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re: 150 years ago this day...
Posted on 5/16/14 at 9:09 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Posted on 5/16/14 at 9:09 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Tuesday, 17 May 1864
General Joseph Eggleston Johnston, CSA, was a very wily commander--he won few battles but was very hard to catch. There was quite a group trying today. He assembled his army at Adairsville, GA, after a march from Calhoun. There he discovered that General George Henry Thomas’ Federal Army of the Cumberland was in front of him, and John McAllister Schofield and James Birdseye McPherson were moving in fast on either flank. Johnston’s solution was to split his army, sending two corps to Cassville and the other to Kingston. Moving at night, weary as they were, they escaped the trap.
Another report: In Georgia, Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederates established defensive positions at Adairsville. Once more, William T. Sherman’s Federal Army of the West sought to move around Johnston’s left flank rather than attack directly. As George Thomas’s Federals feinted in Johnston’s front, Federals under Generals John Schofield and James McPherson moved around both of Johnston’s flanks. Johnston ordered another withdrawal in the night, moving toward Cassville and Kingston amid skirmishing.
In Spotsylvania, Virginia, Federal and Confederate troops continued shifting and vying for position all throughout the day around the Mule Shoe. General Grant had earlier vowed to "...fight it out on this line if it takes all summer..."
Benjamin "Spoons" Butler’s Federal Army of the James withdrew to Bermuda Hundred. P.G.T. Beauregard’s Confederates advanced and trapped the Federals on the peninsula, pinning them between the James River on the north, the Appomattox River on the south, and the Confederates in front. Hiram U. Grant later said that Butler’s army seemed “...as if it had been in a bottle strongly corked.” Since the narrow neck of the “bottle” only needed a token Confederate force to guard, Beauregard not only stopped a Federal threat to Richmond, but he was also able to send reinforcements to Robert E. Lee.
In Washington, DC, Congress passed measures setting up what became the postal money order system.
General Joseph Orville "Jo" Shelby’s Confederates captured Dardanelle, Arkansas.
Light skirmishing occurred in Louisiana.
General Joseph Eggleston Johnston, CSA, was a very wily commander--he won few battles but was very hard to catch. There was quite a group trying today. He assembled his army at Adairsville, GA, after a march from Calhoun. There he discovered that General George Henry Thomas’ Federal Army of the Cumberland was in front of him, and John McAllister Schofield and James Birdseye McPherson were moving in fast on either flank. Johnston’s solution was to split his army, sending two corps to Cassville and the other to Kingston. Moving at night, weary as they were, they escaped the trap.
Another report: In Georgia, Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederates established defensive positions at Adairsville. Once more, William T. Sherman’s Federal Army of the West sought to move around Johnston’s left flank rather than attack directly. As George Thomas’s Federals feinted in Johnston’s front, Federals under Generals John Schofield and James McPherson moved around both of Johnston’s flanks. Johnston ordered another withdrawal in the night, moving toward Cassville and Kingston amid skirmishing.
In Spotsylvania, Virginia, Federal and Confederate troops continued shifting and vying for position all throughout the day around the Mule Shoe. General Grant had earlier vowed to "...fight it out on this line if it takes all summer..."
Benjamin "Spoons" Butler’s Federal Army of the James withdrew to Bermuda Hundred. P.G.T. Beauregard’s Confederates advanced and trapped the Federals on the peninsula, pinning them between the James River on the north, the Appomattox River on the south, and the Confederates in front. Hiram U. Grant later said that Butler’s army seemed “...as if it had been in a bottle strongly corked.” Since the narrow neck of the “bottle” only needed a token Confederate force to guard, Beauregard not only stopped a Federal threat to Richmond, but he was also able to send reinforcements to Robert E. Lee.
In Washington, DC, Congress passed measures setting up what became the postal money order system.
General Joseph Orville "Jo" Shelby’s Confederates captured Dardanelle, Arkansas.
Light skirmishing occurred in Louisiana.
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Posted on 5/17/14 at 9:16 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Wednesday, 18 May 1864
Action had been comparatively slow for several days around Spotsylvania Court House. This ended today with an assault at dawn by the corps’ of Winfield Scott Hancock and Horatio Gouverneur Wright Wright on Robert Edward Lee’s left flank. Unfortunately for many brave Union soldiers, the Confederates had spent the days of quiet building fortifications and entrenchments. The attack, and several more, all failed, and George Gordon Meade ordered a halt. Hiram Ulysses Grant renewed his motion around Lee’s right flank.
The Battle of Spotsylvania resumed with a Federal attack at dawn. Major General Meade, commanding the Federal Army of the Potomac under Lieutenant General Grant, ended the attack after several unsuccessful charges. Grant finally decided that General Robert E. Lee’s position was too strong to penetrate and began shifting the Federals to the southeast once more.
The stubborn stand by Confederate troops at the Bloody Angle had given Lee the time he needed to construct a new line of earthworks across the base of the Mule Shoe Salient. The Army of the Potomac, exhausted from its attacks on the Angle, did not test the new line—at least, not right away. Instead, Grant slid his army to the left. When Union troops finally moved forward toward this position early this morning, they were met by the massed artillery fire and easily repulsed. Stymied but undaunted, Grant called off the attack and resumed shifting his troops to the left. The campaign of maneuver would continue.
Philip Sheridan’s Federal cavalry returned to the Army of the Potomac, unable to reach Benjamin "Spoons" Butler’s Federals on the James River. Meanwhile, P.G.T. Beauregard’s Confederates were corking the bottle on Butler’s Yankees at Bermuda Hundred.
In Georgia, William T. Sherman’s Federals advanced on Joseph E. Johnston's forces toward Kingston. Fighting erupted near Cassville, Kingston, and Pine Log Creek. President Jefferson Davis expressed disappointment in Johnston for his recent retreats.
The New York World and the Journal of Commerce published a false proclamation from President Abraham Lincoln calling for 300,000 more troops. Lincoln ordered that the military seize the newspaper offices and arrest the editors and publishers. The newsmen were eventually released after explaining that a stock manipulator had given them a fraudulent story.
Action had been comparatively slow for several days around Spotsylvania Court House. This ended today with an assault at dawn by the corps’ of Winfield Scott Hancock and Horatio Gouverneur Wright Wright on Robert Edward Lee’s left flank. Unfortunately for many brave Union soldiers, the Confederates had spent the days of quiet building fortifications and entrenchments. The attack, and several more, all failed, and George Gordon Meade ordered a halt. Hiram Ulysses Grant renewed his motion around Lee’s right flank.
The Battle of Spotsylvania resumed with a Federal attack at dawn. Major General Meade, commanding the Federal Army of the Potomac under Lieutenant General Grant, ended the attack after several unsuccessful charges. Grant finally decided that General Robert E. Lee’s position was too strong to penetrate and began shifting the Federals to the southeast once more.
The stubborn stand by Confederate troops at the Bloody Angle had given Lee the time he needed to construct a new line of earthworks across the base of the Mule Shoe Salient. The Army of the Potomac, exhausted from its attacks on the Angle, did not test the new line—at least, not right away. Instead, Grant slid his army to the left. When Union troops finally moved forward toward this position early this morning, they were met by the massed artillery fire and easily repulsed. Stymied but undaunted, Grant called off the attack and resumed shifting his troops to the left. The campaign of maneuver would continue.
Philip Sheridan’s Federal cavalry returned to the Army of the Potomac, unable to reach Benjamin "Spoons" Butler’s Federals on the James River. Meanwhile, P.G.T. Beauregard’s Confederates were corking the bottle on Butler’s Yankees at Bermuda Hundred.
In Georgia, William T. Sherman’s Federals advanced on Joseph E. Johnston's forces toward Kingston. Fighting erupted near Cassville, Kingston, and Pine Log Creek. President Jefferson Davis expressed disappointment in Johnston for his recent retreats.
The New York World and the Journal of Commerce published a false proclamation from President Abraham Lincoln calling for 300,000 more troops. Lincoln ordered that the military seize the newspaper offices and arrest the editors and publishers. The newsmen were eventually released after explaining that a stock manipulator had given them a fraudulent story.
This post was edited on 5/18/14 at 5:30 am
Posted on 5/19/14 at 4:38 am to BadLeroyDawg
Thursday, 19 May 1864
General Robert E. Lee had been fighting General Hiram U. Grant at last, in the area around Spotsylvania Court House. Even though he was heavily outmanned, Lee had beaten Grant at every turn, but for once he was facing a Union general who did not pull his army back across the Rappahannock after the first setback. Or the second. Or more. In fact, the Southern general had a suspicion that Grant was using the same sort of flanking maneuver that Lee himself had won with so often before. He sent the Second Corps of Richard Ewell around to the right just to check, and sure enough there Grant’s men were. The end of the day's fighting--the last major skirmish--took place at Harris Farm and constituted the official end of the Battle of Spotsylvania when Jubal Early’s men fell back at dark. The fighting had lasted until about 9 p.m. and Lee, concerned that Ewell was risking a general engagement while separated from the main army, recalled his men. A number of them lost their way in the dark and were captured. The Confederates lost over 900 men on a skirmish that could have been assigned to a cavalry detachment. Grant, it seemed, was heading for the Po River.
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House was over. If Grant's intention had been to momentarily defeat or even destroy the Army of Northern Virginia, he was unsuccessful at Spotsylvania. Assuming that Lee's primary objective was to hold the line of the Rapidan River and keep the enemy out of central Virginia, the battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania can somewhat be considered strategic defeats. By delaying Grant for these last two weeks at Spotsylvania, however, Lee permitted other Confederate forces to resist Union efforts in the vicinity of Richmond and in the Shenandoah Valley, unmolested by the Army of the Potomac.
After encountering many difficulties and setbacks Admiral Franklin Buchanan succeeded in floating the formidable Confederate ram Tennessee over Dog River Bar and out into Mobile Bay. With Rear Admiral David Farragut's fleet forming outside the bay, the stage was now being set for one of the most dramatic and decisive naval battles of the War.
The CSS Florida, commanded by Lieutenant Charles M. Morris, captured and burned the schooner George Latimer of Baltimore at 34 deg 55 min N, 55 deg 13 min W, with a cargo of flour, lard, bread, and kerosene.
General Robert E. Lee had been fighting General Hiram U. Grant at last, in the area around Spotsylvania Court House. Even though he was heavily outmanned, Lee had beaten Grant at every turn, but for once he was facing a Union general who did not pull his army back across the Rappahannock after the first setback. Or the second. Or more. In fact, the Southern general had a suspicion that Grant was using the same sort of flanking maneuver that Lee himself had won with so often before. He sent the Second Corps of Richard Ewell around to the right just to check, and sure enough there Grant’s men were. The end of the day's fighting--the last major skirmish--took place at Harris Farm and constituted the official end of the Battle of Spotsylvania when Jubal Early’s men fell back at dark. The fighting had lasted until about 9 p.m. and Lee, concerned that Ewell was risking a general engagement while separated from the main army, recalled his men. A number of them lost their way in the dark and were captured. The Confederates lost over 900 men on a skirmish that could have been assigned to a cavalry detachment. Grant, it seemed, was heading for the Po River.
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House was over. If Grant's intention had been to momentarily defeat or even destroy the Army of Northern Virginia, he was unsuccessful at Spotsylvania. Assuming that Lee's primary objective was to hold the line of the Rapidan River and keep the enemy out of central Virginia, the battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania can somewhat be considered strategic defeats. By delaying Grant for these last two weeks at Spotsylvania, however, Lee permitted other Confederate forces to resist Union efforts in the vicinity of Richmond and in the Shenandoah Valley, unmolested by the Army of the Potomac.
After encountering many difficulties and setbacks Admiral Franklin Buchanan succeeded in floating the formidable Confederate ram Tennessee over Dog River Bar and out into Mobile Bay. With Rear Admiral David Farragut's fleet forming outside the bay, the stage was now being set for one of the most dramatic and decisive naval battles of the War.
The CSS Florida, commanded by Lieutenant Charles M. Morris, captured and burned the schooner George Latimer of Baltimore at 34 deg 55 min N, 55 deg 13 min W, with a cargo of flour, lard, bread, and kerosene.
Posted on 5/19/14 at 8:14 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Friday, 20 May 1864
The disastrous Red River campaign finally ended as the Federals crossed the Atchafalaya on their retreat from Alexandria, Louisiana. In this complete Federal failure, the Yankees lost about eight thousand men, nine ships, and fifty-seven guns. General Nathaniel P. Banks, commanding the Federal Army of the Gulf, was largely disowned by his troops and his once ambitious political career ended.
Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Bailey had rescued the water borne side of the Red River Expedition earlier when he built a dam which raised the water level and allowed Rear Admiral David Porter's ships to pass the rapids. Today, he helped out the land borne army of General Banks, rigging a bridge out of a large number of steamships anchored and lashed side-by-side. Once the armies passed over this shaky walkway to the side of the river on which they were supposed to be, the ill-fated Red River Expedition was officially over at last.
The USS General Price, under Acting Lieutenant Richardson, engaged a Confederate battery on the banks of the Mississippi River at Tunica Bend, Louisiana. The Southerners, who had been attempting to destroy the transport steamer Superior, were forced to evacuate their river position. Richardson put ashore a landing party which burned a group of buildings used by the Confederates as a headquarters from which attacks against river shipping had been launched.
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House came to a merciful conclusion. Following the horrible carnage from the Wilderness and even worse at Spotsylvania, almost 40,000 total Federal casualties in less than two and one-half weeks, Union General-in-Chief Hiram U. Grant planned to move against General Robert E. Lee's Confederate right flank once more. Over the next two days, Lee did not fall into Grant's intended trap of attacking the Yankees, but would travel on a parallel path toward the North Anna River. The Overland Campaign grinds on as Grant attempts several more times to engage Lee, only to find himself stymied again and again by strong defensive positions, and will consequently continue to move around Lee's flank in the direction of Richmond.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis informed General Lee of General P.G.T. Beauregard’s Confederate victory over General Benjamin "Spoons" Butler’s Federal Army of the James at Drewry’s Bluff. Davis advised Lee to use his own discretion about the invader's future intentions.
In Georgia, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston ordered an attack on Major General William T. Sherman’s Federal Army of the West while it was separated near Cassville.
Famed writer Nathaniel Hawthorne died at Plymouth, New Hampshire at age 60. The New England school of writers had recognized Hawthorne as a classic American author.
Other skirmishing occurred in Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida, and West Virginia.
The disastrous Red River campaign finally ended as the Federals crossed the Atchafalaya on their retreat from Alexandria, Louisiana. In this complete Federal failure, the Yankees lost about eight thousand men, nine ships, and fifty-seven guns. General Nathaniel P. Banks, commanding the Federal Army of the Gulf, was largely disowned by his troops and his once ambitious political career ended.
Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Bailey had rescued the water borne side of the Red River Expedition earlier when he built a dam which raised the water level and allowed Rear Admiral David Porter's ships to pass the rapids. Today, he helped out the land borne army of General Banks, rigging a bridge out of a large number of steamships anchored and lashed side-by-side. Once the armies passed over this shaky walkway to the side of the river on which they were supposed to be, the ill-fated Red River Expedition was officially over at last.
The USS General Price, under Acting Lieutenant Richardson, engaged a Confederate battery on the banks of the Mississippi River at Tunica Bend, Louisiana. The Southerners, who had been attempting to destroy the transport steamer Superior, were forced to evacuate their river position. Richardson put ashore a landing party which burned a group of buildings used by the Confederates as a headquarters from which attacks against river shipping had been launched.
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House came to a merciful conclusion. Following the horrible carnage from the Wilderness and even worse at Spotsylvania, almost 40,000 total Federal casualties in less than two and one-half weeks, Union General-in-Chief Hiram U. Grant planned to move against General Robert E. Lee's Confederate right flank once more. Over the next two days, Lee did not fall into Grant's intended trap of attacking the Yankees, but would travel on a parallel path toward the North Anna River. The Overland Campaign grinds on as Grant attempts several more times to engage Lee, only to find himself stymied again and again by strong defensive positions, and will consequently continue to move around Lee's flank in the direction of Richmond.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis informed General Lee of General P.G.T. Beauregard’s Confederate victory over General Benjamin "Spoons" Butler’s Federal Army of the James at Drewry’s Bluff. Davis advised Lee to use his own discretion about the invader's future intentions.
In Georgia, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston ordered an attack on Major General William T. Sherman’s Federal Army of the West while it was separated near Cassville.
Famed writer Nathaniel Hawthorne died at Plymouth, New Hampshire at age 60. The New England school of writers had recognized Hawthorne as a classic American author.
Other skirmishing occurred in Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida, and West Virginia.
Posted on 5/21/14 at 4:17 am to BadLeroyDawg
Saturday, 21 May 1864
One of the worst curses of the Union Army was “political generals”. One of these was Major General Franz Sigel, a native of Germany who was massively popular among the large number of troops who were immigrants from that country. For some of these men the only phrase of English that they knew was “I fight mit Sigel!” which they would repeat if they became separated from their units. Sigel, alas, was not a very good general, and today he was replaced as commander of the Federal Department of West Virginia by Major General David Hunter--who in May 1862 had issued General Order No. 11 emancipating the slaves in Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida only to see it rescinded by President Abraham Lincoln--on the grounds that Sigel had not done very well in the Shenandoah Valley action recently. Under Hunter, the Federals planned to advance deep in the Shenandoah Valley once more.
In Virginia, fighting ensued at Guinea Station Station and Stanard’s Mill, as both armies departed Spotsylvania. Robert E. Lee rode south, aware that he had to avoid a siege of Richmond or the Confederacy would be doomed. He would next meet Hiram U. Grant at the North Anna River. Grant disengaged and continued his advance on Richmond. This 2-week battle was a series of combats behind the Spotsylvania front. Once again, Lee's tactics had inflicted severe casualties on Grant's army, but Grant directed the Federals to continue moving southeast toward Hanover Junction. Lee ordered a complete withdrawal to the North Anna River late this afternoon.
In Georgia, William T. Sherman regrouped his Federal forces while Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederates positioned themselves around Allatoona Pass. As Sherman advanced deeper into Confederate territory, President Lincoln urged western state governors to continue sending forward 100-day troops to “...sustain General Sherman’s lengthening line...”
One of the worst curses of the Union Army was “political generals”. One of these was Major General Franz Sigel, a native of Germany who was massively popular among the large number of troops who were immigrants from that country. For some of these men the only phrase of English that they knew was “I fight mit Sigel!” which they would repeat if they became separated from their units. Sigel, alas, was not a very good general, and today he was replaced as commander of the Federal Department of West Virginia by Major General David Hunter--who in May 1862 had issued General Order No. 11 emancipating the slaves in Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida only to see it rescinded by President Abraham Lincoln--on the grounds that Sigel had not done very well in the Shenandoah Valley action recently. Under Hunter, the Federals planned to advance deep in the Shenandoah Valley once more.
In Virginia, fighting ensued at Guinea Station Station and Stanard’s Mill, as both armies departed Spotsylvania. Robert E. Lee rode south, aware that he had to avoid a siege of Richmond or the Confederacy would be doomed. He would next meet Hiram U. Grant at the North Anna River. Grant disengaged and continued his advance on Richmond. This 2-week battle was a series of combats behind the Spotsylvania front. Once again, Lee's tactics had inflicted severe casualties on Grant's army, but Grant directed the Federals to continue moving southeast toward Hanover Junction. Lee ordered a complete withdrawal to the North Anna River late this afternoon.
In Georgia, William T. Sherman regrouped his Federal forces while Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederates positioned themselves around Allatoona Pass. As Sherman advanced deeper into Confederate territory, President Lincoln urged western state governors to continue sending forward 100-day troops to “...sustain General Sherman’s lengthening line...”
Posted on 5/21/14 at 8:33 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Sunday, 22 May 1864
As Hiram U. Grant’s Federals moved south from Guinea Station toward the North Anna River, Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia beat them to Hanover Junction and established defensive positions. This junction was one of the most pivotal sites for the well-being of Confederate army. It was the intersection of two important railroads. The Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad (RF&P) ran north from Richmond, past Guinea Station where Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson died in 1863, through Fredericksburg and then to the Potomac River. The Virginia Central Railroad also came north from the capital city but veered west here and ran through the fertile Piedmont country into the Shenandoah Valley. During all the campaigns of 1862-64, Lee’s army had relied on these vital railroads for supplies.
If inanimate objects such as ships were capable of feeling emotional reactions, the USS Stingaree would have been in a state of severe confusion today. First she was set upon by a party of Confederates while minding her own business in the vicinity of Brazos, Texas. She was just getting used to being the CSS Stingaree when her original owners succeeded in reclaiming her. It was enough to make her head spin.
During the long period of watchful waiting and preparation off Mobile, Rear Admiral David G. Farragut wrote his son Loyall: "I am lying off here, looking at Buchanan and awaiting his coming out. He has a force of four ironclads and three wooden vessels. I have eight or nine wooden vessels. We'll try to amuse him if he comes...I have a fine set of vessels here just now, and am anxious for my friend Buchanan to come out."
The USS Kineo, under Lieutenant Commander John Waters, seized the blockade running British schooner Sting Ray off Velasco, Texas. The Yankee prize crew put on board the schooner, however, was overwhelmed by the original crew. The schooner was grounded on the Texas coast, where the Union sailors were turned over to the custody of Confederate troops.
The USS Crusader, Lieutenant Peter Hays in charge, captured the schooner Isaac L. Adkins at the mouth of the Severn River, Maryland, with a cargo of corn and oats.
In Georgia, Federal cavalry skirmished with General Joseph E. Johnston's Confederates at Cassville this evening, as Major General William T. Sherman issued orders to head toward Dallas.
As Hiram U. Grant’s Federals moved south from Guinea Station toward the North Anna River, Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia beat them to Hanover Junction and established defensive positions. This junction was one of the most pivotal sites for the well-being of Confederate army. It was the intersection of two important railroads. The Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad (RF&P) ran north from Richmond, past Guinea Station where Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson died in 1863, through Fredericksburg and then to the Potomac River. The Virginia Central Railroad also came north from the capital city but veered west here and ran through the fertile Piedmont country into the Shenandoah Valley. During all the campaigns of 1862-64, Lee’s army had relied on these vital railroads for supplies.
If inanimate objects such as ships were capable of feeling emotional reactions, the USS Stingaree would have been in a state of severe confusion today. First she was set upon by a party of Confederates while minding her own business in the vicinity of Brazos, Texas. She was just getting used to being the CSS Stingaree when her original owners succeeded in reclaiming her. It was enough to make her head spin.
During the long period of watchful waiting and preparation off Mobile, Rear Admiral David G. Farragut wrote his son Loyall: "I am lying off here, looking at Buchanan and awaiting his coming out. He has a force of four ironclads and three wooden vessels. I have eight or nine wooden vessels. We'll try to amuse him if he comes...I have a fine set of vessels here just now, and am anxious for my friend Buchanan to come out."
The USS Kineo, under Lieutenant Commander John Waters, seized the blockade running British schooner Sting Ray off Velasco, Texas. The Yankee prize crew put on board the schooner, however, was overwhelmed by the original crew. The schooner was grounded on the Texas coast, where the Union sailors were turned over to the custody of Confederate troops.
The USS Crusader, Lieutenant Peter Hays in charge, captured the schooner Isaac L. Adkins at the mouth of the Severn River, Maryland, with a cargo of corn and oats.
In Georgia, Federal cavalry skirmished with General Joseph E. Johnston's Confederates at Cassville this evening, as Major General William T. Sherman issued orders to head toward Dallas.
Posted on 5/22/14 at 9:12 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Monday, 23 May 1864
The Battle of the North Anna took place today, and a most confusing event it was. The actual fighting didn’t start until late afternoon as Union General Gouverneur Kemble Warren’s Corps was crossing the river and simultaneously hit hard by General A.P. Hill's troops. Warren's Yankees resisted, and while they were battling the Confederates, Union General Horatio Gouverneur Wright began crossing the river too thereby providing reinforcements. Meanwhile, General Winfield Scott Hancock’s Federals pushed their opponents out of position on the other side of the Anna. The Union army was divided, and vulnerable, but with General Lee's illness and the lack of manpower compared to the Federals, the Confederates were unable to take advantage as they once might have.
Another report: Following the great Union losses and stalemate at Spotsylvania Court House, Hiram U. Grant was determined to continue his offensive against the Army of Northern Virginia. After a failed attempt to bait Robert E. Lee out of his earthworks, he found the Confederates entrenched on the south side of the North Anna River, where Lee's "inverted V" forced Grant to divide his army into three parts in order to attack the Rebels. At supper time, around 1800 hours, one of A.P. Hill’s divisions assaulted the isolated Fifth Corps which had crossed the river at Jericho Mill. After a bloody see-saw fight, the Federal bridgehead remained intact. On the other flank, the Second Corps seized the Chesterfield Bridge over the North Anna. On the 24th, an alcohol-fueled Yankee infantry attack by a brigade from the Ninth Corps was repulsed at Ox Ford. Hancock, meanwhile advanced on the Confederate right. Lee hoped to strike an offensive blow, but he was ill, and the opportunity for defeating an isolated part of the Federal army slipped away. Once the threat of Lee’s position was revealed, Grant quickly withdrew both wings of his Army of the Potomac back across the North Anna River. Grant ultimately outflanked the Southern position by moving downstream and continued his advance on Richmond.
And one more: After the fighting at Spotsylvania Court House, Grant continued his Overland Offensive against Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. He was brought up short on the North Anna River by Lee’s widely studied “hog snout line,” which forced Grant to divide his army into three parts in order to attack. On May 23, 1864, one of A.P. Hill’s divisions assaulted the V Corps which had crossed the river at Jericho Mill, resulting in bloody see-saw fighting. On the 24th, Union infantry was repulsed at Ox Ford (the snout) but advanced to near the Doswell House on the Confederate right. Lee hoped to strike an offensive blow, but he was ill, and the opportunity for defeating an isolated part of the Federal army passed. Once the threat of Lee’s position was revealed, Grant withdrew both wings of the army back across the North Anna River. Grant outflanked the position by moving downstream and continued his advance on Richmond.
The USS Columbine, under Acting Ensign Sanborn, was captured after a heated engagement with Confederate batteries and riflemen at Horse Landing, near Palatka, Florida. The Columbine, a 130-ton side-wheeler operating in support of Union Army forces and with soldiers embarked, lost steering control and ran onto a mud bank, where she was riddled by the accurate Confederate sharpshooters' fire. With some 20 men killed and wounded, the Sanborn surrendered "...to prevent the further useless expenditure of human life." Shortly after taking the prize, the Southerners destroyed her to avoid recapture by the USS Ottawa, Lieutenant Commander Breese in charge. The Ottawa, cooperating with the Army in the same mission, had also been fired upon the night prior and suffered damage but no casualties before compelling the Confederate battery at Brown's Landing to withdraw. Rear Admiral John A.B. Dahlgren wrote: "The loss of the Columbine will be felt most inconveniently; her draft was only 5 or 6 feet, and having only two such steamers, the services of which are needed elsewhere, cannot replace her."
A Federal expedition began from Warrensburg, Missouri.
Skirmishing occurred against Indians in California.
William T. Sherman’s Federals headed toward Dallas from the Cassville area, once again trying to turn Joseph E. Johnston’s left in Georgia. Sherman crossed the Etowah River as Johnston tried to determine Sherman’s plan from Allatoona Pass.
The Battle of the North Anna took place today, and a most confusing event it was. The actual fighting didn’t start until late afternoon as Union General Gouverneur Kemble Warren’s Corps was crossing the river and simultaneously hit hard by General A.P. Hill's troops. Warren's Yankees resisted, and while they were battling the Confederates, Union General Horatio Gouverneur Wright began crossing the river too thereby providing reinforcements. Meanwhile, General Winfield Scott Hancock’s Federals pushed their opponents out of position on the other side of the Anna. The Union army was divided, and vulnerable, but with General Lee's illness and the lack of manpower compared to the Federals, the Confederates were unable to take advantage as they once might have.
Another report: Following the great Union losses and stalemate at Spotsylvania Court House, Hiram U. Grant was determined to continue his offensive against the Army of Northern Virginia. After a failed attempt to bait Robert E. Lee out of his earthworks, he found the Confederates entrenched on the south side of the North Anna River, where Lee's "inverted V" forced Grant to divide his army into three parts in order to attack the Rebels. At supper time, around 1800 hours, one of A.P. Hill’s divisions assaulted the isolated Fifth Corps which had crossed the river at Jericho Mill. After a bloody see-saw fight, the Federal bridgehead remained intact. On the other flank, the Second Corps seized the Chesterfield Bridge over the North Anna. On the 24th, an alcohol-fueled Yankee infantry attack by a brigade from the Ninth Corps was repulsed at Ox Ford. Hancock, meanwhile advanced on the Confederate right. Lee hoped to strike an offensive blow, but he was ill, and the opportunity for defeating an isolated part of the Federal army slipped away. Once the threat of Lee’s position was revealed, Grant quickly withdrew both wings of his Army of the Potomac back across the North Anna River. Grant ultimately outflanked the Southern position by moving downstream and continued his advance on Richmond.
And one more: After the fighting at Spotsylvania Court House, Grant continued his Overland Offensive against Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. He was brought up short on the North Anna River by Lee’s widely studied “hog snout line,” which forced Grant to divide his army into three parts in order to attack. On May 23, 1864, one of A.P. Hill’s divisions assaulted the V Corps which had crossed the river at Jericho Mill, resulting in bloody see-saw fighting. On the 24th, Union infantry was repulsed at Ox Ford (the snout) but advanced to near the Doswell House on the Confederate right. Lee hoped to strike an offensive blow, but he was ill, and the opportunity for defeating an isolated part of the Federal army passed. Once the threat of Lee’s position was revealed, Grant withdrew both wings of the army back across the North Anna River. Grant outflanked the position by moving downstream and continued his advance on Richmond.
The USS Columbine, under Acting Ensign Sanborn, was captured after a heated engagement with Confederate batteries and riflemen at Horse Landing, near Palatka, Florida. The Columbine, a 130-ton side-wheeler operating in support of Union Army forces and with soldiers embarked, lost steering control and ran onto a mud bank, where she was riddled by the accurate Confederate sharpshooters' fire. With some 20 men killed and wounded, the Sanborn surrendered "...to prevent the further useless expenditure of human life." Shortly after taking the prize, the Southerners destroyed her to avoid recapture by the USS Ottawa, Lieutenant Commander Breese in charge. The Ottawa, cooperating with the Army in the same mission, had also been fired upon the night prior and suffered damage but no casualties before compelling the Confederate battery at Brown's Landing to withdraw. Rear Admiral John A.B. Dahlgren wrote: "The loss of the Columbine will be felt most inconveniently; her draft was only 5 or 6 feet, and having only two such steamers, the services of which are needed elsewhere, cannot replace her."
A Federal expedition began from Warrensburg, Missouri.
Skirmishing occurred against Indians in California.
William T. Sherman’s Federals headed toward Dallas from the Cassville area, once again trying to turn Joseph E. Johnston’s left in Georgia. Sherman crossed the Etowah River as Johnston tried to determine Sherman’s plan from Allatoona Pass.
Posted on 5/22/14 at 9:13 pm to BadLeroyDawg
quote:
A Federal expedition began from Warrensburg, Missouri.
Posted on 5/22/14 at 10:14 pm to BadLeroyDawg
quote:
William T. Sherman’s Federals headed toward Dallas from the Cassville area, once again trying to turn Joseph E. Johnston’s left in Georgia. Sherman crossed the Etowah River as Johnston tried to determine Sherman’s plan from Allatoona Pass.
Paging dallasga6
Oh...and frick Sherman with a red hot poker up his arse.
Posted on 5/22/14 at 10:16 pm to Porter Osborne Jr
quote:
Oh...and frick Sherman with a red hot poker up his arse.
Him and Hitler are getting just that daily. They are roommates
Posted on 5/24/14 at 6:35 am to OBReb6
Tuesday, 24 May 1864
Using the Virginia terrain and General Hiram U. Grant's own aggressiveness against him, General Robert Edward Lee hoped draw the Union army into a deadly trap. A strong salient—the clever “inverted”—anchored on the dominant bluffs at Ox Ford, became the centerpiece of Lee’s defensive position which was almost impregnable. Should Grant advance, he would have to break his army into three parts—one on the Telegraph Road, another at Ox Ford, and a third at Jericho Mills. Each flank would then have to cross the river twice to reinforce the other. Grant would surely attack, giving Lee the chance to pin a large mass of the enemy army against the river and likely destroy it.
Troubled by the lack of movement in his center, Grant ordered his only available unit, Major General Ambrose Burnside’s Ninth Corps, to move toward Ox Ford on this morning. Finding the Confederate defenses there much too strong, Burnside sent Brigadier General Thomas L. Crittenden's division to cross above Ox Ford and come in from behind and sent another division over the Chesterfield Bridge to clear the ford from the opposite direction. With two divisions converging on Ox Ford, Burnside hoped the Confederates would withdraw. Once across, however, Crittenden discovered exceptionally strong enemy trench lines—more than one division could handle alone. Unfortunately, a rash order from a drunken officer, Brigadier General James H. Ledlie, sent a brigade of Federals to within 100 yards of the Rebel works where they were quickly cut down and swept from the field.
Later, General Winfield Scott Hancock pushed his entire corps across the Chesterfield Bridge. That afternoon the Federals ran into Confederate skirmishers, sparking a furious firefight that ultimately devolved into a hand-to-hand struggle near the Doswell house. Darkness ended the fighting so Grant grudgingly conceded the day and ordered his commanders to halt and dig in.
You have probably slept since yesterday evening, but most of the combatants in the Battle of North Anna had been fighting since mid-afternoon the previous day and things showed no sign of slowing down. The Union II Corps under Hancock had crossed the river at the Chesterfield Bridge. This left the invading Federal troops more divided than ever, due to a series of bends in the river and the masterful shape of Lee’s lines to take full advantage of the topography. The Confederates remained on the defensive, though, rather than take full advantage of the split forces. The long-absent Federal cavalry under Major General Philip Sheridan finally returned to aid Grant. Lee held firm during the brief, but bloody, fight.
President Abraham Lincoln, ever ready to recognize the contributions of the officers and men in service afloat, recommended the promotion of Lieutenant Commander Francis A. Roe and First Assistant Engineer James M. Hobby for their distinguished conduct in the fierce battle between the USS Sassacus and CSS Albemarle in Albemarle Sound, North Carolina, on 5 May.
Confederate soldiers captured and burned the steamer Lebanon near Ford's Landing, Arkansas. Six days later, the Union transport Clara Ames and her cargo of cotton were taken and burned near Gaines Landing, Arkansas, after she was disabled by artillery fire. Confederate partisans continually ranged along the banks of the western rivers engaging Union shipping in hit-and-run raids. The actions were a constant reminder of the continuing need for naval gunboat support and vigilance on these all important waterways.
Accurate gunfire from the wooden steamer USS Dawn, Acting Lieutenant Simmons in charge, compelled Confederate troops to break off an attack on the Union Army position at Wilson's Wharf on the James River. Other ships quickly moved to support the troops. Rear Admiral Samuel P. Lee later reported that General E.A. Wild, commanding the Army defenses, praised the Navy's work: "He stated to me that the gunboats were of great assistance to him in repelling their attack."
In Georgia, William T. Sherman advanced on Dallas from the Etowah River, with skirmishing breaking out at several points. Joseph E. Johnston realized Sherman’s intent and tried blocking him by moving the Confederates through New Hope Church to get in Sherman’s front. Although Sherman was closing in on the vital industrial city of Atlanta, his supply lines were dangerously extended and Johnston blocked his path to the railroad.
Colonel Colton Greene’s Confederate raiders harassed Federal shipping and captured two vessels on the Mississippi River.
Using the Virginia terrain and General Hiram U. Grant's own aggressiveness against him, General Robert Edward Lee hoped draw the Union army into a deadly trap. A strong salient—the clever “inverted”—anchored on the dominant bluffs at Ox Ford, became the centerpiece of Lee’s defensive position which was almost impregnable. Should Grant advance, he would have to break his army into three parts—one on the Telegraph Road, another at Ox Ford, and a third at Jericho Mills. Each flank would then have to cross the river twice to reinforce the other. Grant would surely attack, giving Lee the chance to pin a large mass of the enemy army against the river and likely destroy it.
Troubled by the lack of movement in his center, Grant ordered his only available unit, Major General Ambrose Burnside’s Ninth Corps, to move toward Ox Ford on this morning. Finding the Confederate defenses there much too strong, Burnside sent Brigadier General Thomas L. Crittenden's division to cross above Ox Ford and come in from behind and sent another division over the Chesterfield Bridge to clear the ford from the opposite direction. With two divisions converging on Ox Ford, Burnside hoped the Confederates would withdraw. Once across, however, Crittenden discovered exceptionally strong enemy trench lines—more than one division could handle alone. Unfortunately, a rash order from a drunken officer, Brigadier General James H. Ledlie, sent a brigade of Federals to within 100 yards of the Rebel works where they were quickly cut down and swept from the field.
Later, General Winfield Scott Hancock pushed his entire corps across the Chesterfield Bridge. That afternoon the Federals ran into Confederate skirmishers, sparking a furious firefight that ultimately devolved into a hand-to-hand struggle near the Doswell house. Darkness ended the fighting so Grant grudgingly conceded the day and ordered his commanders to halt and dig in.
You have probably slept since yesterday evening, but most of the combatants in the Battle of North Anna had been fighting since mid-afternoon the previous day and things showed no sign of slowing down. The Union II Corps under Hancock had crossed the river at the Chesterfield Bridge. This left the invading Federal troops more divided than ever, due to a series of bends in the river and the masterful shape of Lee’s lines to take full advantage of the topography. The Confederates remained on the defensive, though, rather than take full advantage of the split forces. The long-absent Federal cavalry under Major General Philip Sheridan finally returned to aid Grant. Lee held firm during the brief, but bloody, fight.
President Abraham Lincoln, ever ready to recognize the contributions of the officers and men in service afloat, recommended the promotion of Lieutenant Commander Francis A. Roe and First Assistant Engineer James M. Hobby for their distinguished conduct in the fierce battle between the USS Sassacus and CSS Albemarle in Albemarle Sound, North Carolina, on 5 May.
Confederate soldiers captured and burned the steamer Lebanon near Ford's Landing, Arkansas. Six days later, the Union transport Clara Ames and her cargo of cotton were taken and burned near Gaines Landing, Arkansas, after she was disabled by artillery fire. Confederate partisans continually ranged along the banks of the western rivers engaging Union shipping in hit-and-run raids. The actions were a constant reminder of the continuing need for naval gunboat support and vigilance on these all important waterways.
Accurate gunfire from the wooden steamer USS Dawn, Acting Lieutenant Simmons in charge, compelled Confederate troops to break off an attack on the Union Army position at Wilson's Wharf on the James River. Other ships quickly moved to support the troops. Rear Admiral Samuel P. Lee later reported that General E.A. Wild, commanding the Army defenses, praised the Navy's work: "He stated to me that the gunboats were of great assistance to him in repelling their attack."
In Georgia, William T. Sherman advanced on Dallas from the Etowah River, with skirmishing breaking out at several points. Joseph E. Johnston realized Sherman’s intent and tried blocking him by moving the Confederates through New Hope Church to get in Sherman’s front. Although Sherman was closing in on the vital industrial city of Atlanta, his supply lines were dangerously extended and Johnston blocked his path to the railroad.
Colonel Colton Greene’s Confederate raiders harassed Federal shipping and captured two vessels on the Mississippi River.
Posted on 5/24/14 at 9:42 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Wednesday, 25 May 1864
General William T. Sherman had marched across Georgia with little impediment so far. This changed today at a place called New Hope Church. Sherman’s left, under John M. Schofield, faced General John Bell Hood; on his right, James B. McPherson faced William Hardee; in the center it was George Thomas against Leonidas Polk. Combat raged along Pumpkin Vine Creek, with General Joseph Hooker getting into the act. A furious thunderstorm raged, casualties were appalling, but the Southern lines held. The Federals suffered about 1,665 casualties, while the Confederates lost less than half that amount. The Yankees began entrenching in the Dallas-New Hope Church region as William T. Sherman probed for weaknesses in the Confederate line.
Once across the Etowah River, Johnston halted at Allatoona, a position naturally stronger than the one he occupied at Dalton. Aware of this, Sherman again resorted to a flanking move, one that took him away from his railroad lifeline. On 23 May his troops, who had been instructed to carry ten days' rations, crossed the Etowah near Kingston and advanced to the west of Allatoona in three columns, with the XV and XVI Corps on the right, the IV and XIV Corps in the center, and Hooker and Schofield as before on the left. Sherman believed that this maneuver not only would cause Johnston to evacuate Allatoona but also result in his falling back to or even beyond the Chattahoochee River, only a few miles from Atlanta. "We are all in motion" Sherman confidently telegraphed the head of his quartermaster bureau in Nashville, "...like a vast hive of bees, and expect to swarm along the Chattahoochee in five days."
Again Sherman indulged in wishful thinking. Johnston anticipated Sherman's move, and when his cavalry confirmed it he sent his army marching toward Dallas, a crossroads village which he correctly judged was Sherman's immediate objective. By the morning of May 25 all of his forces were deployed in the Dallas area, with Hardee's Corps on the left, Polk's in the center, and Hood's on the right where it covered a road that passed by a Methodist chapel called New Hope Church.
This road was not on the Union maps. Consequently, on reaching it Geary's division of Hooker's corps took it in the belief that it led to Dallas. Instead, of course, it led to Hood's Corps. At once Thomas and Hooker ordered Geary, whom they accompanied, to halt and dig in. At the same time they summoned Williams's and Butterfield's divisions to hasten to Geary's aid and notified Sherman that the enemy was in their front and in great strength. Sherman, however, scoffed at their report, for he assumed that if Johnston made a stand at all north of the Chattahoochee, it would be at Marietta.
A boat crew from the USS Mattabesett, under Captain M. Smith, made an unsuccessful attempt to destroy the CSS Albemarle in the Roanoke River near Plymouth, North Carolina. After ascending the Middle River with two 100-pound torpedoes, Charles Baldwin, coal heaver, and John W. Lloyd, coxswain, swam across the Roanoke carrying a towline with which they hauled the torpedoes to the Plymouth shore. Baldwin planned to swim down to the ram and position a torpedo on either side of her bow. Across the river, Alexander Crawford, fireman, would then explode the weapons. However, Baldwin was discovered by a sentry when within a few yards of Albemarle and the daring mission had to be abandoned. John Lloyd cut the guidelines and swam back across the river to join John Laverty, fireman, who was guarding the far shore. They made their way to the dinghy in which they had rowed upriver and, with Benjamin Lloyd, coal heaver, who had acted as boatkeeper, made their way back to the Mattabesett. On 29 May Baldwin and Crawford, exhausted, returned to the ship. Captain Smith reported: "I can not too highly commend this party for their courage, zeal, and unwearied exertion in carrying out a project that had for some time been under consideration. The plan of executing it was their own, except in some minor details...As Smith recommended, each of the five sailors was awarded the Medal of Honor for their heroic efforts.
A joint Army-Navy expedition advanced up the Ashepoo and South Edisto Rivers, South Carolina, with the object of cutting the Charleston and Savannah Railroad. Union naval forces, under Lieutenant Commander Edward F. Stone, included the converted ferryboat USS Commodore McDonough, and the wooden steamers E.B. Hale, Dai Ching, and Vixen as well as a detachment of Marines. The Navy pushed up the South Edisto, while Army transports moved up the Ashepoo convoyed by Dai Ching. Stone landed the Marines and howitzers and on the morning of the 26th opened fire on Willstown, South Carolina. The naval commander, unable to make contact with General Birney to coordinate a further assault, withdrew next morning. Transport Boston ran aground in the Ashepoo and was destroyed to prevent her capture.
The Battle of the North Anna continued as the Federal right advanced before Hiram U. Grant realized that Robert E. Lee’s position was much too strong. Fighting was inconclusive, with Lee once more checking Grant’s advance. However, both armies were much closer to Richmond than when they had begun fighting 20 days prior.
Colton Greene’s Confederate raiders captured the USS Lebanon.
General Joseph Shelby’s Confederates operated at Buck Horn, Arkansas.
A joint Union Army-Navy operation up the Ashepoo and South Edisto Rivers in South Carolina failed to break the Charleston & Savannah Railroad.
A Federal expedition began from Fort Wingate, New Mexico Territory.
General William T. Sherman had marched across Georgia with little impediment so far. This changed today at a place called New Hope Church. Sherman’s left, under John M. Schofield, faced General John Bell Hood; on his right, James B. McPherson faced William Hardee; in the center it was George Thomas against Leonidas Polk. Combat raged along Pumpkin Vine Creek, with General Joseph Hooker getting into the act. A furious thunderstorm raged, casualties were appalling, but the Southern lines held. The Federals suffered about 1,665 casualties, while the Confederates lost less than half that amount. The Yankees began entrenching in the Dallas-New Hope Church region as William T. Sherman probed for weaknesses in the Confederate line.
Once across the Etowah River, Johnston halted at Allatoona, a position naturally stronger than the one he occupied at Dalton. Aware of this, Sherman again resorted to a flanking move, one that took him away from his railroad lifeline. On 23 May his troops, who had been instructed to carry ten days' rations, crossed the Etowah near Kingston and advanced to the west of Allatoona in three columns, with the XV and XVI Corps on the right, the IV and XIV Corps in the center, and Hooker and Schofield as before on the left. Sherman believed that this maneuver not only would cause Johnston to evacuate Allatoona but also result in his falling back to or even beyond the Chattahoochee River, only a few miles from Atlanta. "We are all in motion" Sherman confidently telegraphed the head of his quartermaster bureau in Nashville, "...like a vast hive of bees, and expect to swarm along the Chattahoochee in five days."
Again Sherman indulged in wishful thinking. Johnston anticipated Sherman's move, and when his cavalry confirmed it he sent his army marching toward Dallas, a crossroads village which he correctly judged was Sherman's immediate objective. By the morning of May 25 all of his forces were deployed in the Dallas area, with Hardee's Corps on the left, Polk's in the center, and Hood's on the right where it covered a road that passed by a Methodist chapel called New Hope Church.
This road was not on the Union maps. Consequently, on reaching it Geary's division of Hooker's corps took it in the belief that it led to Dallas. Instead, of course, it led to Hood's Corps. At once Thomas and Hooker ordered Geary, whom they accompanied, to halt and dig in. At the same time they summoned Williams's and Butterfield's divisions to hasten to Geary's aid and notified Sherman that the enemy was in their front and in great strength. Sherman, however, scoffed at their report, for he assumed that if Johnston made a stand at all north of the Chattahoochee, it would be at Marietta.
A boat crew from the USS Mattabesett, under Captain M. Smith, made an unsuccessful attempt to destroy the CSS Albemarle in the Roanoke River near Plymouth, North Carolina. After ascending the Middle River with two 100-pound torpedoes, Charles Baldwin, coal heaver, and John W. Lloyd, coxswain, swam across the Roanoke carrying a towline with which they hauled the torpedoes to the Plymouth shore. Baldwin planned to swim down to the ram and position a torpedo on either side of her bow. Across the river, Alexander Crawford, fireman, would then explode the weapons. However, Baldwin was discovered by a sentry when within a few yards of Albemarle and the daring mission had to be abandoned. John Lloyd cut the guidelines and swam back across the river to join John Laverty, fireman, who was guarding the far shore. They made their way to the dinghy in which they had rowed upriver and, with Benjamin Lloyd, coal heaver, who had acted as boatkeeper, made their way back to the Mattabesett. On 29 May Baldwin and Crawford, exhausted, returned to the ship. Captain Smith reported: "I can not too highly commend this party for their courage, zeal, and unwearied exertion in carrying out a project that had for some time been under consideration. The plan of executing it was their own, except in some minor details...As Smith recommended, each of the five sailors was awarded the Medal of Honor for their heroic efforts.
A joint Army-Navy expedition advanced up the Ashepoo and South Edisto Rivers, South Carolina, with the object of cutting the Charleston and Savannah Railroad. Union naval forces, under Lieutenant Commander Edward F. Stone, included the converted ferryboat USS Commodore McDonough, and the wooden steamers E.B. Hale, Dai Ching, and Vixen as well as a detachment of Marines. The Navy pushed up the South Edisto, while Army transports moved up the Ashepoo convoyed by Dai Ching. Stone landed the Marines and howitzers and on the morning of the 26th opened fire on Willstown, South Carolina. The naval commander, unable to make contact with General Birney to coordinate a further assault, withdrew next morning. Transport Boston ran aground in the Ashepoo and was destroyed to prevent her capture.
The Battle of the North Anna continued as the Federal right advanced before Hiram U. Grant realized that Robert E. Lee’s position was much too strong. Fighting was inconclusive, with Lee once more checking Grant’s advance. However, both armies were much closer to Richmond than when they had begun fighting 20 days prior.
Colton Greene’s Confederate raiders captured the USS Lebanon.
General Joseph Shelby’s Confederates operated at Buck Horn, Arkansas.
A joint Union Army-Navy operation up the Ashepoo and South Edisto Rivers in South Carolina failed to break the Charleston & Savannah Railroad.
A Federal expedition began from Fort Wingate, New Mexico Territory.
Posted on 5/25/14 at 8:32 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Thursday, 26 May 1864
The Battle of North Anna essentially came to an end when Grant decided that Lee’s position by the river of that name was simply too strong to attack anymore. Grant did not retreat, however, like his predecessors had so often done; because of his overwhelming numerical superiority he instead started his army moving slowly, but determinedly, even further around Lee’s right flank in the direction of Hanovertown, Virginia. This time the drive to Richmond might drift, duck, dodge, feint or circle and stall, but it would not let up, regardless of the Union body count.
Another report: Late last night, Grant had evaluated Lee's position and admitted: "To make a direct attack from either wing would cause a slaughter of our men that even success would not justify." His army was split in three parts: the Fifth and Sixth Corps at Jericho Mill, a lone division of Burnside's command on the north side of Ox Ford, and Hancock's corps at Doswell. The following evening, the Army of the Potomac withdrew in another turning movement toward Totopotomoy Creek. Lee followed, and the war left the North Anna River.
The unsuccessful Red River campaign having mercifully drawn to a close, General Nathaniel Banks' army on 20 May crossed the Atchafalaya River near Simmesport, Louisiana, protected by Rear Admiral David Porter's fleet. Porter, whose health was beginning to fail after many months of arduous duty on the western waters, arrived at his headquarters at Cairo, Illinois, this morning, and reported to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles on the end of the expedition: "I have the honor to report my arrival at this place, four days from Red River. The army had all crossed the Atchafalaya, and General Smith's division had embarked; the gunboats covered the army until all were over...The river is quiet between this [Ohio River] and Red River..."
Rear Admiral David Farragut wrote Rear Admiral Theodorus Bailey, then at Key West, about the torpedo preparations made by Confederate Admiral Franklin Buchanan in Mobile Bay: "I can see his boats very industriously laying down torpedoes, so I judge that he is quite as much afraid of our going in as we are of his coming out; but I have come to the conclusion to fight the devil with fire, and therefore shall attach a torpedo to the bow of each ship, and see how it will work on the rebels-if they can stand blowing up any better than we can."
Commander Carter, in charge of the USS Michigan, reported to Secretary Welles from Buffalo, New York, of the cruise of his iron side-wheeler on Lake Erie "...relative to supposed armed vessel intended to raid on the lake cities...but he could "find no foundation for the rumors relative thereto...matters quiet at present..."
Illustrative of the global demands placed on the Union Navy was the request of Robert H. Pruyn, U.S. Minister to Japan, that Captain Cicero Price bring the USS Jamestown without delay to the port of Kanagawa, which the Japanese threatened to close to foreign commerce.
The Battle of North Anna essentially came to an end when Grant decided that Lee’s position by the river of that name was simply too strong to attack anymore. Grant did not retreat, however, like his predecessors had so often done; because of his overwhelming numerical superiority he instead started his army moving slowly, but determinedly, even further around Lee’s right flank in the direction of Hanovertown, Virginia. This time the drive to Richmond might drift, duck, dodge, feint or circle and stall, but it would not let up, regardless of the Union body count.
Another report: Late last night, Grant had evaluated Lee's position and admitted: "To make a direct attack from either wing would cause a slaughter of our men that even success would not justify." His army was split in three parts: the Fifth and Sixth Corps at Jericho Mill, a lone division of Burnside's command on the north side of Ox Ford, and Hancock's corps at Doswell. The following evening, the Army of the Potomac withdrew in another turning movement toward Totopotomoy Creek. Lee followed, and the war left the North Anna River.
The unsuccessful Red River campaign having mercifully drawn to a close, General Nathaniel Banks' army on 20 May crossed the Atchafalaya River near Simmesport, Louisiana, protected by Rear Admiral David Porter's fleet. Porter, whose health was beginning to fail after many months of arduous duty on the western waters, arrived at his headquarters at Cairo, Illinois, this morning, and reported to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles on the end of the expedition: "I have the honor to report my arrival at this place, four days from Red River. The army had all crossed the Atchafalaya, and General Smith's division had embarked; the gunboats covered the army until all were over...The river is quiet between this [Ohio River] and Red River..."
Rear Admiral David Farragut wrote Rear Admiral Theodorus Bailey, then at Key West, about the torpedo preparations made by Confederate Admiral Franklin Buchanan in Mobile Bay: "I can see his boats very industriously laying down torpedoes, so I judge that he is quite as much afraid of our going in as we are of his coming out; but I have come to the conclusion to fight the devil with fire, and therefore shall attach a torpedo to the bow of each ship, and see how it will work on the rebels-if they can stand blowing up any better than we can."
Commander Carter, in charge of the USS Michigan, reported to Secretary Welles from Buffalo, New York, of the cruise of his iron side-wheeler on Lake Erie "...relative to supposed armed vessel intended to raid on the lake cities...but he could "find no foundation for the rumors relative thereto...matters quiet at present..."
Illustrative of the global demands placed on the Union Navy was the request of Robert H. Pruyn, U.S. Minister to Japan, that Captain Cicero Price bring the USS Jamestown without delay to the port of Kanagawa, which the Japanese threatened to close to foreign commerce.
Posted on 5/26/14 at 8:38 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Friday, 27 May 1864
Late this afternoon, over 14,000 men from Oliver O. Howard's 4th Army Corps move towards the Pickett's farm and grist mill on Little Pumpkinvine Creek and arguably the worst Union defeat during the Atlanta Campaign.
Pumpkinvine and Little Pumpkinvine Creek got their names from the curving, winding path they take, much like a pumpkin vine. This also illustrates the unusual, hilly nature of the terrain. Pumpkinevine Creek begins at the southern end of the Allatoona Mountains and, after a nearly 20 mile run, ends about four miles from where it started.
The story of the Battle of Pickett's Mill actually began ten days ago, as William T. Sherman occupies Kingston, Georgia. In 2 weeks the commander from Ohio marched half the distance between Chattanooga, Tennessee and Atlanta avoiding Joseph E. Johnston's entrenched positions by outflanking him at Dalton and Resaca. The speed at which Sherman moved alarmed most Georgians and the entire Confederacy. Johnston lay waiting in Allatoona Pass, eight miles due east of Kingston and along Sherman's all-weather lifeline, the Western and Atlantic Railroad.
Sherman chose to venture south into the hills of Paulding County. The move presented major logistical problems, especially trying to feed well over 100,000 soldiers deep in enemy territory. Additionally, as his path grew longer the lines of wagon trains took even more men to guard.
"Fighting Joe" Hooker, of Chancellorsville fame (or infamy), had run into resistance near a Methodist church. Confused by inaccurate maps and hindered by poor communication, Hooker waited for additional men. Sherman ordered an attack, trying to outflank the Rebels before they had time to fortify the position. The engagement at New Hope Church stunned Sherman, who lost over five times as many men as did Johnston, simply because he was not expecting strong Rebel resistance.
Caught off-guard, with his men beginning to suffer from a lack of rations, Sherman ordered Major General Oliver O. Howard to attack the left flank of the Confederate Army. General George Henry Thomas, Commander, Army of the Cumberland, and Howard scouted the area in the vicinity of Pickett's Mill and decided to attack what appeared to be the end of the Rebel line.
With Little Pumpkinvine Creek to the east, men under the command of William B. Hazen advanced on the rapidly fortifying Confederate line. Hazen knew the attack was a serious mistake, but he followed orders. Comprised mostly of men from Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, Hazen comes up against the best commander in the Western Theater and possibly the entire Civil War, Major General Patrick R. Cleburne.
Hazen's men moved toward the Rebel line. During the initial advance some of his men became confused and ended up east of the intended objective. Additionally, Hazen's support on the right flank was distracted by dismounted Confederate cavalry firing from the other side of Little Pumpkinvine Creek. Stranded on the middle of one of the few open areas in the field of battle, Hazen's men come under incredible fire. Additional support moving from the Union line was delayed by the thick underbrush. When Hazen realized the lack of support he had no choice. The order is given to retreat.
At 6:00 pm, General Thomas J. Woods orders a second attack. This time the men have a shorter distance to go because of the advance made by Hazen. The brigade, under the command of Colonel William H. Gibson, is routed by Cleburne's men.
Confederate Brigadier General Hiram Granbury successfully repulsed attacks by the Federals. He asks and receives permission to advance to sweep the area in front of him for Union soldiers. At 10:00 pm Granbury's Texans begin their advance. The Federals meet the advancing line with a single volley, then withdraw. With this brief blast the battle is over. Based on the number of dead at the battlefield, Pat Cleburne estimated the Union losses at 3,000. The Federals actually suffered well over 1,600 casualties, while the Confederates lost fewer than 500.
The battle of Pickett's Mill was a decisive victory for the Southerners. Sherman, for the first time during the Atlanta Campaign is now faced with the very real possibility of retreat.
The United States Cavalry had started out the war in pretty sorry shape, poorly staffed, organized, equipped and utilized. Three years and a month plus had seen many changes. The latest was the replacement of General David McMurtrie Gregg by General Phillip Henry Sheridan as commander of the force. They could move determinedly; today’s fighting was almost all cavalry, and covered actions at Hanover Junction, Sexton’s Station, Mount Carmel Church, Pole Cat Creek, Dabney’s Ferry, Little River and Salem Church. The infantry, meanwhile, continued to march toward the Pamunkey River.
General Joseph Orville "Jo" Shelby assumed command of all Confederate troops north of the Arkansas River.
Late this afternoon, over 14,000 men from Oliver O. Howard's 4th Army Corps move towards the Pickett's farm and grist mill on Little Pumpkinvine Creek and arguably the worst Union defeat during the Atlanta Campaign.
Pumpkinvine and Little Pumpkinvine Creek got their names from the curving, winding path they take, much like a pumpkin vine. This also illustrates the unusual, hilly nature of the terrain. Pumpkinevine Creek begins at the southern end of the Allatoona Mountains and, after a nearly 20 mile run, ends about four miles from where it started.
The story of the Battle of Pickett's Mill actually began ten days ago, as William T. Sherman occupies Kingston, Georgia. In 2 weeks the commander from Ohio marched half the distance between Chattanooga, Tennessee and Atlanta avoiding Joseph E. Johnston's entrenched positions by outflanking him at Dalton and Resaca. The speed at which Sherman moved alarmed most Georgians and the entire Confederacy. Johnston lay waiting in Allatoona Pass, eight miles due east of Kingston and along Sherman's all-weather lifeline, the Western and Atlantic Railroad.
Sherman chose to venture south into the hills of Paulding County. The move presented major logistical problems, especially trying to feed well over 100,000 soldiers deep in enemy territory. Additionally, as his path grew longer the lines of wagon trains took even more men to guard.
"Fighting Joe" Hooker, of Chancellorsville fame (or infamy), had run into resistance near a Methodist church. Confused by inaccurate maps and hindered by poor communication, Hooker waited for additional men. Sherman ordered an attack, trying to outflank the Rebels before they had time to fortify the position. The engagement at New Hope Church stunned Sherman, who lost over five times as many men as did Johnston, simply because he was not expecting strong Rebel resistance.
Caught off-guard, with his men beginning to suffer from a lack of rations, Sherman ordered Major General Oliver O. Howard to attack the left flank of the Confederate Army. General George Henry Thomas, Commander, Army of the Cumberland, and Howard scouted the area in the vicinity of Pickett's Mill and decided to attack what appeared to be the end of the Rebel line.
With Little Pumpkinvine Creek to the east, men under the command of William B. Hazen advanced on the rapidly fortifying Confederate line. Hazen knew the attack was a serious mistake, but he followed orders. Comprised mostly of men from Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, Hazen comes up against the best commander in the Western Theater and possibly the entire Civil War, Major General Patrick R. Cleburne.
Hazen's men moved toward the Rebel line. During the initial advance some of his men became confused and ended up east of the intended objective. Additionally, Hazen's support on the right flank was distracted by dismounted Confederate cavalry firing from the other side of Little Pumpkinvine Creek. Stranded on the middle of one of the few open areas in the field of battle, Hazen's men come under incredible fire. Additional support moving from the Union line was delayed by the thick underbrush. When Hazen realized the lack of support he had no choice. The order is given to retreat.
At 6:00 pm, General Thomas J. Woods orders a second attack. This time the men have a shorter distance to go because of the advance made by Hazen. The brigade, under the command of Colonel William H. Gibson, is routed by Cleburne's men.
Confederate Brigadier General Hiram Granbury successfully repulsed attacks by the Federals. He asks and receives permission to advance to sweep the area in front of him for Union soldiers. At 10:00 pm Granbury's Texans begin their advance. The Federals meet the advancing line with a single volley, then withdraw. With this brief blast the battle is over. Based on the number of dead at the battlefield, Pat Cleburne estimated the Union losses at 3,000. The Federals actually suffered well over 1,600 casualties, while the Confederates lost fewer than 500.
The battle of Pickett's Mill was a decisive victory for the Southerners. Sherman, for the first time during the Atlanta Campaign is now faced with the very real possibility of retreat.
The United States Cavalry had started out the war in pretty sorry shape, poorly staffed, organized, equipped and utilized. Three years and a month plus had seen many changes. The latest was the replacement of General David McMurtrie Gregg by General Phillip Henry Sheridan as commander of the force. They could move determinedly; today’s fighting was almost all cavalry, and covered actions at Hanover Junction, Sexton’s Station, Mount Carmel Church, Pole Cat Creek, Dabney’s Ferry, Little River and Salem Church. The infantry, meanwhile, continued to march toward the Pamunkey River.
General Joseph Orville "Jo" Shelby assumed command of all Confederate troops north of the Arkansas River.
Posted on 5/27/14 at 9:19 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Saturday, 28 May 1864
In Virginia, Robert E. Lee’s Confederates moved through Mechanicsville and reached Hanovertown ahead of Hiram U. Grant’s Federals. Several cavalry skirmishes ensued. The maneuvering between Lee and Grant continued. Grant’s objective was to get around the Confederate right flank, and he was headed across the Pamunkey River for the vicinity of Hanoverville. Lee, needing to keep between Grant and Richmond, repositioned towards Cold Harbor. Cavalry battles occurred today at Aenon Church, Jones’ Farm Crump's Creek, Haw’s Shop, and the Totopotomoy River. No one knows if Mr. Haw ever got his shop back in business again.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis told Lee that General P.G.T. Beauregard, south of Richmond, was strengthening his defenses but was still outnumbered by at least two-to-one.
After a six-hour chase, the USS Admiral, under Lieutenant William B. Eaton, captured the blockade running steamer Isabel, south of Galveston, Texas, with a cargo of powder and arms. Eaton commented in his report that: "She was ably handled, and her commander evinced the most desperate courage, not surrendering until two broadsides at close quarters had been poured into him, and our Marines pouring in such an incessant fire of musketry that not a man could remain on deck, and not until then did the captain of her show a light as a signal of submission." The Isabel, a highly successful blockade runner which was reported to have made more than 20 trips through the blockade at Mobile and Galveston, was severely damaged, and despite Eaton's efforts to save her, sank at Quarantine Station on the Mississippi River on 2 June.
The USS Ariel, Acting Master James J. Russell in charge, captured the sloop General Finegan north of Chassahowitzka Bay, Florida. The blockade runner's crew attempted to set her afire, but the Ariel saved the cargo of cotton and turpentine and then destroyed the General Finegan as unseaworthy.
In Georgia, Joseph E. Johnston determined that the Federal right was weak based on Oliver O. Howard’s attack yesterday. Johnston sent General William Hardee’s Confederates to attack General James McPherson’s Federals near Dallas. The Federals were initially pushed back, but a late charge regained some lost ground. Nevertheless, McPherson’s Federals were now trapped south of Dallas.
Archduke Maximilian of Hapsburg landed this morning at Vera Cruz to become the King of Mexico. Maximilian was supported by Emperor Napoleon III of France, who hoped to expand the French Empire into the Western Hemisphere by establishing a puppet regime in Mexico. The Lincoln Administration opposed this move because it violated the Monroe Doctrine. Opposition also came from deposed Mexican ruler Benito Juarez.
Skirmishing occurred in Missouri as Confederates sacked Lamar.
In Virginia, Robert E. Lee’s Confederates moved through Mechanicsville and reached Hanovertown ahead of Hiram U. Grant’s Federals. Several cavalry skirmishes ensued. The maneuvering between Lee and Grant continued. Grant’s objective was to get around the Confederate right flank, and he was headed across the Pamunkey River for the vicinity of Hanoverville. Lee, needing to keep between Grant and Richmond, repositioned towards Cold Harbor. Cavalry battles occurred today at Aenon Church, Jones’ Farm Crump's Creek, Haw’s Shop, and the Totopotomoy River. No one knows if Mr. Haw ever got his shop back in business again.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis told Lee that General P.G.T. Beauregard, south of Richmond, was strengthening his defenses but was still outnumbered by at least two-to-one.
After a six-hour chase, the USS Admiral, under Lieutenant William B. Eaton, captured the blockade running steamer Isabel, south of Galveston, Texas, with a cargo of powder and arms. Eaton commented in his report that: "She was ably handled, and her commander evinced the most desperate courage, not surrendering until two broadsides at close quarters had been poured into him, and our Marines pouring in such an incessant fire of musketry that not a man could remain on deck, and not until then did the captain of her show a light as a signal of submission." The Isabel, a highly successful blockade runner which was reported to have made more than 20 trips through the blockade at Mobile and Galveston, was severely damaged, and despite Eaton's efforts to save her, sank at Quarantine Station on the Mississippi River on 2 June.
The USS Ariel, Acting Master James J. Russell in charge, captured the sloop General Finegan north of Chassahowitzka Bay, Florida. The blockade runner's crew attempted to set her afire, but the Ariel saved the cargo of cotton and turpentine and then destroyed the General Finegan as unseaworthy.
In Georgia, Joseph E. Johnston determined that the Federal right was weak based on Oliver O. Howard’s attack yesterday. Johnston sent General William Hardee’s Confederates to attack General James McPherson’s Federals near Dallas. The Federals were initially pushed back, but a late charge regained some lost ground. Nevertheless, McPherson’s Federals were now trapped south of Dallas.
Archduke Maximilian of Hapsburg landed this morning at Vera Cruz to become the King of Mexico. Maximilian was supported by Emperor Napoleon III of France, who hoped to expand the French Empire into the Western Hemisphere by establishing a puppet regime in Mexico. The Lincoln Administration opposed this move because it violated the Monroe Doctrine. Opposition also came from deposed Mexican ruler Benito Juarez.
Skirmishing occurred in Missouri as Confederates sacked Lamar.
Posted on 5/28/14 at 9:18 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Sunday, 29 May 1864
In Virginia, Hiram Ulysses Grant continued to move his now-massive Army of the Potomac across the Pamunkey River in an attempt to maneuver around Robert Edward Lee’s right flank of the much smaller Army of Northern Virginia. There was little opposition on this part of the march toward Richmond, but that would not long remain the case. Lee, who had also pulled back somewhat south and east, was now headed to Cold Harbor to begin preparing his defensive lines.
The USS Cowslip, Acting Ensign Richard Canfield in charge, captured the sloop Last Push off the coast of Mississippi with a large cargo of corn.
In Georgia, around the Dallas area, positions shifted for both William T. Sherman's Federals and Joseph E. Johnston's Confederates and the fighting continued.
Confederates captured a wagon train at Salem, Arkansas.
In Virginia, Hiram Ulysses Grant continued to move his now-massive Army of the Potomac across the Pamunkey River in an attempt to maneuver around Robert Edward Lee’s right flank of the much smaller Army of Northern Virginia. There was little opposition on this part of the march toward Richmond, but that would not long remain the case. Lee, who had also pulled back somewhat south and east, was now headed to Cold Harbor to begin preparing his defensive lines.
The USS Cowslip, Acting Ensign Richard Canfield in charge, captured the sloop Last Push off the coast of Mississippi with a large cargo of corn.
In Georgia, around the Dallas area, positions shifted for both William T. Sherman's Federals and Joseph E. Johnston's Confederates and the fighting continued.
Confederates captured a wagon train at Salem, Arkansas.
This post was edited on 5/29/14 at 4:51 am
Posted on 5/29/14 at 8:01 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Monday, 30 May 1864
The Army of the Potomac had started out the month just north of the Rapidan River. This afternoon, they were across the Totopotomoy River--marking the closest the Federals had come to Richmond since the Peninsular campaign of 1862 under McClellan--and again facing Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia on the banks of the Chickahominy, in eastern Virginia. To say this is a heavily-rivered area is quite an understatement. Lee had begun to set his lines near Cold Harbor in hopes he could finally get Grant to attack a fortified position as his predecessors had so often done. Heavy fighting ensued as Grant’s men probed Lee’s lines, but as of today, no large scale battle had begun. Despite the deep advance into Virginia, Lee’s army was still relatively strong and Richmond was still generally safe.
Mounting evidence pointed to a Confederate naval assault on Union forces in the James River below Richmond. This date, John Loomis, a deserter from the CSS Hampton, reported that three ironclads and six wooden gunboats, all armed with torpedoes, had passed the obstructions at Drewry's Bluff and were below Fort Darling, awaiting an opportunity to attack. The ironclads were the CSS Virginia II, Flag Officer John K. Mitchell commanding, the CSS Richmond, under Lieutenant William H Parker, and the CSS Fredericksburg, Commander Thomas R. Rootes in charge. Two days later, Archy Jenkins, a Negro from Richmond, confirmed this statement and added: "They are putting two barges and a sloop lashed together, filled with shavings and pitch and with torpedoes, which they intend to set on fire, and when it reaches the fleet it will blow up and destroy the fleet...They all say they know 'they can whip you all; they are certain of it.' They believe in their torpedoes in preference to everything." "In view of the novel attack contemplated," Rear Admiral Samuel P. Lee wrote Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, "...one or more ironclads could be added to my force here, considering the importance of this river to the armies of Generals Grant and Butler."
The USS Keystone State, Commander Pierce Crosby in charge, and the USS Massachusetts, under Acting Lieutenant William H. West, captured the blockade running British steamer Caledonia at sea south of Cape Fear after a three hour chase in which the steamer's cargo of bacon, leather, and medical supplies was thrown overboard to avoid it falling into Yankee hands.
In Georgia, both Federal and Confederate lines still held around the Dallas-New Hope Church area, and skirmishing continued.
Confederate raiders under John Hunt Morgan launched another incursion into Kentucky to disrupt Major General William T. Sherman’s communications and relieve pressure on General Joseph E. Johnston.
Federals under Brigadier General George Crook started from Meadow Bluff, West Virginia, toward Lynchburg, Virginia as part of the Federal move by Major General David Hunter against Lynchburg.
Union naval forces again began bombarding Fort Sumter; the Yankees will have fired 319 rounds between today and June 5.
A Federal expedition began from Morganza, Louisiana.
The Army of the Potomac had started out the month just north of the Rapidan River. This afternoon, they were across the Totopotomoy River--marking the closest the Federals had come to Richmond since the Peninsular campaign of 1862 under McClellan--and again facing Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia on the banks of the Chickahominy, in eastern Virginia. To say this is a heavily-rivered area is quite an understatement. Lee had begun to set his lines near Cold Harbor in hopes he could finally get Grant to attack a fortified position as his predecessors had so often done. Heavy fighting ensued as Grant’s men probed Lee’s lines, but as of today, no large scale battle had begun. Despite the deep advance into Virginia, Lee’s army was still relatively strong and Richmond was still generally safe.
Mounting evidence pointed to a Confederate naval assault on Union forces in the James River below Richmond. This date, John Loomis, a deserter from the CSS Hampton, reported that three ironclads and six wooden gunboats, all armed with torpedoes, had passed the obstructions at Drewry's Bluff and were below Fort Darling, awaiting an opportunity to attack. The ironclads were the CSS Virginia II, Flag Officer John K. Mitchell commanding, the CSS Richmond, under Lieutenant William H Parker, and the CSS Fredericksburg, Commander Thomas R. Rootes in charge. Two days later, Archy Jenkins, a Negro from Richmond, confirmed this statement and added: "They are putting two barges and a sloop lashed together, filled with shavings and pitch and with torpedoes, which they intend to set on fire, and when it reaches the fleet it will blow up and destroy the fleet...They all say they know 'they can whip you all; they are certain of it.' They believe in their torpedoes in preference to everything." "In view of the novel attack contemplated," Rear Admiral Samuel P. Lee wrote Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, "...one or more ironclads could be added to my force here, considering the importance of this river to the armies of Generals Grant and Butler."
The USS Keystone State, Commander Pierce Crosby in charge, and the USS Massachusetts, under Acting Lieutenant William H. West, captured the blockade running British steamer Caledonia at sea south of Cape Fear after a three hour chase in which the steamer's cargo of bacon, leather, and medical supplies was thrown overboard to avoid it falling into Yankee hands.
In Georgia, both Federal and Confederate lines still held around the Dallas-New Hope Church area, and skirmishing continued.
Confederate raiders under John Hunt Morgan launched another incursion into Kentucky to disrupt Major General William T. Sherman’s communications and relieve pressure on General Joseph E. Johnston.
Federals under Brigadier General George Crook started from Meadow Bluff, West Virginia, toward Lynchburg, Virginia as part of the Federal move by Major General David Hunter against Lynchburg.
Union naval forces again began bombarding Fort Sumter; the Yankees will have fired 319 rounds between today and June 5.
A Federal expedition began from Morganza, Louisiana.
Posted on 5/30/14 at 9:01 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Tuesday, 31 May 1864
It made for a lot of marching, considerable scuffling and skirmishing, but so far, no pitched combat as Union Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant tried and tried to find the right flank of General Robert E. Lee’s army. His intent was to avoid another intensely fought battle and let time, hunger and desertions defeat Lee for him. The stubborn refusal of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to quit was keeping this plan from working nearly as well as Grant had hoped it would.
Lee sent a cavalry division under Major General Fitzhugh Lee to reinforce Brigadier General Matthew Butler and secure the crossroads at Old Cold Harbor. As Union Brigadier General Alfred T. A. Torbert increased pressure on the Confederates, Lee ordered Anderson's First Corps to shift right from Totopotomoy Creek to support the cavalry. The lead brigade of Hoke's division also reached the crossroads to join Butler and Fitzhugh Lee. At 4 p.m. Torbert and elements of Brigadier General David McMurtrie Gregg's cavalry division drove the Confederates from the Old Cold Harbor crossroads and began to dig in. As more of Hoke's and Anderson's men streamed in, Union cavalry commander Major General Philip Sheridan became concerned and ordered Torbert to pull back toward Old Church.
Grant continued his interest in Old Cold Harbor as an avenue for Smith's arrival and ordered Wright's VI Corps to move in that direction from his right flank on Totopotomoy Creek. And he ordered Sheridan to return to the crossroads and secure it "...at all hazards."
The USS Commodore Perry, under Acting Lieutenant Amos P. Foster, engaged Confederate artillery on the James River, Virginia, in a two hour exchange during which the converted ferryboat was damaged by six hits.
Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles ordered the USS Constellation, Captain Stellwagen in charge, detached from duty in the Mediterranean to report to Rear Admiral David Farragut in the Western Gulf Blockading Squadron.
Both Grant and William T. Sherman were much closer to Richmond and Atlanta than when fighting started earlier this month. Grant's Federals lost about 36,400 men as opposed to Lee's Confederates casualties of almost 11,000 in the May Overland Campaign so far. But both Grant and Sherman were beginning to stall.
Dissident Radical Republicans gathered in Cleveland to nominate a presidential candidate for the November election. The Radicals opposed President Abraham Lincoln’s moderate emancipation and reconstruction policies, instead supporting immediate abolition of slavery and harsh punishment for the seceded states. General John C. Fremont was nominated for president and Brigadier General John Cochrane of New York was nominated for vice president. Convention attendance was small, and Lincoln worked to garner Radical support to unite the Republican Party against the Democrats.
It made for a lot of marching, considerable scuffling and skirmishing, but so far, no pitched combat as Union Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant tried and tried to find the right flank of General Robert E. Lee’s army. His intent was to avoid another intensely fought battle and let time, hunger and desertions defeat Lee for him. The stubborn refusal of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to quit was keeping this plan from working nearly as well as Grant had hoped it would.
Lee sent a cavalry division under Major General Fitzhugh Lee to reinforce Brigadier General Matthew Butler and secure the crossroads at Old Cold Harbor. As Union Brigadier General Alfred T. A. Torbert increased pressure on the Confederates, Lee ordered Anderson's First Corps to shift right from Totopotomoy Creek to support the cavalry. The lead brigade of Hoke's division also reached the crossroads to join Butler and Fitzhugh Lee. At 4 p.m. Torbert and elements of Brigadier General David McMurtrie Gregg's cavalry division drove the Confederates from the Old Cold Harbor crossroads and began to dig in. As more of Hoke's and Anderson's men streamed in, Union cavalry commander Major General Philip Sheridan became concerned and ordered Torbert to pull back toward Old Church.
Grant continued his interest in Old Cold Harbor as an avenue for Smith's arrival and ordered Wright's VI Corps to move in that direction from his right flank on Totopotomoy Creek. And he ordered Sheridan to return to the crossroads and secure it "...at all hazards."
The USS Commodore Perry, under Acting Lieutenant Amos P. Foster, engaged Confederate artillery on the James River, Virginia, in a two hour exchange during which the converted ferryboat was damaged by six hits.
Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles ordered the USS Constellation, Captain Stellwagen in charge, detached from duty in the Mediterranean to report to Rear Admiral David Farragut in the Western Gulf Blockading Squadron.
Both Grant and William T. Sherman were much closer to Richmond and Atlanta than when fighting started earlier this month. Grant's Federals lost about 36,400 men as opposed to Lee's Confederates casualties of almost 11,000 in the May Overland Campaign so far. But both Grant and Sherman were beginning to stall.
Dissident Radical Republicans gathered in Cleveland to nominate a presidential candidate for the November election. The Radicals opposed President Abraham Lincoln’s moderate emancipation and reconstruction policies, instead supporting immediate abolition of slavery and harsh punishment for the seceded states. General John C. Fremont was nominated for president and Brigadier General John Cochrane of New York was nominated for vice president. Convention attendance was small, and Lincoln worked to garner Radical support to unite the Republican Party against the Democrats.
Posted on 5/31/14 at 9:00 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Wednesday, 1 June 1864
Hiram U. Grant was still trying to get around the right flank of Robert E. Lee’s army, and Lee had been strategically pulling back to prevent him. This late afternoon, the bulk of the two armies converged on a tiny country hamlet--all too near Richmond for Lee’s taste--called Old Cold Harbor. It stood approximately two miles east of Gaines's Mill, one of the former battlefields from McClellan's 1862 Peninsular Campaign. Lee set his men to furiously digging trenches and other defenses, which were soon needed when the Union cavalry of Phil Sheridan came to call. Fighting dismounted against R. H. Anderson’s infantry, neither side gained much advantage, until very late when the Federal attack was sharply repulsed, but the battle had officially begun.
Rear Admiral John A.B. Dahlgren wrote in his diary off Charleston: "Of the seven monitors left, two are here out of order, and the Passaic no better. The Rebels have four; wonder if they will come out and try their luck."
The USS Exchange, a 210-ton wooden paddle-wheeler under Acting Master James C. Gipson, engaged two Confederate batteries on the Mississippi River near Columbia, Arkansas, sustaining serious damage. Gipson, who was wounded during the heated encounter, described the action: "They waited until I had passed by the lower battery, when they opened a destructive crossfire. As I had just rounded a point of a sand bar, I could not back down, consequently there was no other alternative but run by the upper battery if possible...I opened my port broadside guns, replying to theirs; but unfortunately the port engine was struck and disabled, causing her to work very slow, keeping us under fire about forty-five minutes. I had barely got out of range of their guns when the engine stopped entirely...I immediately let go the anchor...expecting every moment they would move their battery above us and open again; but we succeeded in getting out, although pretty badly damaged."
Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered Major General Robert Ransom, commanding at Richmond, to summon all local forces possible to the Chickahominy and meet the threat to the capital. General Lee urged P.G.T. Beauregard to move forces north if at all possible, covering the area from the James north to the Chickahominy in front of Richmond.
In Georgia, General George Stoneman’s Federal cavalry captured Allatoona Pass, which held the vital railroad and enabled William T. Sherman to once again receive supplies from Chattanooga. Sherman’s Federals shifted northward away from the Dallas-New Hope Church area, constantly skirmishing along the way.
Brigadier General S.D. Sturgis and over 8,000 Federals left Memphis to destroy Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his threat to Sherman’s supply lines. Sturgis headed toward Ripley, Mississippi while Forrest was at Tupelo regrouping from a northern raid.
John Hunt Morgan’s Confederate raid into Kentucky continued.
Hiram U. Grant was still trying to get around the right flank of Robert E. Lee’s army, and Lee had been strategically pulling back to prevent him. This late afternoon, the bulk of the two armies converged on a tiny country hamlet--all too near Richmond for Lee’s taste--called Old Cold Harbor. It stood approximately two miles east of Gaines's Mill, one of the former battlefields from McClellan's 1862 Peninsular Campaign. Lee set his men to furiously digging trenches and other defenses, which were soon needed when the Union cavalry of Phil Sheridan came to call. Fighting dismounted against R. H. Anderson’s infantry, neither side gained much advantage, until very late when the Federal attack was sharply repulsed, but the battle had officially begun.
Rear Admiral John A.B. Dahlgren wrote in his diary off Charleston: "Of the seven monitors left, two are here out of order, and the Passaic no better. The Rebels have four; wonder if they will come out and try their luck."
The USS Exchange, a 210-ton wooden paddle-wheeler under Acting Master James C. Gipson, engaged two Confederate batteries on the Mississippi River near Columbia, Arkansas, sustaining serious damage. Gipson, who was wounded during the heated encounter, described the action: "They waited until I had passed by the lower battery, when they opened a destructive crossfire. As I had just rounded a point of a sand bar, I could not back down, consequently there was no other alternative but run by the upper battery if possible...I opened my port broadside guns, replying to theirs; but unfortunately the port engine was struck and disabled, causing her to work very slow, keeping us under fire about forty-five minutes. I had barely got out of range of their guns when the engine stopped entirely...I immediately let go the anchor...expecting every moment they would move their battery above us and open again; but we succeeded in getting out, although pretty badly damaged."
Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered Major General Robert Ransom, commanding at Richmond, to summon all local forces possible to the Chickahominy and meet the threat to the capital. General Lee urged P.G.T. Beauregard to move forces north if at all possible, covering the area from the James north to the Chickahominy in front of Richmond.
In Georgia, General George Stoneman’s Federal cavalry captured Allatoona Pass, which held the vital railroad and enabled William T. Sherman to once again receive supplies from Chattanooga. Sherman’s Federals shifted northward away from the Dallas-New Hope Church area, constantly skirmishing along the way.
Brigadier General S.D. Sturgis and over 8,000 Federals left Memphis to destroy Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his threat to Sherman’s supply lines. Sturgis headed toward Ripley, Mississippi while Forrest was at Tupelo regrouping from a northern raid.
John Hunt Morgan’s Confederate raid into Kentucky continued.
Posted on 6/1/14 at 9:16 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Thursday, 2 June 1864
At Cold Harbor, Virginia, the previous day's battle had not begun until the Union attack about 5 p.m. Having found an over fifty yard wide gap between Major General Robert Hoke's and Brigadier General Joseph Kershaw's divisions, Major General Horatio Wright's large veteran force poured through, capturing part of the Confederate lines. A brave, furious Southern counterattack, however, sealed off the break, repelled the invading enemy and ended the day's fighting. Confederate infantry strengthened their lines all during the night and waited for the battle they felt sure was to begin the next morning.
Disappointed by the repulsed attack, Grant planned another advance for 5 a.m. this morning. He had General George Meade order Major General Winfield Hancock's II Corps to march to the left of the VI Corps. Exhausted by a brutal night march over narrow, dusty roads, the II Corps did not arrive until 6:30 a.m. Grant postponed the attack until 5 p.m. Later that day, he approved a postponement until 4:30 a.m. of June 3 because of the spent condition of Hancock's men. The Union delays gave Lee precious hours, time he used to strengthen his defenses. The Confederates had built simple trenches by daybreak this morning. Under Lee's personal supervision, these works were expanded and strengthened throughout the day. By nightfall, the Confederates occupied an interlocking series of trenches with overlapping fields of fire. Reinforcements under Major General John Breckinridge and Lieutenant General Ambrose Hill arrived and fortified the Confederate right. Lee ordered his troops to construct an impressive and intricate series of entrenchments to further reinforce his position in the heavily wooded and uneven territory and now the severely undermanned Army of Northern Virginia was ready for whatever Grant decided to throw at them.
Union gunboats convoying transports on the western rivers continued to be harassed by hostile field artillery along the banks. Lieutenant Commander Elias Kane Owen, of the USS Louisville, after sustaining severe damage in an exchange at Columbia, Arkansas, wrote to Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter: "The strength of the enemy in the neighborhood is undoubtedly great, and nothing but a military expedition can clear the banks. We can convoy boats every day with the usual loss of men and injury to boats, as the river is now, but it is falling rapidly, and vessels are of necessity being driven close under the enemy's guns."
Next day, at Memphis, Tennessee, Lieutenant Commander John G. Mitchell, piloting the USS Carondelet, also observed: "Not a steamer arrives here from Cairo but what has been fired upon by gangs numbering from 12 to 100 men." The warships were encountering difficulties similar to those Rear Admiral David Glasgow Farragut had faced on the Texas coast in the fall of 1862; the ships could dominate the waterways and coasts, but troops were needed to prevent the buildup of Confederate artillery and troublesome partisan guerilla activity.
The USS Wamsutta, under Acting Master Charles W. Lee, chased blockade running British steamer Rose aground at Pawley's Island, South Carolina, with a small cargo including liquor and hemp, then destroyed her.
The USS Victoria, Acting Master Alfred Everson in charge, chased the blockade running steamer Georgiana McCaw aground near Wilmington, North Carolina, and destroyed her with a large cargo of provisions.
A landing party from the USS Cowslip, under Acting Ensign Canfield, captured five sloops and one steam boiler, destroyed six large boats, four salt works, and three flat boats during a raid up Biloxi Bay, Mississippi.
At Cold Harbor, Virginia, the previous day's battle had not begun until the Union attack about 5 p.m. Having found an over fifty yard wide gap between Major General Robert Hoke's and Brigadier General Joseph Kershaw's divisions, Major General Horatio Wright's large veteran force poured through, capturing part of the Confederate lines. A brave, furious Southern counterattack, however, sealed off the break, repelled the invading enemy and ended the day's fighting. Confederate infantry strengthened their lines all during the night and waited for the battle they felt sure was to begin the next morning.
Disappointed by the repulsed attack, Grant planned another advance for 5 a.m. this morning. He had General George Meade order Major General Winfield Hancock's II Corps to march to the left of the VI Corps. Exhausted by a brutal night march over narrow, dusty roads, the II Corps did not arrive until 6:30 a.m. Grant postponed the attack until 5 p.m. Later that day, he approved a postponement until 4:30 a.m. of June 3 because of the spent condition of Hancock's men. The Union delays gave Lee precious hours, time he used to strengthen his defenses. The Confederates had built simple trenches by daybreak this morning. Under Lee's personal supervision, these works were expanded and strengthened throughout the day. By nightfall, the Confederates occupied an interlocking series of trenches with overlapping fields of fire. Reinforcements under Major General John Breckinridge and Lieutenant General Ambrose Hill arrived and fortified the Confederate right. Lee ordered his troops to construct an impressive and intricate series of entrenchments to further reinforce his position in the heavily wooded and uneven territory and now the severely undermanned Army of Northern Virginia was ready for whatever Grant decided to throw at them.
Union gunboats convoying transports on the western rivers continued to be harassed by hostile field artillery along the banks. Lieutenant Commander Elias Kane Owen, of the USS Louisville, after sustaining severe damage in an exchange at Columbia, Arkansas, wrote to Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter: "The strength of the enemy in the neighborhood is undoubtedly great, and nothing but a military expedition can clear the banks. We can convoy boats every day with the usual loss of men and injury to boats, as the river is now, but it is falling rapidly, and vessels are of necessity being driven close under the enemy's guns."
Next day, at Memphis, Tennessee, Lieutenant Commander John G. Mitchell, piloting the USS Carondelet, also observed: "Not a steamer arrives here from Cairo but what has been fired upon by gangs numbering from 12 to 100 men." The warships were encountering difficulties similar to those Rear Admiral David Glasgow Farragut had faced on the Texas coast in the fall of 1862; the ships could dominate the waterways and coasts, but troops were needed to prevent the buildup of Confederate artillery and troublesome partisan guerilla activity.
The USS Wamsutta, under Acting Master Charles W. Lee, chased blockade running British steamer Rose aground at Pawley's Island, South Carolina, with a small cargo including liquor and hemp, then destroyed her.
The USS Victoria, Acting Master Alfred Everson in charge, chased the blockade running steamer Georgiana McCaw aground near Wilmington, North Carolina, and destroyed her with a large cargo of provisions.
A landing party from the USS Cowslip, under Acting Ensign Canfield, captured five sloops and one steam boiler, destroyed six large boats, four salt works, and three flat boats during a raid up Biloxi Bay, Mississippi.
This post was edited on 11/12/15 at 9:49 pm
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