, and Jackson's troops move on Winchester itself.
Union - Military
Meanwhile, in Winchester, Banks orders his wagon trains north toward Williamsport on the Potomac.
There is fighting at New Bridge, Seven Pines, Mechanicsville and Hanover Court House, (as part of the main campaign against Richmond.)
Mississippi
Skirmishing takes place near Corinth.
Missouri
There is a skirmish near Spring Hill.
____________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Washington, DC
Early in the morning, President Lincoln confers with Edwin Stanton and others and issues new orders. Fremont in western Virginia is instructed to head for the Shenandoah to cut off Jackson from retreat.
McDowell, near Fredericksburg, is instructed to lay aside the movement on Richmond and send 20,000 men toward the Shenandoah: "Your object will be to capture the forces of Jackson & Ewell."
In two messages to McClellan, Lincoln explains that the defeat in the valley was due to thinning the line to get troops for elsewhere. "In consequence of GE. Banks critical position I have been compelled to suspend Gen. McDowell's movement to join you." [This diversion of troops gives McClellan another excuse to blame the Administration for his delays and failures on the Peninsula, and to say he was undermined, despite having more than 100,000 troops.]
Confederacy - Military
Virginia
There is significant skirmishing at Berryville, Strasburg, Middletown and elsewhere in the Shenandoah. Stonewall Jackson and his troops attempt to cut off Banks' retreat route to Winchester on the Valley Pike. Most of the Union soldiers get away in time, however, and Jackson's troops move on Winchester itself.
Union - Military
Meanwhile, in Winchester, Banks orders his wagon trains north toward Williamsport on the Potomac.
There is fighting at New Bridge, Seven Pines, Mechanicsville and Hanover Court House, (as part of the main campaign against Richmond.)
Mississippi
Skirmishing takes place near Corinth.
Missouri
There is a skirmish near Spring Hill.
____________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Monday, May 23, 2011
23 May 1862: Friday (Engagement at Front Royal, VA)
Government - Union
President Lincoln talks with General McDowell at Aquia Creek, Virginia in the Fredericksburg area, before returning to Washington.
Military - Confederates
Virginia
Stonewall Jackson and his troops enter Front Royal in the Shenandoah Valley, easily defeating the Union forces of about 800 men under Colonel John R. Kinley, and capturing many of them. The seizure of Front Royal meant that Jackson, with his 16,000 troops, had a splendid opportunity to cut off Banks' main Union force, which was pulling north on the valley pike to the northwest of Front Royal.
The goal was to prevent Banks from reaching Winchester and if possible to destroy him.
Military - Union
Virginia
There is a Union reconnaissance from Bottom's Bridge to Turkey Island Creek Bridge and toward Richmond.
There is skirmishing at Mechanicsville, Hogan's, and Buckton Station.
Western Virginia
There is fighting at Lewisburg.
New Mexico Territory
There is fighting near Fort Craig.
______________
BibliographyThe Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln talks with General McDowell at Aquia Creek, Virginia in the Fredericksburg area, before returning to Washington.
Military - Confederates
Virginia
Stonewall Jackson and his troops enter Front Royal in the Shenandoah Valley, easily defeating the Union forces of about 800 men under Colonel John R. Kinley, and capturing many of them. The seizure of Front Royal meant that Jackson, with his 16,000 troops, had a splendid opportunity to cut off Banks' main Union force, which was pulling north on the valley pike to the northwest of Front Royal.
The goal was to prevent Banks from reaching Winchester and if possible to destroy him.
Military - Union
Virginia
There is a Union reconnaissance from Bottom's Bridge to Turkey Island Creek Bridge and toward Richmond.
There is skirmishing at Mechanicsville, Hogan's, and Buckton Station.
Western Virginia
There is fighting at Lewisburg.
New Mexico Territory
There is fighting near Fort Craig.
______________
BibliographyThe Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Sunday, May 22, 2011
22 May, 1862: Friday
Government - Union
President Lincoln talks with General McDowell at Aquia Creek, Virginia and in the Fredericksburg area before returning to Washington.
Military - Confederates
Virginia
Stonewall Jackson and his troops enter Front Royal in the Shenandoah Valley, easily defeating the Union forces of about eight hundred men under Colonel John R. Kenley, and capturing many of them.
Jackson's main task was to prevent General Banks from reaching Winchester, and if possible to destroy him.
Jackson's rapid movement and victory at Front Royal caused fear in Washington of a major northward move by the Confederates, possibly even toward the capital. This diversion took attention from McClellan's efforts on the Peninsula near Richmond.
________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln talks with General McDowell at Aquia Creek, Virginia and in the Fredericksburg area before returning to Washington.
Military - Confederates
Virginia
Stonewall Jackson and his troops enter Front Royal in the Shenandoah Valley, easily defeating the Union forces of about eight hundred men under Colonel John R. Kenley, and capturing many of them.
Jackson's main task was to prevent General Banks from reaching Winchester, and if possible to destroy him.
Jackson's rapid movement and victory at Front Royal caused fear in Washington of a major northward move by the Confederates, possibly even toward the capital. This diversion took attention from McClellan's efforts on the Peninsula near Richmond.
________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Saturday, May 21, 2011
21 May, 1862: Wednesday
Union - Government
President Lincoln replies to General McClellan's request for help from McDowell's Corps, which was moving overland to Richmond, saying, "You will have just such control of General McDowell and his force as you therein indicate. McDowell can reach you by land sooner than he could get aboard of boats if the boats were ready at Fredericksburg- unless his March shall be resisted, in which case, the force resisting him, will certainly not be confronting you at Richmond."
Confederates - Military
Stonewall Jackson's troops march north in the Luray Valley of Virginia, heading toward Front Royal.
General Banks and his Union troops are in the other branch of the Shenandoah, beyond Massanutten, but they also are marching north.
Mississippi
There is a skirmish near Corinth, at Widow Serratt's and Phillip's Creek.
Arkansas
There is a skirmish at Village Creek.
South Carolina
There is a skirmish at Battery Island
New Mexico Territory
There is a skirmish at Paraje.
.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln replies to General McClellan's request for help from McDowell's Corps, which was moving overland to Richmond, saying, "You will have just such control of General McDowell and his force as you therein indicate. McDowell can reach you by land sooner than he could get aboard of boats if the boats were ready at Fredericksburg- unless his March shall be resisted, in which case, the force resisting him, will certainly not be confronting you at Richmond."
Confederates - Military
Stonewall Jackson's troops march north in the Luray Valley of Virginia, heading toward Front Royal.
General Banks and his Union troops are in the other branch of the Shenandoah, beyond Massanutten, but they also are marching north.
Mississippi
There is a skirmish near Corinth, at Widow Serratt's and Phillip's Creek.
Arkansas
There is a skirmish at Village Creek.
South Carolina
There is a skirmish at Battery Island
New Mexico Territory
There is a skirmish at Paraje.
.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Friday, May 20, 2011
Civil War Times, June 2011
Features:
Bread or Blood: Desperate Southern women turned to violence to feed their families, by Stephanie McCurry
Immortals: The best and worst GEttysburg monuments, by Kom O'Connell
Landscape of REmembrance: Manassas is an oasis amid suburban sprawl-with an enduring Confederate bent, by Philip Kennicott
Bonus map: David Fuller traces the first Manassas campaign
Hell in the Harbor: The shelling sounded like an "army of devils" in and around Fort Sumter for hours on end, by Adam Goodheart
Where Is Meade?: George Gordon Meade is the war's Rodney Dangerfield, by Tom Huntington
Departments
Mail Call
Civil WAr Today
Blue & Gray
Collateral Damage
Field Guide
Interview: Eric A Campbell on Cedar Creek Battlefield
Letter from Civil War Times
Reviews
Resources
Characters
20 May, 1862: Tuesday
Government - Union
President Lincoln signs into law the Homestead Act, which grants a free plot of 160 acres to actual settlers on the land in the public domain who would occupy it and improve it for five years.
Government - Confederacy
President Davis is disturbed by the impression of governors and others in Arkansas and elsewhere in the Trans-Mississippi that their cause is being neglected.
Military - Confederacy
Virginia
Stomewall Jackson and his troops move rapidly in the Shenandoah Valley. Reaching New Market, he suddenly halts his northweard march and crosses Massanutten Mountain to Luray [home of the famous Luray CAvern] in the eastern or Luray Valley of the Shenandoah. He then turns northward again, along the south fork of the Shenandoah River.
Here he is joined by Richard Ewell and his troops, giving Jackson 16,000 men and 48 guns.
Their intent is to get around Bank's Union troops and perhaps trap them in the main or western portion of the Shenandoah Valley.
Along the Chickahominy, there are minor operations near Bottom's Ridge.
There is raiding on the Virginina Central Railroad at Jackson's River Depot.
South Carolina
Cole's Island, just off the coast of South Carolina, is bombarded by Union troops.
Florida
There is skirmishing at Crooked River.
Tennessee
There is skirmishing at Elk River
New Mexico Territory
Tucson is occupied by Union troops after a small body of Confederates retreats.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln signs into law the Homestead Act, which grants a free plot of 160 acres to actual settlers on the land in the public domain who would occupy it and improve it for five years.
Government - Confederacy
President Davis is disturbed by the impression of governors and others in Arkansas and elsewhere in the Trans-Mississippi that their cause is being neglected.
Military - Confederacy
Virginia
Stomewall Jackson and his troops move rapidly in the Shenandoah Valley. Reaching New Market, he suddenly halts his northweard march and crosses Massanutten Mountain to Luray [home of the famous Luray CAvern] in the eastern or Luray Valley of the Shenandoah. He then turns northward again, along the south fork of the Shenandoah River.
Here he is joined by Richard Ewell and his troops, giving Jackson 16,000 men and 48 guns.
Their intent is to get around Bank's Union troops and perhaps trap them in the main or western portion of the Shenandoah Valley.
Along the Chickahominy, there are minor operations near Bottom's Ridge.
There is raiding on the Virginina Central Railroad at Jackson's River Depot.
South Carolina
Cole's Island, just off the coast of South Carolina, is bombarded by Union troops.
Florida
There is skirmishing at Crooked River.
Tennessee
There is skirmishing at Elk River
New Mexico Territory
Tucson is occupied by Union troops after a small body of Confederates retreats.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Thursday, May 19, 2011
19 May, 1862: Monday
Confederacy - Government
A worried President Davis writes to his wife of the threat to Richmond. "We are uncertain of everything except that a battle must be near at hand."
Union - Government
President Lincoln disavows the emancipation proclamation of Major General David Hunter issued in the Department of the South, and reserved for the President the power, if it became necessary, to issue such a proclamation.
Lincoln also appealed to the states for adoption ofhis policy of gradual emancipation.
Union - Military
Virginia
There is fighting at Gaines' Mill.
There is fighting at City Point.
Mississippi
There is fighting near Farmington, near Corinth.
Arkansas
There is a skirmish at Searcy Landing.
A Union expedition to Fort Pillow begins, and will last until May 23.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
A worried President Davis writes to his wife of the threat to Richmond. "We are uncertain of everything except that a battle must be near at hand."
Union - Government
President Lincoln disavows the emancipation proclamation of Major General David Hunter issued in the Department of the South, and reserved for the President the power, if it became necessary, to issue such a proclamation.
Lincoln also appealed to the states for adoption ofhis policy of gradual emancipation.
Union - Military
Virginia
There is fighting at Gaines' Mill.
There is fighting at City Point.
Mississippi
There is fighting near Farmington, near Corinth.
Arkansas
There is a skirmish at Searcy Landing.
A Union expedition to Fort Pillow begins, and will last until May 23.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
18 May 1862: Sunday
Confederacy - Military
Virginia
Stonewall Jackson's troops march northward from Mount Solon, as Union troops fall back in the western valley along the north fork of the Shenandoah.
There is a skirmish at Woodstock, in the valley.
Mississippi
On the Mississippi, Admiral Farragut's fleet arrives at Vicksburg to demand the surrender of the city. Confederate Brigadier General Martin Luther Smith refuses.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Virginia
Stonewall Jackson's troops march northward from Mount Solon, as Union troops fall back in the western valley along the north fork of the Shenandoah.
There is a skirmish at Woodstock, in the valley.
Mississippi
On the Mississippi, Admiral Farragut's fleet arrives at Vicksburg to demand the surrender of the city. Confederate Brigadier General Martin Luther Smith refuses.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Confederate General Martin Luther Smith
Martin Luther Smith (September 9, 1819 – July 29, 1866) was an American soldier and civil engineer, serving as a major general in the Confederate States Army. Smith was one of the few Northern-born generals to fight for the Confederacy, as he had served most of his early military career in the South with the United States Army's topographical engineers, marrying a native of Athens, Georgia. He planned and constructed the defenses of Vicksburg.
Early life
Smith was born in Danby, New York, where his father had settled after moving from Maine. In 1842, he graduated 16th in his West Point class of 56, which included twenty-two future Civil War generals including James Longstreet, D. H. Hill, and Abner Doubleday. His initial assignment was in Florida, where he surveyed the terrain and drew maps for army usage. In 1846, he married a Georgia woman and subsequently raised a family.
He served as an engineer during the Mexican-American War, and was brevetted for his performance in mapping the valley of Mexico City prior to Winfield Scott's assaults. He returned to Florida after the war. He was promoted from second lieutenant to first lieutenant in 1853. Three years later, he was elevated to captain. He resigned from the army on April 1, 1861, to side with the Confederacy. He was commissioned as a major of engineers.
Civil War
Early in the Civil War, Smith was appointed colonel of the 21st Louisiana. He served under General David Twiggs at New Orleans and commanded a brigade of infantry while helping plan the defenses of the city. On April 11, 1862, Smith was promoted to brigadier general and transferred back to the engineers. In May, he took charge of constructing the defenses of Vicksburg, Mississippi, as well as leading a division. After the town fell in July 1863, he was captured and was held as a prisoner of war for seven months.
He was exchanged in early 1864 and briefly was the head of the Engineer Corps for the entire Confederate Army from March until April, when he became the chief engineer for the Army of Northern Virginia. Later, he held the same position for the Army of Tennessee. As chief engineer of the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana at the end of the war, he prepared the defenses of Mobile, Alabama, under the command of P.G.T. Beauregard. He remained in Mobile until the city fell to Union forces, and then returned home to Athens, where he surrendered in May 1865.
Postbellum life
Smith moved to Savannah, Georgia, soon after the war ended and established a civil engineering company. He died less than a year later. At the time of his death, he was chief engineer of the railroad system that linked Selma, Alabama, with Dalton, Georgia (the Selma, Rome, and Dalton Railroad). He is buried in Oconee Hill Cemetery in Athens, Georgia.
A bust of General Smith stands at the Vicksburg National Military Park. It was sculpted in 1911 by Henry Hudson Kitson.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
17 May 1862: Saturday
Union - Government
President Lincoln confers with his Secretary of War regarding General McClellan's oft-repeated calls for reinforcements.
Confederacy - Government
President Davis writes to General Johnston giving various suggestions, but, like Lincoln, declines to direct military operations.
Union - Military
Virginia
General McDowell oon the Rappahannock is ordered to march upon Richmond in cooperation with McClellan's Army of the Potomac.
There is a small Union expedition up the Pamunkey as McClellan's army settles in before Richmond.
Mississippi
Near Corinth, there is skirmishing as General Halleck's army also mounts a siege of Corinth.
Arkansas
There is a skirmish at Little Red River.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln confers with his Secretary of War regarding General McClellan's oft-repeated calls for reinforcements.
Confederacy - Government
President Davis writes to General Johnston giving various suggestions, but, like Lincoln, declines to direct military operations.
Union - Military
Virginia
General McDowell oon the Rappahannock is ordered to march upon Richmond in cooperation with McClellan's Army of the Potomac.
There is a small Union expedition up the Pamunkey as McClellan's army settles in before Richmond.
Mississippi
Near Corinth, there is skirmishing as General Halleck's army also mounts a siege of Corinth.
Arkansas
There is a skirmish at Little Red River.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Monday, May 16, 2011
16 May 1862: Friday
Military Government - Union
Louisiana
In New Orleans, Major General Butler suspends publication of the New Orleans Bee. The Delta is taken over by Union authorities.
Virginia
General McClellan establishes his personal headquarters at White House, a family property of the Lees, on the Pamunkey River.
Government - Confederacy
President Davis writes to his wife of the defeat of the Union squadron at Drewry's Bluff, adding: "The panic here has subsided and with increasing confidence there has arisen a desire to see the city destroyed rather than surrendered. He added, "The great temporal object is to secure our independence and they who engage in strife for personal or party aggrandisement, deserve contemptuous forgetfulness."
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Louisiana
In New Orleans, Major General Butler suspends publication of the New Orleans Bee. The Delta is taken over by Union authorities.
Virginia
General McClellan establishes his personal headquarters at White House, a family property of the Lees, on the Pamunkey River.
Government - Confederacy
President Davis writes to his wife of the defeat of the Union squadron at Drewry's Bluff, adding: "The panic here has subsided and with increasing confidence there has arisen a desire to see the city destroyed rather than surrendered. He added, "The great temporal object is to secure our independence and they who engage in strife for personal or party aggrandisement, deserve contemptuous forgetfulness."
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Sunday, May 15, 2011
15 May, 1862: Thursday
Union - Government
In Washington, President Lincoln approves the congressional establishment of the Department of Agriculture as a branch of the federal government (although its secretary will not receive Cabinet Status until 1889.
Union Military Government
In New Orleans, Louisiana, Major Gen Benjamin Butler issues Order #28: "As the officers and soldiers of the United States have been subject to repeated insults from the women (calling themselves ladies) of New Orleans in return for the most scrupulous non-interference and courtesy on our part, it is ordered that hereafter when any female shall by word, gesture or movement insult or show contempt for any officer or soldier of the United States she shall be regarded and held liable to be treated as a woman of the town plying her avocation."
Union - Military:Naval
Virginia
Now that the menace of the CSS Virginia (aka Merrimack) has been eliminated, five Union vessels, including the ironclad Monitor, move up the James River toward Richmond.
However, they are met at Drewry's Bluff, on the south side of the James about 8 miles below Richmond, and the guns of Fort DArling shell the ships, with the naval vessels returning fire. The Union vessels were not able to elevate their guns, and the Monitor drew too much water in the narrow, shallow river to get fully into action. The Galena was struck 18 times and badly damaged.
After four hours the Union ship withdraw, and conclude that a water-route assault on Richmond is not yet pratical.
Military - Confederate
Virginia
Joseph E. Johnston's army pulls back across the Chickahominy and at some points is within three miles of Ricchmond.
There is fighting at Gaines' Cross Roads and Linden.
Stonewall Jackson's troops reach the Shenandoah Valley once more after their excursion to McDowell and Franklin.
Western Virginia
There is fighting at Ravenswood, Wolf Creek and Princeton.
Mississippi
There is fighting near Corinth.
Texas
There is fighting near Galveston.
Missouri
There is a small skirmish on the Liitle Blue River, near Independence.
North Carolina
There is skirmishing near Trenton Bridge at Young's Cross Roads and near Pollocksville.
Foreign Countries - England
At Liverpool, a vessel known only as 290 is launched at the Laird shipyards. It is not a well-kept secret, however, that this ship is going to be sold to the Confederacy to become a raider (and will become the CSS Alabama.)
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
In Washington, President Lincoln approves the congressional establishment of the Department of Agriculture as a branch of the federal government (although its secretary will not receive Cabinet Status until 1889.
Union Military Government
In New Orleans, Louisiana, Major Gen Benjamin Butler issues Order #28: "As the officers and soldiers of the United States have been subject to repeated insults from the women (calling themselves ladies) of New Orleans in return for the most scrupulous non-interference and courtesy on our part, it is ordered that hereafter when any female shall by word, gesture or movement insult or show contempt for any officer or soldier of the United States she shall be regarded and held liable to be treated as a woman of the town plying her avocation."
Union - Military:Naval
Virginia
Now that the menace of the CSS Virginia (aka Merrimack) has been eliminated, five Union vessels, including the ironclad Monitor, move up the James River toward Richmond.
However, they are met at Drewry's Bluff, on the south side of the James about 8 miles below Richmond, and the guns of Fort DArling shell the ships, with the naval vessels returning fire. The Union vessels were not able to elevate their guns, and the Monitor drew too much water in the narrow, shallow river to get fully into action. The Galena was struck 18 times and badly damaged.
After four hours the Union ship withdraw, and conclude that a water-route assault on Richmond is not yet pratical.
Military - Confederate
Virginia
Joseph E. Johnston's army pulls back across the Chickahominy and at some points is within three miles of Ricchmond.
There is fighting at Gaines' Cross Roads and Linden.
Stonewall Jackson's troops reach the Shenandoah Valley once more after their excursion to McDowell and Franklin.
Western Virginia
There is fighting at Ravenswood, Wolf Creek and Princeton.
Mississippi
There is fighting near Corinth.
Texas
There is fighting near Galveston.
Missouri
There is a small skirmish on the Liitle Blue River, near Independence.
North Carolina
There is skirmishing near Trenton Bridge at Young's Cross Roads and near Pollocksville.
Foreign Countries - England
At Liverpool, a vessel known only as 290 is launched at the Laird shipyards. It is not a well-kept secret, however, that this ship is going to be sold to the Confederacy to become a raider (and will become the CSS Alabama.)
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Saturday, May 14, 2011
14 May, 1862: Wednesday
Union - Military
Mississippi
Skirmishing continues around Corinth.
There are also skirmishes on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, and on the Mobile and Ohio.
Arkansas
There is a skirmish at Cotton Plant.
Tennessee
There is a skirmish at Fayetteville.
Virginia
McClellan's armmy skirmishes at Gaines' Cross Roads.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Mississippi
Skirmishing continues around Corinth.
There are also skirmishes on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, and on the Mobile and Ohio.
Arkansas
There is a skirmish at Cotton Plant.
Tennessee
There is a skirmish at Fayetteville.
Virginia
McClellan's armmy skirmishes at Gaines' Cross Roads.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Friday, May 13, 2011
13 May 1862: Tuesday
Confederates - Government
President Davis writes to his wife, who had been sent out of threatened Richmond: "If the withdrawal from the Peninsula and Norfolk had been done with due preparation and a desirable deliberation, I should be more sanguine of a successful defense of this city...I know not what to expect when so many failures are to be remeberd, yet will try to make a successful resistance..."
Confederate - Military
Virginia
In the shenandoah, Stonewall Jackson and his troops return from Franklin (where they had pursued the retreating Union forces since the Battle of McDowell on May 8), heading toward the main valley to face Union GEneral Banks ' reduced force at Strasburg.
On the Union side, General Fremont reaches Franklin with his Union troops.
There is a skirmish at Baltimore Crossroads, near New Kent Court House.
There is a skirmish on the Rappahannock River.
South Carolina
Martial law is declared.
In Charleston Harbor, a crew of Negroes take over the steamer Planter and surrender it to the blockaders.
Union - Military
Alabama
Union forces under GEneral Mitchel occupy Rogersville and skirmish at Lab's Ferry.
Mississippi
Near Corinth, Union troops raid the Memphis and Charleston Railroad.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Davis writes to his wife, who had been sent out of threatened Richmond: "If the withdrawal from the Peninsula and Norfolk had been done with due preparation and a desirable deliberation, I should be more sanguine of a successful defense of this city...I know not what to expect when so many failures are to be remeberd, yet will try to make a successful resistance..."
Confederate - Military
Virginia
In the shenandoah, Stonewall Jackson and his troops return from Franklin (where they had pursued the retreating Union forces since the Battle of McDowell on May 8), heading toward the main valley to face Union GEneral Banks ' reduced force at Strasburg.
On the Union side, General Fremont reaches Franklin with his Union troops.
There is a skirmish at Baltimore Crossroads, near New Kent Court House.
There is a skirmish on the Rappahannock River.
South Carolina
Martial law is declared.
In Charleston Harbor, a crew of Negroes take over the steamer Planter and surrender it to the blockaders.
Union - Military
Alabama
Union forces under GEneral Mitchel occupy Rogersville and skirmish at Lab's Ferry.
Mississippi
Near Corinth, Union troops raid the Memphis and Charleston Railroad.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Thursday, May 12, 2011
12 May 1862: Monday
Union - Government
President Lincoln proclaims the opening to commerce of the ports of Beaufort, North Carolina, Port Royal, South Carolina, and New Orleans.
Tennessee
There is a convention of pro-Unionists at Nashville, as the military government takes hold.
Union - Military
Mississippi
Farragut's Union flotilla from New Orleans briefly occupies Natchez, Mississippi, receiving the surrender of the city from the mayor.
There is a skirmish at Farmington.
Western Virginia
There is a skirmish at Lewisburg.
Virginia
There is a skirmish at Monterey.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln proclaims the opening to commerce of the ports of Beaufort, North Carolina, Port Royal, South Carolina, and New Orleans.
Tennessee
There is a convention of pro-Unionists at Nashville, as the military government takes hold.
Union - Military
Mississippi
Farragut's Union flotilla from New Orleans briefly occupies Natchez, Mississippi, receiving the surrender of the city from the mayor.
There is a skirmish at Farmington.
Western Virginia
There is a skirmish at Lewisburg.
Virginia
There is a skirmish at Monterey.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
11 May, 1862: Sunday
Union - government
President Lincoln returns to Washington. He is informed of the scuttling of the Virginia on the way. He wires to General Halleck, "Norfolk is in our possession, Merrimac [the Virginia] is blown up, & Monitor & other boats going up James River to Richmond. Be very sure to sustain no reversal in your departmernt."
Union - military
Mississippi
Halleck "was being quite sure, as his advance upon Corinth had slowed so drastically that it was hardly distuinguishable from a seige."
Tennessee
There is a skirmish at Pulaski.
Kentucky
There is a skirmish at Cave City
Western Virginia
There is a skirmish at Princeton
Virginia
There is a skirmish on the Bowling Green Road, near Fredericksburg.
Confederates - Military
The CSS Virginia, trapped in Virginia as it was unfit for ocean service, is sccuttled off Norfolk.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln returns to Washington. He is informed of the scuttling of the Virginia on the way. He wires to General Halleck, "Norfolk is in our possession, Merrimac [the Virginia] is blown up, & Monitor & other boats going up James River to Richmond. Be very sure to sustain no reversal in your departmernt."
Union - military
Mississippi
Halleck "was being quite sure, as his advance upon Corinth had slowed so drastically that it was hardly distuinguishable from a seige."
Tennessee
There is a skirmish at Pulaski.
Kentucky
There is a skirmish at Cave City
Western Virginia
There is a skirmish at Princeton
Virginia
There is a skirmish on the Bowling Green Road, near Fredericksburg.
Confederates - Military
The CSS Virginia, trapped in Virginia as it was unfit for ocean service, is sccuttled off Norfolk.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Union Captain Charles H. Davis
From Wikipedia
Charles Henry Davis (January 16, 1807 – February 18, 1877) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, serving primarily during the American Civil War, and with the United States Coast Survey.
Early life and career
Davis was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was commissioned as a Midshipman on August 12, 1823. Between 1827 and 1828, he served on board the frigate United States, in the Pacific. In 1829, he was promoted to Passed Midshipman. From 1830 to 1833, he served on the sloop Ontario. In 1834, he was promoted to Lieutenant and assigned to the Vincennes. In 1840 to 1841, he served on board the ship Independence.
From 1846 to 1849, he worked in the United States Coast Survey on board the Nantucket, where he discovered a previously unknown shoal that had caused shipwrecks off the coast of New York. During his service to the Survey, he was also responsible for researching tides and currents and acted as an inspector on a number of naval shipyards.
In 1854, he was promoted to Commander and given the command of the St. Mary's. In 1859, while commanding the St. Mary's, Davis was ordered to go to Baker Island to obtain samples of guano, becoming perhaps the first American to set foot there since it was annexed by the United States in 1857. The guano was necessary as fertilizer. Commodore William Mervine had previously been sent, but he did not land and believed the island to be inaccessible. (From evidence that was later found on the island, it had been visited prior to 1857 by whalers.)
Civil War service
In the American Civil War, Davis was appointed to Blockade Strategy Board in June 1861. On 15 November 1861, he was promoted to Captain. He was made Acting Flag Officer, in command of the Western Gunboat Flotilla. A day after he took command, the flotilla fought a short battle with Confederate ships on the Mississippi River at Plum Point Bend on May 10, 1862.
Caught unready for battle, two of the Union ships were badly damaged and had to be run into shoal water to keep from sinking. The Confederate vessels escaped with only minor damage. On June 6, his ships fought in the Battle of Memphis, which resulted in the sinking or capture of seven of the eight Confederate ships, compared with damage to only one of the Union vessels.
In July, he cooperated with Flag Officer David G. Farragut in an attack on Vicksburg, Mississippi, but they were forced to withdraw. In August, he proceeded up the Yazoo River and successfully seized Confederate supplies and munitions there. After this excursion, he was made Chief of the Bureau of Navigation and returned to Washington, D.C..
On February 7, 1863, he was promoted to Rear Admiral.
Post-war service
From 1865 to 1867, he was the Superintendent of the United States Naval Observatory. In 1867, he was given command of the South Atlantic Squadron and was given the Guerriere as his flagship. In 1869, he returned home and served both on the Lighthouse Board as well as in the Naval Observatory.
Davis died in Washington, D.C., and is buried in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Personal life
He married Harriette Blake Mills, the daughter of U.S. Senator Elijah Hunt Mills. One of their children, Anna Cabot Mills Davis, married U.S. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge.
His son, Commander Charles H. Davis, Jr., served as Chief Intelligence Officer of the Office of Naval Intelligence from September 1889 to August 1892.
Namesake
Several ships of the United States Navy are also named in his honor: the torpedo boat USS Davis (TB-12) and the destroyers USS Davis (DD-65) and USS Davis (DD-395).
A species of sea anemone native to the coasts of New England and Nova Scotia, the Rhodactis davisii, is named for Davis.
10 May, 1862: Saturday
Confederates - Government
President Davis writes GEneral Johnston on the Peninsula: I have been much relieved by the successes which you have gained, and I hope for you the brilliant result which the drooping cause of our country now so imperatively claims..." But he was also concerned about the enemy advance on the Fredericksburg route toward Richmond.
Union - Military
Tennessee
Union mortar boats appear on the Mississippi just north of Fort Pillow, Tennessee. The ill-disciplined, makeshift Confederate River Defense Fleet, under the command of Captain James E. Montgomery, attacked the mortars and the strong Union ironclad flotilla of seven boats under Captain Charles H. Davis.
The unarmored Southern flotilla drove at the ironclads,. They managed to ram and sink the ironclads Cincinnatti and Mound City, in shoal water ( (they were later raised.) Four of the eight Confederate boats were badly disabled and rendered helpless by the superior firepower of the Union ships. Montgomery withdrew what remained.
The Battle of Plum Run Bend, or Plum Point, is nearly forgotten in history, but it was one of the few "fleet" actions of the war, "and on a river at that."
Virginia
President Lincoln observes as Union troops occupy Norfolk and Portsmouth.
Florida
Union troops occupy Pensacola.
Mississippi
There is fighting near Corinth.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Bloomfield.
Alabama
There is a skirmish at Lamb's Ferry.
Western Virginia
There is a skirmish at Giles Court House.
Louisiana
In New Orleans, General Butler seizes $800,000 in gold from the Netherlands consulate.
_______________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Davis writes GEneral Johnston on the Peninsula: I have been much relieved by the successes which you have gained, and I hope for you the brilliant result which the drooping cause of our country now so imperatively claims..." But he was also concerned about the enemy advance on the Fredericksburg route toward Richmond.
Union - Military
Tennessee
Union mortar boats appear on the Mississippi just north of Fort Pillow, Tennessee. The ill-disciplined, makeshift Confederate River Defense Fleet, under the command of Captain James E. Montgomery, attacked the mortars and the strong Union ironclad flotilla of seven boats under Captain Charles H. Davis.
The unarmored Southern flotilla drove at the ironclads,. They managed to ram and sink the ironclads Cincinnatti and Mound City, in shoal water ( (they were later raised.) Four of the eight Confederate boats were badly disabled and rendered helpless by the superior firepower of the Union ships. Montgomery withdrew what remained.
The Battle of Plum Run Bend, or Plum Point, is nearly forgotten in history, but it was one of the few "fleet" actions of the war, "and on a river at that."
Virginia
President Lincoln observes as Union troops occupy Norfolk and Portsmouth.
Florida
Union troops occupy Pensacola.
Mississippi
There is fighting near Corinth.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Bloomfield.
Alabama
There is a skirmish at Lamb's Ferry.
Western Virginia
There is a skirmish at Giles Court House.
Louisiana
In New Orleans, General Butler seizes $800,000 in gold from the Netherlands consulate.
_______________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Monday, May 9, 2011
Union General David Hunter
From Wikipedia
David Hunter (July 21, 1802 – February 2, 1886) was a Union general in the American Civil War. He achieved fame by his unauthorized 1862 order (immediately rescinded) emancipating slaves in three Southern states and as the president of the military commission trying the conspirators involved with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
Early years
Hunter was born in Troy, New York, or Princeton, New Jersey. He was the cousin of writer-illustrator David Hunter Strother (who would also serve as a Union Army general) and his maternal grandfather was Richard Stockton, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. He graduated from the United States Military Academy, in 1822, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 5th U.S. Infantry Regiment. Records of his military service prior to the Civil War contain significant gaps.
From 1828 to 1831, he was stationed on the northwest frontier, at Fort Dearborn (Chicago, Illinois), where he met and married Maria Kinzie, the daughter of the city's first permanent white resident, John Kinzie. He served in the infantry for 11 years, and was appointed captain of the 1st U.S. Dragoons in 1833. He resigned from the Army in July 1836 and moved to Illinois, where he worked as a real estate agent or speculator. He rejoined the Army in November 1841 as a paymaster and was promoted to major in March 1842. One source claims that he saw action in the Second Seminole War (1838–42) and the Mexican-American War (1846–48).
In 1860, Hunter was stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and he began a correspondence with Abraham Lincoln, focusing on Hunter's strong anti-slavery views. This relationship had long-lasting political effects, the first of which was an invitation to ride on Lincoln's inaugural train from Springfield, Illinois, to Washington, D.C., in February 1861. During this duty, Hunter suffered a dislocated collarbone at Buffalo, due to a crowd pressing the president-elect.
Civil War
Soon after the firing on Fort Sumter, Hunter was promoted to colonel of the 3rd U.S. Cavalry, but three days later (May 17, 1861), his political connection to the Lincoln administration bore fruit and he was appointed the fourth-ranking brigadier general of volunteers, commanding a brigade in the Department of Washington. He was wounded in the neck and cheek while commanding a division under Irvin McDowell at the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861.
In August, he was promoted to major general of volunteers. He served as a division commander in the Western Army under Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont, and was appointed as commander of the Western Department on November 2, 1861, after Frémont was relieved of command due to his attempt to emancipate the slaves of rebellious slave holders. That winter, Hunter was transferred to command the Department of Kansas and, in March 1862, was transferred again to command the Department of the South and the X Corps.
Hunter served as the president of the court-martial of Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter (convicted for his actions at the Second Battle of Bull Run, but for which he was exonerated by an 1878 Board of Officers), and on the committee that investigated the loss of Harpers Ferry in the Maryland Campaign. He also served briefly as the Assistant Inspector General of the Department of the Gulf.
General Order No. 11
Hunter was a strong advocate of arming blacks as soldiers for the Union cause. After the Battle of Fort Pulaski, he began enlisting black soldiers from the occupied districts of South Carolina and formed the first such Union Army regiment, the 1st South Carolina (African Descent), which he was initially ordered to disband, but eventually got approval from Congress for his action. A second controversy was caused by his issuing an order emancipating the slaves in Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida:
The three States of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina, comprising the military department of the south, having deliberately declared themselves no longer under the protection of the United States of America, and having taken up arms against the said United States, it becomes a military necessity to declare them under martial law. This was accordingly done on the 25th day of April, 1862. Slavery and martial law in a free country are altogether incompatible; the persons in these three States — Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina— heretofore held as slaves, are therefore declared forever free.
– Maj. Gen. David Hunter, Department of the South, General Order No. 11, May 9, 1862
This order was quickly rescinded by Abraham Lincoln, who was concerned about the political effects that it would have in the border states and who advocated instead a gradual emancipation with compensation for slave holders.
Despite Lincoln's concerns that immediate emancipation in the South might drive some slave holding Unionists to support the Confederacy, the national mood was quickly moving against slavery, especially within the Army. The president and Congress had already enacted several laws during the war to severely restrict the institution, beginning with the First Confiscation Act in August 1861 and culminating in Lincoln's own Emancipation Proclamation in September 1862, taking effect January 1, 1863. Concerned Confederate slave holders had worried since before the war started that its eventual goal would become the abolition of slavery and they reacted strongly to the Union effort to emancipate Confederate slaves. Confederate President Jefferson Davis issued orders to the Confederate States Army that Hunter was to be considered a "felon to be executed if captured".
Controversy over enlistment of ex-slaves
Undeterred by the president's reluctance and intent of extending American freedom to potential black soldiers, Hunter again flouted orders from the federal government and enlisted ex-slaves as soldiers in South Carolina without permission from the War Department. This action incensed border state slave holders, and Kentucky Representative Charles A. Wickliffe sponsored a resolution demanding a response.
Hunter quickly obliged with a sarcastic and defiant letter on 23 June 1862, in which he delivered a stern reminder to the Congress of his authority as a commanding officer in a war zone:
. . . I reply that no regiment of "Fugitive Slaves" has been, or is being organized in this Department. There is, however, a fine regiment of persons whose late masters are "Fugitive Rebels"--men who everywhere fly before the appearance of the National Flag, leaving their servants behind them to shift as best they can for themselves. . . . So far, indeed, are the loyal persons composing this regiment from seeking to avoid the presence of their late owners, that they are now, one and all, working with remarkable industry to place themselves in a position to go in full and effective pursuit of their fugacious and traitorous proprietors. . . . the instructions given to Brig. Gen. T. W. Sherman by the Hon. Simon Cameron, late Secretary of War, and turned over to me by succession for my guidance,--do distinctly authorize me to employ all loyal persons offering their services in defence of the Union and for the suppression of this Rebellion in any manner I might see fit. . . . In conclusion I would say it is my hope,--there appearing no possibility of other reinforcements owing to the exigencies of the Campaign in the Peninsula,--to have organized by the end of next Fall, and to be able to present to the Government, from forty eight to fifty thousand of these hardy and devoted soldiers."
While increasingly abolitionist Republicans in Congress were amused by the order, border state pro-slavery politicians such as Wickliffe and Robert Mallory were not. Mallory described the scene in Congress following the reading of the order as follows:
The scene was one of which I think this House should forever be ashamed . . . A spectator in the gallery would have supposed we were witnessing here the performance of a buffoon or of a low farce actor upon the stage . . . The reading was received with loud applause and boisterous manifestations of approbation by the Republican members of the House . . . It was a scene, in my opinion, disgraceful to the American Congress.
The War Department eventually forced Hunter to abandon this scheme, but the government nonetheless moved soon afterward to expand the enlistment of black men as military laborers. Congress approved the Second Confiscation Act in July 1862, which effectively freed all slaves working within the armed forces by forbidding Union soldiers to aid in the return of fugitive slaves.
The Valley
In the Valley Campaigns of 1864, Union Maj. Gen. Franz Sigel was ordered by Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant to move into the Shenandoah Valley, threaten railroads and the agricultural economy there, and distract Robert E. Lee while Grant fought him in eastern Virginia. Sigel did a poor job, losing immediately at the Battle of New Market to a force that included cadets from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI).
Hunter replaced Sigel in command of the Army of the Shenandoah and the Department of West Virginia on May 21, 1864. Grant ordered Hunter to employ scorched earth tactics similar to those that would be used later in that year during Sherman's March to the Sea; he was to move through Staunton to Charlottesville and Lynchburg, "living off the country" and destroying the Virginia Central Railroad "beyond possibility of repair for weeks." Lee was concerned enough about Hunter that he dispatched a corps under Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early to deal with him.
On June 5, Hunter defeated Maj. Gen. William E. "Grumble" Jones at the Battle of Piedmont. He moved up the Valley (southward) to Lexington, where he burned VMI on June 11 and his troops freely looted civilian property of all kinds along the way. Henrietta Lee, a relative of Robert E. Lee whose house was burned by the Union troops, wrote a letter addressing Hunter, promising that the "curses of thousands, the scorn of the manly and upright and the hatred of the true and honorable, will follow you and yours through all time, and brand your name infamy. INFAMY." Lexington was particularly hard hit.
In addition to the burning of VMI, Hunter's men plundered a number of private homes and the library of Washington College. Hunter ordered the home of former Governor John Letcher burned, reporting afterwards that it was in retaliation for its absent owner's having issued "a violent and inflammatory proclamation ... inciting the population of the country to rise and wage guerrilla warfare on my troops."
Hunter's reign of terror in the Valley soon came to an end; he was defeated by Early at the Battle of Lynchburg on June 19. His headquarters was at Sandusky House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and now operated as a house museum.
Grant brought in Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan, making him Hunter's subordinate, but making it clear that Sheridan would lead the troops in the field and that Hunter would be left with only administrative responsibilities. Hunter, realizing Grant's lack of confidence in him, requested to be relieved. He would serve in no more combat commands. He was promoted to brevet major general in the regular army on March 13, 1865, an honor that was relatively common for senior officers late in the war.
Later years
Hunter served in the honor guard at the funeral of Abraham Lincoln and accompanied his body back to Springfield. He was the president of the military commission trying the conspirators of Lincoln's assassination, from May 8 to July 15, 1865. He retired from the Army in July 1866. He was the author of Report of the Military Services of Gen. David Hunter, U.S.A., during the War of the Rebellion, published in 1873.
Hunter died in Washington, D.C., and is buried in the Princeton Cemetery, Princeton, New Jersey.
9 May 1862: Thursday
Union - Government
President Lincoln remains at Hampton Roads, and tours the area by boat, looking for a place for Union soldiers to land by Norfolk. He also tells GEneral McClellan, slowly moving up the Peninsula toward Richmond, that he did not want the corps structure of the army broken up. He urged greater cooperation between McClellan and his corps commanders.
Confederates - Military
Virginia
Confederate forces evacuated Norfolk and its valuable naval and army supply depot in face of the Union occupation of the Peninsula across Hampton Roads. Supplies and machinery are destroyed, although enough will be left intact to help the Union, when its troops march in the next day.
The loss of this major base was a severe blow to Confederate control of southside Virginia and northern Carolina.
Elsewhere in Virginia, Stonewall Jackson continues his ppuruit of the retreating Union forces from the battle of McDowell.
Florida
Confederate forces begin evacuating the Pensacola area after holding out in the city against Fort Pickens and the naval squadron since the start of the war. (By May 12, Union forces will occupy the town and the nearby region.)
Union - Military
Mississippi
In northeastern Mississippi, there issevere fighting between forward units of Halleck's forces advancing on Corinth, and Confederates at Farmington.
Tennessee
There is a skirmish near Bethel, Tennessee.
South Carolina
Major General David Hunter at Hilton Head Island, SC, orders emancipation of the slaves in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, and authorized the arming of all able-bodied Negroes in those states. This order, without the approval of Congress or President Lincoln, causes a lively ferment in the North and was disavowed by Lincoln on May 12. But it did indicate support for emancipation among some army officers, at least as a war measure.
_____
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln remains at Hampton Roads, and tours the area by boat, looking for a place for Union soldiers to land by Norfolk. He also tells GEneral McClellan, slowly moving up the Peninsula toward Richmond, that he did not want the corps structure of the army broken up. He urged greater cooperation between McClellan and his corps commanders.
Confederates - Military
Virginia
Confederate forces evacuated Norfolk and its valuable naval and army supply depot in face of the Union occupation of the Peninsula across Hampton Roads. Supplies and machinery are destroyed, although enough will be left intact to help the Union, when its troops march in the next day.
The loss of this major base was a severe blow to Confederate control of southside Virginia and northern Carolina.
Elsewhere in Virginia, Stonewall Jackson continues his ppuruit of the retreating Union forces from the battle of McDowell.
Florida
Confederate forces begin evacuating the Pensacola area after holding out in the city against Fort Pickens and the naval squadron since the start of the war. (By May 12, Union forces will occupy the town and the nearby region.)
Union - Military
Mississippi
In northeastern Mississippi, there issevere fighting between forward units of Halleck's forces advancing on Corinth, and Confederates at Farmington.
Tennessee
There is a skirmish near Bethel, Tennessee.
South Carolina
Major General David Hunter at Hilton Head Island, SC, orders emancipation of the slaves in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, and authorized the arming of all able-bodied Negroes in those states. This order, without the approval of Congress or President Lincoln, causes a lively ferment in the North and was disavowed by Lincoln on May 12. But it did indicate support for emancipation among some army officers, at least as a war measure.
_____
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Union general Robert Schenck
From Wikipedia:
Robert Cumming Schenck (October 4, 1809 – March 23, 1890) was a Union Army general in the American Civil War, and American diplomatic representative to Brazil and the United Kingdom. He was at both battles of Bull Run and took part in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862, and the Battle of Cross Keys. His eldest brother, James Findlay Schenck, was rear admiral of the United States Navy.
Early life and career
Schenck was born in Franklin, Warren County, Ohio to William Cortenius Schenck (1773–1821) and Elizabeth Rogers (1776–1853). William Schenck was descended from a prominent Dutch family and was born in Monmouth County, New Jersey. William Schenck was a land speculator and an important early settler of Ohio who had also been in the War of 1812 and, like his son, rose to the rank of general. He died when Robert was only twelve and the boy was put under the guardianship of General James Findlay.
In 1824, Robert Schenck entered Miami University as a sophomore and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree with honors in 1827, but remained in Oxford, Ohio, employing his time in reading, and as tutor of French and Latin, until 1830, when he received the degree of Master of Arts.
He began to study law under Thomas Corwin and was admitted to the bar in 1831. He moved to Dayton, Ohio and there rose to a commanding position in his profession. He was in partnership with Joseph Halsey Crane in the firm of Crane and Schenck for many years.
On August 21, 1834, Schenck was married to Miss Renelsche W. Smith (1811–1849) at Missequoque, Long Island, New York. Six children were born to the union, all girls. Three of them died in infancy. Three daughters survived him. His wife died of tuberculosis in 1849 in Dayton, Ohio.
His first foray into political life came in 1838 when he ran unsuccessfully for the State Legislature; he gained a term in 1841. In the Presidential campaign of 1840, he acquired the reputation of being one of the ablest speakers on the Whig side. He was elected to the United States Congress from his district in 1843, and re-elected in 1845, 1847 (when he was chairman of the Committee on Roads and Canals) and 1849. His first conspicuous work was to help repeal the gag rule that had long been used to prevent antislavery petitions being read on the floor of the house. He opposed the Mexican-American War as a war of aggression to further slavery.
He declined re-election in 1851, and, in March 1851, was appointed by President Millard Fillmore, Minister to Brazil and also accredited to Uruguay, Argentine Confederation, and Paraguay. He was directed by the Government to visit Buenos Aires, Montevideo, and Asunción, and make treaties with the republics around the La Plata and its tributaries. Several treaties were concluded with these governments by which the United States gained advantages never accorded to any European nation. The Democratic victory in 1852 caused the treaty of commerce with Uruguay to fail to be ratified by the United States Senate.
In 1854, Schenck returned to Ohio, and though sympathizing generally in the views of the Republican party, his personal antipathy to John C. Fremont was so strong, that he took no part in the election. He was building up a lucrative law practice, and was also President of the Fort Wayne Western Railroad Company. He became more in sympathy with the Republican party, and, in September 1859, Schenck delivered a speech in Dayton regarding the growing animosity within the country. In this speech, Schenck recommended that the Republican Party nominate Abraham Lincoln for the presidency.
This was, perhaps, the first public endorsement of Lincoln for the presidency. He supported Lincoln with great ardor at the Chicago Convention in 1860 and in the campaign that followed.
Civil War
When the attack was made on Fort Sumter, Schenck promptly tendered his services to the President. He later recalled his meeting with Lincoln:
"Lincoln sent for me and asked, 'Schenck what can you do to help me?' I said, 'Anything you want me to do. I am anxious to help you.' He asked, 'Can you fight?' I answered, 'I would try.' Lincoln said, 'Well, I want to make a general out of you.' I replied, 'I don't know about that Mr. President, you could appoint me as general but I might not prove to be one.' Then he did so and I went to war."
Schenck was commissioned Brigadier-General of Volunteers. Many West Point graduates sneered at political generals. Schenck had not been a military man, but he had been a diligent student of military science. In his first engagement on June 17, 1861, a reconnaissance by railroad cars, his troops were fired upon and several wounded as they approached the town of Vienna, Virginia. General Schenck disembarked his soldiers and attacked the enemy.
The engineer ran off with the train, and left his little handful of men at the mercy of four or five times their number. But the enemy believed these troops the advance-guard of a large force, and they ran, instead of capturing the Union troops. General Scott's subsequent investigation into what had become known as "the Vienna affair," found it highly creditable to General Schenck, except the railroad part, which was attributed to General Daniel Tyler (a West Point officer). Nevertheless, the affair was used to discredit Schenck.
General Schenck's next appearance was at the First Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861, where he commanded a brigade in Gen. Daniel Tyler's division, and when the order for retreat was given, Gen. Schenck, forming his brigade, brought off the only portion of that great army that was not resolved into the original elements of a mob. He was subsequently in command under William Rosecrans in West Virginia, and under John C. Fremont in the Luray Valley. He took part in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862, the Battle of Cross Keys and was, for a time, commander of the First Army Corps, in General Franz Sigel's absence.
Ordered to join the Army of Virginia, then under General John Pope, fighting at heavy odds against Lee's large army, he joined it just before the second Bull Run battle, and was in the thick of the fighting of the two days that followed, being severely wounded on the second day, and his right arm permanently injured. He was promoted to major general September 18, 1862 postdated from August 30, 1862.
He was unfit for field duty for six months, but was assigned to the command of the Middle Military Department, embracing the turbulent citizens of Maryland, repressing all turbulence and acts of disloyalty or any complicity with treason. General Schenck was not popular with the disloyal portion of the inhabitants of Maryland. In December 1863, he resigned his commission to take his seat in Congress.
Postbellum activities
He had been elected by a large majority over Copperhead Democrat Clement Vallandigham, from the Third Congressional District (Dayton) of Ohio. He was at once made House Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs. It was said that in military matters he was the firm friend of the volunteer, as against what he thought the encroachments and assumptions of the regulars; the remorseless enemy of deserters; a vigorous advocate of the draft, and the author of the disfranchisement of those who ran away from it; the champion of the private soldiers and subordinate officers. He was re-elected to the Thirty-Eighth, Thirty-Ninth, Fortieth and Forty-First Congresses, and from his position was a leader of the House, including service as Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.
Failing re-election by just fifty-three votes in 1870, Schenck was appointed by President Ulysses Grant as Minister to the United Kingdom, and he sailed for England in July 1871. As a member on the Alabama Claims Commission, he took part in settling the claims arising from the exploits of Raphael Semmes and his Confederate raider.
At a royal party in Somerset, Ambassador Schenck was attending a reception hosted by Queen Victoria, when he was persuaded to write down his rules for poker by a duchess. She privately printed the rules for her court. Although several American books had previously discussed the game, this was the first book to deal solely with draw poker published on either side of the Atlantic. The game quickly became popular in England, where it was universally known as "Schenck's poker."
In October 1871, Schenk was bribed into the use of his name in the sale of stock in England for the Emma silver mine, near Alta, Utah, and became a director of the mining company. Seeing the American minister's name connected with it, British people invested heavily. The Emma mine paid large dividends for a brief time while company insiders sold their shares, but then share prices crashed when it was learned that the mine was exhausted. Schenck was blamed and was ordered home for investigation. He resigned his post in the spring of 1875.
A congressional investigation in March 1876 concluded that he was not guilty of wrong-doing but that he had shown very bad judgment in lending his name and office to promote any such scheme.
Upon his return from England later that year, he resumed his law practice in Washington, D.C. He also published a book on draw poker, Draw. Rules for Playing Poker (Brooklyn: Privately printed, 1880. 16mo, 17 pages)
He died in Washington, D.C., in 1890, aged 80, and was interred in Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio.
General Schenck was an accomplished scholar, thoroughly informed on international and constitutional law, well versed in political history, and familiar with the whole range of modern literature, English, French and Spanish.
8 May, 1862: Thursday
Confederates - Military
Virginia
Stonewall Jackson fought Union troops at the Battle of McDowell or Bull Pasture Mountain,. Jackson's troops about 10,000, were attacked by about 6,000 troops under Robert Schenck, under Fremont's command. The Confederates repulsed the Union troops, who were forced to withdraw toward Franklin, western Virginia. (Jackson attempts a pursuit but stops after reaching Franklin on May 12.)
Union casualties: 26 killed, 227 wounded, 3 missing for 256
Confederate casualties: 75 killed, 423 wounded for 498.
It was Jackson's first battle victory of his campaign, and already his forces were feared in the Shenandoah Valley and surrounding mountain country. Rapid movement on foot was becoming his trademark.
Union - Military
Virginia
In Hampton Roads, Union gunboats carry out a demonstration against Sewell's Point and its batteries.
Mississippi
Halleck's Union army, within a few miles of Corinth, sends out a reconnaissance toward the Confederate-held rail center.
There is a skirmish at Glendale.
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Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Virginia
Stonewall Jackson fought Union troops at the Battle of McDowell or Bull Pasture Mountain,. Jackson's troops about 10,000, were attacked by about 6,000 troops under Robert Schenck, under Fremont's command. The Confederates repulsed the Union troops, who were forced to withdraw toward Franklin, western Virginia. (Jackson attempts a pursuit but stops after reaching Franklin on May 12.)
Union casualties: 26 killed, 227 wounded, 3 missing for 256
Confederate casualties: 75 killed, 423 wounded for 498.
It was Jackson's first battle victory of his campaign, and already his forces were feared in the Shenandoah Valley and surrounding mountain country. Rapid movement on foot was becoming his trademark.
Union - Military
Virginia
In Hampton Roads, Union gunboats carry out a demonstration against Sewell's Point and its batteries.
Mississippi
Halleck's Union army, within a few miles of Corinth, sends out a reconnaissance toward the Confederate-held rail center.
There is a skirmish at Glendale.
_____________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Confederate General Gustavus (G. W). Smith
Gustavus Woodson Smith (November 30, 1821 – June 24, 1896), more commonly known as G.W. Smith, was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Mexican-American War, a civil engineer, and a major general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.
Early life and Mexico
Smith was born in Georgetown, Kentucky, and was a brother-in-law of Horace Randal and a distant relative of John Bell Hood. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point as a brevet second lieutenant in 1842. Smith finished eighth out of 56 cadets while at West Point. He entered the Army Corps of Engineers afterward, and was promoted to second lieutenant on January 1, 1845.
Smith fought in the Mexican-American War, winning two brevet promotions for his actions there. On April 18, 1847, he was appointed brevet first lieutenant for the Battle of Cerro Gordo, and on August 20, 1847, brevet captain for the Battle of Contreras. On March 3, 1853, Smith was promoted to first lieutenant. After serving in the Mexican War, he resigned his commission on December 18, 1854, to become a civilian engineer in New York City, and was Streets Commissioner there from 1858 to 1861.
Civil War service
Smith's home state of Kentucky became a border state when the Civil War broke out in 1861. Some months afterward, he presented himself at Richmond to serve the Confederate States of America. Commissioned as a major general on September 19, he served in Northern Virginia as a divisional and "wing" commander, and fought in the Battle of Seven Pines near Richmond during the Peninsula Campaign.
On May 31, 1862, Smith briefly took command of what would become the Army of Northern Virginia after Gen. Joseph E. Johnston was wounded, due to his being the senior major general in Johnston's army. However, Jefferson Davis replaced him with Robert E. Lee the following day, June 1. On June 2, Smith became ill and took a leave of absence to recuperate.
In late August, Smith returned and took command of the defenses around Richmond, which was expanded to become the Department of North Carolina & Southern Virginia in September. In addition, he acted as interim Confederate States Secretary of War from November 17 through November 21, 1862.
He resigned his commission as a major general on February 17, 1863, and became a volunteer aide to General P.G.T. Beauregard for the rest of that year. Smith was also the superintendent of the Etowah Iron Works in 1863 until June 1, 1864, when he was commissioned a major general in the Georgia state militia and commanded its first division until the end of the war.
Postbellum life
Smith was paroled in Macon, Georgia, on April 20, 1865, and moved to Tennessee to become an iron manufacturer from 1866 to 1870. He moved back to his native Kentucky to become Insurance Commissioner until 1876, and then moved to New York City and began writing. Smith authored Noted on Insurance in 1870, Confederate War Papers in 1884, The Battle of Seven Pines in 1891, and Generals J. E. Johnston and G. T. Beauregard at the Battle of Manassas, July 1862 in 1892. His final work, Company "A," Corps of Engineers, U.S.A., 1846–48, in the Mexican War, was published in 1896 after his death.
Smith died in New York City and is buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery in New London, Connecticut.
Union General William B. Franklin
From Wikipedia:
William Buel Franklin (February 27, 1823 – March 8, 1903) was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He rose to the rank of a corps commander in the Army of the Potomac, fighting in several notable early battles in the Eastern Theater.
Early lifeWilliam B. Franklin was born in York, Pennsylvania. His father Walter S. Franklin was Clerk of the United States House of Representatives from 1833 until his death in 1838. One of his great-grandfathers, Samuel Rhoads, was a member of the First Continental Congress from Pennsylvania.
Future President James Buchanan, then a Senator, appointed Franklin to the United States Military Academy in June 1839. Franklin graduated first in his class in 1843, before joining the Topographical Engineers and being sent to the Rocky Mountains for two years to survey the region. He then was assigned to duty in the administrative offices in Washington, D.C. He served under Philip Kearny during the Mexican-American War and received a brevet promotion to first lieutenant in the Battle of Buena Vista.
Upon his return from Mexico, Franklin served as a professor at West Point for three years before supervising the construction of several lighthouses along the Atlantic Coast in New Hampshire and Maine. In 1852, he married Anna L. Clarke, a daughter of Matthew St. Clair Clarke who had preceded his father as Clerk of the House of Representatives. The couple had no children. In March 1857, he was named the supervisor of the Light House Board and oversaw the construction program across the nation.
In November 1859, he replaced Montgomery C. Meigs as the engineer supervising construction of the United States Capitol Dome. In March 1861, just before the outbreak of the Civil War, he was appointed as the supervising architect for the new Treasury Building in Washington.
Civil War
Soon after the beginning of the Civil War, Franklin was appointed colonel of the 12th U.S. Infantry, but three days later, on May 17, 1861, he was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers. He quickly rose from brigade to corps command in the Army of the Potomac and saw action in the Peninsula Campaign, the Battle of Antietam, and the Battle of Fredericksburg. He was promoted to major general on July 4, 1862.
At Antietam, his VI Corps was in reserve and he tried in vain to convince Maj. Gen. Edwin V. Sumner to allow his corps to exploit a weakened position in the Confederate center. At Fredericksburg, he commanded the "Left Grand Division" (two corps, under Maj. Gens. John F. Reynolds and William F. Smith), which failed in its assaults against the Confederate right, commanded by Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. Army of the Potomac commander Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside blamed Franklin personally for this failure, although he appears to have executed his orders exactly.
As political intrigue swept the Union Army after Fredericksburg and the infamous Mud March, Franklin was alleged to be a principal instigator of the "cabal" against Burnside's leadership. Burnside caused considerable political difficulty for Franklin in return, offering damaging testimony before the powerful U.S. Congress Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War and keeping him from field duty for months. During the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign, Franklin was home in York, Pennsylvania, and assisted Maj. Granville Haller in developing plans for the defense of the region versus an expected enemy attack.
Franklin was reassigned to corps command in the Department of the Gulf and participated in the ill-fated 1864 Red River Campaign. He was wounded in the leg at the Battle of Mansfield in Louisiana. Returning from the field with his injury, he was captured by Maj. Harry Gilmor's Confederate partisans in a train near Washington, D.C., in July 1864, but escaped the following day. The remainder of his army career was limited by disability from his wound and marred by his series of political and command misfortunes. He was unable to serve in any more senior commands, even with the assistance of his West Point classmate, friend, and future president, Ulysses S. Grant.
Postbellum career
Following the Civil War, General Franklin relocated to Hartford, Connecticut, and became the general manager of the Colt Firearms Manufacturing Company until 1888, as well as a director on the boards of several manufacturing concerns. He supervised the construction of the Connecticut State Capitol Building, and served on various boards and commissions, where his engineering experience proved helpful in expanding Hartford's public water service.
In 1872, Franklin was approached by a Pennsylvania and New Jersey faction of the Democratic Party to run against Horace Greeley for the party's nomination as President of the United States, a task he declined, citing a need for party unity. He was vice president of a Hartford area insurance company, and a delegate to the 1876 Democratic National Convention. In June 1888, after his retirement from Colt Firearms, he was named as the U.S. Commissioner-General for the Paris Exposition of 1889.
William Franklin died in Hartford, Connecticut, and is buried near his birthplace in York, Pennsylvania, in Prospect Hill Cemetery. The York Country Heritage Trust preserves many of his papers and personal effects from the Civil War.
7 May, 1862: Wednesday
Union-Government
Presidetnt Lincoln, still in Virginia, visits the USS Monitor near fort Monroe, and confers with naval and army officers. He continues to encourage a drive on Richmond.
Union - Military
Virginia
On the Pamunkey River near the mouth of the York on the Virginia Peninsula, William B. Franklin's division of Union troops advancing toward Richmond was attacked at Eltham's Landing by Confederates under G. W. Smith, who was protecting the wagon trains withdrawing from Williamsburg and Yorktown. It was a sharp engagement, and will become known as West Point, Bsarhamsville, or Eltham's Landing.
Also in Virginia, a 2-day operation begins to Mulberry Point on the James River.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Horse Creek.
Tennessee
There is a skirmish at Purdy.
North Carolina
A two-day Union expedition begins, from Roanoke Island towards Gatesville, NC.
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Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Presidetnt Lincoln, still in Virginia, visits the USS Monitor near fort Monroe, and confers with naval and army officers. He continues to encourage a drive on Richmond.
Union - Military
Virginia
On the Pamunkey River near the mouth of the York on the Virginia Peninsula, William B. Franklin's division of Union troops advancing toward Richmond was attacked at Eltham's Landing by Confederates under G. W. Smith, who was protecting the wagon trains withdrawing from Williamsburg and Yorktown. It was a sharp engagement, and will become known as West Point, Bsarhamsville, or Eltham's Landing.
Also in Virginia, a 2-day operation begins to Mulberry Point on the James River.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Horse Creek.
Tennessee
There is a skirmish at Purdy.
North Carolina
A two-day Union expedition begins, from Roanoke Island towards Gatesville, NC.
____________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Friday, May 6, 2011
6 May, 1862:Tuesaay
Union - Government
Virginia
In the late evening, President Lincoln and his party disembark at Fort Monroe.
Union - Military
Virginia
Union forces occupy Williamsburg.
Mississippi
Near Corinth, Halleck's advance from Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee decelerates, and soon becomes more of a siege than an offensive.
Confederates - Military
Stonewall Jackson's Confederats had arrived at Staunton in the Shenandoah after their stay at Conrad's Store. They confused the Union troops under Banks at Harrisonburg, who fell back toward New Market and went on to Strasburg by May 13. It was the beginning of the main portion of Jackson's famous Valley Campaign.
Jackson and his reinforced command marched westward toward McDowell, aiming at Union forces in the area.
Western Virginia
There is a brief skirmish at Camp McDonald and at Arnoldsburg.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Virginia
In the late evening, President Lincoln and his party disembark at Fort Monroe.
Union - Military
Virginia
Union forces occupy Williamsburg.
Mississippi
Near Corinth, Halleck's advance from Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee decelerates, and soon becomes more of a siege than an offensive.
Confederates - Military
Stonewall Jackson's Confederats had arrived at Staunton in the Shenandoah after their stay at Conrad's Store. They confused the Union troops under Banks at Harrisonburg, who fell back toward New Market and went on to Strasburg by May 13. It was the beginning of the main portion of Jackson's famous Valley Campaign.
Jackson and his reinforced command marched westward toward McDowell, aiming at Union forces in the area.
Western Virginia
There is a brief skirmish at Camp McDonald and at Arnoldsburg.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Union general Winfield Hancock
From Wikipedia
Winfield Scott Hancock (February 14, 1824 – February 9, 1886) was a career U.S. Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service in the Mexican-American War and as a Union general in the American Civil War. Known to his Army colleagues as "Hancock the Superb", he was noted in particular for his personal leadership at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.
One military historian wrote, "No other Union general at Gettysburg dominated men by the sheer force of their presence more completely than Hancock." As another wrote, "... his tactical skill had won him the quick admiration of adversaries who had come to know him as the 'Thunderbolt of the Army of the Potomac'." His military service continued after the Civil War, as Hancock participated in the military Reconstruction of the South and the Army's presence at the Western frontier.
Hancock's reputation as a war hero at Gettysburg, combined with his rare status as a prominent figure with impeccable Unionist credentials and pro-states' rights views, made him a quadrennial presidential possibility in the years after the Civil War. His noted integrity was a counterpoint to the corruption of the era, for as President Rutherford B. Hayes said, "... [i]f, when we make up our estimate of a public man, conspicuous both as a soldier and in civil life, we are to think first and chiefly of his manhood, his integrity, his purity, his singleness of purpose, and his unselfish devotion to duty, we can truthfully say of Hancock that he was through and through pure gold."
This nationwide popularity led the Democrats to nominate him for President in 1880. Although he ran a strong campaign, Hancock was defeated by Republican James Garfield by the closest popular vote margin in American history.
Early life and family
Winfield Scott Hancock and his identical twin brother Hilary Baker Hancock were born on February 14, 1824, in Montgomery Square, Pennsylvania, a hamlet just northwest of Philadelphia in present-day Montgomery Township. The twins were the sons of Benjamin Franklin Hancock and Elizabeth Hoxworth Hancock. Winfield was named after Winfield Scott, a prominent general in the War of 1812 and later the Mexican-American War and the commanding general of the United States Army at the start of the Civil War.
The Hancock and Hoxworth families had lived in Montgomery County for several generations, and were of English, Scottish and Welsh descent. Benjamin Hancock was a schoolteacher when his sons were born. A few years after their birth, he moved the family to Norristown, the county seat, and began to practice law. Benjamin was also a deacon in the Baptist church and participated in municipal government (as an avowed Democrat).
Hancock was at first educated at Norristown Academy, but removed to the public schools when the first one opened in Norristown in the late 1830s. In 1840, Joseph Fornance, the local Congressman, nominated Hancock to the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Hancock's progress at West Point was average. He graduated 18th in his class of 25 in 1844, and he was assigned to the infantry.
Starting a military career
Mexican War
Hancock's namesake and commander in Mexico, General Winfield ScottHancock was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 6th U.S. Infantry regiment, and initially was stationed in Indian Territory in the Red River Valley. The region was quiet at the time, and Hancock's time there was uneventful.
Upon the outbreak of war with Mexico in 1846, Hancock worked to secure himself a place at the front. Initially assigned to recruiting duties in Kentucky, he proved so adept at signing up soldiers that his superiors were reluctant to release him from his post.
By July 1847, however, Hancock was permitted to join his regiment in Puebla, Mexico, where they made up a part of the army led by his namesake, General Winfield Scott.
Scott's army moved farther inland from Puebla unopposed and attacked Mexico City from the south. During that campaign in 1847, Hancock first encountered battle at Contreras and Churubusco. He was appointed a brevet first lieutenant for gallant and meritorious service in those actions. Hancock was wounded in the knee at Churubusco and developed a fever. Although he was well enough to lead his regiment at Molino del Rey, fever kept Hancock from participating in the final breakthrough of Mexico City, something he would regret for the rest of his life. After the final victory, Hancock remained in Mexico with the 6th Infantry until the treaty of peace was signed in 1848.
Marriage and peacetime
Hancock served in a number of assignments as an army quartermaster and adjutant, mostly in Fort Snelling, Minnesota and St. Louis, Missouri. It was in St. Louis that he met Almira ("Allie") Russell and they married on January 24, 1850. Allie gave birth to two children, Russell in 1850 and Ada in 1857, but both children died before their parents. Hancock was promoted to captain in 1855 and assigned to Fort Myers, Florida. Hancock's young family accompanied him to his new posting, where Allie Hancock was the only woman on the post.
Hancock's tour in Florida coincided with the end of the Third Seminole War. His duties were primarily those of a quartermaster, and he did not see action in that campaign. As the situation in Florida began to settle down, Hancock was reassigned to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He served in the West during the partisan warfare of "Bleeding Kansas", and in the Utah Territory, where the 6th Infantry arrived after the Utah War.
Following the resolution of that conflict, Hancock was stationed in southern California in November 1858. He remained there, joined by Allie and the children, until the Civil War broke out in 1861, serving as a captain and assistant quartermaster under future Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston. In California, Hancock became friendly with a number of southern officers, most significantly Lewis A. Armistead of Virginia.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Armistead and the other southerners left to join the Confederate States Army, while Hancock remained in the service of the United States.
Civil War
Joining the Army of the PotomacHancock stands the most conspicuous figure of all the general officers who did not exercise a separate command. He commanded a corps longer than any other one, and his name was never mentioned as having committed in battle a blunder for which he was responsible. He was a man of very conspicuous personal appearance.... His genial disposition made him friends, and his personal courage and his presence with his command in the thickest of the fight won for him the confidence of troops serving under him. No matter how hard the fight, the 2d corps always felt that their commander was looking after them.
—Ulysses S. Grant, Personal Memoirs
Hancock returned east to assume quartermaster duties for the rapidly growing Union Army, but was quickly promoted to brigadier general on September 23, 1861, and given an infantry brigade to command in the division of Brig. Gen. William F. "Baldy" Smith, Army of the Potomac.
He earned his "Superb" nickname in the Peninsula Campaign, in 1862, by leading a critical counterattack in the Battle of Williamsburg; army commander Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan telegraphed to Washington that "Hancock was superb today" and the appellation stuck. McClellan did not follow through on Hancock's initiative, however, and Confederate forces were allowed to withdraw unmolested.
In the Battle of Antietam, Hancock assumed command of the 1st Division, II Corps, following the mortal wounding of Maj. Gen. Israel B. Richardson in the horrific fighting at "Bloody Lane." Hancock and his staff made a dramatic entrance to the battlefield, galloping between his troops and the enemy, parallel to the Sunken Road. His men assumed that Hancock would order counterattacks against the exhausted Confederates, but he carried orders from McClellan to hold his position.
He was promoted to major general of volunteers on November 29, 1862. He led his division in the disastrous attack on Marye's Heights in the Battle of Fredericksburg the following month and was wounded in the abdomen. At the Battle of Chancellorsville, his division covered Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's withdrawal and Hancock was wounded again. His corps commander, Maj. Gen. Darius N. Couch, transferred out of the Army of the Potomac in protest of actions Hooker took in the battle and Hancock assumed command of II Corps, which he would lead until shortly before the war's end.
Gettysburg
Hancock's most famous service was as a new corps commander at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1 to July 3, 1863.
After his friend, Maj. Gen. John F. Reynolds, was killed early on July 1, Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, the new commander of the Army of the Potomac, sent Hancock ahead to take command of the units on the field and assess the situation. Hancock thus was in temporary command of the "left wing" of the army, consisting of the I, II, III, and XI Corps. This demonstrated Meade's high confidence in him, because Hancock was not the most senior Union officer at Gettysburg at the time.
Hancock and the more senior XI Corps commander, Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard, argued briefly about this command arrangement, but Hancock prevailed and he organized the Union defenses on Cemetery Hill as more numerous Confederate forces drove the I and XI Corps back through the town. He had the authority from Meade to withdraw the forces, so he was responsible for the decision to stand and fight at Gettysburg. Meade arrived after midnight and overall command reverted to him.
On July 2, Hancock's II Corps was positioned on Cemetery Ridge, roughly in the center of the Union line, while Confederate General Robert E. Lee launched assaults on both ends of the line.
On the Union left, Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's assault smashed the III Corps and Hancock sent in his 1st Division, under Brig. Gen. John C. Caldwell, to reinforce the Union in the Wheatfield. As Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill's corps continued the attack toward the Union center, Hancock rallied the defenses and rushed units to the critical spots.
In one famous incident, he sacrificed a regiment, the 1st Minnesota, by ordering it to advance and charge a Confederate brigade four times its size, causing the Minnesotans to suffer 87% casualties. While costly to the regiment, this heroic sacrifice bought time to organize the defensive line and saved the day for the Union army.
On July 3, Hancock continued in his position on Cemetery Ridge and thus bore the brunt of Pickett's Charge. During the massive Confederate artillery bombardment that preceded the infantry assault, Hancock was prominent on horseback in reviewing and encouraging his troops. When one of his subordinates protested, "General, the corps commander ought not to risk his life that way," Hancock is said to have replied, "There are times when a corps commander's life does not count."
During the infantry assault, his old friend, now Brig. Gen. Lewis A. Armistead, leading a brigade in Maj. Gen. George Pickett's division, was wounded and died two days later. Hancock could not meet with his friend because he had just been wounded himself, a severe injury caused by a bullet striking the pommel of his saddle, entering his inner right thigh along with wood fragments and a large bent nail.
Helped from his horse by aides, and with a tourniquet applied to stanch the bleeding, he removed the saddle nail himself and, mistaking its source, remarked wryly, "They must be hard up for ammunition when they throw such shot as that."
News of Armistead's mortal wounding was brought to Hancock by a member of his staff, Captain Henry H. Bingham. Despite his pain, Hancock refused evacuation to the rear until the battle was resolved. He had been an inspiration for his troops throughout the three-day battle. Hancock later received the thanks of the U.S. Congress for "... his gallant, meritorious and conspicuous share in that great and decisive victory."
Virginia and the end of the war
Hancock, surrounded by three of his division commanders: Francis C. Barlow, David B. Birney, and John Gibbon during the Wilderness campaignHancock suffered from the effects of his Gettysburg wound for the rest of the war. After recuperating in Norristown, he performed recruiting services over the winter and returned in the spring to field command of the II Corps for Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign, but he never regained full mobility and his former youthful energy. Nevertheless, he performed well at the Battle of the Wilderness and commanded a critical breakthrough assault of the Mule Shoe at the "Bloody Angle" in the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, shattering the Confederate Stonewall Division. His corps suffered enormous losses during a futile assault Grant ordered at Cold Harbor.
After Grant's army slipped past Lee's army to cross the James River, Hancock found himself in a position from which he might have ended the war. His corps arrived to support Baldy Smith's assaults on the lightly held Petersburg defensive lines, but he deferred to Smith's advice because Smith knew the ground and had been on the field all day, and no significant assaults were made before the Confederate lines were reinforced. One of the great opportunities of the war was lost. After his corps participated in the assaults at Deep Bottom, Hancock was promoted to brigadier general in the regular army, effective August 12, 1864.
Hancock's only significant military defeat occurred during the Siege of Petersburg. His II Corps moved south of the city, along the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, tearing up track. On August 25, Confederate Maj. Gen. Henry Heth attacked and overran the faulty Union position at Reams's Station, shattering the II Corps, capturing many prisoners. Despite a later victory at Hatcher's Run, the humiliation of Reams's Station contributed, along with the lingering effects of his Gettysburg wound, to his decision to give up field command in November.
He left the II Corps after a year in which it had suffered over 40,000 casualties, but had achieved significant military victories. His first assignment was to command the ceremonial First Veterans Corps. He performed more recruiting, commanded the Middle Department, and relieved Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan in command of forces in the now-quiet Shenandoah Valley. He was promoted to brevet major general in the regular army for his service at Spotsylvania, effective March 13, 1865.
Post-war military service
Execution of Lincoln assassination conspirators
The execution of the Lincoln assassination conspirators, July 7, 1865At the close of the war, Hancock was assigned to supervise the execution of the Lincoln assassination conspirators. Lincoln had been assassinated on April 14, 1865, and by May 9 of that year, a military commission had been convened to try the accused.
The actual assassin, John Wilkes Booth, was already dead, but the trial of his co-conspirators proceeded quickly, resulting in convictions. President Andrew Johnson ordered the executions to be carried out on July 7. Hancock was directed to supervise the executions of those condemned to death. Although he was reluctant to execute some of the less-culpable conspirators, especially Mary Surratt, Hancock carried out his orders, later writing that "every soldier was bound to act as I did under similar circumstances."
Service on the Plains
After the executions, Hancock was assigned command of the newly organized Middle Military Department, headquartered in Baltimore. In 1866, on Grant's recommendation, Hancock was promoted to major general and was transferred, later that year, to command of the Military Department of the Missouri, which included the states of Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico.
Hancock reported to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and took up his new posting. Soon after arriving, he was assigned by General Sherman to lead an expedition to negotiate with the Cheyenne and Sioux, with whom relations had worsened since the Sand Creek massacre. The negotiations got off to a bad start, and after Hancock ordered the burning of an abandoned Cheyenne village in central Kansas, relations became worse than when the expedition had started. There was little loss of life on either side, but the mission could not be called a success.
Reconstruction
Andrew Johnson thought Hancock was the ideal Reconstruction general.Hancock's time in the West was brief. President Johnson, unhappy with the way Republican generals were governing the South under Reconstruction, sought replacements for them. The general who offended Johnson the most was Philip Sheridan, and Johnson soon ordered General Grant to switch the assignments of Hancock and Sheridan, believing that Hancock, a Democrat, would govern in a style more to Johnson's liking. Although neither man was pleased with the change, Sheridan reported to Fort Leavenworth and Hancock to New Orleans.
Hancock's new assignment found him in charge of the Fifth Military District, encompassing Texas and Louisiana. Almost immediately upon arriving, Hancock ingratiated himself with the white conservative population by issuing his General Order Number 40 of November 29, 1867. In that order, written while traveling to New Orleans, Hancock expressed sentiments in support of President Johnson's policies, writing that if the residents of the district conducted themselves peacefully and the civilian officials perform their duties, then "the military power should cease to lead, and the civil administration resume its natural and rightful dominion." Hancock's order encouraged white Democrats across the South who hoped to return to civilian government more quickly, but discomforted blacks and Republicans in the South who feared a return to the antebellum ways of conservative white dominance.
"The great principles of American liberty are still the lawful inheritance of this people, and ever should be. The right of trial by jury, the habeas corpus, the liberty of the press, the freedom of speech, the natural rights of persons and the rights of property must be preserved. Free institutions, while they are essential to the prosperity and happiness of the people, always furnish the strongest inducements to peace and order."
Winfield Scott Hancock, General Order Number 40 November 29, 1867.
Hancock's General Order Number 40 was quickly condemned by Republicans in Washington, especially by the Radicals, while President Johnson wholeheartedly approved.
Heedless of the situation in Washington, Hancock soon put his words into action, refusing local Republican politicians' requests to use his power to overturn elections and court verdicts, while also letting it be known that open insurrection would be suppressed.
Hancock's popularity within the Democratic party grew to the extent that he was considered a potential presidential nominee for that party in the 1868 election. Although Hancock collected a significant number of delegates at the 1868 convention, his presidential possibilities went unfulfilled. Even so, he was henceforth identified as a rare breed in politics: one who believed in the Democratic Party's principles of states' rights and limited government, but whose anti-secessionist sentiment was unimpeachable.
Return to the Plains
Following General Grant's 1868 presidential victory, the Republicans were firmly in charge in Washington. As a result, Hancock found himself transferred once again, this time away from the sensitive assignment of reconstructing the South and into the relative backwater that was the Department of Dakota.
The Department covered Minnesota, Montana, and the Dakotas. As in his previous Western command, Hancock began with a conference of the Indian chiefs, but this time was more successful in establishing a peaceful intent. Relations worsened in 1870, however, as an army expedition committed a massacre against the Blackfeet Relations with the Sioux also became contentious as a result of white encroachment into the Black Hills, in violation of the Treaty of Fort Laramie. Still, war was averted, for the time being, and most of Hancock's command was peaceful.
It was during this tour that Hancock had the opportunity to contribute to the creation of Yellowstone National Park. In August 1870, he ordered the 2nd Cavalry at Fort Ellis to provide a military escort for General Henry D. Washburn's planned exploration of the Yellowstone Region. The expedition, which was a major impetus in creating the park, became known as the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition. Hancock's order led to the assignment of Lt. Gustavus Cheyney Doane and a troop of 5 cavalrymen from Fort Ellis to escort the expedition. In 1871, Captain John W. Barlow during his exploration of the Yellowstone region formally named a summit on what would become the southern boundary of the park Mount Hancock to honor the general's decision to provide the escort.
Command in the East and political ambitions
In 1872, General Meade died, leaving Hancock the army's senior major general. This entitled him to a more prominent command, and President Grant, still desirous to keep Hancock from a Southern post, assigned him command of the Department of the Atlantic, headquartered at Fort Columbus on Governors Island, in New York City.
The vast department covered the settled northeast area of the country and was militarily uneventful with the exception of the army's involvement in the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. When railroad workers went on strike to protest wage cuts, the nation's transportation system was paralyzed. The governors of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland asked President Hayes to call in federal troops to re-open the railways. Once federal troops entered the cities, most of the strikers melted away, but there were some violent clashes.
All the while Hancock was posted in New York, he did his best to keep his political ambitions alive. He received some votes at the Democrats' 1876 convention, but was never a serious contender as New York governor Samuel J. Tilden swept the field on the second ballot. The Republican candidate, Rutherford B. Hayes, won the election, and Hancock refocused his ambition on 1880. The electoral crisis of 1876 and the subsequent end to Reconstruction in 1877 convinced many observers that the election of 1880 would give the Democrats their best chance at victory in a generation.
Election of 1880
Democratic convention
Hancock's name had been proposed several times for the Democratic nomination for president, but he never captured a majority of delegates. In 1880, however, Hancock's chances improved. President Hayes had promised not to run for a second term, and the previous Democratic nominee, Tilden, declined to run again due to poor health.
Hancock faced several competitors for the nomination, including Thomas A. Hendricks, Allen G. Thurman, Stephen Johnson Field, and Thomas F. Bayard. Hancock's neutrality on the monetary question, and his lingering support in the South (owing to his General Order Number 40) meant that Hancock, more than any other candidate, had nationwide support. When the Democratic convention assembled in Cincinnati in June 1880, Hancock led on the first ballot, but did not have a majority. By the second ballot, Hancock received the requisite two-thirds, and William Hayden English of Indiana was chosen as his running mate.
Campaign against Garfield
Results of the 1880 election
The Republicans nominated James A. Garfield, a Congressman from Ohio and a skillful politician. Hancock and the Democrats expected to carry the Solid South, but needed to add a few of the Northern states to their total to win the election. The practical differences between the parties were few, and the Republicans were reluctant to attack Hancock personally because of his heroic reputation.
The one policy difference the Republicans were able to exploit was a statement in the Democratic platform endorsing "a tariff for revenue only." Garfield's campaigners used this statement to paint the Democrats as unsympathetic to the plight of industrial laborers, a group that would benefit by a high protective tariff. The tariff issue cut Democratic support in industrialized Northern states, which were essential in establishing a Democratic majority.
In the end, the Democrats and Hancock failed to carry any of the Northern states they had targeted, with the exception of New Jersey. The popular vote was the closest in American history—fewer than 2,000 votes separated the candidates—but Garfield had a solid electoral majority of 214 to 155.
Later life
Hancock took his electoral defeat in stride and attended Garfield's inauguration.Following the election, Hancock carried on as commander of the Division of the Atlantic.
He was elected president of the National Rifle Association in 1881, explaining that "The object of the NRA is to increase the military strength of the country by making skill in the use of arms as prevalent as it was in the days of the Revolution."
Hancock was a Charter Director and the first president of the Military Service Institution of the United States from 1878 until his death in 1886. He was commander-in-chief of the MOLLUS veterans organization from 1879 until his death in 1886. He was the author of Reports of Major General W. S. Hancock upon Indian Affairs, published in 1867.Hancock's last major public appearance was to preside over the funeral of President Grant in 1885, although he also made a less publicized trip that year to Gettysburg.
Hancock died in 1886 at Governors Island, still in command of the Military Division of the Atlantic, the victim of an infected carbuncle, complicated by diabetes. He is buried in Montgomery Cemetery in West Norriton Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, near Norristown, Pennsylvania. Although he outlived both of his children, he was survived by the three grandchildren fathered by his son, Russell. Hancock's wife, Almira, published Reminiscences of Winfield Scott Hancock in 1887.
In 1893, Republican General Francis A. Walker wrote, "Although I did not vote for General Hancock, I am strongly disposed to believe that one of the best things the nation has lost in recent years has been the example and the influence of that chivalric, stately, and splendid gentleman in the White House. Perhaps much which both parties now recognize as having been unfortunate and mischievous during the past thirteen years would have been avoided had General Hancock been elected."
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