Started By
Message
re: 150 years ago this day...
Posted on 2/24/15 at 3:16 am to BadLeroyDawg
Posted on 2/24/15 at 3:16 am to BadLeroyDawg
700
0
Posted on 2/24/15 at 9:20 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Saturday, 25 February 1865
Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston assumes command of the Army of Tennessee, now in the Carolinas, and all troops in the Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Johnston points out to General Robert E. Lee, the Confederacy’s General-in-Chief, the difficulties of concentrating his Southerners and stresses that he has only between 20,000 and 25,000 men to oppose the massive Federal army under Major General William T. Sherman coming north from South Carolina. He notifies Lee that he believes a combination of his troops with General Braxton Bragg's in North Carolina is necessary to mount any kind of obstruction to the forces now assembled under Sherman.
Skirmishing occurs at West’s Cross Roads, South Carolina; and at Pikeville, Kentucky.
Brigadier General James Veatch, USA, assumes the command of the US forces on Dauphin Island, Alabama.
Major General Frederick Steele, USA, is assigned to the command of the troops operating from Pensacola Bay, Florida.
The Union forces occupy Camden, South Carolina, on the Wateree River.
Major General Gordon Granger, USA, assumes the command of the 13th US Army Corps, Tennessee.
The USS Marigold, Acting Master Courtland P. Williams in charge, captures the blockade running British schooner Salvadora with an assorted cargo in the Straits of Florida between Havana and Key West.
In a letter to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, Commander F. A. Parker, Commander of the Potomac Flotilla, reported that "...within the past week three boats, with three blockade runners, have been captured by the Primrose, commanded by Acting Ensign Owen."
The CSS Chickamauga was burned and sunk by her own crew in the Cape Fear River just below Indian Wells, North Carolina. The position selected by the Confederates was above Wilmington on the Northwest Fork of the river leading to Fayetteville. The scuttling was intended to obstruct the river and prevent the Union from establishing water communications between the troops occupying Wilmington and General Sherman's army operating in the interior of the state. The effort proved abortive as the current swept the hulk around parallel to the bank and by 12 March the water link between Wilmington and Fayetteville had been opened. Every river that would float a ship was an artery of strength from the sea for Sherman in his rapid march north.
A boat expedition from the USS Chenango, under Lieutenant Commander George U. Morris, captures the blockade running sloop Elvira at Bullyard Sound, South Carolina, with a cargo of cotton and tobacco.
Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston assumes command of the Army of Tennessee, now in the Carolinas, and all troops in the Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Johnston points out to General Robert E. Lee, the Confederacy’s General-in-Chief, the difficulties of concentrating his Southerners and stresses that he has only between 20,000 and 25,000 men to oppose the massive Federal army under Major General William T. Sherman coming north from South Carolina. He notifies Lee that he believes a combination of his troops with General Braxton Bragg's in North Carolina is necessary to mount any kind of obstruction to the forces now assembled under Sherman.
Skirmishing occurs at West’s Cross Roads, South Carolina; and at Pikeville, Kentucky.
Brigadier General James Veatch, USA, assumes the command of the US forces on Dauphin Island, Alabama.
Major General Frederick Steele, USA, is assigned to the command of the troops operating from Pensacola Bay, Florida.
The Union forces occupy Camden, South Carolina, on the Wateree River.
Major General Gordon Granger, USA, assumes the command of the 13th US Army Corps, Tennessee.
The USS Marigold, Acting Master Courtland P. Williams in charge, captures the blockade running British schooner Salvadora with an assorted cargo in the Straits of Florida between Havana and Key West.
In a letter to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, Commander F. A. Parker, Commander of the Potomac Flotilla, reported that "...within the past week three boats, with three blockade runners, have been captured by the Primrose, commanded by Acting Ensign Owen."
The CSS Chickamauga was burned and sunk by her own crew in the Cape Fear River just below Indian Wells, North Carolina. The position selected by the Confederates was above Wilmington on the Northwest Fork of the river leading to Fayetteville. The scuttling was intended to obstruct the river and prevent the Union from establishing water communications between the troops occupying Wilmington and General Sherman's army operating in the interior of the state. The effort proved abortive as the current swept the hulk around parallel to the bank and by 12 March the water link between Wilmington and Fayetteville had been opened. Every river that would float a ship was an artery of strength from the sea for Sherman in his rapid march north.
A boat expedition from the USS Chenango, under Lieutenant Commander George U. Morris, captures the blockade running sloop Elvira at Bullyard Sound, South Carolina, with a cargo of cotton and tobacco.
Posted on 2/25/15 at 8:34 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Sunday, 26 February 1865
Federal Major General William T. Sherman’s advance troops reached Hanging Rock, South Carolina, but further movements were slowed by the heavy rains which delayed other units.
The portion of Sherman’s Union army that deployed at Hanging Rock skirmished around Lynch’s Creek and near Stroud's Mill against vastly outnumbered Southern Partisans.
Four score and five years prior, native Virginian General Thomas Sumter led the similarly outnumbered American Partisans against the British in an attempt to harass or destroy British outposts in the South Carolina back-country that had been established after the fall of Charleston in May 1780.
The Battle of Hanging Rock was a much needed victory for Sumter and the Southerners, outnumbered 2 to 1, to stall the British "Southern Strategy" of regaining control of its rebellious provinces.
The town of Sumter, South Carolina erected a memorial to him. That city as well as Sumter County, South Carolina; Sumter County, Florida; Sumter County, Georgia and Sumter County, Alabama, are named for him. Sumter, South Carolina, is dubbed "The Gamecock City" after his nickname. "Gamecock" is one of the several traditional nicknames for a native of South Carolina.
The University of South Carolina's official nickname is the "Fighting Gamecocks" but since 1903 the teams have been simply known as the "Gamecocks."
Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor was named for Sumter after the War of 1812. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the War Between the States were fired.
A Federal expedition began from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and traveled to McMilley's Farm, Arkansas, leading to a skirmish with partisan guerrillas at McMilley's Farm.
Union Major General Winfield S. Hancock is assigned to the command of the Department of West Virginia, and temporarily of all the troops of the Middle Military Division not under the immediate command of Major General Philip Henry Sheridan.
Federal Major General William T. Sherman’s advance troops reached Hanging Rock, South Carolina, but further movements were slowed by the heavy rains which delayed other units.
The portion of Sherman’s Union army that deployed at Hanging Rock skirmished around Lynch’s Creek and near Stroud's Mill against vastly outnumbered Southern Partisans.
Four score and five years prior, native Virginian General Thomas Sumter led the similarly outnumbered American Partisans against the British in an attempt to harass or destroy British outposts in the South Carolina back-country that had been established after the fall of Charleston in May 1780.
The Battle of Hanging Rock was a much needed victory for Sumter and the Southerners, outnumbered 2 to 1, to stall the British "Southern Strategy" of regaining control of its rebellious provinces.
The town of Sumter, South Carolina erected a memorial to him. That city as well as Sumter County, South Carolina; Sumter County, Florida; Sumter County, Georgia and Sumter County, Alabama, are named for him. Sumter, South Carolina, is dubbed "The Gamecock City" after his nickname. "Gamecock" is one of the several traditional nicknames for a native of South Carolina.
The University of South Carolina's official nickname is the "Fighting Gamecocks" but since 1903 the teams have been simply known as the "Gamecocks."
Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor was named for Sumter after the War of 1812. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the War Between the States were fired.
A Federal expedition began from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and traveled to McMilley's Farm, Arkansas, leading to a skirmish with partisan guerrillas at McMilley's Farm.
Union Major General Winfield S. Hancock is assigned to the command of the Department of West Virginia, and temporarily of all the troops of the Middle Military Division not under the immediate command of Major General Philip Henry Sheridan.
Posted on 2/26/15 at 7:55 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Monday, 27 February 1865
Union Major General Philip Sheridan’s force of ten thousand cavalry under Brigadier General Wesley Merritt left Winchester, Virginia, and headed in a final southward advance through the Shenandoah Valley to destroy the Virginia Central Railroad and James River Canal, under direct orders from Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant. They were then to take Lynchburg and either join Major General William T. Sherman in North Carolina or return to Winchester. Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early attempts to gather as many Southerners as possible to deflect this latest Union advance, but only had a meager Confederate force of two weakened brigades and a few pieces of artillery to attempt and halt Sheridan’s movements.
Minor skirmishing occurred at Mount Elon and Cloud’s House, South Carolina; Sturgeon, Missouri with partisan guerrillas in the dark: and at Spring Place, Georgia.
Brigadier General John M. Thayer, USA, is assigned to the command of the Post of Saint Charles, Arkansas.
Brigadier General Edmund J. Davis, USA, assumes the temporary command of the US forces at Morganza, Louisiana.
Brigadier General Morgan L. Smith, USA, assumes the command of the District of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Brigadier General John McNeil, USA, assumes the command of the District of Central Missouri.
General Robert E. Lee, CSA, is and has been concerned over the large number of desertions his army has been facing. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's strength is rapidly dwindling.
Commodore John Randolph Tucker and his 350 Confederate sailors from Charleston arrived safely in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where he received orders to have Lieutenant James Henry Rochelle's naval detachment join his and to proceed to Richmond with the entire Naval Brigade. From Richmond the brigade was sent on to Drewry's Bluff on the James River to garrison the formidable Confederate batteries positioned there. Tucker commanded the naval forces ashore while Rear Admiral Raphael Semmes commanded the James River Squadron. These two commands, through the course of the long war, had successfully protected Richmond from attack via the James River. General Lee desperately needed staunch fighters more than ever before. With his supply line from Europe cut, hunger, privation, sickness, and desertion steadily shrank his army. Meanwhile, General Grant's army increased as ships poured in supplies to his City Point base in preparation for the spring offensive.
The USS Proteus, Commander R. W. Shufeldt, seized the steamer Ruby, purportedly en route from Havana to Belize, Honduras, but according to some of the officers and passengers, was actually bound for St. Marks, Florida. It appeared that part of her cargo had been thrown overboard during the chase; the remainder consisted of lead and sundries.
On this day in 1864, the first Union inmates begin arriving at Camp Sumter, soon to be widely known as Andersonville Prison, which was still under construction in southern Georgia. Andersonville became synonymous with death as nearly a quarter of its inmates died in captivity. Captain Henry Wirz, who had the unfortunate task of running Andersonville at War's end, was executed after the conflict for the mistreatment committed under his command.
The prison became necessary when General Hiram U. Grant ended the prisoner exchange system between North and South. The stockade at Andersonville was hastily constructed using mainly slave labor, and was located in the Georgia woods near a railroad but safely away from the front lines. Enclosing 16 acres of land, the prison was supposed to include wooden barracks but the inflated price of lumber delayed construction, and the Yankee soldiers imprisoned there lived under open skies, protected only by makeshift shanties called "shebangs," constructed from scraps of wood and blankets. A stream initially provided fresh water, but within a few months human waste had contaminated the creek.
Andersonville was built to hold no more than 10,000 men, but largely because of Grant's brutal and seemingly never ending Overland Campaign, within six months more than three times that number were incarcerated there. The creek banks eroded to create a swamp, which occupied a significant portion of the compound. Rations were inadequate for both prisoners and guards, and at times half of the population was reported ill. Some guards took advantage of the inmates and there was unprecedented violence between factions of prisoners.
Although many Northern prison camps were just as bad, or worse, than Andersonville--particularly Elmira and Douglas--Wirz paid the ultimate price for the inhumanity of Andersonville; he was executed in the aftermath of Yankee retribution following the War Between the States.
Union Major General Philip Sheridan’s force of ten thousand cavalry under Brigadier General Wesley Merritt left Winchester, Virginia, and headed in a final southward advance through the Shenandoah Valley to destroy the Virginia Central Railroad and James River Canal, under direct orders from Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant. They were then to take Lynchburg and either join Major General William T. Sherman in North Carolina or return to Winchester. Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early attempts to gather as many Southerners as possible to deflect this latest Union advance, but only had a meager Confederate force of two weakened brigades and a few pieces of artillery to attempt and halt Sheridan’s movements.
Minor skirmishing occurred at Mount Elon and Cloud’s House, South Carolina; Sturgeon, Missouri with partisan guerrillas in the dark: and at Spring Place, Georgia.
Brigadier General John M. Thayer, USA, is assigned to the command of the Post of Saint Charles, Arkansas.
Brigadier General Edmund J. Davis, USA, assumes the temporary command of the US forces at Morganza, Louisiana.
Brigadier General Morgan L. Smith, USA, assumes the command of the District of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Brigadier General John McNeil, USA, assumes the command of the District of Central Missouri.
General Robert E. Lee, CSA, is and has been concerned over the large number of desertions his army has been facing. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's strength is rapidly dwindling.
Commodore John Randolph Tucker and his 350 Confederate sailors from Charleston arrived safely in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where he received orders to have Lieutenant James Henry Rochelle's naval detachment join his and to proceed to Richmond with the entire Naval Brigade. From Richmond the brigade was sent on to Drewry's Bluff on the James River to garrison the formidable Confederate batteries positioned there. Tucker commanded the naval forces ashore while Rear Admiral Raphael Semmes commanded the James River Squadron. These two commands, through the course of the long war, had successfully protected Richmond from attack via the James River. General Lee desperately needed staunch fighters more than ever before. With his supply line from Europe cut, hunger, privation, sickness, and desertion steadily shrank his army. Meanwhile, General Grant's army increased as ships poured in supplies to his City Point base in preparation for the spring offensive.
The USS Proteus, Commander R. W. Shufeldt, seized the steamer Ruby, purportedly en route from Havana to Belize, Honduras, but according to some of the officers and passengers, was actually bound for St. Marks, Florida. It appeared that part of her cargo had been thrown overboard during the chase; the remainder consisted of lead and sundries.
On this day in 1864, the first Union inmates begin arriving at Camp Sumter, soon to be widely known as Andersonville Prison, which was still under construction in southern Georgia. Andersonville became synonymous with death as nearly a quarter of its inmates died in captivity. Captain Henry Wirz, who had the unfortunate task of running Andersonville at War's end, was executed after the conflict for the mistreatment committed under his command.
The prison became necessary when General Hiram U. Grant ended the prisoner exchange system between North and South. The stockade at Andersonville was hastily constructed using mainly slave labor, and was located in the Georgia woods near a railroad but safely away from the front lines. Enclosing 16 acres of land, the prison was supposed to include wooden barracks but the inflated price of lumber delayed construction, and the Yankee soldiers imprisoned there lived under open skies, protected only by makeshift shanties called "shebangs," constructed from scraps of wood and blankets. A stream initially provided fresh water, but within a few months human waste had contaminated the creek.
Andersonville was built to hold no more than 10,000 men, but largely because of Grant's brutal and seemingly never ending Overland Campaign, within six months more than three times that number were incarcerated there. The creek banks eroded to create a swamp, which occupied a significant portion of the compound. Rations were inadequate for both prisoners and guards, and at times half of the population was reported ill. Some guards took advantage of the inmates and there was unprecedented violence between factions of prisoners.
Although many Northern prison camps were just as bad, or worse, than Andersonville--particularly Elmira and Douglas--Wirz paid the ultimate price for the inhumanity of Andersonville; he was executed in the aftermath of Yankee retribution following the War Between the States.
Posted on 2/27/15 at 9:48 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Tuesday, 28 February 1865
Skirmishes break out near Rocky Mount and Cheraw, South Carolina which continually marked the march of Federal Major General William T. Sherman's advance, while Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston was attempting to create a plan to oppose the Federal advance. As the month ended, the entire Confederate military position was quite precarious.
Nathan Bedford Forrest. CSA. is appointed Lieutenant General.
Tyree Harris Bell, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
The following commands are reorganized as follows:
District of Middle Tennessee - Major General Lovell H. Rousseau; District of West Tennessee - Major General Cadwallader C. Washburn; District of East Tennessee - Major General George Stoneman, Jr; District of Etowah, Tennessee - Major General James B. Steedman.
Rear Admiral John A. B. Dahlgren issued instructions to Captain Henry S. Stellwagen, in charge of the USS Pawnee, on operations in the vicinity of Georgetown, South Carolina, coordinated with General Sherman's March north: "I leave here for Charleston, and you remain the senior officer. The only object in occupying the place, as I do, is to facilitate communication with General Sherman, if he desires it here, or by the Santee. When the Chenango and Sonoma arrive, station one in each river by the town to assist the force ashore; one vessel should be near the fort and one at the light-house to look for communication with me. Keep up information from the Santee by a courier over the Santee road or by water. I leave you three tugs, the Sweet Brier, Catalpa and Clover, with a dispatch boat. Let parties be pushed out by land and water, to feel the Rebel positions, and drive back his scouts and pickets."
Armed boats under Acting Ensign Charles N. Hall from the USS Honeysuckle forced the blockade running British schooner Sort aground on a reef near the mouth of Crystal River, Florida, where she was abandoned. Sort was the same schooner captured in December 1864 by the USS O. H. Lee.
The USS Arina, under Lieutenant Commander George Brown, was destroyed by fire in the Mississippi River below New Orleans. In his report, the unlucky Brown, who had also lost USS Indianola, noted: "Not a soul attempted to leave the vessel until I gave the order for them to do so, and the marines were of much service in preventing the boats from being over-loaded."
Lieutenant George W. Gift, CSN, on sick leave at his wife's home in Georgia, reflected on the fate of the South: "It is all too disheartening! The press brings accounts of new defeat for us. The Water Witch has been captured and destroyed. Mobile has fallen, so that all the ports in the Confederacy are lost! That goes for the Navy..."
Skirmishes break out near Rocky Mount and Cheraw, South Carolina which continually marked the march of Federal Major General William T. Sherman's advance, while Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston was attempting to create a plan to oppose the Federal advance. As the month ended, the entire Confederate military position was quite precarious.
Nathan Bedford Forrest. CSA. is appointed Lieutenant General.
Tyree Harris Bell, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
The following commands are reorganized as follows:
District of Middle Tennessee - Major General Lovell H. Rousseau; District of West Tennessee - Major General Cadwallader C. Washburn; District of East Tennessee - Major General George Stoneman, Jr; District of Etowah, Tennessee - Major General James B. Steedman.
Rear Admiral John A. B. Dahlgren issued instructions to Captain Henry S. Stellwagen, in charge of the USS Pawnee, on operations in the vicinity of Georgetown, South Carolina, coordinated with General Sherman's March north: "I leave here for Charleston, and you remain the senior officer. The only object in occupying the place, as I do, is to facilitate communication with General Sherman, if he desires it here, or by the Santee. When the Chenango and Sonoma arrive, station one in each river by the town to assist the force ashore; one vessel should be near the fort and one at the light-house to look for communication with me. Keep up information from the Santee by a courier over the Santee road or by water. I leave you three tugs, the Sweet Brier, Catalpa and Clover, with a dispatch boat. Let parties be pushed out by land and water, to feel the Rebel positions, and drive back his scouts and pickets."
Armed boats under Acting Ensign Charles N. Hall from the USS Honeysuckle forced the blockade running British schooner Sort aground on a reef near the mouth of Crystal River, Florida, where she was abandoned. Sort was the same schooner captured in December 1864 by the USS O. H. Lee.
The USS Arina, under Lieutenant Commander George Brown, was destroyed by fire in the Mississippi River below New Orleans. In his report, the unlucky Brown, who had also lost USS Indianola, noted: "Not a soul attempted to leave the vessel until I gave the order for them to do so, and the marines were of much service in preventing the boats from being over-loaded."
Lieutenant George W. Gift, CSN, on sick leave at his wife's home in Georgia, reflected on the fate of the South: "It is all too disheartening! The press brings accounts of new defeat for us. The Water Witch has been captured and destroyed. Mobile has fallen, so that all the ports in the Confederacy are lost! That goes for the Navy..."
Posted on 2/28/15 at 9:42 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Wednesday, 1 March 1865
A skirmish occurs near Philadelphia, Tennessee, as Union Brigadier General Davis Tillson commends the Federal officer in charge for his resolve of taking no Confederates as prisoners, all the captured and wounded being killed today.
Wisconsin becomes the 16th Union state to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment which will abolish slavery, if approved by enough states. New Jersey, which passed statewide manumission in 1846 but still allowed "apprentices for life" within its borders, rejected it.
Alexander William Campbell, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
Ellison Capers, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
Another Federal expedition moves from Gravelly Springs to Florence, Alabama.
A skirmish breaks out at Holly Creek, Georgia.
Brigadier General Douglas H. Cooper, CSA, assumes the command of the District of the Indian Territory.
A Federal expedition travels from Baton Rouge to Jackson and Clinton, Louisiana, as the Yankees experience terrible weather, having to rebuild bridges across White's Bayou, Redwood and the Comite River. The heavily outnumbered Rebels leave the impression they are about to abandon this area very soon; the local citizens are beginning to show a strong disposition to get on good terms with the Federal authorities.
Brigadier General Benjamin H. Grierson, USA, is assigned to the command of the Military Division of West Mississippi.
Major General Jacob D. Cox, USA, assumes the command of the District of Beaufort, South Carolina.
Skirmishes continue at Wilson's Store, South Carolina, as Major General William T. Sherman, USA, continues his march through the Carolinas.
A skirmish commences at Mount Crawford, Virginia, as Union Major General Philip H. Sheridan and Brigadier General Wesley Merritt Cavalry meet up with Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early.
As the month of March opens, Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant is preparing for a massive spring attack against General Robert E. Lee's lines defending Richmond. Throughout the North optimism ran high and the feeling prevailed that the offensive would be the final thrust and that Grant would take Richmond. It was widely believed that the Confederacy was on the threshold of defeat. Since the beginning of the new year Charleston and Wilmington had fallen, sealing off the South from the sustaining flow of supplies from Europe. Moreover, General Sherman's army had devastated the heart of the Confederacy in its march through Georgia and South Carolina; by the end of February, Sherman was preparing to enter North Carolina. The Union's confidence was further fed by the widespread knowledge that General Lee and Confederate officials were openly grappling with the problem of desertions. During the winter these had become considerable as men became concerned about their families in areas invaded by the Union armies. Finally, Lee further revealed his hard-pressed position by appealing to the civilian population to search their households for any spare guns, cutlasses, equestrian gear and tools.
The Southern spirit, on the other hand, remained unshaken by what was regarded in the North as portents of defeat. The Richmond Daily Examiner editorialized on March 1: "We cannot help thinking that 'our friends, the enemy,' are a little premature in assuming the South to be at their feet. There are Southern armies of magnitude in the field, and Richmond, the capitol, is more impregnable at this hour than it has been at any period of the War."
A week later the Richmond Daily Dispatch expressed its confidence in the Confederate cause by comparing the South's position in the spring of 1865 with that of the American patriots in 1781. "In the American Revolution," wrote the editor, "three-fourths of the battles were gained by the British [and they] held all the major seaports and cities. They Marched through South Carolina, precisely as Sherman is doing now...They had the most powerful empire in the world at their back; had the aid of armed tories in every county; they excited the blacks to insurrection; and let loose the scalping knife of the Indian...What is there in our condition as gloomy, as terrible, as protracted, as the long and dreary wilderness through which they Marched to freedom and independence?"
President Jefferson Davis sent a Resolution adopted by the Confederate Congress to Mr. John Lancaster of England thanking him for his gallant and humane conduct in the rescue of Captain Raphael Semmes and 41 of his officers and men after the sinking of the crippled CSS Alabama by USS Kearsarge. It was particularly gratifying to the Confederacy that Lancaster's yacht Deerhound had sailed for England with the rescued Confederates rather than turning them over to Kearsarge as would have been customary under international law. This incident became even more galling for the Union Navy after Semmes and his officers were socially lionized during their stay in England.
Rear Admiral John A. B. Dahlgren, upon receiving the report that his naval forces had occupied Georgetown, South Carolina, decided to proceed there and have a personal "look at things." He inspected the formidable, but evacuated Fort White, and the four companies of marines which held Georgetown. This date, Dahlgren's flagship Harvest Moon was steaming down Georgetown Bay enroute Charleston; the Admiral was awaiting breakfast in his cabin. "Suddenly, without warning," Dahlgren wrote in his diary, "came a crashing sound, a heavy shock, the partition between the cabin and wardroom was shattered and driven in toward me, while all loose articles in the cabin flew in different directions...A torpedo had been struck by the poor old Harvest Moon, and she was sinking." The flagship sank in five minutes, but fortunately only one man was lost. The Admiral got off with only the uniform he was wearing.
Because of the loss of Charleston and Wilmington, Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory directed Commander James Dunwoody Bulloch, the regular agent of the Confederate Navy in England, to dispose of the deep draft steamers Enterprise and Adventure and to substitute for them two light draft vessels for use in the small inlets along the East coast of Florida. He wrote: "We can not ship cotton at present, but with light-draft vessels we could at once place cotton abroad. Moreover, we need them to get in our supplies now at the islands, and the want of which is seriously felt." Mallory added: "We are upon the eve of events fraught with the fate of the Confederacy, and without power to foresee the result...The coming campaign will be in active operation within fifty days and we can not close our eyes to the dangers which threaten us and from which only our united and willing hearts and arms and the providence of God can shield us. We look for no aid from any other source.
The capture of ports on the Confederate coast injured the South and aided the North in many ways throughout the War. One was the availability to the Union Navy of nearby "advance bases" for operations and repairs. This date, Commander William H. Macomb, writing Rear Admiral David D. Porter from the North Carolina Sounds, reported the arrival of USS Shokokon, under Acting Lieutenant Francis Josselyn, at Plymouth. "She arrived yesterday," he wrote, "and I sent her to New Berne to have her decks shored up and breeching bolts fitted for her IX-inch guns."
A skirmish occurs near Philadelphia, Tennessee, as Union Brigadier General Davis Tillson commends the Federal officer in charge for his resolve of taking no Confederates as prisoners, all the captured and wounded being killed today.
Wisconsin becomes the 16th Union state to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment which will abolish slavery, if approved by enough states. New Jersey, which passed statewide manumission in 1846 but still allowed "apprentices for life" within its borders, rejected it.
Alexander William Campbell, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
Ellison Capers, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
Another Federal expedition moves from Gravelly Springs to Florence, Alabama.
A skirmish breaks out at Holly Creek, Georgia.
Brigadier General Douglas H. Cooper, CSA, assumes the command of the District of the Indian Territory.
A Federal expedition travels from Baton Rouge to Jackson and Clinton, Louisiana, as the Yankees experience terrible weather, having to rebuild bridges across White's Bayou, Redwood and the Comite River. The heavily outnumbered Rebels leave the impression they are about to abandon this area very soon; the local citizens are beginning to show a strong disposition to get on good terms with the Federal authorities.
Brigadier General Benjamin H. Grierson, USA, is assigned to the command of the Military Division of West Mississippi.
Major General Jacob D. Cox, USA, assumes the command of the District of Beaufort, South Carolina.
Skirmishes continue at Wilson's Store, South Carolina, as Major General William T. Sherman, USA, continues his march through the Carolinas.
A skirmish commences at Mount Crawford, Virginia, as Union Major General Philip H. Sheridan and Brigadier General Wesley Merritt Cavalry meet up with Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early.
As the month of March opens, Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant is preparing for a massive spring attack against General Robert E. Lee's lines defending Richmond. Throughout the North optimism ran high and the feeling prevailed that the offensive would be the final thrust and that Grant would take Richmond. It was widely believed that the Confederacy was on the threshold of defeat. Since the beginning of the new year Charleston and Wilmington had fallen, sealing off the South from the sustaining flow of supplies from Europe. Moreover, General Sherman's army had devastated the heart of the Confederacy in its march through Georgia and South Carolina; by the end of February, Sherman was preparing to enter North Carolina. The Union's confidence was further fed by the widespread knowledge that General Lee and Confederate officials were openly grappling with the problem of desertions. During the winter these had become considerable as men became concerned about their families in areas invaded by the Union armies. Finally, Lee further revealed his hard-pressed position by appealing to the civilian population to search their households for any spare guns, cutlasses, equestrian gear and tools.
The Southern spirit, on the other hand, remained unshaken by what was regarded in the North as portents of defeat. The Richmond Daily Examiner editorialized on March 1: "We cannot help thinking that 'our friends, the enemy,' are a little premature in assuming the South to be at their feet. There are Southern armies of magnitude in the field, and Richmond, the capitol, is more impregnable at this hour than it has been at any period of the War."
A week later the Richmond Daily Dispatch expressed its confidence in the Confederate cause by comparing the South's position in the spring of 1865 with that of the American patriots in 1781. "In the American Revolution," wrote the editor, "three-fourths of the battles were gained by the British [and they] held all the major seaports and cities. They Marched through South Carolina, precisely as Sherman is doing now...They had the most powerful empire in the world at their back; had the aid of armed tories in every county; they excited the blacks to insurrection; and let loose the scalping knife of the Indian...What is there in our condition as gloomy, as terrible, as protracted, as the long and dreary wilderness through which they Marched to freedom and independence?"
President Jefferson Davis sent a Resolution adopted by the Confederate Congress to Mr. John Lancaster of England thanking him for his gallant and humane conduct in the rescue of Captain Raphael Semmes and 41 of his officers and men after the sinking of the crippled CSS Alabama by USS Kearsarge. It was particularly gratifying to the Confederacy that Lancaster's yacht Deerhound had sailed for England with the rescued Confederates rather than turning them over to Kearsarge as would have been customary under international law. This incident became even more galling for the Union Navy after Semmes and his officers were socially lionized during their stay in England.
Rear Admiral John A. B. Dahlgren, upon receiving the report that his naval forces had occupied Georgetown, South Carolina, decided to proceed there and have a personal "look at things." He inspected the formidable, but evacuated Fort White, and the four companies of marines which held Georgetown. This date, Dahlgren's flagship Harvest Moon was steaming down Georgetown Bay enroute Charleston; the Admiral was awaiting breakfast in his cabin. "Suddenly, without warning," Dahlgren wrote in his diary, "came a crashing sound, a heavy shock, the partition between the cabin and wardroom was shattered and driven in toward me, while all loose articles in the cabin flew in different directions...A torpedo had been struck by the poor old Harvest Moon, and she was sinking." The flagship sank in five minutes, but fortunately only one man was lost. The Admiral got off with only the uniform he was wearing.
Because of the loss of Charleston and Wilmington, Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory directed Commander James Dunwoody Bulloch, the regular agent of the Confederate Navy in England, to dispose of the deep draft steamers Enterprise and Adventure and to substitute for them two light draft vessels for use in the small inlets along the East coast of Florida. He wrote: "We can not ship cotton at present, but with light-draft vessels we could at once place cotton abroad. Moreover, we need them to get in our supplies now at the islands, and the want of which is seriously felt." Mallory added: "We are upon the eve of events fraught with the fate of the Confederacy, and without power to foresee the result...The coming campaign will be in active operation within fifty days and we can not close our eyes to the dangers which threaten us and from which only our united and willing hearts and arms and the providence of God can shield us. We look for no aid from any other source.
The capture of ports on the Confederate coast injured the South and aided the North in many ways throughout the War. One was the availability to the Union Navy of nearby "advance bases" for operations and repairs. This date, Commander William H. Macomb, writing Rear Admiral David D. Porter from the North Carolina Sounds, reported the arrival of USS Shokokon, under Acting Lieutenant Francis Josselyn, at Plymouth. "She arrived yesterday," he wrote, "and I sent her to New Berne to have her decks shored up and breeching bolts fitted for her IX-inch guns."
Posted on 2/28/15 at 10:17 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Three questions Leroy: In your opinion, how much longer would slavery have lasted had we won the war? Do you believe we would still be separate countries to this day, and if so would we be allies? Would you support a modern southern secession to create a new country?
Posted on 3/1/15 at 7:39 am to Masterag
Great questions, Masterag, and you would likely get vastly different answers from many on all. Easiest one first. IMVHO, slavery is dead regardless of the outcome. The Confederacy has now integrated both free and slave blacks into the Army. When I say integrated, I mean exactly that. Unlike the US Army, white Southerners now marched, patrolled and fought with Negroes side by side, as opposed to their own segregated units commanded by white officers like the Union colored troops did. IIRC, the US forces didn't accomplish integration like this until well into WWII. More importantly, American Industrialization with electricity and the gas engine is just a decade and one half away. In comparison to the cost of ownership of slave labor, a tractor is mighty cheap.
I don't see how we could still remain separate nations, although a huge tariff for Yankees shipping goods down the Mississippi or travelling through the Deep South to Florida might mean we'd never have to pay any income taxes. That answers the Allies' question for me, but as an aside, if we had remained separate into WWI, it could be argued that a un-reunited America (as the military power it had by then become) doesn't get involved into the "European War." Consequently Germany won't lose so badly. but negotiates a peace which doesn't have the effect of so terribly crippling their economy for 15-plus years, so Hitler never comes to power.
Last, and most important, if the Federal Government continues down this path of eroding Our Constitution and Bill of Rights further and further, then the only two ways to correct them would be a Constitutional Convention--that the powers in Washington, DC could never allow--or another secession movement, and it wouldn't be just Southern States this time. The Third American Revolution, as it were.
I don't see how we could still remain separate nations, although a huge tariff for Yankees shipping goods down the Mississippi or travelling through the Deep South to Florida might mean we'd never have to pay any income taxes. That answers the Allies' question for me, but as an aside, if we had remained separate into WWI, it could be argued that a un-reunited America (as the military power it had by then become) doesn't get involved into the "European War." Consequently Germany won't lose so badly. but negotiates a peace which doesn't have the effect of so terribly crippling their economy for 15-plus years, so Hitler never comes to power.
Last, and most important, if the Federal Government continues down this path of eroding Our Constitution and Bill of Rights further and further, then the only two ways to correct them would be a Constitutional Convention--that the powers in Washington, DC could never allow--or another secession movement, and it wouldn't be just Southern States this time. The Third American Revolution, as it were.
Posted on 3/1/15 at 8:35 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Thursday, 2 March 1865
On this day in 1865, at the Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia, Union General George Custer's large force routs Confederate General Jubal Early's troops, essentially bringing an end to fighting in the Shenandoah Valley.
The Shenandoah Valley was the scene of many battles and skirmishes during the War Between the States. It was located directly in the path of armies invading from the south--as Confederate General Robert E. Lee did during the 1863 Gettysburg campaign-as well as the north. The fertile valley could sustain armies, and the gentle terrain allowed for rapid troop movement. In 1862, Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson staged a successful campaign in the Shenandoah Valley, defeating three Yankee armies with quick marching and bold attacks. In 1864, Early drove through the valley to threaten Washington, DC, as he tried to relieve pressure on Lee, who was pinned down near Richmond, Virginia.
That fall, General Hiram U. Grant, the Union commander, dispatched General Philip Sheridan to stop Early. At Cedar Creek on 19 October, Sheridan achieved his goal. The Confederates were soundly defeated, but the remnants of Early's force lingered at the southern end of the valley through the winter of 1864 and 1865. Grant ordered Sheridan to move further west and destroy a railroad in southwestern Virginia. As Sheridan marched from the valley, Early sent a few hundred cavalry under General Thomas Rosser to block his path. On March 1, Rosser set fire to a bridge along the middle fork of the Shenandoah River, but Custer, leading the advance units of Sheridan's army, charged across the burning span and extinguished the fire before the bridge was destroyed.
The next day, Custer followed Sheridan's orders and chased down the bulk of Early's force, which numbered about 2,000. Custer and about 5,000 troops found the Confederates entrenched along a ridge near Waynesboro. Part of the Yankee army shelled the Rebel position, while the rest slipped undetected through some woods that stood between Early's line and the South River. Custer gave the order in the late afternoon, and the Union troops stormed out of the woods and swarmed over the Confederate trenches from the rear. In a short time, a majority of the Confederates were captured and only nine Federal troops were killed. Early and his staff narrowly escaped over the Blue Ridge Mountains, marking the end of the Confederate presence in the Shenandoah Valley.
Union Brigadier General Benjamin H. Grierson assumes command of the cavalry forces in the Military Division of West Mississippi.
Major General William T. Sherman's Union 20th US Army Corps occupies Chesterfield, South Carolina, facing skirmishes at Chesterfield and Thompson's Creek with Confederates in the area.
Union operations continue about Athens, Tennessee, and within 14 miles of Murphy, as the Federals extract a heavy levy on partisan guerrillas' lives.
The Federals under Major General Philip H. Sheridan occupy Staunton, Virginia, and fight at Swoope's Depot.
In an effort to avoid capture by an armed boat from the USS Fox, the crew of the blockade runner Rob Roy, from Belize, Honduras, ran her ashore and fired her in Deadman's Bay, Florida. The cargo removed from the blazing wreck consisted of cavalry sabers, farming equipment and mechanical implements.
The steamer Amazon, "...quite recently used as a Rebel transport...", surrendered to the USS Pontiac, under Lieutenant Commander Luce, on the Savannah River. The Amazon was carrying a cargo of cotton when she was given up by David R. Dillon, her owner.
On this date the Chattanooga Gazette carried an account of the capture on the Tennessee River of a Confederate torpedo boat, accessory equipment, and a nine man party. The expedition had been organized in Richmond in early January and had gone by rail to Bristol, Tennessee, where a boat was obtained and launched in the Holston River. Its mission was to destroy Union commerce and key bridges on the Tennessee River. The expedition was captured near Kingston, Tennessee, by a local group of armed civilians. With little means the South sought desperately to strike at the Union stranglehold.
Because of difficulties in communications, small fast warships (often captured blockade runners) were in great demand for courier Service. This date Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus V. Fox wrote President Abraham Lincoln from Norfolk: "General Grant would like to see you and I shall be in Washington tomorrow morning with this vessel, the Bat, in which you can leave in the afternoon. She is a regular armed man-of-war, and the fastest vessel on the river. I think it would be best for you to use her."
The Bat was a long, low sidewheeler which Commander James Dunwoody Bulloch, CSN, had built in England. She fell victim in October 1864 to the concentrated blockaders off Wilmington as she made her first run with supplies for the Confederate Government. Bought by the Navy from the Boston Prize Court for $150,000, she was commissioned in mid-December 1864 and was in great demand because of her high speed.
Confederate General-in-Chief Robert E. Lee wrote to Union General-in-Chief Hiram U. Grant to reach "...a satisfactory adjustment of the present unhappy difficulties by means of a military convention..." Grant forwarded the request to Washington.
On this day in 1865, at the Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia, Union General George Custer's large force routs Confederate General Jubal Early's troops, essentially bringing an end to fighting in the Shenandoah Valley.
The Shenandoah Valley was the scene of many battles and skirmishes during the War Between the States. It was located directly in the path of armies invading from the south--as Confederate General Robert E. Lee did during the 1863 Gettysburg campaign-as well as the north. The fertile valley could sustain armies, and the gentle terrain allowed for rapid troop movement. In 1862, Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson staged a successful campaign in the Shenandoah Valley, defeating three Yankee armies with quick marching and bold attacks. In 1864, Early drove through the valley to threaten Washington, DC, as he tried to relieve pressure on Lee, who was pinned down near Richmond, Virginia.
That fall, General Hiram U. Grant, the Union commander, dispatched General Philip Sheridan to stop Early. At Cedar Creek on 19 October, Sheridan achieved his goal. The Confederates were soundly defeated, but the remnants of Early's force lingered at the southern end of the valley through the winter of 1864 and 1865. Grant ordered Sheridan to move further west and destroy a railroad in southwestern Virginia. As Sheridan marched from the valley, Early sent a few hundred cavalry under General Thomas Rosser to block his path. On March 1, Rosser set fire to a bridge along the middle fork of the Shenandoah River, but Custer, leading the advance units of Sheridan's army, charged across the burning span and extinguished the fire before the bridge was destroyed.
The next day, Custer followed Sheridan's orders and chased down the bulk of Early's force, which numbered about 2,000. Custer and about 5,000 troops found the Confederates entrenched along a ridge near Waynesboro. Part of the Yankee army shelled the Rebel position, while the rest slipped undetected through some woods that stood between Early's line and the South River. Custer gave the order in the late afternoon, and the Union troops stormed out of the woods and swarmed over the Confederate trenches from the rear. In a short time, a majority of the Confederates were captured and only nine Federal troops were killed. Early and his staff narrowly escaped over the Blue Ridge Mountains, marking the end of the Confederate presence in the Shenandoah Valley.
Union Brigadier General Benjamin H. Grierson assumes command of the cavalry forces in the Military Division of West Mississippi.
Major General William T. Sherman's Union 20th US Army Corps occupies Chesterfield, South Carolina, facing skirmishes at Chesterfield and Thompson's Creek with Confederates in the area.
Union operations continue about Athens, Tennessee, and within 14 miles of Murphy, as the Federals extract a heavy levy on partisan guerrillas' lives.
The Federals under Major General Philip H. Sheridan occupy Staunton, Virginia, and fight at Swoope's Depot.
In an effort to avoid capture by an armed boat from the USS Fox, the crew of the blockade runner Rob Roy, from Belize, Honduras, ran her ashore and fired her in Deadman's Bay, Florida. The cargo removed from the blazing wreck consisted of cavalry sabers, farming equipment and mechanical implements.
The steamer Amazon, "...quite recently used as a Rebel transport...", surrendered to the USS Pontiac, under Lieutenant Commander Luce, on the Savannah River. The Amazon was carrying a cargo of cotton when she was given up by David R. Dillon, her owner.
On this date the Chattanooga Gazette carried an account of the capture on the Tennessee River of a Confederate torpedo boat, accessory equipment, and a nine man party. The expedition had been organized in Richmond in early January and had gone by rail to Bristol, Tennessee, where a boat was obtained and launched in the Holston River. Its mission was to destroy Union commerce and key bridges on the Tennessee River. The expedition was captured near Kingston, Tennessee, by a local group of armed civilians. With little means the South sought desperately to strike at the Union stranglehold.
Because of difficulties in communications, small fast warships (often captured blockade runners) were in great demand for courier Service. This date Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus V. Fox wrote President Abraham Lincoln from Norfolk: "General Grant would like to see you and I shall be in Washington tomorrow morning with this vessel, the Bat, in which you can leave in the afternoon. She is a regular armed man-of-war, and the fastest vessel on the river. I think it would be best for you to use her."
The Bat was a long, low sidewheeler which Commander James Dunwoody Bulloch, CSN, had built in England. She fell victim in October 1864 to the concentrated blockaders off Wilmington as she made her first run with supplies for the Confederate Government. Bought by the Navy from the Boston Prize Court for $150,000, she was commissioned in mid-December 1864 and was in great demand because of her high speed.
Confederate General-in-Chief Robert E. Lee wrote to Union General-in-Chief Hiram U. Grant to reach "...a satisfactory adjustment of the present unhappy difficulties by means of a military convention..." Grant forwarded the request to Washington.
This post was edited on 3/2/15 at 4:00 am
Posted on 3/1/15 at 9:04 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Thanks for answering my questions. I also believe slavery wouldn't have lasted much longer if at all. I believe REL would have become president and abolished it.
I believe we would remain separate countries a la Ethiopia and Eritrea, but would be strong allies and would have something akin to the EU system in place. But as you elude it would come down to politics and economics.
I believe if we can get rid of money in politics the rest will sort itself out. You should check out "Wolfpac" sometime if you're interested in that.
I believe we would remain separate countries a la Ethiopia and Eritrea, but would be strong allies and would have something akin to the EU system in place. But as you elude it would come down to politics and economics.
I believe if we can get rid of money in politics the rest will sort itself out. You should check out "Wolfpac" sometime if you're interested in that.
Posted on 3/2/15 at 9:52 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Friday, 3 March 1865
The 38th Congress of the United States held its last regular session, adjourning around 8 a.m. the next morning. President Abraham Lincoln and Cabinet members went to the Capitol in the evening to consider last minute bills including the act establishing a Bureau for the Relief of Freedman and Refugees. The Freedman’s Bureau would supervise and manage all abandoned lands and have control of all subjects relating to refugees and freedmen from the Confederate States. It would provide temporary subsistence, clothing and fuel as well as assigning land. Another act set up the Freedmen’s Savings and Trust Company. This was "... an act establishing a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees and Abandoned Lands." The act was strongly supported by Radical Republicans such as its sponsor, Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts.
Lincoln also wrote a message directing Lieutenant General Ulysses Grant that removed any political questions out of the general’s hands. It laid the policy for the generals in the surrenders that were forthcoming, though the message was sent only to Grant and not to Sherman.
Another report: In Washington, DC, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton delivered a message to President Abraham Lincoln from Ulysses S. Grant on Robert E. Lee’s request for a military convention yesterday. Lincoln wrote a message for Stanton to deliver to Grant: "The President directs me to say to you that he wishes you to have no conference with General Lee unless it before the capitulation of Gen. Lee’s army...you are not to decide, discuss, or confer upon any political question. Such questions the President holds in his own hands; and will submit them to no military conferences or conventions. Meantime you are to press to the utmost, your military advantages."
Confederate President Jefferson Davis wrote to a Confederate congressman: "In spite of the timidity and faithlessness of many who should give tone to the popular feeling and hope to the popular heart, I am satisfied that it is in the power of the good man and true patriots of the country to reanimate the wearied spirit of our people...I expect the hour of deliverance."
Major General William T. Sherman’s Federals occupy Cheraw, South Carolina, as the Confederates retreat across the Pee Dee River, and yield large depots of precious military supplies. Sherman feints toward Charlotte while intending to attack Fayetteville. The Union army already in North Carolina under Major General John M. Schofield would then attack Goldsboro.
A skirmish occurs at Decatur, Alabama.
A skirmish breaks out near Tunnel Hill, Georgia, as Major General Joseph Wheeler's Confederates capture a group of Yankees out and about repairing downed telegraph wires.
The Idaho Territory is attached to the District of Oregon.
Brigadier General Thomas J. McKean, USA, assumes the command of the District of Morganza, Louisiana.
Federal expeditions begin from Bloomfield, 25 miles into Dunklin County, Missouri, with skirmishes near Bloomfield and in Dunklin County, where the Yankees kill six Rebels, in fierce fighting.
A Federal reconnaissance commences from Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, toward Jonesville, Virginia, with skirmishes at Ball's Bridge, Virginia, and at Tazewell, Tennessee.
A Federal expedition moves from Memphis, Tennessee, into Northern Mississippi.
The occupation of Charlottesville, Virginia, by the Federal troops under Major General Philip Henry Sheridan begins as other soldiers continue to ride toward Petersburg, Virginia.
Federal operations commence about Warrenton, Bealeton Station, Sulphur Springs, Salem, and Centerville, Virginia, and encounters are recorded with partisan guerrillas dressed in Union garb. The Union officer in charge comments how the Federal cavalry is misbehaving badly as they pillage and plunder farms and houses along their ride.
The Federals begin moving their convoy of Confederate prisoners up the Shenandoah Valley from Waynesboro to Winchester, Virginia, with skirmishes along the way at Harrisonburg, Mount Jackson, and Rude's Hill.
General Sherman's large army, marching parallel to the coast from Columbia in order to keep sea support near at hand, steadily approached Fayetteville, North Carolina. The Navy continued to clear Cape Fear River of torpedoes and obstructions so as to provide him with a base at Wilmington for sea supply comparable to Savannah. As the river was cleared light draft gunboats bumped up the river to be ready to open communications. This date Lieutenant Commander Ralph Chandler, USS Lenapee, reported to Lieutenant Commander George W. Young, Senior Naval Officer at Wilmington: "In obedience to your order of the 1st instant, I got underway with this vessel on the 2d instant and proceeded up the North West Branch to a point where the Cape Fear River forms a junction with the Black River. The bends in the river I found too short to attempt to get the vessel higher without carrying away the wheelhouses and otherwise damaging the ship. I remained there until 1 o'clock p.m. today. During the night some negroes came down, and, on questioning them, they informed me that they had been told that General Sherman's forces were at a town called Robeson, 20 miles from Fayetteville."
The 38th Congress of the United States held its last regular session, adjourning around 8 a.m. the next morning. President Abraham Lincoln and Cabinet members went to the Capitol in the evening to consider last minute bills including the act establishing a Bureau for the Relief of Freedman and Refugees. The Freedman’s Bureau would supervise and manage all abandoned lands and have control of all subjects relating to refugees and freedmen from the Confederate States. It would provide temporary subsistence, clothing and fuel as well as assigning land. Another act set up the Freedmen’s Savings and Trust Company. This was "... an act establishing a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees and Abandoned Lands." The act was strongly supported by Radical Republicans such as its sponsor, Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts.
Lincoln also wrote a message directing Lieutenant General Ulysses Grant that removed any political questions out of the general’s hands. It laid the policy for the generals in the surrenders that were forthcoming, though the message was sent only to Grant and not to Sherman.
Another report: In Washington, DC, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton delivered a message to President Abraham Lincoln from Ulysses S. Grant on Robert E. Lee’s request for a military convention yesterday. Lincoln wrote a message for Stanton to deliver to Grant: "The President directs me to say to you that he wishes you to have no conference with General Lee unless it before the capitulation of Gen. Lee’s army...you are not to decide, discuss, or confer upon any political question. Such questions the President holds in his own hands; and will submit them to no military conferences or conventions. Meantime you are to press to the utmost, your military advantages."
Confederate President Jefferson Davis wrote to a Confederate congressman: "In spite of the timidity and faithlessness of many who should give tone to the popular feeling and hope to the popular heart, I am satisfied that it is in the power of the good man and true patriots of the country to reanimate the wearied spirit of our people...I expect the hour of deliverance."
Major General William T. Sherman’s Federals occupy Cheraw, South Carolina, as the Confederates retreat across the Pee Dee River, and yield large depots of precious military supplies. Sherman feints toward Charlotte while intending to attack Fayetteville. The Union army already in North Carolina under Major General John M. Schofield would then attack Goldsboro.
A skirmish occurs at Decatur, Alabama.
A skirmish breaks out near Tunnel Hill, Georgia, as Major General Joseph Wheeler's Confederates capture a group of Yankees out and about repairing downed telegraph wires.
The Idaho Territory is attached to the District of Oregon.
Brigadier General Thomas J. McKean, USA, assumes the command of the District of Morganza, Louisiana.
Federal expeditions begin from Bloomfield, 25 miles into Dunklin County, Missouri, with skirmishes near Bloomfield and in Dunklin County, where the Yankees kill six Rebels, in fierce fighting.
A Federal reconnaissance commences from Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, toward Jonesville, Virginia, with skirmishes at Ball's Bridge, Virginia, and at Tazewell, Tennessee.
A Federal expedition moves from Memphis, Tennessee, into Northern Mississippi.
The occupation of Charlottesville, Virginia, by the Federal troops under Major General Philip Henry Sheridan begins as other soldiers continue to ride toward Petersburg, Virginia.
Federal operations commence about Warrenton, Bealeton Station, Sulphur Springs, Salem, and Centerville, Virginia, and encounters are recorded with partisan guerrillas dressed in Union garb. The Union officer in charge comments how the Federal cavalry is misbehaving badly as they pillage and plunder farms and houses along their ride.
The Federals begin moving their convoy of Confederate prisoners up the Shenandoah Valley from Waynesboro to Winchester, Virginia, with skirmishes along the way at Harrisonburg, Mount Jackson, and Rude's Hill.
General Sherman's large army, marching parallel to the coast from Columbia in order to keep sea support near at hand, steadily approached Fayetteville, North Carolina. The Navy continued to clear Cape Fear River of torpedoes and obstructions so as to provide him with a base at Wilmington for sea supply comparable to Savannah. As the river was cleared light draft gunboats bumped up the river to be ready to open communications. This date Lieutenant Commander Ralph Chandler, USS Lenapee, reported to Lieutenant Commander George W. Young, Senior Naval Officer at Wilmington: "In obedience to your order of the 1st instant, I got underway with this vessel on the 2d instant and proceeded up the North West Branch to a point where the Cape Fear River forms a junction with the Black River. The bends in the river I found too short to attempt to get the vessel higher without carrying away the wheelhouses and otherwise damaging the ship. I remained there until 1 o'clock p.m. today. During the night some negroes came down, and, on questioning them, they informed me that they had been told that General Sherman's forces were at a town called Robeson, 20 miles from Fayetteville."
Posted on 3/4/15 at 4:46 am to BadLeroyDawg
Saturday, 4 March 1865
Abraham Lincoln began a second term as U.S. president. Before the Inauguration, Democrat Governor Andrew Johnson of Tennessee took the oath of office thereby succeeding Hannibal Hamlin as Vice President of the United States. Having consumed too much whiskey as a medicine, since he was taken ill, Vice President Johnson gave a rambling, incoherent address which shocked many and was an inauspicious beginning to the day. The procession then moved to the Capitol’s East Portico, where some 50,000 people gathered for Lincoln’s inauguration. Then Lincoln was inaugurated for the second time and gave his famous address which sought a full reconciliation with the Southern States. This evening, a public reception was held in which it is estimated that the president shook hands with 6,000 people.
Lincoln’s address, the shortest since George Washington’s second inaugural in 1793, lasted less than five minutes and contained 703 words. He did not mention future policies, instead focusing on restoring the Union and blaming the Confederacy for starting the War. After the speech, United States Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase administered the oath of office. The White House gates were opened to the public from 8 to 11 p.m. as Lincoln greeted the throng of guests, including prominent civil rights leader Frederick Douglass. Many of the guests stole decorations from the East Room.
The U.S. Senate met in special session to consider appointments and other business.
William G. Brownlow was elected Governor of Tennessee to replace the new Vice President.
Skirmishing occurred at Phillips Cross Roads, North Carolina, and at East River Bridge, Florida. The U.S. transport Thorn was destroyed by a torpedo or floating mine in the Cape Fear River below Fort Anderson, North Carolina, as the Navy was busy trying to clear coastal waters of those torpedoes.
Full report: The U.S. transport Thorn struck a torpedo below Fort Anderson in the Cape Fear River. Brigadier General Gabriel J. Rains, Superintendent of the Confederate Torpedo Corps and a pioneer in the development of torpedoes, reported: "The vessel sunk, as usual in such cases, in two minutes, but in this the crew escaped, but barely with their lives." The loss of the 400 ton Army steamer within two weeks of the damage to USS Osceola and destruction of a launch from USS Shawmut by torpedoes underscored the fact that although the Union controlled the waters below Wilmington, it did not have complete freedom of movement. The presence--or even the suspected presence--of Confederate torpedoes forced the Navy to move more slowly than would otherwise have been possible.
The Confederate Congress approved a new version of the Confederate national flag.
The U.S. Congress adjourned at 8 a.m. as President Lincoln signed several last-minute bills into law.
Based on Lincoln’s message yesterday, Hiram U. Grant informed Robert E. Lee that Grant had "...no authority to accede to your proposition...Such authority is vested in the President of the United States alone." Thus, no conference would be held between the generals to discuss ending the hostilities.
William Wirt Allen, C.S.A., is appointed Major General.
Young Marshall Moody, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
An affair occurs near Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where a large force of Yankees sneak up on the camp of a small band of Rebels in the dark and scatter the Confederates in all directions, as they are taken by surprise.
A Federal expedition moves from near Cheraw to Florence, South Carolina, and skirmishes with Confederate partisans.
Major General Cadwallader C. Washburn, USA, assumes the command of the District of West Tennessee.
Major General E. R. S. Canby requested mortar boats from Rear Admiral Samuel P. Lee's Mississippi Squadron to participate in impending joint operations against the city of Mobile. Admiral Lee made the mortar boats available from Mound City naval station.
Lieutenant Moreau Forrest, in his flagship USS General Burnside and accompanied by the USS General Thomas, under Master Gilbert Morton, led a Tennessee River expedition which followed the course of that river across the state of Alabama. At Mussel Shoals the naval force attacked and dispersed the encampment of Confederate General Philip D. Roddey and captured horses, military equipment and cotton. Forrest then proceeded to Lamb's Ferry where he destroyed Confederate communications and transportation facilities. He also destroyed numerous barges, boats and scows encountered along the course of the river. Finally, Forrest penetrated the Elk River, deep into the state of Tennessee, where he "...found a rich and populous country..." in which "...a great deal of loyal sentiment was displayed..."
Spring floods in the James River made it possible for the heavy draft Confederate ironclads to strike at City Point, as they had attempted to do in January, or for the Union monitors to drive upstream. On 3 March, Federal Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles had asked Captain Oliver S. Glisson, senior naval officer at Hampton Roads, if the ironclads Montauk and Monadnock had reported to him. "When they arrive," he directed impatiently, "send them up James River immediately." On the evening of the 4th General Grant, hoping to take advantage of the rising water, wired Assistant Secretary Fox: "The James River is very high, and will continue so as long as the weather of the past week lasts. It would be well to have at once all the ironclads that it is intended should come here [City Point]." Within half an hour of the arrival of Grant's message at the Navy Department, Secretary Welles ordered Glisson: "Send off a steamer to Cape Fear River to bring the Montauk, ironclad, to James River immediately, and let the same steamer go with great dispatch to Charleston to bring up two ironclads from there; all for James River."
The next morning, 5 March, Glisson replied to the Secretary: "Your telegram was received this morning at fifteen minutes after midnight; blowing a gale of wind at the time. USS Aries sailed at daylight this morning. The monitors are expected every moment from Cape Fear, and I shall send them up the river immediately."
One of the monitors from the southern stations, the USS Sangamon, arrived in Hampton Roads that afternoon and sped up the James--a quick response to Grant's request. Within several days three additional monitors joined the squadron in the James River.
Abraham Lincoln began a second term as U.S. president. Before the Inauguration, Democrat Governor Andrew Johnson of Tennessee took the oath of office thereby succeeding Hannibal Hamlin as Vice President of the United States. Having consumed too much whiskey as a medicine, since he was taken ill, Vice President Johnson gave a rambling, incoherent address which shocked many and was an inauspicious beginning to the day. The procession then moved to the Capitol’s East Portico, where some 50,000 people gathered for Lincoln’s inauguration. Then Lincoln was inaugurated for the second time and gave his famous address which sought a full reconciliation with the Southern States. This evening, a public reception was held in which it is estimated that the president shook hands with 6,000 people.
Lincoln’s address, the shortest since George Washington’s second inaugural in 1793, lasted less than five minutes and contained 703 words. He did not mention future policies, instead focusing on restoring the Union and blaming the Confederacy for starting the War. After the speech, United States Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase administered the oath of office. The White House gates were opened to the public from 8 to 11 p.m. as Lincoln greeted the throng of guests, including prominent civil rights leader Frederick Douglass. Many of the guests stole decorations from the East Room.
The U.S. Senate met in special session to consider appointments and other business.
William G. Brownlow was elected Governor of Tennessee to replace the new Vice President.
Skirmishing occurred at Phillips Cross Roads, North Carolina, and at East River Bridge, Florida. The U.S. transport Thorn was destroyed by a torpedo or floating mine in the Cape Fear River below Fort Anderson, North Carolina, as the Navy was busy trying to clear coastal waters of those torpedoes.
Full report: The U.S. transport Thorn struck a torpedo below Fort Anderson in the Cape Fear River. Brigadier General Gabriel J. Rains, Superintendent of the Confederate Torpedo Corps and a pioneer in the development of torpedoes, reported: "The vessel sunk, as usual in such cases, in two minutes, but in this the crew escaped, but barely with their lives." The loss of the 400 ton Army steamer within two weeks of the damage to USS Osceola and destruction of a launch from USS Shawmut by torpedoes underscored the fact that although the Union controlled the waters below Wilmington, it did not have complete freedom of movement. The presence--or even the suspected presence--of Confederate torpedoes forced the Navy to move more slowly than would otherwise have been possible.
The Confederate Congress approved a new version of the Confederate national flag.
The U.S. Congress adjourned at 8 a.m. as President Lincoln signed several last-minute bills into law.
Based on Lincoln’s message yesterday, Hiram U. Grant informed Robert E. Lee that Grant had "...no authority to accede to your proposition...Such authority is vested in the President of the United States alone." Thus, no conference would be held between the generals to discuss ending the hostilities.
William Wirt Allen, C.S.A., is appointed Major General.
Young Marshall Moody, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
An affair occurs near Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where a large force of Yankees sneak up on the camp of a small band of Rebels in the dark and scatter the Confederates in all directions, as they are taken by surprise.
A Federal expedition moves from near Cheraw to Florence, South Carolina, and skirmishes with Confederate partisans.
Major General Cadwallader C. Washburn, USA, assumes the command of the District of West Tennessee.
Major General E. R. S. Canby requested mortar boats from Rear Admiral Samuel P. Lee's Mississippi Squadron to participate in impending joint operations against the city of Mobile. Admiral Lee made the mortar boats available from Mound City naval station.
Lieutenant Moreau Forrest, in his flagship USS General Burnside and accompanied by the USS General Thomas, under Master Gilbert Morton, led a Tennessee River expedition which followed the course of that river across the state of Alabama. At Mussel Shoals the naval force attacked and dispersed the encampment of Confederate General Philip D. Roddey and captured horses, military equipment and cotton. Forrest then proceeded to Lamb's Ferry where he destroyed Confederate communications and transportation facilities. He also destroyed numerous barges, boats and scows encountered along the course of the river. Finally, Forrest penetrated the Elk River, deep into the state of Tennessee, where he "...found a rich and populous country..." in which "...a great deal of loyal sentiment was displayed..."
Spring floods in the James River made it possible for the heavy draft Confederate ironclads to strike at City Point, as they had attempted to do in January, or for the Union monitors to drive upstream. On 3 March, Federal Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles had asked Captain Oliver S. Glisson, senior naval officer at Hampton Roads, if the ironclads Montauk and Monadnock had reported to him. "When they arrive," he directed impatiently, "send them up James River immediately." On the evening of the 4th General Grant, hoping to take advantage of the rising water, wired Assistant Secretary Fox: "The James River is very high, and will continue so as long as the weather of the past week lasts. It would be well to have at once all the ironclads that it is intended should come here [City Point]." Within half an hour of the arrival of Grant's message at the Navy Department, Secretary Welles ordered Glisson: "Send off a steamer to Cape Fear River to bring the Montauk, ironclad, to James River immediately, and let the same steamer go with great dispatch to Charleston to bring up two ironclads from there; all for James River."
The next morning, 5 March, Glisson replied to the Secretary: "Your telegram was received this morning at fifteen minutes after midnight; blowing a gale of wind at the time. USS Aries sailed at daylight this morning. The monitors are expected every moment from Cape Fear, and I shall send them up the river immediately."
One of the monitors from the southern stations, the USS Sangamon, arrived in Hampton Roads that afternoon and sped up the James--a quick response to Grant's request. Within several days three additional monitors joined the squadron in the James River.
Posted on 3/4/15 at 6:50 am to BadLeroyDawg
quote:
Abraham Lincoln began a second term as U.S. president. Before the Inauguration, Democrat Governor Andrew Johnson of Tennessee took the oath of office thereby succeeding Hannibal Hamlin as Vice President of the United States.
Posted on 3/4/15 at 9:14 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Sunday, 5 March 1865
Union Major General William T. Sherman’s army was maneuvering in and around Cheraw, South Carolina, this morning with a minor skirmish being the only fighting of any substance. They were preparing to invade North Carolina, crossing the Pee Dee River, and striking for Fayetteville. General Joseph E. Johnston assumes command of all Confederate troops in General Braxton Bragg’s Department of North Carolina. Johnston now has roughly 23,500 men to oppose Sherman’s 60,000 plus Federals in the Carolinas.
President Abraham Lincoln appoints Hugh McCulloch, Comptroller of the Currency, to the position of Secretary of the Treasury to replace William Fessenden who had resigned after being reelected to the United States Senate from his home state of Maine.
Federal scouts travel from Waynesville to Mutton Valley, Rolla, and Lebanon, Missouri, in search of the partisan guerrillas who, in retaliation for the Yankees' black flag policies, captured and murdered a citizen of Waynesville, Missouri.
A large Federal expedition moves from Fortress Monroe to Fredericksburg, Virginia, with the destruction of all Confederate property of any value along the way.
A landing party from the USS Don under Acting Ensign George E. McConnell destroyed a large boat in Passapatanzy Creek, Maryland, after a brief skirmish with a small contingent of Colonel John S. Mosby's partisan raiders of the 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry. Commander F.A. Parker, commanding the Potomac Flotilla, reported that the boat was "...a remarkably fine one, painted lead color, and capable of holding fifty men. It had been recently brought from Fredericksburg, and its rowlocks carefully muffled for night service. Five boxes of tobacco were found near the boat, which I have distributed to the captors."
Union Major General William T. Sherman’s army was maneuvering in and around Cheraw, South Carolina, this morning with a minor skirmish being the only fighting of any substance. They were preparing to invade North Carolina, crossing the Pee Dee River, and striking for Fayetteville. General Joseph E. Johnston assumes command of all Confederate troops in General Braxton Bragg’s Department of North Carolina. Johnston now has roughly 23,500 men to oppose Sherman’s 60,000 plus Federals in the Carolinas.
President Abraham Lincoln appoints Hugh McCulloch, Comptroller of the Currency, to the position of Secretary of the Treasury to replace William Fessenden who had resigned after being reelected to the United States Senate from his home state of Maine.
Federal scouts travel from Waynesville to Mutton Valley, Rolla, and Lebanon, Missouri, in search of the partisan guerrillas who, in retaliation for the Yankees' black flag policies, captured and murdered a citizen of Waynesville, Missouri.
A large Federal expedition moves from Fortress Monroe to Fredericksburg, Virginia, with the destruction of all Confederate property of any value along the way.
A landing party from the USS Don under Acting Ensign George E. McConnell destroyed a large boat in Passapatanzy Creek, Maryland, after a brief skirmish with a small contingent of Colonel John S. Mosby's partisan raiders of the 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry. Commander F.A. Parker, commanding the Potomac Flotilla, reported that the boat was "...a remarkably fine one, painted lead color, and capable of holding fifty men. It had been recently brought from Fredericksburg, and its rowlocks carefully muffled for night service. Five boxes of tobacco were found near the boat, which I have distributed to the captors."
Posted on 3/5/15 at 8:12 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Monday, 6 March 1865
This morning, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston assumes command of all troops in the Department of North Carolina in addition to his other tasks. He now leads all Confederate soldiers in the Carolinas, as well as all points south of Petersburg, Virginia. Federal Major General William T. Sherman’s forces crossed the Pee Dee River and his entire army of 60,000 plus Yankees was now enroute to Fayetteville, North Carolina.
The only major skirmishing of the day occurred at Natural Bridge, Florida. The Battle of Natural Bridge was a Union campaign with the intent of engaging Confederate troops that had earlier been active against Cedar Key and Fort Myers, and capturing Fort Ward at St. Marks. Citizens of Tallahassee, however, apparently feared the expedition was intent on capturing the state capital. After landing in Apalachee Bay near the St. Marks lighthouse, U.S. infantry and cavalry commanded by Major General John Newton marched across East River and attempted to cross the St. Marks River at Newport, but were repulsed by Confederate defenders of the bridge. The Federal expedition then moved up the east side of the St. Marks River and again attempted to cross at Natural Bridge where the Battle of Natural Bridge took place. Arrayed on either side of the road on the west side of Natural Bridge and behind earthworks, Confederate cavalry, infantry, and artillery under Major General Sam Jones prevented several attempts by U.S. troops to advance across the Natural Bridge. Afterwards, U.S. troops began a retreat to Newport and then back to the St. Marks lighthouse and the protection of the Union fleet.
President Abraham Lincoln formally appoints Hugh McCulloch as Secretary of the Treasury in place of the now Senate-bound William Fessenden. This evening, the Gala Inaugural Ball is held at the Patent Office. The $10 tickets were sold to 4,000 guests, with proceeds going to families of fallen soldiers and sailors. The midnight supper included beef, veal, poultry, oysters, salads, jellies, cakes, chocolate, and coffee.
Major General Alexander McDowell McCook, USA, is assigned to the command of the District of Eastern Arkansas.
Commodore F. A. Parker orders Lieutenant Commander Edward Hooker to take the USS Commodore Read, Yankee, Delaware, and Heliotrope up the Rappahannock River to cooperate with an Army detachment in conducting a raid near Fredericksburg, Virginia. Parker, however, cautioned: "...you will be particularly careful in looking out for torpedoes; having all narrow channels and shoal places carefully swept by the small boats kept in advance of the flotilla. At points where torpedoes may be exploded from the shore, you will land flanking parties, and you are to shell as usual all heights."
The USS Jonquil, Acting Ensign Charles H. Hanson in charge, is damaged by a torpedo while clearing the Ashley River, near Charleston, of obstructions and frame torpedoes. Jonquil had secured three torpedoes while dragging the Ashley that day. Hanson reported: "I hooked on to the log which had the fourth one on, but the log came up with the end, not having the torpedo on. I hoisted it to the bows of the steamer and started for shore. On shoaling the water, the torpedo being down struck the bottom and exploded directly under and about amidships of the steamer. Its force was so great as to raise the boilers 5 inches from their bed and knocked nine men overboard and completely flooded the vessel." Hanson added that the explosion took place in ten feet of water and "...had it been any shoaler the vessel would have been entirely destroyed." Jonquil's hull, however, was not "materially damaged" and she resumed dragging operations again the next day.
Major General Philip Henry Sheridan’s Union cavalry advanced from Charlottesville, Virginia, down the Orange & Alexandria Railroad after spending two days destroying track on the Virginia Central.
This morning, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston assumes command of all troops in the Department of North Carolina in addition to his other tasks. He now leads all Confederate soldiers in the Carolinas, as well as all points south of Petersburg, Virginia. Federal Major General William T. Sherman’s forces crossed the Pee Dee River and his entire army of 60,000 plus Yankees was now enroute to Fayetteville, North Carolina.
The only major skirmishing of the day occurred at Natural Bridge, Florida. The Battle of Natural Bridge was a Union campaign with the intent of engaging Confederate troops that had earlier been active against Cedar Key and Fort Myers, and capturing Fort Ward at St. Marks. Citizens of Tallahassee, however, apparently feared the expedition was intent on capturing the state capital. After landing in Apalachee Bay near the St. Marks lighthouse, U.S. infantry and cavalry commanded by Major General John Newton marched across East River and attempted to cross the St. Marks River at Newport, but were repulsed by Confederate defenders of the bridge. The Federal expedition then moved up the east side of the St. Marks River and again attempted to cross at Natural Bridge where the Battle of Natural Bridge took place. Arrayed on either side of the road on the west side of Natural Bridge and behind earthworks, Confederate cavalry, infantry, and artillery under Major General Sam Jones prevented several attempts by U.S. troops to advance across the Natural Bridge. Afterwards, U.S. troops began a retreat to Newport and then back to the St. Marks lighthouse and the protection of the Union fleet.
President Abraham Lincoln formally appoints Hugh McCulloch as Secretary of the Treasury in place of the now Senate-bound William Fessenden. This evening, the Gala Inaugural Ball is held at the Patent Office. The $10 tickets were sold to 4,000 guests, with proceeds going to families of fallen soldiers and sailors. The midnight supper included beef, veal, poultry, oysters, salads, jellies, cakes, chocolate, and coffee.
Major General Alexander McDowell McCook, USA, is assigned to the command of the District of Eastern Arkansas.
Commodore F. A. Parker orders Lieutenant Commander Edward Hooker to take the USS Commodore Read, Yankee, Delaware, and Heliotrope up the Rappahannock River to cooperate with an Army detachment in conducting a raid near Fredericksburg, Virginia. Parker, however, cautioned: "...you will be particularly careful in looking out for torpedoes; having all narrow channels and shoal places carefully swept by the small boats kept in advance of the flotilla. At points where torpedoes may be exploded from the shore, you will land flanking parties, and you are to shell as usual all heights."
The USS Jonquil, Acting Ensign Charles H. Hanson in charge, is damaged by a torpedo while clearing the Ashley River, near Charleston, of obstructions and frame torpedoes. Jonquil had secured three torpedoes while dragging the Ashley that day. Hanson reported: "I hooked on to the log which had the fourth one on, but the log came up with the end, not having the torpedo on. I hoisted it to the bows of the steamer and started for shore. On shoaling the water, the torpedo being down struck the bottom and exploded directly under and about amidships of the steamer. Its force was so great as to raise the boilers 5 inches from their bed and knocked nine men overboard and completely flooded the vessel." Hanson added that the explosion took place in ten feet of water and "...had it been any shoaler the vessel would have been entirely destroyed." Jonquil's hull, however, was not "materially damaged" and she resumed dragging operations again the next day.
Major General Philip Henry Sheridan’s Union cavalry advanced from Charlottesville, Virginia, down the Orange & Alexandria Railroad after spending two days destroying track on the Virginia Central.
Posted on 3/6/15 at 9:14 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Tuesday, 7 March 1865
In North Carolina, a portion of Major General John McAllister Schofield’s Union army under Major General Jacob D. Cox began moving from Wilmington to a better supply base at New Bern. New Bern was even a more advantageous command post to supply the army of Major General William T. Sherman, and a large force under General Cox was established there. Federals learned that General Joseph E. Johnston was sending Confederate troops to General Braxton Bragg at Kinston on the Neuse River. Meanwhile, General Sherman’s Union troops began entering North Carolina from the south. They skirmish at Rockingham and Southwest Creek, North Carolina.
Federal troops skirmish with Indians eighty miles west of Fort Larned, Kansas, as the natives attack a wagon train but are driven off. Fighting also occurred at Elyton, Alabama, and Flint Hill, Virginia.
President Abraham Lincoln issues several orders allowing citizens in the “insurrectionary states” to sell their goods to Treasury-appointed agents within Federal military lines.
Union soldiers scout from Glasgow to the Perche Hills, Missouri, in Howard and Boone Counties, in search of guerrillas. The Federals use a local to point out the homes of suspected partisans, killing any they run into; burning their homes along the way. The Federals complain that too many locals house and feed these marauders, which makes it more difficult to suppress their actions. The Yankees report chasing a guerrilla band for 2 days in their sight, but were never able to overtake them.
Federal operations about Licking, Missouri, where the Yankees report that just about everyday, they kill and wound guerrillas, capturing horses, guns, food and supplies.
Major General Sterling Price, CSA, is assigned to the command of the Missouri Division of Infantry, and Brigadier General Mosby M. Parsons, CSA, is assigned to the command of Parson's Missouri Brigade.
Union Brigadier General Benjamin Alvord is relieved from the command of the District of Oregon.
A skirmish occurs near Flint Hill, Virginia, with partisan guerrillas dressed in Union garb, and again with loss of Yankee life.
Lieutenant Commander Edward Hooker, commanding a naval squadron consisting of the USS Commodore Read, Yankee, Delaware, and Heliotrope, joined with an Army unit in conducting a raid at Hamilton's Crossing on the Rappahannock River six miles below Fredericksburg. Hooker reported that the expedition succeeded in "...burning and destroying the railroad bridge, the depot, and a portion of the track...; also the telegraph line was cut and the telegraphic apparatus brought away. A train of twenty-eight cars, eighteen of them being principally loaded with tobacco, and an army wagon train were also captured and burned. A considerable number of mules were captured and some thirty or forty prisoners taken. A mail containing a quantity of valuable information was secured." Throughout the War, rivers were avenues of strength for the North--highways of destruction to the South--which enabled warships and joint expeditions to thrust deep into the heart of the Confederacy.
Rear Admiral David D. Porter testified before Congress this morning. He had arrived in Washington the day after the Inaugural, having left his flagship off North Carolina on the 3rd. He scorched the congressional walls with some seagoing comments on Generals Nathaniel Banks and Benjamin "Spoons" Butler. He then left town for City Point to direct the operations of the James River Squadron in coordination with Hiram U. Grant's final assault on Robert E. Lee's lines.
In North Carolina, a portion of Major General John McAllister Schofield’s Union army under Major General Jacob D. Cox began moving from Wilmington to a better supply base at New Bern. New Bern was even a more advantageous command post to supply the army of Major General William T. Sherman, and a large force under General Cox was established there. Federals learned that General Joseph E. Johnston was sending Confederate troops to General Braxton Bragg at Kinston on the Neuse River. Meanwhile, General Sherman’s Union troops began entering North Carolina from the south. They skirmish at Rockingham and Southwest Creek, North Carolina.
Federal troops skirmish with Indians eighty miles west of Fort Larned, Kansas, as the natives attack a wagon train but are driven off. Fighting also occurred at Elyton, Alabama, and Flint Hill, Virginia.
President Abraham Lincoln issues several orders allowing citizens in the “insurrectionary states” to sell their goods to Treasury-appointed agents within Federal military lines.
Union soldiers scout from Glasgow to the Perche Hills, Missouri, in Howard and Boone Counties, in search of guerrillas. The Federals use a local to point out the homes of suspected partisans, killing any they run into; burning their homes along the way. The Federals complain that too many locals house and feed these marauders, which makes it more difficult to suppress their actions. The Yankees report chasing a guerrilla band for 2 days in their sight, but were never able to overtake them.
Federal operations about Licking, Missouri, where the Yankees report that just about everyday, they kill and wound guerrillas, capturing horses, guns, food and supplies.
Major General Sterling Price, CSA, is assigned to the command of the Missouri Division of Infantry, and Brigadier General Mosby M. Parsons, CSA, is assigned to the command of Parson's Missouri Brigade.
Union Brigadier General Benjamin Alvord is relieved from the command of the District of Oregon.
A skirmish occurs near Flint Hill, Virginia, with partisan guerrillas dressed in Union garb, and again with loss of Yankee life.
Lieutenant Commander Edward Hooker, commanding a naval squadron consisting of the USS Commodore Read, Yankee, Delaware, and Heliotrope, joined with an Army unit in conducting a raid at Hamilton's Crossing on the Rappahannock River six miles below Fredericksburg. Hooker reported that the expedition succeeded in "...burning and destroying the railroad bridge, the depot, and a portion of the track...; also the telegraph line was cut and the telegraphic apparatus brought away. A train of twenty-eight cars, eighteen of them being principally loaded with tobacco, and an army wagon train were also captured and burned. A considerable number of mules were captured and some thirty or forty prisoners taken. A mail containing a quantity of valuable information was secured." Throughout the War, rivers were avenues of strength for the North--highways of destruction to the South--which enabled warships and joint expeditions to thrust deep into the heart of the Confederacy.
Rear Admiral David D. Porter testified before Congress this morning. He had arrived in Washington the day after the Inaugural, having left his flagship off North Carolina on the 3rd. He scorched the congressional walls with some seagoing comments on Generals Nathaniel Banks and Benjamin "Spoons" Butler. He then left town for City Point to direct the operations of the James River Squadron in coordination with Hiram U. Grant's final assault on Robert E. Lee's lines.
Posted on 3/7/15 at 8:58 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Wednesday, 8 March 1865
The Battle of Wyse Fork, aka the Second Battle of Kinston, occurs as Braxton Bragg’s Confederates attack Jacob Cox’s Federals en route to New Bern, North Carolina. The Confederates take nearly 1,000 prisoners, but the main Union force, eventually reinforced, holds firm and repulses further Confederate assaults. Bragg intended for this attack to enable Robert E. Lee to escape from Virginia and join Joseph E. Johnston in North Carolina.
Yesterday, 7 March, Federal advance units encountered Bragg's entrenched forces along Southwest Creek east of Kinston. Bragg's position not only blocked Cox's path but threatened a vital cross road and the New Bern-Goldsboro Railroad. Cox saw the importance of this position and moved forward the divisions of Brigadier General Innis N. Palmer to protect the railroad and Major General Samuel P. Carter to protect the roads. Bragg's forces were also reinforced by veterans from the Army of Tennessee and the North Carolina Junior Reserves, all under the command of General Daniel Harvey Hill.
Reinforced, Bragg went on the offensive and sent a division under North Carolina native Robert Hoke into the Union left flank. Hoke's attack hit a New England brigade in Carter's division, capturing an entire regiment. Hill joined the advance with the Junior Reserves but they panicked and refused to go any further. Hill left them behind and moved on with his veterans, hitting the Union brigade and defeating it. Disaster threatened the Union flank when Bragg stopped Hill's advance and sent him far to the north to counterattack a perceived Union threat. When Hill arrived he found no Federals in sight. At this time Cox, who had been away from the front lines, returned and moved up his reserve division under Major General Thomas H. Ruger to plug the gap between Palmer and Carter.
Skirmishing would continue for the next few days until Hoke tried again to turn the Federal left flank on March 10. The Federal position by now had been strongly fortified by artillery and repulsed Hoke's attack within an hour. Hill then moved against the Union center but again Federal artillery proved decisive and the attackers were repulsed. The remaining elements from the Federal XXIII Corps, which had just arrived in New Bern from Tennessee, were then moving on Kinston. Facing five Union divisions, Bragg withdrew.
The Confederate Senate votes 9 to 8 to recruit blacks as soldiers; the House had approved the measure last month. The Senate version of the bill authorizes the President to ask slaveholders to volunteer their slaves for service on condition that nothing would alter the current relationship between master and slave.
Interior Secretary John Usher submits his resignation to President Abraham Lincoln on the grounds that Lincoln had appointed Hugh McCulloch, a fellow Indianan, to the cabinet.
General Edmund Kirby Smith, commanding the Confederate Trans-Mississippi District, wrote to President Jefferson Davis offering to resign due to intense press criticism of his leadership. Davis refused Smith’s offer but expressed regret that Smith had not been more cooperative in sending reinforcements east where they were needed most.
Union soldiers skirmish with Indians at Poison Creek, in the Idaho Territory.
Major General Sterling Price, CSA, assumes the command of the Missouri Division of Infantry.
Colonel Edwin C. Catherwood, of the 13th US Missouri Cavalry, assumes command of the District of Rolla, Missouri.
Skirmishes occur at Love's--or Blue's--Bridge, South Carolina, as well as in Jackson County, Tennessee.
The Headquarters of the Department of Mississippi is transferred from Vicksburg, Mississippi, to Memphis, Tennessee.
A skirmish breaks out at Duguidsville, Virginia, with Major General Philip H. Sheridan's Federals who are moving toward Petersburg, Virginia, from the Shenandoah Valley.
The USS Chenango, under Lieutenant George U. Morris, conducts a reconnaissance mission up the Black River from Georgetown, South Carolina, for a distance of some 45 miles. Morris reported that: "Upon reaching the vicinity of Brown's Ferry [a company of Confederate cavalry] opened upon us from behind a levee or bluff with rifles. We immediately responded with broadside guns and riflemen stationed in the tops."
The Battle of Wyse Fork, aka the Second Battle of Kinston, occurs as Braxton Bragg’s Confederates attack Jacob Cox’s Federals en route to New Bern, North Carolina. The Confederates take nearly 1,000 prisoners, but the main Union force, eventually reinforced, holds firm and repulses further Confederate assaults. Bragg intended for this attack to enable Robert E. Lee to escape from Virginia and join Joseph E. Johnston in North Carolina.
Yesterday, 7 March, Federal advance units encountered Bragg's entrenched forces along Southwest Creek east of Kinston. Bragg's position not only blocked Cox's path but threatened a vital cross road and the New Bern-Goldsboro Railroad. Cox saw the importance of this position and moved forward the divisions of Brigadier General Innis N. Palmer to protect the railroad and Major General Samuel P. Carter to protect the roads. Bragg's forces were also reinforced by veterans from the Army of Tennessee and the North Carolina Junior Reserves, all under the command of General Daniel Harvey Hill.
Reinforced, Bragg went on the offensive and sent a division under North Carolina native Robert Hoke into the Union left flank. Hoke's attack hit a New England brigade in Carter's division, capturing an entire regiment. Hill joined the advance with the Junior Reserves but they panicked and refused to go any further. Hill left them behind and moved on with his veterans, hitting the Union brigade and defeating it. Disaster threatened the Union flank when Bragg stopped Hill's advance and sent him far to the north to counterattack a perceived Union threat. When Hill arrived he found no Federals in sight. At this time Cox, who had been away from the front lines, returned and moved up his reserve division under Major General Thomas H. Ruger to plug the gap between Palmer and Carter.
Skirmishing would continue for the next few days until Hoke tried again to turn the Federal left flank on March 10. The Federal position by now had been strongly fortified by artillery and repulsed Hoke's attack within an hour. Hill then moved against the Union center but again Federal artillery proved decisive and the attackers were repulsed. The remaining elements from the Federal XXIII Corps, which had just arrived in New Bern from Tennessee, were then moving on Kinston. Facing five Union divisions, Bragg withdrew.
The Confederate Senate votes 9 to 8 to recruit blacks as soldiers; the House had approved the measure last month. The Senate version of the bill authorizes the President to ask slaveholders to volunteer their slaves for service on condition that nothing would alter the current relationship between master and slave.
Interior Secretary John Usher submits his resignation to President Abraham Lincoln on the grounds that Lincoln had appointed Hugh McCulloch, a fellow Indianan, to the cabinet.
General Edmund Kirby Smith, commanding the Confederate Trans-Mississippi District, wrote to President Jefferson Davis offering to resign due to intense press criticism of his leadership. Davis refused Smith’s offer but expressed regret that Smith had not been more cooperative in sending reinforcements east where they were needed most.
Union soldiers skirmish with Indians at Poison Creek, in the Idaho Territory.
Major General Sterling Price, CSA, assumes the command of the Missouri Division of Infantry.
Colonel Edwin C. Catherwood, of the 13th US Missouri Cavalry, assumes command of the District of Rolla, Missouri.
Skirmishes occur at Love's--or Blue's--Bridge, South Carolina, as well as in Jackson County, Tennessee.
The Headquarters of the Department of Mississippi is transferred from Vicksburg, Mississippi, to Memphis, Tennessee.
A skirmish breaks out at Duguidsville, Virginia, with Major General Philip H. Sheridan's Federals who are moving toward Petersburg, Virginia, from the Shenandoah Valley.
The USS Chenango, under Lieutenant George U. Morris, conducts a reconnaissance mission up the Black River from Georgetown, South Carolina, for a distance of some 45 miles. Morris reported that: "Upon reaching the vicinity of Brown's Ferry [a company of Confederate cavalry] opened upon us from behind a levee or bluff with rifles. We immediately responded with broadside guns and riflemen stationed in the tops."
Posted on 3/8/15 at 9:31 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Thursday, 9 March 1865
Fighting continued at Kinston, North Carolina, as the Battle of Wyse Fork escalates between General Braxton Bragg’s Confederates and Federal Major General Jacob D. Cox’s Union army.
Confederate cavalry sweeps in to attack a completely surprised Federal cavalry at Monroe’s Cross Roads, South Carolina, nearly capturing Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick who allegedly fled without his trousers.
The Federal occupation of Columbia, Virginia, by Major General Philip H. Sheridan's Union troops begins.
Christopher Columbus Andrews, USA, is appointed Major General.
Major General Alexander McDowell McCook, USA, assumes the command of the District of Eastern Arkansas.
Union soldiers scout from Fort Lamed to Coon Creek, Mulberry Creek, then on to Crooked Creek, Kansas, where the Yankees find a friendly village of Arapahoes of Little Raven's band, with many bucks, squaws and papooses. The Federals learn there are a few thousand braves of Comanches, Apaches and Kiowas in the vicinity and deem it advisable not to burn any of the deserted Indian villages they discovered in the area, opting to return back to Fort Larned as quickly as possible.
A skirmish breaks out at Howard's Mills, Kentucky.
Federals scout against partisan guerrillas from Cape Girardeau into Bellinger, Wayne, and Stoddard Counties, Missouri. The Yankees report there "...are a few less agitators in this region..." after the latest expedition with the black flag and taking no prisoners.
Major General George Stoneman, USA, assumes the command of the District of East Tennessee.
Vermont becomes the 17th state to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment to abolish slavery.
President Abraham Lincoln accepts the resignation of his Secretary of the Interior, John P. Usher, effective May 15. Assistant Secretary William Otto will handle the department until a successor can be named and confirmed.
Fighting continued at Kinston, North Carolina, as the Battle of Wyse Fork escalates between General Braxton Bragg’s Confederates and Federal Major General Jacob D. Cox’s Union army.
Confederate cavalry sweeps in to attack a completely surprised Federal cavalry at Monroe’s Cross Roads, South Carolina, nearly capturing Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick who allegedly fled without his trousers.
The Federal occupation of Columbia, Virginia, by Major General Philip H. Sheridan's Union troops begins.
Christopher Columbus Andrews, USA, is appointed Major General.
Major General Alexander McDowell McCook, USA, assumes the command of the District of Eastern Arkansas.
Union soldiers scout from Fort Lamed to Coon Creek, Mulberry Creek, then on to Crooked Creek, Kansas, where the Yankees find a friendly village of Arapahoes of Little Raven's band, with many bucks, squaws and papooses. The Federals learn there are a few thousand braves of Comanches, Apaches and Kiowas in the vicinity and deem it advisable not to burn any of the deserted Indian villages they discovered in the area, opting to return back to Fort Larned as quickly as possible.
A skirmish breaks out at Howard's Mills, Kentucky.
Federals scout against partisan guerrillas from Cape Girardeau into Bellinger, Wayne, and Stoddard Counties, Missouri. The Yankees report there "...are a few less agitators in this region..." after the latest expedition with the black flag and taking no prisoners.
Major General George Stoneman, USA, assumes the command of the District of East Tennessee.
Vermont becomes the 17th state to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment to abolish slavery.
President Abraham Lincoln accepts the resignation of his Secretary of the Interior, John P. Usher, effective May 15. Assistant Secretary William Otto will handle the department until a successor can be named and confirmed.
This post was edited on 3/9/15 at 4:32 am
Posted on 3/9/15 at 8:38 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Friday, 10 March 1865
Union Major General William T. Sherman’s army was nearing Fayetteville, North Carolina, but encountering some degree of difficulty from the wet weather and constant skirmishing with the Confederate cavalry.
The fighting at Kinston, North Carolina ended after several Confederate attacks against Union Major General Jacob D. Cox’s defenders. Tonight, Confederate General Braxton Bragg withdraws across the Neuse River to Kinston and then to Goldsborough to join General Joseph E. Johnston. In fighting since 8 March, Bragg lost 134 men while Cox lost 1,257, mostly captured. The engagement temporarily checked the Union advance on Goldsboro.
Southern Major General William Henry Chase Whiting dies as a prisoner of war at Fort Columbus, New York, from wounds received at the Union assault of Fort Fisher on 15 January.
An engagement occurs at Monroe's Cross Roads, South Carolina, where Union Brigadier General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick battles Confederate Lieutenant General Wade Hampton.
On 9 March, Kilpatrick had camped at Green Springs-an open field just south of Monroe’s Crossroads-and intended to surprise Confederates racing to Fayetteville. Confederate General Matthew Butler’s cavalry, however, was heading to Green Springs. The night was pitch black with heavy rain, but Butler’s scouts discovered Union soldiers were near after finding horse tracks only partially filled with water. Aware of approaching Union soldiers, Butler captured a group of about thirty cavalrymen without firing a single shot. Kilpatrick was with a second group of riders but escaped with his staff. Further reconnaissance informed Confederates of the Union camp and after capturing a Union scout, they learned specific details regarding the whereabouts of the camp and Kilpatrick’s headquarters.
Just before midnight, General Smith Dykins Atkins approached Butler’s force from the rear. Atkin’s saw Butler was between his own men and Kilpatrick’s. In an effort to reconnect with Kilpatrick, Atkins retraced his steps to find a way around Butler but ended up stuck in a swamp until after dawn. He was unable to inform Kilpatrick of the proximity of the Confederates.
General Wade Hampton decided to launch a surprise attack at daylight this morning. Due to confusion, Kilpatrick’s force failed to establish a picket line in the rear allowing Butler and Confederate scouts to acquire intelligence on the camp. Hampton who formulated the plan while further scouting efforts confirmed the location of prisoners and provided further details about the location of Kilpatrick’s headquarters. Wheeler’s force was scattered with many just arriving after a long night of riding. It was decided that Butler would lead the main charge. He and his men would attack the camp from the north in the early morning hours. Wheeler’s men would attack from the center and south and cut off the Union escape. Butler, Wheeler, and General William Wirt Allen all formulated separate plans to capture Kilpatrick. Just before the assault began, Hampton gave command of the assault to Wheeler as a gesture of good will.
About 5:30am, Confederates attacked the Union camp while the Yankees still slept. The Rebels initially overwhelmed and routed the Union troops, released Confederate prisoners, and secured the Union’s artillery. Kilpatrick’s headquarters was taken, but Kilpatrick barely avoided capture. Confederate Captain Bostick rode up to Kilpatrick as the general exited the headquarters in his nightclothes and asked for the whereabouts of the general. When Kilpatrick realized he was not recognized, he pointed to another, exclaiming, “There he goes on that horse!” Bostick pursued the rider and Kilpatrick jumped on the nearest horse and escaped. Butler’s force secured the release of nearly 130 Confederate prisoners. Some were accidentally shot, but many prisoners picked up arms or jumped on horses and joined in the assault. However, misfortune struck Wheeler’s regiment and they were unable to cut off the Union retreat. The group attacking from the south became stuck in the swamp. As a result, Kilpatrick and his cavalrymen escaped. The Confederates did not pursue and instead took time looting the camp.
Realizing the Confederates were not pursuing, Kilpatrick and his officers organized the Union troops who escaped. Kilpatrick led a counterassault on the camp. The Confederates were unprepared for the quick counterattack. The Confederates-officers and soldiers-were scattered and separated from their units. Butler saw the confusion and sent a courier to dispatch his reserves, but the reserves were not in the correct location. Wheeler’s trapped division finally emerged from the swamp and entered into battle. Wheeler sent a courier to summon his reserves, but they were also not in the planned location. Hampton gathered up both sets of reserves and led them into the battle himself. Union reinforcements arrived and the fighting intensified. A Union artillery officer retook the forgotten artillery and fired on the Confederates. The Rebels charged and disabled the cannons but at great cost. Federal forces then repelled the concentrated Confederate attacks and retook the cannons.
Hampton, concerned that the Union infantry would soon arrive, ordered the Confederate cavalry to withdraw. Hampton’s timing was impeccable. Shortly after withdrawing, Brigadier General J. G. Mitchell’s brigade arrived to support Kilpatrick. Hampton escaped with Union prisoners and supply wagons and moved to Fayetteville. The casualty reports from the battle are confusing and conflicting. Kilpatrick, known for exaggeration, reports that about one hundred Union soldiers were captured, General Wheeler reported taking over three hundred and fifty prisoners, and General Johnston’s report claimed the number was around five hundred prisoners. Both the Union and Confederate forces claimed victory.
The conflict opened the road to Fayetteville for the Confederates, and the battle prevented Union troops from progressing toward Fayetteville on 10 March. Kilpatrick, worried that the Confederates might return, stayed close to Sherman’s reinforcements, allowing the Confederates to arrive at Fayetteville first. Some skirmishing ensued on 11 March when Union scouts assaulted the Confederate troops in Fayetteville, but the scouts were repulsed. The Confederates withdrew across Cape Fear River before the arrival of the main Union force and destroyed the bridges. Fayetteville formally surrendered to Sherman’s forces, but the Confederate soldiers escaped and Sherman was unable to get his force across the Cape Fear River until 15 March. The engagement at Monroe’s Crossroads provided the Confederate infantry the time needed to cross to the eastern side of the Cape Fear River by delaying the advance of the Union forces and allowed the Confederates time to regroup and establish a defensive position at Bentonville. Because Kilpatrick’s recklessness made him unpopular among his men, Monroe’s Cross Roads was derisively nicknamed "The Battle of Kilpatrick’s Pants."
Lieutenant Commander Young reported progress to Rear Admiral Porter in clearing Cape Fear River for support of Sherman 's army now near Fayetteville. Only small ships or steam launches could provide upriver service. "The gate obstructions are all clear, so that three or four vessels can pass abreast. The obstructions on the line of the two sunken steamers, where the buoy flags were planted, it will be necessary to take great pains to raise carefully. We have succeeded in destroying some four torpedoes which were found lodged in the logs of the obstructions."
Union Major General William T. Sherman’s army was nearing Fayetteville, North Carolina, but encountering some degree of difficulty from the wet weather and constant skirmishing with the Confederate cavalry.
The fighting at Kinston, North Carolina ended after several Confederate attacks against Union Major General Jacob D. Cox’s defenders. Tonight, Confederate General Braxton Bragg withdraws across the Neuse River to Kinston and then to Goldsborough to join General Joseph E. Johnston. In fighting since 8 March, Bragg lost 134 men while Cox lost 1,257, mostly captured. The engagement temporarily checked the Union advance on Goldsboro.
Southern Major General William Henry Chase Whiting dies as a prisoner of war at Fort Columbus, New York, from wounds received at the Union assault of Fort Fisher on 15 January.
An engagement occurs at Monroe's Cross Roads, South Carolina, where Union Brigadier General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick battles Confederate Lieutenant General Wade Hampton.
On 9 March, Kilpatrick had camped at Green Springs-an open field just south of Monroe’s Crossroads-and intended to surprise Confederates racing to Fayetteville. Confederate General Matthew Butler’s cavalry, however, was heading to Green Springs. The night was pitch black with heavy rain, but Butler’s scouts discovered Union soldiers were near after finding horse tracks only partially filled with water. Aware of approaching Union soldiers, Butler captured a group of about thirty cavalrymen without firing a single shot. Kilpatrick was with a second group of riders but escaped with his staff. Further reconnaissance informed Confederates of the Union camp and after capturing a Union scout, they learned specific details regarding the whereabouts of the camp and Kilpatrick’s headquarters.
Just before midnight, General Smith Dykins Atkins approached Butler’s force from the rear. Atkin’s saw Butler was between his own men and Kilpatrick’s. In an effort to reconnect with Kilpatrick, Atkins retraced his steps to find a way around Butler but ended up stuck in a swamp until after dawn. He was unable to inform Kilpatrick of the proximity of the Confederates.
General Wade Hampton decided to launch a surprise attack at daylight this morning. Due to confusion, Kilpatrick’s force failed to establish a picket line in the rear allowing Butler and Confederate scouts to acquire intelligence on the camp. Hampton who formulated the plan while further scouting efforts confirmed the location of prisoners and provided further details about the location of Kilpatrick’s headquarters. Wheeler’s force was scattered with many just arriving after a long night of riding. It was decided that Butler would lead the main charge. He and his men would attack the camp from the north in the early morning hours. Wheeler’s men would attack from the center and south and cut off the Union escape. Butler, Wheeler, and General William Wirt Allen all formulated separate plans to capture Kilpatrick. Just before the assault began, Hampton gave command of the assault to Wheeler as a gesture of good will.
About 5:30am, Confederates attacked the Union camp while the Yankees still slept. The Rebels initially overwhelmed and routed the Union troops, released Confederate prisoners, and secured the Union’s artillery. Kilpatrick’s headquarters was taken, but Kilpatrick barely avoided capture. Confederate Captain Bostick rode up to Kilpatrick as the general exited the headquarters in his nightclothes and asked for the whereabouts of the general. When Kilpatrick realized he was not recognized, he pointed to another, exclaiming, “There he goes on that horse!” Bostick pursued the rider and Kilpatrick jumped on the nearest horse and escaped. Butler’s force secured the release of nearly 130 Confederate prisoners. Some were accidentally shot, but many prisoners picked up arms or jumped on horses and joined in the assault. However, misfortune struck Wheeler’s regiment and they were unable to cut off the Union retreat. The group attacking from the south became stuck in the swamp. As a result, Kilpatrick and his cavalrymen escaped. The Confederates did not pursue and instead took time looting the camp.
Realizing the Confederates were not pursuing, Kilpatrick and his officers organized the Union troops who escaped. Kilpatrick led a counterassault on the camp. The Confederates were unprepared for the quick counterattack. The Confederates-officers and soldiers-were scattered and separated from their units. Butler saw the confusion and sent a courier to dispatch his reserves, but the reserves were not in the correct location. Wheeler’s trapped division finally emerged from the swamp and entered into battle. Wheeler sent a courier to summon his reserves, but they were also not in the planned location. Hampton gathered up both sets of reserves and led them into the battle himself. Union reinforcements arrived and the fighting intensified. A Union artillery officer retook the forgotten artillery and fired on the Confederates. The Rebels charged and disabled the cannons but at great cost. Federal forces then repelled the concentrated Confederate attacks and retook the cannons.
Hampton, concerned that the Union infantry would soon arrive, ordered the Confederate cavalry to withdraw. Hampton’s timing was impeccable. Shortly after withdrawing, Brigadier General J. G. Mitchell’s brigade arrived to support Kilpatrick. Hampton escaped with Union prisoners and supply wagons and moved to Fayetteville. The casualty reports from the battle are confusing and conflicting. Kilpatrick, known for exaggeration, reports that about one hundred Union soldiers were captured, General Wheeler reported taking over three hundred and fifty prisoners, and General Johnston’s report claimed the number was around five hundred prisoners. Both the Union and Confederate forces claimed victory.
The conflict opened the road to Fayetteville for the Confederates, and the battle prevented Union troops from progressing toward Fayetteville on 10 March. Kilpatrick, worried that the Confederates might return, stayed close to Sherman’s reinforcements, allowing the Confederates to arrive at Fayetteville first. Some skirmishing ensued on 11 March when Union scouts assaulted the Confederate troops in Fayetteville, but the scouts were repulsed. The Confederates withdrew across Cape Fear River before the arrival of the main Union force and destroyed the bridges. Fayetteville formally surrendered to Sherman’s forces, but the Confederate soldiers escaped and Sherman was unable to get his force across the Cape Fear River until 15 March. The engagement at Monroe’s Crossroads provided the Confederate infantry the time needed to cross to the eastern side of the Cape Fear River by delaying the advance of the Union forces and allowed the Confederates time to regroup and establish a defensive position at Bentonville. Because Kilpatrick’s recklessness made him unpopular among his men, Monroe’s Cross Roads was derisively nicknamed "The Battle of Kilpatrick’s Pants."
Lieutenant Commander Young reported progress to Rear Admiral Porter in clearing Cape Fear River for support of Sherman 's army now near Fayetteville. Only small ships or steam launches could provide upriver service. "The gate obstructions are all clear, so that three or four vessels can pass abreast. The obstructions on the line of the two sunken steamers, where the buoy flags were planted, it will be necessary to take great pains to raise carefully. We have succeeded in destroying some four torpedoes which were found lodged in the logs of the obstructions."
Page 36 of 46
Popular
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News