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re: 150 years ago this day...
Posted on 9/18/14 at 10:00 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Posted on 9/18/14 at 10:00 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Monday, 19 September 1864
For weeks Union President Abraham Lincoln had been pressing General Hiram U. Grant for action against General Jubal Early’s Confederate cavalry force in the Shenandoah Valley. Grant had brought Phillip Sheridan from the West to abate the nuisance, but even Grant had been getting impatient with his protégé lately. Today Sheridan made his move. North of Winchester, Sheridan led the largest portion of his army around Berryville, Virginia, and struck. General Robert Rodes, CSA, was mortally wounded in the action, but the Confederate counterattack punched a hole in the Union line. Rather than retreating as was usual, Sheridan held, reformed, and struck again. A smaller part of Sheridan’s force circled around and struck General Breckinridge from the north.
Full report: While Early had his forces dispersed, raiding the B&O Railroad, Sheridan attacks west from Berryville, striking near Winchester, Virginia. Union delays from trying to move three army corps up narrow Berryville canyon give Early time to force march his scattered infantry and re-concentrate east of Winchester. The fight goes on all day. By late afternoon, Crook's two divisions outflank the main Confederate line on the north and Union cavalry overrun Early's line north of Winchester in a thundering saber charge, the largest of the war. Sustaining ruinous casualties, Early's line collapses and he retreats through Winchester from the largest battle in all three of the campaigns, taking up defensive positions twenty miles south at Fisher's Hill. Confederate General Robert Emmett Rodes, who led Stonewall Jackson's devastating surprise attack at the Battle of Chancellorsville, and Union Brigadier General David Allen Russell are killed within a short distance of each other as the fighting seesaws back and forth. Sheridan loses 5,000 men, about 12% of his army, while Early's casualties are 3,500, but these represent well over 29% of his small force. It was the bloodiest battle ever fought in the Shenandoah Valley.
George Smith Patton, Sr, the grandfather of World War II hero George S. Patton, was badly wounded and died 25 September. His younger brother, Waller Tazewell Patton, had been mortally wounded while leading his men as part of Kemper's Brigade towards the Union positions on Cemetery Ridge during Pickett's Charge. Part of his jaw had been ripped away by an artillery shell fragment. He died in a makeshift hospital at Pennsylvania College several weeks later. Their first cousin, Lewis B. Williams, Jr, commanded another Virginia regiment in Pickett's Division and was also mortally wounded that day. Both George and Waller Patton are buried in the Stonewall Cemetery, a part of Mount Hebron Cemetery. Four other brothers were officers in the Confederate States Army: John Mercer Patton, Isaac Patton, James F. Patton, and Hugh Mercer Patton.
Confederates under Acting Master John Yates Beall captured and burned the steamers Philo Parsons and Island Queen on Lake Erie. Captain Charles H. Cole, CSA, a Confederate secret agent in the Lake Erie region, conceived the plan and received the assistance of Jacob Thompson, Southern agent in Canada, and the daring Beall. The plan was for Cole to aid in the capture of the iron side-wheeler USS Michigan, which was then guarding the Confederate prisoners at Johnson's Island, near Sandusky, Ohio, by befriending her officers and attempting to bribe them. Beall was to approach with a captured steamer from the mouth of Sandusky Bay and board Michigan, after which the prisoners would be released and the whole force would embark on a guerrilla expedition along the lake. Beall and his 19 men came on board Philo Parsons as passengers but soon seized the steamer and took her to Middle Bass Island, on the way from Detroit to Sandusky. While there, Beall was approached by an unsuspecting steamer, Island Queen, which he quickly captured and burned. He then landed the passengers and cargoes of the two ships and proceeded with his improvised man-of-war to Sandusky. Meanwhile, Commander J. C. Carter of Michigan had discovered Cole's duplicity and had him arrested, along with his assistant in the plot. As Beall and his men approached Sandusky, the prearranged signals were not made. Confronted with uncertain circumstances and overwhelming odds, Beall and his men reluctantly but wisely abandoned their part in the plan and took Philo Parsons to Sandwich, Canada, where she was stripped and burned. The Confederates then dispersed.
Another account: John Y. Beall and fellow Confederate operatives captured the Federal steamer Philo Parsons and burned the Island Queen in an attack on Federal shipping on Lake Erie. Their main target was the USS Michigan, which carried Confederate prisoners of war. Michigan’s commander learned of a planned prisoner uprising and arrested the ringleader. Their plot foiled, Beall burned Philo Parsons at Old Sandwich Town, Canada and retreated.
Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory, in a telegram to Commander John Newland Maffitt, gave his orders regarding the new Confederate-owned blockade runners: "It is of the first importance that our steamers should not fall into the enemy's hands. Apart from the specific loss sustained by the country in the capture of blockade runners, these vessels, lightly armed, now constitute the fleetest and most efficient part of his blockading force off Wilmington...As commanding officer of the Owl you will please devise and adopt thorough and efficient means for saving all hands and destroying the vessel and cargo whenever these measures may become necessary to prevent capture."
A boat expedition commanded by Acting Ensign Semon in USS Niphon, landed at Masonboro Inlet, North Carolina, to gain intelligence on the defenses of Wilmington and the strength of its garrison. In planning for the forthcoming assault on the defenses of Wilmington, Semon also learned that the raider CSS Tallahassee was at Wilmington, along with several blockade runners.
General Sterling Price and about 12,000 Confederates invaded Missouri in a desperate attempt to free the state from Union control. Federals skirmished with the advancing Confederates at Doniphan, in Ripley County, but could not stop them.
Confederates under Brigadier Generals Stand Watie and Richard M. Gano successfully raided a Federal wagon train at Cabin Creek in northeastern Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). The Federals lost over 200 wagons, five ambulances, 40 horses, and over 1,200 mules. The Confederates captured an estimated $1.5 million worth of food, clothing, and other supplies intended for troops and refugee Native Americans at Fort Gibson.
Lincoln strongly urged General William T. Sherman to grant furloughs to Indiana soldiers in his army so they could go home and vote. Indiana was a crucial Republican state that did not allow absentee voting. Lincoln believed that although George McClellan was still highly popular among the troops, they would ultimately vote for their current Commander-in-Chief.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis wrote to various Southern governors that “...harmony of action between the States and Confederate authorities is essential to the public welfare.” Davis urged the repeal of certain state laws requiring immigrants to either serve in the military or leave the state, arguing that such policies deprived the Confederacy of needed manpower. He suggested encouraging immigrants to serve in non-military capacities.
Federal naval forces bombarded Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor for the rest of the month, firing a total of 494 rounds.
A Federal expedition began from Natchez, Mississippi.
For weeks Union President Abraham Lincoln had been pressing General Hiram U. Grant for action against General Jubal Early’s Confederate cavalry force in the Shenandoah Valley. Grant had brought Phillip Sheridan from the West to abate the nuisance, but even Grant had been getting impatient with his protégé lately. Today Sheridan made his move. North of Winchester, Sheridan led the largest portion of his army around Berryville, Virginia, and struck. General Robert Rodes, CSA, was mortally wounded in the action, but the Confederate counterattack punched a hole in the Union line. Rather than retreating as was usual, Sheridan held, reformed, and struck again. A smaller part of Sheridan’s force circled around and struck General Breckinridge from the north.
Full report: While Early had his forces dispersed, raiding the B&O Railroad, Sheridan attacks west from Berryville, striking near Winchester, Virginia. Union delays from trying to move three army corps up narrow Berryville canyon give Early time to force march his scattered infantry and re-concentrate east of Winchester. The fight goes on all day. By late afternoon, Crook's two divisions outflank the main Confederate line on the north and Union cavalry overrun Early's line north of Winchester in a thundering saber charge, the largest of the war. Sustaining ruinous casualties, Early's line collapses and he retreats through Winchester from the largest battle in all three of the campaigns, taking up defensive positions twenty miles south at Fisher's Hill. Confederate General Robert Emmett Rodes, who led Stonewall Jackson's devastating surprise attack at the Battle of Chancellorsville, and Union Brigadier General David Allen Russell are killed within a short distance of each other as the fighting seesaws back and forth. Sheridan loses 5,000 men, about 12% of his army, while Early's casualties are 3,500, but these represent well over 29% of his small force. It was the bloodiest battle ever fought in the Shenandoah Valley.
George Smith Patton, Sr, the grandfather of World War II hero George S. Patton, was badly wounded and died 25 September. His younger brother, Waller Tazewell Patton, had been mortally wounded while leading his men as part of Kemper's Brigade towards the Union positions on Cemetery Ridge during Pickett's Charge. Part of his jaw had been ripped away by an artillery shell fragment. He died in a makeshift hospital at Pennsylvania College several weeks later. Their first cousin, Lewis B. Williams, Jr, commanded another Virginia regiment in Pickett's Division and was also mortally wounded that day. Both George and Waller Patton are buried in the Stonewall Cemetery, a part of Mount Hebron Cemetery. Four other brothers were officers in the Confederate States Army: John Mercer Patton, Isaac Patton, James F. Patton, and Hugh Mercer Patton.
Confederates under Acting Master John Yates Beall captured and burned the steamers Philo Parsons and Island Queen on Lake Erie. Captain Charles H. Cole, CSA, a Confederate secret agent in the Lake Erie region, conceived the plan and received the assistance of Jacob Thompson, Southern agent in Canada, and the daring Beall. The plan was for Cole to aid in the capture of the iron side-wheeler USS Michigan, which was then guarding the Confederate prisoners at Johnson's Island, near Sandusky, Ohio, by befriending her officers and attempting to bribe them. Beall was to approach with a captured steamer from the mouth of Sandusky Bay and board Michigan, after which the prisoners would be released and the whole force would embark on a guerrilla expedition along the lake. Beall and his 19 men came on board Philo Parsons as passengers but soon seized the steamer and took her to Middle Bass Island, on the way from Detroit to Sandusky. While there, Beall was approached by an unsuspecting steamer, Island Queen, which he quickly captured and burned. He then landed the passengers and cargoes of the two ships and proceeded with his improvised man-of-war to Sandusky. Meanwhile, Commander J. C. Carter of Michigan had discovered Cole's duplicity and had him arrested, along with his assistant in the plot. As Beall and his men approached Sandusky, the prearranged signals were not made. Confronted with uncertain circumstances and overwhelming odds, Beall and his men reluctantly but wisely abandoned their part in the plan and took Philo Parsons to Sandwich, Canada, where she was stripped and burned. The Confederates then dispersed.
Another account: John Y. Beall and fellow Confederate operatives captured the Federal steamer Philo Parsons and burned the Island Queen in an attack on Federal shipping on Lake Erie. Their main target was the USS Michigan, which carried Confederate prisoners of war. Michigan’s commander learned of a planned prisoner uprising and arrested the ringleader. Their plot foiled, Beall burned Philo Parsons at Old Sandwich Town, Canada and retreated.
Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory, in a telegram to Commander John Newland Maffitt, gave his orders regarding the new Confederate-owned blockade runners: "It is of the first importance that our steamers should not fall into the enemy's hands. Apart from the specific loss sustained by the country in the capture of blockade runners, these vessels, lightly armed, now constitute the fleetest and most efficient part of his blockading force off Wilmington...As commanding officer of the Owl you will please devise and adopt thorough and efficient means for saving all hands and destroying the vessel and cargo whenever these measures may become necessary to prevent capture."
A boat expedition commanded by Acting Ensign Semon in USS Niphon, landed at Masonboro Inlet, North Carolina, to gain intelligence on the defenses of Wilmington and the strength of its garrison. In planning for the forthcoming assault on the defenses of Wilmington, Semon also learned that the raider CSS Tallahassee was at Wilmington, along with several blockade runners.
General Sterling Price and about 12,000 Confederates invaded Missouri in a desperate attempt to free the state from Union control. Federals skirmished with the advancing Confederates at Doniphan, in Ripley County, but could not stop them.
Confederates under Brigadier Generals Stand Watie and Richard M. Gano successfully raided a Federal wagon train at Cabin Creek in northeastern Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). The Federals lost over 200 wagons, five ambulances, 40 horses, and over 1,200 mules. The Confederates captured an estimated $1.5 million worth of food, clothing, and other supplies intended for troops and refugee Native Americans at Fort Gibson.
Lincoln strongly urged General William T. Sherman to grant furloughs to Indiana soldiers in his army so they could go home and vote. Indiana was a crucial Republican state that did not allow absentee voting. Lincoln believed that although George McClellan was still highly popular among the troops, they would ultimately vote for their current Commander-in-Chief.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis wrote to various Southern governors that “...harmony of action between the States and Confederate authorities is essential to the public welfare.” Davis urged the repeal of certain state laws requiring immigrants to either serve in the military or leave the state, arguing that such policies deprived the Confederacy of needed manpower. He suggested encouraging immigrants to serve in non-military capacities.
Federal naval forces bombarded Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor for the rest of the month, firing a total of 494 rounds.
A Federal expedition began from Natchez, Mississippi.
1
Posted on 9/19/14 at 9:33 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Tuesday, 20 September 1864
General Phillip Sheridan finally had General Jubal Early’s Cavalry force on the run in the Shenandoah Valley. Following the Battle of Third Winchester, or Opequon Creek, yesterday, Early was moving “up” the valley, which due to the direction the river flows, meant moving South. The pursuit lasted through Middleton, Virginia, passing through Strasburg until they reached a spot called Fisher’s Hill. There Early’s men stopped. In response, Sheridan ordered his men, who were still north of the town, to halt and begin to entrench. In the early days of the War, it would have been unheard of for proud cavaliers of the Cavalry to dig ditches to fight in, but there had been some changes to tactics made in the past three and one half years.
Another report: In the Shenandoah, Philip Sheridan pursued Jubal Early, with fighting at Middletown, Strasburg, and Cedarville. By evening, Federals were fortifying on high ground north of Strasburg. Early was south of Strasburg on Fisher’s Hill, having narrowly escaped disaster.
In Missouri, Sterling Price’s Confederates captured Keytesville and then advanced on Fayette.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis left Richmond for Georgia to consult with officials on how best to regain Southern momentum. Davis also sought to assure Southerners that they were down, but not yet defeated.
Skirmishing in Georgia threatened General William T. Sherman’s tenuous supply lines.
Federals raided from Kentucky and eastern Tennessee into southwestern Virginia.
General Phillip Sheridan finally had General Jubal Early’s Cavalry force on the run in the Shenandoah Valley. Following the Battle of Third Winchester, or Opequon Creek, yesterday, Early was moving “up” the valley, which due to the direction the river flows, meant moving South. The pursuit lasted through Middleton, Virginia, passing through Strasburg until they reached a spot called Fisher’s Hill. There Early’s men stopped. In response, Sheridan ordered his men, who were still north of the town, to halt and begin to entrench. In the early days of the War, it would have been unheard of for proud cavaliers of the Cavalry to dig ditches to fight in, but there had been some changes to tactics made in the past three and one half years.
Another report: In the Shenandoah, Philip Sheridan pursued Jubal Early, with fighting at Middletown, Strasburg, and Cedarville. By evening, Federals were fortifying on high ground north of Strasburg. Early was south of Strasburg on Fisher’s Hill, having narrowly escaped disaster.
In Missouri, Sterling Price’s Confederates captured Keytesville and then advanced on Fayette.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis left Richmond for Georgia to consult with officials on how best to regain Southern momentum. Davis also sought to assure Southerners that they were down, but not yet defeated.
Skirmishing in Georgia threatened General William T. Sherman’s tenuous supply lines.
Federals raided from Kentucky and eastern Tennessee into southwestern Virginia.
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