Civil War Time Line
Missouri Compromise - Underground Railway - Wilmot Proviso
Compromise of 1850 - Omnibus Bill - Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 - Uncle Tom's Cabin
Kansas-Nebraska Act - Dred Scott v. Sanford - Lecompton Constitution
Lincoln-Douglas Debates - John Brown's Raid
1860 - Lincoln Elected - Crittenden Compromise - South Carolina Secedes
1861 - Mississippi Secedes - Florida Secedes - Alabama Secedes - Georgia Secedes - Louisiana Secedes
Texas Secedes - Confederacy Formed - Davis Inaugurated - Lincoln Inaugurated
Fort Sumter Attacked - Virginia Secedes - Naval Blockade - Arkansas Secedes
North Carolina Secedes - Philippi - Tennessee Secedes - First Manassas - Wilson's Creek
Cheat Mountain - Lexington - Ball's Bluff - Belmont
1862 - Fort Henry - Fort Donelson - Pea Ridge - Monitor and Merrimac - Valley Campaign
Peninsular Campaign - Shiloh - New Orleans - Port Republic - Seven Days' Battles
Gaines's Mill - Malvern Hill - Cedar Mountain - Second Manassas - South Mountain
Antietam - Iuka - Corinth - Perryville - Fredericksburg - Stones River
1863 - Vicksburg Campaign - Charleston Harbor - Chancellorsville - Port Gibson - Champion's Hill
Vicksburg Siege - Port Hudson - Brandy Station - Gettysburg - Vicksburg Surrenders
Lawrence Massacre - Chickamauga - Chattanooga
1864 - Red River Campaign - Fort Pillow - Albemarle and Miami - Overland Campaign - Wilderness
Bermuda Hundred Campaign - Atlanta Campaign - Spotsylvania - Resaca - North Anna
New Hope Church - Cold Harbor - Petersburg Siege - Kearsarge and Alabama - Brice's Crossroads
Kennesaw Mountain - Monocacy - Valley Campaign - Mobile Bay - Atlanta Captured
Winchester - Allatoona - Cedar Creek - March to the Sea - Franklin II - Nashville
1865 - Fort Fisher - Carolinas Campaign - Bentonville - Peterburg Surrenders - Sayler's Creek
Five Forks - Appomattox - Lee Surrenders - Lincoln Assassinated
Johnson was President - John Wilkes Booth Killed - Lincoln Buried
Palmeto Ranch - Lincoln Conspirator's Trial - Slavery Abolished
Civil War Declared Over - President Johnson Impeached
Arkansas Readmitted To Union - Confederate Amnesty - Grant Inaugurated
First African-American U. S. Senator - First African-American U. S. Representative
Grant Suspends Habeas Corpus - Panic of 1873 - Election of 1876
Segregation Permissible - The Civil Rights Cases - Disfranchised Black Voters
Plessy v. Ferguson - Williams v. Mississippi - Cummings v. Georgia
Links Inside Parentheses () were To The
Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report: Battle Summaries
National Park Service
-- Each CWSAC Battle Summary Will Open In Its Own Window --
1776 - America's Founding Fathers declared that "all men are created equal" in the Declaration of Independence. This seminal document, however, did not remove the institution of slavery in America's future.
1784 - Thomas Jefferson's Land Ordinance, including a provision for the abolition of slavery, was defeated by a single vote in Congress.
December 7, 1787 - Delaware was admitted to the Union.
December 12, 1787 - Pennsylvania was admitted to the Union.
December 18, 1787 - New Jersey was admitted to the Union.
January 2, 1788 - Georgia was admitted to the Union.
January 9, 1788 - Connecticut was admitted to the Union.
February 6, 1788 - Massachusetts was admitted to the Union.
April 28, 1788 - Maryland was admitted to the Union.
May 23, 1788 - South Carolina was admitted to the Union.
June 21, 1788 - New Hampshire was admitted to the Union.
June 25, 1788 - Virginia was admitted to the Union.
July 26, 1788 - New York was admitted to the Union.
November 21, 1789 - North Carolina was admitted to the Union.
May 29, 1790 - Rhode Island was admitted to the Union.
March 4, 1791 - Vermont was admitted to the Union.
June 1, 1792 - Kentucky was admitted to the Union.
1793 - The invention of the Cotton Gin by Eli Whitney made the cotton growing in the Southern states a profitable operation, making slavery profitable.
June 1, 1796 - Tennessee was admitted to the Union.
1803 - The United States acquired a vast territory from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Northwest, known as the Louisiana Purchase. This acquisition started the rapid westward expansion of the 19th century.
March 1, 1803 - Ohio was admitted to the Union.
1807 - The African slave trade was abolished.
January, 1808 - The importation of slaves into the United States was declared illegal.
April 30, 1812 - Louisiana was admitted to the Union.
December 11, 1816 - Indiana was admitted to the Union.
December 10, 1817 - Mississippi was admitted to the Union.
December 3, 1818 - Illinois was admitted to the Union.
December 14, 1819 - Alabama was admitted to the Union.
1820 - The debate over whether the new territory of the Louisiana Purchase should be free or slave-holding was decided with the "Missouri Compromise" - slavery was forbidden in the territory ceded by France to the United States (Louisiana) lying north of latitude 36° 30', except for Missouri.
March 15, 1820 - Maine was admitted to the Union, as a free state in accord with the recently passed Congressional decree, the "Missouri Compromise".
1821 - Cotton overtook tobacco as America's most profitable trade commodity.
August 10, 1821 - Missouri was admitted to the Union, as a slave-holding state in accord with the recently passed Congressional decree, the "Missouri Compromise".
May, 1822 - An attempted slave revolt around Charleston, South Carolina, led by Denmark Vesey, a former slave, was betrayed and defeated. Thirty-five blacks, including Vesey, were hanged.
May, 1824 - Congress passed a protective Tariff Law, which caused feelings of discrimination in the Southern states.
1828 - A new Tarfiff Law, introducing even higher duties, was nicknamed the "tariff of abominations" by Southern politicians, leading to demands to separate from the Union. Leading the charge was the state of South Carolina, in the person of John C. Calhoun, and the state of Georgia.
1830 - The population of the free states now exceeded that of the Southern states by one million.
January, 1831 - Boston abolitionist, William Lloyd Garrison, began publishing his Liberator paper, eventually the most influential abolitionist newspaper, which advocated immediate and unconditional emancipation for all slaves.
August, 1831 - Nat Turner led a slave uprising in Southhampton County, Virginia. The military was used to put down the rebellion. Approximately 100 blacks and 37 whites were killed, Nat Turner and 12 of his accomplises were executed.
1833 - Britain abolished slavery throughtout its Empire.
1833 - A compromise on the tariff bills was reached in Congress, arranged by Henry Clay of Virginia. It called for a gradual cutback in tariffs to help avoid a Northern vs. Southern fight.
1833 - The American Anti-Slavery Society was founded by Arthur and Lewis Tappan.
May, 1835 - The term "gag" was applied to a House resolution introduced by Southern members to suppress further discussion of the slavery issue.
June 15, 1836 - Arkansas was admitted to the Union.
1837 - The Republic of Texas asked to be admitted to the Union, but the petition was denied by Northerners wanted to avoid adding another slave state.
January 26, 1837 - Michigan was admitted to the Union.
August, 1839 - The Spanish slave-ship Amistad was taken over in a mutiny by the slaves, led by Cinque, and taken to a Connecticut port. Spain demanded return of the slaves from the United States, but the U.S. supreme Court ruled that they were free men.
c. 1840 - The Underground Railway began transporting escaped slaves from the South to freedom in Canada.
January, 1842 - The U.S. Supreme Court decided in Prigg v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that a Pennsylvania law forbidding the seizure of fugitive slaves was unconstitutional, and that the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Laws was a federal responsibility.
June, 1844 - A treaty on the annexation of Texas, negotiated by U. S. Secretary of State John C. Calhoun, was rejected by the U. S. Senate because of the implications regarding the slavery issue.
March 3, 1845 - Florida was admitted to the Union.
1845 - After the election of President James K. Polk, the annexation of Texas was passed by the U.S. Congress. Immediately, a dispute with Mexico over the border broke out.
December 29, 1845 - Texas was admitted to the Union.
January 1846 - February 1848 - The War with Mexico.
August 8, 1846 - David Wilmot of Pennsylvania proposed a bill, the Wilmot Proviso, in the U.S. House of Representatives as a rider on the $2 million appropriations bill for the War with Mexico, forbidding any territory acquired in the Mexican War to be open to slavery. The bill passed.
December 28, 1846 - Iowa was admitted to the Union.
1847 - The Wilmot Proviso, passed in the U.S. House of Representatives the year before, was defeated in the U.S. Senate.
December 29, 1847 - Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan proposed a doctrine that the decision on slavery should be left to the territorial government, the "popular sovereignty doctrine".
1848 - Gold was discovered at Sutter's Farm in California, initiating the great movement west starting with the California gold rush. By the end of the year California, Minnesota, and Oregon asked for admission to the Union as free states.
February, 1848 - In the Peace Treaty with Mexico, the United States acquired more than 500,000 square miles, including the future states of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona, also parts of Wyoming and Colorado. Texas was also ceded to the United States.
May 22, 1848 - The Democratic Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, nominated Lewis Cass, of Michigan, for U. S. President.
May 29, 1848 - Wisconsin was admitted to the Union.
June 7, 1848 - The Whig Party Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, nominated Mexican War hero Major General Zachary Taylor for President.
June 22, 1848 - Antislavery Democrats, meeting in Utica, New York, nominated Martin Van Buren for U. S. President.
August 9, 1848 - Supporters of the Liberty Party, Antislavery Democrats, and some members of the Whig Party met in Buffalo, New York, formed the new Free-Soil Party, and nominated Martin Van Buren for U. S. President. Additionally, the Wilmot Proviso was adopted by the Free-Soil Party in the 1848 election.
November 8, 1848 - Major General Zachary Taylor, the Whig Party nominee, won the 1848 U. S. presidential election.
1849 - California adopted a constitution forbidding slavery and asked for admission into the Union. Southerners objected and talked of secession. U. S. President Zachary Taylor threatened to crush any secession.
January 29, 1850 - Kentucky Senator Henry Clay introduced the "Compromise of 1850," a series of resolutions calling for a compromise on a number of issues concerning slavery.
February 5-6, 1850 - Senator Henry Clay spoke in favor of a compromise for Northern and Southern states.
March 4, 1850 - South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun spoke in favor of the Nonexclusion Doctrine and equal Southern rights in the territories.
March 7, 1850 - Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster spoke for no action on slavery in the territories because climate determined it would not last there.
March 11, 1850 - New York Senator William H. Seward spoke for a higher law that justified excluding slavery from the western United States and its territories.
May 8, 1850 - The U. S. Senate committee headed by Kentucky Senator Henry Clay introduced the Omnibus Bill covering slavery in the territories and a second bill prohibiting the slave trade in the District of Columbia, but both bills failed to pass a Senate vote.
June 10, 1850 - At a Southern convention held in Nashville, Tennessee, extremists were in the majority and proposed to stress the South's right to secede. Soon thereafter, however, a Georgia state convention expressed a majority view toward remaining in the Union if the North abidesd by the rules of the new compromise.
July 9, 1850 - Anti-compromise U. S. President Zachary Taylor died, allowing pro-compromise Vice-President Millard Fillmore to become U. S. President.
August 13 - September 7, 1850 - Led by Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas, the Compromise of 1850 was passed as a series of individual acts, the first of which was the admission of California as a Free State.
August 15 - September 6, 1850 - The Texas and New Mexico Territory Act was passed, whereby the Texas Republic debt was assumed by the United States and Texas surrendered all claim to Santa Fe, with no mention of slavery. The Utah Territory Act created a new territory, also with no mention of slavery.
August 23 - September 12, 1850 - The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 provided for the return of all fugitive slaves as an exclusive Federal prerogative.
September 16-17, 1850 - Abolition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia was finally passed in the U. S. Senate.
December 9, 1850 - California was admitted to the Union as a Free State.
December 13-14, 1850 - The Georgia state platform called for remaining in the Union until the North ignored any part of the Compromise of 1850.
June, 1851 - March 1852 - Harriet Beecher Stowe's popular book, Uncle Tom's Cabin, began to appear in the National Era. It sold more than a million copies within a year, and had the immediate effect of hardening opinion on both sides of the slavery issue.
June 1, 1852 - The Democratic Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, nominated Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire, for U. S. President, who supported the Compromise of 1850 and allowing popular sovereignty to decide the issue of slavery in the territories.
June 16, 1852 - The Whig Convention at Baltimore, Maryland, nominated Lieutenant General Winfield Scott for U. S. President, supporting the Compromise of 1850 and an end to further antislavery agitation.
September 11, 1852 - The Free-Soil Party met in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and nominated New Hampshire Senator John P. Hale for U. S. President, who condemned the Compromise of 1850.
November 2, 1852 - In the presidential election, Democrat Franklin Pierce defeated Mexican War hero General Winfield Scott after the South abandoned the Whig Party candidate. The successful Democratic platform supported the Compromise of 1850.
March 4, 1853 - Franklin Pierce was inaugurated U. S. President, calling for support of the Compromise of 1850 and the acquistion of more territory by peaceful means.
December 30, 1853 - The Gadsden Purchase annexed all of present-day Arizona and New Mexico below the Gila River.
1854 - Pro-slavery Southerners flocked into Kansas to win the territory for the South, starting fighting between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers. Pro-slavery supporters were reinforced by "border-ruffians" crossing over the state line from Missouri.
January 23 - May 30, 1854 - Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas proposed to organize the Great Plains region west of the Missouri River in the Kansas and Nebraska territories in which the slavery question would be decided by "popular sovereignty", the Kansas-Nebraska Act. This would repeal the Missouri Compromise of 1820 because both territories were above the latitude 36° 30'.
February 28 - July 13, 1854 - A new political party, the Republican Party, was organized in several states.
April, 1854 - In Massachusetts, the Emigrant Aid Society was founded to support anti-slavery settlers in Kansas.
May 30, 1854 - Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas's Kansas-Nebraska Act was approved by the U.S. Congress, and signed by U. S. President Franklin Pierce. Northerners threaten to boycott the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.
July, 1854 - In Michigan, anti-slavery supporters founded the Republican Party and demanded repeal of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Fugitive Slave Law.
October 16, 1854 - Abraham Lincoln gave his first public denunciation of slavery in the territories during a speech at Peoria, Illinois.
March 30, 1855 - The first election for a territorial legislature in Kansas was dominated by Missouri "border-ruffians."
June, 1855 - U. S. President Franklin Pierce appointed Andrew Reeder as the first governor of the Kansas Territory.
July, 1855 - The Kansas Legislature adopted extreme pro-slavery language and laws, expelling anti-slavery legislators.
July 31, 1855 - U. S. President Franklin Pierce appointed Wilson Shannon of Ohio to be governor of the Kansas Territory. Andrew Reeder was removed as governor because he was seen as too pro-slavery.
September 5, 1855 - An antislavery convention at Big Springs, Kansas Territory, repudiated the acts of the proslavery legislature.
October 23 - November 5, 1855 - An antislavery convention at Topeka, Kansas Territory, drew up an antislavery constitution, the Topeka Constitution, for the Kansas Territory.
December, 1855 - The Free-Soil supporters from the Kansas Territory adopted the Topeka Constitution, which outlawed slavery and banned all blacks from the territory.
January 24, 1856 - U. S. President Franklin Pierce condemned the Topeka Constitution as illegal.
February 11, 1856 - By this date, fighting between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in Kansas had grown into a near civil war. U. S. President Franklin Pierce warned Free Staters and "border-ruffians" to disperse.
February 22, 1856 - The American (Know Nothing) Party met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and nominated Millard Fillmore for U. S. President.
May 19-20, 1856 - Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner delivered his "Crime against Kansas" speech in the U. S. Senate.
May 21, 1856 - Due to its having become a center of Kansas Free-Soil activity since its founding in 1854, the town of Lawrence, Kansas Territory, was sacked by pro-slavery "border-ruffians" from Missouri.
May 22, 1856 - Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner, after an outspoken anti-slavery speech, was attacked at his U. S. Senate desk by South Carolina Senator Preston Brooks, and severely wounded.
May 24, 1856 - While on a retaliatory raid, an abolitionist group led by John Brown killed five pro-slavery men at Pottawotamie Creek, Kansas Territory.
June 2, 1856 - The Democratic Party Convention, meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio, nominated James Buchanan for U. S. President on a platform of popular sovereignty and support for the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
June 4, 1856 - Governor Wilson Shannon ordered all armed men and units in the Kansas Territory to disperse.
June 17, 1856 - The Republican Party met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and nominate John C. Frémont for U. S. President on a platform opposing the both the evils of slavery and polygamy in the territories, and for a free state of Kansas.
July 3, 1856 - Kansas's pro-slavery Topeka Constitution was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, but was rejected by the U.S. Senate.
August 18, 1856 - Unable to stop the reoccurring guerrilla warfare within the Kansas territory, Governor Wilson Shannon resigned, to be replaced by John W. Geary of Pennsylvania.
September 15, 1856 - The newly appointed Kansas Territory Governor, John Geary, had U. S. Army troops intercept 1,500 "border-ruffians," bringing a temporary peace to the Kansas Territory.
September 17, 1856 - The Whig Party met in Baltimore, Maryland, and nominated Millard Fillmore of the American Party for U. S. president.
November 4, 1856 - Democrat James Buchanan defeated the Republican candidate, John C. Frémont, for U. S. President.
March 4, 1857 - Kansas Territory Governor John Geary resigned, citing disagreements with U. S. President Franklin Pierce.
March 4, 1857 - The newly elected U. S. President, James Buchanan, was inaugurated, pledging Federal noninterference and popular sovereignty in the territories.
March 6, 1857 - In the Dred Scott vs. Sanford decision, the U.S. Supreme Court, under Chief Justice Roger Taney, declared the Missouri Compromise to be unconstitutional; that African Americans were not citizens; that a slave taken out of slave territory never ceased to be a slave; that Congress had no power to deprive a citizen of his property, such as slaves; and that the South was correct in its doctrine of Federal noninterference with slavery in the territories. Northerners protested this decision.
March 26, 1857 - U. S. President James Buchanan appointed Robert J. Walker, of Mississippi, Governor of the Kansas Territory.
June 15, 1857 - Elections in the Kansas Territory returned a pro-slavery majority to the constitutional convention set to meet in October.
July 15, 1857 - Free Staters, who met in Topeka, Kansas Territory, at their own constitutional convention, agreed to wait and let Governor Robert J. Walker try for a fair election for the territorial legislature.
October 5, 1857 - Elections were held in the Kansas Territory, strictly supervised by Governor Robert J. Walker, yielding a Free State majority in the Territory's legislature.
October 19 - November 8, 1857 - Ignoring Governor Robert J. Walker and the recent Kansas Territory legislative elections, a pro-slavery Constitution was adopted at a state convention in Lecompton, Kansas Territory. It was known as the Lecompton Constitution.
December 7, 1857 - The Free State Kansas Territory legislature called for a new election in January, 1858, to vote on the Lecompton Constitution.
December 17, 1857 - Governor Robert J. Walker resigned when U. S. President James Buchanan supported the Lecompton Constitution.
January 4, 1858 - A second election in the Kansas Territory, with all parties participating for the first time, rejected the Lecompton Constitution with or without slavery.
February 2, 1858 - U. S. President James Buchanan submitted the Lecompton Constitution to the U. S. Congress, recommending the Kansas Territory be admitted to the Union as a slave state, according to its tenants.
February 3, 1858 - Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas rejected the Lecompton Constitution as a perversion of democracy and popular sovereignty, causing a split within the Democratic Party.
March 23, 1858 - The U. S. Senate approved the admission of the Kansas Territory as a slave state under the Lecompton Constitution.
April 1, 1858 - The U. S. House of Representatives ordered that the Lecompton Constitution be resubmitted to the voters in the Kansas Territory.
April 30, 1858 - The U. S. House of Representatives passed the English Bill, requiring a new popular election over the Lecompton Constitution, accompanied by a large Federal land grant and a warning that to refuse to vote would delay Kansas statehood until its population reached 90,000.
May 4, 1858 - The U. S. Senate endorsed the English Bill over the opposition of Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas.
May 11, 1858 - Minnesota was admitted to the Union.
June 16, 1858 - In Springfield, Illinois, Abraham Lincoln accepted the Republican Party nomination to run for the U. S. Senate with his "House Divided" speech. He will be challenged by Illinois Democrat Stephen A. Douglas.
August 2, 1858 - Voters in the Kansas Territory decisively rejected the Lecompton Constitution once again.
August 21 - September 15, 1858 - Illinois Senate candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas met seven times to debate the issues throughout the state. Douglas emphasized the right of Americans to vote their preference, while Lincoln condemned slavery on moral and political grounds, opposing any extension of it. Douglas won the election by a slim margin, while Lincoln emerged as a national figure on the political stage.
August 27, 1858 - At one of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, Abraham Lincoln asked Stephen A. Douglas the Freeport Question and Douglas stated the Freeport Doctrine, that slavery can be stopped in a territory before the vote on a state constitution. Douglas won the Illinois U. S. Senate race, defeating Lincoln. Douglas was the only Democrat to win in the North, except for some in Indiana. This same doctrine in 1860 would lose the South.
January 14, 1859 - Oregon was admitted to the Union.
March, 1859 - The U.S. Supeme Court ruled in Ableman v. Booth that state courts cannot free Federal prisoners, and confirmed the constitutionality of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. The legislature of Wisconsin protested the decision, but Mr. Booth, who had freed a fugitive slave, was rearrested.
May 9-19, 1859 - The Annual Southern Commercial Convention, meeting in Vicksburg, Mississippi, recommended reopening the African slave trade.
October 16-18, 1859 - Abolitionist John Brown led an armed group of 12 white and five black men to seize the Federal Arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. Within a day he and four survivors were taken prisoners by a U. S. Marine force led by Colonel Robert E. Lee.
December 2, 1859 - After a trial, the State of Virginia hung John Brown for committing treason against the state.
February, 1860 - Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis proposed resolutions affirming that the Federal government cannot prohibit slavery in the territories, but must protect the slaveowners already there. Davis was trying to unite the Democratic Party against Douglas's principle of "popular sovereignty."
February 27, 1860 - Abraham Lincoln made his first appearance in the East at Cooper Union, in New York City, New York.
April 23 - May 3, 1860 - The Democratic Presidential nominating convention was held in Charleston, South Carolina. A pro-slavery platform was rejected, the Cincinnati platform of 1856 was adopted.
May 3, 1860 - The Democratic convention adjourned without selecting a presidential ticket because eight "Deep South" states walk out over the slavery plank in the Cincinnati platform.
May 9, 1860 - The Constitutional Union party (formerly the Whig-American Party), meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, nominated John Bell, from Tennessee, and Edward Everett for President and Vice-President, respectively, condemning sectionalism and standing for the U. S. Constitution and Union.
May 16-18, 1860 - The Republican convention met in Chicago, Illinois. The favorite candidate, Senator William H. Seward, failed to get the nomination because of his extreme position on slavery.
May 18, 1860 - At the Republican convention in Chicago, Illinois, on the third ballot, the more moderate Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin won the nomination for President and Vice-President, respectively, on a platform of economic improvement and the Wilmot Proviso.
June 18-23, 1860 - The Democratic convention reconvened in Baltimore, Maryland.
June 22, 1860 - Anti-Stephen Douglas delegates (the "Deep South" delegates) withdrew again from the Democratic convention.
June 23, 1860 - The remaining (regular or Northern) delegates at the Democratic Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, nominated Stephen A. Douglas and Herschel V. Johnson for President and Vice-President, repsectively.
June 28, 1860 - Meeting in Richmond, Virginia, since June 11, Southern Democrats (the Anti-Stephen Douglas delegates, the "Deep South" delegates) nominated John C. Breckinridge, from Kentucky, and Joseph Lane for President and Vice-President, respectively, on a platform of nonexclusion of slavery from the territories. This brought the total number of presidential candidates to four in the 1860 election.
November 6, 1860 - The South Carolina state legislature met to choose Presidential electors, and voted for John C. Breckinridge and Joseph Lane for President and Vice-President, rspectively. Governor William H. Gist recommended in his message that in the event of Abraham Lincoln's election to the presidency, a convention of the people of the state be immediately held to consider and determine for themselves the mode and measure of redress. He expressed the opinion that the only alternative left was the "secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union."
November 6, 1860 - Abraham Lincoln, who had declared "Government cannot endure permanently half slave, half free..." was elected 16th President of the United States, the first Republican, receiving 180 of 303 possible electoral votes and 39 percent of the popular vote. The Republican ticket received 1,866,452 votes and 180 elecoral votes in 17 of the 33 states. The Northern Democratic ticket of Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois, and Herscel V. Johnson, of Georgia, received 1,376,957 votes, and only 12 electoral votes. The Southern Democratic ticket of John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, and Joseph Lane, of Oregon, received 849,781 votes and 72 electoral votes from 11 of the 15 slave states. The Constitutional Unionist's John Bell, of Tennessee, and Edward Everett, of Massachusetts, received 588,879 votes and 39 electoral votes.
November 7, 1860 - United States officials resigned in Charleston, South Carolina.
November 8, 1860 - The Georgia state legislature met.
November 10, 1860 - South Carolina called a secession convention, to meet December 17th, with delegates to be elected December 6th.
November 10, 1860 - South Carolina's James Chesnut, a moderate, resigned from the U. S. Senate, to be followed by colleague James H. Hammond.
November 13, 1860 - Francis W. Pickens was elected Governor of South Carolina.
November 13, 1860 - The South Carolina state legislature voted to raise 10,000 volunteers to defend the state.
November 15, 1860 - Major Robert Anderson assumeed command of the U. S. garrison at Charleston, South Carolina.
November 17, 1860 - South Carolina unanimously adopted an Ordinance of Secession.
November 18, 1860 - The Georgia convention called, and the legislature appropriated $1,000,000 to arm the State.
November 20, 1860 - The North Carolina state legislature met. Governor John W. Ellis recommended that the legislature invite a conference of the southern states, or failing in that, to send one or more delegates to the neighboring states so as to secure concert of action. He recommended a thorough reorganization of the militia, and the enrollment of all persons between 18 and 45 years, and the organization of a corps of 10,000 men.
November 21, 1860 - South Carolina appointed Robert W. Barnwell and James L. Orr as Commissioners to proceed to Washington to negotiate for the possession of U. S. government property within the state's limits. Commissioners appointed to visit other slaveholding states. A Southern Congress was also proposed.
November 23, 1860 - Major Robert Anderson requested supplies and reinforcements for Charleston, South Carolina, defenses.
November 24, 1860 - South Carolina's Representatives in the U. S. Congress were withdrawn. Governor Pickens issued a proclamation "announcing the repeal, December 20th, 1860, by the good people of South Carolina," of the Ordinance of May 23rd, 1788, and "the dissolution of the union between the State of South Carolina and other States under the name of the United States of America," and proclaimed to the world "that the State of South Carolina is, as she has a right to be, a separate, sovereign, free and independent State, and, as such, has a right to levy war, or covenants, and to do all acts whatsoever that rightfully appertain to a free and independent State."
November 26, 1860 - The Mississippi state legislature met, adjourning November 30. They set December 20th as the date for elections for the Mississippi Convention, the convention to meet January 7, 1861. Mississippi Commissioners were appointed to other slaveholding states to secure "their co-operation in effecting measures for their common defence and safety."
November 26, 1860 - The Florida state legislature met. Florida Governor M. S. Perry recommended immediate secession.
November 27, 1860 - Maryland Governor Thomas H. Hicks declined to call a special session of the Maryland legislature, in response to a request for such a convening from Thomas G. Pratt, Sprigg Harwood, J. R. Franklin, N. H. Green, Llewellyn Boyle, and J. Pinkney.
November 28, 1860 - Major Robert Anderson, having received no reply, again requested reinforcements and supplies.
December 1, 1860 - Major Robert Anderson renewed his plea for the third time.
December 1, 1860 - The Florida state legislature met and passed a bill calling for a State Convention, in order to discuss the question of secession.
December 3, 1860 - The Georgia state legislature adopted resolutions proposing a Conference of the Southern States at Atlanta, to be held on February 20, 1861.
December 4, 1860 - In his annual State of the Union message to Congress, U. S. President James Buchanan declared secession unconstitutional, but he stated that the Federal government does nor have the power to force any state to remain in the Union. The U. S. House of Representatives named a special Committee of Thirty-three to discuss the issues of the day.
December 8, 1860 - U. S. Secretary of the Treasury, Howell Cobb, from Georgia, resigned because he felt that "Secession of my state was imminent."
December 9, 1860 - U. S. President James Buchanan assured the South Carolina congressmen that he would not attempt to reinforce Charleston forts without first consulting him.
December 9, 1860 - North Carolina's Joint Committee on Federal Relations agreed to report a Convention Bill.
December 10, 1860 - The Louisiana state legislature met.
December 11, 1860 - The Louisiana Convention was called to meet on January 23, 1861.
December 12, 1860 - The state of Louisiana received Commissioners from Mississippi. The Governor of Louisiana was instructed to communicate with Governors of other southern States.
December 12, 1860 - Kentucky Governor Beriah Magoffin declined offers of help from the Indiana State militia to quell servile insurrections in Kentucky.
December 12, 1860 - U. S. President James Buchanan appointed Philip F. Thomas, of Maryland, to the vacant post of U. S. Secretary of Treasury.
December 13, 1860 - Seven Southern U. S. Senators and twenty-three Representatives urged secession and the creation of a Southern Confederacy.
December 14, 1860 - U. S. Secretary of State Lewis Cass, from Michigan, resigned because of U. S. President James Buchanan's failure to reinforce Major Robert Anderson in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.
Decmeber 14, 1860 - The Georgia state legislature asked South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida to appoint delegates to a convention to establish a Southern Confederacy.
December 17, 1860 - U. S. Attorney General Jeremiah S. Black resigned to become U. S. Secretary of State.
December 17, 1860 - The North Carolina state legislature debated a bill appropriating $300,000 to arm the state.
December 18, 1860 - Kentucky Senator John J. Crittenden proposed the Crittenden Compromise on the floor of the U. S. Senate, six amendments to the United States Constitution which protected slavery.
December 18, 1860 - The North Carolina state senate passed the Appropriation Bill debated on December 17: yeas 41, neas 3.
December 19, 1860 - Maryland Governor Thomas H. Hicks replied to A. H. Handy, Commissioner from Mississippi, declining to accept the program for secession.
December 20, 1860 - The state of South Carolina seceded from the Union.
December 20, 1860 - North Carolina received Commissioners from Alabama and Mississippi - the latter, U. S. Secretary of the Interior Jacob Thompson, by letter.
December 20, 1860 - William H. Collins, Esq., of Baltimore, Maryland, issued an address to the people of Maryland in favor of the Union.
December 20, 1860 - U. S. President James Buchanan appointed Edwin M. Stanton to U. S. Attorney General.
December 20, 1860 - U. S. Vice-President John C. Breckinridge referred the Crittenden Compromise to the Committee of Thirteen.
December 22, 1860 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln's opposition to the Crittenden Compromise protecting slavery in the territories was made public.
December 22, 1860 - The North Carolina Senate Bill to arm the State failed to pass the North Carolina House.
December 24, 1860 - The U. S. Senate's Committee of Thirteen rejected the Crittenden Compromise.
December 26, 1860 - Major Robert Anderson withdrew all Federal forces from Fort Moultrie on the mainland to Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, leaving the other Charleston Harbor forts to the South Carolina forces.
December 27, 1860 - Fort Moultrie and Fort Castle Pinckney, and the schooner William Aiken, all in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, surrendered to South Carolina State troops.
December 29, 1860 - U. S. Secretary of War John B. Floyd, from Virginia, resigned because, after the transfer of Major Robert Anderson's command from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter, U. S. President James Buchanan declined "to withdraw the garrison from the harbor of Charleston altogether."
December 30, 1860 - The U. S. Arsenal, Post Office, and Custom's House at Charleston, South Carolina, were seized by South Carolina State troops. The Arsenal contained 70,000+ stand of arms, and other stores.
December 31, 1860 - The U. S. Senate's Committee of Thirteen reported its failure to reach an agreement on the Crittenden Compromise. U. S. President James Buchanan ordered reinforcements sent to Major Robert Anderson at Fort Sumter.
December 31, 1860 - Mississippi Commissioner A. H. Handy addressed the citizens of Baltimore, Maryland, in favor of disunion.
December 31, 1861 - U. S. Postmaster General Joseph Holt was temporarily put in charge of the U. S. War Department.
January 2, 1861 - Fort Pulaski and Fort Jackson, and the U. S. Arsenal, Savannah, Georgia, was seized by Georgia State troops, under advice from Georgia members of the U. S. Congress.
January 3, 1861 - South Carolina's Commissioners left Washington, D.C.
January 3, 1861 - The Florida state convention met.
January 3, 1861 - Maryland Governor Thomas H. Hicks issued an address to the people of Maryland against secession, and Henry Winter Davis addressed the citizens of Maryland in favor of the Union. Numerour pro-Union meetings took place throughout the state of Maryland.
January 4, 1861 - The South Carolina convention appointed T. J. Withers, L. M. Keitt, W. W. Boyce, J. Chesnut, Jr., R. B. Rhett, Jr., R. W. Barnwell, and C. G. Memminger, delegates to the Southern convention.
January 4, 1861 - The U. S. Arsenal at Mount Vernon, Alabama, was seized by Alabama State troops, on orders from Alabama Governor A. B. Moore. The Arsenal contained 20,000 arms, 1,500 barrels of gun powder (150,000 lbs.), several cannons, and a large amount of munitions.
January 5, 1861 - The steamship Star of the West sailed from New York City with men and supplies for Fort Sumter.
January 5, 1861 - Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines, Mobile, Alabama, were seized by Alabama State troops.
January 6, 1861 - The Tennessee state legislature met.
January 6, 1861 - The Florida state militia took control of the U. S. Arsenal at Apalachicola, Florida.
January 7, 1861 - The Mississippi state convention met.
January 7, 1861 - The Florida state convention received Commissioners from South Carolina and Alabama.
January 7, 1861 - The Alabama state convention met.
January 7, 1861 - The Virginia state legislature met.
January 7, 1861 - The U. S. Arsenal and Fort Marion, St. Augustine, Florida, were seized by Florida state troops. The U. S. Arsenal at Chattahoochee, Florida, was also seized, containing 500,000 rounds of musket cartridges, 300,000 rifle cartridges, and 50,000 pounds of gunpowder, but no arms.
January 8, 1861 - The Alabama state convention received Commissioner from South Carolina.
January 8, 1861 - North Carolina Senate bill arming the State passed the North Carolina House: yeas 73, neas 26.
January 8, 1861 - The Virginia state legislature passed anti-coercion resolution.
January 8, 1861 - U. S. Secretary of the Interior Jacob Thompson resigned because "additional troops, he had heard, have been ordered to Charleston" in the Star of the West.
January 9, 1861 - The state of Mississippi passed the Ordinance of Secession: yeas 84, neas 15; Mississippi seceded from the Union. In the ordinance the people of Mississippi expressed their consent to form a federal union with those States that have seceded or may secede from the United States of America.
January 9, 1861 - The Virginia state legislature passed a resolution asking that the status quo be maintained.
January 9, 1861 - The steamship Star of the West was fired upon by South Carolina State troops as it tried to land men and supplies at Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.
January 10, 1861 - The state of Florida passed the Ordinance of Secession: yeas 62, neas 7. Florida seceded from the Union.
January 10, 1861 - The state of Mississippi received Commissioners from other States, and adopted several resolutions, and recognized South Carolina as sovereign and independent.
January 10, 1861 - The Virginia Governor transmitted a despatch from the Mississippi Convention, announcing its unconditional secession from the Union, and desiring on the basis of the old Constitution to form a new union with the seceding States.
January 10, 1861 - The Virginia House adopted, yeas 77, neas 61, an amendment submitting to a vote of the people the question of referring for their decision any action of the convention dissolving Virginia's connection to the Union, or changing its organic law. The Richmond Enquirer denounced "the emasculation of the Convention Bill as imperilling all that Virginians hold most sacred and dear."
January 10, 1861 - U. S. guns and stores on board the steamship Texas were seized by Texas State troops in Galveston, Texas.
January 11, 1861 - The state of Alabama passed the Ordinance of Secession in secret session: yeas 61, neas 39. A proposition to submit ordinance to the people lost: yeas 47, neas 53. Alabama seceded from the Union.
January 11, 1861 - U. S. Secretary of the Treasury Philip F. Thomas, from Maryland, resigned, completing the Southern withdrawl from President Buchanan's cabinet. He did so because of differences with the President and a majority of the Cabinet, "in the measures which have been adopted in reference to the recent condition of things in South Carolina," especially "touching the authority, under existing laws, to enforce the collection of the customs at the port of Charleston."
January 11, 1861 - The Mississippi River was blockaded at Vicksburg, Mississippi, by a Confederate artillery battery.
January 11, 1861 - Fort Jackson and Fort St. Phillip, Louisiana, at the mouth of the Mississippi River, and Fort Pike, on Lake Ponchartrain, and the U. S. Arsenal at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, were seized by Louisiana State troops. The Arsenal contained 50,000 small arms, 4 howitzers, 20 heavy pieces of ordinance, 2 batteries, and 300 barrels of gun powder.
January 11, 1861 - U. S. President James Buchanan appointed John A. Dix, of New York, to replace Philip F. Thomas as U. S. Secretary of the Treasury.
January 12, 1861 - The state of Mississippi withdrew its representatives from the U. S. Congress.
January 12, 1861 - The state of Tennessee passed the Convention Bill.
January 12, 1861 - The Navy Yard and Fort Barrancas and Fort McRee, Pensacola, Florida, were seized by Florida State troops.
January 14, 1861 - The Committee of Thirty-three and the Committee of Thirteen were unable to reach a compromise, but the U. S. House of Representatives agreed on the Corwin Amendment.
January 14, 1861 - The South Carolina state legislature declared that any attempt to reinforce Fort Sumter would be considered an open act of hostility and a declaration of war. The legislature also approved the Governor's action in firing on the Star of the West.
January 14, 1861 - James Carroll, former Democratic candidate for Maryland Governor, announced his intention to side with the seceding states.
January 15, 1861 - The Missouri Senate passed the Convention Bill: yeas 31, neas 2. The Missouri House also passed the Convention Bill.
January 16, 1861 - The Arkansas state legislature passed the Convention Bill. The vote for the Convention Bill was: yeas 27,412, neas 15,826.
January 16, 1861 - The Virginia state legislature received Alabama Commissioners A. F. Hopkins and Frank Gilmer.
January 16, 1861 - Marshal Kane, in a letter to Baltimore Mayor Berrett, denied that any organization existed to prevent the inauguration of U. S. President Abraham Lincoln, and said that the president elect would need no armed escort in passing through or sojourning within the limits of Baltimore and Maryland.
January 17, 1861 - The Georgia state convention met, and received Commissioners from South Carolina and Alabama.
January 17, 1861 - The Virginia state legislature passed resolutions proposing the Crittenden Resolutions as the basis for adjustment, and requesting the U. S. Government avoid a collision with the Southern states.
January 17, 1861 - Virginia Governor John Letcher communicated resolutions from the New York state legislature, expressing the utmost disdain, and saying that "the threat conveyed can inspire no terror in freemen." The resolutions were directed to be returned to the Governor of New York.
January 17, 1861 - The Kentucky state legislature met.
January 18, 1861 - The state of Georgia adopted resolutions declaring it the State's right and duty to secede: yeas 165, neas 130.
January 18, 1861 - The state of Florida appointed delegates to Southern Congress at Montgomery, Alabama.
January 18, 1861 - The Virginia state legistature appropriated $1,000,000 for the defence of the State.
January 18, 1861 - U. S. Postmaster General Joseph Holt resigned, and was appointed U. S. Secretary of War by U. S. President James Buchanan.
January 19, 1861 - The state of Georgia passed the Ordinance of Secession: yeas 208, neas 89. Georgia seceded from the Union.
January 19, 1861 - The Mississippi state legislature's committee on the Confederacy presented resolutions to provide for a Southern Confederacy, and to establish a provisional government for seceding states and states hereafter seceding.
January 19, 1861 - Alabama delegates were elected to the Southern Congress.
January 19, 1861 - The Virginia state legislature passed resolution that if all efforts to reconcile the differences of the country fail, every consideration of honor and interest demands that Virginia shall unite her destinies with her sister slaveholding States. Also that no reconstruction of the Union can be permanent or satisfactory which would not secure to each section self-protecting power against any invasion of the Federal Union upon the reserved rights of either.
January 20, 1861 - Fort Massachusetts, Ship Island, Mississippi, at the mouth of the Mississippi River, was seized by Mississippi state troops.
January 21, 1861 - Georgia's Senators and Representatives withdrew from the U.S. Congress.
January 21, 1861 - Mississippi's Senators, including Jefferson Davis, resigned from the U. S. Senate.
January 21, 1861 - Florida's Senators and Representatives withdrew from the U. S. Congress.
January 21, 1861 - Alabama's Senators and Representatives withdrew from the U. S. Congress.
January 21, 1861 - The Texas state legislature met.
January 21, 1861 - The Virginia state legislature replied to Alabama commissioners A. F. Hopkins and Frank Gilmer, expressing an inability to make a definite response until after the meeting of the Virginia state convention.
January 22, 1861 - Virginia Governor John Letcher transmitted the resolutions of the Ohio State Legislature, with unfavorable comment, to the Virginia state legislature. His message was tabled by a small majority.
January 22, 1861 - The Kentucky House, by a vote of 87 to 6, resolved to resist the invasion of the South at all hazards.
January 23, 1861 - The Louisiana state convention met, receiving commissioners from South Carolina and Alabama.
January 24, 1861 - U. S. Arsenal in Augusta, Georgia, was seized by 700 Georgia State troops. The Arsenal contained two 12-pound howitzers, two cannons, 22,000 muskets and rifles, and large stores of powder, cannon balls, grape shot, etc.
January 24, 1861 - The state of Georgia elected delegates to Southern Congress at Montgomery, Alabama.
January 26, 1861 - The state of Louisiana passed the Ordinance of Secession: yeas 113, neas 17. Louisiana seceded from the Union. The Louisiana Convention refused to submit the Ordinance to the people by a vote of 84 to 45.
January 26, 1861 - Alabama commissioners were appointed to negotiate with the U. S. government relative to the U. S. forts, arsenals, etc., within the state.
January 27, 1861 - The Kentucky state legislature adopted the Virginia resolutions requiring the Federal government to protect slavery in the Territories and to guarantee the right of transit of slaves through the free states.
January 28, 1861 - Georgia elected commissioners to other slave-holding states.
January 28, 1861 - Texas People's state convention met.
January 29, 1861 - Kansas was admitted to the Union as the thirty-fourth state, under the Free State Wyandotte Constitution.
January 29, 1861 - The Texas state legislature passed a resolution declaring that the Federal Government had no power to coerce a sovereign state after it has pronounced its separation from the Federal Union.
January 30, 1861 - The North Carolina state legislature passed the Convention Bill, the election to take place on February 28. The legislature concluded that no Secession Ordinance would be valid without being ratified by a majority of the qualified voters of the state.
January 30, 1861 - The state of Tennessee appointed commissioners to Washington, D. C.
January 30, 1861 - The Virginia House of Delegates tabled the resolutions of the Pennsylvania state legislature, but referred those of the Tennessee state legislature to the Committee on Federal Relations.
January 30, 1861 - The Maryland Senate President, John B. Brooke, and Maryland House Speaker, E. G. Kilbourn, asked Maryland Governor Thomas H. Hicks to convene the legislature in response to public meetings.
January 31, 1860 - The state of North Carolina elected Thomas L. Clingman U. S. Senator.
January 31, 1861 - The U. S. Mint and Customs House, New Orleans, Louisiana, were seized by Louisiana State troops, yielding $599,303 in gold and silver.
February 1, 1861 - The Texas state convention passed an Ordinance of Secession: yeas 166, neas 7. Texas seceded from the Union, with a referendum of the people to be held February 23, 1861.
February 2, 1861 - The Kentucky Senate passed, by a vote of 25 to 11, resolutions appealing to the Southern states to stop the revolution, protesting against Federal coercion, and providing that the legislature reassemble on April 24th to hear the responses from sister states. The Kentucky Senate also favored making an application to call a national convention for proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States. And the Kentucky Senate, by a vote of 25 to 14, declared it expedient at this time to call a state convention.
February 4, 1861 - The Virginia State Peace Conference opened in Washington, D. C., but was not attended by any representatives from the seceded states. A pro-Union majority took control of the Virginia Secession Convention, raising hopes that Virginia would not leave the Union.
February 4, 1861 - The seceded states opened a convention in Montgomery, Alabama, to organize a new government.
February 5, 1861 - Louisiana Senators withdrew from the U. S. Congress. Its Representatives also withdrew, except for John E. Bouligny.
February 5, 1861 - The Kentucky House passed the Senate's resolutions of February 2: yeas 54, neas 40.
February 7, 1861 - Texas delegates to the Southern Congress were elected, and an act submitting the Ordinance of Secession to a vote of its citizens was passed.
February 7, 1861 - The Choctaw Indian Nation seceded from the Union.
February 8, 1861 - The Constitution for a provisional Confederate government was adopted at Montgomery, Alabama.
February 8, 1861 - The voters of Tennessee voted against holding a state convention: yeas 54,156, neas 67,360.
February 8, 1861 - Five New York ships were seized by order of the Georgia Governnor, and held until certain guns on board the vessel Monticello, seized by New York City police, were delivered to agents of Georgia. In addition, the Georgia Governor ordered the Collector of the Port of Savannah, Georgia, to retain all moneys from customs in his possession, and to make no payment on accounts of the Federal government.
February 8, 1861 - The U. S. Arsenal at Little Rock, Arkansas, was seized by Arkansas state troops. It contained 9,000 small arms, 40 cannons, and large quantities of ammunition.
February 9, 1861 - The Confederate States of America was formed with Jefferson Davis, a West Point graduate and former U.S. Army officer, as President of the Confederacy, with Alexander H. Stephens, from Georgia, elected Vice-President.
February 9, 1861 - Tennessee state voters refused to call a secession convention.
February 11, 1861 - Abraham Lincoln left Springfield, Illinois for Washington, D. C. to assume the office of President of the United States.
February 12, 1861 - Horatio King was appointed U. S. Postmaster General by U. S. President James Buchanan.
February 13, 1861 - Abraham Lincoln's election was confirmed by the Electoral College, minus most of the Southern members.
February 13, 1861 - The North Carolina state legislature publicly received commissioners from Georgia.
February 13, 1861 - The Virginia state convention met.
February 14, 1861 - The Florida state legislature passed an Act declaring that after any actual collision between Federal troops and those in the employ of Florida, the act of holding office under the Federal government shall be declared treason, and any person convicted of such action shall suffer death. The state of Florida transfered control of captured U. S. government property to the Confederate government.
February 15, 1861 - The Montgomery Convention, acting as the provisional Confederate Congress, passed a resolution to take Fort Sumter, South Carolina, and Fort Pickens, Florida, by "whatever means necessary."
February 16, 1861 - The U. S. Arsenal and barracks at San Antonio, Texas, was seized by Texas State troops.
February 18, 1861 - Inauguration of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The Confederate Capital was established in Montgomery, Alabama.
February 18, 1861 - The state of Arkansas elected delegates to the state convention.
February 18, 1861 - The Maryland State Conference Convention met, and insisted upon a meeting of the Maryland legislature.
February 18, 1861 - At a meeting in Howard County, Maryland, addressed by Speaker of the House of delegates, E. G. Kilbourn, a resolution was adopted that "immediate steps ought to be taken for the establishment of a Southern Confederacy, by consultation and co-operation with such other Southern and Slave Sates as may be ready therefor."
February 18, 1861 - Brevet Major General David E. Twiggs surrendered all Federal troops and posts in Texas to Texas state militia commanders at San Antonio, Texas.
February 20, 1861 - The Virginia state legislature returned without comment resolutions from the Michigan state legislature.
February 21, 1861 - Three New York ships were seized at Savannah, Georgia, by order of the Georgia governor.
February 22, 1861 - Abraham Lincoln learned of the "Baltimore Plot" and agreed to be smuggled into Washington, D. C., via an overnight trip from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
February 23, 1861 - Abraham Lincoln arrived in Washington, D. C.
February 23, 1861 - Voters in Texas passed the state's Ordinance of Secession: yeas 34,794, neas 11,235 (as the Legislature had done on February 1).
February 27, 1861 - The Virginia State Peace Conference sent its proposals for six constitutional amendments to the U. S. Congress.
February 28, 1861 - North Carolina elected delegates to a state convention. The majority of voters in the state, however, voted against a Convention: yeas 46,671, neas 47,333.
February 28, 1861 - Ex-President John Tyler (1841-1845) and James A. Seddon, commissioners to the Peace Congress, presented their report to the Virginia state legislature, and denounced the recommendations of that body as a delusion and a sham, and as an insult and an offense to the South.
February 28, 1861 - The Missouri state convention met, with a motion to go into secret session defeated. A resolution requiring members to take an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and the State of Missouri was defeated: yeas 30, neas 65.
March 1, 1861 - The U. S. Congress refused to act upon Virginia's Peace Conference proposals.
March 2, 1861 - In the absence of opposition, the U. S. Congress passed the Morrill Tariff Act, a high protective tariff long opposed by Southern congressmen.
March 2, 1861 - U. S. revenue cutter Henry Dodge was seized in Galveston Bay, Texas, by Texas state troops.
March 3, 1861 - Confederate forces under Brigadier General Pierre G. T. Beauregard took over control in Charleston, South Carolina.
March 4, 1861 - Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, sworn in as the 16th President of the United States of America.
March 4, 1861 Major Richard Anderson reported that his supplies were running low, and may force him to evacuate Fort Sumter.
March 4, 1861 - The Alabama state convention re-assembled.
March 4, 1861 - The Arkansas state convention met.
March 4, 1861 - The Texas state convention declared the state out of the Union. Governor Samuel Houston issued a proclamation to that effect.
March 4, 1861 - The Missouri state convention passed a resolution (yeas 64, neas 35) appointing a committee to notify Georgia commissioner Luther J. Glenn that the Missouri state convention was ready to hear any communication from his state. Mr. Glenn read Georgia's Articles of Secession, and made a speech urging Missouri to join her.
March 5, 1861 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln announced his cabinet: State-William H. Seward; Treasury-Salmon P. Chase; Navy-Gideon Welles; War-Simon Cameron; Interior-Caleb B. Smith; Attorney General-Edward Bates; Postmaster General-Montgomery Blair.
March 5, 1861 - The Missouri state convention resolved that the protest of St. Louis against coercion be reduced to writing, and a copy be sent to the President of the United States. Resolutions were also adopted informing Georgia commissioner Luther J. Glenn that Missouri dissented from the position taken by the state of Georgia, and that Missouri refused to join Georgia in secession from the Union.
March 6, 1861 - The Confederate Cabinet was completed: State-Robert Toombs; War-Leroy P. Walker; Navy-Stephen R. Mallory; Treasury-Christopher G. memminger; Attorney General-Judah P. Benjamin; Postmaster General-John H. Reagan. The Confederacy called for 100,000 volunteers.
March 6, 1861 - The Confederacy called for 100,000 volunteers.
March 6, 1861 - The Missouri state convention called for a convention of the Southern states which have not seceded, to meet at Nashville, Tennessee, April 15th., providing for such amendments to the Constitution of the United States as shall secure to all the states equal rights in the Union, declaring strongly against secession.
March 7, 1861 - The Georgia state convention reassmebled.
March 7, 1861 - The Louisiana state legislature adopted an ordinance in secret session transferring to the Confederate states $536,000, being the amount of bullion in the U. S. mint and customs seized by the State.
March 9, 1861 - The Missouri Committee on Federal Relations reported a series of resolutions, setting forth that at present there was no adequate cause to impel Missouri to leave the Union, but that on the contrary she will labor for such an adjustment of existing troubles as would secure peace and the rights and equality of all the States; that the people of Missouri regard the amendments to the Constitution proposed by Mr. Crittenden, with their extension to territory hereafter to be acquired, a basis of adjustment which would forever remove all difficulties; and that it was expedient for the Missouri state legislature to call a convention for proposing amendments to the United States Constitution.
March 9, 1861 - The Missouri Senate passed resolutions that their Senators be instructed, and Missouri's Representatives requested, to oppose the passage of all acts granting supplies of men and money to coerce the seceding states into submission or subjugation; and that, should such acts be passed by the U. S. Congress, Missouri's Senators would be instructed, and Missouri's Representatives requested, to retire from the halls of Congress.
March 11, 1861 - The Confederacy Convention, acting as a provisional Congress, accepted the Constitution of the Confederate States of America, and sent it out for ratification.
March 13, 1861 - The Alabama state convention ratified the Confederate Constitution: yeas 87, neas 6. They also transfered control of forts, arsenals, etc., to the Confederate Government.
March 14, 1861 - The Confederate Congress passed a resolution accepting the $536,000 given it by the state of Louisiana on March 7, with "a high sense of the patriotic liberality of the State of Louisiana."
March 15, 1861 - After being asked their opinions by U. S. President Abraham Lincoln, all of the cabinet members except Blair advised against the reinforcement of Fort Sumter. U. S. Secretary of Treasury Salmon P. Chase and U. S. Secretary of State William H. Seward opposed the move unless Fort Pickens was also reinforced.
March 16, 1861 - The state of Georgia ratified the Confederate Constitution: yeas 96, neas 5.
March 16, 1861 - The Louisiana state legislature voted down an ordinance which would have submitted the Confederate Constitution to the people of the state: yeas 26, neas 74.
March 16, 1861 - The Texas state convention deposed Governor Samuel Houston by a vote of 127 to 4, declaring his seat vacant. Governor Houston issued a proclamation to the people of the state protesting against this action by the convention.
March 16, 1861 - An amendment to the fifth resolution of the majority report of Missouri's Committee on Federal Relations was voted down. This amendment asserted that Missouri would never countenance nor aid a seceding state in making war upon the United States government, nor provide men and money for the purpose of aiding the United States government to coerce a seceding state.
March 18, 1861 - The Arkansas convention defeated an Ordinance of Secession: yeas 35, neas 39. The convention effected a compromise by agreeing to submit the question of co-operation or secession to the people of the state on the first Monday in August, 1861.
March 18, 1861 - Sam Houston resigned as governor of Texas, refusing to take a loyalty oath to the Confederacy.
March 20, 1861 - The state of Georgia passed an ordinance authorizing the Confederate government to occupy, use and possess the forts, navy yards, arsenals, and custom houses within the limits of the state.
March 20, 1861 - The Texas state legislature confirmed the action of the Texas Convention in deposing Governor Houston by a vote of 53 to 11. The legislature also transfered forts, arsenals, etc., to the Confederate government.
March 21, 1861 - The state of Louisiana ratified the Confederate Constitution: yeas 101, neas 7. The Louisiana governor authorized transfer of arms and property captured from the United States to the Confederate government.
March 22, 1861 - The Kentucky State Rights Convention met. It adopted resolutions denouncing any attempt on the part of the government to collect revenue as coercion; and affirmed that, in case of any such attempt, the border states should make common cause with the Southern Confederacy. They also recommended a border state convention be convened.
March 23, 1861 - The state of Texas ratified the Confederate Constitution: yeas 68, neas 2.
March 26, 1861 - The South Carolina state convention met in Charleston, South Carolina.
March 27, 1861 - The Louisiana state convention adjourned, without setting a day for reassembling.
March 27, 1861 - The Missouri House passed (yeas 62, neas 42) a resolution that it was inexpedient for the Missouri General Assembly to take any steps calling a National Convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution, as recommended by the Missouri state convention.
March 29, 1861 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln's cabinet took a stronger stand on holding all federal forts in the South.
March 30, 1861 - The state of Mississippi ratified the Confederate Constitution: yeas 78, neas 7.
April 2, 1861 - The Morrill Tariff Act was passed by the U. S. Congress.
April 3, 1861 - The state of South Carolina ratified the Confederate Constitution: yeas 114, nays 16.
April 4, 1861 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln ordered a relief expedition to Fort Sumter, but, because of U. S. Secretary of State William H. Seward's duplicity, the expedition sailed without armed escort.
April 4, 1861 - The Virginia state government refused to secede from the Union.
April 6, 1861 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln informed the South Carolina government that he intended to provide relief supplies to Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.
April 8, 1861 - The relief expedition sailed from New York City, New York.
April 8, 1861 - The state of South Carolina transfered forts, etc. to the Confederate government.
April 10, 1861 - Brigadier General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, in command of the provisional Confederate forces at Charleston, South Carolina, demanded the surrender of the Union garrison of Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. Garrison commander Major Robert Anderson refused. (SC001) (Operations in Charleston Harbor [April 1861]).
April 11, 1861 - The Confederate Government demanded the surrender of Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. Major Robert Anderson refused.
April 12, 1861 - The Bombardment of Fort Sumter, South Carolina. On April 10, 1861, Brigadier General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, in command of the provisional Confederate forces at Charleston, South Carolina, demanded the surrender of the Union garrison of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Garrison commander Anderson refused. On April 12, at 4:30 a.m., Confederates batteries under Beauregard open fire with 50 cannons upon Fort Sumter, which was unable to reply effectively. At 2:30 p.m., April 13, Major Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter, evacuating the garrison on the following day. The bombardment of Fort Sumter was the opening engagement of the American Civil War. Although there were no casualties during the bombardment, one Union artillerist was killed and three wounded (one mortally) when a cannon exploded prematurely when firing a salute during the evacuation.
April 12, 1861 - The Federal garrison at Fort Pickens, Pensacola, Florida, was reinforced without incident.
April 13, 1861 - At 2:30 p.m., Major Robert Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter, evacuating the garrison on the following day. The bombardment of Fort Sumter was the opening engagement of the American Civil War.
April 14, 1861 - Federal forces evacuated Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.
April 15, 1861 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln issued a Proclamation calling for 75,000 militiamen, and summoning a special session of the U. S. Congress for July 4.
April 17, 1861 - The Virginia state convention passed an Ordinance of Secession in secret session: yeas 88, neas 55, one excused and eight not voting. Virginia seceded from the Union, with a popular referendum to be held on May 23.
April 17, 1861 - Nicholas Biddle, a colored man from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, joined the Washington artillerists, and became the first Negro volunteer for the Union.
April 18, 1861 - Major Robert E. Lee, son of a Revolutionary War hero, and a distinguished 25 year veteran of the United States Army and former Superintendent of West Point, was offered command of the Federal Army. Lee declined, choosing to remain loyal to his home state of Virginia.
April 18, 1861 - The Federal garrison abandoned Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
April 18, 1861 - Nicholas Biddle was wounded in Baltimore, Maryland, by a mob, and became the first negro to shed blood during the Civil War.
April 19, 1861 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln issued a Proclamation of Blockade against Southern ports. For the duration of the war the blockade limited the ability of the rural South to stay well supplied in its war against the industrialized North.
April 19, 1861 - The 6th Massachusetts Regiment clashed with a mob in Baltimore, Maryland, and Clara Barton came to the fore as a nurse for the wounded.
April 20, 1861 - Major Robert E. Lee resigned his commission in the United States Army. "I cannot raise my hand against my birthplace, my home, my children." Lee then went to Richmond, Virginia, was offered command of the military and forces of Virginia, and accepted this commission by the state of Virginia.
April 20, 1861 - Frederick Douglass proposed the use of African Zouave Regiments by the Union. His proposal was not considered.
April 20, 1861 - Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, was partially destroyed by Federal forces to prevent Yard facilities from falling into Confederate hands. Later it was abandoned by Federal forces, and seized by Confederate troops. This operation secured for the Confederacy the fine steam frigate Merrimack, and a great quantity of naval stores and armaments, including 52 modern 9-inch guns.
April 21, 1861 - Maryland Governor Thomas H. Hicks wrote to Federal Brigadier General Benjamin F. Butler advising that he not land his Federal troops at Annapolis, Maryland. Brigadier General Butler relied that he intended to land there and then march to Washington, D.C. Governor Hicks protested against this and also against Butler's having taken forcible possession of the Annapolis and Elkridge railroad.
April 22, 1861 - Major General Robert E. Lee was named to head all Virginia state troops.
April 24, 1861 - Kentucky Governor Beriah Magoffin called an extra session of the Kentucky state legislature.
April 24, 1861 - A special election of ten delegates to the Maryland state legislature took place in Baltimore, Maryland. The total vote cast in all the wards was 9,249. The total vote cast for the Presidential election in November, 1860, was 30,148.
April 26, 1861 - Georgia Governor Joseph E. Brown issued a proclamation ordering the repudiation by the citizens of Georgia of all debts due Northern men.
April 26, 1861 - The Maryland state legislature reassembled at Frederick, Maryland.
April 26, 1861 - The town of Annapolis, Maryland, was occupied by Federal troops under Federal Brigadier General Benjamin F. Butler.
April 27, 1861 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus along the railroad running from Washington, D. C., to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
April 27, 1861 - The ports of North Carolina and Virginia were included in the Federal's naval blockade of the South.
April 29, 1861 - Maryland Governor Thomas H. Hicks sent a message to the Maryland state legislature communicating to them the correspondence between himself and Federal Brigadier General Benjamin F. Butler and the U. S. Secretary of War Simon Cameron relative to the landing of U. S. troops at Annapolis, Maryland.
April 29, 1861 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln issued an executive proclamation creating martial law in the state of Maryland.
April 29, 1861 - The Maryland House of Delegates voted against secession: yeas 13, neas 53. The Maryland Senate votd unanimously against secession.
April 30, 1861 - Federal troops were removed from the Indian Nations land, leaving the Five Civilized (i.e. slaveholding) Tribes open to Confederate influence.
May 1, 1861 - An extra session of the North Carolina state legislature met at the request of Governor Ellis. The same day the legislature passed a Convention Bill, ordering an election of delegates on May 13, 1861.
May 1, 1861 - The Tennessee state legislature passed a joint resolution authorizing the Governor to appoint commissioners to enter into a military league with the authorities of the Confederate States.
May 2, 1861 - The Maryland Committee on Federal Relations, "in view of the seizure of the railroads by the General Government and the erection of fortifications," presented resolutions appointing commissioners to U. S. President Abraham Lincoln to ascertain whether any suitable arrangements with the U. S. government were practicable for the maintenance for the peace and honor of the state and the security of its inhabitants. Appointed commissioners were: Otho Scott, Robert M. McLane, William J. Ross.
May 3, 1861 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln called for 42,000 volunteers for three-years' service, also for eight new three-battalion regiments of regular infantry, one regiment of regular artillery, and 18,000 seaman.
May 3, 1861 - In Great Britain, Foreign Minister Lord John Russell informaly met with the Yancy-Rost-Mann delegation from the Confederacy, there to seek recognition for the Confederate government.
May 3, 1861 - U. S. Brevet General Winfield Scott issued the Anaconda Plan to subdue the South.
May 6, 1861 - The state of Arkansas passed an Ordinance of Secession: yeas 69, neas 1. Arkansas seceded from the Union. Arkansas authorized its delegates to the Provisional Congress to transfer the arsenal at Little Rock and the hospital at Napoleon to the Confederate government.
May 6, 1861 - Maryland Commissioners Otho Scott, Robert M. McLane, and William J. Ross reported the results of their interview with U. S. President Abraham Lincoln, expressing the opinion that some modifications of the course of the Federal government towards Maryland ought to be expected.
May 6, 1861 - Great Britain decided to recognize the Confederacy as a belligerent, but not as a nation.
May 7, 1861 - The state of Tennessee formed an alliance with the Confederacy, but does not actually secede on this date.
May 7, 1861 - The Tennessee state legislature ratified, in secret session, the league entered into by A. O. W. Totten, Gustavus A. Henry, Washington Barrow, the Commissioners for Tennessee, and Henry W. Hilliard, Commissioner for the Confederate States. Their pact stipulated that until Tennessee became a member of the Confederacy that it place the State's entire military force under the control of the Confederate States, and turned over to the Confederate States all the public property, naval stores, and munitions of war. This arrangement passed the the Senate: yeas 14, neas 6, absent and not voting 5. It passed the House: yeas 42, neas 15, absent and not voting 18. Also passed were a Declaration of Independence and an ordinance dissolving the Federal relations between Tennessee and the United States, and an ordinance adopting and ratifying the Confederate Constitution. These latter two issues were to be voted on by the people of Tennessee on June 8, 1861.
May 10, 1861 - The Battle of Camp Jackson, Missouri. Captain Nathaniel Lyons secured Federal control of St. Louis, Missouri, after putting down a riot between pro-Union and pro-slavery factions.
May 10, 1861 - The Maryland House of Delegates passed a series of resolutions reported by the Committee on Federal Relations: yeas 45, neas 12. The resolutions declared that Maryland should protest against the war, and implored U. S. President Abraham Lincoln to make peace with the Confederate States; also, that "the State of Maryland desires the peaceful and immediate recognition of the independence of the Confederate States."
May 12, 1861 - Troops under Federal Brigadier General Benjamin F. Butler restored Federal control in Baltimore, Maryland. George Scott, the first contraband slave at Fort Monroe, Virginia, became a scout in the Federal army. His information aided in the Battle of Big Bethel, the first major land conflict of the war (see June 10, 1861).
May 13, 1861 - Queen Victoria proclaimed British neutrality, thereby unofficailly recognizing the Confederacy as a belligerent.
May 13, 1861 - North Carolina elected delegates to a state convention, as ordered to do so by the state legislature on May 1.
May 13, 1861 - Both Houses of the Maryland state legislature adopted a resolution providing for a committee of eight members, four from each House, to visit the President of the United States and the President of the Southern Confederacy. The committee to visit Confederate President Jefferson Davis was instructed to convey the assurance that Maryland sympathized with the Confederate states, and that the people of Maryland were whole heartiedly on the side of reconciliation and peace.
May 16, 1861 - The Confederate Congress authorized the recruiting of 400,000 men.
May 16, 1861 - The state of Tennessee was officially admitted to the Confederacy, due in part to manipulations by Governor Isham Harris.
May 18, 1861 - The state of Arkansas was admitted to the Confederacy.
May 18-19, 1861 - The Battle of Sewell's Point, Virginia. (VA001) (Blockade of the Chesapeake Bay [May-June 1861]). Two Federal gunboats, including U.S.S. Monticello, dueled with Confederate batteries on Sewell's Point in an attempt to enforce the blockade of Hampton Roads, Virginia. The two sides did each other little harm.
May 20, 1861 - The North Carolina Convention met, ratified the Confederate Constitution, and passed an Ordinance of Secession. North Carolina seceded from the Union.
May 20, 1861 - Kentucky Governor Beriah Magoffin issued a neutrality proclamation.
May 20, 1861 - The Confederate Provisional Congress, meeting in Montgomery, Alabama, voted to move the Capital of the Confederacy to Richmond, Virginia.
May 21, 1861 - The Price-Narney Agreement in Missouri restored equilbrium to the state.
May 22, 1861 - Federal Brigadier General Benjamin F. Butler was sent to command Fortress Monroe, Virginia.
May 23, 1861 - The state of Virginia voted overwhelmingly (by margin of 3 to 1) to join the Confederacy. The western part of the state, however, prepared to break away from the rest of Virginia, wanting to remain loyal to the Federal government.
May 24, 1861 - 10,000 Federal troops entered Virginia and occupied Alexandria. Major Ephriam Ellsworth was killed while removing a Confederate flag from the Marshall House hotel in Alexandria, Virginia, becoming the first (Federal) officer killed in the war.
May 24, 1861 - Federal Commander S. C. Rowan, U.S.S. Pawnee, demanded the surrender of Alexandria, Virginia. A Federal amphibious expedition departed Washington Navy Yard and occupied the town.
May 25, 1861 - Federal Brigadier General Benjamin F. Butler declared escaped slaves to be contraband of war.
May 26, 1861 - Federal General George B. McClellan, from the Department of the Army of the Ohio, was ordered to suppress all attempts of insurrection among Negroes.
May 26, 1861 - U.S.S. Brooklyn, under Commander Charles H. Poor, established a naval blockade of New Orleans and the mouth of the Mississippi River.
May 26, 1861 - U.S.S. Powhatan, commanded by Lieutenant D. D. Porter, established a blockade at Mobile, Alabama.
May 28, 1861 - U. S. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, in his exparte Merryman decision, issued his circuit court opinion challenging U. S. President Abraham Lincoln's arbitrary arrest policy toward suspected Confederate sympathizers.
May 28, 1861 - Federal Brigadier General Irwin McDowell was appointed Federal commander of the Department of the Army of Northeastern Virginia.
May 28, 1861 - U.S.S. Union, under Commander John R. Goldsborough, initiated a naval blockade of Savannah, Georgia.
May 29, 1861 - Federal troops occupied Newport News, Virginia.
May 29, 1861 - U. S. Secretary of War Simon Cameron accepted Miss Dorothea Dix's offer to establish Federal Military hospitals.
May 29-June 1, 1861 - The Battle of Aquia Creek, Virginia. (VA002) (Blockade of the Chesapeake Bay [May-June 1861]). Three Federal naval vessels bombarded Confederate batteries near the mouth of Aquia Creek that were built to protect the northern terminus of the railroad to Richmond. Confederates feared a landing of troops, but this did not materialize. Results of the bombardment were inconclusive, although the batteries were later withdrawn.
May 30, 1861 - Federal Secretary of War Simon Cameron ordered Federal Major General Benjamin F. Butler, USA, stationed at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, not to surrender any fugitive slaves to disloyal owners.
May 31, 1861 - Federal Brevet Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon, USA, replaced Federal Brigadier General William S. Harney, USA, for Federal control in Missouri.
June 1, 1861 - The Battle of Fairfax Courthouse, Virginia.
June 1, 1861 - Great Britain refused to receive Confederate privateer prizes.
June 3, 1861 - The Battle of Philippi, Virginia. (WV001) (Operations in Western Virginia [June-December 1861]). Federal Major General George B. McClellan, with Ohio volunteers, works to clear western Virginia of local Confederate forces. Federal Colonel Thomas A. Morris, temporarily in command of Federal forces in western Virginia, mounted a two-prong advance under E. Dumont and B. F. Kelley against a small Confederate occupation force at Philippi under Porterfield. Kelley marched on back roads from near Grafton on June 2 to reach the rear of the town, while Dumont moved south from Webster. Both columns arrived at Philippi before dawn on the 3rd. The resulting surprise attack routed the Confederate troops, forcing them to retreat to Huttonsville. Although a small affair, this was considered the first "major" land action in the Eastern Theater.
June 3, 1861 - Stephen A. Douglas, Democratic candidate for U. S. President in 1860, died of typhoid fever and exhaustion at age 48 in Chicago, Illinois.
June 5, 1861 - The state of North Carolina transfered the arsenal, magazines, etc. at Fayetteville to the Confederate government.
June 8, 1861 - By a state-wide vote of 2 to 1, Tennessee seceded from the Union, following the lead of the state legislature. Eastern Tennessee, however, would remain a staunchly pro-Union region.
June 8, 1861 - General Robert E. Lee, CSA, was appointed military advisor to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
June 10, 1861 - The Battle of Big Bethel, Virginia. (VA003) (Blockade of the Chesapeake Bay [May-June 1861]). First land battle in Virginia. Federal Major General Benjamin F. Butler, USA, sent converging columns from Hampton, Virginia, and Newport News, Virginia, against advanced Confederate outposts at Little and Big Bethel. Confederates abandoned Little Bethel and fell back to their entrenchments behind Brick Kiln Creek, near Big Bethel Church. The Federals, under immediate command of Brigadier General Ebenezer Pierce, pursued, attacked frontally along the road, and were repulsed. Crossing downstream, the 5th New York Zouaves attempted to turn the Confederate left flank, but were repulsed. Unit commander Colonel T. Wynthrop was killed. The Federal forces were disorganized and retired, returning to Hampton and Newport News. The Confederates suffered 1 killed, 7 wounded.
June 10, 1861 - Napoleon III proclaimed French neutrality in regards to the American Civil War.
June 11, 1861 - Western Virginia counties met at Wheeling, Virginia, and refused to secede and set up a state government, recognized by the U. S. government as the "Loyal Virginia Government."
June 11, 1861 - Maryland Commissioners McKaig, Yellott, and Harding, who visited with Confederate President Jefferson Davis on behalf of the State, present their report to the Maryland state legislature. Accompanying their report was a letter from Confederate President Jefferson Davis, expressing his gratification to hear that the State of Maryland was in sympathy with themselves, was on the side of peace and reconciliation, and avowed his willingness for a cessation of hostilities, and a readiness to receive any proposition for peace from the United States government.
June 17, 1861 - The Battle of Boonville, Missouri. (MO001) (Operations to Control Missouri [June-October 1861]). Claiborne Jackson, the pro-Southern Governor of Missouri, wanted the state to secede and join the Confederacy. Federal Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon set out to put down Jackson's Missouri State Guard, commanded by Confederate General Sterling Price. Reaching, Jefferson City, the state capital, Lyon discovered that Jackson and Price had retreated towards Boonville. Lyon reembarked on steamboats, transported his men to below Boonville, marched to the town, and engaged the enemy. In a short fight, Lyon dispersed the Confederates, commanded on the field by Colonel John S. Marmaduke, and occupied Boonville. This early victory established Federal control of the Missouri River and helped douse attempts to place Missouri in the Confederacy.
June 17, 1861 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln watched as Professor Thaddeus S. C. Lowe demonstrated his hot air balloon invention as a potential military observation platform.
June 19, 1861 - pro-Unionists of Virginia met in Wheeling, Virginia, to elect Francis Henry Pierpont as the Provisional Governor of the potential new state of West Virginia.
June 20, 1861 - The Maryland House of Delegates adopted resolutions unqualifiedly protesting against the arrest of Ross Winans and other citizens of Maryland as an "oppressive and tyrannical assertion and exercise of military jurisdiction within the limits of Maryland, over the persons and property of her citizens, by the Government of the United States."
June 24, 1861 - Tennessee Governor Isham G. Harris declared Tennessee out of the Union, with the vote for separation being: yeas 104,019, neas 47,238.
June 27, 1861 - The city marshal of Baltimore, Maryland, George P. Kane, was arrested for pro-Confederate activities.
June 28, 1861 - The Central Pacific Railway company was incorporated at Sacramento, California, for the purpose of building a transcontinental rail line.
June 29, 1861 - The Tennessee state legislature authorized the governor to accept free male Negroes between the ages of fifteen and fifty for military service.
July 2, 1861 - The Battle of Hoke's Run, Virginia. (WV002) (Manassas Campaign [July 1861]). On July 2, Federal Major General Robert Patterson's division crossed the Potomac River near Williamsport and marched on the main road to Martinsburg. Near Hoke's Run, Abercrombie's and Thomas's brigades encountered regiments of Confederate Brigadier General Thomas J. Jackson's brigade, driving them back slowly. Jackson's orders were to delay the Federal advance only, which he did, withdrawing before Patterson's larger force. On July 3, Patterson occupied Martinsburg but made no further aggressive moves until July 15, when he marched to Bunker Hill. Instead of moving on Winchester, however, Patterson turned east to Charles Town and then withdrew to Harpers Ferry. This retrograde movement took pressure off Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley and allowed Johnston's army to march to support Confederate Brigadier General P. G. T. Beauregard at Manassas. Patterson's inactivity contributed to the Federal defeat at First Manassas.
July 2, 1861 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus along the railroad lines from Washington, D. C., to New York City, New York.
July 4, 1861 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln, in a speech to a special session of the U. S. Congress, stated the war is..."a People's contest...a struggle for maintaining in the world, that form, and substance of government, whose leading object is, to elevate the condition of men..." The Congress authorized a call for 500,000 men.
July 5, 1861 - The Battle of Carthage, Missouri. (MO002) (Operations to Control Missouri [June-October 1861]). Federal Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon had chased pro-Confederate Missouri Governor Claiborne Jackson and approximately 4,000 State Militia from the State Capital at Jefferson City, and Boonville, and pursued them. Federal Colonel Franz Sigel led another force of about 1,000 into southwest Missouri in search of the governor and his loyal troops. Upon learning that Sigel had encamped at Carthage, on the night of July 4, Jackson took command of the troops with him and formulated a plan to attack the much smaller Federal force. The next morning, Jackson closed up to Sigel, established a battle line on a ridge ten miles north of Carthage, and induced Sigel to attack him. Opening with artillery fire, Sigel closed to the attack. Seeing a large Confederate force--actually unarmed recruits--moving into the woods on his left, he feared that they would turn his flank. He withdrew. The Confederates pursued, but Sigel conducted a successful rearguard action. By evening, Sigel was inside Carthage and under cover of darkness, he retreated to Sarcoxie. The battle had little meaning, but the pro-Southern elements in Missouri, anxious for any good news, championed their first victory.
July 8, 1861 - Confederate Brigadier General Henry H. Sibley, CSA, was ordered to conquer the Federal Territory of New Mexico.
July 9, 1861 - The U. S. House of Representatives resolved that it was not the duty of Federal soldiers to capture and return fugitive slaves.
July 11, 1861 - The Battle of Rich Mountain, Virginia. (WV003) (Operations in Western Virginia [June-December 1861]). Federal Major General George B. McClellan, with Ohio volunteers, works to clear western Virginia of local Confederate forces. On June 27, he moved his divisions from Clarksburg south against Lieutenant Colonel John Pegram's Confederates, reaching the vicinity of Rich Mountain on July 9. Meanwhile, Brigadier General T. A. Morris's Federal brigade marched from Philippi to confront Confederate Brigadier General R. S. Garnett's command at Laurel Hill. On July 11, Federal Brigadier General William S. Rosecrans led a reinforced brigade by a mountain path to seize the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike in Pegram's rear. A sharp two-hour fight ensued in which the Confederates were split in two. Half escaped to Beverly, but Pegram and the others surrendered on July 13. Hearing of Pegram's defeat, Garnett abandoned Laurel Hill. On July 22, McClellan was ordered to Washington, and Rosecrans assumed command of Federal forces in western Virginia. Federal victory at Rich Mountain was instrumental in propelling McClellan to command of the Army of the Potomac.
July 12, 1861 - Confederate Commissioner Albert Pike signed treaties with the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes in the Indian Nations.
July 13, 1861 - The Battle of Carrick's Ford, Virginia. Following the Confederate retreat from the Battle of Rich Mountain, Federals pursued, and, during fighting at Carrick's Ford on July 13, Confederate Brigadier General Robert Selden Garnett, CSA, was killed. He was the first Civil War general to die, mortally wounded while setting up a skirmish line and fighting a rear guard action.
July 16, 1861 - Federal Brigadier General Irvin McDowell's army advanced upon Manassas Junction, Virginia. The U. S. Navy's Blockade Strategy Board suggests a plan to help implement the blockade of Southern ports - acquire old vessels greater than 250 tons each, fill them with heavy stones, and scuttle them at entrances to Southern harbors.
July 18, 1861 - The Battle of Blackburn's Ford, Virginia. (VA004) (Manassas Campaign [July 1861]). On July 16, the untried Federal army under Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, 35,000 strong, marched out of the Washington defenses to give battle to the Confederate army, which was concentrated around the vital railroad junction at Manassas. The Confederate army, about 22,000 men, under the command of Brigadier General P. G. T. Beauregard, guarded the fords of Bull Run Creek. On the morning of July 18, McDowell reached Centreville and pushed southwest and attempted to cross at Blackburn's Ford. He was repulsed. This action was a reconnaissance-in-force prior to the main event at 1st Manassas / Bull Run. Because of this action, Federal commander McDowell decided on the flanking maneuver he employed at First Manassas three days later.
July 19, 1861 - Federal Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, with 38,000 troops, but fewer than 2,000 professional soldiers among them, move from Washington, D. C., to attack a Confederate force of 20,000, under Confederate Brigadier General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, CSA, near Centerville, Virginia.
July 20, 1861 - Federal Major General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, and his Confederate troops from the Shenandoah Valley joined Confederate Brigadier General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, CSA, at Manassas Junction, Virginia.
July 21, 1861 - The Battle of 1st Manassas or First Bull Run (Manassas I), Virginia. (VA005) (Manassas Campaign [July 1861]). By the time Federal Brigadier General Irvin McDowell's 38,000 troops found Confederate General P. G. T. Beauregard's army along the Bull Run Creek, near Manassas Junction, it had been reinforced with 12,000 troops of General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, from the lower Shenandoah Valley. McDowell had 28,500 "effectives" when it attempted to turn the Confederate left, choosing a more complicated movement than his untrained troops and staff could properly execute. Early Federal progress during initial engagements was cut short by a stand made on Henry House Hill by Confederate Brigadier General Thomas J. Jackson, CSA, hereafter referred to as "Stonewall" because of his stout defence and adept shifting of troops throughout the length of the combat. The Federal forces were themselves enveloped late in the afternoon. McDowell's army fled the battlefield in panic, with rear guard cover being provided by an infantry battalion under Federal Major General George Sykes, USA, and a cavalry squadron of Major Innis N. Palmer, USA. Federal losses were 2,706; Confederate losses were 1,981.
July 21, 1861 - Robert M. T. Hunter replaced Robert Toombs as Confederate Secretary of State.
July 21, 1861 - Federal Major General John C. Frémont, USA, assumed command of Federal forces in the West, at St. Louis, Missouri.
July 22, 1861 - Federal Major General George Brinton McClellan, USA, was immediately called to Washington, D. C., and asked to replace Federal Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, USA, in command of the main Federal force.
July 22, 1861 - The Missouri convention reassembled.
July 23, 1861 - The Missouri Convention passed a resolution (yeas 65, neas 21) declaring the office of president, formerly held by Confederate Brigadier General Sterling Price, CSA, during the last session of the convention, to now be vacant. A committee of seven were appointed to report what action they deem it advisable to take in the dislocated condition of the State.
July 25, 1861 - The U. S. Congress passed the Crittenden Resolution, declaring the object of the war to be the preservation of the Union rather than the end of slavery.
July 25, 1861 - The Committee appointed by the Missouri Convention on July 23rd presented its report to the Missouri Convention. It alluded at length to the present unparalled condition of things, the reckless course of the recent Missouri Government, and the flight of the governor and other state officers from the Missouri capital. The Committee declared the Missouri offices of Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and Secretary of State vacant, and provides that their vacancies shall be filled by the Missouri Convention, the officers so appointed to hold their positions until August, 1862, at which time it provided for a special election by the people of Missouri.
July 26, 1861 - The Battle of Fort Fillmore, New Mexico. The U. S. fort was surrendered to Confederate troops.
July 27, 1861 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln appointed Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA, as commander of the Department of the Potomac, replacing Federal Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, USA.
July 30, 1861 - The Missouri state convention voted 56-25 to elect a new, pro-Union, governor.
July 31, 1861 - The pro-Union Missouri State Convention elected Hamilton R. Gamble as the new governor of Missouri, replacing Claiborne Jackson who aligned himself with the Confederacy.
August 1, 1861 - Colonel John R. Baylor declares all of New Mexico Territory south of the 34th parallel the Confederate Territory of Arizona.
August 2, 1861 - The U. S. Congress passed the first United States income tax law.
August 3, 1861 - John LaMountain made his first ascent in a balloon from the Federal ship Fanny at Hampton Roads, Virginia, to observe Confederate batteries on Sewell's Point, Virginia.
August 5, 1861 - The Tax Law of 1861 passed the U. S. Congress that was also levied on the seceded South.
August 6, 1861 - The U. S. Congress passed the Confiscation Act, providing for the seizure of property, including slaves, used against the Union for insurrection purposes.
August 6, 1861 - The U. S. Congress approved all of the executive measures U. S. President Abraham Lincoln had issued since the initial firing on Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.
August 10, 1861 - The Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri. (MO004) (Operations to Control Missouri [June-October 1861]). Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon's Army of the West was camped at Springfield, Missouri, with Confederate troops under the commands of Brigadier General Ben McCulloch approaching. On August 9, both sides formulated plans to attack the other. About 5:00 am on the 10th, Lyon, in two columns commanded by himself and Colonel Franz Sigel, attacked the Confederates on Wilson's Creek about 12 miles southwest of Springfield. Rebel cavalry received the first blow and fell back away from Bloody Hill. Confederate forces soon rushed up and stabilized their positions. The Confederates attacked the Union forces three times that day but failed to break through the Union line. Lyon was killed during the battle and Major Samuel D. Sturgis replaced him. Meanwhile, the Confederates had routed Sigel's column, south of Skegg's Branch. Following the third Confederate attack, which ended at 11:00 am, the Confederates withdrew. Sturgis, however, realized that his men were exhausted and his ammunition was low so he ordered a retreat to Springfield. The Confederates were too disorganized and ill-equipped to pursue. Wilson's Creek was a Confederate victory. This victory buoyed southern sympathizers in Missouri and served as a springboard for a bold thrust north that carried Price and his Missouri State Guard as far as Lexington. In late October, a rump convention, convened by Governor Claiborne Jackson, met in Neosho and passed an ordinance of secession. Wilson's Creek, the most significant 1861 battle in Missouri, gave the Confederates control of southwestern Missouri.
August 14, 1861 - Federal Major General John C. Frémont, USA, placed St. Louis, Missouri, under martial law.
August 19, 1861 - The Confederate Congress agreed to a military alliance with Rebel Missouri.
August 20, 1861 - A pro-Union convention met in Wheeling, Virginia, to establish a new state to be called Kanawha.
August 26, 1861 - The Battle of Kessler's Cross Lanes, Virginia. (WV004) (Operations in Western Virginia [June-December 1861]). On August 26, Brigadier General John Floyd, commanding Confederate forces in the Kanawha Valley, crossed the Gauley River to attack Colonel Erastus Tyler's 7th Ohio Regiment encamped at Kessler's Cross Lanes. The Union forces were surprised and routed. Floyd then withdrew to the river and took up a defensive position at Carnifex Ferry. During the month, General Robert E. Lee arrived in western Virginia and attempted to coordinate the forces of Brigadier Gens. Floyd, Henry Wise, and William W. Loring.
August 28, 1861 - Federal Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, was given command of Federal troops in southeastern Missouri and southern Illinois.
August 28-29, 1861 - The Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries, North Carolina. (NC001) (Blockade of the Carolina Coast [August 1861]). On August 26, an amphibious expedition led by Major General Benjamin Butler and Flag Officer Silas Stringham, embarked from Fort Monroe to capture Hatteras Inlet, an important haven for blockade-runners. On the 28th, while the navy bombarded Forts Clark and Hatteras, Union troops came ashore and attacked the rear of the Confederate batteries. On August 29, Colonel William F. Martin surrendered the Confederate garrison of 670. The Federals lost only one man. Butler returned to Fort Monroe, leaving the captured forts garrisoned. This movement was part of Union efforts to seize coastal enclaves from which to enforce the blockade.
August 29, 1861 - Federal forces under Flag Officer S. H. Stringham, USN, and Federal Brigadier General Benjamin F. Butler, USA, received the unconditional surrender of Confederate-held Fort Hatteras and Fort Clark, closing Pamlico Sound, North Carolina.
August 30, 1861 - Federal Major General John C. Frémont, USA, proclaimed martial law in Missouri and ordered the confiscation of property and slaves of Missouri residents aiding the Confederacy. His military proclaimation was unauthorized, and would eventually get him in trouble.
September 2, 1861 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln requested Federal Major General John C. Frémont, USA, modify his emancipation order within Missouri.
September 2, 1861 - The Battle of Dry Wood Creek, Missouri. (MO005) (Operations to Control Missouri [June-October 1861]). Colonel J. H. Lane's cavalry, comprising about 600 men, set out from Fort Scott to learn the whereabouts of a rumored Confederate force. They encountered a Confederate force, about 6,000-strong, near Big Dry Wood Creek. The Union cavalry surprised the Confederates, but their numerical superiority soon determined the encounter's outcome. They forced the Union cavalry to retire and captured their mules, and the Confederates continued on towards Lexington. The Confederates were forcing the Federals to abandon southwestern Missouri and to concentrate on holding the Missouri Valley.
September 4, 1861 - Confederate Major General Leonidas Polk, CSA, seized Columbus, Kentucky, ending the state's neutrality.
September 6, 1861 - Troops under Federal Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, took Paducah, Kentucky.
September 10, 1861 - The Battle of Carnifex Ferry, Virginia. (WV006) (Operations in Western Virginia [June-December 1861]). Learning of Colonel Erastus Tyler's rout at Kessler's Cross Lanes, Brigadier General William S. Rosecrans moved three brigades south from Clarksburg to support him. On the afternoon of September 10, he advanced against Brigadier General John Floyd's camps at Carnifex Ferry. Darkness halted several hours' fighting. The strength of the Union artillery convinced Floyd to retreat during the night. Floyd blamed his defeat on his co-commander Brigadier General Henry Wise, contributing to further dissension in the Confederate ranks.
September 10, 1861 - Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston, CSA, was given command of the Confederate armies in the West.
September 11, 1861 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln revoked Federal Major General John C. Frémont's unauthorized military proclamation of emancipation in Missouri. Later, the president relieved Federal Major General Frémont, USA, of his command and replaced him with Federal Brigadier General David Hunter, USA.
September 11, 1861 - The Kentucky House of Representatives, by a vote of 71 to 26, adopted a resolution directing Governor Beriah Magoffin to issue a proclamation ordering Confederate troops to evacuate Kentucky soil. The governor vetoed the resolution, which was afterwards passed over his veto, and accordingly the governor issued the required proclamation.
September 12, 1861 - The Battle of Cheat Mountain, Virginia. (WV005) (Operations in Western Virginia [June-December 1861]). General Robert E. Lee directed his first offensive of the war against Brigadier General Joseph Reynolds's entrenchments on the summit of Cheat Mountain and in the Tygerd Valley. The Confederate attacks were uncoordinated, however, and the Federal defense was so stubborn that Colonel Albert Rust (leading the attacks) was convinced that he confronted an overwhelming force. He actually faced only about 300 determined Federals. Lee called off the attack and, after maneuvering in the vicinity, withdrew to Valley Head on September 17. In October, Lee renewed operations against Laurel Mountain with the troops of Floyd and Loring, but the operation was called off because of poor communication and lack of supplies. Lee was recalled to Richmond on October 30 after achieving little in western Virginia.
September 12, 1861 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln ordered the arrest of certain disloyal members of the Maryland state legislature, to prevent the state's secession.
September 13-20, 1861 - The Battle of Lexington I, Missouri. (MO006) (Operations to Control Missouri [June-October 1861]). Following the victory at Wilson's Creek, the Confederate Missouri State Guard, having consolidated forces in the northern and central part of the state, marched, under the command of Major General Sterling Price, on Lexington. Colonel James A. Mulligan commanded the entrenched Union garrison of about 3,500 men. Price's men first encountered Union skirmishers on September 13 south of town and pushed them back into the fortifications. Price, having bottled the Union troops up in Lexington, decided to await his ammunition wagons, other supplies, and reinforcements before assaulting the fortifications. By the 18th, Price was ready and ordered an assauLieutenant The Missouri State Guard moved forward amidst heavy Union artillery fire and pushed the enemy back into their inner works. On the 19th, the Rebels consolidated their positions, kept the Yankees under heavy artillery fire and prepared for the final attack. Early on the morning of the 20th, Price's men advanced behind mobile breastworks, made of hemp, close enough to take the Union works at the Anderson House in a final rush. Mulligan requested surrender terms after noon and by 2:00 pm, his men had vacated their works and stacked their arms. This Unionist stronghold had fallen, further bolstering southern sentiment and consolidating Confederate control in the Missouri Valley west of Arrow Rock.
September 16, 1861 - The Battle of Barbourville, Kentucky. (KY001) (Operations in Eastern Kentucky [September-December 1861]). Kentucky Union sympathizers had trained recruits at Camp Andrew Johnson, in Barbourville, throughout the summer of 1861. Confederate Brigadier General Felix Zollicoffer entered Kentucky in mid-September intending to relieve pressure on General Albert Sidney Johnston and his troops by conducting raids and generally constituting a threat to Union forces and sympathizers in the area. On September 18, 1861, he dispatched a force of about 800 men under command of Colonel Joel A. Battle to disrupt the training activities at Camp Andrew Johnson. At daylight on the 19th, the force entered Barbourville and found the recruits gone; they had been sent to Camp Dick Robinson. A small home guard force commanded by Capt. Isaac J. Black met the Rebels, and a sharp skirmish ensued. After dispersing the home guard, the Confederates destroyed the training camp and seized arms found there. This was, for all practical purposes, the first encounter of the war in Kentucky. The Confederates were making their might known in the state, countering the early Union presence.
September 17, 1861 - The Battle of Liberty, Missouri. (MO003) (Operations to Control Missouri [June-October 1861]). "General" D. R. Atchison left Lexington on September 15, 1861, and proceeded to Liberty where he met the Missouri State Guard. On the night of September 16-17, his force crossed the Missouri River to the south side and prepared for a fight with Union troops reported to be in the area. At the same time, Union Lieutenant Colonel John Scott led a force of about 600 men from Cameron, on the 15th, towards Liberty. He left his camp in Centreville, at 2:00 am on the 17th. He arrived in Liberty, sent scouts out to find the enemy, and, about 11:00 am, skirmishing began. At noon, Scott marched in the direction of the firing, approached Blue Mills Landing and, at 3:00 am, struck the Confederate pickets. The Union force began to fall back, though, and the Rebels pursued for some distance. The fight lasted for an hour. The Confederates were consolidating influence in northwestern Missouri.
September 17, 1861 - Judah P. Benjamin succeeds Leroy P. Walker as the Confederate Secretary of War, and Thomas Bragg replaced Judah P. Benjamin as Confederate Attorney General.
September 18, 1861 - The state of Kentucky declared support for the Union.
September 20, 1861 - Confederate forces under Major General Sterling Price, CSA, captured the Federal garrison at Lexington, Missouri.
October 1, 1861 - Confederate naval forces, including C.S.S. Curlew, Raleigh, and Junaluska, under Flag Officer W. F. Lynch, CSN, captured steamer Fanny (later C.S.S. Fanny) in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, with Federal troops on board.
October 3, 1861 - The Battle of Greenbrier River, Virginia. (WV007) (Operations in Western Virginia [June-December 1861]). During the night of October 2-3, Brigadier General Joseph Reynolds with two brigades advanced from Cheat Mountain to reconnoiter the Confederate position at Camp Bartow on the Greenbrier River. Reynolds drove in the Confederate pickets and opened fire with his artillery. After sporadic fighting and an abortive attempt to turn his enemy's right flank, Reynolds withdrew to Cheat Mountain.
October 3, 1861 - Governor Thomas O. Moore, of Louisiana, banned the shipment of cotton from his state to Europe in order to place pressure on the European nations to officially recognize the Confederacy as an independent nation.
October 8, 1861 - Federal Brigadier General William T. Sherman, USA, assumed command of the Federal army in central and eastern Kentucky, replacing Federal Brigadier General Robert Anderson, USA.
October 9, 1861 - The Battle of Santa Rosa Island, Florida. (FL001) (Operations of the Gulf Blockading Squadron [October 1861]). After midnight on October 9, Brigadier General Richard Anderson crossed from the mainland to Santa Rosa Island with 1,200 men in two small steamers to surprise Union camps and capture Fort Pickens. He landed on the north beach about four miles east of Fort Pickens and divided his command into three columns. After proceeding about three miles, the Confederates surprised the 6th Regiment, New York Volunteers, in its camp and routed the regiment. General Anderson then adopted a defensive stance to entice the Federals to leave the fort and attack. Receiving reinforcements, Colonel Harvey Brown sallied against the Confederates, who reembarked and returned to the mainland.
October 12, 1861 - The Battle near Head of Passes, Mississippi River. The naval battle between the Confederate ironclad Manassas, with armed steamer Ivy and James L. Day, and the Federal warships Richmond, Vincennes, Water Witch, Nightingale, and Preble.
October 14, 1861 - Simon Cameron, U. S. Secretary of War, authorized Federal Brigadier General William T. Sherman, USA, commanding at Port Royal, South Carolina, to organize and arm, if necessary, squads of fugitive, captured slaves.
October 21, 1861 - The Battle of Ball's Bluff, Virginia. (VA006) (McClellan's Operations in Northern Virginia [October-December 1861]). A much larger Confederate force under Colonel Nathan G. Evans, CSA, crushes a Federal reconnaissance across the Potomac River near Leesburg, Virginia. U. S. Senator turned soldier, Colonel Edward D. Baker, USA, directed uncoordinated piecemeal attacks that resulted in 237 Federal troops killed and wounded, with 714 captured or missing; Confederate losses were 149. From a military standpoint the battle of Ball's Bluff was of minor significance, but political repercussions in Washington, D. C. were immediate and long lasting. A Joint Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War, headed by abolitionist U. S. Senator Benjamin F. Wade, of Massachusetts, was formed to investigate the Army's failure; Brigadier General Charles P. Stone, USA, who lead the reconnaissance, was imprisoned for eight months without a charge or a trial. From this initial oversight, the Committee will oversee Federal military operations throughout the Civil War.
October 21, 1861 - The Battle of Camp Wildcat, Kentucky. (KY002) (Operations in Eastern Kentucky [September-December 1861]). Brigadier General Felix Zollicoffer's men occupied Cumberland Gap and took position at Cumberland Ford to counter the Unionist activity in the area. Brigadier General George H. Thomas sent a detachment under Colonel T. T. Garrard to secure the ford on the Rockcastle River, establish a camp at Wildcat Mountain, and obstruct the Wilderness road passing through the area. Colonel Garrard informed Thomas that if he did not receive reinforcements, he would have to retreat because he was outnumbered seven to one. Thomas sent Brigadier General A. Schoepf with what amounted to a brigade of men to Colonel Garrard, bringing the total force to about 7,000. On the morning of October 21, soon after Schoepf arrived, some of his men moved forward and ran into Rebel forces, commencing a fight. The Federals repelled the Confederate attacks, in part due to fortifications, both man-made and natural. The Confederates withdrew during the night and continued their retreat to Cumberland Ford, which they reached on the 26th. A Union victory was welcomed, countering the Confederate victory at Barbourville.
October 21, 1861 - The Battle of Fredericktown, Missouri. (MO007) (Operations to Control Missouri [June-October 1861]). Two Union columns, one under Colonel J.B. Plummer and another under Colonel William P. Carlin, advanced on Fredericktown to overtake Brigadier General M. Jeff Thompson and his men. On the morning of October 21, Thompson's force left Fredericktown headed south. About twelve miles out, Thompson left his supply train in a secure position and returned toward Fredericktown. He then learned that Union forces had occupied Fredericktown, so Thompson spent the morning attempting to discern the enemy numbers and disposition. Unable to do so, he attacked anyway, around noon. Plummer, with his force and a detachment of Colonel William P. Carlin's troops, met the Rebel forces outside town and a two hour-fight ensued. Overwhelming Union forces took their toll, and Thompson's men retreated. Union cavalry pursued. Fredericktown cemented Union control of southeastern Missouri.
October 24, 1861 - The transcontinental telegraph was completed.
October 25, 1861 - The Battle of Springfield I, Missouri. (MO008) (Operations to Control Missouri [June-October 1861]). Having accomplished little since taking command of the Western Department, with headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, Major General John C. Frémont formulated a plan to clear Major General Sterling Price's Rebels from the state and then, if possible, carry the war into Arkansas and Louisiana. Leaving St. Louis on October 7, 1861, Frémont's combined force eventually numbered more than 20,000. His accompanying cavalry force, numbering 5,000 men and other mounted troops, included Major Frank J. White's Prairie Scouts and Frémont's Body Guards under Major Charles Zagonyi. Major White became ill and turned his command over to Zagonyi. These two units operated in front of Frémont's army to gather intelligence. As Frémont neared Springfield, the local state guard commander, Colonel Julian Frazier, sent out requests to nearby localities for additional troops. Frémont camped on the Pomme de Terre River, about 50 miles from Springfield. Zagonyi's column, though, continued on to Springfield, and Frazier's force of 1,000 to 1,500 prepared to meet it. Frazier set up an ambush along the road that Zagonyi travelled, but the Union force charged the Rebels, sending them fleeing. Zagonyi's men continued into town, hailed Federal sympathizers and released Union prisoners. Leery of a Confederate counterattack, Zagonyi departed Springfield before night, but Frémont's army returned, in force, a few days later and set up camp in the town. In mid-November, after Frémont was sacked and replaced by Major General Hunter, the Federals evacuated Springfield and withdrew to Sedalia and Rolla. Federal troops reoccupied Springfield in early 1862 and it was a Union stronghold from then on. This engagement at Springfield was the only Union victory in southwestern Missouri in 1861.
October 29, 1861 - Southern sympathizers in Kentucky held a Southern conference at Russellville, Kentucky, and held secret sessions for two days. They recited the unconstitutional and oppressive acts of the Kentucky state legislature; proclaimed revolution; provided for a Sovereignty Convention at Russellville on November 18th; recommended the organization of county guards, to be placed in service of and paid by the Confederate state governments; and pledged resistence to all Federal and State taxes for the prosecution of the war on the part of the United States.
November 1, 1861 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln appointed Federal Major General George Brinton McClellan, USA, as general-in-chief of all Federal forces after the resignation of the aged Federal General Winfield Scott.
November 2, 1861 - Federal Major General John Charles Frémont, USA, was relieved of command in Missouri, replaced by Federal Major General David Hunter, USA.
November 4, 1861 - Federal Major General John Adams Dix, USA, directed that negroes not be allowed to come within certain military lines in Maryland.
November 4, 1861 - Confederate Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, CSA, took command in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia.
November 5, 1861 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, was sent to command on the south Atlantic coast.
November 6, 1861 - Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephens were elected to full six-year terms as Confederate President and Vice-President, respectively.
November 7, 1861 - The Battle of Belmont, Missouri. (MO009) (Operations at the Ohio and Mississippi River Confluence [November 1861]). On November 6, 1861, Brigadier General U. S. Grant left Cairo, Illinois, by steamers, in conjunction with two gunboats, to make a demonstration against Columbus, Kentucky. The next morning, Grant learned that Confederate troops had crossed the Mississippi River from Columbus to Belmont, Missouri, to intercept two detachments sent in pursuit of Brigadier General M. Jeff Thompson and, possibly, to reinforce Major General Sterling Price's force. He landed on the Missouri shore, out of the range of Confederate artillery at Columbus, and started marching the mile to Belmont. At 9:00 in the morning, an engagement began. The Federals routed the Confederates out of their Belmont cantonment and destroyed the Rebel supplies and equipment they found because they did not have the means to carry them off. The scattered Confederate forces reorganized and received reinforcements from Columbus. Counterattacked by the Confederates, the Union force withdrew, reembarked, and returned to Cairo. Grant did not accomplish much in this operation, but, at a time when little Union action occurred anywhere, many were heartened by any activity.
To Belmont-Columbus Battlefield
November 7, 1861 - U.S.S. Tyler, Commander H. Walke, and U.S.S. Lexington, Commander R. Stembel, supported 3000 Federal troops under Federal Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, at the battle of Belmont, Missouri, and engaged Confederate batteries along the Mississippi River.
November 7, 1861 - Fort Walker and Fort Beauregard in Port Royal Harbor, South Carolina, were captured by Federal forces under the command of Flag Officer Samuel F. Du Pont. The Federal invasion of the Confederate south had begun.
November 8, 1861 - The beginning of an international diplomatic crisis for U. S. President Abraham Lincoln. U.S.S. San Jacinto, Captain Charles Wilkes, stopped the British mail steamer Trent in Old Bahama Channel and removed Confederate Commissioners James Mason and John Slidell, as they were sailing toward England. Great Britain, the leading world power, demanded their release, threatening war. U. S. President Abraham Lincoln eventually gives in and ordered their release in December.
November 8-9, 1861 - The Battle of Ivy Mountain, Kentucky. (KY003) (Operations in Eastern Kentucky [September-December 1861]). While recruiting in southeast Kentucky, Rebels under Colonel John S. Williams ran short of ammunition at Prestonsburg and fell back to Pikeville to replenish their supply. Brigadier General William Nelson sent out a detachment from near Louisa under Colonel Joshua Sill while he started out from Prestonsburg with a larger force in an attempt to "turn or cut the Rebels off." Williams prepared for evacuation, hoping for time to reach Virginia, and sent out a cavalry force to meet Nelson about eight miles from Pikeville. The Rebel cavalry escaped, and Nelson continued on his way. Williams then met Nelson at a point northeast of Pikeville between Ivy Mountain and Ivy Creek. Waiting by a narrow bend in the road, the Rebels surprised the Yankees by firing upon their constricted ranks. A fight ensued, but neither side gained the bulge. As the shooting ebbed, Williams's men felled trees across the road and burned bridges to slow Nelson's pursuing force. Night approached and rain began which, along with the obstructions, convinced Nelson's men to go into camp. In the meantime, Williams retreated into Virginia, stopping in Abingdon on the 9th. Sill's force arrived too late to be of use, but he did skirmish with the remnants of Williams's retreating force before he occupied Pikeville on the 9th. This bedraggled Confederate force retreated back into Virginia for succor. The Union forces consolidated their power in eastern Kentucky mountains.
November 9, 1861 - Federal Brigadier General Don Carlos Buell, USA, replaced Brigadier General William T. Sherman, USA, in the Tennessee-Kentucky area (the reorganized Federal Department of the Ohio), taking command of the Federal Army of the Cumberland. Sherman was removed for medical reasons.
November 9, 1861 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln appointed Federal Major General Henry W. Halleck, USA, to command in the Mississippi Valley.
November 11, 1861 - Thaddeus Lowe made balloon observation of Confederate forces from his "Balloon-Boat" G. W. Parke Custis, anchored in the Potomac River at the mouth of Mattawoman Creek.
November 12, 1861 - The Fingal (later C.S.S. Atlanta), purchased in England, entered Savannah, Georgia, laden with military supplies, the first ship to run the Federal blockade solely on Confederate government account.
November 18, 1861 - The Hatteras Convention of Union loyalists met in North Carolina and elected Unionist Marble Nash Taylor as the U. S. congressional representative, but he was refused a seat in the U. S. Congress.
November 18, 1861 - Kentucky Sovereignty Convention (Southern sympathizers) met and remained in session for three days, ultimately voting to secede from the Union.
November 19, 1861 - The Battle of Round Mountain, Oklahoma. (OK001) (Operations in the Indian Territory [November-December 1861]). Colonel Douglas H. Cooper, Confederate commander of the Indian Department, had not been able to reconcile differences with Chief Opothleyahola, who commanded a band of Unionist Creeks and Seminoles. He, therefore, set out on November 15, 1861, with about 1,400 men, to "either compel submission . . . or drive him and his party from the country." His force rode up the Deep Fork of the Canadian River towards Chief Opothleyahola's camp which they found deserted. On the 19th, Cooper learned from captured prisoners that part of Chief Opothleyahola's band was at the Red Fork of the Arkansas River, where they were erecting a fort. Cooper's men arrived there around 4:00 pm and ordered a cavalry charge which discovered that Chief Opothleyahola's band had recently abandoned the camp. The Confederates did find some stragglers beyond the camp and followed them, blundering into Chief Opothleyahola's camp. The Federals fired into the Rebel cavalry and, in large force, came out to attack them. They chased the Confederates back to Cooper's main force. Darkness prevented Cooper from attacking until the main enemy force was within 60 yards. A short fight ensued but Chief Opothleyahola's men broke it off and retreated back to their camp. Cooper set out for Chief Opothleyahola's camp the next morning but found it gone. The Confederates claimed victory because Chief Opothleyahola had left the area. This was the first of three encounters between Chief Opothleyahola's Union bands and Confederate troops. The chief was forced to flee Oklahoma for Kansas at the end of the year.
November 19, 1861 - Federal Major General Henry W. Halleck, USA, replaced Federal Major General John C. Frémont, USA, in command of the Federal forces in Missouri.
November 20, 1861 - The Kentucky Sovereignty Convention (Southern sympathizers) passed a Declaration of Independence and an Ordinance of Secession, and appointed a Provisional Government consisting of a Governor, Legislative Council of Ten, a Treasurer, and an Auditor. George W. Johnson as chosen Governor; the Legislative Council were: Willie B. Machen, John W. Crockett, James P. Bates, James S. Chrisman, Philip B. Thompson, J. P. Burnside, H. W. Bruce, J. W. Moore, E. M. Bruce, and George B. Hodge.
November 20, 1861 - Federal Major General Henry Wager Halleck, USA, issued General War Order No. 3, excluding fugitive slaves from the military camps in the Department of Missouri.
November 21, 1861 - Judah P. Benjamin, of Louisiana, appointed Confederate Secretary of War, replacing Leroy P. Walker of Alabama, who had resigned.
November 21, 1861 - Thomas Bragg, of North Carolina, became Confederate Attorney General, replacing Judah P. Benjamin after his promotion.
November 26, 1861 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis transmitted to the Confederate Congress a message concerning the secession of Missouri. It was accompanied by a letter from Missouri Governor Claiborne F. Jackson, by an act dissolving the union with the United States, and by an act ratifying the Constitution of the provisional Government of the Confederate States
November 26, 1861 - The pro-Union convention held in Wheeling, Virginia, adopts a resolution to secede from Virginia and form a new state comprised of the western part of Virginia.
November 30, 1861 - The British government demanded the release of Confederate envoys James M. Mason and John Slidell, along with an apology for their seizure.
December 4, 1861 - The U. S. Senate expelled Senator John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, from its body as an avowed Southern Rebel.
December 6, 1861 - William Gannaway Brownlow, a Methodist minister, newspaper editor, pro-slavery advocate, and a leading Tennessee Unionist, was arrested by Confederate authorities at Knoxville, Tennessee, on a civil warrant for treason.
December 9, 1861 - The Battle of Chusto-Talasah, Oklahoma. (OK002) (Operations in the Indian Territory [November-December 1861]). Following Chief Opothleyahola and his Union force's defeat at Round Mountain, he retreated northeastward, in search of safety. On December 9, 1861, the force was at Chusto-Talasah, or Caving Banks, on the Horseshoe Bend of Bird Creek when Colonel Douglas H. Cooper's 1,300 Confederates attacked Chief Opothleyahola around 2:00 pm. Chief Opothleyahola knew Cooper was coming and had placed his troops in a strong position at Horseshoe Bend. For almost four hours, Cooper attacked and attempted to outflank the Federals, finally driving them east across Bird Creek just before dark. Cooper camped there overnight but did not pursue the Federals because he was short of ammunition. The Confederates claimed victory. Chief Opothleyahola and his band moved off in search of security elsewhere. Although the Confederates had gained a victory, they would win a resounding one later in the month at Chustenahlah.
December 9, 1861 - The U.S. Senate Committee overwhelming voted to establish the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, due, in part, to the Federal fiasco at Ball's Bluff, Virginia, on October 21, 1861.
December 10, 1861 - The Kentucky formally seceded from the Union, and was admitted as the 13th state of the Confederate States of America (CSA).
December 11, 1861 - Charleston, South Carolina, was tragically burned as an uncontrollable fire destoyed half of the city, including the business district.
December 13, 1861 - The Battle of Camp Alleghany, Virginia. (WV008) (Operations in Western Virginia [June-December 1861]). In December, Confederate forces under Colonel Edward Johnson occupied the summit of Allegheny Mountain to defend the Staunton-Parkersburg Pike. A Union force under Brigadier General Robert Milroy attacked Johnson on December 13. Fighting continued for much of the morning as each side maneuvered to gain the advantage. Finally, Milroy's troops were repulsed, and he retreated to his camps near Cheat Mountain. At year's end, Edward Johnson remained at Camp Allegheny with five regiments, and Henry Heth was at Lewisburg with two regiments.
December 17, 1861 - The Battle of Rowlett's Station, Kentucky. (KY004) (Operations in Eastern Kentucky [September-December 1861]). After Brigadier General Don Carlos Buell took command of the Department of the Ohio in early November, he attempted to consolidate control by organizing and sending troops into the field. He ordered Brigadier General Alexander McD. McCook, commanding the 2nd Division, to Nolin, Kentucky. In the meantime, the Confederates had established a defensive line along the Green River near Munfordville. McCook launched a movement towards the enemy lines on December 10, which the Rebels countered by partially destroying the Louisville & Nashville Railroad bridge over the Green River. As a result, the Union sent two companies of the 32nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment across the river to prevent a surprise and began constructing a pontoon bridge for the passage of trains and artillery. When the bridge was completed on December 17, four more of the 32nd Indiana companies crossed the river. The combined force advanced to a hill south of Woodsonville where, in the afternoon, they spotted enemy troops in the woods fronting them. Two companies advanced toward the enemy in the woods, which fell back until Confederate cavalry attacked. A general engagement ensued as eight Yankee companies fought a much larger Confederate force. Fearing that the enemy might roll up his right flank, Colonel August Willich, commanding the regiment, ordered a withdrawal to a stronger position in the rear. Knowing of McCook's approach, the Rebels also withdrew from the field. Although the results of the battle were indecisive, Union troops did occupy the area and insured the movement of their men and supplies on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad.
December 20, 1861 - The Battle of Dranesville, Virginia. (VA007) (McClellan's Operations in Northern Virginia [October-December 1861]). Brigadier General J. E. B. Stuart led a brigade-sized mixed force of cavalry, infantry, and artillery to protect a foraging expedition in the vicinity of Dranesville. Union Brigadier General Edward O. C. Ord, advancing on the Georgetown Pike, encountered Stuart's cavalry. Both sides deployed as more units arrived on the field, and a sharp firefight developed. Stuart withdrew in the mid-afternoon after ensuring that his wagons were safely in the rear.
December 20, 1861 - The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War was organized by the U. S. Congress, consisting of U. S. Senators Benjamin Wade (chairman), Zachariah Chandler, and Andrew Johnson; and Representatives D. W. Gooch, G. W. Julian, John Covode, and Moses F. Odell.
December 20, 1861 - The first "Stone Fleet" was sunk at the entrance to Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, by the Federals in an attempt to prevent Confederate blockade runners from using the harbor.
December 21, 1861 - The U. S. Congress enacteed legislation providing for the Medal of Honor.
December 26, 1861 - The Battle of Chustenahlah, Oklahoma. (OK003) (Operations in the Indian Territory [November-December 1861]). Confederate troops had undertaken a campaign to subdue the Native American Union sympathizers in Indian Territory and consolidate control. They had attacked Chief Opothleyahola's band of Creeks and Seminoles earlier at Round Mountain and Chusto-Talasah. Now, they wanted to finish them off by assaulting them in their camp at Chustenahlah in a well-protected cove on Battle Creek. Colonel James McQueen McIntosh and Colonel Douglas H. Cooper, commanding the Indian Department, planned a combined attack with each of their columns moving on the camp from different directions. McIntosh left Fort Gibson on December 22, with 1,380 men. On the 25th, he was informed that Cooper's force could not join for a while, but he decided to attack the next day, although he was outnumbered. McIntosh attacked the camp at noon on the 26th. The Union defenders were secluded in the underbrush along the slope of a rugged hill, but as the Confederate attack came forward, the Native Americans began to fall back, taking cover for a while and then moving back. The retreat became a rout as the Federals reached their camp. They attempted to make a stand there but were forced away again. The survivors fled; many went all the way to Kansas where they found loyal Unionists. Chief Opothleyahola's band of Creeks and Seminoles mounted no resistance again.
December 26, 1861 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln ordered the release of Confederate diplomats James M. Mason and John Slidell.
December 27, 1861 - U. S. Secretary of State William H. Seward announced the release of Confederate envoys James M. Mason and John Slidell, and acknowledged the Union's error in seizing them.
December 27, 1861 - William Gannaway Brownlow was discharged from civil to military custody in east Tennessee.
December 28, 1861 - The Battle of Mount Zion Church, Missouri. (MO010) (Operations in Northeast Missouri [December 1861]). Brigadier General Benjamin M. Prentiss led a Union force of 5 mounted companies and 2 companies of Birge's sharpshooters into Boone County to protect the North Missouri Railroad and overawe secessionist sentiment there. After arriving in Sturgeon on December 26, Prentiss learned of a band of Rebels near Hallsville. He sent a company to Hallsville the next day that fought a Confederate force under the command of Colonel Caleb Dorsey and suffered numerous casualties, including many taken prisoner, before retreat to Sturgeon. On the 28th, Prentiss set out with his entire force to meet Dorsey's Rebels. He routed one company of Confederates on the road from Hallsville to Mount Zion and learned that the rest of the force was at Mount Zion Church. Prentiss headed for the church. After a short battle, the Confederates retreated, leaving their killed and wounded on the battlefield and abandoning many animals, weapons, and supplies. This action and others curtailed Rebel recruiting activities in Central Missouri.
January 1, 1862 - Land and naval forces engage at Page's Point, Port Royal Ferry, South Carolina.
January 3, 1862 - The Battle of Cockpit Point, Virginia. (VA100) (Blockade of the Potomac River [October 1861-January 1862]). After victory at First Manassas, the Confederate army established a defensive line from Centreville along the Occoquan River to the Potomac River. In October, the Confederates constructed batteries at Evansport, Freestone Point, Shipping Point, and Cockpit Point to close the Potomac River to shipping and isolate Washington. By mid-December, the Confederates had 37 heavy guns in position along the river. On January 3, Cockpit Point was shelled by Anacostia and Yankee with neither side gaining an advantage. Union ships approached the point again on March 9 but discovered that the Confederates had abandoned their works and retired closer to Richmond, after effectively sealing off the Potomac River for nearly five months.
January 5-6, 1862 - The Battle of Hancock, Maryland. (MD001) (Jackson's Operations Against the B&O Railroad [January 1862]). On January 1, Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson marched north in bitter cold from Winchester to Bath with the objective of disrupting traffic on the B&O Railroad and C&O Canal. On January 5, after skirmishing with the retiring Federals, Jackson's force reached the Potomac River opposite the garrisoned town of Hancock, Maryland. His artillery fired on the town from Orrick's Hill but did little damage. Union garrison commander Brigadier General F. W. Lander refused Jackson's demands for surrender. Jackson continued the bombardment for two days while unsuccessfully searching for a safe river crossing. The Confederates withdrew and marched on Romney, in western Virginia, on January 7.
January 8, 1862 - The Battle of Roan's Tan Yard, Missouri. (MO011) (Operations in Northeast Missouri [December 1861]). Rumors and sightings of a Confederate force in the Howard County area had circulated for more than a week, but the Union troops could not locate them. On January 7, 1862, information came to hand that Colonel J. A. Poindexter and his Confederate force were camped on Silver Creek. Detachments from various Union units came together and headed towards the Confederate camp which was about 14 miles northwest of Fayette. After finding the camp, the force attacked, routing the enemy and sending those that were not killed, wounded, or captured fleeing for safety. Afterwards, the Union force destroyed the camp to prevent its further use. The Confederates could no longer use their Randolph County base for recruiting and raiding.
January 9, 1862 - Federal Flag Officer David G. Farragut, USN, was appointed to command the Western Gulf Blockading Squadron, the beginning of the New Orleans campaign.
January 10, 1862 - The Battle of Middle Creek, Kentucky. (KY005) (Offensive in Eastern Kentucky [1862]). More than a month after Confederate Colonel John S. Williams left Kentucky, following the fight at Ivy Mountain, Brigadier General Humphrey Marshall led another force into southeast Kentucky to continue recruiting activities. From his headquarters in Paintsville, on the Big Sandy River, northwest of Prestonsburg, Marshall recruited volunteers and had a force of more than 2,000 men by early January, but could only partially equip them. Union Brigadier General Don Carlos Buell directed Colonel James Garfield to force Marshall to retreat back into Virginia. Leaving Louisa, Garfield took command of the 18th Brigade and began his march south on Paintsville. He compelled the Confederates to abandon Paintsville and retreat to the vicinity of Prestonsburg. Garfield slowly headed south, but swampy areas and numerous streams slowed his movements, and he arrived in the vicinity of Marshall on the 9th. Heading out at 4:00 am on January 10, Garfield marched a mile south to the mouth of Middle Creek, fought off some Rebel cavalry and turned west to attack Marshall. Marshall had put his men in line of battle west and south of the creek near its forks. Garfield attacked shortly after noon, and the fighting continued for most of the afternoon until Union reinforcements arrived in time to dissuade the Confederates from assailing the Federal left. Instead, the Rebels retired south and were ordered back to Virginia on the 24th. Garfield's force moved to Prestonsburg after the fight and then retired to Paintsville. Union forces had halted the Confederate 1861 offensive in Kentucky, and Middle Creekdemonstrated that their strength had not diminished. This victory, along with Mill Springs a little more than a week later, cemented Union control of eastern Kentucky until Confederate General Braxton Bragg launched his offensive in the summer and fall. Following these two January victories in Kentucky, the Federals carried the war into Tennessee in February.
January 10, 1862 - The U. S. Senate expelled Senators Waldo P. Johnson and Trusten Polk, of Missouri, for pro-Confederate leanings.
January 11, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln accepted the resignation of Simon Cameron as U. S. Secretary of War, due to rumors of corruption within the War Department, and appointed him U. S. Minister to Russia, replacing Cassius Marcellus Clay, a Kentucky abolotionist.
January 13, 1862 - Edwin M. Stanton was appointed U. S. Secretary of War by U. S. President Abraham Lincoln.
January 15, 1862 - Edwin M. Stanton was confirmed as U. S. Secretary of War.
January 16, 1862 - Seven armored river gunboats were commissioned, thus providing the Union with a naval force for overwhelming combined operations in the western theater of the war.
January 19, 1862 - The Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky. (KY006) (Offensive in Eastern Kentucky [1862]). Although Brigadier General Felix K. Zollicoffer's main responsibility was to guard Cumberland Gap, in November 1861 he advanced west into Kentucky to strengthen control in the area around Somerset. He found a strong defensive position at Mill Springs and decided to make it his winter quarters. He fortified the area, especially both sides of the Cumberland River. Union Brigadier General George Thomas received orders to drive the Rebels across the Cumberland River and break up Major General George B. Crittenden's army. He left Lebanon and slowly marched through rain-soaked country, arriving at Logan's Crossroads on January 17, where he waited for Brigadier General A. Schoepf's troops from Somerset to join him. Major General George Crittenden, Zollicoffer's superior, had arrived at Mill Springs and taken command of the Confederate troops. He knew that Thomas was in the vicinity and decided that his best defense was to attack the Yankees. The Rebels attacked Thomas at Logan's Crossroads at dawn on January 19. Unbeknownst to the Confederates, some of Schoepf's troops had arrived and reinforced the Union force. Initially, the Rebel attack forced the first unit it hit to retire, but stiff resistance followed and Zollicoffer was killed. The Rebels made another attack but were repulsed. Union counterattacks on the Confederate right and left were successful, forcing them from the field in a retreat that ended in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Mill Springs, along with Middle Creek, broke whatever Confederate strength there was in eastern Kentucky. Confederate fortunes did not rise again until summer when General Braxton Bragg launched his offensive into Kentucky. Mill Springs was the larger of the two Union Kentucky victories in January 1862. With these victories, the Federals carried the war into Middle Tennessee in February.
January 20, 1862 - The second "Stone Fleet" was sunk at the entrance to Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, by the Federals in an attempt to prevent Confederate blockade runners from using the harbor.
January 23, 1862 - The third "Stone Fleet" was sunk at the entrance to Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, by the Federals in an attempt to prevent Confederate blockade runners from using the harbor.
January 27, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln ordered Federal armies to advance under General War Order No. 1.
January 30, 1862 - The U.S.S. Monitor was launched at Greenpoint, New York.
January 31, 1862 - Frustrated with Federal Major General George B. McClellan's continued delay, U. S. President Abraham Lincoln issued Special Order No. 1, ordering a general movement of the U. S. land and naval forces against Confederate positions, to begin by February 22, 1862, George Washington's birthday.
February 5, 1862 - The U. S. Senate expelled Indiana Senator Jesse Bright for Confederate sympathies.
February 6, 1862 - The Battle of Fort Henry, Tennessee. (TN001) (Federal Penetration up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers [February-June 1862]). By February 1862, Fort Henry, a Confederate earthen fort on the Tennessee River with outdated guns, was partially inundated and the river threatened to flood the rest. On February 4-5, Brigadier General U. S. Grant landed his divisions in two different locations, one on the east bank of the Tennessee River to prevent the garrison's escape and the other to occupy the high ground on the Kentucky side which would insure the fort's fall; Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote's seven gunboats began bombarding the fort. Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman, commander of the fort's garrison, realized that it was only a matter of time before Fort Henry fell. While leaving artillery in the fort to hold off the Union fleet, he escorted the rest of his force out of the area and sent them safely off on the route to Fort Donelson, 10 miles away. Tilghman then returned to the fort and, soon afterwards, surrendered to the fleet, which had engaged the fort and closed within 400 yards. Fort Henry's fall opened the Tennessee River to Union gunboats and shipping as far as Muscle Shoals, Alabama. After the fall of Fort Donelson, ten days later, the two major water transportation routes in the Confederate west, bounded by the Appalachians and the Mississippi River, became Union highways for movement of troops and materiel.
February 7, 1862 - Confederate General Albert S. Johnson, CSA, retreated from southwestern Kentucky.
February 7-8, 1862 - The Battle of Roanoke Island, North Carolina. (NC002) (Burnside's North Carolina Expedition [February-June 1862]). On February 7, Brigadier General Ambrose E. Burnside landed 7,500 men on the southwestern side of Roanoke Island in an amphibious operation launched from Fort Monroe. The next morning, supported by gunboats, the Federals assaulted the Confederate forts on the narrow waist of the island, driving back and out-maneuvering Brigadier General Henry Wise's outnumbered command. After losing less than 100 men, the Confederate commander on the field, Colonel H.M. Shaw, surrendered 2,675 soldiers and 32 guns. Burnside had secured an important outpost on the Atlantic Coast, tightening the blockade.
February 8, 1862 - Martial law was declared throughout the state of Kansas by Federal authorities.
February 11, 1862 - Confederate forces evacuated Bowling Green, Kentucky.
February 11-16, 1862 - The Battle of Fort Donelson, Tennessee. (TN002) (Federal Penetration up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers [February-June 1862]). After capturing Fort Henry on February 6, 1862, Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant advanced cross-country to invest Fort Donelson. On February 16, 1862, after the failure of their all-out attack aimed at breaking through Grant's investment lines, the fort's 12,000-man garrison surrendered unconditionally. This was a major victory for Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant and a catastrophe for the South. It ensured that Kentucky would stay in the Union and opened up Tennessee for a Northern advance along the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. Grant received a promotion to major general for his victory and attained stature in the Western Theater, earning the nom de guerre "Unconditional Surrender."
February 14-16, 1862 - Gunboats under Federal Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote, USN, attack Fort Donelson, Tennessee, on the Cumberland River, in conjunction with troops under Federal Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant, USA. The fort capitulated on February 16, 1862.
February 20, 1862 - U. S. President and Mrs. Lincoln were struck with grief as their beloved eleven year old son, WIlliam Wallace "Willie" Lincoln, died from typhoid fever, probably caused by polluted drinking water in the White House.
February 20, 1862 - Tennessee Governor Isham Harris moved the state capital from Nashville to Memphis, away from the advance of Federal forces.
February 21, 1862 - A permanent Confederate State's government was formed.
February 21, 1862 - The Battle of Valverde, New Mexico. (NM001) (Sibley's New Mexico Campaign [February-March 1862]). Brigadier General Henry H. Sibley led his force of 2,500 men across the Rio Grande River and up the east side of the river to the ford at Valverde, north of Fort Craig, New Mexico, hoping to cut Federal communications between the fort and military headquarters in Santa Fe. Union Colonel E. R. S. Canby left Fort Craig with more than 3,000 men to prevent the Confederates from crossing the river. When he was opposite them, across the river, Canby opened fire and sent Union cavalry over, forcing the Rebels back. The Confederates halted their retirement at the Old Rio Grande riverbed, which served as an excellent position. After crossing all his men, Canby decided that a frontal assault would fail and deployed his force to assault and turn the Confederate left flank. Before he could do so, though, the Rebels attacked. Federals rebuffed a cavalry charge, but the main Confederate force made a frontal attack, capturing six artillery pieces and forcing the Union battle line to break and many of the men to flee. Canby ordered a retreat. Confederate reinforcements arrived and Sibley was about to order another attack when Canby asked for a truce, by a white flag, to remove the bodies of the dead and wounded. Left in possession of the battlefield, the Confederates claimed victory but had suffered heavy casualties. Although the Confederates would soon occupy Santa Fe, they would have to leave New Mexico within four months.
February 22, 1862 - Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as permanent President of the Confederate States of America.
February 25, 1862 - Confederate forces abandoned Nashville, Tennessee, as forces under Federal Major General Don Carlos Buell, USA, captured the city.
February 27, 1862 - Confederate authorities gave Confederate President Jefferson Davis power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus.
February 28, 1862 - Confederate forces abandoned Columbus, Kentucky.
February 28, 1862 - Confederate forces under Brigadier General Henry H. Sibley entered Albuquerque, New Mexico Territory.
February 28-April 8, 1862 - The Battle of New Madrid and Island No. 10, Missouri. (MO012) (Joint Operations Against New Madrid, Island No. 10, and Memphis [February-June 1862]). With the surrender of Forts Henry and Donelson, Tennessee, and the evacuation of Columbus, Kentucky, General P. G. T. Beauregard, commander of the Confederate Army of the Mississippi, chose Island No. 10, about 60 river miles below Columbus, to be the strongpoint for defending the Mississippi River. Nearby was New Madrid, one of the weak points. Brigadier General John Pope, commander of the Union Army of the Mississippi, set out from Commerce, Missouri, to attack New Madrid, on February 28. The force marched overland through swamps, lugging supplies and artillery, reached the New Madrid outskirts on March 3, and laid siege to the city. Brigadier General John P. McCown, the garrison commander, defended both New Madrid and Island No. 10 from the fortifications. He launched a sortie, under Brigadier General M. Jeff Thompson, Missouri State Guard, against the besiegers and brought up heavy artillery to bombard them. On the 13th, the Confederates bombarded the Yankees to no avail. Since it did not appear possible to defend New Madrid, the Confederate gunboats and troops evacuated to Island No. 10 and Tiptonville. On the 14th, Pope's army discovered that New Madrid was deserted and moved in to occupy it. A U. S. Navy flotilla, under the command of Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote, arrived March 15 upstream from Island No. 10. The ironclad Carondeleton the night of April 4 passed the Island No. 10 batteries and anchored off New Madrid. Pittsburgh followed on the night of April 6. The ironclads helped to overawe the Confederate batteries and guns, enabling Pope's men to cross the river and block the Confederate escape route. Brigadier General William W. Mackall, who replaced McCown, surrendered Island No. 10 on April 8. The Mississippi was now open down to Fort Pillow, Tennessee.
March 2, 1862 - Confederate Major General Leonidas Polk, CSA, abandoned Columbus, Kentucky, a Mississippi River stronghold.
March 3, 1862 - Federal forces under Flag Officer Samuel Francis Du Pont, USN, took Fernandina, Florida, and the surrounding area in joint operations against the South Atlantic coast.
March 4, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln appointed, and the U. S. Senate confirmed, Senator Andrew Johnson a Brigadier General and the Military Governor of Tennessee.
March 4, 1862 - Confederate forces under Brigadier General Henry H. Sibley entered Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory.
March 6, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln proposed to the U. S. Congress the gradual, compensated emancipation of the border-state slaves, and offered federal aid to any state that would abolish slavery gradually.
March 6, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln issued General Order No. 2, stating that Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA, leave sufficient forces to guard Washington, D. C., in any operatons against the Confederates.
March 6, 1862 - The first Federal ironclad, U.S.S. Monitor, sailed from New York City.
March 6-8, 1862 - The Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas. (AR001) (Pea Ridge Campaign [March 7-8, 1862]). On the night of March 6, Major General Earl Van Dorn set out to outflank the Union position near Pea Ridge, dividing his army into two columns. Learning of Van Dorn's approach, the Federals marched north to meet his advance on March 7. This movement--compounded by the killing of two generals, Brigadier General Ben McCulloch and Brigadier General James McQueen McIntosh, and the capture of their ranking colonel--halted the Rebel attack. Van Dorn led a second column to meet the Federals in the Elkhorn Tavern and Tanyard area. By nightfall, the Confederates controlled Elkhorn Tavern and Telegraph Road. The next day, Major General Samuel R. Curtis, having regrouped and consolidated his army, counterattacked near the tavern and, by successfully employing his artillery, slowly forced the Rebels back. Running short of ammunition, Van Dorn abandoned the battlefield. The Union controlled Missouri for the next two years.
March 7, 1862 - The Merrimac, the first Confederate ironclad, entered Hampton Roads, Virginia, and destroyed or damaged three Federal wooden warships.
March 8, 1862 - The Battle of Hampton Roads, Virginia. Confederate ironclad C.S.S. Merrimac (Virginia), under the command of Captain F. Buchanan, destroyed wooden blockading ships U.S.S. Cumberland and U.S.S. Congress at Hampton Roads, Virginia.
March 9, 1862 - The Battle of Hampton Roads, Virginia. "The Monitor and the Merrimac (Virginia)" (VA008) (Peninsula Campaign [March-July 1862]). On March 8, 1862, from her berth at Norfolk, the Confederate ironclad Merrimac (Virginia) steamed into Hampton Roads where she sank Cumberland and ran Congress aground. On March 9, the Union ironclad Monitor having fortuitously arrived to do battle, initiated the first engagement of ironclads in history. The two ships fought each other to a standstill, but Merrimac (Virginia) retired.
March 9, 1862 - Confederates withdrew from Centerville, Virginia, revealing that many of their cannons were fakes or "Quaker" guns.
March 11, 1862 - Federal Major General Henry W. Halleck, USA, took command of all Federal forces in the West.
March 11, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln issued General War Order No. 3, removing Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA, as general-in-chief, though he retained command of the Federal Army of the Potomac.
March 12, 1862 - A Federal force occupied Jacksonville, Florida.
March 14, 1862 - The Battle of New Berne, North Carolina. (NC003) (Burnside's North Carolina Expedition [February-June 1862]). On March 11, Brigadier General Ambrose E. Burnside's command embarked from Roanoke Island to rendezvous with Union gunboats at Hatteras Inlet for an expedition against New Berne. On March 13, the fleet sailed up the Neuse River and disembarked infantry on the river's south bank to approach the New Berne defenses. The Confederate defense was commanded by Brigadier General Lawrence Branch. On March 14, John G. Foster's, Jesse Reno's, and John G. Parke's brigades attacked along the railroad and after four hours of fighting drove the Confederates out of their fortifications. The Federals captured nine forts and 41 heavy guns and occupied a base which they would hold to the end of the war, in spite of several Confederate attempts to recover the town.
March 14, 1862 - Confederate forces abandoned New Madrid, Missouri, opening the way for a Federal attack on Island No. 10. in the Mississippi River.
March 17, 1862 - Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA, began to transport the Federal Army of the Potomac to Fort Monroe, Virginia, preparatory to the Peninsula Campaign against Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital.
March 17, 1862 - Federal Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, assumed command of the Federal army at Pittsburg Landing (Shiloh), Tennessee.
March 17, 1862 - The Confederate C.S.S. Nashville, under the command of Lieutenant R. B. Pegram, run the blockade out of Beaufort, North Carolina.
March 17, 1862 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis completed the reorganization of his cabinet, with Judah P. Benjamin succeeding Robert M. T. Hunter as Confederate Secretary of State (Hunter becoming a Confederate Senator from Virginia), George W. Randolph took Benjamin's place as Confederate Secretary of War, and Thomas H. Watts replaced Thomas Bragg as Confederate Attorney General (who resigned).
March 23, 1862 - The Battle of Kernstown I, Virginia. (VA101) (Jackson's Valley Campaign [March-June 1862]). Relying on faulty intelligence that reported the Union garrison at Winchester numbered only about 3,000, "Stonewall" Jackson marched aggressively north with his 3,400-man division. The 8,500 Federals, commanded by Colonel Nathan Kimball, stopped Jackson at Kernstown and then counterattacked turning Jackson's left flank and forcing him to retreat. Despite this Union victory, President Lincoln was disturbed by Jackson's threat to Washington and redirected substantial reinforcements to the Valley, depriving McClellan's army of these troops. McClellan claimed that the additional troops would have enabled him to take Richmond during his Peninsula campaign.
March 23-April 26, 1862 - The Battle of Fort Macon, North Carolina. (NC004) (Burnside's North Carolina Expedition [February-June 1862]). In late March, Major General Ambrose E. Burnside's army advanced on Fort Macon, a third system casemated masonry fort that commanded the channel to Beaufort, 35 miles southeast of New Berne. The Union force invested the fort with siege works and, on April 26, opened an accurate fire on the fort, which soon breached the masonry walls. Within a few hours the fort's scarp began to collapse, and the Confederates hoisted a white flag. This action demonstrated the inadequacy of masonry forts against large-bore, rifled artillery.
March 26, 1862 - Federal forces won the Battle at Apache Canyon, New Mexico Territory, but the Federal troops withdrew from the area after the victory.
March 26-28, 1862 - The Battle of Glorieta Pass, New Mexico. (NM002) (Sibley's New Mexico Campaign [February-March 1862]). Glorieta Pass was a strategic location, situated at the southern tip of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, southeast of Santa Fe, and on the Santa Fe Trail. In March 1862, a Confederate force of 200-300 Texans under the command of Major Charles L. Pyron encamped at Johnson's Ranch, at one end of the pass. Union Major John M. Chivington led more than 400 soldiers to the Pass and, on the morning of March 26, moved out to attack. After noon, Chivington's men captured some Rebel advance troops and then found the main force behind them. Chivington advanced on them, but their artillery fire threw him back. He regrouped, split his force to the two sides of the pass, caught the Rebels in a crossfire, and soon forced them to retire. Pyron and his men retired about a mile and a half to a narrow section of the pass and formed a defensive line before Chivington's men appeared. The Yankees flanked Pyron's men again and punished them with enfilade fire. The Confederates fled again and the Union cavalry charged, capturing the rearguard. Chivington then retired and went into camp at Kozlowski's Ranch. No fighting occurred the next day as reinforcements arrived for both sides. Lieutenant Colonel William R. Scurry's troops swelled the Rebel ranks to about 1,100 while Union Colonel John P. Slough arrived with about 900 men. Both Slough and Scurry decided to attack and set out early on the 28th to do so. As Scurry advanced down the canyon, he saw the Union forces approaching, so he established a battle line, including his dismounted cavalry. Slough hit them before 11:00 am. The Confederates held their ground and then attacked and counterattacked throughout the afternoon. The fighting then ended as Slough retired first to Pigeon's Ranch and then to Kozlowski's Ranch. Scurry soon left the field also, thinking he had won the battle. Chivington's men, however, had destroyed all Scurry's supplies and animals at Johnson's Ranch, forcing him to retreat to Santa Fe, the first step on the long road back to San Antonio, Texas. The Federals had won and, thereby, stopped Confederate incursions into the Southwest. Glorieta Pass was the turning point of the war in the New Mexico Territory.
March 29, 1862 - Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnson, CSA, reassembled western Confederate forces at Corinth, Mississippi.
April 3, 1862 - The U. S. Senate voted 29 to 14 to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia.
April 4, 1862 - Federal Major General George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac started its Peninsula Campaign, advancing towards Richmond, Virginia.
April 4, 1862 - The Federal U.S.S. Carondelet, under Commander H. Walke, dashed past Confederate batteries on Island No. 10, in the Mississippi River, to support Federal Major General J. Pope's assault on the island.
April 5 - May 4, 1862 - The Battle of Yorktown, Virginia. (VA009) (Peninsula Campaign [March-July 1862]). Marching from Fort Monroe, Major General George B. McClellan's army encountered Major General John B. Magruder's small Confederate army at Yorktown behind the Warwick River. Magruder's theatrics convinced the Federals that his works were strongly held. McClellan suspended the march up the Peninsula toward Richmond, ordered the construction of siege fortifications, and brought his heavy siege guns to the front. In the meantime, General Joseph E. Johnston brought reinforcements for Magruder. On 16 April, Union forces probed a weakness in the Confederate line at Lee's Mill or Dam No. 1, resulting in about 309 casualties. Failure to exploit the initial success of this attack, however, held up McClellan for two additional weeks, while he tried to convince his navy to maneuver the Confederates big guns at Yorktown and Gloucester Point and ascend the York River to West Point thus outflanking the Warwick Line. McClellan planned for a massive bombardment to begin at dawn on May 4, but the Confederate army slipped away in the night toward Williamsburg.
April 6-7, 1862 - The Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee. (TN003) (Federal Penetration up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers [February-June 1862]). As a result of the fall of Forts Henry and Donelson, Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston, the commander in the area, was forced togive up Kentucky and much of West and Middle Tennessee. He concentrated his forces at Corinth, Mississippi, a major rail junction, and planned an offensive against Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee, hoping to strike before the Army of the Ohio, under Major General Don Carlos Buell, could join it. It took Grant, with about 40,000 men, some time to mount a southern offensive along the Tennessee River. Grant received orders to await Buell's Army of the Ohio at Pittsburg Landing. Grant did not choose to fortify his position; rather, he set about drilling his men many of which were raw recruits. Johnston originally planned to attack Grant on April 4, but delays postponed it until the 6th. Attacking the Union troops on the morning of the 6th, the Confederates surprised them, routing many. Some Federals made determined stands and by afternoon had established a battle line at the sunken road, known as the "Hornets Nest." Repeated Rebel attacks failed to carry the "Hornets Nest," but massed artillery helped to turn the tide as Confederates surrounded the Union troops and captured, killed, or wounded most. Johnston was mortally wounded, and General P. G. T. Beauregard took command. The Union troops established another line covering Pittsburg Landing, anchored with artillery and augmented by Buell's men who began to arrive. Fighting continued until after dark, but the Federals held. By the next morning, the combined Federal forces numbered about 40,000, outnumbering Beauregard's army of less than 30,000. Beauregard launched a counterattack in response to a two-mile advance by William Nelson's division of Buell's army at 6:00 am, which was, at first, successful. Union resistance stiffened, and the Confederates were forced back. At this point, Beauregard realized that he could not win and, having suffered too many casualties, he retired from the field and headed back to Corinth. On the 8th, Grant sent Brigadier General William T. Sherman, with two brigades, and Brigadier General Thomas J. Wood, with his division, in pursuit of Beauregard. They ran into the Rebel rearguard, commanded by Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest, at Fallen Timbers. Forrest's aggressive tactics, although eventually contained,influenced the Union troops to return to Pittsburg Landing. Grant's mastery of the Confederate forces continued; he had beaten them once again. The Confederates continued to fall back until launching their mid-August offensive.
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April 7, 1862 - Island No. 10, vital to the Confederate defense of the upper Mississippi River, surrendered to the naval forces of Federal Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote, USN.
April 8, 1862 - Over 5,000 Confederate troops on Island No. 10, in the Mississippi River, surrendered to Federal Major General John Pope, opening up even more of the River to Federal control.
April 9, 1862 - The Confederate Senate passed a bill which called for the conscription of troops, the First Conscription Act.
April 10-11, 1862 - The Battle of Fort Pulaski, Georgia. (GA001) (Operations Against Fort Pulaski [April 1862]). Fort Pulaski, built by the U.S. Army before the war, was located near the mouth of the Savannah River, blocking upriver access to Savannah. Fortifications such as Pulaski, called third system forts, were considered invincible, but the new technology of rifled artillery changed that. On February 19, 1862, Brigadier General Thomas W. Sherman ordered Captain Quincy A. Gillmore, an engineer officer, to take charge of the investment force and begin the bombardment and capture of the fort. Gillmore emplaced artillery on the mainland southeast of the fort and began the bombardment on April 10 after Colonel Charles H. Olmstead refused to surrender the fort. Within hours, Gillmore's rifled artillery had breached the southeast scarp of the fort, and he continued to exploit it. Some of his shells began to damage the traverse shielding the magazine in the northwest bastion. Realizing that if the magazine exploded the fort would be seriously damaged and the garrison would suffer severe casualties, Olmstead surrendered after 2:00 pm on April 11.
April 11, 1862 - The U. S. House of Representatives voted 93-39 to gradually abolish slavery in the District of Columbia.
April 11, 1862 - Federal Brigadier General Quincey A. Gillmore, USA, destroyed Fort Pulaski, Savannah, Georgia, demonstrating the power of the rifled cannon against brick fortifications.
April 12, 1862 - The Andrews Raid, sometimes called "The Great Locomotive Chase", ended in northern Georgia. Federal raider, James J. Andrews, and seven of his men were caught and hanged as spies. The others, who escaped from prison after being captured, returned to the North and received the first Congressional Medals of Honor ever issued.
April 12, 1862 - Federal Brigadier General David Hunter, USA, in command of South Carolina and the Georgia Sea Islands, declared all slaves near Fort Pulaski, Savannah, Georgia, to be confiscated and free, one of several such orders U. S. President Abraham Lincoln would overturn.
April 15, 1862 - A Confederate rearguard action took place at Peralta, New Mexico Territory, to protect the Rebel retreat.
April 15, 1862 - Confederate retreated after the Battle of Picacho Peak, Arizona Territory, as Federal troops approached from California.
April 16, 1862 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis signed the First Conscription Act, which called for the conscription of able-bodied men between the ages of 18-35. Subsequent acts provide exemptions for owners of 20 or more slaves, and the hiring of a substitute, or payment of $500.
April 16, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia and all Federal territories.
April 16-28, 1862 - The Battle of Forts Jackson & St. Phillip, Louisiana. (LA001) (Expedition to, and Capture of, New Orleans [April-May 1862]). Early Union plans had called for the division of the Confederacy by seizing control of the Mississippi River. One of the first steps in such operations was to enter the mouth of the Mississippi River, ascend to New Orleans and capture the city, closing off the entrance to Rebel ships. In mid-January 1862, Flag Officer David G. Farragut undertook this enterprise with his West Gulf Blockading Squadron. The way was soon open except for the two forts, Jackson and St. Philip, above the Head of the Passes, approximately seventy miles below New Orleans. In addition to the forts and their armament, the Confederates had placed obstructions in the river and there were a number of ships, including two ironclads, to assist in the defense. Farragut based his operations from Ship Island, Mississippi, and on April 8, he assembled 24 of his vessels and Comdr. David D. Porter's 19 mortar schooners near the Head of the Passes. Starting on the 16th and continuing for seven days, the mortar schooners bombarded Fort Jackson. Some of Farragut's gunboats opened a way through the obstruction on the night of the 22nd. Early on the morning of the 24th, Farragut sent his ships north to pass the forts and head for New Orleans. Although the Rebels attempted to stop the Union ships in various ways, most of the force successfully passed the forts and continued on to New Orleans where Farragut accepted the city's surrender. With the passage of the forts, nothing could stop the Union forces: the fall of New Orleans was inevitable and anti-climatic. Cut off and surrounded, the garrisons of the two forts surrendered on the 28th.
April 19, 1862 - The Battle of South Mills, North Carolina. (NC005) (Burnside's North Carolina Expedition [February-June 1862]). Learning that the Confederates were building ironclads at Norfolk, Burnside planned an expedition to destroy the Dismal Swamp Canal locks to prevent transfer of the ships to Albemarle Sound. He entrusted the operation to Brigadier General Jesse Lee Reno's command, which embarked on transports from Roanoke Island on April 18. By midnight, the convoy reached Elizabeth City and began disembarking troops. Morning April 19, Reno marched north on the road to South Mills. At the crossroads a few miles below South Mills, elements of Colonel Ambrose Wright command delayed the Federals until dark. Reno abandoned the expedition and withdrew during the night to the transports at Elizabeth City. The transports carried Reno's troops to New Berne where they arrived on April 22.
April 24, 1862 - The Battle near New Orleans, Louisiana. The naval battle between the Federal Varuna and the Confederate Governor Moore, and between the Federal Pensacola and the Confederate Governor Moore.
April 24-May 1, 1862 - The Battle of New Orleans, Louisiana. (LA002) (Expedition to, and Capture of, New Orleans [April-May 1862]). Following the passage of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, near the mouth of the Mississippi River, on April 24, 1862, the Union occupation of New Orleans was inevitable. Federal Flag Officer David G. Farragut, with his squadron, continued up the Mississippi River and received the surrender of the City of New Orleans the next day. Forts Jackson and St. Philip surrendered on April 28. On May 1, Major General Benjamin Franklin Butler's army began landing at New Orleans and occupying the city. New Orleans, considered an "international city" and the largest city in the Confederacy, had fallen. The Union occupation of New Orleans was an event that had major international significance.
April 25, 1862 - Federal Flag Officer David G. Farragut arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana, and took control of the city.
April 29-June 10, 1862 - The Battle of Corinth, Mississippi. (MS016) (Federal Penetration up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers [February-June 1862]). Following the Union victory at Shiloh, the Union armies under Major General Henry Halleck advanced on the vital rail center of Corinth. By May 25, 1862, after moving 5 miles in 3 weeks, Halleck was in position to lay siege to the town. The preliminary bombardment began, and Union forces maneuvered for position. On the evening of May 29-30, Confederate commander General P. G. T. Beauregard evacuated Corinth, withdrawing to the Tupelo. The Federals had consolidated their position in northern Mississippi.
May 1, 1862 - Federal Major General Benjamin F. Butler, USA, began his controversial administration of the southeast third of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans, described as "one of the most corrupt administrations in the city's history."
May 3, 1862 - Martial law was proclaimed in southwest Virginia.
May 4, 1862 - Federal Major General George B. McClellan's siege of Yorktown, Virginia, ended as troops under Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, retreated.
May 5, 1862 - The Battle of Williamsburg, Virginia. (VA010) (Peninsula Campaign [March-July 1862]). In the first pitched battle of the Peninsula Campaign, nearly 41,000 Federals and 32,000 Confederates were engaged. Following up the Confederate retreat from Yorktown, Hooker's division encountered the Confederate rearguard near Williamsburg. Hooker assaulted Fort Magruder, an earthen fortification alongside the Williamsburg Road, but was repulsed. Confederate counterattacks, directed by Major General James Longstreet, threatened to overwhelm the Union left flank, until Kearny's division arrived to stabilize the Federal position. Hancock's brigade then moved to threaten the Confederate left flank, occupying two abandoned redoubts. The Confederates counterattacked unsuccessfully. Hancock's localized success was not exploited. The Confederate army continued its withdrawal during the night.
May 5, 1862 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln sailed to Fortess Monroe, Virginia, to observe first hand the advance of the Federal Army of the Potomac.
May 7, 1862 - The Battle of Eltham's Landing, Virginia. (VA011) (Peninsula Campaign [March-July 1862]). Franklin's Union division landed at Eltham's Landing and was attacked by two brigades of Smith's command, reacting to the threat to the Confederate army's trains on the Barhamsville Road. Franklin's movement occurred while the Confederate army was withdrawing from the Williamsburg line.
May 8, 1862 - The Battle of McDowell, Virginia. (VA102) (Jackson's Valley Campaign [March-June 1862]). From Staunton, Major General T. J. Jackson marched his army west along the Parkersburg Road to confront two brigades of Frémont's force (Milroy and Schenck), advancing toward the Valley from western Virginia. At McDowell on May 8, Milroy seized the initiative and assaulted the Confederate position on Sitlington's Hill. The Federals were repulsed after severe fighting, lasting four hours. Afterwards, Milroy and Schenck withdrew into western Virginia, freeing up Jackson's army to march against the other Union columns threatening the Valley.
May 9, 1862 - Federal Major General George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac advanced on Richmond, Virginia, forcing Confederate troops to abandon Norfolk, Virginia.
May 9, 1862 - Federal Major General David Hunter, USA, ordered the emancipation of all slaves along the south Atlantic coast, in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, and also authorized the arming of all able-bodied negroes in those states, without the approval of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
May 10, 1862 - Pensacola, Florida, was occupied by Federal forces.
May 10, 1862 - The Confederate fleet was defeated in the Mississippi River battle at Plum Run, Tennessee, near Fort Pillow.
May 11, 1862 - The Confederate ironclad, C.S.S. Merrimac (Virginia), was blown up by her crew off Craney Island, Virginia, to prevent her capture by advancing Federal forces.
May 12, 1862 - Federal troops occupied Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
May 12, 1862 - Federal Flag Officer David G. Farragut's fleet occupied Natchez, Mississippi.
May 14, 1862 - The Battle of Jackson, Mississippi.
May 15, 1862 - The Battle of Drewry's Bluff, Virginia. (VA012) (Peninsula Campaign [March-July 1862]). With the fall of Yorktown, the Confederate ironclad Virginia at Norfolk was scuttled to prevent her capture. This opened the James River to Federal gunboats. On May 15, five gunboats, including the ironclads Monitor, Galena, and Stevens Battery steamed up the James to test the Richmond defenses. They encountered submerged obstacles and deadly accurate fire from the batteries at Drewry's Bluff, which inflicted severe damage on Galena. The Federal Navy was turned back.
May 15, 1862 - Federal Major General Benjamin F. Butler, USA, issued General War Order No. 28, which accused any woman of pandering her profession who verbally insulted any Federal soldier stationed in New Orleans, Louisiana.
May 16-17, 1862 - The Battle of Princeton,Virginia.
May 17, 1862 - Federal Major General Irvin McDowell, USA, at Fredericksburg, Virginia, was ordered to join with the Federal Army of the Potomac and to advance on Richmond, Virginia, in cooperation with Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA.
May 18, 1862 - Federal Flag Officer David G. Farragut's fleet attacked Vicksburg, Mississippi, which refused to surrender.
May 19, 1862 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln modified Federal Major General David Hunter's proclamation freeing slaves in the Military Departments of Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida.
May 19, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln appointed Unionist Edward Stanly provisional Military Governor of North Carolina.
May 20, 1862 - The U. S. Congress passed, and U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signed, the Homestead Act, providing free ( for a small fee) distribution of public lands (up to 160 acres) located mostly in the trans-Mississippi states and territories to those willing to develop the land for a five year period.
May 22, 1862 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln met with Major General Irvin McDowell, USA, at Fredericksburg, Virginia, to discuss strategy during the Peninsula Campaign.
May 23, 1862 - The Battle of Front Royal, Virginia. (VA103) (Jackson's Valley Campaign [March-June 1862]). On May 23, Confederate forces, spearheaded by the Louisiana "Tigers" and the 1st Maryland, surprised and overran the pickets of a 1,000-man Union garrison under Colonel Kenly at Front Royal. Driven through the town, the Federals made a stand on Camp Hill and again at Guard Hill after attempting to fire the river bridges. Outnumbered and outflanked, Kenly continued the retreat to Cedarville, where two cavalry charges led by Major Flournoy broke the roadblock and routed the Union force. Nearly 900 Federals surrendered. Jackson's victory at Front Royal forced the Union army under Banks at Strasburg into a rapid retreat towards Winchester.
May 24, 1862 - Federal Major General Irvin McDowell, USA, had his order to join with Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA, and his Army of the Potomac, suspended, and he was ordered to move 20,000 men to the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, and to capture Confederate Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, CSA.
May 25, 1862 - The Battle of Winchester I, Virginia. (VA104) (Jackson's Valley Campaign [March-June 1862]). After skirmishing with Major General Nathaniel P. Banks's retreating army at Middletown and Newtown on May 24, Major General T. J. Jackson's division continued north on the Valley Pike toward Winchester. There, Banks was attempting to reorganize his army to defend the town. Ewell's division converged on Winchester from the southeast using the Front Royal Pike. On May 25, Ewell attacked Camp Hill, while the Louisiana Brigade of Jackson's division outflanked and overran the Union position on Bowers Hill. Panic spread through the Federal ranks, and many fled through Winchester. Banks army was soundly defeated and withdrew north across the Potomac River. This was a decisive battle in Jackson's Valley Campaign.
May 25, 1862 - Forces under Federal Major General Henry Halleck, USA, arrived at Corinth, Mississippi, after a 26-day, twenty mile advance.
May 25, 1862 - U.S. Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, called for active duty by volunteers and militia in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
May 27, 1862 - The Battle of Hanover Courthouse, Virginia. (VA013) (Peninsula Campaign [March-July 1862]). On May 27, 1862, elements of Brigadier General Fitz John Porter's V Corps extended north to protect the right flank of McClellan's Union army that now straddled the Chickahominy River. Porter's objective was to cut the railroad and to open the Telegraph Road for Union reinforcements under Major General Irvin McDowell that were marching south from Fredericksburg. Confederate forces, attempting to prevent this maneuver, were defeated just south of Hanover Courthouse after a stiff fight. The Union victory was moot, however, for McDowell's reinforcements were recalled to Fredericksburg upon word of Banks's rout at First Winchester.
May 27, 1862 - Confederate Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, CSA, demonstrated in front of Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
May 30, 1862 - Confederate forces under General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, CSA, evacute Corinth, Mississippi, in the face of Federal Major General Henry Halleck's advance.
May 30, 1862 - The Battle of Front Royal, Virginia.
May 30, 1862 - Martial law was declared in Texas.
May 31-June 1, 1862 - The Battle of Seven Pines (Fair Oaks), Virginia. (VA014) (Peninsula Campaign [March-July 1862]). On May 31, General Joseph E. Johnston attempted to overwhelm two Federal corps that appeared isolated south of the Chickahominy River. The Confederate assaults, though not well coordinated, succeeded in driving back the IV Corps and inflicting heavy casualties. Reinforcements arrived, and both sides fed more and more troops into the action. Supported by the III Corps and Sedgwick's division of Sumner's II Corps (that crossed the rain-swollen river on Grapevine Bridge), the Federal position was finally stabilized. General Johnston was seriously wounded during the action, and command of the Confederate army devolved temporarily to Major General G. W. Smith. On June 1, the Confederates renewed their assaults against the Federals who had brought up more reinforcements but made little headway. Both sides claimed victory. Confederate Brigadier General Robert H. Hatton was killed.
June 1, 1862 - Confederate General Robert Edward Lee, CSA, assumed command of the newly renamed Army of Northern Virginia, replacing Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, who was injured the day before during the Battle of Fair Oaks (Seven Pines), Virginia.
June 4, 1862 - Fort Pillow, Tennessee, on the Mississippi River, was evacuated by the Confederates.
June 5, 1862 - Federal troops occupied the recently abandoned Fort Pillow, Tennessee.
June 5, 1862 - The Battle of Tranter's Creek, North Carolina. (NC006) (Burnside's North Carolina Expedition [February-June 1862]). On June 5, Colonel Robert Potter, garrison commander at Washington, North Carolina, ordered a reconnaissance in the direction of Pactolus. The 24th Massachusetts under Lieutenant Colonel F. A. Osborne, advanced to the bridge over Tranter's Creek, where it encountered the 44th North Carolina, under Colonel George Singletary. Unable to force a crossing, Osborne brought his artillery to bear on the mill buildings in which the Confederates were barricaded. Colonel Singletary was killed in the bombardment, and his troops retreated. The Federals did not pursue and returned to their fortifications at Washington.
June 6, 1862 - The Battle of Memphis I, Tennessee. (TN004) (Joint Operations Against New Madrid, Island No. 10, and Memphis [February-June 1862]). After the Confederate River Defense Fleet, commanded by Capt. James E. Montgomery and Brigadier General M. Jeff Thompson (Missouri State Guard), bested the Union ironclads at Plum Run Bend, Tennessee, on May 10, 1862, they retired to Memphis. Confederate General P. G. T. Beauregard ordered troops out of Fort Pillow and Memphis on June 4, after learning of Union Major General Henry W. Halleck's occupation of Corinth, Mississippi. Thompson's few troops, camped outside Memphis, and Montgomery's fleet were the only force available to meet the Union naval threat to the city. From Island No. 45, just north of Memphis, Flag Officer Charles H. Davis and Colonel Charles Ellet launched a naval attack on Memphis after 4:00 am on June 6. Arriving off Memphis about 5:30 am, the battle began. In the hour and a half battle, the Union boats sank or captured all but one of the Confederate vessels; General Van Dorn escaped. Immediately following the battle, Colonel Ellet's son, Medical Cadet CharlesEllet, Jr., met the mayor of Memphis and raised the Union colors over the courthouse. Later, Flag Officer Davis officially received the surrender of the city from the mayor. The Indiana Brigade, commanded by Colonel G. N. Fitch, then occupied the city. Memphis, an important commercial and economic center on the Mississippi River, had fallen, opening another section of the Mississippi River to Union shipping.
June 7, 1862 - Federal Major General Benjamin F. Butler, USA, had Wiiliam Mumford hanged in New Orleans, Louisiana, for pulling down a Federal flag.
June 7-8, 1862 - The Battle of Chattanooga I, Tennessee. (TN005) (Confederate Heartland Offensive [June-October 1862]). In late Spring 1862, the Confederacy split its forces in Tennessee into several small commands in an attempt to complicate Federal operations. The Union had to redistribute its forces to counter the Confederate command structure changes. Major General Ormsby Mitchel received orders to go to Huntsville, Alabama, with his division to repair railroads in the area. Soon, he occupied more than 100 miles along the Nashville & Chattanooga and Memphis & Charleston railroads. In May, Mitchel and his men sparred with Major General Edmund Kirby Smith's men. After Mitchel received command of all Federal troops between Nashville and Huntsville, on May 29, he ordered Brigadier General James Negley with a small division to lead an expedition to capture Chattanooga. This force arrived before Chattanooga on June 7. Negley ordered the 79th Pennsylvania Volunteers out to reconnoiter. It found the Confederates entrenched on the opposite side of the river along the banks and atop Cameron Hill. Negley brought up two artillery batteries to open fire on the Rebel troops and the town and sent infantry to the river bank to act as sharpshooters. The Union bombardment of Chattanooga continued throughout the 7th and until noon on the 8th. The Confederates replied, but it was uncoordinated since the undisciplined gunners were allowed to do as they wished. On June 10, Smith, who had arrived on the 8th, reported that Negley had withdrawn and the Confederate loss was minor. This attack on Chattanooga was a warning that Union troops could mount assaults when they wanted.
June 8, 1862 - The Battle of Cross Keys, Virginia. (VA105) (Jackson's Valley Campaign [March-June 1862]). Moving up the Shenandoah Valley in pursuit of Jackson's army, Major General John C. Frémont's army encountered Major General Richard S. Ewell's division at Cross Keys on June 8. Brigadier General Julius Stahel's brigade, attacking on the Union left, was stunned by a surprise volley from Trimble's command and driven back in confusion. After feeling out other parts of the Confederate line, Frémont withdrew to the Keezletown Road under protection of his batteries. The next day, Trimble's and Patton's brigades held Frémont at bay, while the rest of Ewell's force crossed the river to assist in the defeat of Brigadier General E. Tyler's command at Port Republic.
June 8, 1862 - Martial law was declared in Arizona.
June 8, 1862 - Federal Major General Irvin McDowell, USA, was ordered to operate in the direction of Richmond, Virginia, to aid Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA, in his Peninsula Campaign.
June 9, 1862 - The Battle of Port Republic, Virginia. (VA106) (Jackson's Valley Campaign [March-June 1862]). Major General T. J. Jackson concentrated his forces east of the South Fork of the Shenandoah against the isolated brigades of Tyler and Carroll of Shields's division, Brigadier General Erastus Tyler commanding. Confederate assaults across the bottomland were repulsed with heavy casualties, but a flanking column turned the Union left flank at the Coaling. Union counterattacks failed to reestablish the line, and Tyler was forced to retreat. Confederate forces at Cross Keys marched to join Jackson at Port Republic burning the North River Bridge behind them. Frémont's army arrived too late to assist Tyler and Carroll and watched helplessly from across the rain-swollen river. After these dual defeats at Cross Keys and Port Republic, the Union armies retreated, leaving Jackson in control of the upper and middle Shenandoah Valley and freeing his army to reinforce Lee before Richmond. This battle ends the First Shenandoah Valley Campaign.
June 12-15, 1862 - Confederate Brigadier General James Ewell Brown (J.E.B.) Stuart, CSA, undertook his famous four-day reconnaissance ride around Federal Major General George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac, while being chased by his father-in-law.
June 16, 1862 - The Battle of Secessionville, South Carolina. (SC002) (Operations Against Charleston [June 1862]). Early June 1862, Major General David Hunter transported Horatio G. Wright's and Isaac I. Stevens's Union divisions under immediate direction of Brigadier General Henry Benham to James Island where they entrenched at Grimball's Landing near the southern flank of the Confederate defenses. On June 16, contrary to Hunter's orders, Benham launched an unsuccessful frontal assault against Fort Lamar at Secessionville. Because Benham was said to have disobeyed orders, Hunter relieved him of command.
June 17, 1862 - The Battle of Saint Charles, Arkansas. (AR002) (Operations on the White River [June 1862]). On the morning of June 17, U.S.S. Mound City, St. Louis, Lexington, Conestoga, and transports proceeded up White River towards Saint Charles attempting to resupply Major General Samuel R. Curtis's army near Jacksonport. A few miles below Saint Charles, the 46th Indiana Infantry under the command of Colonel Graham N. Fitch disembarked, formed a skirmish line, and proceeded upriver towards the Rebel batteries on Saint Charles bluffs, under the command of Capt. Joseph Fry, C. S. N. At the same time, the Union gunboats went upriver to engage the Rebel batteries; Mound City was hit and her steam drum exploded scalding most of the crew to death. More than 125 sailors from the Mound City were killed, but the other ship was towed to safety. Colonel Fitch halted the gunboat activities to prevent further loss and then undertook an attack on the Confederate batteries with his infantry. He turned the Rebel flank which ended the firing from the batteries and left Saint Charles open to Federal occupation.
June 17, 1862 - Confederate General Braxton Bragg, CSA, was named head of the Confederate Army of Tennessee.
June 17, 1862 - Confederate Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, CSA, and his army left the Shenandoah Valley to join Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia at Richmond, Virginia.
June 19, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln signed into law legislation prohibiting slavery in the all U. S. territories.
June 21, 1862 - The Battle of Simmon's Bluff, South Carolina. (SC003) (Operations Against Charleston [June 1862]). In June, the Federals besieging Charleston mounted an amphibious expedition to cut the Charleston & Savannah Railroad. On June 21, troops of the 55th Pennsylvania landed from the gunboat Crusader and transport Planter near Simmon's Bluff on Wadmelaw Sound, surprising and burning an encampment of the 16th South Carolina Infantry. The Confederates scattered, and the Federals returned to their ships. Despite this minor victory, the Federals abandoned their raid on the railroad. Although a bloodless raid, this engagement typified scores of similar encounters that occurred along the South Carolina coastline.
June 22, 1862 - The Tax Law of 1862 passed the U. S. Congress, creating special tax commissioners to collect sums owed in arears in the seceded South.
June 25, 1862 - The Battle of Oak Grove, Virginia. (VA015) (Peninsula Campaign [March-July 1862]). First of the Seven Days' battles. On June 25, Major General George B. McClellan advanced his lines along the Williamsburg Road with the objective of bringing Richmond within range of his siege guns. Union forces attacked over swampy ground with inconclusive results, and darkness halted the fighting. McClellan's attack was not strong enough to derail the Confederate offensive that already had been set in motion. The next day, Lee seized the initiative by attacking at Beaver Dam Creek north of the Chickahominy.
June 25, 1862 - Federal gunboats entered the South Santee River in South Carolina.
June 26, 1862 - The Battle of Beaver Dam Creek (Mechanicsville), Virginia. (VA016) (Peninsula Campaign [March-July 1862]). Second of the Seven Days' Battles. General Robert E. Lee initiated his offensive against McClellan's right flank north of the Chickahominy River. A. P. Hill threw his division, reinforced by one of D. H. Hill's brigades, into a series of futile assaults against Brigadier General Fitz John Porter's V Corps, which was drawn up behind Beaver Dam Creek. Confederate attacks were driven back with heavy casualties. Jackson's Shenandoah Valley divisions, however, approached from the northeast, forcing Porter to withdraw in the morning to a position behind Gaines' Mill.
To Beaver Dam Creek Battlefield
June 26, 1862 - Federal Major General John Pope, USA, was given command of the Federal Army of Virginia, newly formed from the Federal commands of Frémont, McDowell, and Banks.
June 26, 1862 - Federal Flag Officer David G. Farragut's fleet started bombardment of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
June 27, 1862 - The Battle of Gaines's Mill, Virginia. (VA017) (Peninsula Campaign [March-July 1862]). Third of the Seven Days' Battles. On June 27, 1862, General Robert E. Lee renewed his attacks against Porter's V Corps, which had established a strong defensive line behind Boatswain's Swamp north of the Chickahominy River. Porter's reinforced V Corps held fast for the afternoon against disjointed Confederate attacks, inflicting heavy casualties. At dusk, the Confederates finally mounted a coordinated assault that broke Porter's line and drove his soldiers back toward the river. The Federals retreated across the river during the night. Defeat at Gaines' Mill convinced McClellan to abandon his advance on Richmond and begin the retreat to James River. Gaines' Mill saved Richmond for the Confederacy in 1862.
June 27, 1862 - Confederate General Braxton Bragg, CSA, replaced General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, CSA, in command of the Confederate Army of Mississippi.
June 27-28, 1862 - The Battle of Garnett's & Golding's Farm, Virginia. (VA018) (Peninsula Campaign [March-July 1862]). While battle raged north of the Chickahominy River at Gaines' Mill on June 27, Magruder demonstrated against the Union line south of the river at Garnett's Farm. To escape an artillery crossfire, the Federal defenders from Major General Samuel P. Heintzelman's III Corps refused their line along the river. The Confederates attacked again near Golding's Farm on the morning of June 28 but were easily repulsed. These "fixing" actions heightened the fear in the Union high command that an all out attack would be launched against them south of the river.
June 27-28, 1862 - The Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia.
June 28, 1862 - Federal Flag Officer David G. Farragut's fleet successfully passed the heavy Vicksburg, Tennessee, batteries, and met the Federal Mississippi River Fleet north of the city.
June 29, 1862 - The Battle of Savage Station, Virginia. (VA019) (Peninsula Campaign [March-July 1862]). Fourth of the Seven Days' Battles. On June 29, Union forces began a general withdrawal toward the James River. Magruder pursued along the railroad and the Williamsburg Road and struck Sumner's Corps (the Union rearguard) with three brigades near Savage's Station. Jackson's divisions were stalled north of the Chickahominy. Union forces continued to withdraw across White Oak Swamp, abandoning supplies and more than 2,500 wounded soldiers in a field hospital.
June 30, 1862 - The Battle of White Oak Swamp, Virginia. (VA020a) (Peninsula Campaign [March-July 1862]). The Union rearguard under Major General William Franklin stopped Jackson's divisions at the White Oak Bridge crossing, resulting in an artillery duel, while the main battle raged two miles farther south at Glendale or Frayser's Farm. White Oak Swamp was sometimes considered a separate engagement.
June 30, 1862 - The Battle of Glendale, Virginia. (VA020b) (Peninsula Campaign [March-July 1862]). This was the fifth of the Seven Days' Battles. On June 30, Huger's, Longstreet's, and A.P. Hill's divisions converged on the retreating Union army in the vicinity of Glendale or Frayser's Farm. Longstreet's and Hill's attacks penetrated the Union defense near Willis Church, routing McCall's division. McCall was captured. Union counterattacks by Hooker's and Kearny's divisions sealed the break and saved their line of retreat along the Willis Church Road. Huger's advance was stopped on the Charles City Road. Stonewall Jackson's divisions were delayed by Franklin at White Oak Swamp. Confederate Major General T.H. Holmes made a feeble attempt to turn the Union left flank at Turkey Bridge but was driven back by Federal gunboats in James River. Union Generals Meade and Sumner and Confederate Generals Anderson, Pender, and Featherston were wounded. This was Lee's best chance to cut off the Union army from the James River. That night, McClellan established a strong position on Malvern Hill.
June 30 - July 1, 1862 - The Battle of Tampa, Florida. (FL002) (Operations Against Tampa [June-July 1862]). On June 30, a Union gunboat came into Tampa Bay, turned her broadside on the town, and opened her ports. The gunboat then dispatched a launch carrying 20 men and a lieutenant under a flag of truce demanding the surrender of Tampa. The Confederates refused, and the gunboat opened fire The officer then informed the Confederates that shelling would commence at 6:00 pm after allowing time to evacuate non-combatants from the city. Firing continued sporadically into the afternoon of July 1, when the Federal gunboat withdrew.
July 1, 1862 - The Battle of Malvern Hill, Virginia. (VA021) (Peninsula Campaign [March-July 1862]). Sixth and last of the Seven Days' Battles. On July 1, 1862, General Robert E. Lee launched a series of disjointed assaults on the nearly impregnable Union position on Malvern Hill. The Confederates suffered more than 5,300 casualties without gaining an inch of ground. Despite his victory, McClellan withdrew to entrench at Harrison's Landing on James River, where his army was protected by gunboats. This ended the Peninsula Campaign. When McClellan's army ceased to threaten Richmond, Lee sent Jackson to operate against Major General John Pope's army along the Rapidan River, thus initiating the Northern Virginia Campaign.
July 1, 1862 - The Battle of Booneville, Mississippi.
July 1, 1862 - The U. S. Congress passed the Pacific Railroad Act, authorizing construction of a Trans-Continental railroad across the west, which would become the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific railroads.
July 1, 1862 - The U. S. government enacted the first Federal Income Tax Law.
July 1, 1862 - For the first time, fresh and salt-water naval fleets meet above Vicksburg, Mississippi, when Federal Flag Officer David G. Farragut's fleet combined with those of Federal Flag Officer C. H. Davis.
July 1-2, 1862 - Federal Flag Officer L. M. Goldsborough's fleet covered the withdrawal of Federal Major General George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac after the battle of Malvern Hill, Virginia.
July 2, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln called for 300,000 three-year enlistments.
July 2, 1862 - The U. S. Congress passed, and U. S. President Abraham Lincoln signed, the Morrill Land Grant College Act, providing land grants to states for establishing agricultural and mechanical schools, the first land grant colleges. Each state received 30,000 acres for each of its senators and representatives.
July 3, 1862 - Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA, entrenched his troops at Harrison's Landing, Virginia, on the James River.
July 7, 1862 - The Battle of Hill's Plantation, Arkansas. (AR003) (Operations Near Cache River, Arkansas [July 1862]). Union Major General Samuel R. Curtis moved on Helena, Arkansas, in search of supplies to replace those that had been promised but never delivered by the Navy. The Confederates under Major General Thomas C. Hindman attempted to prevent this change of supply base by continually skirmishing with the Union troops. The Confederates made a stand at the Cache River on July 7. As Union Colonel C. L. Harris moved forward with elements of the 11th Wisconsin, 33rd Illinois, and the 1st Indiana Cavalry, moved forward, he blundered into an ambuscade. The fighting became more general, and the Confederates, with a frontal attack, forced the Union to retreat about a quarter of a mile. The next Confederate attack, however, was stopped. With reinforcements, the Federals pursued the retreating Confederates and turned the retreat into a rout as the day progressed. Curtis was able change his supply base, but Hindman, despite suffering defeat at Hill's Plantation, remained between Curtis and Little Rock, his objective.
July 8, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln traveled aboard the U.S.S. Ariel up the James River and met with Federal Major General George B. McClellan, commander of the Federal Army of the Potomac, at Harrison's Landing, Virginia.
July 11, 1862 - After four months as his own general-in-chief, U. S. President Abraham Lincoln handed over the task to Federal Major General Henry W. Halleck, USA.
July 13, 1862 - The Battle of Murfreesboro I, Tennessee. (TN006) (Confederate Heartland Offensive [June-October 1862]). On June 10, 1862, Major General Don Carlos Buell commanding of the Army of the Ohio and started a leisurely advance toward Chattanooga, which Union Brigadier General James Negley and his force threatened on June 7-8. In response to the threat, the Confederate government sent Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest to Chattanooga to organize a cavalry brigade. By July, Confederate cavalry under the command of Forrest and Colonel John Hunt Morgan, were raiding into Middle Tennessee and Kentucky. Perhaps, the most dramatic of these cavalry raids was Forrest's capture of the Union Murfreesboro garrison on July 13, 1862. Forrest left Chattanooga on July 9 with two cavalry regiments and joined other units on the way, bringing the total force to about 1,400 men. The major objective was to strike Murfreesboro, an important Union supply center on the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad, at dawn on July 13. The Murfreesboro garrison was camped in three locations around town and included detachments from four units comprising infantry, cavalry, and artillery, under the command of Brigadier General Thomas T. Crittenden who had just arrived on July 12. Between 4:15 and 4:30 am on the morning of July 13, Forrest's cavalry surprised the Union pickets on the Woodbury Pike, east of Murfreesboro, and quickly overran a Federal hospital and the camp of the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment detachment. Additional Rebel troops attacked the camps of the other Union commands and the jail and courthouse. By late afternoon all of the Union units had surrendered to Forrest's force. The Confederates destroyed much of the Union supplies and tore up railroad track in the area but the main result of the raid was the diversion of Union forces from a drive on Chattanooga. This raid, along with Morgan's raid into Kentucky, made possible Bragg's concentration of forces at Chattanooga and his early September invasion of Kentucky.
July 14, 1862 - Federal Major General John Pope, USA, after bombastic addresses to Federal troops and Confederate civilians, led an advance of the Federal Army of the Potomac to Gordonsville, Virginia.
July 15, 1862 - The Confederate C.S.S. Arkansas, commanded by Lieutenant I. N. Brown, engaged and ran through the Federal fleet above Vicksburg, Mississippi, partially disabling the U.S.S. Carondelet and U.S.S. Tyler.
July 16, 1862 - David Glasgow Farragut was promoted to Rear Admiral, the first officer to hold that rank in the history of the U. S. Navy.
July 17, 1862 - The U. S. Congress passed the Second Confiscation Act, freeing the slaves of those who support the rebellion. This was almost exactly the same act which Federal Major General John C. Frémont issued earlier and for which he was relieved of his command in Missouri. The U. S. Congress also passed the Militia Act, which allowed "persons of African descent" to serve in the U. S. military.
July 17, 1862 - Due to the shortage of metal coins, U. S. President Abraham Lincoln signed into law a bill authorizing the use of postage stamps as money.
July 18, 1862 - The Dix-Hill Cartel, pertaining to the exchange of prisoners of war, was drawn up by the U. S. Congress.
July 19, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln appointed John S. Phelps provisional Military Governor of Arkansas.
July 22, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln showed his first draft of the Emancipation proclamation to his cabinet, and was convinced to await a military success before going public with an announcement.
July 22, 1862 - The North and South signed a prisoner of war exchange agreement.
July 24, 1862 - Federal Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, USN, withdrew his oceangoing fleet from the Mississippi River.
July 28, 1862 - Confederate governors of the Trans-Mississippi requested a commanding general and arms, money, and munitions for self-defense.
July 29, 1862 - The Confederate C.S.S. Alabama escaped from Liverpool, England, and began attacks on Federal shipping lanes, under the command of Raphael Semmes.
July 29, 1862 - The famous lady "Belle Boyd" was arrested by Federal troops near Warrenton, Virginia, and charged with spying for the Confederacy. She was sent to the Old Capitol prison, in Washington, D. C.
July 30, 1862 - Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA, was ordered to remove his sick and wounded from Harrison's Landing, Virginia, as an initial effort in the plan to remove his Federal Army of the Potomac back towards Washington, D. C.
August 3, 1862 - Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA, was ordered to remove his forces to Aquia Creek, Virginia, near Fredericksburg, and to Alexandria, Virginia, and to assist Federal Major General John Pope, USA, in the defense of Washington, D. C. McClellan strongly disagreed with this order, issued by Federal Major General Henry Wager Halleck, USA, the general-in-chief. McClellan believed his army should continue operations on the Virginia peninsula.
August 4, 1862 - Due to the failure of his July 2 appeal for soldiers, U. S. President Abraham Lincoln issued a new call for 300,000 nine-month volunteers.
August 4, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln declined the offer of two black regiments from Indiana, suggesting instead that they be used as laborers for the U. S. Army.
August 5, 1862 - The Battle of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (LA003) (Operations Against Baton Rouge [July-August 1862]). In an attempt to regain control of the state, Confederates wished to recapture the capital at Baton Rouge. Major General John C. Breckinridge planned a combined land/water expedition with his corps and C.S.S. Ram Arkansas. Advancing west from Camp Moore, the Confederate land forces, coming from the east, were only ten miles away on August 4. They reached the outskirts of the capital early in the morning, formed for an attack in two divisions, and began to drive back each Union unit they encountered; the battle appeared to be going their way. Then, the Union gunboats in the river began to find the range along with an artillery battery. Arkansas's engine failed, and she did not participate in the battle; otherwise, Arkansas could have neutralized the Union gunboats. The Federals, in the meantime, fell back to a more defensible line, and the Union commander, Brigadier General Thomas Williams, was killed soon after. The new commander, Colonel Thomas W. Cahill, ordered a retreat to a prepared defensive line nearer the river and within the gunboats' protection. Rebels assailed the new line, but finally the Federals forced them to retire. The next day Arkansas's engines failed as she closed on the Union gunboats; she was blown up and scuttled by her crew. The Confederates failed to recapture the state capital and to regain the advantages of controlling the river there.
August 6, 1862 - The Battle of Kirksville, Missouri. (MO013) (Operations North of Boston Mountains [August-November 1862]). Colonel John McNeil and his troops, numbering about 1,000, had been pursuing Colonel Joseph C. Porter and his Confederate Missouri Brigade of 2,500 men for more than a week. Before noon on August 6, McNeil attacked Porter in the town of Kirksville, where his men had hidden themselves in homes and stores and among the crops in the nearby fields. After almost three hours of fighting, the Yankees secured the town, captured numerous prisoners, and chased the others away. Three days later, another Union force met and finished the work begun at Kirksville, destroying Porter's command. Kirksville helped consolidate Union dominance in northeastern Missouri.
August 6, 1862 - The Battle near Baton Rouge, Loiusiana. The naval battle between the U.S.S. Essex and the C.S.S. Arkansas, which resulted in the sinking of the C.S.S. Arkansas.
August 8, 1862 - The famous lady "Belle Boyd", arrested on July 29, 1862 by Federal troops near Warrenton, Virginia, and charged with spying for the Confederacy, was released from the Old Capitol Prison, in Washington, D. C., due to a lack of evidence.
August 9, 1862 - The Battle of Cedar Mountain, Virginia. (VA022) (Northern Virginia Campaign [August 1862]). Major General John Pope was placed in command of the newly constituted Army of Virginia on June 26. General Robert E. Lee responded to Pope's dispositions by dispatching Major General T. J. Jackson with 14,000 men to Gordonsville in July. Jackson was later reinforced by A.P. Hill's division. In early August, Pope marched his forces south into Culpeper County with the objective of capturing the rail junction at Gordonsville. On August 9, Jackson and Major General Nathaniel Banks's corps tangled at Cedar Mountain with the Federals gaining an early advantage. A Confederate counterattack led by A.P. Hill repulsed the Federals and won the day. Confederate General William Winder was killed. This battle shifted fighting in Virginia from the Peninsula to Northern Virginia, giving Lee the initiative.
August 9, 1862 - The Battle of Donaldsonville, Louisiana. (LA004) (Operations Against Baton Rouge [July-August 1862]). A number of incidents of artillery firing on Union steamers passing up and down the Mississippi River at Donaldsonville influenced the U.S. Navy to undertake a retaliatory attack. Rear Adm. David G. Farragut sent the town notice of his intentions and suggested that the citizens send the women and children away. He then anchored in front of the town and fired upon it with guns and mortars. Farragut also sent a detachment ashore that set fire to the hotels, wharf buildings, and the dwelling houses and other buildings of Capt. Phillippe Landry. Landry, purported to be the captain of a partisan unit, fired on the landing party during the raid. Following the raid, some of the citizenry protested the raid, but, generally, firing on Union ships stopped.
August 11, 1862 - The Battle of Independence I, Missouri. (MO014) (Operations North of Boston Mountains [August-November 1862]). On August 11, 1862, Colonel J. T. Hughes's Confederate force, including William Quantrill, attacked Independence, at dawn, in two columns on different roads. They drove through the town to the Union Army camp, capturing, killing, and scattering the Yankees. Lieutenant Colonel James T. Buel, commander of the garrison, attempted to hold out in one of the buildings with some of his men. Soon the building next to them was on fire, threatening them. Buel then, by means of a flag of truce, arranged a meeting with the Confederate commander, Colonel G. W. Thompson, who had replaced Colonel J. T. Hughes, killed earlier. Buel surrendered and about 150 of his men were paroled, the others had escaped, hidden, or been killed. Having taken Independence, the Rebel force headed for Kansas City. Confederate dominance in the Kansas City area continued, but not for long.
August 14, 1862 - Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA, began to withdraw the Federal Army of the Potomac from the Peninsula as ordered by Federal Major General Henry W. Halleck, USA.
August 14, 1862 - In front of a committee of black leaders, headed by Edward M. Thomas, president of the Anglo-African Institution, U. S. President Abraham Lincoln called for colonization of freed American blacks to Central America.
August 14, 1862 - Confederate Major General Edmund Kirby Smith, CSA, opened the Confederate invasion of central Kentucky from Knoxville, Tennessee.
August 16, 1862 - The Battle of Lone Jack, Missouri. (MO015) (Operations North of Boston Mountains [August-November 1862]). Major Emory S. Foster, under orders, led an 800-man combined force from Lexington to Lone Jack. Upon reaching the Lone Jack area, he discovered 1,600 Rebels under Colonel J. T. Coffee and prepared to attack them. About 9:00 pm on the 15th, he and his men attacked the Confederate camp and dispersed the force. Early the next morning, Union pickets informed Foster that a 3,000-man Confederate force was advancing on him. Soon afterwards, this force attacked and a battle ensued that involved charges, retreats, and counterattacks. After five hours of fighting and the loss of Foster, Coffee and his 1,500 men reappeared, causing Foster's successor, Capt. M. H. Brawner to ordered a retreat. The men left the field in good order and returned to Lexington. This was a Confederate victory, but the Rebels had to evacuate the area soon afterward, when threatened by the approach of large Union forces. Except for a short period of time during Price's Raid, in 1864, the Confederacy lost its clout in Jackson County.
August 17 - September 23, 1862 - A Sioux Indian uprising occurred in the state of Minnesota.
August 20, 1862 - New York newspaper editor Horace Greeley claimed that abolition of slavery was the "Prayer of Twenty Millions."
August 20-22, 1862 - The Battle of Fort Ridgely, Minnesota. (MN001) (Operations to Suppress the Sioux Uprising [August-September 1862]). In August 1862, the Santee Sioux of Minnesota under Chief Little Crow, angered by the failure of the Federal government to provide annuities and by the poor quality of rations, went on the offensive. They killed approximately 800 settlers and soldiers, took many prisoners, and caused extensive property damage throughout the Minnesota River Valley. Fort Ridgely, about twelve miles from the Lower Sioux Agency, became the refuge for white civilians. The fort's commander, Capt. John S. Marsh, set out with most of his men for the Lower Sioux Agency. Before reaching the agency, a large Native American force surprised the soldiers, killed half of them, including Marsh, and pursued the survivors back to the fort. On August 20, about 400 Sioux attacked the fort but were repulsed. On the 22nd, 800 Sioux attacked the fort but the garrison and civilians held the fort.
August 22-25, 1862 - The Battle of Rappahannock Bridge, Virginia. (VA023) (Northern Virginia Campaign [August 1862]). Early August, Lee determined that McClellan's army was being withdrawn from the Peninsula to reinforce John Pope. He sent Longstreet from Richmond to join Jackson's wing of the army near Gordonsville and arrived to take command himself on August 15. August 20-21, Pope withdrew to the line of the Rappahannock River. On August 23, Stuart's cavalry made a daring raid on Pope's headquarters at Catlett Station, showing that the Union right flank was vulnerable to a turning movement. Over the next several days, August 22-25, the two armies fought a series of minor actions along the Rappahannock River, including Waterloo Bridge, Lee Springs, Freeman's Ford, and Sulphur Springs, resulting in a few hundred casualties. Together, these skirmishes primed Pope's army along the river, while Jackson's wing marched via Thoroughfare Gap to capture Bristoe Station and destroy Federal supplies at Manassas Junction, far in the rear of Pope's army.
August 23, 1862 - The Battle of Catlett's Station, Virginia.
August 24, 1862 - Confederate Commander Raphael Semmes, CSN, assumed command of the celebrated Confederate raider C.S.S. Alabama.
August 25-27, 1862 - The Battle of Manassas Station Operations, Virginia. (VA024) (Northern Virginia Campaign [August 1862]). On the evening of August 26, after passing around Pope's right flank via Thoroughfare Gap, Jackson's wing of the army struck the Orange & Alexandria Railroad at Bristoe Station and before daybreak August 27 marched to capture and destroy the massive Union supply depot at Manassas Junction. This surprise movement forced Pope into an abrupt retreat from his defensive line along the Rappahannock River. On August 27, Jackson routed a Union brigade near Union Mills (Bull Run Bridge), inflicting several hundred casualties and mortally wounding Union Brigadier General G. W. Taylor. Ewell's Division fought a brisk rearguard action against Hooker's division at Kettle Run, resulting in about 600 casualties. Ewell held back Union forces until dark. During the night of August 27-28, Jackson marched his divisions north to the First Manassas battlefield, where he took position behind an unfinished railroad grade.
August 26, 1862 - Franklin Buchanan was promoted to Admiral, now the ranking officer in the Confederate Navy.
August 26, 1862 - Confederate Major General James E. B. Stuart's cavalry outflanked Federal Major General John Pope's Army of Virginia and struck Manassas Junction, Virginia.
August 27, 1862 - Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's infantry followed Stuart's cavalry around Federal Major General John Pope's Army of Virginia, converging on Manassas Junction, Virginia.
August 28, 1862 - The Battle of Thoroughfare Gap, Virginia. (VA025) (Northern Virginia Campaign [August 1862]). After skirmishing near Chapman's Mill in Thoroughfare Gap, Brigadier General James Ricketts's Union division was flanked by a Confederate column passing through Hopewell Gap several miles to the north and troops securing the high ground Thoroughfare Gap. Ricketts retired, and Longstreet's wing of the army marched through the gap to join Jackson. This seemingly inconsequential action virtually ensured Pope's defeat during the battles of Aug. 29-30 because it allowed the two wings of Lee's army to unite on the Manassas battlefield. Ricketts withdrew via Gainesville to Manassas Junction.
August 28, 1862 - Confederate General Braxton Bragg, CSA, and his army left Chattanooga, Tennessee, and joined Confederate Major General Edmund Kirby Smith, CSA, in Kentucky.
August 28, 1862 - The Battle of Groveton, Virginia. Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's forces attacked Federal Major General John Pope's confused Army of Virginia at Groveton, Virginia.
To Groveton (Brawner Farm) Battlefield
August 28-30, 1862 - The Battle of 2nd Manassas or Second Bull Run (Manassas II), Virginia. (VA026) (Northern Virginia Campaign [August 1862]). In order to draw Pope's army into battle, Jackson ordered an attack on a Federal column that was passing across his front on the Warrenton Turnpike on August 28. The fighting at Brawner Farm lasted several hours and resulted in a stalemate. Pope became convinced that he had trapped Jackson and concentrated the bulk of his army against him. On August 29, Pope launched a series of assaults against Jackson's position along an unfinished railroad grade. The attacks were repulsed with heavy casualties on both sides. At noon, Longstreet arrived on the field from Thoroughfare Gap and took position on Jackson's right flank. On August 30, Pope renewed his attacks, seemingly unaware that Longstreet was on the field. When massed Confederate artillery devastated a Union assault by Fitz John Porter's command, Longstreet's wing of 28,000 men counterattacked in the largest, simultaneous mass assault of the war. The Union left flank was crushed and the army driven back to Bull Run. Only an effective Union rearguard action prevented a replay of the First Manassas disaster. Pope's retreat to Centreville was precipitous, nonetheless. The next day, Lee ordered his army in pursuit. This was the decisive battle of the Northern Virginia Campaign.
August 29-30, 1862 - The Battle of Richmond, Kentucky. (KY007) (Confederate Heartland Offensive [June-October 1862]). In Major General Kirby Smith's 1862 Confederate offensive into Kentucky, Brigadier General Patrick R. Cleburne led the advance with Colonel John S. Scott's cavalry out in front. The Rebel cavalry, while moving north from Big Hill on the road to Richmond, Kentucky, on August 29, encountered Union troopers and began skirmishing. After noon, Union artillery and infantry joined the fray, forcing the Confederate cavalry to retreat to Big Hill. At that time, Brigadier General Mahlon D. Manson, who commanded Union forces in the area, ordered a brigade to march to Rogersville, toward the Rebels. Fighting for the day stopped after pursuing Union forces briefly skirmished with Cleburne's men in late afternoon. That night, Manson informed his superior, Major General William Nelson, of his situation, and he ordered another brigade to be ready to march in support, when required. Kirby Smith ordered Cleburne to attack in the morning and promised to hurry reinforcements (Churchill's division). Cleburne started early, marching north, passed through Kinston, dispersed Union skirmishers, and approached Manson's battle line near Zion Church. As the day progressed, additional troops joined both sides. Following an artillery duel, the battle began, and after a concerted Rebel attack on the Union right, the Yankees gave way. Retreating into Rogersville, the Yankees made another futile stand at their old bivouac. By now, Smith and Nelson had arrived and taken command of their respective armies. Nelson rallied some troops in the cemetery outside Richmond, but they were routed. Nelson and some men escaped but the Rebels captured approximately 4,000 Yankees. The way north was open.
August 30, 1862 - Federal Brigadier General Don Carlos Buell, USA, ordered the pursuit of forces under Confederate General Braxton Bragg, CSA, and Confederate Major General Edmund Kirby Smith, CSA, into Kentucky.
September 1, 1862 - The Battle of Chantilly, Virginia. (VA027) (Northern Virginia Campaign [August 1862]). Making a wide flank march, Jackson hoped to cut off the Union retreat from Bull Run. On September 1, beyond Chantilly Plantation on the Little River Turnpike near Ox Hill, Jackson sent his divisions against two Union divisions under Kearny and Stevens. Confederate attacks were stopped by fierce fighting during a severe thunderstorm. Union Generals Stevens and Kearny were both killed. Recognizing that his army was still in danger at Fairfax Courthouse, Pope ordered the retreat to continue to Washington. With Pope no longer a threat, Lee turned his army west and north to invade Maryland, initiating the Maryland Campaign and the battles of South Mountain and Antietam. Major General George B. McClellan assumed command of Union forces around Washington.
September 1, 1862 - The Proclamation declaring martial law in Texas was annulled.
September 2, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln restored Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA, to field command: the Federal Army of Virginia was merged into the Federal Army of the Potomac, which remained under the command of Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA, thus relieving Federal Major General John Pope, USA, of his command in the Federal Army of Virginia.
September 2, 1862 - Forces under Confederate Major General Edmund Kirby Smith, CSA, occupied Lexington, Kentucky.
September 3, 1862 - Forces under Confederate Major General Edmund Kirby Smith, CSA, occupied Frankfort, Kentucky, the state capital.
September 4-7, 1862 - The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, under the command of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, crossed the Potomac River into Maryland by fords near Leesburg, Virginia, invading the North with 50,000 Confederate troops as the Federals evacuated Frederick, Maryland.
September 5, 1862 - Federal Major General John Pope, USA, having been relieved of command of the Army of Virginia on September 2, 1862, was ordered to report to the U. S. Secretary of War, in Washington, D. C.
September 6, 1862 - Federal Major General John Pope, USA, was assigned command of the newly created Department of the Northwest, to deal with Sioux Indian uprisings, a new diminished role for its new commander.
September 7, 1862 - The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, under command of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, reached Frederick, Maryland.
September 9, 1862 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, issued Special War Order No. 191, which split his Army of Northern Virginia and sent Confederate Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, CSA, to capture Harpers Ferry, Virginia, and hold the Cumberland Valley in Maryland, preparatory to Lee's first invasion of Pennsylvania.
September 10, 1862 - The city of Cincinnati, Ohio, prepared for a invasion by Confederate Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan, CSA, and perhaps Confederate Major General Edmund Kirby Smith, CSA, and/or Confederate General Braxton Bragg, CSA.
September 12-15, 1862 - The Battle of Harpers Ferry, Virginia. (WV010) (Maryland Campaign [September 1862]). Learning that the garrison at Harpers Ferry had not retreated after his incursion into Maryland, Lee decided to surround the force and capture it. He divided his army into four columns, three of which converged upon and invested Harpers Ferry. On September 15, after Confederate artillery was placed on the heights overlooking the town, Union commander Colonel Miles surrendered the garrison of more than 12,000. Miles was mortally wounded by a last salvo fired from a battery on Loudoun Heights. Jackson took possession of Harpers Ferry, then led most of his soldiers to join with Lee at Sharpsburg. After paroling the prisoners at Harpers Ferry, A. P. Hill's division arrived in time to save Lee's army from near-defeat at Sharpsburg.
September 13, 1862 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Special War Order No. 191, which detailed Lee's offensive strategy and troop assignments, was found by Federal soldiers, which gave Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA, a decisive edge in the upcoming campaign, leading to the battle of Antietam, Maryland.
September 14, 1862 - The Battle of South Mountain, Maryland. (MD002) (Maryland Campaign [September 1862]). After invading Maryland in September 1862, General Robert E. Lee divided his army to march on and invest Harpers Ferry. The Army of the Potomac under Major General George B. McClellan pursued the Confederates to Frederick, Maryland, then advanced on South Mountain. On September 14, pitched battles were fought for possession of the South Mountain passed, Crampton's, Turner's, and Fox's Gaps. By dusk the Confederate defenders were driven back, suffering severe casualties, and McClellan was in position to destroy Lee's army before it could reconcentrate. McClellan's limited activity on September 15 after his victory at South Mountain, however, condemned the garrison at Harpers Ferry to capture and gave Lee time to unite his scattered divisions at Sharpsburg. Union General Jesse Reno and Confederate General Samuel Garland, Jr,. were killed at South Mountain.
September 14-17, 1862 - The Battle of Munfordville, Kentucky. (KY008) (Confederate Heartland Offensive [June-October 1862]). In the 1862 Confederate offensive into Kentucky, General Braxton Bragg's army left Chattanooga, Tennessee, in late August. Followed by Major General Don Carlos Buell's Union Army, Bragg approached Munfordville, a station on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad and the location of the railroad bridge crossing Green River, in mid-September. Colonel John T. Wilder commanded the Union garrison at Munfordville which consisted of three regiments with extensive fortifications. Wilder refused Brigadier General James R. Chalmers's demand to surrender on the 14th. Union forces repulsed Chalmers's attacks on the 14th, forcing the Rebels to conduct siege operations on the 15th and 16th. Late on the 16th, realizing that Buell's forces were near and not wanting to kill or injure innocent civilians, the Confederates communicated still another demand for surrender. Wilder entered enemy lines under a flag of truce, and Confederate Major General Simon B. Buckner escorted him to view all the Rebel troops and to convince him of the futility of resisting. Impressed, Wilder surrendered. The formal ceremony occurred the next day on the 17th. With the railroad and the bridge, Munfordville was an important transportation center, and the Confederate control affected the movement of Union supplies and men.
September 15, 1862 - Confederate Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's forces captured Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
September 16-18, 1862 - The Battle of Antietam, or Sharpsburg, Maryland. (MD003) (Maryland Campaign [September 1862]). On September 16, Major General George B. McClellan confronted Lee's Army of Northern Virginia at Sharpsburg, Maryland. At dawn September 17, Hooker's corps mounted a powerful assault on Lee's left flank that began the single bloodiest day in American military history. Attacks and counterattacks swept across Miller's cornfield and fighting swirled around the Dunker Church. Union assaults against the Sunken Road eventually pierced the Confederate center, but the Federal advantage was not followed up. Late in the day, Burnside's corps finally got into action, crossing the stone bridge over Antietam Creek and rolling up the Confederate right. At a crucial moment, A. P. Hill's division arrived from Harpers Ferry and counterattacked, driving back Burnside and saving the day. Although outnumbered two-to-one, Lee committed his entire force, while McClellan sent in less than three-quarters of his army, enabling Lee to fight the Federals to a standstill. During the night, both armies consolidated their lines. In spite of crippling casualties, Lee continued to skirmish with McClellan throughout the 18th, while removing his wounded south of the river. McClellan did not renew the assaults. After dark, Lee ordered the battered Army of Northern Virginia to withdraw across the Potomac into the Shenandoah Valley.
September 17, 1862 - Confederate General Braxton Bragg, CSA, captured Munfordville, Kentucky, situated along Federal Major General Don Carlos Buell's communications route with Louisville, Kentucky.
September 18, 1862 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, started his retreat to Virginia, ending his first Northern invasion threat.
September 19, 1862 - The Battle of Iuka, Mississippi. (MS001) (Iuka and Corinth Operations [September-October 1862]). Major General Sterling Price's Army of the West main column marched into Iuka, Mississippi, on September 14. Price's superior, General Braxton Bragg, the commander of the Confederate Army of the Mississippi, who was leading an offensive deep into Kentucky, ordered him to prevent Major General William S. Rosecrans's Army of the Mississippi troops from moving into Middle Tennessee to reinforce Brigadier General James Negley's division of Major General Don Carlos Buell's Army of the Ohio, that was garrisoning Nashville. Price had about 14,000 men, and he was informed that, if necessary, he could request assistance from Major General Earl Van Dorn, commanding the District of the Mississippi, headquartered at Holly Springs. Major General Ulysses S. Grant, commanding the Army of the Tennessee, feared that Price intended to go north to join Bragg against Buell. Grant devised a plan for his left wing commander, Major General E.O.C. Ord, and his men to advance on Iuka from the west; Rosecrans's forces were to march from the southwest, arrive at Iuka on the 18th, and make a coordinated attack the next day. Ord arrived on time and skirmishing ensued between his reconnaissance patrol and Confederate pickets, about six miles from Iuka, before nightfall. Rosecrans informed Grant that he would not arrive at Iuka on the 18th but would begin his march at 4:30 am, the next morning. On the 19th, Ord sent Price a message demanding that he surrender, but Price refused. At the same time, Price received dispatches from Van Dorn suggesting that their two armies rendezvous, as soon as possible, at Rienzi for attacks on the Federal forces in the area. Price informed Van Dorn that the military situation had changed so he could not evacuate Iuka immediately. He did, however, issue orders for his men to prepare for a march the next day, to rendezvous with Van Dorn. Rosecrans's army marched early on the 19th, but, instead of using two roads as directed, it followed the Jacinto (Bay Springs) Road. After considering the amount of time that Rosecrans required to reach Iuka, Grant determined that he probably would not arrive on the 19th, so he ordered Ord to await the sound of fighting between Rosecrans and Price before engaging the Confederates. As Rosecrans advanced, his men fought actions with Confederate troops at points along the way. About 4:00 pm, just after ascending a hill, the Union column halted because the Confederates were well-placed below in a ravine, filled with timber and underbrush. The Confederateslaunched attacks up the hill, capturing a six-gun Ohio battery, while the Federals counterattacked from the ridge. Fighting, which Price later stated he had "never seen surpassed," continued until after dark; the Union troops camped for the night behind the ridge. Price had redeployed troops from Ord's front to fight against Rosecrans's people. Ord did nothing, later proclaiming that he never heard any fighting and, therefore, never engaged the enemy; Grant also remarked that he had heard no sounds of battle. Following the fighting on the 19th, Price determined to reengage the enemy the next day, but his subordinates convinced him, instead, to march to join Van Dorn, as earlier planned. At the same time, Rosecrans redeployed his men for fighting the next day. Price's army evacuated via the uncovered Fulton Road, protected its rear with a heavy rearguard and hooked up with Van Dorn five days later at Ripley. Although Rosecrans was supposed to traverse Fulton Road and cover it, he stated that he had not guarded the road because he feared dividing his force; Grant later approved this decision. Rosecrans's army occupied Iuka and then mounted a pursuit; the Confederate rearguard and overgrown terrain prevented the Union pursuit from accomplishing much. The Federals should have destroyed or captured Price's army, but instead the Rebels joined Van Dorn and assaulted Corinth in October.
September 19, 1862 - The Battle of Blacksford's Ford, Virginia.
September 19-20, 1862 - The Battle of Shepherdstown, Maryland. (WV016) (Maryland Campaign [September 1862]). On September 19, a detachment of Porter's V Corps pushed across the river at Boteler's Ford, attacked the Confederate rearguard commanded by Brigadier General William Pendleton, and captured four guns. Early on the 20th, Porter pushed elements of two divisions across the Potomac to establish a bridgehead. Hill's division counterattacked while many of the Federals were crossing and nearly annihilated the 118th Pennsylvania (the "Corn Exchange Regiment"), inflicting 269 casualties. This rearguard action discouraged Federal pursuit. On November 7, President Lincoln relieved McClellan of command because of his failure to follow up Lee's retreating army. Major General Ambrose E. Burnside rose to command the Union army.
September 22, 1862 - Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves in all areas then in rebellion against the Union, was issued by U. S. President Abraham Lincoln. The Proclamation gave the South until New Year's to surrender or lose its right to slavery.
September 22, 1862 - Confederate General Braxton Bragg's forces reached Bardstown, Kentucky, abandoning his drive on Louisville, Kentucky, and his joining forces with Confederate Major General Edmund Kirby Smith, CSA.
September 23, 1862 - The Battle of Wood Lake, Minnesota. (MN002) (Operations to Suppress the Sioux Uprising [August-September 1862]). On September 19, 1862, Colonel Henry Hastings Sibley set out from Fort Ridgely with 1,500 volunteers to put down the Santee uprising. As they neared Wood Lake on September 23, Sibley's men escaped an ambush by 700 warriors under Chief Little Crow and engaged them in a battle. Sibley's force won the day inflicting heavy casualties on the Sioux. For this action, Sibley received a promotion to brigadier general. Wood Lake was the first decisive defeat of the Sioux since the uprising began.
September 24, 1862 - The Battle of Sabine Pass I, Texas. (TX001) (Operations to Blockade the Texas Coast [September 1862-January 1863]). On September 23, 1862, the Union Steamer Kensington, Schooner Rachel Seaman, and Mortar Schooner Henry James appeared off the bar at Sabine Pass. The next morning, the two schooners crossed the bar, took position, and began firing on the Confederate shore battery. The shots from both land and shore fell far short of the targets. The ships then moved nearer until their projectiles began to fall amongst the Confederate guns. The Confederate cannons, however, still could not hit the ships. After dark, the Confederates evacuated, taking as much property as possible with them and spiking the four guns left behind. On the morning of the 25th, the schooners moved up to the battery and destroyed it while Acting Master Frederick Crocker, commander of the expedition, received the surrender of the town. Union control of Sabine Pass made later incursions into the interior possible.
September 24, 1862 - During special cabinet meetings, U. S. President Abraham Lincoln sought to find an asylum for the freed black race outside the United States.
September 24, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln issued a new suspension of the writ of habeas corpus throughout the North.
September 25, 1862 - The Federal U.S.S. Kensington and U.S.S. Rachel Seaman and mortar schooner U.S.S. Henry Janes bombarded Sabine City, Texas, forcing Confederate troops to withdraw from the city.
September 25, 1862 - Federal Major General Don Carlos Buell's forces reached Louisville, Kentucky, ahead of Confederate General Braxton Bragg's invading Rebel army.
September 27, 1862 - The Confederate Congress passed the Second Conscription Act.
September 27, 1862 - Federal Major General Benjamin F. Butler, USA, enrolled allegedly free Negroes in the 1st Regiment Louisiana Native Guards, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
September 30, 1862 - The Battle of Newtonia I, Missouri. (MO016) (Operations North of Boston Mountains [August-November 1862]). Following the Battle of Pea Ridge, in March 1862, most Confederate and Union troops left northwestern Arkansas and southwestern Missouri. By late Summer, Confederates returned to the area, which caused much apprehension in nearby Federally-occupied Springfield and Fort Scott. Confederate Colonel Douglas Cooper reached in the area on the 27th and assigned two of his units to Newtonia where there was a mill for making breadstuffs. In mid-September, two brigades of Brigadier General James G. Blunt's Union Army of Kansas left Fort Scott for Southwest Missouri. On the 29th, Union scouts approached Newtonia but were chased away. Other Union troops appeared in nearby Granby where there were lead mines, and Cooper sent some reinforcements there. The next morning, Union troops appeared before Newtonia and fighting ensued by 7:00 am. The Federals began driving the enemy, but Confederate reinforcements arrived, swelling the numbers. The Federals gave way and retreated in haste. As they did so, some of their reinforcements appeared and helped to stem their retreat. The Union forces then renewed the attack, threatening the enemy right flank. But newly arrived Confederates stopped that attack and eventually forced the Federals to retire again. Pursuit of the Federals continued after dark. Union gunners posted artillery in the roadway to halt the pursuit. As Confederate gunners observed the Union artillery fire for location, they fired back, creating panic. The Union retreat turned into a rout as some ran all the way to Sarcoxie, more than ten miles away. Although the Confederates won the battle, they were unable to maintain themselves in the area given the great numbers of Union troops. Most Confederates retreated into northwest Arkansas. The 1862 Confederate victories in southwestern Missouri at Newtonia and Clark's Mill were the South's apogee in the area; afterwards, the only Confederates in the area belonged to raiding columns.
October 1, 1862 - The Federal's Western Gunboat Fleet was transferred from the War Department to the U. S. Navy.
October 1, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln traveled to Harper's Ferry, Virginia, to meet with Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA.
October 1-3, 1862 - The Battle of Saint John's Bluff, Florida. (FL003) (Expedition to St. John's Bluff [September-October 1862]). Brigadier General John Finegan established a battery on St. John's Bluff near Jacksonville to stop the movement of Federal ships up the St. Johns River. Brigadier General John M. Brannan embarked with about 1,500 infantry aboard the transports Boston, Ben DeFord, Cosmopolitan, and Neptune at Hilton Head, South Carolina, on September 30. The flotilla arrived at the mouth of the St. John's River on October 1, where Cdr. Charles Steedman's gunboats--Paul Jones, Cimarron, Uncas, Patroon, Hale, and Water Witch--joined them. By midday, the gunboats approached the bluff, while Brannan began landing troops at Mayport Mills. Another infantry force landed at Mount Pleasant Creek, about five miles in the rear of the Confederate battery, and began marching overland on the 2nd. Outmaneuvered, Lieutenant Colonel Charles F. Hopkins abandoned the position after dark. When the gunboats approached the bluff the next day, its guns were silent.
October 2-3, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln visited with Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA, in the field, on the Antietam, Maryland, battlefield, to see first hand the status of the Army of the Potomac and to encourage McClellan to quickly pursue the damaged Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.
October 3-4, 1862 - The Battle of Corinth, Mississippi. (MS002) (Iuka and Corinth Operations [September-October 1862]). After the Battle of Iuka, Major General Sterling Price's Confederate Army of the West marched from Baldwyn to Ripley where it joined Major General Earl Van Dorn's Army of West Tennessee. Van Dorn was senior officer and took command of the combined force numbering about 22,000 men. The Rebels marched to Pocahontas on October 1, and then moved southeast toward Corinth. They hoped to seize Corinth and then sweep into Middle Tennessee. Since the Siege of Corinth, in the Spring, Union forces had erected various fortifications, an inner and intermediate line, to protect Corinth, an important transportation center. With the approach of the Rebels, the Federals, numbering about 23,000, occupied the outer line of fortifications and placed men in front of them. Van Dorn arrived within three miles of Corinth at 10:00 am on October 3, and moved into some fieldworks that the Confederates had erected for the siege of Corinth. The fighting began, and the Confederates steadily pushed the Yankees rearward. A gap occurred between two Union brigades which the Confederates exploited around 1:00 pm. The Union troops moved back in a futile effort to close the gap. Price then attacked and drove the Federals back further; the Confederates had driven the Union troops into their inner line. By evening, Van Dorn was sure that he could finish the Federals off during the next day. This confidence--combined with the heat, fatigue, and water shortages--persuaded him to cancel any further operations that day. Rosecrans regrouped his men in the fortifications to be ready for the attack to come the next morning. Van Dorn had planned to attack at daybreak, but Brigadier General Louis Hébert's sickness postponed it till 9:00 am. As the Confederates moved forward, Union artillery swept the field causing heavy casualties, but the Rebels continued on. They stormed Battery Powell and closed on Battery Robinett, where desperate hand-to-hand fighting ensued. A few Rebels fought their way into Corinth, but the Federals quickly drove them out. The Federals continued on, recapturing Battery Powell, and forcing Van Dorn into a general retreat. Rosecrans postponed any pursuit until the next day. As a result, Van Dorn was defeated, but not destroyed or captured, at Hatchie Bridge, Tennessee, on October 5.
October 4, 1862 - The Battle of Galveston I, Texas. (TX002) (Operations to Blockade the Texas Coast [September 1862-January 1863]). The U. S. Navy began a blockade of Galveston Harbor in July 1861, but the town remained in Confederate hands for the next 14 months. At 6:00 am on October 4, 1862, Cdr. W. B. Renshaw, commanding the blockading ships in the Galveston Bay area, sent Harriet Lane into the harbor, flying a flag of truce. The intention was to inform the military authorities in Galveston that if the town did not surrender, the U. S. Navy ships would attack; a one-hour reply would be demanded. Colonel Joseph J. Cook, Confederate military commander in the area, would not come out to the Union ship or send an officer to receive the communication, so Harriet Lane weighed anchor and returned to the fleet. Four Union steamers, with a mortar boat in tow, entered the harbor and moved to the same area where Harriet Lane had anchored. Observing this activity, Confederates at Fort Point fired one or more shots and the U. S. Navy ships answered. Eventually, the Union ships disabled the one Confederate gun at Fort Point and fired at other targets. Two Rebel guns from another location opened on the Union ships. The boat that Colonel Cook had dispatched now approached the Union vessels and two Confederate officers boarded U. S. S. Westfield. Renshaw demanded an unconditional surrender of Galveston or he would begin shelling. Cook refused Renshaw's terms, and conveyed to Renshaw that upon him rested the responsibility of destroying the town and killing women, children, and aliens. Renshaw threatened to resume the shelling and made preparations for towing the mortar boat into position. One of the Confederate officers then asked if he could be granted time to talk with Colonel Cook again. This officer, a major, negotiated with Renshaw for a four day truce to evacuate the women, children, and aliens from the city. Cook approved the truce but added a stipulation that if Renshaw would not move troops closer to Galveston, Cook would not permit his men to come below the city. The agreement was finalized but never written down, which later caused problems. The Confederates did evacuate, taking all of their weapons, ammunition, supplies, and whatever they could carry with them. Renshaw did not think that the agreement allowed for all this but, in the end, did nothing, due to the lack of a written document. The fall of Galveston meant that one more important Confederate port was closed to commerce. But, the port of Galveston was not shut down for long.
October 4, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln returned to Washington, D. C., after visiting with Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA, on the Antietam, Maryland, battlefield.
October 4, 1862 - Confederate Governor of Kentucky Richard Hawes was inaugurated at Frankfort, Kentucky.
October 5, 1862 - The Battle of Hatchie's Bridge, Tennessee. (TN007) (Iuka and Corinth Operations [September-October 1862]). Major General Earl Van Dorn's Confederate Army of West Tennessee retreated from Corinth on October 4, 1862. Major General William S. Rosecrans did not send forces in pursuit until the morning of the 5th. Major General Edward O. C. Ord, commanding a detachment of the Army of West Tennessee, was, pursuant to orders, advancing on Corinth to assist Rosecrans. On the night of October 4-5, he camped near Pocahontas. Between 7:30 and 8:00 am the next morning, his force encountered Union Major General Stephen A. Hurlbut's 4th Brigade, Army of West Tennessee, in the Confederates's front. Ord took command of the now-combined Union forces and pushed Van Dorn's advance, Major General Sterling Price's Army of the West, back about five miles to the Hatchie River and across Davis' Bridge. After accomplishing this, Ord was wounded and Hurlbut assumed command. While Price's men were hotly engaged with Ord's force, Van Dorn's scouts looked for and found another crossing of the Hatchie River. Van Dorn then led his army back to Holly Springs. Ord had forced Price to retreat, but the Confederate escaped capture or destruction. Although they should have done so, Rosecrans's army had failed to capture or destroy Van Dorn's force.
October 8, 1862 - The Battle of Perryville, Kentucky. (KY009) (Confederate Heartland Offensive [June-October 1862]). Confederate General Braxton Bragg's autumn 1862 invasion of Kentucky had reached the outskirts of Louisville and Cincinnati, but he was forced to retreat and regroup. On October 7, the Federal army of Major General Don Carlos Buell, numbering nearly 55,000, converged on the small crossroads town of Perryville, Kentucky, in three columns. Union forces first skirmished with Rebel cavalry on the Springfield Pike before the fighting became more general, on Peters Hill, as the grayclad infantry arrived. The next day, at dawn, fighting began again around Peters Hill as a Union division advanced up the pike, halting just before the Rebel line. The fighting then stopped for a time. After noon, a Rebel division struck the Union left flank and forced it to fall back. When more Confederate divisions joined the fray, the Union line made a stubborn stand, counterattacked, but finally fell back with some troops routed. Buell did not know of the happenings on the field, or he would have sent forward some reserves. Even so, the Union troops on the left flank, reinforced by two brigades, stabilized their line, and the Rebel attack sputtered to a haLieutenant Later, a Rebel brigade assaulted the Union division on the Springfield Pike but was repulsed and fell back into Perryville. The Yankees pursued, and skirmishing occurred in the streets in the evening before dark. Union reinforcements were threatening the Rebel left flank by now. Bragg, short of men and supplies, withdrew during the night, and, after pausing at Harrodsburg, continued the Confederate retrograde by way of Cumberland Gap into East Tennessee. The Confederate offensive was over, and the Union controlled Kentucky. After the battle of Perryville Confederate General Braxton Bragg, CSA, and General Edmund Kirby Smith, CSA, started their retreat toward Tennessee, ending the Confederates invasion of Kentucky.
October 9, 1862 - Confederate Major General James Ewell Brown "J.E.B." Stuart, CSA, started his expedition into Maryland and Pennsylvania, with his second ride around Federal Major General George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac.
October 11, 1862 - The Confederate Congress in Richmond, Virginia, voted to exempt from conscription all men owning 20 or more slaves, causing some to remark that it's a poor man's war.
October 12, 1862 - The Battle of Monocacy, Maryland.
October 12, 1862 - Confederate Major General James Ewell Brown "J.E.B." Stuart, CSA, completed his second ride around Federal Major General George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac after destroying property at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
October 14, 1862 - U. S. congressional elections resulted in Republican losses in Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania, and a Republican victory in Iowa.
October 19-24, 1862 - The Confederate Army of Tennessee, under General Braxton Bragg, CSA, retired through the Cumberland Gap, Kentucky, taking with it large amounts of confiscated supplies from Kentucky.
October 20, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln ordered Federal Major General John McClernand, USA, to organize troops from Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa for an independent expedition against Vicksburg, Mississippi, which would in turn upset Federal Major General Ulysses S. Grant's command in this area.
October 22, 1862 - The Battle of Old Fort Wayne, Missouri. (OK004) (Operations North of Boston Mountains [August-November 1862]). Brigadier General James G. Blunt and his troops attacked Colonel Douglas H. Cooper and his Confederate command on Beatties Prairie near Old Fort Wayne at 7:00 am on October 22, 1862. The Confederates put up stiff resistance for a half hour, but overwhelming numbers forced them to retire from the field in haste, leaving artillery and equipage behind. This was a setback in the 1862 Confederate offensive that extended from the tidewater in the east to the plains of the Indian Territory of the west.
October 24, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln replaced Federal Major General Don Carlos Buell, USA, as commander of the Federal Army of the Cumberland, largely due to his allowing Bragg's Confederate forces to escape after the battle of Perryville. He would be replaced by Federal Major General William S. Rosecrans, USA.
October 25, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln continued to be frustrated with Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA, for his slowness and lack of initiative in advancing into Virginia and against the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.
October 27, 1862 - The Battle of Georgia Landing, Louisiana. (LA005) (Operations in LaFourche District [October 1862]). Federal Major General Benjamin F. Butler, USA, commanding Union forces in the Department of the Gulf, launched an expedition into the LaFourche to eliminate the Rebel threat from that area, to make sure that sugar and cotton products from there would come into Union hands and, in the future, to use it as a base for other military operations. He organized a brigade of about 4,000 men under the command of his protege Brigadier General Godfrey Weitzel to accomplish the missions. On October 25, Weitzel and his men arrived at Donaldsonville, where the LaFourche meets the Mississippi, and began an advance up the east bank of the bayou. The Confederates under the command of Brigadier General Alfred Mouton attempted to concentrate to meet the threat. By the 27th, the Confederates had occupied a position on the bayou above Labadieville. A little more than half the force were on the east bank while the rest of the men were on the west bank near Georgia Landing, generally without means of concentrating on one side or the other. As the Federal troops continued down the east bank, they encountered the Rebels at about 11:00 am and began skirmishing. The Confederates fell back quickly. Weitzel then began crossing his men to the west bank to attack the Rebel troops there. For some time, these Confederate troops fought resolutely and brought the Union assault to a standstill. The Rebels, however, ran out of artillery ammunition and had to withdraw to Labadieville, opening up this portion of the LaFourche to the Union.
October 30, 1862 - Federal Major General William S. Rosecrans, USA, assumed command of the Federal Department of the Cumberland, superseding Federal Major General Don Carlos Buell, USA.
October 31, 1862 - During October the Confederate Torpedo Bureau was established under Lieutenant H. Davidson, continuing work pioneered by Commander M. F. Maury.
November 1, 1862 - Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA, returned to Virginia with his Army of the Potomac.
November 2, 1862 - Federal Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, launched his campaign from the Tennessee border to capture Vicksburg, Mississippi.
November 3, 1862 - The Confederate C.S.S. Cotton and shore batteries engaged the Federal squadron at Berwick Bay, Louisiana. The squadron suffered considerable damage before the Confederate gunboat expended all its ammunition and was compelled to withdraw.
November 3, 1862 - Along the south Atlantic coast, Federal Colonel Thomas W. Higginson enrolled the 1st South Carolina (Colored) Regiment from local ex-slaves.
November 4, 1862 - The Republicans suffered a setback in congressional and state elections in the North, with loses in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and Wisconsin, while winning in the New England area, the border states, California, and Michigan.
November 7, 1862 - The Battle of Clark's Mill, Missouri. (MO017) (Operations North of Boston Mountains [August-November 1862]). Having received reports that Confederate troops were in the area, Capt. Hiram E. Barstow, Union commander at Clark's Mill, sent a detachment toward Gainesville and he led another southeastward. Barstow's men ran into a Confederate force, skirmished with them and drove them back. His column then fell back to Clark's Mill where he learned that another Confederate force was coming from the northeast. Unlimbering artillery to command both approach roads, Barstow was soon engaged in a five hour fight with the enemy. Under a white flag, the Confederates demanded a surrender and the Union, given their numerical inferiority, accepted. The Confederates paroled the Union troops and departed after burning the blockhouse at Clark's Mill. Clark's Mill helped the Confederates to maintain a toehold in southwest Missouri.
November 7, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln replaced Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA, with Federal Brigadier General Ambrose E. Burnside, USA, as commander of the Federal Army of the Potomac. Lincoln had grown impatient with Federal Major General George B. McClellan's slowness to follow up on the success at Antietam, even telling him, "If you don't want to use the army, I should like to borrow it for a while."
November 10, 1862 - Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA, said farewell to his former command, the Federal Army of the Potomac, near Warrenton, Virginia.
November 13, 1862 - The Battle of Holly Springs, Mississippi.
November 15, 1862 - Confederate Secretary of War George W. Randolph resigned because of Confederate President Jefferson Davis' constant interference with his department. Confederate Major General Gustavus Woodson Smith, CSA, was named as acting Confederate Secretary of War.
November 17, 1862 - Federal Brigadier General Ambrose E. Burnside's Army of the Potomac reached the north bank of the Rappahannoch River, opposite Fredericksburg, Virginia.
November 21, 1862 - The surrender of Fredericksburg, Virginia, was demanded by Federal Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, USA, and refused by the city's mayor, as Confederate Lieutenant General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, CSA, moved his Army Corps from the Shenandoah Valley to join up with Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, and Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet, CSA, who were already at Fredericksburg, behind entrenched positions.
November 21, 1862 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis appointed James A. Seddon as the new Confederate Secretary of War.
November 26, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln traveled to Aquia Creek, Virginia, to meet with Federal Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, USA, commander of the Army of the Potomac.
November 27, 1862 - Federal Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, USA, commander of the Federal Army of the Potomac, met with U. S. President Abraham Lincoln, and declined to use Lincoln's suggested strategy of a three-pronged attack south of the Rappahannock River. Burnside chose instead to make a direct assault on Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.
November 28, 1862 - The Battle of Canehill, Arkansas. (AR004) (Prairie Grove Campaign [November 1862]). In late November, Major General Thomas C. Hindman detached Brigadier General John Marmaduke's cavalry from Van Buren north to occupy the Canehill area. Hearing of this movement, Brigadier General James Blunt advanced to meet Marmaduke's command and destroy it, if possible. The Union vanguard encountered Colonel Joe Shelby's brigade, which fought a delaying action to protect their supply trains. Shelby gradually gave ground until establishing a strong defensive perimeter on Cove Creek where he repulsed a determined attack. The Federals withdrew to Canehill, while the Confederates returned to Van Buren. Although fighting well, Marmaduke's withdrawal was a setback for Hindman's plans for recapturing northwest Arkansas. Victory at Prairie Grove a few weeks later, solidified Union control of the region.
November 30, 1862 - Confederate Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's troops arrived at Fredericksburg, Virginia, from the Shenandoah Valley.
December 1, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln asked the U. S. Congress to consider gradual emancipations of slaves by January 1, 1900, compensation for the owners, and deportation of freed slaves out of the nation.
December 3, 1862 - The state of Louisiana elected its first Union-loyal congressmen, B. F. Flanders and Michael Hahn, who were seated in the U. S. Congress until its adjournment in March 1863.
December 4, 1862 - Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, assumed command in the western theater.
December 7, 1862 - The Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas. (AR005) (Prairie Grove Campaign [November 1862]). Major General Thomas C. Hindman sought to destroy Brigadier General Francis Herron's and Brigadier General James Blunt's divisions before they joined forces. Hindman placed his large force between the two Union divisions, turning on Herron first and routing his cavalry. As Hindman pursued the cavalry, he met Herron's infantry which pushed him back. The Rebels then established their line of battle on a wooded high ridge northeast of Prairie Grove Church. Herron brought his artillery across the Illinois River and initiated an artillery duel. The Union troops assaulted twice and were repulsed. The Confederates counterattacked, were halted by Union canister, and then moved forward again. Just when it looked as if the Rebel attack would roll up Herron's troops, Blunt's men assailed the Confederate left flank. As night came, neither side had won, but Hindman retreated to Van Buren. Hindman's retreat established Federal control of northwest Arkansas.
December 7, 1862 - The Battle of Hartsville, Tennessee. (TN008) (Stones River Campaign [December 1862-January 1863]). The 39th Brigade, XIV Army Corps, was guarding the Cumberland River crossing at Hartsville to prevent Confederate cavalry from raiding. Under the cover of darkness, Brigadier General John H. Morgan crossed the river in the early morning of December 7, 1862. Colonel Absalom B. Moore, commander of the 39th Brigade, stated in his after action report, that Morgan's advance had worn Union blue uniforms which got them through the videttes. Morgan approached the Union camp, the pickets sounded the alarm, and held the Rebels until the brigade was in battle line. The fighting commenced at 6:45 am and continued until about 8:30 am. One of Moore's units ran, which caused confusion and helped to force the Federals to fall back. By 8:30 am, the Confederates had surrounded the Federals, convincing them to surrender. This action at Hartsville, located north of Murfreesboro, was a preliminary to the Confederate cavalry raids by Forrest into West Tennessee, December 1862-January 1863, and Morgan into Kentucky, December 1862-January 1863.
December 10, 1862 - The U. S. Congress passed a bill to authorize the creation of the state of West Virginia.
December 11, 1862 - Confederate Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest, CSA, launched a cavalry attack on Federal Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant's communication lines in Tennessee.
December 11-15, 1862 - The Battle of Fredericksburg I, Virginia. (VA028) (Fredericksburg Campaign [November-December 1862]). On November 14, Burnside, now in command of the Army of the Potomac, sent a corps to occupy the vicinity of Falmouth near Fredericksburg. The rest of the army soon followed. Lee reacted by entrenching his army on the heights behind the town. On December 11, Union engineers laid five pontoon bridges across the Rappahannock under fire. On the 12th, the Federal army crossed over, and on December 13, Burnside mounted a series of futile frontal assaults on Prospect Hill and Marye's Heights that resulted in staggering casualties. Meade's division, on the Union left flank, briefly penetrated Jackson's line but was driven back by a counterattack. Union Generals C. Feger Jackson and George Bayard, and Confederate generals Thomas R. R. Cobb and Maxey Gregg were killed. On December 15, Burnside called off the offensive and recrossed the river, ending the campaign. Burnside initiated a new offensive in January 1863, which quickly bogged down in the winter mud. The abortive "Mud March" and other failures led to Burnside's replacement by Major General Joseph Hooker in January 1863.
To Fredericksburg I Battlefield
December 12, 1862 - The Federal U.S.S. Cairo, commanded by Lieutenant Commander T. 0. Selfridge, USN, was sunk in the Yazoo River, Mississippi, the first ship to be destroyed by a Confederate torpedo.
December 14, 1862 - The Battle of Kinston, North Carolina. (NC007) (Goldsboro Expedition [December 1862]). A Union expedition led by Brigadier General John G. Foster left New Berne in December to disrupt the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad at Goldsborough. The advance was stubbornly contested by Evans's Brigade near Kinston Bridge on December 14, but the Confederates were outnumbered and withdrew north of the Neuse River in the direction of Goldsborough. Foster continued his movement the next day, taking the River Road, south of the Neuse River.
December 14-15, 1862 - Federal Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, USA, withdrew the Federal Army of the Potomac from the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia, across the Rappahannock River to Stafford Heights, after suffering a disasterous defeat to Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.
December 16, 1862 - The Battle of White Hall Ferry, North Carolina. (NC008) (Goldsboro Expedition [December 1862]). On December 16, Foster's Union troops reached White Hall where Beverly Robertson's brigade was holding the north bank of the Neuse River. The Federals demonstrated against the Confederates for much of the day, attempting to fix them in position, while the main Union column continued toward the railroad.
December 16, 1862 - Federal Brevet Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, USA, appointed commander of the Federal Department of the Gulf, including Louisiana.
December 17, 1862 - The Battle of Goldsboro Bridge, North Carolina. (NC009) (Goldsboro Expedition [December 1862]). On December 17, Foster's expedition reached the railroad near Everettsville and began destroying the tracks north toward the Goldsborough Bridge. Clingman's Confederate brigade delayed the advance but was unable to prevent the destruction of the bridge. His mission accomplished, Foster returned to New Berne where he arrived on the 20th.
December 17, 1862 - Federal Major General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, damaged his reputation by issuing an order singling out Jews for continuing illegal merchandising and speculative trade operations, both proven to be unfounded. This action will haunt Grant into his years as U. S. President after the Civil War, even though Federal Major General Henry W. Halleck, USA, and U. S. President Abraham Lincoln rescinded the order on January 4, 1863.
December 18, 1862 - The Battle of Lexington, Tennessee.
December 18-20, 1862 - The Collamer Committee, a Senate Republican caucus committee, visited with U. S. President Abraham Lincoln in an attempt to force U. S. Secretary of State William H. Seward out of the President's cabinet.
December 19, 1862 - Due to constant bickering between U. S. Secretary of State, William H. Seward, and U. S. Secretary of Treasury, Salmon Portland Chase, Seward offered to resign, but U. S. President Abraham Lincoln refused to accept his resignation.
December 19, 1862 - The Battle of Jackson, Tennessee. (TN009) (Forrest's Expedition into West Tennessee [December 1862-January 1863]). The engagement at Jackson occurred during Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest's Expedition into West Tennessee, between December 11, 1862, and January 1, 1863. Forrest wished to interrupt the rail supply line to Major General Ulysses S. Grant's army, campaigning down the Mississippi Central Railroad. If he could destroy the Mobile & Ohio Railroad running south from Columbus, Kentucky, through Jackson, Grant would have to curtail or halt his operations. Forrest's 2,100-man cavalry brigade crossed the Tennessee River on December 15-17, heading west. Major General Grant ordered a troop concentration at Jackson under Brigadier General Jeremiah C. Sullivan and sent a cavalry force out under Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll, to confront Forrest. Forrest, however, smashed the Union cavalry at Lexington on December 18. As Forrest continued his advance the next day, Sullivan ordered Colonel Adolph Englemann to take a small force northeast of Jackson. At Old Salem Cemetery, acting on the defensive, Englemann's two infantry regiments repulsed a Confederate mounted attack and then withdrew a mile closer to town. To Forrest, the fight amounted to no more than a feint and show of force intended to hold Jackson's Union defenders in place while two mounted columns destroyed railroad track north and south of the town and returned. This accomplished, Forrest withdrew from the Jackson area to attack Trenton and Humboldt. Thus, although the Federals had checked a demonstration by a portion of Forrest's force, a major accomplishment, other Confederates had fulfilled an element of the expedition's mission.
December 20, 1862 - The Battle of Holly Springs, Mississippi. Confederate Major General Earl Van Dorn, CSA, and Confederate Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest, CSA, destroyed Federal Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant's supply depot at Holly Springs, Mississippi, halting Grant's first advance on Vicksburg, Mississippi.
December 20, 1862 - Federal Brigadier General William T. Sherman, USA, left Memphis, Tennessee, and headed down the Mississippi River for Vicksburg, Mississippi.
December 20, 1862 - U. S. Secretary of Treasury, Salmon Portland Chase, tendered his resignation, but U. S. President Abraham Lincoln refused to accept it.
December 22, 1862 - Confederate Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan, CSA, began his 2nd Kentucky Raid, setting out from Alexandria, Tennessee, and crossing the Cumberland River into Kentucky.
December 22, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln met with Federal Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, USA, at his headquarters near Fredericksburg, Virginia, to discuss recent events there, and actions taken by various officers.
December 23, 1862 - Because of his treatment of citizens in New Orleans, Louisiana, while he was the Federal Military Governor in the city, Federal Major General Benjamin F. Butler, USA, was declared a felon by Confederate President Jefferson Davis, a crime punishable by death if captured by Confederate authorities.
December 24, 1862 - Federal forces captured Galveston, Texas.
December 26, 1862 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln ordered thirty-eight Sioux Indian leaders hanged at Mankato, Minnesota, for rebellious activities.
December 26-29, 1862 - The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, Mississippi. (MS003) (Operations Against Vicksburg [December 1862-January 1863]). On December 26, 1862, three Union divisions, under Major General William T. Sherman, disembarked at Johnson's Plantation on the Yazoo River to approach the Vicksburg defenses from the northeast while a fourth landed farther upstream on the 27th. On the 27th, the Federals pushed their lines forward through the swamps toward Walnut Hills, which was strongly defended. On the 28th, several futile attempts were made to get around these defenses. On December 29, Sherman ordered a frontal assault which was repulsed with heavy casualties. Sherman then withdrew. This Confederate victory frustrated Grant's attempts to take Vicksburg by direct approach.
December 31, 1862 - The Battle of Parker's Cross Roads, Tennessee. (TN011) (Forrest's Expedition into West Tennessee [December 1862-January 1863]). As Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest's expedition into West Tennessee neared its conclusion, Union Brigadier General Jeremiah C. Sullivan, with the brigades of Colonel Cyrus L. Dunham and Colonel John W. Fuller, attempted to cut Forrest off from withdrawing across the Tennessee River. Dunham's and Forrest's march routes, on December 31, 1862, brought them into contact at Parker's Cross Roads. Skirmishing began about 9:00 am, with Forrest taking an initial position along a wooded ridge northwest of Dunham at the intersection. Confederate artillery gained an early advantage. Dunham pulled his brigade back a half mile and redeployed, facing north. His Federals repelled frontal feint until attacked on both flanks and rear by Forrest's mounted and dismounted troops. During a lull, Forrest sent Dunham a demand for an unconditional surrender. Dunham refused and was preparing for Forrest's next onset when Fuller's Union brigade arrived from the north and surprised the Confederates with an attack on their rear; Confederate security detachments had failed to warn of Fuller's approach. "Charge 'em both ways," ordered Forrest. The Confederates briefly reversed front, repelled Fuller, then rushed past Dunham's demoralized force and withdrew south to Lexington and then across the Tennessee River. Both sides claimed victory, but the Confederate claims appear to have more credence.
December 31, 1862 - The Federal ironclad U.S.S. Monitor, under Commander J. P. Bankhead, foundered and was lost at sea in a storm off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
December 31, 1862 - January 2, 1863 - The Battle of Stones River (Murfreesboro), Tennessee. (TN010) (Stones River Campaign [December 1862-January 1863]). After General Braxton Bragg's defeat at Perryville, Kentucky, October 8, 1862, he and his Confederate Army of the Mississippi retreated, reorganized, and were redesignated as the Army of Tennessee. They then advanced to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and prepared to go into winter quarters. Major General William S. Rosecrans's Union Army of the Cumberland followed Bragg from Kentucky to Nashville. Rosecrans left Nashville on December 26, with about 45,000 men, to defeat Bragg's army. He found Bragg's army on December 29 and went into camp that night, within hearing distance of the Rebels. At dawn on the 31st, Bragg's men attacked the Union right flank. The Confederates had driven the Union line back to the Nashville Pike by 10:00 am but there it held. Union reinforcements arrived from Rosecrans's left in the late forenoon to bolster the stand and before fighting stopped that day, the Federals had established a new, strong line. On New Years Day, both armies marked time. Bragg surmised that Rosecrans would now withdraw, but the next morning he was still in position. In late afternoon, Bragg hurled a division at a Union division that, on January 1, had crossed Stones River and had taken up a strong position on the bluff east of the river. The Confederates drove most of the Federals back across McFadden's Ford, but with the assistance of artillery, the Federals repulsed the attack, compelling the Rebels to retire to their original position. Bragg left the field on the January 4-5, retreating to Shelbyville and Tullahoma, Tennessee. Rosecrans did not pursue, but as the Confederates retired, he claimed the victory. Stones River boosted Union morale. The Confederates had been thrown back in the east, west, and in the Trans-Mississippi.
To Stones River (Murfreesboro II) Battlefield
January 1, 1863 - The Battle of Galveston II, Texas. (TX003) (Operations Against Galveston [December 1862-January 1863]). Major General John B. Magruder, who became the Confederate commander of military forces in Texas on November 29, 1862, gave the recapture of Galveston top priority. At 3:00 am on New Year's Day, 1863, four Confederate gunboats, including C.S.S. Bayou City and Neptune, appeared, coming down the bay toward Galveston. Soon afterward, the Rebels commenced a land attack. The Union forces in Galveston were three companies of the 42nd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment under the command of Colonel Isaac S. Burrell. The Confederates captured or killed all of them except for the regiment's adjutant. They also took Harriet Lane, by boarding her, and two barks and a schooner. Cdr. W. B. Renshaw's flagship, U.S.S. Westfield, ran aground when trying to help Harriet Lane and, at 10:00 am, she was blown up to prevent her capture by the Confederates. Galveston was in Confederate hands again although the Union blockade would limit commerce in and out of the harbor.
January 1, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in territories held by Confederates, emphasizing the enlisting of black soldiers in the Federal Army. The war to preserve the Union now became a revolutionary struggle for the abolition of slavery.
January 3, 1863 - Confederate General Braxton Bragg's forces withdrew from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, despite a tactical victory.
January 3, 1863 - Federal Major General John McClernand, USA, assumed command of Federal Major General William T. Sherman's troops, and began an unauthorized campaign up the Arkansas River toward Little Rock, Arkansas.
January 6, 1863 - The U. S. Government officially turned down the offer by France's Napoleon III to mediate between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America.
January 8, 1863 - The Battle of Springfield II, Missouri. (MO018) (Marmaduke's First Expedition into Missouri [January 1863]). Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke's expedition into Missouri reached Ozark, where it destroyed the Federal post, and then approached Springfield on the morning of January 8, 1863. Springfield was an important Federal communications center and supply depot so the Rebels wished to destroy it. The Union army had constructed fortifications to defend the town. Their ranks, however, were depleted because Francis J. Herron's two divisions had not yet returned from their victory at Prairie Grove on December 7. After receiving a report on January 7 of the Rebels' approach, Brigadier General Egbert B. Brown set about preparing for the attack and rounding up additional troops. Around 10:00 am, the Confederates advanced in battle line to the attack. The day included desperate fighting with attacks and counterattacks until after dark, but the Federal troops held and the Rebels withdrew during the night. Brown had been wounded during the day. The Confederates appeared in force the next morning but retired without attacking. The Federal depot was successfully defended, and Union strength in the area continued.
January 8, 1863 - John P. Usher succeeded Caleb B. Smith as U. S. Secretary of the Interior.
January 9-11, 1863 - The Battle of Arkansas Post, Arkansas. (AR006) (Operations Against Vicksburg [December 1862-January 1863]). Union gunboats under Rear Admiral D. D. Porter, with troops embarked, compelled the surrender of Fort Hindman (Arkansas Post) on the Arkansas River. From Fort Hindman, at Arkansas Post, Confederates had been disrupting Union shipping on the Mississippi River. Major General John McClernand, therefore, undertook a combined force movement on Arkansas Post to capture it. Union boats began landed troops near Arkansas Post in the evening of January 9, 1863. The troops started up river towards Fort Hindman. Major General William T. Sherman's corps overran Rebel trenches, and the enemy retreated to the protection of the fort and adjacent rifle-pits. Rear Adm. David Porter, on the 10th, moved his fleet towards Fort Hindman and bombarded it withdrawing at dusk. Union artillery fired on the fort from artillery positions across the river on the 11th and the infantry moved into position for an attack. Union ironclads commenced shelling the fort and Porter's fleet passed it to cutoff any retreat. As a result of this envelopment, and the attack by McClernand's troops, the Confederate command surrendered in the afternoon. Although Union losses were high and the victory did not contribute to the capture of Vicksburg, it did eliminate one more impediment to Union shipping on the Mississippi.
January 11, 1863 - The Battle of Hartville, Missouri. (MO019) (Marmaduke's First Expedition into Missouri [January 1863]). John S. Marmaduke led a Confederate raid into Missouri in early January 1863. This movement was two-pronged. Colonel Joseph C. Porter led one column, comprising his Missouri Cavalry Brigade, out of Pocahontas, Arkansas, to assault Union posts around Hartville, Missouri. When he neared Hartville, on January 9, he sent a detachment forward to reconnoiter. It succeeded in capturing the small garrison and occupying the town. The same day, Porter moved on toward Marshfield. On the 10th, some of Porter's men raided other Union installations in the area before catching up with Marmaduke's column east of Marshfield. Marmaduke had received reports of Union troops approaching to surround him and prepared for a confrontation. Colonel Samuel Merrill, commander of the approaching Union column, arrived in Hartville, discovered that the garrison had already surrendered and set out after the Confederates. A few minutes later, fighting began. Marmaduke feared being cut off from his retreat route back to Arkansas so he pushed Merrill's force back to Hartville, where it established a defense line. Here, a four-hour battle ensued in which the Confederates suffered many casualties but compelled the Yankees to retreat. Although they won the battle, the Confederates were forced to abandon the raid and return to friendly territory.
January 11, 1863 - The Battle near Galveston, Texas. The naval battle between the U.S.S. Hatteras and the C.S.S. Alabama. The C.S.S. Alabama, under Captain Raphael Semmes, engaged and sank the U.S.S. Hatteras, under Lieutenant Commander H. C. Blake, off Galveston, Texas.
January 12, 1863 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis, in a speech to the 1st Confederate Congress, was still hoping for foreign recognition of the Confederate States of America.
January 14, 1863 - A joint United States Army-Navy forces attacked Confederate positions at Bayou Teche, Louisiana, compelling a Southern withdrawal and the subsequent destruction of gunboat C.S.S. Cotton.
January 14, 1863 - Confederate Major General Edmund Kirby Smith, CSA, was ordered to take command of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department.
January 15, 1863 - Provisional North Carolina Governor Edward Stanly resigned because of his lack of sympathy with emancipation of the negro.
January 17, 1863 - The Federal Army of the Mississippi, under Federal Major General John McClernand, USA, was ordered by Federal Major General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, to re-embark for Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, near Vicksburg, Mississippi, after moving against Arkansas Post, Arkansas, without authorization.
January 19-24, 1863 - The "Mud March," by Federal Major General Ambrose E. Burnside's Army of the Potomac, damaged the morale of these troops. In gruelling weather, a mixture of rain and snow, Federal troops marched to outflank Confederate General Robert E. Lee's forces to the north and west, but their attempt failed, and they returned to their original positions around Fredericksburg, Virginia, after continuous marching in knee deep mud.
January 21, 1863 - The C.S.S. Josiah Bell and C.S.S. Uncle Ben captured the U.S.S. Morning Light and U.S.S. Velocity, temporarily lifting the Federal blockade of Sabine Pass, Texas.
January 21, 1863 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, to travel to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to discuss with Confederate General Braxton Bragg, CSA, his unexplained reasons for retreating from Murfreesboro (Stones River), Tennessee.
January 21, 1863 - Federal Major General Fitz-John Porter, USA, was officailly cashiered from the Federal Army by order of U. S. President Abraham Lincoln, for failing to follow Federal Major General John Pope's orders during the battle of Second Manassas (Bull Run). This order would be revoked in 1879 after a military review, and Porter would be reinstated as a Colonel in the Regular Army in 1886 without any back pay.
January 23, 1863 - Partly due to frustration with the weather, Federal Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, USA, issued orders to remove his subordinate commanders, which was never approved by U. S. President Abraham Lincoln, and included: Major Generals Joseph Hooker, William B. Franklin; Brigadier Generals John Newton, William T. Brooks, USA. In addition to ruining his own military career, Burnside's accusations had a negative impact on any future advancement of Federal Major General William B. Franklin, USA. The remaining generals saw Hooker advancing to lead the Army of the Potomac with the others eventualy being promoted to Major Generals.
January 25, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln met in Washington, D. C., with Federal Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, USA, and after refusing to dismiss many of Burnside's subordinate officers, Burnside in frustration offered to resign, and, in doing so, Lincoln ordered Federal Major General Joseph Hooker, USA, to relieve Federal Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, USA, as commander of the Federal Army of the Potomac.
January 26, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln appointed Federal Major General Joseph Hooker, USA, as commander of the Federal Army of the Potomac, replacing Federal Brigadier General Ambrose Burnside, USA.
January 29, 1863 - Federal Major General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, was placed in command of the Federal Army of the West, with orders to capture Vicksburg.
January 29, 1863 - The Confederate Congress authorized the Erlanger Loan, borrowing $15 million through French financier Émile Erlanger.
January 29, 1863 - The Battle of Bear River, Idaho. (ID001) (Expedition from Camp Douglas, Utah, to Cache Valley, Idaho [January 1863]). Chief Bear Hunter's warriors had committed depredations, including murdering some prospectors who ventured near his camp. Colonel Patrick E. Connor, therefore, set out, in deep snow, in January 1863, towards Chief Bear Hunter's camp, about 120 miles from Salt Lake City near where he was headquartered at Fort Douglas. Chief Bear Hunter's camp, near present-day Preston, Idaho, included about 300 Shoshoni warriors defensively placed in the Battle Creek ravine west of Bear River with high embankments in which the Indians had cut access trails. Shortly after dawn, Connor's troops appeared across the river and began crossing. Before all of the men had crossed and Connor had arrived, some troops made an unsuccessful frontal attack which the Indians easily repulsed inflicting numerous casualties. When Connor took over, he sent troops to where the ravine debouched through the bluffs. Some of these men covered the mouth of the ravine to prevent any escape while others moved down the rims, firing on the Indians below. This fire killed many of the warriors, but some attempted to escape by swimming the icy river where other troops shot them. The battle stopped by the middle of the morning. The troopers had killed most of the warriors a number of women, children and old men, and captured many of the women and children.
January 30, 1863 - The U.S.S. Commodore Perry and Army troops severed Confederate supply lines to Richmond, Virginia, via the Perquitnans River, North Carolina.
January 31, 1863 - The Battle near Charleston, South Carolina. The Confederate ironclads C.S.S. Palmetto State and C.S.S. Chicora attacked the blockading fleet off Charleston, South Carolina; the Federal blockading ships U.S.S. Mercedita and U.S.S. Keystone State were heavily damaged and struck their flags.
February 2, 1863 - Federal Major General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, cut the levee at Yazoo Pass, Mississippi, to open a passage for gunboats to reach the rear of Vicksburg, Mississippi, by way of the Yazoo River.
February 3, 1863 - The Battle of Dover, Tennessee. (TN012) (Middle Tennessee Operations [February-April 1863]). Under orders, in late January 1863, Confederate Major General Joseph Wheeler, commanding two brigades of cavalry, had taken position on the Cumberland River at Palmyra to disrupt Union shipping. The Federals, however, apprised of Wheeler's intent, refrained from sending any boats up or downriver. Unable to disrupt Union shipping and realizing that he and his men could not remain in the area indefinitely, Wheeler decided to attack the garrison at Dover, Tennessee, which informers reported was small and could easily be overwhelmed. The Rebels set out for Dover and between 1:00 and 2:00 pm, on February 3, began an attack. The 800-man garrison, under the command of Colonel A. C. Harding, was in and about the town of Dover where they had chosen camps that commanded the area and had dug rifle pits and battery emplacements. The Confederates mounted a determined attack using artillery fire with great skill, but were repulsed with heavy losses. By dusk, both sides were mostly without ammunition. The Confederates surveyed the Union defenses and decided that the enemy was too well-placed to allow capture. Wheeler's force retired. The Federals did send out a pursuit but to no avail. The Confederates had failed to disrupt shipping on the Cumberland River and capture the garrison at Dover. This Confederate failure left the Union in control in Middle Tennessee and a bitter Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest denounced Wheeler, a favorite of General Braxton Bragg, saying he would not again serve under him.
February 14, 1863 - The U.S.S. Queen of the West was grounded in the Black River, Louisiana, and was abandoned under heavy fire.
February 22, 1863 - Ground was broken in California for the Central Pacific Railroad.
February 24, 1863 - The Confederate C.S.S. William H. Webb and C.S.S. Queen of the West engaged and sunk the Federal ram U.S.S. Indianola below Warrenton, Mississippi.
February 24, 1863 - The U. S. Congress created the Arizona Territory, officially separating it from the New Mexico Territory.
February 25, 1863 - The U. S. Congress authorized a national banking system.
February 26, 1863 - The Cherokee Indian Nation's Grand Council canceled its treaty with the Confederate States of America, and realigned itself with the U. S. Government.
February 28, 1863 - The U.S.S. Montauk, Wissahickon, Seneca, and Dawn shelled and destroyed the Confederate blockade runner C.S.S. Rattlesnake (formerly the Nashville) under the guns of Fort McAllister, Georgia. For more than a month Federal ironclads had been bombarding the fort guarding the approaches to Savannah, Georgia.
March 3, 1863 - The Battle of Fort McAllister I, Georgia. (GA002) ( Attacks on Fort McAllister [March 1863]). Rear Adm. Samuel F. Du Pont [US] ordered three ironclads, Patapsco, Passaic, and Nahant, to test their guns and mechanical appliances and practice artillery firing by attacking Fort McAllister, then a small three-gun earthwork battery. On March 3, 1863, the three ironclads conducted an eight-hour bombardment. The bombardment did not destroy the battery but did some damage, while the three ironclads received some scratches and dents. The tests were helpful for knowledge and experience gained, but the fort did not fall, showing that the ironclads' firepower could not destroy an earthen fort.
March 3, 1863 - The U.S. Congress passed, and U. S. President Abraham Lincoln signed, the Federal Conscription Act into law, affecting male citizens aged 20 to 45, but it exempted those who paid $300 or provided a substitute.
March 3, 1863 - The U.S. Congress passed the Captured and Abandoned Property Act.
March 3, 1863 - The U.S. Congress authorized suspension of the writ of habeas corpus for any reason determined by the U. S. president during the war.
March 4, 1863 - The Battle of Spring Hill, Tennessee.
March 5, 1863 - The Battle of Thompson's Station, Tennessee. (TN013) (Middle Tennessee Operations [February-April 1863]). In a period of relative inactivity following the Battle of Stones River, a reinforced Union infantry brigade, under Colonel John Coburn, left Franklin to reconnoiter south toward Columbia. Four miles from Spring Hill, Coburn attacked a Confederate force, with his right wing, composed of two regiments, and was repelled. Then, Major General Van Dorn seized the initiative. Brigadier General W.H. "Red" Jackson's dismounted 2nd Division made a frontal attack, while Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest's division swept around Coburn's left flank, and into his rear. After three attempts, characterized by hard fighting, Jackson carried the Union hilltop position as Forrest captured Coburn's wagon train and blocked the road to Columbia in his rear. Out of ammunition and surrounded, Coburn surrendered. Union influence in Middle Tennessee subsided for a while.
March 8, 1863 - Federal Major General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, abandoned his attempts to bypass the Vicksburg, Mississippi, river defenses via the Yazoo River Canal and the Lake Providence routes.
March 10, 1863 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis met with Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton, CSA, at Vicksburg, Mississippi, discussing his defenses against the on-going campaign by Federal Major General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, to capture the city.
March 10, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln issued an amnesty to all federal soldiers absent without leave if they reported to their unit before Aptil 1, 1863.
March 10, 1863 - The U. S. Supreme Court recognized U. S. President Abraham Lincoln's right to deal with the Confederacy as a belligerent without legitimizing the Confederate government.
March 11, 1863 - Ships of the Union's Yazoo Pass Expedition, which began in February with the objective of cutting off Vicksburg in the rear, engaged Confederate Fort Pemberton, Mississippi. The expedition ultimately had to retire without achieving its purpose.
March 13, 1863 - The Confederate Ordinance Laboratory, on Brown's Island, near Richmond, Virginia, exploded, killing approximately 70 people, mostly women who were working in the munitions factory.
March 13-15, 1863 - The Battle of Fort Anderson, North Carolina. (NC010) (Longstreet's Tidewater Operations [March-April 1863]). Lieutenant General James Longstreet took charge of the Department of Virginia and North Carolina on February 25 and initiated his Tidewater Operations. He directed D. H. Hill, commander of the North Carolina District, to advance on the Union stronghold of New Berne with about 12,000 men. Major General William H. T. Whiting, who commanded the Wilmington garrison, refused to cooperate. After an initial success at Deep Gully on March 13, Hill marched against the well-entrenched Federals at Fort Anderson on March 14-15. Hill was forced to retire upon the arrival of Union gunboats. The city's garrison was heavily reinforced, and Hill withdrew to threaten Washington, North Carolina.
March 14, 1863 - Federal Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, USN, passed the Confederate heavy batteries at Port Hudson, Louisiana, with the U.S.S. Hartford and U.S.S. Albatross, to establish an effective blockade of the vital Red River, Louisiana, supply lines.
March 17, 1863 - The Battle of Kelly's Ford, Virginia. (VA029) (Cavalry Operations along the Rappahannock [March 1863]). Kelly's Ford was one of the early larger scale cavalry fights in Virginia that set the stage for Brandy Station and cavalry actions of the Gettysburg campaign. Twenty-one hundred troopers of Averell's cavalry division crossed the Rappahannock River to attack the Confederate cavalry. Fitzhugh Lee counterattacked with a brigade of about 800 men. The "Gallant" Pelham was killed. After achieving a localized success, Union forces withdrew in mid-afternoon.
March 17, 1863 - Federal Major General Ulysses S. Grant's Yazoo River Canal Expedition was blocked at the Confederate's Fort Pemberton.
March 20, 1863 - The Battle of Vaught's Hill, Tennessee. (TN014) (Middle Tennessee Operations [February-April 1863]). During the inactivity following the Battle of Stones River, a Union brigade-sized reconnaissance force, under Colonel Albert S. Hall, left Murfreesboro on March 18. Circling to the northeast, Hall encountered Confederate Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan's cavalry command which caused him to fall back to a position east of Milton. Pursuing Hall, Morgan's men caught up with him on the morning of the 20th, at Vaught's Hill. Dismounted, Morgan struck at both Union flanks, even to the point of encircling Hall's hilltop position. Hall conducted a perimeter defense and withstood all Confederate attacks, which lasted till after 2:00 pm. Morgan continued to bombard the Yankees until 4:30 pm, when he broke off the engagement, after learning that Union reinforcements were en route from Murfreesboro. Union forces continued to strengthen their position in Middle Tennessee.
March 21, 1863 - Federal Brigadier General William T. Sherman, USA, rescued Federal Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter's ironclads, trapped in Steele's Bayou, ending another attempt to reach the rear of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
March 25, 1863 - The Battle of Brentwood, Tennessee. (TN015) (Middle Tennessee Operations [February-April 1863]). Union Lieutenant Colonel Edward Bloodgood held Brentwood, a station on the Nashville & Decatur Railroad, with 400 men on the morning of March 25, 1863, when Confederate Brigadier General Nathan B. Forrest, with a powerful column, approached the town. The day before, Forrest had ordered Colonel J. W. Starnes, commanding the 2nd Brigade, to go to Brentwood, cut the telegraph, tear up railroad track, attack the stockade, and cut off any retreat. Forrest and the other cavalry brigade joined Bloodgood about 7:00 am on the 25th. A messenger from the stockade informed Bloodgood that Forrest's men were about to attack and had destroyed railroad track. Bloodgood sought to notify his superiors and discovered that the telegraph lines were cut. Forrest sent in a demand for a surrender under a flag of truce but Bloodgood refused. Within a half hour, though, Forrest had artillery in place to shell Bloodgood's position and had surrounded the Federals with a large force. Bloodgood, decided to surrender. Forrest and his men caused a lot of damage in the area during this expedition, and Brentwood, on the railroad, was the significant loss to the Federals.
March 25, 1863 - Federal Brigadier General Ambrose Burnside, USA, was appointed commander of the Federal Department of the Ohio, with orders to operate in eastern Tennessee.
March 26, 1863 - Voters in West Virginia authorized the gradual emancipation of their slaves.
March 29 - July 4, 1863 - Federal Major General U. S. Grant, USA, started his final campaign against Vicksburg, Mississippi.
March 30 - April 20, 1863 - The Battle of Washington, North Carolina. (NC011) (Longstreet's Tidewater Operations [March-April 1863]). While Longstreet operated against Suffolk, D. H. Hill's column moved against the Federal garrison of Washington, North Carolina. By March 30, the town was ringed with fortifications, but the Confederates were unable to shut off supplies and reinforcements arriving by ship. After a week of confusion and mismanagement, Hill was maneuvered out of his siegeworks and withdrew on April 15.
March 31, 1863 - Confederate troops opened a sustained attack on Federal forces at Washington, North Carolina, but Northern warships, moving swiftly to the support of the soldiers, halted the assault.
April 2, 1863 - Bread riots take place in Richmond, Virginia. Confederate President Jefferson Davis made a speech in the streets to deter the uprising of mostly poor women over food shortages.
April 4, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln traveled to Fredericksburg, Virginia, to meet with Federal Major General Joseph Hooker, USA, to discuss military strategy.
April 7, 1863 - The Battle of Charleston Harbor I, South Carolina. (SC004) (Operations Against the Defenses of Charleston [April-September 1863]). In April, Major General David Hunter prepared his land forces on Folly, Cole's, and North Edisto Islands to cooperate with a naval bombardment of Fort Sumter. On April 7, the South Atlantic Squadron under Rear Admiral S. F. Du Pont bombarded Fort Sumter, having little impact on the Confederate defenses of Charleston Harbor. Although several of Hunter's units had embarked on transports, the infantry were not landed, and the joint operation was abandoned. The ironclad warships Keokuk, Weehawken, Passaic, Montauk, Patapsco, New Ironsides, Catskill, Nantucket, and Nahant participated in the bombardment. Keokuk, struck more than 90 times by the accurate Confederate fire, sunk the next day.
April 8, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln reviewed Federal Major General Joseph Hooker's Federal Army of the Potomac across the Rappahannock River from Fredericksburg, Virginia.
April 10, 1863 - The Battle of Franklin I, Tennessee. (TN016) (Middle Tennessee Operations [February-April 1863]). The 1863 engagement at Franklin was a reconnaissance in force by Confederate cavalry leader Major General Earl Van Dorn coupled with an equally inept response by Union Major General Gordon Granger. Van Dorn advanced northward from Spring Hill on May 10, making contact with Federal skirmishers just outside Franklin. Van Dorn's attack was so weak that when Granger received a false report that Brentwood, to the north, was under attack, he believed it, and sent away most of his cavalry, thinking that the Confederate general was undertaking a diversion. When the truth became known--there was no threat to Brentwood--Granger decided to attack Van Dorn, but he was surprised to learn that a subordinate had already done so, without orders. Brigadier General David S. Stanley, with a cavalry brigade, had crossed the Harpeth River at Hughes's Ford, behind the Confederate right rear. The 4th U.S. Cavalry attacked and captured Freeman's Tennessee Battery on the Lewisburg Road but lost it when Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest counterattacked. Stanley's troopers quickly withdrew across the Big Harpeth River. This incident in his rear caused Van Dorn to cancel his operations and withdraw to Spring Hill, leaving the Federals in control of the area.
April 10, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln returned to Washington, D. C., via Aquia Creek, Virginia, after reviewing the Federal Army of the Potomac at Falmouth, Virginia.
April 11-May 4, 1863 - The Battle of Suffolk I, Virginia. (VA030) (Longstreet's Tidewater Operations [March-April 1863]). In cooperation with D. H. Hill's advance on Washington, North Carolina, Lieutenant General James Longstreet with Hood's and Pickett's divisions besieged the Union garrison at Suffolk, Virginia, commanded by Federal Brigadier General John Peck. The Union works were formidable and manned by 25,000 men, opposed to Longstreet's 20,000. On April 13, the Confederate troops pushed their left flank to the Nansemond River and constructed a battery on Hill's Point, which closed off the garrison to Union shipping. On April 14, Union gunboats attempted to run the batteries at the Norfleet House slightly upstream, but Mount Washington was crippled. The Federals, at the same time, constructed batteries to command the Confederate works at Norfleet House. On April 15, these batteries were unmasked and opened fire, driving the Confederates out of this important position.
April 11-May 4, 1863 - The Battle of Suffolk II, Virginia. (VA031) (Longstreet's Tidewater Operations [March-April 1863]). On April 19, a Union infantry force landed on Hill's Point at the confluence of the forks of the Nansemond River. This amphibious force assaulted Fort Huger from the rear, quickly capturing its garrison, thus reopening the river to Union shipping. On April 24, Brigadier General Michael Corcoran's Union division mounted a reconnaissance-in-force from Fort Dix against Major General George E. Pickett's extreme right flank. The Federals approached cautiously and were easily repulsed. On April 29, General Robert E. Lee directed Longstreet to disengage from Suffolk and rejoin the Army of Northern Virginia at Fredericksburg. By May 4, the last of Longstreet's command had crossed the Blackwater River en route to Richmond.
April 12, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln received a letter from Federal Major General Joseph Hooker, USA, suggesting a movement around Confederate General Robert E. Lee's flank to Richmond, Virginia, which was contrary to their recent discussions where Lincoln reminded Hooker that Lee's Army of Northern Virginia must be Hooker's main goal.
April 12-13, 1863 - The Battle of Fort Bisland, Louisiana. (LA006) (Operations in West Louisiana [April 1863]). In April 1863, Major General Nathaniel P. Banks launched an expedition up Bayou Teche in western Louisiana aimed at Alexandria. On April 9, two divisions crossed Berwick Bay from Brashear City to the west side at Berwick. On the 12th, a third division went up the Atchafalaya River to land in the rear of Franklin intending to intercept a Rebel retreat from Fort Bisland or turn the enemy's position. Major General Richard Taylor and sent Colonel Tom Green's regiment to the front to ascertain the enemy's strength and retard his advance. On the 11th, the Yankees began their advance in earnest. Late on the 12th, Union troops arrived outside the defenses in battle line. An artillery barrage ensued from both sides until dark when the Yankees, many of whom were hit by Rebel cannon fire, fell back and camped for the night. About 9:00 am on the 13th, the Union forces again advanced on Fort Bisland. Combat did not begin until after 11:00 am and continued until dusk. In addition to Rebel forces in the earthworks, the gunboat Diana, now in Confederate hands, shelled the Yankees. U.S. gunboats joined the fray in late afternoon. The fighting ceased after this. Later that night, Taylor learned that the Yankee division that went up the Atchafalaya and landed in his rear was now in a position to cut off a Confederate retreat. Taylor began evacuating supplies, men, and weapons, leaving a small force to retard any enemy movement. The next morning, the Yankees found the fort abandoned. Fort Bisland was the only fortification that could have impeded this Union offensive, and it had fallen.
April 14, 1863 - The Battle of Irish Bend, Louisiana. (LA007) (Operations in West Louisiana [April 1863]). While the other two Union XIX Army Corps divisions comprising the expedition into West Louisiana moved across Berwick Bay towards Fort Bisland, Brigadier General Cuvier Grover's division went up the Atchafalaya River into Grand Lake, intending to intercept a Confederate retreat from Fort Bisland or turn the enemy's position. On the morning of April 13, the division landed in the vicinity of Franklin and scattered Rebel troops attempting to stop them from disembarking. That night, Grover ordered the division to cross Bayou Teche and prepare for an attack towards Franklin at dawn. In the meantime, Confederate Major General Richard Taylor had sent some men to meet Grover's threat. On the morning of the 14th, Taylor and his men were at Nerson's Woods, around a mile and a half above Franklin. As Grover's lead brigade marched out a few miles, it encountered Rebels on its right and began skirmishing with them. The fighting became intense; the Rebels attacked, forcing the Yankees to fall back. The gunboat Diana arrived and anchored the Confederate right flank. The Confederates were outnumbered, however, and, as Grover began making dispositions for an attack, they retreated leaving the field to the Union. This victory, along with the one at Fort Bisland, two days earlier, assured the success of the expedition into West Louisiana.
April 16, 1863 - Federal Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter's flotilla ran past the Vicksburg, Mississippi, guns, while Federal Major General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, moved his troops south by land down the west bank of the Mississippi River, preparing the way for Grant's new campaign south and east of the city, starting at Grand Gulf.
April 17, 1863 - The Battle of Vermillion Bayou, Louisiana. (LA008) (Operations in West Louisiana [April 1863]). While Rear Adm. David G. Farragut remained above Port Hudson with Hartford and Albatross, Major General Nathaniel P. Banks decided to go after Major General Richard Taylor's Confederate forces in western Louisiana. He moved by water to Donaldsonville and began a march to Thibodeaux up Bayou LaFourche. Banks beat Taylor at Fort Bisland and Irish Bend, forcing the Rebel army to retreat up the bayou. Taylor reached Vermillionville, crossed Vermillion Bayou, destroyed the bridge, and rested. Banks, in pursuit, sent two columns, on different roads, toward Vermillion Bayou on the morning of April 17. One column reached the bayou while the bridge was burning, advanced, and began skirmishing. Confederate artillery, strategically placed, forced the Yankees back. Then Federal artillery opened a duel with its Confederate counterpart. After dark, the Rebels retreated to Opelousas. The Confederates had slowed the Union advance.
April 17-May 2, 1863 - Federal Colonel Benjamin F. Grierson's cavalry raid, Grierson's Raid, with over 1,700 men, through parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana for sixteen days destroying railroads and public property, disrupting Confederate communications with Vicksburg, Mississippi.
April 19, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln traveled with Federal Major General Henry W. Halleck, USA, and U. S. Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, to Aquia Creek, Virginia, on a military fact finding mission.
April 20, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln endorsed the admission of the state of West Virginia to the Union on June 20, 1863.
April 24, 1863 - The U. S. Adjutant General's Office issued General War Order No. 100, establishing the Lieber Code, the American rules of war.
April 26, 1863 - The Battle of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. (MO020) (Marmaduke's Second Expedition into Missouri [April-May 1863]). Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke sought to strike Brigadier General John McNeil, with his combined force of about 2,000 men, at Bloomfield, Missouri. McNeil retreated and Marmaduke followed. Marmaduke received notification, on April 25, that McNeil was near Cape Girardeau. He sent troops to destroy or capture McNeil's force, but then he learned that the Federals had placed themselves in the fortifications. Marmaduke ordered one of his brigades to make a demonstration to ascertain the Federals' strength. Colonel John S. Shelby's brigade made the demonstration which escalated into an attack. Those Union forces not already in fortifications retreated into them. Realizing the Federals' strength, Marmaduke withdrew his division to Jackson. After finding the force he had been chasing, Marmaduke was repulsed. Meant to relieve pressure on other Confederate troops and to disrupt Union operations, Marmaduke's expedition did little to fulfill either objective.
April 28, 1863 - Federal Major General Joseph Hooker, USA, started his Chancellorsville Campaign by crossing the Rappahannock River, above Fredericksburg, Virginia, leaving Federal Major General John Sedgwick, USA, in charge around Fredericksburg. The Federal Army of the Potomac was moving towards Chancellorsville, Virginia, and against Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia.
April 29, 1863 - The Battle of Grand Gulf, Mississippi. (MS004) (Grant's Operations Against Vicksburg [March-July 1863]). Rear Adm. David D. Porter led seven ironclads in an attack on the fortifications and batteries at Grand Gulf, with the intention of silencing the Confederate guns and then securing the area with troops of McClernand's XIII Army Corps who were on the accompanying transports and barges. The attack by the seven ironclads began at 8:00 am and continued until about 1:30 pm. During the fight, the ironclads moved within 100 yards of the Rebel guns and silenced the lower batteries of Fort Wade; the Confederate upper batteries at Fort Cobun remained out of reach and continued to fire. The Union ironclads (one of which, the Tuscumbia, had been put out of action) and the transports drew off. After dark, however, the ironclads engaged the Rebel guns again while the steamboats and barges ran the gauntlet. Grant marched his men overland across Coffee Point to below the Gulf. After the transports had passed Grand Gulf, they embarked the troops at Disharoon's plantation and disembarked them on the Mississippi shore at Bruinsburg, below Grand Gulf. The men immediately began marching overland towards Port Gibson. The Confederates had won a hollow victory; the loss at Grand Gulf caused just a slight change in Grant's offensive.
April 29, 1863 - Federal Major General George Stoneman, USA, led a Federal cavalry raid behind Confederate General Robert E. Lee's lines in Virginia.
April 29-May 1, 1863 - The Battle of Snyder's Bluff, Mississippi. (MS005) (Grant's Operations Against Vicksburg [March-July 1863]). To insure that troops were not withdrawn to Grand Gulf to assist Confederates there, a combined Union army-navy force feigned an attack on Snyder's Bluff, Mississippi. After noon, on April 29th, Lieutenant Cdr. K. Randolph Breese, with his eight gunboats and ten transports carrying Major General Francis Blair's division, inched up the Yazoo River to the mouth of Chickasaw Bayou where they spent the night. At 9:00 am, the next morning, the force, minus one gunboat, continued upriver to Drumgould's Bluff and engaged the enemy batteries. During the fighting, Choctaw suffered more than fifty hits, but no casualties occurred. Around 6:00 pm, the troops disembarked and marched along Blake's Levee toward the guns. As they neared Drumgould's Bluff, a battery opened on them, creating havoc and casualties. The Union advance halted and, after dark, the men reembarked on the transports. The next morning, transports disembarked other troops. The inundated terrain and enemy heavy artillery fire forced them to retire. The gunboats opened fire again, about 3:00 pm on the 1st, causing some damage. Later, the boats' fire slackened and stopped altogether after dark. Sherman had received orders to land his troops at Milliken's Bend, so the gunboats returned to their anchorages at the mouth of the Yazoo.
April 30, 1863 - The Battle of Day's Gap, Alabama. (AL001) (Streight's Raid in Alabama and Georgia [April 1863]). Union Colonel Abel D. Streight led a provisional brigade on a raid to cut the Western & Atlantic Railroad that supplied General Braxton Bragg's Confederate army in Middle Tennessee. From Nashville, Tennessee, Streight's command traveled to Eastport, Mississippi, and then proceeded east to Tuscumbia, Alabama, in conjunction with another Union force commanded by Brigadier General Grenville Dodge. On April 26, 1863, Streight's men left Tuscumbia and marched southeast, their initial movements screened by Dodge's troops. On April 30, Confederate Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest's brigade caught up with Streight's expedition and attacked its rearguard at Day's Gap on Sand Mountain. The Federals repulsed this attack and continued their march to avoid further delay and envelopment. Thus began a running series of skirmishes and engagements at Crooked Creek (April 30), Hog Mountain (April 30), Blountsville (May 1), Black Creek/Gadsden (May 2), and Blount's Plantation (May 2). Forrest finally surrounded the exhausted Union soldiers near Rome, Georgia, where he forced their surrender on May 3.
April 30, 1863 - Federal Major General U. S. Grant, USA, crossed the Mississippi River to Bruinsburg, Mississippi, south of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
April 30, 1863 - After crossing the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers, Federal Major General Joseph Hooker, USA, concentrated his Federal forces at Chancellorsville, Virginia.
May 1-4, 1863 - The Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia. (VA032) (Chancellorsville Campaign [April-May 1863]). On April 27, Major General Joseph Hooker led the V, IX, and XII Corps on a campaign to turn the Confederate left flank by crossing the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers above Fredericksburg. Passing the Rapidan via Germanna and Ely's Fords, the Federals concentrated near Chancellorsville on April 30 and May 1. The III Corps was ordered to join the army via United States Ford. Sedgwick's VI Corps and Gibbon's division remained to demonstrate against the Confederates at Fredericksburg. In the meantime, Lee left a covering force under Major General Jubal Early in Fredericksburg and marched with the rest of the army to confront the Federals. As Hooker's army moved toward Fredericksburg on the Orange Turnpike, they encountered increasing Confederate resistance. Hearing reports of overwhelming Confederate force, Hooker ordered his army to suspend the advance and to concentrate again at Chancellorsville. Pressed closely by Lee's advance, Hooker adopted a defensive posture, thus giving Lee the initiative. On the morning of May 2, Major General T. J. Jackson directed his corps on a march against the Federal left flank, which was reported to be "hanging in the air." Fighting was sporadic on other portions of the field throughout the day, as Jackson's column reached its jump-off point. At 5:20 pm, Jackson's line surged forward in an overwhelming attack that crushed the Union XI Corps. Federal troops rallied, resisted the advance, and counterattacked. Disorganization on both sides and darkness ended the fighting. While making a night reconnaissance, Jackson was mortally wounded by his own men and carried from the field. J. E. B. Stuart took temporary command of Jackson's Corps. On May 3, the Confederates attacked with both wings of the army and massed their artillery at Hazel Grove. This finally broke the Federal line at Chancellorsville. Hooker withdrew a mile and entrenched in a defensive "U" with his back to the river at United States Ford. Union generals Berry and Whipple and Confederate General Paxton were killed; "Stonewall" Jackson was mortally wounded. On the night of May 5-6, after Union reverses at Salem Church, Hooker recrossed to the north bank of the Rappahannock. Many historians consider this battle to be Lee's greatest victory.
To Chancellorsville Battlefield
May 1, 1863 - The Battle of Port Gibson, Mississippi. (MS006) (Grant's Operations Against Vicksburg [March-July 1863]). Major General U.S. Grant launched his march on Vicksburg in the Spring of 1863, starting his army south, from Milliken's Bend, on the west side of the Mississippi River. He intended to cross the river at Grand Gulf, but the Union fleet was unable to silence the Confederate big guns there. Grant then marched farther south and crossed at Bruinsburg on April 30. Union forces came ashore, secured the landing area and, by late afternoon, began marching inland. Advancing on the Rodney Road towards Port Gibson, Grant's force ran into Rebel outposts after midnight and skirmished with them for around three hours. After 3:00 am, the fighting stopped. Union forces advanced on the Rodney Road and a plantation road at dawn. At 5:30 am, the Confederates engaged the Union advance and the battle ensued. Federals forced the Rebels to fall back. The Confederates established new defensive positions at different times during the day but they could not stop the Union onslaught and left the field in the early evening. This defeat demonstrated that the Confederates were unable to defend the Mississippi River line and the Federals had secured their beachhead. The way to Vicksburg was open.
May 1-2, 1863 - The Battle of Chalk Bluff, Arkansas. (AR007) (Marmaduke's Second Expedition into Missouri [April-May 1863]). Union Brigadier General William Vandever pursued Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke to Chalk Bluff, where the Confederates hoped to cross the St. Francis River. To ford the river, Marmaduke established a rearguard that received heavy punishment on May 1-2. Although most of Marmaduke's raiders crossed the St. Francis River, they suffered heavy casualties and therefore ended the expedition.
May 2, 1863 - Federal Colonel Benjamin H. Grierson's raiding party reached the Federal lines at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, ending his famous raid, after having devastated the Mississippi-Louisiana countryside.
May 2, 1863 - During the battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia, Confederate Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, CSA, was severly wounded by his own men while he led a sundown reconnaissance of his front lines, and the Federal right flank that his troops had just crushed.
May 2-4, 1863 - Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet, CSA, lifted his siege of Suffolk, Virginia, though his forces would not be of any direct assistance to Confederate General Robert E. Lee's actions around Chancellorsville, Virginia.
May 3, 1863 - The Battle of Fredericksburg II, Virginia. (VA034) (Chancellorsville Campaign [April-May 1863]). On May 1, General Robert E. Lee left Major General Jubal A. Early's division to hold Fredericksburg, while marching with the rest of the army to meet Hooker's main offensive thrust at Chancellorsville. On May 3, the Union VI Corps under Sedgwick, reinforced by John Gibbon's II Corps division, having crossed the Rappahannock River, assaulted and carried the Confederate entrenchments on Marye's Heights. The outnumbered Confederates withdrew and regrouped west and southeast of town.
To Fredericksburg II Battlefield
May 3, 1863 - Federal Rear Admiral David D. Porter's force and troops under Federal Major General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, forced the evacuation of Grand Gulf, Mississippi. Porter reported: "The Navy holds the door to Vicksburg."
May 3, 1863 - Federal Colonel Abel D. Streight, USA, and his raiders surrendered to Confederate Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest's outnumbered cavalry at Cedar Bluff, Alabama.
May 3-4, 1863 - The Battle of Salem Church, Virginia. (VA033) (Chancellorsville Campaign [April-May 1863]). After occupying Marye's Heights on May 3, Sedgwick's VI Corps marched out on the Plank Road with the objective of reaching Hooker's force at Chancellorsville. He was delayed by Wilcox's brigade of Early's force at Salem Church. During the afternoon and night, Lee detached two of his divisions from the Chancellorsville lines and marched them to Salem Church. Several Union assaults were repulsed the next morning with heavy casualties, and the Confederates counterattacked, gaining some ground. After dark, Sedgwick withdrew across two pontoon bridges at Scott's Dam under a harassing artillery fire. Hearing that Sedgwick had been repulsed, Hooker abandoned the campaign, recrossing on the night of May 5-6 to the north bank of the Rappahannock.
May 5, 1863 - The leading Peace Democrat, or Copperhead, Ohio Congressman Clement Vallandigham, was arrested at his home and taken to Federal Major General Ambrose E. Burnside's Department of the Ohio headquarters, in Cincinnati, Ohio, for speaking against the war in public.
May 6, 1863 - Federal Major General Joseph Hooker, USA, and his Army of the Potomac retreated across the Rappahannock River after his defeat during the battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia.
May 7, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln and Federal Major General Henry W. Halleck, USA, returned to Washington, D. C., after conferring with Federal Major General Joseph Hooker, USA, commander of the Federal Army of the Potomac.
May 7, 1863 - Federal Major General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, decided to have his army live off the land in Mississippi, therefore depending less on his supply lines (though he did continue to carry some necessities with his army).
May 10, 1863 - The South suffered a huge blow as Confederate Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, CSA, died at Guiney's Station, Virginia, from "friendly fire" wounds suffered during the battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia.
May 12, 1863 - The Battle of Raymond, Mississippi. (MS007) (Grant's Operations Against Vicksburg [March-July 1863]). Ordered by Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton, Confederate commander at Vicksburg, Brigadier General John Gregg led his force from Port Hudson, Louisiana, to Jackson, Mississippi, and out to Raymond to intercept approaching Union troops. Before dawn on May 12, Major General James B. McPherson had his XVII Army Corps on the march, and by 10:00 am they were about three miles from Raymond. Gregg decided to dispute the crossing of Fourteen Mile Creek and arrayed his men and artillery accordingly. As the Yankees approached, the Rebels opened fire, initially causing heavy casualties. Some Union troops broke, but Major General John A. Logan rallied a force to hold the line. Confederate troops attacked the line but had to retire. More Yankees arrived and the Union force counterattacked. Heavy fighting ensued that continued for six hours, but the overwhelming Union force prevailed. Gregg's men left the field. Although Gregg's men lost the battle, they had held up a much superior Union force for a day.
May 13, 1863 - Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, assumed command of the Confederate troops in Mississippi at Jackson, Mississippi.
May 13, 1863 - Federal Major General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, sent Federal Major General John A. McClernand, USA, to Fourteen Mile Creek to freeze the Confederate Vicksburg garrison in place while the rest of his army headed to Jackson, Mississippi.
May 14, 1863 - The Battle of Jackson, Mississippi. (MS008) (Grant's Operations Against Vicksburg [March-July 1863]). On May 9, 1863, General Joseph E. Johnston received a dispatch from the Confederate Secretary of War directing him to "Proceed at once to Mississippi and take chief command of the forces in the field." As he arrived in Jackson, on the 13th, from Middle Tennessee, he learned that two army corps from the Union Army of the Tennessee--the XV, under Major General William T. Sherman, and the XVII, under Major General James Birdseye McPherson--were advancing on Jackson, intending to cut the city and the railroads off from Vicksburg. Johnston consulted with the local commander, Brigadier General John Gregg, and learned that only about 6,000 troops were available to defend the town. Johnston ordered the evacuation of Jackson, but Gregg was to defend Jackson until the evacuation was completed. By 10:00 am, both Union army corps were near Jackson and had engaged the enemy. Rain, Confederate resistance, and poor defenses prevented heavy fighting until around 11:00 am, when Union forces attacked in numbers and slowly but surely pushed the enemy back. In mid-afternoon, Johnston informed Gregg that the evacuation was complete and that he should disengage and follow. Soon after, the Yankees entered Jackson and had a celebration, hosted by Major General U.S. Grant who had been travelling with Sherman's corps, in the Bowman House. They then burned part of the town and cut the railroad connections with Vicksburg. Johnston's evacuation of Jackson was a tragedy because he could, by late on the 14th, have had 11,000 troops at his disposal and by the morning of the 15th, another 4,000. The fall of the former Mississippi state capital was a blow to Confederate morale.
May 14, 1863 - Federal Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, USA, left New Orleans, Louisiana, to beseige Port Hudson, Louisiana.
May 15, 1863 - Confederate Major General Richard S. Ewell, CSA, led Cofederate General Robert E. Lee's invasion force into Winchester, Virginia, destroying the Federal garrison there.
May 16, 1863 - The Battle of Champion's Hill, Mississippi. (MS009) (Grant's Operations Against Vicksburg [March-July 1863]). Following the Union occupation of Jackson, Mississippi, both Confederate and Federal forces made plans for future operations. General Joseph E. Johnston retreated, with most of his army, up the Canton Road, but he ordered Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton, commanding about 23,000 men, to leave Edwards Station and attack the Federals at Clinton. Pemberton and his generals felt that Johnston's plan was dangerous and decided instead to attack the Union supply trains moving from Grand Gulf to Raymond. On May 16, though, Pemberton received another order from Johnston repeating his former directions. Pemberton had already started after the supply trains and was on the Raymond-Edwards Road with his rear at the crossroads one-third mile south of the crest of Champion's Hill. Thus, when he ordered a countermarch, his rear, including his many supply wagons, became the advance of his force. On May 16, 1863, about 7:00 am, the Union forces engaged the Confederates and the Battle of Champion's Hill began. Pemberton's force drew up into a defensive line along a crest of a ridge overlooking Jackson Creek. Pemberton was unaware that one Union column was moving along the Jackson Road against his unprotected left flank. For protection, Pemberton posted Brigadier General Stephen D. Lee's men atop Champion Hill where they could watch for the reported Union column moving to the crossroads. Lee spotted the Union troops and they soon saw him. If this force was not stopped, it would cut the Rebels off from their Vicksburg base. Pemberton received warning of the Union movement and sent troops to his left flank. Union forces at the Champion House moved into action and emplaced artillery to begin firing. When Grant arrived at Champion Hill, around 10:00 am, he ordered the attack to begin. By 11:30 am, Union forces had reached the Confederate main line and about 1:00 pm, they took the crest while the Rebels retired in disorder. The Federals swept forward, capturing the crossroads and closing the Jackson Road escape route. One of Pemberton's divisions (Bowen's) then counterattacked, pushing the Federals back beyond the Champion's Hill crest before their surge came to a haLieutenant Grant then counterattacked, committing forces that had just arrived from Clinton by way of Bolton. Pemberton's men could not stand up to this assault, so he ordered his men from the field to the one escape route still open: the Raymond Road crossing of Bakers Creek. Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman's brigade formed the rearguard, and they held at all costs, including the loss of Tilghman. Inthe late afternoon, Union troops seized the Bakers Creek Bridge and, by midnight, had occupied Edwards. The Confederates were in full retreat towards Vicksburg. If the Union forces caught these Rebels, they would destroy them.
To Champion's Hill Battlefield
May 17, 1863 - The Battle of Big Black River Bridge, Mississippi. (MS010) (Grant's Operations Against Vicksburg [March-July 1863]). Reeling from their defeat at Champion Hill, the Confederates reached Big Black River Bridge, the night of May 16-17. Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton ordered Brigadier General John S. Bowen, with three brigades, to man the fortifications on the east bank of the river and impede any Union pursuit. Three divisions of Major General John A. McClernand's XIII Army Corps moved out from Edwards Station on the morning of the 17th. The corps encountered the Confederates behind breastworks and took cover as enemy artillery began firing. Union Brigadier General Michael K. Lawler formed his 2nd Brigade, Carr's Division, which surged out of a meander scar, across the front of the Confederate forces, and into the enemy's breastworks, held by Vaughn's East Tennessee Brigade. Confused and panicked, the Rebels began to withdraw across the Big Black on two bridges: the railroad bridge and the steamboat dock moored athwart the river. As soon as they had crossed, the Confederates set fire to the bridges, preventing close Union pursuit. The fleeing Confederates who arrived in Vicksburg later that day were disorganized. The Union forces captured approximately 1,800 troops at Big Black, a loss that the Confederates could ill-afford. This battle sealed Vicksburg's fate: the Confederate force was bottled up at Vicksburg.
To Big Black River Battlefield
May 18-July 4, 1863 - The Battle of Vicksburg, Mississippi. (MS011) (Grant's Operations Against Vicksburg [March-July 1863]). In May and June of 1863, Major General Ulysses S. Grant's armies converged on Vicksburg, investing the city and entrapping a Confederate army under Lieutenant General John Pemberton. On July 4, Vicksburg surrendered after prolonged siege operations. This was the culmination of one of the most brilliant military campaigns of the war. With the loss of Pemberton's army and this vital stronghold on the Mississippi, the Confederacy was effectively split in half. Grant's successes in the West boosted his reputation, leading ultimately to his appointment as General-in-Chief of the Union armies.
May 19, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln changed the sentence of Ohio Congressman Clement L. Vallandingham for speaking against the war to banishment to the Confederacy.
May 21 - July 9, 1863 - The Battle of Port Hudson, Louisiana. (LA010) (Siege of Port Hudson [May-July 1863]). In cooperation with Major General Ulysses S. Grant's offensive against Vicksburg, Union Major General Nathaniel P. Banks's army moved against the Confederate stronghold at Port Hudson on the Mississippi River. On May 27, after their frontal assaults were repulsed, the Federals settled into a siege which continued for nearly six weeks. Banks renewed his assaults on June 14 but the defenders successfully repelled them. On July 9, 1863, after hearing of the fall of Vicksburg, the Confederate garrison of Port Hudson surrendered, opening the Mississippi River to Union navigation from its source to New Orleans.
May 21, 1863 - The Battle of Plains Store, Louisiana. (LA009) (Siege of Port Hudson [May-July 1863]). Early in the morning of May 21, 1863, Major General Christopher C. Augur's Union division advanced from Baton Rouge toward the intersection of Plains Store and Bayou Sara roads on the way to secure a landing, on the river, for Major General Nathaniel Banks. Colonel Benjamin H. Grierson's cavalry, in the lead, encountered Confederate forces under the command of Colonel Frank P. Powers and skirmishing ensued. As the morning progressed the Union infantry approached the crossroads and came under fire, bringing on a general engagement. At noon, Colonel W.R. Miles set out for Plains Store with Confederate reinforcements. By the time that Miles arrived in the area late in the day, the fighting had ceased, the Rebel forces had retreated, and the Federals were preparing camps for the night. Miles attacked the Union forces and, at first, drove them, but they regrouped and counterattacked. Miles could not stand against the overwhelming Union force and retired into the Port Hudson perimeter. The battle ended, and the last Rebel escape route from Port Hudson was closed.
May 25, 1863 - Former Ohio Congressman, Clement L. Vallandigham, banished from the Union for attacking the Lincoln administration's handling of the war, was turned over to Confederate authorities near Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
May 28, 1863 - The 54th Massachusetts (Colored) Infantry, the first Federal regiment composed of black soldiers, embarked from Boston, Massachusetts, for Hilton Head, South Carolina, under the command of Federal Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, USA.
May 29, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln refused to accept Federal Major General Ambrose E. Burnside's resignation.
May 30, 1863 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, reorganized the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia into three corps, in an effort to cope with the recent death of Confederate Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, CSA.
June 1, 1863 - Federal Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, USA, commanding the Federal Department of the Ohio, ordered the seizure of the Chicago Times for its supposedly pro-southern views, which causes an uproar in Chicago, Illinois.
June 2, 1863 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered Clement L. Vallandigham sent to Wilmington, North Carolina, to be held under guard as an alien enemy.
June 3, 1863 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, with 75,000 Confederates, launched his second invasion of the North from Fredericksburg, Maryland, heading into Pennsylvania in a campaign that would soon lead to the battle of Gettysburg.
June 4, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln had Federal Major General Ambrose E. Burnside's order revoked regarding the seizure of the Chicago newspaper, the Chicago Times.
June 4, 1863 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, moved 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) was sent out for protective covering of the army's advance.
June 7, 1863 - The Battle of Milliken's Bend, Louisiana. (LA011) (Grant's Operations Against Vicksburg [March-July 1863]). On June 6, Colonel Hermann Lieb with the African Brigade and two companies of the 10th Illinois Cavalry made a reconnaissance toward Richmond, Louisiana. About three miles from Richmond, Lieb encountered Confederate troops at the Tallulah railroad depot and drove them back but then retired, fearing that many more Southern troops might be near. While retiring, a squad of Union cavalry appeared, fleeing from a force of Confederates. Lieb got his men into battle line and helped disperse the pursuing enemy. He then retired to Milliken's Bend and informed his superior by courier of his actions. The 23rd Iowa Infantry and two gunboats came to his assistance. Around 3:00 a.m. on June 7, Brigadier General Henry E. McCulloch's troops appeared in force and drove in the Union pickets and continued toward Lieb's left flank. The Federal forces fired some volleys that caused the Confederate line to pause momentarily, but the Texans soon pushed on to the levee where they received orders to charge. intense hand-to-hand combat ensued. The Confederates succeeded in flanking the Union force and inflicted heavy casualties. Lieb's men fell bank to the river's bank. About that time the Union gunboats Choctaw and Lexington appeared and fired upon the Confederates. The Confederates continued their attack and attempted but failed to extend their right to envelop the Federals. Fighting continued until noon when the Confederates withdrew. The Union pursued, firing many volleys, and the gunboats pounded the Confederates as they retreated to Walnut Bayou.
June 7, 1863 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis' plantation, Brierfield, located below Vicksburg, Mississippi, was burned by advancing Federal troops.
June 9, 1863 - As a result of Confederate troop movements, Federal Major General Joseph Hooker, USA, realized that the Confederates were making another attempt to invade the North. He sent his Federal cavalry to engage them at Brandy Station, Virginia.
June 9, 1863 - The Battle of Brandy Station, Virginia. (VA035) (Gettysburg Campaign [June-July 1863]). At dawn June 9, the Union cavalry corps under Major General Alfred Pleasonton launched a surprise attack on Stuart's cavalry at Brandy Station. After an all-day fight in which fortunes changed repeatedly, the Federals retired without discovering Lee's infantry camped near Culpeper. This battle marked the apogee of the Confederate cavalry in the East. From this point in the war, the Federal cavalry gained strength and confidence. Brandy Station was the largest cavalry battle of the war and the opening engagement of the Gettysburg Campaign.
June 10, 1863 - Lieutenant General Richard Stoddert Ewell, CSA, led his 2nd Army Corps, Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, out of Culpeper, Virginia, and headed northwest towards Maryland.
June 11, 1863 - Clement L. Vallandigham, in Canada having run the Union blockade, was nominated in absentia for Governor of Ohio on the Democratic ticket.
June 13, 1863 - The Battle of Berryville, Virginia.
June 13-15, 1863 - The Battle of Winchester II, Virginia. (VA107) (Gettysburg Campaign [June-July 1863]). After the Battle of Brandy Station, June 9, 1863, Lee ordered the II Corps, Army of Northern Virginia, under Lieutenant General Richard S. Ewell, to clear the lower Shenandoah Valley of Union opposition. Ewell's columns converged on Winchester's garrison commanded by Brigadier General Robert Milroy. After fighting on the afternoon of June 13 and the capture of West Fort by the Louisiana Brigade on June 14, Milroy abandoned his entrenchments after dark in an attempt to reach Charles Town. "Allegheny" Johnson's division conducted a night flanking march and before daylight of the 15th cut off Milroy's retreat just north of Winchester at Stephenson's Depot. More than 2,400 Federals surrendered. This Confederate victory cleared the Valley of Union troops and opened the door for Lee's second invasion of the North.
June 14, 1863 - Federal Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, USA, assaulted Port Hudson, Louisiana, again, but was driven back with heavy losses.
June 14, 1863 - The Battle of Martinsburg,Virginia (West Virginia).
June 15, 1863 - Confederate Major General James Ewell Brown "J.E.B." Stuart, CSA, raided Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, while Lieutenant General James Longstreet, CSA, began to move his 1st Army Corps from Culpeper, Virginia, northwest through Ashby's Gap and Snicker's Gap, Virginia.
June 16, 1863 - The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia crossed the Potomac River, from Virginia to Maryland, as Federal Major General Joseph Hooker, USA, and Federal Major General Henry W. Halleck, USA, argued via telegraph lines regarding Hooker's next move.
June 17, 1863 - The Battle of Aldie, Virginia. (VA036) (Gettysburg Campaign [June-July 1863]). Major General J. E. B. Stuart's cavalry screened the Confederate infantry as it marched north behind the sheltering Blue Ridge. The pursuing Federals of Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick's brigade, in the advance of Gregg's division, encountered Colonel Thomas Munford's troopers near the village of Aldie, resulting in four hours of stubborn fighting. Both sides made mounted assaults by regiments and squadrons. Kilpatrick was reinforced in the afternoon, and Munford withdrew toward Middleburg.
June 17, 1863 - The Battle of Wassaw Sound, Georgia. The Confederate ironclad C.S.S. Atlanta, with two wooden steamers in company, engaged the Federal U.S.S. Weebawken and U.S.S. Nahant in Wassaw Sound, Georgia. The heavy Confederate warship became grounded and was compelled to surrender.
June 17-19, 1863 - The Battle of Middleburg, Virginia. (VA037) (Gettysburg Campaign [June-July 1863]). Major General J. E. B. Stuart, screening Lee's invasion route, sparred with Pleasonton's cavalry. On the June 17, Colonel Alfred Duffié's isolated 1st Rhode Island Cavalry Regiment was attacked by the brigades of Munford and Robertson. The 1st Rhode Island Cavalry was routed, taking about 250 casualties. On June 19, J. Irvin Gregg's brigade advanced, driving Stuart's cavalry one mile beyond the town. Both sides were reinforced and mounted and dismounted skirmishing continued. Stuart was gradually levered out of his position but fell back to a second ridge, still covering the approaches to the Blue Ridge gap.
June 17-19, 1863 - Skirmishes or actions such as Middleburg, Virginia, continued as the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia continued its move north towards Pennsylvania.
June 20, 1863 - The "Loyal Government of Virginia" was admitted to the Union as the thirty-fifth state, with the name West Virginia.
June 20, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln appointed Unionist Francis S. Pierpont provisional Military Governor of Virginia upon the entry of West Virginia as the thirty-fifth state in the Union.
June 20, 1863 - The Battle of Greencastle, Pennsylvania.
June 20-21, 1863 - The Battle of LaFourche Crossing, Louisiana. (LA012) (Taylor's Operations in West Louisiana [June-September 1863]). Major General Richard Taylor sent an expedition under Colonel James P. Major to break Union supply lines, disrupt Union activities and force an enemy withdrawal from Brashear (Morgan) City and Port Hudson. Major set out from Washington, Louisiana, on Bayou Teche, heading south and east. While marching, his men conducted raids on Union forces, boats, and plantations and in the process captured animals and supplies and liberated slaves. Brigadier General William H. Emory, commanding the defenses of New Orleans, assigned Lieutenant Colonel Albert Stickney to command in Brashear City and to stem the Rebel raid if possible. Emory informed Stickney of Major's descent on LaFourche Crossing and ordered him to send troops. Feeling that no threat to Brashear City existed, Stickney, himself, led troops off to LaFourche Crossing, arriving at about 6:00 am on the morning of the 20th. Once there, Stickney sent out a company to ascertain the enemy's whereabouts. Returning in the afternoon, the unit reported that they had exchanged fire with the enemy which was advancing rapidly. During the afternoon, a company from Terre Bonne reinforced Stickney. The Rebel forces began driving in Stickney's pickets around 5:00 pm. Confederate cavalry then advanced, and some Union troops, hidden in the grass, fired upon them. The Confederate cavalry then fell back to meet the onslaught with their fellow soldiers. After the Union troops fired a few rounds, the Confederates withdrew in the direction of Thibodeaux. More Union troops arrived that night and next morning, and the men erected earthworks. The Union soldiers were well protected behind the earthworks, the levee, and the railroad embankment. Rebel troops appeared and disappeared throughout the morning of the 21st. After noon, rain began, lasting till evening. In late afternoon, Confederate soldiers engaged the Union pickets, and fighting continued for more than an hour before the Rebels retired. About 6:30 pm, the Confederates reappeared in force, started an artillery duel, and charged the Union lines at 7:00 pm. An hour later, the Confederates disengaged and retired toward Thibodeaux. The Union held the field. Despite the defeat, Major's raiders continued on to Brashear City.
June 21, 1863 - The Battle of Upperville, Virginia. (VA038) (Gettysburg Campaign [June-July 1863]). On June 21, Union cavalry made a determined effort to pierce Stuart's cavalry screen. Hampton's and Robertson's brigades made a stand at Goose Creek, west of Middleburg, and beat back Gregg's division. Buford's column detoured to attack the Confederate left flank near Upperville but encountered William E. "Grumble" Jones's and John R. Chambliss's brigades while J. I. Gregg's and Kilpatrick's brigades advanced on the Upperville from the east along the Little River Turnpike. After furious mounted fighting, Stuart withdrew to take a strong defensive position in Ashby Gap, even as Confederate infantry crossed the Potomac into Maryland. As cavalry skirmishing diminished, Stuart made the fateful decision to strike east and make a circuit of the Union army as it marched toward Gettysburg.
June 23, 1863 - Federal Brigadier General William S. Rosecrans, USA, moved towards Tullahoma, Tennessee, to dislodge Confederate General Braxton Bragg, CSA, initiating the Middle Tennessee, or Tullahoma Campaign.
June 24-26, 1863 - The Battle of Hoover's Gap, Tennessee. (TN017) (Tullahoma or Middle Tennessee Campaign [June 1863]). Following the Battle of Stones River, Major General William S. Rosecrans, commanding the Army of the Cumberland, remained in the Murfreesboro area for five and one-half months. To counter the Yankees, General Braxton Bragg, commander of the Army of Tennessee, established a fortified line along the Duck River from Shelbyville to Wartrace. On the Confederate right, infantry and artillery detachments guarded Liberty, Hoover's, and Bellbuckle gaps through the mountains. Rosecrans's superiors, fearing that Bragg might detach large numbers of men to help break the Siege of Vicksburg, urged him to attack the Confederates. On June 23, 1863, he feigned an attack on Shelbyville but massed against Bragg's right. His troops struck out toward the gaps, Major General George H. Thomas's men, on the 24th, forced Hoover's Gap. The Confederate 3rd Kentucky Cavalry Regiment, under Colonel J. R. Butler, held Hoover's Gap, but the Yankees easily pushed it aside. As this unit fell back, it ran into Brigadier General Bushrod R. Johnson's and Brigadier General William B. Bate's Brigades, Stewart's Division, Hardee's Corps, Army of Tennessee, which marched off to meet Thomas and his men. Fighting continued at the gap until just before noon on the 26th, when Major General Alexander P. Stewart, the Confederate division commander, sent a message to Johnson and Bate stating that he was pulling back and they should also. Although slowed by rain, Rosecrans moved on, forcing Bragg to give up his defensive line and fall back to Tullahoma. Rosecrans sent a flying column (Wilder's Lightning Brigade, the same that had spearheaded the thrust through Hoover's Gap on the 24th) ahead to hit the railroad in Bragg's rear. Arriving too late to destroy the Elk River railroad bridge, the Federals tore up lots of track around Decherd. Bragg evacuated Middle Tennessee.
June 25, 1863 - Confederate Brigadier General James Ewell Brown "J.E.B." Stuart, CSA, left on his third ride around the Federal Army of the Potomac, leaving Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, without a scouting force of any major size in the immediate vicinity of his Army of Northern Virginia. Stuart's plan was to screen Lee's advance into Pennsylvania. He would not rejoin Lee's forces, however, until July 2, during the middle of the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
June 25, 1863 - The Federal Army of the Potomac crossed the Potomac River to check Confederate General Robert E. Lee's move northward.
June 25, 1863 - A mine at Vicksburg, Mississippi, was exploded, but this failed to breach the Confederate defenses sufficiently to make a Federal attack succeed.
June 26-27, 1863 - The Battle of Portland (Harbor), Maine. The naval battle between the U.S.S. Caleb Cushing and the C.S.S. Archer.
June 27, 1863 - The Confederate Army Corps of Lieutenant General James Longstreet, CSA, and Lieutenant General Ambrose Powell Hill, CSA, arrived at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Confederate Major General Jubal A. Early's division of the Army of Northern Virginia seized York, Pennsylvania.
June 27, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln appointed Federal Major General George G. Meade, USA, commander of the Federal Army of the Potomac, replacing Federal Major General Joseph Hooker, USA.
June 27, 1863 - The Battle of Fairfax Court House, Virginia.
June 28, 1863 - The Battle of Donaldsonville II, Louisiana. (LA013) (Taylor's Operations in West Louisiana [June-September 1863]). On June 28, 1863, Confederate Brigadier General Jean J.A.A. Mouton ordered Brigadier General Tom Green's and Colonel James P. Major's brigades to take Donaldsonville. The Union had built Fort Butler, which the Rebels had to take before occupying Donaldsonville. On the night of June 27, Green, within a mile and a half of the fort, began moving troops ahead to attack. The attack started soon after midnight, and the Confederates quickly surrounded the fort and began passing through the various obstructions. Unfortunately, those troops attacking along the levee came to a ditch, unknown to them, too wide to cross, that saved the day for the Union garrison. A Union gunboat, Princess Royal, came to the garrison's aid also and began shelling the attackers. Futile Confederate assaults continued for some time but they eventually ceased their operations and retired. This point on the Mississippi remained in Union hands and many other Mississippi River towns were occupied by the Yankees: the Confederates could harass but not eliminate these Union enclaves.
June 28, 1863 - Confederate Major General Jubal Early's division of the Army of Northern Virginia seized York, Pennsylvania.
June 28, 1863 - Federal Major General George G. Meade, USA, received word that he had been appointed commander of the Federal Army of the Potomac. Meade was the 5th man to command the Army of the Potomac in less than a year.
June 29, 1863 - The Battle of Westminster, Maryland.
June 29, 1863 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, learned that Federal forces were north of the Potomac River, so he ordered his forces to concentrate at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Confederate Major General James Ewell Brown "J.E.B." Stuart, CSA, was still riding around the Army of the Potomac's main force.
June 30, 1863 - The Battle of Hanover, Pennsylvania. (PA001) (Gettysburg Campaign [June-July 1863]). Major General J. E. B. Stuart's cavalry, which was riding north to get around the Union army, attacked a Union cavalry regiment, driving it through the streets of Hanover. Brigadier General Farnsworth's brigade arrived and counterattacked, routing the Confederate vanguard and nearly capturing Stuart himself. Stuart counterattacked. Reinforced by Brigadier General George A. Custer's brigade, Farnsworth held his ground, and a stalemate ensued. Stuart was forced to continue north and east to get around the Union cavalry, further delaying his attempt to rejoin Lee's army which was then concentrating at Cashtown Gap west of Gettysburg.
June 30, 1863 - The Battle of Sporting Hill, Pennsylvania.
June 30, 1863 - The Battle of Goodrich's Landing, Louisiana. (LA014) (Grant's Operations Against Vicksburg [March-July 1863]). After Union forces began occupying the Louisiana river parishes, thousands of escaped slaves flocked to them. The Federals, therefore, leased some plantations and put the freedmen to work growing cotton or other crops; the proceeds from the sale of the crops helped defray expenses for food, clothing, etc. African-American troops were assigned to protect these plantations, releasing other troops to fight. Confederates, determined to recapture some of these freedmen and destroy the crops, undertook an expedition from Gaines's Landing, Arkansas, to Lake Providence. The Federals had constructed a fort on an Indian mound to protect some of these leased plantations. The Rebels prepared to attack the fort on the 29th but decided to demand unconditional surrender first, which the Union forces accepted. Later in the day, Confederate Colonel W. H. Parsons fought companies of the 1st Kansas Mounted Infantry. The Rebels then began burning and destroying the surrounding plantations, especially those that the Yankees leased. By the next morning, U. S. Naval boats had landed the Mississippi Marine Brigade, under the command of Brigadier General Alfred W. Ellet, at Goodrich's Landing. At dawn, he set out with Colonel William F. Wood's African-American units to find the Rebels. Ellet's cavalry found the Confederates first and began skirmishing. The fight became more intense as Ellet's other forces approached. Parsons eventually disengaged and fell back. Although the Confederates disrupted these operations, destroyed much property, and captured many supplies and weapons, the raid was a minor setback for the Union. The Confederates could cause momentary disturbances, but they were unable to effect any lasting changes.
June 30, 1863 - Confederate forces under General Braxton Bragg, CSA, evacuated Tullahoma, Tennessee, and headed for Chattanooga, Tennessee.
June 30, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln resisted political pressure to reinstate Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA, as commander of the Federal Army of the Potomac.
July 1-3, 1863 - The Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. (PA002) (Gettysburg Campaign [June-July 1863]). General Robert E. Lee concentrated his full strength against Major General George G. Meade's Army of the Potomac at the crossroads county seat of Gettysburg. On July 1, Confederate forces converged on the town from west and north, driving Union defenders back through the streets to Cemetery Hill. During the night, reinforcements arrived for both sides. On July 2, Lee attempted to envelop the Federals, first striking the Union left flank at the Peach Orchard, Wheatfield, Devil's Den, and the Round Tops with Longstreet's and Hill's divisions, and then attacking the Union right at Culp's and East Cemetery Hills with Ewell's divisions. By evening, the Federals retained Little Round Top and had repulsed most of Ewell's men. During the morning of July 3, the Confederate infantry were driven from their last toe-hold on Culp's Hill. In the afternoon, after a preliminary artillery bombardment, Lee attacked the Union center on Cemetery Ridge. The Pickett-Pettigrew assault (more popularly, Pickett's Charge) momentarily pierced the Union line but was driven back with severe casualties. Stuart's cavalry attempted to gain the Union rear but was repulsed. On July 4, Lee began withdrawing his army toward Williamsport on the Potomac River. His train of wounded stretched more than fourteen miles.
July 1-2, 1863 - The Battle of Cabin Creek, Oklahoma. (OK006) (Operations to Control Indian Territory [June-September 1863]). Colonel James M. Williams of the First Kansas Colored Infantry led a Union supply train from Fort Scott, Kansas, to Fort Gibson, Oklahoma (then Indian Territory). As he approached the crossing of Cabin Creek, he learned that Confederate Colonel Stand Watie, with about 1,600 to 1,800 men intended to assault him there. Watie was waiting for about 1,500 reinforcements under the command of Brigadier General William L. Cabell to join him before attacking the supply train. Cabell, however, was detained due to high water on Grand River. Cabin Creek also had high water, preventing a crossing at first, but when it had receded enough, Williams drove the Confederates off with artillery fire and two cavalry charges. The wagon train continued to Fort Gibson and delivered the supplies, making it possible for the Union forces to maintain their presence in Indian territory and take the offensive that resulted in a victory at Honey Springs and the fall of Fort Smith, Arkansas.
July 3, 1863 - Confederate Brigadier General John C. Pemberton, CSA, the "Defender of Vicksburg", asked Federal Major General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, for his terms for Vicksburg's surrender.
July 3, 1863 - Confederate General Braxton Bragg, CSA, outmaneuvered by Federal Major General William S. Rosecrans, USA, retreated from Chattanooga, Tennessee.
July 4, 1863 - The Battle of Vicksburg, Mississippi. (MS011) (Grant's Operations Against Vicksburg [March-July 1863]). In May and June of 1863, Major General Ulysses S. Grant's armies converged on Vicksburg, investing the city and entrapping a Confederate army under Lieutenant General John Pemberton. On July 4, Pemberton surrendered Vicksburg, Mississippi, and about 29,000 Confederate troops to Federal Major General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, which, except for Port Hudson, Mississippi, opened up the entire Mississippi River to Federal control. With the loss of Pemberton's army and this vital stronghold on the Mississippi, the Confederacy was effectively split in half. Grant's successes in the West boosted his reputation, leading ultimately to his appointment as General-in-Chief of the Union armies.
July 4, 1863 - The Battle of Helena, Arkansas. (AR008) (Grant's Operations Against Vicksburg [March-July 1863]). Lieutenant General Theophilus Holmes's troops attacked Helena in an attempt to relieve pressure on Vicksburg. Although the Rebels had more troops and did initially capture some of the fortifications, the Union forces repelled them. Thus, Helena continued as an important Union enclave in the Trans-Mississippi theater and served as a base for the expedition that captured Little Rock.
July 4, 1863 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, and his Army of Northern Virginia, started their retreat from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
July 4, 1863 - Federal Major General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, accepted the surrender of Confederate defenders and the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
July 5, 1863 - The Battle of Bardstown, Kentucky.
July 6-16, 1863 - The Battle of Williamsport, Maryland. (MD004) (Gettysburg Campaign [June-July 1863]). During the night of July 4-5, Lee's battered army began its retreat from Gettysburg, moving southwest on the Fairfield Road toward Hagerstown and Williamsport, screened by Stuart's cavalry. The Union infantry followed cautiously the next day, converging on Middletown, Maryland. On July 7, Imboden (CS) stopped Buford's Union cavalry from occupying Williamsport and destroying Confederate trains. Kilpatrick's cavalry division drove two Confederate cavalry brigades through Hagerstown before being forced to retire by the arrival of the rest of Stuart's command. Lee's infantry reached the rain-swollen Potomac River but could not cross, the pontoon bridge having been destroyed by a cavalry raid. On July 11, Lee entrenched a line, protecting the river crossings at Williamsport and waited for Meade's army to advance. July 12, Meade reached the vicinity and probed the Confederate line. July 13, skirmishing was heavy along the lines as Meade positioned his forces for an attack. In the meantime, the river fell enough to allow the construction of a new bridge, and Lee's army began crossing the river after dark on the 13th. On the morning of the 14th, Kilpatrick's and Buford's cavalry divisions attacked the rearguard division of Henry Heth still on the north bank, taking more than 500 prisoners. Confederate Brigadier General James Pettigrew was mortally wounded in the fight. On July 16, David McM. Gregg's cavalry approached Shepherdstown where Fitzhugh Lee's and J. R. Chambliss's brigades, supported by M. J. Ferguson's, held the Potomac River fords against the Union infantry. Fitzhugh Lee and Chambliss attacked Gregg, who held out against several attacks and sorties, fighting sporadically until nightfall when he withdrew.
July 7, 1863 - Finding the Potomac River flooded, Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, entrenched his Army of Northern Virginia at Williamsport, Maryland. Federal Major General George G. Meade, USA, refrained from attacking their defended position.
July 7, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln was upset that Federal Major General George G. Meade, USA, would not strike a blow against the retreating Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, on its way back to Virginia after the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
July 8, 1863 - The Battle of Boonsborough, Maryland. (MD006) (Gettysburg Campaign [June-July 1863]). On July 8, the Confederate cavalry, holding the South Mountain passed, fought a rearguard action against elements of the Union 1st and 3rd Cavalry Divisions and infantry. This action was one of a series of cavalry combats fought around Boonsborough, Hagerstown, and Williamsport.
July 9, 1863 - The Battle of Corydon, Indiana. (IN001) (Morgan's Raid in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio [July 1863]). On July 2, 1863, Brigadier General Morgan, with about 2,450 hand-picked cavalrymen, rode into Kentucky to disrupt the communications of the Union Army of the Cumberland, which began its operations against Bragg's Army of Tennessee (Tullahoma Campaign) on June 23. Crossing the Cumberland River at Burkesville, Morgan's column advanced to the Green River where it was deflected by a Union regiment at Tebb's Bend on July 4. Morgan surprised and captured the garrison at Lebanon, Kentucky, then rode via Springfield, Bardstown, and Garnettsville. On July 8, Morgan crossed the Ohio River at Mauckport, Indiana, despite orders to remain south of the river in Kentucky. Union military officials called out the militia in Indiana and Ohio and worked feverishly to organize a defense. On July 9, near Corydon, Indiana, elements of Morgan's force encountered about 400 Home Guards and captured most of them. As Morgan continued eastward to Ohio, destroying bridges, railroads, and government stores, Federal columns converged to prevent Morgan from recrossing into Kentucky.
July 9, 1863 - After learning of the Confederate surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi, Confederate Major General Franklin Gardner, CSA, formally surrendered Port Hudson, Louisiana, to Federal Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, USA, after prolonged attack by Federal sea and land forces. Port Hudson was the last Confederate position along the Mississippi River. The Union had won the war in the West, giving the Federals control of the Mississippi River, thus splitting the Confederacy, adding 6,500 Confederate troops to Federal prisons.
July 9, 1863 - Against orders, Confederate Brigadier General John H. Morgan, CSA, led his Confederate cavalry on a 24-day raid across the Ohio River into southern Indiana and Ohio.
July 10-11, 1863 - The Battle of Fort Wagner I, South Carolina. (SC005) (Operations Against the Defenses of Charleston [April-September 1863]). Union Rear Admiral J. A. Dahlgren's ironclads renew the bombardment of Charleston, South Carolina, defenses, opening on Fort Wagner, Morris Island. On July 10, Union artillery on Folly Island together with Rear Adm. John Dahlgren's fleet of ironclads opened fire on Confederate defenses of Morris Island. The bombardment provided cover for Brigadier General George C. Strong's brigade, which crossed Light House Inlet and landed by boats on the southern tip of the island. Strong's troops advanced, capturing several batteries, to within range of Confederate Fort Wagner. At dawn, July 11, Strong attacked the fort. Soldiers of the 7th Connecticut reached the parapet but, unsupported, were thrown back.
July 12-13, 1863 - The Battle of Kock's Plantation, Louisiana. (LA015) (Taylor's Operations in West Louisiana [June-September 1863]). Following the surrender of Port Hudson, two Union divisions were shifted to Donaldsonville by transports, to move inland and pacify the interior. They marched up Bayou LaFourche, a division on each bank. Confederate Brigadier General Tom Green posted a brigade on the east side of the bayou and placed his second brigade on the other side. As the Union forces advanced, skirmishing occurred on July 11 and 12. On the morning of the 13th, a foraging detachment set out along both banks of the bayou. Upon reaching Kock's Plantation (Saint Emma Plantation) they met Rebel skirmishers that forced them back. Then, the Confederates flung their might against the Union troops which kept retiring although they tried to make stands at various points. The Union troops eventually fell back to the protection of the guns in Fort Butler at Donaldsonville, about six miles from Kock's Plantation. A much smaller Rebel force had routed the Yankees. The expedition failed, leaving the Confederates in control of the interior.
July 13, 1863 - Yazoo City, Mississippi, was captured by a joint Federal Army-Navy expedition.
July 13, 1863 - Confederate Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan, CSA, entered the state of Ohio with his Confederate raiding party, heading towards Cincinnati, Ohio, and Hamilton, Ohio.
July 13, 1863 - Martial law was declared in Cincinnati, Ohio; Covington, Ohio; and Newport, Ohio, due to the approach of Confederate Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan, CSA, and his Confederate raiding party.
July 13-16, 1863 - Anti-draft riots by a mob of 50,000 in New York City included arson and the murder of blacks by poor immigrant whites. During the riots, at least 120 persons, including children, were killed, causing $2 million in damage, until Federal soldiers returning from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, restored order. Draft riots also occurred in Troy, New York; Boston, Massachusetts; Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and Wooster, Ohio.
July 14, 1863 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, and his Army of Northern Virginia completed their withdrawl across the Potomac River as Confederate Major General Henry Heth, CSA, fought a rearguard action at Falling Waters, Maryland.
July 15, 1863 - Confederate Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan, CSA, and his Confederate raiding party, were pursued from Cincinnati, Ohio, eastward towards the Ohio River.
July 15, 1863 - The Confederate retreat from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, continued, with General Robert E. Lee, CSA, and his Army of Northern Virginia headed into the Shenandoah Valley.
July 16, 1863 - The Battle of Grimball's Landing, South Carolina. (SC006) (Operations Against the Defenses of Charleston [April-September 1863]). To divert Confederate reinforcements from a renewed attack on Fort Wagner, General Gillmore designed two feints. An amphibious force ascended Stono River to threaten the Charleston & Savannah Railroad bridge. A second force, consisting of Terry's division, landed on James Island on July 8. Terry demonstrated against the Confederate defenses. On July 16, the Confederates attacked Terry's camp at Grimball's Landing. Because of incomplete reconnaissance of the difficult, marshy ground, the disorganized Confederate attack was soon aborted. Their mission accomplished, Federal troops withdrew from the island on July 17.
July 17, 1863 - The Battle of Honey Springs, Oklahoma. (OK007) (Operations to Control Indian Territory [June-September 1863]). Union and Confederate troops had frequently skirmished in the vicinity of Honey Springs Depot. The Union commander in the area, Major General James G. Blunt, correctly surmised that Confederate forces, mostly Native American troops under the command of Brigadier General Douglas H. Cooper, were about to concentrate and would then attack his force at Fort Gibson. He decided to defeat the Rebels at Honey Springs Depot before they were joined by Brigadier General William Cabell's brigade, advancing from Fort Smith, Arkansas. Blunt began crossing the swollen Arkansas River on July 15, 1863, and, by midnight on July 16-17, he had a force of 3,000 men, composed of whites, Native Americans, and African Americans, marching toward Honey Springs. Blunt skirmished with Rebel troops early on the morning of the 17th, and by midafternoon, full-scale fighting ensued. The Rebels had wet powder, causing misfires, and the problem intensified when rain began. After repulsing one attack, Cooper pulled his forces back to obtain new ammunition. In the meantime, Cooper began to experience command problems, and he learned that Blunt was about to turn his left flank. The Confederate retreat began, and although Cooper fought a rearguard action, many of those troops counterattacked, failed, and fled. Any possibility of the Confederates taking Fort Gibson was gone. Following this battle, Union forces controlled Indian Territory, north of the Arkansas River.
July 18 - September 7, 1863 - The Battle of Fort Wagner II, Morris Island, South Carolina. (SC007) (Operations Against the Defenses of Charleston [April-September 1863]). After the July 11 assault on Fort Wagner failed, Gillmore reinforced his beachhead on Morris Island. At dusk July 18, Gillmore launched an attack spearheaded by the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, a black regiment. The unit's colonel, Robert Gould Shaw, was killed. Members of the brigade scaled the parapet but after brutal hand-to-hand combat were driven out with heavy casualties. The Federals resorted to siege operations to reduce the fort. This was the fourth time in the war that black troops played a crucial combat role, proving to skeptics that they would fight bravely if only given the chance.
July 19, 1863 - The Battle of Buffington Island, Ohio. (OH001) (Morgan's Raid in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio [July 1863]) On July 13, Morgan's raiders crossed into Ohio at Harrison, pursued by several columns of Union cavalry under overall direction of Brigadier General Edward H. Hobson. On July 19, Kautz's and Judah's brigades attacked Morgan near Buffington Island. During the night, Morgan and about 400 men escaped encirclement following a narrow woods path. The rest of his force surrendered.
July 19, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln revoked the appointment of John S. Phelps as provisional Military Governor of Arkansas.
July 23, 1863 - The Battle of Manassas Gap, Virginia. (VA108) (Gettysburg Campaign [June-July 1863]). After recrossing the Potomac River at Williamsport, Lee's army withdrew up the Shenandoah Valley. Meade crossed the Potomac River east of the Blue Ridge and followed Lee into Virginia. On July 23, Meade ordered the III Corps, under Major General William. H. French to cut off the retreating Confederate columns at Front Royal by forcing passage through Manassas Gap. At first light, French began slowly pushing Walker's Confederate brigade (Anderson's division) back into the gap. About 4:30 pm, a strong Union attack drove Walker's men until they were reinforced by Rodes's division and artillery. By dusk, the poorly coordinated Union attacks were abandoned. During the night, Confederate forces withdrew into the Luray Valley. On July 24, the Union army occupied Front Royal, but Lee's army was safely beyond pursuit.
July 24, 1863 - The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia began to concentrate at Culpepper, Virginia.
July 24, 1863 - The Battle of Battle Mountain, Virginia.
July 24-25, 1863 - The Battle of Big Mound, North Dakota. (ND001) (Operations Against the Sioux in North Dakota [July 1863]). Brigadier General Henry Hastings Sibley led his troops from Fort Ridgely, Minnesota, into the Dakotas, pursuing the Santee Sioux, who had initiated an uprising in the Minnesota River Valley in August 1862. The Santee had joined forces with the Teton Sioux. Having marched all day on July 24, 1863, Sibley's scouts, around 1:00 pm, reported that they had spotted a large Native American camp a few miles away. Sibley established a camp on a nearby salt lake and set his men to entrenching it for protection. While in the process of making camp, numerous Native Americans appeared expressing friendship. A number of them approached the scouts gathered about 300-400 yards from the camp and began talking with them. Surgeon Josiah S. Weiser, 1st Regiment Minnesota Mounted Rangers, joined the assembly, but soon afterwards a Sioux shot him. The scouts attempted to kill the murderer but he escaped. Native Americans that had hidden behind the surrounding ridges now emerged and attacked. In detachments, the soldiers went out to meet the Native Americans. Sibley, with some men, approached the "Big Mound," on the opposite side of theravine. He attempted to dislodge those Sioux who were on the upper part of the large ravine firing at the infantry and cavalry in impunity. The Union forces displaced these and other well-placed Sioux in the surrounding ridges by accurate artillery fire and forced them into the broken prairie where they fled in confusion. The mounted troops, with some of the infantry and artillery following, set out in pursuit. A running battle ensued for the rest of the day. Before dark, the soldiers broke off the pursuit and returned to camp as previously ordered, some not arriving until the next morning. The Sioux forces were broken and dispirited.
July 26, 1863 - The Battle of Salineville, Ohio. (OH002) (Morgan's Raid in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio [July 1863]). After escaping encirclement at Buffington's Island with about 400 of his men, Morgan continued east and north, attempting to find a safe crossing over the Ohio River. With several columns of Union cavalry in hot pursuit, Morgan passed through Salineville, riding down the railroad toward Smith's Ford. Turning onto the New Lisbon Road, Morgan's raiders were finally cut off. Morgan surrendered. During this raid, Morgan and his men captured and paroled about 6,000 Union soldiers and militia, destroyed 34 bridges, disrupted the railroads at more than 60 places, and diverted tens of thousands of troops from other duties.
July 26, 1863 - The Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake, North Dakota. (ND002) (Operations Against the Sioux in North Dakota [July 1863]). Following the Battle of Big Mound on July 24, 1863, Brigadier General Henry Hastings Sibley and his men moved their camp about four miles and then rested till the next day, the 26th. That morning they set out and after marching about 14 miles, found the Sioux ready for battle. At first, the fighting was long range because the Native Americans refrained from closing with the soldiers. The Native Americans did attempt to flank the left side of the camp and run off the mules. The Mounted Rangers and infantry, though, after heavy fighting, compelled the Native Americans to abandon their intentions. Following this setback, the Sioux retreated, ending the battle. Sibley resumed his march after the Native Americans the next day. The Sioux were on the run.
July 28, 1863 - The Battle of Stony Lake, North Dakota. (ND003) (Operations Against the Sioux in North Dakota [July 1863]). Following the Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake, Brigadier General Henry Hastings Sibley continued his march after the retreating Sioux until he reached Stony Lake, where his animals' exhaustion compelled him to encamp. On the 28th, the force had started out in pursuit again when Sibley discovered that a large number of Sioux was moving upon him. He ordered the men to make defensive preparations, which many had already accomplished. In the face of enemy, Sibley now resumed his march. The Sioux searched for weak points in the soldiers position. Finding none, the Sioux rode off at great speed, preventing pursuit. The Sioux had hoped to halt Sibley's advance but were unable to do so. Sibley remarked in his report that Stony Lake was "the greatest conflict between our troops and the Indians, so far as the numbers were concerned."
August 1, 1863 - Federal Rear Admiral David D. Porter, USN, relieved Federal Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, USN, of command of the lower half of the Mississippi and assumed command of the Mississippi River from New Orleans, Louisiana, to the headwaters.
August 5, 1863 - The Federal U.S.S. Commodore Barney was severely damaged by a Confederate electric torpedo in the James River above Dutch Gap, Virginia.
August 5, 1863 - Federal Brigadier General William Wood Averell, USA, started from Winchester, Virginia, on his Federal raid into West Virginia.
August 8, 1863 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, depressed over the results of the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, offered his resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who flatly rejected his offer.
August 10, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln met with abolitionist Frederick Douglass who pushed for full equality for Federal 'Negro troops.'
August 16, 1863 - Federal Brigadier General William S. Rosecrans, USA, with his Federal Army of the Cumberland, began an advance from Tullahoma, Tennessee, towards the Tennessee River and Chattanooga, Tennessee, beginning the Chickamauga Campaign.
August 16, 1863 - Federal Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, USA, with his Federal Army of the Ohio, began their advance from Camp Nelson, near Lexington, Kentucky, towards the Tennessee River and east Tennessee, beginning the East Tennessee Campaign.
August 17 - December 31, 1863 - The Battle of Fort Sumter II, South Carolina. (SC008) (Operations Against the Defenses of Charleston [April-September 1863]). Federal batteries erected on Morris Island opened fire on August 17 and continued their bombardment of Fort Sumter and the Charleston defenses until August 23. Despite a severe pounding, Fort Sumter's garrison held out. Siege operations continued against Fort Wagner on Morris Island.
August 19, 1863 - Federal authorities resumed the draft in New York City, New York.
August 21, 1863 - The Battle of Chattanooga II, Tennessee. (TN018) (Chickamauga Campaign [August-September 1863]). On August 16, 1863, Major General William S. Rosecrans, commander of the Army of the Cumberland, launched a campaign to take Chattanooga that ended in defeat at the Battle of Chickamauga. Colonel John T. Wilder's brigade of Major General Joseph J. Reynolds's 4th Division, XIV Army Corps, with the 18th Indiana Artillery Battery, marched to a location northeast of Chattanooga where the Confederates could see them, reinforcing General Braxton Bragg's expectations of a Union attack on the town from that direction. Meanwhile, two corps of the Army of the Cumberland marched toward the Tennessee River southwest of the town to cross Sand Mountain and Lookout Mountain, while Major General George B. Crittenden's men demonstrated upstream. On August 21, the 18th Indiana Artillery Battery was near the Tennessee River above Chattanooga, and began shelling the city after noon. Jefferson Davis had declared a day of prayer and fasting and many citizens and officers and soldiers alike were in church when shells rained upon them. Bragg was now convinced that the attack would come from the northeast. When he learned that Rosecrans's army was in force southwest of Chattanooga, on September 8, he abandoned the town. The Union's bombardment ruse had disguised the movements of most of the army of the Cumberland. Rosecrans had begun the campaign well.
August 21, 1863 - The Battle of Lawrence, Kansas. (KS001) (Quantrill's Raid into Kansas [August 1863]). In a supposed retaliation for a Union raid on Osceola, Missouri, Lieutenant Colonel William C. Quantrill led a force of about 300 to 400 partisans in an attack on the city of Lawrence, Kansas. His men killed civilians--men and boys--and destroyed many of the buildings. He held the town several hours and then withdrew. The "Lawrence Massacre" was, perhaps, the extreme example of the vicious Kansas-Missouri border warfare.
August 25, 1863 - Because of the August 21, 1863, Confederate massacre at Lawrence, Kansas, by William Clarke Quantrill and his band of raiders, Federal Brigadier General Thomas Ewing, USA, issued General War Order No. 11 at Kansas City, Kansas, forcing all residents of Bates, Cass, and Jackson counties, Kansas, to leave their homes, allowing citizens loyal to the Union to take refuge at Federal military posts. In many cases, crops, houses, and barns were burned. Great resentment that would last for decades was generated by the estimated 20,000 residents forced to evacuate their homes.
August 29, 1863 - Confederate submarine C.S.S. H. L. Hunley, commanded by Confederate Lieutenant J. A. Payne, CSN, sank with its entire crew for the first time in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, after making practice dives preparatory to attacking the blockading fleet.
September 1, 1863 - The Battle of Devil's Backbone, Arkansas. (AR009) (Operations to Control Indian Territory [June-September 1863]). Union Major General James G. Blunt ordered Colonel William Cloud to continue in pursuit of the Confederate forces that had withdrawn from Fort Smith and were chased to Old Jenny Lind. The Rebels turned on Cloud and skirmished with him at the base of Devil's Backbone. Cabell's forces ambushed approaching Union troops and momentarily halted their advance. Regrouping, the Union forces, with the help of artillery, advanced again and forced the Confederates to retire in disorder to Waldron.
September 1, 1863 - Federal Major General William S. Rosecrans, USA, and his Federal Army of the Cumberland, crossed the Tennessee River while heading towards Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Bragg's Confederate Army of Tennessee during the Chickamauga Campaign.
September 2, 1863 - Federal Brigadier General Ambrose E. Burnside's forces occupied Knoxville, Tennessee.
September 3-5, 1863 - The Battle of Whitestone Hill, North Dakota. (ND004) (Operations Against the Sioux in North Dakota [July 1863]). Following Brigadier General Henry Hastings Sibley's victories over the Sioux, he left the area, crossing the James River. The Sioux then recrossed the Missouri River and returned to their old hunting grounds. Brigadier General Alfred Sully, therefore, decided to find these Sioux and punish them, if possible. By September 3, Sully reached a lake where he found numerous remains of recently killed buffalo. A 6th Iowa Cavalry detachment discovered a Native American camp of more than 400 lodges, about 3:00 pm, which they endeavored to surround until a courier could inform Sully. Word reached Sully around 4:00 pm, and he set out with the rest of the troops, except for the poorly mounted men who remained to protect the animals and supplies. About an hour later, Sully and his men arrived at the Sioux camp and observed that the Sioux were attempting to leave. Sully sent in his troops to help the 6th Iowa Cavalry. Although the Sioux did counterattack, it was to no avail. The Sioux eventually broke under the firepower and fled, hotly pursued. Fighting subsided after dark but scattered firing continued. Sully ordered the bugler to sound rally, and all the troops remained at arms during the rest of the night. In the morning, Sully established a camp on the battlefield and, during the next two days, sent out scouting parties looking for remnants of the enemy. He also ordered the destruction of Native American foodstuffs, supplies, etc., found in the area. On September 5, one officer and 27 men from the 2nd Nebraska and 6th Iowa Cavalry regiments went in search of a surgeon and eight men missing since the battle on the 3rd. About 15 miles northwest of camp, they were attacked by a party of about 300 Sioux. The men could not stand up to this number of the enemy and began a slow retreat while returning fire. As the enemy came closer, the men panicked and stepped up their retirement despite entreaties from the officers. They eventually returned to camp and safety, after losing six men in the skirmish. Altogether, Sully's men overran a large Sioux camp, destroyed much of the contents, killed or wounded a large number of braves, and captured numerous women and children. This engagement weakened but did not destroy the Native American resistance in the area.
September 4, 1863 - Confederate General Braxton Bragg's forces retreated as Federal Brigadier General William S. Rosecrans, USA, crossed the Tennessee River in his advance on Chattanooga, Tennessee.
September 5, 1863 - The English Government seized two newly built ironclads ordered by the Confederacy in the Liverpool, England, shipyards, which halted the growth of the Confederate navy, and left the C.S.S. Alabama as the lone Confederate raider on the high seas.
September 6, 1863 - Morris Island, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, was evacuated by Confederate forces after nearly 2 months of intensive bombardment from afloat and ashore.
September 7-8, 1863 - The Battle of Charleston Harbor II, South Carolina. (SC009) (Operations Against the Defenses of Charleston [April-September 1863]). During the night of September 6-7, Confederate forces evacuated Fort Wagner and Battery Gregg pressured by advancing Federal siegeworks. Federal troops then occupied all of Morris Island. On September 8, a storming party of about 400 marines and sailors attempted to surprise Fort Sumter. The attack was repulsed.
September 8, 1863 - The Battle of Sabine Pass II, Texas. (TX006) (Operations to Blockade the Texas Coast [September 1863]). About 6:00 am on the morning of September 8, 1863, a Union flotilla of four gunboats and seven troop transports steamed into Sabine Pass and up the Sabine River with the intention of reducing Fort Griffin and landing troops to begin occupying Texas. As the gunboats approached Fort Griffin, they came under accurate fire from six cannons. The Confederate gunners at Fort Griffin had been sent there as a punishment. To break the day-to-day monotony, the gunners practiced firing artillery at range markers placed in the river. Their practice paid off. Fort Griffin's small force of 44 men, under command of Lieutenant Richard W. Dowling, forced the Union flotilla to retire and captured the gunboat Clifton and about 200 prisoners. Further Union operations in the area ceased for about a month. The heroics at Fort Griffin--44 men stopping a Union expedition--inspired other Confederate soldiers.
September 9, 1863 - Federal Major General William S. Rosecrans, USA, entered Chattanooga, Tennessee, having outflanked its Confederate defenders through the mountains of northern Alabama and Georgia. Deserted by Confederate General Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee, they were forced to retreat towards Lafayette, in northern Georgia.
September 9, 1863 - On orders from Confederate President Jefferson Davis, the 1st Army Corps, under the command of Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet, CSA, was detached from the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, and ordered to Tennessee, to assist Confederate General Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee during the ongoing Chickamauga Campaign. His command travelled by rail, through North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia, to reach Bragg's army, due to the inferior Confederate railroad system at this time in the Civil War.
September 10, 1863 - The Battle of Bayou Fourche or Little Rock, Arkansas. (AR010) (Advance on Little Rock [September-October 1863]). On September 10, 1863, Major General Fred Steele, Army of Arkansas commander, sent Brigadier General John W. Davidson's cavalry division across the Arkansas River to move on Little Rock, while he took other troops to attack Confederates entrenched on the north side. In his thrust toward Little Rock, Davidson ran into Confederate troops at Bayou Fourche. Aided by Union artillery fire from the north side of the river, Davidson forced them out of their position and sent them fleeing back to Little Rock, which fell to Union troops that evening. Bayou Fourche sealed Little Rock's fate. The fall of Little Rock further helped to contain the Confederate Trans-Mississippi theater, isolating it from the rest of the South.
September 10-11, 1863 - The Battle of Davis' Cross-Roads, Georgia. (GA003) (Chickamauga Campaign [August-September 1863]). After the Tullahoma Campaign, Rosecrans renewed his offensive, aiming to force the Rebels out of Chattanooga. The three corps comprising Rosecrans's army split and set out for Chattanooga by separate routes. Hearing of the Union advance, Braxton Bragg concentrated troops around Chattanooga. While Colonel John T. Wilder's artillery fired on Chattanooga, Rosecrans attempted to take advantage of Bragg's situation and ordered other troops into Georgia. They raced forward, seized the important gaps, and moved out into McLemore's Cove. Negley's XIV Army Corps division, supported by Brigadier General Absalom Baird's division, was moving across the mouth of the cove on the Dug Gap road when Negley learned that Rebels were concentrating around Dug Gap. Moving through determined resistance, he closed on the gap, withdrawing to Davis' Cross Roads in the evening of September 10 to await the supporting division. Bragg had ordered General Hindman with his division to assault Negley at Davis' Cross Roads in the flank, while Major General Patrick R. Cleburne's division forced its way through Dug Gap to strike Negley in front. Hindman was to receive reinforcements for this movement, but most of them did not arrive. The Rebel officers, therefore, met and decided that they could not attack in their present condition. The next morning, however, fresh troops did arrive, and the Rebels began to move on the Union line. The supporting Union division had, by now, joined Negley, and, hearing of a Confederate attack, the Union forces determined that a strategic withdrawal to Stevens Gap was in order. Negley first moved his division to the ridge east of West Chickamauga Creek where it established a defensive line. The other division then moved through them to Stevens Gap and established a defensive line there. Both divisions awaited the rest of Major General George Thomas's corps. All of this was accomplished under constant pursuit and fire from the Confederates.
September 15, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus nationwide.
September 18-20, 1863 - The Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia. (GA004) (Chickamauga Campaign [August-September 1863]). After the Tullahoma Campaign, Rosecrans renewed his offensive, aiming to force the Rebels out of Chattanooga. The three army corps comprising Rosecrans's army split and set out for Chattanooga by separate routes. In early September, Rosecrans consolidated his forces scattered in Tennessee and Georgia and forced Bragg's army out of Chattanooga, heading south. The Union troops followed it and brushed with it at Davis' Cross Roads. Bragg was determined to reoccupy Chattanooga and decided to meet a part of Rosecrans's army, defeat them, and then move back into the city. Thus, on the 17th he headed north, intending to meet and beat the XXI Army Corps. As Bragg marched north on the 18th, his cavalry and infantry fought with Union cavalry and mounted infantry which were armed with Spencer repeating rifles. Fighting began in earnest on the morning of the 19th, and Bragg's men hammered but did not break the Union line. The next day, Bragg continued his assault on the Union line on the left, and in late morning, Rosecrans was informed that he had a gap in his line. In moving units to shore up the supposed gap, Rosecrans created one, and James Longstreet's men promptly exploited it, driving one-third of the Union army, including Rosecrans himself, from the field. George H. Thomas took over command and began consolidating forces on Horseshoe Ridge and Snodgrass Hill. Although the Rebels launched determined assaults on these forces, they held until after dark. Thomas then led these men from the field leaving it to the Confederates. The Union retired to Chattanooga while the Rebels occupied the surrounding heights.
September 22, 1863 - The Battle of Blountsville, Tennessee. (TN019) (East Tennessee Campaign [September-October 1863]). Major General Ambrose Burnside, commander of the Department of the Ohio, undertook an expedition into East Tennessee to clear the roads and gaps to Virginia, and, if possible, secure the saltworks beyond Abingdon. On September 22, Union Colonel John W. Foster with his cavalry and artillery engaged Colonel James E. Carter and his troops at Blountsville. Foster attacked at noon and in the four-hour battle, shelled the town and initiated a flanking movement, compelling the Confederates to withdraw. Blountsville was the initial step in the Union's attempt to force Confederate Major General Sam Jones and his command to retire from East Tennessee.
September 23, 1863 - Confederate General Braxton Bragg, CSA, and his Army of Tennessee, entrenched on Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain, and began the Confederate siege of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
September 23, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln, U. S. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, and other cabinet members met and agreed to have the Federal Army of the Potomac's 11th and 12th Army Corps transferred to Chattanooga, Tennessee, to help relieve the pressure on Federal Major General William S. Rosecrans' troops.
September 24, 1863 - Federal Major General Joseph Hooker, USA, left Virginia with 15,000 troops from the Federal Army of the Potomac (the 11th and 12th Army Corps) to reinforce the beseiged forces of Federal Major General William S. Rosecrans, USA, at Chattanooga, Tennessee.
September 29, 1863 - The Battle of Stirling's Plantation, Louisiana. (LA016) (Taylor's Operations in West Louisiana [June-September 1863]). Following the Union defeat at Sabine Pass earlier in the month, Major General Nathaniel P. Banks did not forsake intentions to occupy important locations in Texas. He decided to send troops up the Bayou Teche, disembark them on the plains and march overland to Texas. Major General Ulysses S. Grant sent him a division, commanded by Major General Napoleon J. T. Dana to garrison Morganza and prevent Rebel troops from operating on the Atchafalaya River. A 1,000-man detachment, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel J. B. Leake, was at Stirling's Plantation to guard the road to the Atchafalaya River and deter any enemy troops from passing by. Brigadier General Alfred Mouton, commander of the Sub-District of Southwestern Louisiana, decided that he had a favorable opportunity to defeat the Union forces around Fordoche Bridge. On September 19, he instructed Brigadier General Tom Green to prepare for such an attack. Mouton provided Green with reinforcements and gave the order to attack on the 25th. Green's force began crossing the Atchafalaya River on the 28th, and all were over after midnight of the 29th. At dawn on the 29th, Green's men marched out. Confederate cavalry began skirmishing with Union pickets at Fordoche Bridge before noon and continued for about a half hour. Green's other troops then hit the Union force, drove them and captured many, although most of the Federal cavalry found an escape route. Although Dana sent reinforcements, mud and rain slowed their progress and allowed Green to get away. Green had defeated this Union force handily, but it did not deter Banks from his intended movement. Green had achieved a tactical victory, but, strategically, Banks's movements were unaffected.
October 5, 1863 - The Confederate C.S.S. David, commanded by Confederate Lieutenant W. T. Glassell, CSN, exploded a spar torpedo against the Federal U.S.S. New Ironsides in an attempt to destroy the heavy blockader off Charleston, South Carolina. The U.S.S. New Ironsides was damaged but not destroyed.
October 5, 1863 - The 2nd Division, 7th Army Corps, in addition to Federal Major General Joseph Hooker's 11th and 12th Army Corps, Federal Army of the Potomac, and portions of Federal Major General Ulysses S. Grant's 15th Army Corps, Federal Army of Tennessee, started moving towards Chattanooga, Tennessee, in relief of Federal Major General WIlliam S. Rosecrans' Federal Army of the Cumberland.
October 6, 1863 - The Battle of Baxter Springs, Kansas. (KS002) (Occupation of Indian Territory North of the Arkansas River [October 1863]). After committing many outrages in Kansas, including the massacre at Lawrence, Quantrill decided to winter in Texas. Along with other partisans, he headed south on the Texas Road and captured and killed two Union teamsters who had come from a post called Baxter Springs. Quantrill decided to attack the post and divided his force into two columns, one under him and the other commanded by a subordinate, David Poole. Poole and his men proceeded down the Texas Road, where they encountered Union soldiers, most of whom were African Americans. They chased and attacked the Union troops, killing some of them before they reached the earth and log fort. After the Union survivors reached the fort, the Rebels attacked, but the garrison, with the help of a howitzer, fought them off. Quantrill's column moved on the post from another direction and chanced on a Union detachment escorting Major General James G. Blunt and wagons transporting his personal items from his former headquarters of the Department of the Frontier at Fort Scott to his new one at Fort Smith. Most of this detachment, including the band and Major Henry Z. Curtis (son of Major General Samuel R. Curtis), was murdered, but Blunt and a few mounted men returned to Fort Scott. Blunt was removed from command for failing to protect his column, but he was soon restored. Touted as a massacre by some, Baxter Springs was another of the events that characterized the vicious Kansas-Missouri border warfare.
October 6, 1863 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis traveled to Charleston, South Carolina, to visit with Confederate General Braxton Bragg, CSA, who was in the midst of a siege by the Federal Army of the Cumberland, at Chattanooga, Tennessee.
October 9, 1863 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee's forces crossed the Rapidan River, initiating the Bristoe Campaign, in an effort to outflank Federal Major General George G. Meade's forces, and damage the weakened Federal Army of the Potomac.
October 10, 1863 - The Battle of Blue Springs, Tennessee. (TN020) (East Tennessee Campaign [September-October 1863]). Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, commander of the Department of the Ohio, undertook an expedition into East Tennessee to clear the roads and passed to Virginia, and, if possible, secure the saltworks beyond Abingdon. In October, Confederate Brigadier General John S. Williams, with his cavalry force, set out to disrupt Union communications and logistics. He wished to take Bull's Gap on the East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad. On October 3, while advancing on Bull's Gap, he fought with Brigadier General Samuel P. Carter's Union Cavalry Division, XXIII Army Corps, at Blue Springs, about nine miles from Bull's Gap, on the railroad. Carter, not knowing how many of the enemy he faced, withdrew. Carter and Williams skirmished for the next few days. On October 10, Carter approached Blue Springs in force. Williams had received some reinforcements. The battle began about 10:00 am with Union cavalry engaging the Confederates until afternoon while another mounted force attempted to place itself in a position to cut off a Rebel retreat. Captain Orlando M. Poe, the Chief Engineer, performed a reconnaissance to identify the best location for making an infantry attack. At 3:30 pm, Brigadier General Edward Ferrero's 1st Division, IX Army Corps, moved up to attack, which he did at 5:00 pm. Ferrero's men broke into the Confederate line, causing heavy casualties, and advanced, almost to the enemy's rear, before being checked. After dark, the Confederates withdrew and the Federals took up the pursuit in the morning. Within days, Williams and his men had retired to Virginia. Burnside had launched the East Tennessee Campaign to reduce or extinguish Confederate influence in the area; Blue Springs helped fulfill that mission.
October 10, 1863 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis arrived in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to discuss strategy with Confederate General Braxton Bragg, CSA, quieting the unrest among Bragg's subordinate commanders.
October 13, 1863 - The Battle of Auburn I, Virginia. (VA039) (Bristoe Campaign [October-November 1863]). After the retreat from Gettysburg, the Confederate army concentrated behind Rapidan River in Orange County. The Federals advanced to Rappahannock River in August, and in mid September they pushed strong columns forward to confront Lee along the Rapidan. Early September, Lee dispatched two divisions of Longstreet's Corps to reinforce the Confederate army in Georgia; the Federals followed suite, sending the XI and XII Corps to Tennessee by railroad in late September after the Battle of Chickamauga (September 18-20). Early October, Lee began an offensive sweep around Meade's right flank with his remaining two corps, forcing the Federals to withdraw along the line of the Orange & Alexandria Railroad. On October 13, Stuart, with Fitzhugh Lee and Lomax's brigades, skirmished with the rearguard of the Union III Corps near Auburn. Finding himself cut off by retreating Federal columns, Stuart secreted his troopers in a wooded ravine until the unsuspecting Federals moved on.
October 13, 1863 - Republican (Union) Party candidates won many elections in the North, in Indiana, Iowa, and Pennsylvania, and especially in Ohio where John Brough defeated Clement L. Vallandingham, who was still exiled in Canada.
October 14, 1863 - The Battle of Auburn II, Virginia. (VA041) (Bristoe Campaign [October-November 1863]). As the Federal army withdrew towards Manassas Junction, Owens and Smyth's Union brigades (Warren's II Corps) fought a rearguard action against Stuart's cavalry and infantry of Harry Hays's division near Auburn. Stuart's cavalry boldly bluffed Warren's infantry and escaped disaster. The II Corps pushed on to Catlett Station on the Orange & Alexandria Railroad.
October 14, 1863 - The Battle of Bristoe Station, Virginia. (VA040) (Bristoe Campaign [October-November 1863]). On October 14, 1863, A. P. Hill's corps stumbled upon two corps of the retreating Union army at Bristoe Station and attacked without proper reconnaissance. Union soldiers of the II Corps, posted behind the O&A Railroad embankment, mauled two brigades of Henry Heth's division and captured a battery of artillery. Hill reinforced his line but could make little headway against the determined defenders. After this victory, the Federals continued their withdrawal to Centreville unmolested. Lee's Bristoe offensive sputtered to a premature haLieutenant After minor skirmishing near Manassas and Centreville, the Confederates retired slowly to Rappahannock River destroying the O&A Railroad as they went. At Bristoe Station, Hill lost standing in the eyes of Lee, who angrily ordered him to bury his dead and say no more about it.
To Bristoe Station Battlefield
October 14, 1863 - The Battle of Catlett's Station, Virginia.
October 15, 1863 - The Confederate submarine C.S.S. H. L. Hunley sank for the second time in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The inventor & part owner for whom she was named, and a crew of seven, perished in the accident. The submarine was again recovered, and a third crew volunteered to man her.
October 16, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln ordered the creation of the Military Division of the Mississippi, combining the Departments of the Ohio, the Cumberland, and the Tennessee, appointing Federal Major General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, to its command. Grant was given the authority to fire Federal Major General William S. Rosecrans, USA, if necessary, from command of the Department of the Cumberland.
October 17, 1863 - Federal Major General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, relieved Federal Major General William S. Rosecrans, USA, from command of the Federal Department of the Cumberland, replacing him with Federal Major General George H. Thomas, USA.
October 16-18, 1863 - The Battle of Fort Brooke, Florida. (FL004) (Expedition to Hillsboro River [October 1863]). Two Union ships bombarded Fort Brooke on October 16 as a diversion, while a landing party under Acting Master T. R. Harris disembarked at Ballast Point and marched 14 miles to the Hillsborough River to capture several steamers. Harris and his men surprised and captured the blockade running steamer Scottish Chief and sloop Kate Dale. The Rebels destroyed the steamer A. B. Noyes to preclude her capture. On its way back to the ship, Harris's force was surprised by a detachment of the garrison, causing casualties.
October 18, 1863 - Federal Major General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, assumed command of the newly created Federal Military Division of the Mississippi.
October 18, 1863 - The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was positioned along the Rappahannock River, Virginia.
October 19, 1863 - The Battle of Buckland Mills, Virginia. (VA042) (Bristoe Campaign [October-November 1863]). After defeat at Bristoe Station and an aborted advance on Centreville, Stuart's cavalry shielded the withdrawal of Lee's army from the vicinity of Manassas Junction. Union cavalry under Kilpatrick pursued Stuart's cavalry along the Warrenton Turnpike but were lured into an ambush near Chestnut Hill and routed. The Federal troopers were scattered and chased five miles in an affair that came to be known as the "Buckland Races."
October 24, 1863 - Federal Major General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, arrived at Chattanooga, Tennessee, to take personal command of the Federal defensive forces. He immediately ordered a supply line, the "cracker line," to be established for the beleaguered Federal troops there.
October 25, 1863 - The Battle of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. (AR011) (Advance on Little Rock [September-October 1863]). At 8:00 am, October 25, Colonel Powell Clayton sent a company of cavalry toward Princeton which ran into Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke's men advancing. After some fire, the Rebels, under a flag of truce, came forward demanding surrender. Lieutenant M.F. Clark answered that there would be no surrender. Clayton slowly retreated back into Pine Bluff. In the meantime, about 300 African-American soldiers rolled cotton bales out of the warehouses for barricades to protect court square. After failing to take the square by force, the Rebels attempted to burn out the Union forces but to no avail. The Confederate forces retired, leaving Pine Bluff to the Federals.
October 26, 1863 - Federal Major General Joseph Hooker, USA, opened the "Cracker Line" supply route, crossed the Tennessee River at Bridgeport, Alabama, then moved eastward towards Chattanooga, Tennessee.
October 27, 1863 - Federal Brigadier General William F. Smith, USA, opened the "cracker line" supply route into Chattanooga, Tennessee.
October 27, 1863 - Federal artillery again began a bombardment of Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The artillery attack would last for several weeks.
October 28-29, 1863 - The Battle of Wauhatchie, Tennessee. (TN021) (Reopening the Tennessee River [October 1863]). In an effort to relieve Union forces besieged in Chattanooga, Major General George H. Thomas and Major General Ulysses S. Grant initiated the "Cracker Line Operation" on October 26, 1863. This operation required the opening of the road to Chattanooga from Brown's Ferry on the Tennessee River with a simultaneous advance up Lookout Valley, securing the Kelley's Ferry Road. Union Chief Engineer, Military Division of the Mississippi, Brigadier General William F. "Baldy" Smith, with Brigadier General John B. Turchin's and Brigadier General William B. Hazen's 1st and 2nd brigades, 3rd Division, IV Army Corps, was assigned the task of establishing the Brown's Ferry bridgehead. Meanwhile, Major General Joseph Hooker, with three divisions, marched from Bridgeport through Lookout Valley towards Brown's Ferry from the south. At 3:00 am, on October 27, portions of Hazen's brigade embarked upon pontoons and floated around Moccasin Bend to Brown's Ferry. Turchin's brigade took a position on Moccasin Bend across from Brown's Ferry. Upon landing, Hazen secured the bridgehead and then positioned a pontoon bridge across the river, allowing Turchin to cross and take position on his right. Hooker, while his force passed through Lookout Valley on October 28, detached Brigadier General John W. Geary's division at Wauhatchie Station, a stop on the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad, to protect the line of communications to the south as well as the road west to Kelley's Ferry. Observing the Union movements on the 27th and 28th, Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet and General Braxton Bragg decided to mount a night attack on Wauhatchie Station. Although the attack was scheduled for 10:00 pm on the night of October 28, confusion delayed it till midnight. Surprised by the attack, Geary's division, at Wauhatchie Station, formed into a V-shaped battle line. Hearing the din of battle, Hooker, at Brown's Ferry, sent Major General Oliver Otis Howard with two XI Army Corps divisions to Wauhatchie Station as reinforcements. As more and more Union troops arrived, the Confederates fell back to Lookout Mountain. The Federals now had their window to the outside and could receive supplies, weapons, ammunition, and reinforcements via the "Cracker Line." Relatively few night engagements occurred during the Civil War; Wauhatchie was one of the most significant.
October 29, 1863 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis continued his travels through the deep South, visiting Atlanta, Georgia.
October 31, 1863 - During October, instructions began for 52 midshipmen at the Confederate States Naval Academy on board the C.S.S. Patrick Henr in the James River, Virginia.
November 2-4, 1863 - Federal Naval forces convoyed and supported Federal Army troops at Brazos Santiago, Texas, where Federal forces secured a valuable position on the Mexican border. As a result of this operation, Brownsville, Texas, was also evacuated.
November 2, 1863 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis arrived at Charleston, South Carolina, and personally observed the Federal bombardment of Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor.
November 3, 1863 - The Battle of Collierville, Tennessee. (TN022) (Operations on the Memphis & Charleston Railroad [November 1863]). Four minor battles occurred in 1863 at Collierville, Tennessee, during a three-month period. The November 3 fight was intended to be a Confederate cavalry raid to break up the Memphis & Charleston Railroad behind Major General William T. Sherman's XV Army Corps, then in the process of marching to the relief of Chattanooga. But, when Brigadier General James R. Chalmers, leading a cavalry division riding up from Mississippi, learned that only two Union regiments defended Collierville, he decided to attack. Union Colonel Edward Hatch possessed more men than Chalmers supposed, stationed at Collierville and at Germantown, five miles to the west. Scouts warned Hatch of Chalmers's approach from the south, so he ordered Collierville's defenders to be prepared and rode from Germantown with cavalry reinforcements. Chalmers, as he had done only three weeks earlier, attacked from the south. Colonel Hatch arrived with help. Surprised by the unexpected appearance of the enemy on his flanks, Chalmers concluded that he was outnumbered, called off the battle, and, to ward off Union pursuit, withdrew back to Mississippi. The Memphis & Charleston Railroad remained open to Tuscumbia, Alabama, for Union troop movements.
November 4, 1863 - Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet, CSA, and his Corps, were detached from the Confederate Army of Tennessee, in part due to Longstreet's inability to cooperate with Confederate General Braxton Bragg, CSA, commander of the Army of Tennessee, during his operations against Federal Major General Ambrose Burnside's forces around Knoxville, Tennessee.
November 5, 1863 - A group known as the Free Colored Men of New Orleans petitioned for the right to vote as the Union Radical Association.
November 6, 1863 - The Battle of Droop Mountain, West Virginia. (WV012) (Averell's Raid on the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad [November 1863]). In early November, Brigadier Gens. W. W. Averell and Alfred Napoleon Alexander Duffié embarked on a raid into southwestern Virginia to disrupt the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad. While Duffié's column destroyed military property en route, Averell encountered and defeated a Confederate brigade under Brigadier General John Echols at Droop Mountain. The Union columns reunited at Lewisburg the next day but were in no condition to continue their raid. After this battle, Confederate resistance in West Virginia collapsed.
November 7, 1863 - The Battle of Rappahannock Station II, Virginia. (VA043) (Bristoe Campaign [October-November 1863]). On November 7, the Union army forced passage of the Rappahannock River at two places. A dusk attack overran the Confederate bridgehead at Rappahannock Station, capturing more than 1,600 men of Jubal Early's Division. Fighting at Kelly's Ford was less severe with about 430 casualties, but the Confederates retreated allowing the Federals across in force. On the verge of going into winter quarters around Culpeper, Lee's army retired instead into Orange County south of Rapidan River. The Army of the Potomac occupied the vicinity of Brandy Station and Culpeper County.
To Rappahannock Station II Battlefield
November 7-8, 1863 - The Federal Army of the Potomac, under the command of Federal Major General George Gordon Meade, USA, advanced to the line of the Rappahannock River, in Virginia, in pursuit of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, and his Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.
November 7-8, 1863 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, and his Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, started withdrawing to a line on the Rapidan River after the indecisive Bristoe Campaign.
November 9, 1863 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis returned to Richmond, Virginia, from his trip into the deep south to personally observe and discuss military matters with Confederate generals in the field.
November 9, 1863 - Confederate Officer (Appointed General from Arkansas) E. W. Gantt switched to the Federal side in Arkansas and called for an election convention under U. S. President Abraham Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan.
November 16, 1863 - The Battle of Campbell's Station, Tennessee. (TN023) (Longstreet's Knoxville Campaign [November-December 1863]). In early November 1863, Lieutenant General James Longstreet, with two divisions and about 5,000 cavalry, was detached from the Confederate Army of Tennessee near Chattanooga to attack Major General Ambrose E. Burnside's Union Department of the Ohio troops at Knoxville, Tennessee. Following parallel routes, Longstreet and Burnside raced for Campbell's Station, a hamlet where the Concord Road, from the south, intersected the Kingston Road to Knoxville. Burnside hoped to reach the crossroads first and continue on to safety in Knoxville; Longstreet planned to reach the crossroads and hold it, which would prevent Burnside from gaining Knoxville and force him to fight outside his earthworks. By forced marching, on a rainy November 16, Major General Ambrose E. Burnside's advance reached the vital intersection and deployed first. The main column arrived at noon with the baggage train just behind. Scarcely 15 minutes later, Longstreet's Confederates approached. Longstreet attempted a double envelopment: attacks to strike both Union flanks simultaneously. Major General Lafayette McLaw's Confederate division struck with such force that the Union right had to redeploy, but held. Brigadier General Micah Jenkins's Confederate division maneuvered ineffectively as it advanced and was unable to turn the Union left. Burnside ordered his two divisions astride the Kingston Road to withdraw three-quarters of a mile to a ridge in their rear. This was accomplished without confusion. The Confederates suspended their attack while Burnside continued his retrograde movement to Knoxville. Had Longstreet reached Campbell's Station first, the Knoxville Campaign's results might have been different.
November 19, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln, following the main speaker, Edward Everett, at the dedication of the Federal Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, delivered his famous two minute speech, the "Gettysburg Address." After the event, Lincoln started to believe his speech had been a failure given the importance of the moment.
November 20, 1863 - Federal Brigadier General William T. Sherman, USA, arrived at Chattanooga, Tennessee, with reinforcements from the Federal Army of the Tennessee.
November 23-25, 1863 - The Battle of Chattanooga III, Tennessee. (TN024) (Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign [November 1863]). From the last days of September through October 1863, General Braxton Bragg's army laid siege to the Union army under Major General William Rosecrans, at Chattanooga, cutting off its supplies. On October 17, Major General Ulysses S. Grant received command of the Western armies; he moved to reinforce Chattanooga and replaced Rosencrans with Major General George Thomas. A new supply line was soon established. Major General William T. Sherman arrived with his four divisions in mid-November, and the Federals began offensive operations. On November 23-24, Union forces struck out and captured Orchard Knob and Lookout Mountain. On November 25, Union soldiers assaulted and carried the seemingly impregnable Confederate position on Missionary Ridge. One of the Confederacy's two major armies was routed. The Federals held Chattanooga, the "Gateway to the Lower South," which became the supply and logistics base for Sherman's 1864 Atlanta Campaign.
November 26, 1863 - The Federal Army of the Potomac, under command of Federal Major General George G. Meade, USA, crossed the Rapidan River to probe the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's defenses along the Mine Run, west of Chancellorsville, Virginia.
November 27, 1863 - The Battle of Ringgold Gap, Georgia. (GA005) (Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign [November 1863]). Following the Union victory at Missionary Ridge and the Rebel retreat, Yankee troops set out in pursuit. Major General Patrick Cleburne's command fell back to Ringgold Gap where the Western & Atlantic Railroad passed through Taylor's Ridge. Major General Joseph B. Hooker sent his force forward to seize the ridge, which it failed to do after five hours of heavy fighting.
November 27, 1863 - Confederate Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan, CSA, escaped from the Ohio State Penitentiary, Columbus, Ohio, along with some of his subordinate officers, making it back to Confederate lines.
November 27-29, 1863 - The Battle of Fort Esperanza, Texas.
November 26 - December 2, 1863 - The Battle of Mine Run, Virginia. (VA044) (Mine Run Campaign [November-December 1863]). Payne's Farm and New Hope Church were the first and heaviest clashes of the Mine Run Campaign. In late November 1863, Meade attempted to steal a march through the Wilderness and strike the right flank of the Confederate army south of the Rapidan River. Major General Jubal A. Early in command of Ewell's Corps marched east on the Orange Turnpike to meet the advance of William French's III Corps near Payne's Farm. Carr's division (US) attacked twice. Johnson's division (CS) counterattacked but was scattered by heavy fire and broken terrain. After dark, Lee withdrew to prepared field fortifications along Mine Run. The next day the Union army closed on the Confederate position. Skirmishing was heavy, but a major attack did not materialize. Meade concluded that the Confederate line was too strong to attack and retired during the night of December 1-2, ending the winter campaign.
November 29, 1863 - The Battle of Fort Sanders, Tennessee. (TN025) (Longstreet's Knoxville Campaign [November-December 1863]). In attempting to take Knoxville, the Confederates decided that Fort Sanders was the only vulnerable place where they could penetrate Union Major General Ambrose E. Burnside's fortifications, which enclosed the city, and successfully conclude the siege, already a week long. The fort surmounted an eminence just outside and northwest of Knoxville. Northwest of the fort, the land dropped off abruptly. Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet believed he could assemble a storming party, undetected at night, below the fortifications and, before dawn, overwhelm Fort Sanders by a coup de main. Following a brief artillery barrage directed at the fort's interior, three Rebel brigades charged. Union wire entanglements--telegraph wire stretched from one tree stump to another to another--delayed the attack, but the fort's outer ditch halted the Confederates. This ditch was twelve feet wide and from four to ten feet deep with vertical sides. The fort's exterior slope was almost vertical, also. Crossing the ditch was nearly impossible, especially under withering defensive fire from musketry and canister. Confederate officers did lead their men into the ditch, but, without scaling ladders, few emerged on the scarp side and a small number entered the fort to be wounded, killed, or captured. The attack lasted a short twenty minutes. Longstreet undertook his Knoxville expedition to divert Union troops from Chattanooga and to get away from General Braxton Bragg, with whom he was engaged in a bitter feud. His failure to take Knoxville scuttled his purpose. This was the decisive battle of the Knoxville Campaign. This Confederate defeat, plus the loss of Chattanooga on November 25, put much of East Tennessee in the Union camp.
November 30, 1863 - Confederate General Braxton Bragg, CSA, requested to be relieved of his field command in north Georgia. His resignation was communicated to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
December 1, 1863 - Federal Major General George Meade, USA, ended his campaign in Virginia for the winter after finding Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Mine Run defenders too firmly entrenched. Meade withdrew the Federal Army of the Potomac to winter quarters at Culpepper, Virginia.
December 2, 1863 - Reputed Confederate spy, Belle Boyd, was released from a Federal prison in Washington, D. C., and sent to Richmond, Virginia, due to her suffering from typhoid fever. She was warned never to return to Federal territory.
December 2, 1863 - Confederate General Braxton Bragg, CSA, was relieved of command of the Army of Tennessee, at Dalton, Georgia. He had asked Confederate President Jefferson Davis to relieve him on November 30, following recent setbacks for Confederate forces in Tennessee and north Georgia. Bragg would, shortly, become Military Adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, in Richmond, Virginia.
December 7, 1863 - Steamer Chesapeake en route to Portland, Maine, was seized off Cape Cod by Confederates disguised as passengers, and carried off to Nova Scotia.
December 7, 1863 - The Loyal Virginia state legislature called for a constitutional convention to be held on January 21, 1864.
December 8, 1863 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln issued his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, including his "One-Tenth" reconstruction policy, which would restore seceded states to the Union when one-tenth of the 1860 voters form a "loyal" government.
December 12, 1863 - Mrs. Mary Todd Lincoln's half-sister, who was married to Confederate Brigadier General Benjamin H. Helm, CSA (who had been killed in action on September 21, 1863), was granted Federal amnesty by U. S. President Abraham Lincoln, after taking the loyalty oath to the Union.
December 14, 1863 - The Battle of Bean's Station, Tennessee. (TN026) (Longstreet's Knoxville Campaign [November-December 1863]). Lieutenant General James Longstreet abandoned the Siege of Knoxville, on December 4, 1863, and retreated northeast towards Rogersville, Tennessee. Union Major General John G. Parke pursued the Confederates but not too closely. Longstreet continued to Rutledge on December 6 and Rogersville on the 9th. Parke sent Brigadier General J. M Shackelford on with about 4,000 cavalry and infantry to search for Longstreet. On the 13th, Shackelford was near Bean's Station on the Holston River. Longstreet decided to go back and capture Bean's Station. Three Confederate columns and artillery approached Bean's Station to catch the Yankees in a vice. By 2:00 am on the 14th, one column was skirmishing with Union pickets. The pickets held out as best they could and warned Shackelford of the Confederate presence. He deployed his force for an assauLieutenant Soon, the battle started and continued throughout most of the day. Rebel flanking attacks and other assaults occurred at various times and locations, but the Federals held until southern reinforcements tipped the scales. By nightfall, the Federals were retiring from Bean's Station through Bean's Gap and on to Blain's Cross Roads. Longstreet set out to attack the Yankees again the next morning, but as he approached them at Blain's Cross Roads, he found them well-entrenched. Longstreet withdrew and the Federals soon left the area. The Knoxville Campaign ended following the battle of Bean's Station. Longstreet soon went into winter quarters at Russellville. Their success meant little to Confederate efforts except to prevent disaster.
December 16, 1863 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis, despite his personal feelings of hatred of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, ordered him to replace Confederate General Braxton Bragg, CSA, as commander of the Confederate Army of Tennessee, currently under assault in Georgia.
December 18, 1863 - Wanting to solve bad relations between the Missouri state government and the military under Federal Brigadier General John M. Schofield, USA, U. S. President Abraham Lincoln decided to promote Schofield to Major General but at the same time replaced him as commander in Missouri with Federal Major General William S. Rosecrans, USA.
December 27, 1863 - Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, assumed command of the Confederate Army of Tennessee, at Dalton, Georgia.
December 29, 1863 - The Battle of Mossy Creek, Tennessee. (TN027) (Operations about Dandridge [December 1863-January 1864]). Brigadier General Samuel D. Sturgis received a report on the night of December 28, 1863, that a brigade of enemy cavalry was in the neighborhood of Dandridge that afternoon. Surmising that the Rebel cavalry force was split, Sturgis decided to meet and defeat, and possibly capture, this portion of it. He ordered most of his troopers out toward Dandridge on two roads. After these troops had left, Major General William T. Martin, commander of Longstreet's Confederate cavalry, now reunited, attacked the remainder of Sturgis's force at Mossy Creek, Tennessee, which included the First Brigade, Second Division, XXIII Army Corps, commanded by Colonel Samuel R. Mott, at 9:00 am. First, Sturgis sent messages to his subordinates on the way to Dandridge to return promptly if they found no enemy there. The Confederates advanced, driving the Federals in front of them. Some of the Union troopers who had set out for Dandridge returned. Around 3:00 pm, fortunes changed as the Federals began driving the Confederates. By dark, the Rebels were back to the location from which they had begun the battle. Union pursuit was not mounted that night, but Martin retreated from the area. After the victory at Mossy Creek, the Union held the line about Talbott's Station for some time.
January 2, 1864 - Confederate Senator George Davis, from North Carolina, succeeded Wade Keyes as Attorney General of the Confederate States of America.
January 4, 1864 - In an unpopular move, Confederate President Jefferson Davis authorized Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, to requisition food supplies from the civilian population, as needed.
January 4, 1864 - Under Presidential Reconstruction, the Arkansas state constitutional convention started.
January 6, 1864 - The Battle of Canon de Chelly, New Mexico.
January 6, 1864 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis commuted the death penalty of a Confederate private.
January 7, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln commuted the death penalty of a Federal deserter.
January 11, 1864 - U. S. Senator John B. Henderson, of Missouri, proposed a joint resolution in the U. S. Senate to abolish slavery, which would eventually become the 13th Ammendment to the U. S. Constitution.
January 17, 1864 - The Battle of Dandridge, Tennessee. (TN028) (Operations about Dandridge [December 1863-January 1864]). Union forces under Major General John G. Parke advanced on Dandridge, Tennessee, near the East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad, on January 14, forcing Lieutenant General James Longstreet's Confederate troops to fall back. Longstreet, however, moved additional troops into the area on the 15th to meet the enemy and threaten the Union base at New Market. On the 16th, Brigadier General Samuel D. Sturgis, commanding the Cavalry Corps, Army of the Ohio, rode forward to occupy Kimbrough's Crossroads. Within three or four miles of his objective, Sturgis's cavalry met Rebel troops, forcing them back towards the crossroads. As the Union cavalry neared the crossroads, they discovered an enemy infantry division with artillery that had arrived the day before. The Union cavalry could not dislodge these Rebels and was compelled to retire to Dandridge. About noon the next day, Sturgis received information that the Confederates were preparing for an attack so he formed his men into line of battle. About 4:00 pm, the Confederates advanced and the fighting quickly became general. The battle continued until after dark with the Federals occupying about the same battle line as when the fighting started. The Union forces fell back to New Market and Strawberry Plains during the night, but the Rebels were unable to pursue because of the lack of cannons, ammunition, and shoes. For the time being, the Union forces left the area. The Confederates had failed to destroy or capture the Federals as they should have.
January 18, 1864 - Major opposition to the Confederate conscription law continued to develop in northwestern Georgia, western North Carolina, and eastern Tennessee.
January 19, 1864 - The Arkansas state constitutional convention adopted an antislavery clause.
January 20, 1864 - The Arkansas state constitutional convention elected Unionist Issac Murphy provisional Governor of Arkansas.
January 23, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln recognized the concept of free labor in contract relations between ex-slaves and plantation owners, and ordered the army to encourage such relations and to supervise their operations.
January 26, 1864 - The Battle of Athens, Alabama. (AL002) (Operations in North Alabama [January 1864]). Confederate cavalry, numbering about 600 men, attacked Athens, held by about 100 Union troops, around 4:00 am on the morning of January 26, 1864. After a two-hour battle, the Confederates retreated. Union forces, although greatly outnumbered and without fortifications, repulsed the attackers.
January 27, 1864 - The Battle of Fair Garden, Tennessee. (TN029) (Operations about Dandridge [December 1863-January 1864]). Since the Battle of Dandridge, the Union cavalry had moved to the south side of the French Broad River and had disrupted Confederate foraging and captured numerous wagons in that area. On January 25, 1864, Lieutenant General James Longstreet, commander of the Department of East Tennessee, instructed his subordinates to do something to curtail Union operations south of the French Broad. On the 26th, Brigadier General Samuel D. Sturgis, having had various brushes with Confederate cavalry, deployed his troopers to watch the area fords. Two Confederate cavalry brigades and artillery advanced from Fair Garden in the afternoon but were checked about four miles from Sevierville. Other Confederates attacked a Union cavalry brigade, though, at Fowler's on Flat Creek, and drove it about two miles. No further fighting occurred that day. Union scouts observed that the Confederates had concentrated on the Fair Garden Road, so Sturgis ordered an attack there in the morning. In a heavy fog, Colonel Edward M. McCook's Union division attacked and drove back Major General William T. Martin's Confederates until about 4:00 pm. At that time, McCook's men charged with sabers and routed the Rebels. Sturgis set out in pursuit on the 28th, and captured and killed more of the routed Rebels. The Union forces, however, observed three of Longstreet's infantry brigades crossing the river. Realizing his weariness from fighting, lack of supplies, ammunition, and weapons and the overwhelming strength of the enemy, Sturgis decided to evacuate the area. But, before leaving, Sturgis determined to attack Brigadier General Frank C. Armstrong's Confederate cavalry division which he had learned was about three or four miles away, on the river. Unbeknownst to the attacking Federals, Armstrong had strongly fortified his position and three infantry regiments had arrived to reinforce him. Thus, the Union troops suffered severe casualties in the attack. The battle continued until dark, when the Federals retired from the area. The Federals had won the big battle but the fatigue of continual fighting and lack of supplies and ammunition forced them to withdraw.
January 31, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln urged Federal Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, USA, to adopt any rule that would encourage the vote of all loyal free men, even if they did not take the oath.
February 1, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln, using the Congressional Conscription Act, ordered that 500,000 men be drafted on March 10, 1864, to serve for 3 years or for the duration of the war, whichever came first. Unlike his previous draft calls, Lincoln faced little opposition this time.
February 1, 1864 - The U. S. Congress revived the military rank of Lieutenant General.
February 2, 1864 - A boat expedition, led by Confederate Commander J. T. Wood, CSN, captured and destroyed the Federal U.S.S. Underwriter in the Neuse River, North Carolina.
February 3, 1864 - Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, began his Meridian Campaign, in Mississippi.
February 6-7, 1864 - The Battle of Morton's Ford, Virginia. (VA045) (Demonstration on the Rapidan River [February 1864]). To distract attention from a planned cavalry-infantry raid up the Peninsula on Richmond, the Federal army forced several crossings of the Rapidan River on February 6. A II Corps division crossed at Morton's Ford, the I Corps at Raccoon Ford. Union cavalry crossed at Robertson's Ford. Ewell's Corps resisted the crossings. Fighting was sporadic but most severe at Morton's Ford. By February 7, the attacks had stalled, and the Federals withdrew during the night.
February 7, 1864 - The Confederate Congress authorized the enrollment of blacks, slave or free, as military laborers.
February 9, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln sat for several photographs in Washington, D. C., including the one eventually used on the United States $5.00 bill.
February 9, 1864 - Led by Federal Colonel Thomas Rose, USA, and Colonel Abel D. Streight, USA, over 100 Federal officers made a massive prison break from the Confederate Libby Prison, in Richmond, Virginia.
February 13, 1864 - The Battle of Middle Boggy Depot, Oklahoma. (OK005) (Operations in the Indian Territory [February 1864]). While on an expedition in February 1864 to meet, defeat or destroy Confederate forces in Indian Territory, Union Major Charles Willette and his troops surprised a Confederate force at Middle Boggy Depot on February 13. Although poorly armed, the Rebels made a determined stand for a half hour before retiring. The Union forces killed 47 Confederates during this short fight. Fear of the arrival of fresh Confederate forces influenced the Federals to retire to Fort Gibson. During Colonel John F. Phillips's Indian Territory expedition, he and his men fought with and dispersed numerous Confederate forces. Middle Boggy Depot was, perhaps, the largest encounterduring the expedition.
February 14-20, 1864 - The Battle of Meridian, Mississippi. (MS012) (Meridian and Yazoo River Expeditions [February 1864]). From Vicksburg, Mississippi, Sherman launched a campaign to take the important railroad center at Meridian and, if the situation was favorable, push on to Selma, Alabama, and threaten Mobile. Sherman ordered Brigadier General William Sooy Smith to lead a cavalry force of 7,000 men, from Memphis, Tennessee, on February 1, 1864, south through Okolona, along the Mobile & Ohio Railroad, and meet the rest of the Union force at Meridian. With the main force of 20,000 men, Sherman set out on the 3rd for Meridian, but made feints toward various other locations. To counter the threat, Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered troops to the area from other localities. The Confederate commander in the area, Lieutenant General Leonidas Polk, consolidated a number of commands in and around Mortona, but lost his nerve and retreated rapidly eastward. Cavalry units commanded by Major General Stephen D. Lee periodically skirmished with Sherman's force. As Sherman approached Meridian, he met stiffer resistance from combined forces but steadily moved on. Polk finally realized that he could not stop Sherman and evacuated Meridian on the 14th, removing some railroad rolling stock to McDowell's Bluff. Sherman's troops entered Meridian the same day and began destroying railroad track, continuing their work until the 19th. Smith never arrived at Meridian. Sherman left Meridian on the 20th, headed west by way of Canton, looking for Smith and his force. He did not discover what happened to Smith until he arrived back at Vicksburg (see Okolona, CWSAC #MS013). Sherman had destroyed some important Confederate transportation facilities but had to forget his aspirations for continuing into Alabama.
February 15, 1864 - In ex parte Vallandingham, the U. S. Supreme Court upheld the Confederate sympathizer's arrest, military trial, and exile to the Confederacy.
February 17, 1864 - The Battle near Charleston (Harbor),South Carolina. Confederate submarine C.S.S. H. L. Hunley sank the Federal blockader U.S.S. Housatonic off Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, the first submarine to sink a ship in combat. The C.S.S. H. L. Hunley, however, was also lost at sea.
February 20, 1864 - The Battle of Olustee, Florida. (FL005) (Florida Expedition [February 1864]). In February 1864, the commander of the Department of the South, Major General Quincy A. Gillmore, launched an expedition into Florida to secure Union enclaves, sever Rebel supply routes, and recruit black soldiers. Brigadier General Truman Seymour moved deep into the state, occupying, destroying, and "liberating," meeting little resistance on February 20, he approached Brigadier General Joseph Finegan's 5,000 Confederates entrenched near Olustee. One infantry brigade pushed out to meet Seymour's advance units. The Union forces attacked but were repulsed. The battle raged, and as Finegan committed the last of his reserves, the Union line broke and began to retreat. Finegan did not exploit the retreat, allowing most of the fleeing Union forces to reach Jacksonville.
February 20, 1864 - The Pomeroy Circular was published, a letter distributed by Kansas Senator S. C. Pomeroy, calling for the nomination of U. S. Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase instead of current U. S. President Abraham Lincoln for the Presidency.
February 20-21, 1864 - The Battle of West Point, Mississippi.
February 22, 1864 - The Battle of Okolona, Mississippi. (MS013) (Meridian and Yazoo River Expeditions [February 1864]). From Vicksburg, Mississippi, Sherman launched a campaign to take the railroad center at Meridian, Mississippi, and if the situation were favorable, to push on to Selma, Alabama, and threaten Mobile. Sherman ordered Brigadier General William Sooy Smith to lead 7,000 cavalrymen from Memphis, Tennessee, on February 1, 1864, south through Okolona, along the Mobile & Ohio Railroad, and to meet the rest of the Union force at Meridian on February 10. With the main force of approximately 20,000 men, Sherman set out on the 3rd for Meridian. Against orders, Smith delayed ten days, while waiting for reinforcements, and did not start out until February 11. Destroying crops and railroad track along the way, Smith's force met almost no opposition and before long, 1,000 former slaves were traveling with them. Smith was supposed to rendezvous with Major General William T. Sherman at Meridian on the 10th, but he never arrived there. Sherman left Meridian on the 20th, due in part to apprehension over Smith's whereabouts. Smith neared West Point, 90 miles north of Meridian, on the 20th, and he fought with Confederate cavalry units at Prairie Station and Aberdeen. Smith--knowing that Nathan Bedford Forrest commanded the troops he was fighting, concerned about the fate of the former slaves with him, and not knowing how many of the enemy he faced--decided to concentrate at Prairie Station, and, on the morning of the 21st, he set out for West Point. Shortly after dawn on the 21st, Colonel Jeffrey Forrest's Confederate cavalry brigade engaged Smith. Withdrawing at times, Forrest drew Smith into a swamp west of the Tombigbee River. Other Rebel troops arrived and the fighting intensified. Smith discerned that he was greatly outnumbered and ordered a retreat, leaving a rearguard. The rearguard held off the Confederates for about two hours before withdrawing in good order. About the same time, Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest arrived and ordered a pursuit. Skirmishing occurred the rest of the day. At sunup on the 22nd, the Rebels attacked Smith just south of Okolona on the prairie. More Confederate troops arrived, causing breaks in the Union battle line, precipitating a retreat. For most of the rest of the day, they engaged in a running battle for a distance of eleven miles, with both sides attacking and counterattacking. Colonel Forrest was killed during one Rebel charge. The Yankees broke off the fighting and headed for Pontotoc. Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest, the commander on the field, realized that his men were nearly out of ammunition and did not order a pursuit. Mississippi militia harassed Smith to the state line. Smith arrived in Collierville, Tennessee, near Memphis, on the 26th. Although Smith had caused much destruction during his expedition, Okolona forced him to retire before he could do more.
February 22-27, 1864 - The Battle of Dalton I, Georgia. (GA006) (Demonstration on Dalton [February 1864]). From Vicksburg, Mississippi, Sherman launched a campaign to take the important railroad center at Meridian and, if the situation was favorable, to push on to Selma and threaten Mobile, in order to prevent the shipment of Confederate men and supplies. To counter the threat, Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered troops into the area. While these operations unfolded, Thomas determined to probe General Johnston's army in the hope that Johnston's loss of two divisions, sent to reinforce Lieutenant General Leonidas Polk as he withdrew from Meridian to Demopolis, Alabama, would make him vulnerable. Skirmishing and intense fighting occurred throughout the demonstration. At Crow Valley on the 25th, Union troops almost turned the Rebel right flank but ultimately it held. On the 27th, Thomas's army withdrew, realizing that Johnston was ready and able to counter any assauLieutenant
February 24, 1864 - Confederate General Braxton Bragg, CSA, was effectively elevated to the role of General-In-Chief to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and brought to Richmond, Virginia, to control the military operations of the Armies of the Confederacy.
February 27, 1864 - The Confederate prison camp at Andersonville, Georgia, officially named Camp Sumter, was opened near Americus, Georgia, to help relieve the prisoner overcrowding at Belle Isle Prison, Richmond, Virginia.
February 28, 1864 - The Federal Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid began, to free prisoners held in Richmond and to kidnap or execute members of the Confederate government (see the Battle of Mantapike Hill below).
March 1 , 1864 - The Federal Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid on Richmond, Virginia, failed, and its controversial orders fell into the hands of the Confederates (see the Battle of Mantapike Hill below).
March 2, 1864 - The Battle of Mantapike Hill or Walkerton, Virginia. (VA125) (Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid [March 1864]). On February 28, Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick left his encampment at Stevensburg with 4,000 picked men to raid Richmond. Colonel Ulric Dahlgren, son of Rear Adm. John Dahlgren, commanded an advance force of 500 men. While the main body under Kilpatrick rode along the Virginia Central Railroad tearing up track, Dahlgren rode south to the James River, hoping to cross over, penetrate Richmond's defenses from the rear, and release Union prisoners at Belle Isle. Kilpatrick reached the outskirts of Richmond on March 1 and skirmished before the city's defenses, waiting for Dahlgren to rejoin the main column. Dahlgren, however, was delayed, and Kilpatrick was forced to withdraw with Confederate cavalry in pursuit. Hampton attacked Kilpatrick near Old Church on the 2nd, but the Federals found refuge with elements of Butler's command at New Kent Court House. In the meantime, Dahlgren's men, unable to penetrate Richmond's defenses, tried to escape pursuit by riding north of the city. Dahlgren's command became separated, and on March 2 his detachment of about 100 men was ambushed by a detachment of the 9th Virginia Cavalry and Home Guards in King and Queen County near Walkerton. Dahlgren was killed and most of his men captured. Papers found on Dahlgren's body that ordered him to burn Richmond and assassinate President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet caused a political furor. Southerners accused the North of initiating "a war of extermination." Meade, Kilpatrick, and Lincoln all disavowed any knowledge of the Dahlgren Papers.
March 2, 1864 - The U. S. Congress confirmed the nomination of Federal Major General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, as Lieutenant General and General-In-Chief.
March 4, 1864 - Federal Major General William T. Sherman's troops return to Vicksburg, Mississippi, after a damaging month-long raid on the countyrside around Meridian, Mississippi.
March 4, 1864 - Civil (Federal) government was restored in the state of Louisiana, and Unionist Michael Hahn was inaugurated the first Free State Governor of Louisiana.
March 4, 1864 - The U. S. Senate confirmed Andrew Johnson as the Military Governor of Tennessee.
March 7, 1864 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis convinced Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet, CSA, currently situated in Greenville, Tennessee, to begin offensive actions against Federal forces in Tennessee and Kentucky.
March 8, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln met his new Lieutenant General, Ulysses Simpson Grant, USA, for the first time, in Washington, D. C.
March 9, 1864 - Federal Lieutenant General, Ulysses Simpson Grant, USA, left Washington, D. C. to travel to the Army of the Potomac, headquartered at Brandy Station, Virginia.
March 11, 1864 - After meeting with Federal Major General George G. Meade, USA, commander of the Federal Army of the Potomac, at Brandy Station, Virginia, Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, returned to Washington, D. C., and left for Nashville, Tennessee, to meet with Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA.
March 11, 1864 - In Special War Order No. 9, Federal Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas codified employment practices regarding contrabands in the Mississippi Valley.
March 12, 1864 - Ships of Federal Rear Admiral David D. Porter's Mississippi Squadron moved up the Red River to commence the Red River Campaign, the eventually unsuccessful Federal Army-Navy campaign to gain a foothold in the Texas interior.
March 13, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln suggested to Michael Hahn, the recently elected Free State Governor of Louisiana, that some "very intelligent" Negroes be seated in a state convention to define the elective franchise, i.e., who can vote in the state.
March 14, 1864 - The Battle of Fort De Russy, Louisiana. (LA017) (Red River Campaign [March 11 - May 20, 1864]). The Union launched a multi-purpose expedition into Rebel General E. Kirby Smith's Trans-Mississippi Department, headquartered in Shreveport, Louisiana, in early 1864. Major General Nathaniel P. Banks and Rear Adm. David D. Porter jointly commanded the combined force. Porter's fleet and Brigadier General A. J. Smith's XVI and XVII Army Corps detachments of the Army of the Tennessee set out on March 12, 1864, up the Red River, the most direct route to Shreveport. Banks with the XIII and XIX Army Corps advanced by way of Berwick Bay and Bayou Teche. After removing various obstructions that the Rebels had placed in the river, the major impediment to the Union expedition was the formidable Fort DeRussy, a partly iron-plated earthen fortification designed to resist the fire of Union ironclads that might come up river. Union Brigadier General A. J. Smith's command had embarked on transports at Vicksburg and then disembarked at Simsport, on the 12th, about thirty miles from Fort DeRussy. Smith sent out some troops on the morning of the 13th to determine if any enemy was in their path. This force dispersed and chased an enemy brigade, after which, Smith set his men in motion up the Fort DeRussy road. They did not proceed far before night. Early the next morning, the 14th, they continued the march, discovering that a Confederate division threatened their advance. Always mindful of this threat, Smith had to place part of his command in a position to intercept these Rebel forces if they attacked. Upon arriving at the fort, the enemy garrison of 350 men opened fire. Smith decided to use Mower's division, XVI Army Corps, to take the fort and set about positioning it for the attack. Around 6:30 pm, Smith ordered a charge on the fort and about twenty minutes later, Mower's men scaled the parapet, causing the enemy to surrender. Fort DeRussy, which some had said was impregnable, had fallen and the Red River to Alexandria was open.
March 14, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln issued a draft order for 200,000 men for naval and army reserve duty.
March 15, 1864 - Federal Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter's Federal flotilla reached Alexandria, Louisiana, to spearhead the Red River Campaign.
March 16, 1864 - Federal Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, USA, occupied Alexandria, Louisiana.
March 18, 1864 - Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, assumed command of the Federal Military Division of the Mississippi.
March 23, 1864 - Federal Major General Frederick Steele, USA, began the Camden Campiagn in Arkansas, part of the Federal's Red River Campaign.
March 25, 1864 - The Battle of Paducah, Kentucky. (KY010) (Forrest's Expedition into West Tennessee and Kentucky [March-April 1864]). In March 1864, Forrest set out from Columbus, Mississippi, with a force of less than 3,000 men on a multipurpose expedition (recruit, reoutfit, disperse Yankees, etc.) into West Tennessee and Kentucky. Forrest arrived in Paducah on March 25 and quickly occupied the town. The Union garrison of 650 men under the command of Colonel Stephen G. Hicks retired to Fort Anderson, in the town's west end. Hicks had support from two gunboats on the Ohio River and refused to surrender, while shelling the area with his artillery. Most of Forrest's command destroyed unwanted supplies, loaded up what they wanted, and rounded up horses and mules. A small segment of Forrest's command assaulted Fort Anderson and was repulsed, suffering heavy casualties. Soon afterwards, Forrest's men withdrew. In reporting the raid on the town, many newspapers stated that Forrest had not found more than a hundred fine horses hidden during the raid. As a result, one of Forrest's subordinate officers led a force back into Paducah in mid-April and seized the infamous horses. Although this was a Confederate victory, other than the destruction of supplies and capture of animals, no lasting results occurred. It did, however, warn the Federals that Forrest, or someone like him, could strike anywhere at any time.
March 25, 1864 - Federal Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, USA, assumed command of the Red River Campaign.
March 26, 1864 - Federal Lieutanant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, established his headquarters with the Federal Army of the Potomac, at Culpeper Court House, Virginia.
March 28, 1864 - The state of Louisiana elected delegates to a constitutional convention under U. S. President Abraham Lincoln's "Ten percent Plan."
April 3-4, 1864 - The Battle of Elkin's Ferry, Arkansas. (AR012) (Camden Expedition [April 1864]). During the expedition, Union forces sought a ford to cross the Little Missouri River because other roads were impassible. They reached Elkin's Ferry before the Confederates. As they crossed, the Confederates attempted to stop them but to no avail.
April 4, 1864 - The U. S. House of Representatives passed a resolution denouncing any intentions by Napoleon III of France to install a monarchy in Mexico under Maximilian.
April 4, 1864 - Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, appointed Federal Major General Philip H. Sheridan, USA, to command the cavalry in the Federal Army of the Potomac.
April 6, 1864 - The Louisana state constitutional convention met in New Orleans, Louisana, and adopted a new state constitution, abolishing slavery.
April 7, 1864 - Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet, CSA, and his Confederate 1st Army Corps, was ordered to return from Greenville, Tennessee (where he has been since September, 1863), where he rejoined the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in Virginia.
April 8, 1864 - The Battle of Mansfield, Louisiana. (LA018) (Red River Campaign [March 11 - May 20, 1864]). By this time, Major General Nathaniel P. Bank's Red River Expedition had advanced about 150 miles up Red River. Major General Richard Taylor, without any instructions from his commander, General E. Kirby Smith, decided that it was time to try and stem this Union drive. He established a defensive position just below Mansfield, at Sabine Cross-Roads, an important communications center. On April 8, Banks's men approached, driving Confederate cavalry before them. For the rest of the morning, the Federals probed the Rebel lines. In late afternoon, Taylor, greatly outnumbered, decided to attack. His men made a determined assault on both flanks, rolling up one and then another of Banks's divisions. Finally, about three miles from the original contact, a third Union division met Taylor's attack at 6:00 pm and halted it after more than an hour's fighting. That night, Taylor unsuccessfully attempted to turn Banks's right flank. Banks withdrew but met Taylor again on the 9th at Pleasant Hill. Mansfield was the decisive battle of the Red River Campaign, influencing Banks to retreat.
April 9, 1864 - The Battle of Pleasant Hill, Louisiana. (LA019) (Red River Campaign [March 11 - May 20, 1864]). By this time, Major General Nathaniel P. Banks's Red River Expedition had advanced about 150 miles up Red River. Major General Richard Taylor, commander of the Confederate forces in the area, decided, without any instructions from his commander General E. Kirby Smith, that it was time to try and stem this Union drive. Taylor gained a victory at Mansfield on April 8. Banks withdrew from that battlefield to Pleasant Hill, but he knew that fighting would resume the next day. Early on the 9th, Taylor's reinforced forces marched toward Pleasant Hill in the hopes of finishing the destruction of the Union force. Although outnumbered, Taylor felt that the Union army would be timid after Mansfield and that an audacious, well-coordinated attack would be successful. The Confederates closed up, rested for a few hours, and then attacked at 5:00 pm. Taylor planned to send a force to assail the Union front while he rolled up the left flank and moved his cavalry around the right flank to cut the escape route. The attack on the Union left flank, under the command of Brigadier General Thomas J. Churchill, succeeded in sending those enemy troops fleeing for safety. Churchill ordered his men ahead, intending to attack the Union center from the rear. Union troops, however, discerned the danger and hit Churchill's right flank, forcing a retreat. Seeing what happened, Taylor's army melted away. Pleasant Hill was the last major battle, in terms of numbers of men involved, of the Louisiana phase of the Red River Campaign. Although Banks won this battle, he retreated, wishing to get his army out of west Louisiana before any greater calamity occurred. The battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill jointly (although the former was much more decisive) influenced Banks to forget his objective and retreat.
April 9, 1864
- Offensive plans for the Federal Armies of the United States were made known:
1. To advance on Mobile, Alabama, by Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, USA
2. To advance on Georgia (against the Confederate Army of Tennessee), by Major General WIlliam T. Sherman, USA
3. To advance down the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, by Major General Franz Sigel, USA
4. To advance on Richmond, Virginia, by Major General Benjamin F. Butler, USA
5. To advance in Virginia (against the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia), by Major General George G. Meade, USA
April 9-13, 1864 - The Battle of Prairie D'Ane, Arkansas. (AR013) (Camden Expedition [April 1864]). On April 10, Major General Fred Steele's Union forces, combined with Brigadier General John M. Thayer's division, marched south from the Cornelius Farm. They soon encountered a Confederate line of battle at Prairie D'Ane and attacked, driving it back about a mile before being checked. Skirmishing continued throughout the afternoon of April 11, forcing Steele to divert line of march forces away from Shreveport toward Camden. Major General Sterling Price's Confederates returned to Prairie D'An on April 13, falling upon Steele's rearguard under Thayer. After a four-hour battle, Price disengaged, and Steele's column continued to Camden, occupying the city.
April 10, 1864 - Napoleon III's puppet, Archduke Maximilian of Austria, was crowned Emperor of Mexico in violation of the Monroe Doctrine.
April 11, 1864 - A civilian, pro-Union, government was restored in Little Rock, Arkansas, with the election of Dr. Isaac Murphy as the Free State Governor of Arkansas. After Louisiana, Arkansas was the second Confederate state that rejected the Confederacy, while under the control of Federal military forces which still occupied the state.
April 12, 1864 - The Battle of Fort Pillow, Tennessee. (TN030) (Forrest's Expedition into West Tennessee and Kentucky [March-April 1864]). In April 1864, the Union garrison at Fort Pillow, a Confederate-built earthen fortification and a Union-built inner redoubt, overlooking the Mississippi River about forty river miles above Memphis, comprised 295 white Tennessee troops and 262 U.S. Colored Troops, all under the command of Major Lionel F. Booth. Confederate Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest attacked the fort on April 12 with a cavalry division of approximately 2,500 men. Forrest seized the older outworks, with high knolls commanding the Union position, to surround Booth's force. Rugged terrain prevented the gunboat New Era from providing effective fire support for the Federals. The garrison was unable to depress its artillery enough to cover the approaches to the fort. To make matters worse, Rebel sharpshooters, on the surrounding knolls, began wounding and killing the Federals, including Booth, who was killed. Major William F. Bradford then took over command of the garrison. The Confederates launched a determined attack at 11:00 am, occupying more strategic locations around the fort, and Forrest demanded unconditional surrender. Bradford asked for an hour for consultation and Forrest granted twenty minutes. Bradford refused surrender and the Confederates renewed the attack, soon overran the fort, and drove the Federals down the river's bluff into a deadly crossfire. Casualties were high and only sixty-two of the U.S. Colored Troops survived the fight. Many accused the Confederates of perpetrating a massacre of the black troops, and that controversy continues today. The Confederates evacuated Fort Pillow that evening so they gained little from the attack except to temporarily disrupt Union operations. The "Fort Pillow Massacre" became a Union rallying cry and cemented resolve to see the war through to its conclusion.
April 12-13, 1864 - The Battle of Blair's Landing, Louisiana. (LA020) (Red River Campaign [March 11 - May 20, 1864]). After the battle of Pleasant Hill on April 9, Brigadier General Tom Green led his men to Pleasant Hill Landing on the Red River, where, about 4:00 pm on April 12, they discovered grounded and damaged Union transports and gunboats, the XVI and XVII army corps river transportation, and U.S. Navy gunboats, with supplies and armament aboard. Union Brigadier General Thomas Kilby Smith's Provisional Division, XVII Corps, troops, and the Navy gunboats furnished protection for the army 8transports. Green and his men charged the boats. When Green attacked, Smith's men used great ingenuity in defending the boats and dispersing the enemy. Hiding behind bales of cotton, sacks of oats, and other ersatz obstructions, the men on the vessels, along with the Navy gunboats, repelled the attack, killed Green, and savaged the Confederate ranks. Soon after, the Confederates fled and most of the Union transports continued downriver. The next day, the 13th, at Campti, other boats ran aground and came under enemy fire from Brigadier General St. John R. Liddell's Sub-District of North Louisiana troops, which harassed the convoy throughout the 12th and 13th. The convoy rendezvoused with Brigadier General Nathaniel Banks's army at Grand Ecore and the supplies arrived; without them the Red River Expeditionary force would have been in serious difficulty.
April 17, 1864 - Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, effectively halted the Federal prisoner exchange policy by requiring an equal exchange of P. O. W.'s, increasing the strain on the Confederate's manpower shortage.
April 17-20, 1864 - The Battle of Plymouth, North Carolina. (NC012) (Operations Against Plymouth [April-May 1864]). In a combined operation with the C.S.S. ram Albemarle, Confederate forces under Major General R. F. Hoke, attacked the Federal garrison at Plymouth on April 17. On April 19, the ram appeared in the river, sinking Smithfield, damaging Miami, and driving off the other Union ships supporting the Plymouth garrison. Confederate forces captured Fort Comfort, driving defenders into Fort Williams. On the 20th, the garrison surrendered.
April 18, 1864 - The Battle of Poison Spring, Arkansas. (AR014) (Camden Expedition [April 1864]). Dwindling supplies for his army at Camden forced Major General Fred Steele to send out a foraging party to gather corn that the Confederates had stored about twenty miles up the Prairie D'An-Camden Road on White Oak Creek. The party loaded the corn into wagons, and on April 18, Colonel James M. Williams started his return to Camden. Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke's and Brigadier General Samuel B. Maxey's Confederate forces arrived at Lee Plantation, about fifteen miles from Camden, where they engaged Williams. The Rebels eventually attacked Williams in the front and rear forcing him to retreat north into a marsh where his men regrouped and then fell back to Camden. The Union lost 198 wagons and all the corn.
April 19, 1864 - The Battle off Plymouth, North Carolina. The naval battle between the Federal ships U.S.S. Miami and U.S.S. Southfield and the Confederate C.S.S. Albemarle. The C.S.S. Albemarle, under Commander J. W. Cooke, sank the U.S.S. Southfield and forced the remainder of the Union squadron at Plymouth, North Carolina, to withdraw. Having gained control of the waterways in the area, the Confederates were able to capture Plymouth on next day.
April 22, 1864 - By an act of the U. S. Congress, the first United States coins were minted with the motto, "In God We Trust."
April 23, 1864 - The Battle of Monett's Ferry, Louisiana. (LA021) (Red River Campaign [March 11 - May 20, 1864]). Near the end of the Red River Expedition, Major General Nathaniel P. Banks's army evacuated Grand Ecore and retreated to Alexandria, pursued by Confederate forces. Banks's advance party, commanded by Brigadier General William H. Emory, encountered Brigadier General Hamilton P. Bee's cavalry division near Monett's Ferry (Cane River Crossing) on the morning of April 23. Bee determined to dispute Emory's crossing and placed his men so that natural features covered both his flanks. Reluctant to assault the Rebels in their strong position, Emory demonstrated in front of the Confederate lines, while two brigades went in search of another crossing. One brigade found a ford, crossed, and attacked the Rebels in their flank. Bee had to retreat. Banks's men laid pontoon bridges and, by the next day, they had all crossed the river. The Confederates at Monett's Ferry missed an opportunity to destroy or capture Banks's army.
April 25, 1864 - The Battle of Marks' Mills, Arkansas. (AR015) (Camden Expedition [April 1864]). A Union force escorted 240 wagons from Camden to Pine Bluff to pick up supplies and transport them back to Major General Fred Steele's army. At first the Union escort rebuffed Rebel attempts to halt them. Then the Confederates moved in on the Union rear and front, causing a rout. The Rebels captured most of the men and all of the supply wagons. Thus, Steele gave up all thoughts of uniting with Major General Nathaniel Banks on the Red River and realized that he had to save his army.
April 25, 1864 - Federal Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, USA, started a retreat to Alexandria, Louisiana. Low water in the Red River temporarily trapped Federal Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter's Federal gunboats.
April 27, 1864 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis sent Jacob Thompson, and a few days later Clement C. Clay, to Canada as special commissioners to coordinate secret operatons behind the Federal lines, seeking a possible peace or truce.
April 28, 1864 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis granted Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, CSA, supreme civil executive and military powers in the Trans-Mississippi Department.
April 30, 1864 - The Battle of Jenkins' Ferry, Arkansas. (AR016) (Camden Expedition [April 1864]). Major General Fred Steele's forces retreated from Camden after being mauled at Marks' Mills and Poison Spring. On the afternoon of April 29, the Union forces reached Jenkins' Ferry and began crossing the Saline River, which was swollen by heavy rain. Rebel forces arrived on the 30th and attacked repeatedly. The Federals repulsed the attacks and finally crossed with all their men and supply wagons, many of which they were compelled to abandon in the swamp north of Saline. The Confederates bungled a good chance to destroy Steele's army, which after crossing the river, regrouped at Little Rock.
April 30, 1864 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis' son, Joseph, age 5, fell out of a second floor window at the Confederate White House, Richmond, Virginia, and died.
May 1-8, 1864 - The Battle of Alexandria, Virginia.
May 3, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln and his Cabinet discussed the alledged massacre of surrendered, unarmed Federal troops, many of them black volunteers, by Confederate Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest, CSA, and his cavalry command, at Fort Pillow, Tennessee, on April 12, 1864.
May 4, 1864 - Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, ordered Federal Major General George G. Meade, USA, to move his Federal Army of the Potomac across the Rapidan River, advancing on Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's flank toward Richmond, Virginia, as Lee advances up from Orange Court House, Virginia.
The beginning of a massive, coordinated campaign involving all the Union Armies. In Virginia, Grant with an Army of 120,000 began advancing toward Richmond to engage Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, now numbering 64,000, beginning a war of attrition that will include major battles at The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor.
Operations on the south side of the James River, Virginia, as Federal Major General Benjamin F. Butler, USA, and the Federal Army of the James, started out on transports and landed at City Point, Virginia, where they prepared to attack Richmond, Virginia, from the south.
May 5, 1864 - The Battle of Albemarle Sound, North Carolina. (NC013) (Operations Against Plymouth [April-May 1864]). On May 5, C.S.S. Albemarle fought seven blockading Union ships to a draw at the mouth of the Roanoke River. Federals recaptured the converted steamer Bombshell. U.S.S. Sassacus was badly damaged.
May 5, 1864 - Federal Major General Benjamin F. Butler, USA, and the Federal Army of the James, left Fort Monroe, Virginia, to attack Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia.
May 5-7, 1864 - The Battle of the Wilderness, Virginia. (VA046) (Grant's Overland Campaign [May-June 1864]). The opening battle of Grant's sustained offensive against the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, known as the Overland Campaign, was fought at the Wilderness, May 5-7. On the morning of May 5, 1864, the Union V Corps attacked Ewell's Corps on the Orange Turnpike, while A. P. Hill's corps during the afternoon encountered Getty's Division (VI Corps) and Hancock's II Corps on the Plank Road. Fighting was fierce but inconclusive as both sides attempted to maneuver in the dense woods. Darkness halted the fighting, and both sides rushed forward reinforcements. At dawn May 6, Hancock attacked along the Plank Road, driving Hill's Corps back in confusion. Longstreet's Corps arrived in time to prevent the collapse of the Confederate right flank. At noon, a devastating Confederate flank attack in Hamilton's Thicket sputtered out when Lieutenant General James Longstreet was wounded by his own men. The IX Corps (Burnside) moved against the Confederate center, but was repulsed. Union Generals James S. Wadsworth and Alexander Hays were killed. Confederate Generals John M. Jones, Micah Jenkins, and Leroy A. Stafford were killed. The battle was a tactical draw. Grant, however, did not retreat as had the other Union generals before him. On May 7, the Federals advanced by the left flank toward the crossroads of Spotsylvania Courthouse.
May 5-9, 1864 - The Battle of Todd's Tavern, Virginia.
May 6, 1864 - A Confederate torpedo destroyed the Federal U.S.S. Commodore Jones in the James River, Virginia, one of several losses the Union suffered from torpedoes during the year.
May 6-7, 1864 - The Battle of Port Walthall Junction, Virginia. (VA047) (Bermuda Hundred Campaign [May 1864]). In conjunction with the opening of Grant's Overland Campaign, Major General Benjamin Butler's Army of the James, 33,000 strong, disembarked from transports at Bermuda Hundred on May 5, threatening the Richmond-Petersburg Railroad. On June 6, Hagood's brigade stopped initial Federal probes at Port Walthall Junction. On May 7, a Union division drove Hagood's and Johnson's brigades from the depot and cut the railroad at Port Walthall Junction. Confederate defenders retired behind Swift Run Creek and awaited reinforcements.
May 7, 1864 - Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, resumed his offensive despite his defeat in The Wilderness, racing Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, to Spotsylvania Court House.
May 7, 1864 - Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, started his famous Atlanta Campaign against Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee.
May 8-11, 1864 - The Battle of Rocky Face Ridge, Georgia. (GA007) (Atlanta Campaign [May 7 - September 2, 1864]). General Joseph E. Johnston had entrenched his army on the long, high mountain of Rocky Face Ridge, eastward and across Crow Creek Valley. As Major General William T. Sherman approached, he decided to demonstrate against the position with two columns while he sent a third one through Snake Creek Gap, to the right, to hit the Western & Atlantic Railroad at Resaca. The two columns engaged the enemy at Buzzard Roost (Mill Creek Gap) and at Dug Gap. In the meantime, the third column, under Major General James Birdseye McPherson, passed through Snake Creek Gap and on the 9th advanced to the outskirts of Resaca where it found Confederates entrenched. Fearing defeat, McPherson pulled his column back to Snake Creek Gap. On the 10th, Sherman decided to take most of his men and join McPherson to take Resaca. The next morning, Sherman's army withdrew from in front of Rocky Face Ridge. Discovering Sherman's movement, Johnston retired south towards Resaca on the 12th.
May 8-21, 1864 - The Battle at Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia. (VA048) (Grant's Overland Campaign [May-June 1864]). After the Wilderness, Grant's and Meade's advance on Richmond by the left flank was stalled at Spotsylvania Courthouse on May 8. This two-week battle was a series of combats along the Spotsylvania front. The Union attack against the Bloody Angle at dawn, May 12-13, captured nearly a division of Lee's army and came near to cutting the Confederate army in half. Confederate counterattacks plugged the gap, and fighting continued unabated for nearly 20 hours in what may well have been the most ferociously sustained combat of the Civil War. On May 19, a Confederate attempt to turn the Union right flank at Harris Farm was beaten back with severe casualties. Union Generals Sedgwick (VI Corps commander) and Rice were killed. Confederate Generals Johnson and Steuart were captured, Daniel and Perrin mortally wounded. On May 21, Grant disengaged and continued his advance on Richmond.
To Spotsylvania Court House Battlefield
May 9, 1864 - The Battle of Cloyd's Mountain, Virginia. (VA049) (Crook-Averell Raid on the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad [May 1864]). On May 9, Crook's three brigades (6,100 men) on a raid into southwestern Virginia encountered a patchwork Confederate force under Brigadier General Albert Jenkins at Cloyd's Mountain. Fighting was furious and hand-to-hand. Casualties were heavy for the size of the forces engaged: Union 10%, Confederate 23%. Jenkins was mortally wounded. Crook afterwards joined forces with Averell, who had burned the New River Bridge, and the united column withdrew to Meadow Bluff after destroying several important railroad bridges.
May 9, 1864 - The Battle of Swift Creek, Virginia. (VA050) (Bermuda Hundred Campaign [May 1864]). On May 9, Major General Benjamin Butler made a thrust toward Petersburg and was met by Bushrod Johnson's Division at Swift Creek. A premature Confederate attack at Arrowfield Church was driven back with heavy losses, but Union forces did not follow up. After skirmishing, Butler seemed content to tear up the railroad tracks and did not press the defenders. In conjunction with the advance to Swift Creek, five Federal gunboats steamed up the Appomattox River to bombard Fort Clifton, while Hincks's U.S. Colored Troops infantry division struggled through marshy ground from the land side. The gunboats were quickly driven off, and the infantry attack was abandoned.
May 9, 1864 - Federal Major General Philip H. Sheridan, USA, launched a large Federal cavalry raid on Richmond, Virginia.
May 9, 1864 - A skirmish occured at Ware Bottom Church, Virginia.
May 9, 1864 - At Alexandria, Louisiana, Federal engineers constructed coffer dams to save a beached Federal river fleet.
May 9, 1864 - Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, failed to breach Confederate positions at Snake Creek Gap, Georgia, thereby failing to trap Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee.
May 10, 1864 - The Battle of Cove Mountain, Virginia. (VA109) (Crook-Averell Raid on the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad [May 1864]). On May 10, Brigadier General W. W. Averell's raiders encountered a brigade under William "Grumble" Jones near Cove Mountain. After delaying the Union advance, the Confederates withdrew. The next day, Averell reached the New River Bridge on the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad, which he burned.
May 10, 1864 - The Battle of Chester Station, Virginia. (VA051) (Bermuda Hundred Campaign [May 1864]). On May 10, elements of Major General Robert Ransom's division conducted a reconnaissance-in-force against a portion of Butler's army that was destroying the railroad at Chester Station. The Confederates attacked near the Winfree House, and the Federals retired to their Bermuda Hundred lines.
May 11, 1864 - The Battle of Yellow Tavern, Virginia. (VA052) (Grant's Overland Campaign [May-June 1864]). As the battle between Grant and Lee raged at Spotsylvania Court House, the Union cavalry corps under Major General Philip Sheridan embarked on a cavalry raid against Richmond. After disrupting Lee's road and rail communications, Sheridan's cavalry expedition climaxed with the battle of Yellow Tavern on May 11. The outnumbered Confederate cavalry was defeated, and Major General J. E. B. Stuart was mortally wounded. Sheridan continued south to threaten the Richmond defenses before joining Butler's command at Bermuda Hundred. After refitting, Sheridan rejoined the Army of the Potomac for the march to the southeast and the crossing of the Pamunkey on May 25.
May 12, 1864 - Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee retreated from Dalton, Georgia, to excape potential encirclement by Federal Major General William T. Sherman's forces.
May 12-16, 1864 - The Battle of Proctor's Creek, Virginia. (VA053) (Bermuda Hundred Campaign [May 1864]). After his repulse at Swift Creek and Fort Clifton on May 9, Major General Benjamin Butler withdrew into his entrenchments at Bermuda Hundred. A Confederate army of 18,000 was patched together under command of General P. G. T. Beauregard to confront Butler's 30,000. On May 12, Butler moved north against the Confederate line at Drewry's Bluff but again adopted a defensive posture when his attack was not supported by gunboats. On the 13th a Union column struck the right flank of the Confederate line at the Wooldridge House, carrying a line of works. Butler remained cautious, however, giving Beauregard time to concentrate his forces. On May 16 at dawn, Ransom's Confederate division opened an attack on Butler's right flank, routing many units. Subsequent attacks lost direction in the fog, but the Federals were disorganized and demoralized. After severe fighting, Butler extricated himself from battle, withdrawing again to his Bermuda Hundred Line. This battle stopped Butler's offensive against Richmond.
May 13, 1864 - The last of Federal Rear Admiral David D. Porter's flotilla, after being trapped by low water, dash through the hurriedly constructed Red River dams to safety below the Alexandria, Louisiana, rapids.
May 13, 1864 - Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, moved his Federal command, once again, to the south and east of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. As he did so, the massive casualty lists for both sides continued to grow.
May 13-15, 1864 - The Battle of Resaca, Georgia. (GA008) (Atlanta Campaign [May 7 - September 2, 1864]). General Joseph E. Johnston had withdrawn from Rocky Face Ridge to the hills around Resaca. On the 13th, the Union troops tested the Rebel lines to pinpoint their whereabouts. The next day full scale fighting occurred, and the Union troops were generally repulsed except on the Rebel right flank where Sherman did not fully exploit his advantage. On the 15th, the battle continued with no advantage to either side until Sherman sent a force across the Oostanula River, at Lay's Ferry, towards Johnston's railroad supply line. Unable to halt this Union movement, Johnston was forced to retire.
May 15, 1864 - The Battle of New Market, Virginia. (VA110) (Lynchburg Campaign [May-June 1864]). In conjunction with his Spring offensive, Lieutenant General U. S. Grant ordered Major General Franz Sigel to move up the Shenandoah Valley along the Valley Pike with 10,000 men to destroy the railroad and canal complex at Lynchburg. At New Market on the 15th, Sigel was attacked by a makeshift Confederate army of about 4,100 men commanded by Major General John C. Breckinridge. At a crucial point, a key Union battery was withdrawn from the line to replenish its ammunition, leaving a weakness that Breckinridge was quick to exploit. He ordered his entire force forward, and Sigel's stubborn defense collapsed. Threatened by the Confederate cavalry on his left flank and rear, Sigel ordered a general withdrawal burning the North Fork bridge behind him. Sigel retreated down the Valley to Strasburg and was soon replaced by Major General David Hunter.
May 16, 1864 - The Battle of Mansura, Louisiana. (LA022) (Red River Campaign [March 11 - May 20, 1864]). As Major General Nathaniel P. Banks's Red River Expeditionary Force retreated down Red River, Confederate forces under Major General Richard Taylor attempted to slow the Union troops' movements and, if possible, deplete their numbers or, better yet, destroy them. The Union forces passed Fort DeRussy, reached Marksville, and then continued east. At Mansura, Taylor massed his forces in an open prairie that controlled access to the three roads traversing the area, where he hoped his artillery could cause many casualties. Early on the morning of May 16, the Union forces approached, and skirmishing quickly ensued. After a four-hour fight (principally an artillery duel), a large Union force massed for an attack, inducing the Rebels to fall back. The Union troops followed. Taylor's force could harass the enemy's retrograde but was unable to halt it.
May 16, 1864 - Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, CSA, drived Federal Major General Benjamin Butler, USA, from Drewry's Bluff, Virginia, back into the defenses around Bermuda Hundred, Virginia.
May 17, 1864 - The Battle of Adairsville, Georgia. (GA009) (Atlanta Campaign [May 7 - September 2, 1864]). Following the Battle of Resaca, May 13-15, General Joseph E. Johnston's army retreated southward while Sherman pursued. Failing to find a good defensive position south of Calhoun, Johnston continued to Adairsville while the Rebel cavalry fought a skillful rearguard action. On the 17th, skirmish fire continued throughout the day and into the early evening. Major General O. O. Howard's IV Corps ran into entrenched infantry of Lieutenant General William J. Hardee's corps, while advancing, about two miles north of Adairsville. The 44th Illinois and 24th Wisconsin (under the command of Major Arthur MacArthur, father of Douglas) attacked Cheatham's Division at Robert Saxon (the Octagon House) and incurred heavy losses. Three Union divisions prepared for battle, but Major General George H. Thomas halted them due to the approach of darkness. Sherman then concentrated his men in the Adairsville area to attack Johnston the next day. Johnston had originally expected to find a valley at Adairsville of suitable width to deploy his men and anchor his line with the flanks on hills. The valley, however, was too wide, so Johnston disengaged and withdrew.
May 17, 1864 - Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, continued his effort to flank Confederate General Robert E. Lee's forces at Spotsylvania Court House.
May 18, 1864 - The Battle of Yellow Bayou, Louisiana. (LA023) (Red River Campaign [March 11 - May 20, 1864]). Major General Nathaniel P. Banks during his retreat in the Red River Campaign, following the battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill, reached the Atchafalaya River on May 17. Once on the other side of the river he would be shielded from the continuous Confederate harassment. But, he had to wait to cross the river until the army engineers constructed a bridge. On the 18th, Banks learned that Major General Richard Taylor's force was near Yellow Bayou so he ordered Brigadier General A. J. Smith to stop them. Since Smith could not comply himself, he ordered Brigadier General Joseph A. Mower to meet Taylor. The Yankees attacked and drove the Rebels to their main line. The Confederates counterattacked, forcing the Federals to give ground. The Union force finally repulsed the Confederates. This see-saw action continued for several hours until the ground cover caught fire forcing both sides to retire. On May 20, Yellow Bayou was the last battle of Banks's ill-fated Red River Expedition, and it insured that the Federals would escape as an army to fight again.
May 18, 1864 - Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, CSA, bottled up the Federal Major General Benjamin Butler's army at Bermuda Hundred, Virginia.
May 18, 1864 - At Cassville, Georgia, Confederate Lieutenant General John B. Hood, CSA, botched Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's attack against Federal Major General William T. Sherman's forces.
May 19, 1864 - The Confederate counterattack under Confederate Major General Richard S. Ewell, CSA, at Spotsylvania Court House failed.
May 19, 1864 - Confederate General Joseph Johnston, CSA, was flanked out of his Cassville, Georgia, defensive line.
May 19, 1864 - Federal forces crossed the Atchafalaya River, near Simpson, Louisiana, ending the failed Red River Campaign under Federal Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, USA.
May 20, 1864 - The Battle of Ware Bottom Church, Virginia. (VA054) (Bermuda Hundred Campaign [May 1864]). On May 20, Confederate forces under General P. G. T. Beauregard attacked Butler's Bermuda Hundred line near Ware Bottom Church. About 10,000 troops were involved in this action. After driving back Butler's advanced pickets, the Confederates constructed the Howlett Line, effectively bottling up the Federals at Bermuda Hundred. Confederate victories at Proctor's Creek and Ware Bottom Church enabled Beauregard to detach strong reinforcements for Lee's army in time for the fighting at Cold Harbor.
May 20, 1864 - U. S. President Jefferson Davis ordered the Federal Army and Navy not to interfere with trade with the Confederacy that was being conducted according to U. S. Treasury Department guidelines.
May 20, 1864 - Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, left his Spotsylvania Court House lines in an attemp to flank Confederate General Robert E. Lee's forces. He ordered Federal Major General George G. Meade, USA, and his Federal Army of the Potomac, to cross the Mattaponi River and slide to the south along Lee's lines towards Richmond, Virginia.
May 20, 1864 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, moved his Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to a position in front of the Federal Army of the Potomac.
May 21, 1864 - Unionist, loyal, U. S. senators and representatives from the state of Arkansas presented their credentials to the U. S. Congress.
May 23-26, 1864 - The Battle of North Anna River, Virginia. (VA055) (Grant's Overland Campaign [May-June 1864]). After the fighting at Spotsylvania Court House, Grant continued his Overland Offensive against Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. He was brought up short on the North Anna River by Lee's widely studied "hog snout line," which forced Grant to divide his army into three parts in order to attack. On May 23, 1864, one of A. P. Hill's divisions assaulted the V Corps which had crossed the river at Jericho Mill, resulting in bloody see-saw fighting. On the 24th, Union infantry was repulsed at Ox Ford ("the snout") but advanced to near the Doswell House on the Confederate right. Lee hoped to strike an offensive blow, but he was ill, and the opportunity for defeating an isolated part of the Federal army passed. Once the threat of Lee's position was revealed, Grant withdrew both wings of the army back across the North Anna River. Grant outflanked the position by moving downstream and continued his advance on Richmond.
To North Anna River Battlefield
May 24, 1864 - The Battle of Wilson's Wharf, Virginia. (VA056) (Grant's Overland Campaign [May-June 1864]). On May 24, Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry division (about 3,000 men) attacked the Union supply depot at Wilson's Wharf and was repulsed by two black regiments under Brigadier General Edward Wild (about 1,800 men).
May 24, 1864 - Federal Major General Philip H. Sheridan's Federal cavalry rejoined Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's forces along the North Anna River.
May 24, 1864 - Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, advanced toward Dalton, Georgia, after flanking Confederate General Joseph Johnston, CSA, out of his Allatoona Pass, Georgia, defenses.
May 25-29, 1864 - The Battle of New Hope Church, Georgia. (GA010) (Atlanta Campaign [May 7 - September 2, 1864]). After Johnston retreated to Allatoona Pass on May 19-20, Sherman decided that he would most likely, pay dearly for attacking Johnston there, so he determined to move around Johnston's left flank and steal a march toward Dallas. Johnston anticipated Sherman's move and met the Union forces at New Hope Church. Sherman mistakenly surmised that Johnston had a token force and ordered Major General Joseph Hooker's corps to attack. This corps was severely mauled. On the 26th, both sides entrenched, and skirmishing continued throughout the day. Actions the next day in this area were discussed under Pickett's Mill.
To New Hope Church Battlefield
May 26, 1864 - The Federal Montana Territory was created, from land previously part of the Federal Dakota Territory.
May 26, 1864 - Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, continued to slide his Federal Army of the Potomac along the right of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's front, moving towards Hanovertown, Virginia.
May 26 - June 1, 1864 - The Battle of Dallas, Georgia. (GA011) (Atlanta Campaign [May 7 - September 2, 1864]). Johnston's army fell back from the vicinity of Cassville-Kinston, first to Allatoona Pass and then to the Dallas area and entrenched. Sherman's army tested the Rebel line while entrenching themselves. The Battle of Dallas occurred on May 28 when Lieutenant General William J. Hardee's corps probed the Union defensive line, held by Major General John A. Logan's Army of the Tennessee corps, to exploit any weakness or possible withdrawal. Fighting ensued at two different points, but the Rebels were repulsed, suffering high casualties. Sherman continued looking for a way around Johnston's line, and, on June 1, his cavalry occupied Allatoona Pass, which had a railroad and would allow his men and supplies to reach him by train. Sherman abandoned his lines at Dallas on June 5 and moved toward the railhead at Allatoona Pass forcing Johnston to follow soon afterwards.
May 27, 1864 - The Battle of Pickett's Mills, Georgia. (GA012) (Atlanta Campaign [May 7 - September 2, 1864]). After the Union defeat at New Hope Church, Major General William T. Sherman ordered Major General O. O. Howard to attack General Joseph E. Johnston's seemingly exposed right flank. The Confederates were ready for the attack, which did not unfold as planned because supporting troops never appeared. The Rebels repulsed the attack causing high casualties.
May 28, 1864 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, and his Confederate Army of Northern Virginia arrived from the North Anna River to the area north of the Chickahominy River and Mechanicsville, near Cold Harbor, Virginia, in advance of Grant's crossing of the Pamunkey River near Hanovertown, Virginia.
May 28, 1864 - The Battle of Haw's Shop, or Enon Church, Virginia. (VA058) (Grant's Overland Campaign [May-June 1864]). Gregg's cavalry division, supported by Torbert's division, advanced to cover the Army of the Potomac's crossing of the Pamunkey River and movement toward Totopotomoy Creek. Fitzhugh Lee's and Hampton's cavalry divisions, later reinforced by Butler's South Carolina brigade, met the Federals at Enon Church. After seven hours of mostly dismounted cavalry fighting, the Federal advance was stopped. Both Confederate and Union infantry began arriving in the vicinity as the cavalry fighting raged.
May 28-30, 1864 - The Battle of Totopotomy Creek/Bethesda Church, Virginia. (VA057) (Grant's Overland Campaign [May-June 1864]). Operations along Totopotomoy Creek opened with cavalry combats at the Pamunkey River crossing at Dabney's Ferry (Hanovertown) and at Crump's Creek on May 27. During the cavalry fight at Haw's Shop on May 28, Union and Confederate infantry arrived in the vicinity. The Confederates entrenched behind Totopotomoy Creek. On the 29th, the Union II, IX, and V Corps probed Lee's position along the creek, while the VI Corps felt its way toward Hanover Court House. Early on the 30th, the VI Corps turned south to come in on the far right flank of the Union line (II Corps) but bogged down in swampy Crump's Creek without getting into position. The II Corps forced a crossing of Totopotomoy Creek in two places, capturing the first line of Confederate trenches, but the advance was stopped at the main line. The IX Corps maneuvered into position on the left of the II Corps, driving back Confederate pickets on the Shady Grove Road. In the meantime, the V Corps, moving near Bethesda Church on the far left flank of the Union army, was attacked by Early's corps. The Federals were driven back to Shady Grove Road after heavy fighting. Confederate Brigadier General George Doles was killed by a sharpshooter near Bethesda Church on June 2.
May 30, 1864 - The Battle of Old Church, Virginia. (VA059) (Grant's Overland Campaign [May-June 1864]). With the armies stalemated along the Totopotomoy Creek line, the Federal cavalry began probing east and south. On May 30, Torbert's Division attacked and defeated Hampton's Division near Old Church. Hampton's troopers were driven steadily back on the road to Old Cold Harbor, opening the door for Sheridan's capture of the important crossroads the next day.
May 30, 1864 - Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, and the Federal Army of the Potomac, arrived along the Totopotomoy River, Virginia, only 10 miles outside Richmond, Virginia, but was blocked by the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.
May 31, 1864 - Dissatisfied over U. S. President Abraham Lincoln's policies, a group of Radical Republicans met in Clevelend, Ohio, and nominated Federal Major General John Charles Frémont, USA, for President and Federal Brigadier General John Cochrane, USA, for Vice-President in the upcoming elections.
May 31 - June 12, 1864 - The Battle of Cold Harbor II, Virginia. (VA062) (Grant's Overland Campaign [May-June 1864]). On May 31, Sheridan's cavalry seized the vital crossroads of Old Cold Harbor. Relying heavily on their new repeating carbines and shallow entrenchments, Sheridan's troopers threw back several attacks by Confederate cavalry. Both sides dug in during the night. Confederate reinforcements arrived from Richmond and from the Totopotomoy Creek lines. On June 1, the Union VI and XVIII Corps reached Cold Harbor and assaulted the Confederate works with some success. By June 2, both armies were on the field, forming on a five-mile front that extended from Bethesda Church to the Chickahominy River. At dawn June 3, the II, VI, and XVIII Corps assaulted along the Bethesda Church-Cold Harbor line and were slaughtered at all points. Grant commented in his memoirs that this was the only attack he wished he had never ordered. The armies confronted each other on these lines until night of June 12, when Grant again advanced by his left flank, marching to James River at Windmill Point. On June 14, the II Corps was ferried across the river at Wilcox's Landing by transports. On June 15, the rest of the army began crossing on a 2,200-foot long pontoon bridge. Abandoning the well-defended approaches to Richmond, Grant sought to shift his army quickly south of the river to threaten Petersburg.
June 3, 1864 - The U. S. Congress passed a National Banking Act, which provided for a national currency.
June 4, 1864 - Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, moved to check Federal Major General William T. Sherman's advance at Lost Mountain, Pine Mountain, and Brush Mountain, Georgia.
June 5, 1864 - The Battle of Piedmont, Virginia. (VA111) (Lynchburg Campaign [May-June 1864]). After replacing Sigel in command of Union forces in the Shenandoah Valley, Major General David "Black Dave" Hunter renewed the Union offensive. On June 5, Hunter engaged the Confederate army under "Grumble" Jones north of Piedmont. After severe fighting, a flanking movement made by Thoburn's brigade turned Jones's right flank. While trying to stem the retreat of his soldiers, Jones was killed. The retreat became a rout. More than 1,000 Confederates, including 60 officers, were captured. Jones lost three guns. Hunter occupied Staunton on June 6 and, after a pause to await the arrival of Brigadier General George Crook's column, began to advance on Lynchburg, destroying military stores and public property in his wake.
June 6, 1864 - The Battle of Old River Lake, or Lake Village, Arkansas. (AR017) (Expedition to Lake Village [June 1864]). Major General A. J. Smith ordered Brigadier General Joseph A. Mower to demonstrate against Lake Village. Mower camped near Sunnyside Landing on the evening of June 5 and took up his line of march again the next morning. The skirmishing Confederates fell back to Red Leaf where Colonel Colton Greene and his men were encamped. As the Federals advanced, Greene's men, assisted by artillery, fought a delaying action at Ditch Bayou and then withdrew to Parker's landing on Bayou Mason. The Union troops advanced to Lake Village, camped there overnight, and the next day rejoined the flotilla on the Mississippi River at Columbia. The Rebels delayed the Union advance but, eventually, allowed them to continue to their objective: Lake Village.
June 7-9, 1864 - The Republican (Union) Party convention met in Baltimore, Maryland, and nominated Republican Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, a War Democrat and the Military Governor of Tennessee, as their ticket, slighting the incumbent Vice-President, Hannibal Hamlin.
June 9, 1864 - The Battle of Petersburg I, Virginia. (VA098) (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign [June-December 1864]). On June 9, Major General Benjamin Butler dispatched about 4,500 cavalry and infantry against the 2,500 Confederate defenders of Petersburg. While Butler's infantry demonstrated against the outer line of entrenchments east of Petersburg, Kautz's cavalry division attempted to enter the city from the south via the Jerusalem Plank Road but was repulsed by Home Guards. Afterwards, Butler withdrew. This was called the "battle of old men and young boys" by local residents. On June 14-17, the Army of the Potomac crossed the James River and began moving towards Petersburg to support and renew Butler's assaults.
June 9 - July 3, 1864 - The Battle of Pine Mountain Georgia. (The Marietta Operations) (GA013) (Atlanta Campaign [May 7 - September 2, 1864]). During the Atlanta Campaign, Sherman maneuvered Johnston's Confederate army out of several successive defensive positions in Cobb County. This strategy spared the Union army from making costly frontal attacks on the well-situated Confederates. Sherman first found Johnston's army entrenched in the Marietta area on June 9. The Confederate's had established defensive lines along Brushy, Pine, and Lost Mountains. Sherman extended his forces beyond the Confederate lines, causing a partial Rebel withdrawal to another line of positions. After further pressure and skirmishing from Union forces, Johnston withdrew to an arc-shaped position centered on Kennesaw Mountain on June 18 and 19. Sherman made some unsuccessful attacks on this position but eventually extended the line on his right and forced Johnston to withdrawal from the Marietta area on July 2-3.
June 9 - July 3, 1864 - The Battle of Gilgal Church Georgia. (The Marietta Operations) (GA013) (Atlanta Campaign [May 7 - September 2, 1864]). During the Atlanta Campaign, Sherman maneuvered Johnston's Confederate army out of several successive defensive positions in Cobb County. This strategy spared the Union army from making costly frontal attacks on the well-situated Confederates. Sherman first found Johnston's army entrenched in the Marietta area on June 9. The Confederate's had established defensive lines along Brushy, Pine, and Lost Mountains. Sherman extended his forces beyond the Confederate lines, causing a partial Rebel withdrawal to another line of positions. After further pressure and skirmishing from Union forces, Johnston withdrew to an arc-shaped position centered on Kennesaw Mountain on June 18 and 19. Sherman made some unsuccessful attacks on this position but eventually extended the line on his right and forced Johnston to withdrawal from the Marietta area on July 2-3.
June 9 - July 3, 1864 - The Battle of Noonday Creek, Georgia. (The Marietta Operations) (GA013) (Atlanta Campaign [May 7 - September 2, 1864]). During the Atlanta Campaign, Sherman maneuvered Johnston's Confederate army out of several successive defensive positions in Cobb County. This strategy spared the Union army from making costly frontal attacks on the well-situated Confederates. Sherman first found Johnston's army entrenched in the Marietta area on June 9. The Confederate's had established defensive lines along Brushy, Pine, and Lost Mountains. Sherman extended his forces beyond the Confederate lines, causing a partial Rebel withdrawal to another line of positions. After further pressure and skirmishing from Union forces, Johnston withdrew to an arc-shaped position centered on Kennesaw Mountain on June 18 and 19. Sherman made some unsuccessful attacks on this position but eventually extended the line on his right and forced Johnston to withdrawal from the Marietta area on July 2-3.
June 9 - July 3, 1864 - The Battle of Ruff's Mill, Georgia. (The Marietta Operations) (GA013) (Atlanta Campaign [May 7 - September 2, 1864]). During the Atlanta Campaign, Sherman maneuvered Johnston's Confederate army out of several successive defensive positions in Cobb County. This strategy spared the Union army from making costly frontal attacks on the well-situated Confederates. Sherman first found Johnston's army entrenched in the Marietta area on June 9. The Confederate's had established defensive lines along Brushy, Pine, and Lost Mountains. Sherman extended his forces beyond the Confederate lines, causing a partial Rebel withdrawal to another line of positions. After further pressure and skirmishing from Union forces, Johnston withdrew to an arc-shaped position centered on Kennesaw Mountain on June 18 and 19. Sherman made some unsuccessful attacks on this position but eventually extended the line on his right and forced Johnston to withdrawal from the Marietta area on July 2-3.
June 10, 1864 - The Battle of Brice's Crossroads, Mississippi. (MS014) (Forrest's Defense of Mississippi [June-August 1864]). At the beginning of June 1864, Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest set out with his cavalry corps of about 2,000 men to enter Middle Tennessee and destroy the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad, which was carrying men and supplies to Major General William T. Sherman in Georgia. On June 10, 1864, Forrest's smaller Confederate force defeated a much larger Union column under Brigadier General Samuel Sturgis at Brices Cross Roads. This brilliant tactical victory against long odds cemented Forrest's reputation as one of the foremost mounted infantry leaders of the war.
To Brice's Crossroads Battlefield
June 10, 1864 - The Confederate Congress passed the Third Conscription Act, which authorized military service for men between seventeen and eighteen years of age, and between forty-five and fifty years of age.
June 11, 1864 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, dispatched Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early, CSA, to the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, to assist Confederate Major General John C. Breckinridge, CSA, in dealing with the presence of Federal Major General David Hunter, USA, in the valley.
June 11-12, 1864 - The Battle of Trevilian Station, Virginia. (VA099) (Grant's Overland Campaign [May-June 1864]). To draw off the Confederate cavalry and open the door for a general movement to the James River, Major General Philip Sheridan mounted a large-scale cavalry raid into Louisa County, threatening to cut the Virginia Central Railroad. On June 11, Sheridan with the Gregg's and Torbert's divisions attacked Hampton's and Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry divisions at Trevilian Station. Sheridan drove a wedge between the Confederate divisions, throwing them into confusion. On the 12th, fortunes were reversed. Hampton and Lee dismounted their troopers and drew a defensive line across the railroad and the road to Gordonsville. From this advantageous position, they beat back several determined dismounted assaults. Sheridan withdrew after destroying about six miles of the Virginia Central Railroad. Confederate victory at Trevilian prevented Sheridan from reaching Charlottesville and cooperating with Hunter's army in the Valley. This was one of the bloodiest cavalry battles of the war.
To Trevilian Station Battlefield
June 11-12, 1864 - The Battle of Cynthiana, Kentucky. (KY011) (Morgan's Raid into Kentucky [June 1864]). Brigadier General Morgan approached Cynthiana with 1,200 men, on June 11, 1864, at dawn. Colonel Conrad Garis, with the 168th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry and some home guard troops, about 300 men altogether, constituted the Union forces at Cynthiana. Morgan divided his men into three columns, surrounded the town and launched an attack at the covered bridge, driving the Union forces back towards the depot and north along the railroad. The Rebels set fire to the town, destroying many buildings and some of the Union troops. As the fighting flared in Cynthiana, another Union force, about 750 men of the 171st Ohio National Guard under the command of Brigadier General Edward Hobson, arrived by train about a mile north of the Cynthiana at Kellar's Bridge. Morgan trapped this new Union force in a meander of the Licking River. After some fighting, Morgan forced Hobson to surrender. Altogether, Morgan had about 1,300 Union prisoners of war camping with him overnight in line of battle. Brigadier General Stephen Gano Burbridge with 2,400 men, a combined force of Ohio, Kentucky, and Michigan mounted infantry and cavalry, attacked Morgan at dawn on June 12. The Union forces drove the Rebels back, causing them to flee into town where many were captured or killed. Morgan escaped. Cynthiana demonstrated that Union numbers and mobility were starting to take their toll; Confederate cavalry and partisans could no longer raid with impunity.
June 14, 1864 - Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, having moved the Federal Army of the Potomac across the Peninsula, began to cross the James River to its south bank in order to attack Petersburg, Virginia.
June 14, 1864 - Confederate Lieutenant General Leonidas Polk, CSA, was killed during the Battle of Pine Mountain, near Marietta, Georgia.
June 15-18, 1864 - The Battle of Petersburg II, Virginia. (VA063) (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign [June-December 1864]). Marching from Cold Harbor, Meade's Army of the Potomac crossed the James River on transports and a 2,200-foot long pontoon bridge at Windmill Point. Butler's leading elements (XVIII Corps and Kautz's cavalry) crossed the Appomattox River at Broadway Point and attacked the Petersburg defenses on June 15. The 5,400 defenders of Petersburg under command of General P. G. T. Beauregard were driven from their first line of entrenchments back to Harrison Creek. After dark the XVIII Corps was relieved by the II Corps. On June 16, the II Corps captured another section of the Confederate line; on the 17th, the IX Corps gained more ground. Beauregard stripped the Howlett Line (Bermuda Hundred) to defend the city, and Lee rushed reinforcements to Petersburg from the Army of Northern Virginia. The II, XI, and V Corps from right to left attacked on June 18 but was repulsed with heavy casualties. By now the Confederate works were heavily manned and the greatest opportunity to capture Petersburg without a siege was lost. The siege of Petersburg began. Union General James St. Clair Morton, chief engineer of the IX Corps, was killed on June 17.
June 17-18, 1864 - The Battle of Lynchburg, Virginia. (VA064) (Lynchburg Campaign [May-June 1864]). From Lexington, Major General David Hunter advanced against the Confederate rail and canal depots and the hospital complex at Lynchburg. Reaching the outskirts of town on June 17, his first tentative attacks were thwarted by the timely arrival by rail of Lieutenant General Jubal A. Early's II Corps vanguard from Charlottesville. Hunter withdrew the next day after sporadic fighting because of a critical shortage of supplies. His line of retreat through West Virginia took his army out of the war for nearly a month and opened the Shenandoah Valley for a Confederate advance into Maryland.
June 19, 1864 - Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, withdrew from Pine Mountain, Georgia, to Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia.
June 19, 1864 - The Battle off Cherbourg, France. The naval battle between the Federal U.S.S. Kearsarge and the Confederate C.S.S. Alabama. The U.S.S. Kearsarge, commanded by J. A. Winslow, sank the C.S.S. Alabama, commanded by Captain Raphael Semmes, off Cherbourg, France, ending the career of the South's most famous commerce raider.
June 21, 1864 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis reluctantly accepted the resignation of Confederate Secretary of the Treasury, Christopher G. Memminger, due to severe criticism of his handling of the Confederate Treasury.
June 21, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln toured the Petersburg, Virginia, siege lines on horseback with Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, while both sides continued to entrench.
June 21-24, 1864 - The Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road, Virginia. (VA065) (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign [June-December 1864]). On June 21, the Union II Corps, supported by the VI Corps, attempted to cut the Weldon Railroad, one of the major supply lines into Petersburg. The movement was preceded by Wilson's cavalry division which began destroying tracks. On June 23, troops from Lieutenant General A. P. Hill's corps led by Brigadier General William Mahone counterattacked, forcing the II Corps away from the railroad to positions on the Jerusalem Plank Road. Although the Federals were driven from their advanced positions, they were able to extend their siege lines farther to the west.
To Jerusalem Plank Road Battlefield
June 22, 1864 - The Battle of Kolb's Farm, Georgia. (GA014) (Atlanta Campaign [May 7 - September 2, 1864]). On the night of June 18-19, General Joseph E. Johnston, fearing envelopment, moved his army to a new, previously selected position astride Kennesaw Mountain, an entrenched arc-shaped line to the west of Marietta, to protect his supply line, the Western & Atlantic Railroad. Having encountered entrenched Rebels astride Kennesaw Mountain stretching southward, Sherman fixed them in front and extended his right wing to envelop their flank and menace the railroad. Joe Johnston countered by moving John B. Hood's corps from the left flank to the right on June 22. Arriving in his new position at Mt. Zion Church, Hood decided, on his own, to attack. Warned of Hood's intentions, Union Generals John Schofield and Joseph Hooker entrenched. Union artillery and swampy terrain thwarted Hood's attack and forced him to withdraw with costly casualties. Although the victor, Sherman's attempts at envelopment had momentarily failed.
June 23, 1864 - Confederate Major General Jubal A. Early, CSA, opened an offensive in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia.
June 23, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln returned to Washington, D. C., from his visit to Petersburg, Virginia.
June 24, 1864 - The Battle of Saint Mary's Church, Virginia. (VA066) (Grant's Overland Campaign [May-June 1864]). On June 24, Major General Wade Hampton's cavalry attempted to cut off Sheridan's cavalry returning from their raid to Trevilian Station. Sheridan fought a delaying action to protect a long supply train under his protection, then rejoined the Union army at Bermuda Hundred.
June 24, 1864 - The Maryland constitutional convention voted to abolish slavery.
June 25, 1864 - The Battle of Staunton River Bridge, Virginia. (VA113) (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign [June-December 1864]). On June 22, the cavalry divisions of Brigadier General James Wilson and Brigadier General August Kautz were dispatched from the Petersburg lines to disrupt Confederate rail communications. Riding via Dinwiddie Court House, the raiders cut the Southside Railroad near Ford's Station that evening, destroying tracks, railroad buildings, and two supply trains. On June 23, Kautz proceeded to the junction of the Richmond & Danville Railroad at Burke Station, where he encountered elements of William H.F. Lee's cavalry near Nottoway Court House at Blacks and Whites (modern-day Blackstone). Wilson followed Kautz along the Southside Railroad, destroying about thirty miles of track as he advanced. On June 24, while Kautz remained skirmishing around Burkeville, Wilson crossed over to Meherrin Station on the Richmond & Danville and began destroying track. On June 25, Wilson and Kautz continued tearing up track south to the Staunton River Bridge, where they were delayed by Home Guards, who prevented destruction of the bridge. Lee's cavalry division closed on the Federals from the northeast, forcing them to abandon their attempts to capture and destroy the bridge. By this time, the raiders were nearly 100 miles from Union lines.
June 25, 1864 - Federal troops began to dig a tunnel under the Confederate entrenched lines at Petersburg, Virginia.
June 27, 1864 - The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia. (GA015) (Atlanta Campaign [May 7 - September 2, 1864]). On the night of June 18-19, General Joseph E. Johnston, fearing envelopment, withdrew his army to a new, previously selected position astride Kennesaw Mountain. This entrenched arc-shaped line, to the north and west of Marietta, protected the Western & Atlantic Railroad, the supply link to Atlanta. Having defeated General John B. Hood troops at Kolb's Farm on the 22nd, Sherman was sure that Johnston had stretched his line too thin and, therefore, decided on a frontal attack with some diversions on the flanks. On the morning of June 27, Sherman sent his troops forward after an artillery bombardment. At first, they made some headway overrunnig Confederate pickets south of the Burnt Hickory Road, but attacking an enemy that was dug in was futile. The fighting ended by noon, and Sherman suffered high casualties.
To Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield
June 28, 1864 - The Battle of Sappony Church, Virginia. (VA067) (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign [June-December 1864]). Major General William H.F. "Rooney" Lee's cavalry division pursued Wilson's and Kautz's raiders who failed to destroy the Staunton River Bridge on June 25. Wilson and Kautz headed east and, on June 28, crossed the Nottoway River at the Double Bridges and headed north to the Stony Creek Depot on the Weldon Railroad. Here, they were attacked by Major General Wade Hampton's cavalry division. Later in the day, William H. F. Lee's Division arrived to join forces with Hampton, and the Federals were heavily pressured. During the night, Wilson and Kautz disengaged and pressed north on the Halifax Road for the supposed security of Reams Station, abandoning many fleeing slaves who had sought security with the Federal raiders.
June 28, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln signed a U. S. congressional bill repealing the Fugitive Slave Acts.
June 29, 1864 - The Battle of Ream's Station I, Virginia. (VA068) (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign [June-December 1864]). Early morning June 29, Brigadier General August Kautz's division reached Reams Station on the Weldon Railroad, which was thought to be held by Union infantry. Instead, Kautz found the road barred by Mahone's Confederate infantry division. Wilson's division, fighting a rearguard action against elements of William H. F. "Rooney" Lee's cavalry, joined Kautz's near Reams Station, where they were virtually surrounded. About noon, Mahone's infantry assaulted their front while Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry division threatened the Union left flank. The raiders burned their wagons and abandoned their artillery. Separated by the Confederate attacks, Wilson and his men cut their way through and fled south on the Halifax Road to cross Nottoway River, while Kautz went cross-country, reaching Federal lines at Petersburg about dark. Wilson continued east to the Blackwater River before turning north, eventually reaching Union lines at Light House Point on July 2. The Wilson-Kautz raid tore up more than 60 miles of track, temporarily disrupting rail traffic into Petersburg, but at a great cost in men and mounts.
June 30, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln accepted the resignation of Salmon P. Chase as U. S. Secretary of the Treasury, ostensibly over appointments but in reality because of his intention to run for president.
July 1, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln appointed William Pitt Fessenden the new U. S. Secretary of the Treasury.
July 3, 1864 - Confederate General Joseph Johnston, CSA, withdrew from Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia, to his Chattahoochie River defenses to escape Federal Major General William T. Sherman's flanking movement.
July 4, 1864 - The U. S. Congress passed the Wade-Davis Bill, the First Congressional Plan of Reconstruction, a stiff reconstruction measure which U. S. President Abraham Lincoln refused to sign because he doubted congresses right to act on the bill.
July 5, 1864 - Confederate Major General Jubal A. Early, CSA, crossed the Potomac River at Shepherdstown, West Virginia, into Maryland.
July 5, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus in the state of Kentucky, and also declared martial law in the state.
July 5-8, 1864 - A series of delaying actions by Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee occurred along the Chattahoochie River, Georgia, before he retreated in the face of constant pressure by Federal Major General William T. Sherman's troops.
July 8, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation backing a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery, but he declared that he was not prepared to support the idea that the U. S. Congress had the authority to eradicate the institution. It was Lincoln's way of explaining his July 4th "pocket veto" of the Wade-Davis reconstruction bill.
July 9, 1864 - The Battle of Monocacy, Maryland. (MD007) (Early's Raid and Operations Against the B&O Railroad [June-August 1864]). After marching north through the Shenandoah Valley from Lynchburg, the Confederate army of Lieutenant General Jubal A. Early side-stepped the Federal garrison at Harpers Ferry and crossed the Potomac River at Shepherdstown into Maryland on July 5-6. On July 9, 1864, a makeshift Union force under Major General Lew Wallace attempted to arrest Early's invading Confederate divisions along the Monocacy River, just east of Frederick. Wallace, joined by Ricketts's Division of the VI Corps that had been rushed from the Petersburg lines, was outflanked by Gordon's Division and defeated after putting up a stiff resistance. Hearing of Early's incursion into Maryland, Grant embarked the rest of the VI Corps on transports at City Point, sending it with all dispatch to Washington. Wallace's defeat at Monocacy bought time for these veteran troops to arrive to bolster the defenses of Washington. Early's advance reached the outskirts of Washington on the afternoon of July 11, and the remaining divisions of the VI Corps began disembarking that evening. Monocacy was called the "Battle that Saved Washington."
July 9, 1864 - Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, withdrew from his Chattahoochie River line as Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, outflanked him and pushed toward Atlanta, Georgia.
July 11-12, 1864 - The Battle of Fort Stevens, District of Columbia. (DC001) (Early's Raid and Operations Against the B&O Railroad [June-August 1864]). On July 11, Lieutenant General Jubal A. Early's exhausted Confederates reached the outskirts of Washington near Silver Spring. Skirmishers advanced to feel the fortifications which at the time were manned only by Home Guards, clerks, and convalescent troops. During the night, veteran units from the Union VI Corps disembarked from troop transports and marched north through the streets of Washington to bolster the defenses. On July 12, Early was finally in position to make a strong demonstration, which was repulsed by the veteran Union troops. In the afternoon, VI Corps units sortied against the Confederate skirmishers, driving them back from their advanced positions in front of Forts Stevens and DeRussy. President Lincoln watched the action from Fort Stevens and came under fire from Confederate sharpshooters. Recognizing that the Union Capitol was now defended by veterans, Early abandoned any thought of taking the city. Early withdrew during the night, marching toward White's Ford on the Potomac, ending his invasion of Maryland. "We didn't take Washington," Early told his staff officers, "but we scared Abe Lincoln like Hell."
July 12, 1864 - Confederate Major General Jubal Early, CSA, withdrew to the Shenandoah Valley after being repulsed at Fort Stevens, on the outskirts of Washington, D. C.
July 12, 1864 - The Governor of New Jersey called for volunteers for the defense of Washington, D. C.
July 14-15, 1864 - The Battle of Tupelo, Mississippi. (MS015) (Forrest's Defense of Mississippi [June-August 1864]). Major General A. J. Smith, commanding a combined force of more than 14,000 men, left LaGrange, Tennessee, on July 5, 1864, and advanced south. Smith's mission was to insure that Major General Nathan B. Forrest and his cavalry did not raid Major General William T. Sherman's railroad lifeline in Middle Tennessee and, thereby, prevent supplies from reaching him in his campaign against Atlanta. Laying waste to the countryside as he advanced, Smith reached Pontotoc, Mississippi, on July 11. Forrest was in nearby Okolona with about 6,000 men but his commander, Lieutenant General Stephen D. Lee, told him he could not attack until he was reinforced. Two days later, Smith, fearing an ambush, moved east toward Tupelo. On the previous day, Lee arrived near Pontotoc with 2,000 additional men and, under his command, the entire Confederate force engaged Smith. Within two miles of the Federals, on the night of the 13th, Lee ordered an attack for the next morning. Lee attacked at 7:30 am the next morning in a number of uncoordinated assaults which the Yankees beat back, causing heavy casualties. Lee halted the fighting after a few hours. Short on rations, Smith did not pursue but started back to Memphis on the 15th. Criticized for not destroying Forrest's command, Smith had caused much damage and had fulfilled his mission of insuring Sherman's supply lines.
July 17-18, 1864 - The Battle of Cool Spring, Virginia. (VA114) (Early's Raid and Operations Against the B&O Railroad [June-August 1864]). A Union column, consisting of the VI Corps and elements of the XIX Corps under Major General Horatio Wright, pursued Early's army as it withdrew from the environs of Washington, D.C. Wright's force was joined by elements of Crook's command, which had accompanied Hunter during his retreat through West Virginia. On July 17, the Union cavalry passed through Snickers Gap and attempted to force passage of the Shenandoah River at Snickers Ford (Castleman's Ferry). On the morning of July 18, the vanguard of the Union infantry moved through Snickers Gap. Colonel Joseph Thoburn (of Crook's command) led his division downstream to cross the river at Judge Richard Parker's Ford. Early's three nearby infantry divisions moved to defend the fords. In the afternoon, Rodes's division attacked and shattered Thoburn's right flank on the Cool Spring plantation. Thoburn made a stand behind a stone wall at the river's edge and beat off three attacks until darkness enabled him to withdraw. Union pursuit of Early was delayed several days.
July 17, 1864 - Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood, CSA, replaced Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, in command of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. Confederate President Jefferson Davis never got along with General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, and was disappointed in his handling of the Army of Tennessee when it was confronted by Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, on his march to Atlanta, Georgia.
July 18, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln called for an additional 500,000 volunteers to join the Federal Army.
July 18, 1864 - Newspaper editor Horace Greeley went to Niagara Falls, New York, to discuss peace with several Confederate emissaries, but the meeting came to nothing.
July 20, 1864 - The Battle of Peachtree Creek, Georgia. (GA016) (Atlanta Campaign [May 7 - September 2, 1864]). Under General Joseph E. Johnston, the Army of Tennessee had retired south of Peachtree Creek, an east to west flowing stream, about three miles north of Atlanta. Sherman split his army into three columns for the assault on Atlanta with George H. Thomas's Army of the Cumberland moving from the north. Johnston had decided to attack Thomas, but Confederate President Jefferson Davis relieved him of command and appointed John B. Hood to take his place. Hood attacked Thomas after his army crossed Peachtree Creek. The determined assault threatened to overrun the Union troops at various locations. Ultimately, though, the Yankees held, and the Rebels fell back.
To Peachtree Creek Battlefield
July 20, 1864 - The Battle of Rutherford's Farm, Virginia. (VA115) (Early's Raid and Operations Against the B&O Railroad [June-August 1864]). On July 20, Brigadier General W. W. Averell's Union division attacked Major General S. D. Ramseur's Confederate division at Rutherford's and Carter's farms. This sudden assault came in on the flank of Hoke's brigade as it was deploying, throwing it into a panic. Ramseur retreated toward Winchester in confusion. Averell captured four pieces of artillery and nearly 300 men. With this defeat, Early withdrew his army south to a defensive position at Fisher's Hill.
July 22, 1864 - The Battle of Atlanta, Georgia. (GA017) (Atlanta Campaign [May 7 - September 2, 1864]). Following the Battle of Peachtree Creek, Hood determined to attack Major General James B. McPherson's Army of the Tennessee. He withdrew his main army at night from Atlanta's outer line to the inner line, enticing Sherman to follow. In the meantime, he sent William J. Hardee with his corps on a fifteen-mile march to hit the unprotected Union left and rear, east of the city. Wheeler's cavalry was to operate farther out on Sherman's supply line, and General Frank Cheatham's corps were to attack the Union front. Hood, however, miscalculated the time necessary to make the march, and Hardee was unable to attack until afternoon. Although Hood had outmaneuvered Sherman for the time being, McPherson was concerned about his left flank and sent his reserves--Grenville Dodge's XVI Army Corps--to that location. Two of Hood's divisions ran into this reserve force and were repulsed. The Rebel attack stalled on the Union rear but began to roll up the left flank. Around the same time, a Confederate soldier shot and killed McPherson when he rode out to observe the fighting. Determined attacks continued, but the Union forces held. About 4:00 pm, Cheatham's corps broke through the Union front at the Hurt House, but Sherman massed twenty artillery pieces on a knoll near his headquarters to shell these Confederates and halt their drive. Major General John A. Logan's XV Army Corps then led a counterattack that restored the Union line. The Union troops held, and Hood suffered high casualties.
July 24, 1864 - The Battle of Kernstown II, Virginia. (VA116) (Early's Raid and Operations Against the B&O Railroad [June-August 1864]). Believing that Early's army was no longer a threat in the Valley, Major General Horatio Wright abandoned his pursuit and ordered the VI and XIX Corps to return to Washington, where they were to be sent to Grant's "army group" before Petersburg. Wright left Brigadier General George Crook with three divisions and some cavalry to hold Winchester. Under orders to prevent reinforcements from being sent to Grant, Early marched north on July 24 against Crook. After an hour of stubborn resistance at Pritchard's Hill, the Federal line collapsed and Crook's divisions streamed back in disarray through the streets of Winchester. Colonel James Mulligan commanding Crook's 3rd Division was mortally wounded. Rutherford B. Hayes commanded a brigade against John C. Breckinridge's wing. Crook retreated to the Potomac River and crossed near Williamsport on July 26. As a result of this defeat and the burning of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, on July 30, Grant returned the VI and XIX Corps and appointed Sheridan as commander of Union forces in the Valley.
July 27-29, 1864 - The Battle of Deep Bottom I, Virginia. (VA069) (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign [June-December 1864]). During the night of 26-27 July, the Union II Corps and two divisions of Sheridan's cavalry under command of Major General Winfield Scott Hancock crossed to the north side of James River at Deep Bottom to threaten Richmond. This demonstration diverted Confederate forces from the impending attack at Petersburg on July 30. Union efforts to turn the Confederate position at New Market Heights and Fussell's Mill were abandoned when the Confederates strongly reinforced their lines and counterattacked. During the night of July 29, the Federals recrossed the river leaving a garrison as heretofore to hold the bridgehead at Deep Bottom.
July 28, 1864 - The Battle of Ezra Church, Georgia. (GA018) (Atlanta Campaign [May 7 - September 2, 1864]). Earlier, Major General William T. Sherman's forces had approached Atlanta from the east and north. Hood had not defeated them, but he had kept them away from the city. Sherman now decided to attack from the west. He ordered the Army of the Tennessee, commanded by Major General O. O. Howard, to move from the left wing to the right and cut Hood's last railroad supply line between East Point and Atlanta. Hood foresaw such a maneuver and determined to send the two corps of Lieutenant General Stephen D. Lee and Lieutenant General Alexander P. Stewart to intercept and destroy the Union force. Thus, on the afternoon of July 28, the Rebels assaulted Howard at Ezra Church. Howard had anticipated such a thrust, entrenched one of his corps in the Confederate's path, and repulsed the determined attack, inflicting numerous casualties. Howard, however, failed to cut the railroad.
July 28-29, 1864 - The Battle of Killdeer Mountain, North Dakota. (ND005) (Sully's Expedition Against the Sioux in Dakota Territory [July 1864]). Brigadier General Alfred Sully, who had defeated the recalcitrant Sioux at Whitestone Hill in September 1863, wintered on the Missouri River. During the winter, Sully's superior, Major General John Pope, formulated a plan for ending the difficulties with the Sioux. He would order a force of about 2,500 men, commanded by Sully, into the field to find the Native Americans and engage them in battle. In addition, he would send infantry behind Sully's force to establish strong-posts in the "Indian country." Thus, Minnesota troops were ordered to meet Sully's force at the mouth of Burdache Creek on the Upper Missouri for active campaigning. The two columns rendezvoused on June 30 and set out against the Sioux. They established Fort Rice on July 7 at the mouth of Cannonball River and moved on. The Sioux, who had been operating north of Fort Rice, moved across the Missouri River and took a strong position on the Little Missouri River, about 200 miles from the fort. On July 26, Sully marched out to engage them in battle. On the 28th, he arrived near the Native American camp which he reported included 5,000-6,000 warriors "strongly posted in wooded country, very much cut up with high, rugged hills, and deep, impassible ravines." Sully met with some of the tribal chiefs first, but nothing came of it so he attacked. Heavy fighting ensued, but eventually the artillery and long-range firearms took effect and the Sioux began losing ground. The retirement turned into flight. The Native Americans left all their possessions, and a running fight of almost nine miles scattered the warriors that were not wounded or killed. Killdeer Mountain broke the back of the Sioux resistance. Sully did meet the remnants of the Sioux warriors that had escaped Killdeer Mountain in August and defeated them, but they had none of the spirit formally exhibited.
July 30, 1864 - The Battle of the Crater, at Petersburg, Virginia. (VA070) (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign [June-December 1864]). After weeks of preparation, on July 30 the Federals exploded a mine in Burnside's IX Corps sector beneath Pegram's Salient, blowing a gap in the Confederate defenses of Petersburg. The blast killed 300 Confederate troops when it exploded. From this propitious beginning, everything deteriorated rapidly for the Union attackers. Unit after unit funnelled into the crater, where soldiers milled in confusion. The Confederates quickly recovered and launched several counterattacks led by Major General William Mahone, inflicting 4,000 Federal casualties, suffering a total of 1,500 casualties overall.. The break was sealed off, and the Federals were repulsed with severe casualties. Ferrarro's division of black soldiers was badly mauled. This may have been Grant's best chance to end the Siege of Petersburg. Instead, the soldiers settled in for another eight months of trench warfare. Major General Ambrose E. Burnside was relieved of command for his role in the debacle.
To The Crater at Petersburg Battlefield
July 30, 1864 - Cavalry under Confederate Brigadier General John McCausland, CSA, burned Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, after the town refused to raise the $500,000 (or $100,000 in gold) assessment for the destruction of property in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, by Federal Major General David Hunter, USA.
July 30, 1864 - Cavalry under Federal Major General George Stoneman, USA, attempted to liberate Federal prisoners at the Confederacy's Andersonville Prison, but were captured by Confederate Major General Joseph Wheeler's forces near Macon, Georgia.
August 1, 1864 - The Battle of Folck's Mill, Maryland. (MD008) (Early's Raid and Operations Against the B&O Railroad [June-August 1864]). After burning Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, on July 30, Johnson's and McCausland's cavalry brigades rode towards Cumberland, Maryland, to disrupt the B&O Railroad. Brigadier General Benjamin Kelly organized a small force of soldiers and citizens to meet the Confederate advance. On August 1, Kelly ambushed Rebel cavalrymen near Cumberland at Folck's Mill, and skirmishing continued for several hours. Eventually the Confederates withdrew.
August 2-23, 1864 - The Battle of Mobile Bay, Alabama. (AL003) (Operations in Mobile Bay [August 5, 1864]). A combined Union force initiated operations to close Mobile Bay to blockade running. Some Union forces landed on Dauphin Island and laid siege to Fort Gaines. On August 5, Farragut's Union fleet of eighteen ships entered Mobile Bay and received devastating a fire from Forts Gaines and Morgan and other points. After passing the forts, Farragut forced the Confederate naval forces, under Adm. Franklin Buchanan, to surrender, which effectively closed Mobile Bay. By August 23, Fort Morgan, the last big holdout, fell, shutting down the port. The city, however, remained uncaptured.
August 3, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln, very disturbed over inaction by Federal officers against Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley, sent a message to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, voicing his concerns.
August 4, 1864 - Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, arrived in Washington, D. C., joined by Federal Major General Philip H. Sheridan, USA, who had arrived the day before, to settle the Shenandoah Valley issue in conference with U. S. President Abraham Lincoln. As an outcome of the meeting, Sheridan was put in charge of Federal forces in the Valley, and told to defeat the Confederate units there.
August 5, 1864 - Federal Rear Admiral David G. Farragut's fleet steamed by Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines, Alabama, through the deadly torpedo field blocking the channel, and into Mobile Bay, Alabama. In the fierce engagement with the forts and Confederate Admiral F. Buchanan's small squadron, Farragut won a victory worthy of his great name.
August 5, 1864 - Radical Republican elements in the U. S. Congress opened their campaign against U. S. President Abraham Lincoln. U. S. Representative Henry W. Davis, from Maryland, and U. S. Senator Benjamin Wade, from Ohio, published in the New York Tribune what became known as the Wade-Davis Manifesto, denouncing Lincoln's veto of the First Congressional Plan of Reconstruction.
August 5-7, 1864 - The Battle of Utoy Creek, Georgia. (GA019) (Atlanta Campaign [May 7 - September 2, 1864]). After failing to envelop Hood's left flank at Ezra Church, Sherman still wanted to extend his right flank to hit the railroad between East Point and Atlanta. He transferred John M. Schofield's Army of the Ohio from his left to his right flank and sent him to the north bank of Utoy Creek. Although Schofield's troops were at Utoy Creek on August 2, they, along with the XIV Corps, Army of the Cumberland, did not cross until the 4th. Schofield's force began its movement to exploit this situation on the morning of the 5th, which was initially successful. Schofield then had to regroup his forces, which took the rest of the day. The delay allowed the Rebels to strengthen their defenses with abatis, which slowed the Union attack when it restarted on the morning of the 6th. The Federals were repulsed with heavy losses by Bate's Division and failed in an attempt to break the railroad. On the 7th, the Union troops moved toward the Confederate main line and entrenched. Here they remained until late August.
August 6, 1864 - The Confederate C.S.S. Tallahassee, under Commander J. T. Wood, CSN, put to sea from Wilmington, North Carolina, which launched a brief but highly successful cruise against Northern shipping.
August 7, 1864 - The Battle of Moorefield, West Virginia. (WV013) (Early's Raid and Operations Against the B&O Railroad [June-August 1864]). While returning to the Shenandoah Valley after burning Chambersburg, McCausland's and Johnson's cavalry were surprised at Moorefield on August 7 and routed by pursuing Union cavalry. This defeat impeded the morale and effectiveness of the Confederate cavalry for the remainder of the 1864 Valley Campaign.
August 7, 1864 - Federal Major General Philip H. Sheridan, USA, was assigned temporary command of the Army of the Shenandoah (the Federal Middle Military Division).
August 9, 1864 - Two Confederate secret agents blew up the Federal's main supply base at City Point, Virginia. Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, was close enough to the explosion to be showered with debris, but Grant was not injured.
August 10, 1864 - Confederate Major General Joseph Wheeler, CSA, began a month-long cavalry raid on Federal Major General William T. Sherman's communication lines between Atlanta, Georgia, and Nashville, Tennessee.
August 13-20, 1864 - The Battle of Deep Bottom II, Virginia. (VA071) (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign [June-December 1864]). During the night of August 13-14, the Union II Corps, X Corps, and Gregg's cavalry division, all under command of Major General Winfield Scott Hancock, crossed James River at Deep Bottom to threaten Richmond, coordinating with a movement against the Weldon Railroad at Petersburg. On August 14, the X Corps closed on New Market Heights while the II Corps extended the Federal line to the right along Bailey's Creek. During the night, the X Corps was moved to the far right flank of the Union line near Fussell's Mill. On August 16, Union assaults near Fussell's Mill were initially successful, but Confederate counterattacks drove the Federals out of a line of captured works. Heavy fighting continued throughout the remainder of the day. Confederate general John Chambliss was killed during cavalry fighting on Charles City Road. After continual skirmishing, the Federals returned to the southside of the James on the 20th, maintaining their bridgehead at Deep Bottom.
August 14-15, 1864 - The Battle of Dalton II, Georgia. (GA020) (Atlanta Campaign [May 7 - September 2, 1864]). Major General Joseph Wheeler and his cavalry raided into North Georgia to destroy railroad tracks and supplies. They approached Dalton in the late afternoon of August 14 and demanded the surrender of the garrison. The Union commander, Colonel Bernard Laibolt, refused to surrender and fighting ensued. Greatly outnumbered, the Union garrison retired to fortifications on a hill outside the town where they successfully held out, although the attack continued until after midnight. Skirmishing continued throughout the night. Around 5:00 am, on the 15th, Wheeler retired and became engaged with relieving infantry and cavalry under Major General James B. Steedman's command. Eventually, Wheeler withdrew. The contending forces' reports vary greatly in describing the fighting, the casualties, and the amount of track and supplies captured and destroyed. This engagement was inconclusive, but since the Confederates withdrew, it may be termed a Union victory.
August 16, 1864 - The Battle of Guard Hill, Virginia. (VA117) (Sheridan's Valley Campaign [August-October 1864]). Kershaw's infantry division and Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry, under overall command of Lieutenant General Richard Anderson (ANV, I Corps) were sent from Petersburg to reinforce Early's army in the Valley. At Front Royal on the August 16, Union cavalry of Brigadier General Wesley Merritt's division surprised the Confederate columns in mid-stream of the Shenandoah River, capturing about 300. The Confederates rallied and advanced, gradually driving the two Union brigades back to Cedarville. After dark, Merritt withdrew to Ninevah.
August 18-21, 1864 - The Battle of Globe Tavern, Virginia. (VA072) (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign [June-December 1864]). While Hancock's command demonstrated north of the James River at Deep Bottom, the Union V Corps and elements of the IX and II Corps under command of Major General G. K. Warren were withdrawn from the Petersburg entrenchments to operate against the Weldon Railroad. At dawn August 18, Warren advanced, driving back Confederate pickets until reaching the railroad at Globe Tavern. In the afternoon, Brigadier General Henry Heth's division attacked driving Ayres's division back to the tavern. Both sides entrenched during the night. On August 19, Major General William Mahone, whose division had been hastily returned from north of James River, attacked with five infantry brigades, rolling up the right flank of Crawford's division. Heavily reinforced, Warren counterattacked and by nightfall had retaken most of the ground lost during the afternoon's fighting. On the 20th, the Federals laid out and entrenched a strong defensive line covering the Blick House and Globe Tavern and extending east to connect with the main Federal lines at Jerusalem Plank Road. On August 21, Hill probed the new Federal line for weaknesses but could not penetrate the Union defenses. With the fighting at Globe Tavern, Grant succeeded in extending his siege lines to the west and cutting Petersburg's primary rail connection with Wilmington, North Carolina. The Confederates were now forced to off-load rail cars at Stony Creek Station for a 30-mile wagon haul up Boydton Plank Road to reach Petersburg. Confederate General John C. C. Sanders was killed on August 21.
August 19, 1864 - The Battle of Jonesborough, Georgia.
August 20, 1864 - The Battle of Lovejoy's Station, Georgia. (GA021) (Atlanta Campaign [May 7 - September 2, 1864]). While Confederate Major General Joseph Wheeler was absent raiding Union supply lines from North Georgia to East Tennessee, Major General William Sherman, unconcerned, sent Judson Kilpatrick to raid Rebel supply lines. Leaving on August 18, Kilpatrick hit the Atlanta & West Point Railroad that evening, tearing up a small area of tracks. Next, Kilpatrick headed for Lovejoy's Station on the Macon & Western Railroad. In transit, on the 19th, Kilpatrick's men hit the Jonesborough supply depot on the Macon & Western Railroad, burning great amounts of supplies. On the 20th, they reached Lovejoy's Station and began their destruction. Rebel infantry (Cleburne's Division) appeared and the raiders were forced to fight into the night, finally fleeing to prevent encirclement. Although Kilpatrick had destroyed supplies and track at Lovejoy's Station, the railroad line was back in operation in two days.
To Lovejoy's Station Battlefield
August 21, 1864 - The Battle of Memphis II, Tennessee. (TN031) (Forrest's Defense of Mississippi [June-August 1864]). At 4:00 am on the morning of August 21, 1864, Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest made a daring raid on Union-held Memphis, Tennessee, but it was not an attempt to capture the city, occupied by 6,000 Federal troops. The raid had three objectives: to capture three Union generals posted there; to release Southern prisoners from Irving Block Prison; and to cause the recall of Union forces from Northern Mississippi. Striking northwestward for Memphis with 2,000 cavalry, Forrest lost about a quarter of his strength because of exhausted horses. Surprise was essential. Taking advantage of a thick dawn fog and claiming to be a Union patrol returning with prisoners, the Confederates eliminated the sentries. Galloping through the streets and exchanging shots with other Union troops, the raiders split to pursue separate missions. One Union general was not at his quarters and another escaped to Fort Pickering dressed in his night-shirt. The attack on Irving Block Prison also failed when Union troops stalled the main body at the State Female College. After two hours, Forrest decided to withdraw, cutting telegraph wires, taking 500 prisoners and large quantities of supplies, including many horses. Although Forrest failed in Memphis, his raid influenced Union forces to return there, from northern Mississippi, and provide protection.
August 21, 1864 - The Battle of Summit Point, West Virginia. (WV014) (Sheridan's Valley Campaign [August-October 1864]). As Major General Philip Sheridan concentrated his army near Charles Town, Lieutenant General Jubal Early and Major General Richard Anderson attacked the Federals with converging columns on August 21. Early moved east via Smithfield against the Union VI Corps. Anderson struck north against Wilson's Union cavalry at Summit Point. There was cavalry fighting near Berryville. The Federals fought effective delaying actions, withdrawing to near Halltown on the following day.
August 22, 1864 - Federal Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick's five-day cavalry raid failed to destroy Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood's supply line into Atlanta, Georgia.
August 23, 1864 - The fall of Fort Morgan, the last of the three forts at Mobile Bay, Alabama, to remain in Confederate hands, ensured Federal control of Mobile Bay, and left Wilmington, North Carolina, as the last port open for Confederate blockade runners.
August 23, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln drafted a secret memorandum, expressing doubt concerning his re-election, and asked his cabinet to sign a blind document that promised to cooperate with the Democrats to save the Union if he lost the 1864 election.
August 25, 1864 - The Battle of Ream's Station II, Virginia. (VA073) (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign [June-December 1864]). On August 24, Union II Corps moved south along the Weldon Railroad, tearing up track, preceded by Gregg's cavalry division. On August 25, Heth attacked and overran the faulty Union position at Reams Station, capturing 9 guns, 12 colors, and taking many prisoners. The old II Corps was shattered. General Hancock withdrew to the main Union line near Globe Tavern, bemoaning the declining combat effectiveness of his troops.
To Ream's Station II Battlefield
August 29, 1864 - The Battle of Smithfield Crossing, West Virginia. (WV015) (Sheridan's Valley Campaign [August-October 1864]). On August 29, two Confederate infantry divisions crossed Opequon Creek at Smithfield and forced back Merritt's Union cavalry division back along the road to Charles Town. Ricketts's infantry division was brought up to stop the Confederate advance.
August 30, 1864 - The Democrat National Convention met at Chicago, Illinois, and nominated Federal Major General George B. McClellan, USA, for President and George H. Pendleton for Vice-President on a peace platform, to run against Republican incumbent Abraham Lincoln. McClellan immediately repudiated the party's platform.
August 31, 1864 - The Battle of Martinsburg, West Virginia.
August 31 - September 1, 1864 - The Battle of Jonesborough, Georgia. (GA022) (Atlanta Campaign [May 7 - September 2, 1864]). Sherman had successfully cut Hood's supply lines in the past by sending out detachments, but the Confederates quickly repaired the damage. In late August, Sherman determined that if he could cut Hood's supply lines--the Macon & Western and the Atlanta & West Point Railroads--the Rebels would have to evacuate Atlanta. Sherman, therefore, decided to move six of his seven infantry corps against the supply lines. The army began pulling out of its positions on August 25 to hit the Macon & Western Railroad between Rough and Ready and Jonesborough. To counter the move, Hood sent Lieutenant General William J. Hardee with two corps to halt and possibly rout the Union troops, not realizing Sherman's army was there in force. On August 31, Hardee attacked two Union corps west of Jonesborough but was easily repulsed. Fearing an attack on Atlanta, Hood withdrew one corps from Hardee's force that night. The next day, a Union corps broke through Hardee's troops which retreated to Lovejoy's Station, and on the night of September 1, Hood evacuated Atlanta. Sherman did cut Hood's supply line but failed to destroy Hardee's command.
September 1, 1864 - Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood, CSA, and his Confederate Army of Tennessee, evacuated Atlanta, Georgia, having burned the city's huge munitions and supply depots, which created fires that burned out of control, destroying much of the city's rail yards, after Federal Major General William T. Sherman's forces reached Jonesboro, south of the city.
September 2, 1864 - Atlanta, Georgia, was captured by Federal Major General William T. Sherman's forces. The victory greatly helped U. S. President Abraham Lincoln's bid for re-election. Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood, CSA, established a defensive line at Lovejoy's Station, south of Jonesboro, Georgia.
September 3-4, 1864 - The Battles of Berryville, Virginia. (VA118) (Sheridan's Valley Campaign [August-October 1864]). Major General Philip Sheridan's Federal divisions marched south from Halltown, reaching Berryville on September 3. Happening upon elements of Brigadier General George Crook's corps going into camp, Confederate Major General R. H. Anderson's (Kershaw's) division attacked with limited results. During the night, Early brought up his entire army but by daylight found Sheridan's position too strongly entrenched to assauLieutenant General Early withdrew after dark behind Opequon Creek.
September 4, 1864 - Confederate Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan, CSA, was killed by Private Andrew Campbell, Company C, Federal 13th Tennessee Cavalry, after Morgan was trapped in the garden of a house in Greeneville, Tennessee.
September 7, 1864 - Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, ordered civilians out of Atlanta, Georgia, citing his lack of supplies to feed the population.
September 8, 1864 - Federal Major General George Brinton McClellan, USA, accepted the Democratic presidential nomination at Orange, New Jersey, but refused to endorse the peace platform of the party.
September 12, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln notified Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, that he was dismayed over the lack of progress in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, by Federal Major General Philip H. Sheridan, USA.
September 16, 1864 - In Mississippi, Confederate Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest, CSA, began his West Tennessee Raid.
September 16, 1864 - The Battle of Coggin's Point, Virginia.
September 16, 1864 - Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, traveled to Charlestown, West Virginia, to meet with Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, to discuss a Federal offensive against Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early, CSA, whose army had been depleted due to the need to reinforce Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, at Petersburg, Virginia.
September 17, 1864 - Radical Republican John C. Frémont withdrew from the 1864 U. S. Presidential race.
September 19, 1864 - The Battle of Opequon, or Winchester III, Virginia. (VA119) (Sheridan's Valley Campaign [August-October 1864]). After Kershaw's division left Winchester to rejoin Lee's army at Petersburg, Lieutenant General Jubal A. Early renewed his raids on the B&O Railroad at Martinsburg, badly dispersing his four remaining infantry divisions. On September 19, Sheridan advanced toward Winchester along the Berryville Pike with the VI and XIX Corps, crossing Opequon Creek. The Union advance was delayed long enough for Early to concentrate his forces to meet the main assault, which continued for several hours. Casualties were very heavy. The Confederate line was gradually driven back toward the town. Mid-afternoon, Crook's (VIII) Corps and the cavalry turned the Confederate left flank. Early ordered a general retreat. Confederate generals Rodes and Goodwin were killed, Fitzhugh Lee, Terry, Johnson, and Wharton wounded. Union general Russell was killed, McIntosh, Upton, and Chapman wounded. Because of its size, intensity, and result, many historians consider this the most important conflict of the Shenandoah Valley.
September 19, 1864 - Confederate Major General Sterling Price, CSA, leading a column of 12,000 cavalrymen, began a raid into Missouri, the Confederacy's last major attempt to take control of Missouri.
September 21-22, 1864 - The Battle of Fisher's Hill, Virginia. (VA120) (Sheridan's Valley Campaign [August-October 1864]). Early's army, bloodied by its defeat at Opequon (Third Winchester) on September 19, took up a strong defensive position at Fisher's Hill, south of Strasburg. On September 21, the Union army advanced, driving back the skirmishers and capturing important high ground. On the 22nd, Crook's Corps moved along North Mountain to outflank Early and attacked about 4 pm. The Confederate cavalry offered little resistance, and the startled infantry were unable to face the attacking force. The Confederate defense collapsed from west to east as Sheridan's other corps join in the assauLieutenant Early retreated to Rockfish Gap near Waynesboro, opening the Valley to a Union "scorched earth" invasion. Mills and barns from Staunton to Strasburg were burned in what became known as the "Burning" or "Red October."
September 24, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln asked for Montgomery Blair's resignation as U. S. Postmaster General, and replaced him with William Dennison.
September 27, 1864 - The Battle of Fort Davidson, Missouri. (MO021) (Price's Missouri Expedition [September-October 1864]). In September 1864, a Confederate army under Major General Sterling Price crossed into Missouri with the goal of capturing St. Louis. Union Brigadier General Thomas Ewing moved with reinforcements down the railroad to Ironton to retard Price's advance. On the morning of September 27, the Confederates attacked, driving the Federals back into their defenses anchored by Fort Davidson. In the late afternoon, Price unsuccessfully assaulted the fort repeatedly, suffering heavy casualties. Price, considering the possible time involved, had dismissed the possibility of mounting guns on the high ground to compel the fort to surrender or to shell the garrison into submission. During the night, the Federals evacuated the fort. Price had paid a high price in lives and gave Union forces the necessary time to concentrate and oppose his raid.
September 28, 1864 - Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood, CSA, crossed the Chattahoochee River to strike at Federal Major General William T. Sherman's supply line.
September 28, 1864 - Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, sent Federal Major General George H. Thomas, USA, to Nashville, Tennessee, to contain Confederate Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest, CSA, in western Tennessee.
September 29-30, 1864 - The Battles of Fort Harrison (Battles of Chaffin's Farm and New Market Heights), Virginia. (VA075) (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign [June-December 1864]). During the night of September 28-29, Major General Benjamin Butler's Army of the James crossed James River to assault the Richmond defenses north of the river. The columns attacked at dawn. After initial Union successes at New Market Heights and Fort Harrison, the Confederates rallied and contained the breakthrough. Lee reinforced his lines north of the James and, on September 30, he counterattacked unsuccessfully. The Federals entrenched, and the Confederates erected a new line of works cutting off the captured forts. Confederate General Dunovant was killed. Union General Burnham was killed. As Grant anticipated, Lee shifted troops to meet the threat against Richmond, weakening his lines at Petersburg.
September 30 - October 2, 1864 - The Battles of Peebles' Farm, Virginia. (VA074) (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign [June-December 1864]). In combination with Benjamin Butler's offensive north of the James River, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant extended his left flank to cut Confederate lines of communication southwest of Petersburg. Two divisions of the IX corps under Major General John G. Parke, two divisions of the V Corps under Major General G. K. Warren, and David M. Gregg's cavalry division were assigned to the operation. On September 30, the Federals marched via Poplar Spring Church to reach the Vaughan Road. The initial Federal attack overran Fort Archer, flanking the Confederates out of their Squirrel Level Road line. Late afternoon, Confederate reinforcements arrived, slowing the Federal advance. On October 1, the Federals repulsed a Confederate counterattack directed by Lieutenant General A. P. Hill. Reinforced by Mott's II Corps division, the Federals resumed their advance on the 2nd, captured Fort McRae which was lightly defended, and extended their left flank to the vicinity of Peebles' and Pegram's Farms. With these successes, Meade suspended the offensive. A new line was entrenched from the Federal works on Weldon Railroad to Pegram's Farm.
October 2, 1864 - The Battles of Saltville I, Virginia. (VA076) (Burbridge's Raid into Southwest Virginia [October 1864]). Union cavalry and infantry raiders led by Brigadier General Stephen Burbridge attempted to destroy the saltworks near Saltville. He was delayed at Clinch Mountain and Laurel Gap by a makeshift Confederate force, enabling Brigadier General Alfred E. Jackson to concentrate troops near Saltville to meet him. On the morning of October 1, the Federals attacked but made little headway. Confederate reinforcements continue to arrive during the day. After day-long fighting, Burbridge retired without accomplishing his objective. Afterwards, Confederate soldiers were said to have murdered, captured, and wounded black soldiers.
October 3, 1864 - While returning to Richmond, Virginia, Confederate President Jefferson Davis delivered a speech of encouragement to the citizens of Columbia, South Carolina, as he predicted a total defeat of Federal Major General William T. Sherman's forces, who was currently in Atlanta, Georgia.
October 4, 1864 - Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood, CSA, struck at Federal Major General William T. Sherman's rail communications at Big Shanty, Georgia.
October 5, 1864 - The Battle of Allatoona, Georgia. (GA023) (Franklin-Nashville Campaign [September-December 1864]). After the fall of Atlanta, Hood moved northward to threaten the Western & Atlantic Railroad, Sherman's supply line. He attacked a number of minor garrisons and damaged track during October 2-4. Sherman sent reinforcements--John M. Corse's brigade--to Allatoona just before the Rebels attacked there. Major General Samuel G. French's Confederate division arrived near Allatoona at sunrise on the 5th. After demanding a surrender and receiving a negative reply, French attacked. The Union outer line survived a sustained two and a half hour attack, but then fell back and regrouped in an earthen "Star" fort of Allatoona Pass. French repeatedly attacked, but the fort held. The Rebels began to run out of ammunition, and reports of arriving Union reinforcements influenced them to move off and rejoin Hood's force.
October 5, 1864 - Federal authorities in Indiana arrested Lamdin P. Milligan for Copperhead activities, conspiring against the United States, giving aid and comfort to the Confederacy, and inciting an insurrection. A military court convicted him in December, 1864, and he was sentenced to be hung on June 2, 1865. The sentence was not carried out, and U. S. President Andrew Johnson issued Milligan a reprieve in December, 1866, and the U. S. Supreme Court freed him.
October 6, 1864 - After pursuing Confederate Major General Jubal A. Early, CSA, to Harrisonburg, Virginia, Federal Major General Philip Sheridan, USA, started to devastate the Shenandoah Valley as he withdrew toward Winchester, Virginia.
October 6, 1864 - The Louisiana state constitutional convention met under U. S. President Abraham Lincoln's "Ten Percent Plan."
October 7, 1864 - The Battles of Darbytown and New Market Roads, Virginia. (VA077) (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign [June-December 1864]). Responding to the loss of Fort Harrison and the increasing Federal threat against Richmond, General Robert E. Lee directed an offensive against the Union far right flank on October 7. After routing the Federal cavalry from their position covering Darbytown Road, Field's and Hoke's divisions assaulted the main Union defensive line along New Market Road and were repulsed. Confederate general John Gregg of Texas brigade was killed. The Federals were not dislodged, and Lee withdrew into the Richmond defenses.
October 7, 1864 - The Federal U.S.S. Wachusett, commanded by Lieutenant N. Collins, USN, captured the Confederate C.S.S. Florida, under Lieutenant C. M. Morris, CSN, at Bahia, Brazil. Thus, in the same year, the cruises of the dreaded Confederate raiders C.S.S. Alabama and C.S.S. Florida came to an end.
October 9, 1864 - The Battles of Tom's Brook, Virginia. (VA121) (Sheridan's Valley Campaign [August-October 1864]). After his victory at Fisher's Hill, Major General Philip Sheridan pursued Early's army up the Shenandoah Valley to near Staunton. On October 6, Sheridan began withdrawing, as his cavalry burned everything that could be deemed of "military significance," including barns and mills. Reinforced by Kershaw's division, Early followed. Major General Thomas Rosser arrived from Petersburg to take command of Fitz Lee's cavalry division and harassed the retreating Federals. On October 9, Torbert's troopers turned on their pursuers, routing the divisions of Rosser and Lomax at Tom's Brook. With this victory, the Union cavalry attained overwhelming superiority in the Valley.
October 11, 1864 - Northern elections in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana went heavily Republican.
October 12, 1864 - Roger Brooke Taney, Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court, died in Washington, D. C.
October 13, 1864 - The Battle of Darbytown Road, Virginia. (VA078) (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign [June-December 1864]). On October 13, Union forces advanced to find and feel the new Confederate defensive line in front of Richmond. While mostly a battle of skirmishers, a Federal brigade assaulted fortifications north of Darbytown Road and was repulsed with heavy casualties. The Federals retired to their entrenched lines along New Market Road.
October 13, 1864 - Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood, CSA, damaged Federal Major General William T. Sherman's rail communications to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Sherman was forced to move his troops from Atlanta, Georgia to Resaca, Georgia.
October 13, 1864 - Maryland voters narrowly passed a new state constitutional, which abolished slavery, by the margin of 30,174 for and 29,799 opposed.
October 15, 1864 - The Battle of Glasgow, Missouri. (MO022) (Price's Missouri Expedition [September-October 1864]). While Major General Sterling Price led his men westward across Missouri, he decided to send a detachment to Glasgow to liberate weapons and supplies in an arms storehouse, purported to be there. This combined mounted infantry, cavalry, and artillery force laid siege to the town and the fortifications on Hereford Hill. Before dawn on October 15, Confederate artillery opened on the town and Rebels advanced on Glasgow by various routes, forcing the Yankees to fall back. The Union forces retreated out of town and up the hill toward the fortifications on Hereford Hill. There they formed a defensive line in this area, but the Confederates continued to advance. Convinced that he could not defend against another Confederate attack, Colonel Chester Harding surrendered around 1:30 pm. Although Harding destroyed some Federal stores, Price's men found rifle-muskets, overcoats, and horses. The Confederates remained in town for three days before rejoining the main column with new supplies and weapons and marching on towards Kansas City. The victory and capture of supplies and weapons were a boost to Price's army's morale.
October 18, 1864 - Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood, CSA, retreated into northern Alabama, away from the Chattanooga to Atlanta railroad line used by Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA.
October 19, 1864 - The Battle of Cedar Creek, Virginia. (VA122) (Sheridan's Valley Campaign [August-October 1864]). At dawn, October 19, 1864, the Confederate Army of the Valley under Lieutenant General Jubal A. Early surprised the Federal army at Cedar Creek and routed the VIII and XIX Army Corps. Commander Major General Philip Sheridan arrived from Winchester to rally his troops, and, in the afternoon, launched a crushing counterattack, which recovered the battlefield. Sheridan's victory at Cedar Creek broke the back of the Confederate army in the Shenandoah Valley. Lincoln rode the momentum of Sheridan's victories in the Valley and Sherman's successes in Georgia to re-election.
October 19, 1864 - The Battle of Lexington II, Missouri. (MO023) (Price's Missouri Expedition [September-October 1864]). Major General Sterling Price's march along the Missouri River was slow, providing the Yankees a chance to concentrate. Major General William S. Rosecrans, commanding the Department of the Missouri, proposed a pincer movement to trap Price and his army, but he was unable to communicate with Major General Samuel R. Curtis, commander of the Department of Kansas, to formalize the plan. Curtis was having problems because many of his troops were Kansas militia and they refused to enter Missouri, but a force of 2,000 men under the command of Major General James G. Blunt did set out for Lexington. On October 19, Price's army approached Lexington, collided with Union scouts and pickets about 2:00 pm, drove them back, and engaged in a battle with the main force. The Yankees resisted at first, but Price's army eventually pushed them through the town to the western outskirts and pursued them along the Independence Road until night fall. Without Curtis's entire force, the Yankees could not stop Price's army, but they did further retard their slow march. Blunt gained valuable information about the size and disposition of Price's army.
October 19, 1864 - Confederate Lieutenant Bennett H. Young, CSA, and a group of 25 Confederate raiders, crossed the Canadian border and made a surprise attack on St. Albans, Vermont, where they rob three banks of over $200,000, before they fled back into Canada.
October 19, 1864 - The Confederate C.S.S. Shenandoah, commanded by Confederate Lieutenant James I. Waddell, CSN, was commissioned off the Madeira Islands.
October 20, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln officially set the last Thursday in November to be forever celebrated as "Thanksgiving."
October 21, 1864 - The Battle of Little Blue River, Missouri. (MO024) (Price's Missouri Expedition [September-October 1864]). After Major General James G. Blunt [US] was defeated at Lexington on October 19, he retreated to the Little Blue River, eight miles east of Independence. The Union force prepared to engage the Confederates again in a strong defensive position on the west bank. Curtis, however, ordered Blunt into Independence while leaving a small force, under Colonel Thomas Moonlight, on the Little Blue. The next day, Curtis ordered Blunt to take all of the volunteers and return to the Little Blue. As he neared the stream, he discovered that Moonlight's small force had burned the bridge as ordered, engaged the enemy, and retreated away from the strong defensive position occupied the day before, crossing the river. Blunt entered the fray and attempted to drive the enemy back beyond the defensive position that he wished to reoccupy. The Yankees forced the Confederates to fall back, at first, but their numerical superiority took its toll in the five-hour battle. The Federals retreated to Independence and went into camp there after dark. Once again, the Confederates had been slowed and more Union reinforcements were arriving.
October 22, 1864 - The Battle of Independence II, Missouri. (MO025) (Price's Missouri Expedition [September-October 1864]). Major General Sterling Price's army rode west in the direction of Kansas City. On the night of the 21st, he camped at Independence and resumed his westward march the next morning with Brigadier General Joe Shelby's division in the lead followed by Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke's division, with Brigadier General James Fagan's division bringing up the rear. While Shelby's men met success at Byram's Ford, the other two columns did notfare as well. Major General Alfred Pleasonton's Union force crossed the Little Blue, beat up a Rebel brigade in Fagan's command, and occupied Independence. Marmaduke's division then met Pleasonton about two miles west of Independence, hit the Federals hard, pressed them back, and held them at bay until the morning of the 23rd. Pleasonton's actions, however, frightened Price and his army, and influenced them, after they had crossed the Big Blue, to send their wagon trains to Little Santa Fe on the Fort Scott Road.
October 22-23, 1864 - The Battle of Byram's Ford, Missouri. (MO026) (Price's Missouri Expedition [September-October 1864]). Major General Sterling Price's Army of Missouri was headed west towards Kansas City and Fort Leavenworth. Major General Samuel R. Curtis's Army of the Border, in and around Westport, was blocking the Confederates' way west and Major General Alfred Pleasonton's provisional cavalry division was pressing Price's army's rear. Price had nearly 500 wagons with him and, therefore, required a good ford over the Big Blue River to facilitate the passage of his supplies. Byram's Ford was the best ford in the area and became a strategic point during the fighting around Westport. On October 22, Major General James G. Blunt's division held a defensive position on the Big Blue River's west bank. Around 10:00 am on the 22nd, part of Brigadier General Joseph O. Shelby's Confederate division conducted a frontal attack on Blunt's men. This attack was a ruse because the rest of Shelby's men flanked Blunt's hasty defenses, forcing the Federals to retire to Westport. Price's wagon train and about 5,000 head of cattle then crossed the Big Blue River at Byram's Ford and headed southward toward Little Santa Fe and safety. Pleasonton's cavalry was hot on Price's army's tail. Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke's Rebel division held the west bank of the Big Blue at Byram's Ford to prevent Pleasonton from attacking Price's rear. Pleasonton assaulted Marmaduke at Byram's Ford, around 8:00 am, on the 23rd. Three hours later, Marmaduke's men had enough and fell back toward Westport. With Pleasonton across the river, he was now an additional threat to Price who was fighting Curtis's Army of the Border at Westport. Price had to retreat south.
October 23, 1864 - The Battle of Westport, Missouri. (MO027) (Price's Missouri Expedition [September-October 1864]). Major General Sterling Price's Missouri Expedition had changed course from St. Louis and Jefferson City to Kansas City and Fort Leavenworth. As his army neared Kansas City, Major General Samuel R. Curtis's Army of the Border blocked its way west, while Major General Alfred Pleasonton's provisional cavalry division was closing on their rear. Price decided that he needed to deal with the two Union forces and decided to attack them one at a time. With Pleasonton still behind him, Price chose to strike Curtis at Westport first. Curtis had established strong defensive lines and during a four-hour battle, the Confederates hurled themselves at the Union forces but to no avail. The Rebels could not break the Union lines and retreated south. Westport was the decisive battle of Price's Missouri Expedition, and from this point on, the Rebels were in retreat.
October 24, 1864 - Confederate Major General Sterling Price, CSA, concluded his incursion into Missouri, moving his long train of captured Federal supplies along the Kansas state line.
October 25, 1864 - The Battle of Marais des Cygnes, Kansas. (KS004) (Price's Missouri Expedition [September-October 1864]). Major General Sterling Price led an expedition into Missouri which Union forces under Major General Samuel R. Curtis and Major General Alfred Pleasonton finally countered around Kansas City, Missouri. Price withdrew south, and Pleasonton, commanding in the field, pursued him into Kansas and fought him at Marais des Cygnes. After an artillery bombardment that began at 4:00 am, Pleasonton's men attacked furiously. Although outnumbered, they hit the Rebel line, forcing them to withdraw.
October 25, 1864 - The Battle of Mine Creek, Kansas. (KS003) (Price's Missouri Expedition [September-October 1864]). About six miles south of Trading Post, where the Marais de Cygnes engagement had occurred, the brigades of Colonel Frederick W. Benteen and Colonel John F. Phillips, of Major General Alfred Pleasonton's Provisional Cavalry Division, overtook the Confederates as they were crossing Mine Creek. These Rebels, stalled by their wagons crossing the ford, had formed a line on the north side of Mine Creek. The Federals, although outnumbered, commenced the attack as additional troops from Pleasonton's command arrived during the fight. They soon surrounded the Rebels, resulting in the capture of about 600 men and two generals, Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke and Brigadier General William L. Cabell. Having lost this many men, Price's army was doomed. Retreat to friendly territory was the only recourse.
October 25, 1864 - The Battle of Marmiton River, Missouri. (MO028) (Price's Missouri Expedition [September-October 1864]). Following the Battle of Mine Creek, Major General Sterling Price continued his cartage towards Fort Scott. In late afternoon of October 25, Price's supply train had difficulty crossing the Marmiton River ford and, like at Mine Creek, Price had to make a stand. Brigadier General John S. McNeil, commanding two brigades of Pleasonton's cavalry division, attacked the Confederate troops that Price and his officers rallied, included a sizable number of unarmed men. McNeil observed the sizable Confederate force, not knowing that many of them were unarmed, and refrained from an all out assauLieutenant After about two hours of skirmishing, Price continued his retreat and McNeil could not mount an effective pursuit. Price's army was broken by this time, and it was simply a question of how many men he could successfully evacuate to friendly territory.
October 26-29, 1864 - The Battle of Decatur, Alabama. (AL004) (Franklin-Nashville Campaign [September-December 1864]). As General John B. Hood began the Franklin-Nashville Campaign during the fall of 1864, his Army of Tennessee demonstrated against Decatur, Alabama, October 26-29, in an attempt to cross the Tennessee River. Union forces, under the command of Brigadier General Robert S. Granger for most of the battle, numbered only about 5,000 men, but successfully prevented the much larger Confederate force from crossing the river.
October 27, 1864 - The Battle on the Roanoke River off Plymouth, North Carolina. Federal Lieutenant William Cushing sank the Confederate ram Albermarle at Plymouth, North Carolina. A Federal Torpedo launch, commanded by Lieutenant W. B. Cushing, destroyed the Confederate ram C.S.S. Albemarle in the Roanoke River, assuring the North renewed control of the waters around Plymouth, North Carolina.
October 27-28, 1864 - The Battles of Fair Oaks and Darbytown Road, Virginia. (VA080) (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign [June-December 1864]). In combination with movements against the Boydton Plank Road at Petersburg, Major General Benjamin Butler attacked the Richmond defenses along Darbytown Road with the X Corps. The XVIII Corps marched north to Fair Oaks where it was soundly repulsed by Hoke's Confederate division. Confederate forces counterattacked, taking some 600 prisoners. The Richmond defenses remained intact. Of Grant's offensives north of the James River, this was repulsed most easily.
October 27-28, 1864 - The Battles of Boydton Plank Road, Virginia. (VA079) (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign [June-December 1864]). Directed by Major General Winfield Scott Hancock, divisions from three Union corps (II, V, and IX) and Gregg's cavalry division, numbering more than 30,000 men, withdrew from the Petersburg lines and marched west to operate against the Boydton Plank Road and Southside Railroad. The initial Union advance on October 27 gained the Boydton Plank Road, a major campaign objective. But that afternoon, a counterattack near Burgess' Mill spearheaded by Major General Henry Heth's division and Wade Hampton's cavalry isolated the II Corps and forced a retreat. The Confederates retained control of the Boydton Plank Road for the rest of the winter.
To Boydton Plank Road Battlefield
October 28, 1864 - The Battle of Newtonia II, Missouri. (MO029) (Price's Missouri Expedition [September-October 1864]). Price's force was in full retreat following its expedition into Missouri. On October 28, 1864, it stopped to rest about two miles south of Newtonia, Missouri. Soon afterward, Major General James G. Blunt's Union troops surprised the Confederates and began to drive them. Brigadier General Joe Shelby's division, including his Iron Brigade, rode to the front, dismounted, and engaged the Yankees while the other Rebel troops retreated towards Indian Territory. Brigadier General John B. Sanborn later appeared with Union reinforcements which convinced Shelby to retire. The Union troops forced the Confederates to retreat but failed to destroy or capture them.
October 30, 1864 - Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, sent Federal Major General John Schofield, USA, to reinforce Federal Major General George H. Thomas, USA, at Nashville, Tennessee, in order to repel Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood's invasion of Tennessee.
October 31, 1864 - Nevada was admitted to the Union as the thirty-sixth state.
November 4, 1864 - Confederate raiders captured the small Federal gunboats U.S.S. Key West, U.S.S. Tawah, and U.S.S. Elfin near Johnsonville, Tennessee, on the Tennessee River.
November 4-5, 1864 - The Battle of Johnsonville, Tennessee. (TN032) (Franklin-Nashville Campaign [September-December 1864]). In an effort to check the Union army's advance through Georgia, Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest led a 23-day raid culminating in an attack on the Yankee supply base at Johnsonville, Tennessee. Swinging north from Corinth, Mississippi, toward the Kentucky border and temporarily blockading the Tennessee River at Fort Herman, Forrest then moved southward along the Tennessee River's west bank, capturing several U.S. steamers and a gunboat which he later had to abandon. On November 4, Forrest began positioning his artillery across the river from the Federal supply base and landing at Johnsonville. The Union discovered the Confederates finishing their entrenchments and battery emplacements in the afternoon of the 4th. The Union gunboats and land batteries, across the river, engaged the Confederates in an artillery duel. The Rebel guns, however, were so well-positioned, the Federals were unable to hinder them. In fact, Confederate artillery fire disabled the gunboats. Fearing that the Rebels might cross the river and capture the transports, the Federals set fire to them. At the time the boats were torched, the wind extended the fire to the piles of stores on the levee and to a warehouse loaded with supplies. Seeing the fire, the Confederates began firing on the steamboats, barges, and warehouses to prevent the Federals from putting out the fire. An inferno illuminated Forrest's night withdrawal, and he escaped Union clutches without serious loss. Damages totaled $2.2 million. The next morning, on the 5th, some Confederate artillery bombarded the depot in the morning but then left. Although this brilliant victory further strengthened Forrest's reputation and destroyed a great amount of Union materiel, it failed to stem the tide of Union success in Georgia. By this time, Forrest often harassed the Union Army but, as this engagement demonstrated, he could not stop their operations.
November 7, 1864 - The second session of the 2nd Confederate Congress opened in Richmond, Virginia, which would be the final government session of the Confederate States of America.
November 8, 1864 - Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson won the 1864 election for U. S. President and U. S. Vice-President, respectively, defeating Democrat Major General George B. McClellan, USA. Lincoln carried all but three states with 55 percent of the popular vote and 212 of 233 electoral votes. Federal soldiers overwhelmingly voted to re-elect Lincoln, choosing to continue the war against the Confederate States of America. Lincoln was the first Northern president to receive a second term.
November 11-13, 1864 - The Battle of Bull's Gap, Tennessee. (TN033) (Breckenridge's Advance into East Tennessee [November 1864]). In November 1864, Major General John C. Breckinridge undertook an expedition into East Tennessee, anticipating that Confederate sympathizers would join his force and help drive the Yankees from the area. The Federals initially retired in front of this force and, on November 10, were at Bull's Gap on the East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad. The Confederates attacked them on the morning of the 11th but were repulsed by 11:00 am. Artillery fire continued throughout the day. The next morning, both sides attacked; the Confederates sought to hit the Union forces in a variety of locations but they gained little. The next day firing occurred throughout most of the day, but the Confederates did not assault the Union lines because they were marching to flank them on the right. Before making the flank attack, the Union forces, short on everything from ammunition to rations, withdrew from Bull's Gap after midnight, on the 14th. Breckinridge pursued, but the Federals received reinforcements and foul weather played havoc with the roads and streams. Breckinridge, with most of his force, retired back to Virginia. This victory was a temporary Union setback in the Federal plans to rid East Tennessee of Confederate influence.
November 14, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln officially ended the military career of Federal Major General George Brinton McClellan, USA, by accepting his resignation.
November 14, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln ordered military commanders in Louisiana to cooperate more fully with his civilian "Ten Percent" government there.
November 16, 1864 - After destroying warehouses and railroad facilities in Atlanta, Georgia, Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, along with 62,000 troops, began his famous "March to the Sea." U. S. President Abraham Lincoln, on advice from Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, approved the idea.
November 16, 1864 - The Battle of Lovejoy's Station, Georgia.
November 17, 1864 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis strongly objected to any notion by several Georgia state senators that he discuss a separate peace treaty with the Federal government.
November 18, 1864 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered Confederate Major General Howell Cobb, CSA, commanding the Georgia Reserves, to engage Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, during his "March to the Sea" with every available man, including slaves used to dig obstructions, fell trees, etc.
November 19, 1864 - With little threat of Confederate intervention, U. S. President Abraham Lincoln lifted the Federal blockade of the southern ports of Norfolk, Virginia; Fernandina, Florida; and Pensacola, Florida.
November 21, 1864 - Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood, CSA, with his Confederate Army of Tennessee, joined by cavalry under Confederate Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest, CSA, ignored Sherman's "March to the Sea," and began their drive from Florence, Alabama, toward Nashville, Tennessee, to cut supposed Federal supply lines.
November 22, 1864 - The Battle of Griswoldville, Georgia. (GA025) (Savannah Campaign [November-December 1864]). Brigadier General Charles Walcutt was ordered to make a demonstration, with the six infantry regiments and one battery that comprised his brigade, toward Macon to ascertain the disposition of enemy troops in that direction. He set out on the morning of November 22, and after a short march he ran into some of Major General Joseph Wheeler's cavalry and drove them beyond Griswoldville. Having accomplished his mission, Walcutt retired to a position at Duncan's Farm and fortified it with logs and rails to meet an expected Rebel attack force composed of three brigades of Georgia State Militia. The Georgia Militia had been ordered from Macon to Augusta, thinking the latter was Sherman's next objective, and accidentally collided with Walcutt's force. The Union force withstood three determined charges before receiving reinforcements of one regiment of infantry and two regiments of cavalry. The Rebels did not attack again and soon retired.
November 23, 1864 - Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, pursuing a scorched-earth policy during his "March to the Sea," reached and occupied the state capital at Milledgeville, Georgia.
November 23-25, 1864 - The Battle of Ball's Ferry, Georgia.
November 24-29, 1864 - The Battle of Columbia, Tennessee. (TN034) (Franklin-Nashville Campaign [September-December 1864]). Conflict near Columbia, during Hood's 1864 Tennessee invasion, constituted a Confederate diversion as part of a maneuver designed to cross the Duck River upstream and interdict the Union army's line of communications with Nashville. As General John Bell Hood's army advanced northeastward from Florence, Alabama, Major General John M. Schofield's force quickly withdrew from Pulaski to Columbia, arriving on November 24, just ahead of Forrest's Rebel cavalry. The Federals built two lines of earthworks south of the town while skirmishing with enemy cavalry on November 24 and 25. Hood advanced his infantry on the following day but did not assauLieutenant He made demonstrations along the front while marching two corps of his army to Davis Ford, some five miles eastward on the Duck River. Schofield correctly interpreted Hood's moves, but foul weather prevented him from crossing to the north bank before November 28, leaving Columbia to the Confederates. The next day, both armies marched north for Spring Hill. Schofield had slowed Hood's movement but had not stopped him.
November 25, 1864 - A Confederate plot to burn New York City, New York, failed. Southern agents, which arrived from Canada, set fires to 10 hotels in New York City, causing little damage as most fires were extinquished quickly.
November 26, 1864 - The Battle of Sandersville, Georgia.
November 28, 1864 - The Battle of Buck Head Creek, Georgia. (GA026) (Savannah Campaign [November-December 1864]). As Sherman's infantry marched southeast through Georgia, his cavalry, under Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick moved northeastward, on November 24, 1864, to destroy the railroad midway between Augusta and Millen, burn the trestle near Briar Creek and, if possible, release Union prisoners confined at Camp Lawton, near Millen, while feigning a drive towards Augusta. Confederate Major General Joseph Wheeler was fooled and concentrated his cavalry forces around Augusta. When Kilpatrick did not show, Wheeler realized his mistake and rode off in an attempt to catch his Union counterpart. On the 26th, Wheeler caught up with two lagging Union regiments, attacked their camp, chased them to the larger force and prevented Kilpatrick from destroying the Briar Creek trestle. Kilpatrick instead destroyed a mile of track in the area and moved southwest to join up with Sherman. Kilpatrick also discovered that the Union prisoners at Camp Lawton had been taken to other unknown sites. He encamped near Buck Head Creek on the night of the 27th. Wheeler came along the next morning, almost captured Kilpatrick, and pursued him and his men to Buck Head Creek. As Kilpatrick's main force crossed the creek, one regiment, supported by artillery, fought a rearguard action severely punishing Wheeler and then burned the bridge behind them. Wheeler soon crossed and followed, but a Union brigade behind barricades at Reynolds's Plantation halted the Rebels' drive, eventually forcing them to retire.
November 29, 1864 - The Battle of Spring Hill, Tennessee. (TN035) (Franklin-Nashville Campaign [September-December 1864]). Spring Hill was the prelude to the Battle of Franklin. On the night of November 28, 1864, General John Bell Hood's Army of Tennessee marched toward Spring Hill to get astride Major General John M. Schofield's Union army's life line. Cavalry skirmishing between Brigadier General James H. Wilson's Union cavalry and Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest's Confederate troopers continued throughout the day as the Confederates advanced. On November 29, Hood's infantry crossed Duck River and converged on Spring Hill. In the meantime, Major General Schofield reinforced the troops holding the crossroads at Spring Hill. In late afternoon, the Federals repulsed a piecemeal Confederate infantry attack. During the night, the rest of Schofield's command passed from Columbia through Spring Hill to Franklin. This was, perhaps, Hood's best chance to isolate and defeat the Union army. The engagement has been described as "%one of the most controversial non-fighting events of the entire war."
November 29-30, 1864 - The Battle of Sand Creek, Colorado. (CO001) (Sand Creek Campaign [November 1864]). Scattered Indian raids had caused much ill-will between the white settlers and the Native Americans. In the autumn, Territorial (Colorado) officers had offered a vague amnesty if Indians reported to army forts. Black Kettle with many Cheyennes and a few Arapahos, believing themselves to be protected, established a winter camp about 40 miles from Fort Lyon. On November 29, Colonel John Chivington, who advocated Indian extermination, arrived near the camp, having marched there from Fort Lyon. In spite of the American flag and a white flag flying over the camp, the troops attacked, killing and mutilating about 200 of the Indians, two-thirds of whom were women and children.
November 30, 1864 - The Battle of Franklin II, Tennessee. (TN036) (Franklin-Nashville Campaign [September-December 1864]). Having lost a good opportunity at Spring Hill to hurt significantly the Union Army, General John B. Hood marched in rapid pursuit of Major General John M. Schofield's retreating Union army. Schofield's advance reached Franklin about sunrise on November 30 and quickly formed a defensive line in works thrown up by the Yankees in the spring of 1863, on the southern edge of town. Schofield wished to remain in Franklin to repair the bridges and get his supply trains over them. Skirmishing at Thompson's Station and elsewhere delayed Hood's march, but, around 4:00 pm, he marshaled a frontal attack against the Union perimeter. Two Federal brigades holding a forward position gave way and retreated to the inner works, but their comrades ultimately held in a battle that caused frightening casualties. When the battle ceased, after dark, six Confederate generals were dead or had mortal wounds. Despite this terrible loss, Hood's army, late, depleted and worn, crawled on toward Nashville.
November 30, 1864 - The Battle of Honey Hill, South Carolina. (SC010) (Savannah Campaign [November-December 1864]). Leaving Hilton Head on November 28, a Union expeditionary force under Major General John P. Hatch, steamed up the Broad River in transports to cut the Charleston & Savannah Railroad near Pocotaligo. Hatch disembarked at Boyd's Landing and marched inland. On November 30, Hatch encountered a Confederate force of regulars and militia under Colonel Charles J. Colcock at Honey Hill. Determined attacks by U.S. Colored Troops (including the 54th Massachusetts) failed to capture the Confederate entrenchments or cut the railroad. Hatch retired after dark, withdrawing to his transports at Boyd's Neck.
December 1, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln appointed James Speed, from Kentucky, to replace Edward Bates, who had recently resigned, as U. S. Attorney General.
December 2, 1864 - Confederate Major General Sterling Price, CSA, and his Confederate troops reached Laynesport, Arkansas, effectively ending his latest and last Confederate expedition into Missouri.
December 2, 1864 - Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood, CSA, and his Confederate Army of Tennessee, prepared a defensive line south of Nashville, Tennessee.
December 3, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln and Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, urged Federal Major General George H. Thomas, USA, to attack the Confederate Army of Tennessee, outside Nashville, Tennessee. Thomas deferred, instead waiting to build his army's strength with incoming reinforcements and the solidification of his entrenched defensive works.
December 4, 1864 - The Battle of Waynesborough, Georgia. (GA027) (Savannah Campaign [November-December 1864]). As Sherman's infantry marched southeast through Georgia, his cavalry under Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick rode northeastward. He set out on the morning of December 4 to attack Waynesborough and destroy Joseph Wheeler's cavalry command. That morning Kilpatrick's men advanced, driving the Rebel skirmishers in front of them. The Union force then came up against a defensive line of barricades which they eventually overran. As the Union advance continued, they met more barricades which required time to overcome. Finally, the Confederates fell back to a final line of barricades within the town. After furious fighting, the Union troops broke through and Wheeler's force ran.
December 5-7, 1864 - The Battle of Murfreesboro II, Tennessee. (TN037) (Franklin-Nashville Campaign [September-December 1864]). In a last, desperate attempt to force Major General William T. Sherman's army out of Georgia, General John Bell Hood led the Army of Tennessee north toward Nashville in November 1864. Although he suffered a terrible loss at Franklin, he continued toward Nashville. In operating against Nashville, he decided that destruction of the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad and disruption of the Union army supply depot at Murfreesboro would help his cause. He sent Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest, on December 4, with an expedition, composed of two cavalry divisions and Major General William B. Bate's infantry division, to Murfreesboro. On December 2, Hood had ordered Bate to destroy the railroad and blockhouses between Murfreesboro and Nashville and join Forrest for further operations; on December 4, Bate's division attacked Blockhouse No. 7 protecting the railroad crossing at Overall Creek, but Union forces fought it off. On the morning of the 5th, Forrest headed out toward Murfreesboro, splitting his force, one column to attack the fort on the hill and the other to take Blockhouse No. 4, both at La Vergne. Upon his demand for surrender at both locations, the Union garrisons did so. Outside La Vergne, Forrest hooked up with Bate's division and the command advanced on to Murfreesboro along two roads, driving the Yankees into their Fortress Rosencrans fortifications, and encamped in the city outskirts for the night. The next morning, on the 6th, Forrest ordered Bate's division to "move upon the enemy's works." Fighting flared for a couple of hours, but the Yankees ceased firing and both sides glared at each other for the rest of the day. Brigadier General Claudius Sears's and Brigadier General Joseph B. Palmer's infantry brigades joined Forrest's command in the evening, further swelling his numbers. On the morning of the 7th, Major General Lovell Rousseau, commanding all of the forces at Murfreesboro, sent two brigades out under Brigadier General Robert Milroy on the Salem Pike to feel out the enemy. These troops engaged the Confederates and fighting continued. At one point some of Forrest's troops broke and ran causing disorder in the Rebel ranks; even entreaties from Forrest and Bate did not stem the rout of these units. The rest of Forrest's command conducted an orderly retreat from the field and encamped for the night outside Murfreesboro. Forrest had destroyed railroad track, blockhouses, and some homes and generally disrupted Union operations in the area, but he did not accomplish much else. The raid on Murfreesboro was a minor irritation.
December 6, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln appointed former U. S. Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase, as Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court, after the death of Roger B. Taney. It was suggested Lincoln did so to eliminate Chase's political aspirations.
December 7, 1864 - Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, overall commander of the Federal armies, contemplated removing Federal Major General George H. Thomas, USA, if Thomas did not immediately obey orders and attack Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood, CSA, and his Confederate Army of Tennessee, located outside Nashville, Tennessee.
December 7-27, 1864 - The Battle of Fort Fisher I, North Carolina. (NC014) (Expedition Against Fort Fisher [December 1864]). Major General Benjamin Butler was relieved of command of the Army of the James and assigned to lead an amphibious expedition against Fort Fisher, which protected Wilmington, the South's last open seaport on the Atlantic coast. Learning that large numbers of Union troops had embarked from Hampton Roads on December 13, Lee dispatched Hoke's Division to meet the expected attack on Fort Fisher. On December 24, the Union fleet under Rear Adm. David D. Porter arrived to begin shelling the fort. An infantry division disembarked from transports to test the fort's defenses. The Federal assault on the fort had already begun when Hoke approached, discouraging further Union attempts. Butler called off the expedition on December 27 and returned to Fort Monroe.
December 10, 1864 - Federal Major General William T. Sherman's "March to the Sea" concluded as his troops reached Savannah, Georgia.
December 12, 1864 - Communications were established between Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, and the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, under the command of Federal Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren, USN, at Savannah, Georgia. Federal Major General William T. Sherman had finally reached the "Sea."
December 12, 1864 - Federal Major General George H. Thomas, USA, prepared to attack Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood, CSA, outside Nashville, Tennessee, as soon as the ice and sleet melted.
December 13, 1864 - The Battle of Fort McAllister II, Georgia. (GA028) (Savannah Campaign [November-December 1864]). As Sherman's troops approached Savannah they sorely required supplies. Sherman determined that if he could take Fort McAllister, supply ships could reach him. Thus, he ordered Major General O.O. Howard, commander of his right wing, to take the fort. Howard chose Brigadier General William B. Hazen to accomplish the task. Hazen, in the afternoon of December 13, had his men in line for the attack. Upon giving the order to attack, his men rushed forward through the various obstacles prepared for them, entered the fort, and captured it. With his supply line open, Sherman could now prepare for the siege and capture of Savannah.
December 13, 1864 - Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, ordered Federal Major General John Logan, USA, to Nashville, Tennessee, with orders to relieve Federal Major General George H. Thomas, USA, of command of forces if Thomas failed to attack Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood, CSA, and his Confederate Army of Tennessee, once the weather broke.
December 13, 1864 - Federal Rear Admiral Farragut, USN, arrived in New York City, New York, for a period of rest after his arduous duty in the Gulf of Mexico and was acclaimed as a conquering hero. Ten days later he was promoted to the newly established rank of Vice Admiral.
December 15-16, 1864 - The Battle of Nashville, Tennessee. (TN038) (Franklin-Nashville Campaign [September-December 1864]). In a last desperate attempt to force Major General William T. Sherman's army out of Georgia, General John Bell Hood led the Army of Tennessee north toward Nashville in November 1864. Although he suffered terrible losses at Franklin on November 30, he continued toward Nashville. By the next day, the various elements of Major General George H. Thomas's army had reached Nashville. Hood reached the outskirts of Nashville on December 2, occupied positions on a line of hills parallel to those of the Union and began erecting fieldworks. Union Army Engineer, Brigadier General James St. Clair Morton, had overseen the construction of sophisticated fortifications at Nashville in 1862-63, strengthened by others, which would soon see use. From the 1st through the 14th, Thomas made preparations for the Battle of Nashville in which he intended to destroy Hood's army. On the night of December 14, Thomas informed Major General Henry W. Halleck, acting as Major General Ulysses S. Grant's chief of staff, that he would attack the next day. Thomas planned to strike both of Hood's flanks. Before daylight on the 15th, the first of the Union troops, led by Major General James Steedman, attacked the Confederate right, pinning down one Rebel corps there for the rest of the day. Attack on the Confederate left on Montgomery Hill did not begin until after noon. With this charge's success, attacks on other parts of the Confederate left commenced, all eventually successful. By this time it was dark and fighting stopped for the day. Although battered and with a much smaller battle line, General Hood was still confident. He established a main line of resistance along the base of a ridge about two miles south of his former location, throwing up new works and fortifying Shy's and Overton's hills on the flanks. The Federal IV Army Corps marched out to within 250 yards of the Confederate's new line and constructed fieldworks. During the rest of the morning, other Union troops took position opposite the new Confederate line. The same brigade that took Montgomery Hill the day before received the nod for the attack against Overton's Hill. This charge, although gallantly conducted, failed, but other troops (Major General A. J. Smith's "Israelites") successfully assaulted Shy's Hill in their fronts. Seeing the success along the line, other Union troops charged up Overton's Hill and took it. Hood's army was routed. Thomas had left one escape route open but the Union army set off in pursuit. For tendays, the pursuit continued until the beaten and battered Army of Tennessee recrossed the Tennessee River. Hood's army was stalled at Columbia, beaten at Franklin, and routed at Nashville. Hood retreated to Tupelo and resigned his command.
December 17-18, 1864 - The Battles of Marion, Virginia. (VA081) (Stoneman's Raid into Southwest Virginia [December 1864]). Riding through the Cumberland Gap, Stoneman's expedition advanced on the important lead mines and salt ponds around Marion and Saltville. On December 17, Stoneman defeated a makeshift force of Confederate defenders. On the 18th, the Federals destroyed the leadworks and mines. On the 20th, they captured and destroyed the salt works at Saltville.
December 18, 1864 - Confederate Lieutenant General William J. Hardee, CSA, refused Federal Major General William T. Sherman's demand for the surrender of Savannah, Georgia, opting instead to evacuate the city.
December 20, 1864 - The Confederate evacuation of Savannah, Georgia, began. The Battles of Saltville II, Virginia. (VA082) (Stoneman's Raid into Southwest Virginia [December 1864]). After defeating a Confederate force at Marion on the December 17-18, Stoneman's expedition advanced to Saltville. After determined skirmishing on the part of the outnumbered Confederate defenders, the Federals captured and destroyed the saltworks, accomplishing the objective of their raid.
December 21, 1864 - The Confederate evacuation of Savannah, Georgia, continued as Federal Major General William T. Sherman's 20th Army Corps reached the city, leaving behind a 300 mile long path of destruction 60 miles wide all the way from Atlanta. Sherman then telegraphed U. S. President Abraham Lincoln, and offered him Savannah as a Christmas present.
December 21, 1864 - Confederate Flag Officer W. W. Hunter, CSN, destroyed the last of the Confederate Savannah Squadron to prevent its capture by the advancing forces of Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA.
December 24-25, 1864 - A joint Federal Army-Navy operation under Federal Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter, USN, and Federal Major General Benjamin F. Butler, USA, unsuccessfully attempted to take the Confederate stronghold of Fort Fisher, Wilmington, North Carolina, by amphibious assault.
December 25, 1864 - Federal Major General Benjamin F. Butler's joint Army-Navy expedition failed to take Fort Fisher, North Carolina.
December 27, 1864 - What was left of Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood's Army of Tennessee crossed the Tennessee River into Alabama.
December 30, 1864 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln gave Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, the go-ahead to fire Federal Major General Benjamin F. Butler, USA, for his fiasco at Fort Fisher, North Carolina, and to replace him with Federal Major General Edward O. C. Ord, USA.
January 1, 1865 - The proposed Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery was reintroduced in the U. S. House of Representatives, having already passed in the U. S. Senate.
January 3, 1865 - A large portion of the Federal Army of the Tennessee, commanded by Federal Major General Oliver O. Howard, USA, was transfered from Savannah, Georgia, to Beaufort, South Carolina, as Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, prepared to move north and invade South Carolina.
January 7, 1865 - At the behest of Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, U. S. President Abraham Lincoln removed Federal Major General Benjamin F. Butler, USA, from active service in the U. S. Army, after his last failure on the assault on Fort Fisher, Wilmington, North Carolina.
January 9, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln sent U. S. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton to Savannah, Georgia, for discussions with Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, on military strategy and his alledged mistreatment of black freedman.
January 9, 1865 - The Tennessee state convention voted to abolish slavery, which was confrmed by a popular vote on February 22.
January 11, 1865 - The Missouri state constitutional convention voted to abolish slavery.
January 12, 1865 - Frank Blair, Sr., a Northern Democratic politician with sons in the Republican Party, conferred with Confederate President Jefferson Davis on a possible peace conference.
January 13-15, 1865 - The Battle of Fort Fisher II, North Carolina. (NC015) (Operations Against Fort Fisher and Wilmington [January-February 1865]). After the failure of his December expedition against Fort Fisher, Major General Benjamin Butler was relieved of command. Major General Alfred Terry was placed in command of a "Provisional Corps," including Paine's Division of U.S. Colored Troops, and supported by a naval force of nearly 60 vessels, to renew operations against the fort. After a preliminary bombardment directed by Rear Adm. David D. Porter on January 13, Union forces landed and prepared an attack on Major General Robert Hoke's infantry line. On the 15th, a select force moved on the fort from the rear. A valiant attack late in the afternoon, following the bloody repulse of a naval landing party carried the parapet. The Confederate garrison surrendered, opening the way for a Federal thrust against Wilmington, the South's last open seaport on the Atlantic coast.
January 13, 1865 - Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood, CSA, resigned as commander of the Confederate Army of Tennessee, in Tupelo, Mississippi
January 14, 1865 - Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, CSA, assumed temporary command of the Confederate Army of Tennessee, in Tupelo, Mississippi.
January 15, 1865
- Federal Major General Alfred Howe Terry, USA, captured Fort Fisher, Wilmington, North Carolina, effectively closing the last major Confederate port.
January 16, 1865 - Frank Blair, Sr. reported to U. S. President Abraham Lincoln on his discussions for peace with Confederate President Jefferson Davis, but Lincoln refused to act as if there were two nations.
January 16, 1865 - Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, issued Special War Order No. 15, creating a thirty-mile-wide land zone set aside exclusively for the use of freedman and their families along the south Atlantic coast.
January 18, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln told Frank Blair, Sr. that he would talk informally with any representative from the South about peace.
January 19, 1865 - Giving in to political pressure from the Confederate Congress, Confederate President Jefferson Davis grudgingly agreed to appoint Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, the commander of all the Confederate forces in the field.
January 19, 1865 - Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, began his Carolinas Campaign.
January 23, 1865 - The Confederate Congress created the position of General-In-Chief of the Confederate armies.
January 23, 1865 - Confederate Lieutenant General Richard Taylor, CSA, was transferred from Louisiana to the entire western theater as overall Confederate commander, while his old army was sent to the Carolinas for the upcoming Federal advance.
January 23-24, 1865 - The Confederate fleet under Flag Officer John K. Mitchell, CSN, attempted to dash down the James River to attack Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's headquarters at City Point, Virginia. The bold attack was thwarted when the heaviest of the Confederate ironclads ran aground.
January 24, 1865 - The Confederate Congress proposed a prisoner exchange and Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, agreed, ending a nearly year long exchange boycott.
January 28, 1865 - After various meetings with Francis Preston Blair, Sr., regarding peace discussions, Confederate President Jefferson Davis appointed Confederate Vice-President Alexander Stephens; former U. S. Supreme Court Justice John A. Campbell; and Robert M. T. Hunter, commissioners to meet with Federal authorities to further discuss potential peace overtures.
January 30, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln issued a pass to permit three Confederate peace commissioners to come to Federal-held Fortress Monroe, Virginia.
January 31, 1865 - The U. S. House of Representatives voted 119 to 56 to approve the Thirteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which abolished slavery. The amendment was then submitted to the states for ratification, which would take until December 18, 1865, to be approved by the requisite number of states.
January 31, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln instructed U. S. Secretary of State William Seward to travel to Fortress Monroe, Virginia, and to hold peace discussions with the recently appointed Confederate Commission.
January 31, 1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis appointed Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, to the recently created position of General-In-Chief.
February 1, 1865 - Bowing to political pressure, Confederate President Jefferson Davis accepted the resignation of the Confederate Secretary of War James A. Seddon.
February 2, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln traveled from Washington, D. C. to Fortress Monroe, Virginia, joining U. S. Secretary of State William H. Seward aboard the U.S.S. River Queen, where they planned to meet with a Confederate peace delegation the next day.
February 2, 1865 - The states of Rhode Island and Michigan became the 2nd and 3rd states, repsectively, to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.
February 3, 1865 - The Battle of Rivers' Bridge, South Carolina. (SC011) (Carolinas Campaign [February-March 1865]). On February 2, a Confederate force under McLaws held the crossings of the Salkehatchie River against the advance of the right wing of Sherman's Army. Federal soldiers began building bridges across the swamp to bypass the road block. In the meantime, Union columns worked to get on the Confederates' flanks and rear. On February 3, two Union brigades waded the swamp downstream and assaulted McLaws's right. McLaws retreated toward Branchville after stalling Sherman's advance for only one day.
February 3, 1865 - The states of Maryland, New York, and West Virginia became the 4th, 5th, and 6th states, repsectively, to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.
February 3, 1865 - A peace conference occurred as U. S. President Abraham Lincoln and U. S. Secretary of State William H. Seward met with Confederate Vice-President Alexander Stephens, Confederate Senator Robert M. T. Hunter, and Confederate Assistant Secretary of War John A. Campbell at Hampton Roads, Virginia, to discuss peace proposals. Lincoln reiterated there would be no peace until the southern states recognized the Federal government as the only national government, which the southern states were a part of. The meeting ended in failure - the war would continue.
February 4, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln returned to Washington, D. C., believing nothing was accomplished during the peace conference the revious day.
February 5-7, 1865 - The Battle of Hatcher's Run, Virginia. (VA083) (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign continued [January-March 1865]). On February 5, David McM. Gregg's cavalry division rode out to the Boydton Plank Road via Reams' Station and Dinwiddie Court House in an attempt to intercept Confederate supply trains. Major General G. K. Warren with the V Corps crossed Hatcher's Run and took up a blocking position on the Vaughan Road to prevent interference with Gregg's operations. Two divisions of the II Corps under Major General A. A. Humphreys shifted west to near Armstrong's Mill to cover Warren's right flank. Late in the day, Major General John B. Gordon attempted to turn Humphreys right flank near the mill but was repulsed. During the night, the Federals were reinforced by two divisions. On February 6, Gregg returned to Gravelly Run on the Vaughan Road from his unsuccessful raid and was attacked by elements of Pegram's division. Warren pushed forward a reconnaissance in the vicinity of Dabney's Mill and was attacked by Pegram's and Mahone's divisions. Confederate Brigadier General Pegram was killed in the action. Although the Union advance was stopped, the Federals extended their siegeworks to the Vaughan Road crossing of Hatcher's Run.
February 6, 1865 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, assumed the position of General-In-Chief of all the Confederate armies.
February 6, 1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis appointed Confederate Major General John C. Breckinridge, CSA, Confederate Secretary of War, replacing James A. Seddon.
February 7, 1865 - The states of Maine and Kansas became the 7th and 8th states, respectively, to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.
February 8, 1865 - The states of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania became the 9th and 10th states, respectively, to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.
February 9, 1865 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, proposed granting a pardon to all deserters who returned to their commands within 30 days. Confederate President Jefferson Davis concurred.
February 10, 1865 - The states of Ohio and Missouri became the 11th and 12th states, repsectively, to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.
February 12-22, 1865 - The Battle of Wilmington, North Carolina. (NC016) (Operations Against Fort Fisher and Wilmington [January-February 1865]). With the fall of Fort Fisher to Major General Alfred Terry's and Rear Admiral David Porter's combined operation on January 15, Wilmington's days were numbered. About 6,600 Confederate troops under Major General Robert Hoke held Fort Anderson and a line of works that prevented the Federals from advancing up the Cape Fear River. Early February, the XXIII Corps arrived at Fort Fisher, and Major General John Schofield took command of Union forces. Schofield now began a series of maneuvers to force the Confederates to abandon their defenses. On February 16, Jacob Cox's division ferried across the river to confront Fort Anderson, while Porter's gunboats bombarded the fort. On February 17-18, Ames's division conducted a wide flanking march to get in the fort's rear. Seeing the trap ready to close, the Confederates evacuated Fort Anderson during the night of the 18th-19th, withdrawing to Town Creek to form a new defensive line. The next day, this line collapsed to increasing Federal pressures. During the night of February 21-22, General Braxton Bragg ordered the evacuation of Wilmington, burning cotton, tobacco, and government stores.
February 16, 1865 - The states of Indiana, Louisiana, and Nevada became the 13th, 14th, and 15th states, respectively, to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.
February 17, 1865 - Forces under Confederate Lieutenant General William J. Hardee, CSA, evacuated Charleston, South Carolina, and headed for Cheraw, South Carolina.
February 17, 1865 - Forces under Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, occupied Columbia, South Carolina, the state capital. Cavalry under Confederate Lieutenant General Wade Hampton, CSA, set fire to cotton bales before they fled, and that evening the majority of the city was destroyed by fire.
February 18, 1865 - Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, ordered the burning of all important buildings, railroad tracks, and military stores that were not already burned by the fire that swept through Columbia, South Carolina, on February 18, 1865, as the Confedertate forces evacuated the city.
February 18, 1865 - After Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, was abandoned due to Federal Major General William T. Sherman's soldiers approaching from the rear and a Federal Navy supported amphibious assault from Bull's Bay, the city of Charleston, South Carolina, was evacuated.
February 18, 1865 - The Confederate C.S.S. Shenandoah, commanded by Confederate Lieutenant James I. Waddell, CSN, departed Melbourne, Australia, to resume her commerce raiding career in the Pacific Ocean.
February 21, 1865 - Confederate General Braxton Bragg, CSA, evacuated Wilmington, North Carolina, at nightfall, burning large quantities of precious, irreplaceable, Confederate supplies.
February 22, 1865 - The city of Wilmington, North Carolina, was occupied by Federal forces as Federal Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter's ships steamed up the Cape Fear River and Federal Major General Alfred H. Terry's soldiers marched on the city. The city surrendered to Federal Major General John Schofield, USA.
February 22, 1865 - Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, was recalled to command of the Confederate Army of Tennessee by Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, to oppose Federal Major General William T. Sherman's advance in North Carolina.
February 22, 1865 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, drew up plans to retreat to Burkeville, Virginia, and unite with the Confederate forces in North Carolina if he was forced to leave his defensive position around Petersburg, Virginia, and Richmond, Virginia.
February 25, 1865 - Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, now commanding the Confederate Army of Tennessee, notified Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, that he believed a combination of his troops with those of Confederate General Braxton Bragg, CSA, in North Carolina was necessary to mount any kind of obstruction to the forces under Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA.
February 27, 1865 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, was still concerned over the large number of desertions from his Army of Northern Virginia. Its strength was rapidly dwindling.
March 1, 1865 - The state of Wisconsin became the 16th state to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.
March 2, 1865 - The Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia. (VA123) (Sheridan's Expedition to Petersburg [March 1865]). This engagement was effectively the last conflict in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. On February 27, Major General Philip Sheridan with two cavalry divisions rode from Winchester up the Shenandoah Valley to Staunton. Turning east, the Federals encountered the last remnant of Lieutenant General Jubal Early's Valley army at Waynesboro on March 2. After a brief stand-off, a Federal attack rolled up Early's right flank and scattered his small force. More than 1,500 Confederates surrendered. Early and a few of his staff evaded capture. Sheridan crossed the Blue Ridge to Charlottesville and then raided south, destroying the James River Canal locks near Goochland Court House. He joined forces with the Army of the Potomac near Petersburg on March 26 for the opening of the Appomattox Campaign.
March 3, 1865 - Before adjourning, the 38th U. S. Congress established the Federal Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees, structured to manage and supervise all abandoned lands controlled by the U. S. and to provide assistance to the refugees and freed slaves.
March 4, 1865 - Louisiana Governor Michael Hahn accepted his election to the U. S. Senate, turning the governorship over to J. Madison Wells.
March 4, 1865 - U. S. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Salmon P. Chase, sweared in Abraham Lincoln for his 2nd term as President of the United States, in Washington, D. C.
March 5, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln appointed the current Comptroller of the Currency, Hugh McCulloch, to be Secretary of the Treasury, replacing William Fessenden, who resigned after being re-elected to the Senate from his home state of Maine.
March 6, 1865 - The Battle of Natural Bridge, Florida. (FL006) (Operations near Saint Mark's [March 1865]). Major General John Newton had undertaken a joint force expedition to engage and destroy Confederate troops that had attacked at Cedar Keys and Fort Myers and were allegedly encamped somewhere around St. Marks. The Navy had trouble getting its ships up the St. Marks River. The Army force, however, had advanced and, after finding one bridge destroyed, started before dawn on March 6 to attempt to cross the river at Natural Bridge. The troops initially pushed Rebel forces back but not away from the bridge. Confederate forces, protected by breastworks, guarded all of the approaches and the bridge itself. The action at Natural Bridge lasted most of the day, but, unable to take the bridge, the Union troops retreated to the protection of the fleet.
March 7-10, 1865 - The Battle of Wyse Fork, North Carolina. (NC017) (Carolinas Campaign [February-March 1865]). Schofield planned to advance inland from Wilmington in February at the same time assigning Major General Jacob Cox to direct Union forces from New Berne toward Goldsboro. On March 7, Cox's advance was stopped by Hoke's and Hagood's divisions under General Braxton Bragg's command at Southwest Creek below Kinston. On the 8th, the Confederates attempted to seize the initiative by attacking the Union flanks. After initial success, the Confederate attacks stalled because of faulty communications. On March 9, the Union forces were reinforced and beat back Bragg's renewed attacks on the 10th after heavy fighting. Bragg withdrew across the Neuse River and was unable to prevent the fall of Kinston on March 14.
March 9, 1865 - The state of Vermont became the 17th state to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.
March 9, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln accepted the resignation of U. S. Secretary of the Interior John P. Usher, effective May 15, 1865.
March 10, 1865 - The Battle of Monroe's Cross-Roads, North Carolina. (NC018) (Carolinas Campaign [February-March 1865]). As Sherman's army advanced into North Carolina, Kilpatrick's Cavalry Division screened its left flank. On the evening of March 9, two of Kilpatrick's brigades encamped near the Charles Monroe House in Cumberland County. Early on the 10th, Confederate cavalry under the command of Lieutenant General Wade Hampton surprised the Federals in their camps, driving them back in confusion and capturing wagons and artillery. After a while, the Federals regrouped and counterattacked, regaining their camps after a desperate fight. With Union reinforcements on the way, the Confederates withdrew.
March 11, 1865 - Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, reached and occupied Fayetteville, North Carolina, and re-established contact with Federal forces on the Atlantic coast. Sherman now prepared to attack forces under Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, who blocked his path.
March 11, 1865 - General War Order No. 23 of the Federal Department of the Gulf codified practices for the employment of contrabands in the state of Louisiana.
March 13, 1865 - After delays and debate which had been going on for quite some time, the Confederate Congress approved enlisting negroes into the Confederate Army to shore up their shrinking numbers. Confederate President Jefferson Davis signed the bill immediately.
March 16, 1865 - The Battle of Averasborough, North Carolina. (NC019) (Carolinas Campaign [February-March 1865]). On the afternoon of March 15, Judson Kilpatrick's cavalry came up against Lieutenant General William Hardee's corps, consisting of Taliaferro's and McLaw's infantry divisions and Wheeler's dismounted cavalry, deployed across the Raleigh Road near Smithville. After feeling out the Confederate defenses, Kilpatrick withdrew and called for infantry support. During the night, four divisions of the XX Corps arrived to confront the Confederates. At dawn, March 16, the Federals advanced on a division front, driving back skirmishers, but they were stopped by the main Confederate line and a counterattack. Mid-morning, the Federals renewed their advance with strong reinforcements and drove the Confederates from two lines of works, but were repulsed at a third line. Late afternoon, the Union XIV Corps began to arrive on the field but was unable to deploy before dark due to the swampy ground. Hardee retreated during the night after holding up the Union advance for nearly two days.
March 17, 1865 - Federal Major General Edward R. S. Canby, USA, opened an attack on Mobile, Alabama.
March 18, 1865 - The Confederate Congress adjourned for the last time in Richmond, Virginia.
March 19-21, 1865 - The Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina. (NC020) (Carolinas Campaign [February-March 1865]). While Slocum's advance was stalled at Averasborough by Hardee's troops, the right wing of Sherman's army under command of Major General O. O. Howard marched toward Goldsborough. On March 19, Slocum encountered the entrenched Confederates of General Joseph E. Johnston who had concentrated to meet his advance at Bentonville. Late afternoon, Johnston attacked, crushing the line of the XIV Corps. Only strong counterattacks and desperate fighting south of the Goldsborough Road blunted the Confederate offensive. Elements of the XX Corps were thrown into the action as they arrived on the field. Five Confederate attacks failed to dislodge the Federal defenders and darkness ended the first day's fighting. During the night, Johnston contracted his line into a "V" to protect his flanks with Mill Creek to his rear. On March 20, Slocum was heavily reinforced, but fighting was sporadic. Sherman was inclined to let Johnston retreat. On the 21st, however, Johnston remained in position while he removed his wounded. Skirmishing heated up along the entire front. In the afternoon, Major General Joseph Mower led his Union division along a narrow trace that carried it across Mill Creek into Johnston's rear. Confederate counterattacks stopped Mower's advance, saving the army's only line of communication and retreat. Mower withdrew, ending fighting for the day. During the night, Johnston retreated across the bridge at Bentonville. Union forces pursued at first light, driving back Wheeler's rearguard and saving the bridge. Federal pursuit was halted at Hannah's Creek after a severe skirmish. Sherman, after regrouping at Goldsborough, pursued Johnston toward Raleigh. On April 18, Johnston signed an armistice with Sherman at the Bennett House, and on April 26, formally surrendered his army.
March 22, 1865 - Federal Major General James H. Wilson, USA, launched a sweeping Federal cavalry raid with 13,500 troops into northern Alabama, to destroy one of the last Confederate munitions manufacturing facilities.
March 23, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln departed Washington, D. C., with his wife and son, to confer with Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, and Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, at City Point, Virginia, outside Petersburg, Virginia.
March 24, 1865 - The Confederate ironclad C.S.S. Stonewall, commanded by Confederate Captain Thomas J. Page, CSN, put to sea from Ferrol, Spain, en route to Havana, Cuba. The ironclad was intended to raise the blockade of one or more southern ports.
March 25, 1865 - The Battle of Fort Stedman, Virginia. (VA084) (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign continued [January-March 1865]). In a last-gasp offensive, General Robert E. Lee amassed nearly half of his army in an attempt to break through Grant's Petersburg defenses and threaten his supply depot at City Point. Directed by Major General John B. Gordon, the pre-dawn assault on March 25 overpowered the garrisons of Fort Stedman and Batteries X, XI, and XII. The Confederates were brought under a killing crossfire, and counterattacks led by Major Gens. Parke and Hartranft contained the breakthrough, cut off, and captured more than 1,900 of the attackers. During the day, elements of the II and V Corps assaulted and captured the entrenched picket lines in their respective fronts, which had been weakened for the assault on Fort Stedman. This was a devastating blow for Lee's army, setting up the Confederate defeat at Five Forks on April 1 and the fall of Petersburg on April 2-3.
March 25, 1865 - The last offensive for Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia began with an attack on the center of Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's forces at Petersburg, Virginia. Four hours later the attack was broken.
March 27, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln met with Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, and Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, and Admiral David Dixon Porter, USN, at City Point, Virginia, aboard the U.S.S. River Queen, to discuss his policy on Confederate surrender and reconstruction.
March 27 - April 8, 1865 - The Battle of Spanish Fort, Alabama. (AL005) (Mobile Campaign [March-April 1865]). Major General E. R. S. Canby's forces, the XIII and XVI corps, moved along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay, forcing the Confederates back into their defenses. Union forces then concentrated on Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely. On March 27, 1865, Canby's forces rendezvoused at Danley's Ferry and immediately undertook a siege of Spanish Fort. The Union had enveloped the fort by April 1, and on April 8 captured it. Most of the Confederate forces, under the command of Brigadier General Randall L. Gibson, escaped and fled to Mobile, but Spanish Fort was no longer a threat.
March 29, 1865 - The Battle of Lewis's Farm, Virginia. (VA085) (Appomattox Campaign [March-April 1865]). On March 29, in the opening moves of Grant's spring offensive, Sheridan marched with the army's cavalry followed by the V Corps toward Dinwiddie Court House to turn the right flank of Lee's Petersburg defenses. The Union V Corps under Major General G. K. Warren crossed Rowanty Creek, moved up the Quaker Road toward the Boydton Plank Road intersection, and encountered Wise's and Wallace's Confederate brigades. A sharp firefight forced the Confederates back to their entrenchments on the White Oak Road.
March 29, 1865 - The Battle of Quaker and Boydton Roads, Virginia.
March 31, 1865 - The Battle of White Oak Road, Virginia. (VA087) (Appomattox Campaign [March-April 1865]). On March 30, General Lee shifted reinforcements to meet the Federal movement to turn his right flank, placing Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry divisions at Five Forks and transferring Pickett's division from the Bermuda Hundred front to the extreme right. Warren pushed the V Corps forward and entrenched a line to cover the Boydton Plank Road from its intersection with Dabney Mill Road south to Gravelly Run. Ayres's division advanced northwest toward White Oak Road. On March 31, in combination with Sheridan's thrust via Dinwiddie Court House, Warren directed his corps against the Confederate entrenchments along White Oak Road, hoping to cut Lee's communications with Pickett at Five Forks. The Union advance was stalled by a crushing counterattack directed by Major General Bushrod Johnson, but Warren's position stabilized and his soldiers closed on the road by day's end. This fighting set up the Confederate defeat at Five Forks on April 1.
March 31, 1865 - The Battle of Dinwiddie Court House, Virginia. (VA086) (Appomattox Campaign [March-April 1865]). On March 29, with the Cavalry Corps and the II and V Corps, Sheridan undertook a flank march to turn Lee's Petersburg defenses. A steady downpour turned the roads to mud, slowing the advance. On March 31, Fitzhugh Lee's Cavalry and Pickett's infantry division met the Union vanguard north and northwest of Dinwiddie Courthouse and drove it back, temporarily stalling Sheridan's movement. With Union infantry approaching from the east, Pickett withdrew before daybreak to entrench at the vital road junction at Five Forks. Lee ordered Pickett to hold this intersection at all hazard.
To Dinwiddie Court House Battlefield
April 1, 1865 - The Battle of Five Forks, Virginia. (VA088) (Appomattox Campaign [March-April 1865]). General Robert E. Lee ordered Major General George Pickett with his infantry division and Munford's, W. H. F. Lee's, and Rosser's cavalry divisions to hold the vital crossroads of Five Forks at all hazard. On April 1, while Sheridan's cavalry pinned the Confederate force in position, the V Corps under G. K. Warren attacked and overwhelmed the Confederate left flank, taking many prisoners. Sheridan personally directed the attack, which extended Lee's Petersburg lines to the breaking point. Loss of Five Forks threatened Lee's last supply line, the Southside Railroad. The next morning, Lee informed Jefferson Davis that Petersburg and Richmond must be evacuated. Union general Winthrop was killed; "Willie" Pegram, beloved Confederate artillery officer, was killed. Dissatisfied with his performance at Five Forks, Sheridan relieved Warren of command of the V Corps.
April 2, 1865 - The Battle of Petersburg III, Virginia. (VA089) (Appomattox Campaign [March-April 1865]). With Confederate defeat at Five Forks on April 1, Grant and Meade ordered a general assault against the Petersburg lines by II, IX, VI and XXIV Corps on April 2. A heroic defense of Fort Gregg by a handful of Confederates prevented the Federals from entering the city that night. Lieutenant General A. P. Hill was killed trying to reach his troops in the confusion. After dark, Lee ordered the evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond. Grant had achieved one of the major military objectives of the war: the capture of Petersburg, which led to the fall of Richmond, the Capitol of the Confederacy.
April 2, 1865 - The Battle of Sutherland's Station, Virginia. (VA090) (Appomattox Campaign [March-April 1865]). Union columns converged on Petersburg on April 2. Miles's force struck north from White Oak Road meeting elements of four Confederate brigades (Cook, Scales, McRae, McGowan) attempting to defend the Southside Railroad. The Confederates placed their left flank on the Ocran Methodist Church, where it was overrun by three Union brigades commanded by Major General Miles. The Confederate defenders were scattered and driven northwestward. With this victory, the Federals possessed the Southside Railroad, Lee's last supply line into Petersburg.
April 2, 1865 - The Battle of Selma, Alabama. (AL007) (Wilson's Raid in Alabama and Georgia [April 1865]). Major General James H. Wilson, commanding three divisions of Union cavalry, about 13,500 men, led his men south from Gravelly Springs, Alabama, on March 22, 1865. Opposed by Confederate Lieutenant General Nathan B. Forrest, Wilson skillfully continued his march and eventually defeated him in a running battle at Ebenezer Church, on April 1. Continuing towards Selma, Wilson split his command into three columns. Although Selma was well-defended, the Union columns broke through the defenses at separate points forcing the Confederates to surrender the city, although many of the officers and men, including Forrest and Lieutenant General Richard Taylor, escaped. Selma demonstrated that even Forrest, whom some had considered invincible, could not stop the unrelenting Union movements deep into the Southern Heartland.
April 2, 1865 - A large portion of Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital, was set on fire as the populace evacuated the city. Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and other members of the government, fled from Richmond, Virginia, aboard a train heading for Danville, Virginia.
April 2-4, 1865 - Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory ordered the destruction of the Confederate James River Squadron, and directed its officers and men to join Confederate General Robert E. Lee's troops then in the process of evacuating Richmond and retreating westward toward Danville, Virginia.
April 2-9, 1865 - The Battle of Fort Blakely, Alabama. (AL006) (Mobile Campaign [March-April 1865]). E. R. S. Canby's forces, the XVI and XIII corps, moved along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay, forcing the Confederates back into their defenses. Union forces then concentrated on Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely. By April 1, Union forces had enveloped Spanish Fort, thereby releasing more troops to focus on Fort Blakely. Brigadier General St. John R. Liddell, with about 4,000 men, held out against the much larger Union force until other Confederate forces disengaged and Spanish Fort fell on April 8, allowing Canby to concentrate 16,000 men for the attack on April 9. Sheer numbers breached the Confederate earthworks compelling the Confederates to capitulate. The siege and capture of Fort Blakely was basically the last combined-force battle of the war. African-American forces played a major role in the successful Union assauLieutenant
April 3, 1865 - The Battle of Namozine Church, Virginia. (VA124) (Appomattox Campaign [March-April 1865]). A brigade of Federal cavalry under Colonel William Well, USA, (Custer's Division) attacked Confederate Major General Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry near Namozine Church on April 3, 1865, in a rearguard cavalry action.
April 3, 1865 - Midshipmen at the Confederate Naval Academy, under the command of Confederate Lieutenant William H. Parker, CSN, escorted the archives of the Confederate government and the bullion of the treasury from Richmond, Virginia, to Danville, Virginia.
April 3, 1865 - Both Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital, and Petersburg, Virginia, were occupied by Federal troops, as Federal Brigadier General Godfrey Weitzel, USA, and the Federal Army of the James, accepted both city's surrender.
April 3, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln visited Petersburg, Virginia, as the majority of the city was spared from being burned by the fleeing Confederate troops and population.
April 4, 1865 - Federal Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter, USN, accompanied U. S. President Abraham Lincoln up the James River to Richmond, Virginia, on board flagship U.S.S. Malvern. Federal Vice Admiral David G. Farragut, USN, had already arrived in the Confederate capital.
April 5, 1865 - The Battle of Amelia Springs, Virginia. (VA091) ( Appomattox Campaign [March-April 1865]). On April 5, Confederate cavalry under Fitzhugh Lee and Rosser assaulted Union cavalry under George Crook as they returned from burning Confederate wagons at Painesville. This running fight started north of Amelia Springs and pushed through and beyond Jetersville.
April 5, 1865 - William G. "Parson" Brownlow was elected the first loyal governor of a seceded state, Tennessee, on the Republican ticket.
April 6, 1865 - The Battle of Sayler's Creek, Virginia. (VA093) (Appomattox Campaign [March-April 1865]). On April 6 at Sayler's Creek, nearly one fourth of the retreating Confederate army was cut off by Sheridan's Cavalry and elements of the II and VI Corps. Most surrendered, including Confederate generals Richard S. Ewell, Barton, Simms, Kershaw, Custis Lee, Dubose, Hunton, and Corse. This action was considered the death knell of the Confederate army. Upon seeing the survivors streaming along the road, Lee exclaimed "My God, has the army dissolved? Lee had lost half of his army in the battle."
April 6, 1865 - The Battle of Rice's Station, Virginia. (VA092) (Appomattox Campaign [March-April 1865]). On April 6, Longstreet's command reached Rice's Station, its farthest point south, where it was blocked by Union XXIV Corps. After some skirmishing, Longstreet withdrew over the High Bridge during the night toward Farmville.
April 6-7, 1865 - The Battle of High Bridge, Virginia. (VA095) (Appomattox Campaign [March-April 1865]). On April 6, the Confederate cavalry fought stubbornly to secure the Appomattox River bridges. Confederate general Dearing was mortally wounded. On April 7, elements of the II Corps came up against Longstreet's rearguard attempting to fire the High Bridge and wagon bridge. Union forces were able to save the wagon bridge over which the II Corps crossed in pursuit of Lee's army. Failure to destroy this bridge enabled Union forces to catch up with the Confederates at Farmville.
April 7, 1865 - The Battle of Cumberland Church, Virginia. (VA094) (Appomattox Campaign [March-April 1865]). Near 2 pm on April 7, the advance of the Union II Corps encountered Confederate forces entrenched on high ground near Cumberland Church. The Union forces attacked twice but were repulsed, and darkness halted the conflict. Union general Smythe was mortally wounded, nearby, and J. I. Gregg was captured north of Farmville.
April 7, 1865 - The state of Tennessee became the 18th state to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.
April 7, 1865 - Near Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, and Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, entered into correspondence through written messages regarding surrender of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.
April 7, 1865 - The starving and tired remnants of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia crossed the Appomattox River and received much needed rations at Farmville, Virginia, as the Federal Army of the Potomac continued to surround them.
April 8, 1865 - The Confederate Spanish Fort at Mobile, Alabama, fell to Federal troops.
April 8, 1865 - The Battle of Appomattox Station, Virginia. (VA096) (Appomattox Campaign [March-April 1865]). Custer's division captured a supply train and twenty-five guns, driving off and scattering the Confederate defenders. This unique action pitted artillery without infantry support against cavalry. Custer captured and burned three trains loaded with provisions for Lee's army.
April 8-9, 1865 - The Battle of Appomattox Court House, Virginia. (VA097) (Appomattox Campaign [March-April 1865]). Early on April 9, the remnants of John Brown Gordon's corps and Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry formed line of battle at Appomattox Courthouse. General Robert E. Lee determined to make one last attempt to escape the closing Union pincers and reach his supplies at Lynchburg. At dawn the Confederates advanced, initially gaining ground against Sheridan's cavalry. The arrival of Union infantry, however, stopped the advance in its tracks. Lee's army was now surrounded on three sides. Lee surrendered to Grant on April 9. This was the final engagement of the war in Virginia.
To Appomattox Court House Battlefield
April 9, 1865 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, met Federal General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, in the home of Wilbur McLean at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, and formally surrendered the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. This ended active hostilities by Confederate and Federal forces in Virginia.
April 9, 1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis, representing the remnants of the Confederate Government, vowed to carry on the fight for Southern independence from their new capital at Danville, Virginia.
April 10, 1865 - Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, moved his army from Goldsborough, North Carolina, to Raleigh, North Carolina, to directly confront the forces of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA.
April 10, 1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis and some of his cabinet left Danville, Virginia, for Greensborough, North Carolina, hoping to evade the cavalry of Federal Major General George Stoneman, USA.
April 10, 1865 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, issued General War Order No. 9, which was Lee's formal farewell to his troops, officially disbanding the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.
April 11, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln, along with the citizens of Washington, D. C., continued to rejoice to the news coming from Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, informing them of the details of the surrender of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia by Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA.
April 11, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln gave his last speech from the White House balcony, discussing Reconstruction within the state of Louisiana, the seating of Louisiana's Free State government in the U. S. Congress, and the need for black intellectuals and those who served as soldiers to vote.
April 11-12, 1865 - Confederate batteries Tracy and Huger, up the Blakely River from Spanish Fort, fell to Federal forces, and their Confederate troops evacuated Mobile, Alabama, which was surrendered by the mayor of the city.
April 12, 1865 - At Greensborough, North Carolina, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, told Confederate President Jefferson Davis that further resistance was impossible. Davis gave Johnston permission to meet with Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, to discuss the issues of a Confederate surrender.
April 12, 1865 - Federal Major General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, USA, received the official surrender of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia by Confederate Major General John Brown Gordon, CSA, at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
April 12, 1865 - The city of Mobile, Alabama, fell to Federal soldiers as Confederate troops and the civilian population evacuated the city.
April 13, 1865 - Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, entered Raleigh, North Carolina, as he continued his pursuit of forces of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, towards the new temporary Confederate capital at Greensborough, North Carolina.
April 14, 1865 - On the evening of April 14, 1865, U. S. President Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary saw the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater. At 10:13 p.m., during the third act of the play, John Wilkes Booth shot the U. S. President in the head, while simultaneously Lewis Paine wounded U. S. Secretary of State William H. Seward in a separate incident. Doctors attended to the U. S. President in the theater then moved him to a house across the street.
April 14, 1865 - After four years to the day, April 14, 1861, since the fort's flag was lowered, Federal Major General Robert Anderson, USA, commander of the Federal Army garrison at Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, raised above Fort Sumter's ruins "the same United States flag which floated over the battlements of that fort during the rebel assault."
April 15, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln died at 7:22 a.m., never having regained consciousness after being shot by John Wilkes Booth the night before while attending Ford's Theater in Washington, D. C. The U. S. Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, proclaimed, "Now he belongs to the ages."
April 15, 1865 - U. S. Vice-President Andrew Johnson assumed the Presidency of the United States.
April 15, 1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis fled Greensborough, North Carolina.
April 16, 1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis, with the remnants of the Confederate government, arrived at Lexington, North Carolina.
April 17, 1865 - Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, and Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, met at the Bennett House, near Durham Station, North Carolina, and discussed the surrender of the Confederate Army of Tennessee.
April 17, 1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis and the remaining members of the Confederate government arrived at Salisbury, North Carolina.
April 17-18, 1865 - The remains of U. S. President Abraham Lincoln lied in state in the East Room of the White House, Washington, D. C., until his funeral on April 19, 1865.
April 18, 1865 - Hostilities between the armies of Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, and Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, were ended with Johnston's surrender near Durham, North Carolina. A broad agreement, the "Memorandum or Basis of Agreement," was reached that attempted to go beyond mere military considerations, bordering on a political solution (it provided for recognition of existing Southern state governments, and established a general amnesty) that would have to be approved by the U. S. government.
April 19, 1865 - Negotiations for the surrender of the Confederate forces in the Trans-Mississippi Department that were commanded by Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, CSA, were presented to Federal Major General John Pope, USA, who commanded the Federal Military Division of the Missouri.
April 19, 1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his fleeing entourage arrived at Charlotte, North Carolina.
April 19, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln's funeral procession on Pennsylvania Avenue moved his remains to the Rotunda of the Capitol, in Washington, D. C.
April 20, 1865 - The state of Arkansas became the 19th state to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.
April 20, 1865 - Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, wrote to Confederate President Jefferson Davis of his opposition to Davis' idea of transforming the struggle for Southern independence into one of guerrilla warfare.
April 21, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln's funeral railroad train left Washington, D. C., for Springfield, Illinois, with instructions to stop at many locations along the long circuitous route through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana.
April 23-24, 1865 - The Confederate C.S.S. Webb, commanded by Confederate Lieutenant Read, CSN, dashed from the Red River and entered the Mississippi River in a heroic last-ditch effort to escape to the sea. Trapped below New Orleans, Louisiana, the C.S.S. Webb was grounded and burned to avoid capture.
April 24, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln's body lied in state in New York City, New York.
April 24, 1865 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson and U. S. Secreatry of War Edwin Stanton rejected the agreement between Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, and Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, believing Sherman went beyond his authority to negotiate such terms. Sherman was furious when he heard the news, characterizing the negotiations as Lincoln's wishes as revealed aboard the U.S.S. River Queen on March 27, 1865.
April 24, 1865 - Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, was ordered to assume all remaining military movements.
April 25, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln's funeral train left New York City, New York, for Albany, New York.
April 26, 1865 - The Confederate Army of Tennessee surrendered at Bennett House, near Durham, North Carolina. Federal Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, accompanied by Federal Major General William T. Sherman, USA, offered, and Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, CSA, accepted the same surrender terms Grant offered Confederate General Robert E. Lee, CSA, at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
April 26, 1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his entourage set out from Charlotte, North Carolina, headed for the territory west of the Mississippi River, in order to continue the struggle for Southern independence.
April 26, 1865 - Confederate Secretary of the Treasury, George A. Trenholm, resigned due to poor health.
April 26, 1865 - John Wilkes Booth, accused assassin of U. S. President Abraham Lincoln, was shot and killed by Federal cavalry in a tobacco barn on Richard H. Garrett's farm, near Port Royal, Virginia. His accomplice, David E. Herold, was captured at the same time.
April 27, 1865 - The body of John Wilkes Booth, U. S. President Abraham Lincoln's assassin, was delivered on board the U.S.S. Montauk, anchored in the Anacostia River off the Washington Navy Yard.
April 27, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln's funeral train passed through Rochester, New York, and Buffalo, New York.
April 27, 1865 - The steamship Sultana blew up on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee, killing as many as 1,900 people, many returning Federal prisoners of war, in the worst maritime disaster in U. S. history.
April 28, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln's funeral train arrived in Cleveland, Ohio, where over 50,000 mourners viewed his coffin.
April 29, 1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his entourage arrived at Yorkville, South Carolina.
April 29, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln's funeral train arrived at Columbus, Ohio.
April 30, 1865 - Federal Major General Edward R. S. Canby, USA, met with Confederate Lieutenant General Richard Taylor, CSA, near Mobile, Alabama, and discussed and agreed on an end to hostilities, and the surrender of the remaining Confederate forces in Alabama and Mississippi.
April 30, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln's funeral train arrived at Indianapolis, Indiana.
May 1, 1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis, currently at Cokesburg, South Carolina, headed for the Florida coast.
May 1, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln's funeral train arrived in Chicago, Illinois, where his body lied in state at the city's Courthouse.
May 2, 1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his entourage arrived at Abbeville, South Carolina, now headed for Washington, Georgia.
May 2, 1865 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson put a $100,000 reward for the capture of Davis.
May 2, 1865 - The Confederate Navy turned over their cargo of bullion and archives to Davis' escort commander, Confederate Brigadier General Basil Duke, CSA, and then disbanded.
May 2, 1865 - Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory officially resigned, and left for La Grange, Georgia.
May 3, 1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis' entourage continued to dwindle as Confederate Secretary of State Judah P. Benjammin resigned and fled, eventually reaching England.
May 3, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln's funeral train reached its final destination, Springfield, Illinois.
May 4, 1865 - Confederate Lieutenant General Richard Taylor, CSA, surrendered all Confederate forces in the Confederate Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana, to Federal Major General Edward R. S. Canby, USA, at Citronelle, Alabama, just north of Mobile, Alabama, ending Confederate resistance east of the Mississippi River.
May 4, 1865 - U. S. President Abraham Lincoln was laid to rest in Oak Ridge Cemetery, outside Springfield, Illinois.
May 5, 1865 - The state of Connecticut became the 20th state to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.
May 5, 1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis and the few remaining remnants of Confederate authority arrived at Sandersville, Georgia, with Davis fearing for his life.
May 6, 1865 - Federal Major General David Hunter, USA, was appointed to head the commission which would try those accused of assassinating U. S. President Abraham Lincoln.
May 9, 1865 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson recognized the Francis H. Pierpont government, the pro-Union wartime governor of West Virginia, carved out of the state of Virginia during the Civil War.
May 10, 1865 - Confederate Major General Samuel Jones, CSA, surrendered his Confederate command at Tallahassee, Florida.
May 10, 1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis was taken prisoner by the Federal 4th Michigan Cavalry at Irwinsville, Georgia; the Confederate Government ceased to exist. Davis would be taken to Macon, Georgia, then to Richmond, Virginia, and finally to imprisonment at Fortress Monroe, Hampton Roads, Virginia.
May 11, 1865 - Confederate Brigadier General Meriwether "Jeff" Thompson, CSA, surrendered his Confederate command at Chalk Bluff, Arkansas.
May 12-13, 1865 - The Battle of Palmeto Ranch, Texas. (TX005) (Expedition from Brazos Santiago [May 1865]). Union Colonel Theodore H. Barrett, commanding forces at Brazos Santiago, Texas, dispatched an expedition, composed of 250 men of the 62nd U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment and 50 men of the 2nd Texas Cavalry Regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel David Branson, to the mainland, on May 11, 1865, to attack reported Rebel outposts and camps. Unable to cross to Point Isabel as instructed, because of foul weather, the expedition crossed to Boca Chica. At 2:00 am, on May 12, the expeditionary force surrounded a Rebel outpost at White's Ranch but found no one there. Exhausted, having been up most of the night, Branson secreted his command in a thicket and among weeds on the banks of the Rio Grande and allowed his men to sleep. Around 8:30 am, people on the Mexican side of the river informed the Rebels of the Federals whereabouts. Branson promptly led his men off to attack a Confederate camp at Palmeto Ranch. After much skirmishing along the way, the Federals attacked the camp and scattered the Confederates. At 3:00 pm, a sizable Confederate force appeared, influencing the Federals to retire to White's Ranch. Branson sent word of his predicament to Barrett, who reinforced Branson at daybreak on the 13th, with 200 men of the 34th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. The augmented force, now commanded by Barrett, started out towards Palmeto Ranch, skirmishing most of the way. At Palmeto Ranch, they destroyed the rest of the supplies not torched the day before and continued on. A few miles forward, they became involved in a sharp firefight. After the fighting stopped, Barrett led his force back to a bluff at Tulosa on the river to camp for the night. At 4:00 pm, a large Confederate cavalry force, commanded by Colonel John S. "Rip" Ford, approached, and the Federals formed a battle line. The Rebels hammered the Union line with artillery. To preclude an enemy flanking movement, Barrett ordered a retreat. The retreat was orderly and skirmishers held the Rebels at a respectable distance. Returning to Boca Chica at 8:00 pm, the men embarked at 4:00 am, on the 14th. This was the last battle in the Civil War. Native, African, and Hispanic Americans were all involved in the fighting. Many combatants reported that firing came from the Mexican shore and that some Imperial Mexican forces crossed the Rio Grande but did not take part in the battle. These reports were unproven.
May 13, 1865 - Confederate Lieutenant General Edmund Kirby Smith, CSA, met with the Confederate governers of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Missouri at Marshall, Texas, where Smith was advised to surrender his army. Confederate Brigadier General Joseph Orville Shelby, CSA, threatened to arrest Smith if he did.
May 15, 1865 - The resignation of U. S. Secretary of the Interior John P. Usher, which was accepted by U. S. President Abraham Lincoln on March 9, 1865, took effect on this day.
May 17-20, 1865 - The Confederate troops in Florida surrender to Federal Brevet Brigadier General Israel Vogdes, USA.
May 19, 1865 - The Confederate C.S.S. Stonewall, commanded by Confederate Captain T. J. Page, was turned over to Cuban officials at Havana, Cuba.
May 20, 1865 - Former Confederate Secretary of War Stephen R. Mallory was captured at LaGrange, Georgia, and transferred to Fort Lafayette, New York, where he would remain until paroled in March, 1866.
May 22, 1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis was imprisoned at Fortress Monroe, Hampton Roads, Virginia.
May 23, 1865 - The Federal Army of the Potomac, under the command of Federal Major General George Gordon Meade, USA, was part of the two day Grand Review of the Federal armies, a victory parade, held in Washington, D. C., along Pennsylvania Avenue to help boost the Nation's morale.
May 24, 1865 - The Federal Army of the Tennessee, under the command of Federal Major General William tecumseh Sherman, USA, was part of the two day Grand Review of the Federal armies, a victory parade, held in Washington, D. C., along Pennsylvania Avenue to help boost the Nation's morale.
May 26, 1865 - Confederate Lieutenant General Edmund Kirby Smith, CSA, surrendered all Confederate troops in the Trans-Mississippi Department (west of the Mississippi River) to Federal Major General Edward Richard Sprigg Canby, USA. The actual agreement took place in New Orleans, Louisiana, with Confederate Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner, CSA, representing Smith while Federal Major General Peter Joseph Osterhaus, USA, represented Canby. Confederate Brigadier General Joseph Orville Shelby, CSA, refused to surrender, opting instead to go to Mexico, dispersing the Amry's remainding personnel who refused to travel with him.
May 29, 1865 - In an act of reconciliation, U. S. President Andrew Johnson grants amnesty and pardons to all those who participated in the rebellion, with a few exceptions. All property rights were restored except those referring to slaves, and except for a few special cases. Individuals who participated in the rebellion and had had taxable property valued at over $20,000 were excluded from amnesty.
May 29, 1865 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson appointed Unionist William W. Holden provisional Governor of North Carolina.
June 2, 1865 - Terms of surrender of Galveston, Texas, were signed on board the Federal U.S.S. Fort Jackson by Confederate Lieutenant General Edmund Kirby Smith, CSA, on behalf of the Confederacy.
June 13, 1865 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson appointed Unionist Benjamin F. Perry provisional Governor of South Carolina.
June 13, 1865 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson appointed Unionist William H. Sharkey provisional Governor of Mississippi.
June 17, 1865 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson appointed Andrew Jackson Hamilton provisional Governor of Texas.
June 17, 1865 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson appointed James Johnson provisional Governor of Georgia.
June 19, 1865 - The Virginia state government of Francis H. Pierpont moved from Alexandria, Virginia, to Richmond, Virginia.
June 21, 1865 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson appointed Conservative Lewis Parsons provisional Governor of Alabama.
June 22, 1865 - Unaware that the Civil War was over, the Confederate C.S.S. Shenandoah continued to prey on Federal whaling ships in the Bering Sea.
June 22, 1865 - U. S. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles announced to the Federal naval forces that France and Great Britain had "withdrawn from the insurgents the character of belligerents," and that the blockade of the coast of the United States would soon be lifted.
June 23, 1865 - Confederate Brigadier General Stand Watie, CSA, and his Indian forces, a battalion of Creek, Seminole, Cherokee, and Osage Indians, surrendered at Doaksville, near Fort Towson, in Indian Territory (later Oklahoma), to Federal Lieutenant Colonel Asa C. Matthews, USA, who had been appointed just a few weeks earlier to negotiate a peace with the Indians. This surrender comprised the last organized Confederate force to officially surrender during the Civil War.
June 23, 1865 - By this date the military blockade of all southern ports, including restrictions on the Mississippi River, had been stopped by U. S. President Andrew Johnson.
June 28, 1865 - This date marked the most successful single day the Confederate C.S.S. Shenandoah, commanded by Confederate Lieutenant James I. Waddell, CSN, enjoyed as a commere raider during her long cruise that spanned 13 months and covered 58,000 miles. On this day, Waddell captured 11 American whaling ships near the narrows of the Bering Strait.
June 30, 1865 - The military tribunal for the nine suspects in the Lincoln assassination plot returned its verdict: three of the nine, along with Mrs. Mary E. Surratt, would be hung in the prison yard of the penitentiary on July 7, 1865 -- Lewis Paine who made the unsuccessful assassination attempt on U. S. Secretary of State William Henry Seward; George A. Atzerodt who had been designated by Booth to murder U. S. Vice-President Andrew Johnson; and David E. Herold who had accompanied Booth in his escape from the city. Michael O'Laughlin and Samuel B. Arnold, boyhood friends of Booth and conspirators in the actor's earlier plans to abduct U. S. President Abraham Lincoln and in his later plans to assassinate the government's top officials, were sentenced to life in prison. Another accomplice, Edward Spangler, stagehand at the Ford Theater was sentenced to six years in prison. Dr. Samuel Mudd, the physician who treated the injured Booth while he was fleeing Federal troops, was also sentenced to life in prison. The remaining two of the nine -- Ernest Hartman Richter, a cousin of Atzerodt, and Joao Celestino, a Portuguese sea captain -- were released without being brought to trial.
July 1, 1865 - The state of New Hampshire became the 21st state to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.
July 7, 1865 - Three of the eight suspects in the conspiracy to assassinate U. S. President Abraham Lincoln, along with Mrs. Mary E. Surratt, were hanged in the prison yard of the Old Penitentiary Building, Washington, D. C. -- Lewis Paine who made the unsuccessful assassination attempt on U. S. Secretary of State William H. Seward; George A. Atzerodt who had been designated by John Wilkes Booth to murder U. S. Vice-President Andrew Johnson; and David E. Herold who had accompanied Booth in his escape from the city. The other four conspirators were transferred to Fort Jefferson on Dry Torugas, off the Florida Keys near Key West:
- Michael O'Laughlin - will die in prison from yellow fever in 1867.
- Dr. Samuel Mudd - will be pardoned and released in 1868.
- Samuel Arnold - will be pardoned and released in 1869.
- Edward Spangler - will be pardoned and released in 1869.
- Dr. Samuel Mudd - will be pardoned and released in 1868.
July 13, 1865 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson appointed Unionist William Marvin provisional governor of Florida.
July 18, 1865 - Federal Rear Admiral Louis M. Goldsborough, USA, arrived at Flushing, in the Netherlands, where he hoisted his flag on the U.S.S. Colorado and assumed command of the reinstated European Squadron.
July 31, 1865 - The U. S. Navy reactivated its East India Squadron.
August 2, 1865 - Confederate Lieutenant James I. Waddell, CSN, commanding the C.S.S. Shenandoah, spoke with the commander of the English bark Barracouta and learned positively that the Civil War was over. He determined to make a nonstop voyage to Liverpool, England, via Cape Horn, South Africa.
August 12, 1865 - The U. S. Navy's Brazil Squadron was reactivated under Federal Rear Admiral Sylvanus W. Godon, in his flagship U.S.S. Susquehanna.
August 14, 1865 - Under the policy of Presidential Reconstruction, the state of Mississippi started a constitutional convention.
August 15, 1865 - A peace treaty was signed at the mouth of the Little Arkansas River, with the following Indian Nation tribes: Apache, Arapahoe, Comanche, and Kiowa.
September 11, 1865 - Emperor Maximilian approved the "Regulations and Instructions" prepared by Matthew Fontaine Maury to encourage emigration of southerners to Mexico. The Emperor also appointed Maury director of the proposed National Observatory.
September 12, 1865 - Under the policy of Presidential Reconstruction, the state of Alabama started a constitutional convention.
September 13, 1865 - Under the policy of Presidential Reconstruction, the state of South Carolina started a constitutional convention.
September 14, 1865 - A peace treaty was signed at Fort Smith, Arkansas, with the following Indian Nation tribes: Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw,Osage, Seminole, Seneca, Shawnee, and Quapaw.
September 27, 1865 - Republican Radicals met in Louisiana and elected Carpetbagger Henry Clay Warmoth as the territorial delegate to the U. S. Congress (Warmoth would be seated in December, 1865, when the real Louisiana delegation was refused its seats).
October 2, 1865 - Under the policy of Presidential Reconstruction, the state of Georgia started a constitutional convention.
October 2, 1865 - Under the policy of Presidential Reconstruction, the state of North Carolina started a constitutional convention.
October 2, 1865 - Conservative Benjamin G. Humphries was elected Governor of Mississippi.
October 11, 1865 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson pardoned all captured Confederate executive officers except Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
October 18, 1865 - Conservative James L. Orr was elected Governor of South Carolina.
October 25, 1865 - Under the policy of Presidential Reconstruction, the state of Florida started a constitutional convention.
November 3, 1865 - U. S. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles ordered all naval vessels to resume rendering honors when entering British ports and to begin again exchanging official courtesies with English men of war.
November 6, 1865 - The Confederate C.S.S. Shenandoah, commanded by Confederate Lieutenant James I. Waddell, CSN, arrived at Liverpool, England, 123 days and 23,000 miles from the Aleutians. Waddell surrendered to British authorities, lowered the last official Confederate flag, and his ship was ultimately turned over to American authorities.
November 6, 1865 - Unionist J. Madison Wells was elected Governor of Louisiana under U. S. President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction plan on both the Union and the Democratic tickets, and then he switched his party affiliation to Democrat.
November 9, 1865 - Conservative Jonathan Worth was elected Governor of North Carolina.
November 10, 1865 - Confederate Captain Henry Wirz, CSA, the commander of the notorious Confederate prison camp at Andersonville, Georgia, who proclaimed innocence throughout his trial, but was found guilty of atrocities against Federal prisoners, was hanged. He was the only enemy soldier executed because of his Civil War military service.
November 13, 1865 - The state of South Carolina became the 23rd state to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.
November 15, 1865 - Conservative Charles M. Jenkins was elected Governor of Georgia.
November 29, 1865 - Conservative David S. Walker was elected Governor of Florida.
December, 1865 - The Ku Klux Klan was founded during a series of local meetings in Pulaski, Tennessee.
December 1, 1865 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson ended the suspension of habeas corpus everywhere except in the District of Columbia, the former Confederate states, and the territories of New Mexico and Arizona.
December 2, 1865 - The state of Alabama became the 24th state to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.
December 2, 1865 - The Mississippi state legislature enacted the Black Code, a groups of laws under the Reconstuction Plan to control and regulate the conduct of Negro freedmen. These laws, which represented the southern definition of the status of the emancipated Negro, imposed restrictions on their participation on juries, limiting their testimony against whites, requiring them to have steady work, vagrancy laws, etc.
December 4, 1865 - The state of North Carolina became the 25th state to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.
December 4, 1865 - U. S. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles announced that the West India Squadron was to be reestablished under Federal Commodore James S. Palmer, USN, in that area "where we have so large a trade, owing to the proximity of the islands to our shores, it was essential that we cultivate friendly relations."
December 4, 1865 - The U. S. Congress rejected the role of former Confederate Brigadier Generals as the South's federal representatives and senators.
December 5, 1865 - The state of Georgia became the 26th state to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.
December 11, 1865 - The state of Oregon became the 27th state to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.
December 13, 1865 - Conservative Robert M. Patton was inaugurated Governor of Alabama.
December 15, 1865 - The Alabama state legislature enacted the Black Code.
December 18, 1865 - The 13th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which abolished slavery, was declared in effect by U. S. Secretary of State William Henry Seward because it has been approved by the required twenty-seven states.
December 20, 1865 - The Louisiana state legislature enacted the Black Code.
December 21, 1865 - The South Carolina state legislature enacted the Black Code.
Decmeber 31, 1865 - In his annual report to the President, U. S. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles wrote: "It was still wise--the wisest--economy to cherish the navy, to husband its resources, to invite new supplies of youthful courage and skill to its service, to be amply supplied with all needful facilities and preparations for efficiency, and thus to hold within prompt and easy reach its vast and salutary power for the national defence and self-vindication."
January 15, 1866 - The Florida state legislature enacted the Black Code.
February 7, 1865 - Under the policy of Presidential Reconstruction, the state of Texas started a constitutional convention.
February 8, 1865 - The Southern Homestead Act was passed by the U. S. Congress.
February 19, 1865 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson vetoed the Freedman's Bill Renewal Act.
February 22, 1865 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson's speech on George Washington's birthday announced his open disagreement with the U. S. Congress over his plans for Reconstruction.
February 28, 1866 - The Virginia state legislature enacted the Black Code.
March 10, 1866 - The North Carolina state legislature enacted the Black Code.
March 17, 1866 - The Georgia state legislature enacted the Black Code.
April 2, 1866 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson declared the Civil War over everywhere except in the state of Texas.
April 9, 1866 - The Civil Rights Act of 1866 passed over U. S. President Andrew Johnson's veto.
April 16, 1866 - A race riot occured in Norfolk, Virginia.
April 26, 1866 - The Civil War (the War of the Rebellion) was, by declaration, officially ended by U. S. President Andrew Johnson.
May 1, 1866 - A race riot occured in Memphis, Tennessee.
June 13, 1866 - The 14th Amendment passed the U. S. Congress and was sent to the states for ratification. Its purpose was to keep Southern legislatures from discriminating against freedmen, Unionists, and Federal soldiers. Limiting state authority, it gave the U. S. Supreme Court the power to protect basic civil rights of all United States citizens.
June 20, 1866 - The Report of the Joint Committee of Fifteen on Reconstruction was issued.
July 8, 1866 - Judge R. K. Howell recalled the Louisiana state convention of 1864 to meet on July 30, 1866, to amend the state constitution allowing African American suffrage and to adopt the 14th Amendment.
July 16, 1866 - The Freedman's Bureau Renewal Act was passed over U. S. President Andrew Johnson's veto.
July 24, 1866 - The state of Tennessee ratified the 14th Amendment.
July 24, 1866 - The state of Tennessee was readmitted to the Union.
July 30, 1866 - A race riot occured in New Orleans, Louisiana.
August 13, 1866 - Conservative James W. Throckmorton was sworn in as Governor of Texas.
August 20, 1866 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson declared the Civil War over in Texas.
August 28, 1866 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson began his "Swing around the Circle" tour, which would in time alienate Northern voters.
November 8, 1866 - The Texas state legislature enacted the Black Code.
December 17, 1866 - In ex parte Milligan, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that suspension of civil courts was unconstitutional unless the area of the court's jurisdiction is under actual enemy attack.
January 7, 1867 - The U. S. Congress began an investigation designed to impeach U. S. President Andrew Johnson.
January 14, 1867 - In ex parte Garland, the U. S. Supreme Court limited the use of the test oath for practitioners in Federal courts. In Cummings v. Missouri, the U. S. Supreme Court limited the use of the test oath for clergymen.
Spring, 1867 - Union Loyal Leagues organized white and black Republican voters in the South.
March 2, 1867 - The Command of the Army Act passed the U. S. Congress. The First Military Reconstruction Act passed the U. S. Congress. The Tenure of Office Act passed the U. S. Congress
March 2, 1867 - The Fortieth Congress Extra Session Act kept the U. S. Congress in session to negate any chance that U. S. President Andrew Johnson would interfere with Military Reconstruction.
March 11, 1867 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson appointed the following commanders to head several Military Districts:
- Brevet Major General John Schofield - First Military District (Virginia)
- Brevet Major General Dan Sickles - Second Military District (North and South Carolina)
- Brevet Major General John Pope - Third Military District (Georgia, Alabama, and Florida)
- Brevet Major General E. O. C. Ord - Fourth Military District (Arkansas and Mississippi)
- Major General Philip H. Sheridan - Fifth Military District (Louisiana and Texas)
April 15, 1867 - In Mississippi v. Johnson, the U. S. Supreme Court upheld U. S. President Andrew Johnson's enforcement of the Military Reconstruction Act.
April 22, 1867 - U. S. Brevet Major General John Pope tried to replace Georgia Governor Charles M. Jenkins without success.
April 23, 1867 - The Second Military Reconstruction Act passed the U. S. Congress.
April 30, 1867 - The Territory of Alaska was purchased from Russia.
May 13, 1867 - In Georgia v. Stanton, the U. S. Supreme Court upheld the U. S. Secretary of War's enforcement of the Military Reconstruction Acts.
June 3, 1867 - U. S. Major General Philip H. Sheridan appointed Scalawag Republican B. F. Flanders Governor of Louisiana, replacing Unionist Democrat J. Madison Wells, who was removed from office. The term "scalawag" refers to a Southern white who became a Republican during the Reconstruction period.
July 19, 1867 - The Third Military Reconstruction Act passed the U. S. Congress.
July 30, 1867 - U. S. Major General Philip H. Sheridan appointed Scalawag Republican Elisha M. Pease provisional governor of Texas, replacing Conservative James W. Throckmorton, who was removed from office.
August 19, 1867 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson appointed U. S. Brevet Major General Charles Griffin commander of the Fifth Military District, replacing U. S. Major General Philip H. Sheridan, who was removed from office.
September 5, 1867 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson appointed U. S. Brevet Major General Edward R. S. Canby commander of the Second Military District, replacing U. S. Brevet Major General Dan Sickles, who was removed from office.
September 16, 1867 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson appointed U. S. Brevet Major General Joseph Mower commander of the Fifth Military District, replacing U. S. Brevet Major General Charles Griffin, who had died from yellow fever.
November 23, 1867 - The Louisiana state constitutional convention began under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
November 29, 1867 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson appointed U. S. Major General Winfield Scott Hancock commander of the Fifth Military District, replacing U. S. Brevet Major General Joseph Mower, who was removed from office. He immediately issued his General Order No. 40, which limited the effect of military government in his command area.
December 5, 1867 - The Alabama state constitutional convention began under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
December 9, 1867 - The Georgia state constitutional convention began under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
December 28, 1867 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson appointed U. S. Brevet Major General George G. Meade commander of the Third Military District, replacing U. S. Brevet Major General John Pope, who was removed from office.
January 7, 1868 - The Arkansas state constitutional convention began under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
January 9, 1868 - The Mississippi state constitutional convention began under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
January 9, 1868 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson appointed U. S. Brevet Major General Alvan C. Gillem commander of the Fourth Military District, replacing U. S. Brevet Major General E. O. C. Ord, who was removed from office.
January 13, 1868 - U. S. Brevet Major General George G. Meade, commander of the Third Military District, appointed U. S. Brevet Brigadier General Thomas H. Ruger provisional Governor of Georgia, replacing Charles M. Jenkins, who was removed from office.
January 14, 1868 - The South Carolina state constitutional convention began under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
January 20, 1868 - The Florida state constitutional convention began under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
February 4, 1868 - Scalawag Republican William H. Smith elected Governor of Alabama.
February 10, 1868 - In Georgia v. Grant et al., the U. S. Supreme Court upheld the U. S. Army's enforcement of the Military Reconstruction Acts.
February 17, 1868 - In ex parte McCardle, the U. S. Supreme Court upheld the U. S. Congress's right to alter its appellate jurisdiction.
February 24, 1868 - The U. S. Congress impeached U. S. President Andrew Johnson.
March 4, 1868 - The impeachment trial of U. S. President Andrew Johnson began.
March 11, 1868 - The Fourth Military Reconstruction Act passed the U. S. Congress.
March 25, 1868 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson appointed U. S. Brevet Major General Robert C. Buchanan commander of the Fifth Military District, replacing U. S. Major General Winfield Scott Hancock, who resigned.
April 3, 1868 - U. S. Brevet Major General John Schofield, commander of the First Military District, appointed Carpetbag Republican Henry H. Wells Governor of Virginia, replacing Francis S. Pierpont, who was removed from office. The term "carpetbag (carpetbagger)" refers to any of the Northern politicians or profit-seeking adventurers in the South during the Reconstruction period, and beyond.
April 16, 1868 - Carpetbag Republican Robert K. Scott was elected Governor of South Carolina.
April 20, 1868 - Carpetbag Republican Rufus Bullock was elected Governor of Georgia.
April 23, 1868 - Carpetbag Republican William W. Holden was elected Governor of North Carolina.
April 23, 1868 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson appointed U. S. Brevet Major General George Stoneman commander of the First Military District, replacing U. S. Brevet Major General John Schofield, who was appointed U. S. Secretary of War, replacing Edwin M. Stanton.
May 16, 1868 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson was found not guilty in his impeachment trial.
June 1, 1868 - The start of the first session of the Texas state constitutional convention under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
June 4, 1868 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson appointed U. S. Brevet Major General Irvin McDowell commander of the Fourth Military District, replacing U. S. Brevet Major General Alvan C. Gillem, who was removed from office.
June 15, 1868 - U. S. Brevet Major General Irvin McDowell, commander of the Fourth Military District, appointed U. S. Brevet Brigadier General Adelbert Ames provisional governor of Mississippi, replacing Conservative Benjamin G. Humphries, who was removed from office.
June 22, 1868 - The state of Arkansas was readmitted to the Union, the first to be so, under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
June 22, 1868 - The state of Mississippi rejected its constitution drawn up under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
June 24, 1868 - U. S. Brevet Major General George G. Meade, commander of the Third Military District, appointed Scalawag Republican William H. Smith Governor-elect of Alabama, replacing Conservative Robert M. Patton, who was removed from office.
June 25, 1868 - The state of Florida was readmitted to the Union under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
June 25, 1868 - The state of Louisiana was readmitted to the Union under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
June 25, 1868 - The state of North Carolina was readmitted to the Union under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
June 25, 1868 - The state of South Carolina was readmitted to the Union under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
June 25, 1868 - The state of Alabama was readmitted to the Union under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
June 30, 1868 - Federal military control was finally withdrawn from the State of Arkansas.
June 30, 1868 - U. S. Major General Edward R. S. Canby, commander of the Second Military District, appointed Scalawag Republican William W. Holden Governor of North Carolina, replacing Conservative Jonathan Worth, who was removed from office.
July 1, 1868 - Carpetbag Republican Harrison Reed was inaugurated Governor of Florida.
July 2, 1868 - Carpetbag Republican Powell Clayton was inaugurated Governor of Arkansas.
July 6, 1868 - The U. S. Congress extended the Freedman's Bureau for one more year.
July 10, 1868 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson reappointed U. S. Brevet Major General Alvan C. Gillem commander of the Fourth Military District, replacing U. S. Brevet Major General Irvin McDowell, who was removed from office.
July 13, 1868 - Carpetbag Republican Henry Clay Warmoth was inaugurated Governor of Louisiana.
July 14, 1868 - Federal military control was finally withdrawn from the State of Alabama.
July 24, 1868 - Federal military control was finally withdrawn from the State of North Carolina.
July 25, 1868 - The U. S. Congress closed down all Freedmen's Bureau operations as of January 1, 1869, except for education, and U. S. Brevet Major General Oliver O. Howard confirmed as the head of the bureau for its duration or until he chose to resign.
July 28, 1868 - The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified.
July 28, 1868 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson appointed U. S. Brevet Major General Joseph J. Reynolds commander of the Fifth Military District, now consisting of Texas alone.
August 11, 1868 - Republication Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, from Pennsylvania, died in Washington, D. C.
November 4, 1868 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson appointed U. S. Major General Edward R. S. Canby commander of the Fifth Military District, replacing U. S. Brevet Major General Joseph J. Reynolds, who was removed from office.
November 4, 1868 - Arkansas Governor Powell Clayton declared martial law for four months to fight the Ku Klux Klan, the Knights of the White Camellia, and assorted lawbreakers.
November 6, 1868 - The first impeachment attempt of Florida Governor Harrison Reed failed.
December 1, 1868 - The state of Georgia was removed from the Union for violating the Military Reconstruction Acts.
December 8, 1868 - The 2nd Session of the Texas state constitutional convention began under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
December 9, 1868 - The Virginia state constitutional convention met under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
December 24, 1868 - U. S. President Andrew Johnson issued a general amnesty of Confederate soldiers and civil officials.
January 26, 1869 - The second impeachment attempt of Florida Governor Harrison Reed failed.
February 7, 1869 - The Military Reconstruction constitution meeting was assembled by civilian-military committee.
February 25, 1869 - Parson Brownlow resigned as governor of Tennessee to become Tennessee's U. S. Senator, and appointed Scalawag Republican DeWitt C. Senter to succeed him as governor.
March 4, 1869 - Ulysses S. Grant was inaugurated the 18th President of the United States.
March 5, 1869 - U. S. President Ulysses S. Grant appointed U. S. Brevet Major General Thomas Ruger command of the Third Military District. He also appointed U. S. Brevet Major General Joseph J. Reynolds command of the Fifth Military District, replacing U. S. Major General Edward R. S. Canby, who was removed from office.
March 18, 1869 - The Public Credit Act guaranteed the payment of the United States debt in gold or its equivalent.
March 27, 1869 - U. S. Brevet Major General George Stoneman tried to remove Governor Wells of Virginia. Instead he was replaced by U. S. Major General Edward R. S. Canby, and Wells was reinstated.
April 12, 1869 - In Texas v. White, the U. S. Supreme Court upheld the Military Reconstruction Acts.
May 10, 1869 - The Transcontinental Railroad was completed at Promontory Summit, Utah.
May 31, 1869 - U. S. President Ulysses S. Grant appointed U. S. Brevet Major General Alfred Terry to command of the Third Military District.
July 6, 1869 - Conservative Fusionist Gilbert C. Walker was elected Governor of Virginia on the platform of universal suffrage and universal amnesty.
August 30, 1869 - U. S. Brevet Major General Joseph J. Reynolds assumed Governorship of Texas upon the resignation of Elisha M. Pease.
September 21, 1869 - U. S. Major General Edward R. S. Canby appointed Governor-elect Gilbert C. Walker to office in Virginia.
September 24, 1869 - Black Friday crash on New York Stock Exchange as Jay Gould and Jim Fink's attempt to corner the gold market was thwarted.
October 4, 1869 - The state of Tennessee was redeemed, as Scalawag Republican DeWitt C. Senter changed parties to the Conservative Democratic party, and won the election.
October 5, 1869 - The state of Virginia was redeemed, the only southern state to be redeemed before its readmission to the Union under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
October 25, 1869 - In ex parte Yerger, the U. S. Supreme Court upheld its jurisdiction in habeas corpus cases under the Judiciary Act of 1789, regardless of the intent of Congress during more recent Reconstruction measures.
November 30, 1869 - The state of Mississippi voted for its constitution and against disfranchisement of whites of Confederate antecedents, electing Scalawag Republican James L. Alcorn as Governor.
December 22, 1869 - The U. S. Congress told the state of Georgia to reassemble the legislature under which it had been readmitted in 1868.
December 24, 1869 - U. S. Brevet Major General Alfred Terry was sent to purge Georgia of rebellious individuals and organizations.
January 18, 1870 - Scalawag Republican Edmund J. Davis was sworn in as Governor of Texas.
January 26, 1870 - The state of Virginia was readmitted to the Union under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
January 26, 1870 - Federal military control was finally withdrawn from the state of Virginia.
February 7, 1870 - In Hepburn v. Griswold, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that greenbacks were legal for debts contracted only after 1862.
February 23, 1870 - The state of Mississippi was readmitted to the Union under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
February 25, 1870 - Hiram R. Revels, from Mississippi, became the first African-American U. S. Senator.
February 26, 1870 - Federal military control was finally withdrawn from the state of Mississippi.
March 30, 1870 - The state of Texas was readmitted to the Union under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
April 1, 1870 - Federal military control was finally withdrawn from the state of Texas.
April 30, 1870 - The Fifteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution was ratified.
May 31, 1870 - The First Enforcement Act passed the U. S. Congress.
June 20, 1870 - The beginning of the five-month-long Kirk-Holden War, targetting the Ku Klux Klan in North Carolina.
July 14, 1870 - The Funding Act allowed bond holder to exchange wartime issued bonds bought with inflated greenbacks for new greenbacks redeemable in gold.
July 15, 1870 - The state of Georgia was readmitted for the second time to the Union under the Military Reconstruction Acts.
July 18, 1870 - Federal military control was finally withdrawn from the state of Georgia.
August 4, 1870 - Conservatives won control of North Carolina legislature.
October 19, 1870 - Carpetbag Republican Robert K. Scott was elected Governor of South Carolina for a second time.
October 23, 1870 - A race riot occurred in Eutaw, Alabama.
November 3, 1870 - North Carolina essentially redeemed with seating of Conservative legislature.
November 4, 1870 - Conservative Democrat Robert B. Lindsay was elected Governor of Alabama, but the state legislature was split (Democrat House, Republican Senate), resulting in a stalemated regime.
December 12, 1870 - Joseph H. Rainey became the first African-American to sit in the U. S. House of Representatives.
December 15, 1870 - The North Carolina state legislature impeached Governor Holden, found him guilty, and will remove him from office on March 22, 1871, and appoint Scalawag Republican Lieutenant Governor Tod R. Caldwell to succeed as Governor.
January 10, 1871 - The Brooks-Baxter War between rival Republicans in Arkansas started as Powell Clayton went to the U. S. Senate.
February 28, 1871 - The Second Enforcement Act passed the U. S. Congress.
March 3, 1871 - The Southern Claims Commission was created by the U. S. Congress.
March 6, 1871 - There was a Ku Klux Klan riot at Meridian, Mississippi.
March 6, 1871 - In Virginia v. West Virginia, the U. S. Supreme Court upheld the creation of the new state from the old, alleging Virginia's loyal government had agreed to the separation.
April 3, 1871 - In Miller v. United States, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that the Confiscation Acts had been passed against traitors as individuals, not belligerents, and thus had to follow due process of the laws.
April 20, 1871 - The Third Enforcement (Ku Klux Klan) Act passed the U. S. Congress.
May 1, 1871 - In Knox v. Lee, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that greenbacks were legal for all debts, reversing Hepburn v. Griswold.
May 24, 1871 - Claims from the Confederate Alabama were settle as the Treaty of Washington was ratified.
July 8, 1871 - The Tweed Ring was exposed in New York City, New York.
August 9, 1871 - Gatling Gun Convention started in Louisiana.
August 9, 1871 - Radical Republicans remove Governor Henry Clay Warmoth from office for being too conservative.
September 4, 1871 - Crédit Mobilier scandal broke involving corrupt financing of the Transcontinental railroad.
October 17, 1871 - U. S. President Ullyses S. Grant declared suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in select counties of South Carolina to suppress the Ku Klux Klan.
November 1, 1871 - The state of Georgia was redeemed for the second time.
November 1, 1871 - Conservative Democrat James M. Smith became Governor of Georgia.
November 22, 1871 - African-American Republican Lieutenant Governor Oscar Dunn of Louisiana poisoned under mysterious circumstances, to be succeeded by African-American and Carpetbagger P. B. S. Pinchback.
February 10, 1872 - The third impeachment trial of Governor Harrison Reed of Florida succeeded, but was never brought to trial.
May 22, 1872 - The U. S. Congress passed a general amnesty act removing officeholding proscriptions from most (all but 500) Confederate soldiers and civil officials.
August 1, 1872 - Scalawag Republican Tod R. Caldwell elected Governor of North Carolina, with a Conservative state legislature.
October 16, 1872 - Scalawag Republican Franklin J. Moses, Jr. elected Governor of South Carolina.
November 5, 1872 - Carpetbag Republican Marcellus L. Stearns was elected Governor of Florida.
November 7, 1872 - Scalawag Republican David P. Lewis was elected Governor of Alabama, but both political parties seated their own legislatures.
November 30, 1872 - Death of presidential candidate Horace Greeley before the electoral votes were counted.
December 9, 1872 - Governor Henry Clay Warmoth was impeached by an extra session of Louisiana state legislature, replaced by African-American Republican Carpetbagger P. B. S. Pinchback.
January 7, 1873 - Former Confederate General Pierre G. T. Beauregard began the Louisiana Unification movement, a political alliance between African-American voters and upper-class white leaders for a clean, conservative government.
January 9, 1873 - Carpetbag Republican William Pitt Kellogg inaugurated Governor of Louisiana, and backed by Federal troops.
January 9, 1873 - Democrat Conservative John McEnery also inaugurated Governor of Louisiana with his own shadow government.
January 14, 1873 - The state of Texas was redeemed.
January 14, 1873 - Conservative Democrat Richard Coke became Governor of Texas.
February 12, 1873 - The Silver Coinage Act passed the U. S. Congress, taking silver out of circulation, called the "Crime of '73."
April 11, 1873 - U. S. Major General Edward R. S. Canby became the first American general officer to die in an Indian war.
April 13, 1873 - The Colfax Massacre in Louisiana, on Easter Sunday.
April 14, 1873 - In the "Slaughterhouse Cases," the U. S. Supreme Court began the process of limiting remedies under the Fourteenth Amendment.
September 18, 1873 - The collapse of Jay Cooke & Company, a pillar of the nation's banking establishment, precipitated the "Panic of 1873." Jay Cooke & Company was not able to market milliuon's of dollars in bonds of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Within days, a financial panic engulfed the credit system. Banks and brokerage houses failed, the stock market temporarily suspended operation, and factories began laying off workers. The economic downturn lasted, with intermittent periods of recovery, nearly to the end of the century.
October 8, 1873 - After prolonged street fighting, court action, and federal intervention, Scalawag Republican Elisha Baxter became governor of Arkansas, replacing Carpetbag Republican Joseph Brooks.
January 21, 1874 - Morrison R. Waite became Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court.
January 22, 1874 - Carpetbag Republican Adelbert Ames was inaugurated governor of Mississippi.
August 30, 1874 - The White League initiated the Coushatta Massacre in Louisiana.
September 14, 1874 - The White League initiated the Third Battle of New Orleans, Louisiana.
September 17, 1874 - U. S. President Ullyses S. Grant put down the September White League Rebellion in Louisiana, with the threat of federal troops restoring Republicans to control.
October 15, 1874 - Carpetbag Republican Daniel H. Chamberlain elected Governor of South Carolina.
November 10, 1874 - The state of Arkansas was redeemed.
November 10, 1874 - Conservative Democrat Augustus H. Garland elected Governor of Arkansas.
November 14, 1874 - The state of Alabama was redeemed.
November 14, 1874 - Conservative Democrat George S. Houston elected Governor of Alabama, with race riots at Eufala and Mobile, Alabama.
December 7, 1874 - Race riots in Vicksburg, Mississippi, initiate the rise of the First Mississippi Plan, the notion of violence for redempton.
January 6, 1875 - Major General Philip H. Sheridan sent a telegram recommending that Louisiana White Leaguers be declared "banditti."
January 14, 1875 - Specie Resumption Act expanded the amount of greenbacks in circulation as well as silver to ease the economic depression caused by the Panic of 1873, pledging to return solely to gold in 1879.
March 1, 1875 - The Civil Rights Act of 1875 passed the U. S. Congress.
March 29, 1875 - In Minor v. Happersett, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that the Fifteenth Amendment right to vote did not apply to women as it referred to race alone.
April 17, 1875 - U. S. Congressman William A. Wheeler, of New York, established the Wheeler Compromise in Louisiana, which left Republican Carpetbag Governor William P. Kellogg in power but split the state legislature between Democrats (lower House) and Republican (upper House).
September 1, 1875 - White Liners rioted in Yazoo City, Mississippi, driving Carpetbag Republican Albert Morgan from power.
September 4, 1875 - White Liners rioted in Clinton, Mississippi.
September 5, 1875 - The North Carolina legislature met to rewrite its state constitution.
October 13, 1875 - The so-called Peace Agreement between Republicans and Conservative Democrats quelled violence in Mississippi state elections.
November 2, 1875 - Conservative Democrats won the Mississippi state legislature, redeeming the state.
March 2, 1876 - The Mississippi state legislature impeached Governor Adelbert Ames, replacing him with Scalawag Republican John M. Stone.
March 27, 1876 - In United States v. Cruikshank, the U. S. Supreme Court limited the effect of the Enforcement Acts to curb election violence. In United States v. Reese, the U. S. Supreme Court limited the effect of the Enforcement Acts to curb election fraud.
March 28, 1876 - The Pryor Compromise, by which Governor Adelbert Ames of Mississippi stepped down as governor and impeachment charges were dropped.
July 4, 1876 - The Hamburg Massacre in South Carolina.
September 6, 1876 - A race riot occured in Charleston, South Carolina.
September 15, 1876 - A three-day race riot in Ellenton, South Carolina.
October 16, 1876 - A race riot in Cainhoy, South Carolina.
November 7, 1876 - Conservative Democrat, and former Confederate Lieutenant General, Wade Hampton was elected Governor of South Carolina, but he was prevented from taking power by the presence of Federal troops.
November 7, 1876 - The Presidential election was deadlocked between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden over disputed electoral votes. Several "visiting statesmen" went to several Southern states to clear up the vote count with money. These emissaries surrendered to former Confederates who had become U. S. senators and congressmen, and Hayes' representatives agreed to restore to the South the "home rule" Confederate armies had lost at the end of the Civil War in 1865. In return, Southerners would provide the thin margin necessary to defeat Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, electing U. S. President Rutherford B. Hayes. By bending their conservative Democratic principles, they certified questionable Republican ballots in Louisiana and South Carolina, and handed those states to Hayes, thereby deciding a deadlocked race by a single electoral vote, thereby averting a threatened resumption of formal, combative hostilities. Once installed in office, U. S. President Hayes will withdraw all Federal forces from Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida, the last occupation troops of Reconstruction. The old Confederate South will be left virtually free to reenslave that third of its population whom Abraham Lincoln had declared emancipated in 1863.
November 12, 1876 - The state of South Carolina was redeemed, by actions of the Red Shirts organization.
December 1, 1876 - Federal military control was finally withdrawn from the State of Florida.
January 1, 1877 - Conservative Democrat Zebulon Vance inaugurated Governor of North Carolina.
January 2, 1877 - The state of Florida was redeemed.
January 2, 1877 - Conservative Democrat George F. Drew was elected Governor.
January 8, 1877 - Conservative Democrat Francis T. Nicholls inaugurated Governor of Louisiana, at the same time as Carpetbag Republican Stephen B. Packard inaugurated Governor of Louisiana, but with Federal troop support.
January 29, 1877 - The U. S. Congress created the Electoral Commission to decide how to award disputed electoral votes.
February 8, 1877 - The Electoral Commission rewarded all disputed electoral votes to Hayes, on an 8-7 party vote.
February 26, 1877 - The Wormley House Bargain permitted the U. S. Congress to agree that Rutherford B. Hayes was the new U. S. President.
March 2, 1877 - The U. S. Congress accepted the Electoral Commission's action, awarding the presidency to "Rutherfraud" B. Hayes.
April 10, 1877 - Federal military control was finally withdrawn from the State of South Carolina.
April 10, 1877 - Conservative Democrat Wade Hampton became Governor of South Carolina.
April 24, 1877 - Federal military control was finally withdrawn from the State of Louisiana.
April 24, 1877 - Conservative Democrat Francis T. Nicholls became Governor of Louisiana.
January 14, 1878 - In Hall v. DeCuir, the U. S. Supreme Court declared that segregated accommodations on steamboats were permissible.
February 28, 1878 - The Bland-Allison Act passed the U. S. Congress, leading to the ratio of silver coins to gold at 16 to 1.
May 31, 1878 - The Ford Act passed the U. S. Congress, returning the United States to the gold standard, but keeping all silver and greenbacks then in circulation.
June 18, 1878 - The Posse Comitatus Act passed the U. S. Congress.
March 1, 1880 - In Strauder v. West Virginia, the U. S. Supreme Court upheld parts of the Fourteenth Amendment, guaranteeing the right of blacks to serve on juries, failing which the case could be transferred to a Federal court.
January 22, 1882 - In United States v. Harris, the U. S. Supreme Court limited the effect of the Enforcement Acts to curb violence.
October 15, 1883 - In the Civil Rights Cases, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that public accommodations could be segregated, as could any act or service initiated by an indiviual rather than a government entity.
March 20, 1890 - The Blair Federal Aid to Education Act failed to pass the U. S. Congress.
July 2, 1890 - The Lodge Enforcement Act passed the U. S. House of Representatives, but failed in the U. S. Senate.
November 1, 1890 - The Mississippi state constitutional convention disfranchised black voters as permissible by the terms of the Fifteenth Amendment.
September 10, 1895 - The South Carolina constitutional convention disfranchised black voters as permissible by the terms of the Fifteenth Amendment.
September 18, 1895 - Booker T. Washington delivered the Atlanta Cotton States Exposition address endorsing development of the races in the United States in a manner as separate as the five fingers but as united as the hand.
May 18, 1896 - In Plessy v. Ferguson, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled separate but equal public accommodations acceptable under the Fourteenth Amendment.
January 11, 1898 - Louisiana elected a constitutional convention that disfranchised black voters as permissible by the terms of the Fifteenth Amendment.
April 25, 1898 - In Williams v. Mississippi, the U. S. Supreme Court upheld Mississippi's disfranchisment of black voters so long as done without direct reference to race.
June 8, 1898 - The U. S. Congress removed proscriptions from all Confederate soldiers and civil officials without exception.
December 18, 1899
- In Cummings v. Georgia, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled separate but equal education for races was acceptable under the Fourteenth Amendment.
(Source: U.S. Congress. Civil War Sites Advisory Commission. Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report: Battle Summaries, 103rd Cong., 1st sess., 1993.; Frederick H. Dyer, A Compendium Of The War Of The Rebellion (Dayton, Ohio: Broadfoot Publishing Co., 1994), Vol. I, pp. 660-991.; Naval History Division, U.S. Navy Department, Civil War Naval Chronology 1861-1865 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1971), pp. I-1; II-1,2; III-1,2; IV-1; V-1,2.; Philip Katcher, The Civil War Source Book (New York: Facts On File, Inc., 1992), pp. 47-52.; Edward McPherson, The Political History Of The United States Of America During The Great Rebellion 1860-1865, of Studies In American History And Government, General Editor Leonard W. Levy, (New York: Da Capo Press, 1972), p. 2-47.; Ronald A. Mosocco, The Chronological Tracking Of The American Civil War Per The Offical Records Of The War of the Rebellion (Williamsburg, Va.:James River Publications, 1994), pp. 1-336.; Joe Kirchberger, The Civil War and Reconstruction: An Eyewitness History (New York: Facts On File, Inc., 1991), pp. 21-25; 44-47; 69-72; 88-95; 143-145; 162-170; 195-216; 255-259.; James R. Arnold & Roberta Wiener, eds., The Timechart of the Civil War (St. Paul, Mn.: MBI Publishing Co., 2001), pp. 33-64.; William L. Richter, Historical Dictionary Of The Civil War And Reconstruction, (Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2004), pp. xiii-lii; 1-913.)