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re: 150 years ago this day...
Posted on 9/16/14 at 8:56 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Posted on 9/16/14 at 8:56 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Saturday, 17 September 1864
John Charles Fremont, known as the "Pathfinder" and, as former commander of the Union forces in St. Louis, Missouri, issuer of the 30 August, 1861 first Emancipation Proclamation of Slaves in the state, where he spent far more time fighting with Frank Blair, Jr. than marching to fight Sterling Price’s Confederates, performed a most noble deed today. He informed a committee of the Radical Republicans that he was declining their request to run for President in the primary against Abraham Lincoln. Although he regarded Lincoln as a complete failure (the fact that Lincoln had relieved him of command in St. Louis may have influenced this opinion), he disliked the Democrat, George B. McClellan, even more. McClellan’s victory, Fremont said, would result in “...separation or re-establishment [of the Union] with slavery...” still intact.
Second account: Savannah, Georgia, native and Radical Republican John C. Fremont, who was chosen as his party's first candidate for president in 1856, withdrew his candidacy for president this afternoon. Fremont still considered President Abraham Lincoln an abject failure, but he wanted to prevent a Republican Party--now called the National Union Party--split that would allow Democrat George B. McClellan to win the upcoming election. Behind the scenes, Radicals in Congress had indicated a willingness to facilitate Fremont’s withdrawal in exchange for assurances from Lincoln, such as dismissing cabinet members who opposed Radical policies. Fremont’s withdrawal, along with recent Federal military victories, unified the Republican/National Union Party and gave Lincoln strong momentum in the upcoming race.
In the Shenandoah Valley, two years to the day after the Battle of Sharpsburg at Antietam Creek, General Jubal Early’s Confederates advanced along the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad from Stephenson’s Depot, just north of Winchester, toward Martinsburg. Early had less than 12,000 men to oppose over 40,000 Federals in three corps under General Philip Sheridan. Despite this handicap, Early had his forces dispersed and did not place his troops in better defensive positions with more adequate supply lines.
John Charles Fremont, known as the "Pathfinder" and, as former commander of the Union forces in St. Louis, Missouri, issuer of the 30 August, 1861 first Emancipation Proclamation of Slaves in the state, where he spent far more time fighting with Frank Blair, Jr. than marching to fight Sterling Price’s Confederates, performed a most noble deed today. He informed a committee of the Radical Republicans that he was declining their request to run for President in the primary against Abraham Lincoln. Although he regarded Lincoln as a complete failure (the fact that Lincoln had relieved him of command in St. Louis may have influenced this opinion), he disliked the Democrat, George B. McClellan, even more. McClellan’s victory, Fremont said, would result in “...separation or re-establishment [of the Union] with slavery...” still intact.
Second account: Savannah, Georgia, native and Radical Republican John C. Fremont, who was chosen as his party's first candidate for president in 1856, withdrew his candidacy for president this afternoon. Fremont still considered President Abraham Lincoln an abject failure, but he wanted to prevent a Republican Party--now called the National Union Party--split that would allow Democrat George B. McClellan to win the upcoming election. Behind the scenes, Radicals in Congress had indicated a willingness to facilitate Fremont’s withdrawal in exchange for assurances from Lincoln, such as dismissing cabinet members who opposed Radical policies. Fremont’s withdrawal, along with recent Federal military victories, unified the Republican/National Union Party and gave Lincoln strong momentum in the upcoming race.
In the Shenandoah Valley, two years to the day after the Battle of Sharpsburg at Antietam Creek, General Jubal Early’s Confederates advanced along the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad from Stephenson’s Depot, just north of Winchester, toward Martinsburg. Early had less than 12,000 men to oppose over 40,000 Federals in three corps under General Philip Sheridan. Despite this handicap, Early had his forces dispersed and did not place his troops in better defensive positions with more adequate supply lines.
2
Posted on 9/17/14 at 8:52 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Sunday, 18 September 1864
Confederate President Jefferson Davis was either a great believer in the power of positive thinking, or completely deluded this morning. The siege of Petersburg, Virginia, continued as it had for months, with no progress whatever being made to break it. The only major portion of the Army of Northern Virginia operating elsewhere, General Jubal Early’s cavalry force in the Shenandoah, was scattered and under pressure from General Phillip Sheridan’s large Union force. The far West had been lost since the fall of Vicksburg the summer before. Nevertheless, Davis sent a letter full of glowing optimism to a Confederate Congressman today, saying that he thought Atlanta could be retaken and “...Sherman’s army can be driven out of Georgia, perhaps be utterly destroyed.”
In the Shenandoah, Anderson's and Kershaw's Brigades leave the Valley on their way back to Lee. The balance of Early’s Confederates pulled back toward Bunker Hill, but his army is dangerously spread out. Learning of this, Sheridan moves his Federals toward Winchester, hoping to attack each Confederate division separately.
Federal expeditions began from Barrancas, Florida, Lexington, Missouri, and on the Cimarron River--Río de los Carneros Cimarrón--in the New Mexico Territory.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis was either a great believer in the power of positive thinking, or completely deluded this morning. The siege of Petersburg, Virginia, continued as it had for months, with no progress whatever being made to break it. The only major portion of the Army of Northern Virginia operating elsewhere, General Jubal Early’s cavalry force in the Shenandoah, was scattered and under pressure from General Phillip Sheridan’s large Union force. The far West had been lost since the fall of Vicksburg the summer before. Nevertheless, Davis sent a letter full of glowing optimism to a Confederate Congressman today, saying that he thought Atlanta could be retaken and “...Sherman’s army can be driven out of Georgia, perhaps be utterly destroyed.”
In the Shenandoah, Anderson's and Kershaw's Brigades leave the Valley on their way back to Lee. The balance of Early’s Confederates pulled back toward Bunker Hill, but his army is dangerously spread out. Learning of this, Sheridan moves his Federals toward Winchester, hoping to attack each Confederate division separately.
Federal expeditions began from Barrancas, Florida, Lexington, Missouri, and on the Cimarron River--Río de los Carneros Cimarrón--in the New Mexico Territory.
Posted on 9/23/14 at 8:21 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Saturday, 24 September 1864
Under command of Acting Master William T. Street, the wooden steamer USS Fuchsia, and side-wheelers Thomas Freeborn and Mercury proceeded to Milford Haven, Virginia, near which Confederates were believed to be preparing a number of boats to attack the blockading force at the mouth of the Piankatank River. Leaving Fuchsia and Thomas Freeborn at Milford Haven, Street took armed boats in tow of Mercury and proceeded up Stutt's Creek. Some three miles upstream a force of 40 sailors was landed, under Acting Master William A. Arthur and Acting Ensign Philip Sheridan. Four Confederate boats were destroyed, five were captured, and a fishery demolished. Though the Rappahannock River area was dominated by the Northern forces, Union ships had to be continually on the alert to prevent audacious Southern raids.
General Robert E. Lee wrote Secretary of War Seddon of another dilemma posed by the South's weakness at sea: "Since the fitting out of the privateer Tallahassee and her cruise from the port of Wilmington, the enemy's fleet of blockaders off that coast has been very much increased, and the dangers of running the blockade rendered much greater. The question arises whether it is of more importance to us to obtain supplies through that port or to prey upon the enemy's commerce by privateers sent from thence...It might be well therefore, if practicable, to divert
the enemy's attention from Wilmington Harbor and keep it open as long as possible as a port of entry. While it is open the energies...should be exerted...to get in two or three years' supplies so as to remove all apprehension on this score."
It was a time of rack and ruin in many parts of the country today. In the Shenandoah Valley, General Jubal Early’s Confederate cavalry was staying just far enough ahead of General Phillip Sheridan’s pursuing Federals that no real battle could be fought. Sheridan’s men, therefore, spent their time burning barns, farms, fields, haystacks and anything else that could possibly be of use to the military forces of the Confederacy. When not doing this, they skirmished at Mount Jackson, New Market, Luray, and Timberville. Sheridan, believing the Confederate threat was ended, wrote to Hiram U. Grant, “Let the burning of the crops in the Valley be the end of this campaign, and let some of this army go elsewhere.” Grant agreed, and the Federals began destroying private crops from Staunton to Strasburg to prevent the region from feeding Confederate forces.
In Missouri, Sterling Price’s Confederate raiders committed similar depredations in Fayette, along with rumbles in Jackson and Farmington, Missouri.
Finally, Nathan Bedford Forrest leads his Confederate cavalry to a battle in Athens, Alabama, resulting in their capture of the Union fort there. During the march to Athens, Forrest had sent his 14th and 20th Tennessee Cavalry along with his brother, Jesse, to McDonald's Station--a cotton stop--and orders them to cut the rail lines of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and the telegraph lines as well. Forrest continues approaching Fort Henderson from the southwest, and sends Colonel C.R. Barteau and the 2nd Tennessee Cavalry north of the female seminary.
Inside the fort, Union Colonel Wallace Campbell hears about fighting at McDonald's Station near Tanner. He thinks the Confederate force is Brigadier General P.D. Roddey, of Moulton, a man the Union fears almost as much as Forrest. Both can strike fast and slip away. He doesn't know the cavalry is Jesse Forrest's smaller unit. Campbell takes 100 men from the 110th Colored Infantry by train to the skirmish. His men run off Confederate cavalry tearing up the tracks. As the train travels backward to Athens, Campbell finds more Confederate cavalry burning the tracks to the north. The train forces its way through. The incident takes an hour.
In town, the Union army captures a Confederate physician named Dr. Latham, who boasts Forrest is coming with 10,000 to 12,000 men. Perhaps Forrest wanted the Yankees to capture Dr. Latham, so he could plant the seed that his force is more than double his actual number. A Union relief force from Decatur Junction, where the Memphis and Charleston Railroad intersects with the Tennessee and Alabama Central Railroad, moves toward Athens on Friday afternoon, anticipating a fight.
Last night, Forrest arrived in Athens and placed eight cannons around the fort. In town, east of the fort, sporadic fighting breaks out, along with cordial greetings between Confederate and Union soldiers who bump into each other in the dark. Some Union soldiers who cannot get to the fort burn goods they think the Confederates might want. Near the courthouse, 2nd Lieutenant John Wesley Andes of the 2nd U.S. Tennessee Cavalry gets an opportunity to accomplish something the entire Union Army has wanted to do throughout the war: capture Forrest.
Andes sees Forrest's escort at the Maclin home about 7 p.m. Forrest is eating dinner with the family. Because it is dark, Andes identifies himself to Confederates outside the home as a member of the 2nd Tennessee. The Rebels think he means the 2nd Tennessee, Confederate cavalry, and do not stop him. Andes orders his men to surround Forrest's escort. Andes hesitates. He, too, heard rumors that Forrest may have more than 10,000 men and decides not to risk a fight. He finds his commander, Colonel William F. Prosser, but remains silent about Forrest's dinner. Prosser argues with Campbell, saying the entire army should sneak out of Athens before Saturday morning. Campbell refuses. Prosser, with the help of a black guide, leads his troops past the Rebels and back to Decatur Junction. Mary Fielding, 29, who is living at the Maclin home, peers out a window before 7 a.m. on Saturday and writes in her diary that one of Forrest's brigades "...seemed to go in all directions; marching, counter-marching, going first one way and then another." Forrest's antics have a purpose. He wants Campbell to think he has a massive force.
"Are there any Yankees in town this morning?" Confederate soldiers ask as they ride into Athens past Roswell Hine's home toward the courthouse. By now, the majority of Union soldiers are inside Fort Henderson.At first light, Forrest orders an artillery barrage. Campbell, who has two cannon, notes that none of the Confederate shells miss the fort. About 10 a.m., Forrest sends Major J.P. Strange under a flag of truce to demand surrender. Campbell assembles a council of war, which reviews Forrest's terms: white officers will go to prison camps and the Negroes to their masters. The council refuses surrender. Forrest proceeds with an artillery barrage. At 10:30 a.m., he sends Strange again to demand surrender. Campbell wants to buy time so relief forces from Decatur or Pulaski, Tennessee, can arrive. Forrest knows his troops are fighting relief troops from Decatur. Forrest plans to trick Campbell before relief forces arrive and asks Campbell to review his Confederate force.
Under command of Acting Master William T. Street, the wooden steamer USS Fuchsia, and side-wheelers Thomas Freeborn and Mercury proceeded to Milford Haven, Virginia, near which Confederates were believed to be preparing a number of boats to attack the blockading force at the mouth of the Piankatank River. Leaving Fuchsia and Thomas Freeborn at Milford Haven, Street took armed boats in tow of Mercury and proceeded up Stutt's Creek. Some three miles upstream a force of 40 sailors was landed, under Acting Master William A. Arthur and Acting Ensign Philip Sheridan. Four Confederate boats were destroyed, five were captured, and a fishery demolished. Though the Rappahannock River area was dominated by the Northern forces, Union ships had to be continually on the alert to prevent audacious Southern raids.
General Robert E. Lee wrote Secretary of War Seddon of another dilemma posed by the South's weakness at sea: "Since the fitting out of the privateer Tallahassee and her cruise from the port of Wilmington, the enemy's fleet of blockaders off that coast has been very much increased, and the dangers of running the blockade rendered much greater. The question arises whether it is of more importance to us to obtain supplies through that port or to prey upon the enemy's commerce by privateers sent from thence...It might be well therefore, if practicable, to divert
the enemy's attention from Wilmington Harbor and keep it open as long as possible as a port of entry. While it is open the energies...should be exerted...to get in two or three years' supplies so as to remove all apprehension on this score."
It was a time of rack and ruin in many parts of the country today. In the Shenandoah Valley, General Jubal Early’s Confederate cavalry was staying just far enough ahead of General Phillip Sheridan’s pursuing Federals that no real battle could be fought. Sheridan’s men, therefore, spent their time burning barns, farms, fields, haystacks and anything else that could possibly be of use to the military forces of the Confederacy. When not doing this, they skirmished at Mount Jackson, New Market, Luray, and Timberville. Sheridan, believing the Confederate threat was ended, wrote to Hiram U. Grant, “Let the burning of the crops in the Valley be the end of this campaign, and let some of this army go elsewhere.” Grant agreed, and the Federals began destroying private crops from Staunton to Strasburg to prevent the region from feeding Confederate forces.
In Missouri, Sterling Price’s Confederate raiders committed similar depredations in Fayette, along with rumbles in Jackson and Farmington, Missouri.
Finally, Nathan Bedford Forrest leads his Confederate cavalry to a battle in Athens, Alabama, resulting in their capture of the Union fort there. During the march to Athens, Forrest had sent his 14th and 20th Tennessee Cavalry along with his brother, Jesse, to McDonald's Station--a cotton stop--and orders them to cut the rail lines of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and the telegraph lines as well. Forrest continues approaching Fort Henderson from the southwest, and sends Colonel C.R. Barteau and the 2nd Tennessee Cavalry north of the female seminary.
Inside the fort, Union Colonel Wallace Campbell hears about fighting at McDonald's Station near Tanner. He thinks the Confederate force is Brigadier General P.D. Roddey, of Moulton, a man the Union fears almost as much as Forrest. Both can strike fast and slip away. He doesn't know the cavalry is Jesse Forrest's smaller unit. Campbell takes 100 men from the 110th Colored Infantry by train to the skirmish. His men run off Confederate cavalry tearing up the tracks. As the train travels backward to Athens, Campbell finds more Confederate cavalry burning the tracks to the north. The train forces its way through. The incident takes an hour.
In town, the Union army captures a Confederate physician named Dr. Latham, who boasts Forrest is coming with 10,000 to 12,000 men. Perhaps Forrest wanted the Yankees to capture Dr. Latham, so he could plant the seed that his force is more than double his actual number. A Union relief force from Decatur Junction, where the Memphis and Charleston Railroad intersects with the Tennessee and Alabama Central Railroad, moves toward Athens on Friday afternoon, anticipating a fight.
Last night, Forrest arrived in Athens and placed eight cannons around the fort. In town, east of the fort, sporadic fighting breaks out, along with cordial greetings between Confederate and Union soldiers who bump into each other in the dark. Some Union soldiers who cannot get to the fort burn goods they think the Confederates might want. Near the courthouse, 2nd Lieutenant John Wesley Andes of the 2nd U.S. Tennessee Cavalry gets an opportunity to accomplish something the entire Union Army has wanted to do throughout the war: capture Forrest.
Andes sees Forrest's escort at the Maclin home about 7 p.m. Forrest is eating dinner with the family. Because it is dark, Andes identifies himself to Confederates outside the home as a member of the 2nd Tennessee. The Rebels think he means the 2nd Tennessee, Confederate cavalry, and do not stop him. Andes orders his men to surround Forrest's escort. Andes hesitates. He, too, heard rumors that Forrest may have more than 10,000 men and decides not to risk a fight. He finds his commander, Colonel William F. Prosser, but remains silent about Forrest's dinner. Prosser argues with Campbell, saying the entire army should sneak out of Athens before Saturday morning. Campbell refuses. Prosser, with the help of a black guide, leads his troops past the Rebels and back to Decatur Junction. Mary Fielding, 29, who is living at the Maclin home, peers out a window before 7 a.m. on Saturday and writes in her diary that one of Forrest's brigades "...seemed to go in all directions; marching, counter-marching, going first one way and then another." Forrest's antics have a purpose. He wants Campbell to think he has a massive force.
"Are there any Yankees in town this morning?" Confederate soldiers ask as they ride into Athens past Roswell Hine's home toward the courthouse. By now, the majority of Union soldiers are inside Fort Henderson.At first light, Forrest orders an artillery barrage. Campbell, who has two cannon, notes that none of the Confederate shells miss the fort. About 10 a.m., Forrest sends Major J.P. Strange under a flag of truce to demand surrender. Campbell assembles a council of war, which reviews Forrest's terms: white officers will go to prison camps and the Negroes to their masters. The council refuses surrender. Forrest proceeds with an artillery barrage. At 10:30 a.m., he sends Strange again to demand surrender. Campbell wants to buy time so relief forces from Decatur or Pulaski, Tennessee, can arrive. Forrest knows his troops are fighting relief troops from Decatur. Forrest plans to trick Campbell before relief forces arrive and asks Campbell to review his Confederate force.
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