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re: 150 years ago this day...
Posted on 12/1/13 at 5:28 am to BadLeroyDawg
Posted on 12/1/13 at 5:28 am to BadLeroyDawg
Tuesday, 1 December 1863
The problem of gathering vital supplies was becoming increasingly difficult for all Southern armies, and the commanding generals were constantly pleading with Confederate President Jefferson Davis for assistance for the men now mostly in winter camp. General Joe Wheeler, however, commanded a cavalry unit, and he took the approach that God helps a force which helps itself. The difficulty was, his men were helping themselves to the property of their fellow Confederate citizens of North Carolina. Fed up, Govenor Zebulon B. Vance sent a letter of his own to Davis today, complaining severely about the depredations. "If God Almighty had yet in store another plague for the Egyptians worse than all others, I am sure it must have been a regiment or so of half-armed, half-disciplined Confederate cavalry!" Vance thundered.
The Army of the Potomac withdrew from before the works of the Confederates of the Army of Northern Virginia on Mine Run, General Meade being convinced that they could not be taken without a great sacrifice of life. A soldier, writing from Kelleysville, now in West Virginia on December fourth, gives the following account of the retrograde movement: "Since joining the regiment I have had very tough work, marching great distances in a short space of time, besides living on short rations. We crossed the Rapidan at Ely's Ford, marching through the battlefield of Chancellorsville and the Wilderness, to within six miles of Orange Court House, where we halted. Our impressions were, that we would reach Gordonsville before any serious opposition would be shown, but were mightily mistaken. The army skirmished with the Rebels from the time we crossed the Rapidan until we halted, and through such a perfect wilderness as to be almost indescribable ? the road, the only place where man or beast could walk, with both sides covered with dense woods, overrun with underbrush. So you can readily imagine what a place for troops to advance in line of battle, and manoeuvre for instant action. Yet it was done, and with a hearty good will, for the impression animated the whole army we would give the rebels a sound whipping, as we were on their flank; but alas! they got wind of it, and formed a line of battle on the high ridge of hills on the opposite side of Mine Run. We would have cleared them out from there, but the whole of our army did not arrive in time. Night came on, and they improved the time by fortifying. When morning came, they had one of the most formidable works in view I ever saw. The creek, or run, was crammed with felled trees, to break our ranks when advancing in line, and then came immense breastworks with abattis in front, making it an impossibility to make a charge over. Yet that morning the whole line had orders to take off knapsacks and overcoats, and make the attack, or rather attempt it. When all was ready, and going on the advance, the order was countermanded, and with it came many light hearts, as we knew it was impossible to make any impression on what we saw before us, although we were willing to attempt it. We lay all that day, and the next until evening, when we picked up our traps, and made a splendid retrograde movement. To be sure, the army suffered a little in killed and wounded, but nothing in comparison to what it would have been if we had fought them. One of the men in my company was shot in the breast while skirmishing. We are now near Kelly's Ford, and have arrived at the conclusion that General Meade acted wisely in not giving battle, for he would have been repulsed, and that would not do, when things looked so bright in the West."
The problem of gathering vital supplies was becoming increasingly difficult for all Southern armies, and the commanding generals were constantly pleading with Confederate President Jefferson Davis for assistance for the men now mostly in winter camp. General Joe Wheeler, however, commanded a cavalry unit, and he took the approach that God helps a force which helps itself. The difficulty was, his men were helping themselves to the property of their fellow Confederate citizens of North Carolina. Fed up, Govenor Zebulon B. Vance sent a letter of his own to Davis today, complaining severely about the depredations. "If God Almighty had yet in store another plague for the Egyptians worse than all others, I am sure it must have been a regiment or so of half-armed, half-disciplined Confederate cavalry!" Vance thundered.
The Army of the Potomac withdrew from before the works of the Confederates of the Army of Northern Virginia on Mine Run, General Meade being convinced that they could not be taken without a great sacrifice of life. A soldier, writing from Kelleysville, now in West Virginia on December fourth, gives the following account of the retrograde movement: "Since joining the regiment I have had very tough work, marching great distances in a short space of time, besides living on short rations. We crossed the Rapidan at Ely's Ford, marching through the battlefield of Chancellorsville and the Wilderness, to within six miles of Orange Court House, where we halted. Our impressions were, that we would reach Gordonsville before any serious opposition would be shown, but were mightily mistaken. The army skirmished with the Rebels from the time we crossed the Rapidan until we halted, and through such a perfect wilderness as to be almost indescribable ? the road, the only place where man or beast could walk, with both sides covered with dense woods, overrun with underbrush. So you can readily imagine what a place for troops to advance in line of battle, and manoeuvre for instant action. Yet it was done, and with a hearty good will, for the impression animated the whole army we would give the rebels a sound whipping, as we were on their flank; but alas! they got wind of it, and formed a line of battle on the high ridge of hills on the opposite side of Mine Run. We would have cleared them out from there, but the whole of our army did not arrive in time. Night came on, and they improved the time by fortifying. When morning came, they had one of the most formidable works in view I ever saw. The creek, or run, was crammed with felled trees, to break our ranks when advancing in line, and then came immense breastworks with abattis in front, making it an impossibility to make a charge over. Yet that morning the whole line had orders to take off knapsacks and overcoats, and make the attack, or rather attempt it. When all was ready, and going on the advance, the order was countermanded, and with it came many light hearts, as we knew it was impossible to make any impression on what we saw before us, although we were willing to attempt it. We lay all that day, and the next until evening, when we picked up our traps, and made a splendid retrograde movement. To be sure, the army suffered a little in killed and wounded, but nothing in comparison to what it would have been if we had fought them. One of the men in my company was shot in the breast while skirmishing. We are now near Kelly's Ford, and have arrived at the conclusion that General Meade acted wisely in not giving battle, for he would have been repulsed, and that would not do, when things looked so bright in the West."
1
Posted on 12/2/13 at 5:03 am to BadLeroyDawg
Wednesday, 2 December 1863
One of the primary duties for the United States Navy ships operating along the Florida coast, along with watching for smugglers and blockade-runners, was keeping an eye out for salt works. Although some salt, in both the South and North, was dug in mines where it had been deposited as ancient ocean beds evaporated, much more came from coastal operations. Sea water would be scooped into kettles and the water boiled off, or placed in shallow pans to evaporate. The USS Restless came upon such an operation today on Lake Ocala, Florida, that was producing an incredible 130 bushels of salt per day. Acting Master William R. Browne ordered the boilers destroyed, along with two flatboats and six oxen carts, and had all the salt returned to the sea from whence it came. He also took 17 prisoners. "They were in the practice of turning out 130 bushels of salt daily." Rear Admiral Bailey reported. "Besides destroying these boilers, a large quantity of salt was thrown into the lake, 2 large flatboats, and 6 ox carts were demolished, and 17 prisoners were taken. . . " These destructive raids, destroying machinery, supplies, armament, and equipment, had a telling and lasting effect on the South, already short of all.
Rear Admiral David D. Porter reported: "In the operations lately carried on up the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, the gunboats have been extremely active and have achieved with perfect success all that was desired or required of them. . . . With the help of our barges, General Sherman's troops were all ferried over in an incredibly short time by the gunboats, and he was enabled to bring his formidable corps into action in the late battle of Chattanooga, which has resulted so gloriously for our arms." The Mississippi Squadron continued to patrol the rivers relentlessly, restricting Confederate movements and countering attempts to erect batteries along the banks.
Commodore H. H. Bell, pro-tem commander of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, reported to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles the estimated Confederate naval strength at Mobile Bay. The CSS Gaines and Morgan mounted ten guns; the CSS Selma mounted four, as did the nearly completed ironclad CSS Nashville. All were sidewheelers. The ironclad rams CSS Baltic, Huntsville , and Tennessee all mounted four guns each. The latter, Admiral Buchanan 's flag ship, was said to be "strong and fast." The CSS Gunnison was fitted as a torpedo boat carrying 150 pounds of powder and another screw steamer was reported being fitted out, though a fire had destroyed her upper works. In addition to two floating batteries mounting 3 guns each and 10 transport steamers at Mobile Bay, the report noted: "At Selma there is a large vessel building, to be launched in January. There are three large rams building on the Tombigbee River , to be launched during the winter." Rear Admira David G. Farragut would face four of these ships in Mobile Bay the following year. Lack of machinery, iron, and skilled mechanics prevented the rest from being little more than the phantoms which rumor frequently includes in estimates of enemy strength.
General Braxton Bragg issued a general order from his headquarters at Dalton, Georgia, transferring the command of the Confederate forces to Lieutenant General William Joseph Hardee who, on assuming the position announced, in orders, that "...there was no cause for discouragement. The overwhelming numbers of the enemy forced us back from Missionary Ridge; but the army is still intact and in good heart; our losses were small, and were rapidly replaced. The country is looking to you with painful interest. I feel I can rely upon you. The weak need to be cheered by the constant successes of the victors of Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro, and Chickamauga, and require such stimulant to sustain their courage and resolution. Let the past take care of itself. We care more to secure the future."
One of the primary duties for the United States Navy ships operating along the Florida coast, along with watching for smugglers and blockade-runners, was keeping an eye out for salt works. Although some salt, in both the South and North, was dug in mines where it had been deposited as ancient ocean beds evaporated, much more came from coastal operations. Sea water would be scooped into kettles and the water boiled off, or placed in shallow pans to evaporate. The USS Restless came upon such an operation today on Lake Ocala, Florida, that was producing an incredible 130 bushels of salt per day. Acting Master William R. Browne ordered the boilers destroyed, along with two flatboats and six oxen carts, and had all the salt returned to the sea from whence it came. He also took 17 prisoners. "They were in the practice of turning out 130 bushels of salt daily." Rear Admiral Bailey reported. "Besides destroying these boilers, a large quantity of salt was thrown into the lake, 2 large flatboats, and 6 ox carts were demolished, and 17 prisoners were taken. . . " These destructive raids, destroying machinery, supplies, armament, and equipment, had a telling and lasting effect on the South, already short of all.
Rear Admiral David D. Porter reported: "In the operations lately carried on up the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, the gunboats have been extremely active and have achieved with perfect success all that was desired or required of them. . . . With the help of our barges, General Sherman's troops were all ferried over in an incredibly short time by the gunboats, and he was enabled to bring his formidable corps into action in the late battle of Chattanooga, which has resulted so gloriously for our arms." The Mississippi Squadron continued to patrol the rivers relentlessly, restricting Confederate movements and countering attempts to erect batteries along the banks.
Commodore H. H. Bell, pro-tem commander of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, reported to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles the estimated Confederate naval strength at Mobile Bay. The CSS Gaines and Morgan mounted ten guns; the CSS Selma mounted four, as did the nearly completed ironclad CSS Nashville. All were sidewheelers. The ironclad rams CSS Baltic, Huntsville , and Tennessee all mounted four guns each. The latter, Admiral Buchanan 's flag ship, was said to be "strong and fast." The CSS Gunnison was fitted as a torpedo boat carrying 150 pounds of powder and another screw steamer was reported being fitted out, though a fire had destroyed her upper works. In addition to two floating batteries mounting 3 guns each and 10 transport steamers at Mobile Bay, the report noted: "At Selma there is a large vessel building, to be launched in January. There are three large rams building on the Tombigbee River , to be launched during the winter." Rear Admira David G. Farragut would face four of these ships in Mobile Bay the following year. Lack of machinery, iron, and skilled mechanics prevented the rest from being little more than the phantoms which rumor frequently includes in estimates of enemy strength.
General Braxton Bragg issued a general order from his headquarters at Dalton, Georgia, transferring the command of the Confederate forces to Lieutenant General William Joseph Hardee who, on assuming the position announced, in orders, that "...there was no cause for discouragement. The overwhelming numbers of the enemy forced us back from Missionary Ridge; but the army is still intact and in good heart; our losses were small, and were rapidly replaced. The country is looking to you with painful interest. I feel I can rely upon you. The weak need to be cheered by the constant successes of the victors of Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro, and Chickamauga, and require such stimulant to sustain their courage and resolution. Let the past take care of itself. We care more to secure the future."
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