Saturday, June 20, 1863
| Previous Week | Previous Day | Next Day | Next Week |Army Events:
| Expedition from: | Batesville, AR | May 30 - February 3, 1864 | Skirmish: | Coldwater River, MS | June 20, 1863 | Expedition to: | Deer Creek, MS | June 1863 | Skirmish: | Dixon Springs, TN | June 20, 1863 | Operation: | Eastern Kentucky | June 13 - 23, 1863 | Operation: | Everett's Raid, in KY | June 13 - 23, 1863 | Operation: | Fort Gibson, Indian Territory | June 6 - 20, 1863 | Skirmish: | Fort McRae, New Mexico Territory | June 20, 1863 | Campaign: | Gettysburg, PA | June 3 - August 11, 1863 | Skirmish: | Government Springs, Utah Territory | June 20, 1863 | Skirmish: | Hernando, MS | June 20, 1863 | Affairs: | Holmes County, OH | June 16 - 20, 1863 | Skirmish: | Jackson's Cross Roads, LA | June 20, 1863 | Skirmish: | Knoxville, TN | June 19 - 20, 1863 | Engagement: | La Fourche Crossing, LA | June 20 - 21, 1863 | Expedition from: | La Grange, TN | June 16 - 24, 1863 | Skirmish: | Matthew's Ferry, MS | June 20, 1863 | Skirmish: | Middletown, MD | June 20, 1863 | Skirmish: | Mud Creek Bottom, MS | June 20, 1863 | Operation: | Northeastern Mississippi | June 13 - 22, 1863 | Operation: | Northwestern Mississippi | June 15 - 22, 1863 | Skirmish: | Panola, MS | June 19 - 20, 1863 | Expedition to: | Panola, MS | June 16 - 24, 1863 | Siege: | Port Hudson, LA | May 21 - July 8, 1863 | Reconnaissance to: | Richmond, LA | June 20, 1863 | Skirmish: | Rocky Crossing, MS | June 20, 1863 | Skirmish: | Rocky Ford, MS | June 20, 1863 | Skirmish: | Rogers' Gap, TN | June 20, 1863 | Skirmish: | Senatobia, MS | June 20, 1863 | Expedition: | Sioux Expedition, Dakota Territory | June 16 - September 13, 1863 | Expedition against: | Snake Indians, Idaho Territory | May 4 - October 26, 1863 | Skirmish: | Strawberry Plains, TN | June 20, 1863 | Skirmish: | Tallahatchie River, MS | June 20, 1863 | Capture of: | Thibodeaux, LA | June 20, 1863 | Operation: | Vicksburg, MS | January 20 - July 4, 1863 | Siege: | Vicksburg, MS | May 18 - July 4, 1863 | Skirmish: | Warm Springs, New Mexico Territory | June 20, 1863 | Scout: | Waynesville, MO | June 20 - 23, 1863 | Reconnaissance from: | Young's Point, LA | June 20, 1863 |
(Source: Compendium of the War of the Rebellion Vol. I, p. 660-991. Frederick H. Dyer.)
Naval Events:
A heavy combined Army-Navy bombardment of Vicksburg, lasting 6 hours, hammered Confederate positions. Supporting the Army, Porter pressed mortars, gunboats, and scows into action front 4 a.m. until 10. The naval force met with no opposition, and the Admiral noted: "The only demonstration made by the rebels from the water front was a brisk fire of heavy guns from the upper batteries on two 12-pounder rifled howitzers that were planted on the Louisiana side by General Ellet's Marine Brigade, which has [sic] much annoyed the enemy for two or three days, and prevented them from getting water." After this extensive bombardment, reports reached Porter that the Southerners were readying boats with which to make a riverborne evacuation of the city. Emphasizing the need for continued vigilance, the Admiral informed his gunboat commanders: "If the rebels start down in their skiffs, the current will drift them to about abreast of the houses where the mortars are laid up, and they will land there. In that case the vessels must push up amidst them, run over them, fire grape and canister and destroy all they can, looking out that they are not boarded."(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.)C.S.S. Alabama, commanded by Captain Semmes, captured bark Conrad from Buenos Aires for New York with cargo of wool. Semmes commissioned her as a cruiser under the name C.S.S. Tuscaloosa and wrote: "Never perhaps was a ship of war fitted out so promptly before. The Conrad was a commissioned ship, with armament, crew, and provisions on board, flying her pennant, and with sailing orders signed, sealed, and delivered, before sunset on the day of her capture."
C.S.S. Tacony, commanded by Lieutenant Read, captured ship Isaac Webb, bound from Liverpool to New York. The prize had some 750 passengers on board and, being unable "to dispose of the passengers, I bonded her for $40,000. The same day, Tacony captured and burned fishing schooner Micawber at sea off the New England coast.
U.S.S. Primrose, commanded by Acting Master Street, captured sloop Richard Vaux off Blakistone Island, Potomac River.
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]).
The Battle of LaFourche Crossing, Louisiana. (LA012) (Taylor's Operations in West Louisiana [June-September 1863]).
The Battle of Greencastle, Pennsylvania.
The "Loyal Government of Virginia" is admitted to the Union as the thirty-fifth state, with the name West Virginia.
(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; A Concise Encyclopedia of the Civil War, p. 203-221. Henry E. Simmons 1965; The Chronological Tracking Of The American Civil War Per The Offical Records Of The War of the Rebellion pp. 1-336. Ronald A. Mosocco.)