Started By
Message
re: 150 years ago today...August 20th, 1863...
Posted on 5/3/13 at 2:28 pm to dallasga6
Posted on 5/3/13 at 2:28 pm to dallasga6
part two...
May 3, 1863....
Sedgwick, slowed by Wilcox's single Alabama brigade retreating stubbornly from Fredericksburg, came to grips with the Confederates four miles west of town at Salem Church. The Federals swept into the churchyard but a powerful counterattack drove them back and ended the day's combat. The next day Lee shoved Sedgwick across the Rappahannock at Banks Ford and once again focused on the main Union army in the Wilderness.
Hooker, however, had seen enough. Despite the objections of most of his corps commanders, he ordered a withdrawal back across the river. The Federals conducted their retreat under cover of darkness and arrived once again in Stafford County on May 6. Ironically, this decision may have been Hooker's most serious blunder of the campaign. Lee's impending assault on May 6 might have failed and completely reversed the outcome of the battle.
Having paved the way for a final assault on Grand Gulf, Mississippi, with the attack of 29 April, Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter once again moved his gunboats against the strong Confederate batteries. The Southerners, however, finding their position totally untenable, General Hiram U. Grant having taken his army into the country back of Grand Gulf, had evacuated. The great land-sea pincer could now close on Vicksburg. As Porter remarked to Secretary Welles: '' . . it is with great pleasure that I report that the Navy holds the door to Vicksburg." In a general order the Admiral praised those under his command: ''I take this occasion to thank the officers and men engaged in the attack on the forts at Grand Gulf for the unflinching gallantry displayed in that affair. Never has there been so long and steady a fight against forts so well placed and ably commanded: "I take this occasion to thank the officers and men engaged in the attack on the forts at Grand Gulf for the unflinching gallantry displayed in that affair. Never has there been so long and steady a fight against forts so well placed and ably commanded. . . . We have met losses which we can not but deplore; still, we should not regret the death of those who died so nobly at their guns. Officers and men, let us always be ready to make the sacrifice when duty requires it."
Grand Gulf was abandoned at daylight this morning, the Rebels blowing up the magazines and spiking their guns. Soon after the evacuation the place was entered by the Union forces, under Admiral Porter. Porter departed Grand Gulf with his gunboat squadron and rendezvoused that evening with the Farragut fleet at the mouth of the Red River. After obtaining supplies, he proceeded up the River the next day with the USS Benton, Lafayette, Pittsburg, Sterling Price, ram Switzerland, and tug Ivy. The USS Estrella and Arina joined en route. The evening of 5 May, the ships arrived at Fort De Russy, Louisiana, ''a powerful casemated work'' which the Confederates had recently evacuated in the face of the naval threat. Porter pushed past a heavy obstruction in the river and proceeded to Alexandria, Louisiana, which he took possession of formally on the morning of the 7th, ''without encountering any resistance.'' Subsequently turning the town over to Army troops, and unable to continue upriver because of the low water, Porter's force returned to Fort De Russy and partially destroyed it. Porter also sent the USS Sterling Price, Pittsburg, Arina, and ram Switzerland up the Black River on a reconnaissance. At Harrisonburg these ships encountered heavy batteries, which they engaged with little effect because of the position of the guns ''on high hills.'' Leaving the larger portion of his force at the Red River, Porter returned to Grand Gulf on the 13th.
Confederate troops under Captain Edward F. Hobby, CSA, captured a launch and drove off two other boats from the USS William G. Anderson, under Acting Lieutenant Hill, at St. Joseph's Island, Texas. The Union boats were salvaging cotton from a sloop which had been run ashore on 30 April.
The CSS Alabama, commanded by Captain Raphael Semmes, captured and burned the bark Union Jack and the ship Sea Lark off Brazil in latitude 24 degrees south and longitude 29 degrees west.
A force of Union troops, numbering about one thousand five hundred men, which left Nashville, Tennessee, under the command of Colonel A. D. Streight on a raid into Alabama and Georgia, was this day captured in the vicinity of Gadsden, Alabama, after successfully resisting the enemy in a series of skirmishes along his march, by a body of Confederate troops, under the command of General Nathan Bedford Forrest.
The Catholic Bishop of Iowa, in a sermon at Dubuque, pointedly denounced the Knights of the Golden Circle, stating that he would give the members of the church who had joined the organization, two weeks to leave it, and then, if they still continued in it, they might consider themselves excommunicated.
The British schooner Emma Amelia was captured at St. Andrew's Bay, Florida, by the Federal bark Roebuck.
A short fight occurred near Warrenton Junction, Virginia, between a party of General Stahel's cavalry, under Colonel De Forest, and John Singleton Mosby's Partisan Rangers. Mosby captured fifty men, their horses and all of their equipment.
May 3, 1863....
Sedgwick, slowed by Wilcox's single Alabama brigade retreating stubbornly from Fredericksburg, came to grips with the Confederates four miles west of town at Salem Church. The Federals swept into the churchyard but a powerful counterattack drove them back and ended the day's combat. The next day Lee shoved Sedgwick across the Rappahannock at Banks Ford and once again focused on the main Union army in the Wilderness.
Hooker, however, had seen enough. Despite the objections of most of his corps commanders, he ordered a withdrawal back across the river. The Federals conducted their retreat under cover of darkness and arrived once again in Stafford County on May 6. Ironically, this decision may have been Hooker's most serious blunder of the campaign. Lee's impending assault on May 6 might have failed and completely reversed the outcome of the battle.
Having paved the way for a final assault on Grand Gulf, Mississippi, with the attack of 29 April, Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter once again moved his gunboats against the strong Confederate batteries. The Southerners, however, finding their position totally untenable, General Hiram U. Grant having taken his army into the country back of Grand Gulf, had evacuated. The great land-sea pincer could now close on Vicksburg. As Porter remarked to Secretary Welles: '' . . it is with great pleasure that I report that the Navy holds the door to Vicksburg." In a general order the Admiral praised those under his command: ''I take this occasion to thank the officers and men engaged in the attack on the forts at Grand Gulf for the unflinching gallantry displayed in that affair. Never has there been so long and steady a fight against forts so well placed and ably commanded: "I take this occasion to thank the officers and men engaged in the attack on the forts at Grand Gulf for the unflinching gallantry displayed in that affair. Never has there been so long and steady a fight against forts so well placed and ably commanded. . . . We have met losses which we can not but deplore; still, we should not regret the death of those who died so nobly at their guns. Officers and men, let us always be ready to make the sacrifice when duty requires it."
Grand Gulf was abandoned at daylight this morning, the Rebels blowing up the magazines and spiking their guns. Soon after the evacuation the place was entered by the Union forces, under Admiral Porter. Porter departed Grand Gulf with his gunboat squadron and rendezvoused that evening with the Farragut fleet at the mouth of the Red River. After obtaining supplies, he proceeded up the River the next day with the USS Benton, Lafayette, Pittsburg, Sterling Price, ram Switzerland, and tug Ivy. The USS Estrella and Arina joined en route. The evening of 5 May, the ships arrived at Fort De Russy, Louisiana, ''a powerful casemated work'' which the Confederates had recently evacuated in the face of the naval threat. Porter pushed past a heavy obstruction in the river and proceeded to Alexandria, Louisiana, which he took possession of formally on the morning of the 7th, ''without encountering any resistance.'' Subsequently turning the town over to Army troops, and unable to continue upriver because of the low water, Porter's force returned to Fort De Russy and partially destroyed it. Porter also sent the USS Sterling Price, Pittsburg, Arina, and ram Switzerland up the Black River on a reconnaissance. At Harrisonburg these ships encountered heavy batteries, which they engaged with little effect because of the position of the guns ''on high hills.'' Leaving the larger portion of his force at the Red River, Porter returned to Grand Gulf on the 13th.
Confederate troops under Captain Edward F. Hobby, CSA, captured a launch and drove off two other boats from the USS William G. Anderson, under Acting Lieutenant Hill, at St. Joseph's Island, Texas. The Union boats were salvaging cotton from a sloop which had been run ashore on 30 April.
The CSS Alabama, commanded by Captain Raphael Semmes, captured and burned the bark Union Jack and the ship Sea Lark off Brazil in latitude 24 degrees south and longitude 29 degrees west.
A force of Union troops, numbering about one thousand five hundred men, which left Nashville, Tennessee, under the command of Colonel A. D. Streight on a raid into Alabama and Georgia, was this day captured in the vicinity of Gadsden, Alabama, after successfully resisting the enemy in a series of skirmishes along his march, by a body of Confederate troops, under the command of General Nathan Bedford Forrest.
The Catholic Bishop of Iowa, in a sermon at Dubuque, pointedly denounced the Knights of the Golden Circle, stating that he would give the members of the church who had joined the organization, two weeks to leave it, and then, if they still continued in it, they might consider themselves excommunicated.
The British schooner Emma Amelia was captured at St. Andrew's Bay, Florida, by the Federal bark Roebuck.
A short fight occurred near Warrenton Junction, Virginia, between a party of General Stahel's cavalry, under Colonel De Forest, and John Singleton Mosby's Partisan Rangers. Mosby captured fifty men, their horses and all of their equipment.
This post was edited on 5/7/13 at 3:20 pm
1
Posted on 5/4/13 at 2:42 pm to dallasga6
May 4, 1863
General Joseph Hooker's plan to flank and envelope the Confederates at Fredericksburg had ground to a complete halt almost as soon as it began. Surprise and initiative lost, he began to withdraw back across the fords of the Rappahannock today. Union General "Uncle" John Sedgwick's forces, who had finally taken Marye's Heights in Fredericksburg, slowed mainly by Brigadier General Cadmus Wilcox's single Alabama brigade retreating stubbornly, were attacked at Salem Church in an attempt to cut them off from this escape. They managed to resist and make their way to Bank's Ford, which they crossed in the night.
Yesterday, Jackson's successor, General J.E.B. Stuart, had initiated the bloodiest day of the battle when attempting to reunite his troops with Lee's. This afternoon, Lee shoved Sedgwick across the Rappahannock at Banks Ford and once again focused on the main Union army in the Wilderness. The Federals conducted their retreat under cover of darkness and arrived back in Stafford County on May 6. Ironically, this decision may have been Hooker's most serious blunder of the campaign. Lee's impending assault on May 6 might have failed and completely reversed the outcome of the battle.
Chancellorsville is considered Lee's greatest victory, although the Confederate commander's daring and skill met little resistance from the inept generalship of Joseph Hooker. Using cunning, and dividing their forces repeatedly, the massively outnumbered Confederates drove the Federal army from the battlefield. The cost had been frightful. The Confederates suffered 14,000 casualties, while inflicting 17,000. Perhaps the most damaging loss to the Confederacy was the death of Lee's "right arm," Thomas J. Jackson, who later died of pneumonia on May 10 at Guinea Station while recuperating from his wounds.
A part of Rear Admiral David D. Porter's squadron having arrived off the Red River the previous evening, Rear Admiral David G. Farragut sent a dispatch to United States Secretary of the Navy Welles: "Feeling now that my instructions of October 2, 1862, have been carried out by my maintenance of the blockade of Red River until the arrival of Admiral Porter . . . I shall return to New Orleans as soon as practicable, leaving the Hartford and Albatross at the mouth of Red River to await the result of the combined attack upon Alexandria, but with order to Commodore Palmer to avail himself of the first good opportunity to run down past Port Hudson." As the Admiral left Hartford, the crew manned the rigging and filled the air with cheers in tribute to him.
The USS Albatross, under Lieutenant Commander John E. Hart, on a reconnaissance up the Red River, engaged the armed iron steamers Grand Duke and Mary T as well as Confederate cavalry near Fort De Russy. The Union gunboat sustained considerable damage and was compelled to withdraw.
The steamer USS Chocura, Lieutenant Commander Truxtun piloting, with the USS Maratanza in company, seized the sloop Express off Charleston with a cargo of salt sailing for Wilmington, North Carolina, from Nassau in the Bahamas.
The Unadilla-class gunboat USS Kennebec, Lieutenant Commander John H. Russell in charge, captured the schooner Juniper, bound from Havana to Mobile.
Captain Howard Dwight, of General Andrew's staff, was killed near Washington, Louisiana, supposedly after having surrendered to a party of Rebel scouts. General Banks at once ordered the arrest of one hundred white men nearest the place of assassination, to be held until further orders.
The Ninth regiment of New York volunteers (Hawkins's Zouaves) returned to New York from the seat of war in Eastern Virginia.
Captain Smith of the Second California volunteers, attacked a party of hostile Indians fifty miles south of Shell Creek, killing five of them and routing the rest.
General Joseph Hooker's plan to flank and envelope the Confederates at Fredericksburg had ground to a complete halt almost as soon as it began. Surprise and initiative lost, he began to withdraw back across the fords of the Rappahannock today. Union General "Uncle" John Sedgwick's forces, who had finally taken Marye's Heights in Fredericksburg, slowed mainly by Brigadier General Cadmus Wilcox's single Alabama brigade retreating stubbornly, were attacked at Salem Church in an attempt to cut them off from this escape. They managed to resist and make their way to Bank's Ford, which they crossed in the night.
Yesterday, Jackson's successor, General J.E.B. Stuart, had initiated the bloodiest day of the battle when attempting to reunite his troops with Lee's. This afternoon, Lee shoved Sedgwick across the Rappahannock at Banks Ford and once again focused on the main Union army in the Wilderness. The Federals conducted their retreat under cover of darkness and arrived back in Stafford County on May 6. Ironically, this decision may have been Hooker's most serious blunder of the campaign. Lee's impending assault on May 6 might have failed and completely reversed the outcome of the battle.
Chancellorsville is considered Lee's greatest victory, although the Confederate commander's daring and skill met little resistance from the inept generalship of Joseph Hooker. Using cunning, and dividing their forces repeatedly, the massively outnumbered Confederates drove the Federal army from the battlefield. The cost had been frightful. The Confederates suffered 14,000 casualties, while inflicting 17,000. Perhaps the most damaging loss to the Confederacy was the death of Lee's "right arm," Thomas J. Jackson, who later died of pneumonia on May 10 at Guinea Station while recuperating from his wounds.
A part of Rear Admiral David D. Porter's squadron having arrived off the Red River the previous evening, Rear Admiral David G. Farragut sent a dispatch to United States Secretary of the Navy Welles: "Feeling now that my instructions of October 2, 1862, have been carried out by my maintenance of the blockade of Red River until the arrival of Admiral Porter . . . I shall return to New Orleans as soon as practicable, leaving the Hartford and Albatross at the mouth of Red River to await the result of the combined attack upon Alexandria, but with order to Commodore Palmer to avail himself of the first good opportunity to run down past Port Hudson." As the Admiral left Hartford, the crew manned the rigging and filled the air with cheers in tribute to him.
The USS Albatross, under Lieutenant Commander John E. Hart, on a reconnaissance up the Red River, engaged the armed iron steamers Grand Duke and Mary T as well as Confederate cavalry near Fort De Russy. The Union gunboat sustained considerable damage and was compelled to withdraw.
The steamer USS Chocura, Lieutenant Commander Truxtun piloting, with the USS Maratanza in company, seized the sloop Express off Charleston with a cargo of salt sailing for Wilmington, North Carolina, from Nassau in the Bahamas.
The Unadilla-class gunboat USS Kennebec, Lieutenant Commander John H. Russell in charge, captured the schooner Juniper, bound from Havana to Mobile.
Captain Howard Dwight, of General Andrew's staff, was killed near Washington, Louisiana, supposedly after having surrendered to a party of Rebel scouts. General Banks at once ordered the arrest of one hundred white men nearest the place of assassination, to be held until further orders.
The Ninth regiment of New York volunteers (Hawkins's Zouaves) returned to New York from the seat of war in Eastern Virginia.
Captain Smith of the Second California volunteers, attacked a party of hostile Indians fifty miles south of Shell Creek, killing five of them and routing the rest.
Posted on 5/5/13 at 1:50 pm to dallasga6
May 5, 1863
As morning dawned today, General Robert E. Lee prepared to launch another attack on Joseph Hooker's Union army, but found that they were in full retreat across the Rappahannock and cancelled the plan. The Yankees had enough fighting and both sides had more than enough to do in treating the wounded, burying the dead, and tallying the survivors. In three days of battle in Fredericksburg and around the Chancellor house the bloodshed had been horrific: from an army of 134,000 the Union had suffered over 17,000 casualties. The Confederate losses were lower in numbers but higher in percentage--12,800 out of an army of 60,000, including the irreplaceable General Thomas J. Jackson. He was on injured reserve after surgeons decided the wound in his shoulder was so severe as to require amputation of the limb.
Major General John A. Dix wrote Rear Admiral S.P. Lee, requesting naval assistance and support during an expedition on the York River: "I need two gunboats to cover the landing of the troops. Lee assigned USS Commodore Morris, Morse, and Mystic to this duty and directed Lieutenant Commander Gillis to ". . . give the army all the assistance in your power." Two days later the Union vessels convoyed the Army transports as far as West Point and supported the landing. Guarding the troops until the soldiers' line of entrenchments was secure, Gillis instructed Morse and Mystic to remain on station to ''repel any attack that may be made, as their guns command the peninsula completely."
The USS Tahoma, under Lieutenant Commander A. A. Semmes, captured the schooner Crazy Jane in the Gulf of Mexico northwest of Charlotte Harbor, Florida, with a cargo of cotton and turpentine.
Clement C. Vallandigham was arrested at his residence in Dayton, Ohio, this morning, by a detachment of soldiers sent from Cincinnati by order of General Ambrose Burnside.
Fort de Russey, Louisiana, situated on the Red River, about eight miles from its mouth, was occupied by the Federal forces under the command of Admiral David D. Porter
John J. Pettus, Confederate Governor of Mississippi, issued a proclamation calling on every man in the State, capable of bearing arms, to take the field, "...for united effort in expelling the enemy from the soil of Mississippi."
As morning dawned today, General Robert E. Lee prepared to launch another attack on Joseph Hooker's Union army, but found that they were in full retreat across the Rappahannock and cancelled the plan. The Yankees had enough fighting and both sides had more than enough to do in treating the wounded, burying the dead, and tallying the survivors. In three days of battle in Fredericksburg and around the Chancellor house the bloodshed had been horrific: from an army of 134,000 the Union had suffered over 17,000 casualties. The Confederate losses were lower in numbers but higher in percentage--12,800 out of an army of 60,000, including the irreplaceable General Thomas J. Jackson. He was on injured reserve after surgeons decided the wound in his shoulder was so severe as to require amputation of the limb.
Major General John A. Dix wrote Rear Admiral S.P. Lee, requesting naval assistance and support during an expedition on the York River: "I need two gunboats to cover the landing of the troops. Lee assigned USS Commodore Morris, Morse, and Mystic to this duty and directed Lieutenant Commander Gillis to ". . . give the army all the assistance in your power." Two days later the Union vessels convoyed the Army transports as far as West Point and supported the landing. Guarding the troops until the soldiers' line of entrenchments was secure, Gillis instructed Morse and Mystic to remain on station to ''repel any attack that may be made, as their guns command the peninsula completely."
The USS Tahoma, under Lieutenant Commander A. A. Semmes, captured the schooner Crazy Jane in the Gulf of Mexico northwest of Charlotte Harbor, Florida, with a cargo of cotton and turpentine.
Clement C. Vallandigham was arrested at his residence in Dayton, Ohio, this morning, by a detachment of soldiers sent from Cincinnati by order of General Ambrose Burnside.
Fort de Russey, Louisiana, situated on the Red River, about eight miles from its mouth, was occupied by the Federal forces under the command of Admiral David D. Porter
John J. Pettus, Confederate Governor of Mississippi, issued a proclamation calling on every man in the State, capable of bearing arms, to take the field, "...for united effort in expelling the enemy from the soil of Mississippi."
Posted on 5/6/13 at 1:41 pm to dallasga6
May 6, 1863
The news of the utter disaster for the Union Army of the Potomac at Chancellorsville was just now beginning to filter through official sources to President Abraham Lincoln in Washington, DC. It did his mood no good at all that he was getting much more and far better information from reading the Richmond, Virginia newspapers than he was from his own army's chain of command. He sent Major General Joseph Hooker a telegram saying simply, "God bless you, and all with you. I know you will do your best." General Hooker later issued an address to the army, congratulating them on their achievements during the last seven days.
Commander James H. North, CSN, wrote Secretary Stephen Mallory from Scotland regarding ships being built in England: ''For the first time I begin to fear that our vessels stand in much danger of being seized by this Government. I have written to our minister in France to know if this ship can be put under the French flag; this will involve some expense, but shall not consider a few thousand pounds . . . if we can only succeed in getting out . . . aiding to raise the blockade and making captures of some of their vessels, which may prove valuable additions to our little navy."
Rear Admiral John Adolphus Bernard Dahlgren noted in his private journal: "Captain Drayton came in about supper-time from New York, where he had brought the Passaic from Port Royal. He says it would be madness to go into Charleston again, and all the Captains who were in the action so agree fully. He thinks Dupont intended to renew the attack, but when the Captains of the iron-dads assembled in his ship, and made their reports, he gave it up."
The CSS Florida, commanded by Lieutenant John Newland Maffitt, captured the brig Clarence off the coast of Brazil. Clarence was converted into a Confederate cruiser under Lieutenant Charles Read who wrote: ''I propose to take the brig which we have just captured, and with a crew of twenty men to proceed to Hampton Roads and cut out a gunboat or steamer of the enemy.'' Maffitt concurred with the daring plan and ordered Clarence to raid Union shipping at either Hampton Roads or Baltimore.
The gunboat USS R. R. Cuyler, under Lieutenant Commander James E. Jouett, captured the steamer Eugenie bound from Havana to Mobile, Alabama.
The USS Dragon, Acting Master G. F. Hill commanding, seized the schooner Samuel First attempting to run the blockade above Potomac Creek, Virginia.
Alexandria, Mississippi, was occupied without resistance by the Federal forces under the command of Admiral David D. Porter.
A skirmish took place between a Federal force consisting of the 7th Kansas cavalry and the 10th Missouri cavalry under the command of Colonel Cornyn, encamped near Tupelo, Mississippi, and a small body of Confederate cavalry under General Ruggles, terminating, after a desperate conflict of half an hour's duration, in the retreat of the outnumbered Rebels, leaving behind them ninety of their number as prisoners.
Disloyal citizens were sent South from Nashville, Tennessee. Among them was Neill S. Brown, former properly elected Governor of that State.
The news of the utter disaster for the Union Army of the Potomac at Chancellorsville was just now beginning to filter through official sources to President Abraham Lincoln in Washington, DC. It did his mood no good at all that he was getting much more and far better information from reading the Richmond, Virginia newspapers than he was from his own army's chain of command. He sent Major General Joseph Hooker a telegram saying simply, "God bless you, and all with you. I know you will do your best." General Hooker later issued an address to the army, congratulating them on their achievements during the last seven days.
Commander James H. North, CSN, wrote Secretary Stephen Mallory from Scotland regarding ships being built in England: ''For the first time I begin to fear that our vessels stand in much danger of being seized by this Government. I have written to our minister in France to know if this ship can be put under the French flag; this will involve some expense, but shall not consider a few thousand pounds . . . if we can only succeed in getting out . . . aiding to raise the blockade and making captures of some of their vessels, which may prove valuable additions to our little navy."
Rear Admiral John Adolphus Bernard Dahlgren noted in his private journal: "Captain Drayton came in about supper-time from New York, where he had brought the Passaic from Port Royal. He says it would be madness to go into Charleston again, and all the Captains who were in the action so agree fully. He thinks Dupont intended to renew the attack, but when the Captains of the iron-dads assembled in his ship, and made their reports, he gave it up."
The CSS Florida, commanded by Lieutenant John Newland Maffitt, captured the brig Clarence off the coast of Brazil. Clarence was converted into a Confederate cruiser under Lieutenant Charles Read who wrote: ''I propose to take the brig which we have just captured, and with a crew of twenty men to proceed to Hampton Roads and cut out a gunboat or steamer of the enemy.'' Maffitt concurred with the daring plan and ordered Clarence to raid Union shipping at either Hampton Roads or Baltimore.
The gunboat USS R. R. Cuyler, under Lieutenant Commander James E. Jouett, captured the steamer Eugenie bound from Havana to Mobile, Alabama.
The USS Dragon, Acting Master G. F. Hill commanding, seized the schooner Samuel First attempting to run the blockade above Potomac Creek, Virginia.
Alexandria, Mississippi, was occupied without resistance by the Federal forces under the command of Admiral David D. Porter.
A skirmish took place between a Federal force consisting of the 7th Kansas cavalry and the 10th Missouri cavalry under the command of Colonel Cornyn, encamped near Tupelo, Mississippi, and a small body of Confederate cavalry under General Ruggles, terminating, after a desperate conflict of half an hour's duration, in the retreat of the outnumbered Rebels, leaving behind them ninety of their number as prisoners.
Disloyal citizens were sent South from Nashville, Tennessee. Among them was Neill S. Brown, former properly elected Governor of that State.
Posted on 5/7/13 at 3:19 pm to dallasga6
May 7, 1863
President Abraham Lincoln, along with General of the Armies Henry Halleck, paid a call on General Joseph Hooker today in the aftermath of the resounding defeat at Chancellorsville. Lincoln was exceedingly nervous about the effect on Northern morale as the enormous casualty reports began to filter back to waiting families at home. Meanwhile, President Jefferson Davis was also nervous as General Hiram U. Grant's Federal troops edged ever closer to Vicksburg. If both Port Hudson and that city were lost, the Mississippi River would be back in Union hands and the Confederacy effectively cut in half.
The Charleston Mercury reported: ''The guns of this famous ironclad [USS Keokuk] now lie on the South Commercial wharf. They consist of two long XI-inch columbiads, and will be mounted for our defense, valuable acquisitions, no less than handsome trophies of the battle of Charleston Harbor. . . . The turret had to be unbolted, or unscrewed, and taken off before the guns could be slung for removal. This was an unpleasant job of some difficulty, the labor being performed under water, when the sea was smooth, and in the night time only. Those engaged in the under-taking, going in the small boat of the fort, were sometimes protected from the enemy by the presence of our gunboats; at other times not. One gun was raised last week, being removed by the old lightboat. General Ripley himself, night before last, went down to superintend the removal of the second gun. Enterprise, even with scant means, can accomplish much.''
The English steamer Cherokee, while endeavoring to run the blockade out of Charleston, South Carolina, was captured by the Federal gunboat Canandaigua.
A portion of the Fourth army corps, under the command of Major General Keyes, reached West Point, Virginia, this day, when a reconnaissance towards White House was ordered. After the command had proceeded a few miles from town, the detachment of company F, of the Sixth New York cavalry, was fired on by a party of partisan guerrillas, killing two of the horses. The reconnaissance was continued to White House, and on the route Lieutenant Estes, aid to General Kilpatrick, and fifteen men who were made prisoners by the Confederates near Fredericksburg, were rescued.
General Robert E. Lee, the Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, addressed his troops "...expressing his sense of the heroic conduct displayed by officers and men during the arduous operations..." in which they had been engaged.
Colonel Kilpatrick, with his regiment, the Harris Light cavalry, and a portion of the Twelfth Illinois cavalry, belonging to the expedition of General Stoneman, arrived at Gloucester Point, Virginia.
President Abraham Lincoln, along with General of the Armies Henry Halleck, paid a call on General Joseph Hooker today in the aftermath of the resounding defeat at Chancellorsville. Lincoln was exceedingly nervous about the effect on Northern morale as the enormous casualty reports began to filter back to waiting families at home. Meanwhile, President Jefferson Davis was also nervous as General Hiram U. Grant's Federal troops edged ever closer to Vicksburg. If both Port Hudson and that city were lost, the Mississippi River would be back in Union hands and the Confederacy effectively cut in half.
The Charleston Mercury reported: ''The guns of this famous ironclad [USS Keokuk] now lie on the South Commercial wharf. They consist of two long XI-inch columbiads, and will be mounted for our defense, valuable acquisitions, no less than handsome trophies of the battle of Charleston Harbor. . . . The turret had to be unbolted, or unscrewed, and taken off before the guns could be slung for removal. This was an unpleasant job of some difficulty, the labor being performed under water, when the sea was smooth, and in the night time only. Those engaged in the under-taking, going in the small boat of the fort, were sometimes protected from the enemy by the presence of our gunboats; at other times not. One gun was raised last week, being removed by the old lightboat. General Ripley himself, night before last, went down to superintend the removal of the second gun. Enterprise, even with scant means, can accomplish much.''
The English steamer Cherokee, while endeavoring to run the blockade out of Charleston, South Carolina, was captured by the Federal gunboat Canandaigua.
A portion of the Fourth army corps, under the command of Major General Keyes, reached West Point, Virginia, this day, when a reconnaissance towards White House was ordered. After the command had proceeded a few miles from town, the detachment of company F, of the Sixth New York cavalry, was fired on by a party of partisan guerrillas, killing two of the horses. The reconnaissance was continued to White House, and on the route Lieutenant Estes, aid to General Kilpatrick, and fifteen men who were made prisoners by the Confederates near Fredericksburg, were rescued.
General Robert E. Lee, the Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, addressed his troops "...expressing his sense of the heroic conduct displayed by officers and men during the arduous operations..." in which they had been engaged.
Colonel Kilpatrick, with his regiment, the Harris Light cavalry, and a portion of the Twelfth Illinois cavalry, belonging to the expedition of General Stoneman, arrived at Gloucester Point, Virginia.
Posted on 5/8/13 at 2:02 pm to dallasga6
May 8, 1863
All during the Civil War the draft laws of the United States had applied only to citizens, thereby leaving alien residents exempt. Aliens, like the Irish and Germans, served, of course, and in large numbers, but they were all volunteers. This morning, President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation announcing that henceforth the draft would be extended to include any non-citizen who had applied for citizenship. The impulse to serve was not universal, and many citizenship papers were hastily withdrawn.
Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles received Rear Admiral David D. Porter's dispatch regarding the fall of Grand Gulf and informed President Lincoln. ''The news,'' wrote Welles, ''was highly gratifying to the President, who had not heard of it until I met him at the Cabinet-meeting."
Tonight, the Union Mortar Flotilla, a fleet of Federal gunboats and mortar schooners, under Commander Charles H. B. Caldwell-supported by the USS Richmond, Captain Alden commanding-opened the bombardment of the Confederate batteries and works at Port Hudson, Mississippi.
The USS Canandaigua, commanded by Captain Joseph F. Green, seized the blockade running steamer Cherokee off Charleston with a cargo of cotton.
The USS Flag, Commander James H. Strong in charge, captured the schooner Amelia attempting to run the blockade out of Charleston late at night with a cargo of cotton. While under tow, the Amelia developed a serious leak in a storm on the 15th and had to be abandoned.
The USS Primrose, Master William T. Street, captured the schooner Sarah Lavinia at Corrotoman Creek, Virginia.
President Lincoln issued a proclamation preliminary to the enforcement of the "act for enrolling and calling out the National forces, and for other purposes," defining the position and obligations of inchoate citizens under that law.
The Nevada Union of this date assured its readers that there were active Southern guerrillas at work in Tulare County, California and Los Angeles was, in every thing but form, a colony of the Confederate States, where an avowal of loyalty was attended with personal danger. "We are no alarmist; but in view of the condition of affairs, and the large immigration thither, composed largely of secession sympathizers, we again warn Union men that they cannot be too wide awake nor too hasty in organization. We have now before us a late copy of The Red Bluff Independent, in which is given an account of a frustrated attempt on the part of secessionists to capture Fort Crook in the northern part of California. The parties who were entrusted with the carrying out of the rebel enterprise, approached a citizen of that section, offering ample inducements for him to engage in the attempt, stating to him the plans and intentions of the secessionists, which were to capture the fort with its arms and ammunition ? which, by the way, could have been easily accomplished at that time by a dozen men ? and use it as a rendezvous for guerrillas. They struck the wrong man, and the consequence was, that information of their movements was conveyed to the fort, and the parties were arrested, and are now in irons at the fort, awaiting the order of General Wright."
Secretary Edwin M. Stanton sent the following dispatch to the Governor of Pennsylvania: "The President and the General-in-Chief have just returned from the army of the Potomac. The principal operations of General Hooker failed, but there has been no serious disaster to the organization and efficiency of the army. It is now occupying its former position on the Rappahannock, having recrossed the river without any loss in the movement. Not more than one third of General Hooker's force was engaged. General Stoneman's operations have been a brilliant success. Part of his force advanced to within two miles of Richmond, and the enemy's communications have been cut in every direction. The army of the Potomac will speedily resume offensive operations."
The ship Crazy Jane, was captured in Tampa Bay, Florida, by the gunboat Tahoma.
Confederate General Earl Van Dorn was shot and killed in his headquarters at Spring Hill by Dr. James Bodie Peters, of Maury County, Tennessee, who claimed that Van Dorn had carried on an affair with his wife Jessie McKissack Peters. Alone in his office at the home of Martin Cheairs (now known as Ferguson Hall) Van Dorn was writing at his desk, and Peters entered and shot him once in the back of the head, killing him instantly. Peters was later arrested by Confederate authorities, but was never brought to trial for the killing. In defense of his actions, Dr. Peters stated that Van Dorn had "violated the sanctity of his home."
All during the Civil War the draft laws of the United States had applied only to citizens, thereby leaving alien residents exempt. Aliens, like the Irish and Germans, served, of course, and in large numbers, but they were all volunteers. This morning, President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation announcing that henceforth the draft would be extended to include any non-citizen who had applied for citizenship. The impulse to serve was not universal, and many citizenship papers were hastily withdrawn.
Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles received Rear Admiral David D. Porter's dispatch regarding the fall of Grand Gulf and informed President Lincoln. ''The news,'' wrote Welles, ''was highly gratifying to the President, who had not heard of it until I met him at the Cabinet-meeting."
Tonight, the Union Mortar Flotilla, a fleet of Federal gunboats and mortar schooners, under Commander Charles H. B. Caldwell-supported by the USS Richmond, Captain Alden commanding-opened the bombardment of the Confederate batteries and works at Port Hudson, Mississippi.
The USS Canandaigua, commanded by Captain Joseph F. Green, seized the blockade running steamer Cherokee off Charleston with a cargo of cotton.
The USS Flag, Commander James H. Strong in charge, captured the schooner Amelia attempting to run the blockade out of Charleston late at night with a cargo of cotton. While under tow, the Amelia developed a serious leak in a storm on the 15th and had to be abandoned.
The USS Primrose, Master William T. Street, captured the schooner Sarah Lavinia at Corrotoman Creek, Virginia.
President Lincoln issued a proclamation preliminary to the enforcement of the "act for enrolling and calling out the National forces, and for other purposes," defining the position and obligations of inchoate citizens under that law.
The Nevada Union of this date assured its readers that there were active Southern guerrillas at work in Tulare County, California and Los Angeles was, in every thing but form, a colony of the Confederate States, where an avowal of loyalty was attended with personal danger. "We are no alarmist; but in view of the condition of affairs, and the large immigration thither, composed largely of secession sympathizers, we again warn Union men that they cannot be too wide awake nor too hasty in organization. We have now before us a late copy of The Red Bluff Independent, in which is given an account of a frustrated attempt on the part of secessionists to capture Fort Crook in the northern part of California. The parties who were entrusted with the carrying out of the rebel enterprise, approached a citizen of that section, offering ample inducements for him to engage in the attempt, stating to him the plans and intentions of the secessionists, which were to capture the fort with its arms and ammunition ? which, by the way, could have been easily accomplished at that time by a dozen men ? and use it as a rendezvous for guerrillas. They struck the wrong man, and the consequence was, that information of their movements was conveyed to the fort, and the parties were arrested, and are now in irons at the fort, awaiting the order of General Wright."
Secretary Edwin M. Stanton sent the following dispatch to the Governor of Pennsylvania: "The President and the General-in-Chief have just returned from the army of the Potomac. The principal operations of General Hooker failed, but there has been no serious disaster to the organization and efficiency of the army. It is now occupying its former position on the Rappahannock, having recrossed the river without any loss in the movement. Not more than one third of General Hooker's force was engaged. General Stoneman's operations have been a brilliant success. Part of his force advanced to within two miles of Richmond, and the enemy's communications have been cut in every direction. The army of the Potomac will speedily resume offensive operations."
The ship Crazy Jane, was captured in Tampa Bay, Florida, by the gunboat Tahoma.
Confederate General Earl Van Dorn was shot and killed in his headquarters at Spring Hill by Dr. James Bodie Peters, of Maury County, Tennessee, who claimed that Van Dorn had carried on an affair with his wife Jessie McKissack Peters. Alone in his office at the home of Martin Cheairs (now known as Ferguson Hall) Van Dorn was writing at his desk, and Peters entered and shot him once in the back of the head, killing him instantly. Peters was later arrested by Confederate authorities, but was never brought to trial for the killing. In defense of his actions, Dr. Peters stated that Van Dorn had "violated the sanctity of his home."
Posted on 5/9/13 at 1:40 pm to dallasga6
May 9, 1863
Traffic control was becoming a problem in Wilmington, North Carolina, as it was becoming the port-of-choice for blockade runners. The Northern blockade of southern ports was a vital project throughout the war, and it was having an effect. Charleston was by this time very nearly useless, as blockaders captured nearly everything heading in or out. New Orleans, thanks to Rear Admiral David Farragut, was now lost entirely.
USN Captain Augustus L. Case, commanding the USS Iroquois, reported that the Confederates were mounting guns on the northern faces of Fort Fisher at Wilmington. ''They appear," he wrote Rear Admiral S. P. Lee, ''to be large caliber.'' This defensive strengthening of the Southern position was in keeping with the view voiced by Lieutenant John Taylor Wood, CSN, in a 14 February 1863, letter to President Davis concerning the defenses of Wilmington: ''The batteries covering the water approaches, as far as I am able to judge, are well placed and admirably constructed. But the great want, the absolute necessity of the place if it is to be held against naval attack, is heavy guns, larger caliber.'' So well did the Confederates do their job that Fort Fisher successfully dominated Cape Fear until the massive amphibious operation in January 1865.
The frigate USS Aroostook, under Lieutenant Commander Franklin, seized the schooner Sea Lion bound from Mobile to Havana with a cargo of cotton.
The Charleston Mercury of this date published an article advocating the following plan suggested by the Jackson Appeal: How to meet the enemy.--The Northern vandals have invaded our State, not to confront our armies and decide the chances of war in pitched battles, but they have come to rob and steal, to plunder, to burn, and to starve to death our women and children. Under such circumstances we should meet them as we would meet the savage, the highwayman, or the wild beast of the forest. Partisan bands should lie in wait for them on the roadside, in fence-corners, and behind trees; and, in short, they should be hunted down in any and every way that can be made efficient and effectual until the State is relieved of their presence. Not observing the rules of civilized warfare themselves, they cannot expect its observance from us. We need more Colonel Blythes in the woods all over the State. A dozen well-directed shots from the bush will at any time put a brigade to flight, and this is the most sure and certain method of putting a stop to the marauding expeditions that are from time to time sent out through the country. In Colonel Blythe's district or field of operations it has proved most efficacious in holding the enemy at bay, and we hope to see the plan put more extensively in practice. A big scare, occasioned by a brisk fire from a chaparral, is often more potent than would be half a dozen regiments of organized troops in the field.
Tonight the bombardment of the Confederate works at Port Hudson was renewed, and continued for an hour, but the Rebels made no reply.
The Second Indiana cavalry, under the command of Colonel E. M. McCook, made a scout near Stones River, Tennessee, visiting the "haunt" of every guerrilla in that vicinity. They succeeded in capturing eight suspected partisans, beside twenty horses allegedly belonging to the guerrilla band.
Traffic control was becoming a problem in Wilmington, North Carolina, as it was becoming the port-of-choice for blockade runners. The Northern blockade of southern ports was a vital project throughout the war, and it was having an effect. Charleston was by this time very nearly useless, as blockaders captured nearly everything heading in or out. New Orleans, thanks to Rear Admiral David Farragut, was now lost entirely.
USN Captain Augustus L. Case, commanding the USS Iroquois, reported that the Confederates were mounting guns on the northern faces of Fort Fisher at Wilmington. ''They appear," he wrote Rear Admiral S. P. Lee, ''to be large caliber.'' This defensive strengthening of the Southern position was in keeping with the view voiced by Lieutenant John Taylor Wood, CSN, in a 14 February 1863, letter to President Davis concerning the defenses of Wilmington: ''The batteries covering the water approaches, as far as I am able to judge, are well placed and admirably constructed. But the great want, the absolute necessity of the place if it is to be held against naval attack, is heavy guns, larger caliber.'' So well did the Confederates do their job that Fort Fisher successfully dominated Cape Fear until the massive amphibious operation in January 1865.
The frigate USS Aroostook, under Lieutenant Commander Franklin, seized the schooner Sea Lion bound from Mobile to Havana with a cargo of cotton.
The Charleston Mercury of this date published an article advocating the following plan suggested by the Jackson Appeal: How to meet the enemy.--The Northern vandals have invaded our State, not to confront our armies and decide the chances of war in pitched battles, but they have come to rob and steal, to plunder, to burn, and to starve to death our women and children. Under such circumstances we should meet them as we would meet the savage, the highwayman, or the wild beast of the forest. Partisan bands should lie in wait for them on the roadside, in fence-corners, and behind trees; and, in short, they should be hunted down in any and every way that can be made efficient and effectual until the State is relieved of their presence. Not observing the rules of civilized warfare themselves, they cannot expect its observance from us. We need more Colonel Blythes in the woods all over the State. A dozen well-directed shots from the bush will at any time put a brigade to flight, and this is the most sure and certain method of putting a stop to the marauding expeditions that are from time to time sent out through the country. In Colonel Blythe's district or field of operations it has proved most efficacious in holding the enemy at bay, and we hope to see the plan put more extensively in practice. A big scare, occasioned by a brisk fire from a chaparral, is often more potent than would be half a dozen regiments of organized troops in the field.
Tonight the bombardment of the Confederate works at Port Hudson was renewed, and continued for an hour, but the Rebels made no reply.
The Second Indiana cavalry, under the command of Colonel E. M. McCook, made a scout near Stones River, Tennessee, visiting the "haunt" of every guerrilla in that vicinity. They succeeded in capturing eight suspected partisans, beside twenty horses allegedly belonging to the guerrilla band.
Posted on 5/10/13 at 2:11 pm to dallasga6
May 10, 1863
Stonewall Jackson dies today...
Eight days ago, as dusk fell on an incredibly successful day for the Confederacy in the northern Virginia area known as the Wilderness, Rebel troops had fired at a party approaching them post-haste in the gloom, thinking they were attacking Yankees. Major General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson had been hit in the arm and twice more in other places. He was taken to a small house south of Fredericksburg, where the arm had been amputated. The surgery was well done and was healing nicely, but in moving to Guinea Station pneumonia had set in, and this afternoon he is said to have to whispered his wife, "Let us pass over the river and rest in the shade of the trees..." and then uttered his last words, "Tell A.P. Hill he must come up..." and breathed his last.
The USS Mound City, under Lieutenant Commander Bryon Wilson, reconnoitering near Warrenton, Mississippi took a recently constructed battery under fire and "in a short time it was all in a blaze." Rear Admiral Porter observed: "Thus ended a fort in the space of an hour which had taken the rebels five months to build, working mostly day and night.'' This form of constant hammering by the gunboats at every point along the western waters sapped Confederate strength and resources.
Boat crews from the Union gunboats USS Owasco, piloted by Lieutenant Commander John Madigan, Jr., and the USS Katahdin, Lieutenant Commander Philip C. Johnson in charge, after a chase of twenty miles succeeded in beaching the blockade runner, West Florida, on Galveston Island, Texas and then burned her.
Brigadier General Davidson prohibited in the Department of Missouri, the sale or distribution of the Freeman's Journal of New York, the New York Caucasian, the Columbus (Ohio) Crisis, the Democratic Journal of Jerseyville, the Chicago Times, and the Dubuque Herald.
The anniversary of the capture of Camp Jackson, Missouri, was celebrated this day. Speeches were made by Charles D. Drake, C. P. Johnson, Major George P. Strong, and others.
Early this morning the attack by the Federal fleet of mortar schooners and gunboats on the Confederate batteries at Port Hudson, Mississippi, was renewed. This time the batteries replied to the fire of the fleet, but after a bombardment of three hours duration, they were completely silenced.
Stonewall Jackson dies today...
Eight days ago, as dusk fell on an incredibly successful day for the Confederacy in the northern Virginia area known as the Wilderness, Rebel troops had fired at a party approaching them post-haste in the gloom, thinking they were attacking Yankees. Major General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson had been hit in the arm and twice more in other places. He was taken to a small house south of Fredericksburg, where the arm had been amputated. The surgery was well done and was healing nicely, but in moving to Guinea Station pneumonia had set in, and this afternoon he is said to have to whispered his wife, "Let us pass over the river and rest in the shade of the trees..." and then uttered his last words, "Tell A.P. Hill he must come up..." and breathed his last.
The USS Mound City, under Lieutenant Commander Bryon Wilson, reconnoitering near Warrenton, Mississippi took a recently constructed battery under fire and "in a short time it was all in a blaze." Rear Admiral Porter observed: "Thus ended a fort in the space of an hour which had taken the rebels five months to build, working mostly day and night.'' This form of constant hammering by the gunboats at every point along the western waters sapped Confederate strength and resources.
Boat crews from the Union gunboats USS Owasco, piloted by Lieutenant Commander John Madigan, Jr., and the USS Katahdin, Lieutenant Commander Philip C. Johnson in charge, after a chase of twenty miles succeeded in beaching the blockade runner, West Florida, on Galveston Island, Texas and then burned her.
Brigadier General Davidson prohibited in the Department of Missouri, the sale or distribution of the Freeman's Journal of New York, the New York Caucasian, the Columbus (Ohio) Crisis, the Democratic Journal of Jerseyville, the Chicago Times, and the Dubuque Herald.
The anniversary of the capture of Camp Jackson, Missouri, was celebrated this day. Speeches were made by Charles D. Drake, C. P. Johnson, Major George P. Strong, and others.
Early this morning the attack by the Federal fleet of mortar schooners and gunboats on the Confederate batteries at Port Hudson, Mississippi, was renewed. This time the batteries replied to the fire of the fleet, but after a bombardment of three hours duration, they were completely silenced.
Posted on 5/11/13 at 1:27 pm to dallasga6
May 11, 1863
Salmon P. Chase, currently Secretary of the Treasury in President Abraham Lincoln's cabinet, had been put there basically so Lincoln could keep an eye on him and his presidential ambitions. He had caused one political crisis already, back in December, by circulating petitions promoting his candidacy. Today he pulled another fast one. As usual, he submitted his resignation; as usual, Lincoln declined to use it.
A long fight took place in the vicinity of Horseshoe Bottom on Greasy Creek, Kentucky, between a of brigade of Federal troops from Indiana, Michigan and Kentucky under the command of Colonel R. T. Jacob, and a body of Confederate cavalry under General John Hunt Morgan, terminating, after a desperate contest of seven hours duration, in which the Rebels had an indeterminate number of their soldiers killed and wounded, and in a retreat of the Unionists with a loss of forty two killed and wounded.
Crystal Springs, Mississippi, on the New Orleans and Jackson Railroad, was entered and burned today by a large party of Federal cavalry.
Salmon P. Chase, currently Secretary of the Treasury in President Abraham Lincoln's cabinet, had been put there basically so Lincoln could keep an eye on him and his presidential ambitions. He had caused one political crisis already, back in December, by circulating petitions promoting his candidacy. Today he pulled another fast one. As usual, he submitted his resignation; as usual, Lincoln declined to use it.
A long fight took place in the vicinity of Horseshoe Bottom on Greasy Creek, Kentucky, between a of brigade of Federal troops from Indiana, Michigan and Kentucky under the command of Colonel R. T. Jacob, and a body of Confederate cavalry under General John Hunt Morgan, terminating, after a desperate contest of seven hours duration, in which the Rebels had an indeterminate number of their soldiers killed and wounded, and in a retreat of the Unionists with a loss of forty two killed and wounded.
Crystal Springs, Mississippi, on the New Orleans and Jackson Railroad, was entered and burned today by a large party of Federal cavalry.
Posted on 5/12/13 at 1:50 pm to dallasga6
May 12, 1863
General Hiram U. Grant was maneuvering in a northwesterly direction, seeking a position between Jackson, Mississippi, the capital, and Vicksburg, the last Southern stronghold on the Mississippi River, except for Port Hudson, Louisiana. Near the village of Raymond, Mississippi, a strong Confederate force under General John Gregg fell upon John A. Logan's division of McPherson's corps. Despite the advantage of surprise, Gregg's men were vastly outnumbered and eventually had to fall back towards Jackson.
Writing of the significance of Rear Admiral David Farragut's operations in the Mississippi below Vicksburg, Commodore H. H. Bell said: "I am one of those who attaches more importance to the admiral's brilliant move up the river than to anything that has been done by navy or army since capture of New Orleans. It was the finishing stroke to that great blow, and I am glad the admiral did it single handed, unassisted from other quarters. The want of provisions soon became sensibly felt from Vicksburg to Richmond. . . . It was better than any battle, for it is of wider influence and more generally felt than any battle. Man cannot hold together without food. . . . It was gallantly done, and I think the admiral has fairly wedded his name to the Mississippi through all ages to come.''
Having begun an expedition up the Tennessee River on 5 May to destroy "every kind of boat that could serve the Rebels to cross the river,'' gunboats under Lieutenant Commander S. L. Phelps supported an Army assault on Confederate troops at Linden, Tennessee. ''Along the river,'' Phelps reported, ''I heard of detachments of rebel cavalry at various Points At Linden . . . there was a rebel force of this kind posted. I arranged with Colonel [William] K. M.; Breckenridge to cross his small force and cover different Points with the gunboats, places to which he could retreat if need be, while he should attempt to surprise Linden.'' Taking the Union cavalry on board the gunboats, Phelps transported them across the river ''with little noise,'' thereby enabling the surprise attack to be completely successful. In many effective ways, mobile naval support of Army movements extended the effective use of sea power deep into the arteries of the Confederacy. Phelps, commanding the Tennessee division of the Mississippi squadron, took on board his gunboats fifty-five men and horses of the First Western Tennessee cavalry, under the command of Colonel W. K. M. Breckinridge, and landed them on the east side of the Tennessee River, sending the gunboats to cover all the landings above and below. Colonel Breckinridge dashed across the country to Linden, and surprised a Southern force, capturing Lieutenant Colonel Frierson, one captain, one surgeon, four lieutenants, thirty Confederate soldiers, ten conscripts, fifty horses, two army wagons, arms, etc. The courthouse, which was the Rebel depot, was burned, with a quantity of army supplies. The enemy lost three killed. The Unionists lost no men, but had one horse killed. Colonel Breckinridge, after this exploit, reached the vessel in safety, and re-crossed the river.
The USS Conemaugh, under Commander Reed Werden, and the USS Monticello, Lieutenant Commander Braine piloting, stood in close to shore at Murrell's Inlet, South Carolina, and bombarded five schooners aground there. Werden reported: ''It affords me pleasure to state that so accurate was our firing that in less than an hour we had fired about 100 bales of cotton on the beach near the schooners, set one schooner on fire, and more or less injured all the others in spars and hull.''
A force of Federal troops under the command of Colonel Davis, First Texas cavalry, left Sevieck's Ferry, on the Amite River, Louisiana, on an expedition along the Jackson Railroad. They struck the railroad at Hammond Station, where they cut the telegraph and burned the bridge.
General Hiram U. Grant was maneuvering in a northwesterly direction, seeking a position between Jackson, Mississippi, the capital, and Vicksburg, the last Southern stronghold on the Mississippi River, except for Port Hudson, Louisiana. Near the village of Raymond, Mississippi, a strong Confederate force under General John Gregg fell upon John A. Logan's division of McPherson's corps. Despite the advantage of surprise, Gregg's men were vastly outnumbered and eventually had to fall back towards Jackson.
Writing of the significance of Rear Admiral David Farragut's operations in the Mississippi below Vicksburg, Commodore H. H. Bell said: "I am one of those who attaches more importance to the admiral's brilliant move up the river than to anything that has been done by navy or army since capture of New Orleans. It was the finishing stroke to that great blow, and I am glad the admiral did it single handed, unassisted from other quarters. The want of provisions soon became sensibly felt from Vicksburg to Richmond. . . . It was better than any battle, for it is of wider influence and more generally felt than any battle. Man cannot hold together without food. . . . It was gallantly done, and I think the admiral has fairly wedded his name to the Mississippi through all ages to come.''
Having begun an expedition up the Tennessee River on 5 May to destroy "every kind of boat that could serve the Rebels to cross the river,'' gunboats under Lieutenant Commander S. L. Phelps supported an Army assault on Confederate troops at Linden, Tennessee. ''Along the river,'' Phelps reported, ''I heard of detachments of rebel cavalry at various Points At Linden . . . there was a rebel force of this kind posted. I arranged with Colonel [William] K. M.; Breckenridge to cross his small force and cover different Points with the gunboats, places to which he could retreat if need be, while he should attempt to surprise Linden.'' Taking the Union cavalry on board the gunboats, Phelps transported them across the river ''with little noise,'' thereby enabling the surprise attack to be completely successful. In many effective ways, mobile naval support of Army movements extended the effective use of sea power deep into the arteries of the Confederacy. Phelps, commanding the Tennessee division of the Mississippi squadron, took on board his gunboats fifty-five men and horses of the First Western Tennessee cavalry, under the command of Colonel W. K. M. Breckinridge, and landed them on the east side of the Tennessee River, sending the gunboats to cover all the landings above and below. Colonel Breckinridge dashed across the country to Linden, and surprised a Southern force, capturing Lieutenant Colonel Frierson, one captain, one surgeon, four lieutenants, thirty Confederate soldiers, ten conscripts, fifty horses, two army wagons, arms, etc. The courthouse, which was the Rebel depot, was burned, with a quantity of army supplies. The enemy lost three killed. The Unionists lost no men, but had one horse killed. Colonel Breckinridge, after this exploit, reached the vessel in safety, and re-crossed the river.
The USS Conemaugh, under Commander Reed Werden, and the USS Monticello, Lieutenant Commander Braine piloting, stood in close to shore at Murrell's Inlet, South Carolina, and bombarded five schooners aground there. Werden reported: ''It affords me pleasure to state that so accurate was our firing that in less than an hour we had fired about 100 bales of cotton on the beach near the schooners, set one schooner on fire, and more or less injured all the others in spars and hull.''
A force of Federal troops under the command of Colonel Davis, First Texas cavalry, left Sevieck's Ferry, on the Amite River, Louisiana, on an expedition along the Jackson Railroad. They struck the railroad at Hammond Station, where they cut the telegraph and burned the bridge.
Posted on 5/13/13 at 4:18 pm to dallasga6
May 13, 1863
Govenor Zebulon B. Vance of North Carolina added to the pressures preying on the mind of President Jefferson Davis today. Vance was concerned about the rate of desertion among Confederate troops. He studied the subject and wrote to Davis that the causes he had found for desertion included homesickness, fatigue, inability to enter their preferred regiment, refusal of officers to grant furloughs, and "hard fare", presumably referring to the food.
The persistent Army-Navy siege and assault on Vicksburg compelled Confederate strategists to withdraw much needed troops from the eastern front in an effort to bring relief to their beleaguered forces in the west. General P.G.T. Beauregard and others warned repeatedly of the possible disasters such loss of strength in the Charleston area and elsewhere might bring. This date, Confederate Secretary of War James A. Seddon wrote to those objecting to the transfer of troops from Charleston to Vicksburg: "I beg you to reflect on the vital importance of the Mississippi to our cause, to South Carolina, and to Charleston itself. Scarce any point in the Confederacy can be deemed more essential, for the 'cause of each is the cause of all,' and the sundering of the Confederacy [along the line of the Mississippi] would be felt as almost a mortal blow to the most remote parts.''
General Nathaniel Banks wrote Rear Admiral David Farragut that the withdrawal of the USS Hartford and other ships down river from above Port Hudson "would lose to us all that has been gained in the campaigns for the passage of the fleet to this day, as it would reopen to Port Hudson the now closed avenue of supplies." Farragut responded on 15 May and directed that Commodore James S. Palmer remain above "so long as he can contribute to the fall of Port Hudson."
A float expedition from the USS Kingfisher, under Acting Master John C. Dutch, departed St. Helena Sound for Edisto, South Carolina, where previous reconnaissance missions had revealed a large quantity of corn was stored. The expedition returned five days later with 800 bushels. "My object," Dutch reported, ''in doing this was, first, to prevent its falling into rebel hands, and, second, to supply the people in this vicinity."
The USS Huntsville, Acting Lieutenant W. C. Rogers, captured schooner A. J. Hodge at sea off the east Florida coast.
The USS Daffodil, Acting Master E. M. Baldwin in charge, seized the blockade running British schooner Wonder off Port Royal, South Carolina. The schooner A. J. Hoge was also captured this day just out of Mobile Bay, Alabama.
The CSS Florida, commanded by Lieutenant John Newland Maffitt, captured the ship Crown Point off the coast of Brazil. After removing her stores, Maffitt burned the prize.
The gunboat USS De Soto, Captain Walker piloting, seized the English schooner Sea Bird from Havana, off Pensacola Bay.
The expeditionary force under Colonel Davis, encountered a small party of Confederate guerrillas and Choctaw Indians at Pontchatoula, Louisiana, whom, after a brief skirmish, he dispersed, taking seventeen of the Choctaws prisoners. Colonel Davis afterward destroyed the Rebel camp at Pontchatoula.
Yazoo City, Mississippi, was this day captured by a fleet of Union gunboats, under the command of Lieutenant Walker. The Confederate troops had evacuated the place, but not before destroying three rams that were being constructed in their navy yard. Every thing of value in the yard, and also a sawmill, was destroyed by Walker.
Govenor Zebulon B. Vance of North Carolina added to the pressures preying on the mind of President Jefferson Davis today. Vance was concerned about the rate of desertion among Confederate troops. He studied the subject and wrote to Davis that the causes he had found for desertion included homesickness, fatigue, inability to enter their preferred regiment, refusal of officers to grant furloughs, and "hard fare", presumably referring to the food.
The persistent Army-Navy siege and assault on Vicksburg compelled Confederate strategists to withdraw much needed troops from the eastern front in an effort to bring relief to their beleaguered forces in the west. General P.G.T. Beauregard and others warned repeatedly of the possible disasters such loss of strength in the Charleston area and elsewhere might bring. This date, Confederate Secretary of War James A. Seddon wrote to those objecting to the transfer of troops from Charleston to Vicksburg: "I beg you to reflect on the vital importance of the Mississippi to our cause, to South Carolina, and to Charleston itself. Scarce any point in the Confederacy can be deemed more essential, for the 'cause of each is the cause of all,' and the sundering of the Confederacy [along the line of the Mississippi] would be felt as almost a mortal blow to the most remote parts.''
General Nathaniel Banks wrote Rear Admiral David Farragut that the withdrawal of the USS Hartford and other ships down river from above Port Hudson "would lose to us all that has been gained in the campaigns for the passage of the fleet to this day, as it would reopen to Port Hudson the now closed avenue of supplies." Farragut responded on 15 May and directed that Commodore James S. Palmer remain above "so long as he can contribute to the fall of Port Hudson."
A float expedition from the USS Kingfisher, under Acting Master John C. Dutch, departed St. Helena Sound for Edisto, South Carolina, where previous reconnaissance missions had revealed a large quantity of corn was stored. The expedition returned five days later with 800 bushels. "My object," Dutch reported, ''in doing this was, first, to prevent its falling into rebel hands, and, second, to supply the people in this vicinity."
The USS Huntsville, Acting Lieutenant W. C. Rogers, captured schooner A. J. Hodge at sea off the east Florida coast.
The USS Daffodil, Acting Master E. M. Baldwin in charge, seized the blockade running British schooner Wonder off Port Royal, South Carolina. The schooner A. J. Hoge was also captured this day just out of Mobile Bay, Alabama.
The CSS Florida, commanded by Lieutenant John Newland Maffitt, captured the ship Crown Point off the coast of Brazil. After removing her stores, Maffitt burned the prize.
The gunboat USS De Soto, Captain Walker piloting, seized the English schooner Sea Bird from Havana, off Pensacola Bay.
The expeditionary force under Colonel Davis, encountered a small party of Confederate guerrillas and Choctaw Indians at Pontchatoula, Louisiana, whom, after a brief skirmish, he dispersed, taking seventeen of the Choctaws prisoners. Colonel Davis afterward destroyed the Rebel camp at Pontchatoula.
Yazoo City, Mississippi, was this day captured by a fleet of Union gunboats, under the command of Lieutenant Walker. The Confederate troops had evacuated the place, but not before destroying three rams that were being constructed in their navy yard. Every thing of value in the yard, and also a sawmill, was destroyed by Walker.
Posted on 5/14/13 at 4:04 pm to dallasga6
May 14, 1863
There had been a considerable battle begun yesterday in the vicinity of Suffolk, Virginia, involving Confederate forces in rifle pits on one side of the river, and Union forces on the other, as well as several Union ships offshore. The ships had kept up a steady fire to keep the Rebels from crossing the river. The USS Washington today became disabled, and ran around, and had to be rescued by the USS Stepping Stones.
A boat crew from the USS Currituck, commanded by Acting Master Linnekin, captured the schooner the Ladies' Delight near Urbanna, Virginia.
Jackson, Mississippi, was captured by the Federal forces belonging to the army of General Hiram U. Grant, after a fight of over three hours. General Joseph E. Johnston was in command of the Confederate troops, who retreated toward the north.
Today a detachment of the Federal expeditionary force under Colonel Davis, destroyed the tannery, grist, and sawmill, together with a steam engine, at Hammond Station, on the Jackson Railroad, Louisiana.
A scouting party of Federal troops, sent out from Fairfax Court House, Virginia, encountered a small force of John Singleton Mosby's 43rd Virginia cavalry at the house of Mr. Masilla, five miles beyond Warrenton Junction. A skirmish quickly ensued, resulting in the eventual dispersion of the Confederates, as well as the killing of Mr. Masilla by the Yankees, but not before many casualties were counted on both sides. Describing the fight, one partisan wrote of William H. Chapman (later lieutenant colonel of Mosby's command) wheeling his horse in a thicket of Yankees "[t]he pistols were not a foot apart. The Yankee's pistol snapped [misfired] but Chapman's did its deadly work. He fired six shots and emptied five saddles."
There had been a considerable battle begun yesterday in the vicinity of Suffolk, Virginia, involving Confederate forces in rifle pits on one side of the river, and Union forces on the other, as well as several Union ships offshore. The ships had kept up a steady fire to keep the Rebels from crossing the river. The USS Washington today became disabled, and ran around, and had to be rescued by the USS Stepping Stones.
A boat crew from the USS Currituck, commanded by Acting Master Linnekin, captured the schooner the Ladies' Delight near Urbanna, Virginia.
Jackson, Mississippi, was captured by the Federal forces belonging to the army of General Hiram U. Grant, after a fight of over three hours. General Joseph E. Johnston was in command of the Confederate troops, who retreated toward the north.
Today a detachment of the Federal expeditionary force under Colonel Davis, destroyed the tannery, grist, and sawmill, together with a steam engine, at Hammond Station, on the Jackson Railroad, Louisiana.
A scouting party of Federal troops, sent out from Fairfax Court House, Virginia, encountered a small force of John Singleton Mosby's 43rd Virginia cavalry at the house of Mr. Masilla, five miles beyond Warrenton Junction. A skirmish quickly ensued, resulting in the eventual dispersion of the Confederates, as well as the killing of Mr. Masilla by the Yankees, but not before many casualties were counted on both sides. Describing the fight, one partisan wrote of William H. Chapman (later lieutenant colonel of Mosby's command) wheeling his horse in a thicket of Yankees "[t]he pistols were not a foot apart. The Yankee's pistol snapped [misfired] but Chapman's did its deadly work. He fired six shots and emptied five saddles."
Posted on 5/15/13 at 4:02 pm to dallasga6
May 15, 1863
With the capture of Jackson, the capital of Mississippi yesterday, General Hiram U. Grant moved the main part of his army back out of town to Edward's Station, not far from Clinton. This placed his men only about four miles from the Confederates under General John C. Pemberton. Meanwhile, back in Jackson, Grant had left General William T. Sherman with orders to take what the army needed and destroy anything remaining that might help the Southern military effort.
Writing Benjamin F. Isherwood, Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering, regarding the U.S. naval floating machine shop at Port Royal, Rear Admiral Samuel F. Du Pont said: "This establishment is a most essential and important accession to the efficiency of this squadron, turning out an amount of work highly creditable to all concerned with it and particularly to Chief Engineer McCleery whose attention is ceaseless to the wants of the steamers now by long service so frequently requiring repairs. In this connection I would call the attention of the Bureau to the necessity of sending out a small store vessel in which the materials required for work at the machine shop, now constantly increasing since the arrival of the ironclads, could be stored, and that some person be carefully selected to take charge thereof. The machine shop, as the Bureau is aware is in two old hulks, one of which is taken up entirely as a workshop and for quarters; and the other is in too decayed a condition to be suitable for the purpose of stowage."
The USS Canandaigua, commanded by Captain Joseph Foster Green, captured the blockade running sloop Secesh off Charleston with a cargo of cotton.
The USS Kanawha, under Lieutenant Commander William Kennon Mayo, seized the blockade running British brig Comet 20 miles east of Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay.
Some 35 Confederates seized mail steamers Arrow and Emily at Currituck bridge and forced the crews to pilot them to Franklin, Virginia.
A fight took place in the vicinity of Camp Moore, Louisiana, between the expeditionary force under the command of Colonel Davis, and a body of Confederate troops, resulting in the retreat of the Rebels. After the fight, Colonel Davis advanced on Camp Moore, which he burned, together with the railroad depot and bridge, and a great quantity of property.
William Corbin and T. P. Graw, found guilty of enlisting for the Confederate service within the Federal lines, were executed at Johnson's Island, near Sandusky, Ohio.
The Confederate schooner Royal Yacht, was captured by the bark W. G. Anderson.
The Rebels captured two small steamboats in the Dismal Swamp Canal, North Carolina.
The ship Crown Point, in latitude 7 deg south, longitude 34 deg west, was captured and burned by the CSS Florida, a steam screw cruiser of about 700 tons, commanded by First Lieutenant John Newland Maffitt.
Several desperate infantry fights took place today in the vicinity of Carrsville and Suffolk, Virginia, between the Federal forces under the command of General John James Peck, and Confederate troops fighting for Lieutenant General James Longstreet, in which both parties suffered severely, without either gaining any material advantage.
With the capture of Jackson, the capital of Mississippi yesterday, General Hiram U. Grant moved the main part of his army back out of town to Edward's Station, not far from Clinton. This placed his men only about four miles from the Confederates under General John C. Pemberton. Meanwhile, back in Jackson, Grant had left General William T. Sherman with orders to take what the army needed and destroy anything remaining that might help the Southern military effort.
Writing Benjamin F. Isherwood, Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering, regarding the U.S. naval floating machine shop at Port Royal, Rear Admiral Samuel F. Du Pont said: "This establishment is a most essential and important accession to the efficiency of this squadron, turning out an amount of work highly creditable to all concerned with it and particularly to Chief Engineer McCleery whose attention is ceaseless to the wants of the steamers now by long service so frequently requiring repairs. In this connection I would call the attention of the Bureau to the necessity of sending out a small store vessel in which the materials required for work at the machine shop, now constantly increasing since the arrival of the ironclads, could be stored, and that some person be carefully selected to take charge thereof. The machine shop, as the Bureau is aware is in two old hulks, one of which is taken up entirely as a workshop and for quarters; and the other is in too decayed a condition to be suitable for the purpose of stowage."
The USS Canandaigua, commanded by Captain Joseph Foster Green, captured the blockade running sloop Secesh off Charleston with a cargo of cotton.
The USS Kanawha, under Lieutenant Commander William Kennon Mayo, seized the blockade running British brig Comet 20 miles east of Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay.
Some 35 Confederates seized mail steamers Arrow and Emily at Currituck bridge and forced the crews to pilot them to Franklin, Virginia.
A fight took place in the vicinity of Camp Moore, Louisiana, between the expeditionary force under the command of Colonel Davis, and a body of Confederate troops, resulting in the retreat of the Rebels. After the fight, Colonel Davis advanced on Camp Moore, which he burned, together with the railroad depot and bridge, and a great quantity of property.
William Corbin and T. P. Graw, found guilty of enlisting for the Confederate service within the Federal lines, were executed at Johnson's Island, near Sandusky, Ohio.
The Confederate schooner Royal Yacht, was captured by the bark W. G. Anderson.
The Rebels captured two small steamboats in the Dismal Swamp Canal, North Carolina.
The ship Crown Point, in latitude 7 deg south, longitude 34 deg west, was captured and burned by the CSS Florida, a steam screw cruiser of about 700 tons, commanded by First Lieutenant John Newland Maffitt.
Several desperate infantry fights took place today in the vicinity of Carrsville and Suffolk, Virginia, between the Federal forces under the command of General John James Peck, and Confederate troops fighting for Lieutenant General James Longstreet, in which both parties suffered severely, without either gaining any material advantage.
Posted on 5/15/13 at 4:03 pm to dallasga6
Doing gods work
Posted on 5/15/13 at 4:21 pm to dallasga6
quote:Damn Drunk
Grant had left General William T. Sherman with orders to take what the army needed and destroy anything remaining
Posted on 5/16/13 at 3:15 pm to dallasga6
May 16, 1863
Confederate Naval Commander James D. Bulloch was on a mission in Europe to commission the building of warships for the Confederate government. His only problem was that he had no immediate means to pay for these vessels. Trying to get the work done completely on credit had got him laughed out of England, so he was trying his luck in France. There too, he wrote to Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory today, ". . . I had understood, and Mr. Slidell was under the impression, that French builders, being anxious to establish business connections with the South and to compete with England for the custom of the Confederate States after the war, would be willing to deal with us largely upon credit . . . I found that the French builders, like the English, wanted money, and were not willing to lay down the ships unless I could give them security in the shape of cotton certificates." These were essentially bonds payable in bales of cotton instead of money. Chronic currency shortage constantly blocked Confederate ambitions abroad.
The USS Two Sisters, Acting Master's Mate John Boyle commanding, captured the Confederate schooner Oliver S. Breese off of Anclote Key, Florida, bound from Havana to Bayport, Florida.
The store ship USS Courier, under Acting Master Walter K. Cressy, captured the blockade running sloops Angelina and Emeline off the South Carolina coast, bound from Charleston to Nassau, both with cargoes of cotton.
The USS Powhatan, commanded by Captain Charles S. Steedman, captured the sloop C. Routereau off Charleston with a cargo of cotton and turpentine.
Last night, a company of United States cavalry was surprised and captured at Charlestown, in Jefferson County, Virginia by John Singleton Mosby's 43rd Virginia. Major General Schenck, on being informed by telegraph of the disaster, immediately ordered General Milroy to send out a force to intercept and attack the partisans, and today he received the following dispatch from General Milroy, announcing the result: "The Federal cavalry captured at Charlestown were recaptured by detachments of Virginia and Pennsylvania cavalry, under Captain Vitt, this afternoon, about three o'clock, at Piedmont Station, in Fauquier County. We also captured forty Rebels and a corresponding number of horses. Two rebels were killed. I regret to add that we lost Captain Vitt and one sergeant. Our cavalry recaptured one Federal lieutenant, and fifty privates, and their horses. Major Adams, of the First New York cavalry, who arrived after the recapture, is still in pursuit of the rebels. The Virginia and Pennsylvania cavalry, who made the recapture, were sent out by me yesterday." The battle took place at Berry's Ford, on the Rappahannock
The United States steamer Monticello, captured the schooner Odd Fellow, off Little River Inlet, North Carolina.
At Bradyville Pike, in the vicinity of Cripple Creek, Tennessee, General Palmer, accompanied by an escort of twenty-five men, and sixty men from the Middle Tennessee Union cavalry, made a Sabre charge on a small detachment of the Third Georgia regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Thompson. The rebels had no sabers or repeating rifles, but fought desperately for a few minutes. The Union force reported killing several of the enemy and brought in eighteen prisoners, among them Captains M. C. Edwards and Willis, the latter of the Third Georgia cavalry, and dangerously wounded.
The battle of Champion Hill, or Baker's Creek, Mississippi, was fought by the Federals, under General Grant, and the Confederates, under General Pemberton, in which the latter was compelled to fall back behind the Big Black River.
A reconnoitering party of the First New York mounted rifle regiment, under the command of Major Patton, were attacked in the vicinity of Suffolk, Virginia by a body of Confederate cavalry and routed with considerable loss.
The Confederate steamer Cuba, was destroyed by the Federal gunboat De Soto, under Captain W. W. Walker, in the Gulf of Mexico, off Mobile, Alabama.
Jackson, Mississippi, was evacuated by the Federal forces, belonging to the army of General Grant.
The schooner Isabel, attempting to run the blockade at Mobile, was run ashore close under the walls of Fort Morgan, and Master's Mate Dyer, of the R. R. Cuyler, was sent with boats, either to bring her off or burn her. They were just in time to capture sixteen men, being her crew and some passengers. Finding it impossible to get the schooner off, he set fire to her and then pulled for his own ship. By this time the alarm had been given and the rebels in the fort were on the alert. Mr. Dyer, finding that the schooner did not break out in a blaze, as he expected, turned back toward the fort, and effectually did his work.
The rebel schooner Ripple, was captured by the Union gunboat Kanawha, blockading the port of Pensacola, Florida.
Rebel guerrillas visited Burning Springs, Wirt County, Virginia, where they burned valuable oil works in an attempt to slow the Federal invasion.
Confederate Naval Commander James D. Bulloch was on a mission in Europe to commission the building of warships for the Confederate government. His only problem was that he had no immediate means to pay for these vessels. Trying to get the work done completely on credit had got him laughed out of England, so he was trying his luck in France. There too, he wrote to Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory today, ". . . I had understood, and Mr. Slidell was under the impression, that French builders, being anxious to establish business connections with the South and to compete with England for the custom of the Confederate States after the war, would be willing to deal with us largely upon credit . . . I found that the French builders, like the English, wanted money, and were not willing to lay down the ships unless I could give them security in the shape of cotton certificates." These were essentially bonds payable in bales of cotton instead of money. Chronic currency shortage constantly blocked Confederate ambitions abroad.
The USS Two Sisters, Acting Master's Mate John Boyle commanding, captured the Confederate schooner Oliver S. Breese off of Anclote Key, Florida, bound from Havana to Bayport, Florida.
The store ship USS Courier, under Acting Master Walter K. Cressy, captured the blockade running sloops Angelina and Emeline off the South Carolina coast, bound from Charleston to Nassau, both with cargoes of cotton.
The USS Powhatan, commanded by Captain Charles S. Steedman, captured the sloop C. Routereau off Charleston with a cargo of cotton and turpentine.
Last night, a company of United States cavalry was surprised and captured at Charlestown, in Jefferson County, Virginia by John Singleton Mosby's 43rd Virginia. Major General Schenck, on being informed by telegraph of the disaster, immediately ordered General Milroy to send out a force to intercept and attack the partisans, and today he received the following dispatch from General Milroy, announcing the result: "The Federal cavalry captured at Charlestown were recaptured by detachments of Virginia and Pennsylvania cavalry, under Captain Vitt, this afternoon, about three o'clock, at Piedmont Station, in Fauquier County. We also captured forty Rebels and a corresponding number of horses. Two rebels were killed. I regret to add that we lost Captain Vitt and one sergeant. Our cavalry recaptured one Federal lieutenant, and fifty privates, and their horses. Major Adams, of the First New York cavalry, who arrived after the recapture, is still in pursuit of the rebels. The Virginia and Pennsylvania cavalry, who made the recapture, were sent out by me yesterday." The battle took place at Berry's Ford, on the Rappahannock
The United States steamer Monticello, captured the schooner Odd Fellow, off Little River Inlet, North Carolina.
At Bradyville Pike, in the vicinity of Cripple Creek, Tennessee, General Palmer, accompanied by an escort of twenty-five men, and sixty men from the Middle Tennessee Union cavalry, made a Sabre charge on a small detachment of the Third Georgia regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Thompson. The rebels had no sabers or repeating rifles, but fought desperately for a few minutes. The Union force reported killing several of the enemy and brought in eighteen prisoners, among them Captains M. C. Edwards and Willis, the latter of the Third Georgia cavalry, and dangerously wounded.
The battle of Champion Hill, or Baker's Creek, Mississippi, was fought by the Federals, under General Grant, and the Confederates, under General Pemberton, in which the latter was compelled to fall back behind the Big Black River.
A reconnoitering party of the First New York mounted rifle regiment, under the command of Major Patton, were attacked in the vicinity of Suffolk, Virginia by a body of Confederate cavalry and routed with considerable loss.
The Confederate steamer Cuba, was destroyed by the Federal gunboat De Soto, under Captain W. W. Walker, in the Gulf of Mexico, off Mobile, Alabama.
Jackson, Mississippi, was evacuated by the Federal forces, belonging to the army of General Grant.
The schooner Isabel, attempting to run the blockade at Mobile, was run ashore close under the walls of Fort Morgan, and Master's Mate Dyer, of the R. R. Cuyler, was sent with boats, either to bring her off or burn her. They were just in time to capture sixteen men, being her crew and some passengers. Finding it impossible to get the schooner off, he set fire to her and then pulled for his own ship. By this time the alarm had been given and the rebels in the fort were on the alert. Mr. Dyer, finding that the schooner did not break out in a blaze, as he expected, turned back toward the fort, and effectually did his work.
The rebel schooner Ripple, was captured by the Union gunboat Kanawha, blockading the port of Pensacola, Florida.
Rebel guerrillas visited Burning Springs, Wirt County, Virginia, where they burned valuable oil works in an attempt to slow the Federal invasion.
Posted on 5/16/13 at 10:12 pm to dallasga6
quote:
A reconnoitering party of the First New York mounted rifle regiment, under the command of Major Patton, were attacked in the vicinity of Suffolk, Virginia by a body of Confederate cavalry and routed with considerable loss.
Thy will be done
Posted on 5/17/13 at 6:39 am to reggierayreb
Cool thread.
This persontried the same exact thing when the 15-th anniv started but it was locked for some reason. I enjoyed keeping up with it when I was only a lurker around here and was sad to see it locked. Hopefully this doesn't end up the same way. It had some killer links and facts. I'm mostly a WW2 'buff' but love all of American history really
But here's that other thread
150 Years Ago
This persontried the same exact thing when the 15-th anniv started but it was locked for some reason. I enjoyed keeping up with it when I was only a lurker around here and was sad to see it locked. Hopefully this doesn't end up the same way. It had some killer links and facts. I'm mostly a WW2 'buff' but love all of American history really
But here's that other thread
150 Years Ago
This post was edited on 5/17/13 at 6:40 am
Posted on 5/17/13 at 3:25 pm to dallasga6
May 17, 1863
The bayous east of Vicksburg were beginning to dry up and be less of an impediment, but the Big Black River was still wet and deep. General John C. Pemberton's Confederates were backed up against this waterway, waiting for a division which had gotten separated to rejoin them. General Hiram U. Grant was on their heels, however, and they were forced to cross the Black in some disorder, burning the bridges behind them. The missing division, now cut off, moved to link up with General Joseph Johnston instead.
The Confederate blockade runner Cuba was burned by her crew in the Gulf of Mexico to prevent capture by the USS De Soto, Captain W. M. Walker commanding. Rear Admiral Theodorus Bailey reported: "Her cargo cost $400,000 in specie at Havana, and was worth at Mobile a million and a quarter."
The USS Courier, under Acting Master Walter K. Cressy, captured the schooner Maria Bishop at sea off Cape Romain, South Carolina, with a cargo of cotton.
Flag Officer Silas H. Stringham, in charge of the USS Minnesota, reported the capture of the schooner Almira Ann near the Chickahominy River, Virginia, with a cargo of timber.
The USS Kanawha, piloted by Lieutenant Commander Mayo, captured the schooner Hunter bound from Mobile to Havana with a cargo of cotton.
The bayous east of Vicksburg were beginning to dry up and be less of an impediment, but the Big Black River was still wet and deep. General John C. Pemberton's Confederates were backed up against this waterway, waiting for a division which had gotten separated to rejoin them. General Hiram U. Grant was on their heels, however, and they were forced to cross the Black in some disorder, burning the bridges behind them. The missing division, now cut off, moved to link up with General Joseph Johnston instead.
The Confederate blockade runner Cuba was burned by her crew in the Gulf of Mexico to prevent capture by the USS De Soto, Captain W. M. Walker commanding. Rear Admiral Theodorus Bailey reported: "Her cargo cost $400,000 in specie at Havana, and was worth at Mobile a million and a quarter."
The USS Courier, under Acting Master Walter K. Cressy, captured the schooner Maria Bishop at sea off Cape Romain, South Carolina, with a cargo of cotton.
Flag Officer Silas H. Stringham, in charge of the USS Minnesota, reported the capture of the schooner Almira Ann near the Chickahominy River, Virginia, with a cargo of timber.
The USS Kanawha, piloted by Lieutenant Commander Mayo, captured the schooner Hunter bound from Mobile to Havana with a cargo of cotton.
Posted on 5/18/13 at 4:13 pm to dallasga6
18 May 1863
Last year the Union had asked. This year they asked in force for the surrender of the city of Vicksburg, with the armies of General Hiram U.. Grant surrounding the town to back it up. General Pemberton's army, originally about 20,000 and now missing some 5500, mostly prisoners, had retreated as far as they could go, into the city. Gunboats blocked the river, and now Grant invested the city, completely surrounding it with fortifications. The siege was now absolute.
The gunboats under Rear Admiral David D. Porter joined with troops under Generals Grant and W. T. Sherman in assaulting Confederate works to the rear of Vicksburg. Porter had departed for the operation on the Yazoo River on the 15th. He reported to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles: ''Leaving two of the ironclads at Red River, one at Grand Gulf, one at Carthage, three at Warrenton, and two in the Yazoo, left me a small force to cooperate with; still, I disposed of them to the best advantage." Observing that Grant's troops had cut off Confederates at Snyder's Bluff, Porter ordered the USS Baron De Kalb, Choctaw, Linden, Romeo, Petrel, and Forest Rose up the Yazoo to assist the Army. Upon the Union occupation of Snyder's Bluff, Porter quickly sent up provisions for the troops, and the USS De KaIb, under Lieutenant Commander J. G. Walker, pushed on to Haines' Bluff which the Southerners were evacuating. Porter noted that "guns, forts, tents, and equipage of all kinds fell into our hands." Quickly taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the fall of the heavy works, the Admiral moved the gunboats into position and began to shell the hill batteries at Vicksburg. On. the 19th six mortars began to fire "night and day as rapidly as they could."
The USS Linden, Acting Lieutenant T. E. Smith commanding, escorted five Army transports down the Mississippi. The lead transport, Crescent City, was fired into by a Confederate masked battery at Island No. 82, wounding some soldiers. Linden immediately opened fire, and drove the artillerists from their battery. Under the ships' guns, troops were landed and the buildings in the area were destroyed in retaliation
The USS Kanawha, under Lieutenant Commander Mayo, took schooner Ripple bound from Mobile to Havana with cargo of cotton.
The USS Shepherd Knapp, Acting Lieutenant Henry Eytinge in charge, ran aground on a reef at Cape Haitien, West Indies, could not get off, and was stripped of all usable stores, provisions, and instruments before being abandoned.
A boat crew under Acting Master's Mate N. Mayo Dyer from the USSR. R. Cuyler boarded, captured, and burned the schooner Isabel near Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay.
The USS Octorara, piloted by Commander Collins, captured the British blockade runner Eagle near the Bahamas. Collins reported that the chase had failed "to heave to till we had disabled her machinery."
Confederate troops started planting torpedoes this morning in Skull Creek, South Carolina, "...with a view of destroying the enemy's vessels, which are constantly passing through this thoroughfare.''
In England, in the House of Lords, the Marquess of Clanricarde moved for copies of any reports from British consular or diplomatic agents in the United States respecting the decisions or proceedings of the Federal prize courts. The Marquis accused President Abraham Lincoln's Cabinet of having acted unfairly and illegally toward British shipping, and said it was absolutely necessary for Her Majesty's government to take more action than it had hitherto done in defense of the rights of English ship owners. Earl Russell, in reply, stated that every complaint made by the owners of vessels seized by Federal cruisers had been duly considered, and that the law officers of the crown had decided that no objection could so far be fairly established against the proceedings of the United States prize courts. The Earl took advantage of the opportunity to deny the statement that the British government had connived at the construction and escape of the Confederate cruiser Alabama, and to repeat the assurance that England had no desire to interfere unfairly in the dispute between the North and South. Lord Derby expressed approval of Earl Russell's speech, and the Marquess of Clanricarde, being satisfied with the discussion, withdrew the motion.
A serious mistake occurred at a point between Carrsville and Deserted House, Virginia, in which two bodies of Federal troops fired into each other, and killed three men and wounded four, belonging to the One Hundred and Seventieth regiment of New York volunteers.
Last year the Union had asked. This year they asked in force for the surrender of the city of Vicksburg, with the armies of General Hiram U.. Grant surrounding the town to back it up. General Pemberton's army, originally about 20,000 and now missing some 5500, mostly prisoners, had retreated as far as they could go, into the city. Gunboats blocked the river, and now Grant invested the city, completely surrounding it with fortifications. The siege was now absolute.
The gunboats under Rear Admiral David D. Porter joined with troops under Generals Grant and W. T. Sherman in assaulting Confederate works to the rear of Vicksburg. Porter had departed for the operation on the Yazoo River on the 15th. He reported to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles: ''Leaving two of the ironclads at Red River, one at Grand Gulf, one at Carthage, three at Warrenton, and two in the Yazoo, left me a small force to cooperate with; still, I disposed of them to the best advantage." Observing that Grant's troops had cut off Confederates at Snyder's Bluff, Porter ordered the USS Baron De Kalb, Choctaw, Linden, Romeo, Petrel, and Forest Rose up the Yazoo to assist the Army. Upon the Union occupation of Snyder's Bluff, Porter quickly sent up provisions for the troops, and the USS De KaIb, under Lieutenant Commander J. G. Walker, pushed on to Haines' Bluff which the Southerners were evacuating. Porter noted that "guns, forts, tents, and equipage of all kinds fell into our hands." Quickly taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the fall of the heavy works, the Admiral moved the gunboats into position and began to shell the hill batteries at Vicksburg. On. the 19th six mortars began to fire "night and day as rapidly as they could."
The USS Linden, Acting Lieutenant T. E. Smith commanding, escorted five Army transports down the Mississippi. The lead transport, Crescent City, was fired into by a Confederate masked battery at Island No. 82, wounding some soldiers. Linden immediately opened fire, and drove the artillerists from their battery. Under the ships' guns, troops were landed and the buildings in the area were destroyed in retaliation
The USS Kanawha, under Lieutenant Commander Mayo, took schooner Ripple bound from Mobile to Havana with cargo of cotton.
The USS Shepherd Knapp, Acting Lieutenant Henry Eytinge in charge, ran aground on a reef at Cape Haitien, West Indies, could not get off, and was stripped of all usable stores, provisions, and instruments before being abandoned.
A boat crew under Acting Master's Mate N. Mayo Dyer from the USSR. R. Cuyler boarded, captured, and burned the schooner Isabel near Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay.
The USS Octorara, piloted by Commander Collins, captured the British blockade runner Eagle near the Bahamas. Collins reported that the chase had failed "to heave to till we had disabled her machinery."
Confederate troops started planting torpedoes this morning in Skull Creek, South Carolina, "...with a view of destroying the enemy's vessels, which are constantly passing through this thoroughfare.''
In England, in the House of Lords, the Marquess of Clanricarde moved for copies of any reports from British consular or diplomatic agents in the United States respecting the decisions or proceedings of the Federal prize courts. The Marquis accused President Abraham Lincoln's Cabinet of having acted unfairly and illegally toward British shipping, and said it was absolutely necessary for Her Majesty's government to take more action than it had hitherto done in defense of the rights of English ship owners. Earl Russell, in reply, stated that every complaint made by the owners of vessels seized by Federal cruisers had been duly considered, and that the law officers of the crown had decided that no objection could so far be fairly established against the proceedings of the United States prize courts. The Earl took advantage of the opportunity to deny the statement that the British government had connived at the construction and escape of the Confederate cruiser Alabama, and to repeat the assurance that England had no desire to interfere unfairly in the dispute between the North and South. Lord Derby expressed approval of Earl Russell's speech, and the Marquess of Clanricarde, being satisfied with the discussion, withdrew the motion.
A serious mistake occurred at a point between Carrsville and Deserted House, Virginia, in which two bodies of Federal troops fired into each other, and killed three men and wounded four, belonging to the One Hundred and Seventieth regiment of New York volunteers.
This post was edited on 5/18/13 at 4:15 pm
Page 4 of 11
Popular
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News