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re: 150 years ago this day...
Posted on 12/19/14 at 9:17 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Posted on 12/19/14 at 9:17 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Tuesday, 20 December 1864
The Federal left at Savannah, Georgia, moved slowly to cut off Confederate Lieutenant General William J. Hardee’s escape route across the Savannah River into South Carolina, but they did not succeed. Hardee, urged by General P.G.T. Beauregard and others to immediately evacuate, finally left the area. Without opposition, he headed northward towards concentration with other Confederate units. Hardee left behind 250 heavy guns and large amounts of cotton, but with an ingenious pontoon bridge of 30 rice flats, he was able to evacuate all of his 10,000 troops. The loss of the important port city was another psychological blow to the Confederates, still stinging from the defeat at Nashville earlier in the week.
Federal Major General George H. Thomas’s troops, following up Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood’s retreat in Tennessee, constructed a floating bridge over Rutherford Creek and pushed on for Columbia where they found the bridges destroyed and the Confederates across the Duck River. Some skirmishing occurred near Columbia.
Union Brigade Commander John McArthur is appointed Major General. His troops of the so-called "Highland Brigade" played a significant role in breaking the Confederate lines on the second day in the Battle of Nashville.
Federal expeditions travelled from Cape Girardeau and Dallas, Missouri, to Cherokee Bay, Arkansas, and the Saint Francis River, and skirmished with partisan guerrillas.
The USS Hartford was turned over to Rear Admiral Hiram Paulding at the New York Navy Yard in New York City Harbor for repairs. Rear Admiral David G. Farragut wrote Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles: "...my flag [was] hauled down at sunset..." Thus did the two, man and ship, who had served so heroically for so many months together, close their active Civil War careers.
A skirmish occurred near the Pocotaligo Road, South Carolina, as the 33rd US Colored Infantry drives off the 300 Rebels contesting their advance near the Tulifinny Creek, capturing men and supplies.
The capture and the destruction of the salt-works at Saltville, Virginia, by Major General George Stoneman took place this day.
Boats from the USS Chicopee, Valley City, and Wyalusing under the command of Commander William Henry Alexander Macomb on an expedition to engage Confederate troops at Rainbow Bluff, North Carolina, were fired upon while dragging for torpedoes, seven miles below the Bluff. Macomb then put out skirmishers to clear the banks, but made only slow progress against the Southern force along the river. After the destruction of USS Otsego and Bazely, the Union gunboats moved laboriously up the tortuous river, dragging for torpedoes in small boats and being harassed by Confederate riflemen. As many as 40 torpedoes were found in some bends of the river. Union troops intending to operate with the gunboats were delayed. By the time they were ready to advance on Rainbow Bluff, the Confederate garrison there had been strongly reinforced. Torpedoes in the river, batteries along the banks below that point, and the difficulty of navigating the river forced abandonment of the operation. The wrecks of Otsego and Bazely were destroyed to prevent their falling into Confederate hands on 25 December. The expedition got back to Plymouth three days later.
A boat expedition under the command of Acting Master Isaac A. Pennell, with the USS Ethan Allen, carried out a reconnaissance of the Altamaha River, South Carolina, engaging Confederate pickets and bringing off prisoners and horses.
The Federal left at Savannah, Georgia, moved slowly to cut off Confederate Lieutenant General William J. Hardee’s escape route across the Savannah River into South Carolina, but they did not succeed. Hardee, urged by General P.G.T. Beauregard and others to immediately evacuate, finally left the area. Without opposition, he headed northward towards concentration with other Confederate units. Hardee left behind 250 heavy guns and large amounts of cotton, but with an ingenious pontoon bridge of 30 rice flats, he was able to evacuate all of his 10,000 troops. The loss of the important port city was another psychological blow to the Confederates, still stinging from the defeat at Nashville earlier in the week.
Federal Major General George H. Thomas’s troops, following up Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood’s retreat in Tennessee, constructed a floating bridge over Rutherford Creek and pushed on for Columbia where they found the bridges destroyed and the Confederates across the Duck River. Some skirmishing occurred near Columbia.
Union Brigade Commander John McArthur is appointed Major General. His troops of the so-called "Highland Brigade" played a significant role in breaking the Confederate lines on the second day in the Battle of Nashville.
Federal expeditions travelled from Cape Girardeau and Dallas, Missouri, to Cherokee Bay, Arkansas, and the Saint Francis River, and skirmished with partisan guerrillas.
The USS Hartford was turned over to Rear Admiral Hiram Paulding at the New York Navy Yard in New York City Harbor for repairs. Rear Admiral David G. Farragut wrote Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles: "...my flag [was] hauled down at sunset..." Thus did the two, man and ship, who had served so heroically for so many months together, close their active Civil War careers.
A skirmish occurred near the Pocotaligo Road, South Carolina, as the 33rd US Colored Infantry drives off the 300 Rebels contesting their advance near the Tulifinny Creek, capturing men and supplies.
The capture and the destruction of the salt-works at Saltville, Virginia, by Major General George Stoneman took place this day.
Boats from the USS Chicopee, Valley City, and Wyalusing under the command of Commander William Henry Alexander Macomb on an expedition to engage Confederate troops at Rainbow Bluff, North Carolina, were fired upon while dragging for torpedoes, seven miles below the Bluff. Macomb then put out skirmishers to clear the banks, but made only slow progress against the Southern force along the river. After the destruction of USS Otsego and Bazely, the Union gunboats moved laboriously up the tortuous river, dragging for torpedoes in small boats and being harassed by Confederate riflemen. As many as 40 torpedoes were found in some bends of the river. Union troops intending to operate with the gunboats were delayed. By the time they were ready to advance on Rainbow Bluff, the Confederate garrison there had been strongly reinforced. Torpedoes in the river, batteries along the banks below that point, and the difficulty of navigating the river forced abandonment of the operation. The wrecks of Otsego and Bazely were destroyed to prevent their falling into Confederate hands on 25 December. The expedition got back to Plymouth three days later.
A boat expedition under the command of Acting Master Isaac A. Pennell, with the USS Ethan Allen, carried out a reconnaissance of the Altamaha River, South Carolina, engaging Confederate pickets and bringing off prisoners and horses.
1
Posted on 12/20/14 at 9:10 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Wednesday, 21 December 1864
A large Federal expedition, under Brigadier General Benjamin H. Grierson, departed from Memphis, Tennessee, to destroy the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, about 100 miles of railroad track, and would ultimately capture almost 800 Confederates with their horses.
Union Major General William T. Sherman’s Union army entered Savannah unopposed. Mayor Richard Arnold surrendered the city, and most of the 20,000 weary residents approved the capitulation and immediate cessation of hostilities. General Hardee’s crafty escape greatly disappointed Sherman.
The Confederate Navy continued vigorous efforts to save the remnants of the Savannah squadron still at that city on the eve of its capture. On 10 December Commander Thomas W. Brent, of the CSS Savannah, ordered the torpedoes in Savannah harbor removed in order that his vessels might fight their way to Charleston. As Brent later reported to Flag Officer Hunter: "...after every endeavor he [Lieutenant McAdam] found that with all the appliances at his command, grapnels, etc., he was unable with the motive power of the boats to remove any one of them, the anchors to which they are attached being too firmly embedded in the sand...Under these circumstances it did not seem to me possible to carry out the instructions of the Department in regard to taking the Savannah to sea and fighting her way into this [Charleston] or some other port." After attempting futilely to move the smaller of his vessels upriver, Hunter this date destroyed the CSS Savannah, Isondiga, Firefly, and floating battery Georgia. General Sherman himself occupied Savannah on 22 December and formally presented it to President Lincoln, having fought his way across Georgia to the sea where he knew the mobility of naval power would be ready to provide him with support, supplies, and means of carrying out the next operation.
The blockade runner Owl, Commander John Newland Maffitt in charge, departed Wilmington through, and past, the Federal blockaders with a large cargo of cotton. The Owl, owned by the Confederate government, was one of several blockade runners commanded by Southern naval officers.
The United States Congress enacted a measure creating the rank of vice-admiral in the U.S. Navy. Rear Admiral David Glasgow Farragut was considered the first nominee for the new rank.
Lieutenant General John Bell Hood’s Confederate army continued withdrawing from Columbia toward Pulaski, Tennessee. Fatigue and swollen streams hampered the pursuing Federals.
A Federal expedition began from Memphis, Tennessee, and skirmishing occurred nearby in Mississippi.
President Jefferson Davis expressed grave concern to General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard that Federals could capture Fort Fisher and close Wilmington, North Carolina, as the last harbor for blockade runners providing much needed supplies and equipment for the Confederacy and its armies.
A skirmish occurred at Franklin Creek, Mississippi, near the Gulf Coast.
A large Federal expedition, under Brigadier General Benjamin H. Grierson, departed from Memphis, Tennessee, to destroy the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, about 100 miles of railroad track, and would ultimately capture almost 800 Confederates with their horses.
Union Major General William T. Sherman’s Union army entered Savannah unopposed. Mayor Richard Arnold surrendered the city, and most of the 20,000 weary residents approved the capitulation and immediate cessation of hostilities. General Hardee’s crafty escape greatly disappointed Sherman.
The Confederate Navy continued vigorous efforts to save the remnants of the Savannah squadron still at that city on the eve of its capture. On 10 December Commander Thomas W. Brent, of the CSS Savannah, ordered the torpedoes in Savannah harbor removed in order that his vessels might fight their way to Charleston. As Brent later reported to Flag Officer Hunter: "...after every endeavor he [Lieutenant McAdam] found that with all the appliances at his command, grapnels, etc., he was unable with the motive power of the boats to remove any one of them, the anchors to which they are attached being too firmly embedded in the sand...Under these circumstances it did not seem to me possible to carry out the instructions of the Department in regard to taking the Savannah to sea and fighting her way into this [Charleston] or some other port." After attempting futilely to move the smaller of his vessels upriver, Hunter this date destroyed the CSS Savannah, Isondiga, Firefly, and floating battery Georgia. General Sherman himself occupied Savannah on 22 December and formally presented it to President Lincoln, having fought his way across Georgia to the sea where he knew the mobility of naval power would be ready to provide him with support, supplies, and means of carrying out the next operation.
The blockade runner Owl, Commander John Newland Maffitt in charge, departed Wilmington through, and past, the Federal blockaders with a large cargo of cotton. The Owl, owned by the Confederate government, was one of several blockade runners commanded by Southern naval officers.
The United States Congress enacted a measure creating the rank of vice-admiral in the U.S. Navy. Rear Admiral David Glasgow Farragut was considered the first nominee for the new rank.
Lieutenant General John Bell Hood’s Confederate army continued withdrawing from Columbia toward Pulaski, Tennessee. Fatigue and swollen streams hampered the pursuing Federals.
A Federal expedition began from Memphis, Tennessee, and skirmishing occurred nearby in Mississippi.
President Jefferson Davis expressed grave concern to General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard that Federals could capture Fort Fisher and close Wilmington, North Carolina, as the last harbor for blockade runners providing much needed supplies and equipment for the Confederacy and its armies.
A skirmish occurred at Franklin Creek, Mississippi, near the Gulf Coast.
Posted on 12/21/14 at 3:46 pm to Stacked
Why did you let that lady dry hump your car like that?
Posted on 12/21/14 at 9:38 pm to Porter Osborne Jr
Thursday, 22 December 1864
Union Major General William Tecumseh Sherman himself had arrived in Savannah, Georgia and transmitted his famous message to President Abraham Lincoln that stated: “I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about 25,000 bales of cotton.” He had been at Port Royal, South Carolina on military business when Savannah was evacuated. His Federal troops immediately worked on shoring up the defenses, replenishing their supplies and reorganizing the army.
The fall of Savannah ended Sherman’s March to the Sea Campaign, as Federal forces now bisected the South horizontally. Sherman’s Federals had advanced 275 miles through the southern heartland while sustaining less than 2,000 casualties. In the process, Sherman had destroyed large tracts of southern property and inflicted harsh depredations upon civilians that would never be forgotten.
Confederate Lieutenant General William Joseph Hardee’s retreating troops had headed northward into South Carolina.
James Edward Harrison, CSA, is appointed Brigadier. General.
John Doby Kennedy, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
Union Major General Joseph J. Reynolds supersedes Major General Frederick Steele in the command of the Department of Arkansas.
Another skirmish occurred at Franklin Creek, Mississippi, near the Gulf Coast.
A large skirmish breaks out at Duck River, near Columbia, Tennessee, as Union Major General George Henry Thomas continues pursuing the retreating Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood.
The Union forces under Major General George Stoneman, Jr, finally retire from Saltville, Virginia. Trained at West Point, Stoneman was the roommate there of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.
Union Major General William Tecumseh Sherman himself had arrived in Savannah, Georgia and transmitted his famous message to President Abraham Lincoln that stated: “I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about 25,000 bales of cotton.” He had been at Port Royal, South Carolina on military business when Savannah was evacuated. His Federal troops immediately worked on shoring up the defenses, replenishing their supplies and reorganizing the army.
The fall of Savannah ended Sherman’s March to the Sea Campaign, as Federal forces now bisected the South horizontally. Sherman’s Federals had advanced 275 miles through the southern heartland while sustaining less than 2,000 casualties. In the process, Sherman had destroyed large tracts of southern property and inflicted harsh depredations upon civilians that would never be forgotten.
Confederate Lieutenant General William Joseph Hardee’s retreating troops had headed northward into South Carolina.
James Edward Harrison, CSA, is appointed Brigadier. General.
John Doby Kennedy, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
Union Major General Joseph J. Reynolds supersedes Major General Frederick Steele in the command of the Department of Arkansas.
Another skirmish occurred at Franklin Creek, Mississippi, near the Gulf Coast.
A large skirmish breaks out at Duck River, near Columbia, Tennessee, as Union Major General George Henry Thomas continues pursuing the retreating Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood.
The Union forces under Major General George Stoneman, Jr, finally retire from Saltville, Virginia. Trained at West Point, Stoneman was the roommate there of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.
This post was edited on 12/22/14 at 5:51 am
Posted on 12/22/14 at 8:48 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Friday, 23 December 1864
The Federal fleet from Fort Monroe, intending to attack Fort Fisher near Wilmington, North Carolina, had encountered very heavy seas and storms off Cape Hatteras and had been badly scattered. By this afternoon, the battered vessels had arrived at the Beaufort rendezvous. Major General Benjamin F. "Spoons" Butler was in personal command of the two army divisions, numbering around 6,500 men. Admiral David Dixon Porter commanded the fleet. Butler had planned to explode an old hulk--the USS Louisiana, loaded with 350 tons of explosives near the fort--predicting that it would destroy the 500-man Confederate garrison. The powder boat was set off but it caused no damage to friend or foe.
Naval report: After many days of delay because of heavy weather, powder ship USS Louisiana, Commander Rhind, towed by USS Wilderness late at night, anchored and was blown up 250 yards off Fort Fisher, North Carolina. After Rhind and his gallant crew set the fuzes and a fire in the stern, they escaped by small boat to Wilderness. Rear Admiral Porter and General Butler, who was waiting in Beaufort to land his troops the next morning and storm Fort Fisher, placed great hope in the exploding powder ship, hope that Dahlgren as an ordnance expert no doubt disdained. The clock mechanism failed to ignite the powder at the appointed time, 1:18 a.m., and after agonizing minutes of waiting, the fire set by Rhind in the stern of Louisiana reached the powder and a tremendous explosion occurred. Fort Fisher and its garrison, however, were not measurably affected, although the blast was heard many miles away; in fact, Colonel Lamb, the fort's resolute commander, wrote in his diary: "A blockader got aground near the fort, set fire to herself and blew up." It remained for the massed gunfire from ships of Porter's huge fleet, the largest ever assembled up to that time under the American flag, to cover the landings and reduce the forts.
A Federal expedition travelled from Baton Rouge to Clinton, Louisiana.
President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill passed the preceding day by Congress which created the rank of vice admiral. A fortnight before Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles had written in his report to the President: "In recommending, therefore, that the office of vice-admiral should be created, and the appointment conferred on Rear-Admiral David G. Farragut, I but respond, as I believe, to the voice and wishes of the naval service and of the whole country." Thus was Farragut made the first vice admiral in the nation's history as he had been its first rear admiral. The Army and Navy Journal wrote of him: "In Farragut the ideal sailor, the seaman of Nelson's and Collingwood's days, is revived, and the feeling of the people toward him is of the same peculiar character as that which those great and simple-hearted heroes of Great Britain evoked in the hearts of their countrymen."
The USS Acacia, under Acting Master William Barrymore, captured the blockade running British steamer Julia off Alligator Creek, South Carolina, with a cargo of cotton.
Major General William T. Sherman began regrouping his Federals in Savannah in preparation for a northern advance into South Carolina.
Lieutenant General John Bell Hood’s Confederate rear guard continued operations against Major General George Henry Thomas’ Union pursuers skirmished again at Warfield’s, near Columbia, Tennessee.
The Federal fleet from Fort Monroe, intending to attack Fort Fisher near Wilmington, North Carolina, had encountered very heavy seas and storms off Cape Hatteras and had been badly scattered. By this afternoon, the battered vessels had arrived at the Beaufort rendezvous. Major General Benjamin F. "Spoons" Butler was in personal command of the two army divisions, numbering around 6,500 men. Admiral David Dixon Porter commanded the fleet. Butler had planned to explode an old hulk--the USS Louisiana, loaded with 350 tons of explosives near the fort--predicting that it would destroy the 500-man Confederate garrison. The powder boat was set off but it caused no damage to friend or foe.
Naval report: After many days of delay because of heavy weather, powder ship USS Louisiana, Commander Rhind, towed by USS Wilderness late at night, anchored and was blown up 250 yards off Fort Fisher, North Carolina. After Rhind and his gallant crew set the fuzes and a fire in the stern, they escaped by small boat to Wilderness. Rear Admiral Porter and General Butler, who was waiting in Beaufort to land his troops the next morning and storm Fort Fisher, placed great hope in the exploding powder ship, hope that Dahlgren as an ordnance expert no doubt disdained. The clock mechanism failed to ignite the powder at the appointed time, 1:18 a.m., and after agonizing minutes of waiting, the fire set by Rhind in the stern of Louisiana reached the powder and a tremendous explosion occurred. Fort Fisher and its garrison, however, were not measurably affected, although the blast was heard many miles away; in fact, Colonel Lamb, the fort's resolute commander, wrote in his diary: "A blockader got aground near the fort, set fire to herself and blew up." It remained for the massed gunfire from ships of Porter's huge fleet, the largest ever assembled up to that time under the American flag, to cover the landings and reduce the forts.
A Federal expedition travelled from Baton Rouge to Clinton, Louisiana.
President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill passed the preceding day by Congress which created the rank of vice admiral. A fortnight before Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles had written in his report to the President: "In recommending, therefore, that the office of vice-admiral should be created, and the appointment conferred on Rear-Admiral David G. Farragut, I but respond, as I believe, to the voice and wishes of the naval service and of the whole country." Thus was Farragut made the first vice admiral in the nation's history as he had been its first rear admiral. The Army and Navy Journal wrote of him: "In Farragut the ideal sailor, the seaman of Nelson's and Collingwood's days, is revived, and the feeling of the people toward him is of the same peculiar character as that which those great and simple-hearted heroes of Great Britain evoked in the hearts of their countrymen."
The USS Acacia, under Acting Master William Barrymore, captured the blockade running British steamer Julia off Alligator Creek, South Carolina, with a cargo of cotton.
Major General William T. Sherman began regrouping his Federals in Savannah in preparation for a northern advance into South Carolina.
Lieutenant General John Bell Hood’s Confederate rear guard continued operations against Major General George Henry Thomas’ Union pursuers skirmished again at Warfield’s, near Columbia, Tennessee.
Posted on 12/22/14 at 10:42 pm to BadLeroyDawg
frick yea
Posted on 12/23/14 at 10:18 pm to thomass
Saturday, 24 December 1864
The formidable Federal naval fleet under Admiral David Dixon Porter opened fire upon Fort Fisher, North Carolina, after the failure of the powder ship the night before. With the USS New Ironsides leading, the fleet fired a tremendous bombardment at the earth and sand fort, defended by about 500 men under Colonel William Lamb. The fort itself did not respond significantly to the Federal fire and several explosions inside set buildings on fire. Limited damage was done to the fort and casualties were fairly light for both sides. The transports were now ready to attempt a landing above the fort.
Full report: This morning, a Union fleet under Admiral David Dixon Porter begins a bombardment of Fort Fisher, North Carolina. Although an impressive display of firepower, the attack failed to destroy the fort; a ground attack the next day did not succeed either.
Fort Fisher guarded the mouth of the Cape Fear River, the approach to Wilmington, North Carolina. Throughout the war, Wilmington was one of the most important ports as the Confederates tried to break the Union blockade of its coasts. By late 1864, Wilmington was one of the last ports open in the South. Even though Wilmington was an important city, Union leaders initially directed more attention to other targets, such as the capture of the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. Not until late 1864 did the Union turn attention to the massive wood-and-sand Fort Fisher, which was constructed in 1862 to withstand attacks by the most powerful Federal cannon.
Sixty ships attacked the fort on Christmas Eve. Inside the stronghold, some 500 Confederates hunkered down and withstood the siege. Although buildings in the fort caught fire, there were few casualties. The next day, a small Yankee force attacked on the ground, but reinforcing Confederates from Wilmington drove them away. The Union fleet sailed back to Hampton Roads, Virginia, with nothing to show for their efforts. The Union tries again to take Fort Fisher in January 1865. After two days, a Union force overwhelmed the fort and the last major Confederate port would be closed.
In Tennessee, skirmishing commenced at Lynnville and Richland Creek, but the primary operations following the Battle of Nashville were over.
Skirmishes occur near Fort Smith, Arkansas, and at Taylorstown, Virginia.
Major General Benjamin F. "Spoons" Butler resumes command of the Army of the James, in the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign.
Rear Admiral Samuel P. Lee, commanding the Mississippi Squadron, arrived off Chickasaw, Alabama, in an attempt to cut off the retreat of Confederate General Hood's army from Tennessee. At Chickasaw, the USS Fairy, under Acting Ensign Charles Swendson, with Lee embarked, destroyed a Confederate fort and magazine, but even this small, shallow-draft river boat was unable to go beyond Great Muscle Shoals on the Tennessee River because of low water. On 27 December, gunboats engaged and destroyed two fieldpieces near Florence, Alabama, but by this time the water of the Tennessee River had fallen drastically, and Lee's vessels were compelled to withdraw toward Eastport.
The formidable Federal naval fleet under Admiral David Dixon Porter opened fire upon Fort Fisher, North Carolina, after the failure of the powder ship the night before. With the USS New Ironsides leading, the fleet fired a tremendous bombardment at the earth and sand fort, defended by about 500 men under Colonel William Lamb. The fort itself did not respond significantly to the Federal fire and several explosions inside set buildings on fire. Limited damage was done to the fort and casualties were fairly light for both sides. The transports were now ready to attempt a landing above the fort.
Full report: This morning, a Union fleet under Admiral David Dixon Porter begins a bombardment of Fort Fisher, North Carolina. Although an impressive display of firepower, the attack failed to destroy the fort; a ground attack the next day did not succeed either.
Fort Fisher guarded the mouth of the Cape Fear River, the approach to Wilmington, North Carolina. Throughout the war, Wilmington was one of the most important ports as the Confederates tried to break the Union blockade of its coasts. By late 1864, Wilmington was one of the last ports open in the South. Even though Wilmington was an important city, Union leaders initially directed more attention to other targets, such as the capture of the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. Not until late 1864 did the Union turn attention to the massive wood-and-sand Fort Fisher, which was constructed in 1862 to withstand attacks by the most powerful Federal cannon.
Sixty ships attacked the fort on Christmas Eve. Inside the stronghold, some 500 Confederates hunkered down and withstood the siege. Although buildings in the fort caught fire, there were few casualties. The next day, a small Yankee force attacked on the ground, but reinforcing Confederates from Wilmington drove them away. The Union fleet sailed back to Hampton Roads, Virginia, with nothing to show for their efforts. The Union tries again to take Fort Fisher in January 1865. After two days, a Union force overwhelmed the fort and the last major Confederate port would be closed.
In Tennessee, skirmishing commenced at Lynnville and Richland Creek, but the primary operations following the Battle of Nashville were over.
Skirmishes occur near Fort Smith, Arkansas, and at Taylorstown, Virginia.
Major General Benjamin F. "Spoons" Butler resumes command of the Army of the James, in the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign.
Rear Admiral Samuel P. Lee, commanding the Mississippi Squadron, arrived off Chickasaw, Alabama, in an attempt to cut off the retreat of Confederate General Hood's army from Tennessee. At Chickasaw, the USS Fairy, under Acting Ensign Charles Swendson, with Lee embarked, destroyed a Confederate fort and magazine, but even this small, shallow-draft river boat was unable to go beyond Great Muscle Shoals on the Tennessee River because of low water. On 27 December, gunboats engaged and destroyed two fieldpieces near Florence, Alabama, but by this time the water of the Tennessee River had fallen drastically, and Lee's vessels were compelled to withdraw toward Eastport.
Posted on 12/24/14 at 9:02 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Sunday, 25 December 1864
In North Carolina, nearly sixty warships continued the heavy Federal bombardment of Fort Fisher, easily hitting the parapets and traverses of the mostly dirt and sand-built fort. The Union troops quietly landed two miles north, captured a battery and pushed close to the fort itself. As darkness approached, however, Confederate troops closed in and forced them to retreat back to their naval transports. Since the assault was deemed too expensive in Yankee lives, Major General Benjamin F. "Spoons" Butler ordered the fleet to withdraw back to Hampton Roads, Virginia. The two-day Federal bombardment had resulted in over 20,000 rounds fired on the fort.
Confederate Major General Sterling Price’s Confederate command, still withdrawing from Missouri, arrived at Laynesport, Arkansas.
Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee reached Bainbridge, Tennessee, on the Tennessee River. More skirmishing occurred at Richland Creek, Devil’s Gap--also known as King's or Anthony's Hill--and White’s Station, Tennessee, as about 100 men Major General George H. Thomas' advance guard are surrounded and captured by the Confederates; the Federals not suspecting that large of a Southern force in the area.
President Jefferson Davis wrote to General Edmund Kirby Smith, commanding the Confederate Trans-Mississippi District, expressing great disappointment that Smith had not sent troops east to aid General John Bell Hood in Tennessee. Davis once again requested more men.
President Abraham Lincoln released the text of Major General William T. Sherman’s 22 December message to the public. Sherman was generally praised throughout the North, but many criticized him for allowing Lieutenant General William Joseph Hardee’s Confederates to escape to South Carolina.
An engagement occurs at Verona, Mississippi, with Brigadier General Benjamin H. Grierson's Union expedition fighting smaller contingents of Confederate partisans, as the Yankees attempt to destroy about 100 miles of railroad track on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad.
In North Carolina, nearly sixty warships continued the heavy Federal bombardment of Fort Fisher, easily hitting the parapets and traverses of the mostly dirt and sand-built fort. The Union troops quietly landed two miles north, captured a battery and pushed close to the fort itself. As darkness approached, however, Confederate troops closed in and forced them to retreat back to their naval transports. Since the assault was deemed too expensive in Yankee lives, Major General Benjamin F. "Spoons" Butler ordered the fleet to withdraw back to Hampton Roads, Virginia. The two-day Federal bombardment had resulted in over 20,000 rounds fired on the fort.
Confederate Major General Sterling Price’s Confederate command, still withdrawing from Missouri, arrived at Laynesport, Arkansas.
Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee reached Bainbridge, Tennessee, on the Tennessee River. More skirmishing occurred at Richland Creek, Devil’s Gap--also known as King's or Anthony's Hill--and White’s Station, Tennessee, as about 100 men Major General George H. Thomas' advance guard are surrounded and captured by the Confederates; the Federals not suspecting that large of a Southern force in the area.
President Jefferson Davis wrote to General Edmund Kirby Smith, commanding the Confederate Trans-Mississippi District, expressing great disappointment that Smith had not sent troops east to aid General John Bell Hood in Tennessee. Davis once again requested more men.
President Abraham Lincoln released the text of Major General William T. Sherman’s 22 December message to the public. Sherman was generally praised throughout the North, but many criticized him for allowing Lieutenant General William Joseph Hardee’s Confederates to escape to South Carolina.
An engagement occurs at Verona, Mississippi, with Brigadier General Benjamin H. Grierson's Union expedition fighting smaller contingents of Confederate partisans, as the Yankees attempt to destroy about 100 miles of railroad track on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad.
Posted on 12/25/14 at 9:36 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Monday, 26 December 1864
The remnants of Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee began fording the Tennessee River at Bainbridge, Tennessee. Even though there was a skirmish at Sugar Creek, Tennessee, as they headed towards Tupelo, Mississippi, the crossing essentially ended the campaign.
President Abraham Lincoln congratulated Major General William T. Sherman for his victorious campaigns, although admitting he had been "...anxious, if not fearful..." when Sherman left Atlanta, including the vanquishing of Hood at Nashville by Major General George H. Thomas.
Another Federal expedition commenced against Indians in central Arizona, with a skirmish at Sycamore Springs, in the Arizona Territory.
Union troops scout from Fairfax Court House to Hopewell Gap, Virginia, with the Federals capturing two soldiers belonging to the 4th Virginia Cavalry at Thoroughfare Gap, at Mrs. Lewis' house.
The blockade runner CSS Chameleon, formerly the dreaded raider CSS Tallahassee, under the command of Lieutenant John Wilkinson, slipped out of Wilmington amid the confusion in the aftermath of the first attack on Fort Fisher. In Bermuda, Chameleon loaded badly needed foodstuffs for the Confederate armies, but by the time Wilkinson could get her back to Wilmington in January, the port had already fallen.
After determining the Fort Fisher campaign was too costly in men and supplies, the Federal fleet began returning Major General Benjamin F. "Spoons" Butler’s Federal troops to Fort Monroe, Virginia.
The remnants of Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee began fording the Tennessee River at Bainbridge, Tennessee. Even though there was a skirmish at Sugar Creek, Tennessee, as they headed towards Tupelo, Mississippi, the crossing essentially ended the campaign.
President Abraham Lincoln congratulated Major General William T. Sherman for his victorious campaigns, although admitting he had been "...anxious, if not fearful..." when Sherman left Atlanta, including the vanquishing of Hood at Nashville by Major General George H. Thomas.
Another Federal expedition commenced against Indians in central Arizona, with a skirmish at Sycamore Springs, in the Arizona Territory.
Union troops scout from Fairfax Court House to Hopewell Gap, Virginia, with the Federals capturing two soldiers belonging to the 4th Virginia Cavalry at Thoroughfare Gap, at Mrs. Lewis' house.
The blockade runner CSS Chameleon, formerly the dreaded raider CSS Tallahassee, under the command of Lieutenant John Wilkinson, slipped out of Wilmington amid the confusion in the aftermath of the first attack on Fort Fisher. In Bermuda, Chameleon loaded badly needed foodstuffs for the Confederate armies, but by the time Wilkinson could get her back to Wilmington in January, the port had already fallen.
After determining the Fort Fisher campaign was too costly in men and supplies, the Federal fleet began returning Major General Benjamin F. "Spoons" Butler’s Federal troops to Fort Monroe, Virginia.
Posted on 12/26/14 at 4:17 pm to genro
Posted on 12/26/14 at 9:37 pm to BluegrassBelle
Tuesday, 27 December 1864
Lieutenant General John Bell Hood’s Confederate Army of Tennessee completed their crossing of the Tennessee River at Bainbridge, Tennessee, and then headed towards Tupelo, Mississippi.
Full report: This afternoon, the broken and defeated Confederate Army of Tennessee finishes crossing the Tennessee River as General John Bell Hood's force retreats into Mississippi.
The last half of 1864 was a disaster for the army. In May, Union General William T. Sherman began his drive on Atlanta from Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Confederate army was commanded then by Joseph Johnston, who responded to Sherman's flanking maneuvers by retreating slightly each time. From May to July, Johnston slowly backed into Atlanta, exchanging territory for time. When the troops reached Atlanta, Confederate President Jefferson Davis replaced Johnston with the offensive-minded Hood.
Hood immediately attacked Sherman three times in late July, losing each time. His offensive capabilities spent, Hood endured a month-long siege of Atlanta. In early September, he was finally forced to relinquish the city to Sherman. Hood hung around to try cutting into Sherman's supply lines but then retreated into Alabama. In November, Hood tried to draw Sherman from the deep South by moving towards Nashville, Tennessee. In response, Sherman dispatched part of his army back to Tennessee while taking the rest on his devastating march across Georgia, during which the Yankees destroyed nearly everything in their path.
Hood moved north and fought two battles that were disastrous for the Confederates. At Franklin, Tennessee, on November 30, Confederate attacks on entrenched Union soldiers resulted in significant casualties and the loss of six of the army's finest generals. On December 15 and 16, the Confederates were crushed by the Yankees in front of Nashville. The dwindling numbers of participating soldiers tell the story of the Rebel army. In May, some 65,000 Confederates faced Sherman in northern Georgia. On September 20, after Atlanta fell, Hood's force numbered around 40,400. After crossing the Tennessee River in December, Hood reported some 18,700 officers and enlisted men, a figure that another Confederate general, Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, thought was significantly inflated. The Confederate Army of Tennessee was no longer a viable fighting force.
Skirmishing broke out at Decatur, Alabama.
Federals scout from Pine Bluff to Simpson's Plantation, in Arkansas.
After extensive Union naval bombardment of Fort Fisher and the landing of an expeditionary force--Major General Benjamin F. "Spoons" Butler's infantry, under Brigadier General Adelbert Ames--are transported back to Fortress Monroe, Virginia, aboard the ocean transports C. Thomas and Wedbosset, and the steamers Baltic, Haze, Idahoe, S. Moore, Peril, and the Starlight.
A skirmish takes place at Okolona, Mississippi, with Union Brigadier General Benjamin H. Grierson's troops and a small group of Confederate partisans.
Union Major General Stephen Gano Burbridge's command reaches Pound Gap, Virginia, after taking part in Major General George Stoneman's expedition into Southwestern Virginia.
Shortly after midnight a boat crew under the command of Acting Ensign N. A. Blume from the USS Virginia, cut out the schooner Belle in Galveston Harbor with a cargo of cotton. Belle was at anchor only some 400 yards from the Confederate guard boat Lecompte when Blume's party boldly boarded and sailed her out of the harbor.
Lieutenant General John Bell Hood’s Confederate Army of Tennessee completed their crossing of the Tennessee River at Bainbridge, Tennessee, and then headed towards Tupelo, Mississippi.
Full report: This afternoon, the broken and defeated Confederate Army of Tennessee finishes crossing the Tennessee River as General John Bell Hood's force retreats into Mississippi.
The last half of 1864 was a disaster for the army. In May, Union General William T. Sherman began his drive on Atlanta from Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Confederate army was commanded then by Joseph Johnston, who responded to Sherman's flanking maneuvers by retreating slightly each time. From May to July, Johnston slowly backed into Atlanta, exchanging territory for time. When the troops reached Atlanta, Confederate President Jefferson Davis replaced Johnston with the offensive-minded Hood.
Hood immediately attacked Sherman three times in late July, losing each time. His offensive capabilities spent, Hood endured a month-long siege of Atlanta. In early September, he was finally forced to relinquish the city to Sherman. Hood hung around to try cutting into Sherman's supply lines but then retreated into Alabama. In November, Hood tried to draw Sherman from the deep South by moving towards Nashville, Tennessee. In response, Sherman dispatched part of his army back to Tennessee while taking the rest on his devastating march across Georgia, during which the Yankees destroyed nearly everything in their path.
Hood moved north and fought two battles that were disastrous for the Confederates. At Franklin, Tennessee, on November 30, Confederate attacks on entrenched Union soldiers resulted in significant casualties and the loss of six of the army's finest generals. On December 15 and 16, the Confederates were crushed by the Yankees in front of Nashville. The dwindling numbers of participating soldiers tell the story of the Rebel army. In May, some 65,000 Confederates faced Sherman in northern Georgia. On September 20, after Atlanta fell, Hood's force numbered around 40,400. After crossing the Tennessee River in December, Hood reported some 18,700 officers and enlisted men, a figure that another Confederate general, Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, thought was significantly inflated. The Confederate Army of Tennessee was no longer a viable fighting force.
Skirmishing broke out at Decatur, Alabama.
Federals scout from Pine Bluff to Simpson's Plantation, in Arkansas.
After extensive Union naval bombardment of Fort Fisher and the landing of an expeditionary force--Major General Benjamin F. "Spoons" Butler's infantry, under Brigadier General Adelbert Ames--are transported back to Fortress Monroe, Virginia, aboard the ocean transports C. Thomas and Wedbosset, and the steamers Baltic, Haze, Idahoe, S. Moore, Peril, and the Starlight.
A skirmish takes place at Okolona, Mississippi, with Union Brigadier General Benjamin H. Grierson's troops and a small group of Confederate partisans.
Union Major General Stephen Gano Burbridge's command reaches Pound Gap, Virginia, after taking part in Major General George Stoneman's expedition into Southwestern Virginia.
Shortly after midnight a boat crew under the command of Acting Ensign N. A. Blume from the USS Virginia, cut out the schooner Belle in Galveston Harbor with a cargo of cotton. Belle was at anchor only some 400 yards from the Confederate guard boat Lecompte when Blume's party boldly boarded and sailed her out of the harbor.
This post was edited on 12/26/14 at 9:59 pm
Posted on 12/27/14 at 9:28 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Wednesday, 28 December 1864
President Abraham Lincoln telegraphed General-in-Chief Hiram U. Grant requesting: "...what you now understand of the Wilmington (Fort Fisher) expedition, present & prospective..." Grant wired Lincoln in response: "The Wilmington expedition has proven a gross and culpable failure...Who is to blame I hope will be known." This failed Federal campaign led to accusations, charges and countercharges between Major General Benjamin F. "Spoons" Butler and nearly every other commander involved.
An engagement occurs at Egypt Station, Mississippi, with Brigadier General Benjamin H. Grierson's 3000+ man force and a train carrying an ad hoc Confederate force of approximately 1,200 men at Egypt, Mississippi, south of Aberdeen. The Union troops captured more than 500 soldiers, including 253 former Union prisoners who had enlisted as "Galvanized Yankees" in the Tenth Tennessee Regiment.
Skirmishing continues around Decatur, Alabama.
The military situation having been stabilized in the Tulifinny River area of South Carolina, Rear Admiral John A.B. Dahlgren withdrew the naval brigade under Commander George H. Preble and returned the sailors and marines comprising it to their respective ships. The 500-man brigade, hastily brought together and trained in infantry tactics, performed vital service in the arduous four-week campaign. Major General John G. Foster, commanding the Military District of the South, complimented Dahlgren on the Brigade's courage and skill: "...its gallantry in action and good conduct during the irksome life in camp won from all the land forces with which it served the highest praises." Although the Savannah-Charleston railroad was not cut by the expedition, it did succeed in diverting Confederate troops opposing Sherman's March across Georgia.
President Abraham Lincoln telegraphed General-in-Chief Hiram U. Grant requesting: "...what you now understand of the Wilmington (Fort Fisher) expedition, present & prospective..." Grant wired Lincoln in response: "The Wilmington expedition has proven a gross and culpable failure...Who is to blame I hope will be known." This failed Federal campaign led to accusations, charges and countercharges between Major General Benjamin F. "Spoons" Butler and nearly every other commander involved.
An engagement occurs at Egypt Station, Mississippi, with Brigadier General Benjamin H. Grierson's 3000+ man force and a train carrying an ad hoc Confederate force of approximately 1,200 men at Egypt, Mississippi, south of Aberdeen. The Union troops captured more than 500 soldiers, including 253 former Union prisoners who had enlisted as "Galvanized Yankees" in the Tenth Tennessee Regiment.
Skirmishing continues around Decatur, Alabama.
The military situation having been stabilized in the Tulifinny River area of South Carolina, Rear Admiral John A.B. Dahlgren withdrew the naval brigade under Commander George H. Preble and returned the sailors and marines comprising it to their respective ships. The 500-man brigade, hastily brought together and trained in infantry tactics, performed vital service in the arduous four-week campaign. Major General John G. Foster, commanding the Military District of the South, complimented Dahlgren on the Brigade's courage and skill: "...its gallantry in action and good conduct during the irksome life in camp won from all the land forces with which it served the highest praises." Although the Savannah-Charleston railroad was not cut by the expedition, it did succeed in diverting Confederate troops opposing Sherman's March across Georgia.
Posted on 12/28/14 at 9:32 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Thursday, 29 December 1864
Skirmishes took place at Pocotaligo Bridge, South Carolina, at Hillsboro, Alabama, and Pond Spring, in the Tennessee River Valley near what is now Wheeler, Alabama. After the War ended, Pond Spring would become the home of Confederate General Joseph Wheeler.
Union Brigadier General Alvan Cullum Gillem's command reaches Knoxville, Tennessee, after taking part in Major General George Stoneman's expedition into Southwestern Virginia.
Federal Major General George Henry Thomas, summarizing the successful repulse of Lieutenant General John Bell Hood's Confederate Army of Tennessee, paid tribute to the assistance of the Navy in a letter to Rear Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee: "Your efficient cooperation on the Tennessee River has contributed largely to the demoralization of Hood's army..." With the big guns and mobility of the river warships efficiently aiding his forces ashore, General Thomas had succeeded in virtually destroying the most effective Confederate force in the West, thus protecting Major General William Tecumseh Sherman's line of communications on his March to Georgia.
The CSS Shenandoah, commanded by Lieutenant James Iredell Waddell, captured and destroyed the bark Delphine in the Indian Ocean with a cargo of rice. The Delphine was Waddell's last capture of the year and ninth prize in eight weeks.
Skirmishes took place at Pocotaligo Bridge, South Carolina, at Hillsboro, Alabama, and Pond Spring, in the Tennessee River Valley near what is now Wheeler, Alabama. After the War ended, Pond Spring would become the home of Confederate General Joseph Wheeler.
Union Brigadier General Alvan Cullum Gillem's command reaches Knoxville, Tennessee, after taking part in Major General George Stoneman's expedition into Southwestern Virginia.
Federal Major General George Henry Thomas, summarizing the successful repulse of Lieutenant General John Bell Hood's Confederate Army of Tennessee, paid tribute to the assistance of the Navy in a letter to Rear Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee: "Your efficient cooperation on the Tennessee River has contributed largely to the demoralization of Hood's army..." With the big guns and mobility of the river warships efficiently aiding his forces ashore, General Thomas had succeeded in virtually destroying the most effective Confederate force in the West, thus protecting Major General William Tecumseh Sherman's line of communications on his March to Georgia.
The CSS Shenandoah, commanded by Lieutenant James Iredell Waddell, captured and destroyed the bark Delphine in the Indian Ocean with a cargo of rice. The Delphine was Waddell's last capture of the year and ninth prize in eight weeks.
This post was edited on 12/28/14 at 10:06 pm
Posted on 12/29/14 at 9:37 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Friday, 30 December 1864
In Washington, D.C., President Abraham Lincoln indicated in a Cabinet meeting that Major General Benjamin "Spoons" Butler would be removed from command of the Army of the James.
Skirmishing occurred 15 miles below Caruthersville, Missouri, where a large force of Yankees pursue a ragtag group of fleeing partisan guerrillas, as well as at Leighton, Alabama.
Pierce Manning Butler Young, CSA, is appointed Major General.
James Phillip Simms, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
Union Major General John G. Parke is placed in temporary command of the Army of the Potomac, and Brevetted Major General Orlando B. Wilcox is given command of the Ninth US Army Corps, in the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign.
Determined to take Wilmington, North Carolina, and close the South's last important harbor but dissatisfied with General Benjamin F. "Spoons" Butler's leadership, Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter strongly urged the General's removal from command. General Hiram U. Grant wrote Porter: "Please hold on where you are for a few days and I will endeavor to be back again with an increased force and without the former commander." Ships of Porter's squadron kept up a steady bombardment of Fort Fisher to restrict the erection of new works and the repair of the damaged faces of the fort.
The USS Rattler, Acting Master Nicholas B. Willets in charge, parted her cables in a heavy gale, ran ashore, struck a snag and sank in the Mississippi River near Grand Gulf. Willets, after salvaging most of Rattler's supplies and armament, was forced to abandon his small paddle wheeler, which was subsequently burned by the Confederates.
In Washington, D.C., President Abraham Lincoln indicated in a Cabinet meeting that Major General Benjamin "Spoons" Butler would be removed from command of the Army of the James.
Skirmishing occurred 15 miles below Caruthersville, Missouri, where a large force of Yankees pursue a ragtag group of fleeing partisan guerrillas, as well as at Leighton, Alabama.
Pierce Manning Butler Young, CSA, is appointed Major General.
James Phillip Simms, CSA, is appointed Brigadier General.
Union Major General John G. Parke is placed in temporary command of the Army of the Potomac, and Brevetted Major General Orlando B. Wilcox is given command of the Ninth US Army Corps, in the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign.
Determined to take Wilmington, North Carolina, and close the South's last important harbor but dissatisfied with General Benjamin F. "Spoons" Butler's leadership, Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter strongly urged the General's removal from command. General Hiram U. Grant wrote Porter: "Please hold on where you are for a few days and I will endeavor to be back again with an increased force and without the former commander." Ships of Porter's squadron kept up a steady bombardment of Fort Fisher to restrict the erection of new works and the repair of the damaged faces of the fort.
The USS Rattler, Acting Master Nicholas B. Willets in charge, parted her cables in a heavy gale, ran ashore, struck a snag and sank in the Mississippi River near Grand Gulf. Willets, after salvaging most of Rattler's supplies and armament, was forced to abandon his small paddle wheeler, which was subsequently burned by the Confederates.
Posted on 12/30/14 at 9:02 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Saturday, 31 December 1864
On 28 December, prominent United States statesman and editor of the Washington Globe, Francis Preston Blair, Sr., received a note from Union President Abraham Lincoln creating a Southern passage as follows:
Allow the bearer; F. P. Blair, Sr., to pass our lines, go South, and return.
A. LINCOLN
Blair then wrote to Confederate President Jefferson Davis requesting to visit Richmond and "...explain the views I entertain in reference to the state of the affairs of our Country." Blair, who had advised every POTUS since Andrew Jackson, would be "wholly unaccredited" by the Lincoln administration, but he hoped to offer "suggestions" in the way of negotiating for peace.
One son, Francis, Jr., was a Union Army general and had represented Missouri in the House of Representatives before the War. His other son, Montgomery Blair, had served as Postmaster-General from 1861 until September 1864, when Lincoln accepted an earlier offer by Blair to resign as a response to the hostility of the Radical Republican faction who stipulated that Blair's retirement should follow the withdrawal of John C. Fremont's name as a candidate for the presidential nomination to give Lincoln an unimpeded run for a second term. The elder Blair's mission would result in the futile "Hampton Roads Conference" of 3 February, 1865, where the administration would attempt "to purchase" a permanent Southern cease fire.
Lincoln also contemplates Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant's recommendation to remove Major General Benjamin F. "Spoons" Butler from command for the botched assault on Fort Fisher in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Skirmishes occurred at Russellville and at Paint Rock Bridge, Alabama.
A skirmish took place at Sharpsburg, Kentucky, with Confederate partisans arriving from the direction of Owingsville.
Vice Admiral David G. Farragut received a gift of $50,000 in government bonds from the merchants of New York as a symbol of the esteem in which he was held by them. A letter from the merchants added: "The citizens of New York can offer no tribute equal to your claims on their gratitude and affection. Their earnest desire is, to receive you as one of their number, and to be permitted, as fellow citizens, to share in the renown you will bring to the Metropolitan City."
Two launches from the USS Wabash and Pawnee under the command of Acting Master's Mates Albert F. Rich and William H. Fitzgerald ran aground and were captured in Charleston harbor by Confederate pickets. While on guard duty in the harbor, the two launches were driven aground close to Fort Sumter by a strong good tide and freshening wind. Rich later reported: "I made every attempt that lay in my power to work the boat off shore; but all my efforts proved unsuccessful. A total of 27 sailors were captured."
The USS Metacomet, under Lieutenant Commander James Edward Jouett, captured the schooner Sea Witch southeast of Galveston, Texas, with a cargo of coffee and medicine.
As the year 1864 ended at sea, far from the Confederacy, Lieutenant James Iredell Waddell, captain of the raider CSS Shenandoah, wrote in his journal: "Thirty-first of December closed the year, the third since the war began. And how many of my boon companions are gone to that bourne from whence no traveler returns. They were full of hope, but not without fears, when we last parted." Even the tireless Waddell could by this time sense the impending defeat of the South, despite great gallantry, overwhelmed by Union advantages especially the ceaseless, crushing power of the sea.
General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, commanding the Confederate Military Division of the West, left Charleston to inspect the demoralized and beaten Confederate Army of Tennessee.
Meanwhile, Union Chief of Staff Henry W. Halleck responded to Major General George H. Thomas’ report two days ago ending his pursuit of the defeated Confederates: “General Grant does not intend that your army shall go into winter quarters. It must be ready for active operations in the field.”
Most Southerners dreaded what the New Year would bring, as prospects for Confederate Independence were now extremely bleak. Major General William T. Sherman’s Federals had laid waste to Georgia, the Army of Tennessee was almost destroyed, except for small bands of Partisan Rangers the Shenandoah Valley was in Union hands, and General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia slowly starved while under siege outside Richmond and Petersburg.
On 28 December, prominent United States statesman and editor of the Washington Globe, Francis Preston Blair, Sr., received a note from Union President Abraham Lincoln creating a Southern passage as follows:
Allow the bearer; F. P. Blair, Sr., to pass our lines, go South, and return.
A. LINCOLN
Blair then wrote to Confederate President Jefferson Davis requesting to visit Richmond and "...explain the views I entertain in reference to the state of the affairs of our Country." Blair, who had advised every POTUS since Andrew Jackson, would be "wholly unaccredited" by the Lincoln administration, but he hoped to offer "suggestions" in the way of negotiating for peace.
One son, Francis, Jr., was a Union Army general and had represented Missouri in the House of Representatives before the War. His other son, Montgomery Blair, had served as Postmaster-General from 1861 until September 1864, when Lincoln accepted an earlier offer by Blair to resign as a response to the hostility of the Radical Republican faction who stipulated that Blair's retirement should follow the withdrawal of John C. Fremont's name as a candidate for the presidential nomination to give Lincoln an unimpeded run for a second term. The elder Blair's mission would result in the futile "Hampton Roads Conference" of 3 February, 1865, where the administration would attempt "to purchase" a permanent Southern cease fire.
Lincoln also contemplates Lieutenant General Hiram U. Grant's recommendation to remove Major General Benjamin F. "Spoons" Butler from command for the botched assault on Fort Fisher in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Skirmishes occurred at Russellville and at Paint Rock Bridge, Alabama.
A skirmish took place at Sharpsburg, Kentucky, with Confederate partisans arriving from the direction of Owingsville.
Vice Admiral David G. Farragut received a gift of $50,000 in government bonds from the merchants of New York as a symbol of the esteem in which he was held by them. A letter from the merchants added: "The citizens of New York can offer no tribute equal to your claims on their gratitude and affection. Their earnest desire is, to receive you as one of their number, and to be permitted, as fellow citizens, to share in the renown you will bring to the Metropolitan City."
Two launches from the USS Wabash and Pawnee under the command of Acting Master's Mates Albert F. Rich and William H. Fitzgerald ran aground and were captured in Charleston harbor by Confederate pickets. While on guard duty in the harbor, the two launches were driven aground close to Fort Sumter by a strong good tide and freshening wind. Rich later reported: "I made every attempt that lay in my power to work the boat off shore; but all my efforts proved unsuccessful. A total of 27 sailors were captured."
The USS Metacomet, under Lieutenant Commander James Edward Jouett, captured the schooner Sea Witch southeast of Galveston, Texas, with a cargo of coffee and medicine.
As the year 1864 ended at sea, far from the Confederacy, Lieutenant James Iredell Waddell, captain of the raider CSS Shenandoah, wrote in his journal: "Thirty-first of December closed the year, the third since the war began. And how many of my boon companions are gone to that bourne from whence no traveler returns. They were full of hope, but not without fears, when we last parted." Even the tireless Waddell could by this time sense the impending defeat of the South, despite great gallantry, overwhelmed by Union advantages especially the ceaseless, crushing power of the sea.
General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, commanding the Confederate Military Division of the West, left Charleston to inspect the demoralized and beaten Confederate Army of Tennessee.
Meanwhile, Union Chief of Staff Henry W. Halleck responded to Major General George H. Thomas’ report two days ago ending his pursuit of the defeated Confederates: “General Grant does not intend that your army shall go into winter quarters. It must be ready for active operations in the field.”
Most Southerners dreaded what the New Year would bring, as prospects for Confederate Independence were now extremely bleak. Major General William T. Sherman’s Federals had laid waste to Georgia, the Army of Tennessee was almost destroyed, except for small bands of Partisan Rangers the Shenandoah Valley was in Union hands, and General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia slowly starved while under siege outside Richmond and Petersburg.
Posted on 12/31/14 at 10:26 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Sunday, 1 January 1865
In the cold trenches in Petersburg, Virginia; on the streets of Savannah, Georgia and in Central Tennessee, the massive contingents of Union troops remained largely inactive. Confederates tried to consolidate their positions in a vain attempt to cobble together a major fighting force. The only remaining fighting army was that of the Army of Northern Virginia which was pinned down by Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses Grant’s choke-hold between Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia.
As the new year opened, General Robert E. Lee clung doggedly to his position defending Richmond, conscious that world opinion had come to regard the fate of the Confederacy as inseparable from that of its capital city. Equally determined that Richmond should fall, General Hiram U. Grant, with great superiority in numbers, pressed against Petersburg, the key to the capital's southern defense line. Grant also sought to break through to the westward, encircling Lee and Richmond, and cutting the Weldon, Southside (Lynchburg), and Danville railroads by which the city and the soldiers were supplied.
That Grant lay in front of Petersburg and less than 20 miles from Richmond was wholly due to Federal naval control of the James and Potomac Rivers. His waterborne line of supply extended up the James to City Point, only seven miles from Petersburg. From this principal base at City Point, Grant coordinated the joint movements of the Army of the Potomac and the Army of the James.
In Richmond, the prospect of a naval attack was so threatening that the government assembled for the city's defense the strongest naval force it ever placed under one command. The James River Squadron, commanded by Flag Officer John K. Mitchell, consisted of three ironclads, seven gunboats, and two torpedo boats. In addition to its defensive functions, Mitchell's squadron also constituted a potentially formidable threat to the security of the vital City Point base. It operated behind a protective minefield at Chaffin's Bluff, some 35 miles upriver from City Point.
To counter Mitchell's warships and protect Grant's waterborne supply line, the Fifth Division of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron lay on the James guarding the sunken hulk obstruction line at Trent 's Reach and the pontoon crossings of the James and Appomattox Rivers and protecting supply vessels against sharpshooters and hidden batteries on shore. Normally the Fifth Division consisted of five monitors and some 25 gunboats. In January, however, four of the monitors and a number of the gunboats were away from the James with the fleet being assembled by Rear Admiral David D. Porter for the second attack on Fort Fisher. Hence the Confederate squadron above City Point enjoyed an unprecedented opportunity for offensive operations on which it sought to capitalize before the month ended.
Receiving General Grant's 30 December notification of a renewed Army assault by sea on Fort Fisher with an "...increased force and without the former commander [General Benjamin F. Butler]", Rear Admiral David D. Porter acted vigorously to set up a massive and overwhelming attack behind the fleet's heavy guns. He directed that his 43 warships concentrated at Beaufort, North Carolina, and the 23 on station off the Cape Fear River send in their operations charts for corrections and on-load "...every shell that can he carried..." for shore bombardment. Porter replied immediately to the Army commander-in-chief: "...thank God we are not to leave here with so easy a victory at hand..." He assured his old Vicksburg colleague that he would "...work day and night to be ready." At Fort Fisher, mindful of General Lee's message that the work must be held at all costs or the Army of Northern Virginia could not be supplied, Colonel William Lamb and his garrison readied themselves for the further attacks forecast by the sizable Federal naval force which had remained off the Cape Fear River entrances since the first attempt to take the fort had been broken off.
On the James River, Commander William A. Parker, commanding the double-turreted monitor Onondaga, reported that 12,000 pounds of gunpowder had been detonated in an effort to remove the end barriers of the canal excavation at Dutch Gap, Virginia. "The earth was thrown up into the air about 40 or 50 feet," he noted, "and immediately fell back into its original place. This earth will have to be removed to render the canal passable for vessels." Major General Benjamin "Spoons"Butler had begun the canal in 1864 with a view to passing Confederate obstructions above Trent 's Reach. If the passage had been effected, Butler's Army of the James could have bypassed key positions in Richmond's southern defense system and moved on the city in a diversionary threat aimed at reducing General Lee's resistance to the main Union thrust under General Grant.
The USS San Jacinto, under Captain Richard W. Meade, ran on a reef at Green Turtle Cay, Abaco, in the Bahamas. She was found to be seriously bilged and was abandoned without loss of life. Meade was able to salvage the armament, ammunition, rigging, cables, and much of the ship's copper. At an early period of the War, the San Jacinto had gained fame when her commanding officer, Captain Charles Wilkes, stopped the British ship Trent and removed Confederate commissioners James M. Mason and John Slidell.
Union officials listed 620,924 soldiers “present for duty,” while the Confederates reported just 125,994 with 198,494 listed as absent from the ranks.
Skirmishing occurred in Arkansas as Federals operated against partisan guerrillas in the state.
A skirmish occurs at Bentonville, Arkansas, with Confederate partisan guerrillas.
Federal operations commence on the Canyon City Road, Oregon, including skirmishes with the Snake Indians, including the killing of bucks and squaws who attempted to flee local citizens who demanded they surrender and move to a reservation.
In the cold trenches in Petersburg, Virginia; on the streets of Savannah, Georgia and in Central Tennessee, the massive contingents of Union troops remained largely inactive. Confederates tried to consolidate their positions in a vain attempt to cobble together a major fighting force. The only remaining fighting army was that of the Army of Northern Virginia which was pinned down by Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses Grant’s choke-hold between Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia.
As the new year opened, General Robert E. Lee clung doggedly to his position defending Richmond, conscious that world opinion had come to regard the fate of the Confederacy as inseparable from that of its capital city. Equally determined that Richmond should fall, General Hiram U. Grant, with great superiority in numbers, pressed against Petersburg, the key to the capital's southern defense line. Grant also sought to break through to the westward, encircling Lee and Richmond, and cutting the Weldon, Southside (Lynchburg), and Danville railroads by which the city and the soldiers were supplied.
That Grant lay in front of Petersburg and less than 20 miles from Richmond was wholly due to Federal naval control of the James and Potomac Rivers. His waterborne line of supply extended up the James to City Point, only seven miles from Petersburg. From this principal base at City Point, Grant coordinated the joint movements of the Army of the Potomac and the Army of the James.
In Richmond, the prospect of a naval attack was so threatening that the government assembled for the city's defense the strongest naval force it ever placed under one command. The James River Squadron, commanded by Flag Officer John K. Mitchell, consisted of three ironclads, seven gunboats, and two torpedo boats. In addition to its defensive functions, Mitchell's squadron also constituted a potentially formidable threat to the security of the vital City Point base. It operated behind a protective minefield at Chaffin's Bluff, some 35 miles upriver from City Point.
To counter Mitchell's warships and protect Grant's waterborne supply line, the Fifth Division of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron lay on the James guarding the sunken hulk obstruction line at Trent 's Reach and the pontoon crossings of the James and Appomattox Rivers and protecting supply vessels against sharpshooters and hidden batteries on shore. Normally the Fifth Division consisted of five monitors and some 25 gunboats. In January, however, four of the monitors and a number of the gunboats were away from the James with the fleet being assembled by Rear Admiral David D. Porter for the second attack on Fort Fisher. Hence the Confederate squadron above City Point enjoyed an unprecedented opportunity for offensive operations on which it sought to capitalize before the month ended.
Receiving General Grant's 30 December notification of a renewed Army assault by sea on Fort Fisher with an "...increased force and without the former commander [General Benjamin F. Butler]", Rear Admiral David D. Porter acted vigorously to set up a massive and overwhelming attack behind the fleet's heavy guns. He directed that his 43 warships concentrated at Beaufort, North Carolina, and the 23 on station off the Cape Fear River send in their operations charts for corrections and on-load "...every shell that can he carried..." for shore bombardment. Porter replied immediately to the Army commander-in-chief: "...thank God we are not to leave here with so easy a victory at hand..." He assured his old Vicksburg colleague that he would "...work day and night to be ready." At Fort Fisher, mindful of General Lee's message that the work must be held at all costs or the Army of Northern Virginia could not be supplied, Colonel William Lamb and his garrison readied themselves for the further attacks forecast by the sizable Federal naval force which had remained off the Cape Fear River entrances since the first attempt to take the fort had been broken off.
On the James River, Commander William A. Parker, commanding the double-turreted monitor Onondaga, reported that 12,000 pounds of gunpowder had been detonated in an effort to remove the end barriers of the canal excavation at Dutch Gap, Virginia. "The earth was thrown up into the air about 40 or 50 feet," he noted, "and immediately fell back into its original place. This earth will have to be removed to render the canal passable for vessels." Major General Benjamin "Spoons"Butler had begun the canal in 1864 with a view to passing Confederate obstructions above Trent 's Reach. If the passage had been effected, Butler's Army of the James could have bypassed key positions in Richmond's southern defense system and moved on the city in a diversionary threat aimed at reducing General Lee's resistance to the main Union thrust under General Grant.
The USS San Jacinto, under Captain Richard W. Meade, ran on a reef at Green Turtle Cay, Abaco, in the Bahamas. She was found to be seriously bilged and was abandoned without loss of life. Meade was able to salvage the armament, ammunition, rigging, cables, and much of the ship's copper. At an early period of the War, the San Jacinto had gained fame when her commanding officer, Captain Charles Wilkes, stopped the British ship Trent and removed Confederate commissioners James M. Mason and John Slidell.
Union officials listed 620,924 soldiers “present for duty,” while the Confederates reported just 125,994 with 198,494 listed as absent from the ranks.
Skirmishing occurred in Arkansas as Federals operated against partisan guerrillas in the state.
A skirmish occurs at Bentonville, Arkansas, with Confederate partisan guerrillas.
Federal operations commence on the Canyon City Road, Oregon, including skirmishes with the Snake Indians, including the killing of bucks and squaws who attempted to flee local citizens who demanded they surrender and move to a reservation.
Posted on 1/1/15 at 9:24 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Monday, 2 January 1865
Skirmishing occurred at Franklin and Lexington, Mississippi, with small groups of Confederates along the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, as Brigadier General Benjamin H. Grierson's latest Federal expedition moves on attempting to create more havoc and cause further destruction.
A group of Kentuckians lobbied President Abraham Lincoln to assign Major General Benjamin F. "Spoons" Butler to command Union troops in their state. This was one of several attempts to replace Major General Stephen G. Burbridge, also known as "Butcher" Burbridge, who had been given command over the state in June 1864.
This began an extended period of military control that would last through 1865, beginning with martial law authorized by President Abraham Lincoln. To pacify Kentucky, Burbridge rigorously suppressed disloyalty and used economic pressure as coercion. On 16 July, 1864, Burbridge issued Order No. 59 which declared: "Whenever an unarmed Union man is murdered, four Confederates will be selected from the prison and publicly shot to death at the most convenient place near the scene of the outrages." During Burbridge's rule in Kentucky, he directed the execution and imprisonment of numerous people, including public figures, on charges of treason and other high crimes, many of which were baseless. While continuing in charge of Kentucky, in October 1864, Burbridge led Union assaults against the salt works near the town of Saltville, Virginia, as part of the Battle of Saltville. Burbridge controversially led Negro troops into the battle along with whites; a gamble which ultimately failed. Wounded troops, which Burbridge intentionally left behind, were killed by Confederate soldiers, with special ire directed toward the colored troops.
During the 1864 presidential campaign, Burbridge tried to ensure re-election of Lincoln, suppressing support for George B. McClellan. His actions included arresting prominent persons favoring McClellan, including Lieutenant Governor Richard T. Jacob, and Judge Bullitt, both of whom he arrested and deported to Richmond, Virginia.
Lincoln later replied to the plea for Butler: “You howled when Butler went to New Orleans. Others howled when he was removed from that command. Somebody has been howling ever since at his assignment to military command. How long will it be before you, who are howling for his assignment to rule Kentucky, will be howling to me to remove him?”
The traditional New Year’s Day reception was held at the White House in Washington, DC, today solely because yesterday was a Sunday. The invitees included the diplomatic corps, Cabinet officers, judges, prominent Federal administration officials and military officers attending, though most members of Congress vociferously complained that they were not invited. The mood was somewhat more cheerful than in previous years because the Union military outlook was brighter than ever before.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis told General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard that if it became necessary, Beauregard should remove Lieutenant General John Bell Hood as commander of the Army of Tennessee and replace him with Lieutenant General Richard Taylor.
In September 1864, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles had discussed with Vice Admiral David G. Farragut the importance of seizing Wilmington, North Carolina, to cut General Robert E. Lee's vital link with Europe and to stop the Confederacy's credit-producing cotton shipments abroad. He now called Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton's attention to the present "...fit opportunity to undertake such an operation." Pointing to the availability of troops, "...as the armies are mostly going into winter quarters," he urged on Stanton a proposal of Rear Admiral Porter to land an assault force at Fort Caswell, guarding the west entrance to the Cape Fear River, and stressed that the naval blockaders, which thus would be able to lie inside the river, would close Wilmington, "...the only port by which any supplies whatever reach the Rebels."
Rear Admiral John A.B. Dahlgren returned to Savannah after a brief visit to Charleston where he had gone because of the threat of a breakout by the Confederate ironclads. He had wanted to be on hand to help check them from a foray against Savannah and to insure "...the perfect security of General Sherman's base." After stationing a force of seven monitors there, sufficient to meet such an emergency, "...and not perceiving any sign of the expected raid, I returned to Savannah to keep in communication with General Sherman and be ready to render any assistance that might be desired."
"General Sherman has fully informed me of his plans, and so far as my means permit, they shall not lack assistance by water..."
"The general route of the army will be northward, but the exact direction must be decided more or less by circumstances which it may not be possible to foresee."
"My cooperation will be confined to assistance in attacking Charleston or in establishing communication at Georgetown in case the army pushes on without attacking Charleston, and time alone will show which of these will eventuate."
"The weather of the winter, first, and the condition of the ground in the spring, would permit little advantage to be derived from the presence of the army at Richmond until the middle of May. So that General Sherman has no reason to move in haste, but can choose such objects as he prefers, and take as much time as their attainment may demand."
Federals scout for bushwhackers in Shannon County, Missouri, with excursions to Jack's Ford, Birch Prairie and within 8 miles of Thomasville. The Yankees report the whole county is full of bushwhackers as the notorious guerrilla, Freeman, disbanded his whole army until spring. While the Federals were down in Shannon County, the guerrillas were active in Texas County in the neighborhood of Rolla, Missouri, robbing several families of everything they had.
Federals scout from Fort Wingate to Sierra del Datil, in the New Mexico Territory, as they follow the trail of Indians who stole a number of sheep from people residing near the post. After forced marches in severe snow-storms, the Yankees give up trying to catch the thieves. The Union men living on boiled wheat for 3 days.
Federal troops scout from Benvard's Mills to South Quay, Virginia, on the Blackwater.
Brevetted Major General Samuel W. Crawford, USA, is placed in temporary command of the Fifth US Army Corps, the Richmond-Petersburg, Virginia, Campaign.
Brigadier General Charles Devens, USA, is placed in temporary command of the 24th US Army Corps, the Richmond-Petersburg, Virginia, Campaign.
Skirmishing occurred at Franklin and Lexington, Mississippi, with small groups of Confederates along the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, as Brigadier General Benjamin H. Grierson's latest Federal expedition moves on attempting to create more havoc and cause further destruction.
A group of Kentuckians lobbied President Abraham Lincoln to assign Major General Benjamin F. "Spoons" Butler to command Union troops in their state. This was one of several attempts to replace Major General Stephen G. Burbridge, also known as "Butcher" Burbridge, who had been given command over the state in June 1864.
This began an extended period of military control that would last through 1865, beginning with martial law authorized by President Abraham Lincoln. To pacify Kentucky, Burbridge rigorously suppressed disloyalty and used economic pressure as coercion. On 16 July, 1864, Burbridge issued Order No. 59 which declared: "Whenever an unarmed Union man is murdered, four Confederates will be selected from the prison and publicly shot to death at the most convenient place near the scene of the outrages." During Burbridge's rule in Kentucky, he directed the execution and imprisonment of numerous people, including public figures, on charges of treason and other high crimes, many of which were baseless. While continuing in charge of Kentucky, in October 1864, Burbridge led Union assaults against the salt works near the town of Saltville, Virginia, as part of the Battle of Saltville. Burbridge controversially led Negro troops into the battle along with whites; a gamble which ultimately failed. Wounded troops, which Burbridge intentionally left behind, were killed by Confederate soldiers, with special ire directed toward the colored troops.
During the 1864 presidential campaign, Burbridge tried to ensure re-election of Lincoln, suppressing support for George B. McClellan. His actions included arresting prominent persons favoring McClellan, including Lieutenant Governor Richard T. Jacob, and Judge Bullitt, both of whom he arrested and deported to Richmond, Virginia.
Lincoln later replied to the plea for Butler: “You howled when Butler went to New Orleans. Others howled when he was removed from that command. Somebody has been howling ever since at his assignment to military command. How long will it be before you, who are howling for his assignment to rule Kentucky, will be howling to me to remove him?”
The traditional New Year’s Day reception was held at the White House in Washington, DC, today solely because yesterday was a Sunday. The invitees included the diplomatic corps, Cabinet officers, judges, prominent Federal administration officials and military officers attending, though most members of Congress vociferously complained that they were not invited. The mood was somewhat more cheerful than in previous years because the Union military outlook was brighter than ever before.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis told General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard that if it became necessary, Beauregard should remove Lieutenant General John Bell Hood as commander of the Army of Tennessee and replace him with Lieutenant General Richard Taylor.
In September 1864, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles had discussed with Vice Admiral David G. Farragut the importance of seizing Wilmington, North Carolina, to cut General Robert E. Lee's vital link with Europe and to stop the Confederacy's credit-producing cotton shipments abroad. He now called Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton's attention to the present "...fit opportunity to undertake such an operation." Pointing to the availability of troops, "...as the armies are mostly going into winter quarters," he urged on Stanton a proposal of Rear Admiral Porter to land an assault force at Fort Caswell, guarding the west entrance to the Cape Fear River, and stressed that the naval blockaders, which thus would be able to lie inside the river, would close Wilmington, "...the only port by which any supplies whatever reach the Rebels."
Rear Admiral John A.B. Dahlgren returned to Savannah after a brief visit to Charleston where he had gone because of the threat of a breakout by the Confederate ironclads. He had wanted to be on hand to help check them from a foray against Savannah and to insure "...the perfect security of General Sherman's base." After stationing a force of seven monitors there, sufficient to meet such an emergency, "...and not perceiving any sign of the expected raid, I returned to Savannah to keep in communication with General Sherman and be ready to render any assistance that might be desired."
"General Sherman has fully informed me of his plans, and so far as my means permit, they shall not lack assistance by water..."
"The general route of the army will be northward, but the exact direction must be decided more or less by circumstances which it may not be possible to foresee."
"My cooperation will be confined to assistance in attacking Charleston or in establishing communication at Georgetown in case the army pushes on without attacking Charleston, and time alone will show which of these will eventuate."
"The weather of the winter, first, and the condition of the ground in the spring, would permit little advantage to be derived from the presence of the army at Richmond until the middle of May. So that General Sherman has no reason to move in haste, but can choose such objects as he prefers, and take as much time as their attainment may demand."
Federals scout for bushwhackers in Shannon County, Missouri, with excursions to Jack's Ford, Birch Prairie and within 8 miles of Thomasville. The Yankees report the whole county is full of bushwhackers as the notorious guerrilla, Freeman, disbanded his whole army until spring. While the Federals were down in Shannon County, the guerrillas were active in Texas County in the neighborhood of Rolla, Missouri, robbing several families of everything they had.
Federals scout from Fort Wingate to Sierra del Datil, in the New Mexico Territory, as they follow the trail of Indians who stole a number of sheep from people residing near the post. After forced marches in severe snow-storms, the Yankees give up trying to catch the thieves. The Union men living on boiled wheat for 3 days.
Federal troops scout from Benvard's Mills to South Quay, Virginia, on the Blackwater.
Brevetted Major General Samuel W. Crawford, USA, is placed in temporary command of the Fifth US Army Corps, the Richmond-Petersburg, Virginia, Campaign.
Brigadier General Charles Devens, USA, is placed in temporary command of the 24th US Army Corps, the Richmond-Petersburg, Virginia, Campaign.
Posted on 1/2/15 at 9:13 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Tuesday, 3 January 1865
In Georgia, Union Major General William T. Sherman transferred the larger portion of Major General Oliver O. Howard’s Army of the Tennessee from Savannah to Beaufort, South Carolina. This was part of Sherman’s preparation for a movement northward to invade South Carolina.
Union forces under Brigadier General Benjamin H. Grierson, operating along the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, fought another battle with Confederate partisans near Mechanicsburg, Mississippi.
A skirmish occurred near Hardeeville, South Carolina.
A Federal expedition prepared for another attack on Fort Fisher, North Carolina. Guarding the port of Wilmington, this was the last major Confederate seaport still open for commerce.
General Hiram U. Grant ordered Major General Alfred H. Terry to command the troops intended for the second attack on Fort Fisher. "I have served with Admiral Porter," he wrote, "and know that you can rely on his judgment and his nerve to undertake what he proposes. I would, therefore, defer to him as much as is consistent with your own responsibilities." The same day Grant wrote Porter that he was sending Terry to work with him and wished the Admiral "...all sorts of good weather and success..."
Arriving at Macon, Georgia on his way to inspect the Confederate Army of Tennessee, General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard received messages from army commander John Bell Hood minimizing the defeat at Nashville. Hood admitted losing "...fifty pieces of artillery, with several ordnance wagons..." but asserted: "Our loss in killed and wounded is very small." Hood also wired the Confederate War Department that he was laying pontoon bridges for his army to cross the Tennessee River.
The USS Harvest Moon, Acting Master John K. Crosby, transported the first group of men from Major General William T. Sherman's army from Savannah, Georgia, to Beaufort, South Carolina, below Charleston. Sherman had marched across Georgia from Atlanta to the sea where he knew the Navy would then be able to supply and support his troops.
In Georgia, Union Major General William T. Sherman transferred the larger portion of Major General Oliver O. Howard’s Army of the Tennessee from Savannah to Beaufort, South Carolina. This was part of Sherman’s preparation for a movement northward to invade South Carolina.
Union forces under Brigadier General Benjamin H. Grierson, operating along the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, fought another battle with Confederate partisans near Mechanicsburg, Mississippi.
A skirmish occurred near Hardeeville, South Carolina.
A Federal expedition prepared for another attack on Fort Fisher, North Carolina. Guarding the port of Wilmington, this was the last major Confederate seaport still open for commerce.
General Hiram U. Grant ordered Major General Alfred H. Terry to command the troops intended for the second attack on Fort Fisher. "I have served with Admiral Porter," he wrote, "and know that you can rely on his judgment and his nerve to undertake what he proposes. I would, therefore, defer to him as much as is consistent with your own responsibilities." The same day Grant wrote Porter that he was sending Terry to work with him and wished the Admiral "...all sorts of good weather and success..."
Arriving at Macon, Georgia on his way to inspect the Confederate Army of Tennessee, General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard received messages from army commander John Bell Hood minimizing the defeat at Nashville. Hood admitted losing "...fifty pieces of artillery, with several ordnance wagons..." but asserted: "Our loss in killed and wounded is very small." Hood also wired the Confederate War Department that he was laying pontoon bridges for his army to cross the Tennessee River.
The USS Harvest Moon, Acting Master John K. Crosby, transported the first group of men from Major General William T. Sherman's army from Savannah, Georgia, to Beaufort, South Carolina, below Charleston. Sherman had marched across Georgia from Atlanta to the sea where he knew the Navy would then be able to supply and support his troops.
This post was edited on 1/3/15 at 9:24 pm
Posted on 1/3/15 at 2:31 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Keep up the good work man 
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