Government - Confederate
President Davis writes to General Robert E. Lee that on July 22 a cartel for exchange of prisoners had been signed, but that shortly afterward the Federal authorities "commenced a practice changing the character of the war, from such as becomes civilized nations into a campaign of indiscrimimate robbery and murder."
Davis was referring to the orders of seizure of private property without compensation, the threats that citizens would be shot as spies if found in or near Pope's lines, and the seizure of citzens as hostages.
Therefore Davis issued orders that any commissioned officers captured from Pope's army be treated as felons rather than prisoners of war, for, he said, they had put themselves in the position "of robbers and murders." He regretted having to threaten retaliation on the officers, but laid the blame on the United States.
Confederacy - Military
Virginia
Confederates attacked Union camps and shipping between Shirley and Harrison's Landing.
________________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
30 July 1862: Wednesday
Civilian - Union
Massachusetts
In Boston, bells which had been contributed by Southern churches and individuals to be cast into cannon were sold at auction. General Butler had confiscated them at New Orleans.
Military - Union
Virginia
General Halleck ordered General McClellan to remove his sick and wounded from Harrison's Landing. The intention was to eventually move the whole army from the James toward Washington and northern Virginia.
Military - Confederacy
Major General Theophilius Holmes assumes command of the Trans-Mississippi Department.
_______________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Massachusetts
In Boston, bells which had been contributed by Southern churches and individuals to be cast into cannon were sold at auction. General Butler had confiscated them at New Orleans.
Military - Union
Virginia
General Halleck ordered General McClellan to remove his sick and wounded from Harrison's Landing. The intention was to eventually move the whole army from the James toward Washington and northern Virginia.
Military - Confederacy
Major General Theophilius Holmes assumes command of the Trans-Mississippi Department.
_______________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Friday, July 29, 2011
29 July 1862: Tuesday
Military - Confederate
The Confederate cruiser Alabama (known in Britain as Enrica) leaves Liverpool, unarmed, ostensibly for a trial run.) Federal authorities in Britain had attempted for weeks to prevent the sailing.(See 31 July)
Civilian/Espionage - Confederate
Virginia
"A woman named Belle Boyd" is captured near Warrenton, by Union officials. She as accused of being a Confederate spy and mail courier and was sent to the Old Capitol Prison and Washington. (See August 28, 1862).
Union - Military
Major General John Pope leaves Washinton to make his headquarters in the field with his Army of Virginia.
Missouri
There are skirmishes at Arrow Rock, Bloomfield and Saline County.
Georgia
Union naval forces attack Fort McAllister on the Ogeechee River near Savannah.
BibliographyThe Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
The Confederate cruiser Alabama (known in Britain as Enrica) leaves Liverpool, unarmed, ostensibly for a trial run.) Federal authorities in Britain had attempted for weeks to prevent the sailing.(See 31 July)
Civilian/Espionage - Confederate
Virginia
"A woman named Belle Boyd" is captured near Warrenton, by Union officials. She as accused of being a Confederate spy and mail courier and was sent to the Old Capitol Prison and Washington. (See August 28, 1862).
Union - Military
Major General John Pope leaves Washinton to make his headquarters in the field with his Army of Virginia.
Missouri
There are skirmishes at Arrow Rock, Bloomfield and Saline County.
Georgia
Union naval forces attack Fort McAllister on the Ogeechee River near Savannah.
BibliographyThe Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Thursday, July 28, 2011
28 July 1862: Monday
Civilian - Canada
The office of the St. Croix Herald in St. Stephens, New Brunswick, Canada, a pro-Union paprr, is attcked by a monb and the equpment wrecked. (New Brunswick is above Maine).
Government - Confederates
The governors of Texas, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana write to Jefferson Davis requesting a commanding general, money, arms and ammunition, for "without them we cannot use our strength, nor fully develop the mighty power of resistance that is in our midst."
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Cross Timers and at Fulton.
Alabama
There is a skirmish at Stevenson
Tennessee
There is a skirmish at Humboldt.
Virginia
There is a skirmish from Culpepper to Racoon Ford.
_______________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
The office of the St. Croix Herald in St. Stephens, New Brunswick, Canada, a pro-Union paprr, is attcked by a monb and the equpment wrecked. (New Brunswick is above Maine).
Government - Confederates
The governors of Texas, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana write to Jefferson Davis requesting a commanding general, money, arms and ammunition, for "without them we cannot use our strength, nor fully develop the mighty power of resistance that is in our midst."
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Cross Timers and at Fulton.
Alabama
There is a skirmish at Stevenson
Tennessee
There is a skirmish at Humboldt.
Virginia
There is a skirmish from Culpepper to Racoon Ford.
_______________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Alabama still collecting tax for Confederate vets
From Boston.com: Alabama still collecting tax for Confederate vets
MOUNTAIN CREEK, Ala.—The last of the more than 60,000 Confederate veterans who came home to Alabama after the Civil War died generations ago, yet residents are still paying a tax that supported the neediest among them.
Despite fire-and-brimstone opposition to taxes among many in a state that still has "Heart of Dixie" on its license plates, officials never stopped collecting a property tax that once funded the Alabama Confederate Soldiers' Home, which closed 72 years ago. The tax now pays for Confederate Memorial Park, which sits on the same 102-acre tract where elderly veterans used to stroll.
The tax once brought in millions for Confederate pensions, but lawmakers sliced up the levy and sent money elsewhere as the men and their wives died. No one has seriously challenged the continued use of the money for a memorial to the "Lost Cause," in part because few realize it exists; one long-serving black legislator who thought the tax had been done away with said he wants to eliminate state funding for the park.
These days, 150 years after the Civil War started, officials say the old tax typically brings in more than $400,000 annually for the park, where Confederate flags flapped on a recent steamy afternoon. That's not much compared to Alabama's total operating budget of $1.8 billion, but it's sufficient to give the park plenty of money to operate and even enough for investments, all at a time when other historic sites are struggling just to keep the grass cut for lack of state funding.
"It's a beautifully maintained park. It's one of the best because of the funding source," said Clara Nobles of the Alabama Historical Commission, which oversees Confederate Memorial Park.
Longtime park director Bill Rambo is more succinct.
"Everyone is jealous of us," he said.
Tax experts say they know of no other state that still collects a tax so directly connected to the Civil War, although some federal excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol first were enacted during the war to help fund the Union.
"Broadly speaking, almost all taxes have their start in a war of some sort," said Joseph J. Thorndike, director of a tax history project at Tax Analysts, a nonprofit organization that studies taxation.
Alabama's tax structure was enshrined in its 1901 Constitution, passed after Reconstruction at a time when historians say state legislators' main goal was to keep power in the hands of wealthy white landowners by disenfranchising blacks and poor whites.
The Constitution allowed a state property tax of up to 6.5 mills, which now amounts to $39 annually on a home worth $100,000. Of that tax, 3 mills went to schools; 2.5 mills went to the operating budget; and 1 mill went to pensions for Confederate veterans and widows.
The state used the pension tax to fund the veterans home once it assumed control of the operation in 1903. The last Confederate veteran living at the home died in 1934, and its hospital was converted into apartments for widows. It closed in 1939, and the five women who lived there were moved to Montgomery.
Tweet ShareThis Legislators whittled away at the Confederate tax through the decades, and millions of dollars that once went to the home and pensions now go to fund veteran services, the state welfare agency and other needs. But the park still gets 1 percent of one mill, and its budget for this year came to $542,469, which includes money carried over from previous years plus certificates of deposit.
All that money has created a manicured, modern park that's the envy of other Alabama historic sites, which are funded primarily by grants, donations and friends groups. Legislators created the park in 1964 during a period that marked both the 100th anniversary of the Civil War and the height of the civil rights movement in the Deep South.
Nothing is left of the veterans home but a few foundations and two cemeteries with 313 graves, but a museum with Civil War artifacts and modern displays opened at the park in 2007. Rebel flags fly all around the historic site, which Rambo said draws more than 10,000 visitors annually despite being hidden in the country nine miles and three turns off Interstate 65 in the central part of the state.
While the park flourishes quietly, other historic attractions around the state are fighting for survival.
Workers at Helen Keller's privately run home in northwest Alabama fear losing letters written by the famed activist because of a lack of state funding for preservation of artifacts. On the Gulf Coast at Dauphin Island, preservationists say the state-owned Fort Gaines is in danger of being undermined by waves after nearly 160 years standing guard at the entry to Mobile Bay.
The old Confederate pension tax that funds the park has never been seriously threatened, Rambo said. Backers were upset this year when Gov. Robert Bentley's budget plan eliminated state funding for historic sites because of tight revenues, he said, but the park's earmarked funding survived.
"Once I informed the public what was going on the support just rose up," said Rambo, the director since 1989. Two heritage groups, the Sons of Confederate Veterans and United Daughters of the Confederacy, led the charge, but ordinary citizens complained too, he said.
"Some were people who don't belong to those organizations who really like the park and come out here for picnics and all and were really upset," he said.
State Rep. Alvin Holmes, a black Democrat who's been in the Legislature since 1974, said he thought funding for the park had been slashed.
"We should not be spending one nickel for that," said Holmes, of Montgomery. "I'm going to try to get rid of it."
Holmes may have a hard time gaining support with Republicans in control of Legislature and the governor's office.
In the meantime, a contractor recently measured the museum for a new paint job, and plans calls for using invested money to construct replicas of some of the 22 buildings that stood on the site when it was home to hundreds of Confederate veterans and their wives.
Mass. soldier’s scion stakes claim for his Civil War due
From Boston.com: Mass. soldier’s scion stakes claim for his Civil War due
WASHINGTON - The Army long ago presented the nation’s most hallowed award, the Medal of Honor, to a Civil War soldier from New York for capturing Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s eldest son. But sometimes history calls for a bit of revision.
Tweet ShareThis Now, 146 years after the capture, the Army has agreed to take another look at whether it made a mistake and whether a young private from the Berkshires deserved the honor instead. Regiment accounts provide reason to think Private David D. White, of Cheshire, nabbed Lee during a barbaric battle in the wilds of Virginia in the war’s waning days.
The Army’s unusual reconsideration is a victory for White’s descendants, particularly his great-great-grandson, Frank E. White Jr., who has worked for decades to set the record straight. He recently enlisted the aid of Massachusetts lawmakers in the effort.
In reviewing the case, the Army also casts a light on a key battle that is largely unknown, except among historians and Civil War buffs who note its frenzied viciousness, even in the context of a war known for its brutality.
At one junction in the Battle of Sailor’s Creek in the waning days of the war, White and his Massachusetts brethren fought a desperate hand-to-hand assault against the rebels near the banks of a swollen Virginia creek, slashing with bayonets, clubbing one another with muskets, and biting one another’s throats as they grappled on the muddy ground.
The battle was a stunning victory for the Yankees; the South called it “Black Thursday.’’ Yet it became a footnote, eclipsed by the Confederate surrender days later at Appomattox.
Not so for Frank White. He wrote a 2008 book, “Sailor’s Creek: Major General G.W. Custis Lee, Captured with Controversy,’’ rekindling the dispute over whether the infantryman from Cheshire should have received the Medal of Honor for capturing George Washington Custis Lee.
“To me, this is really not bragging rights,’’ said White, a New Jersey resident with deep family roots in Massachusetts. “This is really just setting the record straight. History is history.’’
White’s book methodically argues that his ancestor deserved the medal rather than Harris S. Hawthorn, a soldier with the 121st New York Infantry who also fought at Sailor’s Creek.
Members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation agree.
“This kind of thing doesn’t come up very often, but when it does, the government should make the correction,’’ said US Representative John W. Olver, a Democrat whose letter to the chief of the Army’s awards and decorations branch started the official review process last fall. Senators John F. Kerry and Scott P. Brown have also written on White’s behalf.
White’s request for a review is rare. “I’ve never had anybody say that somebody else got my medal. This is kind of new territory in some ways,’’ said Victoria Kueck, director of operations with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. The group was created by Congress in 1958 to preserve the medal’s legacy and honor its recipients
Army spokesman Mark Edwards confirmed that the case was under review by the awards and decorations branch, based at Fort Knox, Ky., but said the Army cannot comment on pending award reviews, a process that can take years.
Tweet ShareThis Today, there are 3,455 Medal of Honor recipients, with the most recent granted this month to an Army Ranger.
There are not a lot of people sticking up for the official recipient of the award, but Hawthorn does have one champion. Atlanta History Center president Salvatore G. Cilella Jr., who wrote a book about Hawthorn’s regiment, has debated White for years over the issue and believes that the evidence lies with Hawthorn.
Either way, the controversy is fascinating, he said, calling it “a human story - a great human story.’’
“The answer to the whole thing is that no one really knows. In history, that’s what we deal with - we deal with ambiguity and we deal with unknowns,’’ he said.
The Battle of Sailor’s Creek took place April 6, 1865. Robert E. Lee’s army was retreating southwest from Richmond. About half of the force, including its wagon trains, lagged behind, and the generals in the rear decided to turn and face the federal forces behind them.
When Union forces surged across Sailor’s Creek, they were met with withering Confederate fire, and many retreated.The 37th Massachusetts Infantry - armed with state-of-the-art repeating rifles - held its ground.
In the middle of the battle, a Confederate column set upon the Massachusetts men. One Confederate officer described how “the battle degenerated into butchery’’ as soldiers fought “like wild beasts’’ with every weapon they had, including their teeth and fists.
When the battle was over, about 1,100 Union soldiers were dead, injured, or missing. The toll for the Confederates was devastating: 7,700 soldiers - one quarter of Lee’s army - were casualties, including more than 3,000 soldiers and eight generals captured. Upon seeing what was left of his force, Lee exclaimed, “My God, has the army dissolved?’’
He would surrender three days later.
What happened with Lee’s son is at the heart of the dispute. According to transcripts of letters and battlefield reports that White submitted to the Army, Private White spotted Custis Lee on the battlefield and charged him. Lee initially refused to surrender to an enlisted man and then gave up his sword and pistol to an officer, Captain William C. Morrill.
The official Army record says that White captured Lee, but it separately lists Hawthorn as his captor, backed by an affidavit from the New York regiment’s chaplain.
Hawthorn’s commander noted in his report that “there was some controversy in the matter.’’ In addition, at least two other men bragged about capturing Lee.
Though both Hawthorn and White received credit for Lee’s capture and received promotions, only Hawthorn applied for the Medal of Honor, but not until 1894. He was one of hundreds of veterans who scrambled for medals, some making spurious claims of bravery in support of their applications.
Tweet ShareThis When the Massachusetts regiment learned of the award, it vehemently contested the decision, calling it “a great injustice.’’ But Secretary of War Russell A. Alger rejected the appeal.
In 1916, a panel of Army generals reviewed every medal and rescinded more than 900, but not Hawthorn’s.
For decades, White has been researching the dispute, digging up letters from members of the Massachusetts regiment and scouring the National Archives. He has been in contact with a Morrill descendant who says he still has Lee’s pistol.
There is a plausible explanation for why two soldiers could claim to have captured the same man: After Lee surrendered to White, he was ordered behind Union lines for processing, and Hawthorn stopped him again as he milled among other captive soldiers, perhaps as he sought an escape route. “I don’t think there was any slight intended, but that’s possibly how it happened,’’ said Chris Calkins, manager at the state historical park that marks the site.
Sharon S. MacDonald, a retired Illinois State University history professor who helped a black Union soldier receive a posthumous Medal of Honor and is now aiding White, sees a more sinister explanation: Hawthorn committed fraud. She believes the medal’s integrity is at stake.
“There is absolutely no doubt that Harris Hawthorn fabricated his application for a Medal of Honor. No doubt at all,’’ she said.
The American Legion post in Hoosick Falls, N.Y., the site of Hawthorn’s grave, held a memorial for him in 2006. Walter Zwinge, the post commander who presided at the ceremony, knew nothing of the dispute.
While he is intrigued by the controversy, he has no reason to doubt Hawthorn’s claim.
“As far as I know, [Hawthorn] is a Medal of Honor winner, and that’s the way it stands,’’ Zwinge said. “Until somebody can prove to my satisfaction that he doesn’t deserve it, then we have to go with what we’ve got.’’
WASHINGTON - The Army long ago presented the nation’s most hallowed award, the Medal of Honor, to a Civil War soldier from New York for capturing Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s eldest son. But sometimes history calls for a bit of revision.
Tweet ShareThis Now, 146 years after the capture, the Army has agreed to take another look at whether it made a mistake and whether a young private from the Berkshires deserved the honor instead. Regiment accounts provide reason to think Private David D. White, of Cheshire, nabbed Lee during a barbaric battle in the wilds of Virginia in the war’s waning days.
The Army’s unusual reconsideration is a victory for White’s descendants, particularly his great-great-grandson, Frank E. White Jr., who has worked for decades to set the record straight. He recently enlisted the aid of Massachusetts lawmakers in the effort.
In reviewing the case, the Army also casts a light on a key battle that is largely unknown, except among historians and Civil War buffs who note its frenzied viciousness, even in the context of a war known for its brutality.
At one junction in the Battle of Sailor’s Creek in the waning days of the war, White and his Massachusetts brethren fought a desperate hand-to-hand assault against the rebels near the banks of a swollen Virginia creek, slashing with bayonets, clubbing one another with muskets, and biting one another’s throats as they grappled on the muddy ground.
The battle was a stunning victory for the Yankees; the South called it “Black Thursday.’’ Yet it became a footnote, eclipsed by the Confederate surrender days later at Appomattox.
Not so for Frank White. He wrote a 2008 book, “Sailor’s Creek: Major General G.W. Custis Lee, Captured with Controversy,’’ rekindling the dispute over whether the infantryman from Cheshire should have received the Medal of Honor for capturing George Washington Custis Lee.
“To me, this is really not bragging rights,’’ said White, a New Jersey resident with deep family roots in Massachusetts. “This is really just setting the record straight. History is history.’’
White’s book methodically argues that his ancestor deserved the medal rather than Harris S. Hawthorn, a soldier with the 121st New York Infantry who also fought at Sailor’s Creek.
Members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation agree.
“This kind of thing doesn’t come up very often, but when it does, the government should make the correction,’’ said US Representative John W. Olver, a Democrat whose letter to the chief of the Army’s awards and decorations branch started the official review process last fall. Senators John F. Kerry and Scott P. Brown have also written on White’s behalf.
White’s request for a review is rare. “I’ve never had anybody say that somebody else got my medal. This is kind of new territory in some ways,’’ said Victoria Kueck, director of operations with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. The group was created by Congress in 1958 to preserve the medal’s legacy and honor its recipients
Army spokesman Mark Edwards confirmed that the case was under review by the awards and decorations branch, based at Fort Knox, Ky., but said the Army cannot comment on pending award reviews, a process that can take years.
Tweet ShareThis Today, there are 3,455 Medal of Honor recipients, with the most recent granted this month to an Army Ranger.
There are not a lot of people sticking up for the official recipient of the award, but Hawthorn does have one champion. Atlanta History Center president Salvatore G. Cilella Jr., who wrote a book about Hawthorn’s regiment, has debated White for years over the issue and believes that the evidence lies with Hawthorn.
Either way, the controversy is fascinating, he said, calling it “a human story - a great human story.’’
“The answer to the whole thing is that no one really knows. In history, that’s what we deal with - we deal with ambiguity and we deal with unknowns,’’ he said.
The Battle of Sailor’s Creek took place April 6, 1865. Robert E. Lee’s army was retreating southwest from Richmond. About half of the force, including its wagon trains, lagged behind, and the generals in the rear decided to turn and face the federal forces behind them.
When Union forces surged across Sailor’s Creek, they were met with withering Confederate fire, and many retreated.The 37th Massachusetts Infantry - armed with state-of-the-art repeating rifles - held its ground.
In the middle of the battle, a Confederate column set upon the Massachusetts men. One Confederate officer described how “the battle degenerated into butchery’’ as soldiers fought “like wild beasts’’ with every weapon they had, including their teeth and fists.
When the battle was over, about 1,100 Union soldiers were dead, injured, or missing. The toll for the Confederates was devastating: 7,700 soldiers - one quarter of Lee’s army - were casualties, including more than 3,000 soldiers and eight generals captured. Upon seeing what was left of his force, Lee exclaimed, “My God, has the army dissolved?’’
He would surrender three days later.
What happened with Lee’s son is at the heart of the dispute. According to transcripts of letters and battlefield reports that White submitted to the Army, Private White spotted Custis Lee on the battlefield and charged him. Lee initially refused to surrender to an enlisted man and then gave up his sword and pistol to an officer, Captain William C. Morrill.
The official Army record says that White captured Lee, but it separately lists Hawthorn as his captor, backed by an affidavit from the New York regiment’s chaplain.
Hawthorn’s commander noted in his report that “there was some controversy in the matter.’’ In addition, at least two other men bragged about capturing Lee.
Though both Hawthorn and White received credit for Lee’s capture and received promotions, only Hawthorn applied for the Medal of Honor, but not until 1894. He was one of hundreds of veterans who scrambled for medals, some making spurious claims of bravery in support of their applications.
Tweet ShareThis When the Massachusetts regiment learned of the award, it vehemently contested the decision, calling it “a great injustice.’’ But Secretary of War Russell A. Alger rejected the appeal.
In 1916, a panel of Army generals reviewed every medal and rescinded more than 900, but not Hawthorn’s.
For decades, White has been researching the dispute, digging up letters from members of the Massachusetts regiment and scouring the National Archives. He has been in contact with a Morrill descendant who says he still has Lee’s pistol.
There is a plausible explanation for why two soldiers could claim to have captured the same man: After Lee surrendered to White, he was ordered behind Union lines for processing, and Hawthorn stopped him again as he milled among other captive soldiers, perhaps as he sought an escape route. “I don’t think there was any slight intended, but that’s possibly how it happened,’’ said Chris Calkins, manager at the state historical park that marks the site.
Sharon S. MacDonald, a retired Illinois State University history professor who helped a black Union soldier receive a posthumous Medal of Honor and is now aiding White, sees a more sinister explanation: Hawthorn committed fraud. She believes the medal’s integrity is at stake.
“There is absolutely no doubt that Harris Hawthorn fabricated his application for a Medal of Honor. No doubt at all,’’ she said.
The American Legion post in Hoosick Falls, N.Y., the site of Hawthorn’s grave, held a memorial for him in 2006. Walter Zwinge, the post commander who presided at the ceremony, knew nothing of the dispute.
While he is intrigued by the controversy, he has no reason to doubt Hawthorn’s claim.
“As far as I know, [Hawthorn] is a Medal of Honor winner, and that’s the way it stands,’’ Zwinge said. “Until somebody can prove to my satisfaction that he doesn’t deserve it, then we have to go with what we’ve got.’’
Missing veterans’ remains given final resting place
From Leavenworth Times: Missing veterans’ remains given final resting place
Fort Leavenworth, Kan. — The Fort Leavenworth community welcomed a new group of residents Tuesday.
While normally those new to the fort arrive from across the country and leave within a year or two, the journey for these 17 men and women has taken decades, and their relocation is permanent.
They were the latest burials at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery — sets of cremated remains that had for years sat on shelves in area funeral homes before Linda Smith, head of operations with the nationwide Missing in America Project, and the organization’s volunteers stepped in to research them and ensure they received proper burial.
“This wouldn’t be happening if it weren’t for her,” Bill Owensby, director of the Veterans Affairs cemeteries in Kansas, said of Smith.
Escorted from Kansas City to Leavenworth by motorcycle riders from the American Legion and other organizations Tuesday morning, the remains represented 14 veterans of the Spanish-American War, World War I and a rarely verified Civil War veteran.
That Civil War veteran, Pvt. George McCarthy, was actually Canadian, though Smith said in 1864 he joined the Union Army’s 2nd Regiment, Missouri Artillery Volunteers, taking the place of another solider and serving as a clerk until he was discharged in 1865. But little else is known about his life.
Since passing away in 1946 at the age of 102, McCarthy’s remains have been sitting in a large storage facility in Kansas City, identified but not claimed.
He is not alone. Smith said all of those interred during Tuesday’s ceremony were found as the result of a large list of unclaimed cremains provided by Dignity Memorial funeral homes. She said on that list were all of that company’s remains stored at a facility that also contained those stored by Kansas City-based D.W. Newcomer and Sons funeral homes. She said she first buried the remains of those veterans on Dignity’s list at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, Mo., then started working on the remains in the Newcomer’s portion of the storage facility, which were buried Tuesday at the fort.
Over the years, Smith said the organization has helped verify and bury more than a thousand veterans — often starting with just a name and a check-marked box on the death certificate indicating the person’s status — their spouses and one child previously left unclaimed.
Tuesday’s ceremony was one that Smith said she and other MIAP volunteers had been working on for about a year. Usually, she said the lead-up to a ceremony like that one involves hours of research using both the information provided by the funeral home and resources from veterans’ groups, genealogy websites and county historical records.
“They actually become friends, by the time I get to this point where we bury them,” Smith said of the veterans.
The burial takes place 30 days after she said public notice is given of the service.
Smith said interring 17 sets of remains at the same time is rare but that there are more names on the Newcomer and Sons list that Smith said the group is still researching.
Smith admits it is a lot of work for an active nationwide volunteer base of about 300. Buts she said they have plenty of motivation.
“They’re veterans — that says it all, I think,” she said. “They should be honored, instead they sat in funeral homes. We want to get them out there, we want to read their names, their information.”
It’s an honor that retired Lt. Gen. Robert Arter said is important to bestow.
“We would not have been a country were it not for men like Pvt. McCarthy,” he said in remarks delivered during the ceremony.
All of the veterans buried Tuesday should be remembered for their service, Arter said. David Tollefson, captain of the 1st Cavalry of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War who received McCarthy’s remains, said to be able to participate in such a ceremony for a Civil War veteran was especially important to him.
“I’m here to honor my ancestors,” he said.
In the future, Smith said she hopes that MIAP will continue to make possible many similar ceremonies. She estimated that there are more than 100,000 sets of unclaimed veterans’ remains alone in the United States. Smith said the number of unclaimed remains is not the result of neglect on the part of the Veterans Administration — she said a lack of manpower and funding is a big factor. Another one, according to Owensby, is that family members sometimes, for different reasons, do not claim remains. For his part, he said the VA is committed to identifying and interring every single set of veteran cremains.
“We take that commitment very seriously,” he said.
Smith said MIAP will also continue to do their diligence to that end. Though she said she cannot personally travel to Kansas often to do the necessary research, Smith said she hopes MIAP’s work here will continue.
“I’m going to put a little bit more effort into Kansas because of the volunteers that can help out,” she said.
The Missing in America project’s website is located at www.miap.us.
Fort Leavenworth, Kan. — The Fort Leavenworth community welcomed a new group of residents Tuesday.
While normally those new to the fort arrive from across the country and leave within a year or two, the journey for these 17 men and women has taken decades, and their relocation is permanent.
They were the latest burials at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery — sets of cremated remains that had for years sat on shelves in area funeral homes before Linda Smith, head of operations with the nationwide Missing in America Project, and the organization’s volunteers stepped in to research them and ensure they received proper burial.
“This wouldn’t be happening if it weren’t for her,” Bill Owensby, director of the Veterans Affairs cemeteries in Kansas, said of Smith.
Escorted from Kansas City to Leavenworth by motorcycle riders from the American Legion and other organizations Tuesday morning, the remains represented 14 veterans of the Spanish-American War, World War I and a rarely verified Civil War veteran.
That Civil War veteran, Pvt. George McCarthy, was actually Canadian, though Smith said in 1864 he joined the Union Army’s 2nd Regiment, Missouri Artillery Volunteers, taking the place of another solider and serving as a clerk until he was discharged in 1865. But little else is known about his life.
Since passing away in 1946 at the age of 102, McCarthy’s remains have been sitting in a large storage facility in Kansas City, identified but not claimed.
He is not alone. Smith said all of those interred during Tuesday’s ceremony were found as the result of a large list of unclaimed cremains provided by Dignity Memorial funeral homes. She said on that list were all of that company’s remains stored at a facility that also contained those stored by Kansas City-based D.W. Newcomer and Sons funeral homes. She said she first buried the remains of those veterans on Dignity’s list at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, Mo., then started working on the remains in the Newcomer’s portion of the storage facility, which were buried Tuesday at the fort.
Over the years, Smith said the organization has helped verify and bury more than a thousand veterans — often starting with just a name and a check-marked box on the death certificate indicating the person’s status — their spouses and one child previously left unclaimed.
Tuesday’s ceremony was one that Smith said she and other MIAP volunteers had been working on for about a year. Usually, she said the lead-up to a ceremony like that one involves hours of research using both the information provided by the funeral home and resources from veterans’ groups, genealogy websites and county historical records.
“They actually become friends, by the time I get to this point where we bury them,” Smith said of the veterans.
The burial takes place 30 days after she said public notice is given of the service.
Smith said interring 17 sets of remains at the same time is rare but that there are more names on the Newcomer and Sons list that Smith said the group is still researching.
Smith admits it is a lot of work for an active nationwide volunteer base of about 300. Buts she said they have plenty of motivation.
“They’re veterans — that says it all, I think,” she said. “They should be honored, instead they sat in funeral homes. We want to get them out there, we want to read their names, their information.”
It’s an honor that retired Lt. Gen. Robert Arter said is important to bestow.
“We would not have been a country were it not for men like Pvt. McCarthy,” he said in remarks delivered during the ceremony.
All of the veterans buried Tuesday should be remembered for their service, Arter said. David Tollefson, captain of the 1st Cavalry of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War who received McCarthy’s remains, said to be able to participate in such a ceremony for a Civil War veteran was especially important to him.
“I’m here to honor my ancestors,” he said.
In the future, Smith said she hopes that MIAP will continue to make possible many similar ceremonies. She estimated that there are more than 100,000 sets of unclaimed veterans’ remains alone in the United States. Smith said the number of unclaimed remains is not the result of neglect on the part of the Veterans Administration — she said a lack of manpower and funding is a big factor. Another one, according to Owensby, is that family members sometimes, for different reasons, do not claim remains. For his part, he said the VA is committed to identifying and interring every single set of veteran cremains.
“We take that commitment very seriously,” he said.
Smith said MIAP will also continue to do their diligence to that end. Though she said she cannot personally travel to Kansas often to do the necessary research, Smith said she hopes MIAP’s work here will continue.
“I’m going to put a little bit more effort into Kansas because of the volunteers that can help out,” she said.
The Missing in America project’s website is located at www.miap.us.
27 July 1862, Sunday
Union - Military
Indian Territory
There is a skirmish at Bayou Bernard near Fort Gibson.
Louisiana
There are skirmishes at Madisonville and Covington.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Brown's Spring.
Western Virginia
There is a skirmish at Flat Top Mountain.
Tennessee
There is a skirmish near Toone's Station/Lower Post Ferry.
__________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Indian Territory
There is a skirmish at Bayou Bernard near Fort Gibson.
Louisiana
There are skirmishes at Madisonville and Covington.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Brown's Spring.
Western Virginia
There is a skirmish at Flat Top Mountain.
Tennessee
There is a skirmish near Toone's Station/Lower Post Ferry.
__________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
26 July 1862: Saturday
Union - Military
Virginia
There is a skirmish near Orange Court House.
North Carolina
There is a skirmish at Mill Creek near Pollocksville.
Alabama
There is a skirmish at Spangler's Mill near Jonesborough.
Tennessee
There is a skirmish at Tazewell.
Missouri
Skirmishes occur in Missouri for the next two days asd Union troops conduct operations from Newport to Young's Cross Roads.
_______
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Virginia
There is a skirmish near Orange Court House.
North Carolina
There is a skirmish at Mill Creek near Pollocksville.
Alabama
There is a skirmish at Spangler's Mill near Jonesborough.
Tennessee
There is a skirmish at Tazewell.
Missouri
Skirmishes occur in Missouri for the next two days asd Union troops conduct operations from Newport to Young's Cross Roads.
_______
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Monday, July 25, 2011
25 July 1862: Froday
Government - Union
President Lincoln formally declares the Confiscation Act of Congress, calling for suppression of the insurrection. The proclamation beseeches persons in the rebellion to cease participating in or abetting it, and "to return to their proper allegiance to the United States, on pain of the forfeitures and seizures..."
Military - Union
Western Virginia
There is a skirmish at Summerville.
Alabama
There are skirmishes at Courtland and Trinity.
Tennessee
There is a skirmish at Clinton Ferry.
__________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln formally declares the Confiscation Act of Congress, calling for suppression of the insurrection. The proclamation beseeches persons in the rebellion to cease participating in or abetting it, and "to return to their proper allegiance to the United States, on pain of the forfeitures and seizures..."
Military - Union
Western Virginia
There is a skirmish at Summerville.
Alabama
There are skirmishes at Courtland and Trinity.
Tennessee
There is a skirmish at Clinton Ferry.
__________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Sunday, July 24, 2011
24 July 1862: Thursday
Union - Civilian
Former President Martin Van Buren, 79, died at Lindenwald, New York.
Union - Military
Louisiana
Admiral Farragut orders his fleet to head toward New Orleans, leaving five gunboats to guard the river between Vincksburg and Baton Rouge.
There is a skirmish on the Amite River.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Santa De and Moore's Mill near Fulton.
Mississippi
There is a skirmish at White Oak Bayou.
Western Virginia
There are skirmishs from July 24-26 in Wyoming County.
______________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Former President Martin Van Buren, 79, died at Lindenwald, New York.
Union - Military
Louisiana
Admiral Farragut orders his fleet to head toward New Orleans, leaving five gunboats to guard the river between Vincksburg and Baton Rouge.
There is a skirmish on the Amite River.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Santa De and Moore's Mill near Fulton.
Mississippi
There is a skirmish at White Oak Bayou.
Western Virginia
There are skirmishs from July 24-26 in Wyoming County.
______________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Saturday, July 23, 2011
23 July 1862: Wednesday
Union - Government/Military
Major General Henry Wager Halleck assumes command of the Armies of the United States.
General Poe in northern Virginia orders that any male who refuses to take an oath of allegiance to the Union will be sent south, and if found again will be considered a spy.
Union - Military
Virginia
Union calvary from Fredericksburg carry out a raid on Southern calvary and supplies near Carmel Church, Virginia.
Missouri
There is a skimish near Bole's Farm.
There is a skirmish on the Blackwater, near Columbus.
Arkansas
A Union expedition begins from Helena to Coldwater.
Military - Confederacy
Mississippi
The major portion of Braxton Bragg's Confederate forces moves (over seveal days) from Tupelo south to Mobile, Alabama and then to Montgomery and Atlanta, en route to Chattanooga. The 776-mile trip over six railroads is carried out in record time.
___________________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Major General Henry Wager Halleck assumes command of the Armies of the United States.
General Poe in northern Virginia orders that any male who refuses to take an oath of allegiance to the Union will be sent south, and if found again will be considered a spy.
Union - Military
Virginia
Union calvary from Fredericksburg carry out a raid on Southern calvary and supplies near Carmel Church, Virginia.
Missouri
There is a skimish near Bole's Farm.
There is a skirmish on the Blackwater, near Columbus.
Arkansas
A Union expedition begins from Helena to Coldwater.
Military - Confederacy
Mississippi
The major portion of Braxton Bragg's Confederate forces moves (over seveal days) from Tupelo south to Mobile, Alabama and then to Montgomery and Atlanta, en route to Chattanooga. The 776-mile trip over six railroads is carried out in record time.
___________________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Friday, July 22, 2011
22 July 1862: Tuesday
Union - Government
At a Cabinet meeting in Washington, President Lincoln surprises most of his advisors by reading the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation. It includes warnings of the consequences of the Confiscation Act, renewed his offer of compensation to loyal states for gradual emancipation, and proposes that as of January 1, 1863, slaves in all states then in rebellion should be free.
After long thought the President had, independent of consultation, decided upon this course. After a discussion, the President followed Secretary of State Seward's suggestion that announcement of the emancipation phases of the proclamation be delayed until the armies achieved a military success.
The Federal War Department issues an order authorizing military and naval commanders within states in rebellion to seize and use for military purposes any real or personal property and to employ Negroes as laborers.
Union - Government/Military
Major GEneral Ambrose Burnside takes command of the Ninth Army Corps of the Union Army.
Union - Military
Virginia
Union troops begin a reconnaisance from Luray to Columbia Bridge and White House Ford.
Union troops also begin a reconnaissance to James City and Madison Court House, and a scout in King William, King and Queen, and Gloucester counties.There is a skirmish at Verdon, and one near Westover.
Confederate - Military
Tennessee
John Hunt Morgan's command arrives at Livingston, after its raid into Kentucky.
A Conferate telegraph operator working for Morgan had been intercepting most of the Union dispatches for the last twelve days, thus giving the Confederates warning of Northern operations.
Mississippi
The confederate ram Arkansas beats off an attack by two Union Vessels at Vicksburg. The Union troops had completed the canal that was to allow Union vessels to make passage around Vicksburg, but the current and low water eoulddefeat that aim.
___________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
At a Cabinet meeting in Washington, President Lincoln surprises most of his advisors by reading the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation. It includes warnings of the consequences of the Confiscation Act, renewed his offer of compensation to loyal states for gradual emancipation, and proposes that as of January 1, 1863, slaves in all states then in rebellion should be free.
After long thought the President had, independent of consultation, decided upon this course. After a discussion, the President followed Secretary of State Seward's suggestion that announcement of the emancipation phases of the proclamation be delayed until the armies achieved a military success.
The Federal War Department issues an order authorizing military and naval commanders within states in rebellion to seize and use for military purposes any real or personal property and to employ Negroes as laborers.
Union - Government/Military
Major GEneral Ambrose Burnside takes command of the Ninth Army Corps of the Union Army.
Union - Military
Virginia
Union troops begin a reconnaisance from Luray to Columbia Bridge and White House Ford.
Union troops also begin a reconnaissance to James City and Madison Court House, and a scout in King William, King and Queen, and Gloucester counties.There is a skirmish at Verdon, and one near Westover.
Confederate - Military
Tennessee
John Hunt Morgan's command arrives at Livingston, after its raid into Kentucky.
A Conferate telegraph operator working for Morgan had been intercepting most of the Union dispatches for the last twelve days, thus giving the Confederates warning of Northern operations.
Mississippi
The confederate ram Arkansas beats off an attack by two Union Vessels at Vicksburg. The Union troops had completed the canal that was to allow Union vessels to make passage around Vicksburg, but the current and low water eoulddefeat that aim.
___________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Thursday, July 21, 2011
21 July 1862, Monday
Union - Government
President Lincoln and his Cabinet discuss the possible use of Negroes as soldiers.
Union - Military
Virginia
Luray, Virginia is occupied by Union troops operating in the Shenandoah Valley.
Confederates - Military
Tennessee
Confederate troops capture Union pickets five miles from Nashville and burn bridges on the Chattanooga Road. The Confederate Army of the Mississippi is ordered to Chattanooga, and Major General Price assumes commamand of the Confederate District of the Tennessee.
___________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln and his Cabinet discuss the possible use of Negroes as soldiers.
Union - Military
Virginia
Luray, Virginia is occupied by Union troops operating in the Shenandoah Valley.
Confederates - Military
Tennessee
Confederate troops capture Union pickets five miles from Nashville and burn bridges on the Chattanooga Road. The Confederate Army of the Mississippi is ordered to Chattanooga, and Major General Price assumes commamand of the Confederate District of the Tennessee.
___________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
20 July 1862: Sunday
Union - Military
Missouri
There are skirmishes at Greenville and Taberville.
Arkansas
There is a skirmish at Gaines' Landing.
Mississippi
There is a skirmish at Hatchie Bottom.
____________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Missouri
There are skirmishes at Greenville and Taberville.
Arkansas
There is a skirmish at Gaines' Landing.
Mississippi
There is a skirmish at Hatchie Bottom.
____________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
19 July 1862: Saturday
Government - Union
President Lincoln names John S. Phelps of Missouri as military governor of Arkansas.
Union - Military
Virginia
A Union expedition leaves for Beaver Dam Station where it destroys military stores and the railroad, on this day and on the 20th.
Mssouri
A Union scout is carried out in Polk and Dallas counties from today until the 23rd.
_________________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln names John S. Phelps of Missouri as military governor of Arkansas.
Union - Military
Virginia
A Union expedition leaves for Beaver Dam Station where it destroys military stores and the railroad, on this day and on the 20th.
Mssouri
A Union scout is carried out in Polk and Dallas counties from today until the 23rd.
_________________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Monday, July 18, 2011
18 July 1862, Friday
Foreign
England
A motion in the British House of Commons to mediate between the Union and Confederate governments is discussed and withdrawn.
Union - Military
Virginia
Major General Pope announces that his Army of Virginia will "subsist upon the country in which their operations are carrie out," and that the citizens of the area through which his army operated would be held responsible for damage done to railroads, bridges, and telegraph lines by guerillas. In addition, the people would be compelled to repair the damage and be assessed for such depredations.
Confederates - Military
Indiana
Confederate troops cross the Ohio River and raid the town of Newburg, near Evansville.
Missouri
There is a skirmish near Memphis, Missouri.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
England
A motion in the British House of Commons to mediate between the Union and Confederate governments is discussed and withdrawn.
Union - Military
Virginia
Major General Pope announces that his Army of Virginia will "subsist upon the country in which their operations are carrie out," and that the citizens of the area through which his army operated would be held responsible for damage done to railroads, bridges, and telegraph lines by guerillas. In addition, the people would be compelled to repair the damage and be assessed for such depredations.
Confederates - Military
Indiana
Confederate troops cross the Ohio River and raid the town of Newburg, near Evansville.
Missouri
There is a skirmish near Memphis, Missouri.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Sunday, July 17, 2011
17 July 1862: Thursday
Government - Union
President Lincoln signs the Second Confiscation Act after lengthy and acrimonious congressional debate and after weighing a possible veto. Supported by the Radicals and the ultra-abolitionist forces, it could readily be interpreted as a viertual act of emancipation. The measure provided that slaves of all those who supported or aided the rebellion wwould be free when they came within Union control.
It also called for confiscation of other forms of property, gave the President power to "employ" Negroes for suppression of the rebellion, and authorized the President to provide for colonization "in some tropical cuntry beyong the limits of the United States of such persons of African race, made free by the provisions of this act, as may be willing to emigrate."
The bill also authorized the President to tender pardon and amnesty to those he saw fit. Lincoln approved some provisions and wording, but last-minute changes took care of most of the objections. The measure later gave rise to a political struggle between the President and Congress over who was to handle the slavery and reconstruction measures. Manu provisions of this confiscation act were never enforced.
Another measure that the President signs this day, upon the adjournment of Congress, authorizes calling up men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five for nine months' militia service. This was later interpreted as a draft, although it was never put into effect.
Another bill provided for the use of postage stamps as money, due to the shortage of metal coins.
Union - Military
Major General U. S. Grant assumes command of all troops in the Army of the Tennessee and Army of the Mississippi, and in the District of the Mississippi and Cairo.
Confederacy - Military
Confederate GEneral D. H. Hill is assigned to command the Department of North Carolina.
Kentucky
Morgan's raiders take Cynthiana.
Virginia
A Confederate supply base in Gordonsville is captured the troops of General Pope.
Tennessee
There are skirmishes in the vicinity of Mount Pleasant and Columbia.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln signs the Second Confiscation Act after lengthy and acrimonious congressional debate and after weighing a possible veto. Supported by the Radicals and the ultra-abolitionist forces, it could readily be interpreted as a viertual act of emancipation. The measure provided that slaves of all those who supported or aided the rebellion wwould be free when they came within Union control.
It also called for confiscation of other forms of property, gave the President power to "employ" Negroes for suppression of the rebellion, and authorized the President to provide for colonization "in some tropical cuntry beyong the limits of the United States of such persons of African race, made free by the provisions of this act, as may be willing to emigrate."
The bill also authorized the President to tender pardon and amnesty to those he saw fit. Lincoln approved some provisions and wording, but last-minute changes took care of most of the objections. The measure later gave rise to a political struggle between the President and Congress over who was to handle the slavery and reconstruction measures. Manu provisions of this confiscation act were never enforced.
Another measure that the President signs this day, upon the adjournment of Congress, authorizes calling up men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five for nine months' militia service. This was later interpreted as a draft, although it was never put into effect.
Another bill provided for the use of postage stamps as money, due to the shortage of metal coins.
Union - Military
Major General U. S. Grant assumes command of all troops in the Army of the Tennessee and Army of the Mississippi, and in the District of the Mississippi and Cairo.
Confederacy - Military
Confederate GEneral D. H. Hill is assigned to command the Department of North Carolina.
Kentucky
Morgan's raiders take Cynthiana.
Virginia
A Confederate supply base in Gordonsville is captured the troops of General Pope.
Tennessee
There are skirmishes in the vicinity of Mount Pleasant and Columbia.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Ball's Bluff hosts the dedication of armaments on July 9th
Sorry for the lateness of this article. Be sure to go visit Balls Bluff now, anyway!
From The Washington Times: Ball's Bluff hosts the dedication of armaments on July 9th
From The Washington Times: Ball's Bluff hosts the dedication of armaments on July 9th
VIENNA, Va, July 7, 2011 — Also known as the Battle of Harrison’s Island and sometimes as the Battle of Leesburg, the fighting at Ball’s Bluff happened on October 21, 1861.
Nearly 150 years later, Ball’s Bluff is inviting Civil War and history fans to join in with park rangers, volunteers and staff as they dedicate replicas of authentic and fully operational weaponry used during that battle.
Amongst the items are two mountain Howitzers and a James rifle, which will be on display and will be used after the dedication ceremony scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 9, 2011. The James rifle is the most unique, produced in response to the need for rifled artillery, and with a 3.80" bore; problems continued with it and production was ceased sometime in 1862. The Howitzers continued to be reliable, heavy-duty artillery.
Cemetery at Balls Bluff
The battlefield area, with its small national cemetery – one of the smallest national burial grounds in the country — is a National Historic Landmark and is maintained by the Northern Virginia Regional Authority.
There are only 54 Union graves forming a circle with the low brick wall of this pristine cemetery, and most of them are marked “Unknown.” However, those visible graves do not represent the degree of carnage which the wooded area saw that day in the fall of 1861.
The Union and Confederate troops were pretty evenly matched on that day, 1,720 Union and 1709 Confederate, but the final tally of dead was anything but even. The Confederates of the 17th Miss. Infantry surprised the Yankee troops from the 15th Mass. Infantry and the 1st Minnesota, who were crossing over the river romf the Maryland side, and drove them over the edge of the steep slope and down to the Potomac.
Many were weighed down by their heavy uniforms and weapons and slipped into the water where they died. A few who had attempted to cross by boat saw their boats overturned and they, too, drowned.
It was said that bodies floated downriver to Washington City and some were found as far as Mt. Vernon. A total of 223 Union soldiers were killed, 226 were wounded and 553 were captured later on that night. The Union troops were able to recover many of their dead, resulting in the small number of graves in the cemetery.
Among the Union dead were Col. Edward D. Baker, a U. S. Senator and the only senator ever killed in battle.
Another Union soldier was seriously wounded and lived to become a Supreme Court Associate Justice – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. of the 20th Mass. Vol. Infantry.
The Confederate troops saw 36 killed, 117 wounded, and two captured. Only one Confederate is buried there, Clinton Hatcher of Augusta County, VA who fought with the 8th Virginia Regiment.
There is also a marble memorial to Gen. Edward D. Baker, the Union leader. His remains are buried at the Presidio of San Francisco Cemetery in California.
In the years to come, it would be remembered only as a minor skirmish, but in 1861, it was the second largest battle in the Eastern Theater.
The 150th reenactment of the battle will take place on October 22, 2011 at 2.30 p.m. with an Illumination that evening at 7:30 p.m.
It is easy to reach the battlefield by going west on Route 7 towards Leesburg, then Route 15 Bypass north. Turn right on Battlefield Parkway and left on Ball’s Bluff Road. The park is located at the end of the street.
H.L. Hunley is rotated upright; 'stealth-like' craft now visible
From The Washington Times: H.L. Hunley is rotated upright; 'stealth-like' craft now visible
VIENNA, Va, June 28, 2011 — Word has been received that at long last, the H.L. Hunley has been rotated and put into her original upright position in the climate controlled tank at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in North Charleston, SC.
The Confederate submersible/submarine was resting on her starboard side at an approximate 45-degree angle when finally raised from the ocean floor in August 2009. Due to the sediment inside which had not been disturbed in over 100 years, and the presence of the remains of the eight men who had sailed her, it was felt that a full examination of the contents should be made before any attempt was made to right the seven and one-half ton ship, which was 39’ long.
It took two days to accomplish the shift in position of the craft, which had been held in place by large slings. Moving in micro steps of two millimeters a day, the repositioning was finally accomplished, providing the scientists and conservators with the first glimpse of that side of the Hunley’s hull. Apparently no specific damage was evident on the long-hidden side, which means that the scientists will still continue their hunt to ascertain what caused the ship to sink.
Talking with Kellen Correia, Executive Director of the Friends of the Hunley organization today, she said that “seeing the Hunley right side up has given us a whole new view of it – it looks stealth-like now.”
They will soon remove the keel block supports, she said, as well as the slings. “It’s hard to realize that over a half million people have come to see the Hunley in the last ten years,” she related, “and we hope that the new positioning will bring even more to our facility.”
Ms. Correia continued that “within the next two to four weeks, the trusses will be completely removed” from the little craft, although what the ultimate preservation process will be is not known at this time.
History records the fatal steps that led up to the ultimate Hunley’s launching, which made her the first of her kind to sink an enemy ship during warfare. On February 17, 1864, sliding out of Charleston Harbor late at night, she quietly approached the U.S.S. Housatonic, a Union blockade ship preventing ships from entering the Harbor, and fired a 135 lb. torpedo attached to a 150` detonation rope into the Housatonic’s side.
The Union ship sank in less than five minutes. After coming to the surface to flash a signal to the crew waiting on shore, the Hunley sank beneath the waves, where she remained for over a century.
Before that final fatal voyage, two previous attempts had been made to pilot the Hunley — on August 29, 1863 and on October 15 of the same year. While three men survived the first effort, all eight were killed in the second, including Horace L. Hunley who had first envisioned the concept of the submersible.
Despite the loss of so many men in the efforts, it was easy to again enlist a crew for the final run, with Lt. George E. Dixon in the lead.
We visited the Hunley several years ago in North Charleston, and it was the highlight of our trips that year. To actually stand on the catwalks surrounding the tank in which the craft hung in a specially prepared water bath, and see the Hunley herself, frankly was a thrill that was absolutely fantastic. It was difficult to envision how eight men of normal height and weight could have stayed inside her, manning the crank that ran down the center of the interior, was impressive.
The H.L. Hunley
Outside the museum was a full size replica of the ‘little fish boat’ as it was termed, and visitors were allowed to go inside to get the feel of what it must have been like on that dark, cold night in 1864. Now I’m a little less than five feet in height, and trying to sit at the seats inside and operate a hand-crank was a close fit even for me, giving a greater appreciation of what those men of normal height had to contend with.
Entry into the Hunley was through two “man holes” with openings roughly 14” x 15,” no easy feat.
Forensic examination of Lt. Dixon’s remains indicated that he was 5’9” tall, and had sandy brown hair. If I recall correctly, wear on the inside of his lower teeth revealed that he had been a pipe smoker. He obviously came from a well-off family, as he had a fine gold watch, a diamond ring and a diamond pin in his pockets, no doubt presents for the lovely Queenie upon his return. He had lived in Mobile, Alabama early in the War years, active in the community and had joined the local Masonic Lodge.
It was at the Conservation Center that we saw the famous $20 gold piece carried by Lt. Dixon, the story that resonated with so many people who heard it.
His fiancée, Queenie Bennett, had given him a gold coin engraved with the words “My life Preserver – G.E. D.” before the Battle of Shiloh, and when he was struck by Union fire, the shot literally left the gold coin bent, the way it was found deep in the Hunley, near his remains. Examination of his remains confirmed that he had previously sustained a gunshot injury shot his upper left thigh, with small lead fragments embedded in the bone!
Ever since the Hunley sank, and Clive Cussler with his National Underwater and Marine Agency, a private group funded by the adventure writer and marine archaeologist, stated that he had found where she lay, various efforts began to raise her to the surface and to find out what happened to the crew.
There are several theories as to what happened; one which occurred to me after reading the books on the Hunley, that the actual attack on the Housatonic and resulting concussive shock felt through the water, rendered the Hunley crew unconscious, where they remained as the oxygen was dissipated within the craft by their breathing and the lit candle.
Others think that it could have been damaged by fire from the Housatonic, though no fire damage apparently has been noted, or that another Union vessel coming to aid the Housatonic may have damaged it. Further examination may tell the final story, though examination of the crew’s remains apparently gave no indication.
When entry was made into the boat upon it’s raising in 2009, the remains of the eight men were found intact, each at his station, in a seated position, with no indication that they had fought to get out or near the opening, etc. Thus death must have come easily and quietly to those brave early sailors, whose job was to turn the heavy iron cranks which propelled the Hunley through the water.
The little submarine may never sail the ocean waters again, but the contribution of her and her intrepid crews will provide scientists and historians with ample food for thought for many years to come.
The Warren Lasch Conservation Center is located at 1250 Supply Street, (old Charleston Navy Base), North Charleston, SC; its number s (843) 743-4865.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
16 July 1862: Wednesday
Foreign - France
Napoleon III received Confederate Commissioner John Slidell, who requested recognition of the Confederacy and aid from warships in breaking the blockade in exchange for cotton.
Confederacy - Government/Military
Major General Theophilius H. Holmes was assigned to command the Trans-Mississippi Department.
Union - Military/Government
The Federal District of West Tennessee was extended to embrace the Army of the Mississippi, all to be commanded by U. S. Grant. General Halleck relinquished command of the Department of the Mississippi to assume his new role as general of all U.S. armies.
Union - Government
Measures of the U.S. Congress approved by the President included creating the grade of rear admiral to be conferred on all flag officers; increasing temporary protective tariffs on sugar, tobacco and liquor, and forbidding all financial interest in public contracts to members of Congress, officers and agents of the government.
William H. Aspinwall of New York presented the Federal War Department with a check for $25,290.60 as his share of profits on an arms contract.
Union - Military
Virginia
Union troops set set out on a reconnaissance from Westover on the Richmond Road near the James.
____________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Napoleon III received Confederate Commissioner John Slidell, who requested recognition of the Confederacy and aid from warships in breaking the blockade in exchange for cotton.
Confederacy - Government/Military
Major General Theophilius H. Holmes was assigned to command the Trans-Mississippi Department.
Union - Military/Government
The Federal District of West Tennessee was extended to embrace the Army of the Mississippi, all to be commanded by U. S. Grant. General Halleck relinquished command of the Department of the Mississippi to assume his new role as general of all U.S. armies.
Union - Government
Measures of the U.S. Congress approved by the President included creating the grade of rear admiral to be conferred on all flag officers; increasing temporary protective tariffs on sugar, tobacco and liquor, and forbidding all financial interest in public contracts to members of Congress, officers and agents of the government.
William H. Aspinwall of New York presented the Federal War Department with a check for $25,290.60 as his share of profits on an arms contract.
Union - Military
Virginia
Union troops set set out on a reconnaissance from Westover on the Richmond Road near the James.
____________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Friday, July 15, 2011
15 July 1862: Tuesday
Confederacy - Military
Mississippi
In the morning, Union naval vessels in the Yazoo north of Vicksburg met the newly completed Confederate ironclad Arkansas, under Commander Isaac Browm, coming downriver.
Arkansas fought three Union vessels, passed with guns firing through other units of the fleet on the Mississippi, and anchored under the Vicksburg bluff.
Farragut with his fleet north of the city now decided to attack Arkansas by running past Vicksburg. In the evening Farragut's fleet passed below the city, dueling with the land batteries and Arkansas, but failing to destroy the newly built Confederate ironclad.
Three Union vessels were badly damaged and Arkansas suffered considerably in the day's fighting. Union troops were 18 killed, 50 wounded and 10 missing. For the Confederates, 10 killed and 15 badly wounded on the Arkansas.
In one spectacular dash a Confederate gunboat had changed the complexion of warfare on the Mississippi.
Military - Unioon
Arkansas
Union calvalry defeated Confederates in an action neat Fayetteville.
Virginia
Skirmishes occurred at Orange Court House and Middletown.
Tennessee
There was a skirmish at Wallace's Cross Roads.
New Mexico Territory
There was a skirmish at Apache Pass between Union troops and Apaches.
______
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Mississippi
In the morning, Union naval vessels in the Yazoo north of Vicksburg met the newly completed Confederate ironclad Arkansas, under Commander Isaac Browm, coming downriver.
Arkansas fought three Union vessels, passed with guns firing through other units of the fleet on the Mississippi, and anchored under the Vicksburg bluff.
Farragut with his fleet north of the city now decided to attack Arkansas by running past Vicksburg. In the evening Farragut's fleet passed below the city, dueling with the land batteries and Arkansas, but failing to destroy the newly built Confederate ironclad.
Three Union vessels were badly damaged and Arkansas suffered considerably in the day's fighting. Union troops were 18 killed, 50 wounded and 10 missing. For the Confederates, 10 killed and 15 badly wounded on the Arkansas.
In one spectacular dash a Confederate gunboat had changed the complexion of warfare on the Mississippi.
Military - Unioon
Arkansas
Union calvalry defeated Confederates in an action neat Fayetteville.
Virginia
Skirmishes occurred at Orange Court House and Middletown.
Tennessee
There was a skirmish at Wallace's Cross Roads.
New Mexico Territory
There was a skirmish at Apache Pass between Union troops and Apaches.
______
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Thursday, July 14, 2011
14 July 1862: Monday
Union - Government
President Lincoln, continuing his attempt to deal with the slavery issue while still favoring compensated emancipation on a state-control basis, in a message to Congress, asked for an act to compensate "any State which may abolish slavery with its limits."
An act setting up a system of pensions for men disabled in service since the start of the war and for next of kin in case of death is signed into law.
Twenty border-state representatives and senators reply that they opposed Lincoln's plan of compensated emancipated presented to them on July 12.
The US Senate passes passes a bill granting secession of Western Virginia from Virginia and creating the new state.
Government - Confederacy
Confederate Adjutant General Samuel Cooper puts the conscription law into stricter operation.
Union - Military
Virginia
Union General John Pope moves his newly created Army of Virginia between the Confederates and Washington in order to draw the pressure from McClellan on the Peninsula. Then he issued an address to his troops calling for offensive action and an advance against the enemy: "I have come to you from the West, where we have always seen the backs of our enemies."
Indian Territory
A Union reconnaissance operates from 14-17 July, from Grand River to Fort Gibson, Tahlequah, and Park Hill.
Confederate - Military
Kentucky
John Hunt Morgan and his raiders, raid the area around Cynthians.
Arkansas
There are skirmishes near Batesville and HElena.
____
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln, continuing his attempt to deal with the slavery issue while still favoring compensated emancipation on a state-control basis, in a message to Congress, asked for an act to compensate "any State which may abolish slavery with its limits."
An act setting up a system of pensions for men disabled in service since the start of the war and for next of kin in case of death is signed into law.
Twenty border-state representatives and senators reply that they opposed Lincoln's plan of compensated emancipated presented to them on July 12.
The US Senate passes passes a bill granting secession of Western Virginia from Virginia and creating the new state.
Government - Confederacy
Confederate Adjutant General Samuel Cooper puts the conscription law into stricter operation.
Union - Military
Virginia
Union General John Pope moves his newly created Army of Virginia between the Confederates and Washington in order to draw the pressure from McClellan on the Peninsula. Then he issued an address to his troops calling for offensive action and an advance against the enemy: "I have come to you from the West, where we have always seen the backs of our enemies."
Indian Territory
A Union reconnaissance operates from 14-17 July, from Grand River to Fort Gibson, Tahlequah, and Park Hill.
Confederate - Military
Kentucky
John Hunt Morgan and his raiders, raid the area around Cynthians.
Arkansas
There are skirmishes near Batesville and HElena.
____
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
13 July, 1862: Sunday
Government - Union
President Lincoln and General McClellan continue their correspondence over how many men McClellan had and whether or not he could take Richmond. Lincoln was beginning to have increasing doubts about his evasive commander on the Peninsula.
Military - Confederate
TennesseeNathan Bedford Forrest and his Confederates capture the city and the Union garrison of Murfeesboro, south of Union-held Nashville.
There is a skirmish near Wolf River.
Virginia
Stonewall Jackson's forces advance from Hanover Court House upon Gordonsville.
A portion of Lee's army begins to move away from the defenses of Richmond as a prelude to new campaigning.
There is a skirmish at Rapidan Station, in which Union forces destroyed the railroad bridge over the Rapidan River.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln and General McClellan continue their correspondence over how many men McClellan had and whether or not he could take Richmond. Lincoln was beginning to have increasing doubts about his evasive commander on the Peninsula.
Military - Confederate
TennesseeNathan Bedford Forrest and his Confederates capture the city and the Union garrison of Murfeesboro, south of Union-held Nashville.
There is a skirmish near Wolf River.
Virginia
Stonewall Jackson's forces advance from Hanover Court House upon Gordonsville.
A portion of Lee's army begins to move away from the defenses of Richmond as a prelude to new campaigning.
There is a skirmish at Rapidan Station, in which Union forces destroyed the railroad bridge over the Rapidan River.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
12 July 1862: Saturday
Government - Union
President Lincoln appeals to border-state congressmen at the White House to suppport compensated emancipation of slaves.
Miitary - Union
Montana
General Samuel Curtis' army arrived at Helena on the Mississippi River after marching across Arkansas.
Alabama
Union troops carried out an expedition from July 12-16 from Decatur to lend support to Unionists of north Alabama.
Virginia
Troops under John Pope make a reconnaissance to Culpeper, Orange and Madison Court Houses from July 12 to the 17th.
Military - Confederacy
Kentucky
John Hunt Morgan and his Confederate raiders capture Lebanon.
____________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln appeals to border-state congressmen at the White House to suppport compensated emancipation of slaves.
Miitary - Union
Montana
General Samuel Curtis' army arrived at Helena on the Mississippi River after marching across Arkansas.
Alabama
Union troops carried out an expedition from July 12-16 from Decatur to lend support to Unionists of north Alabama.
Virginia
Troops under John Pope make a reconnaissance to Culpeper, Orange and Madison Court Houses from July 12 to the 17th.
Military - Confederacy
Kentucky
John Hunt Morgan and his Confederate raiders capture Lebanon.
____________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Monday, July 11, 2011
Henry W. Halleck
Just the first few paragraphs of Wikipedia's entry on the General.
Henry Wager Halleck (January 16, 1815 – January 9, 1872) was a United States Army officer, scholar, and lawyer. A noted expert in military studies, he was known by a nickname that became derogatory, "Old Brains." He was an important participant in the admission of California as a state and became a successful lawyer and land developer. Early in the American Civil War, he was a senior Union Army commander in the Western Theater and then served for almost two years as general-in-chief of all U.S. armies. He was "kicked upstairs" to be chief of staff of the Army when Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Halleck's former subordinate in the West, whose battlefield victories did much to advance Halleck's career, replaced him in 1864 as general-in-chief for the remainder of the war.
Halleck was a cautious general who believed strongly in thorough preparations for battle and in the value of defensive fortifications over quick, aggressive action. He was a master of administration, logistics, and the politics necessary at the top of the military hierarchy, but exerted little effective control over field operations from his post in Washington, D.C. President Abraham Lincoln once described him as "little more than a first rate clerk."
Henry Wager Halleck (January 16, 1815 – January 9, 1872) was a United States Army officer, scholar, and lawyer. A noted expert in military studies, he was known by a nickname that became derogatory, "Old Brains." He was an important participant in the admission of California as a state and became a successful lawyer and land developer. Early in the American Civil War, he was a senior Union Army commander in the Western Theater and then served for almost two years as general-in-chief of all U.S. armies. He was "kicked upstairs" to be chief of staff of the Army when Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Halleck's former subordinate in the West, whose battlefield victories did much to advance Halleck's career, replaced him in 1864 as general-in-chief for the remainder of the war.
Halleck was a cautious general who believed strongly in thorough preparations for battle and in the value of defensive fortifications over quick, aggressive action. He was a master of administration, logistics, and the politics necessary at the top of the military hierarchy, but exerted little effective control over field operations from his post in Washington, D.C. President Abraham Lincoln once described him as "little more than a first rate clerk."
11 July 1862: Friday
Union - Government/Military
Major General Henry W. Halleck is named General-in-Chief of all US land forces by President Lincoln. Halleck had been commander in the West during the successful campaigns of Grant,, and had been field commander at the capture of Corinth, Mississippi. He was considered a top-grade administrator with a sound military mind.
The Federal Congressional act to carry into effect the treaty with Great Britain for suppression of African slave trade was approved by the President.
Union - Military
Virginia
There was quiet on the Peninsula except for another Union reconnaissance from Harrison's Landing beyond Charles City Court Houser.
Missouri
Missouri state militia fought Confederate guerillas at Sears' House and Big Creek Bluffs near Pleasant Hill, Missouri.
_____
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Major General Henry W. Halleck is named General-in-Chief of all US land forces by President Lincoln. Halleck had been commander in the West during the successful campaigns of Grant,, and had been field commander at the capture of Corinth, Mississippi. He was considered a top-grade administrator with a sound military mind.
The Federal Congressional act to carry into effect the treaty with Great Britain for suppression of African slave trade was approved by the President.
Union - Military
Virginia
There was quiet on the Peninsula except for another Union reconnaissance from Harrison's Landing beyond Charles City Court Houser.
Missouri
Missouri state militia fought Confederate guerillas at Sears' House and Big Creek Bluffs near Pleasant Hill, Missouri.
_____
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Sunday, July 10, 2011
10 July 1862: Thursday
Union - Military
Virginia
Union troops carry out a reconaissance from Harrison's Landing on the James River toward White Oak Swamp, and fight a skirmish there.
General John Pope issues controversial orders which rule that in the Shenandoah Valley and throughout the area of operations of his Army of Virginia the people would be held responsible for injury to railroads, attacks upon trains or straggling soldiers. In case of guerilla damage, citizens would be responsible financially, and if a Union soldier were fired upon from any house, it would be razed. People detected in acts against the Army would be shot without civil process.
Mississippi
On this day, and on July 11, Union and Confederate officers meet under a flag of truce in Guntown, where they exchange dispatches and newspapers and discuss in a friendly manner the topics of the day.
Confederates - Military
Kentucky
John Hunt Morgan calls for citizens of Kentucky to "rise and arm, and drive the Hessian invaders from their soil."
Tennessee
Ninety Confederate guerillas drilling in a field between Gallatin and Hartsville are captured by Union forces.
________________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Virginia
Union troops carry out a reconaissance from Harrison's Landing on the James River toward White Oak Swamp, and fight a skirmish there.
General John Pope issues controversial orders which rule that in the Shenandoah Valley and throughout the area of operations of his Army of Virginia the people would be held responsible for injury to railroads, attacks upon trains or straggling soldiers. In case of guerilla damage, citizens would be responsible financially, and if a Union soldier were fired upon from any house, it would be razed. People detected in acts against the Army would be shot without civil process.
Mississippi
On this day, and on July 11, Union and Confederate officers meet under a flag of truce in Guntown, where they exchange dispatches and newspapers and discuss in a friendly manner the topics of the day.
Confederates - Military
Kentucky
John Hunt Morgan calls for citizens of Kentucky to "rise and arm, and drive the Hessian invaders from their soil."
Tennessee
Ninety Confederate guerillas drilling in a field between Gallatin and Hartsville are captured by Union forces.
________________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Confederate Calvary: John Hunt Morgan
John Hunt Morgan (June 1, 1825 – September 4, 1864) was a Confederate general and cavalry officer in the American Civil War.
Morgan is best known for Morgan's Raid when, in 1863, he and his men rode over 1,000 miles covering a region from Tennessee, up through Kentucky, into Indiana and on to southern Ohio. This would be the farthest north any uniformed Confederate troops penetrated during the war.
Early life and careerJohn Hunt Morgan was born in Huntsville, Alabama, the eldest of ten children of Calvin and Henrietta (Hunt) Morgan. He was an uncle of geneticist Thomas Hunt Morgan and a maternal grandson of John Wesley Hunt, an early founder of Lexington, Kentucky, and one of the first millionaires west of the Allegheny Mountains. He was also the brother-in-law of A.P. Hill and of Basil W. Duke.
Morgan's paternal grandfather Luther Morgan had settled in Huntsville, but a downturn in the cotton economy forced him to mortgage his holdings. His father, Calvin Morgan, lost his Huntsville home in 1831 when he was unable to pay the property taxes following the failure of his pharmacy. The family then moved to Lexington, where he would manage one of his father-in-law's sprawling farms.
Morgan grew up on the farm outside of Lexington and attended Transylvania College for two years, but was suspended in 1844 for dueling with a fraternity brother. In 1846, Morgan joined the Freemasons, as had his father before him. Morgan desired a military career, but the small size of the US military severely limited opportunities for officer's commissions.
In 1846 Morgan enlisted with his brother Calvin and uncle Alexander in the U.S. Army as a cavalry private during the Mexican-American War. He was elected second lieutenant and was promoted to first lieutenant before arriving in Mexico, where he saw combat in the Battle of Buena Vista. On his return to Kentucky, he became a hemp manufacturer and in 1848, he married Rebecca Gratz Bruce, the 18-year-old sister of one of his business partners. Morgan also hired out his slaves and occasionally sold them. After the death of John Wesley Hunt in 1849, his fortunes greatly improved as his mother, Henrietta, began financing his business ventures.
In 1853, his wife delivered a stillborn son. She contracted septic thrombophlebitis, popularly known as "milk leg" -- an infection of a blood clot in a vein, which eventually led to an amputation and death in 1861. They became increasingly emotionally distant from one another. Known as a gambler and womanizer, Morgan was also known for his generosity.
Morgan remained interested in the military. He raised a militia artillery company in 1852, but it was disbanded by the state legislature two years later. In 1857, with the rise of sectional tensions, Morgan raised an independent infantry company known as the "Lexington Rifles," and spent much of his free time drilling his men.
Civil War service
John Hunt Morgan Memorial in downtown Lexington, KentuckyLike most Kentuckians, Morgan did not initially support secession. Immediately after Lincoln's election in November 1860, he wrote to his brother, Thomas Hunt Morgan, then a student at Kenyon College in northern Ohio, "Our State will not I hope secede. I have no doubt but Lincoln will make a good President at least we ought to give him a fair trial & then if he commits some overt act all the South will be a unit." By the following spring, Tom Morgan (who also had opposed Kentucky's secession) had transferred home to the Kentucky Military Institute and there began to support the Confederacy. Just before the Fourth of July, by way of a steamer from Louisville, he quietly left for Camp Boone, just across the Tennessee border, to enlist in the Kentucky State Guard. John stayed at home in Lexington to tend to his troubled business and his ailing wife. Becky Morgan finally died on July 21, 1861.
In September, Captain Morgan and his militia company went to Tennessee and joined the Confederate States Army. Morgan soon raised the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry Regiment and became its colonel on April 4, 1862.
Morgan and his cavalrymen fought at the Battle of Shiloh in May 1862, and he soon became a symbol to secessionists in their hopes for obtaining Kentucky for the Confederacy. A Louisiana writer, Robert D. Patrick, compared Morgan to Francis Marion and wrote that "a few thousands of such men as his would regain us Kentucky and Tennessee."
In his first Kentucky raid, Morgan left Knoxville on July 4, 1862, with almost 900 men and in three weeks swept through Kentucky, deep in the rear of Major General Don Carlos Buell's army. He reported the capture of 1,200 Federal soldiers, whom he paroled, acquired several hundred horses, and destroyed massive quantities of supplies. He unnerved Kentucky's Union military government, and President Abraham Lincoln received so many frantic appeals for help that he complained that "they are having a stampede in Kentucky." Historian Kenneth M. Noe wrote that Morgan's feat "in many ways surpassed J.E.B. Stuart's celebrated 'Ride around McClellan' and the Army of the Potomac the previous spring." The success of Morgan's raid was one of the key reasons that the Confederate Heartland Offensive of Braxton Bragg and Edmund Kirby Smith was launched later that fall, assuming that tens of thousands of Kentuckians would enlist in the Confederate Army if they invaded the state.
Morgan was promoted to brigadier general (his highest rank) on December 11, 1862, though the Promotion Orders were not signed by President Davis until December 14, 1862. He received the thanks of the Confederate Congress on May 1, 1863, for his raids on the supply lines of Union Major General William S. Rosecrans in December and January, most notably his victory at the Battle of Hartsville on December 7.
0n December 14, Morgan married Martha "Mattie" Ready, the daughter of Tennessee United States Representative Charles Ready and a cousin of William T. Haskell, another former U.S. representative from Tennessee.
Morgan's Raid
Hoping to divert Union troops and resources in conjunction with the twin Confederate operations of Vicksburg and Gettysburg in the summer of 1863, Morgan set off on the campaign that would become known as "Morgan's Raid". Morgan crossed the Ohio River, and raided across southern Indiana and Ohio. At Corydon, Indiana, the raiders met 450 local Home Guard in a battle that resulted in eleven Confederates killed and five Home Guard killed.
After several more skirmishes, during which he captured and paroled thousands of Union soldiers, Morgan's raid almost ended on July 19, 1863, at Buffington Island, Ohio, when approximately 700 of his men were captured while trying to cross the Ohio River into West Virginia. Intercepted by Union gunboats, less than 200 of his men succeeded in crossing. Most of Morgan's men captured that day spent the rest of the war in the infamous Camp Douglas Prisoner of War camp in Chicago, which had a very high death rate. On July 26, near Salineville, Ohio (actually closer to New Lisbon-now called just Lisbon), Morgan and his exhausted, hungry and saddlesore soldiers were finally forced to surrender.
On November 27, Morgan and six of his officers, most notably Thomas Hines, escaped from their cells in the Ohio Penitentiary by digging a tunnel from Hines' cell into the inner yard and then ascending a wall with a rope made from bunk coverlets and a bent poker iron. Morgan and three of his officers, shortly after midnight, boarded a train from the nearby Columbus train station and arrived in Cincinnati that morning. Morgan and Hines jumped from the train before reaching the depot, and escaped into Kentucky by hiring a skiff to take them across the Ohio River. Through the assistance of sympathizers, they eventually made it to safety in the South. Coincidentally, the same day Morgan escaped, his wife gave birth to a daughter, who died shortly afterwards before Morgan returned home.
Though Morgan's Raid was breathlessly followed by the Northern and Southern press and caused the Union leadership considerable concern, it is now regarded as little more than a showy but ultimately futile sidelight to the war. Furthermore, it was done in direct violation of his orders from General Braxton Bragg not to cross the river. Despite the raiders' best efforts, Union forces had amassed nearly 110,000 militia in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio; dozens of United States Navy gunboats along the Ohio; and strong Federal cavalry forces, which doomed the raid from the beginning. The cost of the raid to the Federals was extensive, with claims for compensation still being filed against the U.S. government well into the early 20th century. However, the Confederacy's irreplaceable loss of some of the finest light cavalry in American history far outweighed the Union's replaceable losses in equipment and supplies. When taken together with the defeats at Vicksburg and Gettysburg, the loss of Morgan's cavalry brigade dealt another serious blow to Confederate morale.
Late career and death
After his return from Ohio, Morgan was never again trusted by General Bragg. On August 22, 1864, Morgan was placed in command of the Trans-Allegheny Department, embracing at the time the Confederate forces in eastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia.
However, the men he was assigned were in no way comparable to those he had lost. Morgan once again began raiding into Kentucky, but his men lacked discipline and he was either not willing or able to control them, leading to open pillaging as well as high casualties. By now, Confederate authorities were quietly investigating Morgan for charges of criminal banditry, likely leading to his removal from command. He began to organize a raid aimed at Knoxville, Tennessee.
On September 4, 1864, he was surprised and killed while attempting to escape capture during a Union raid on Greeneville, Tennessee. His men always believed that he had been murdered to prevent a second escape from prison, but it seems he was simply shot because he refused to halt.
Morgan was buried in Lexington Cemetery. The burial was shortly before the birth of his second child, another daughter.
________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
9 July 1862: Wednesday
England
Public meetings are held in England asking the government to use its influence to bring about a reconciliation in America.
Union - Military
North Carolina
Union forces capture Hamilton.
Virginia
There is a reconnaissance on the Long Branch Road.
Confederates - Military
Kentucky
Confederate calvary under raider John Hunt Morgan routed Union troops and captured Tompkinsville.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Lotspeich Farm, near Wadesboro.
South Carolina
Confederates make an expedition to Fenwick's Island.
__________________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Public meetings are held in England asking the government to use its influence to bring about a reconciliation in America.
Union - Military
North Carolina
Union forces capture Hamilton.
Virginia
There is a reconnaissance on the Long Branch Road.
Confederates - Military
Kentucky
Confederate calvary under raider John Hunt Morgan routed Union troops and captured Tompkinsville.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Lotspeich Farm, near Wadesboro.
South Carolina
Confederates make an expedition to Fenwick's Island.
__________________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Friday, July 8, 2011
8 July 1862: Tuesday
Union - Government
President Lincoln arrives at Fort Monroe and Harrison's Landing for conferences with General McClellan and reviews of the Army of the Potomac.
Union - Military
Arkansas
There is a skirmish at Orient Ferry/Black Run.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Pleasant Hill.
______________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln arrives at Fort Monroe and Harrison's Landing for conferences with General McClellan and reviews of the Army of the Potomac.
Union - Military
Arkansas
There is a skirmish at Orient Ferry/Black Run.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Pleasant Hill.
______________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Thursday, July 7, 2011
7 July 1862: Monday
Union - Military/Government
While near Richmond, troops on both sides of the war rest and recuperate, the "crescendo of controversy" between McClellan and the Lincoln administration increases. McClellan attempts to enlarge the scope of his influence by advising the President on political as well as military policy, and he tries to limit the war to opposing armies and political organizations. Military operations should not interfere with slavery, he writes the President in what will come to be known as the "Harrison's Bar letter".
Virginia
A Union reconnaissance sets out from Yorktown and will last until the 9th.
Tennessee
A Union reconnaissance takes place around Cumberland Gap.
Texas
A Union reconnaissance takes place around Aransas Bay.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Inman Hollow, and one at Newark.
___________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
While near Richmond, troops on both sides of the war rest and recuperate, the "crescendo of controversy" between McClellan and the Lincoln administration increases. McClellan attempts to enlarge the scope of his influence by advising the President on political as well as military policy, and he tries to limit the war to opposing armies and political organizations. Military operations should not interfere with slavery, he writes the President in what will come to be known as the "Harrison's Bar letter".
Virginia
A Union reconnaissance sets out from Yorktown and will last until the 9th.
Tennessee
A Union reconnaissance takes place around Cumberland Gap.
Texas
A Union reconnaissance takes place around Aransas Bay.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Inman Hollow, and one at Newark.
___________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
6 July 1862: Sunday
Union - Military
North Carolina
Major General Ambrose Burnside sails with reinforcements from the Army of the Potomac on the James.
Arkansas
There is a skirmish at Bayou Cache.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Salem.
Also in Missouri, Union troops scout from Waynesville to the Big Piney, and another toward Blackwater and Chapel Hill.
___________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
North Carolina
Major General Ambrose Burnside sails with reinforcements from the Army of the Potomac on the James.
Arkansas
There is a skirmish at Bayou Cache.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Salem.
Also in Missouri, Union troops scout from Waynesville to the Big Piney, and another toward Blackwater and Chapel Hill.
___________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
5 July 1862, Saturday
Confederacy - Government/Military
Jefferson DAvis agrees with General Lee that the Confederate armies are not numerous enough and were so "battle thinned" that an attack on McClellan on the James would be impossible at this time.
Confederacy - Military
Virginia
Confederates carry out minor operations against Union shipping on the James on this day and July 6.
Union - Military
Tennessee
There is a skirmish at Battle Creek, and at Walden's Ridge.
Mississippi
There is a skirmish on the Hatchie River.
Louisiana
A Union expedition operates from Ponchatoula from today until July 8 to flush out Confederate gorillas.
___________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Jefferson DAvis agrees with General Lee that the Confederate armies are not numerous enough and were so "battle thinned" that an attack on McClellan on the James would be impossible at this time.
Confederacy - Military
Virginia
Confederates carry out minor operations against Union shipping on the James on this day and July 6.
Union - Military
Tennessee
There is a skirmish at Battle Creek, and at Walden's Ridge.
Mississippi
There is a skirmish on the Hatchie River.
Louisiana
A Union expedition operates from Ponchatoula from today until July 8 to flush out Confederate gorillas.
___________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Monday, July 4, 2011
4 July 1862: Friday
The Union - civilian
Independence Day was greeted by the North with even more than usual enthusiasm notwithstanding the discouraging news from Virginia. Speeches, proclamations and general orders ruled the day.
Virginia
There is a Union reconnaissance from Harrison's Landing.
There is a skirmish at Westover.
The Confederate gunboat Teaser was captured by Union troops as it attempted to go down the James and launch an observation balloon made of old silk frocks.
Mississippi
The bombardment of Vicksburg continues.
South Carolina
There is a skirmish at Port Royal Ferry.
Texas
Confederates attack US vessels near Velasco.
Kentucky
Confederate John Hunt Morgan embarks on his first Kentucky raid, which lasted until July 28.
_______________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Independence Day was greeted by the North with even more than usual enthusiasm notwithstanding the discouraging news from Virginia. Speeches, proclamations and general orders ruled the day.
Virginia
There is a Union reconnaissance from Harrison's Landing.
There is a skirmish at Westover.
The Confederate gunboat Teaser was captured by Union troops as it attempted to go down the James and launch an observation balloon made of old silk frocks.
Mississippi
The bombardment of Vicksburg continues.
South Carolina
There is a skirmish at Port Royal Ferry.
Texas
Confederates attack US vessels near Velasco.
Kentucky
Confederate John Hunt Morgan embarks on his first Kentucky raid, which lasted until July 28.
_______________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Sunday, July 3, 2011
3 July 1862: Thursday
Confederacy - Military/Government
Major General Sterling Price assumes Command of the Army of the West.
Union - Civilian
The news of the retreat of the Union army from before Richmond spread. In the North, especially, the disappointment and chagrin was vehemently expressed. McClellan and his army were the subject of agitated controversy.
Mississippi
Union ships bombard Vicksburg.
Indian Territory
There is a skirmish at Locust Grove.
Alabama
There is a skirmish near Russellville
Virginia
There is a skirmish near Herring Creek, close to Harrison's Landing.
____________________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Major General Sterling Price assumes Command of the Army of the West.
Union - Civilian
The news of the retreat of the Union army from before Richmond spread. In the North, especially, the disappointment and chagrin was vehemently expressed. McClellan and his army were the subject of agitated controversy.
Mississippi
Union ships bombard Vicksburg.
Indian Territory
There is a skirmish at Locust Grove.
Alabama
There is a skirmish near Russellville
Virginia
There is a skirmish near Herring Creek, close to Harrison's Landing.
____________________
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Saturday, July 2, 2011
2 July 1862, Wednesday
Confederate - Government
The Confederates created the Military District of Mississippi under command of Major General Earl Van Dorn.
Union - Government
President Lincoln received news from Virginia and also signed several acts, including one banning polygamy in the territories. Another law called for a loyalty oath by every elected or appointed government officer. He also signed the Morrill Act, introduced in the Senate by Justin S. Morrill of Vermont, which provided for the states to receive thirty thousand acres of land for each senator and representative as an endowment for proposed agricultural and mechanical schools.The measure made possible land grant agricultural colleges in every state.
Union - Military
Virginia
Heavy rain fell on the Peninsula of Virginia as McClellan pulled his army away from Malvern Hill and continued his retreat to Harrison's Landing on the James River. Lee's army was in no condition for a real follow-up, but there was action between Confederate cavalry and Union infantrymen.
Charges and countercharges on both sides began at once over the management of the campaign.
Alabama
There is a skirmish at Huntsville.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
The Confederates created the Military District of Mississippi under command of Major General Earl Van Dorn.
Union - Government
President Lincoln received news from Virginia and also signed several acts, including one banning polygamy in the territories. Another law called for a loyalty oath by every elected or appointed government officer. He also signed the Morrill Act, introduced in the Senate by Justin S. Morrill of Vermont, which provided for the states to receive thirty thousand acres of land for each senator and representative as an endowment for proposed agricultural and mechanical schools.The measure made possible land grant agricultural colleges in every state.
Union - Military
Virginia
Heavy rain fell on the Peninsula of Virginia as McClellan pulled his army away from Malvern Hill and continued his retreat to Harrison's Landing on the James River. Lee's army was in no condition for a real follow-up, but there was action between Confederate cavalry and Union infantrymen.
Charges and countercharges on both sides began at once over the management of the campaign.
Alabama
There is a skirmish at Huntsville.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
Friday, July 1, 2011
Stonewall Jackson during the Seven Days
According to: Encyclopedia Virginia:
http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Jackson_Thomas_J_Stonewall_1824-1863
http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Jackson_Thomas_J_Stonewall_1824-1863
During the subsequent Seven Days' Battles, Jackson participated in the operations or fighting relating to the battles of Mechanicsville, Gaines's Mill, Savage's Station, White Oak Swamp, and Malvern Hill. Some of Jackson's contemporaries and many subsequent historians considered his performance tardy, lethargic, or inept, while Jackson partisans have defended his reputation with zeal. The drive and purpose Jackson had displayed in the Valley were indeed lacking, and it was not Jackson's finest hour, but there were mitigating circumstances. Thanks to overwork during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, his reluctance to delegate tasks, and a nervous energy that robbed him of sleep, Jackson was occasionally fatigued to the point of unfitness for command.
Moreover, Jackson operated over unfamiliar terrain with poor maps. The instructions Jackson received from Lee lacked clarity, and Lee did a poor job of coordinating the movements of Jackson and his other subordinates. Nevertheless, the campaign halted McClellan's advance on Richmond.
1 July 1862: Tuesday (Battle of Malvern Hill)
Union - Government
President Lincoln approves two significant acts of the Federal Congress. The Federal Income Tax was revised with 3 per cent on oncome between $600 and $10,000, and 5% above $10,000. This measure became operative where the 1861 measure did not. Another measure approved a Union Pacific-Central railroad across the west. Government aid was provided and rights secured for postal, military and other purposes.
The President announced to the Northern governors that he was calling for 300,000 more men "to bring this necessary and injurious civil war to a speedy and satisfactory conclusion."
Union - Military
Virginia
The Seven Days Battles (marking the end of the Peninsula campaign) came to an end on Malvern Hill north of the James River. McClellan's retreating Army of the Potomac took its stand at a strong densive position, readily adapted for well-placed artillery and infantry alike. Lee, hoping to destroy the Union troops, decided to attack. Delay after delay and incoherent organization prevented any thrust until late in the afternoon. Confederate artillery proved to be no match for the expertly handled Union guns.
The several attacks, when they did come, were disjointed and uncoordinated; a large portioner of the Southerners never saw action. By nightfall the Confederates were spent and the battered Union troops continued their withdrawal down the James to Berkeley Plantation or Harrison's Landing, ancestral home of the Harrison form.
McClellan had failed to take Richmond despite his greatly superior numbers. He had been forced to withdraw, but at Malvern Hill his men defended courageously. Lee, after successfully driving the Union troops from his capital, failed to destroy or seriously cripple McClellan and was criticized both for making the costly assaults at Malvern Hill and for the clearly faulty management of the battle, known also as Crew's or Poindexter's Farm.
Casualties for the entire 7 Days:
Confederates: over 20,000 casualties, including 3,286 killed, 15,909 wounded, and 946 missing.
Union: 1,734 killed, 8,062 wounded, and 6,053 missing.
There is a skirmish at Fort Furnace at Powell's Big Fort Valley.
Mississippi
Union Colonel Philip H. Sheridan defeated Confederate troops in action near Booneville, south of Corinth in the northeastern portion of the state.
There is a skirmish at Holly Springs.
Farragutt's fleet from New Orleans, now north of Vicksburg, joined Flag Officer Charles Davis' western flotilla on the Mississippi.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Cherry Grove in Schuyler County.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
President Lincoln approves two significant acts of the Federal Congress. The Federal Income Tax was revised with 3 per cent on oncome between $600 and $10,000, and 5% above $10,000. This measure became operative where the 1861 measure did not. Another measure approved a Union Pacific-Central railroad across the west. Government aid was provided and rights secured for postal, military and other purposes.
The President announced to the Northern governors that he was calling for 300,000 more men "to bring this necessary and injurious civil war to a speedy and satisfactory conclusion."
Union - Military
Virginia
The Seven Days Battles (marking the end of the Peninsula campaign) came to an end on Malvern Hill north of the James River. McClellan's retreating Army of the Potomac took its stand at a strong densive position, readily adapted for well-placed artillery and infantry alike. Lee, hoping to destroy the Union troops, decided to attack. Delay after delay and incoherent organization prevented any thrust until late in the afternoon. Confederate artillery proved to be no match for the expertly handled Union guns.
The several attacks, when they did come, were disjointed and uncoordinated; a large portioner of the Southerners never saw action. By nightfall the Confederates were spent and the battered Union troops continued their withdrawal down the James to Berkeley Plantation or Harrison's Landing, ancestral home of the Harrison form.
McClellan had failed to take Richmond despite his greatly superior numbers. He had been forced to withdraw, but at Malvern Hill his men defended courageously. Lee, after successfully driving the Union troops from his capital, failed to destroy or seriously cripple McClellan and was criticized both for making the costly assaults at Malvern Hill and for the clearly faulty management of the battle, known also as Crew's or Poindexter's Farm.
Casualties for the entire 7 Days:
Confederates: over 20,000 casualties, including 3,286 killed, 15,909 wounded, and 946 missing.
Union: 1,734 killed, 8,062 wounded, and 6,053 missing.
There is a skirmish at Fort Furnace at Powell's Big Fort Valley.
Mississippi
Union Colonel Philip H. Sheridan defeated Confederate troops in action near Booneville, south of Corinth in the northeastern portion of the state.
There is a skirmish at Holly Springs.
Farragutt's fleet from New Orleans, now north of Vicksburg, joined Flag Officer Charles Davis' western flotilla on the Mississippi.
Missouri
There is a skirmish at Cherry Grove in Schuyler County.
Bibliography
The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. E.B. Long with Barbara Long, De Capo, 1971
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