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re: 150 years ago this day...
Posted on 4/30/14 at 8:20 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Posted on 4/30/14 at 8:20 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Sunday, 1 May 1864
As the late spring-early summer fighting season got seriously underway, the difficulty for both General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate military brass in Richmond, Virginia, was attempting to figure out from which way they would be attacked first. The main choices involved General William T. Sherman’s army in Georgia, General Hiram U. Grant's troops in northern Virginia, or on the Peninsula. The latter seemed most likely as General Benjamin "Spoons" Butler’s men were ferried up the York River to West Point by the US Navy.
Two wooden side wheelers--the USS Morse, Lieutenant Commander Babcock in charge, and the USS General Putnam, under Acting Master Hugh H. Savage--convoyed 2,500 Army troops up the York River to West Point, Virginia, where the soldiers were landed under the ships' guns and then occupied the town. Another side wheel steamer, the USS Shawsheen, piloted by Acting Master Henry A. Phelon, joined the naval forces later in the day and operated with General Putnam in the Pamunkey River "...for covering our troops and resisting any attack which might be made by the enemy." Morse patrolled the Mattapony River where, Babcock reported, "...my guns would sweep the whole plain before the entrenchments." Army movements, as Rear Admiral Lee had observed of an earlier plan by Major General Benjamin F. Butler, required "...a powerful cooperating naval force to cover his landing, protect his position, and keep open his communications."
The USS Fox, commanded by Acting Master Charles T. Chase, captured the sloop Oscar outbound from St. Marks, Florida, with a cargo of cotton.
Skirmishing in Georgia intensified due to the increase in Federal scouting as part of Major General William T. Sherman’s plan to invade the state. General-in-Chief Grant had not given Sherman a specific objective, but Sherman focused on Atlanta, the “Gate City of the South,” about 100 miles southeast of Chattanooga. Atlanta was the Confederacy’s second-most important city behind Richmond. It was not only a vital industrial center, but also a doorway to the Atlantic Coast.
Brigadier General John P. Hatch assumed command of the Federal Department of the South, replacing Major General Quincy A. Gillmore.
Skirmishing occurred in Louisiana as part of the Federals’ failed Red River campaign, as well as in Arkansas and California.
As the late spring-early summer fighting season got seriously underway, the difficulty for both General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate military brass in Richmond, Virginia, was attempting to figure out from which way they would be attacked first. The main choices involved General William T. Sherman’s army in Georgia, General Hiram U. Grant's troops in northern Virginia, or on the Peninsula. The latter seemed most likely as General Benjamin "Spoons" Butler’s men were ferried up the York River to West Point by the US Navy.
Two wooden side wheelers--the USS Morse, Lieutenant Commander Babcock in charge, and the USS General Putnam, under Acting Master Hugh H. Savage--convoyed 2,500 Army troops up the York River to West Point, Virginia, where the soldiers were landed under the ships' guns and then occupied the town. Another side wheel steamer, the USS Shawsheen, piloted by Acting Master Henry A. Phelon, joined the naval forces later in the day and operated with General Putnam in the Pamunkey River "...for covering our troops and resisting any attack which might be made by the enemy." Morse patrolled the Mattapony River where, Babcock reported, "...my guns would sweep the whole plain before the entrenchments." Army movements, as Rear Admiral Lee had observed of an earlier plan by Major General Benjamin F. Butler, required "...a powerful cooperating naval force to cover his landing, protect his position, and keep open his communications."
The USS Fox, commanded by Acting Master Charles T. Chase, captured the sloop Oscar outbound from St. Marks, Florida, with a cargo of cotton.
Skirmishing in Georgia intensified due to the increase in Federal scouting as part of Major General William T. Sherman’s plan to invade the state. General-in-Chief Grant had not given Sherman a specific objective, but Sherman focused on Atlanta, the “Gate City of the South,” about 100 miles southeast of Chattanooga. Atlanta was the Confederacy’s second-most important city behind Richmond. It was not only a vital industrial center, but also a doorway to the Atlantic Coast.
Brigadier General John P. Hatch assumed command of the Federal Department of the South, replacing Major General Quincy A. Gillmore.
Skirmishing occurred in Louisiana as part of the Federals’ failed Red River campaign, as well as in Arkansas and California.
1
Posted on 5/1/14 at 8:10 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Monday, 2 May 1864
Under the Confederate Constitution, the Congress was to meet for a new session every second year. Thus it was today that the first session of the Second Confederate Congress opened for the conducting of business. The first item was a report from the President. Jefferson Davis condemned the “barbarism” of the Federals in their “Plunder and devastation of the property of noncombatants, destruction of private dwellings, and even of edifices devoted to the worship of God; expeditions organized for the sole purpose of sacking cities, consigning them to the flames, killing the unarmed inhabitants, and inflicting horrible outrages on women and children.” He reported that it was beginning to seem unlikely that the nation would receive official recognition by any European government, but expressed optimism regarding military and domestic affairs.
The chief engineer of the Nineteenth Corps--Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Bailey and his regiments of Maine and New York soldiers--succeeded, after eight days of grueling work, in nearly completing the dam across the Red River at Alexandria, and hopes rose that Rear Admiral David D. Porter would be able to save the Mississippi Squadron, marooned above the rapids. On 9 May, two of the stone-filled barges which had been sunk as parts of the dam gave way under the increasing pressure of the backed-up water. Then the barges shifted. They broke, swept downstream, stuck on a ledge of rocks and luckily swung into position to form a chute over the rapids, and Porter quickly ordered his lighter draft vessels to attempt a passage through the gap. As the water was falling, the ironclads Osage and Neosho and wooden steamers Fort Hindman and Lexington careened over the rapids with little damage. As Porter later recalled about this thrilling moment: "Thirty thousand voices rose in one deafening cheer, and universal joy seemed to pervade the face of every man present. But all of Porter's vessels were not yet safe, as the larger ships of the squadron remained above the falls. "The accident to the dam," the Admiral related, "instead of disheartening Colonel Bailey, only induced him to renew his exertions, after he had seen the success of getting four vessels through." Bailey and his men, despite the fact that eight days of the heaviest labor had been swept away, turned immediately to work on a new dam.
A Federal expedition began from Hickman County, Tennessee and along the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad in southwestern Virginia.
More skirmishing occurred in Louisiana as part of the Red River Campaign. Fighting also occurred in Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, and California.
Under the Confederate Constitution, the Congress was to meet for a new session every second year. Thus it was today that the first session of the Second Confederate Congress opened for the conducting of business. The first item was a report from the President. Jefferson Davis condemned the “barbarism” of the Federals in their “Plunder and devastation of the property of noncombatants, destruction of private dwellings, and even of edifices devoted to the worship of God; expeditions organized for the sole purpose of sacking cities, consigning them to the flames, killing the unarmed inhabitants, and inflicting horrible outrages on women and children.” He reported that it was beginning to seem unlikely that the nation would receive official recognition by any European government, but expressed optimism regarding military and domestic affairs.
The chief engineer of the Nineteenth Corps--Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Bailey and his regiments of Maine and New York soldiers--succeeded, after eight days of grueling work, in nearly completing the dam across the Red River at Alexandria, and hopes rose that Rear Admiral David D. Porter would be able to save the Mississippi Squadron, marooned above the rapids. On 9 May, two of the stone-filled barges which had been sunk as parts of the dam gave way under the increasing pressure of the backed-up water. Then the barges shifted. They broke, swept downstream, stuck on a ledge of rocks and luckily swung into position to form a chute over the rapids, and Porter quickly ordered his lighter draft vessels to attempt a passage through the gap. As the water was falling, the ironclads Osage and Neosho and wooden steamers Fort Hindman and Lexington careened over the rapids with little damage. As Porter later recalled about this thrilling moment: "Thirty thousand voices rose in one deafening cheer, and universal joy seemed to pervade the face of every man present. But all of Porter's vessels were not yet safe, as the larger ships of the squadron remained above the falls. "The accident to the dam," the Admiral related, "instead of disheartening Colonel Bailey, only induced him to renew his exertions, after he had seen the success of getting four vessels through." Bailey and his men, despite the fact that eight days of the heaviest labor had been swept away, turned immediately to work on a new dam.
A Federal expedition began from Hickman County, Tennessee and along the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad in southwestern Virginia.
More skirmishing occurred in Louisiana as part of the Red River Campaign. Fighting also occurred in Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, and California.
Posted on 5/2/14 at 8:17 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Tuesday, 3 May 1864
It was revile time for the Army of the Potomac. Commanding Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant issued orders to Major General George Meade to activate the army out of winter quarters and get ready to march for Richmond one more time. Union forces on the Peninsula were moving in heavy dust, resulting in one man writing in his diary that when they reached camp at a river, “A guard was placed along the bank of the river to prevent our washing, for fear of creating a sand bar.”
General-in-Chief Grant issued orders through Major General George G. Meade that the Federal Army of the Potomac was to cross the Rapidan River tomorrow morning, move around the right flank of General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, and force Lee to block the path to Richmond.
The USS Chocura, under Lieutenant Commander Bancroft Gherardi, captured the blockade running British schooner Agnes off the mouth of the Brazos River, Texas, with a cargo of cotton. Later that same day, Chocura overhauled and captured the Prussian schooner Frederick the Second, also laden with cotton, which had run the blockade with Agnes.
The USS Virginia, Acting Lieutenant C. H. Brown in charge, captured the schooner Experiment off the Texas coast and destroyed her after removing all of the cotton cargo.
President Abraham Lincoln and his cabinet discussed alleged atrocities by Confederates during the attack on Fort Pillow, Tennessee last month. Four cabinet members called for the execution of an equal number of Confederate prisoners. Lincoln, unsure of the facts, condemned the alleged atrocity but decided against retaliatory executions. Lincoln was widely criticized by outraged northerners for not retaliating.
The first column of General Frederick Steele’s Federal army returned to Little Rock, Arkansas after retreating from Camden.
Skirmishing occurred in Georgia, Louisiana, Arkansas, and the Colorado Territory.
It was revile time for the Army of the Potomac. Commanding Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant issued orders to Major General George Meade to activate the army out of winter quarters and get ready to march for Richmond one more time. Union forces on the Peninsula were moving in heavy dust, resulting in one man writing in his diary that when they reached camp at a river, “A guard was placed along the bank of the river to prevent our washing, for fear of creating a sand bar.”
General-in-Chief Grant issued orders through Major General George G. Meade that the Federal Army of the Potomac was to cross the Rapidan River tomorrow morning, move around the right flank of General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, and force Lee to block the path to Richmond.
The USS Chocura, under Lieutenant Commander Bancroft Gherardi, captured the blockade running British schooner Agnes off the mouth of the Brazos River, Texas, with a cargo of cotton. Later that same day, Chocura overhauled and captured the Prussian schooner Frederick the Second, also laden with cotton, which had run the blockade with Agnes.
The USS Virginia, Acting Lieutenant C. H. Brown in charge, captured the schooner Experiment off the Texas coast and destroyed her after removing all of the cotton cargo.
President Abraham Lincoln and his cabinet discussed alleged atrocities by Confederates during the attack on Fort Pillow, Tennessee last month. Four cabinet members called for the execution of an equal number of Confederate prisoners. Lincoln, unsure of the facts, condemned the alleged atrocity but decided against retaliatory executions. Lincoln was widely criticized by outraged northerners for not retaliating.
The first column of General Frederick Steele’s Federal army returned to Little Rock, Arkansas after retreating from Camden.
Skirmishing occurred in Georgia, Louisiana, Arkansas, and the Colorado Territory.
Posted on 5/3/14 at 10:18 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Wednesday, 4 May 1864
The Army of the Potomac re-crossed the Rapidan River one last time in the area known as the Wilderness early this morning. Numbering over 122,000 well-equipped, fed and supplied men, they marched against a foe that had been reduced to roughly some 66,000 troops, many of whom were old men and boys, but all of whom were lesser supplied and equipped than their opponents. And hungry. The Yankees' march led them around the Confederate right, requiring General Robert E. Lee to move out from Orange Court House near Gordonsville to match the maneuver. General Richard Ewell led the way, with General A.P. Hill’s men next in line. General James Longstreet’s men, recently returned from the western theatre, brought up the rear.
Grant’s campaign to destroy Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and capture Richmond began as the Union Army of the Potomac started crossing the Rapidan River shortly after midnight. Grant’s forces outnumbered Lee’s by nearly two-to-one, but Lee correctly guessed Grant’s plan and prepared to stop him. As the Federals crossed the Rapidan, they stumbled through a dense forest called the Wilderness. Lee planned to attack them there, where Grant’s numerical superiority could somewhat be offset by the woods and the undergrowth.
Federals gathered in the boscage and stopped to await the arrival of their supply trains. Many skittishly camped on the site of the Battle of Chancellorsville, fought almost exactly one year ago. When a newspaper correspondent asked Grant how long it would take him to reach Richmond, Grant quipped, “I will agree to be there in about four days. That is, if General Lee becomes party to the agreement; but if he objects, the trip will undoubtedly be prolonged.” What neither man could know was that Grant would earn the nickname of "Butcher" in both the North and South because of his reckless tactics in this Campaign. Lee’s forces quickly began to converge on the Federals' positions in the Wilderness.
As part of Grant’s coordinated Federal offensive, Major General Benjamin "Spoons" Butler’s 33,000-man Army of the James assembled in transports at Hampton Roads, Virginia. They were to advance up the James River to attack Petersburg or even Richmond itself. Less than 2,000 Confederates guarded their path.
Flag Officer Samuel Barron in Paris wrote to Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory: "I have the honor to inform you that the Georgia, after having received in the port of Bordeaux all necessary aid and courtesy, has arrived in Liverpool, where I have turned her over to Commander J. D. Bulloch, agent for the Navy Department in Europe, to be disposed of for the benefit of the Government...the plans which I had formed for equipping the Rappahannock for service as a man-of-war have been a second time frustrated by the unexplained and unjustifiable action of the French authorities in detaining the Rappahannock in the port of Calais. Had she been permitted to sail on the day appointed by her commander her concerted meeting with the Georgia would have taken place in a fine, out-of-the-way harbor on the coast of Morocco, in and about which place the Georgia had six days of uninterrupted good weather and secure from the notice of all Europeans." As the tide of war turned relentlessly against the Confederacy, foreign governments became increasingly reluctant to involve themselves in the conflict by allowing raiders to outfit in their harbors, and Union diplomatic moves to choke off this source of Southern sea power intensified.
The steamers USS Sunflower, under Acting Master Edward Van Sice, and Honduras, Acting Master John H. Platt in charge, and the sailing bark J. L. Davis, Acting Master William Fales piloting, supported the capture of Tampa, Florida, in a combined operation. The ships carried the soldiers to Tampa and provided a naval landing party which joined in the assault. Van Sice reported of the engagement: "At 7 A.M. the place was taken possession of, capturing some 40 prisoners, the naval force capturing about one-half, which were turned over to the Army, and a few minutes after 7 the Stars and Stripes were hoisted in the town by the Navy." The warships also captured the blockade running sloop Neptune on 6 May with a cargo of cotton. Brigadier General Daniel Woodbury later wrote to Rear Admiral Bailey, Commander of the East Gulf Blockading Squadron: "I wish to acknowledge the important service you have rendered to the army department by placing the gunboat Honduras in my charge, and by your special and general instructions to the commanding Officers of your squadron to assist and cooperate in any military operations."
After capturing Plymouth, North Carolina last month, Confederates continued coastal attacks, particularly at Albemarle Sound. Federal forces abandoned an outpost at Croatan, and the Confederate ironclad C.S.S. Albemarle threatened other Federal positions.
Major General William T. Sherman prepared his Federal Army of the West to invade Georgia. Grant had ordered Sherman to “...get into the interior of the enemy’s country as far as you can, inflicting all the damage you can against their war resources.” Sherman commanded three armies: Major General John Schofield’s Army of the Ohio on the left targeted the Western & Atlantic Railroad at Dalton, Georgia; Major General George Thomas’ Army of the Cumberland in the center targeted Ringgold, Georgia; and Major General James B. McPherson’s Army of the Tennessee on the right advanced from northern Alabama. Opposing Sherman’s 110,000-man army was General Joseph E. Johnston’s 45,000-man Army of Tennessee, camped around Dalton. Skirmishing ensued as Sherman’s Federals advanced.
In the Red River campaign, Confederates destroyed a Federal steamer and captured two others. The balance of the Federal naval flotilla under Rear Admiral David D. Porter was still in danger of being stuck in the mud due to unusually low river levels.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted (73 to 59) to pass the controversial Wade-Davis Reconstruction bill, sponsored by Radical Republicans Benjamin Wade of Ohio and Henry Davis of Maryland. The Wade-Davis Bill contained three Reconstruction demands, according to historian Allan Nevins: "One, a requirement that the new constitutions cancel all debts incurred in aid of the rebellion, was perfectably equitable. It would impoverish some Southerners, but they deserved their losses. Quite different was a Draconian stipulation that the constitutions should forbid all men who held high civil office under the Confederacy, or military rank above a colonelcy, to vote for a legislator or governor, or occupy these positions. No former office-holder or person who had voluntarily borne arms against the United States could take the oath, and no one who did not take the oath could vote for the constitutional convention. This would proscribe the ablest and most experienced leaders in the South. Worse still, in theory and practise, was a demand that the constitution abolish slavery. This was plainly unconstitutional, for Congress had no power to deal with slavery inside the States. It was also unwise, for if slavery were thus abolished by national action, the nation might be expected to take steps to aid and protect the freedmen for which it had made no preparatory study, and possessed no adequate machinery. The Wade-Davis bill provided that, whenever a State constitution embodying these iron provisions had been adopted by a majority of the registered voters, the President, with prior Congressional assent, should recognize the government so established as competent to send men to Congress and choose Presidential electors." This act would help keep the South divided and subjugated for several years after the War ended, and ensure its citizens would remain in third world status for another several decades.
The Army of the Potomac re-crossed the Rapidan River one last time in the area known as the Wilderness early this morning. Numbering over 122,000 well-equipped, fed and supplied men, they marched against a foe that had been reduced to roughly some 66,000 troops, many of whom were old men and boys, but all of whom were lesser supplied and equipped than their opponents. And hungry. The Yankees' march led them around the Confederate right, requiring General Robert E. Lee to move out from Orange Court House near Gordonsville to match the maneuver. General Richard Ewell led the way, with General A.P. Hill’s men next in line. General James Longstreet’s men, recently returned from the western theatre, brought up the rear.
Grant’s campaign to destroy Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and capture Richmond began as the Union Army of the Potomac started crossing the Rapidan River shortly after midnight. Grant’s forces outnumbered Lee’s by nearly two-to-one, but Lee correctly guessed Grant’s plan and prepared to stop him. As the Federals crossed the Rapidan, they stumbled through a dense forest called the Wilderness. Lee planned to attack them there, where Grant’s numerical superiority could somewhat be offset by the woods and the undergrowth.
Federals gathered in the boscage and stopped to await the arrival of their supply trains. Many skittishly camped on the site of the Battle of Chancellorsville, fought almost exactly one year ago. When a newspaper correspondent asked Grant how long it would take him to reach Richmond, Grant quipped, “I will agree to be there in about four days. That is, if General Lee becomes party to the agreement; but if he objects, the trip will undoubtedly be prolonged.” What neither man could know was that Grant would earn the nickname of "Butcher" in both the North and South because of his reckless tactics in this Campaign. Lee’s forces quickly began to converge on the Federals' positions in the Wilderness.
As part of Grant’s coordinated Federal offensive, Major General Benjamin "Spoons" Butler’s 33,000-man Army of the James assembled in transports at Hampton Roads, Virginia. They were to advance up the James River to attack Petersburg or even Richmond itself. Less than 2,000 Confederates guarded their path.
Flag Officer Samuel Barron in Paris wrote to Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory: "I have the honor to inform you that the Georgia, after having received in the port of Bordeaux all necessary aid and courtesy, has arrived in Liverpool, where I have turned her over to Commander J. D. Bulloch, agent for the Navy Department in Europe, to be disposed of for the benefit of the Government...the plans which I had formed for equipping the Rappahannock for service as a man-of-war have been a second time frustrated by the unexplained and unjustifiable action of the French authorities in detaining the Rappahannock in the port of Calais. Had she been permitted to sail on the day appointed by her commander her concerted meeting with the Georgia would have taken place in a fine, out-of-the-way harbor on the coast of Morocco, in and about which place the Georgia had six days of uninterrupted good weather and secure from the notice of all Europeans." As the tide of war turned relentlessly against the Confederacy, foreign governments became increasingly reluctant to involve themselves in the conflict by allowing raiders to outfit in their harbors, and Union diplomatic moves to choke off this source of Southern sea power intensified.
The steamers USS Sunflower, under Acting Master Edward Van Sice, and Honduras, Acting Master John H. Platt in charge, and the sailing bark J. L. Davis, Acting Master William Fales piloting, supported the capture of Tampa, Florida, in a combined operation. The ships carried the soldiers to Tampa and provided a naval landing party which joined in the assault. Van Sice reported of the engagement: "At 7 A.M. the place was taken possession of, capturing some 40 prisoners, the naval force capturing about one-half, which were turned over to the Army, and a few minutes after 7 the Stars and Stripes were hoisted in the town by the Navy." The warships also captured the blockade running sloop Neptune on 6 May with a cargo of cotton. Brigadier General Daniel Woodbury later wrote to Rear Admiral Bailey, Commander of the East Gulf Blockading Squadron: "I wish to acknowledge the important service you have rendered to the army department by placing the gunboat Honduras in my charge, and by your special and general instructions to the commanding Officers of your squadron to assist and cooperate in any military operations."
After capturing Plymouth, North Carolina last month, Confederates continued coastal attacks, particularly at Albemarle Sound. Federal forces abandoned an outpost at Croatan, and the Confederate ironclad C.S.S. Albemarle threatened other Federal positions.
Major General William T. Sherman prepared his Federal Army of the West to invade Georgia. Grant had ordered Sherman to “...get into the interior of the enemy’s country as far as you can, inflicting all the damage you can against their war resources.” Sherman commanded three armies: Major General John Schofield’s Army of the Ohio on the left targeted the Western & Atlantic Railroad at Dalton, Georgia; Major General George Thomas’ Army of the Cumberland in the center targeted Ringgold, Georgia; and Major General James B. McPherson’s Army of the Tennessee on the right advanced from northern Alabama. Opposing Sherman’s 110,000-man army was General Joseph E. Johnston’s 45,000-man Army of Tennessee, camped around Dalton. Skirmishing ensued as Sherman’s Federals advanced.
In the Red River campaign, Confederates destroyed a Federal steamer and captured two others. The balance of the Federal naval flotilla under Rear Admiral David D. Porter was still in danger of being stuck in the mud due to unusually low river levels.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted (73 to 59) to pass the controversial Wade-Davis Reconstruction bill, sponsored by Radical Republicans Benjamin Wade of Ohio and Henry Davis of Maryland. The Wade-Davis Bill contained three Reconstruction demands, according to historian Allan Nevins: "One, a requirement that the new constitutions cancel all debts incurred in aid of the rebellion, was perfectably equitable. It would impoverish some Southerners, but they deserved their losses. Quite different was a Draconian stipulation that the constitutions should forbid all men who held high civil office under the Confederacy, or military rank above a colonelcy, to vote for a legislator or governor, or occupy these positions. No former office-holder or person who had voluntarily borne arms against the United States could take the oath, and no one who did not take the oath could vote for the constitutional convention. This would proscribe the ablest and most experienced leaders in the South. Worse still, in theory and practise, was a demand that the constitution abolish slavery. This was plainly unconstitutional, for Congress had no power to deal with slavery inside the States. It was also unwise, for if slavery were thus abolished by national action, the nation might be expected to take steps to aid and protect the freedmen for which it had made no preparatory study, and possessed no adequate machinery. The Wade-Davis bill provided that, whenever a State constitution embodying these iron provisions had been adopted by a majority of the registered voters, the President, with prior Congressional assent, should recognize the government so established as competent to send men to Congress and choose Presidential electors." This act would help keep the South divided and subjugated for several years after the War ended, and ensure its citizens would remain in third world status for another several decades.
Posted on 5/4/14 at 8:45 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Thursday, 5 May 1864
The first great battle of the Overland Campaign got underway early today in the thick, gnarly underbrush of the Wilderness. The Union Fifth Corps under Major General Gouverneur Kemble Warren was battling the Confederate Second Corps under Richard Stoddert Ewell on the Orange Turnpike as Generals George P. Meade and Hiram U. Grant raced to bring up the Union Second, Sixth and Ninth as quickly as possible in hopes of flanking the Confederate right. In the afternoon, the Third Corps, commanded by Lieutenent General A.P. Hill, encountered Brigadier General George W. Getty's division (Sixth Corps) and Major General Winfield S. Hancock's Second Corps on the Orange Plank Road. Fighting until dark was extremely fierce, but inconclusive, as both sides attempted to maneuver in the dense woods. All of the combatants entrenched for the night.
From Civil War Trust...No sooner had Warren started out this morning than a courier dashed up with news that Confederate infantry was approaching on the Turnpike. Believing that Lee would fight a defensive battle behind Mine Run, General George Meade ordered Warren to strike the Confederates then and there. The Fifth Corps chief, however, was apprehensive about making an attack in the Wilderness, where dense thickets would make it all but impossible to maintain a battle line and nullify the Federals’ numerical superiority. Warren’s protests notwithstanding, the Fifth Corps advanced astride the Orange Turnpike.
While Warren and Meade debated the merits of an attack along the Orange Turnpike, General Richard Stoddert Ewell’s Confederate corps built strong earthworks west of Saunders Field. When Warren’s men stepped out of the woods and into the open, Ewell’s troops exacted a fearful toll in casualties. The Yankees achieved a momentary breakthrough, but swift action by General John B. Gordon’s brigade sealed the breach. The arrival of the Union Sixth Corps did little more than broaden the front and lengthen the list of casualties.
Shortly after Warren spotted Confederates on the Orange Turnpike, Union General Samuel Crawford, at the Chewning farm, observed another enemy column headed up the Orange Plank Road toward its intersection with the Brock Road. This was a serious threat: if the Confederates gained possession of this point, they could drive a wedge between Warren’s corps, on the Turnpike to your right, and General Winfield S. Hancock’s corps, to the south. Meade quickly dispatched General George W. Getty’s Sixth Corps division to seize the crossroads. Around 4 pm, Getty attacked, his men tearing through the dense thickets in a vicious close-range fight with General A.P. Hill’s corps. Hancock soon arrived and rushed forward to support Getty, continuing the fight until nightfall—and exhaustion—ended the fighting.
The CSS Albemarle, Commander James W. Cooke in charge, with the Bombshell, commanded by Lieutenant Albert G. Hudgins, and the Cotton Plant in company, steamed into Albemarle Sound and engaged Union naval forces in fierce action off the mouth of the Roanoke River. The Bombshell was captured early in the action after coming under severe fire from the USS Sassacus, and the Cotton Plant withdrew up the Roanoke. The Albemarle resolutely continued the action. The Sassacus, Lieutenant Commander Roe piloting, gallantly rammed the heavy ironclad but with little effect. The Sassacus next received a direct hit in her starboard boiler, killing several sailors and forcing her out of action. The side-wheelers USS Mattabesett, under Captain Melancton Smith, and the USS Wyalusing, Lieutenant Commander Walter W. Queen in charge, continued to engage the Southern ram until darkness halted the action after nearly three hours of intensive fighting. As Assistant Surgeon Samuel P. Boyer, on board the Mattabesett, wrote: "Shot and shell came fast like hail." The Albemarle withdrew up the Roanoke River and the small side-wheelers USS Commodore Hull and Ceres steamed to the river's mouth on picket duty to guard against her re-entry into the sound. The ironclad had returned to her river haven, but she had given new evidence that she was a mighty force with which to be reckoned. Captain Smith reported: "The ram is certainly very formidable. He is fast for that class of vessel, making from 6 to 7 knots, turns quickly, and is armed with heavy guns..." And Lieutenant Commander Roe noted: "...I am forced to think that the Albemarle is more formidable than the Merrimack or Atlanta, for our solid l00–pounder rifle shot flew into splinters upon her iron plates." Albemarle 's commander was more critical of her performance. Three days later he wrote Secretary Mallory that the ram "...draws too much water to navigate the sounds well, and has not sufficient buoyancy. In consequence she is very slow and not easily managed. Her decks are so near the water as to render it an easy task for the enemy's vessels to run on her, and any great weight soon submerges the deck." For the next five months Union efforts in the area focused almost solely on Albemarle's destruction.
While Rear Admiral David D. Porter's fleet anxiously awaited the opportunity to pass back over the Red River rapids, the ships below Alexandria were incessantly attacked by Confederate forces. This date, the wooden steamers USS Covington, piloted by Acting Lieutenant George P. Lord, the USS Signal, Acting Lieutenant Edward Morgan in charge, and the transport Warner were lost in a fierce engagement on the Red River near Dunn's Bayou, Louisiana. On 4 May, the Covington and Warner had been briefly attacked by infantry, and the next morning the Confederates reappeared with two pieces of artillery and a large company of riflemen. The Warner, in the lead, soon went out of control, blocked the river at a bend near Pierce's Landing, and despite the efforts of Lord and Morgan was forced to surrender. The Signal also became disabled and although Covington attempted to tow her upstream, she went adrift out of control and eventually came to anchor. The gunboats continued the hot engagement, but Lord finally burned and abandoned the Covington after his ammunition was exhausted and many of her crew were killed. After continuing to sustain the Confederate cannonade alone, the crippled Signal was finally compelled to strike the colors. The Southerners then sank the Signal as a channel obstruction.
Chief Engineer Henry A. Ramsay of the newly established Confederate Navy Yard in Charlotte, North Carolina, advised Commander Brooke--Chief of the Naval Bureau of Ordnance--that because of difficulties in recruiting skilled workers and a severe shortage of mechanics he was unable to operate some of the equipment for arming Southern ironclads; nor could he repair the locomotives assigned to that station by Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory. He added: "I understand from you that the ironclad Virginia [No. II] at Richmond is now in readiness for action except her gun carriages and wrought-iron projectiles, which arc being made at these works. If we had a full force of mechanics this work would have been finished in one-half the time...Two days later, Lieutenant David P. McCorkle wrote Brooke in a similar vein from the Naval Ordnance Works at Atlanta, Georgia. This chronic shortage of skilled workers combined with the material shortages occasioned by the blockade could not be surmounted by the Confederacy.
The first great battle of the Overland Campaign got underway early today in the thick, gnarly underbrush of the Wilderness. The Union Fifth Corps under Major General Gouverneur Kemble Warren was battling the Confederate Second Corps under Richard Stoddert Ewell on the Orange Turnpike as Generals George P. Meade and Hiram U. Grant raced to bring up the Union Second, Sixth and Ninth as quickly as possible in hopes of flanking the Confederate right. In the afternoon, the Third Corps, commanded by Lieutenent General A.P. Hill, encountered Brigadier General George W. Getty's division (Sixth Corps) and Major General Winfield S. Hancock's Second Corps on the Orange Plank Road. Fighting until dark was extremely fierce, but inconclusive, as both sides attempted to maneuver in the dense woods. All of the combatants entrenched for the night.
From Civil War Trust...No sooner had Warren started out this morning than a courier dashed up with news that Confederate infantry was approaching on the Turnpike. Believing that Lee would fight a defensive battle behind Mine Run, General George Meade ordered Warren to strike the Confederates then and there. The Fifth Corps chief, however, was apprehensive about making an attack in the Wilderness, where dense thickets would make it all but impossible to maintain a battle line and nullify the Federals’ numerical superiority. Warren’s protests notwithstanding, the Fifth Corps advanced astride the Orange Turnpike.
While Warren and Meade debated the merits of an attack along the Orange Turnpike, General Richard Stoddert Ewell’s Confederate corps built strong earthworks west of Saunders Field. When Warren’s men stepped out of the woods and into the open, Ewell’s troops exacted a fearful toll in casualties. The Yankees achieved a momentary breakthrough, but swift action by General John B. Gordon’s brigade sealed the breach. The arrival of the Union Sixth Corps did little more than broaden the front and lengthen the list of casualties.
Shortly after Warren spotted Confederates on the Orange Turnpike, Union General Samuel Crawford, at the Chewning farm, observed another enemy column headed up the Orange Plank Road toward its intersection with the Brock Road. This was a serious threat: if the Confederates gained possession of this point, they could drive a wedge between Warren’s corps, on the Turnpike to your right, and General Winfield S. Hancock’s corps, to the south. Meade quickly dispatched General George W. Getty’s Sixth Corps division to seize the crossroads. Around 4 pm, Getty attacked, his men tearing through the dense thickets in a vicious close-range fight with General A.P. Hill’s corps. Hancock soon arrived and rushed forward to support Getty, continuing the fight until nightfall—and exhaustion—ended the fighting.
The CSS Albemarle, Commander James W. Cooke in charge, with the Bombshell, commanded by Lieutenant Albert G. Hudgins, and the Cotton Plant in company, steamed into Albemarle Sound and engaged Union naval forces in fierce action off the mouth of the Roanoke River. The Bombshell was captured early in the action after coming under severe fire from the USS Sassacus, and the Cotton Plant withdrew up the Roanoke. The Albemarle resolutely continued the action. The Sassacus, Lieutenant Commander Roe piloting, gallantly rammed the heavy ironclad but with little effect. The Sassacus next received a direct hit in her starboard boiler, killing several sailors and forcing her out of action. The side-wheelers USS Mattabesett, under Captain Melancton Smith, and the USS Wyalusing, Lieutenant Commander Walter W. Queen in charge, continued to engage the Southern ram until darkness halted the action after nearly three hours of intensive fighting. As Assistant Surgeon Samuel P. Boyer, on board the Mattabesett, wrote: "Shot and shell came fast like hail." The Albemarle withdrew up the Roanoke River and the small side-wheelers USS Commodore Hull and Ceres steamed to the river's mouth on picket duty to guard against her re-entry into the sound. The ironclad had returned to her river haven, but she had given new evidence that she was a mighty force with which to be reckoned. Captain Smith reported: "The ram is certainly very formidable. He is fast for that class of vessel, making from 6 to 7 knots, turns quickly, and is armed with heavy guns..." And Lieutenant Commander Roe noted: "...I am forced to think that the Albemarle is more formidable than the Merrimack or Atlanta, for our solid l00–pounder rifle shot flew into splinters upon her iron plates." Albemarle 's commander was more critical of her performance. Three days later he wrote Secretary Mallory that the ram "...draws too much water to navigate the sounds well, and has not sufficient buoyancy. In consequence she is very slow and not easily managed. Her decks are so near the water as to render it an easy task for the enemy's vessels to run on her, and any great weight soon submerges the deck." For the next five months Union efforts in the area focused almost solely on Albemarle's destruction.
While Rear Admiral David D. Porter's fleet anxiously awaited the opportunity to pass back over the Red River rapids, the ships below Alexandria were incessantly attacked by Confederate forces. This date, the wooden steamers USS Covington, piloted by Acting Lieutenant George P. Lord, the USS Signal, Acting Lieutenant Edward Morgan in charge, and the transport Warner were lost in a fierce engagement on the Red River near Dunn's Bayou, Louisiana. On 4 May, the Covington and Warner had been briefly attacked by infantry, and the next morning the Confederates reappeared with two pieces of artillery and a large company of riflemen. The Warner, in the lead, soon went out of control, blocked the river at a bend near Pierce's Landing, and despite the efforts of Lord and Morgan was forced to surrender. The Signal also became disabled and although Covington attempted to tow her upstream, she went adrift out of control and eventually came to anchor. The gunboats continued the hot engagement, but Lord finally burned and abandoned the Covington after his ammunition was exhausted and many of her crew were killed. After continuing to sustain the Confederate cannonade alone, the crippled Signal was finally compelled to strike the colors. The Southerners then sank the Signal as a channel obstruction.
Chief Engineer Henry A. Ramsay of the newly established Confederate Navy Yard in Charlotte, North Carolina, advised Commander Brooke--Chief of the Naval Bureau of Ordnance--that because of difficulties in recruiting skilled workers and a severe shortage of mechanics he was unable to operate some of the equipment for arming Southern ironclads; nor could he repair the locomotives assigned to that station by Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory. He added: "I understand from you that the ironclad Virginia [No. II] at Richmond is now in readiness for action except her gun carriages and wrought-iron projectiles, which arc being made at these works. If we had a full force of mechanics this work would have been finished in one-half the time...Two days later, Lieutenant David P. McCorkle wrote Brooke in a similar vein from the Naval Ordnance Works at Atlanta, Georgia. This chronic shortage of skilled workers combined with the material shortages occasioned by the blockade could not be surmounted by the Confederacy.
Posted on 5/5/14 at 8:50 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Friday, 6 May 1864
The Battle of the Wilderness continued in Virginia as the lines of Generals Hiram U. Grant and Robert E. Lee surged back and forth. Federals nearly captured Lee’s headquarters until Confederates under General James Longstreet quickly plugged the breach. Longstreet was accidentally wounded by his own men; doctors pronounced his wounds “not necessarily mortal” and Lee himself temporarily assumed command of Longstreet’s men.
Grant ordered a general attack, but Lee struck first. The Federal left held firm, but the Federal right nearly collapsed and the Confederates almost cut the Federal supply line before the Yankees regrouped. Brushfires in the Wilderness burned wounded troops to death as the fight ended at nightfall in a stalemate. The Federals suffered 17,666 killed, wounded, or missing, while the Confederates lost about 7,500.
Lee hoped that the invaders would withdraw just as they had done following previous disastrous battles. However, Grant told a Washington correspondent, “If you see the President, tell him, from me, that whatever happens, there will be no turning back.”
On the James River, Benjamin "Spoons" Butler assembled his Union army within seven miles of Petersburg and 15 miles of Richmond. President Davis called on General P.G.T. Beauregard, commander of the Department of Virginia and North Carolina, to assemble all available forces to defend the region: “I hope you will be able at Petersburg to direct operations both before and behind you, so as to meet necessities.” Davis also called all available troops from South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida to come to Virginia.
The James River in eastern Virginia was badly needed as a route for Union shipping to support the armies attacking toward Richmond. The problem was that it was infested with mines, or “torpedoes”. The USS Commodore Jones had been searching for these today and found one--an “electric torpedo” which was set off by means of an electric wire by an operator on shore. The ship was blown up out of the water and reduced to splinters. The operator of the torpedoes, Jeffries Johnson, and batteries which powered the wires were promptly captured by a shore party, and placed in the bow of the next minesweeper. Mr. Johnson thereupon became more cooperative in revealing where other mines were.
Another report: The USS Commodore Jones, Acting Lieutenant Thomas Wade in charge, was destroyed by a huge 2,000-pound electric torpedo in the James River while dragging for torpedoes with USS Mackinaw and Commodore Morris. From the Norfolk Naval Hospital, Wade later reported that the torpedo "...exploded directly under the ship with terrible effect, causing her destruction instantly, absolutely blowing the vessel to splinters." Other observers said that the hull of the converted ferryboat was lifted completely out of the water by the force of the explosion which claimed some 40 lives. A landing party of sailors and Marines went ashore immediately and captured two torpedo-men and the galvanic batteries which had detonated the mine. One of the Confederates, Jeffries Johnson, refused to divulge information regarding the location of torpedoes under interrogation, but he "...signified his willingness to tell all..." when he was placed in the bow of the forward ship on river duty, and Johnson became the war's "...unique minesweeper."
Early in the evening, the CSS Raleigh, under Flag Officer Lynch, steamed over the bar at New Inlet, North Carolina, and engaged the USS Britannia and Nansemond, forcing them to withdraw temporarily and enabling a blockade runner to escape. Captain Sands, the senior officer present, commented: "The principal object [of Raleigh 's attack], it seems to me...is for her to aid the outgoing and incoming of the runners by driving off the vessels stationed on and near the bar..." Early the next morning, Raleigh renewed the engagement, exchanging fire with the wooden steamers USS Howquah and Nansemond. Two other steamers, the USS Mount Vernon and Kansas, also opened on the ram, and at 6 a.m. the Lynch broke off the action. Attempting to cross the bar at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, the Raleigh grounded and was severely damaged. Lynch order her destroyed; his action was sanctioned by a subsequent court of inquiry. Thus, the Confederacy lost another formidable ram, one upon which Southern Army commanders had been depending to defend the inner bars from Union attack.
The USS Granite City, under Acting Master C.W. Lamson, and the USS Wave, Acting Lieutenant Benjamin A. Loring in command, were captured by Confederate troops in the Calcasieu River, Louisiana. The steamer Granite City and the tin clad Wave had been dispatched to Calcasieu Pass to receive refugees on 28 April and both ships carried out this duty until the morning of the captures, landing a small army detachment on shore as pickets. The Southerners, with artillery and about 350 sharpshooters from the Sabine Pass garrison, overwhelmed the Union landing party, and took the ships under fire on the morning of 6 May. After an hour's engagement, the Granite City surrendered; upon receiving shot in her boiler and steam drum, the Wave shortly followed suit. On the 10th USS New London, Acting Master Lyman Wells in charge, unaware that the Confederates had surprised and taken the Union vessels, arrived off Calcasieu. Wells sent one boat to Granite City, which did not return. On the morning of the 11th, he sent another boat, under the command of Acting Ensign Henry Jackson, toward Granite City under flag of truce. Seeing a Confederate flag flying from her, Jackson tried to shoot it down and was killed by a Southern sharpshooter. Upon receiving Acting Master Wells' report, Rear Admiral David Farragut immediately planned to recapture the vessels but, having insufficient ships of light draft available, was forced to postpone his efforts.
The USS Dawn, under Acting Lieutenant John W. Simmons, transported soldiers to capture a signal station at Wilson's Wharf, Virginia. After landing the troops two miles above the station, Simmons proceeded to Sandy Point to cover the attack. When the soldiers were momentarily halted, a boat crew from the Dawn spearheaded the successful assault.
The USS Grand Gulf Commander George M. Ransom, captured the blockade running British steamer Young Republic at sea east of Savannah with a cargo of cotton and tobacco. Two weeks later, Rear Admiral Samuel P. Lee congratulated Ransom on the seizure and wrote: "Every capture made by the blockaders deprives the enemy of so much of the 'sinews of war,' and is equal to the taking of a supply train from the Rebel Army."
The USS Eutaw, Osceola, Pequot, Shokokon, and General Putnam, side-wheelers of Rear Admiral Lee's North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, supported the landing of troops at Bermuda Hundred, Virginia.
The Battle of the Wilderness continued in Virginia as the lines of Generals Hiram U. Grant and Robert E. Lee surged back and forth. Federals nearly captured Lee’s headquarters until Confederates under General James Longstreet quickly plugged the breach. Longstreet was accidentally wounded by his own men; doctors pronounced his wounds “not necessarily mortal” and Lee himself temporarily assumed command of Longstreet’s men.
Grant ordered a general attack, but Lee struck first. The Federal left held firm, but the Federal right nearly collapsed and the Confederates almost cut the Federal supply line before the Yankees regrouped. Brushfires in the Wilderness burned wounded troops to death as the fight ended at nightfall in a stalemate. The Federals suffered 17,666 killed, wounded, or missing, while the Confederates lost about 7,500.
Lee hoped that the invaders would withdraw just as they had done following previous disastrous battles. However, Grant told a Washington correspondent, “If you see the President, tell him, from me, that whatever happens, there will be no turning back.”
On the James River, Benjamin "Spoons" Butler assembled his Union army within seven miles of Petersburg and 15 miles of Richmond. President Davis called on General P.G.T. Beauregard, commander of the Department of Virginia and North Carolina, to assemble all available forces to defend the region: “I hope you will be able at Petersburg to direct operations both before and behind you, so as to meet necessities.” Davis also called all available troops from South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida to come to Virginia.
The James River in eastern Virginia was badly needed as a route for Union shipping to support the armies attacking toward Richmond. The problem was that it was infested with mines, or “torpedoes”. The USS Commodore Jones had been searching for these today and found one--an “electric torpedo” which was set off by means of an electric wire by an operator on shore. The ship was blown up out of the water and reduced to splinters. The operator of the torpedoes, Jeffries Johnson, and batteries which powered the wires were promptly captured by a shore party, and placed in the bow of the next minesweeper. Mr. Johnson thereupon became more cooperative in revealing where other mines were.
Another report: The USS Commodore Jones, Acting Lieutenant Thomas Wade in charge, was destroyed by a huge 2,000-pound electric torpedo in the James River while dragging for torpedoes with USS Mackinaw and Commodore Morris. From the Norfolk Naval Hospital, Wade later reported that the torpedo "...exploded directly under the ship with terrible effect, causing her destruction instantly, absolutely blowing the vessel to splinters." Other observers said that the hull of the converted ferryboat was lifted completely out of the water by the force of the explosion which claimed some 40 lives. A landing party of sailors and Marines went ashore immediately and captured two torpedo-men and the galvanic batteries which had detonated the mine. One of the Confederates, Jeffries Johnson, refused to divulge information regarding the location of torpedoes under interrogation, but he "...signified his willingness to tell all..." when he was placed in the bow of the forward ship on river duty, and Johnson became the war's "...unique minesweeper."
Early in the evening, the CSS Raleigh, under Flag Officer Lynch, steamed over the bar at New Inlet, North Carolina, and engaged the USS Britannia and Nansemond, forcing them to withdraw temporarily and enabling a blockade runner to escape. Captain Sands, the senior officer present, commented: "The principal object [of Raleigh 's attack], it seems to me...is for her to aid the outgoing and incoming of the runners by driving off the vessels stationed on and near the bar..." Early the next morning, Raleigh renewed the engagement, exchanging fire with the wooden steamers USS Howquah and Nansemond. Two other steamers, the USS Mount Vernon and Kansas, also opened on the ram, and at 6 a.m. the Lynch broke off the action. Attempting to cross the bar at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, the Raleigh grounded and was severely damaged. Lynch order her destroyed; his action was sanctioned by a subsequent court of inquiry. Thus, the Confederacy lost another formidable ram, one upon which Southern Army commanders had been depending to defend the inner bars from Union attack.
The USS Granite City, under Acting Master C.W. Lamson, and the USS Wave, Acting Lieutenant Benjamin A. Loring in command, were captured by Confederate troops in the Calcasieu River, Louisiana. The steamer Granite City and the tin clad Wave had been dispatched to Calcasieu Pass to receive refugees on 28 April and both ships carried out this duty until the morning of the captures, landing a small army detachment on shore as pickets. The Southerners, with artillery and about 350 sharpshooters from the Sabine Pass garrison, overwhelmed the Union landing party, and took the ships under fire on the morning of 6 May. After an hour's engagement, the Granite City surrendered; upon receiving shot in her boiler and steam drum, the Wave shortly followed suit. On the 10th USS New London, Acting Master Lyman Wells in charge, unaware that the Confederates had surprised and taken the Union vessels, arrived off Calcasieu. Wells sent one boat to Granite City, which did not return. On the morning of the 11th, he sent another boat, under the command of Acting Ensign Henry Jackson, toward Granite City under flag of truce. Seeing a Confederate flag flying from her, Jackson tried to shoot it down and was killed by a Southern sharpshooter. Upon receiving Acting Master Wells' report, Rear Admiral David Farragut immediately planned to recapture the vessels but, having insufficient ships of light draft available, was forced to postpone his efforts.
The USS Dawn, under Acting Lieutenant John W. Simmons, transported soldiers to capture a signal station at Wilson's Wharf, Virginia. After landing the troops two miles above the station, Simmons proceeded to Sandy Point to cover the attack. When the soldiers were momentarily halted, a boat crew from the Dawn spearheaded the successful assault.
The USS Grand Gulf Commander George M. Ransom, captured the blockade running British steamer Young Republic at sea east of Savannah with a cargo of cotton and tobacco. Two weeks later, Rear Admiral Samuel P. Lee congratulated Ransom on the seizure and wrote: "Every capture made by the blockaders deprives the enemy of so much of the 'sinews of war,' and is equal to the taking of a supply train from the Rebel Army."
The USS Eutaw, Osceola, Pequot, Shokokon, and General Putnam, side-wheelers of Rear Admiral Lee's North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, supported the landing of troops at Bermuda Hundred, Virginia.
This post was edited on 5/6/14 at 6:18 am
Posted on 5/7/14 at 3:47 am to BadLeroyDawg
Saturday, 7 May 1864
Two campaigns continued today which, combined, would help bring an end to the War of Southern Independence. Near Chattanooga, Tennessee, the army of Major General William Tecumseh Sherman was on the march this morning. His orders were to head for the interior of Georgia. In northern Virginia Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant, beaten badly the days before, did not retreat as his predecessors had always done. Instead, he headed for Spotsylvania Court House to attack again. The Army of the Potomac was grimly delighted.
The USS Shawsheen, under Acting Ensign Charles Ringot, was disabled, captured and destroyed by Confederates in the James River. The Shawsheen, a 180-ton side-wheel steamer, had been ordered to drag the river for torpedoes above Chaffin's Bluff, and had anchored near shore shortly before noon so that the crew could eat, when Confederate infantry and artillery surprised the gunboat. A shot through the boiler forced many sailors overboard to avoid being scalded. Lieutenant Colonel W.M. Elliott, CSA, reported that the Shawsheen was completely disabled and "...though reluctantly, she nevertheless hauled down her colors and displayed the white flag in token of surrender. A boat was dispatched to enforce the delivery of the prisoners on board, the enemy's boats being made available to bring them off. The officer was also instructed to fire the vessel, which was effectively done, the fire quickly reaching the magazine, exploding it, consigning all to the wind and waves."
The Confederate States of America, hampered by limited armaments and foundries, sought to make optimum use of every piece of captured Union ordnance. This morning, Major General Camille J. Polignac, CSA, pointed out the significance of the Southern capture of the USS Signal and Covington and their two Parrott guns from yesterday: "It is very important and desirable that these fruits of our victories over the enemy's gunboats shall be saved to us, as well as lost to them."
This morning, General Grant ordered Major General George G. Meade, commander of the Federal Army of the Potomac, to “... make all preparations during the day for a night march to take position at Spotsylvania Court House…” The Federals were to move southeast against General Robert E. Lee’s right once more. But more significantly, the movement was an advance and not a retreat. Federal troops cheered the decision. Spotsylvania was an important intersection where Lee’s main supply routes met. If the Federals captured the town, they could position themselves between Lee and Richmond.
In Georgia, skirmishing occurred as Major General William T. Sherman’s 110,000-man Army of the West began moving around the left (or eastern) flank of the much smaller 45,000-man Confederate Army of Tennessee under General Joseph E. Johnston. Sherman planned a series of movements around Johnston’s left to avoid a frontal assault or any severe fighting in narrow mountain passes that would offset the Federals’ massive numerical superiority.
On the James River, Major General Benjamin "Spoons" Butler’s 8,000 man Federal cavalry captured the Richmond & Petersburg Railroad, but when they were attacked by a smaller Confederate force, Butler quickly ordered the Yankees to withdraw.
At a Marine band concert in Washington, DC, President Abraham Lincoln declined to make a speech but proposed three cheers for Grant “...and all the armies under his command.”
The CSS Raleigh went aground and had to be destroyed after engaging four Federal vessels off the mouth of the Cape Fear River, North Carolina.
Two campaigns continued today which, combined, would help bring an end to the War of Southern Independence. Near Chattanooga, Tennessee, the army of Major General William Tecumseh Sherman was on the march this morning. His orders were to head for the interior of Georgia. In northern Virginia Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant, beaten badly the days before, did not retreat as his predecessors had always done. Instead, he headed for Spotsylvania Court House to attack again. The Army of the Potomac was grimly delighted.
The USS Shawsheen, under Acting Ensign Charles Ringot, was disabled, captured and destroyed by Confederates in the James River. The Shawsheen, a 180-ton side-wheel steamer, had been ordered to drag the river for torpedoes above Chaffin's Bluff, and had anchored near shore shortly before noon so that the crew could eat, when Confederate infantry and artillery surprised the gunboat. A shot through the boiler forced many sailors overboard to avoid being scalded. Lieutenant Colonel W.M. Elliott, CSA, reported that the Shawsheen was completely disabled and "...though reluctantly, she nevertheless hauled down her colors and displayed the white flag in token of surrender. A boat was dispatched to enforce the delivery of the prisoners on board, the enemy's boats being made available to bring them off. The officer was also instructed to fire the vessel, which was effectively done, the fire quickly reaching the magazine, exploding it, consigning all to the wind and waves."
The Confederate States of America, hampered by limited armaments and foundries, sought to make optimum use of every piece of captured Union ordnance. This morning, Major General Camille J. Polignac, CSA, pointed out the significance of the Southern capture of the USS Signal and Covington and their two Parrott guns from yesterday: "It is very important and desirable that these fruits of our victories over the enemy's gunboats shall be saved to us, as well as lost to them."
This morning, General Grant ordered Major General George G. Meade, commander of the Federal Army of the Potomac, to “... make all preparations during the day for a night march to take position at Spotsylvania Court House…” The Federals were to move southeast against General Robert E. Lee’s right once more. But more significantly, the movement was an advance and not a retreat. Federal troops cheered the decision. Spotsylvania was an important intersection where Lee’s main supply routes met. If the Federals captured the town, they could position themselves between Lee and Richmond.
In Georgia, skirmishing occurred as Major General William T. Sherman’s 110,000-man Army of the West began moving around the left (or eastern) flank of the much smaller 45,000-man Confederate Army of Tennessee under General Joseph E. Johnston. Sherman planned a series of movements around Johnston’s left to avoid a frontal assault or any severe fighting in narrow mountain passes that would offset the Federals’ massive numerical superiority.
On the James River, Major General Benjamin "Spoons" Butler’s 8,000 man Federal cavalry captured the Richmond & Petersburg Railroad, but when they were attacked by a smaller Confederate force, Butler quickly ordered the Yankees to withdraw.
At a Marine band concert in Washington, DC, President Abraham Lincoln declined to make a speech but proposed three cheers for Grant “...and all the armies under his command.”
The CSS Raleigh went aground and had to be destroyed after engaging four Federal vessels off the mouth of the Cape Fear River, North Carolina.
Posted on 5/7/14 at 8:53 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Sunday, 8 May 1864
Skirmishing and establishment of lines continued around Spotsylvania Court House today. Two of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s three corps had inexperienced commanders today as James Longstreet had been severely wounded on Friday and A.P. Hill was sick. Reinforcements poured into both lines, and a 10-day battle ensued that featured one of the most complex trench systems in history.
Yesterday, Union Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant had issued orders for the Army of the Potomac to march toward Spotsylvania Court House, a small town along the route to Richmond. He hoped to get between General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Richmond or, at the very least, to draw the Southerners into the open field where he could take advantage of superior Federal numbers. It was Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart's job to prevent the Yankees from reaching Spotsylvania. For two days, a division of Stuart's cavalry, led by Major General Fitzhugh Lee, had battled Union horsemen for control of the Brock Road, the most direct route between the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House. Forced to relinquish his position near Todd's Tavern against an ever growing enemy force, Lee withdrew to a rise of ground known as Laurel Hill today. Laurel Hill was the last defensible position this side of Spotsylvania. If the Confederates lost Laurel Hill, they would also lose Spotsylvania.
Fortunately for Stuart and Fitz Lee, help was near at hand. General Richard Anderson, now in command of James Longstreet's First Corps, had marched for Spotsylvania during the night, and by this morning, his troops were within two miles of Laurel Hill. Anderson's corps had just gone into bivouac near the Po River when one of Stuart's couriers arrived warning him of the Union army's approach. The new corps commanders instantly put his troops back on the road and led them toward Laurel Hill.
Believing Spotsylvania to be within his grasp, Union Major General Gouverneur K. Warren advanced his Fifth Corps to Laurel Hill where they were surprised to find Major General Richard Anderson and the men of Longstreet's corps opposing them. Warren's attempts to drive out the Confederates were rebuffed with heavy losses and the two sides soon began to entrench. During this time, Major General John Sedgwick, commander of the Union Sixth Corps, was shot dead, becoming the highest ranking Union officer killed during the war.
In northern Georgia, Federal troops under General James B. McPherson formed the right wing of Major General William T. Sherman’s army and advanced into Snake Creek Gap in an attempt to outflank General Joseph E. Johnston’s smaller force of Confederates.
Skirmishing and establishment of lines continued around Spotsylvania Court House today. Two of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s three corps had inexperienced commanders today as James Longstreet had been severely wounded on Friday and A.P. Hill was sick. Reinforcements poured into both lines, and a 10-day battle ensued that featured one of the most complex trench systems in history.
Yesterday, Union Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant had issued orders for the Army of the Potomac to march toward Spotsylvania Court House, a small town along the route to Richmond. He hoped to get between General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Richmond or, at the very least, to draw the Southerners into the open field where he could take advantage of superior Federal numbers. It was Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart's job to prevent the Yankees from reaching Spotsylvania. For two days, a division of Stuart's cavalry, led by Major General Fitzhugh Lee, had battled Union horsemen for control of the Brock Road, the most direct route between the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House. Forced to relinquish his position near Todd's Tavern against an ever growing enemy force, Lee withdrew to a rise of ground known as Laurel Hill today. Laurel Hill was the last defensible position this side of Spotsylvania. If the Confederates lost Laurel Hill, they would also lose Spotsylvania.
Fortunately for Stuart and Fitz Lee, help was near at hand. General Richard Anderson, now in command of James Longstreet's First Corps, had marched for Spotsylvania during the night, and by this morning, his troops were within two miles of Laurel Hill. Anderson's corps had just gone into bivouac near the Po River when one of Stuart's couriers arrived warning him of the Union army's approach. The new corps commanders instantly put his troops back on the road and led them toward Laurel Hill.
Believing Spotsylvania to be within his grasp, Union Major General Gouverneur K. Warren advanced his Fifth Corps to Laurel Hill where they were surprised to find Major General Richard Anderson and the men of Longstreet's corps opposing them. Warren's attempts to drive out the Confederates were rebuffed with heavy losses and the two sides soon began to entrench. During this time, Major General John Sedgwick, commander of the Union Sixth Corps, was shot dead, becoming the highest ranking Union officer killed during the war.
In northern Georgia, Federal troops under General James B. McPherson formed the right wing of Major General William T. Sherman’s army and advanced into Snake Creek Gap in an attempt to outflank General Joseph E. Johnston’s smaller force of Confederates.
Posted on 5/8/14 at 8:41 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Monday, 9 May 1864
The Battle of Spotsylvania continued in Virginia, as heavy fighting took place between advancing Federals and defending Confederates. President Jefferson Davis wrote Robert E. Lee, “Your dispatches have cheered us in the anxiety of a critical position…”
Operations near Spotsylvania Court House consisted mostly of both sides trying to set up the most advantageous lines for the coming battle. Union Major General John Sedgwick, while inspecting an artillery line, was told by his men that sharpshooters were in the area. “They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance,” he said confidently, according to legend anyway. Seconds later a bullet pierced his left eye, killing him instantly. He was the highest-ranking Union officer killed in battle.
General Hiram U. Grant sent a portion of Major General Winfield S. Hancock's Second Corps across the Po River in an effort to find General Robert E. Lee's left flank. Spying Hancock's move, Lee shifted two divisions to counter the Federals at Block House Bridge, forcing the Yankees back across the river. Grant spent the next day probing Lee's line for weaknesses and nearly found one when a young colonel named Emory Upton briefly breached the Confederate line with a tightly packed, fast-moving column of regiments. Though Upton's assault was indecisive, it gave Grant an idea.
Major General Philip Sheridan’s Federal cavalry began a 16-day raid toward Richmond. Sheridan had been dispatched by General Grant when Sheridan boasted that he could defeat Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry if allowed.
Rear Admiral David G. Farragut again wrote Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles requesting ironclads for the reduction of Mobile Bay: "I am in hourly expectation of being attacked by almost an equal number of vessels, ironclads against wooden vessels, and a most unequal contest it will be, as the Tennessee is represented as impervious to all their experiments at Mobile so that our only hope is to run her down, which we shall certainly do all in our power to accomplish; but should we be unsuccessful the panic in this part of the country will be beyond all control. They will imagine that New Orleans and Pensacola must fall." At this time, Admiral Franklin Buchanan was trying to float the Tennessee over the Mobile Bar using watertight caissons or "camels". Until that could be effected, there would be no engagement with Farragut's fleet.
The USS Connecticut, under Commander Almy, seized the blockade running British steamer Minnie with a cargo of cotton, tobacco, turpentine, and $10,000 in gold. The steamer was a well-known very successful blockade runner. On 16 April 1864, John T. Bourne, Confederate commercial agent at St. Georges, Bermuda, had advised the B.W. Hart Company, of London: "Steamer Minnie, Captain [Thomas S.] Gilpin, has made a splendid trip bringing 700 & odd bales of cotton & good lot of Tobacco paying for herself & the Emily."
Major General Benjamin "Spoons" Butler stalled badly on the James River, thinking that Confederate resistance was stronger than it actually proved to be. Soldiers called the campaign a “...stationary advance.” As Butler hesitated, the Confederate defenses were strengthened.
In Georgia, Major General William T. Sherman’s Federals under Generals George Thomas and John Schofield pressed General Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederates near Dalton. Meanwhile, Union soldiers under General James McPherson advanced through Snake Creek Gap, but McPherson withdrew after determining that Confederate defenses were too strong. Sherman was disappointed by McPherson’s withdrawal.
On the Red River in Louisiana, a Federal engineer instructed roughly 3,000 troops in building a dam using trees, rocks, barges, and dirt. Bands of Confederate guerrillas sporadically attacked Federal ships on the river, which were in danger of being stuck in mud due to unusually low water levels.
Major General Stephen D. Lee assumed command of the Confederate Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana, as General Leonidas Polk and many of his troops had gone to join Joseph E. Johnston in Georgia. In Washington, President Abraham Lincoln told a serenading group, “Our commanders are following up their victories resolutely and successfully… I will volunteer to say that I am very glad at what has happened; but there is a great deal still to be done.”
On the St. John’s River, Florida, Confederates destroyed the U.S. transport Harriet A. Weed.
Federal expeditions began from the Fort Crittenden in the Utah Territory to Fort Mohave in the Arizona Territory; from Indian Ranch to Cedar Bluffs in the Colorado Territory, and against Indians in Arizona.
Skirmishing occurred in Virginia, Kentucky, and Arkansas.
The Battle of Spotsylvania continued in Virginia, as heavy fighting took place between advancing Federals and defending Confederates. President Jefferson Davis wrote Robert E. Lee, “Your dispatches have cheered us in the anxiety of a critical position…”
Operations near Spotsylvania Court House consisted mostly of both sides trying to set up the most advantageous lines for the coming battle. Union Major General John Sedgwick, while inspecting an artillery line, was told by his men that sharpshooters were in the area. “They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance,” he said confidently, according to legend anyway. Seconds later a bullet pierced his left eye, killing him instantly. He was the highest-ranking Union officer killed in battle.
General Hiram U. Grant sent a portion of Major General Winfield S. Hancock's Second Corps across the Po River in an effort to find General Robert E. Lee's left flank. Spying Hancock's move, Lee shifted two divisions to counter the Federals at Block House Bridge, forcing the Yankees back across the river. Grant spent the next day probing Lee's line for weaknesses and nearly found one when a young colonel named Emory Upton briefly breached the Confederate line with a tightly packed, fast-moving column of regiments. Though Upton's assault was indecisive, it gave Grant an idea.
Major General Philip Sheridan’s Federal cavalry began a 16-day raid toward Richmond. Sheridan had been dispatched by General Grant when Sheridan boasted that he could defeat Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry if allowed.
Rear Admiral David G. Farragut again wrote Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles requesting ironclads for the reduction of Mobile Bay: "I am in hourly expectation of being attacked by almost an equal number of vessels, ironclads against wooden vessels, and a most unequal contest it will be, as the Tennessee is represented as impervious to all their experiments at Mobile so that our only hope is to run her down, which we shall certainly do all in our power to accomplish; but should we be unsuccessful the panic in this part of the country will be beyond all control. They will imagine that New Orleans and Pensacola must fall." At this time, Admiral Franklin Buchanan was trying to float the Tennessee over the Mobile Bar using watertight caissons or "camels". Until that could be effected, there would be no engagement with Farragut's fleet.
The USS Connecticut, under Commander Almy, seized the blockade running British steamer Minnie with a cargo of cotton, tobacco, turpentine, and $10,000 in gold. The steamer was a well-known very successful blockade runner. On 16 April 1864, John T. Bourne, Confederate commercial agent at St. Georges, Bermuda, had advised the B.W. Hart Company, of London: "Steamer Minnie, Captain [Thomas S.] Gilpin, has made a splendid trip bringing 700 & odd bales of cotton & good lot of Tobacco paying for herself & the Emily."
Major General Benjamin "Spoons" Butler stalled badly on the James River, thinking that Confederate resistance was stronger than it actually proved to be. Soldiers called the campaign a “...stationary advance.” As Butler hesitated, the Confederate defenses were strengthened.
In Georgia, Major General William T. Sherman’s Federals under Generals George Thomas and John Schofield pressed General Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederates near Dalton. Meanwhile, Union soldiers under General James McPherson advanced through Snake Creek Gap, but McPherson withdrew after determining that Confederate defenses were too strong. Sherman was disappointed by McPherson’s withdrawal.
On the Red River in Louisiana, a Federal engineer instructed roughly 3,000 troops in building a dam using trees, rocks, barges, and dirt. Bands of Confederate guerrillas sporadically attacked Federal ships on the river, which were in danger of being stuck in mud due to unusually low water levels.
Major General Stephen D. Lee assumed command of the Confederate Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana, as General Leonidas Polk and many of his troops had gone to join Joseph E. Johnston in Georgia. In Washington, President Abraham Lincoln told a serenading group, “Our commanders are following up their victories resolutely and successfully… I will volunteer to say that I am very glad at what has happened; but there is a great deal still to be done.”
On the St. John’s River, Florida, Confederates destroyed the U.S. transport Harriet A. Weed.
Federal expeditions began from the Fort Crittenden in the Utah Territory to Fort Mohave in the Arizona Territory; from Indian Ranch to Cedar Bluffs in the Colorado Territory, and against Indians in Arizona.
Skirmishing occurred in Virginia, Kentucky, and Arkansas.
Posted on 5/8/14 at 10:34 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Ok. I'e read through tomorrow. It's like internet time travel.
Posted on 5/9/14 at 4:27 am to Evolved Simian
LOL! Never thought of it like that, Simian, but if it works for you, GFI. Mobile is still holding out strong, but without some ships to balance the equation, just a matter of time.
Posted on 5/10/14 at 6:18 am to BadLeroyDawg
Tuesday, 10 May 1864
Three corps of the Army of the Potomac--Hancock’s, Warren’s and Wright’s--concentrated their attack on the Army of Northern Virginia near Spotsylvania Court House this morning. The Southerners were formed in a salient called the “Mule Shoe” and heavily entrenched. The Northerners fought up to the center of Ewell’s lines and pierced it briefly, but could not hold. They withdrew and dug trenches of their own.
The U.S. Army transport Harriet A. Weed, supporting troop movements in the St. John's River, was destroyed by a torpedo late last night. Sinking in less than a minute, the steamer became the third victim of stepped-up Confederate torpedo activity in the St. John's River in less than six weeks. While reconnoitering the river near Harriet A. Weed's hulk, the USS Vixen recovered a torpedo of the type that destroyed the transport. The keg torpedo was, reported Charles O. Boutelle of the Coast Survey, "...simple and effectual".
The USS Mound City, under Acting Lieutenant Amos R. Langthorne, and the USS Carondelet, Lieutenant Commander John G. Mitchell in charge, grounded near where work was proceeding on the wing dams across the Red River rapids above Alexandria. Next day, as the Red River slowly continued to rise behind the two wing dams, the ironclads Mound City, Carondelet, and USS Pittsburg, Acting Lieutenant William R. Hoel piloting, were finally hauled across the upper falls above the obstructions by throngs of straining soldiers. As the troops looked on in tense anticipation, the gunboats, all hatches battened down, successfully lurched through the gap between the dams to safety. Rear Admiral David D. Porter later reported to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles: "The passage of these vessels was a beautiful sight, only to be realized when seen." the USS Ozark, Louisville, and Chillicothe, ironclads which had crossed the upper falls, were preparing to follow the next day.
The USS Connecticut, under Commander Almy, captured the blockade running British steamer Greyhound, commanded by Lieutenant George H. Bier, CSN, with a cargo of cotton, tobacco, and turpentine on the Confederate Government account.
Philip Sheridan’s Federal cavalry skirmished with J.E.B. Stuart’s Confederates along the North Anna River and near Beaver Dam Station in Virginia.
In Georgia, Joseph E. Johnston learned of James McPherson’s efforts to turn his left at Resaca and Snake Creek Gap. Skirmishing continued as Leonidas Polk’s corps from Mississippi was on the way to reinforce Johnston. William T. Sherman decided that since McPherson had failed, he would swing his entire army by the right flank through Snake Creek Gap.
Federal Rear Admiral John A.B. Dahlgren’s ship commanders voted against a direct attack on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.
A Federal expedition began from Pilot Knob, Missouri.
Skirmishing occurred in West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, and Arkansas.
Three corps of the Army of the Potomac--Hancock’s, Warren’s and Wright’s--concentrated their attack on the Army of Northern Virginia near Spotsylvania Court House this morning. The Southerners were formed in a salient called the “Mule Shoe” and heavily entrenched. The Northerners fought up to the center of Ewell’s lines and pierced it briefly, but could not hold. They withdrew and dug trenches of their own.
The U.S. Army transport Harriet A. Weed, supporting troop movements in the St. John's River, was destroyed by a torpedo late last night. Sinking in less than a minute, the steamer became the third victim of stepped-up Confederate torpedo activity in the St. John's River in less than six weeks. While reconnoitering the river near Harriet A. Weed's hulk, the USS Vixen recovered a torpedo of the type that destroyed the transport. The keg torpedo was, reported Charles O. Boutelle of the Coast Survey, "...simple and effectual".
The USS Mound City, under Acting Lieutenant Amos R. Langthorne, and the USS Carondelet, Lieutenant Commander John G. Mitchell in charge, grounded near where work was proceeding on the wing dams across the Red River rapids above Alexandria. Next day, as the Red River slowly continued to rise behind the two wing dams, the ironclads Mound City, Carondelet, and USS Pittsburg, Acting Lieutenant William R. Hoel piloting, were finally hauled across the upper falls above the obstructions by throngs of straining soldiers. As the troops looked on in tense anticipation, the gunboats, all hatches battened down, successfully lurched through the gap between the dams to safety. Rear Admiral David D. Porter later reported to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles: "The passage of these vessels was a beautiful sight, only to be realized when seen." the USS Ozark, Louisville, and Chillicothe, ironclads which had crossed the upper falls, were preparing to follow the next day.
The USS Connecticut, under Commander Almy, captured the blockade running British steamer Greyhound, commanded by Lieutenant George H. Bier, CSN, with a cargo of cotton, tobacco, and turpentine on the Confederate Government account.
Philip Sheridan’s Federal cavalry skirmished with J.E.B. Stuart’s Confederates along the North Anna River and near Beaver Dam Station in Virginia.
In Georgia, Joseph E. Johnston learned of James McPherson’s efforts to turn his left at Resaca and Snake Creek Gap. Skirmishing continued as Leonidas Polk’s corps from Mississippi was on the way to reinforce Johnston. William T. Sherman decided that since McPherson had failed, he would swing his entire army by the right flank through Snake Creek Gap.
Federal Rear Admiral John A.B. Dahlgren’s ship commanders voted against a direct attack on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.
A Federal expedition began from Pilot Knob, Missouri.
Skirmishing occurred in West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, and Arkansas.
Posted on 5/10/14 at 10:06 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Wednesday, 11 May 1864
Possibly the greatest symbol of Southern military daring and might, the “Cavalier of the Confederacy,” was James Ewell Brown "JEB" Stuart, overall commander of the mighty Confederate Cavalry. With the black ostrich plume in his hat that symbolized the life; with his magnificent horsemen he had given the Yankees fits and defeat after defeat for over three years. This afternoon, in a battle with Philip Henry Sheridan’s men near a place called Yellow Tavern where the Southern defenders were outnumbered by over three-to-one, he was fatally shot by a Union cavalry sharpshooter fighting dismounted. General Robert E. Lee, when informed of the news, stood alone for a few minutes then said, “I can scarcely think of him without weeping.”
Another report: The Battle of Yellow Tavern occurred between Philip Sheridan’s Federal cavalry and J.E.B Stuart’s Confederates about six miles north of Richmond. The Confederates held their ground despite being outnumbered three-to-one; Stuart was mortally wounded and his command was given to General Fitzhugh Lee. Sheridan drove the Confederates back, but the fight gave them time to strengthen defenses around Richmond.
The Battle of Spotsylvania continued in Virginia, with a brief lull in the heavy fighting. President Jefferson Davis wrote General Robert E. Lee that he was trying to send more troops, but “...we have been sorely pressed by enemy on south side. Are now threatened by the cavalry…”
Elsewhere on the Spotsylvania front, the Federal commanders attempted to execute a combined attack all along the lines. A series of piecemeal assaults by elements of the Fifth and Second corps at Laurel Hill proved unsuccessful. A bit farther east a charge by twelve Union regiments against the western face of a great salient in the Confederate line was far more carefully arranged. The British military historian C. F. Atkinson, writing in 1908 in Grant's Campaigns of 1864 and 1865, labeled the charge "...one of the classic Infantry attacks of military history". This dramatic action also failed, because of the failure of a supporting assault and because of strong Confederate counter strokes by the master tactician, Robert Edward Lee.
In Georgia, Major General William T. Sherman ordered a general Federal movement from Snake Creek Gap toward Resaca to begin early tomorrow.
In the Red River campaign, three more Federal ironclads escaped from Alexandria, Louisiana, after dams raised the water level.
The Louisiana Constitutional Convention adopted a new ordinance of Emancipation without Compensation. Still under Union military rule, it was eventually ratified by popular vote on 22 July.
President Abraham Lincoln and General-in-Chief Hiram U. Grant created a new Military Division of West Mississippi, commanded by Major General Edward Richard Sprigg Canby, who superseded Major Generals Nathaniel Prentice Banks on the Red River and Frederick Steele in Arkansas. Banks’ command was ultimately redistributed to Canby and Major General William T. Sherman in Georgia.
A Federal expedition began from Point Lookout, Maryland to the Rappahannock River in Virginia.
Possibly the greatest symbol of Southern military daring and might, the “Cavalier of the Confederacy,” was James Ewell Brown "JEB" Stuart, overall commander of the mighty Confederate Cavalry. With the black ostrich plume in his hat that symbolized the life; with his magnificent horsemen he had given the Yankees fits and defeat after defeat for over three years. This afternoon, in a battle with Philip Henry Sheridan’s men near a place called Yellow Tavern where the Southern defenders were outnumbered by over three-to-one, he was fatally shot by a Union cavalry sharpshooter fighting dismounted. General Robert E. Lee, when informed of the news, stood alone for a few minutes then said, “I can scarcely think of him without weeping.”
Another report: The Battle of Yellow Tavern occurred between Philip Sheridan’s Federal cavalry and J.E.B Stuart’s Confederates about six miles north of Richmond. The Confederates held their ground despite being outnumbered three-to-one; Stuart was mortally wounded and his command was given to General Fitzhugh Lee. Sheridan drove the Confederates back, but the fight gave them time to strengthen defenses around Richmond.
The Battle of Spotsylvania continued in Virginia, with a brief lull in the heavy fighting. President Jefferson Davis wrote General Robert E. Lee that he was trying to send more troops, but “...we have been sorely pressed by enemy on south side. Are now threatened by the cavalry…”
Elsewhere on the Spotsylvania front, the Federal commanders attempted to execute a combined attack all along the lines. A series of piecemeal assaults by elements of the Fifth and Second corps at Laurel Hill proved unsuccessful. A bit farther east a charge by twelve Union regiments against the western face of a great salient in the Confederate line was far more carefully arranged. The British military historian C. F. Atkinson, writing in 1908 in Grant's Campaigns of 1864 and 1865, labeled the charge "...one of the classic Infantry attacks of military history". This dramatic action also failed, because of the failure of a supporting assault and because of strong Confederate counter strokes by the master tactician, Robert Edward Lee.
In Georgia, Major General William T. Sherman ordered a general Federal movement from Snake Creek Gap toward Resaca to begin early tomorrow.
In the Red River campaign, three more Federal ironclads escaped from Alexandria, Louisiana, after dams raised the water level.
The Louisiana Constitutional Convention adopted a new ordinance of Emancipation without Compensation. Still under Union military rule, it was eventually ratified by popular vote on 22 July.
President Abraham Lincoln and General-in-Chief Hiram U. Grant created a new Military Division of West Mississippi, commanded by Major General Edward Richard Sprigg Canby, who superseded Major Generals Nathaniel Prentice Banks on the Red River and Frederick Steele in Arkansas. Banks’ command was ultimately redistributed to Canby and Major General William T. Sherman in Georgia.
A Federal expedition began from Point Lookout, Maryland to the Rappahannock River in Virginia.
Posted on 5/12/14 at 4:24 am to BadLeroyDawg
Thursday, 12 May 1864
It was around 4:30 in the morning when General Winfield Scott Hancock’s Union line opened its charge on the entrenched Confederates of General Richard Stoddert Ewell’s corps. The sneak attack worked well, too--the Federals took some 3000 prisoners including two generals, and large numbers of artillery pieces, other arms and stands of colors. Wright attacked the Confederate left and the fighting went on until after midnight. General Gouverneur Kemble Warren was supposed to attack the far left, but was late. This would not look good on his resume.
Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant decided to attack the apex of the Confederate salient with the entire Federal Second Corps this morning. Two divisions of Major General Ambrose E. Burnside's Ninth Corps were to attack the east face of the Confederate position simultaneously. The Second Corps moved into position after dark last night. At 4:35 A.M., the Federal Second Corps moved forward from its position near the Brown house, advanced across the Landrum farm clearing, and struck the apex of the salient. Continuing forward for about half a mile, the Federals captured approximately 3,000 prisoners from Major General Richard S. Ewell's Second Corps before being driven back to the outside of the works by Confederate reserve forces. Both sides forwarded reinforcements (the Federals added units of Major General Horatio Wright's Sixth Corps to the assault), and the northern face of the salient became the focus of close firing and fighting that lasted for twenty-three hours. In mid-afternoon a division of the Ninth Corps advanced, and a portion of it was struck by an advancing pair of Confederate brigades, James H. Lane's and David A. Weisiger's, in an area approximately three quarters of a mile north of the village of Spotsylvania Court House. The resulting engagement was a wild melee in dark woods, with every soldier trying to fight his way back to his own lines.
Rear Admiral Samuel P. Lee, prompted by the recent loss of USS Commodore Jones and Shawsheen, ordered Lieutenant Roswell H. Lamson to command a special "torpedo and picket division" in the James River. The force would comprise side-wheelers USS Stepping Stones, Delaware, and Tritonia. In addition to patrolling and reconnoitering the river banks and dragging the river itself for torpedoes, Lee directed Lamson: "By night keep picket vessels and boats ahead and underway with alarm signals to prevent surprise from rebel river craft, rams, torpedo 'Davids,' and fire rafts."
Flag Officer Samuel Barron in Paris wrote Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory: "Today I have heard indirectly and confidentially that the Alabama may be expected in a European port on any day. Ship and captain both requiring to be docked. Captain Semmes' health has begun to fail, and he feels that rest is needful to him. If he asks for a relief, I shall order Commander T.J. Page to take his place in command, and shall not hesitate to relieve the other officers if they ask for respite from sea duty after their long, arduous, and valuable service on the sea. There are numbers of fine young officers here who are panting for active duty on their proper element, and will cheerfully relieve their brother officers who have so handsomely availed themselves of the opportunities afforded them of rendering such distinguished service to their country and illustrating the naval profession."
A boat expedition under Acting Lieutenant William Budd, from the USS Somerset, transported a detachment of troops to Apalachicola, Florida, to disperse a Confederate force thought to be in the vicinity.
After disembarking the troops, Budd and his launches discovered a body of Confederate sailors embarking on a boat expedition, and after a brief exchange succeeded in driving them into the town and capturing their boats and supplies. The Confederates, led by Lieutenant Gift, CSN, had planned to capture the USS Adela.
The USS Beauregard, under Acting Master Edward C. Mealy, seized the blockade running sloop Resolute off Indian River, Florida.
It was around 4:30 in the morning when General Winfield Scott Hancock’s Union line opened its charge on the entrenched Confederates of General Richard Stoddert Ewell’s corps. The sneak attack worked well, too--the Federals took some 3000 prisoners including two generals, and large numbers of artillery pieces, other arms and stands of colors. Wright attacked the Confederate left and the fighting went on until after midnight. General Gouverneur Kemble Warren was supposed to attack the far left, but was late. This would not look good on his resume.
Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant decided to attack the apex of the Confederate salient with the entire Federal Second Corps this morning. Two divisions of Major General Ambrose E. Burnside's Ninth Corps were to attack the east face of the Confederate position simultaneously. The Second Corps moved into position after dark last night. At 4:35 A.M., the Federal Second Corps moved forward from its position near the Brown house, advanced across the Landrum farm clearing, and struck the apex of the salient. Continuing forward for about half a mile, the Federals captured approximately 3,000 prisoners from Major General Richard S. Ewell's Second Corps before being driven back to the outside of the works by Confederate reserve forces. Both sides forwarded reinforcements (the Federals added units of Major General Horatio Wright's Sixth Corps to the assault), and the northern face of the salient became the focus of close firing and fighting that lasted for twenty-three hours. In mid-afternoon a division of the Ninth Corps advanced, and a portion of it was struck by an advancing pair of Confederate brigades, James H. Lane's and David A. Weisiger's, in an area approximately three quarters of a mile north of the village of Spotsylvania Court House. The resulting engagement was a wild melee in dark woods, with every soldier trying to fight his way back to his own lines.
Rear Admiral Samuel P. Lee, prompted by the recent loss of USS Commodore Jones and Shawsheen, ordered Lieutenant Roswell H. Lamson to command a special "torpedo and picket division" in the James River. The force would comprise side-wheelers USS Stepping Stones, Delaware, and Tritonia. In addition to patrolling and reconnoitering the river banks and dragging the river itself for torpedoes, Lee directed Lamson: "By night keep picket vessels and boats ahead and underway with alarm signals to prevent surprise from rebel river craft, rams, torpedo 'Davids,' and fire rafts."
Flag Officer Samuel Barron in Paris wrote Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory: "Today I have heard indirectly and confidentially that the Alabama may be expected in a European port on any day. Ship and captain both requiring to be docked. Captain Semmes' health has begun to fail, and he feels that rest is needful to him. If he asks for a relief, I shall order Commander T.J. Page to take his place in command, and shall not hesitate to relieve the other officers if they ask for respite from sea duty after their long, arduous, and valuable service on the sea. There are numbers of fine young officers here who are panting for active duty on their proper element, and will cheerfully relieve their brother officers who have so handsomely availed themselves of the opportunities afforded them of rendering such distinguished service to their country and illustrating the naval profession."
A boat expedition under Acting Lieutenant William Budd, from the USS Somerset, transported a detachment of troops to Apalachicola, Florida, to disperse a Confederate force thought to be in the vicinity.
After disembarking the troops, Budd and his launches discovered a body of Confederate sailors embarking on a boat expedition, and after a brief exchange succeeded in driving them into the town and capturing their boats and supplies. The Confederates, led by Lieutenant Gift, CSN, had planned to capture the USS Adela.
The USS Beauregard, under Acting Master Edward C. Mealy, seized the blockade running sloop Resolute off Indian River, Florida.
Posted on 5/12/14 at 9:38 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Friday, 13 May 1864
The naval component of the Red River expedition had been stranded by low water above the rapids near Alexandria. In both a daring and desperate feat of engineering a dam had been constructed to raise the water level. Today the dam was blown up and the last three ships rode the wave downstream to freedom. The last of Banks’ troops boarded the ships and steamed home as quickly as possible.
Another report: Climaxing two weeks of unceasing effort to save the gunboats and bring to a close the unsuccessful Red River campaign, the USS Louisville, Chillicothe, and Ozark, the last ships of Rear Admiral David D. Porter's stranded fleet, succeeded in passing over the rapids above Alexandria, Louisiana. By mid-afternoon, the gunboats steamed down the river, convoying the Army transports. Thus ended one of the most dramatic exploits of the war, as Lieutenant Colonel Bailey's ingenuity and the inexhaustible energy of the men working on the obstructions raised the level of the river enough to save the Mississippi Squadron. Porter later wrote to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles: "The water had fallen so low that I had no hope or expectation of getting the vessels out this season, and as the army had made arrangements to evacuate the country I saw nothing before me but the destruction of the best part of the Mississippi squadron..." He rightly praised the work of Colonel Bailey: "Words are inadequate to express the admiration I feel for the abilities of Lieutenant Colonel Bailey. This is without a doubt the best engineering feat ever performed...he has saved to the Union a valuable fleet, worth nearly $2,000,000..." Bailey's services received prompt recognition, for in June he was promoted and later received the formal thanks of Congress.
Also on the Red River, General Nathanial P. Banks’s Federal infantry and gunboats continued their retreat. To the north, General Frederick Steele’s Federals returned to Little Rock, thereby making the Red River campaign a complete Federal failure.
The small, side-wheel steamer USS Ceres, under Acting Master Henry H. Foster, with the Army steamer Rockland and 100 embarked soldiers in company, conducted a raiding expedition on the Alligator River, North Carolina, and captured the Confederate schooner Ann S. Davenport and disabled a mill supplying ground corn for the Southern armies.
The Battle of Spotsylvania continued as Federals advanced to attack the “Mule Shoe” salient again but found it abandoned. Confederate President Jefferson Davis wired General Robert E. Lee, “If possible will sustain you in your unequal struggle so long and nobly maintained.” Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant wired Chief of Staff Henry W. Halleck, “The enemy are obstinate and seem to have found the last ditch.” Grant continued probing Lee’s right, looking to try flanking him once more.
A Federal Second Corps soldier, viewing the churned landscape around the "Bloody Angle" on this morning, wrote: "The trench on the Rebel side of the works was filled with their dead piled together in every way with their wounded. The sight was terrible and ghastly."
Sometime before 2:00 A.M. this morning, a large oak tree just behind the west face of the salient crashed to the ground. Its trunk, twenty Inches In diameter, had been severed by musket balls.
The Confederates successfully withdrew to a newly constructed line along the base of the salient at 3:00 A.M. On the night of May 13-14, the Federal Fifth and Sixth corps marched around to the Fredericksburg Road and went into position south of that road on the left of the Ninth Corps.
In Georgia, General Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederates established defensive positions at Resaca. Johnston was joined by reinforcements under General Leonidas Polk. Skirmishing occurred with Major General William T. Sherman’s advancing Federals.
Union naval forces bombarded Fort Sumter. Jo Shelby’s Confederate cavalry began a new campaign north of the Arkansas River. Other skirmishing occurred in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri.
The naval component of the Red River expedition had been stranded by low water above the rapids near Alexandria. In both a daring and desperate feat of engineering a dam had been constructed to raise the water level. Today the dam was blown up and the last three ships rode the wave downstream to freedom. The last of Banks’ troops boarded the ships and steamed home as quickly as possible.
Another report: Climaxing two weeks of unceasing effort to save the gunboats and bring to a close the unsuccessful Red River campaign, the USS Louisville, Chillicothe, and Ozark, the last ships of Rear Admiral David D. Porter's stranded fleet, succeeded in passing over the rapids above Alexandria, Louisiana. By mid-afternoon, the gunboats steamed down the river, convoying the Army transports. Thus ended one of the most dramatic exploits of the war, as Lieutenant Colonel Bailey's ingenuity and the inexhaustible energy of the men working on the obstructions raised the level of the river enough to save the Mississippi Squadron. Porter later wrote to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles: "The water had fallen so low that I had no hope or expectation of getting the vessels out this season, and as the army had made arrangements to evacuate the country I saw nothing before me but the destruction of the best part of the Mississippi squadron..." He rightly praised the work of Colonel Bailey: "Words are inadequate to express the admiration I feel for the abilities of Lieutenant Colonel Bailey. This is without a doubt the best engineering feat ever performed...he has saved to the Union a valuable fleet, worth nearly $2,000,000..." Bailey's services received prompt recognition, for in June he was promoted and later received the formal thanks of Congress.
Also on the Red River, General Nathanial P. Banks’s Federal infantry and gunboats continued their retreat. To the north, General Frederick Steele’s Federals returned to Little Rock, thereby making the Red River campaign a complete Federal failure.
The small, side-wheel steamer USS Ceres, under Acting Master Henry H. Foster, with the Army steamer Rockland and 100 embarked soldiers in company, conducted a raiding expedition on the Alligator River, North Carolina, and captured the Confederate schooner Ann S. Davenport and disabled a mill supplying ground corn for the Southern armies.
The Battle of Spotsylvania continued as Federals advanced to attack the “Mule Shoe” salient again but found it abandoned. Confederate President Jefferson Davis wired General Robert E. Lee, “If possible will sustain you in your unequal struggle so long and nobly maintained.” Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant wired Chief of Staff Henry W. Halleck, “The enemy are obstinate and seem to have found the last ditch.” Grant continued probing Lee’s right, looking to try flanking him once more.
A Federal Second Corps soldier, viewing the churned landscape around the "Bloody Angle" on this morning, wrote: "The trench on the Rebel side of the works was filled with their dead piled together in every way with their wounded. The sight was terrible and ghastly."
Sometime before 2:00 A.M. this morning, a large oak tree just behind the west face of the salient crashed to the ground. Its trunk, twenty Inches In diameter, had been severed by musket balls.
The Confederates successfully withdrew to a newly constructed line along the base of the salient at 3:00 A.M. On the night of May 13-14, the Federal Fifth and Sixth corps marched around to the Fredericksburg Road and went into position south of that road on the left of the Ninth Corps.
In Georgia, General Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederates established defensive positions at Resaca. Johnston was joined by reinforcements under General Leonidas Polk. Skirmishing occurred with Major General William T. Sherman’s advancing Federals.
Union naval forces bombarded Fort Sumter. Jo Shelby’s Confederate cavalry began a new campaign north of the Arkansas River. Other skirmishing occurred in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri.
Posted on 5/14/14 at 4:08 am to BadLeroyDawg
Saturday, 14 May 1864
Following several days of extremely heavy fighting around Spotsylvania, Virginia, neither side was really ready for another full-fledged battle. Lieutenant General Hiram Ulysses Grant continued to edge his forces around to the right (southeast) of the Confederate lines. Major General Gouverneur Kemble Warren’s forces led the way, followed by Brigadier General Horatio Gouverneur Wright’s corps. Besides the need to resupply the armies, enthusiasm (and everything else) was dampened by heavy downpours.
General Grant continued shifting troops to his left as both armies sought to recover from the terrible battle. The hard march and more heavy rain suspended orders for a Federal attack. Confederate President Jefferson Davis wrote General Robert E. Lee, “Affairs here are critical…” in reference to Major General Benjamin "Spoons" Butler’s advance on Drewry’s Bluff and Petersburg.
In the Shenandoah Valley, Confederate Major General John C. Breckinridge led 5,000 men to join John D. Imboden’s Confederates in opposing a Federal advance of 9,000 troops under Major General Franz Sigel. Sigel continued his southern advance to deprive Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia vital foodstuffs, despite the withdrawal of Brigadier General George R. Crook’s Federals into West Virginia.
The Battle of Resaca occurred in Georgia, as fighting erupted while Major General William T. Sherman’s Federals advanced around General Joseph E. Johnston’s left to avoid a direct confrontation and flank him out of his strong position.
More skirmishing occurred in Virginia and Louisiana.
Following several days of extremely heavy fighting around Spotsylvania, Virginia, neither side was really ready for another full-fledged battle. Lieutenant General Hiram Ulysses Grant continued to edge his forces around to the right (southeast) of the Confederate lines. Major General Gouverneur Kemble Warren’s forces led the way, followed by Brigadier General Horatio Gouverneur Wright’s corps. Besides the need to resupply the armies, enthusiasm (and everything else) was dampened by heavy downpours.
General Grant continued shifting troops to his left as both armies sought to recover from the terrible battle. The hard march and more heavy rain suspended orders for a Federal attack. Confederate President Jefferson Davis wrote General Robert E. Lee, “Affairs here are critical…” in reference to Major General Benjamin "Spoons" Butler’s advance on Drewry’s Bluff and Petersburg.
In the Shenandoah Valley, Confederate Major General John C. Breckinridge led 5,000 men to join John D. Imboden’s Confederates in opposing a Federal advance of 9,000 troops under Major General Franz Sigel. Sigel continued his southern advance to deprive Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia vital foodstuffs, despite the withdrawal of Brigadier General George R. Crook’s Federals into West Virginia.
The Battle of Resaca occurred in Georgia, as fighting erupted while Major General William T. Sherman’s Federals advanced around General Joseph E. Johnston’s left to avoid a direct confrontation and flank him out of his strong position.
More skirmishing occurred in Virginia and Louisiana.
Posted on 5/15/14 at 4:02 am to BadLeroyDawg
Sunday, 15 May 1864
Skirmishing occurred at Spotsylvania as the Federals continued changing their positions and re-establishing their main lines with their over whelming number of troops. The whole battle front moved more to the east and south of Spotsylvania. Confederate President Jefferson Davis called all available soldiers from South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida north to Virginia. He warned General Robert E. Lee not to expose himself to the enemy because “The country could not bear the loss of you…” In Washington, President Abraham Lincoln expressed confidence after receiving news from the fronts.
Philip Sheridan’s Federal cavalry was unable to link with Benjamin "Spoons" Butler’s Federals on the James River. South of Richmond, Butler’s slow Federal advance on Drewry’s Bluff and Fort Darling enabled Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard to establish a firm defense that included stringing telegraph wire along tree stumps to trip up the Federals.
The Battle of New Market occurred this morning as John C. Breckinridge’s Confederates attacked Franz Sigel’s Union forces in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Breckinridge plugged a gap in his line with 247 cadets from the nearby Virginia Military Institute, who helped rout the Federals and send them back north to Strasburg. Because of their help in the victory, this day is still celebrated as a holiday in Lexington, Virginia. The Yankees suffered 841 casualties, while the Confederates lost 577. This humiliating Federal defeat temporarily relieved pressure on the vital Valley.
Major General William T. Sherman had his own army on the move by this time, and he was flanking and fighting the men of General Joseph E. Johnston once again, this time at a little Georgia town called Resaca. The battle had actually opened yesterday, but overnight Sherman had gotten his entire force in position, and Johnston had received reinforcements from General Leonidas Polk.
Another report: The Battle of Resaca continued in Georgia, as General Joseph Hooker’s Federals drove back Confederates under General John Bell Hood. This prompted Sherman to move south of the Oostanaula River to flank Johnston. Seeing that he was about to be flanked with his back to the river, Johnston withdrew from Resaca in the night, burning the railroad bridge before moving toward Calhoun and Adairsville. The fighting around Resaca resulted in about 3,500 Federal and 2,600 Confederate casualties.
As ships of Rear Admiral David D. Porter's gunboat fleet neared the mouth of the Red River, they met continued resistance from Confederate shore batteries and riflemen. The USS St. Clair, a 200-ton stern-wheeler under Acting Lieutenant Thomas B. Gregory, engaged a battery near Eunice's Bluff, Louisiana. Gregory exchanged fire with the artillerists until the transports he was con-voying were out of danger, then continued downriver.
The USS Kansas, under Lieutenant Commander Pendleton G. Watmough, captured the blockade running British steamer Tristram Shandy at sea east of Fort Fisher with a cargo of cotton, tobacco, and turpentine.
A Federal expedition began from Beverly, West Virginia.
General Joseph Orville "Jo" Shelby’s Confederates skirmished near Dardanelle, Arkansas.
Other skirmishing occurred in Alabama and Louisiana.
Skirmishing occurred at Spotsylvania as the Federals continued changing their positions and re-establishing their main lines with their over whelming number of troops. The whole battle front moved more to the east and south of Spotsylvania. Confederate President Jefferson Davis called all available soldiers from South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida north to Virginia. He warned General Robert E. Lee not to expose himself to the enemy because “The country could not bear the loss of you…” In Washington, President Abraham Lincoln expressed confidence after receiving news from the fronts.
Philip Sheridan’s Federal cavalry was unable to link with Benjamin "Spoons" Butler’s Federals on the James River. South of Richmond, Butler’s slow Federal advance on Drewry’s Bluff and Fort Darling enabled Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard to establish a firm defense that included stringing telegraph wire along tree stumps to trip up the Federals.
The Battle of New Market occurred this morning as John C. Breckinridge’s Confederates attacked Franz Sigel’s Union forces in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Breckinridge plugged a gap in his line with 247 cadets from the nearby Virginia Military Institute, who helped rout the Federals and send them back north to Strasburg. Because of their help in the victory, this day is still celebrated as a holiday in Lexington, Virginia. The Yankees suffered 841 casualties, while the Confederates lost 577. This humiliating Federal defeat temporarily relieved pressure on the vital Valley.
Major General William T. Sherman had his own army on the move by this time, and he was flanking and fighting the men of General Joseph E. Johnston once again, this time at a little Georgia town called Resaca. The battle had actually opened yesterday, but overnight Sherman had gotten his entire force in position, and Johnston had received reinforcements from General Leonidas Polk.
Another report: The Battle of Resaca continued in Georgia, as General Joseph Hooker’s Federals drove back Confederates under General John Bell Hood. This prompted Sherman to move south of the Oostanaula River to flank Johnston. Seeing that he was about to be flanked with his back to the river, Johnston withdrew from Resaca in the night, burning the railroad bridge before moving toward Calhoun and Adairsville. The fighting around Resaca resulted in about 3,500 Federal and 2,600 Confederate casualties.
As ships of Rear Admiral David D. Porter's gunboat fleet neared the mouth of the Red River, they met continued resistance from Confederate shore batteries and riflemen. The USS St. Clair, a 200-ton stern-wheeler under Acting Lieutenant Thomas B. Gregory, engaged a battery near Eunice's Bluff, Louisiana. Gregory exchanged fire with the artillerists until the transports he was con-voying were out of danger, then continued downriver.
The USS Kansas, under Lieutenant Commander Pendleton G. Watmough, captured the blockade running British steamer Tristram Shandy at sea east of Fort Fisher with a cargo of cotton, tobacco, and turpentine.
A Federal expedition began from Beverly, West Virginia.
General Joseph Orville "Jo" Shelby’s Confederates skirmished near Dardanelle, Arkansas.
Other skirmishing occurred in Alabama and Louisiana.
Posted on 5/15/14 at 8:36 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Monday, 16 May 1864
The Battle of Drewry’s Bluff occurred as P.G.T. Beauregard’s 20,000 Confederates launched a preemptive attack on Benjamin "Spoons" Butler’s Federal Army of the James. Fighting on the Federal left was inconclusive, but Butler withdrew because he believed his right was in danger. Butler’s attempt to take Petersburg and possibly Richmond failed. The Federals suffered 4,160 casualties while the Confederates lost 2,506. Butler withdrew to the peninsula formed by a loop in the James River called Bermuda Hundred.
Another report: Three years ago yesterday the Union army launched its first attack on Fort Darling on Drewry’s Bluff on the James River. It failed miserably. Today another attempt was made, this time by land instead of by ship. Beauregard’s Confederates were actually unsuccessful in breaking any Union lines, but poor communication and inept leadership caused the Federals to pull back anyway. Richmond was saved again.
Ships of the Mississippi Squadron were constantly occupied with safeguarding river transportation from Southern attack. The side-wheeler USS General Price, under Acting Lieutenant Richardson, engaged a Confederate battery which had taken transport steamer Mississippi under fire near Ratliff's Landing, Mississippi. The USS Lafayette, Lieutenant Commander J.P. Foster in charge, and the USS General Bragg, commanded by Acting Lieutenant Cyrenius Dominy, converged upon the battery and the three heavy steamers forced the Confederate gunners back from the river, enabling the transport to proceed.
Having crossed the rapids of the Red River at Alexandria, Rear Admiral David D, Porter next had to traverse the many bars in the River near its mouth. The Admiral found that the water was higher there than had been anticipated and reported to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles: "Providentially we had a rise from the backwater of the Mississippi , that river being very high at that time, the back-water extending to Alexandria, 150 miles distant, enabling us to pass all the bars and obstructions with safety." After battling low water, rapids, and the harassing forces of General Richard Taylor for two months along the Red River, Porter and his gunboats again entered the Mississippi.
A landing party from the USS Stockdale, Acting Lieutenant Thomas Edwards piloting, was fired upon by Confederate cavalry at the mouth of the Tchefuncte River in Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana. Edwards succeeded in forcing the Confederates to withdraw, but not until two of his officers had been captured and one killed.
In Georgia, Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederate Army of Tennessee maneuvered safely across the Oostanaula River, where they began establishing defensive positions once more.
Federal expeditions began from Patterson and Pine Knob, Missouri, as well as from Fort Craig in the New Mexico Territory.
Skirmishing occurred in Kentucky, South Carolina, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, and Kansas.
The Battle of Drewry’s Bluff occurred as P.G.T. Beauregard’s 20,000 Confederates launched a preemptive attack on Benjamin "Spoons" Butler’s Federal Army of the James. Fighting on the Federal left was inconclusive, but Butler withdrew because he believed his right was in danger. Butler’s attempt to take Petersburg and possibly Richmond failed. The Federals suffered 4,160 casualties while the Confederates lost 2,506. Butler withdrew to the peninsula formed by a loop in the James River called Bermuda Hundred.
Another report: Three years ago yesterday the Union army launched its first attack on Fort Darling on Drewry’s Bluff on the James River. It failed miserably. Today another attempt was made, this time by land instead of by ship. Beauregard’s Confederates were actually unsuccessful in breaking any Union lines, but poor communication and inept leadership caused the Federals to pull back anyway. Richmond was saved again.
Ships of the Mississippi Squadron were constantly occupied with safeguarding river transportation from Southern attack. The side-wheeler USS General Price, under Acting Lieutenant Richardson, engaged a Confederate battery which had taken transport steamer Mississippi under fire near Ratliff's Landing, Mississippi. The USS Lafayette, Lieutenant Commander J.P. Foster in charge, and the USS General Bragg, commanded by Acting Lieutenant Cyrenius Dominy, converged upon the battery and the three heavy steamers forced the Confederate gunners back from the river, enabling the transport to proceed.
Having crossed the rapids of the Red River at Alexandria, Rear Admiral David D, Porter next had to traverse the many bars in the River near its mouth. The Admiral found that the water was higher there than had been anticipated and reported to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles: "Providentially we had a rise from the backwater of the Mississippi , that river being very high at that time, the back-water extending to Alexandria, 150 miles distant, enabling us to pass all the bars and obstructions with safety." After battling low water, rapids, and the harassing forces of General Richard Taylor for two months along the Red River, Porter and his gunboats again entered the Mississippi.
A landing party from the USS Stockdale, Acting Lieutenant Thomas Edwards piloting, was fired upon by Confederate cavalry at the mouth of the Tchefuncte River in Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana. Edwards succeeded in forcing the Confederates to withdraw, but not until two of his officers had been captured and one killed.
In Georgia, Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederate Army of Tennessee maneuvered safely across the Oostanaula River, where they began establishing defensive positions once more.
Federal expeditions began from Patterson and Pine Knob, Missouri, as well as from Fort Craig in the New Mexico Territory.
Skirmishing occurred in Kentucky, South Carolina, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, and Kansas.
Posted on 5/15/14 at 8:51 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Holy walls of text leroy.
Posted on 5/16/14 at 4:50 pm to 870Hog
You Arky boys kicked some Yankee tail on the Red River then, huh?
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