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Posted on 10/9/13 at 4:52 am to BadLeroyDawg
Posted on 10/9/13 at 4:52 am to BadLeroyDawg
Friday, 9 October 1863
United States Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles commended Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren on the work of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron off Charleston, South Carolina the preceding month and cited Brigadier General Quincy Adams Gillmore's "brilliant operations" on Morris Island. Noting that, though the first step in the capture of Charleston was taken, the remainder would be full of risk, he added: "While there is intense feeling pervading the country in regard to the fate of Charleston . . . the public impatience must not be permitted to hasten your own movements into immature and inconsiderate action against your own deliberate convictions nor impel you to hazards that may jeopardize the best interest of the country without adequate results. . . ."
The CSS Georgia, commanded by Lieutenant W. L. Maury, captured and burned the ship Bold Hunter off the coast of French West Africa. She had been bound for Calcutta with a cargo of coal.
Two iron-plated rams, built on the Mersey, England, by the Lairds for the use of the Confederate States of America, were seized by order of the British government, upon a charge of an intention to evade the neutrality laws.
Major General J. G. Foster sent the following dispatch to the Federal War Department: “I have the honor to report that the expedition sent out on Sunday, under General Wistar, to break up or capture the guerrillas and boats' crews organized by the enemy in Matthews County, has returned, having in the main accomplished its object. Four rebel naval officers, twenty-five men, and twenty-five head of cattle belonging to the Confederacy, together with horses, mules, and arms, are the results. A large number of Rebel boats were destroyed. Our loss was one man killed. General Wistar reports the Fourth United States infantry (colored) making thirty miles in one day, with no stragglers.”
Fort Johnson, in Charleston Harbor, S. C., was again silenced. A well directed shot from the Union batteries entered an embrasure and dismounted the gun.
One of the two-hundred pounder batteries on Morris Island, that had been silent for a week, opened on Fort Sumter and the other Confederate forts.
Chat
United States Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles commended Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren on the work of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron off Charleston, South Carolina the preceding month and cited Brigadier General Quincy Adams Gillmore's "brilliant operations" on Morris Island. Noting that, though the first step in the capture of Charleston was taken, the remainder would be full of risk, he added: "While there is intense feeling pervading the country in regard to the fate of Charleston . . . the public impatience must not be permitted to hasten your own movements into immature and inconsiderate action against your own deliberate convictions nor impel you to hazards that may jeopardize the best interest of the country without adequate results. . . ."
The CSS Georgia, commanded by Lieutenant W. L. Maury, captured and burned the ship Bold Hunter off the coast of French West Africa. She had been bound for Calcutta with a cargo of coal.
Two iron-plated rams, built on the Mersey, England, by the Lairds for the use of the Confederate States of America, were seized by order of the British government, upon a charge of an intention to evade the neutrality laws.
Major General J. G. Foster sent the following dispatch to the Federal War Department: “I have the honor to report that the expedition sent out on Sunday, under General Wistar, to break up or capture the guerrillas and boats' crews organized by the enemy in Matthews County, has returned, having in the main accomplished its object. Four rebel naval officers, twenty-five men, and twenty-five head of cattle belonging to the Confederacy, together with horses, mules, and arms, are the results. A large number of Rebel boats were destroyed. Our loss was one man killed. General Wistar reports the Fourth United States infantry (colored) making thirty miles in one day, with no stragglers.”
Fort Johnson, in Charleston Harbor, S. C., was again silenced. A well directed shot from the Union batteries entered an embrasure and dismounted the gun.
One of the two-hundred pounder batteries on Morris Island, that had been silent for a week, opened on Fort Sumter and the other Confederate forts.
Chat
1
Posted on 10/10/13 at 4:24 am to BadLeroyDawg
Saturday, 10 October 1863
Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles transmitted to Rear Admiral David D. Porter a War Department request for gunboat assistance for the operations of Major General William T. Sherman on the Tennessee River. Porter replied that the shallowness of the water prevented his immediate action but promised: "The gunboats will be ready to go up the moment a rise takes place. . . . " Ten days later, General Hiram U. Grant urged: "The sooner a gunboat can be got to him [Sherman] the better." Porter answered that gunboats were on their way up the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. "My intention," he wrote, "is to send every gunboat I can spare up the Tennessee. I have also sent below for light-drafts to come up. Am sorry to say the river is at a stand." By the 24th two gunboats were at Eastport to join Sherman's operations.
The USS Samuel Rotan, under Acting Lieutenant Kennison seized a large yawl off Horn Harbor, Virginia, with a large mercantile cargo including salt.
Early this morning one of General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick's cavalry brigades, consisting of four regiments, attempted a reconnaissance on the south side of Robertson's River, when they were met by a body of General James Ewell Brown Stuart's Confederate cavalry. A fight ensued, which lasted about an hour, when the defeated Union cavalry fell back upon the infantry reserves. Another severe conflict ensued, which resulted in the giving way of the Union infantry and the surrender of a considerable number of them, as Stuart captured 250 of the Federals. Stuart then crossed the River in force and occupied James City.
Zollicoffer, Tennessee, was captured by the Union forces under General Shackelford.
Reported in the Richmond Whig about a DeKalb County, Georgia native this morning... Lieutenant Colonel George Washington Lee has recently returned from his deserter hunting trip into the mountains of North Carolina. He has captured between three hundred and four hundred deserters and Tories. Their leader, Colonel Busty, notorious for his daring outrages, was said to have about six hundred men under him. They were not, however, in a body, but scattered through the country, engaged in their treasonable work of stealing and destroying the property of the people, and carrying off cattle fattening for the army. With two hundred men, Colonel Lee pursued and drove him to Loudon, and captured fifty prisoners, among them two Yankee recruiting officers, and about seventy-five fine beef cattle.
A large and enthusiastic meeting of mechanics was held in Richmond, Virginia, at which the following resolution, among others, was adopted: Resolved, That, awakened to a sense of the abject posture to which labor and we who labor have been reduced, and to the privileges which as citizens and people the institutions of our country rest in us, we will not sleep again until our grasp has firmly clenched the rights and immunities which are ours as Americans and men, until our just demands have been met by the concessions of all opposing elements.
The Federal forces under General Burnside fought off the Confederates at Blue Springs, Tennessee.
Chat
Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles transmitted to Rear Admiral David D. Porter a War Department request for gunboat assistance for the operations of Major General William T. Sherman on the Tennessee River. Porter replied that the shallowness of the water prevented his immediate action but promised: "The gunboats will be ready to go up the moment a rise takes place. . . . " Ten days later, General Hiram U. Grant urged: "The sooner a gunboat can be got to him [Sherman] the better." Porter answered that gunboats were on their way up the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. "My intention," he wrote, "is to send every gunboat I can spare up the Tennessee. I have also sent below for light-drafts to come up. Am sorry to say the river is at a stand." By the 24th two gunboats were at Eastport to join Sherman's operations.
The USS Samuel Rotan, under Acting Lieutenant Kennison seized a large yawl off Horn Harbor, Virginia, with a large mercantile cargo including salt.
Early this morning one of General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick's cavalry brigades, consisting of four regiments, attempted a reconnaissance on the south side of Robertson's River, when they were met by a body of General James Ewell Brown Stuart's Confederate cavalry. A fight ensued, which lasted about an hour, when the defeated Union cavalry fell back upon the infantry reserves. Another severe conflict ensued, which resulted in the giving way of the Union infantry and the surrender of a considerable number of them, as Stuart captured 250 of the Federals. Stuart then crossed the River in force and occupied James City.
Zollicoffer, Tennessee, was captured by the Union forces under General Shackelford.
Reported in the Richmond Whig about a DeKalb County, Georgia native this morning... Lieutenant Colonel George Washington Lee has recently returned from his deserter hunting trip into the mountains of North Carolina. He has captured between three hundred and four hundred deserters and Tories. Their leader, Colonel Busty, notorious for his daring outrages, was said to have about six hundred men under him. They were not, however, in a body, but scattered through the country, engaged in their treasonable work of stealing and destroying the property of the people, and carrying off cattle fattening for the army. With two hundred men, Colonel Lee pursued and drove him to Loudon, and captured fifty prisoners, among them two Yankee recruiting officers, and about seventy-five fine beef cattle.
A large and enthusiastic meeting of mechanics was held in Richmond, Virginia, at which the following resolution, among others, was adopted: Resolved, That, awakened to a sense of the abject posture to which labor and we who labor have been reduced, and to the privileges which as citizens and people the institutions of our country rest in us, we will not sleep again until our grasp has firmly clenched the rights and immunities which are ours as Americans and men, until our just demands have been met by the concessions of all opposing elements.
The Federal forces under General Burnside fought off the Confederates at Blue Springs, Tennessee.
Chat
Posted on 10/11/13 at 4:20 am to BadLeroyDawg
Sunday, 11 October 1863
The USS Nansemond, piloted by Lieutenant Roswell H. Lamson, chased ashore and destroyed at night steamer Douro near New Inlet, North Carolina. She had a cargo of cotton, tobacco, turpentine, and rosin. Douro had been captured previously on 9 March 1863 by the USS Quaker City, but after being condemned she was sold and turned up again as a blockade runner. Noting this, Commander Almy, senior officer at New Inlet, wrote: "She now lies a perfect wreck . . . and past ever being bought and sold again." Rear Admiral S.P. Lee informed Assistant Secretary Fox: "The Nansemond has done well off Wilmington . She discovered followed & destroyed the Douro at night, the first instance of the kind, I believe."
The USS Union, Acting Lieutenant Conroy in charge, seized the steamer Spaulding at sea east of St. Andrew's Sound, Georgia. She had run the blockade out of Charleston the previous month with a cargo of cotton and was attempting to return from Nassau, "...which," Conroy wrote, we have spoiled . . . . "
The USS Madgie, under Acting Master Polleys, in tow of USS Fahkee, Acting Ensign Francis R. Webb commanding, sank in rough seas off Frying Pan Shoals, North Carolina.
The English steamer Spaulding was captured by the steam transport Union whilst attempting to run the blockade of Charleston, South Carolina.
Heavy skirmishing breaks out across a wide front in Virginia as the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac clash between the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers. General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia, still outnumbered but hoping to capitalize on General Joesph Hooker's Corps being sent South, continues to outflank General George Meade's Army of the Potomac, driving the Federals from the west.
Chat
The USS Nansemond, piloted by Lieutenant Roswell H. Lamson, chased ashore and destroyed at night steamer Douro near New Inlet, North Carolina. She had a cargo of cotton, tobacco, turpentine, and rosin. Douro had been captured previously on 9 March 1863 by the USS Quaker City, but after being condemned she was sold and turned up again as a blockade runner. Noting this, Commander Almy, senior officer at New Inlet, wrote: "She now lies a perfect wreck . . . and past ever being bought and sold again." Rear Admiral S.P. Lee informed Assistant Secretary Fox: "The Nansemond has done well off Wilmington . She discovered followed & destroyed the Douro at night, the first instance of the kind, I believe."
The USS Union, Acting Lieutenant Conroy in charge, seized the steamer Spaulding at sea east of St. Andrew's Sound, Georgia. She had run the blockade out of Charleston the previous month with a cargo of cotton and was attempting to return from Nassau, "...which," Conroy wrote, we have spoiled . . . . "
The USS Madgie, under Acting Master Polleys, in tow of USS Fahkee, Acting Ensign Francis R. Webb commanding, sank in rough seas off Frying Pan Shoals, North Carolina.
The English steamer Spaulding was captured by the steam transport Union whilst attempting to run the blockade of Charleston, South Carolina.
Heavy skirmishing breaks out across a wide front in Virginia as the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac clash between the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers. General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia, still outnumbered but hoping to capitalize on General Joesph Hooker's Corps being sent South, continues to outflank General George Meade's Army of the Potomac, driving the Federals from the west.
Chat
Posted on 10/12/13 at 5:06 am to BadLeroyDawg
Monday, 12 October 1863
The Richmond Times Dispatch printed the following this morning. From General Bragg's army. Lookout Mountain, Tenn, October 6th, 1863. The dull monotony which has prevailed in camp since our arrival in front of Chattanooga was relieved yesterday by a bombardment of the enemy's works. Several of our longest range guns were placed in position — some of them on the side of Lookout Mountain — and a slow but regular fire was kept up from 11 o'clock in the morning until 5 in the afternoon. This fire was maintained at intervals during last night. The guns put in position on the side of the mountain were the 20 pounder Parrotts of Col. E. P. Alexander, chief of artillery in Longstreet's corps. The enemy replied to our fire from three points only — their extreme left up the river, the star fort in the centre, and the moccasin works on their left. These last works are on the north side and in a bend of the river opposite our left, and are so designated because the ground in the bend of the river assumes the shape of an Indian's moccasin.--They are in the lower part of the S which sweeps around towards our lines at the foot of Lookout. The ground in the moccasin is elevated and irregular, and gives the enemy an enfilading fire upon a column moving across the against their centre or right. There are three casemate batteries of rille guns on the moccasin, and they are known among the Confederates as the moccasin batteries. The Star fort is situated about the centre of the Federal lines, and is an extensive and formidable work. We have not yet been able to ascertain the number of guns it mounts, though we could see that four of its guns replied to our fire. None of their guns, however, were able to reach our batteries on the mountain, on account of their great elevation. The distance was too far for our guns to produce any particular effect. Several of our shot were seen to explode above the Star fort and over the Federal lines; but as far as I could see, with the aid of an excellent glass, no unusual commotion was created thereby in the camps of the enemy. The men moved in an orderly manner to their positions in the forts and behind the breast-works, and stood firmly to their posts throughout the day. A few of our 12-pounder howitzers were placed within twelve hundred yards of the Federal lines, but the guns chiefly relied upon were not nearer than two and two and a half miles. Our casualties were few and slight, not exceeding five or six wounded from shells. The enemy doubtless suffered a heavier loss, inasmuch as his troops were more closely massed in an open plain. The freshet in the Tennessee, produced by the late 30 hours rain, carried away the enemy's lower bridge, night before last. This was a hastily constructed trestle work, slight and frail, the pontoon bridge being higher up the river, and opposite the town. Several parties were out yesterday in flats and batteaux trying to save the wreck of the bridge, but they met with indifferent success. The enemy has secured a small steamboat — probably one that had been plying up the river from Chattanooga — and this they are using as a ferry boat. A deserter, who swam the river yesterday and delivered himself up to our pickets, says that a report prevailed in their camps that our cavalry had destroyed between four and five hundred of their wagons with their contents. He says also that the Federal suffered very much for food for a week after the battle of Chickamauga, but that they were now receiving full rations, a supply train having arrived. With the exceptions noted above, no change has occurred since the date of my last letter. There is still some doubt felt in regard to the reinforcements alleged to have been received by Rosecrans. One day we hear that the forces lately in East Tennessee, under Burnside, have certainly arrived, and again that several trains loaded with troops have been seen by our pickets below to arrive at Stevenson; and on the next it is affirmed most positively that no reinforcements whatever have come up, either from Burnside, Grant, or Meade. My own opinion is that additional forces have been received, and that the time has passed when we could hope to force Rosecrans out of Chattanooga, except by a flank movement upon Nashville, or the destruction of his line of communications to the rear. Twenty thousand men, if properly previsioned, can hold the place indefinitely. Gen. Forrest, unwilling it is said to report to Gen. Wheeler, has been granted a leave of absence. There is but little harmony or unity in the army of Tennessee, whilst its organization is less perfect and its discipline less effective than that of Gen. Lee's army.
A Georgia soldier near Chattanooga wrote his wife about the bombardment going on there, and his fear of a major battle erupting: "...My Dear we are hear in line of Battle at the time expecting a battle every day an the cannons is firing every day an the bomb shells is passing an bursting about every day they have bin at it this morning but they do but little damage as yet. I hope we will never have this battle to fight for if we do we will lose several thousand good men..."
A Georgia soldier stationed in Virginia wrote home to his wife, hoping to get a chance to visit her soon, and telling her of those who had left without permission: "...Dear Wife, I feel encouraged in regard to my chance for a furlough. Two of our company has got furloughs lately. One went home yesterday. One got his furlough on the grounds of his mother being sick and the other on account of his wife being sick. They only got ten days time, but that is something better than no go. The generals are reining up the runaways that has been home and say they are going to punish them pretty severely..."
The Daily Intelligencer of Atlanta printed an editorial on impressment--the forcible seizure of supplies by the government and military. While they acknowledged this practice was sometime necessary in warfare, they argued they it should be done fairly, and with reasonable compensation.
The USS Kanawha, under Lieutenant Commander Mayo, and the USS Eugenie, Lieutenant Henry W. Miller in charge, attempted to destroy a steamer aground under the guns of Fort Morgan in Mobile Bay and were taken under fire by the fort. The Kanawha was damaged during the engagement.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis, accompanied by General Braxton Bragg and staff, visited the battlefield of Chickamauga. He complimented the General in the highest terms, remarking that “...his soldiers were entitled to the gratitude of the country for their heroism, and promising them that the green fields of Tennessee would shortly again be theirs.”
A large contingent of Union cavalry, under Colonel Hatch, in pursuit of the Rebels who were retreating from the battlefield of Colliersville, overtook them at Ingham's Mills, a point on Coldwater River, three miles from Byhalia, Mississippi. The Confederates were posted in a strong position, but were finally compelled to retreat after a fight of over two hours, with a loss of over fifty in killed and wounded.
Chat
The Richmond Times Dispatch printed the following this morning. From General Bragg's army. Lookout Mountain, Tenn, October 6th, 1863. The dull monotony which has prevailed in camp since our arrival in front of Chattanooga was relieved yesterday by a bombardment of the enemy's works. Several of our longest range guns were placed in position — some of them on the side of Lookout Mountain — and a slow but regular fire was kept up from 11 o'clock in the morning until 5 in the afternoon. This fire was maintained at intervals during last night. The guns put in position on the side of the mountain were the 20 pounder Parrotts of Col. E. P. Alexander, chief of artillery in Longstreet's corps. The enemy replied to our fire from three points only — their extreme left up the river, the star fort in the centre, and the moccasin works on their left. These last works are on the north side and in a bend of the river opposite our left, and are so designated because the ground in the bend of the river assumes the shape of an Indian's moccasin.--They are in the lower part of the S which sweeps around towards our lines at the foot of Lookout. The ground in the moccasin is elevated and irregular, and gives the enemy an enfilading fire upon a column moving across the against their centre or right. There are three casemate batteries of rille guns on the moccasin, and they are known among the Confederates as the moccasin batteries. The Star fort is situated about the centre of the Federal lines, and is an extensive and formidable work. We have not yet been able to ascertain the number of guns it mounts, though we could see that four of its guns replied to our fire. None of their guns, however, were able to reach our batteries on the mountain, on account of their great elevation. The distance was too far for our guns to produce any particular effect. Several of our shot were seen to explode above the Star fort and over the Federal lines; but as far as I could see, with the aid of an excellent glass, no unusual commotion was created thereby in the camps of the enemy. The men moved in an orderly manner to their positions in the forts and behind the breast-works, and stood firmly to their posts throughout the day. A few of our 12-pounder howitzers were placed within twelve hundred yards of the Federal lines, but the guns chiefly relied upon were not nearer than two and two and a half miles. Our casualties were few and slight, not exceeding five or six wounded from shells. The enemy doubtless suffered a heavier loss, inasmuch as his troops were more closely massed in an open plain. The freshet in the Tennessee, produced by the late 30 hours rain, carried away the enemy's lower bridge, night before last. This was a hastily constructed trestle work, slight and frail, the pontoon bridge being higher up the river, and opposite the town. Several parties were out yesterday in flats and batteaux trying to save the wreck of the bridge, but they met with indifferent success. The enemy has secured a small steamboat — probably one that had been plying up the river from Chattanooga — and this they are using as a ferry boat. A deserter, who swam the river yesterday and delivered himself up to our pickets, says that a report prevailed in their camps that our cavalry had destroyed between four and five hundred of their wagons with their contents. He says also that the Federal suffered very much for food for a week after the battle of Chickamauga, but that they were now receiving full rations, a supply train having arrived. With the exceptions noted above, no change has occurred since the date of my last letter. There is still some doubt felt in regard to the reinforcements alleged to have been received by Rosecrans. One day we hear that the forces lately in East Tennessee, under Burnside, have certainly arrived, and again that several trains loaded with troops have been seen by our pickets below to arrive at Stevenson; and on the next it is affirmed most positively that no reinforcements whatever have come up, either from Burnside, Grant, or Meade. My own opinion is that additional forces have been received, and that the time has passed when we could hope to force Rosecrans out of Chattanooga, except by a flank movement upon Nashville, or the destruction of his line of communications to the rear. Twenty thousand men, if properly previsioned, can hold the place indefinitely. Gen. Forrest, unwilling it is said to report to Gen. Wheeler, has been granted a leave of absence. There is but little harmony or unity in the army of Tennessee, whilst its organization is less perfect and its discipline less effective than that of Gen. Lee's army.
A Georgia soldier near Chattanooga wrote his wife about the bombardment going on there, and his fear of a major battle erupting: "...My Dear we are hear in line of Battle at the time expecting a battle every day an the cannons is firing every day an the bomb shells is passing an bursting about every day they have bin at it this morning but they do but little damage as yet. I hope we will never have this battle to fight for if we do we will lose several thousand good men..."
A Georgia soldier stationed in Virginia wrote home to his wife, hoping to get a chance to visit her soon, and telling her of those who had left without permission: "...Dear Wife, I feel encouraged in regard to my chance for a furlough. Two of our company has got furloughs lately. One went home yesterday. One got his furlough on the grounds of his mother being sick and the other on account of his wife being sick. They only got ten days time, but that is something better than no go. The generals are reining up the runaways that has been home and say they are going to punish them pretty severely..."
The Daily Intelligencer of Atlanta printed an editorial on impressment--the forcible seizure of supplies by the government and military. While they acknowledged this practice was sometime necessary in warfare, they argued they it should be done fairly, and with reasonable compensation.
The USS Kanawha, under Lieutenant Commander Mayo, and the USS Eugenie, Lieutenant Henry W. Miller in charge, attempted to destroy a steamer aground under the guns of Fort Morgan in Mobile Bay and were taken under fire by the fort. The Kanawha was damaged during the engagement.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis, accompanied by General Braxton Bragg and staff, visited the battlefield of Chickamauga. He complimented the General in the highest terms, remarking that “...his soldiers were entitled to the gratitude of the country for their heroism, and promising them that the green fields of Tennessee would shortly again be theirs.”
A large contingent of Union cavalry, under Colonel Hatch, in pursuit of the Rebels who were retreating from the battlefield of Colliersville, overtook them at Ingham's Mills, a point on Coldwater River, three miles from Byhalia, Mississippi. The Confederates were posted in a strong position, but were finally compelled to retreat after a fight of over two hours, with a loss of over fifty in killed and wounded.
Chat
Posted on 10/13/13 at 5:36 am to BadLeroyDawg
Tuesday, 13 October 1863
General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia continues moving west and north toward Manassas and Washington. General George Meade, fearing being outflanked, slowly withdraws.
In Alabama, elements of the 1st Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Cumberland, skirmish with Confederates at Maysville, in eastern Madison County.
General Edward Hatch's 16th Corps, Cavalry Division, clashes with Confederates at Wyatt, Mississippi. Other Federal contingents including cavalry and infantry under General James McPherson's command skirmish with Rebels at Big Black River.
The USS Victoria, under Acting Lieutenant John MacDiarmid, seized a sloop west of Little River, North Carolina, with a cargo of salt and soap.
A guard boat from the USS Braziliera, Acting Master William T. Gillespie in charge, captured the schooner Mary near St. Simon's Island, Georgia.
The USS Queen City, piloted by Acting Lieutenant G. W. Brown, with troops embarked, departed Helena, Arkansas, for Friar's Point, Mississippi, where the soldiers landed and surrounded the town. The following morning on the 14th, the warehouses were searched and more than 200 bales of cotton and several prisoners were seized.
A fight took place near Merrill's Crossing, Missouri, between the Union troops under General Brown and a Confederate force-the "Iron Brigade" of Missouri volunteers under Colonel Jo Shelby-in the midst of a 1,500 mile romp through the state, while inflicting more than 1,000 casualties on Federal forces, and capturing or destroying over $2 million worth of enemy supplies and property.
Republican Union office seekers are successful in a number of state elections. In Ohio, Clement Laird Vallandigham, the Lincoln-exiled Copperhead candidate for governor now living in Canada, loses decisively but still receives a surprisingly large number of votes.
Chat
General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia continues moving west and north toward Manassas and Washington. General George Meade, fearing being outflanked, slowly withdraws.
In Alabama, elements of the 1st Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Cumberland, skirmish with Confederates at Maysville, in eastern Madison County.
General Edward Hatch's 16th Corps, Cavalry Division, clashes with Confederates at Wyatt, Mississippi. Other Federal contingents including cavalry and infantry under General James McPherson's command skirmish with Rebels at Big Black River.
The USS Victoria, under Acting Lieutenant John MacDiarmid, seized a sloop west of Little River, North Carolina, with a cargo of salt and soap.
A guard boat from the USS Braziliera, Acting Master William T. Gillespie in charge, captured the schooner Mary near St. Simon's Island, Georgia.
The USS Queen City, piloted by Acting Lieutenant G. W. Brown, with troops embarked, departed Helena, Arkansas, for Friar's Point, Mississippi, where the soldiers landed and surrounded the town. The following morning on the 14th, the warehouses were searched and more than 200 bales of cotton and several prisoners were seized.
A fight took place near Merrill's Crossing, Missouri, between the Union troops under General Brown and a Confederate force-the "Iron Brigade" of Missouri volunteers under Colonel Jo Shelby-in the midst of a 1,500 mile romp through the state, while inflicting more than 1,000 casualties on Federal forces, and capturing or destroying over $2 million worth of enemy supplies and property.
Republican Union office seekers are successful in a number of state elections. In Ohio, Clement Laird Vallandigham, the Lincoln-exiled Copperhead candidate for governor now living in Canada, loses decisively but still receives a surprisingly large number of votes.
Chat
This post was edited on 10/13/13 at 5:37 am
Posted on 10/14/13 at 4:08 am to BadLeroyDawg
Wednesday, 14 October 1863
Confederate President Jefferson Davis issued an address in Atlanta to the soldiers of the Army of Tennessee, thanking them for the “...glorious victory on the field of Chickamauga.”
Davis' Speech: SOLDIERS: A grateful country recognizes your arduous services, and rejoices over your glorious victory on the field of Chickamauga. When your countrymen shall more fully learn the adverse circumstances under which you attacked the enemy, though they cannot be more thankful, they may admire more the gallantry and patriotic devotion which secured your success. Representatives of every State of the Confederacy, your steps have been followed up with affectionate solicitude by friends in every portion of the country. Defenders of the heart of our territory, your movements have been an object of interest, anxiety, and hope. Our cause depends on you, and happy it is that all can reply upon your achieving whatever, under the blessing of Providence, human power can effect. Though you have done much, very much remains to be done. Behind you is a people providing for your support, and depending upon your protection. Before you is a country devastated by your ruthless invaders, where gentle women, feeble age and helpless infancy have been subjected to outrages without parallel in the warfare of civilized nations. With eager eye they watch for your coming to their deliverance, and homeless refugees pine for the hour when your victorious arms shall restore their family shelters from which they have been driven and forced to take up arms to vindicate their political rights, freedom, equality and state sovereignty, which were a heritage purchased by the blood of your Revolutionary sires. You have but the alternative of being slaves of submission to a despotic usurpation or of independence, which a vigorous, united and persistent effort will secure. All which fires a manly breast, moves a patriot, or exalts a hero, is present to stimulate and sustain you. Nobly have you redeemed your pledges, given in the name of freedom, to the memory of your ancestors and the rights of your posterity. That you may complete the mission to which you have devoted yourselves, will require of you such exertions in the future as you have made in the past, and the continuous self-denial which rejects every consideration at variance with the public service, as unworthy of the holy cause in which you are engaged. When the war shall be ended the highest meed of praise will be due, and probably be given, to him who has claimed the least for himself in proportion to the service he has rendered. And the bitterest self-reproach which may hereafter haunt the memory of any one will be to him who has allowed selfish aspiration to prevail over his desire for the public good. United as we are in a common destiny, obedience and cordial cooperation are essential. There is no higher duty than that which requires one to exert and render to all what is due to their station. He who sows the seeds of discontent and distrust prepares for a harvest of slaughter and defeat. To your gallantry, energy and fortitude you crown this harmony with due subordination and cheerful support of lawful authority. I fervently hope that this ferocious war, so unjustly waged against our country, may soon end, and that, with the blessing of peace, you may be restored to your homes and useful pursuits, and I pray our Heavenly Father may cover you with the shield of His protection in your battle, and endow you with the virtues which will close your trials in victory complete.
A fight took place at Salt Lick, Virginia, between the Confederates under Colonel William M. Jackson, who were marching from the battlefield of Bulltown, now in West Virginia, and a party of Virginia cavalry under Major Howe and Captain Harrison, resulting in the retreat of the Rebels.
An expedition to the interior of Mississippi left Vicksburg, under the command of General James McPherson.
Major General James Ewell Brown Stuart and his cavalry brigades were far out in front of the Rebel infantry, collecting intelligence and generally harassing the Federal rear guard. Cut off from the main body of the Confederate Army, Stuart hid his isolated troopers in a ravine east of Auburn, Virginia, and waited for an opportunity to break out. At approximately 6:30 a.m. this morning, Stuart spotted the breakfast eating Union soldiers and ordered seven guns from his horse artillery to shell their position. Union artillery on an opposing ridge fired back and the ground shook as the soldiers of the Second Corps hugged the ground. Later today, General A.P. Hill’s corps stumbled upon two corps of the retreating Union army at Bristoe Station and attacked without proper reconnaissance. Union soldiers of the II Corps, posted behind the Orange & Alexandria Railroad embankment, mauled two brigades of General Henry Heth’s division and captured a battery of artillery. Hill reinforced his line but could make little headway against the determined defenders. After this victory, the Federals continued their retreat to Centreville unmolested. General Robert E. Lee’s Bristoe offensive sputtered to a premature halt. After minor skirmishing near Manassas and Centreville, the Confederates retired slowly to Rappahannock River destroying the Orange & Alexandria Railroad as they went. At Bristoe Station, Hill lost standing in the eyes of Lee, who angrily ordered him to bury his dead and say no more about it.
Lee's Report: The enemy "was marching by a number of parallel roads leading directly toward Washington, while it was necessary for us to make considerable detours. We were consequently unable to do him any considerable damage, as his retreat was rapid. It is easy for him to retire under the fortifications of Washington and Alexandria, and we should be unable to attack him advantageously. It is impossible for us to remain where we are, as the country is destitute of provisions for men or animals, and the railroad bridges on this side of the Rappahannock (and I learn at the river) have been destroyed. The counties of Culpeper, Fauquier, and Prince William have been relieved for the time being, but when we retire may be reoccupied. Though the enemy has suffered less than I wished, some good may yet results from the fact of his being compelled to fall back before us.
Chat
Confederate President Jefferson Davis issued an address in Atlanta to the soldiers of the Army of Tennessee, thanking them for the “...glorious victory on the field of Chickamauga.”
Davis' Speech: SOLDIERS: A grateful country recognizes your arduous services, and rejoices over your glorious victory on the field of Chickamauga. When your countrymen shall more fully learn the adverse circumstances under which you attacked the enemy, though they cannot be more thankful, they may admire more the gallantry and patriotic devotion which secured your success. Representatives of every State of the Confederacy, your steps have been followed up with affectionate solicitude by friends in every portion of the country. Defenders of the heart of our territory, your movements have been an object of interest, anxiety, and hope. Our cause depends on you, and happy it is that all can reply upon your achieving whatever, under the blessing of Providence, human power can effect. Though you have done much, very much remains to be done. Behind you is a people providing for your support, and depending upon your protection. Before you is a country devastated by your ruthless invaders, where gentle women, feeble age and helpless infancy have been subjected to outrages without parallel in the warfare of civilized nations. With eager eye they watch for your coming to their deliverance, and homeless refugees pine for the hour when your victorious arms shall restore their family shelters from which they have been driven and forced to take up arms to vindicate their political rights, freedom, equality and state sovereignty, which were a heritage purchased by the blood of your Revolutionary sires. You have but the alternative of being slaves of submission to a despotic usurpation or of independence, which a vigorous, united and persistent effort will secure. All which fires a manly breast, moves a patriot, or exalts a hero, is present to stimulate and sustain you. Nobly have you redeemed your pledges, given in the name of freedom, to the memory of your ancestors and the rights of your posterity. That you may complete the mission to which you have devoted yourselves, will require of you such exertions in the future as you have made in the past, and the continuous self-denial which rejects every consideration at variance with the public service, as unworthy of the holy cause in which you are engaged. When the war shall be ended the highest meed of praise will be due, and probably be given, to him who has claimed the least for himself in proportion to the service he has rendered. And the bitterest self-reproach which may hereafter haunt the memory of any one will be to him who has allowed selfish aspiration to prevail over his desire for the public good. United as we are in a common destiny, obedience and cordial cooperation are essential. There is no higher duty than that which requires one to exert and render to all what is due to their station. He who sows the seeds of discontent and distrust prepares for a harvest of slaughter and defeat. To your gallantry, energy and fortitude you crown this harmony with due subordination and cheerful support of lawful authority. I fervently hope that this ferocious war, so unjustly waged against our country, may soon end, and that, with the blessing of peace, you may be restored to your homes and useful pursuits, and I pray our Heavenly Father may cover you with the shield of His protection in your battle, and endow you with the virtues which will close your trials in victory complete.
A fight took place at Salt Lick, Virginia, between the Confederates under Colonel William M. Jackson, who were marching from the battlefield of Bulltown, now in West Virginia, and a party of Virginia cavalry under Major Howe and Captain Harrison, resulting in the retreat of the Rebels.
An expedition to the interior of Mississippi left Vicksburg, under the command of General James McPherson.
Major General James Ewell Brown Stuart and his cavalry brigades were far out in front of the Rebel infantry, collecting intelligence and generally harassing the Federal rear guard. Cut off from the main body of the Confederate Army, Stuart hid his isolated troopers in a ravine east of Auburn, Virginia, and waited for an opportunity to break out. At approximately 6:30 a.m. this morning, Stuart spotted the breakfast eating Union soldiers and ordered seven guns from his horse artillery to shell their position. Union artillery on an opposing ridge fired back and the ground shook as the soldiers of the Second Corps hugged the ground. Later today, General A.P. Hill’s corps stumbled upon two corps of the retreating Union army at Bristoe Station and attacked without proper reconnaissance. Union soldiers of the II Corps, posted behind the Orange & Alexandria Railroad embankment, mauled two brigades of General Henry Heth’s division and captured a battery of artillery. Hill reinforced his line but could make little headway against the determined defenders. After this victory, the Federals continued their retreat to Centreville unmolested. General Robert E. Lee’s Bristoe offensive sputtered to a premature halt. After minor skirmishing near Manassas and Centreville, the Confederates retired slowly to Rappahannock River destroying the Orange & Alexandria Railroad as they went. At Bristoe Station, Hill lost standing in the eyes of Lee, who angrily ordered him to bury his dead and say no more about it.
Lee's Report: The enemy "was marching by a number of parallel roads leading directly toward Washington, while it was necessary for us to make considerable detours. We were consequently unable to do him any considerable damage, as his retreat was rapid. It is easy for him to retire under the fortifications of Washington and Alexandria, and we should be unable to attack him advantageously. It is impossible for us to remain where we are, as the country is destitute of provisions for men or animals, and the railroad bridges on this side of the Rappahannock (and I learn at the river) have been destroyed. The counties of Culpeper, Fauquier, and Prince William have been relieved for the time being, but when we retire may be reoccupied. Though the enemy has suffered less than I wished, some good may yet results from the fact of his being compelled to fall back before us.
Chat
This post was edited on 10/14/13 at 4:51 am
Posted on 10/14/13 at 11:03 am to BadLeroyDawg
This is not a 150 years ago but is a pretty cool accomplishment.
quote:
Oct 14, 1947:
Yeager breaks sound barrier
quote:
U.S. Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager becomes the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound.
Yeager, born in Myra, West Virginia, in 1923, was a combat fighter during World War II and flew 64 missions over Europe. He shot down 13 German planes and was himself shot down over France, but he escaped capture with the assistance of the French Underground. After the war, he was among several volunteers chosen to test-fly the experimental X-1 rocket plane, built by the Bell Aircraft Company to explore the possibility of supersonic flight.
Posted on 10/14/13 at 12:55 pm to ChineseBandit66
Thanks for the reply, bandit. Yeager could GATA!!!
Posted on 10/15/13 at 5:00 am to BadLeroyDawg
Thursday, 15 October 1863
The Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley, under the command of the part owner for whom she was named, sank in Charleston Harbor while making practice dives under the Confederate receiving ship Indian Chief. A report of the "unfortunate accident" stated : The boat left the wharf at 9:25 a.m. and disappeared at 9:35. As soon as she sunk, air bubbles were seen to rise to the surface of the water, and from this fact it is supposed the hole in the top of the boat by which the men entered was not properly closed. It was impossible at the time to make any effort to rescue the unfortunate men, as the water was some 9 fathoms deep." Thus the imaginative and daring Horace L. Hunley and his gallant seven man crew perished. The submarine had claimed the lives of its second crew. When the submarine was raised for a second time, a third crew volunteered to man her. Her new captain was Lieutenant George Dixon, CSA. Under Dixon and Lieutenant William A. Alexander, the H.L. Hunley was reconditioned, but, as a safety precaution, General Beauregard directed that she not dive again. She was fitted with a spar torpedo. Time and again in the next 4 months the submarine ventured into the harbor at night from her base on Sullivan's Island, but until mid-February 1864 her attempts to sink a blockader were to no avail. The fact that the Union's ships frequently remained on station some 6 or 7 miles away and put out picket boats at night; the condition of tide, wind, and sea; and the physical exhaustion of the submarine crew who sometimes found themselves in grave danger of being swept out to sea in the underpowered craft were restricting factors with which both Lieutenant Dixon and H. L. Hunley had to cope.
The USS Honduras, under Acting Master Abraham N. Gould, seized the British steamer Mail near St. Petersburg, Florida. She had been bound from Bayport to Havana with a cargo of cotton and turpentine. The capture was made after a three hour chase in which the USS Two Sisters, Sea Bird, and Fox also participated.
The USS Commodore, Acting Master John R. Hamilton in charge, and the USS Corypheus, commanded by Acting Master Francis H. Grove, destroyed a Confederate tannery at Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Grove wrote that they had "...completely destroyed the buildings, vats, and mill for grinding bark; also a large amount of hides stored there, said to be worth $20,000."
A fight took place this afternoon at McLean's Ford, also known as Liberty Mills, Virginia, on Bull Run Creek, between the Rebels and the Second Division, III Army Corps, and Battery K, Fourth U. S. Artillery of the Army of the Potomac. Brigadier General Gershom Mott, commanding the brigade, was ordered to hold McLean's Ford against any attempt of the Confederates to take it. About 2:30 p. m.. before his dispositions had been entirely made, the Confederates attacked the Federal pickets and skirmishers and drove them into the rifle-pits on the north side of Bull Run. The Confederate artillery was then brought to bear and covered an attack of the dismounted men on the rifle-pits which was repulsed, as were several other charges on the same entrenchments. When the Union artillery was brought into position it opened a heavy fire on the Confederate line and compelled it to retire. The fight lasted about 2 hours. Mott reported his loss as 2 killed, 23 wounded and 3 missing, and that of the enemy at 60 killed and wounded. General Lunsford Lindsay Lomax, commanding the Confederates, stated that he suffered no loss.
Canton, Mississippi, was captured by the Union forces under General James McPherson, after a severe engagement, in which he reported the Rebels lost almost two hundred in killed, wounded, and prisoners.
At a special meeting of the Richmond, Virginia, City Council this evening, a report was adopted appointing a board, consisting of five members of the Council and three citizens, to purchase articles for sale at cost, under their direction, at depots to be established by them, one in each ward. The Council also made an appropriation of fifty thousand dollars for the relief of the poor, and authorized the Finance Committee to sell that amount of Confederate State bonds in the city treasury.
An entire company of thirty-seven men and three officers, belonging to Gillmore's rebel battalion,was captured near Hedgesville, Va. Day before yesterday, Colonel L. D. Pierce, commanding the forces at Martinsburg, was informed that Gillmore and his battalion were in the habit of holding frequent picnics through Back Creek Valley, principally for the object of plunder. He accordingly detailed a picket of six men, supplied them with a fieldglass, and stationed them upon a prominent point of lookout in the mountains, there to watch, and advise him of any movement that this force might make in that direction. This morning one of the pickets came in and reported the enemy in sight, and a citizen immediately afterward reported a force, numbering from forty to sixty, concealed in the mountains, some two miles from Hedgesville — their intention being to remain there during the day, and burn Back Creek bridge, on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, tonight. Colonel Pierce at once dispatched a detachment of forty men of the Twelfth Pennsylvania cavalry, under Captain George W. Henrie, on the Pughtown road, and another of fifty, of the First New York, under Captain Richard Pendegrass, on the Hedgesville road; the one to flank them on the right, the other on the left. This they did, forming a junction, and very cunningly arranging their lines so as to form two sides of a triangle; while, in the mean time, a company of the One Hundred and Sixteenth Ohio infantry were sent out from North Mountain Station, with orders to attack the enemy directly in front and drive them into the trap so ingeniously laid by the cavalry. The whole scheme worked charmingly. Upon reaching the woods, the infantry deployed as skirmishers and advanced. They proceeded but a short distance before they came upon the enemy's camp, and, finding them all napping, with their horses tied to the trees, broke in upon their peaceful slumbers with a very unceremonious volley of musketry, that started a gymnasium among the “rebs,” such as is rarely witnessed in ordinary country shows, the principal feat performed being one known among the chivalry as “right smart git.” They scattered in all directions, leaving their horses behind them, and, in many cases, their hats and arms. The moment the infantry commenced firing, the cavalry closed in upon them, and the whole party permitted themselves to be captured, offering scarcely any resistance. Lieutenant Pierson, of the Twelfth Pennsylvania cavalry, captured nine, including one lieutenant, with no other assistance than that of his sabre. The officers captured gave their names as Captain William Digges, First Lieutenant John Blackford, and Second Lieutenant Eugene Reed. The prisoners frankly admitted that it was a portion of their program to burn Back Creek bridge, and do such other damage to the railroad as might come under the head of their mission. No casualties occurred on the Union side. The enemy reported from three to four killed and two wounded.
Chat
The Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley, under the command of the part owner for whom she was named, sank in Charleston Harbor while making practice dives under the Confederate receiving ship Indian Chief. A report of the "unfortunate accident" stated : The boat left the wharf at 9:25 a.m. and disappeared at 9:35. As soon as she sunk, air bubbles were seen to rise to the surface of the water, and from this fact it is supposed the hole in the top of the boat by which the men entered was not properly closed. It was impossible at the time to make any effort to rescue the unfortunate men, as the water was some 9 fathoms deep." Thus the imaginative and daring Horace L. Hunley and his gallant seven man crew perished. The submarine had claimed the lives of its second crew. When the submarine was raised for a second time, a third crew volunteered to man her. Her new captain was Lieutenant George Dixon, CSA. Under Dixon and Lieutenant William A. Alexander, the H.L. Hunley was reconditioned, but, as a safety precaution, General Beauregard directed that she not dive again. She was fitted with a spar torpedo. Time and again in the next 4 months the submarine ventured into the harbor at night from her base on Sullivan's Island, but until mid-February 1864 her attempts to sink a blockader were to no avail. The fact that the Union's ships frequently remained on station some 6 or 7 miles away and put out picket boats at night; the condition of tide, wind, and sea; and the physical exhaustion of the submarine crew who sometimes found themselves in grave danger of being swept out to sea in the underpowered craft were restricting factors with which both Lieutenant Dixon and H. L. Hunley had to cope.
The USS Honduras, under Acting Master Abraham N. Gould, seized the British steamer Mail near St. Petersburg, Florida. She had been bound from Bayport to Havana with a cargo of cotton and turpentine. The capture was made after a three hour chase in which the USS Two Sisters, Sea Bird, and Fox also participated.
The USS Commodore, Acting Master John R. Hamilton in charge, and the USS Corypheus, commanded by Acting Master Francis H. Grove, destroyed a Confederate tannery at Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Grove wrote that they had "...completely destroyed the buildings, vats, and mill for grinding bark; also a large amount of hides stored there, said to be worth $20,000."
A fight took place this afternoon at McLean's Ford, also known as Liberty Mills, Virginia, on Bull Run Creek, between the Rebels and the Second Division, III Army Corps, and Battery K, Fourth U. S. Artillery of the Army of the Potomac. Brigadier General Gershom Mott, commanding the brigade, was ordered to hold McLean's Ford against any attempt of the Confederates to take it. About 2:30 p. m.. before his dispositions had been entirely made, the Confederates attacked the Federal pickets and skirmishers and drove them into the rifle-pits on the north side of Bull Run. The Confederate artillery was then brought to bear and covered an attack of the dismounted men on the rifle-pits which was repulsed, as were several other charges on the same entrenchments. When the Union artillery was brought into position it opened a heavy fire on the Confederate line and compelled it to retire. The fight lasted about 2 hours. Mott reported his loss as 2 killed, 23 wounded and 3 missing, and that of the enemy at 60 killed and wounded. General Lunsford Lindsay Lomax, commanding the Confederates, stated that he suffered no loss.
Canton, Mississippi, was captured by the Union forces under General James McPherson, after a severe engagement, in which he reported the Rebels lost almost two hundred in killed, wounded, and prisoners.
At a special meeting of the Richmond, Virginia, City Council this evening, a report was adopted appointing a board, consisting of five members of the Council and three citizens, to purchase articles for sale at cost, under their direction, at depots to be established by them, one in each ward. The Council also made an appropriation of fifty thousand dollars for the relief of the poor, and authorized the Finance Committee to sell that amount of Confederate State bonds in the city treasury.
An entire company of thirty-seven men and three officers, belonging to Gillmore's rebel battalion,was captured near Hedgesville, Va. Day before yesterday, Colonel L. D. Pierce, commanding the forces at Martinsburg, was informed that Gillmore and his battalion were in the habit of holding frequent picnics through Back Creek Valley, principally for the object of plunder. He accordingly detailed a picket of six men, supplied them with a fieldglass, and stationed them upon a prominent point of lookout in the mountains, there to watch, and advise him of any movement that this force might make in that direction. This morning one of the pickets came in and reported the enemy in sight, and a citizen immediately afterward reported a force, numbering from forty to sixty, concealed in the mountains, some two miles from Hedgesville — their intention being to remain there during the day, and burn Back Creek bridge, on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, tonight. Colonel Pierce at once dispatched a detachment of forty men of the Twelfth Pennsylvania cavalry, under Captain George W. Henrie, on the Pughtown road, and another of fifty, of the First New York, under Captain Richard Pendegrass, on the Hedgesville road; the one to flank them on the right, the other on the left. This they did, forming a junction, and very cunningly arranging their lines so as to form two sides of a triangle; while, in the mean time, a company of the One Hundred and Sixteenth Ohio infantry were sent out from North Mountain Station, with orders to attack the enemy directly in front and drive them into the trap so ingeniously laid by the cavalry. The whole scheme worked charmingly. Upon reaching the woods, the infantry deployed as skirmishers and advanced. They proceeded but a short distance before they came upon the enemy's camp, and, finding them all napping, with their horses tied to the trees, broke in upon their peaceful slumbers with a very unceremonious volley of musketry, that started a gymnasium among the “rebs,” such as is rarely witnessed in ordinary country shows, the principal feat performed being one known among the chivalry as “right smart git.” They scattered in all directions, leaving their horses behind them, and, in many cases, their hats and arms. The moment the infantry commenced firing, the cavalry closed in upon them, and the whole party permitted themselves to be captured, offering scarcely any resistance. Lieutenant Pierson, of the Twelfth Pennsylvania cavalry, captured nine, including one lieutenant, with no other assistance than that of his sabre. The officers captured gave their names as Captain William Digges, First Lieutenant John Blackford, and Second Lieutenant Eugene Reed. The prisoners frankly admitted that it was a portion of their program to burn Back Creek bridge, and do such other damage to the railroad as might come under the head of their mission. No casualties occurred on the Union side. The enemy reported from three to four killed and two wounded.
Chat
Posted on 10/16/13 at 4:21 am to BadLeroyDawg
Friday, 16 October 1863
Mr. Jules David wrote this morning from Victoria, Vancouver Island, "....as president of a Southern association existing in this and the adjoining colony of British Columbia," requesting Confederate Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin to assist him in obtaining for his organization "a letter of marque to be used on the Pacific." Mr. David added that much could be done on that coast "to harass and injure our enemies," and stated that the group he represented had "...a first-class steamer of 400 tons, strongly built, and of an average speed of 14 miles." Southern sympathizers like Mr. David hoped to strike a blow for the Confederacy by raiding Union commerce.
Commodore H. H. Bell reported that the USS Tennessee, Acting Lieutenant George Wiggin piloting, had seized the blockade running British schooner Friendship off Rio Brazos, Texas, with a cargo of munitions from Havana, and caused the schooner Jane to be destroyed by her own crew to prevent capture.
Upon learning that blockade runners Scottish Chief and Kate Dale were being loaded with cotton and nearly ready to sail from Hillsborough River, Florida, Rear Admiral Bailey sent the USS Tahoma, under Lieutenant Commander A. A. Semmes, and the USS Adela, Acting Lieutenant Louis N. Stodder in charge, to seize them. "It was planned between myself and Captain Semmes," Bailey reported, "that he should, with the Tahoma, assisted by the Adela, divert attention from the real object of the expedition by shelling the fort and town [Tampa], and that under cover of night men should be landed at a point on old Tampa Bay, distant from the fort to proceed overland to the point on the Hillsborough River where the blockade runners lay, there to destroy them." This plan was put into effect and some 100 men from the two ships Marched 14 miles overland. At daylight, 17 October, as the landing party boarded the blockade runners, two crew members made good their escape and alerted the garrison. Nevertheless, the Union sailors destroyed both the Scottish Chief and Kate Dale. A running battle ensued as they attempted to get back to their ships. Bailey reported 5 members of the landing party killed, 10 wounded, and 5 taken prisoner. Lieutenant Commander Semmes noted: "I regret sincerely our loss, yet I feel a great degree of satisfaction in having impressed the Rebels with the idea that blockade-running vessels are not safe, even up the Hillsborough River."
General Braxton Bragg, in command of the Confederate Army of Tennessee, issued the following General Orders from his headquarters at Missionary Ridge, Georgia: In order to augment the strength of the army, and to give to our brave soldiers an opportunity to visit home and provide for their families during the coming winter, the following rule is adopted: 1. A furlough of not exceeding forty days will be granted to every non-commissioned officer and private who secures a recruit for his company. 2. The recruit must be received and mustered into service, and be doing duty in the company before the application for furlough is forwarded. 3. In all applications made in pursuance of section first, the commanding officer of the company will certify that the applicant has obtained an approved recruit who has been mustered into the service, and is present with the company, doing duty.
Chat
Mr. Jules David wrote this morning from Victoria, Vancouver Island, "....as president of a Southern association existing in this and the adjoining colony of British Columbia," requesting Confederate Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin to assist him in obtaining for his organization "a letter of marque to be used on the Pacific." Mr. David added that much could be done on that coast "to harass and injure our enemies," and stated that the group he represented had "...a first-class steamer of 400 tons, strongly built, and of an average speed of 14 miles." Southern sympathizers like Mr. David hoped to strike a blow for the Confederacy by raiding Union commerce.
Commodore H. H. Bell reported that the USS Tennessee, Acting Lieutenant George Wiggin piloting, had seized the blockade running British schooner Friendship off Rio Brazos, Texas, with a cargo of munitions from Havana, and caused the schooner Jane to be destroyed by her own crew to prevent capture.
Upon learning that blockade runners Scottish Chief and Kate Dale were being loaded with cotton and nearly ready to sail from Hillsborough River, Florida, Rear Admiral Bailey sent the USS Tahoma, under Lieutenant Commander A. A. Semmes, and the USS Adela, Acting Lieutenant Louis N. Stodder in charge, to seize them. "It was planned between myself and Captain Semmes," Bailey reported, "that he should, with the Tahoma, assisted by the Adela, divert attention from the real object of the expedition by shelling the fort and town [Tampa], and that under cover of night men should be landed at a point on old Tampa Bay, distant from the fort to proceed overland to the point on the Hillsborough River where the blockade runners lay, there to destroy them." This plan was put into effect and some 100 men from the two ships Marched 14 miles overland. At daylight, 17 October, as the landing party boarded the blockade runners, two crew members made good their escape and alerted the garrison. Nevertheless, the Union sailors destroyed both the Scottish Chief and Kate Dale. A running battle ensued as they attempted to get back to their ships. Bailey reported 5 members of the landing party killed, 10 wounded, and 5 taken prisoner. Lieutenant Commander Semmes noted: "I regret sincerely our loss, yet I feel a great degree of satisfaction in having impressed the Rebels with the idea that blockade-running vessels are not safe, even up the Hillsborough River."
General Braxton Bragg, in command of the Confederate Army of Tennessee, issued the following General Orders from his headquarters at Missionary Ridge, Georgia: In order to augment the strength of the army, and to give to our brave soldiers an opportunity to visit home and provide for their families during the coming winter, the following rule is adopted: 1. A furlough of not exceeding forty days will be granted to every non-commissioned officer and private who secures a recruit for his company. 2. The recruit must be received and mustered into service, and be doing duty in the company before the application for furlough is forwarded. 3. In all applications made in pursuance of section first, the commanding officer of the company will certify that the applicant has obtained an approved recruit who has been mustered into the service, and is present with the company, doing duty.
Chat
Posted on 10/17/13 at 5:08 am to BadLeroyDawg
Saturday, 17 October 1863
Boat crews from the USS T.A. Ward, under Acting Master William L. Babcock, destroyed the schooner Rover at Murrell's Inlet, South Carolina. The schooner was laden with cotton and ready to run the blockade. Three days later, a landing party from the T.A. Ward went ashore under command of Acting Ensign Myron W. Tillson to reconnoiter the area and obtain water. They were surprised by Confederate cavalry and ten of the men were captured.
Lieutenant Commander William Gibson, piloting the USS Seneca, reported to Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren that the blockaded steamer Herald had escaped the previous night from Darien, Georgia and recommended that the ships of the blockading squadron there be "...properly armed." Gibson noted: "One gunboat in this sound can not guard all the estuaries and creeks formed by the flowing of the Altamaha to the sea, especially since the port of Charleston has been effectually closed and the enemy seeks other channels of unlawful commerce."
This morning a squad of partisan guerrillas made a descent on the Alexandria Railroad at Accotink, Virginia, and carried off fifteen men belonging to the One Hundred and Twentieth regiment of New York, who were posted at that point.
A party of the Thirteenth New York Cavalry stationed at Stuart's, near Chantilly, Virginia, were surprised and surrounded by John Singleton Mosby's partisan rangers, and six were captured.
General John Buford's division of cavalry crossed the Rapidan River at Germania Ford on Saturday evening, and, following the river to Hunter's Ford, surprised the enemy in their fortifications, and captured sixty of them. General Buford occupied these works till Sunday morning, when he received orders to return, and recrossed the Rapidan, followed by a large force of General J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry and some mounted infantry, whom he fought, as he fell back through Stevensburg to Brandy Station, where he joined General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick's forces. The whole cavalry command then slowly retreated across the Rappahannock.
The Confederate steamer Scottish Chief, and the sloop Kate Dale, were destroyed this morning in the Hillsborough River, Florida, by the Union gunboats Tahoma and Adela.
Chat
Boat crews from the USS T.A. Ward, under Acting Master William L. Babcock, destroyed the schooner Rover at Murrell's Inlet, South Carolina. The schooner was laden with cotton and ready to run the blockade. Three days later, a landing party from the T.A. Ward went ashore under command of Acting Ensign Myron W. Tillson to reconnoiter the area and obtain water. They were surprised by Confederate cavalry and ten of the men were captured.
Lieutenant Commander William Gibson, piloting the USS Seneca, reported to Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren that the blockaded steamer Herald had escaped the previous night from Darien, Georgia and recommended that the ships of the blockading squadron there be "...properly armed." Gibson noted: "One gunboat in this sound can not guard all the estuaries and creeks formed by the flowing of the Altamaha to the sea, especially since the port of Charleston has been effectually closed and the enemy seeks other channels of unlawful commerce."
This morning a squad of partisan guerrillas made a descent on the Alexandria Railroad at Accotink, Virginia, and carried off fifteen men belonging to the One Hundred and Twentieth regiment of New York, who were posted at that point.
A party of the Thirteenth New York Cavalry stationed at Stuart's, near Chantilly, Virginia, were surprised and surrounded by John Singleton Mosby's partisan rangers, and six were captured.
General John Buford's division of cavalry crossed the Rapidan River at Germania Ford on Saturday evening, and, following the river to Hunter's Ford, surprised the enemy in their fortifications, and captured sixty of them. General Buford occupied these works till Sunday morning, when he received orders to return, and recrossed the Rapidan, followed by a large force of General J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry and some mounted infantry, whom he fought, as he fell back through Stevensburg to Brandy Station, where he joined General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick's forces. The whole cavalry command then slowly retreated across the Rappahannock.
The Confederate steamer Scottish Chief, and the sloop Kate Dale, were destroyed this morning in the Hillsborough River, Florida, by the Union gunboats Tahoma and Adela.
Chat
This post was edited on 10/17/13 at 5:24 am
Posted on 10/18/13 at 4:20 am to BadLeroyDawg
Sunday, 18 October 1863
Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren, writing Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles that the role of the Navy in the capture of Morris Island was "...neither known nor appreciated by the public at large," noted that in the two-month bombardment of the Confederates the ironclads of his squadron had fired more than 8,000 shot and shells and received nearly 900 hits. The Admiral added: "By the presence and action of the vessels the right flank of our army and its supplies were entirely covered; provisions, arms, cannon, ammunition . . . were landed as freely as if an enemy were not in sight, while by the same means the enemy was restricted to the least space and action. Indeed, it was only by night, and in the line from Sumter, that food, powder, or relief could be introduced, and that very sparingly. The works of the enemy were also flanked by our guns so that he was confined to his works and his fire quelled whenever it became too serious..."
The sunken Confederate submarine, H. L. Hunley, was found in 9 fathoms of water by a diver in Charleston Harbor. Efforts were begun at once to recover the little craft, deemed vital to the defenses of Charleston.
This morning, General John Daniel Imboden, with a portion of his rebel forces, having surrounded Charlestown, Va., garrisoned by the Ninth regiment of Maryland loyal volunteers, under Colonel Simpson, demanded its surrender. The demand was refused, and soon after another was sent in, informing the Colonel that time would be given to remove the women and children. The rebels then commenced the attack, throwing shells into the town, killing one man and severely wounding the adjutant of the regiment. In a short time the Nationals surrendered and the town was occupied by Imboden's forces.
Thirteen officers belonging to General John Sedgwick's corps were captured in detail this afternoon, while strolling in the woods near headquarters, by Confederates concealed in the undergrowth.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis arrived at Selma, Alabama, this evening and was welcomed by the citizens en masse. The Mobile Register printed the following today: “An immense crowd gathered in front of the hotel. The President congratulated the people on meeting them under such favorable circumstances, and spoke in glowing terms of the gallantry of Alabamians on every battlefield. He said if the non-conscripts of Alabama would gather their guns and go to the rescue, by guarding Courtland and other points, thereby relieving regular soldiers, who are now from necessity discharging that sort of duty, such blows would be dealt the enemy as he would find it difficult to recover from. In this way most effective aid could be given the gallant men and officers who are carrying out the plans of the noble Longstreet under the supervision of the heroic Bragg. In this way the President was confident that Rosecrans could be crushed to dust. It was only by force of arms that the Yankees could be brought to reason and their plans for our subjugation defeated. Self-reliance and energy was now our duty. We should not look to Europe for aid, for such is not to be expected now. Our only alternative was to sustain ourselves with renewed energy and determination, and a little more sacrifice upon the part of the people, and the President firmly believed that next spring would see the invader driven from our borders. Then farmers, who are now refugees, could return to their families and pursue their business undisturbed as heretofore. In fact, he believed that the defeat of Rosecrans would practically end the war.”
Chat
Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren, writing Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles that the role of the Navy in the capture of Morris Island was "...neither known nor appreciated by the public at large," noted that in the two-month bombardment of the Confederates the ironclads of his squadron had fired more than 8,000 shot and shells and received nearly 900 hits. The Admiral added: "By the presence and action of the vessels the right flank of our army and its supplies were entirely covered; provisions, arms, cannon, ammunition . . . were landed as freely as if an enemy were not in sight, while by the same means the enemy was restricted to the least space and action. Indeed, it was only by night, and in the line from Sumter, that food, powder, or relief could be introduced, and that very sparingly. The works of the enemy were also flanked by our guns so that he was confined to his works and his fire quelled whenever it became too serious..."
The sunken Confederate submarine, H. L. Hunley, was found in 9 fathoms of water by a diver in Charleston Harbor. Efforts were begun at once to recover the little craft, deemed vital to the defenses of Charleston.
This morning, General John Daniel Imboden, with a portion of his rebel forces, having surrounded Charlestown, Va., garrisoned by the Ninth regiment of Maryland loyal volunteers, under Colonel Simpson, demanded its surrender. The demand was refused, and soon after another was sent in, informing the Colonel that time would be given to remove the women and children. The rebels then commenced the attack, throwing shells into the town, killing one man and severely wounding the adjutant of the regiment. In a short time the Nationals surrendered and the town was occupied by Imboden's forces.
Thirteen officers belonging to General John Sedgwick's corps were captured in detail this afternoon, while strolling in the woods near headquarters, by Confederates concealed in the undergrowth.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis arrived at Selma, Alabama, this evening and was welcomed by the citizens en masse. The Mobile Register printed the following today: “An immense crowd gathered in front of the hotel. The President congratulated the people on meeting them under such favorable circumstances, and spoke in glowing terms of the gallantry of Alabamians on every battlefield. He said if the non-conscripts of Alabama would gather their guns and go to the rescue, by guarding Courtland and other points, thereby relieving regular soldiers, who are now from necessity discharging that sort of duty, such blows would be dealt the enemy as he would find it difficult to recover from. In this way most effective aid could be given the gallant men and officers who are carrying out the plans of the noble Longstreet under the supervision of the heroic Bragg. In this way the President was confident that Rosecrans could be crushed to dust. It was only by force of arms that the Yankees could be brought to reason and their plans for our subjugation defeated. Self-reliance and energy was now our duty. We should not look to Europe for aid, for such is not to be expected now. Our only alternative was to sustain ourselves with renewed energy and determination, and a little more sacrifice upon the part of the people, and the President firmly believed that next spring would see the invader driven from our borders. Then farmers, who are now refugees, could return to their families and pursue their business undisturbed as heretofore. In fact, he believed that the defeat of Rosecrans would practically end the war.”
Chat
Posted on 10/18/13 at 4:22 am to BadLeroyDawg
Note: Imboden's report at Link Chat. With it, post exceeded character limit.
Posted on 10/19/13 at 5:56 am to BadLeroyDawg
Monday, 19 October 1863
The grand jury of Twiggs County, Georgia, Supreme Court, requested the Court to order a record, called the "Black Roll," in which the names of all who refuse to take Confederate bills, bonds or notes in payment for any debt shall be recorded on this recommendation, and that of each succeeding grand jury, that the names of such malcontents may be officially handed down to posterity, and their ultimate reward insured.
Major General William Starke "Old Rosey" Rosecrans-beloved by his troops but known to be hard on his officers-relinquished command of the Department of the Cumberland, and issued a farewell address to his "...brothers in arms." Rosecrans had graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point fifth in his class with other current generals such as D.H. Hill, James Longstreet and Earl Von Dorn. The excitement of battle tended to make him stutter. It also often led him to bypass the chain of command and issue orders directly to regimental and brigade commanders, which may have served him well at the Battle of Stones River (aka the Battle of Murfreesboro) but proved to be his undoing at the Battle of Chickamauga, the second bloodiest fight in American history. General George H. Thomas, the Rock of Chickamauga, succeeded to the command.
SPECIAL ORDERS, HDQRS. DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI, No. 1. Louisville, October 18, 1863.
Major-General Rosecrans having been relieved from the command of the Department of the Cumberland by direction of the President of the United States, per General Orders, No. 337, of October 16, 1863, Major-General Thomas is hereby assigned to the command, and will at once assume its duties. General Rosecrans will turn over all books, papers, maps, and other property pertaining to the command to Major-General Thomas. All staff officers, except the aides-de-camp authorized by law now on duty with General Rosecrans, will report to General Thomas for assignment as soon as relieved. General Rosecrans will proceed to Cincinnati, Ohio, and report to the Adjutant-General of the Army by letter for orders. By order of Major-General Grant: ELY S. PARKER, Assistant Adjutant-General.
There seems to be a bit of confusion, however, as Rosecrans is being relieved. While General Hiram U. Grant's adjutant is issuing the order for Thomas to take over the Army of the Cumberland from Rosecrans, General Henry W. Halleck was directing Rosecrans to attack the Rebels on Lookout Mountain.
The result of the draft made in July, was made known by Provost Marshal James B. Fry.
Chat
The grand jury of Twiggs County, Georgia, Supreme Court, requested the Court to order a record, called the "Black Roll," in which the names of all who refuse to take Confederate bills, bonds or notes in payment for any debt shall be recorded on this recommendation, and that of each succeeding grand jury, that the names of such malcontents may be officially handed down to posterity, and their ultimate reward insured.
Major General William Starke "Old Rosey" Rosecrans-beloved by his troops but known to be hard on his officers-relinquished command of the Department of the Cumberland, and issued a farewell address to his "...brothers in arms." Rosecrans had graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point fifth in his class with other current generals such as D.H. Hill, James Longstreet and Earl Von Dorn. The excitement of battle tended to make him stutter. It also often led him to bypass the chain of command and issue orders directly to regimental and brigade commanders, which may have served him well at the Battle of Stones River (aka the Battle of Murfreesboro) but proved to be his undoing at the Battle of Chickamauga, the second bloodiest fight in American history. General George H. Thomas, the Rock of Chickamauga, succeeded to the command.
SPECIAL ORDERS, HDQRS. DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI, No. 1. Louisville, October 18, 1863.
Major-General Rosecrans having been relieved from the command of the Department of the Cumberland by direction of the President of the United States, per General Orders, No. 337, of October 16, 1863, Major-General Thomas is hereby assigned to the command, and will at once assume its duties. General Rosecrans will turn over all books, papers, maps, and other property pertaining to the command to Major-General Thomas. All staff officers, except the aides-de-camp authorized by law now on duty with General Rosecrans, will report to General Thomas for assignment as soon as relieved. General Rosecrans will proceed to Cincinnati, Ohio, and report to the Adjutant-General of the Army by letter for orders. By order of Major-General Grant: ELY S. PARKER, Assistant Adjutant-General.
There seems to be a bit of confusion, however, as Rosecrans is being relieved. While General Hiram U. Grant's adjutant is issuing the order for Thomas to take over the Army of the Cumberland from Rosecrans, General Henry W. Halleck was directing Rosecrans to attack the Rebels on Lookout Mountain.
The result of the draft made in July, was made known by Provost Marshal James B. Fry.
Chat
This post was edited on 10/19/13 at 5:58 am
Posted on 10/19/13 at 6:30 am to BadLeroyDawg
Monday, 19 October 1863
As the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia manuevered south from Bristoe Station, General J.E.B. Stuart’s Cavalry acted as rear guard, waiting until this morning to fall back. As they did, they were pressured by General Judson Kilpatrick’s troopers, acting as the vanguard to the Federal Army of the Potomac, finally set in motion by General George Meade. From the south bank of Broad Run, Stuart held his ground, positioning sharpshooters and artillery from two of his four brigades to welcome the descending Yankees. To the southeast, his other division, under General Fitz Lee was in the area of Auburn. Stuart’s position was strong, but he had not enough men to protect his flanks. Kilpatrick quickly realized this and started to make movements to turn them. Seeing what was happening, Fitz Lee made plans of his own. Treating Stuart’s flank as bait set for a trap, he proposed to Stuart that when the time was right, he’d pounce upon Kilpatrick’s flank just as Kilpatrick was about to attack Stuart’s. Stuart loved the plan, though it would take some time to make it happen. In that time, Kilpatrick advanced, throwing George Armstrong Custer’s Brigade to the front. The Federals pushed Stuart’s two brigades away from Broad Run, crossing at Buckland Mill, just north of Greenwood. The Rebels moved southwest, through New Baltimore and even through the Bull Run Mountains. But the Federals halted. Custer wanted his men to eat lunch, and so Kilpatrick, perhaps perturbed, sent his other brigade, under Henry Davies, down the pike toward Warrenton. Davies ran into some of Stuart’s skirmishers around New Baltimore. By this time, his and Custer’s Brigade were separated by three miles. And it was also at this time that General Kilpatrick received first word that there was another large force of cavalry to the southeast, near Auburn. Not wishing to take chances, Kilpatrick sent a regiment of Michiganders to investigate. Soon enough, they uncovered Fitz Lee’s division near Greenwich. This position easily placed them not only on Kilpatrick’s left flank, but also in his rear. Approximate map of Stuart and Lee's positions just prior to their counterattacks.
Fitz Lee pressed on, but was disgruntled to discover that Custer’s Brigade had lingered and, with the foreknowledge of their approach, had established a defensive line on a ridge above Buckland to receive them. The task had now changed from a flank to frontal attack. Fitz Lee deployed artillery, formed into line and advanced with dismounted skirmishers to the front. The booming of artillery let Stuart know that Fitz Lee was in position. Seeing an opportunity, he ceased his movement about three miles away from Warrenton, formed all three of his brigades, and advanced himself upon Davies at New Baltimore. The initial reception was hot, and Davies troopers were stubborn, but Stuart had the advantage in numbers, and before too long, threw them back. But it was not a rout. Davies’ troopers would now and again turn in good order to fire crisp volleys into Stuart’s advance. Needing this to end now, Stuart ordered another charge, and soon another brigade came screaming down upon the Yankees. This sent them into a full retreat, streaming towards Custer’s Brigade. Meanwhile, the Federal infantry advanced south at a lumber, with John Newton’s I Corps in the lead. Mistaken word from Kilpatrick told him that Stuart’s Cavalry was augmented with infantry. If this were true, perhaps Lee’s entire army was still in the Bristoe or Auburn area. And if that were true, his fear that Lee might outflank him on is right might become realized. And so the Union infantry was cautious and slow.
As Davies’ Cavalry fell back from Stuart’s strong advance, they could see behind them Custer’s Brigade now facing Fitz Lee’s Confederates. In fact, the closer they came to Custer, the closer they also came to Fitz Lee. And soon enough they were skirmishing with both Stuart’s and Lee’s troopers. The ground undulated and was dotted with woodlots. So when Fitz Lee’s main line appeared, it was seemingly out of nowhere to Custer, who even believed them to be infantry. He barely had time to form his line when the attack burst upon them. Fitz Lee managed to dislodge Custer’s defensive line, throwing it back to the north side of Broad Run, but may have had a little help from Davies’ Federals. Though the troopers in Davies’ Brigade knew that it was Custer at Buckland, Custer’s men had no idea who was kicking up the column of dust down the road on their right. Convinced that it was indeed Southerners, and probably infantry at that, Custer called a retreat. As Custer’s Brigade cleared the bridge across Broad Run, Davies was cut off. Kilpatrick tried to get a message through, but it was to no avail. When the Rebels seized the bridge, not all of Custer’s men were across. This forced them to run for their lives or swim to the opposite shore. “This they did,” reported Col. Thomas Owen of Fitz Lee’s Division, “pell-mell, in great disorder and confusion, to save themselves the best way they could.” Fitz Lee then sent Colonel Owen’s Brigade across the bridge in pursuit of Custer’s fleeing remnants.
Though Kilpatrick’s warning to Davies probably did not get through, Davies was deft enough to figure it out on his own. His brigade turned northward, making for the crossing a bit upstream from the bridge at Buckland. By now, the Federals were completely broken and the disastrous rout became a race to the crossing. But with Stuart's men giving chase, pockets of Davie’s troops would occasionally turn and beat them back, spoiling whatever plans Stuart had to capture Davies’ Brigade. As Fitz Lee sent Owen’s Brigade in pursuit across Broad Run, so did Stuart send the brigade under James Gordon across. Both, however, soon ran into a heavy skirmish line from John Newton’s I Corps, ending their day in a petered out and weakening fire, until dusk and dark settled in. Though in disarray, Kilpatrick’s Division managed to escape, though that was hardly what they set out that morning to accomplish. For Stuart’s Rebels, the spoils were fine indeed, and included General Custer’s tent and personal papers, as well as Judson Kilpatrick’s horse. The Federals managed to lose 250 wounded and killed, with a similar number captured. Stuart’s losses were much less – probably around fifty killed and wounded, and likely even less than that. Stuart’s actions had allowed General Robert E. Lee to fully move across the Rappahannock, twenty miles south. He wad absolutely delighted with how the day worked out, and dubbed the skirmish “The Buckland Races.” General Meade, however, was convinced (due to Kilpatrick’s word) that Lee’s infantry was before him. In a letter written to General-in-Chief Henry Halleck at about 2100 hours, he summed it up: “The enemy’s infantry follow him [Kilpatrick] up, and are now in front of our infantry pickets. All the intelligence I have been able to obtain indicates the concentration of Lee’s army within the last two days at Warrenton.” He did not know if Lee was retreating farther south, but figured by the following day, if Lee attacked, it would be clear. Of course, Lee was not anywhere near the Federal infantry, and General George Meade would spend the next few days trying to figure that out.
As the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia manuevered south from Bristoe Station, General J.E.B. Stuart’s Cavalry acted as rear guard, waiting until this morning to fall back. As they did, they were pressured by General Judson Kilpatrick’s troopers, acting as the vanguard to the Federal Army of the Potomac, finally set in motion by General George Meade. From the south bank of Broad Run, Stuart held his ground, positioning sharpshooters and artillery from two of his four brigades to welcome the descending Yankees. To the southeast, his other division, under General Fitz Lee was in the area of Auburn. Stuart’s position was strong, but he had not enough men to protect his flanks. Kilpatrick quickly realized this and started to make movements to turn them. Seeing what was happening, Fitz Lee made plans of his own. Treating Stuart’s flank as bait set for a trap, he proposed to Stuart that when the time was right, he’d pounce upon Kilpatrick’s flank just as Kilpatrick was about to attack Stuart’s. Stuart loved the plan, though it would take some time to make it happen. In that time, Kilpatrick advanced, throwing George Armstrong Custer’s Brigade to the front. The Federals pushed Stuart’s two brigades away from Broad Run, crossing at Buckland Mill, just north of Greenwood. The Rebels moved southwest, through New Baltimore and even through the Bull Run Mountains. But the Federals halted. Custer wanted his men to eat lunch, and so Kilpatrick, perhaps perturbed, sent his other brigade, under Henry Davies, down the pike toward Warrenton. Davies ran into some of Stuart’s skirmishers around New Baltimore. By this time, his and Custer’s Brigade were separated by three miles. And it was also at this time that General Kilpatrick received first word that there was another large force of cavalry to the southeast, near Auburn. Not wishing to take chances, Kilpatrick sent a regiment of Michiganders to investigate. Soon enough, they uncovered Fitz Lee’s division near Greenwich. This position easily placed them not only on Kilpatrick’s left flank, but also in his rear. Approximate map of Stuart and Lee's positions just prior to their counterattacks.
Fitz Lee pressed on, but was disgruntled to discover that Custer’s Brigade had lingered and, with the foreknowledge of their approach, had established a defensive line on a ridge above Buckland to receive them. The task had now changed from a flank to frontal attack. Fitz Lee deployed artillery, formed into line and advanced with dismounted skirmishers to the front. The booming of artillery let Stuart know that Fitz Lee was in position. Seeing an opportunity, he ceased his movement about three miles away from Warrenton, formed all three of his brigades, and advanced himself upon Davies at New Baltimore. The initial reception was hot, and Davies troopers were stubborn, but Stuart had the advantage in numbers, and before too long, threw them back. But it was not a rout. Davies’ troopers would now and again turn in good order to fire crisp volleys into Stuart’s advance. Needing this to end now, Stuart ordered another charge, and soon another brigade came screaming down upon the Yankees. This sent them into a full retreat, streaming towards Custer’s Brigade. Meanwhile, the Federal infantry advanced south at a lumber, with John Newton’s I Corps in the lead. Mistaken word from Kilpatrick told him that Stuart’s Cavalry was augmented with infantry. If this were true, perhaps Lee’s entire army was still in the Bristoe or Auburn area. And if that were true, his fear that Lee might outflank him on is right might become realized. And so the Union infantry was cautious and slow.
As Davies’ Cavalry fell back from Stuart’s strong advance, they could see behind them Custer’s Brigade now facing Fitz Lee’s Confederates. In fact, the closer they came to Custer, the closer they also came to Fitz Lee. And soon enough they were skirmishing with both Stuart’s and Lee’s troopers. The ground undulated and was dotted with woodlots. So when Fitz Lee’s main line appeared, it was seemingly out of nowhere to Custer, who even believed them to be infantry. He barely had time to form his line when the attack burst upon them. Fitz Lee managed to dislodge Custer’s defensive line, throwing it back to the north side of Broad Run, but may have had a little help from Davies’ Federals. Though the troopers in Davies’ Brigade knew that it was Custer at Buckland, Custer’s men had no idea who was kicking up the column of dust down the road on their right. Convinced that it was indeed Southerners, and probably infantry at that, Custer called a retreat. As Custer’s Brigade cleared the bridge across Broad Run, Davies was cut off. Kilpatrick tried to get a message through, but it was to no avail. When the Rebels seized the bridge, not all of Custer’s men were across. This forced them to run for their lives or swim to the opposite shore. “This they did,” reported Col. Thomas Owen of Fitz Lee’s Division, “pell-mell, in great disorder and confusion, to save themselves the best way they could.” Fitz Lee then sent Colonel Owen’s Brigade across the bridge in pursuit of Custer’s fleeing remnants.
Though Kilpatrick’s warning to Davies probably did not get through, Davies was deft enough to figure it out on his own. His brigade turned northward, making for the crossing a bit upstream from the bridge at Buckland. By now, the Federals were completely broken and the disastrous rout became a race to the crossing. But with Stuart's men giving chase, pockets of Davie’s troops would occasionally turn and beat them back, spoiling whatever plans Stuart had to capture Davies’ Brigade. As Fitz Lee sent Owen’s Brigade in pursuit across Broad Run, so did Stuart send the brigade under James Gordon across. Both, however, soon ran into a heavy skirmish line from John Newton’s I Corps, ending their day in a petered out and weakening fire, until dusk and dark settled in. Though in disarray, Kilpatrick’s Division managed to escape, though that was hardly what they set out that morning to accomplish. For Stuart’s Rebels, the spoils were fine indeed, and included General Custer’s tent and personal papers, as well as Judson Kilpatrick’s horse. The Federals managed to lose 250 wounded and killed, with a similar number captured. Stuart’s losses were much less – probably around fifty killed and wounded, and likely even less than that. Stuart’s actions had allowed General Robert E. Lee to fully move across the Rappahannock, twenty miles south. He wad absolutely delighted with how the day worked out, and dubbed the skirmish “The Buckland Races.” General Meade, however, was convinced (due to Kilpatrick’s word) that Lee’s infantry was before him. In a letter written to General-in-Chief Henry Halleck at about 2100 hours, he summed it up: “The enemy’s infantry follow him [Kilpatrick] up, and are now in front of our infantry pickets. All the intelligence I have been able to obtain indicates the concentration of Lee’s army within the last two days at Warrenton.” He did not know if Lee was retreating farther south, but figured by the following day, if Lee attacked, it would be clear. Of course, Lee was not anywhere near the Federal infantry, and General George Meade would spend the next few days trying to figure that out.
Posted on 10/20/13 at 6:13 am to BadLeroyDawg
Tuesday, 20 October 1863
Commander James Dunwoody Bulloch advised Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory from Liverpool that the ironclads known as 294 and 295, being built in England, had been seized by the British Government. Bulloch felt the action stemmed from the fact that "...a large number of Confederate naval officers have during the past three months arrived in England. The Florida came off the Irish coast some six weeks since, and proceeding to Brest, there discharged the greater portion of her crew, who were sent to Liverpool. These circumstances were eagerly seized upon by the United States representative here, and they have so worked upon Lord Russell as to make him believe that the presence of these officers and men has direct reference to the destination of the rams..."
The USS Annie, under Acting Ensign James S. Williams, seized the blockade running British schooner Martha Jane off of Bayport, Florida, bound to Havana, Cuba, with a cargo of some 26,600 pounds of sea island cotton.
Colonel George E. Spencer's expedition into Alabama, which left Corinth, Mississippi, yesterday, returned this afternoon on account of high water from heavy rains in the mountains. The mission penetrated to within fifteen miles of Jasper, over one hundred and fifty miles from Corinth. The whole cavalry force of Tusc and groups of Southern partisan guerrillasumbia Valley was concentrating to cut him off. While endeavoring to press his command, which was about five hundred strong, between them, Spencer encountered a force of from one thousand to one thousand three hundred, under General Ferguson, in the southeast corner of Tishomingo County, Mississippi, and was quite roughly handled. Spencer formed a square of three lines of battle. As one position after another was outflanked, and the regiment becoming disordered and surrounded, he led it into the woods, where the Rebels were held in check until night, when it broke up into squads, the men being all intimately acquainted with the country, and coming out the best way they could. Yankee Captains Chanler, Pulo, and Stemberg, of Joliet, Illinois, were killed; also, Lieutenant Perry, of company I, First Alabama cavalry. Lieutenant Swift, of Ottawa, was mortally wounded, and about ten privates were killed.
The Union forces under Colonel Frank G. Wolford, were captured at Philadelphia, Tennessee. General Ambrose E. Burnside had sent a detachment of men to the Loudon area. They set up headquarters in the Wiley Blair Home which was located between Loudon and Lenoir City. Down the road, Wolford, commander of the Union troops currently stationed in Philadelphia, had set up headquarters in the Walter Franklin Lenoir Home. This morning, two Confederate Calvaries, one commanded by Colonel George G. Dibrell (of the Tennessee 8th Cavalry ) and the other by Colonel John J. Morrison, surrounded and attacked Wolford's forces. Morrison had marched his men 50 miles in 15 hours to place them between Loudon and Philadelphia. He send part of his troops to Loudon to hold Wolford's troops and sent the remaining troops to Philadelphia to join the fighting with Dibrell's troops. The Union troops were severely beaten. Seven men were killed and 447 captured. Wagon trains, much needed supplies and equipment were also captured.
While Generals J.E.B. Stuart and Hugh Judson Kilpatrick were Buckland racing, events in Chattanooga, Tennessee were slowly evolving. The previous day, General William Rosecrans found himself nearly enthusiastic at the prospect of reopening a supply line across the river. This would better allow troops and supplies to enter (and more than likely exit) the besieged city. He spent the day doing this and that, even visiting a hospital to see his wounded soldiers. When he returned to his headquarters that evening, however, he met his fate. General Orders No. 337 was waiting for him. Those already in his office, including Dan Butterfield, who had been sent west with Joe Hooker, knew the contents. As Rosecrans opened and read it, he was shocked. The order removed him from command, and placed General George Thomas in his place.
General Hiram Ulysses Grant was now the department commander. Though he was seething with bitterness, Rosecrans took it coolly, immediately calling for General Thomas. Thomas had wanted to command the Army of the Cumberland all along, and even though he feigned humility and, at first, moved to not accept the promotion, he was more than happy to fill Rosecrans’ small shoes. General Grant’s order to Thomas was to hold Chattanooga at all hazards. Quipping back, Thomas replied, “we shall hold the town till we starve.” All that night, Thomas and Rosecrans stayed up discussing the army and what it might do next. Fairly embarrassed, Rosecrans refused to give his troops a final, personal farewell. Instead, he penned a paragraph singing the praises of Thomas, their new commander. “He has led you often in battle,” wrote Rosecrans. “To his known prudence, dauntless courage, and true patriotism, you may look with confidence that under God he will lead you to victory.” It was read to the troops on this date (the 20th), after Rosecrans made his shadowy egress.
This same date found General Grant in Nashville shaking hands and refusing to give speeches. He was three days away from Chattanooga, where he would command his new department from the field, acting as guardian to George Thomas. Opposite General Thomas’ Army of the Cumberland, the Confederates in Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee did not know it, but their last chance to whip the demoralized Yankees had slipped away on a train bound to Cincinnati that rainy morning. Bragg’s own army was in the midst of a great upheaval, and so, even if he had a plan to act (which he didn’t), it’s unlikely that he would have been able to accomplish much at all. Along with the new Union commander would come new Union reinforcements. William Tecumseh Sherman’s troops were drawing nearer, as Joe Hooker’s had already been close at hand. Other troops from Memphis were filtering in, while Ambrose Burnside was close enough to perhaps threaten the Confederate rear. All that was needed was a general to orchestrate the music. This general was coming, and in three days he would arrive.
Chat
Commander James Dunwoody Bulloch advised Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory from Liverpool that the ironclads known as 294 and 295, being built in England, had been seized by the British Government. Bulloch felt the action stemmed from the fact that "...a large number of Confederate naval officers have during the past three months arrived in England. The Florida came off the Irish coast some six weeks since, and proceeding to Brest, there discharged the greater portion of her crew, who were sent to Liverpool. These circumstances were eagerly seized upon by the United States representative here, and they have so worked upon Lord Russell as to make him believe that the presence of these officers and men has direct reference to the destination of the rams..."
The USS Annie, under Acting Ensign James S. Williams, seized the blockade running British schooner Martha Jane off of Bayport, Florida, bound to Havana, Cuba, with a cargo of some 26,600 pounds of sea island cotton.
Colonel George E. Spencer's expedition into Alabama, which left Corinth, Mississippi, yesterday, returned this afternoon on account of high water from heavy rains in the mountains. The mission penetrated to within fifteen miles of Jasper, over one hundred and fifty miles from Corinth. The whole cavalry force of Tusc and groups of Southern partisan guerrillasumbia Valley was concentrating to cut him off. While endeavoring to press his command, which was about five hundred strong, between them, Spencer encountered a force of from one thousand to one thousand three hundred, under General Ferguson, in the southeast corner of Tishomingo County, Mississippi, and was quite roughly handled. Spencer formed a square of three lines of battle. As one position after another was outflanked, and the regiment becoming disordered and surrounded, he led it into the woods, where the Rebels were held in check until night, when it broke up into squads, the men being all intimately acquainted with the country, and coming out the best way they could. Yankee Captains Chanler, Pulo, and Stemberg, of Joliet, Illinois, were killed; also, Lieutenant Perry, of company I, First Alabama cavalry. Lieutenant Swift, of Ottawa, was mortally wounded, and about ten privates were killed.
The Union forces under Colonel Frank G. Wolford, were captured at Philadelphia, Tennessee. General Ambrose E. Burnside had sent a detachment of men to the Loudon area. They set up headquarters in the Wiley Blair Home which was located between Loudon and Lenoir City. Down the road, Wolford, commander of the Union troops currently stationed in Philadelphia, had set up headquarters in the Walter Franklin Lenoir Home. This morning, two Confederate Calvaries, one commanded by Colonel George G. Dibrell (of the Tennessee 8th Cavalry ) and the other by Colonel John J. Morrison, surrounded and attacked Wolford's forces. Morrison had marched his men 50 miles in 15 hours to place them between Loudon and Philadelphia. He send part of his troops to Loudon to hold Wolford's troops and sent the remaining troops to Philadelphia to join the fighting with Dibrell's troops. The Union troops were severely beaten. Seven men were killed and 447 captured. Wagon trains, much needed supplies and equipment were also captured.
While Generals J.E.B. Stuart and Hugh Judson Kilpatrick were Buckland racing, events in Chattanooga, Tennessee were slowly evolving. The previous day, General William Rosecrans found himself nearly enthusiastic at the prospect of reopening a supply line across the river. This would better allow troops and supplies to enter (and more than likely exit) the besieged city. He spent the day doing this and that, even visiting a hospital to see his wounded soldiers. When he returned to his headquarters that evening, however, he met his fate. General Orders No. 337 was waiting for him. Those already in his office, including Dan Butterfield, who had been sent west with Joe Hooker, knew the contents. As Rosecrans opened and read it, he was shocked. The order removed him from command, and placed General George Thomas in his place.
General Hiram Ulysses Grant was now the department commander. Though he was seething with bitterness, Rosecrans took it coolly, immediately calling for General Thomas. Thomas had wanted to command the Army of the Cumberland all along, and even though he feigned humility and, at first, moved to not accept the promotion, he was more than happy to fill Rosecrans’ small shoes. General Grant’s order to Thomas was to hold Chattanooga at all hazards. Quipping back, Thomas replied, “we shall hold the town till we starve.” All that night, Thomas and Rosecrans stayed up discussing the army and what it might do next. Fairly embarrassed, Rosecrans refused to give his troops a final, personal farewell. Instead, he penned a paragraph singing the praises of Thomas, their new commander. “He has led you often in battle,” wrote Rosecrans. “To his known prudence, dauntless courage, and true patriotism, you may look with confidence that under God he will lead you to victory.” It was read to the troops on this date (the 20th), after Rosecrans made his shadowy egress.
This same date found General Grant in Nashville shaking hands and refusing to give speeches. He was three days away from Chattanooga, where he would command his new department from the field, acting as guardian to George Thomas. Opposite General Thomas’ Army of the Cumberland, the Confederates in Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee did not know it, but their last chance to whip the demoralized Yankees had slipped away on a train bound to Cincinnati that rainy morning. Bragg’s own army was in the midst of a great upheaval, and so, even if he had a plan to act (which he didn’t), it’s unlikely that he would have been able to accomplish much at all. Along with the new Union commander would come new Union reinforcements. William Tecumseh Sherman’s troops were drawing nearer, as Joe Hooker’s had already been close at hand. Other troops from Memphis were filtering in, while Ambrose Burnside was close enough to perhaps threaten the Confederate rear. All that was needed was a general to orchestrate the music. This general was coming, and in three days he would arrive.
Chat
Posted on 10/21/13 at 5:51 am to BadLeroyDawg
Wednesday, 21 October 1863
General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was now safely entrenched on the south bank of the Rappahannock River. They held the fords and crossings from Brandy Station to well downstream of the destroyed railroad crossing. A small vanguard was left on the norther bank to welcome J.E.B. Stuart’s Cavalry upon their return from the Buckland Races. It took little time for some of the Rebels to latch onto the idea that fighting was finished for the year. The cold rains certainly reminded them that autumn was fully upon them. Some even built winter quarters. Not only the chill, but General George Meade’s sluggishness must have convinced the Rebels that the Federals had decided to hold off until spring. This was not, however, true. Meade was sluggish, but not stalled. For too many days had Meade entertained the idea that Lee might again try to turn his right flank. Finally convinced that it was not so, Meade began construction of a double lane pontoon bridge across Broad Run near Bristoe Station, the only major crossing he would have to make on his route to the Rappahannock. Still cautious, Meade’s Army moved slowly on the 20th, but when it was discovered that no great force of Rebels lay immediately before them, they began to pick up the pace.
As they marched south along the Orange & Alexander Railroad, they witnessed the destruction wrought by Lee’s men. The houses and private homes of civilians were, of course, untouched, but the railroad was no more. The Confederates had pulled up the spikes, and lifted the iron rails onto bonfires built from burning ties. Once heated, the rails warped. Many were wrapped in devilish cravats around the necks of trees. “Not a rail along here will do to lay again,” wrote a III Corps division commander. “Not a tie is left. All are burnt and the bridges are all destroyed.” The destruction of the railroad wasn’t done out of bitterness or some kind of malice. It was the most important thing to come out of the present campaign. “I have reason to believe that the Orange and Alexandria Railroad has been destroyed from Bristoe Station to Culpeper Court House,” wrote Meade to General-in-Chief Henry Halleck on this date. The news was devastating. The track was essential to Meade’s Army if they wished to hold a line anywhere near the Rappahannock River. The working parties sent to repair it would need myriad guards, which would have to come from Meade’s own army. This would sap his strength so that he could not “...see the practicability of an advance on this line to Gordonsville.” Musing, he referenced moving the army back to Fredericksburg, but stated that similar repairs would be required for the railroad running from Aquia Creek, but only if the Rebels caught wind of the Federal shift. “It seems to me, therefore, that the campaign is virtually over for the present season,” concluded Meade, “and that it would be better to withdraw the army to some position in front of Washington and detach from it such portions as may be required to operate elsewhere.” Halleck’s reply was ominous: “If you can conveniently leave your army, the President wishes to see you tomorrow.” Though he barely paid it much ink in the message, Meade was already contemplating a move to Fredericksburg. The railroad from Aquia Creek was still in running shape, and perhaps if they were swift in their movements, they could beat Lee’s Cavalry to the crossing. For the night, however, Meade would have to be content with his army hugging the rail spur running from Warrenton Junction to Warrenton. John Buford’s Cavalry probed deeper, with some troopers even catching sight of the Rebels across the Rappahannock. The next day, while Meade visited Washington, his Army would continue south. “This was a deep game,” wrote Meade candidly to his wife come evening, “and I am free to admit that in the playing of it he [Lee] had got the advantage of me.”
This morning the USS Nansemond, under Lieutenant R. H. Lamson, chased the blockade running steamer Venus ashore, sailing from Nassau to Wilmington, near the Cape Fear River, North Carolina. Four shots from the blockader caused the steamer to take on water. Lamson attempted to get Venus off in the morning but found it "...impossible to move her, [and] I ordered her to be set on fire." A notebook found on board the Venus recorded that 75 ships had been engaged in blockade running thus far in 1863, of which 32 had been captured or destroyed. The Venus, with a cargo of much needed lead, drugs, clothing, coffee, and bacon for the Confederates, was one of the very finest and fastest steamers engaged in running the blockade. She was two hundred and seventy feet long, one thousand tons burthen, and had the finest engines of any steamer in this trade, and could run sixteen knots per hour. The Nansemond fired one shell through her foremast, another burst in the center, a third passed through forward, killing one man, (who is reported as the first man killed running the blockade) and a fourth struck under the guard, near the waterline, knocking in an iron plate, which forced her to run ashore to keep from sinking. She was boarded so quickly that her captain, officers, and most of her crew were captured. As she could not be got off, she was entirely destroyed, under a heavy fire from the Southern batteries ashore.
The USS Currituck, Acting Lieutenant Hooker in charge, and the USS Fuchsia, piloted by Acting Master Street, captured the steamer Three Brothers in the Rappahannock River, Virginia.
The USS J.P. Jackson, Lieutenant Lewis W. Pennington commanding, captured the schooner Syrena near Deer Island, Mississippi.
Warrenton, Virginia, was entered and occupied by the Federal cavalry.
An engagement took place at Cherokee Station, Alabama, between a ten thousand man Division of Federal forces under General Osterhaus, who was moving eastward from Corinth, and the Confederates under Generals S. D. Lee, Roddy, and Richardson, numbering over four thousand. The fight lasted an hour, when the Rebels were driven back with severe loss.
Opelousas, Louisiana, was entered by General Franklin's column of General Banks' army at noon today. The Rebels made a stand at a point about five miles in front of the town, with a body of troops composed of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, but they were quickly driven from the field. At Vermillion Bayou, where the Rebels held a strong position, an engagement might have been expected; but the threats made on their rear by General Dana's forces compelled the Confederate commander to divide his troops, and so weakened the force on the bayou, that it was easily turned.
Chat
General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was now safely entrenched on the south bank of the Rappahannock River. They held the fords and crossings from Brandy Station to well downstream of the destroyed railroad crossing. A small vanguard was left on the norther bank to welcome J.E.B. Stuart’s Cavalry upon their return from the Buckland Races. It took little time for some of the Rebels to latch onto the idea that fighting was finished for the year. The cold rains certainly reminded them that autumn was fully upon them. Some even built winter quarters. Not only the chill, but General George Meade’s sluggishness must have convinced the Rebels that the Federals had decided to hold off until spring. This was not, however, true. Meade was sluggish, but not stalled. For too many days had Meade entertained the idea that Lee might again try to turn his right flank. Finally convinced that it was not so, Meade began construction of a double lane pontoon bridge across Broad Run near Bristoe Station, the only major crossing he would have to make on his route to the Rappahannock. Still cautious, Meade’s Army moved slowly on the 20th, but when it was discovered that no great force of Rebels lay immediately before them, they began to pick up the pace.
As they marched south along the Orange & Alexander Railroad, they witnessed the destruction wrought by Lee’s men. The houses and private homes of civilians were, of course, untouched, but the railroad was no more. The Confederates had pulled up the spikes, and lifted the iron rails onto bonfires built from burning ties. Once heated, the rails warped. Many were wrapped in devilish cravats around the necks of trees. “Not a rail along here will do to lay again,” wrote a III Corps division commander. “Not a tie is left. All are burnt and the bridges are all destroyed.” The destruction of the railroad wasn’t done out of bitterness or some kind of malice. It was the most important thing to come out of the present campaign. “I have reason to believe that the Orange and Alexandria Railroad has been destroyed from Bristoe Station to Culpeper Court House,” wrote Meade to General-in-Chief Henry Halleck on this date. The news was devastating. The track was essential to Meade’s Army if they wished to hold a line anywhere near the Rappahannock River. The working parties sent to repair it would need myriad guards, which would have to come from Meade’s own army. This would sap his strength so that he could not “...see the practicability of an advance on this line to Gordonsville.” Musing, he referenced moving the army back to Fredericksburg, but stated that similar repairs would be required for the railroad running from Aquia Creek, but only if the Rebels caught wind of the Federal shift. “It seems to me, therefore, that the campaign is virtually over for the present season,” concluded Meade, “and that it would be better to withdraw the army to some position in front of Washington and detach from it such portions as may be required to operate elsewhere.” Halleck’s reply was ominous: “If you can conveniently leave your army, the President wishes to see you tomorrow.” Though he barely paid it much ink in the message, Meade was already contemplating a move to Fredericksburg. The railroad from Aquia Creek was still in running shape, and perhaps if they were swift in their movements, they could beat Lee’s Cavalry to the crossing. For the night, however, Meade would have to be content with his army hugging the rail spur running from Warrenton Junction to Warrenton. John Buford’s Cavalry probed deeper, with some troopers even catching sight of the Rebels across the Rappahannock. The next day, while Meade visited Washington, his Army would continue south. “This was a deep game,” wrote Meade candidly to his wife come evening, “and I am free to admit that in the playing of it he [Lee] had got the advantage of me.”
This morning the USS Nansemond, under Lieutenant R. H. Lamson, chased the blockade running steamer Venus ashore, sailing from Nassau to Wilmington, near the Cape Fear River, North Carolina. Four shots from the blockader caused the steamer to take on water. Lamson attempted to get Venus off in the morning but found it "...impossible to move her, [and] I ordered her to be set on fire." A notebook found on board the Venus recorded that 75 ships had been engaged in blockade running thus far in 1863, of which 32 had been captured or destroyed. The Venus, with a cargo of much needed lead, drugs, clothing, coffee, and bacon for the Confederates, was one of the very finest and fastest steamers engaged in running the blockade. She was two hundred and seventy feet long, one thousand tons burthen, and had the finest engines of any steamer in this trade, and could run sixteen knots per hour. The Nansemond fired one shell through her foremast, another burst in the center, a third passed through forward, killing one man, (who is reported as the first man killed running the blockade) and a fourth struck under the guard, near the waterline, knocking in an iron plate, which forced her to run ashore to keep from sinking. She was boarded so quickly that her captain, officers, and most of her crew were captured. As she could not be got off, she was entirely destroyed, under a heavy fire from the Southern batteries ashore.
The USS Currituck, Acting Lieutenant Hooker in charge, and the USS Fuchsia, piloted by Acting Master Street, captured the steamer Three Brothers in the Rappahannock River, Virginia.
The USS J.P. Jackson, Lieutenant Lewis W. Pennington commanding, captured the schooner Syrena near Deer Island, Mississippi.
Warrenton, Virginia, was entered and occupied by the Federal cavalry.
An engagement took place at Cherokee Station, Alabama, between a ten thousand man Division of Federal forces under General Osterhaus, who was moving eastward from Corinth, and the Confederates under Generals S. D. Lee, Roddy, and Richardson, numbering over four thousand. The fight lasted an hour, when the Rebels were driven back with severe loss.
Opelousas, Louisiana, was entered by General Franklin's column of General Banks' army at noon today. The Rebels made a stand at a point about five miles in front of the town, with a body of troops composed of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, but they were quickly driven from the field. At Vermillion Bayou, where the Rebels held a strong position, an engagement might have been expected; but the threats made on their rear by General Dana's forces compelled the Confederate commander to divide his troops, and so weakened the force on the bayou, that it was easily turned.
Chat
Posted on 10/22/13 at 5:13 am to BadLeroyDawg
Thursday, 22 October 1863
The Union steamer Mist was boarded and burned at Ship Island, Mississippi, by Confederate partisan guerrillas when she attempted to take on a cargo of cotton without the protection of a Union gunboat. A week later Rear Admiral David D. Porter wisely wrote Major General William T. Sherman: "Steamers should not be allowed to land anywhere but at a military port, or a place guarded by a gunboat."
Colonel J. Irvin Gregg, commanding the Second brigade of Gregg's division, sent out the Second Pennsylvania cavalry, under Lieutenant Colonel Joseph P. Brinton, from the vicinity of Fayetteville, Virginia, to establish the picket line from Freeman's to Kelly's Ford, the former some miles above and the latter some miles below Rappahannock Station. At Liberty (a few miles from Bealeton, on the road between that place and Sulphur Springs) they met the Rebel's pickets, and the First Maine cavalry being sent to their support, drove them in and followed them up rapidly along the road leading to the, different fords. The party which took the direction of Rappahannock Crossing turned and made a stand when approaching their infantry supports, and for some time the fighting was quite brisk. In this encounter the Second Regiment lost six men wounded, among them Major Taggart, who was reportedly struck while leading a charge on the Confederate lines.
General George Meade, commanding the Union Army of the Potomac, had yesterday been summoned to Washington. This came about after maintaining he could do little more against General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. The trip from Centreville to the capital was a short one, and he arrived around 1400 hours. Upon his arrival, he found President Abraham Lincoln and General-in-Chief Henry Halleck waiting for him. Though Lincoln, of course, wanted Meade to attack Lee at once, he sympathized with the army commander’s plight. Meade’s supply line, the Orange & Alexander Railroad, lay in complete ruin, systematically destroyed and dismantled by Lee’s forces from Bristoe Station south to the Rappahannock River. Also, the land along the destroyed rail line was a desolation, picked clean by three years of almost constant fighting, especially this most recent campaign. To Meade, Lincoln was “considerate and kind,” as the President almost always was in these situations. “He found no fault with my operations,” wrote Meade to his wife, “although it was very evident he was disappointed that I had not got a battle out of Lee.” Most importantly, Lincoln agreed with Meade that “...there was not much to be gained by any farther advance.” General-in-Chief Henry Halleck, on the other hand, was a different matter. A rift had formed between him and Meade and more recently they had exchanged terse words which ended in Meade offering to resign and Halleck almost apologizing. Halleck believed there was an absolute necessity for something to be done, though he couldn’t say just what it was. Meade had a suggestion, one that he hinted upon the day before. If the army could get to Fredericksburg, establishing control of the railroad running from the supply depot at Aquia Creek, he might be able to outflank Lee. Time was important. As soon as the Confederates caught wind that the Federal Army was moving on Fredericksburg again, they’d destroy the Aquia line, leaving Meade in the same predicament in which he now found himself. Halleck did not at all like this idea.
Toward the end of the meeting, two messages arrived in Washington, which no doubt forced the small gathering to continue further. The first was a statement made by a spy named William Arndoff from Jefferson County, which had been recently invaded by John Imboden’s Rebel Cavalry. They took Charlestown and managed to convince Halleck that Harpers Ferry was under threat. Apparently, Arndoff was talking with a neighbor who was a staunch Rebel and who believed him (Arndoff) to be the same. Among his musings, the neighbor believed that Lee was about to cross the Potomac with “the largest and finest army he has ever had.” Lincoln, Halleck and Meade all knew this was untrue. Nearly all of James Longstreet’s corps had left for the west over a month ago, greatly reducing Lee’s forces. This was mere fantastic speculation. But of the other items, there was something to ponder. The Rebel neighbor also claimed that Imboden’s Confederates had fallen back to Front Royal. He believed it was to regroup for another attack and to join with Albert Jenkins’ Cavalry, but Lincoln, Halleck and Meade probably dismissed the latter part. Another message arrived around the same time. This was from General John Foster, commanding at Fortress Monroe. He had received Richmond newspapers from the 19th, 20th, and 21st. They spoke of “Lee’s intention to retire to a position near Richmond, having failed to bring General Meade to battle.” So far this was exactly what Meade suspected. But the papers also noted that “all interest is now centered in the operations of the armies at Chattanooga.” This was something that all had suspected might come from Lee’s failed offensive. Longstreet’s corps had left, so next might be Richard Ewell’s. Meade had suggested as much, even going as far as to offer to send more of his forces west in response.
Overall, nothing really came from this meeting. It did, however, plant some seeds in the minds of bothLincoln and Halleck. The time had slid by and Meade decided to stay the night in Washington. Probably after the meeting had broken up (but possibly not), Meade received a message from the front. Written around 1800 hours, it detailed the events of the day. Basically, Federal cavalry had pursued the line of the Rebel march, south toward the Rappahannock. They encountered strong Confederate pickets and skirmishers at Bealeton Station, but even stronger just north of Rappahannock Station. This was absolute evidence that Lee had moved south of the Rappahannock, but held a strong bridgehead on the north bank. Still, nothing could be decided. Meade would return the next morning, leaving Lincoln and Halleck to ponder the numerous possibilities.
Chat
The Union steamer Mist was boarded and burned at Ship Island, Mississippi, by Confederate partisan guerrillas when she attempted to take on a cargo of cotton without the protection of a Union gunboat. A week later Rear Admiral David D. Porter wisely wrote Major General William T. Sherman: "Steamers should not be allowed to land anywhere but at a military port, or a place guarded by a gunboat."
Colonel J. Irvin Gregg, commanding the Second brigade of Gregg's division, sent out the Second Pennsylvania cavalry, under Lieutenant Colonel Joseph P. Brinton, from the vicinity of Fayetteville, Virginia, to establish the picket line from Freeman's to Kelly's Ford, the former some miles above and the latter some miles below Rappahannock Station. At Liberty (a few miles from Bealeton, on the road between that place and Sulphur Springs) they met the Rebel's pickets, and the First Maine cavalry being sent to their support, drove them in and followed them up rapidly along the road leading to the, different fords. The party which took the direction of Rappahannock Crossing turned and made a stand when approaching their infantry supports, and for some time the fighting was quite brisk. In this encounter the Second Regiment lost six men wounded, among them Major Taggart, who was reportedly struck while leading a charge on the Confederate lines.
General George Meade, commanding the Union Army of the Potomac, had yesterday been summoned to Washington. This came about after maintaining he could do little more against General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. The trip from Centreville to the capital was a short one, and he arrived around 1400 hours. Upon his arrival, he found President Abraham Lincoln and General-in-Chief Henry Halleck waiting for him. Though Lincoln, of course, wanted Meade to attack Lee at once, he sympathized with the army commander’s plight. Meade’s supply line, the Orange & Alexander Railroad, lay in complete ruin, systematically destroyed and dismantled by Lee’s forces from Bristoe Station south to the Rappahannock River. Also, the land along the destroyed rail line was a desolation, picked clean by three years of almost constant fighting, especially this most recent campaign. To Meade, Lincoln was “considerate and kind,” as the President almost always was in these situations. “He found no fault with my operations,” wrote Meade to his wife, “although it was very evident he was disappointed that I had not got a battle out of Lee.” Most importantly, Lincoln agreed with Meade that “...there was not much to be gained by any farther advance.” General-in-Chief Henry Halleck, on the other hand, was a different matter. A rift had formed between him and Meade and more recently they had exchanged terse words which ended in Meade offering to resign and Halleck almost apologizing. Halleck believed there was an absolute necessity for something to be done, though he couldn’t say just what it was. Meade had a suggestion, one that he hinted upon the day before. If the army could get to Fredericksburg, establishing control of the railroad running from the supply depot at Aquia Creek, he might be able to outflank Lee. Time was important. As soon as the Confederates caught wind that the Federal Army was moving on Fredericksburg again, they’d destroy the Aquia line, leaving Meade in the same predicament in which he now found himself. Halleck did not at all like this idea.
Toward the end of the meeting, two messages arrived in Washington, which no doubt forced the small gathering to continue further. The first was a statement made by a spy named William Arndoff from Jefferson County, which had been recently invaded by John Imboden’s Rebel Cavalry. They took Charlestown and managed to convince Halleck that Harpers Ferry was under threat. Apparently, Arndoff was talking with a neighbor who was a staunch Rebel and who believed him (Arndoff) to be the same. Among his musings, the neighbor believed that Lee was about to cross the Potomac with “the largest and finest army he has ever had.” Lincoln, Halleck and Meade all knew this was untrue. Nearly all of James Longstreet’s corps had left for the west over a month ago, greatly reducing Lee’s forces. This was mere fantastic speculation. But of the other items, there was something to ponder. The Rebel neighbor also claimed that Imboden’s Confederates had fallen back to Front Royal. He believed it was to regroup for another attack and to join with Albert Jenkins’ Cavalry, but Lincoln, Halleck and Meade probably dismissed the latter part. Another message arrived around the same time. This was from General John Foster, commanding at Fortress Monroe. He had received Richmond newspapers from the 19th, 20th, and 21st. They spoke of “Lee’s intention to retire to a position near Richmond, having failed to bring General Meade to battle.” So far this was exactly what Meade suspected. But the papers also noted that “all interest is now centered in the operations of the armies at Chattanooga.” This was something that all had suspected might come from Lee’s failed offensive. Longstreet’s corps had left, so next might be Richard Ewell’s. Meade had suggested as much, even going as far as to offer to send more of his forces west in response.
Overall, nothing really came from this meeting. It did, however, plant some seeds in the minds of bothLincoln and Halleck. The time had slid by and Meade decided to stay the night in Washington. Probably after the meeting had broken up (but possibly not), Meade received a message from the front. Written around 1800 hours, it detailed the events of the day. Basically, Federal cavalry had pursued the line of the Rebel march, south toward the Rappahannock. They encountered strong Confederate pickets and skirmishers at Bealeton Station, but even stronger just north of Rappahannock Station. This was absolute evidence that Lee had moved south of the Rappahannock, but held a strong bridgehead on the north bank. Still, nothing could be decided. Meade would return the next morning, leaving Lincoln and Halleck to ponder the numerous possibilities.
Chat
Posted on 10/23/13 at 5:26 am to BadLeroyDawg
Friday, 23 October 1863
The USS Norfolk Packet, commanded by Acting Ensign George N. Wood, captured the schooner Ocean Bird off St. Augustine Inlet, Florida.
A supply train which left Nashville, Tennessee, this morning, under a guard of thirty men belonging to the Seventieth Indiana Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Campbell, was thrown from the track, at a point five miles below Tullahoma, the rails having been removed by a band of Southern partisan guerrillas. The members of the train had but a moment's time to reflect upon the state of things, when the Confederate forces charged upon them with a terrific fire. The assault was bravely met by the guard, and the assailants were compelled to retire in confusion after an engagement of fifteen minutes.
Dr. David Minton Wright, of Norfolk, Virginia, was executed this morning by hanging for the murder of Lieutenant Sanborn. As Dr. Wright was walking up Main Street on the afternoon of July 11th, 1862 in Norfolk, he reached a point opposite the store of Foster & Moore, now occupied by S. Frank & Son, No. 156, he met a column of negro troops, commanded by a white lieutenant by the name of Sanborn. As they completely filled the sidewalk, everybody, old and young, little and big, ladies and gentlemen, were compelled to yield to their arrogant usurpation, and surrender, for the first time in the history of Norfolk, to a military satrap and his sable soldiers, an avenue, which had always been assigned to civil pedestrians. ‘The poor Doctor, in the excitement of the moment as it passed him for the first time, exclaimed, “How dastardly!” and, the officer hearing the remark, turned upon him with his drawn sword. At this critical moment, a friend thrust a pistol in his hand.’ The Doctor, holding the pistol behind him, warned Sanborn to ‘stand off.’ Disregarding the warning, Sanborn continued to advance pointing his sword toward the doctor, when Dr. Wright fired the shot, taking effect in Sanborn's left hand. The latter still advancing and ‘persisting (as Dr. Wright stated) in having a gentleman arrested by his negro troops,’ he fired again, the ball taking effect in a vital part. They then clinched, Sanborn struggling to get possession of the pistol, which Dr. Wright retained, ‘and, had it pointed at his breast, could have killed him instantly, but did not fire again, though negro bayonets were within four feet of his breast.’ So soon as they ceased to struggle, Lieutenant Sanborn, weak and faint, ‘went into the store of Foster & Moore and immediately expired.’ The Provost guard then arrested and conducted ‘Dr. Wright before Major Bovey, who committed him to jail to await trial.’
Chat
The USS Norfolk Packet, commanded by Acting Ensign George N. Wood, captured the schooner Ocean Bird off St. Augustine Inlet, Florida.
A supply train which left Nashville, Tennessee, this morning, under a guard of thirty men belonging to the Seventieth Indiana Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Campbell, was thrown from the track, at a point five miles below Tullahoma, the rails having been removed by a band of Southern partisan guerrillas. The members of the train had but a moment's time to reflect upon the state of things, when the Confederate forces charged upon them with a terrific fire. The assault was bravely met by the guard, and the assailants were compelled to retire in confusion after an engagement of fifteen minutes.
Dr. David Minton Wright, of Norfolk, Virginia, was executed this morning by hanging for the murder of Lieutenant Sanborn. As Dr. Wright was walking up Main Street on the afternoon of July 11th, 1862 in Norfolk, he reached a point opposite the store of Foster & Moore, now occupied by S. Frank & Son, No. 156, he met a column of negro troops, commanded by a white lieutenant by the name of Sanborn. As they completely filled the sidewalk, everybody, old and young, little and big, ladies and gentlemen, were compelled to yield to their arrogant usurpation, and surrender, for the first time in the history of Norfolk, to a military satrap and his sable soldiers, an avenue, which had always been assigned to civil pedestrians. ‘The poor Doctor, in the excitement of the moment as it passed him for the first time, exclaimed, “How dastardly!” and, the officer hearing the remark, turned upon him with his drawn sword. At this critical moment, a friend thrust a pistol in his hand.’ The Doctor, holding the pistol behind him, warned Sanborn to ‘stand off.’ Disregarding the warning, Sanborn continued to advance pointing his sword toward the doctor, when Dr. Wright fired the shot, taking effect in Sanborn's left hand. The latter still advancing and ‘persisting (as Dr. Wright stated) in having a gentleman arrested by his negro troops,’ he fired again, the ball taking effect in a vital part. They then clinched, Sanborn struggling to get possession of the pistol, which Dr. Wright retained, ‘and, had it pointed at his breast, could have killed him instantly, but did not fire again, though negro bayonets were within four feet of his breast.’ So soon as they ceased to struggle, Lieutenant Sanborn, weak and faint, ‘went into the store of Foster & Moore and immediately expired.’ The Provost guard then arrested and conducted ‘Dr. Wright before Major Bovey, who committed him to jail to await trial.’
Chat
Posted on 10/24/13 at 5:49 am to BadLeroyDawg
Saturday, 24 October 1863
The USS Hastings, under Lieutenant Commander S.L. Phelps, and the USS Key West, Acting Master Edward M. King, arrived at Eastport, Mississippi, to support Army operations along the Tennessee River. Low water had delayed the movement earlier in the month and would prevent full operations for some time, but Major General William T. Sherman was "gratified" with the gunboats' arrival. The joint operations extended into mid-December as the Union moved to solidify its position in the South's interior. Sherman wrote Rear Admiral David D. Porter of Phelps' arrival: "Of course we will get along together elegantly. All I have he can command, and I know the same feeling pervades every sailor's and soldier's heart. We are as one."
The USS Calypso, Acting Master Frederick D. Stuart in charge, captured the blockade running British schooner Herald off Frying Pan Shoals, North Carolina, with a cargo of salt and soda.
The USS Conestoga, commanded by Acting Master Gilbert Morton, seized the steamer Lillie Martin and the tug Sweden, suspected of trading with the Confederates, near Napoleon, Mississippi.
An order from the Confederate War Department at Richmond, Virginia went into effect, subjecting to conscription and enrollment all clerks who entered upon clerk-ships at the several departments, after October 1862.
Adair County, Kentucky, was visited by a band of partisan guerrillas under the chief Dillsbury, who, after plundering the town and its inhabitants, returned into Tennessee.
President Abraham Lincoln had previously agreed with General George Meade's assessment that moving to attack General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia wasn't very prudent. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, while retreating back to the Rappahannock, had destroyed the Orange & Alexander Railroad, Meade's much needed supply line. He could no longer support an army on the north bank of the Rappahannock. But there were other options before him. There was a chance, however slim, that Meade could move the Federal Army of the Potomac to Fredericksburg. General-in-Chief Henry Halleck took issue with this idea, but that didn't mean Lincoln threw it away completely. More than likely, however, they would rest most of Meade's Army while sending reinforcements to General Grant in Chattanooga. Meade had traveled to Washington on the 22nd, when he met with Lincoln and Halleck. These possibilities were discussed, but no clear path was chosen. He returned to his army the next day without orders of any kind, even ones for the nearest of futures. On the day Meade returned, two brigades of cavalry and a brigade of infantry marched to Bealeton, a few miles north of the Rappahannock. This reconnaissance in force stumbled upon Jubal Early's Division from Richard Ewell's Corps. They were on the north side of the river protecting the wagons still carting over the iron taken from the destroyed railroads. Both sides faced off, but nothing came of it. Meanwhile, Meade moved most of his army closer to the railroad, as repairs were already underway.
Also that day, Colonel George Sharpe, deputy provost marshal in Alexandria wrote an interesting message to General Meade. Sharpe had under his command a gaggle of spies, who generally gave him some fairly bad intelligence. This was especially true when it came to which troops were in and out of Lee's Army. This latest message was no different. Sharpe's claim was that Richard Ewell's Corps had left for Tennessee on the 19th ? the day of the so-called Buckland Races. This wasn't immediately unprovable since by that time Lee's infantry had already started on their march south. Not only had Ewell left, told the spies, but Lee was unable to receive any additional reinforcements because the division at Petersburg (George Pickett's Division) had also gone to Tennessee. Other rumors included the arrest of A.P. Hill for his poor showing at Bristoe. Rumor had it that Lee's Army now consisted only of A.P. Hill's Corps, and even that was supposedly commanded by someone else. Meade forwarded the message on to Halleck in Washington, who showed it to the President. After a bit of thought, Lincoln replied to Halleck. "Taking all our information together," wrote Lincoln, "I think it probable that Ewell's corps has started for East Tennessee by way of Abingdon, marching last Monday, say, from Meade's front directly to the railroad at Charlottesville." Lincoln drew upon not only Colonel Sharpe's report, but from three other sources. When added up, it wasn't a far fetched notion that Ewell had moved west. "If you have a plan matured, I have nothing to say" Lincoln wrote to Halleck in closing. "If you have not, then I suggest that with all possible expedition, the Army of the Potomac get ready to attack Lee, and that in the meantime a raid shall, at all hazards, break the railroad at or near Lynchburg." Halleck had no plan, of course. Lincoln's would have to do, and he relayed the President's wishes to Meade: "The President desires that you will prepare to attack Lee's army, and, at all hazards, make a cavalry raid, to break the railroad at or near Lynchburg, and such other places as may be practicable." About the attack itself, he said nothing more. On the raid, however, he cautioned that the troops making it "...must mainly subsist upon the country."
The railroad at Lynchburg, some 140 miles south of Meade's Army, was a vital line between Richmond and the West. With this cut, Lee could not easily draw reinforcements from either Longstreet's or Ewell's Corps (the latter of which was figured to be en route to join the former). In the time that it took Halleck's message to reach Meade (around two hours), the general had learned enough to rain on Lincoln's parade. Two deserters had arrived in his camp and reported that Ewell's Corps was still very much with Lee's Army. In fact, it was troops from Ewell's Corps that the Federal Cavalry saw arrayed before them near Bealeton. From the looks of things, Meade deduced that Lee intended to defend the Rappahannock River crossing. It was even possible, based upon reports that two pontoon bridges were staged near said crossing, that Lee intended to once more attack. Of the raid, Meade said little that was encouraging. He believed that it would be "...more likely to succeed with small than large numbers." Perhaps 2,500 would do. He also mentioned that the Confederate cavalry that recently threatened Harpers Ferry had fallen back to protect the more southerly passes, and to "...resist such expeditions as we now propose, or perhaps to operate on my rear, should I advance." Additionally, wrote Meade, the weather was horrible and the roads were mostly impassable and the streams were flooded. If Lincoln really wanted a cavalry raid, it was going to be a mess. Halleck received the message that evening, but by then Lincoln was already out and everything would have to wait until the following day. The matter, however, must have been dropped with the new information. Though Halleck inquired from General Benjamin Kelley at Clarksburg, West Virginia, if he had heard anything about Ewell's move west, nothing more was said of a general advance by Meade or even a cavalry raid to Lynchburg. In fact, it would be three days before Halleck again contacted Meade.
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The USS Hastings, under Lieutenant Commander S.L. Phelps, and the USS Key West, Acting Master Edward M. King, arrived at Eastport, Mississippi, to support Army operations along the Tennessee River. Low water had delayed the movement earlier in the month and would prevent full operations for some time, but Major General William T. Sherman was "gratified" with the gunboats' arrival. The joint operations extended into mid-December as the Union moved to solidify its position in the South's interior. Sherman wrote Rear Admiral David D. Porter of Phelps' arrival: "Of course we will get along together elegantly. All I have he can command, and I know the same feeling pervades every sailor's and soldier's heart. We are as one."
The USS Calypso, Acting Master Frederick D. Stuart in charge, captured the blockade running British schooner Herald off Frying Pan Shoals, North Carolina, with a cargo of salt and soda.
The USS Conestoga, commanded by Acting Master Gilbert Morton, seized the steamer Lillie Martin and the tug Sweden, suspected of trading with the Confederates, near Napoleon, Mississippi.
An order from the Confederate War Department at Richmond, Virginia went into effect, subjecting to conscription and enrollment all clerks who entered upon clerk-ships at the several departments, after October 1862.
Adair County, Kentucky, was visited by a band of partisan guerrillas under the chief Dillsbury, who, after plundering the town and its inhabitants, returned into Tennessee.
President Abraham Lincoln had previously agreed with General George Meade's assessment that moving to attack General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia wasn't very prudent. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, while retreating back to the Rappahannock, had destroyed the Orange & Alexander Railroad, Meade's much needed supply line. He could no longer support an army on the north bank of the Rappahannock. But there were other options before him. There was a chance, however slim, that Meade could move the Federal Army of the Potomac to Fredericksburg. General-in-Chief Henry Halleck took issue with this idea, but that didn't mean Lincoln threw it away completely. More than likely, however, they would rest most of Meade's Army while sending reinforcements to General Grant in Chattanooga. Meade had traveled to Washington on the 22nd, when he met with Lincoln and Halleck. These possibilities were discussed, but no clear path was chosen. He returned to his army the next day without orders of any kind, even ones for the nearest of futures. On the day Meade returned, two brigades of cavalry and a brigade of infantry marched to Bealeton, a few miles north of the Rappahannock. This reconnaissance in force stumbled upon Jubal Early's Division from Richard Ewell's Corps. They were on the north side of the river protecting the wagons still carting over the iron taken from the destroyed railroads. Both sides faced off, but nothing came of it. Meanwhile, Meade moved most of his army closer to the railroad, as repairs were already underway.
Also that day, Colonel George Sharpe, deputy provost marshal in Alexandria wrote an interesting message to General Meade. Sharpe had under his command a gaggle of spies, who generally gave him some fairly bad intelligence. This was especially true when it came to which troops were in and out of Lee's Army. This latest message was no different. Sharpe's claim was that Richard Ewell's Corps had left for Tennessee on the 19th ? the day of the so-called Buckland Races. This wasn't immediately unprovable since by that time Lee's infantry had already started on their march south. Not only had Ewell left, told the spies, but Lee was unable to receive any additional reinforcements because the division at Petersburg (George Pickett's Division) had also gone to Tennessee. Other rumors included the arrest of A.P. Hill for his poor showing at Bristoe. Rumor had it that Lee's Army now consisted only of A.P. Hill's Corps, and even that was supposedly commanded by someone else. Meade forwarded the message on to Halleck in Washington, who showed it to the President. After a bit of thought, Lincoln replied to Halleck. "Taking all our information together," wrote Lincoln, "I think it probable that Ewell's corps has started for East Tennessee by way of Abingdon, marching last Monday, say, from Meade's front directly to the railroad at Charlottesville." Lincoln drew upon not only Colonel Sharpe's report, but from three other sources. When added up, it wasn't a far fetched notion that Ewell had moved west. "If you have a plan matured, I have nothing to say" Lincoln wrote to Halleck in closing. "If you have not, then I suggest that with all possible expedition, the Army of the Potomac get ready to attack Lee, and that in the meantime a raid shall, at all hazards, break the railroad at or near Lynchburg." Halleck had no plan, of course. Lincoln's would have to do, and he relayed the President's wishes to Meade: "The President desires that you will prepare to attack Lee's army, and, at all hazards, make a cavalry raid, to break the railroad at or near Lynchburg, and such other places as may be practicable." About the attack itself, he said nothing more. On the raid, however, he cautioned that the troops making it "...must mainly subsist upon the country."
The railroad at Lynchburg, some 140 miles south of Meade's Army, was a vital line between Richmond and the West. With this cut, Lee could not easily draw reinforcements from either Longstreet's or Ewell's Corps (the latter of which was figured to be en route to join the former). In the time that it took Halleck's message to reach Meade (around two hours), the general had learned enough to rain on Lincoln's parade. Two deserters had arrived in his camp and reported that Ewell's Corps was still very much with Lee's Army. In fact, it was troops from Ewell's Corps that the Federal Cavalry saw arrayed before them near Bealeton. From the looks of things, Meade deduced that Lee intended to defend the Rappahannock River crossing. It was even possible, based upon reports that two pontoon bridges were staged near said crossing, that Lee intended to once more attack. Of the raid, Meade said little that was encouraging. He believed that it would be "...more likely to succeed with small than large numbers." Perhaps 2,500 would do. He also mentioned that the Confederate cavalry that recently threatened Harpers Ferry had fallen back to protect the more southerly passes, and to "...resist such expeditions as we now propose, or perhaps to operate on my rear, should I advance." Additionally, wrote Meade, the weather was horrible and the roads were mostly impassable and the streams were flooded. If Lincoln really wanted a cavalry raid, it was going to be a mess. Halleck received the message that evening, but by then Lincoln was already out and everything would have to wait until the following day. The matter, however, must have been dropped with the new information. Though Halleck inquired from General Benjamin Kelley at Clarksburg, West Virginia, if he had heard anything about Ewell's move west, nothing more was said of a general advance by Meade or even a cavalry raid to Lynchburg. In fact, it would be three days before Halleck again contacted Meade.
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