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re: 150 years ago this day...
Posted on 9/26/13 at 4:55 am to BadLeroyDawg
Posted on 9/26/13 at 4:55 am to BadLeroyDawg
Saturday, 26 September 1863
The governors, not to mention the generals, of the Confederate States on the west side of the Mississippi River had long felt they were being treated like unwanted stepchildren by the government in Richmond. When they requested guns, supplies, or manpower, they were more likely to be asked to send these items East for the defense of the capital, rather than have them sent out for the defense of the hinterlands. Now that Vicksburg had fallen and the Mississippi River was in Union hands the situation was becoming grim in the extreme. Lieutenant General Edmund Kirby Smith tried his hand at firebrand speech writing this morning when he issued the following to the populace of the Trans-Mississippi; the people of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas: Your homes are in peril. Vigorous efforts on your part can alone save portions of your State from invasion. You should contest the advance of the enemy, thicket, gully, and stream; harass his rear and cut off his supplies. Thus you will prove important auxiliaries in any. attempt to reach him in front, and drive him, routed, from our soil. Determination and energy only can prevent his destruction of your homes. By a vigorous and united effort you preserve your property, you secure independence for yourselves and children — all that renders life desirable. Time is our best friend. Endure awhile longer; victory and peace must crown our efforts. The amended regulations governing the formation of corps for local defense are published for your information, and I call upon you to organize promptly under its provisions. “Your homes are in peril...You should contest the advance of the enemy, thicket, gully and stream; harass his rear and cut off his supplies.”
The inclination, not to mention the ability, of civilian farmers to follow this advice was questionable.
Chat Discussion
The governors, not to mention the generals, of the Confederate States on the west side of the Mississippi River had long felt they were being treated like unwanted stepchildren by the government in Richmond. When they requested guns, supplies, or manpower, they were more likely to be asked to send these items East for the defense of the capital, rather than have them sent out for the defense of the hinterlands. Now that Vicksburg had fallen and the Mississippi River was in Union hands the situation was becoming grim in the extreme. Lieutenant General Edmund Kirby Smith tried his hand at firebrand speech writing this morning when he issued the following to the populace of the Trans-Mississippi; the people of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas: Your homes are in peril. Vigorous efforts on your part can alone save portions of your State from invasion. You should contest the advance of the enemy, thicket, gully, and stream; harass his rear and cut off his supplies. Thus you will prove important auxiliaries in any. attempt to reach him in front, and drive him, routed, from our soil. Determination and energy only can prevent his destruction of your homes. By a vigorous and united effort you preserve your property, you secure independence for yourselves and children — all that renders life desirable. Time is our best friend. Endure awhile longer; victory and peace must crown our efforts. The amended regulations governing the formation of corps for local defense are published for your information, and I call upon you to organize promptly under its provisions. “Your homes are in peril...You should contest the advance of the enemy, thicket, gully and stream; harass his rear and cut off his supplies.”
The inclination, not to mention the ability, of civilian farmers to follow this advice was questionable.
Chat Discussion
1
Posted on 9/27/13 at 4:01 am to BadLeroyDawg
Sunday, 27 September 1863
There existed in the Confederate military a class of operators for whom no good descriptive term exists. They were classified as cavalrymen, but they did not always perform the usual functions of cavalry in the military sense of the day--scouting ahead, and screening the movements, for an army of infantry. These men were usually referred to as "raiders" or "rangers" and their role was to move quickly to harass, cut lines of communication, pick off stragglers from Union marches, and gather supplies. One of these raiders, Jo Shelby, worked mainly in the Trans-Mississippi, so he is even less known than some like John Hunt Morgan, John Singleton Mosby and Nathan Bedford Forrest. This morning, Shelby attacked Moffat's Station in Franklin County, Arkansas, defended by Captain Parker and the First Arkansas infantry. The Federal losses were two killed, two wounded, and fifteen soldiers taken prisoners.
The USS Clyde, under Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Quincy A. Hooper, seized the schooner Amaranth near the Florida Keys with a cargo including cigars and sugar.
The mortar schooner USS Para, under Acting Master Edward G. Furber, arrived this afternoon in Fernandina to repair damage done to her masts while on patrol duty off Mosquito Inlet, South Carolina. Mosquito Inlet was the scene of a Union naval attack just a few days earlier. The settlement there was destroyed and several sloops and schooners were burned.
[link=(Sunday, 27 September 1863 There existed in the Confederate military a class of operators for)]Chat Discussion[/link]
There existed in the Confederate military a class of operators for whom no good descriptive term exists. They were classified as cavalrymen, but they did not always perform the usual functions of cavalry in the military sense of the day--scouting ahead, and screening the movements, for an army of infantry. These men were usually referred to as "raiders" or "rangers" and their role was to move quickly to harass, cut lines of communication, pick off stragglers from Union marches, and gather supplies. One of these raiders, Jo Shelby, worked mainly in the Trans-Mississippi, so he is even less known than some like John Hunt Morgan, John Singleton Mosby and Nathan Bedford Forrest. This morning, Shelby attacked Moffat's Station in Franklin County, Arkansas, defended by Captain Parker and the First Arkansas infantry. The Federal losses were two killed, two wounded, and fifteen soldiers taken prisoners.
The USS Clyde, under Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Quincy A. Hooper, seized the schooner Amaranth near the Florida Keys with a cargo including cigars and sugar.
The mortar schooner USS Para, under Acting Master Edward G. Furber, arrived this afternoon in Fernandina to repair damage done to her masts while on patrol duty off Mosquito Inlet, South Carolina. Mosquito Inlet was the scene of a Union naval attack just a few days earlier. The settlement there was destroyed and several sloops and schooners were burned.
[link=(Sunday, 27 September 1863 There existed in the Confederate military a class of operators for)]Chat Discussion[/link]
This post was edited on 9/27/13 at 4:25 am
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