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re: 150 years ago this day...
Posted on 12/2/13 at 7:51 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Posted on 12/2/13 at 7:51 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Thursday, 3 December 1863
Running a naval blockade, especially in the maze of waterways, islands, canals, marshes and areas which are some combination of all of the above like Charleston Harbor, is not as easy as it may seem. Admiral John Dahlgren laid down some ground rules today. Four monitor-class ships were assigned the duty, with two to be in use each night. One was to operate far up the channel of the harbor, where it could keep an eye on Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie, as well as watch for commercial shipping trying to sneak out, and at the same time watch for and defend against aggressive vessels such as torpedo boats, picket boats and, oh yes, floating mines. The second ship was to lay further out to keep an eye on the first, and go to its aid if necessary.
Dahlgren issued the following orders to emphasize vigorous enforcement of the blockade and vigilance against Confederate torpedo boats: "Picket duty is to be performed by four monitors, two for each night, one of which is to be well advanced up the harbor, in a position suitable for preventing the entrance or departure of any vessel attempting to pass in or out of Charleston Harbor, and for observing Sumter and Moultrie, or movements in and about them, taking care at the same time not to get aground, and also to change the position when the weather appears to render it unsafe. The second monitor is to keep within proper supporting distance of the first, so as to render aid if needed." The Admiral added: "The general object of the monitors, tugs, and boats on picket is to enforce the blockade rigorously, and to watch and check the movements of the enemy by water whenever it can be done, particularly to detect and destroy the torpedo boats and the picket boats of the rebels."
The USS New London, under Lieutenant Commander Weld N. Allen, captured the blockade running schooner Del Nile near Padre Pass Island, Texas, with a cargo including coffee, sugar, and percussion caps.
A small force of Confederates, under the command of General James Ronald Chalmers, made three desperate charges on a full division of Federal cavalry, stationed at the Wolf River Bridge, Tennessee, but were finally repulsed with heavy loss. The Union troops were commanded by Colonel Hatch's cavalry division, which suffered severely.
Running a naval blockade, especially in the maze of waterways, islands, canals, marshes and areas which are some combination of all of the above like Charleston Harbor, is not as easy as it may seem. Admiral John Dahlgren laid down some ground rules today. Four monitor-class ships were assigned the duty, with two to be in use each night. One was to operate far up the channel of the harbor, where it could keep an eye on Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie, as well as watch for commercial shipping trying to sneak out, and at the same time watch for and defend against aggressive vessels such as torpedo boats, picket boats and, oh yes, floating mines. The second ship was to lay further out to keep an eye on the first, and go to its aid if necessary.
Dahlgren issued the following orders to emphasize vigorous enforcement of the blockade and vigilance against Confederate torpedo boats: "Picket duty is to be performed by four monitors, two for each night, one of which is to be well advanced up the harbor, in a position suitable for preventing the entrance or departure of any vessel attempting to pass in or out of Charleston Harbor, and for observing Sumter and Moultrie, or movements in and about them, taking care at the same time not to get aground, and also to change the position when the weather appears to render it unsafe. The second monitor is to keep within proper supporting distance of the first, so as to render aid if needed." The Admiral added: "The general object of the monitors, tugs, and boats on picket is to enforce the blockade rigorously, and to watch and check the movements of the enemy by water whenever it can be done, particularly to detect and destroy the torpedo boats and the picket boats of the rebels."
The USS New London, under Lieutenant Commander Weld N. Allen, captured the blockade running schooner Del Nile near Padre Pass Island, Texas, with a cargo including coffee, sugar, and percussion caps.
A small force of Confederates, under the command of General James Ronald Chalmers, made three desperate charges on a full division of Federal cavalry, stationed at the Wolf River Bridge, Tennessee, but were finally repulsed with heavy loss. The Union troops were commanded by Colonel Hatch's cavalry division, which suffered severely.
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Posted on 12/3/13 at 8:33 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Friday, 4 December 1863
General James Longstreet and his corps had been detached from the Army of Northern Virginia and send West in a desperate move to shore up the defenses of Confederate Tennessee. It had been a valiant effort, but in the end it had been too little, too late. Their last assault had been on the ramparts of Fort Sanders at Knoxville, which they had taken but could not hold. With General Hiram U. Grant having ordered reinforcements on the way, Longstreet was now contemplating establishing winter quarters farther east and north, at a place called Greeneville. This was, in terms of travel time, about equidistant from potential battle sites in the west or in Virginia, enabling the force to be shifted to whichever area needed them most.
General Longstreet began to raise the siege of Knoxville, falling back to Morristown, Tennessee, in consequence of the approach of heavy reinforcements to General Ambrose Burnside, under General Granger, as well as the defeats around Chattanooga. General William T. Sherman was headed toward Knoxville with upwards of 30,000 fresh troops. "The whole army will move direct on the enemy at Knoxville and fight them at the earliest moment," ordered Sherman to his corps commanders. Each wing was given specific roads to use and cautioned to be timely. Food had become a problem for Sherman's men. Immediately following the Battle of Chattanooga, they were on their feet and in pursuit of the enemy. They had but two days of rations, a blanket and an overcoat. Now, over a week later, very little sustenance had caught up with them. In his orders, Sherman wished for each man to have not only all his ammunition on his person with a caution to "use it with great prudence", but also that each have three days' cooked rations. For many, this was impossible, but their dear commander remembered them as well: "If rations are not to be had, the men will cheerfully live on meal till their fellows in Knoxville are released from their imprisonment." They were, after all, on a mission. Sherman was well aware of the shortage of food, and was doing everything he could to sustain his troops. To a division commander in the Fourth Corps, Sherman urged him to "use every effort to procure corn and wheat, and to grind all you possibly can." The three small mills that his army had commandeered were hardly sufficient.
Though Longstreet was by this time in flight, Sherman was convinced otherwise. He had captured letters that indicated as such. "Longstreet is yet at Knoxville," agreed one of the army's Inspector Generals. "He assaulted Burnside on Sunday and was badly whipped…. Longstreet is evidently badly puzzled." Of course, Longstreet wasn't puzzled at all. He was simply aware that Sherman's columns were coming and knew he was outnumbered. Bridging the river, however, was no easy task. For all Sherman and his men knew, time was of the essence. The river had been up when the Fifteenth Corps tried to cross it at Morganton. With water as deep as five feet, the General concluded that while the cavalry might be able to cross, the men and artillery could not. And so fording the river was out, and a bridge was indispensable. Sherman was without an engineer, but "we had our pioneers, but only such tools as axes, picks, and spades. But General Wilson, working part with crib-work and part with square trestles, made of the houses of the late town of Morganton, progress apace, and by dark of December 4, troops and animals passed on the bridge…." If Morganton could not yield to Sherman a ford, he would build a bridge out of it. All through the day in Knoxville, it seemed as if Longstreet's presence remained. The skirmishers and pickets were even more active than usual on this date. There were some signs of the Rebels' retreat, such as a line of wagons spotted moving toward the northeast, but even after a quick probe by Burnside's infantry, the Confederate line seemed sound enough. After darkness, Longstreet began to move in earnest. By 2200 hours, the campfires were dimming or flickering out. It would be the next morning until anyone was certain, but the Confederates had just made good their escape.
General James Longstreet and his corps had been detached from the Army of Northern Virginia and send West in a desperate move to shore up the defenses of Confederate Tennessee. It had been a valiant effort, but in the end it had been too little, too late. Their last assault had been on the ramparts of Fort Sanders at Knoxville, which they had taken but could not hold. With General Hiram U. Grant having ordered reinforcements on the way, Longstreet was now contemplating establishing winter quarters farther east and north, at a place called Greeneville. This was, in terms of travel time, about equidistant from potential battle sites in the west or in Virginia, enabling the force to be shifted to whichever area needed them most.
General Longstreet began to raise the siege of Knoxville, falling back to Morristown, Tennessee, in consequence of the approach of heavy reinforcements to General Ambrose Burnside, under General Granger, as well as the defeats around Chattanooga. General William T. Sherman was headed toward Knoxville with upwards of 30,000 fresh troops. "The whole army will move direct on the enemy at Knoxville and fight them at the earliest moment," ordered Sherman to his corps commanders. Each wing was given specific roads to use and cautioned to be timely. Food had become a problem for Sherman's men. Immediately following the Battle of Chattanooga, they were on their feet and in pursuit of the enemy. They had but two days of rations, a blanket and an overcoat. Now, over a week later, very little sustenance had caught up with them. In his orders, Sherman wished for each man to have not only all his ammunition on his person with a caution to "use it with great prudence", but also that each have three days' cooked rations. For many, this was impossible, but their dear commander remembered them as well: "If rations are not to be had, the men will cheerfully live on meal till their fellows in Knoxville are released from their imprisonment." They were, after all, on a mission. Sherman was well aware of the shortage of food, and was doing everything he could to sustain his troops. To a division commander in the Fourth Corps, Sherman urged him to "use every effort to procure corn and wheat, and to grind all you possibly can." The three small mills that his army had commandeered were hardly sufficient.
Though Longstreet was by this time in flight, Sherman was convinced otherwise. He had captured letters that indicated as such. "Longstreet is yet at Knoxville," agreed one of the army's Inspector Generals. "He assaulted Burnside on Sunday and was badly whipped…. Longstreet is evidently badly puzzled." Of course, Longstreet wasn't puzzled at all. He was simply aware that Sherman's columns were coming and knew he was outnumbered. Bridging the river, however, was no easy task. For all Sherman and his men knew, time was of the essence. The river had been up when the Fifteenth Corps tried to cross it at Morganton. With water as deep as five feet, the General concluded that while the cavalry might be able to cross, the men and artillery could not. And so fording the river was out, and a bridge was indispensable. Sherman was without an engineer, but "we had our pioneers, but only such tools as axes, picks, and spades. But General Wilson, working part with crib-work and part with square trestles, made of the houses of the late town of Morganton, progress apace, and by dark of December 4, troops and animals passed on the bridge…." If Morganton could not yield to Sherman a ford, he would build a bridge out of it. All through the day in Knoxville, it seemed as if Longstreet's presence remained. The skirmishers and pickets were even more active than usual on this date. There were some signs of the Rebels' retreat, such as a line of wagons spotted moving toward the northeast, but even after a quick probe by Burnside's infantry, the Confederate line seemed sound enough. After darkness, Longstreet began to move in earnest. By 2200 hours, the campfires were dimming or flickering out. It would be the next morning until anyone was certain, but the Confederates had just made good their escape.
This post was edited on 12/4/13 at 5:05 am
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