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re: 150 years ago this day...
Posted on 12/16/13 at 8:57 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Posted on 12/16/13 at 8:57 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Thursday, 17 December 1863
War can be a cruel and evil thing, all scholars and most assuredly all participants generally agree. While it has elements of excitement and pageantry, such as inspired General Robert E. Lee to observe at Fredericksburg: "It is good that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it..." most efforts over the centuries have been to impose rules and restraints on the worst of the cruelties and unnecessary destruction. Still, acts of gratuitous wickedness were not unknown, and one such occurred today. Lieutenant Commander Fitch, in charge of the USS Moose, sent landing parties ashore from his gunboat on Seven Mile Island and Palmyra, on the Tennessee River. There, acting on information from local informants, they sought out and destroyed a facility producing materiel which gave notable aid and comfort to Confederate guerilla and partisan bands operating in the area. Such is war, but it was nonetheless cruel that, nine days before Christmas, this treatment was given to their whiskey distilleries.
From his headquarters at Memphis, Tennessee, General Stephen A. Hurlbut issued the following general order: "The recent affair at Moscow, Tenn., has demonstrated the fact that colored troops, properly disciplined and commanded, can and will fight well, and the General commanding deems it to be due to the officers and men of the Second regiment West Tennessee infantry of African descent, thus publicly to return his personal thanks for their gallant and successful defense of the important position to which they had been assigned, and for the manner in which they have vindicated the wisdom of the Government in elevating the rank and file of these regiments to the position of freemen and soldiers."
The Richmond Enquirer, in an article on the exchange of prisoners, held the following language: "The Yankees are not going to send their negro troops in the field: they know as well as we do that no reliance can be placed upon them; but as depot-guards, prison-guards, etc., they will relieve their white troops. This is the use that will be made of them. Should they be sent to the field, and be put in battle, none will be taken prisoners-our troops understand what to do in such cases."
President Abraham Lincoln sent a message to the Congress of the United States, communicating a letter addressed to him from a committee of gentlemen, representing the Freedmen's Aid Societies of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati, in relation to the freedmen under the proclamation of emancipation.
The United States bark Roebuck, under Acting Master John Sherrill, captured off the mouth of Indian River, Florida, the British schooner Ringdove, twenty-three tons burden, of and from Nassau, with a crew of five men. Her cargo consisted of one hundred and ninety bales of salt, three bags of coffee, two half chests of tea, and three barrels of whisky. When first discovered, she attempted to escape, but on being fired at, ran aground on the bar.
For several days past the detectives at Richmond, Virginia, have been on the hunt for parties who are either suspected of stealing the clothing sent by the Yankee Government for the prisoners now in our hands, or receiving the same, knowing it to have been stolen. Several soldiers, wearing the Confederate uniform, have lately been seen with blankets branded "U. S.," and in some cases, shoes, with the Yankee mark on them, have been sold to citizens at uncommonly low figures by some of the guards of the prisons. Several individuals have been arrested on the above charge.
Colonel Carter, of the First Confederate Virginia cavalry, with six other persons, was captured at Upperville, Virginia, by a detachment of the Twenty-second Pennsylvania cavalry.
An entire company, belonging to the Third North-Carolina Confederate cavalry, was captured near Washington, North Carolina, by a party of the Fiftieth Pennsylvania regiment, commanded by Captain Blakely. Yesterday, at sunset, the Federals left Washington, and after a march of twenty-four miles, came upon the enemy's camp. The night was dark and rainy, rendering it possible for the troops to come upon the Rebels unheard, and a complete surprise was consequently effected, the enemy being taken in their tents asleep, without the firing of a gun. The number taken was thirty-four, with their horses, equipment, and arms. The surprising party was led by Mr. Henn, who acted as guide, and who previously had been of great use upon cavalry expeditions. On this occasion he entered the rebel camp alone in advance of the attack, and reconnoitered the enemy's position.
Confederate General Stand Watie, one of only two Native Americans on either side of the Civil War to rise to a brigadier general's rank (the other being Ely S. Parker, a Seneca who fought on the Union side), with a portion of his partisan Cherokee force, made an attack upon the outposts of Fort Gibson, Arkansas, but was repulsed, and eventually compelled to retreat across the Arkansas River.
A small body of General J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry made a descent at eight o'clock this night upon company I, of the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth New York regiment, stationed at Sangster's, three miles west of Fairfax Station, Virginia, slightly wounding one man, capturing four, and burning the tents belonging to the company. The attack was unexpected, but, nevertheless, the guard made a gallant defense. On being charged upon by the enemy, they withdrew behind their encampment, pouring in repeated volleys upon the Rebels, and finally compelling them to retire.
War can be a cruel and evil thing, all scholars and most assuredly all participants generally agree. While it has elements of excitement and pageantry, such as inspired General Robert E. Lee to observe at Fredericksburg: "It is good that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it..." most efforts over the centuries have been to impose rules and restraints on the worst of the cruelties and unnecessary destruction. Still, acts of gratuitous wickedness were not unknown, and one such occurred today. Lieutenant Commander Fitch, in charge of the USS Moose, sent landing parties ashore from his gunboat on Seven Mile Island and Palmyra, on the Tennessee River. There, acting on information from local informants, they sought out and destroyed a facility producing materiel which gave notable aid and comfort to Confederate guerilla and partisan bands operating in the area. Such is war, but it was nonetheless cruel that, nine days before Christmas, this treatment was given to their whiskey distilleries.
From his headquarters at Memphis, Tennessee, General Stephen A. Hurlbut issued the following general order: "The recent affair at Moscow, Tenn., has demonstrated the fact that colored troops, properly disciplined and commanded, can and will fight well, and the General commanding deems it to be due to the officers and men of the Second regiment West Tennessee infantry of African descent, thus publicly to return his personal thanks for their gallant and successful defense of the important position to which they had been assigned, and for the manner in which they have vindicated the wisdom of the Government in elevating the rank and file of these regiments to the position of freemen and soldiers."
The Richmond Enquirer, in an article on the exchange of prisoners, held the following language: "The Yankees are not going to send their negro troops in the field: they know as well as we do that no reliance can be placed upon them; but as depot-guards, prison-guards, etc., they will relieve their white troops. This is the use that will be made of them. Should they be sent to the field, and be put in battle, none will be taken prisoners-our troops understand what to do in such cases."
President Abraham Lincoln sent a message to the Congress of the United States, communicating a letter addressed to him from a committee of gentlemen, representing the Freedmen's Aid Societies of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati, in relation to the freedmen under the proclamation of emancipation.
The United States bark Roebuck, under Acting Master John Sherrill, captured off the mouth of Indian River, Florida, the British schooner Ringdove, twenty-three tons burden, of and from Nassau, with a crew of five men. Her cargo consisted of one hundred and ninety bales of salt, three bags of coffee, two half chests of tea, and three barrels of whisky. When first discovered, she attempted to escape, but on being fired at, ran aground on the bar.
For several days past the detectives at Richmond, Virginia, have been on the hunt for parties who are either suspected of stealing the clothing sent by the Yankee Government for the prisoners now in our hands, or receiving the same, knowing it to have been stolen. Several soldiers, wearing the Confederate uniform, have lately been seen with blankets branded "U. S.," and in some cases, shoes, with the Yankee mark on them, have been sold to citizens at uncommonly low figures by some of the guards of the prisons. Several individuals have been arrested on the above charge.
Colonel Carter, of the First Confederate Virginia cavalry, with six other persons, was captured at Upperville, Virginia, by a detachment of the Twenty-second Pennsylvania cavalry.
An entire company, belonging to the Third North-Carolina Confederate cavalry, was captured near Washington, North Carolina, by a party of the Fiftieth Pennsylvania regiment, commanded by Captain Blakely. Yesterday, at sunset, the Federals left Washington, and after a march of twenty-four miles, came upon the enemy's camp. The night was dark and rainy, rendering it possible for the troops to come upon the Rebels unheard, and a complete surprise was consequently effected, the enemy being taken in their tents asleep, without the firing of a gun. The number taken was thirty-four, with their horses, equipment, and arms. The surprising party was led by Mr. Henn, who acted as guide, and who previously had been of great use upon cavalry expeditions. On this occasion he entered the rebel camp alone in advance of the attack, and reconnoitered the enemy's position.
Confederate General Stand Watie, one of only two Native Americans on either side of the Civil War to rise to a brigadier general's rank (the other being Ely S. Parker, a Seneca who fought on the Union side), with a portion of his partisan Cherokee force, made an attack upon the outposts of Fort Gibson, Arkansas, but was repulsed, and eventually compelled to retreat across the Arkansas River.
A small body of General J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry made a descent at eight o'clock this night upon company I, of the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth New York regiment, stationed at Sangster's, three miles west of Fairfax Station, Virginia, slightly wounding one man, capturing four, and burning the tents belonging to the company. The attack was unexpected, but, nevertheless, the guard made a gallant defense. On being charged upon by the enemy, they withdrew behind their encampment, pouring in repeated volleys upon the Rebels, and finally compelling them to retire.
This post was edited on 12/17/13 at 5:01 am
3
Posted on 12/17/13 at 8:09 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Friday, 18 December 1863
Aside from a few confusing months in early 1861, Missouri had always been a state firmly in Union hands. It had, however, in the time since, probably caused more defeats and debacles for Union military men than three openly Confederate states combined. The problem was politics: a Union general would be assigned to be military administrator of the district, and would then be plunged into the morass of backbiting and infighting that was Missouri--particularly St. Louis--power struggles. This was not a situation which could be solved with musketry, and none of the generals handled it well. The latest victim was General John M. Schofield. President Abraham Lincoln had been receiving a steady stream of complaints about his performance in St. Louis, and today wrote to Secretary of War Edwin McMasters Stanton that perhaps it was time for Schofield to be relieved. To spare Schofield’s feelings he would get a promotion to major general; the next sacrificial lamb, Lincoln proposed, perhaps should be the long-suffering General William Rosecrans.
The Richmond Dispatch of this morning contained the following:
We can assure such members of the Confederate Congress as feel disposed at this decisive crisis in the national affairs to give undue prominence to querulous complaints and denunciations of the government, that they do not represent the public sentiment of the country — nay, so far from that, they are arousing in the minds of a people whose salvation depends upon the harmony and cooperation of all the public servants, deep and stern dissatisfaction.
At this solemn moment, when every patriot should be willing to postpone all minor differences to a period when the enemy shall not be thundering at the gates, the country has a right to demand that the voice of faction shall be hushed, and that every man shall smother his private griefs, and give his heart and hand to the common salvation.
We are all embarked in the same vessel, we are all tossing upon the same stormy sea, and, in the event of shipwreck, none has as much to lose as the officers of the ship, and especially the man whom we have ourselves called to the quarterdeck, and who has every conceivable motive to do the utmost for our preservation that human wisdom and energy can accomplish.
Would to heaven that, for a time at least, till this hour of imminent peril be passed, the voice of dissension and discord could be hushed, and the counsels of patriotism and prudence govern the pulsations of every heart, and the utterance of every lip. We can assure Congress, that nothing so disheartens the true friends of the country as the fault-finding abuse heaped upon the public servants, at a time when we should all be engaged in beating back the public enemy.
It would be mournful enough that our cause should be borne down by our vile and dastardly foes, but a far deeper humiliation, an unspeakable disgrace, that it should perish by our own hands. But the people will not let it perish either by the hands of indiscreet friends or open foes, and we warn them both to stand clear of an avalanche which will inevitably fall upon their own heads.
Captain Leeper, commanding Federal scouts in southeast Missouri, overtook three partisan guerrillas, belonging to Reeve's band, near Black River, and succeeded in killing the entire party.
A fight took place at Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, between a party of guerrillas, under William Clarke Quantrell, and six hundred Federal troops, belonging to the Indian brigade, commanded by Colonel Phillips. The engagement lasted over five hours, and resulted in the retreat of the guerrillas.
The chaplains of General Robert Edward Lee's Army of Northern Virginia held a meeting at Orange Court House, Virginia, today. Most interesting reports were made, showing a high state of religious feeling throughout the army. The great success of the army is due to the religious element which reaches every corner of it; whilst, on the other hand, I am very much disposed to fear, from what I have been told by officers who have served in the army of Tennessee, that the lack of success of that army is due, in a large measure, to the want of religious influence upon the troops.--Richmond Dispatch.
In the Virginia House of Delegates, Mr. Hutcheson offered a series of resolutions deprecating the Amnesty Proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln as “...degrading to freemen, that, having calmly counted the cost and weight, the dangers and difficulties, necessary for the achievement of the rights and independence they covet, the people of the Old Dominion spurn with contempt the proffered pardon and amnesty.”
Five military executions for desertion took place in the respective divisions to which they belonged, in the Army of the Potomac.
Commodore Gershom Jaques Van Brunt, of the United States Navy, died at Dedham, Massachusetts.
Aside from a few confusing months in early 1861, Missouri had always been a state firmly in Union hands. It had, however, in the time since, probably caused more defeats and debacles for Union military men than three openly Confederate states combined. The problem was politics: a Union general would be assigned to be military administrator of the district, and would then be plunged into the morass of backbiting and infighting that was Missouri--particularly St. Louis--power struggles. This was not a situation which could be solved with musketry, and none of the generals handled it well. The latest victim was General John M. Schofield. President Abraham Lincoln had been receiving a steady stream of complaints about his performance in St. Louis, and today wrote to Secretary of War Edwin McMasters Stanton that perhaps it was time for Schofield to be relieved. To spare Schofield’s feelings he would get a promotion to major general; the next sacrificial lamb, Lincoln proposed, perhaps should be the long-suffering General William Rosecrans.
The Richmond Dispatch of this morning contained the following:
We can assure such members of the Confederate Congress as feel disposed at this decisive crisis in the national affairs to give undue prominence to querulous complaints and denunciations of the government, that they do not represent the public sentiment of the country — nay, so far from that, they are arousing in the minds of a people whose salvation depends upon the harmony and cooperation of all the public servants, deep and stern dissatisfaction.
At this solemn moment, when every patriot should be willing to postpone all minor differences to a period when the enemy shall not be thundering at the gates, the country has a right to demand that the voice of faction shall be hushed, and that every man shall smother his private griefs, and give his heart and hand to the common salvation.
We are all embarked in the same vessel, we are all tossing upon the same stormy sea, and, in the event of shipwreck, none has as much to lose as the officers of the ship, and especially the man whom we have ourselves called to the quarterdeck, and who has every conceivable motive to do the utmost for our preservation that human wisdom and energy can accomplish.
Would to heaven that, for a time at least, till this hour of imminent peril be passed, the voice of dissension and discord could be hushed, and the counsels of patriotism and prudence govern the pulsations of every heart, and the utterance of every lip. We can assure Congress, that nothing so disheartens the true friends of the country as the fault-finding abuse heaped upon the public servants, at a time when we should all be engaged in beating back the public enemy.
It would be mournful enough that our cause should be borne down by our vile and dastardly foes, but a far deeper humiliation, an unspeakable disgrace, that it should perish by our own hands. But the people will not let it perish either by the hands of indiscreet friends or open foes, and we warn them both to stand clear of an avalanche which will inevitably fall upon their own heads.
Captain Leeper, commanding Federal scouts in southeast Missouri, overtook three partisan guerrillas, belonging to Reeve's band, near Black River, and succeeded in killing the entire party.
A fight took place at Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, between a party of guerrillas, under William Clarke Quantrell, and six hundred Federal troops, belonging to the Indian brigade, commanded by Colonel Phillips. The engagement lasted over five hours, and resulted in the retreat of the guerrillas.
The chaplains of General Robert Edward Lee's Army of Northern Virginia held a meeting at Orange Court House, Virginia, today. Most interesting reports were made, showing a high state of religious feeling throughout the army. The great success of the army is due to the religious element which reaches every corner of it; whilst, on the other hand, I am very much disposed to fear, from what I have been told by officers who have served in the army of Tennessee, that the lack of success of that army is due, in a large measure, to the want of religious influence upon the troops.--Richmond Dispatch.
In the Virginia House of Delegates, Mr. Hutcheson offered a series of resolutions deprecating the Amnesty Proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln as “...degrading to freemen, that, having calmly counted the cost and weight, the dangers and difficulties, necessary for the achievement of the rights and independence they covet, the people of the Old Dominion spurn with contempt the proffered pardon and amnesty.”
Five military executions for desertion took place in the respective divisions to which they belonged, in the Army of the Potomac.
Commodore Gershom Jaques Van Brunt, of the United States Navy, died at Dedham, Massachusetts.
Posted on 2/13/14 at 9:14 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Sunday, 14 February 1864
The lovely, and once lively, old town of Meridian, Mississippi, was well stocked with supplies, railroad connections and other assets at the beginning of this morning. By nightfall, its destruction was well under way. Union troops under General William T. Sherman’s command didn’t even have to fight their way into town--it was abandoned as General Leonidas Polk’s Confederate forces, heavily outnumbered, fell back. Sherman’s men had orders to reduce the town’s ability to support the Southern cause, and that they did. “...10,000 men worked hard...in that work of destruction,” Sherman wrote later. “Meridian, with its depots, store-houses, arsenals hospitals, offices, hotels and cantonments no longer exists.” It took five days. The Confederacy’s, and President Jefferson Davis', major fear was that Mobile, Alabama, would be next on the list.
Lieutenant Commander Charles A. Babcock reported on a reconnaissance mission conducted the preceding day by the USS Morse on the York River and Potopotank Creek, Virginia. A sloop, with a cargo of corn and a small schooner, christened the Margaret Ann, were seized and taken to Yorktown. Babcock also swept the river from Moody's Wharf to Purtan Island Point in Gloucester County, Virginia, to verify reports that Confederate torpedoes had been planted there. None were found in that area, but Babcock wrote: "I do not believe there are any torpedoes below Goff's Point, but across from Goff's Point to Terrapin Point and in the forks of the river at West Point I believe, from information received, that there are certainly torpedoes placed there."
Major James Harvey Larrimer, of the Fifth Pennsylvania reserve regiment, Acting Inspector General on General Crawford's staff, was shot dead in a skirmish with partisan guerrillas about two miles east of Brentsville, in Prince William County, Virginia. He was out with a scouting party of some fifty men of the Thirteenth Pennsylvania cavalry, who, as they were crossing a bridge over Cedar Run, at the point above mentioned, were suddenly fired upon by a band of Confederates concealed in a pine thicket a short distance off the road. His men were driven back across the bridge, but there held their ground until reinforcements could be sent for from General Crawford's division. Colonel Jackson, of the Eleventh Pennsylvania reserves, was then sent out with a portion of his regiment, and on his approach the Rebels retreated. The men then re-crossed the bridge to the point where they had been driven back, and brought away the body of Major Larrimer, which had been left in the hands of the Confederates. The number of Federals lost in the skirmish, besides Larrimer, were three cavalrymen killed and one wounded, and two prisoners.
Gainesville, Florida, was captured by the United States troops under Captain George E. Marshall, of the Fortieth Massachusetts infantry, and held for fifty-six hours against several attacks of the Rebels estimated at double his own number. A large quantity of Confederate stores were distributed among the people of the town, after which Captain Marshall successfully evacuated the place.
It appeared that large numbers of men qualified for military duty were preparing to leave Iowa for the far West, with the purpose of evading the draft ordered by the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Governor William Milo Stone, of that state, issued a proclamation, announcing that "...no person would be permitted to depart in that direction without a proper pass, and that passes would be granted to those only who would make satisfactory proof that they were leaving the State for a temporary purpose, and of their intention to return on or before the day of drafting, March tenth."
Thomas H. Watts, Governor of Alabama, issued the following communication to the people of Mobile:
Your city is about to be attacked by the enemy. Mobile must be defended at every hazard and to the last extremity. To do this effectively, all who cannot fight must leave the city. The brave defenders of the city can fight with more energy and enthusiasm when they feel assured that the noble women and children are out of danger.
I appeal to the patriotic non-combatants to leave for the interior. The people of the interior towns, and the planters in the country, will receive and provide support for all who go. The patriots of this city will see the importance and necessity of heeding this call.
Those who love this city and the glorious cause in which we fight, will not hesitate to obey the calls which patriotism makes.
General Dabney H. Maury, in command at Mobile, on the thirteenth dispatched the following letter to Robert H. Slough, the Mayor of that city:
My dear Sir: I see but little disposition on the part of noncombatants to leave Mobile. Please use every means in your power to induce them to do so without delay.
The Governor of Alabama assures me that he will take measures to secure to the people an asylum in the upper region of country bordering the river above here. I cannot believe that the kind and hospitable people of Mobile, who have for years been opening their homes to the homeless refugees from other parts of the Confederacy, will fall to receive a really welcome and kind protection during the attack on their homes.
Patriotism demands that they leave the city for a while to those who can defend it. Prudence urges that they make no unnecessary delay in going.
I will assist you here with transportation. The Governor says he will make proper arrangements for their reception and entertainment above.
The lovely, and once lively, old town of Meridian, Mississippi, was well stocked with supplies, railroad connections and other assets at the beginning of this morning. By nightfall, its destruction was well under way. Union troops under General William T. Sherman’s command didn’t even have to fight their way into town--it was abandoned as General Leonidas Polk’s Confederate forces, heavily outnumbered, fell back. Sherman’s men had orders to reduce the town’s ability to support the Southern cause, and that they did. “...10,000 men worked hard...in that work of destruction,” Sherman wrote later. “Meridian, with its depots, store-houses, arsenals hospitals, offices, hotels and cantonments no longer exists.” It took five days. The Confederacy’s, and President Jefferson Davis', major fear was that Mobile, Alabama, would be next on the list.
Lieutenant Commander Charles A. Babcock reported on a reconnaissance mission conducted the preceding day by the USS Morse on the York River and Potopotank Creek, Virginia. A sloop, with a cargo of corn and a small schooner, christened the Margaret Ann, were seized and taken to Yorktown. Babcock also swept the river from Moody's Wharf to Purtan Island Point in Gloucester County, Virginia, to verify reports that Confederate torpedoes had been planted there. None were found in that area, but Babcock wrote: "I do not believe there are any torpedoes below Goff's Point, but across from Goff's Point to Terrapin Point and in the forks of the river at West Point I believe, from information received, that there are certainly torpedoes placed there."
Major James Harvey Larrimer, of the Fifth Pennsylvania reserve regiment, Acting Inspector General on General Crawford's staff, was shot dead in a skirmish with partisan guerrillas about two miles east of Brentsville, in Prince William County, Virginia. He was out with a scouting party of some fifty men of the Thirteenth Pennsylvania cavalry, who, as they were crossing a bridge over Cedar Run, at the point above mentioned, were suddenly fired upon by a band of Confederates concealed in a pine thicket a short distance off the road. His men were driven back across the bridge, but there held their ground until reinforcements could be sent for from General Crawford's division. Colonel Jackson, of the Eleventh Pennsylvania reserves, was then sent out with a portion of his regiment, and on his approach the Rebels retreated. The men then re-crossed the bridge to the point where they had been driven back, and brought away the body of Major Larrimer, which had been left in the hands of the Confederates. The number of Federals lost in the skirmish, besides Larrimer, were three cavalrymen killed and one wounded, and two prisoners.
Gainesville, Florida, was captured by the United States troops under Captain George E. Marshall, of the Fortieth Massachusetts infantry, and held for fifty-six hours against several attacks of the Rebels estimated at double his own number. A large quantity of Confederate stores were distributed among the people of the town, after which Captain Marshall successfully evacuated the place.
It appeared that large numbers of men qualified for military duty were preparing to leave Iowa for the far West, with the purpose of evading the draft ordered by the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Governor William Milo Stone, of that state, issued a proclamation, announcing that "...no person would be permitted to depart in that direction without a proper pass, and that passes would be granted to those only who would make satisfactory proof that they were leaving the State for a temporary purpose, and of their intention to return on or before the day of drafting, March tenth."
Thomas H. Watts, Governor of Alabama, issued the following communication to the people of Mobile:
Your city is about to be attacked by the enemy. Mobile must be defended at every hazard and to the last extremity. To do this effectively, all who cannot fight must leave the city. The brave defenders of the city can fight with more energy and enthusiasm when they feel assured that the noble women and children are out of danger.
I appeal to the patriotic non-combatants to leave for the interior. The people of the interior towns, and the planters in the country, will receive and provide support for all who go. The patriots of this city will see the importance and necessity of heeding this call.
Those who love this city and the glorious cause in which we fight, will not hesitate to obey the calls which patriotism makes.
General Dabney H. Maury, in command at Mobile, on the thirteenth dispatched the following letter to Robert H. Slough, the Mayor of that city:
My dear Sir: I see but little disposition on the part of noncombatants to leave Mobile. Please use every means in your power to induce them to do so without delay.
The Governor of Alabama assures me that he will take measures to secure to the people an asylum in the upper region of country bordering the river above here. I cannot believe that the kind and hospitable people of Mobile, who have for years been opening their homes to the homeless refugees from other parts of the Confederacy, will fall to receive a really welcome and kind protection during the attack on their homes.
Patriotism demands that they leave the city for a while to those who can defend it. Prudence urges that they make no unnecessary delay in going.
I will assist you here with transportation. The Governor says he will make proper arrangements for their reception and entertainment above.
Posted on 7/22/14 at 8:28 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Saturday, 23 July 1864
Believing Jubal Early's Confederate army was no longer a threat in the Shenandoah Valley, Union General Horatio Wright abandoned his pursuit and ordered the VI and XIX Corps to return to Washington, DC, where they were to be sent to join General Hiram U. Grant's Federal forces at Petersburg, Virginia. Wright left General George R. Crook with three Federal divisions in the Valley and some cavalry to hold Winchester.
In the Valley, General Jubal Early’s Confederates turned northward to attack Federals under General George Crook at Kernstown, Virginia-the opening battle of the First Valley Campaign-near the site where General Thomas J. Jackson’s Stonewall Brigade had won a strategic victory in March 1862. Sharp skirmishing ensued.
Union President Abraham Lincoln often seemed to have an instinct for what enemy armies were going to do next. This was frequently a better instinct than the commanders in the field had, as was proven by a telegram today to General David “Black Dave” Hunter in Harper’s Ferry. “Are you able to take care of the enemy when he turns back on you, as he probably will on finding that Wright has left?” Sure enough, Early turned and headed for Kernstown. Hunter sent General George R. Crook out to meet him. As a side note, Crook's return to his post at Fort Fetterman 12 years hence, would likely doom the five companies of the 7th Cavalry Regiment led by George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
The Army transport B.M. Runyan, with some 500 military and civilian passengers on board, sank in the Mississippi River near Skipwith Landing, in Issaquena County, Mississippi, after hitting a snag. The USS Prairie Bird, Acting Master Thomas Burns in charge, rescued 350 survivors and salvaged part of the cargo. Rescue and humanitarian operations have been a continuing naval mission throughout American history.
In Louisiana, a pre-selected, pro-U.S. convention adopted a State constitution abolishing slavery without compensating former slaveholders. This fulfilled one of the Lincoln administration’s conditions for returning Louisiana to the Union. Citizens who swore loyalty were allowed to vote on whether to approve the new constitution; the election was scheduled for 5 September.
Believing Jubal Early's Confederate army was no longer a threat in the Shenandoah Valley, Union General Horatio Wright abandoned his pursuit and ordered the VI and XIX Corps to return to Washington, DC, where they were to be sent to join General Hiram U. Grant's Federal forces at Petersburg, Virginia. Wright left General George R. Crook with three Federal divisions in the Valley and some cavalry to hold Winchester.
In the Valley, General Jubal Early’s Confederates turned northward to attack Federals under General George Crook at Kernstown, Virginia-the opening battle of the First Valley Campaign-near the site where General Thomas J. Jackson’s Stonewall Brigade had won a strategic victory in March 1862. Sharp skirmishing ensued.
Union President Abraham Lincoln often seemed to have an instinct for what enemy armies were going to do next. This was frequently a better instinct than the commanders in the field had, as was proven by a telegram today to General David “Black Dave” Hunter in Harper’s Ferry. “Are you able to take care of the enemy when he turns back on you, as he probably will on finding that Wright has left?” Sure enough, Early turned and headed for Kernstown. Hunter sent General George R. Crook out to meet him. As a side note, Crook's return to his post at Fort Fetterman 12 years hence, would likely doom the five companies of the 7th Cavalry Regiment led by George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
The Army transport B.M. Runyan, with some 500 military and civilian passengers on board, sank in the Mississippi River near Skipwith Landing, in Issaquena County, Mississippi, after hitting a snag. The USS Prairie Bird, Acting Master Thomas Burns in charge, rescued 350 survivors and salvaged part of the cargo. Rescue and humanitarian operations have been a continuing naval mission throughout American history.
In Louisiana, a pre-selected, pro-U.S. convention adopted a State constitution abolishing slavery without compensating former slaveholders. This fulfilled one of the Lincoln administration’s conditions for returning Louisiana to the Union. Citizens who swore loyalty were allowed to vote on whether to approve the new constitution; the election was scheduled for 5 September.
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