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re: 150 years ago this day...
Posted on 1/19/14 at 9:08 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Posted on 1/19/14 at 9:08 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Wednesday, 20 January 1864
For all of American history it had been the ultimate responsibility of the Commander in Chief of the armed forces to rule on the verdict of any court-martial of a member of said forces in capital cases. In peacetime, of course, few such cases made it as far as the President’s desk, as the more usual punishment was fines, possibly imprisonment, and then dishonorable discharge. Under the stresses of war, however, the stream of orders of execution ballooned to vastly higher numbers. In many cases the charges were the same as those that would cause any civilian court of the day to impose a death sentence: murder of civilians, rape and the like. There was one category of offense, however, that was unique to the military, that of desertion. As the war dragged on this was becoming more of a problem, and more death sentences were being handed out. Five such warrants reached Lincoln’s office today, and he did what he almost invariably did, he suspended the sentences. This annoyed many generals, who pointed out that sanctions that were unenforced were ignored.
Correspondence showing the operations of Southern agents and individuals at the North, in the cotton trade, and making other revelations, were made public.
Major Henry H. Cole and the Maryland cavalry under his command, were officially praised for their gallantry in repelling the assault made upon his camp on Loudon Heights, on the tenth instant, by the Confederate partisan ranger, John Singleton Mosby.
A squad of men sent from Charleston, Missouri, in pursuit of a band of guerrillas, killed the leader of the band and wounded two or three others. The remainder escaped to the swamp. Five prisoners were carried in, charged with harboring guerrillas.
Thirty-two guerrillas were captured near Paris, Kentucky, and taken to Columbus.
For all of American history it had been the ultimate responsibility of the Commander in Chief of the armed forces to rule on the verdict of any court-martial of a member of said forces in capital cases. In peacetime, of course, few such cases made it as far as the President’s desk, as the more usual punishment was fines, possibly imprisonment, and then dishonorable discharge. Under the stresses of war, however, the stream of orders of execution ballooned to vastly higher numbers. In many cases the charges were the same as those that would cause any civilian court of the day to impose a death sentence: murder of civilians, rape and the like. There was one category of offense, however, that was unique to the military, that of desertion. As the war dragged on this was becoming more of a problem, and more death sentences were being handed out. Five such warrants reached Lincoln’s office today, and he did what he almost invariably did, he suspended the sentences. This annoyed many generals, who pointed out that sanctions that were unenforced were ignored.
Correspondence showing the operations of Southern agents and individuals at the North, in the cotton trade, and making other revelations, were made public.
Major Henry H. Cole and the Maryland cavalry under his command, were officially praised for their gallantry in repelling the assault made upon his camp on Loudon Heights, on the tenth instant, by the Confederate partisan ranger, John Singleton Mosby.
A squad of men sent from Charleston, Missouri, in pursuit of a band of guerrillas, killed the leader of the band and wounded two or three others. The remainder escaped to the swamp. Five prisoners were carried in, charged with harboring guerrillas.
Thirty-two guerrillas were captured near Paris, Kentucky, and taken to Columbus.
1
Posted on 1/20/14 at 6:44 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Thursday, 21 January 1864
A little-discussed aspect of the United States during the War of Northern Aggression was that the nation was divided into Departments by the Army. Usually named after states, they did not necessarily follow existing state borders, and frequently contained more than one state. The Department of Ohio, for example, was immense, stretching from the western half of Pennsylvania to include all of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and, for a time, Missouri. Although departmental commanders did not have the full authority of martial law, they did have the responsibility to coordinate not just collection and assignment of state troop quotas, but considerable influence over what would normally be “private sector” activities. For example, today in that same Department of Ohio, an order was issued forbidding the distillation of whiskey by Major General John Gray Foster. The reasons given were a shortage of grain and the need to save what was available for food purposes.
The Unadilla-class gunboat USS Sciota, under Lieutenant Commander George H. Perkins, in company with the side wheel-propelled USS Granite City, Acting Master Charles W. Lamson in charge, joined several hundred troops in a reconnaissance of the Texas coast. The Sciota and Granite City covered the troops at Smith's Landing, Texas, and the subsequent foray down the Matagorda Peninsula. From the war's outset, this type of close naval support and cooperation with the army had been a potent factor in Union success in all theaters of the conflict.
The movement of the cavalry belonging to the Federal forces, in their hurried retreat from Strawberry Plains, Tennessee, reached Sevierville. Skirmishing was kept up all day between the Union troops on one side of the Holston River, and the Confederates on the other. The latter had a battery on College Hill, near Strawberry Plains, from which they played on the Yankees, while crossing the river. Comparatively little damage was done, the Union loss being little over a half-dozen wounded.
The shelling of Charleston, South Carolina, from Fort Putnam continued night and day at intervals of ten minutes. One gun alone has fired over one thousand, one hundred rounds, at an elevation of forty degrees.
Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, accompanied by his staff, arrived at New Orleans this morning.
A little-discussed aspect of the United States during the War of Northern Aggression was that the nation was divided into Departments by the Army. Usually named after states, they did not necessarily follow existing state borders, and frequently contained more than one state. The Department of Ohio, for example, was immense, stretching from the western half of Pennsylvania to include all of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and, for a time, Missouri. Although departmental commanders did not have the full authority of martial law, they did have the responsibility to coordinate not just collection and assignment of state troop quotas, but considerable influence over what would normally be “private sector” activities. For example, today in that same Department of Ohio, an order was issued forbidding the distillation of whiskey by Major General John Gray Foster. The reasons given were a shortage of grain and the need to save what was available for food purposes.
The Unadilla-class gunboat USS Sciota, under Lieutenant Commander George H. Perkins, in company with the side wheel-propelled USS Granite City, Acting Master Charles W. Lamson in charge, joined several hundred troops in a reconnaissance of the Texas coast. The Sciota and Granite City covered the troops at Smith's Landing, Texas, and the subsequent foray down the Matagorda Peninsula. From the war's outset, this type of close naval support and cooperation with the army had been a potent factor in Union success in all theaters of the conflict.
The movement of the cavalry belonging to the Federal forces, in their hurried retreat from Strawberry Plains, Tennessee, reached Sevierville. Skirmishing was kept up all day between the Union troops on one side of the Holston River, and the Confederates on the other. The latter had a battery on College Hill, near Strawberry Plains, from which they played on the Yankees, while crossing the river. Comparatively little damage was done, the Union loss being little over a half-dozen wounded.
The shelling of Charleston, South Carolina, from Fort Putnam continued night and day at intervals of ten minutes. One gun alone has fired over one thousand, one hundred rounds, at an elevation of forty degrees.
Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, accompanied by his staff, arrived at New Orleans this morning.
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