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re: 150 years ago this day...
Posted on 11/6/14 at 8:12 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Posted on 11/6/14 at 8:12 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Monday, 7 November 1864
Under the Constitution of the Confederate States of America, almost identical to the Constitution of the original thirteen states, the Legislative branch was to meet twice during their terms of office, which worked out to once a year. The Congress elected in 1863 therefore began work on their second session today in Richmond, Virginia. President Jefferson Davis delivered his annual message and optimistically explained that the recent loss of Atlanta to the forces of General William Tecumseh Sherman and the retreat from the Shenandoah Valley actually gave the military more flexibility by freeing it from having to defend cities or regions saying: "There are no vital points on the preservation of which the continued existence of the Confederacy depends." Then he raised the slightly controversial point of his speech: a suggestion that the Army be allowed to purchase slaves for work on the War, who when no longer needed would be freed. He stopped short of proposing that they be armed as soldiers, although hinting that he might if things got desperate enough.
Davis was urging legislation to buy Negroes and use them for military purposes, then free them when their service ended. This was a controversial first step toward recruiting slaves as combat soldiers. Davis concluded that he was willing to negotiate with the U.S. on peace, but only if the U.S. recognized Southern Independence, not "...our unconditional submission and degradation." He stated that "...no peace is attainable unless based on the recognition of our indefeasible rights."
Davis also this afternoon sent a telegram to John Bell Hood urging his army to attack William T. Sherman’s Federals "...and subsequently without serious obstruction or danger to the country in your rear advance to the Ohio River."
Upon learning that Confederate officers were quartered in a house on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River near Island 68, Acting Lieutenant Frederic S. Hill led an expedition from the USS Tyler to capture them. However, they had departed when the Yankees arrived. The mother of one of them boldly showed Hill her permit to transport cotton up the Mississippi and a request, officially endorsed by Major General Cadwallader C. Washburn, USA; for gunboat protection. Hill reluctantly complied with the request, remarking to Rear Admiral Samuel P. Lee: "... the face of all these documents, as I was upon the spot and a steamer then at hand ready to take the cotton, I considered it proper to give her the required protection, although with a very bad grace. Permit me, admiral, respectfully to call your attention to the anomaly of using every exertion to capture Rebel officers at 2 a.m., whose cotton I am called upon to protect in its shipment to a market at 10 a.m. of the same day, thus affording them the means of supplying themselves with every comfort money can procure ere they return to their brother Rebels in arms with Hood."
A Federal reconnaissance began toward Stony Creek, Virginia, and other skirmishing occurred near Edinburg, Virginia, as part of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign.
Samuel Read Anderson, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
The Sixth US Army Corps, in Tennessee, is abolished.
Under the Constitution of the Confederate States of America, almost identical to the Constitution of the original thirteen states, the Legislative branch was to meet twice during their terms of office, which worked out to once a year. The Congress elected in 1863 therefore began work on their second session today in Richmond, Virginia. President Jefferson Davis delivered his annual message and optimistically explained that the recent loss of Atlanta to the forces of General William Tecumseh Sherman and the retreat from the Shenandoah Valley actually gave the military more flexibility by freeing it from having to defend cities or regions saying: "There are no vital points on the preservation of which the continued existence of the Confederacy depends." Then he raised the slightly controversial point of his speech: a suggestion that the Army be allowed to purchase slaves for work on the War, who when no longer needed would be freed. He stopped short of proposing that they be armed as soldiers, although hinting that he might if things got desperate enough.
Davis was urging legislation to buy Negroes and use them for military purposes, then free them when their service ended. This was a controversial first step toward recruiting slaves as combat soldiers. Davis concluded that he was willing to negotiate with the U.S. on peace, but only if the U.S. recognized Southern Independence, not "...our unconditional submission and degradation." He stated that "...no peace is attainable unless based on the recognition of our indefeasible rights."
Davis also this afternoon sent a telegram to John Bell Hood urging his army to attack William T. Sherman’s Federals "...and subsequently without serious obstruction or danger to the country in your rear advance to the Ohio River."
Upon learning that Confederate officers were quartered in a house on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River near Island 68, Acting Lieutenant Frederic S. Hill led an expedition from the USS Tyler to capture them. However, they had departed when the Yankees arrived. The mother of one of them boldly showed Hill her permit to transport cotton up the Mississippi and a request, officially endorsed by Major General Cadwallader C. Washburn, USA; for gunboat protection. Hill reluctantly complied with the request, remarking to Rear Admiral Samuel P. Lee: "... the face of all these documents, as I was upon the spot and a steamer then at hand ready to take the cotton, I considered it proper to give her the required protection, although with a very bad grace. Permit me, admiral, respectfully to call your attention to the anomaly of using every exertion to capture Rebel officers at 2 a.m., whose cotton I am called upon to protect in its shipment to a market at 10 a.m. of the same day, thus affording them the means of supplying themselves with every comfort money can procure ere they return to their brother Rebels in arms with Hood."
A Federal reconnaissance began toward Stony Creek, Virginia, and other skirmishing occurred near Edinburg, Virginia, as part of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign.
Samuel Read Anderson, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
The Sixth US Army Corps, in Tennessee, is abolished.
1
Posted on 11/7/14 at 8:45 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Tuesday, 8 November 1864
This was Election Day, one of the few you can call "...one of the most important elections in the history of the United States of America..." without fear of exaggeration. The contestants were the National Union Party (Republican) incumbent Abraham Lincoln, who had replaced his somewhat lackluster vice president Hannibal Hamlin with Tennessee Senator (and Democrat) Andrew Johnson in a symbolic gesture of unity, on one side. On the other was Major General George Brinton McClellan, former commander of the Army of the Potomac, running with George H. Pendleton of Ohio. Extraordinary efforts were made to allow soldiers to vote, either by arranging leaves or actually casting ballots in the field, which one would expect to benefit McClellan as he had been a very popular commander. The soldier vote, however, went even stronger for Lincoln than the civilian vote did, and the Republican ticket was victorious. In the electoral vote, Lincoln took every state except Delaware, Kentucky and New Jersey.
Lincoln won a second term as U.S. president, winning 55 percent of the popular vote and 212 electoral votes. The Democratic ticket of George McClellan and George Pendleton won only 21 electoral votes (New Jersey, Delaware, and Kentucky). Lincoln spent most of the evening at the War Department reading telegraphic returns. By midnight, it was clear he won in a near landslide.
Soldiers voted overwhelmingly for Lincoln (116,887 to 33,748), indicating they wanted to finish the job they had been sent to do. Military victories at Mobile Bay, Atlanta, and the Shenandoah Valley contributed to Lincoln’s re-election. Radical Republican John C. Fremont’s withdrawal from the race also played a part, as did McClellan’s repudiation of his own party’s “peace platform” that called for peace at any cost, including Southern Independence and continuing slavery.
In 1864, Lincoln faced many challenges to his presidency. The War was now in its fourth year, and many were questioning if the South could ever be fully conquered militarily. Union General Hiram U. Grant had mounted a massive campaign in the spring to finally defeat the Confederate army of General Robert E. Lee, but after sustaining significant losses at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor, the Yankees bogged down around Petersburg, Virginia. As the fall approached, Grant seemed no closer to defeating Lee than his predecessors. Additionally, Union General William T. Sherman was planted north of Atlanta, but he could not easily or quickly take that city. Some of the Radical Republicans were unhappy with Lincoln's conciliatory plan for reconstruction of the South. And many Northerners had never been happy with Lincoln's 1862 Emancipation Proclamation, which converted the War from one of reunion to a crusade to halt slavery. Weariness with the war fueled calls for a compromise with the seceded states.
The Democrats nominated George B. McClellan, the former commander of the Union Army of the Potomac. McClellan was widely regarded as brilliant in organizing and training the army, but he had failed to defeat Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Virginia. McClellan and Lincoln quarreled constantly during his tenure as general in chief of the army, and Lincoln replaced him when McClellan failed to pursue Lee into Virginia after the Battle of Antietam in Maryland in September 1862.
In the months leading up to the 1864 election, the military situation changed dramatically. While Grant remained stalled at Petersburg, Mobile Bay fell to the Federal navy in August, Sherman captured Atlanta in September, and General Philip Sheridan secured Virginia's Shenandoah Valley in October. On election day, Lincoln carried all but three states (Kentucky, New Jersey, and Delaware), and won 55 percent of the vote. He won 212 electoral votes to McCellan's 21. Most significantly, a majority of the Union troops voted for their commander in chief, including a large percentage of McClellan's old command, the Army of the Potomac.
Perhaps most important was the fact that the election was held at all. Before this, no country had ever held elections during a military emergency. Lincoln himself said, "We can not have free government without elections; and if the rebellion could force us to forego, or postpone a national election, it might fairly claim to have already conquered and ruined us."
Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, writing Union Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, expressed his deeply held conviction that effective seapower was not dependent so much on a particular kind of ship or a specific gun but rather on the officers and men who manned them: "...I think the world is sadly mistaken when it supposes that battles are won by this or that kind of gun or vessel. In my humble opinion the Kearsarge would have captured or sunk the Alabama as often as they might have met under the same organization and officers. The best gun and the best vessel should certainly be chosen, but the victory three times out of four depends upon those who fight them. I do not believe that the result would have been different if the Kearsarge had had nothing but a battery of 8-inch guns and 100-pound chase rifle. What signifies the size and caliber of the gun if you do not hit your adversary?"
Acting Master Francis Josselyn, of the USS Commodore Hull, landed with a party of sailors at Edenton, North Carolina, under orders from Commander William H. Macomb to break up a court session being held there. Josselyn described the unique expedition: "I landed with a detachment of men this afternoon at Edenton and adjourned sine die a county court which was in session in the court house at that place under so-called Confederate authority. This court, the first that has been held at Edenton since the breaking out of the War, the authorities had the impertinence to hold under my very guns."
The CSS Shenandoah, commanded by Lieutenant James I. Waddell, captured and burned the bark D. Godfrey southwest of the Cape Verde Islands with a cargo of beef and pork.
This was Election Day, one of the few you can call "...one of the most important elections in the history of the United States of America..." without fear of exaggeration. The contestants were the National Union Party (Republican) incumbent Abraham Lincoln, who had replaced his somewhat lackluster vice president Hannibal Hamlin with Tennessee Senator (and Democrat) Andrew Johnson in a symbolic gesture of unity, on one side. On the other was Major General George Brinton McClellan, former commander of the Army of the Potomac, running with George H. Pendleton of Ohio. Extraordinary efforts were made to allow soldiers to vote, either by arranging leaves or actually casting ballots in the field, which one would expect to benefit McClellan as he had been a very popular commander. The soldier vote, however, went even stronger for Lincoln than the civilian vote did, and the Republican ticket was victorious. In the electoral vote, Lincoln took every state except Delaware, Kentucky and New Jersey.
Lincoln won a second term as U.S. president, winning 55 percent of the popular vote and 212 electoral votes. The Democratic ticket of George McClellan and George Pendleton won only 21 electoral votes (New Jersey, Delaware, and Kentucky). Lincoln spent most of the evening at the War Department reading telegraphic returns. By midnight, it was clear he won in a near landslide.
Soldiers voted overwhelmingly for Lincoln (116,887 to 33,748), indicating they wanted to finish the job they had been sent to do. Military victories at Mobile Bay, Atlanta, and the Shenandoah Valley contributed to Lincoln’s re-election. Radical Republican John C. Fremont’s withdrawal from the race also played a part, as did McClellan’s repudiation of his own party’s “peace platform” that called for peace at any cost, including Southern Independence and continuing slavery.
In 1864, Lincoln faced many challenges to his presidency. The War was now in its fourth year, and many were questioning if the South could ever be fully conquered militarily. Union General Hiram U. Grant had mounted a massive campaign in the spring to finally defeat the Confederate army of General Robert E. Lee, but after sustaining significant losses at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor, the Yankees bogged down around Petersburg, Virginia. As the fall approached, Grant seemed no closer to defeating Lee than his predecessors. Additionally, Union General William T. Sherman was planted north of Atlanta, but he could not easily or quickly take that city. Some of the Radical Republicans were unhappy with Lincoln's conciliatory plan for reconstruction of the South. And many Northerners had never been happy with Lincoln's 1862 Emancipation Proclamation, which converted the War from one of reunion to a crusade to halt slavery. Weariness with the war fueled calls for a compromise with the seceded states.
The Democrats nominated George B. McClellan, the former commander of the Union Army of the Potomac. McClellan was widely regarded as brilliant in organizing and training the army, but he had failed to defeat Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Virginia. McClellan and Lincoln quarreled constantly during his tenure as general in chief of the army, and Lincoln replaced him when McClellan failed to pursue Lee into Virginia after the Battle of Antietam in Maryland in September 1862.
In the months leading up to the 1864 election, the military situation changed dramatically. While Grant remained stalled at Petersburg, Mobile Bay fell to the Federal navy in August, Sherman captured Atlanta in September, and General Philip Sheridan secured Virginia's Shenandoah Valley in October. On election day, Lincoln carried all but three states (Kentucky, New Jersey, and Delaware), and won 55 percent of the vote. He won 212 electoral votes to McCellan's 21. Most significantly, a majority of the Union troops voted for their commander in chief, including a large percentage of McClellan's old command, the Army of the Potomac.
Perhaps most important was the fact that the election was held at all. Before this, no country had ever held elections during a military emergency. Lincoln himself said, "We can not have free government without elections; and if the rebellion could force us to forego, or postpone a national election, it might fairly claim to have already conquered and ruined us."
Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, writing Union Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, expressed his deeply held conviction that effective seapower was not dependent so much on a particular kind of ship or a specific gun but rather on the officers and men who manned them: "...I think the world is sadly mistaken when it supposes that battles are won by this or that kind of gun or vessel. In my humble opinion the Kearsarge would have captured or sunk the Alabama as often as they might have met under the same organization and officers. The best gun and the best vessel should certainly be chosen, but the victory three times out of four depends upon those who fight them. I do not believe that the result would have been different if the Kearsarge had had nothing but a battery of 8-inch guns and 100-pound chase rifle. What signifies the size and caliber of the gun if you do not hit your adversary?"
Acting Master Francis Josselyn, of the USS Commodore Hull, landed with a party of sailors at Edenton, North Carolina, under orders from Commander William H. Macomb to break up a court session being held there. Josselyn described the unique expedition: "I landed with a detachment of men this afternoon at Edenton and adjourned sine die a county court which was in session in the court house at that place under so-called Confederate authority. This court, the first that has been held at Edenton since the breaking out of the War, the authorities had the impertinence to hold under my very guns."
The CSS Shenandoah, commanded by Lieutenant James I. Waddell, captured and burned the bark D. Godfrey southwest of the Cape Verde Islands with a cargo of beef and pork.
Posted on 11/8/14 at 7:47 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Wednesday, 9 November 1864
Major General William Tecumseh Sherman issued marching orders to his forces today in preparation of advancing through Georgia to the Atlantic Ocean. He started with organizational topics, establishing a left wing (14th and 20th Corps, under commander Major General Henry Warner Slocum) and a right wing (17th and 15th Corps, under Major General Oliver Otis Howard). These wing structures would be the main maneuvering and attack units of the campaign.
Sherman then turned to the supply situation. The lines of wagons carrying food, drink, ammunition, and all the other essentials for a mobile force stretched for miles and often slowed the march greatly. Sherman ordered that there would be only one wagon allowed per regiment, and that only to carry ammunition. The policy of live-off-the-land was now established.
This was a highly risky strategy because Sherman’s men would be “...detached and cut off from all communication with the rear.” They would also be cut off from supply lines, instead ordered to “...forage liberally on the country...” and confront Confederate soldier or civilian resistance with “...a devastation more or less relentless.”
President Abraham Lincoln and General-in-Chief Hiram U. Grant had been reluctant to approve this march, but now that Lincoln had won re-election, there was no political consequence for failure, so they authorized Sherman to go ahead.
The USS Stepping Stones, Acting Lieutenant Daniel A. Campbell, captured the blockade running sloops Reliance and Little Elmer in Mobjack Bay, Virginia.
Early this morning, citizens of Washington, DC, serenaded President Lincoln at the White House.
Skirmishes occur at Florence and at Shoal Creek, Alabama, as well as near Atlanta, Georgia.
Federals scout from Devalls Bluff to Searcy and Clinton, Arkansas.
Major General William Tecumseh Sherman issued marching orders to his forces today in preparation of advancing through Georgia to the Atlantic Ocean. He started with organizational topics, establishing a left wing (14th and 20th Corps, under commander Major General Henry Warner Slocum) and a right wing (17th and 15th Corps, under Major General Oliver Otis Howard). These wing structures would be the main maneuvering and attack units of the campaign.
Sherman then turned to the supply situation. The lines of wagons carrying food, drink, ammunition, and all the other essentials for a mobile force stretched for miles and often slowed the march greatly. Sherman ordered that there would be only one wagon allowed per regiment, and that only to carry ammunition. The policy of live-off-the-land was now established.
This was a highly risky strategy because Sherman’s men would be “...detached and cut off from all communication with the rear.” They would also be cut off from supply lines, instead ordered to “...forage liberally on the country...” and confront Confederate soldier or civilian resistance with “...a devastation more or less relentless.”
President Abraham Lincoln and General-in-Chief Hiram U. Grant had been reluctant to approve this march, but now that Lincoln had won re-election, there was no political consequence for failure, so they authorized Sherman to go ahead.
The USS Stepping Stones, Acting Lieutenant Daniel A. Campbell, captured the blockade running sloops Reliance and Little Elmer in Mobjack Bay, Virginia.
Early this morning, citizens of Washington, DC, serenaded President Lincoln at the White House.
Skirmishes occur at Florence and at Shoal Creek, Alabama, as well as near Atlanta, Georgia.
Federals scout from Devalls Bluff to Searcy and Clinton, Arkansas.
Posted on 11/9/14 at 8:41 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Thursday, 10 November 1864
For all his log cabin image, Abraham Lincoln was as fiercely political a man as any to occupy the Presidency, and he had just won what he knew would be his last election, a second term in the White House. He was also was a much deeper thinker, however, than his homespun image would imply. After hearing yet another victory serenade this morning, he spoke to the crowd: “It has long been a grave question whether any government, not too strong for the liberties of its people, can be strong enough to maintain its own existence, in great emergencies. We cannot have free government without elections, and if the rebellion could force us to forgo, or postpone a national election, it might fairly claim to have already conquered and ruined us.”
Rear Admiral John A.B. Dahlgren wrote to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles regarding plans for another joint attack on Charleston, South Carolina. Dahlgren well understood the great advantage in mobility and supply enjoyed by the Union through its strong control of the sea: "Part of the troops could be landed at Bull's Bay, whence there is a good road for some 15 miles; part would enter the inlet seaward of Sullivan's Island, seize Long Island, and with the aid of the Navy, land in the rear of Sullivan's Island, join the force coming from Bull's Bay, and occupy Mount Pleasant...This operation would require 30,000 to 50,000 good men, because it is reasonable to admit that the present small force of the Rebels would receive large additions. Still, we have the unquestioned advantage of being able to bring here additional forces more promptly in the present position of the main armies. Hood must pass around Sherman in order to give any aid, and General Grant equally obstructs the road from Richmond."
The CSS Shenandoah, Lieutenant James Iredell Waddell, captured and scuttled the brig Susan at sea southwest of the Cape Verde Islands with a cargo of coal. Waddell recalled later: "She leaked badly and was the dullest sailor I had ever seen; really she moved so slowly that barnacles grew to her bottom, and it was simply impossible for her crew to pump her out as fast as the water made."
Josiah Gorgas, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General. He was one of the few Northern-born Confederate generals and later became the president of the University of Alabama.
The following are appointed Union Brigadier Generals today: Edmund Jackson Davis, Thomas John Lucas, James Richard Slack.
Federals scout from Kingston, Georgia, as Major General William T. Sherman's Union army moves back to Atlanta, burning all railroad lines and supplies that could assist the Confederates.
Another skirmish breaks out at Neosho, Missouri.
Union cavalry scout near Memphis, Tennessee, with the capture of a few Rebels.
A skirmish occurs near Kernstown, Virginia, as Lieutenant General Jubal Early, CSA, with his force of Confederates, move north from New Market towards Major General Philip H. Sheridan, USA, and the Army of the Shenandoah.
For all his log cabin image, Abraham Lincoln was as fiercely political a man as any to occupy the Presidency, and he had just won what he knew would be his last election, a second term in the White House. He was also was a much deeper thinker, however, than his homespun image would imply. After hearing yet another victory serenade this morning, he spoke to the crowd: “It has long been a grave question whether any government, not too strong for the liberties of its people, can be strong enough to maintain its own existence, in great emergencies. We cannot have free government without elections, and if the rebellion could force us to forgo, or postpone a national election, it might fairly claim to have already conquered and ruined us.”
Rear Admiral John A.B. Dahlgren wrote to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles regarding plans for another joint attack on Charleston, South Carolina. Dahlgren well understood the great advantage in mobility and supply enjoyed by the Union through its strong control of the sea: "Part of the troops could be landed at Bull's Bay, whence there is a good road for some 15 miles; part would enter the inlet seaward of Sullivan's Island, seize Long Island, and with the aid of the Navy, land in the rear of Sullivan's Island, join the force coming from Bull's Bay, and occupy Mount Pleasant...This operation would require 30,000 to 50,000 good men, because it is reasonable to admit that the present small force of the Rebels would receive large additions. Still, we have the unquestioned advantage of being able to bring here additional forces more promptly in the present position of the main armies. Hood must pass around Sherman in order to give any aid, and General Grant equally obstructs the road from Richmond."
The CSS Shenandoah, Lieutenant James Iredell Waddell, captured and scuttled the brig Susan at sea southwest of the Cape Verde Islands with a cargo of coal. Waddell recalled later: "She leaked badly and was the dullest sailor I had ever seen; really she moved so slowly that barnacles grew to her bottom, and it was simply impossible for her crew to pump her out as fast as the water made."
Josiah Gorgas, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General. He was one of the few Northern-born Confederate generals and later became the president of the University of Alabama.
The following are appointed Union Brigadier Generals today: Edmund Jackson Davis, Thomas John Lucas, James Richard Slack.
Federals scout from Kingston, Georgia, as Major General William T. Sherman's Union army moves back to Atlanta, burning all railroad lines and supplies that could assist the Confederates.
Another skirmish breaks out at Neosho, Missouri.
Union cavalry scout near Memphis, Tennessee, with the capture of a few Rebels.
A skirmish occurs near Kernstown, Virginia, as Lieutenant General Jubal Early, CSA, with his force of Confederates, move north from New Market towards Major General Philip H. Sheridan, USA, and the Army of the Shenandoah.
This post was edited on 11/10/14 at 4:41 am
Posted on 11/10/14 at 8:18 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Friday, 11 November 1864
Panama, at this point a province of Columbia, was a common transshipment point for cargoes going from Atlantic to Pacific. One such vessel, the merchant steamer Salvador, departed for California with such a cargo today. As soon as she was clear of Columbian territorial waters, the USS Lancaster swooped in and boarded her. This was, interestingly, at the request of the Salvador's captain. He had warned the Navy before leaving that he had information that some of his passengers were not what they claimed, but he had no proof. Captain Henry K. Davenport had no such concerns: he boarded the ship and searched the passenger’s baggage. In it he found a large stash of guns, ammunition, and a paper authorizing the bearer to seize a ship and convert it into a commerce raider. The passengers, led by Acting Ship’s Master Thomas E. Hogg, Confederate States Navy, were taken off and arrested.
Another report: Commander Henry K. Davenport, of the USS Lancaster, captured Confederates on board steamer Salvador, bound from Panama to California, after having been informed that they intended to seize the ship at sea and convert her into a raider. Salvador's captain had warned naval authorities at Panama Bay that the attempt was to be made, and Davenport and his men arranged to search the baggage of the passengers after the vessel passed the territorial limits of Panama. The search revealed guns and ammunition, along with a commission from Secretary Mallory for the capture; the Confederates were promptly taken into custody. This daring party, led by Acting Master Thomas E. Hogg, CSN, was one of many attempting to seize Union steamers and convert them into commerce raiders, especially with a view toward capturing the gold shipments from California. Union warships usually convoyed the California ships to prevent their capture.
The USS Wachusett, under Commander Collins, arrived at Hampton Roads with the captured commerce raider CSS Florida.
The retreating Union army destroyed all military facilities, bridges, foundries, mills, shops, warehouses, and other useful Confederate property at Rome, Georgia before heading toward Kingston and Atlanta.
At a White House cabinet meeting, the sealed document disclosing President Abraham Lincoln’s doubts about the election and pledging cabinet members to support the president-elect after the election was opened. Cabinet members had signed the document without reading it on 23 August.
In Kentucky, Federal authorities arrested three supporters of Democratic presidential candidate George B. McClellan. Lieutenant Governor Richard Jacob was arrested and banished to the Confederacy; a Kentucky elector for McClellan and the editor of the Louisville Journal were also arrested. Lincoln pardoned the latter two and reinstated Jacob in February 1865.
A Federal ship landed at Savannah, Georgia to unload 3,000 ill Confederate prisoners of war; some 500 died on the voyage. About 13,000 Federal prisoners were exchanged at Savannah and Charleston, of which 8,000 were ill.
William Montague Browne, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
Skirmishes occurred at Shoal Creek, Alabama, at Kernstown, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, and at Manassas Junction.
Federal scouts travel over the next ten days from Springfield, Missouri, to Huntsville and Yellville, Arkansas, with several skirmishes along the way.
Actions commenced at Bull's Gap, Tennessee, with Confederate Major General John Cabell Breckinridge's forces, and at Russellville, Tennessee, with Breckinridge, commanding the Department of Western Virginia and East Tennessee against Union Major General George Henry Thomas, commanding the Department of the Cumberland.
Panama, at this point a province of Columbia, was a common transshipment point for cargoes going from Atlantic to Pacific. One such vessel, the merchant steamer Salvador, departed for California with such a cargo today. As soon as she was clear of Columbian territorial waters, the USS Lancaster swooped in and boarded her. This was, interestingly, at the request of the Salvador's captain. He had warned the Navy before leaving that he had information that some of his passengers were not what they claimed, but he had no proof. Captain Henry K. Davenport had no such concerns: he boarded the ship and searched the passenger’s baggage. In it he found a large stash of guns, ammunition, and a paper authorizing the bearer to seize a ship and convert it into a commerce raider. The passengers, led by Acting Ship’s Master Thomas E. Hogg, Confederate States Navy, were taken off and arrested.
Another report: Commander Henry K. Davenport, of the USS Lancaster, captured Confederates on board steamer Salvador, bound from Panama to California, after having been informed that they intended to seize the ship at sea and convert her into a raider. Salvador's captain had warned naval authorities at Panama Bay that the attempt was to be made, and Davenport and his men arranged to search the baggage of the passengers after the vessel passed the territorial limits of Panama. The search revealed guns and ammunition, along with a commission from Secretary Mallory for the capture; the Confederates were promptly taken into custody. This daring party, led by Acting Master Thomas E. Hogg, CSN, was one of many attempting to seize Union steamers and convert them into commerce raiders, especially with a view toward capturing the gold shipments from California. Union warships usually convoyed the California ships to prevent their capture.
The USS Wachusett, under Commander Collins, arrived at Hampton Roads with the captured commerce raider CSS Florida.
The retreating Union army destroyed all military facilities, bridges, foundries, mills, shops, warehouses, and other useful Confederate property at Rome, Georgia before heading toward Kingston and Atlanta.
At a White House cabinet meeting, the sealed document disclosing President Abraham Lincoln’s doubts about the election and pledging cabinet members to support the president-elect after the election was opened. Cabinet members had signed the document without reading it on 23 August.
In Kentucky, Federal authorities arrested three supporters of Democratic presidential candidate George B. McClellan. Lieutenant Governor Richard Jacob was arrested and banished to the Confederacy; a Kentucky elector for McClellan and the editor of the Louisville Journal were also arrested. Lincoln pardoned the latter two and reinstated Jacob in February 1865.
A Federal ship landed at Savannah, Georgia to unload 3,000 ill Confederate prisoners of war; some 500 died on the voyage. About 13,000 Federal prisoners were exchanged at Savannah and Charleston, of which 8,000 were ill.
William Montague Browne, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
Skirmishes occurred at Shoal Creek, Alabama, at Kernstown, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, and at Manassas Junction.
Federal scouts travel over the next ten days from Springfield, Missouri, to Huntsville and Yellville, Arkansas, with several skirmishes along the way.
Actions commenced at Bull's Gap, Tennessee, with Confederate Major General John Cabell Breckinridge's forces, and at Russellville, Tennessee, with Breckinridge, commanding the Department of Western Virginia and East Tennessee against Union Major General George Henry Thomas, commanding the Department of the Cumberland.
This post was edited on 11/11/14 at 4:41 am
Posted on 11/11/14 at 8:42 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Saturday, 12 November 1864
General William Tecumseh Sherman had taken Atlanta once already. He had had to backtrack for the last couple of weeks to dispose of threats in the rear area, primarily from General John Bell Hood’s forces. These having been dispersed, or at least reduced to where General George Henry Thomas was able to cope with them from Nashville, Sherman intentionally cut his own lines and headed back to central Georgia. His four corps totaled 60,000 infantry and around 5500 artillery pieces. They set out to rendezvous with the Federal forces Sherman had left to occupy Atlanta. They had been carrying out their assignment in the deserted town. They had orders to spare private homes and churches. The rest of the city was in the process of being completely destroyed to prevent residents from returning. This added to Southern bitterness toward Sherman’s policy of “total war” on Southern property and civilians.
Sherman’s marching orders included bringing no supply trains, instead foraging and looting for subsistence. Destruction of property was prohibited except when ordered by corps commanders as retaliation for attacks on the marchers. Only slaves who could be used as forced labor could join the marchers, but no general exodus of slaves was permitted. The marchers would begin at 7 a.m. each morning and cover 15 miles each day.
A boat expedition from the USS Hendrick Hudson, under Acting Lieutenant Charles H. Rockwell, and the USS Nita, Acting Lieutenant Robert B. Smith in charge, attempted to destroy Confederate salt works on a reconnaissance near Tampa Bay, Florida, but the sailors were quickly driven back to their boats by Southern cavalry.
The CSS Shenandoah, commanded by Lieutenant James I. Waddell, seized and bonded the clipper ship Kate Prince and the brig Adelaide in the mid-Atlantic near the equator.
A skirmish with partisan guerrillas and Union troops occurred 12 miles northwest of Centreville, Missouri.
Actions started at Cedar Creek and Nineveh, Virginia, as part of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign.
More fighting occurred at Newtown (or Middletown), Virginia, as Lieutenant General Jubal Early, CSA, and Major General Philip H. Sheridan, USA, meet on the battlefield once again.
The USS Wachusett arrives off Hampton Roads, Virginia, with its prize being towed, the CSS Florida; in tow since 7 October, when it was captured at the Brazilian port of Bahia.
General William Tecumseh Sherman had taken Atlanta once already. He had had to backtrack for the last couple of weeks to dispose of threats in the rear area, primarily from General John Bell Hood’s forces. These having been dispersed, or at least reduced to where General George Henry Thomas was able to cope with them from Nashville, Sherman intentionally cut his own lines and headed back to central Georgia. His four corps totaled 60,000 infantry and around 5500 artillery pieces. They set out to rendezvous with the Federal forces Sherman had left to occupy Atlanta. They had been carrying out their assignment in the deserted town. They had orders to spare private homes and churches. The rest of the city was in the process of being completely destroyed to prevent residents from returning. This added to Southern bitterness toward Sherman’s policy of “total war” on Southern property and civilians.
Sherman’s marching orders included bringing no supply trains, instead foraging and looting for subsistence. Destruction of property was prohibited except when ordered by corps commanders as retaliation for attacks on the marchers. Only slaves who could be used as forced labor could join the marchers, but no general exodus of slaves was permitted. The marchers would begin at 7 a.m. each morning and cover 15 miles each day.
A boat expedition from the USS Hendrick Hudson, under Acting Lieutenant Charles H. Rockwell, and the USS Nita, Acting Lieutenant Robert B. Smith in charge, attempted to destroy Confederate salt works on a reconnaissance near Tampa Bay, Florida, but the sailors were quickly driven back to their boats by Southern cavalry.
The CSS Shenandoah, commanded by Lieutenant James I. Waddell, seized and bonded the clipper ship Kate Prince and the brig Adelaide in the mid-Atlantic near the equator.
A skirmish with partisan guerrillas and Union troops occurred 12 miles northwest of Centreville, Missouri.
Actions started at Cedar Creek and Nineveh, Virginia, as part of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign.
More fighting occurred at Newtown (or Middletown), Virginia, as Lieutenant General Jubal Early, CSA, and Major General Philip H. Sheridan, USA, meet on the battlefield once again.
The USS Wachusett arrives off Hampton Roads, Virginia, with its prize being towed, the CSS Florida; in tow since 7 October, when it was captured at the Brazilian port of Bahia.
Posted on 11/12/14 at 7:45 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Sunday, 13 November 1864
General Jubal Early and his force had been detached from the siege of Petersburg five months ago and sent North on a mission. Scare the bejeebers out of the Yankees, particularly the ones living in or near Washington, D.C. The hope was that these alarmed people would put pressure on the fellow living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to bring some troops home to protect them. Neither President Abraham Lincoln nor General of the Armies Hiram U. Grant was inclined to oblige him, and now Early’s men were beginning to be brought back to Richmond for the defense effort. Early and company had marched nearly 1700 miles and fought 72 battles in these past five months, but to no avail. The Shenandoah Valley now pretty well belonged to Phil Sheridan and his Yankee cavalry.
A large part of Jubal Early’s Confederate army left the Shenandoah and rejoined General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at Richmond and Petersburg. Having marched 1,700 miles and fought 75 engagements since July, Early’s men had made remarkable attempts to threaten Federals in the Valley and even outside Washington, DC, despite being heavily outnumbered.
Lieutenant General Jubal Early, CSA, breaks off contact with Major General Philip H. Sheridan, USA, and withdraws south back to New Market, Virginia, as he is further weakened when a large portion of his force is sent to assist General Robert E. Lee's, CSA, dwindling siege lines around Petersburg, Virginia.
The CSS Shenandoah, commanded by Lieutenant James Iredell Waddell, captured and burned the schooner Lizzie M. Stacey in the mid-Atlantic near the equator witha cargo of pinesalt and iron. Lizzie's mate, an unabashed Irishman, told Waddell: "...my hearty, if we'd had ten guns aboard her, you wouldn't have got us without a bit of a shindy, or if the breeze had been a bit stiffer, we'd given her the square sail, and all hell wouldn't have caught her." Two of the schooner's seamen joined the Shenandoah's crew voluntarily and another was impressed. She was the last prize the raider would take for some three weeks.
Federals clash with Indians at Ash Creek, 12 miles from Fort Larned, Kansas, as the natives attack and capture 5 wagons loaded with corn, and kill one Yankee, injuring 4.
Union troops scout for Confederate partisan guerrillas in Pemiscot County, the Bootheel of Missouri, with a skirmish ensuing.
This morning, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman orders the business district of Atlanta, Georgia, destroyed before he embarks on his famous March to the Sea.
When Sherman captured Atlanta in early September 1864, he knew that he could not remain there for long. His tenuous supply line ran from Nashville, Tennessee, through Chattanooga, then one hundred miles through mountainous northern Georgia. The army he had just defeated, the Army of Tennessee, was still in the area and its leader, General John Bell Hood, swung around Atlanta to try to damage Sherman's lifeline. Of even greater concern was the Confederate cavalry of General Nathan Bedford Forrest, a brilliant commander who could strike quickly against the railroads and river transports on which Sherman relied.
During the fall, Sherman conceived of a plan to split his enormous army. He sent part of it, commanded by General George Thomas, back toward Nashville to deal with Hood while he prepared to take the rest of the troops across Georgia. Through October, Sherman built up a massive cache of supplies in Atlanta. He then ordered a systematic destruction of the city to prevent the Confederates from recovering anything once the Yankees had abandoned it. By one estimate, nearly 40 percent of the city was ruined. Sherman would apply to the same policy of destruction to the rest of Georgia as he marched to Savannah. Before leaving on November 15, Sherman's forces had burned the industrial district of Atlanta to the ground and left little but a smoking shell.
General Jubal Early and his force had been detached from the siege of Petersburg five months ago and sent North on a mission. Scare the bejeebers out of the Yankees, particularly the ones living in or near Washington, D.C. The hope was that these alarmed people would put pressure on the fellow living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to bring some troops home to protect them. Neither President Abraham Lincoln nor General of the Armies Hiram U. Grant was inclined to oblige him, and now Early’s men were beginning to be brought back to Richmond for the defense effort. Early and company had marched nearly 1700 miles and fought 72 battles in these past five months, but to no avail. The Shenandoah Valley now pretty well belonged to Phil Sheridan and his Yankee cavalry.
A large part of Jubal Early’s Confederate army left the Shenandoah and rejoined General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at Richmond and Petersburg. Having marched 1,700 miles and fought 75 engagements since July, Early’s men had made remarkable attempts to threaten Federals in the Valley and even outside Washington, DC, despite being heavily outnumbered.
Lieutenant General Jubal Early, CSA, breaks off contact with Major General Philip H. Sheridan, USA, and withdraws south back to New Market, Virginia, as he is further weakened when a large portion of his force is sent to assist General Robert E. Lee's, CSA, dwindling siege lines around Petersburg, Virginia.
The CSS Shenandoah, commanded by Lieutenant James Iredell Waddell, captured and burned the schooner Lizzie M. Stacey in the mid-Atlantic near the equator witha cargo of pinesalt and iron. Lizzie's mate, an unabashed Irishman, told Waddell: "...my hearty, if we'd had ten guns aboard her, you wouldn't have got us without a bit of a shindy, or if the breeze had been a bit stiffer, we'd given her the square sail, and all hell wouldn't have caught her." Two of the schooner's seamen joined the Shenandoah's crew voluntarily and another was impressed. She was the last prize the raider would take for some three weeks.
Federals clash with Indians at Ash Creek, 12 miles from Fort Larned, Kansas, as the natives attack and capture 5 wagons loaded with corn, and kill one Yankee, injuring 4.
Union troops scout for Confederate partisan guerrillas in Pemiscot County, the Bootheel of Missouri, with a skirmish ensuing.
This morning, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman orders the business district of Atlanta, Georgia, destroyed before he embarks on his famous March to the Sea.
When Sherman captured Atlanta in early September 1864, he knew that he could not remain there for long. His tenuous supply line ran from Nashville, Tennessee, through Chattanooga, then one hundred miles through mountainous northern Georgia. The army he had just defeated, the Army of Tennessee, was still in the area and its leader, General John Bell Hood, swung around Atlanta to try to damage Sherman's lifeline. Of even greater concern was the Confederate cavalry of General Nathan Bedford Forrest, a brilliant commander who could strike quickly against the railroads and river transports on which Sherman relied.
During the fall, Sherman conceived of a plan to split his enormous army. He sent part of it, commanded by General George Thomas, back toward Nashville to deal with Hood while he prepared to take the rest of the troops across Georgia. Through October, Sherman built up a massive cache of supplies in Atlanta. He then ordered a systematic destruction of the city to prevent the Confederates from recovering anything once the Yankees had abandoned it. By one estimate, nearly 40 percent of the city was ruined. Sherman would apply to the same policy of destruction to the rest of Georgia as he marched to Savannah. Before leaving on November 15, Sherman's forces had burned the industrial district of Atlanta to the ground and left little but a smoking shell.
Posted on 11/13/14 at 9:06 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Monday, 14 November 1864
General Benjamin "Spoons" Butler had certain talents, including administering occupied cities without excessive violence, making money, and commanding political support for President Abraham Lincoln. In other fields he was not so successful, including battlefield command and, it seemed, engineering designs. He had concocted a plan to cut a canal to connect two bights of the James River. This would eliminate the necessity of Union ships to pass the seemingly impregnable Confederate fort on Drewry’s Bluff. Canals had been tried before, including in front of Vicksburg, and had never succeeded yet. This one, started in August, was still a work in progress today. The contraband Negro laborers who provided most of the workforce were not only ill-fed and subject to disease, they were under constant assault from both Confederate gunboats in the river and snipers on the bluff.
Acting Master Lothrop Wight and Acting Ensign Frederick W. Mintzer reconnoitered Confederate naval dispositions above Dutch Gap on the James River, Virginia. Work was going ahead rapidly on the Dutch Gap Canal, which would allow Union gunboats to bypass the obstructions at Trent's Reach, and the work of Wight and Minter provided valuable information regarding the positions of Confederate ships and troops.
A Federal expedition travelled from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Brookhaven, Mississippi, and fought several skirmishes along the way.
Major General John M. Schofield, USA, assumes the command of the Union forces at Pulaski, Tennessee, consisting of two US Army Corps, the first line of defense against Lieutenant General John Bell Hood, CSA.
Another action occurs near Russellville, Tennessee, with Major General John C. Breckinridge, CSA.
President Abraham Lincoln officially ends Major General George Brinton McClellan's military career by accepting McClellan's resignation. Lincoln named Philip Sheridan to the rank of major general in the Regular Army. Lincoln wrote to General Stephen Hurlbut, commanding the Department of the Gulf, that he had heard rumors of “...bitter military opposition to the new state Government of Louisiana.”
Major General William T. Sherman’s Federals made preparations to move out of Atlanta. The city’s destruction continued unabated.
Major General George H. Thomas prepared his Federals around Nashville, Tennessee. Major General John M. Schofield commanded two Federal corps at Pulaski, south of Nashville. Meanwhile, John Bell Hood awaited the arrival of Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Confederates at Florence, Alabama before moving north.
General Benjamin "Spoons" Butler had certain talents, including administering occupied cities without excessive violence, making money, and commanding political support for President Abraham Lincoln. In other fields he was not so successful, including battlefield command and, it seemed, engineering designs. He had concocted a plan to cut a canal to connect two bights of the James River. This would eliminate the necessity of Union ships to pass the seemingly impregnable Confederate fort on Drewry’s Bluff. Canals had been tried before, including in front of Vicksburg, and had never succeeded yet. This one, started in August, was still a work in progress today. The contraband Negro laborers who provided most of the workforce were not only ill-fed and subject to disease, they were under constant assault from both Confederate gunboats in the river and snipers on the bluff.
Acting Master Lothrop Wight and Acting Ensign Frederick W. Mintzer reconnoitered Confederate naval dispositions above Dutch Gap on the James River, Virginia. Work was going ahead rapidly on the Dutch Gap Canal, which would allow Union gunboats to bypass the obstructions at Trent's Reach, and the work of Wight and Minter provided valuable information regarding the positions of Confederate ships and troops.
A Federal expedition travelled from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Brookhaven, Mississippi, and fought several skirmishes along the way.
Major General John M. Schofield, USA, assumes the command of the Union forces at Pulaski, Tennessee, consisting of two US Army Corps, the first line of defense against Lieutenant General John Bell Hood, CSA.
Another action occurs near Russellville, Tennessee, with Major General John C. Breckinridge, CSA.
President Abraham Lincoln officially ends Major General George Brinton McClellan's military career by accepting McClellan's resignation. Lincoln named Philip Sheridan to the rank of major general in the Regular Army. Lincoln wrote to General Stephen Hurlbut, commanding the Department of the Gulf, that he had heard rumors of “...bitter military opposition to the new state Government of Louisiana.”
Major General William T. Sherman’s Federals made preparations to move out of Atlanta. The city’s destruction continued unabated.
Major General George H. Thomas prepared his Federals around Nashville, Tennessee. Major General John M. Schofield commanded two Federal corps at Pulaski, south of Nashville. Meanwhile, John Bell Hood awaited the arrival of Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Confederates at Florence, Alabama before moving north.
Posted on 11/14/14 at 9:15 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Tuesday, 15 November 1864
Most of General William Tecumseh Sherman’s army was headed out of Atlanta today on the first steps of the famous “March to the Sea.” Stripped of their wagons, except for what was needed to carry ammunition and other military equipment, their orders were to live off the land, foraging their food from the citizenry and leaving scorched earth behind them. Those who were not marching yet, completed their final duty in Georgia’s largest city: they burned it. Orders were to exempt private homes and houses of worship, but most of the populace had been evacuated at gunpoint after the city was taken and the houses, even if unburned, were looted of all possible valuables by "Cump's Bummers" or pillagers. This name was given to Sherman's Yankees during the March To The Sea as well as during the Carolinas Campaign; it is obscure but was common army parlance by late 1864. Possibly deriving from the German Bummler, meaning "idler" or "wastrel," the name was embraced by many soldiers, who believed it struck terror in the hearts of Southern people. The bitterness, hatred and enmity were incalculable.
This evening, Federal Chief Engineer Orlando Poe will burn Atlanta’s industrial area, including the oil refinery, which soon spreads to other buildings and results in massive explosions as Yankee regimental bands played merrily. Reporter David P. Conyngham of the New York Herald wrote, “The heart was burning out of beautiful Atlanta.” Conyngham was the writer who credited Sherman himself with directing the fire on the Confederate officers which had led to General Leonidas Polk’s death at Pine Mountain. The Tipperary man would later see the spot where Polk fell, and described the activity that he and others engaged in at the site:
"When we took that hill [Pine Mountain], two artillerists, who had concealed themselves until we had come up, and then came within our lines, showed us where his [Polk's] body lay after being hit. There was one pool of clotted gore there, as if an animal had been bled. The shell had passed through his body from the left side, tearing the limbs and body to pieces. Doctor M—- and myself searched that mass of blood, and discovering pieces of the ribs and arm bones, which we kept as souvenirs. The men dipped their handkerchiefs in it too, whether as a sacred relic, or to remind them of a traitor, I do not know."
Sherman had ordered that no private residences be touched, but looters had been at work for the last four days. Federal Chief Engineer Poe estimated that well over 37 percent of Atlanta was completely destroyed.
Skirmishing broke out at East Point and Jonesboro, Georgia, as well as near Rough and Ready and Stockbridge, in the March to the Sea Campaign.
Republican Governor William A. Buckingham of Connecticut wrote Union Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles of the "...defenseless condition of Stonington." The citizens of the city, he reported, "...feel that the Tallahassee having been near them, that or some other vessel may make them a piratical visit at any hour, and urge that an ironclad be stationed in their harbor not only for their protection, but for the protection of other towns on the sound and of the sound steamers." The Governor's letter typified the grave concern caused by the infrequent but devastating Confederate raids near Northern seaports.
Joseph Benjamin Palmer, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
Skirmishes occurred at Clinton, Louisiana, and near Collierville, Tennessee.
Most of General William Tecumseh Sherman’s army was headed out of Atlanta today on the first steps of the famous “March to the Sea.” Stripped of their wagons, except for what was needed to carry ammunition and other military equipment, their orders were to live off the land, foraging their food from the citizenry and leaving scorched earth behind them. Those who were not marching yet, completed their final duty in Georgia’s largest city: they burned it. Orders were to exempt private homes and houses of worship, but most of the populace had been evacuated at gunpoint after the city was taken and the houses, even if unburned, were looted of all possible valuables by "Cump's Bummers" or pillagers. This name was given to Sherman's Yankees during the March To The Sea as well as during the Carolinas Campaign; it is obscure but was common army parlance by late 1864. Possibly deriving from the German Bummler, meaning "idler" or "wastrel," the name was embraced by many soldiers, who believed it struck terror in the hearts of Southern people. The bitterness, hatred and enmity were incalculable.
This evening, Federal Chief Engineer Orlando Poe will burn Atlanta’s industrial area, including the oil refinery, which soon spreads to other buildings and results in massive explosions as Yankee regimental bands played merrily. Reporter David P. Conyngham of the New York Herald wrote, “The heart was burning out of beautiful Atlanta.” Conyngham was the writer who credited Sherman himself with directing the fire on the Confederate officers which had led to General Leonidas Polk’s death at Pine Mountain. The Tipperary man would later see the spot where Polk fell, and described the activity that he and others engaged in at the site:
"When we took that hill [Pine Mountain], two artillerists, who had concealed themselves until we had come up, and then came within our lines, showed us where his [Polk's] body lay after being hit. There was one pool of clotted gore there, as if an animal had been bled. The shell had passed through his body from the left side, tearing the limbs and body to pieces. Doctor M—- and myself searched that mass of blood, and discovering pieces of the ribs and arm bones, which we kept as souvenirs. The men dipped their handkerchiefs in it too, whether as a sacred relic, or to remind them of a traitor, I do not know."
Sherman had ordered that no private residences be touched, but looters had been at work for the last four days. Federal Chief Engineer Poe estimated that well over 37 percent of Atlanta was completely destroyed.
Skirmishing broke out at East Point and Jonesboro, Georgia, as well as near Rough and Ready and Stockbridge, in the March to the Sea Campaign.
Republican Governor William A. Buckingham of Connecticut wrote Union Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles of the "...defenseless condition of Stonington." The citizens of the city, he reported, "...feel that the Tallahassee having been near them, that or some other vessel may make them a piratical visit at any hour, and urge that an ironclad be stationed in their harbor not only for their protection, but for the protection of other towns on the sound and of the sound steamers." The Governor's letter typified the grave concern caused by the infrequent but devastating Confederate raids near Northern seaports.
Joseph Benjamin Palmer, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
Skirmishes occurred at Clinton, Louisiana, and near Collierville, Tennessee.
Posted on 11/15/14 at 9:43 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Wednesday, 16 November 1864
The last of the two wings of Major General William Tecumseh Sherman’s army pulled out of Atlanta this afternoon, leaving the city a smoking ruin behind them. In a calculated move, as Sherman said, to bring the realities of the battlefield’s suffering to the civilians who supported the troops, a new style of war targeting civilians at the home front was invented. From this point forward Sherman’s troops would carry no supplies but ammunition, and tents for those who wanted to carry them. They would live off the land entirely, taking or destroying everything in their path. The bitterness this “dishonorable” style of war left in the hearts of Georgians was immense. And for many, still is.
Another report: Yesterday morning, Union General William T. Sherman begins his expedition across Georgia by torching the industrial section of Atlanta and pulling away from his supply lines. For the next six weeks, Sherman's army destroyed most of the state southeastward before capturing the Confederate seaport of Savannah, Georgia.
Sherman had captured Atlanta in early September 1864 after a long, bloody summer campaign. He recognized his vulnerability in the city, however, as his supply lines stretched all the way from Nashville, Tennessee. Confederate raiders such as Nathan Bedford Forrest threatened to cut his lines, and Sherman had to commit thousands of troops to protect the railroads and rivers that carried provisions for his massive army. Sherman split his army, keeping 60,000 men and sending the rest back to Nashville with General George Henry Thomas to deal with the remnants of Confederate General John Bell Hood's Army of Tennessee, the force Sherman had defeated to take Atlanta.
After hearing that President Abraham Lincoln had won re-election on November 8, Sherman ordered 2,500 light wagons loaded with supplies. Doctors checked each soldier for illness or injuries, and those who were deemed unfit were sent to Nashville. Sherman wrote to his general in chief, Hiram U. Grant, that if he could march through Georgia it would be "...proof positive that the North can prevail." He told Grant that he would not send couriers back, but to "...trust the Richmond papers to keep you well advised." Sherman loaded the surplus supplies on trains and shipped them back to Nashville. On November 15, the army began to move, burning the industrial section of Atlanta before leaving. One witness reported "...immense and raging fires lighting up whole heavens...huge waves of fire roll up into the sky; presently the skeleton of great warehouses stand out in relief against sheets of roaring, blazing, furious flames." Sherman's infamous destruction of Georgia had begun.
Dudley Mclver DuBose, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
Skirmishes start on the line of Shoal Creek, Alabama, and near Lee's Mill, in the Richmond, Virginia, Campaign.
General Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Confederates joins General John Bell Hood’s army at Tuscumbia and Florence, Alabama.
Federals scout from Devalls Bluff to West Point, Arkansas, with several skirmishes along the way.
A Union expedition moves from Barrancas to Pine Barren Bridge, Florida, in the vicinity of Pensacola and Montgomery, where the Yankees capture the Confederate picket, move on and capture the next inner picket, wait and capture the Rebels coming to relieve these men, cross the bridge and capture the entire Confederate camp without a Union man injured.
Skirmishes occur at Cotton River Bridge and Bear Creek Station, as well as action at Lovejoy's Station, all in Georgia, as part of Sherman's March to the Sea Campaign.
A Federal expedition travels from Brookfield to Brunswick, Keytesville, and Salisbury, Missouri.
Union troops begin an expedition against partisan guerrillas from Cape Girardeau to Patterson, in Wayne County, Missouri, with skirmishes at Reeves' Mill, and at Buckskull, in Randolph County, Arkansas.
Another battle boils up at Strawberry Plains, Tennessee, with the Confederates troops under Major General John C. Breckinridge against Brigadier General Alvan C. Gillem's Union forces.
Breckinridge had pursued the Federals from Bull's Gap and this morning engaged them near Russellville, causing a rout. The Federals fell back to Strawberry Plains (outside of Knoxville) where Breckinridge again engaged his forces. Federal reinforcements soon arrived and foul weather began to play havoc with the roads and streams. Breckinridge, with most of his force, retired back to Virginia. The Confederate victory at the Battle of Bull's Gap was a setback in the Federal plans to rid East Tennessee of Confederate military presence.
The last of the two wings of Major General William Tecumseh Sherman’s army pulled out of Atlanta this afternoon, leaving the city a smoking ruin behind them. In a calculated move, as Sherman said, to bring the realities of the battlefield’s suffering to the civilians who supported the troops, a new style of war targeting civilians at the home front was invented. From this point forward Sherman’s troops would carry no supplies but ammunition, and tents for those who wanted to carry them. They would live off the land entirely, taking or destroying everything in their path. The bitterness this “dishonorable” style of war left in the hearts of Georgians was immense. And for many, still is.
Another report: Yesterday morning, Union General William T. Sherman begins his expedition across Georgia by torching the industrial section of Atlanta and pulling away from his supply lines. For the next six weeks, Sherman's army destroyed most of the state southeastward before capturing the Confederate seaport of Savannah, Georgia.
Sherman had captured Atlanta in early September 1864 after a long, bloody summer campaign. He recognized his vulnerability in the city, however, as his supply lines stretched all the way from Nashville, Tennessee. Confederate raiders such as Nathan Bedford Forrest threatened to cut his lines, and Sherman had to commit thousands of troops to protect the railroads and rivers that carried provisions for his massive army. Sherman split his army, keeping 60,000 men and sending the rest back to Nashville with General George Henry Thomas to deal with the remnants of Confederate General John Bell Hood's Army of Tennessee, the force Sherman had defeated to take Atlanta.
After hearing that President Abraham Lincoln had won re-election on November 8, Sherman ordered 2,500 light wagons loaded with supplies. Doctors checked each soldier for illness or injuries, and those who were deemed unfit were sent to Nashville. Sherman wrote to his general in chief, Hiram U. Grant, that if he could march through Georgia it would be "...proof positive that the North can prevail." He told Grant that he would not send couriers back, but to "...trust the Richmond papers to keep you well advised." Sherman loaded the surplus supplies on trains and shipped them back to Nashville. On November 15, the army began to move, burning the industrial section of Atlanta before leaving. One witness reported "...immense and raging fires lighting up whole heavens...huge waves of fire roll up into the sky; presently the skeleton of great warehouses stand out in relief against sheets of roaring, blazing, furious flames." Sherman's infamous destruction of Georgia had begun.
Dudley Mclver DuBose, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
Skirmishes start on the line of Shoal Creek, Alabama, and near Lee's Mill, in the Richmond, Virginia, Campaign.
General Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Confederates joins General John Bell Hood’s army at Tuscumbia and Florence, Alabama.
Federals scout from Devalls Bluff to West Point, Arkansas, with several skirmishes along the way.
A Union expedition moves from Barrancas to Pine Barren Bridge, Florida, in the vicinity of Pensacola and Montgomery, where the Yankees capture the Confederate picket, move on and capture the next inner picket, wait and capture the Rebels coming to relieve these men, cross the bridge and capture the entire Confederate camp without a Union man injured.
Skirmishes occur at Cotton River Bridge and Bear Creek Station, as well as action at Lovejoy's Station, all in Georgia, as part of Sherman's March to the Sea Campaign.
A Federal expedition travels from Brookfield to Brunswick, Keytesville, and Salisbury, Missouri.
Union troops begin an expedition against partisan guerrillas from Cape Girardeau to Patterson, in Wayne County, Missouri, with skirmishes at Reeves' Mill, and at Buckskull, in Randolph County, Arkansas.
Another battle boils up at Strawberry Plains, Tennessee, with the Confederates troops under Major General John C. Breckinridge against Brigadier General Alvan C. Gillem's Union forces.
Breckinridge had pursued the Federals from Bull's Gap and this morning engaged them near Russellville, causing a rout. The Federals fell back to Strawberry Plains (outside of Knoxville) where Breckinridge again engaged his forces. Federal reinforcements soon arrived and foul weather began to play havoc with the roads and streams. Breckinridge, with most of his force, retired back to Virginia. The Confederate victory at the Battle of Bull's Gap was a setback in the Federal plans to rid East Tennessee of Confederate military presence.
Posted on 11/16/14 at 8:36 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Thursday, 17 November 1864
When Union Major General William Tecumseh Sherman was settling the structure of his army to burn Georgia from Atlanta to the Atlantic, he had divided it into left and right wings. Each wing was made up of two corps each, under commanders Sherman considered solid and capable of maneuvering units of that size-Major Generals Henry W. Slocum and Oliver O. Howard. They were all pulling away from the ruins of Atlanta today, but they were going by four different roads. The intent was to confuse any Southern eyes as to their true intention and destination. As a deception it worked perfectly; observers, each seeing only one corps on the move, reported that Sherman was just doing some local maneuvering. Even if the reports had been correlated at a higher level, there was not much the Confederacy could have done about the March to the Sea, as they had no substantial forces close enough to act.
The side-wheelers USS Otsego, Lieutenant Commander Henry N. T. Arnold in charge, and USS Ceres, under Acting Master Henry H. Foster, ascended the Roanoke River to Jamesville, North Carolina, on a reconnaissance. The smaller Ceres continued upriver to Williamston. Although Confederates had been reported in the area, no batteries or troops were encountered.
Godfrey Weitzel, USA, is appointed Major General.
Skirmishes occur near Maysville and New Market, Alabama.
A Federal expedition begins from Little Rock to Pagan's Ford, on the Saline River, in Arkansas.
Partisan guerrillas created an affair in central Georgia at the Towaliga Bridge, over the river of the same name-a 52 mile long tributary of the Ocmulgee River-as Major General William T. Sherman, USA, takes four different routes to the sea in an attempt to confuse the Confederates.
A Union expedition travels from Brashear City to Bayou Portage, Louisiana, with a skirmish at Lake Fausse Pointe.
One last skirmish breaks out at Flat Creek, Tennessee, as the balance of Major General John C. Breckinridge's Confederate forces return to Virginia and his latest expedition is finally concluded.
Southern President Jefferson Davis, CSA, objects to any motion by several Georgia State Senators to discuss a separate peace treaty with the Federal government, in Richmond, Virginia.
When Union Major General William Tecumseh Sherman was settling the structure of his army to burn Georgia from Atlanta to the Atlantic, he had divided it into left and right wings. Each wing was made up of two corps each, under commanders Sherman considered solid and capable of maneuvering units of that size-Major Generals Henry W. Slocum and Oliver O. Howard. They were all pulling away from the ruins of Atlanta today, but they were going by four different roads. The intent was to confuse any Southern eyes as to their true intention and destination. As a deception it worked perfectly; observers, each seeing only one corps on the move, reported that Sherman was just doing some local maneuvering. Even if the reports had been correlated at a higher level, there was not much the Confederacy could have done about the March to the Sea, as they had no substantial forces close enough to act.
The side-wheelers USS Otsego, Lieutenant Commander Henry N. T. Arnold in charge, and USS Ceres, under Acting Master Henry H. Foster, ascended the Roanoke River to Jamesville, North Carolina, on a reconnaissance. The smaller Ceres continued upriver to Williamston. Although Confederates had been reported in the area, no batteries or troops were encountered.
Godfrey Weitzel, USA, is appointed Major General.
Skirmishes occur near Maysville and New Market, Alabama.
A Federal expedition begins from Little Rock to Pagan's Ford, on the Saline River, in Arkansas.
Partisan guerrillas created an affair in central Georgia at the Towaliga Bridge, over the river of the same name-a 52 mile long tributary of the Ocmulgee River-as Major General William T. Sherman, USA, takes four different routes to the sea in an attempt to confuse the Confederates.
A Union expedition travels from Brashear City to Bayou Portage, Louisiana, with a skirmish at Lake Fausse Pointe.
One last skirmish breaks out at Flat Creek, Tennessee, as the balance of Major General John C. Breckinridge's Confederate forces return to Virginia and his latest expedition is finally concluded.
Southern President Jefferson Davis, CSA, objects to any motion by several Georgia State Senators to discuss a separate peace treaty with the Federal government, in Richmond, Virginia.
Posted on 11/17/14 at 8:43 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Friday, 18 November 1864
Major General William Tecumseh Sherman’s army advanced between the Ocmulgee and Oconee rivers in Georgia. Sherman traveled with the left wing.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis orders Major General Thomas Howell Cobb at Macon, Georgia, commanding the Georgia reserves, that he should “...get out every man who can render any service even for a short period...” to oppose Sherman and, if necessary, to employ Negroes in building barricades, felling trees, and digging obstructions in roads.
Heavy storms and other unknown factors delayed Confederate General John Bell Hood’s advance into Tennessee, but he was now ready to begin.
A Washington, DC, newspaper reported that Union President Abraham Lincoln had expressed gratification to a Maryland committee about the recent election results, stating they confirmed “...the policy he had pursued would be the best and the only one that could save the country.”
Skirmishing occurred in Kabletown, West Virginia, as part of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign and at Fayette, Missouri, with Confederate partisan guerrillas.
Major General William Tecumseh Sherman’s army advanced between the Ocmulgee and Oconee rivers in Georgia. Sherman traveled with the left wing.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis orders Major General Thomas Howell Cobb at Macon, Georgia, commanding the Georgia reserves, that he should “...get out every man who can render any service even for a short period...” to oppose Sherman and, if necessary, to employ Negroes in building barricades, felling trees, and digging obstructions in roads.
Heavy storms and other unknown factors delayed Confederate General John Bell Hood’s advance into Tennessee, but he was now ready to begin.
A Washington, DC, newspaper reported that Union President Abraham Lincoln had expressed gratification to a Maryland committee about the recent election results, stating they confirmed “...the policy he had pursued would be the best and the only one that could save the country.”
Skirmishing occurred in Kabletown, West Virginia, as part of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign and at Fayette, Missouri, with Confederate partisan guerrillas.
Posted on 11/18/14 at 8:59 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Saturday, 19 November 1864
The CSS Chickamauga, Lieutenant John Wilkinson, ran the blockade into Wilmington under cover of heavy fog. He has miscalculated his position the day before and successfully run through the blockade to Masonboro Inlet instead of New Inlet. Wilkinson dropped down the coast and early in the morning of the 19th anchored under the guns of Fort Fisher to await high tide when the Chickamauga could cross the bar and stand up Cape Fear River to Wilmington. As the fog lifted, the blockaders USS Kansas, Wilderness, Cherokee, and Clematis opened on what they at first took to be a grounded blockade runner. The Chickamauga broke the Confederate flag and returned the fire, joined by the heavy guns of Fort Fisher. Fog and the range of the Fort's guns thwarted efforts to destroy the cruiser; by mid-morning Chickamauga was safely in the river and nearing Wilmington.
A skirmish broke out at Duckett's Plantation, near Paint Rock River, Alabama.
Georgia Governor Joseph E. Brown called for all able-bodied citizens between the ages of 16 and 55 to oppose Major General William T. Sherman’s march, but few men were available.
A small battle started at Buck Head Station, Georgia, on the "March to the Sea" Campaign by General William Sherman.
With little threat of Confederate intervention, President Abraham Lincoln ordered the blockade of the southern ports lifted at Norfolk, Virginia, as well as Fernandina and Pensacola, Florida.
A Union expedition began from Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana to Bayou Grand Caillou, with an affair on 23 November at Bayou Grand Caillou.
Federals clashed with Native Americans, near Plum Creek Station, in the Nebraska Territory.
The CSS Chickamauga, Lieutenant John Wilkinson, ran the blockade into Wilmington under cover of heavy fog. He has miscalculated his position the day before and successfully run through the blockade to Masonboro Inlet instead of New Inlet. Wilkinson dropped down the coast and early in the morning of the 19th anchored under the guns of Fort Fisher to await high tide when the Chickamauga could cross the bar and stand up Cape Fear River to Wilmington. As the fog lifted, the blockaders USS Kansas, Wilderness, Cherokee, and Clematis opened on what they at first took to be a grounded blockade runner. The Chickamauga broke the Confederate flag and returned the fire, joined by the heavy guns of Fort Fisher. Fog and the range of the Fort's guns thwarted efforts to destroy the cruiser; by mid-morning Chickamauga was safely in the river and nearing Wilmington.
A skirmish broke out at Duckett's Plantation, near Paint Rock River, Alabama.
Georgia Governor Joseph E. Brown called for all able-bodied citizens between the ages of 16 and 55 to oppose Major General William T. Sherman’s march, but few men were available.
A small battle started at Buck Head Station, Georgia, on the "March to the Sea" Campaign by General William Sherman.
With little threat of Confederate intervention, President Abraham Lincoln ordered the blockade of the southern ports lifted at Norfolk, Virginia, as well as Fernandina and Pensacola, Florida.
A Union expedition began from Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana to Bayou Grand Caillou, with an affair on 23 November at Bayou Grand Caillou.
Federals clashed with Native Americans, near Plum Creek Station, in the Nebraska Territory.
Posted on 11/19/14 at 8:32 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Sunday, 20 November 1864
Edward W. LaCroix of Selma, Alabama, writing Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles from Detroit, Michigan, this morning reported that a torpedo boat had been constructed at Selma for use against the Union forces in Mobile Bay. He described her: "Length, about 30 feet; has water-tight compartments; can be sunk or raised as desired; is propelled by a very small engine, and will just stow in 5 men. It has some arrangement of machinery that times the explosions of torpedoes, to enable the operators to retire to a safe distance. The boat proves to be a good sailer on the river and has gone to Mobile to make last preparations for trying its efficacy on the Federal vessels."
LaCroix was referring to the submersible torpedo boat CSS Saint Patrick built by John P. Halligan who was also her first commander. The Saint Patrick was a source of grave concern to Federal naval officers in the vicinity of Mobile this fall and early in the following year-1865, under command of a Confederate naval officer, she did attempt to destroy a blockader.
A skirmish takes place at Kabletown, West Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign.
Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter directed Commander William Henry Alexander Macomb to send the USS Louisiana to Beaufort, North Carolina. The Louisiana was to become the powder ship with which Porter and General Benjamin "Spoons" Butler hoped to level Fort Fisher and obviate the necessity of a direct attack. Early in December she would be taken to Hampton Roads, where she was partially stripped and loaded with explosives.
Battles begin near Clinton, at Walnut Creek, Griswoldville, and East Macon, all in Georgia, with Major General William T. Sherman, USA, in the next few days as he continues to skirmish with local militia on his March to the Sea.
A skirmish occurred with native Americans of the Kiawah tribe near Fort Zarah, a fort in Barton County, Kansas-northeast of present day Great Bend-as two Yankees are severely injured with arrow wounds.
Edward W. LaCroix of Selma, Alabama, writing Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles from Detroit, Michigan, this morning reported that a torpedo boat had been constructed at Selma for use against the Union forces in Mobile Bay. He described her: "Length, about 30 feet; has water-tight compartments; can be sunk or raised as desired; is propelled by a very small engine, and will just stow in 5 men. It has some arrangement of machinery that times the explosions of torpedoes, to enable the operators to retire to a safe distance. The boat proves to be a good sailer on the river and has gone to Mobile to make last preparations for trying its efficacy on the Federal vessels."
LaCroix was referring to the submersible torpedo boat CSS Saint Patrick built by John P. Halligan who was also her first commander. The Saint Patrick was a source of grave concern to Federal naval officers in the vicinity of Mobile this fall and early in the following year-1865, under command of a Confederate naval officer, she did attempt to destroy a blockader.
A skirmish takes place at Kabletown, West Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign.
Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter directed Commander William Henry Alexander Macomb to send the USS Louisiana to Beaufort, North Carolina. The Louisiana was to become the powder ship with which Porter and General Benjamin "Spoons" Butler hoped to level Fort Fisher and obviate the necessity of a direct attack. Early in December she would be taken to Hampton Roads, where she was partially stripped and loaded with explosives.
Battles begin near Clinton, at Walnut Creek, Griswoldville, and East Macon, all in Georgia, with Major General William T. Sherman, USA, in the next few days as he continues to skirmish with local militia on his March to the Sea.
A skirmish occurred with native Americans of the Kiawah tribe near Fort Zarah, a fort in Barton County, Kansas-northeast of present day Great Bend-as two Yankees are severely injured with arrow wounds.
Posted on 11/20/14 at 9:31 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Monday, 21 November 1864
Boats from the USS Avenger, Acting Lieutenant Charles A. Wright in charge, captured a large quantity of supplies on the Mississippi River near Bruinsburg, Mississippi--a town in Claiborne County--after a brief engagement. Union gunboats constantly maintained a vigilant patrol to prevent Confederate supplies from crossing the Mississippi River for the armies in Alabama and Tennessee.
The USS Iosco, under Commander John Guest, captured the blockage running schooner Sybil with a cargo of cotton, at sea off the North Carolina coast.
The almost 38,000-man Confederate Army of Tennessee, under Lieutenant General John Bell Hood, sets out early this morning from Florence, Alabama, to begin the invasion of Tennessee under the following commands: Major General Benjamin Franklin Cheatham's First Army Corps, Lieutenant General Stephen Dill Lee's Second Army Corps, Lieutenant General Alexander Peter Stewart's Third Army Corps, and Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest Cavalry Corps. Hood’s goal was to wedge his force between the Federal Army of the Ohio at Pulaski and the Army of the Cumberland at Nashville.
Operations in the vicinity of Fulton, Missouri, with a skirmish on 28 November near Fulton, against partisan guerrillas who have been busy confiscating much needed supplies from the local citizens.
President Abraham Lincoln this morning wrote to Mrs. Lydia Bixby that he had learned she was the mother of "...five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle..." But of Mrs. Bixby’s five sons, only two had been killed, two had allegedly deserted the army, and one was honorably discharged.
Almost a week into the infamous March to the Sea, the army of Union General William T. Sherman moves toward central Georgia, destroying property and routing small militia units in its path. Advanced units of the army would skirmish with scattered Georgia militia forces--mostly consisting old men and young boys--at Clinton, Walnut Creek, East Macon, and Griswoldville, all in the vicinity of Macon.
The march had begun on 15 November and would come to an end on 21 December, 1864. Sherman led over 62,000 troops for some 285 miles across Georgia and cut a path of destruction more than 60 miles wide. He divided his force into two columns and widened the swath of destruction. The Yankees cut away from their supply lines at Atlanta and generally lived off the land; what they did not consume, they destroyed. More than 13,000 cattle fell into Union hands, as well as 90,000 bales of cotton and numerous sawmills, foundries, cotton gins, and warehouses.
Sherman's superiors, President Abraham Lincoln and General in Chief Hiram U. Grant, endorsed his controversial tactics. Sherman planned, in his words, to "make Georgia howl" and argued that, although it would be brutal, destroying the resources of the South could bring the War to a quicker end. Though he did not permit violence against civilians or the wanton destruction of property, there seemed to be no enforcement of that policy. The Union troops, or "Bummers", moved nearly unopposed across the region until they reached Savannah in December. The March to the Sea devastated Southern morale and earned Sherman the lasting hatred of many Southerners.
Boats from the USS Avenger, Acting Lieutenant Charles A. Wright in charge, captured a large quantity of supplies on the Mississippi River near Bruinsburg, Mississippi--a town in Claiborne County--after a brief engagement. Union gunboats constantly maintained a vigilant patrol to prevent Confederate supplies from crossing the Mississippi River for the armies in Alabama and Tennessee.
The USS Iosco, under Commander John Guest, captured the blockage running schooner Sybil with a cargo of cotton, at sea off the North Carolina coast.
The almost 38,000-man Confederate Army of Tennessee, under Lieutenant General John Bell Hood, sets out early this morning from Florence, Alabama, to begin the invasion of Tennessee under the following commands: Major General Benjamin Franklin Cheatham's First Army Corps, Lieutenant General Stephen Dill Lee's Second Army Corps, Lieutenant General Alexander Peter Stewart's Third Army Corps, and Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest Cavalry Corps. Hood’s goal was to wedge his force between the Federal Army of the Ohio at Pulaski and the Army of the Cumberland at Nashville.
Operations in the vicinity of Fulton, Missouri, with a skirmish on 28 November near Fulton, against partisan guerrillas who have been busy confiscating much needed supplies from the local citizens.
President Abraham Lincoln this morning wrote to Mrs. Lydia Bixby that he had learned she was the mother of "...five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle..." But of Mrs. Bixby’s five sons, only two had been killed, two had allegedly deserted the army, and one was honorably discharged.
Almost a week into the infamous March to the Sea, the army of Union General William T. Sherman moves toward central Georgia, destroying property and routing small militia units in its path. Advanced units of the army would skirmish with scattered Georgia militia forces--mostly consisting old men and young boys--at Clinton, Walnut Creek, East Macon, and Griswoldville, all in the vicinity of Macon.
The march had begun on 15 November and would come to an end on 21 December, 1864. Sherman led over 62,000 troops for some 285 miles across Georgia and cut a path of destruction more than 60 miles wide. He divided his force into two columns and widened the swath of destruction. The Yankees cut away from their supply lines at Atlanta and generally lived off the land; what they did not consume, they destroyed. More than 13,000 cattle fell into Union hands, as well as 90,000 bales of cotton and numerous sawmills, foundries, cotton gins, and warehouses.
Sherman's superiors, President Abraham Lincoln and General in Chief Hiram U. Grant, endorsed his controversial tactics. Sherman planned, in his words, to "make Georgia howl" and argued that, although it would be brutal, destroying the resources of the South could bring the War to a quicker end. Though he did not permit violence against civilians or the wanton destruction of property, there seemed to be no enforcement of that policy. The Union troops, or "Bummers", moved nearly unopposed across the region until they reached Savannah in December. The March to the Sea devastated Southern morale and earned Sherman the lasting hatred of many Southerners.
Posted on 11/21/14 at 9:52 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Tuesday, 22 November 1864
Federals scout from Devalls Bluff to Augusta, Arkansas, with the Rebel pickets retreating as the Yankees approached the town.
Skirmishes occurred at Front Royal and Rude's Hill, near Mount Jackson, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign.
General Henry W. Slocum’s wing of William T. Sherman’s Federal army captured the Georgia capital of Milledgeville; the legislators fled after passing a levee en masse. The Union advance continued, as his “Bummers” ransacked and burned homes and buildings along the way.
President Jefferson Davis wired Georgia officials "...that every effort will be made by destroying bridges, felling trees, planting sub-terra shells and otherwise, to obstruct the advance of the enemy." Davis ordered General Braxton Bragg from Wilmington, North Carolina, to Georgia to join Generals P.G.T. Beauregard and William J. Hardee to assemble an army to stop Sherman.
General John Bell Hood invades Tennessee today in a desperate attempt to draw Sherman out of Georgia. As Hood advanced, Major General John Schofield withdrew his Federal Army of the Ohio from Pulaski to Columbia to avoid being flanked.
This movement was part of the saga of the Army of Tennessee in 1864. In the spring, the army, commanded then by Joseph E. Johnston, blocked Sherman's path to Atlanta from Chattanooga. During the summer, Sherman and Johnston fought a series of relatively small engagements as Sherman tried to flank the Rebels. Johnston slowly retreated toward Atlanta, but kept his army intact. By July, President Jefferson Davis had seen enough territory lost to the Yanks, so he replaced the defensive Johnston with the aggressive Hood. Hood made a series of attacks on Sherman outside of Atlanta that did nothing but diminish his own army's capabilities. After a one-month siege, Hood was forced to withdraw from Atlanta.
He took his army south, then swung around west of Atlanta in an attempt to cut Sherman's supply line. This line ran down the corridor from Chattanooga covering the same ground over which the two armies had fought in the summer. Although Sherman had to commit a substantial part of his force to protect the lines, Hood could do little more than pick at them. In October, Hood headed into Alabama to rest his beleaguered army. He then embarked on a bold expedition to save the western theater for the South. He planned to move to Nashville, into Kentucky and maybe even into the Northern states before turning east and joining up with General Robert E. Lee's army, which was under siege at Petersburg, Virginia. It was an enormous task, but Hood was determined to carry it out. This day's passage into Tennessee marked the start of a new campaign that would spell disaster for the Confederates. In early November, Sherman took part of his force, cut loose from his supply lines, and began his March to the Sea, which would end with the capture of Savannah just before Christmas. He sent the rest of the force under George Thomas back to Nashville to guard against Hood.
The greatest moments of both heroism and tragedy during Sherman's March to the Sea took place at the little known Battle of Griswoldville, the only major infantry engagement, today. The Battle of Griswoldville developed as Sherman began to move his columns southeast through Central Georgia. His right wing, composed of the XV and XVII (15th and 17th) Corps marched southeast from Gray for Irwinton and Gordon.
To guard this movement, Brigadier General Charles C. Walcutt's Second Brigade of Woods' Division of the XV Corps was ordered to swing south towards Macon with two guns from Arndt's Michigan Battery. It was not
thought that Walcutt would oppose anything more than units from Confederate General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler's cavalry.
Union General Judson Kilpatrick had made a light assault on Macon yesterday, but had withdrawn after sharp fighting at the Battle of Walnut Creek. More skirmishing took place at Griswoldville and continued into this morning. Wheeler correctly assumed that the Federals were moving east and pulled out of his positions near Griswoldville for a sweep around to oppose the head of the Union column.
Also believing that the danger was shifting to the east, Confederate General William J. Hardee ordered a large force of Georgia militia, state line troops and two battalions of emergency soldiers from the factories at Athens and Augusta to march up the Gordon
Road from Macon. They were to parallel the railroad until they met expected trains that could carry them to Augusta, which Hardee now believed to be the target of Sherman's campaign.
Led by Brigadier General Pleasant J. Philips, these soldiers began arriving at Griswoldville just as the last of Wheeler's troopers were withdrawing. Warned that a Union force of over 1,000 men was just ahead, Philips formed a line of battle and moved into the
ruined town.
No Union force was found and the general decided to continue moving up the road, assuming that the Federals had also withdrawn. His route put him on a collision course with Walcutt's brigade, which had
arrived and taken up a position on a ridge. Neither side knew the other was there.
As Philips and his men marched forward, they began to encounter Union skirmishers who fired and fell back slowly to their main line on the ridge. Now alerted that enemy infantry was approaching, the Federals began desperately piling fence rails, logs and anything else that might stop a bullet along the length of their line atop the ridge.
Surveying the situation and deciding that he outnumbered the Federals on the ridge, General Philips decided to attack. The Georgia troops formed for battle and their four cannon opened fire on the Union lines from the top of a hill near the railroad tracks. The Confederates who fought at the Battle of
Griswoldville were, with the exception of their
artillerymen and a few others, not seasoned regular soldiers. They were men ranging in age from their early teens to their 60s who had turned out to defend their homes and neighbors against Sherman's invasion. At Griswoldville they became heroes.
As the Union soldiers watched from atop the ridge, the Confederates emerged from the trees in three sweeping lines and began to advance across a fallow field. It was an open field attack not unlike Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg. When the Confederates came within killing range, the Federals opened fire with deadly
effect. The courageous Georgians went down in waves, but continued to fight with a desperation that surprised both Union troops then and modern historians today. When asked why, one mortally wounded Southern
soldier told his Federal captors that the men beside him were his neighbors and they were fighting for each other.
Before night fell and the firing ended, the Confederates made seven distinct attacks across the open ground, but were driven back each time. In the process they suffered horrendous casualties. More than 500 men and boys fell dead or wounded on the field at
Griswoldville. Trying to help the living after the
battle, Union soldiers found one 14-year-old boy still alive under a pile of bodies. He had been wounded in the arm and leg and near him lay his father, two brothers and an uncle, all dead.
Among the dead and wounded were found several black men who had fought in the battle along side the white Southern soldiers. Little is known about them. Union losses in the battle totaled 13 killed and 86 wounded. Confederate losses are estimated at 50 killed and 500 wounded. It is said that the water in the branch that runs through the ravine on the battlefield was turned red with blood.
Federals scout from Devalls Bluff to Augusta, Arkansas, with the Rebel pickets retreating as the Yankees approached the town.
Skirmishes occurred at Front Royal and Rude's Hill, near Mount Jackson, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign.
General Henry W. Slocum’s wing of William T. Sherman’s Federal army captured the Georgia capital of Milledgeville; the legislators fled after passing a levee en masse. The Union advance continued, as his “Bummers” ransacked and burned homes and buildings along the way.
President Jefferson Davis wired Georgia officials "...that every effort will be made by destroying bridges, felling trees, planting sub-terra shells and otherwise, to obstruct the advance of the enemy." Davis ordered General Braxton Bragg from Wilmington, North Carolina, to Georgia to join Generals P.G.T. Beauregard and William J. Hardee to assemble an army to stop Sherman.
General John Bell Hood invades Tennessee today in a desperate attempt to draw Sherman out of Georgia. As Hood advanced, Major General John Schofield withdrew his Federal Army of the Ohio from Pulaski to Columbia to avoid being flanked.
This movement was part of the saga of the Army of Tennessee in 1864. In the spring, the army, commanded then by Joseph E. Johnston, blocked Sherman's path to Atlanta from Chattanooga. During the summer, Sherman and Johnston fought a series of relatively small engagements as Sherman tried to flank the Rebels. Johnston slowly retreated toward Atlanta, but kept his army intact. By July, President Jefferson Davis had seen enough territory lost to the Yanks, so he replaced the defensive Johnston with the aggressive Hood. Hood made a series of attacks on Sherman outside of Atlanta that did nothing but diminish his own army's capabilities. After a one-month siege, Hood was forced to withdraw from Atlanta.
He took his army south, then swung around west of Atlanta in an attempt to cut Sherman's supply line. This line ran down the corridor from Chattanooga covering the same ground over which the two armies had fought in the summer. Although Sherman had to commit a substantial part of his force to protect the lines, Hood could do little more than pick at them. In October, Hood headed into Alabama to rest his beleaguered army. He then embarked on a bold expedition to save the western theater for the South. He planned to move to Nashville, into Kentucky and maybe even into the Northern states before turning east and joining up with General Robert E. Lee's army, which was under siege at Petersburg, Virginia. It was an enormous task, but Hood was determined to carry it out. This day's passage into Tennessee marked the start of a new campaign that would spell disaster for the Confederates. In early November, Sherman took part of his force, cut loose from his supply lines, and began his March to the Sea, which would end with the capture of Savannah just before Christmas. He sent the rest of the force under George Thomas back to Nashville to guard against Hood.
The greatest moments of both heroism and tragedy during Sherman's March to the Sea took place at the little known Battle of Griswoldville, the only major infantry engagement, today. The Battle of Griswoldville developed as Sherman began to move his columns southeast through Central Georgia. His right wing, composed of the XV and XVII (15th and 17th) Corps marched southeast from Gray for Irwinton and Gordon.
To guard this movement, Brigadier General Charles C. Walcutt's Second Brigade of Woods' Division of the XV Corps was ordered to swing south towards Macon with two guns from Arndt's Michigan Battery. It was not
thought that Walcutt would oppose anything more than units from Confederate General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler's cavalry.
Union General Judson Kilpatrick had made a light assault on Macon yesterday, but had withdrawn after sharp fighting at the Battle of Walnut Creek. More skirmishing took place at Griswoldville and continued into this morning. Wheeler correctly assumed that the Federals were moving east and pulled out of his positions near Griswoldville for a sweep around to oppose the head of the Union column.
Also believing that the danger was shifting to the east, Confederate General William J. Hardee ordered a large force of Georgia militia, state line troops and two battalions of emergency soldiers from the factories at Athens and Augusta to march up the Gordon
Road from Macon. They were to parallel the railroad until they met expected trains that could carry them to Augusta, which Hardee now believed to be the target of Sherman's campaign.
Led by Brigadier General Pleasant J. Philips, these soldiers began arriving at Griswoldville just as the last of Wheeler's troopers were withdrawing. Warned that a Union force of over 1,000 men was just ahead, Philips formed a line of battle and moved into the
ruined town.
No Union force was found and the general decided to continue moving up the road, assuming that the Federals had also withdrawn. His route put him on a collision course with Walcutt's brigade, which had
arrived and taken up a position on a ridge. Neither side knew the other was there.
As Philips and his men marched forward, they began to encounter Union skirmishers who fired and fell back slowly to their main line on the ridge. Now alerted that enemy infantry was approaching, the Federals began desperately piling fence rails, logs and anything else that might stop a bullet along the length of their line atop the ridge.
Surveying the situation and deciding that he outnumbered the Federals on the ridge, General Philips decided to attack. The Georgia troops formed for battle and their four cannon opened fire on the Union lines from the top of a hill near the railroad tracks. The Confederates who fought at the Battle of
Griswoldville were, with the exception of their
artillerymen and a few others, not seasoned regular soldiers. They were men ranging in age from their early teens to their 60s who had turned out to defend their homes and neighbors against Sherman's invasion. At Griswoldville they became heroes.
As the Union soldiers watched from atop the ridge, the Confederates emerged from the trees in three sweeping lines and began to advance across a fallow field. It was an open field attack not unlike Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg. When the Confederates came within killing range, the Federals opened fire with deadly
effect. The courageous Georgians went down in waves, but continued to fight with a desperation that surprised both Union troops then and modern historians today. When asked why, one mortally wounded Southern
soldier told his Federal captors that the men beside him were his neighbors and they were fighting for each other.
Before night fell and the firing ended, the Confederates made seven distinct attacks across the open ground, but were driven back each time. In the process they suffered horrendous casualties. More than 500 men and boys fell dead or wounded on the field at
Griswoldville. Trying to help the living after the
battle, Union soldiers found one 14-year-old boy still alive under a pile of bodies. He had been wounded in the arm and leg and near him lay his father, two brothers and an uncle, all dead.
Among the dead and wounded were found several black men who had fought in the battle along side the white Southern soldiers. Little is known about them. Union losses in the battle totaled 13 killed and 86 wounded. Confederate losses are estimated at 50 killed and 500 wounded. It is said that the water in the branch that runs through the ravine on the battlefield was turned red with blood.
Posted on 11/22/14 at 9:43 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Wednesday, 23 November 1864
Constantly alert to the need to strengthen his squadron for the difficult work of convoying and patrolling on the Western Rivers, Rear Admiral Samuel P. Lee this date detached Lieutenant Commander James Agustin Greer, Acting Naval Constructor Charles F. Kendall, Acting Fleet Engineer Samuel Bickerstaff, and Paymaster Calvin C. Jackson to proceed on a confidential mission to Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and to other places if necessary, for the purpose of purchasing "...ten sound, strong, and swift light-draft steamers, to be converted into gunboats." Ten were subsequently bought, converted, and added to the Mississippi Squadron in early 1865.
Skirmish near, and Federal occupation of, Milledgeville, the state capital of Georgia, by Major General William T. Sherman. Also skirmishes at Ball's Ferry and the Georgia Central Railroad Bridge, Oconee River, Georgia, in the March to the Sea Campaign.
William J. Hardee took command of troops opposing Sherman; Hardee did not know Sherman’s intended route and had too few troops to stop the Federal advance anyway.
Skirmishes continue at Morganza, Louisiana.
A Union expedition from Vicksburg under Major General Edward R.S. Canby, USA, commanding the Military Division of West Mississippi and Major General Napoleon J.T. Dana, USA, commanding the Districts of West Tennessee and Vicksburg, to Yazoo City, Mississippi, and skirmish at Big Black Bridge on the Mississippi Central Railroad and action at Concord Church. This expedition cuts Lieutenant General John B. Hood's communications with Mobile, Alabama, and cuts the Confederate Army from the large quantities of supplies and stores accumulated at Jackson. The Third US Colored Cavalry participates in the destruction of 30 miles of railroad track, wagon bridges, railroad depots and buildings, 2,600 bales of cotton, 2 locomotives, 4 cars, 4 stage coaches, 20 barrels of salt, and $166,000 of stores at Vaughn Station. Mississippi.
A Federal expedition commences from Fort Wingate against Indians in New Mexico Territory, with skirmish on the Red River, as the Federals pursue a small band of Indians trying escape with some stolen sheep into the mountains and maintain their freedom and own way of living. The party is comprised of 8 Apaches with their families, 3 Navajoes with their families, and 5 Navajoes who left their families behind. The Yankees catch up, take prisoners, kill one, retake all the sheep and burn everything else the fleeing Indians left behind.
Another skirmish occurs at Fouche Springs, Tennessee, as Lieutenant General John B. Hood continues his advance on Columbia.
A skirmish breaks out at Henryville and action ensues at Mount Pleasant, Tennessee.
Union General-in-Chief Hiram U. Grant conferred with President Abraham Lincoln, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, and Chief of Staff Henry W. Halleck in Washington, DC.
Constantly alert to the need to strengthen his squadron for the difficult work of convoying and patrolling on the Western Rivers, Rear Admiral Samuel P. Lee this date detached Lieutenant Commander James Agustin Greer, Acting Naval Constructor Charles F. Kendall, Acting Fleet Engineer Samuel Bickerstaff, and Paymaster Calvin C. Jackson to proceed on a confidential mission to Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and to other places if necessary, for the purpose of purchasing "...ten sound, strong, and swift light-draft steamers, to be converted into gunboats." Ten were subsequently bought, converted, and added to the Mississippi Squadron in early 1865.
Skirmish near, and Federal occupation of, Milledgeville, the state capital of Georgia, by Major General William T. Sherman. Also skirmishes at Ball's Ferry and the Georgia Central Railroad Bridge, Oconee River, Georgia, in the March to the Sea Campaign.
William J. Hardee took command of troops opposing Sherman; Hardee did not know Sherman’s intended route and had too few troops to stop the Federal advance anyway.
Skirmishes continue at Morganza, Louisiana.
A Union expedition from Vicksburg under Major General Edward R.S. Canby, USA, commanding the Military Division of West Mississippi and Major General Napoleon J.T. Dana, USA, commanding the Districts of West Tennessee and Vicksburg, to Yazoo City, Mississippi, and skirmish at Big Black Bridge on the Mississippi Central Railroad and action at Concord Church. This expedition cuts Lieutenant General John B. Hood's communications with Mobile, Alabama, and cuts the Confederate Army from the large quantities of supplies and stores accumulated at Jackson. The Third US Colored Cavalry participates in the destruction of 30 miles of railroad track, wagon bridges, railroad depots and buildings, 2,600 bales of cotton, 2 locomotives, 4 cars, 4 stage coaches, 20 barrels of salt, and $166,000 of stores at Vaughn Station. Mississippi.
A Federal expedition commences from Fort Wingate against Indians in New Mexico Territory, with skirmish on the Red River, as the Federals pursue a small band of Indians trying escape with some stolen sheep into the mountains and maintain their freedom and own way of living. The party is comprised of 8 Apaches with their families, 3 Navajoes with their families, and 5 Navajoes who left their families behind. The Yankees catch up, take prisoners, kill one, retake all the sheep and burn everything else the fleeing Indians left behind.
Another skirmish occurs at Fouche Springs, Tennessee, as Lieutenant General John B. Hood continues his advance on Columbia.
A skirmish breaks out at Henryville and action ensues at Mount Pleasant, Tennessee.
Union General-in-Chief Hiram U. Grant conferred with President Abraham Lincoln, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, and Chief of Staff Henry W. Halleck in Washington, DC.
Posted on 11/23/14 at 7:24 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Thursday, 24 November 1864
Lieutenant James McC. Baker's preparations for the capture of Fort Pickens at Pensacola were terminated by Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory: "Major-General Maury having withdrawn his men from the enterprise to the command of which you were assigned, its prosecution became impracticable." It was a bitter blow to the daring young Confederate naval officer who had first undertaken the scheme in April and had fought persuasively for months to bring it off. By mid-August, still unable to obtain authorization from the local command to proceed with the plan, the bold lieutenant wrote Mallory outlining his scheme to seize Fort Pickens: "Not dreaming that we have any designs upon it, and deluding themselves with the idea that its isolated position renders it safe from attack, they have become exceedingly careless, having only two sentinels on duty..." Baker proposed to take a landing force of sailors and soldiers in small boats and: "...pulling down the eastern shore of the bay into Bon Secours, and, hauling the boats across a narrow strip of land into Little Lagoon, I would enter the Gulf at a point 20 miles east of Fort Morgan and be within seven hours' pull of Fort Pickens, with nothing to interrupt our progress." A month later, after having conferred with President Davis and General Braxton Bragg, Mallory ordered Baker to proceed with the mission. On 25 October Baker departed Mobile with a number of sailors on steamer Dick Keys and rendezvoused with 100 soldiers from General Dabney Maury's command that night at Blakely, Alabama. As the daring group was preparing to get underway, Maury ordered a temporary delay because of information received which reported that Union forces had landed at the Pensacola Navy Yard near Fort Pickens. By the 30th this intelligence was demonstrated to be inaccurate, but Maury still was reluctant to go ahead with the operation. Concerned that the Northerners now had knowledge of the planned attempt, he suggested that the soldiers return to their companies to give the appearance of having had the expedition called off. At a future date they could be ordered back to Blakely suddenly, as Baker reported: "...when the expedition might proceed, he thought, with more secrecy and certainty of success." This date, 24 November, Mallory reluctantly advised the intrepid Baker: "I regret that circumstances beyond the control of the Department or yourself should have thus terminated an enterprise which seemed to promise good results."
The USS Chocura, under Lieutenant Commander Richard Worsam Meade, sighted the schooner Louisa and chased her ashore on the bar off San Bernard River, Texas. A heavy gale totally destroyed the schooner before she could be boarded.
The Battle of Columbia was a series of military actions that took place this morning through 29 November, in Maury County, Tennessee, as part of the Franklin-Nashville Campaign. It concluded the movement of Lieutenant General John Bell Hood's Confederate Army of Tennessee from the Tennessee River in northern Alabama to Columbia, Tennessee, and across the Duck River. A Union force under Major General John M. Schofield skirmished with Hood's cavalry, commanded by Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest, and fortified a defensive line south of Columbia, but soon withdrew north across the Duck River, abandoning the town. Hood's invasion of Tennessee continued as he would then attempt to intercept Schofield's retreating army at Spring Hill.
Skirmishes took place at Lynnville and Campbellsville, Tennessee, and at Saint Charles, Arkansas.
Skirmishes commence at Parkins' Mill, Virginia, during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign.
A skirmish occurs near Prince George Court House, Virginia, in the Richmond-Petersburg, Campaign.
The Federal Attorney General--Edward Bates, age 71--resigns his post this morning; it would become effective at the end of the month. Scholars believe that Bates hoped to be appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, but Lincoln was looking for a younger Chief Justice and appointed fellow-Cabinet member Salmon P. Chase instead.
Lieutenant James McC. Baker's preparations for the capture of Fort Pickens at Pensacola were terminated by Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory: "Major-General Maury having withdrawn his men from the enterprise to the command of which you were assigned, its prosecution became impracticable." It was a bitter blow to the daring young Confederate naval officer who had first undertaken the scheme in April and had fought persuasively for months to bring it off. By mid-August, still unable to obtain authorization from the local command to proceed with the plan, the bold lieutenant wrote Mallory outlining his scheme to seize Fort Pickens: "Not dreaming that we have any designs upon it, and deluding themselves with the idea that its isolated position renders it safe from attack, they have become exceedingly careless, having only two sentinels on duty..." Baker proposed to take a landing force of sailors and soldiers in small boats and: "...pulling down the eastern shore of the bay into Bon Secours, and, hauling the boats across a narrow strip of land into Little Lagoon, I would enter the Gulf at a point 20 miles east of Fort Morgan and be within seven hours' pull of Fort Pickens, with nothing to interrupt our progress." A month later, after having conferred with President Davis and General Braxton Bragg, Mallory ordered Baker to proceed with the mission. On 25 October Baker departed Mobile with a number of sailors on steamer Dick Keys and rendezvoused with 100 soldiers from General Dabney Maury's command that night at Blakely, Alabama. As the daring group was preparing to get underway, Maury ordered a temporary delay because of information received which reported that Union forces had landed at the Pensacola Navy Yard near Fort Pickens. By the 30th this intelligence was demonstrated to be inaccurate, but Maury still was reluctant to go ahead with the operation. Concerned that the Northerners now had knowledge of the planned attempt, he suggested that the soldiers return to their companies to give the appearance of having had the expedition called off. At a future date they could be ordered back to Blakely suddenly, as Baker reported: "...when the expedition might proceed, he thought, with more secrecy and certainty of success." This date, 24 November, Mallory reluctantly advised the intrepid Baker: "I regret that circumstances beyond the control of the Department or yourself should have thus terminated an enterprise which seemed to promise good results."
The USS Chocura, under Lieutenant Commander Richard Worsam Meade, sighted the schooner Louisa and chased her ashore on the bar off San Bernard River, Texas. A heavy gale totally destroyed the schooner before she could be boarded.
The Battle of Columbia was a series of military actions that took place this morning through 29 November, in Maury County, Tennessee, as part of the Franklin-Nashville Campaign. It concluded the movement of Lieutenant General John Bell Hood's Confederate Army of Tennessee from the Tennessee River in northern Alabama to Columbia, Tennessee, and across the Duck River. A Union force under Major General John M. Schofield skirmished with Hood's cavalry, commanded by Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest, and fortified a defensive line south of Columbia, but soon withdrew north across the Duck River, abandoning the town. Hood's invasion of Tennessee continued as he would then attempt to intercept Schofield's retreating army at Spring Hill.
Skirmishes took place at Lynnville and Campbellsville, Tennessee, and at Saint Charles, Arkansas.
Skirmishes commence at Parkins' Mill, Virginia, during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign.
A skirmish occurs near Prince George Court House, Virginia, in the Richmond-Petersburg, Campaign.
The Federal Attorney General--Edward Bates, age 71--resigns his post this morning; it would become effective at the end of the month. Scholars believe that Bates hoped to be appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, but Lincoln was looking for a younger Chief Justice and appointed fellow-Cabinet member Salmon P. Chase instead.
Posted on 11/25/14 at 4:37 am to BadLeroyDawg
Friday, 25 November 1864
Lieutenant John W. Headley and five Confederate agents attempted to burn New York City. They rented several rooms at various hotels and set fire to them, hoping the fires would spread and destroy the city in “...one dazzling conflagration.” Fires were set in 19 hotels along with Barnum’s Museum, but all were quickly extinguished. Authorities caught only one saboteur, who was hanged for setting fire to Barnum’s. The plot made sensational headlines but did little to either damage New York or affect the War.
Another account: Southern agents, arriving from Canada, set fire to 10 hotels in New York City, New York, will little damage, as most fires are extinguished. One of the Confederates, Robert Cobb Kennedy is captured.
On 28 October, New York native James A. McMaster, editor of The Freeman's Journal and a leading Copperhead, had met with Confederate agents in his New York City office. The men were plotting the 8 November election day takeover of the city by New York Copperheads. The Confederates, dressed in civilian clothes, had crossed the border from Canada with the mission of setting a series of fires in the city as a diversion to aid in the confusion of the uprising. The plot was to include simultaneous uprisings in a half dozen Northern cities, but when word of the scheme was leaked, troops were rushed into the cities to keep order. The Copperheads backed out of the plot, but the Rebel agents stayed, determined to carry out their incendiary plan.
During this night, fires broke out in more than a dozen different places in downtown New York. None of them caused much damage before being extinguished, but the blazes were attributed to spies. Despite efforts by the New York police department to find the arsonists, the six Rebels crossed into Canada two days later.
Among the Rebel arsonists was Kennedy, a Georgia born and Louisiana grown soldier who had escaped six weeks earlier from Johnson's Island Prison. Two weeks after returning to Canada, Kennedy recrossed into New York with a number of agents who were planning to rescue seven Confederate generals scheduled to be transferred from one prison to another by train. When the plan failed, Kennedy--after returning to Canada--decided it was time to go back to his Louisiana home.
Kennedy took a train to Detroit, Michigan, where detectives promptly arrested him and returned him to New York to stand trial for participation in the plot to burn the city. The evidence against Kennedy, though very flimsy, was sufficient for a military commission to convict him and sentence him to death. On 25 March, 1865, Kennedy was executed by hanging at Fort Lafayette in New York Harbor--the last Confederate soldier executed by the Union government during the War Between the States.
While standing on the gallows, Kennedy began to sing: "Trust to luck, trust to luck, Stare Fate in the face, For your heart will be easy, If it's in the right place."
In Tennessee, General John McAllister Schofield’s Federals entrenched north and south of the Duck River at Columbia.
In Georgia, Major General William T. Sherman’s Federals moved toward Sandersville, with General Henry Slocum’s wing of the Federal army clashing with Major General Joseph Wheeler’s Confederate cavalry. General Wheeler reinforced the local troops at Sandersville, who were attempting to hold in check the Federal cavalry, and by bravely charging promptly drove back the enemy from the field. Wheeler’s loss was 12 and that of the Federals was reported as 70.
An affair occurred at Raccourci Island, near Williamsport, Louisiana, where Lieutenant Charles A. Thatcher, USN, commanding the Gazelle gunboat number 50--while on shore with two midshipmen--was killed by partisan guerrillas.
A Federal Skirmish with Indians commences near Plum Creek Station, in the Nebraska Territory.
A major engagement takes place with Kiowa, Comanche, Arapahoe and Apache Indians at Adobe Fort, on the Canadian River in the New Mexico Territory, where, among other things, the Yankees destroy their village, including 150 lodges, large amounts of dried meats, berries, buffalo robes, powder, and other material.
Union Major General Andrew A. Humphreys is assigned to the temporary command of the Second US Army Corps, in the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign.
Northerners observed a national day of Thanksgiving yesterday according to President Abraham Lincoln’s earlier proclamation. In the siege lines outside Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia, the over 120,000-man Federal Army of the Potomac enjoyed feasts of turkey, chicken, fruits, and pies. Despite their lack of food, the much smaller 57,000-man Confederate Army of Northern Virginia ceased firing out of respect for the Yankees' holiday.
Lieutenant John W. Headley and five Confederate agents attempted to burn New York City. They rented several rooms at various hotels and set fire to them, hoping the fires would spread and destroy the city in “...one dazzling conflagration.” Fires were set in 19 hotels along with Barnum’s Museum, but all were quickly extinguished. Authorities caught only one saboteur, who was hanged for setting fire to Barnum’s. The plot made sensational headlines but did little to either damage New York or affect the War.
Another account: Southern agents, arriving from Canada, set fire to 10 hotels in New York City, New York, will little damage, as most fires are extinguished. One of the Confederates, Robert Cobb Kennedy is captured.
On 28 October, New York native James A. McMaster, editor of The Freeman's Journal and a leading Copperhead, had met with Confederate agents in his New York City office. The men were plotting the 8 November election day takeover of the city by New York Copperheads. The Confederates, dressed in civilian clothes, had crossed the border from Canada with the mission of setting a series of fires in the city as a diversion to aid in the confusion of the uprising. The plot was to include simultaneous uprisings in a half dozen Northern cities, but when word of the scheme was leaked, troops were rushed into the cities to keep order. The Copperheads backed out of the plot, but the Rebel agents stayed, determined to carry out their incendiary plan.
During this night, fires broke out in more than a dozen different places in downtown New York. None of them caused much damage before being extinguished, but the blazes were attributed to spies. Despite efforts by the New York police department to find the arsonists, the six Rebels crossed into Canada two days later.
Among the Rebel arsonists was Kennedy, a Georgia born and Louisiana grown soldier who had escaped six weeks earlier from Johnson's Island Prison. Two weeks after returning to Canada, Kennedy recrossed into New York with a number of agents who were planning to rescue seven Confederate generals scheduled to be transferred from one prison to another by train. When the plan failed, Kennedy--after returning to Canada--decided it was time to go back to his Louisiana home.
Kennedy took a train to Detroit, Michigan, where detectives promptly arrested him and returned him to New York to stand trial for participation in the plot to burn the city. The evidence against Kennedy, though very flimsy, was sufficient for a military commission to convict him and sentence him to death. On 25 March, 1865, Kennedy was executed by hanging at Fort Lafayette in New York Harbor--the last Confederate soldier executed by the Union government during the War Between the States.
While standing on the gallows, Kennedy began to sing: "Trust to luck, trust to luck, Stare Fate in the face, For your heart will be easy, If it's in the right place."
In Tennessee, General John McAllister Schofield’s Federals entrenched north and south of the Duck River at Columbia.
In Georgia, Major General William T. Sherman’s Federals moved toward Sandersville, with General Henry Slocum’s wing of the Federal army clashing with Major General Joseph Wheeler’s Confederate cavalry. General Wheeler reinforced the local troops at Sandersville, who were attempting to hold in check the Federal cavalry, and by bravely charging promptly drove back the enemy from the field. Wheeler’s loss was 12 and that of the Federals was reported as 70.
An affair occurred at Raccourci Island, near Williamsport, Louisiana, where Lieutenant Charles A. Thatcher, USN, commanding the Gazelle gunboat number 50--while on shore with two midshipmen--was killed by partisan guerrillas.
A Federal Skirmish with Indians commences near Plum Creek Station, in the Nebraska Territory.
A major engagement takes place with Kiowa, Comanche, Arapahoe and Apache Indians at Adobe Fort, on the Canadian River in the New Mexico Territory, where, among other things, the Yankees destroy their village, including 150 lodges, large amounts of dried meats, berries, buffalo robes, powder, and other material.
Union Major General Andrew A. Humphreys is assigned to the temporary command of the Second US Army Corps, in the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign.
Northerners observed a national day of Thanksgiving yesterday according to President Abraham Lincoln’s earlier proclamation. In the siege lines outside Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia, the over 120,000-man Federal Army of the Potomac enjoyed feasts of turkey, chicken, fruits, and pies. Despite their lack of food, the much smaller 57,000-man Confederate Army of Northern Virginia ceased firing out of respect for the Yankees' holiday.
Posted on 11/25/14 at 8:05 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Saturday, 26 November 1864
Lucius Bellinger Northrop, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
A Federal expedition commences from Lewisburg to Strahan's Landing, Arkansas.
Ongoing skirmishes with Confederate cavalry proceed at Sandersville, Georgia, when Union Major General Henry Warner Slocum’s Federals enters the town as Major General William T. Sherman continues to press on through the state of Georgia, causing tremendous destruction on his way.
A bloody skirmish takes place at Osage, Missouri. In the East, a battle occurred at Fairfax Station, Virginia.
In the West, action included a continuing affair with Indians near Plum Creek Station and skirmishing at Spring Creek, in the Nebraska Territory.
The main Confederate force of Lieutenant General John Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee arrives in front of Federal positions south of the Duck River at Columbia, Tennessee.
President Abraham Lincoln offered the post of Attorney General to Joseph Holt, but he refused to accept it.
Lucius Bellinger Northrop, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
A Federal expedition commences from Lewisburg to Strahan's Landing, Arkansas.
Ongoing skirmishes with Confederate cavalry proceed at Sandersville, Georgia, when Union Major General Henry Warner Slocum’s Federals enters the town as Major General William T. Sherman continues to press on through the state of Georgia, causing tremendous destruction on his way.
A bloody skirmish takes place at Osage, Missouri. In the East, a battle occurred at Fairfax Station, Virginia.
In the West, action included a continuing affair with Indians near Plum Creek Station and skirmishing at Spring Creek, in the Nebraska Territory.
The main Confederate force of Lieutenant General John Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee arrives in front of Federal positions south of the Duck River at Columbia, Tennessee.
President Abraham Lincoln offered the post of Attorney General to Joseph Holt, but he refused to accept it.
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