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re: 150 years ago this day...
Posted on 3/27/15 at 9:26 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Posted on 3/27/15 at 9:26 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Tuesday, 28 March 1865
President Abraham Lincoln, Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant, Major General William T. Sherman and Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter continue their discussions aboard the steamer River Queen off of City Point, Virginia. The generals detailed their plans and pointed out that one more major campaign would be needed to force an end to the War. Lincoln expressed hope that high-ranking Confederates, including President Jefferson Davis, would flee the country. Regarding surrender, Lincoln said: "Let them once surrender and reach their homes, they won’t take up arms again. Let them go, officers and all. I want submission and no more bloodshed." When the fighting stopped, Southerners "...would at once be guaranteed all their rights as citizens of a common country." Lincoln said, "I want no one punished, treat them liberally all around. We want those people to return to their allegiance to the Union and submit to the laws."
The City Point conference set the tone for how the Union commanders would handle the Confederates in upcoming engagements. Following the talks, Sherman returned to Goldsboro.
Naval report: Rear Admiral Porter visited President Lincoln with Generals Grant and Sherman on board the steamer River Queen, the President's headquarters during his stay at City Point. The four men informally discussed the war during the famous conference, and Lincoln stressed his desire to bring the war to a close as quickly as possible with as little bloodshed as possible. He added that he was inclined to follow a lenient policy with regard to the course to be pursued at the conclusion of the war. After the conference Sherman returned to New Bern, North Carolina, on board USS Bat, a swifter ship than the steamer on which he had arrived at City Point. Porter had ordered Lieutenant Commander Barnes: "You will wait the pleasure of Major General W. T. Sherman, and when ready will convey him, with staff, either to New Berne, Beaufort, or such place as he may indicate. Return here as soon as possible." Sherman's troops at Goldsboro were little more than 125 miles in a direct line from the front south of Petersburg.
Following the Presidential conference on board River Queen, Rear Admiral Porter ordered Commander William Henry Alexander Macomb, commanding in the North Carolina Sounds, "...to cooperate with General Sherman to the fullest extent" during operations soon to be opened in the area. "They will want all your tugs, particularly, to tow vessels or canal boats up to Kinston, North Carolina."
It will be absolutely necessary to supply General Sherman by the way of Kinston." Porter continued: "There will be a movement made from Winton after a while. It is necessary for us to get possession of everything up the Chowan River, so that Sherman can obtain his forage up there...I trust to Captain Rhind to remove the obstructions at New Berne and to tow up rapidly all the provisions, and General Sherman can supply his army for daily use by the railroad, and you can get up the stuff required for the March."
Commander Macomb received the Admiral's orders via the swift steamer USS Bat on 30 March, and the following day replied from Roanoke Island: "I immediately had an interview with the general and arranged that Captain Rhind would attend to everything relating to the Navy in the Neuse. I am on my way to Plymouth to carry out your orders as regards sending vessels to Winton, on the Chowan, and holding the same. The Shokokon and Commodore Hull are on their way up from New Berne. As soon as possible after my arrival at Plymouth I shall proceed up the Chowan, dragging ahead for torpedoes." Control of the sea and rivers continued to be as invaluable to the North in operations at the end of the war as it had from the start.
Skirmishes commence near Elyton, Alabama, with Union Brigadier General James H. Wilson's troops.
A Federal expedition sails from Fort Pike, Louisiana, aboard the sloop, Rosetta, to Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, in an unsuccessful attempt to capture some of Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest's Confederate Cavalry troops.
A skirmish occurs at Bull Creek, in Christian County, Missouri.
Brigadier General Robert E. Mitchell, USA, is relieved from the command of the District of Nebraska, and is assigned to the command of the District of North Kansas.
A skirmish breaks out near Snow Hill, North Carolina, with Major General George Stoneman's USA, Cavalry approaching from the west.
Skirmishing occurs at Germantown, Tennessee, with the Union pickets there.
The District of the Plains is formed, to consist of the Districts of Utah, Colorado, and Nebraska. Brigadier General Patrick E. Connor, USA, is assigned to its command.
A Union expedition moves from Deep Bottom, Virginia, with the assistance of transports, ferries, and gunboats, to near Weldon, North Carolina, where the Yankees meet little resistance, and with minor skirmishes, capturing some prisoners and Confederate supplies, cotton, and equipment.
Shifting of troops by the Federals in front of Petersburg marks the preparations for a forthcoming advance, which Confederate General Robert E. Lee noted in a letter to his daughter. Lee wrote, “Genl Grant is evidently preparing for something & is marshaling & preparing his troops from some movement, which is not yet disclosed..."
The USS Milwaukee, Lieutenant Commander James H. Gillis in charge, struck a torpedo in the Blakely River, Alabama, while dropping downstream after shelling a Southern transport which was attempting to supply Spanish Fort. Just as Gillis returned to the area that had been swept for torpedoes and supposed the danger from torpedoes was past, "...he felt a shock and saw at once that a torpedo had exploded on the port side of the vessel..." Milwaukee's stern went under within three minutes but the forward compartments did not fill for almost an hour, enabling the sailors to save most of their belongings. Although the twin turreted monitor sank, no lives were lost.
The USS Niagara, under Commodore Thomas T. Craven, was fired upon by one of the forts in the harbor of Lisbon, Portugal. In a report to James E. Harvey, U.S. Minister Resident in Lisbon, Craven stated: "With view of shifting her berth farther up the river, so as to be nearer the usual landing stairs, at about 3:15 p.m. the Niagara was got underway and was about being turned head upstream when three shots were fired in rapid succession directly at her from Castle Belem." Portugal later apologized for the incident.
Union Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles advised Commodore Sylvanus W. Godon that he had been appointed an acting Rear Admiral and was to command the Brazil Squadron. Welles' letter was a significant commentary on the progress of the war afloat: "It is proposed to reestablish the Brazil Squadron, as circumstances now admit of the withdrawal of many of the vessels that have been engaged in the blockade and in active naval operations and sending them on foreign service..."
President Abraham Lincoln, Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant, Major General William T. Sherman and Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter continue their discussions aboard the steamer River Queen off of City Point, Virginia. The generals detailed their plans and pointed out that one more major campaign would be needed to force an end to the War. Lincoln expressed hope that high-ranking Confederates, including President Jefferson Davis, would flee the country. Regarding surrender, Lincoln said: "Let them once surrender and reach their homes, they won’t take up arms again. Let them go, officers and all. I want submission and no more bloodshed." When the fighting stopped, Southerners "...would at once be guaranteed all their rights as citizens of a common country." Lincoln said, "I want no one punished, treat them liberally all around. We want those people to return to their allegiance to the Union and submit to the laws."
The City Point conference set the tone for how the Union commanders would handle the Confederates in upcoming engagements. Following the talks, Sherman returned to Goldsboro.
Naval report: Rear Admiral Porter visited President Lincoln with Generals Grant and Sherman on board the steamer River Queen, the President's headquarters during his stay at City Point. The four men informally discussed the war during the famous conference, and Lincoln stressed his desire to bring the war to a close as quickly as possible with as little bloodshed as possible. He added that he was inclined to follow a lenient policy with regard to the course to be pursued at the conclusion of the war. After the conference Sherman returned to New Bern, North Carolina, on board USS Bat, a swifter ship than the steamer on which he had arrived at City Point. Porter had ordered Lieutenant Commander Barnes: "You will wait the pleasure of Major General W. T. Sherman, and when ready will convey him, with staff, either to New Berne, Beaufort, or such place as he may indicate. Return here as soon as possible." Sherman's troops at Goldsboro were little more than 125 miles in a direct line from the front south of Petersburg.
Following the Presidential conference on board River Queen, Rear Admiral Porter ordered Commander William Henry Alexander Macomb, commanding in the North Carolina Sounds, "...to cooperate with General Sherman to the fullest extent" during operations soon to be opened in the area. "They will want all your tugs, particularly, to tow vessels or canal boats up to Kinston, North Carolina."
It will be absolutely necessary to supply General Sherman by the way of Kinston." Porter continued: "There will be a movement made from Winton after a while. It is necessary for us to get possession of everything up the Chowan River, so that Sherman can obtain his forage up there...I trust to Captain Rhind to remove the obstructions at New Berne and to tow up rapidly all the provisions, and General Sherman can supply his army for daily use by the railroad, and you can get up the stuff required for the March."
Commander Macomb received the Admiral's orders via the swift steamer USS Bat on 30 March, and the following day replied from Roanoke Island: "I immediately had an interview with the general and arranged that Captain Rhind would attend to everything relating to the Navy in the Neuse. I am on my way to Plymouth to carry out your orders as regards sending vessels to Winton, on the Chowan, and holding the same. The Shokokon and Commodore Hull are on their way up from New Berne. As soon as possible after my arrival at Plymouth I shall proceed up the Chowan, dragging ahead for torpedoes." Control of the sea and rivers continued to be as invaluable to the North in operations at the end of the war as it had from the start.
Skirmishes commence near Elyton, Alabama, with Union Brigadier General James H. Wilson's troops.
A Federal expedition sails from Fort Pike, Louisiana, aboard the sloop, Rosetta, to Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, in an unsuccessful attempt to capture some of Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest's Confederate Cavalry troops.
A skirmish occurs at Bull Creek, in Christian County, Missouri.
Brigadier General Robert E. Mitchell, USA, is relieved from the command of the District of Nebraska, and is assigned to the command of the District of North Kansas.
A skirmish breaks out near Snow Hill, North Carolina, with Major General George Stoneman's USA, Cavalry approaching from the west.
Skirmishing occurs at Germantown, Tennessee, with the Union pickets there.
The District of the Plains is formed, to consist of the Districts of Utah, Colorado, and Nebraska. Brigadier General Patrick E. Connor, USA, is assigned to its command.
A Union expedition moves from Deep Bottom, Virginia, with the assistance of transports, ferries, and gunboats, to near Weldon, North Carolina, where the Yankees meet little resistance, and with minor skirmishes, capturing some prisoners and Confederate supplies, cotton, and equipment.
Shifting of troops by the Federals in front of Petersburg marks the preparations for a forthcoming advance, which Confederate General Robert E. Lee noted in a letter to his daughter. Lee wrote, “Genl Grant is evidently preparing for something & is marshaling & preparing his troops from some movement, which is not yet disclosed..."
The USS Milwaukee, Lieutenant Commander James H. Gillis in charge, struck a torpedo in the Blakely River, Alabama, while dropping downstream after shelling a Southern transport which was attempting to supply Spanish Fort. Just as Gillis returned to the area that had been swept for torpedoes and supposed the danger from torpedoes was past, "...he felt a shock and saw at once that a torpedo had exploded on the port side of the vessel..." Milwaukee's stern went under within three minutes but the forward compartments did not fill for almost an hour, enabling the sailors to save most of their belongings. Although the twin turreted monitor sank, no lives were lost.
The USS Niagara, under Commodore Thomas T. Craven, was fired upon by one of the forts in the harbor of Lisbon, Portugal. In a report to James E. Harvey, U.S. Minister Resident in Lisbon, Craven stated: "With view of shifting her berth farther up the river, so as to be nearer the usual landing stairs, at about 3:15 p.m. the Niagara was got underway and was about being turned head upstream when three shots were fired in rapid succession directly at her from Castle Belem." Portugal later apologized for the incident.
Union Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles advised Commodore Sylvanus W. Godon that he had been appointed an acting Rear Admiral and was to command the Brazil Squadron. Welles' letter was a significant commentary on the progress of the war afloat: "It is proposed to reestablish the Brazil Squadron, as circumstances now admit of the withdrawal of many of the vessels that have been engaged in the blockade and in active naval operations and sending them on foreign service..."
1
Posted on 3/29/15 at 5:12 am to BadLeroyDawg
Wednesday, 29 March 1865
General Robert E. Lee shifts Confederate forces to the right of his Petersburg line to counter the ever growing Federal threat to the Five Forks area. Major General Philip H. Sheridan begins moving forces in that direction to cut the two railroads supplying Confederates in Petersburg and Richmond. Sheridan reaches Dinwiddie Court House this afternoon in a movement toward the Southside Railroad.
In a downpour, Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant, after conferring with the President, begins the final assault on the Confederate lines at Petersburg, Virginia. Grant launches his wide swinging move to the southwest of Petersburg in an attempt to roll up Lee's flank. Ever concerned about his lifeline on the James River, he wrote Rear Admiral David D. Porter: "In view of the possibility of the enemy attempting to come to City Point, or by crossing the Appomattox at Broadway Landing, getting to Bermuda Hundred during the absence of the greater part of the army, I would respectfully request that you direct one or two gunboats to lay in the Appomattox, near the pontoon bridge, and two in the James River, near the mouth of Bailey's Creek, the first stream below City Point emptying into the James." Porter complied with double measure, sending not one or two but several ships to Grant's assistance.
An engagement commences at Lewis Farm near Gravelly Run, Virginia, and skirmishing occurs at the junction of the Quaker and Boydton Roads, as well as on the Vaughan Road, when Lee sends Major Generals Fitzhugh Lee and George Pickett to repel the Federal attack.
Full report: On this day in 1865, the final campaign of the Civil War begins in Virginia when Union troops under General Ulysses S. Grant move against the Confederate trenches around Petersburg. General Robert E. Lee’s outnumbered Rebels were soon forced to evacuate the city and begin a desperate race west.
Eleven months earlier, Grant had moved his army across the Rapidan River in northern Virginia and began his Overland Campaign--the bloodiest campaign of the War, costing the Union over 55,000 casualties in a little over 40 days. For almost six weeks, Lee and Grant fought along an arc that swung east of the Confederate capital at Richmond. They engaged in some of the conflict’s bloodiest battles at Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor before settling into trenches for a siege of Petersburg, 25 miles south of Richmond. The trenches eventually stretched all the wayto Richmond, and during the ensuing months the armies glowered at each other across a no man’s land. Periodically, Grant launched attacks against sections of the Rebel defenses, but Lee’s men managed to fend them off.
Time, however, was running out for Lee. His army was dwindling in size to about 35,000 able bodies, while Grant’s continued to grow–the Army of the Potomac now had more than 125,000 men ready for service. On 25 March, Lee attempted to split the Union lines when he attacked Fort Stedman, a stronghold along the Yankee trenches. His army was beaten back, and he lost nearly 5,000 men. On March 29, Grant seized the initiative, sending 12,000 men past the Confederates’ left flank and threatening to cut Lee’s escape route from Petersburg. Fighting broke out there, several miles southwest of the city. Lee’s men could not arrest the Federal advance. On 1 April, the Yankees struck at Five Forks, soundly defeating the Rebels under General George Pickett and leaving Lee no alternative. He pulled his forces from their trenches and raced west, followed by Grant. It was a race that even the great Lee could not win. He surrendered his army on 9 April, 1865, at Appomattox Court House.
Thomas Maley Harris, USA, is appointed Brigadier General.
Major General Frederick Steele's Union column reaches Weatherford, Alabama, in the Mobile, Campaign.
Skirmishing occurs at Blackwater River, Kentucky.
Colonel William H. Dickey, of the 84th US Colored Troops, assumes the command of the US Forces at Morganza, Louisiana.
Skirmishes continue daily in Southwest Missouri.
Federal scout from Waynesville, Missouri, to Rolla, camping at Jackson's Mills, and Coppage's Mill, on Spring Creek, to the Big Piney, with one reported partisan guerrilla shot to death today.
Skirmishing breaks out near Moseley Hall, and at Wilkesboro, North Carolina, with Union Major General George Stoneman's Cavalry.
Federal troops scout from Stephenson's Depot, Virginia, through the Shenandoah Valley, to Smithfield, West Virginia.
The USS Osage, under Lieutenant Commander William M. Gamble, upped anchor and got underway inside the bar at the Blakely River, Alabama. Gamble was trying to avoid colliding with the USS Winnebago, which was drifting alongside in a strong breeze Suddenly a torpedo exploded under the monitor's bow, and, Gamble reported, "...the vessel immediately commenced sinking." The Osage lost four men and had eight wounded in the explosion. She was the third ship to be sunk in the Blakely during March and the second in two days as torpedo warfare cost the North dearly even though its ships controlled waters near Mobile.
General Robert E. Lee shifts Confederate forces to the right of his Petersburg line to counter the ever growing Federal threat to the Five Forks area. Major General Philip H. Sheridan begins moving forces in that direction to cut the two railroads supplying Confederates in Petersburg and Richmond. Sheridan reaches Dinwiddie Court House this afternoon in a movement toward the Southside Railroad.
In a downpour, Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant, after conferring with the President, begins the final assault on the Confederate lines at Petersburg, Virginia. Grant launches his wide swinging move to the southwest of Petersburg in an attempt to roll up Lee's flank. Ever concerned about his lifeline on the James River, he wrote Rear Admiral David D. Porter: "In view of the possibility of the enemy attempting to come to City Point, or by crossing the Appomattox at Broadway Landing, getting to Bermuda Hundred during the absence of the greater part of the army, I would respectfully request that you direct one or two gunboats to lay in the Appomattox, near the pontoon bridge, and two in the James River, near the mouth of Bailey's Creek, the first stream below City Point emptying into the James." Porter complied with double measure, sending not one or two but several ships to Grant's assistance.
An engagement commences at Lewis Farm near Gravelly Run, Virginia, and skirmishing occurs at the junction of the Quaker and Boydton Roads, as well as on the Vaughan Road, when Lee sends Major Generals Fitzhugh Lee and George Pickett to repel the Federal attack.
Full report: On this day in 1865, the final campaign of the Civil War begins in Virginia when Union troops under General Ulysses S. Grant move against the Confederate trenches around Petersburg. General Robert E. Lee’s outnumbered Rebels were soon forced to evacuate the city and begin a desperate race west.
Eleven months earlier, Grant had moved his army across the Rapidan River in northern Virginia and began his Overland Campaign--the bloodiest campaign of the War, costing the Union over 55,000 casualties in a little over 40 days. For almost six weeks, Lee and Grant fought along an arc that swung east of the Confederate capital at Richmond. They engaged in some of the conflict’s bloodiest battles at Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor before settling into trenches for a siege of Petersburg, 25 miles south of Richmond. The trenches eventually stretched all the wayto Richmond, and during the ensuing months the armies glowered at each other across a no man’s land. Periodically, Grant launched attacks against sections of the Rebel defenses, but Lee’s men managed to fend them off.
Time, however, was running out for Lee. His army was dwindling in size to about 35,000 able bodies, while Grant’s continued to grow–the Army of the Potomac now had more than 125,000 men ready for service. On 25 March, Lee attempted to split the Union lines when he attacked Fort Stedman, a stronghold along the Yankee trenches. His army was beaten back, and he lost nearly 5,000 men. On March 29, Grant seized the initiative, sending 12,000 men past the Confederates’ left flank and threatening to cut Lee’s escape route from Petersburg. Fighting broke out there, several miles southwest of the city. Lee’s men could not arrest the Federal advance. On 1 April, the Yankees struck at Five Forks, soundly defeating the Rebels under General George Pickett and leaving Lee no alternative. He pulled his forces from their trenches and raced west, followed by Grant. It was a race that even the great Lee could not win. He surrendered his army on 9 April, 1865, at Appomattox Court House.
Thomas Maley Harris, USA, is appointed Brigadier General.
Major General Frederick Steele's Union column reaches Weatherford, Alabama, in the Mobile, Campaign.
Skirmishing occurs at Blackwater River, Kentucky.
Colonel William H. Dickey, of the 84th US Colored Troops, assumes the command of the US Forces at Morganza, Louisiana.
Skirmishes continue daily in Southwest Missouri.
Federal scout from Waynesville, Missouri, to Rolla, camping at Jackson's Mills, and Coppage's Mill, on Spring Creek, to the Big Piney, with one reported partisan guerrilla shot to death today.
Skirmishing breaks out near Moseley Hall, and at Wilkesboro, North Carolina, with Union Major General George Stoneman's Cavalry.
Federal troops scout from Stephenson's Depot, Virginia, through the Shenandoah Valley, to Smithfield, West Virginia.
The USS Osage, under Lieutenant Commander William M. Gamble, upped anchor and got underway inside the bar at the Blakely River, Alabama. Gamble was trying to avoid colliding with the USS Winnebago, which was drifting alongside in a strong breeze Suddenly a torpedo exploded under the monitor's bow, and, Gamble reported, "...the vessel immediately commenced sinking." The Osage lost four men and had eight wounded in the explosion. She was the third ship to be sunk in the Blakely during March and the second in two days as torpedo warfare cost the North dearly even though its ships controlled waters near Mobile.
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