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re: 150 years ago this day...
Posted on 7/22/14 at 8:28 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Posted on 7/22/14 at 8:28 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Saturday, 23 July 1864
Believing Jubal Early's Confederate army was no longer a threat in the Shenandoah Valley, Union General Horatio Wright abandoned his pursuit and ordered the VI and XIX Corps to return to Washington, DC, where they were to be sent to join General Hiram U. Grant's Federal forces at Petersburg, Virginia. Wright left General George R. Crook with three Federal divisions in the Valley and some cavalry to hold Winchester.
In the Valley, General Jubal Early’s Confederates turned northward to attack Federals under General George Crook at Kernstown, Virginia-the opening battle of the First Valley Campaign-near the site where General Thomas J. Jackson’s Stonewall Brigade had won a strategic victory in March 1862. Sharp skirmishing ensued.
Union President Abraham Lincoln often seemed to have an instinct for what enemy armies were going to do next. This was frequently a better instinct than the commanders in the field had, as was proven by a telegram today to General David “Black Dave” Hunter in Harper’s Ferry. “Are you able to take care of the enemy when he turns back on you, as he probably will on finding that Wright has left?” Sure enough, Early turned and headed for Kernstown. Hunter sent General George R. Crook out to meet him. As a side note, Crook's return to his post at Fort Fetterman 12 years hence, would likely doom the five companies of the 7th Cavalry Regiment led by George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
The Army transport B.M. Runyan, with some 500 military and civilian passengers on board, sank in the Mississippi River near Skipwith Landing, in Issaquena County, Mississippi, after hitting a snag. The USS Prairie Bird, Acting Master Thomas Burns in charge, rescued 350 survivors and salvaged part of the cargo. Rescue and humanitarian operations have been a continuing naval mission throughout American history.
In Louisiana, a pre-selected, pro-U.S. convention adopted a State constitution abolishing slavery without compensating former slaveholders. This fulfilled one of the Lincoln administration’s conditions for returning Louisiana to the Union. Citizens who swore loyalty were allowed to vote on whether to approve the new constitution; the election was scheduled for 5 September.
Believing Jubal Early's Confederate army was no longer a threat in the Shenandoah Valley, Union General Horatio Wright abandoned his pursuit and ordered the VI and XIX Corps to return to Washington, DC, where they were to be sent to join General Hiram U. Grant's Federal forces at Petersburg, Virginia. Wright left General George R. Crook with three Federal divisions in the Valley and some cavalry to hold Winchester.
In the Valley, General Jubal Early’s Confederates turned northward to attack Federals under General George Crook at Kernstown, Virginia-the opening battle of the First Valley Campaign-near the site where General Thomas J. Jackson’s Stonewall Brigade had won a strategic victory in March 1862. Sharp skirmishing ensued.
Union President Abraham Lincoln often seemed to have an instinct for what enemy armies were going to do next. This was frequently a better instinct than the commanders in the field had, as was proven by a telegram today to General David “Black Dave” Hunter in Harper’s Ferry. “Are you able to take care of the enemy when he turns back on you, as he probably will on finding that Wright has left?” Sure enough, Early turned and headed for Kernstown. Hunter sent General George R. Crook out to meet him. As a side note, Crook's return to his post at Fort Fetterman 12 years hence, would likely doom the five companies of the 7th Cavalry Regiment led by George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
The Army transport B.M. Runyan, with some 500 military and civilian passengers on board, sank in the Mississippi River near Skipwith Landing, in Issaquena County, Mississippi, after hitting a snag. The USS Prairie Bird, Acting Master Thomas Burns in charge, rescued 350 survivors and salvaged part of the cargo. Rescue and humanitarian operations have been a continuing naval mission throughout American history.
In Louisiana, a pre-selected, pro-U.S. convention adopted a State constitution abolishing slavery without compensating former slaveholders. This fulfilled one of the Lincoln administration’s conditions for returning Louisiana to the Union. Citizens who swore loyalty were allowed to vote on whether to approve the new constitution; the election was scheduled for 5 September.
1
Posted on 7/24/14 at 4:17 am to BadLeroyDawg
Sunday, 24 July 1864
Despite all of the fighting in the hundreds of battles, both small and large, that had taken place in the general vicinity over the last three and one quarter years, this morning’s altercation is known to history only as the Second Battle of Kernstown. General Jubal Early--in a virtual reenactment of General Thomas J. Jackson’s actions with the Stonewall Brigade in the First Battle of Kernstown--hit General George R. Crook’s defending Federals directly in the center, after the left had been rolled up by General John C. Breckinridge and the right badly battered by General Stephen D. Ramseur. The day ended with the familiar sight of frightened Federals in hurried flight leading to a panicked retreat toward Harpers Ferry and Winchester. The Confederates quickly pursued northward.
Another report: Under orders to prevent more reinforcements from being sent to Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant, General Jubal Early marched north this morning against Crook. After almost an hour of stubborn resistance at Pritchard's Hill, the Union line quickly collapsed and Crook's divisions streamed back in disarray through the streets of Winchester, a town that changed hands more than seventy times during the War and more than earned its reputation (in the words of a British observer) as the shuttlecock of the Confederacy.
Federal Colonel James Mulligan, commanding Crook's Third Division, was mortally wounded. Future U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes commanded a Northern brigade that fought against Confederate General John C. Breckinridge's division. Crook retreated to the Potomac River and crossed near Williamsport, Maryland on July 26. Because of this defeat and the subsequent burning of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, on July 30, Grant would order the VI and XIX Corps back to the Shenandoah Valley and eventually unify several Federal commands in the region under General Philip Sheridan.
Second Kernstown was the last major Confederate victory in the Shenandoah Valley and temporarily removed Federal control of Winchester and the vitally important northern Shenandoah Valley. It is interesting to note that Federal forces under Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes, who would later become President of the United States, fought directly against General Breckinridge, who was a former Vice President of the United States and also the Democratic candidate for President against Abraham Lincoln in 1860.
Confederate guerrillas captured and burned the steamer Kingston, which had run aground the preceding day between Smith's Point and Windmill Point on the Virginia shore of Chesapeake Bay.
Despite all of the fighting in the hundreds of battles, both small and large, that had taken place in the general vicinity over the last three and one quarter years, this morning’s altercation is known to history only as the Second Battle of Kernstown. General Jubal Early--in a virtual reenactment of General Thomas J. Jackson’s actions with the Stonewall Brigade in the First Battle of Kernstown--hit General George R. Crook’s defending Federals directly in the center, after the left had been rolled up by General John C. Breckinridge and the right badly battered by General Stephen D. Ramseur. The day ended with the familiar sight of frightened Federals in hurried flight leading to a panicked retreat toward Harpers Ferry and Winchester. The Confederates quickly pursued northward.
Another report: Under orders to prevent more reinforcements from being sent to Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant, General Jubal Early marched north this morning against Crook. After almost an hour of stubborn resistance at Pritchard's Hill, the Union line quickly collapsed and Crook's divisions streamed back in disarray through the streets of Winchester, a town that changed hands more than seventy times during the War and more than earned its reputation (in the words of a British observer) as the shuttlecock of the Confederacy.
Federal Colonel James Mulligan, commanding Crook's Third Division, was mortally wounded. Future U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes commanded a Northern brigade that fought against Confederate General John C. Breckinridge's division. Crook retreated to the Potomac River and crossed near Williamsport, Maryland on July 26. Because of this defeat and the subsequent burning of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, on July 30, Grant would order the VI and XIX Corps back to the Shenandoah Valley and eventually unify several Federal commands in the region under General Philip Sheridan.
Second Kernstown was the last major Confederate victory in the Shenandoah Valley and temporarily removed Federal control of Winchester and the vitally important northern Shenandoah Valley. It is interesting to note that Federal forces under Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes, who would later become President of the United States, fought directly against General Breckinridge, who was a former Vice President of the United States and also the Democratic candidate for President against Abraham Lincoln in 1860.
Confederate guerrillas captured and burned the steamer Kingston, which had run aground the preceding day between Smith's Point and Windmill Point on the Virginia shore of Chesapeake Bay.
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