Thursday, June 4, 1863
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| Skirmish: | Atchafalaya River, LA | June 4, 1863 | Expedition to: | Aylett's, VA | June 4 - 5, 1863 | Expedition from: | Batesville, AR | May 30 - February 3, 1864 | Expedition to: | Blufton, SC | June 4, 1863 | Expedition to: | Clinton, LA | June 3 - 8, 1863 | Expedition to: | Deer Creek, MS | June 1863 | Skirmish: | Fairfax Court House, VA | June 4, 1863 | Skirmish: | Fayetteville, AR | June 4, 1863 | Engagement: | Franklin, TN | June 4, 1863 | Skirmish: | Frying Pan, VA | June 4, 1863 | Campaign: | Gettysburg, PA | June 3 - August 11, 1863 | Operation: | Gloucester Peninsula, VA | August 20, 1862 - June 4, 1863 | Expedition from: | Haynes Bluff, MS | May 26 - June 4, 1863 | Expedition from: | Haynes Bluff, MS | June 2 - 8, 1863 | Expedition from: | Jackson, TN | June 2 - 7, 1863 | Expedition: | James River, VA | June 3 - 7, 1863 | Affair: | Lake St. Joseph, LA | June 4, 1863 | Skirmish: | Lawyer's Road, VA | June 4, 1863 | Skirmish: | Liberty, TN | June 4, 1863 | Skirmish: | Marshall Knob, TN | June 4, 1863 | Action: | McMinnville, TN | June 4, 1863 | Expedition to: | Mechanicsburg, MS | May 26 - June 4, 1863 | Skirmish: | Mechanicsburg, MS | June 4, 1863 | Expedition to: | Mechanicsville, MS | June 2 - 8, 1863 | Operation: | Murfreesborough, TN | June 4, 1863 | Siege: | Port Hudson, LA | May 21 - July 8, 1863 | Expedition to: | Satartia, MS | June 2 - 8, 1863 | Engagement: | Satartia, MS | June 4, 1863 | Skirmish: | Shelbyville Pike, TN | June 4, 1863 | Scout: | Smithville, TN | June 4 - 5, 1863 | Expedition against: | Snake Indians, Idaho Territory | May 4 - October 26, 1863 | Skirmish: | Snow Hill, TN | June 4, 1863 | Skirmish: | Stone's River Ford, TN | June 4, 1863 | Siege: | Vicksburg, MS | May 18 - July 4, 1863 | Operation: | Vicksburg, MS | January 20 - July 4, 1863 | Expedition to: | Walkerton, VA | June 4 - 5, 1863 | Expedition from: | Yorktown, VA | June 4 - 5, 1863 |
(Source: Compendium of the War of the Rebellion Vol. I, p. 660-991. Frederick H. Dyer.)
Naval Events:
Ram U.S.S. Switzerland, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel J. Ellet, reconnoitered the Atchafalaya River as far as Simmesport, Louisiana, upon hearing reports that Confederate General Kirby Smith might be advancing to engage the Union position above Port Hudson. Half a mile above Simmesport, heavy rifle fire was opened on the ram. "Strongly. posted behind the levee and heavy earthworks, within 100 yards of the channel of the river," Ellet reported, "they poured a perfect storm of Minie balls upon us as we passed in front of the town. The fire of the artillery was also very severe." After a vigorous exchange in which Switzerland sustained seven hits, the ram withdrew. Next day, U.S.S. Lafayette and Pittsburg "proceeded to Simmesport and shelled the rebels away from their breastworks, fired their camp and the houses which had been occupied as their quarters. The gunboats then returned to their positions at the mouth of the Red River.(Source: Civil War Naval Chronology 1861-1865. pp. I:1-41; II:1-117; III:1-170; IV:1-152; V:1-134. 1971: Naval History Division, Navy Department.)U.S.S. Commodore McDonough, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Bacon, with steamer Island City, transport Cossack, and Army gunboat Mayflower in company, transported and supported an Army action at Bluffton, South Carolina. The troops disembarked without incident under the protection of the gunboat, and proceeded to Bluffton where they met strong Confederate resistance. With naval gunfire support, the town was destroyed and the troops were enabled to reembark with the mission successfully completed.
Joint Army-Navy expedition including U.S.S. Commodore Morris, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Gillis; U.S.S. Commodore Jones, commanded by Lieutenant Commander John G. Mitchell; Army gunboat Smith Briggs, and transport Winnissimet with 400 troops embarked, ascended the Mattapony River for the purpose of destroying a foundry above Walkerton, Virginia, where Confederate ordnance was being manufactured. The troops were landed at Walkerton and marched to the Ayletts area where the machinery, a flour mill, and a large quantity of grain were destroyed. Reembarking the troops and captured livestock, the force fell down river as the gunboats "dropped shells into many deserted houses and completely scoured the banks, and sweeping all the points on the river." Rear Admiral S. P. Lee reported that: "The vigilant dispositions of Lieutenant Commander Gillis kept the river below clear, and the rebels, attempting demonstrations at several points on the banks, were dispersed by the gunboats." Brigadier General Henry A. Wise, CSA, called the joint expedition a "daring and destructive raid." Constant destruction along the coasts and up the rivers seriously hampered the already industrially deficient South.
Additional Information:
The Battle of Vicksburg, Mississippi. (MS011) (Grant's Operations Against Vicksburg [March-July 1863]).
The Battle of Port Hudson, Louisiana. (LA010) (Siege of Port Hudson [May-July 1863]).
U. S. President Abraham Lincoln has Federal Major General Ambrose E. Burnside's order revoked regarding the seizure of the Chicago newspaper, the Chicago Times.
Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, moves his Army of Northern Virginia's 1st Army Corps and 2nd Army Corps (Lieutenant Generals Longstreet and Ewell, respectively) to Culpeper, Virginia, keeping the 3rd Army Corps (Lieutenant General A. P. Hill) at Fredericksburg, Virginia. The Cavalry Corps (Major General James Ewell Brown "J.E.B." Stuart) is sent out for protective covering of the army's advance.
(Source: Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report: Battle Summaries. National Park Service. In The Civil War Battlefield Guide, 2nd ed., 1998. Edited by Frances H. Kennedy; The Chronological Tracking Of The American Civil War Per The Offical Records Of The War of the Rebellion pp. 1-336. Ronald A. Mosocco.)