Civil War 150th

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

Although Farragut's main ships were designed to be ocean-going, he was having a run of success sailing north up the Mississippi. He had awed Baton Rouge, the state capital of Louisiana, and Natchez into surrender. On this date, however, he arrived at Vicksburg Mississippi. The town and its fortifications had been built on a bluff 200 feet (61 m) above the water. This meant that the main guns of the fleet could not be elevated far enough to bombard.

Nonetheless, the Union vessels anchored a short distance downstream, and under a flag of truce, sent a demand for surrender. Back came no less than three refusals, one from the mayor, one from the general in charge of the Confederate troops, and the most memorable from the military governor, James L. Autrey:

[center][font="Times New Roman"]"I have to state that Mississippians don’t know, and refuse to learn, how to surrender to an enemy. If Commodore Farragut or Brigadier-General Butler can teach them, let them come and try."[/font][/center]

[Capt. Harlock]

Lincoln was brilliant, just brilliant. He could not be accused of withholding troops from McClellan, but at the same time he covered his own butt if Washington fell.

Along those lines, Lincoln also had to steer a middle course between the staunch abolitionists and the slave-holders still loyal to the Union. 150 Years Ago Today, he made his response to General David Hunter's emancipation (but conscription) of blacks in his area of command:

[font="Times New Roman"][right]Washington this nineteenth day of May,
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two[/right]

[center]By the President of the United States of America.
A Proclamation.[/center]
Whereas there appears in the public prints, what purports to be a proclamation, of Major General Hunter, in the words and figures following, to wit:

[font="Courier New"]Head Quarters Department of the South,
Hilton Head, S.C. May 9, 1862.

General Orders No 11.–The three States of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina, comprising the military department of the south, having deliberately declared themselves no longer under the protection of the United States of America, and having taken up arms against the said United States, it becomes a military necessity to declare them under martial law. This was accordingly done on the 25th day of April, 1862. Slavery and martial law in a free country are altogether incompatible; the persons in these three States–Georgia, Florida and South Carolina–heretofore held as slaves, are therefore declared forever free.

[right](Official) David Hunter,
Major General Commanding.[/font]
[/right]


And whereas the same is producing some excitement, and misunderstanding; therefore

I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, proclaim and declare, that the government of the United States, had no knowledge, information, or belief, of an intention on the part of General Hunter to issue such a proclamation; nor has it yet, any authentic information that the document is genuine– And further, that neither General Hunter, nor any other commander, or person, has been authorized by the Government of the United States, to make proclamations declaring the slaves of any State free; and that the supposed proclamation, now in question, whether genuine or false, is altogether void, so far as respects such declaration.

I further make known that whether it be competent for me, as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, to declare the slaves of any State or States, free, and whether at any time, in any case, it shall have become a necessity indispensable to the maintenance of the government, to exercise such supposed power, are questions which, under my responsibility, I reserve to myself, and which I cannot feel justified in leaving to the decision of commanders in the field. These are totally different questions from those of police regulations in armies and camps.

On the sixth day of March last, by a special message, I recommended to Congress the adoption of a joint resolution to be substantially as follows:

Resolved, That the United States ought to co-operate with any State which may adopt a gradual abolishment of slavery, giving to such State pecuniary aid, to be used by such State in its discretion, to compensate for the inconveniences, public and private, produced by such change of system.

The resolution, in the language above quoted, was adopted by large majorities in both branches of Congress, and now stands an authentic, definite, and solemn proposal of the nation to the States and people most immediately interested in the subject matter. To the people of those States I now earnestly appeal– I do not argue, I beseech you to make the arguments for yourselves– You can not if you would, be blind to the signs of the times– I beg of you a calm and enlarged consideration of them, ranging, if it may be, far above personal and partizan politics. This proposal makes common cause for a common object, casting no reproaches upon any– It acts not the pharisee. The change it contemplates would come gently as the dews of heaven, not rending or wrecking anything. Will you not embrace it? So much good has not been done, by one effort, in all past time, as, in the providence of God, it is now your high privilege to do. May the vast future not have to lament that you have neglected it.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

[right]Abraham Lincoln[/right]
[/font]

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

The state of California made a tiny contribution to the Union war effort, as the "California column" of 1,800 men marched in to Tucson. There was no fighting: the Confederate soldiers who had taken the town back in February had abandoned it, along with nearly all the pro-secession inhabitants. (Interestingly, most of the civilians had decamped to Mexico, anticipating by three years a number of other Southerners who would emigrate after the defeat of the Confederacy.)

Overall, the contribution of California was more in economics than in manpower. It was clear by now that both sides would finance the war by printing paper money. Because the California gold fields were still producing (though down significantly from the early 1850's), the Union could back some of its money with precious metal. The South had very little in the way of gold and silver reserves, and that would lead to astronomical inflation.


Slightly off topic: also on this date Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act into law, giving citizens 21 years or older the right to work and eventually buy 160 acres of land in the West. This would not materially affect the war, but would lead to the development of the West at amazing speed. Shortly after the Mexican War and the vast territory acquired thereby, it had been estimated that it would take four centuries to populate and incorporate "the Wild West". Instead, it would take a mere four decades from the signing of the Act. Be it fully acknowledged that this would have devastating consequences for the Native American populations.

[planner 3]

Capt. Harlock, you let me down, I assumed you would mention the 150th anniversary of "TAPS" today. At noon today 39 buglers played taps at Arlington National Cemetery, first all 39 buglers around the cemetery, then some (?) in harmony, and finally a single bugler finished it off. From the article I gather it was heart moving. Just for info.

[Capt. Harlock]

Capt. Harlock, you let me down, I assumed you would mention the 150th anniversary of "TAPS" today.

Yes, I do seem to have overlooked that, but strictly speaking there is no solid date for the 150th anniversary. There will be a number of sesquicentennial performances, including the re-dedication of the Taps Monument in Virginia on June 23.

From my research, the first playing of "Taps" in its current form (arranged by Union General Daniel Butterfield) was sometime in July 1862. I'm still trying to pin down an exact date.

[planner 3]

Thank you fer clarification, i may have misread the article.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

After a march that began at 5:00 AM, Stonewall Jackson got a force of 3,000 men in position to attack Front Royal. The town was in the middle of the Shenandoah Valley and controlled a key branch of the Manassas Gap Railroad. When the neared the town, one of the South's most famous spies, Belle Boyd ("The Cleopatra of the Confederacy") got word to Jackson's force that there were only a little over a thousand Union soldiers in the town.

Losing little time, Jackson began his assault at 2:00 PM, and Union commander John Kenly quickly realized he was overmatched. For a few hours he managed a fighting retreat, aided by the fact that he had artillery support, and the Rebels could not manage to bring their guns to the moving front lines. But at last the Federals were brought to bay at Cedarville, almost four miles (6 km) north of Front Royal. Jackson ordered in his cavalry, breaking the Union lines, and leading to a mass surrender.

For the only time in American history, two regiments of the same designation and from the same state engaged each other on the battlefield. Turning it into a true war of brothers, Captain William Goldsborough of the 1st Maryland Infantry, CSA took prisoner his brother Charles Goldsborough of the 1st Maryland Infantry, USA. Charles was one of 691 Federals captured, along with 83 killed and wounded. The Confederates lost only 36 men, and also seized two Parrott guns, two locomotives, a number of useful wagons, and warehouses of supplies.

More important still, Jackson could now advance on the key town of Winchester, or move his army by railroad out of the Shenandoah Valley towards Richmond. The initiative was now squarely in his hands.

[Anonymous]

[Deleted by Admins]

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

Stonewall Jackson had decided to march for Winchester. In part his decision was made because he knew that Union General Nathaniel Banks was hurriedly retreating his force to that very spot, and Jackson intended to destroy Banks' troops before they could properly establish their positions in the town. As it happened, the Confederates failed to prevent the Northerners from reaching Winchester, largely because the Rebel cavalry could not resist looting the numerous wagons the Yankees abandoned in their retreat. But after a night march which even Jackson's "foot cavalry" recalled as the worst they ever endured, Jackson had nearly his whole army of 16,000 men ready to attack in the morning.

It was a Sunday, but for once the strictly religious Jackson was willing to give battle, since he outnumbered the Yankees by over two to one. At first, the omens were not promising: an artillery duel with Federal cannon produced heavy casualties among the Confederate artillerymen. But Jackson rode along the lines, making sure his positions were not flanked, and ordering units forward to seize the hilltops that commanded the town. About 8:30, a Louisiana brigade made a determined charge and overran a stone wall that the Northerners had been using for cover. With this stroke, the "Rebel yell" of victory began to sound along the Southern lines, and as one Union survivor put it: "We had business toward the Potomac about that time."

The Union retreat degenerated into a rout, but the Confederates became almost as disorganized chasing them through the town of Winchester. Turner Ashby's Southern cavalry was still too scattered from seizing abandoned wagons from the day before, or the Union force might have been completely wiped out. As it was, the Northerners lost at least 2,000 men, and maybe as many as 3,500, in killed, wounded, and captured from a force of 6,000 troops. Southern losses were only 400 in all.

More, Jackson's men captured even greater volumes of supplies than they had at Front Royal. (The Southerners dubbed the Northern general "Commissary" Banks since he was doing a better job supplying the Rebel army than their own quartermasters.) Along with over 9,000 stand of arms and half a million rounds of ammunition, there was also a treasure trove of medical supplies and instruments which a Southern lieutenant estimated as greater than could be found in the whole Confederacy.

The telegraphs began buzzing. Lincoln's administration was in for a shock.


(Map by Hal Jespersen, www.posix.com/CW)

[vonRocko]

Thanks again Capt. Harlock! Great thread.[:)]

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

About ten miles (16 km) north of Richmond along the Virginia Central Railroad lay the town of Hanover Court House. George McClellan received a report that this town was occupied by a substantial Confederate force. This posed a potential problem, because Irwin McDowell's 41,000 strong army would probably use the route when marching to McClellan's aid. McClellan therefore sent V corps (12,000 men) under Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter to deal with the situation.

The resulting engagement was a classic example of bad intelligence on both sides, not too surprising because the day had heavy rainfall. The Northerners drove the advance Southern troops back towards the town, and the Union commander mistakenly assumed he would find the main Confederate body there. Three regiments were left to guard the New Bridge and Hanover Court House Roads intersection. However, the bulk of the 4,000 Rebel troops were outside of Hanover Court House, and now attacked this rear guard under the mistaken belief in turn that it was the main Union force.

The first Rebel attack was repulsed, but a second attack with artillery support began to inflict heavy casualties on the Federals. Messengers reached General Porter with the news of the engagement, and he hastily dispatched fresh Union regiments to the rescue. Once on the scene, the reinforcements turned the tide, and the Southerners had to retreat, leaving both the crossroads and the town in Northern hands. Estimates of Union casualties range from 355 to 397. The Confederates are known to have lost 200 dead on the field and 730 were captured, with an unknown number of wounded

McClellan wrote that Hanover Court House was a "glorious victory over superior numbers" and was "one of the handsomest things of the war." In reality, the Northerners had outnumbered the Southerners about three-to-one, and both sides made mistakes. Most importantly, now a substantial portion of the Union army was north of the Chickahominy River, while the city of Richmond was to the south.

And in Washington, orders were flying that would prevent most of those 41,000 reinforcements, which McClellan wanted so badly, from joining him. With Stonewall Jackson running wild in the Shenandoah Valley, the Northern War Department had decided the troops couldn't be spared after all.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

In the Shenandoah Valley, Stonewall Jackson's men had profited from two days' rest and the abundant supplies at Winchester. But Jackson was not a man to rest on his laurels; he marched north and on this date appeared near the outskirts of Harpers Ferry. Beyond was Maryland, and then to the east was Washington D.C.

Lincoln reacted sharply to the threat. Telegrams went forth, ordering forces under Generals John Fremont and James Shields to block Jackson's troops and then surround them. Altogether over 50,000 Yankees were being ordered in, while Jackson had only 16,000 men. But they were 16,000 of the fastest-marching troops in America.


General Henry Halleck and his massive Northern army had finally arrived at the outskirts of Corinth, Mississippi, and was preparing to besiege the city. However, they never truly surrounded it, and Southern commander Beauregard had wisely decided to evacuate. (Among other things, the annual fever season was beginning.) During the night, the Confederate army moved out. They had the use of a railroad to move the sick and wounded, the heavy artillery, and much of their supplies. They set up dummy "Quaker Guns" along their fortifications, kept their camp fires burning, and buglers and drummers played. When a train arrived, the troops cheered as though reinforcements were arriving.

This appears to have fooled General Halleck, but a number of Union men in the lower ranks had railroad experience. By putting their ears to the rails of a spur line, they could tell that it was the departing trains that were loaded, and the arriving trains that were empty. But no Union commanders took action, and the Southern army successfully withdrew to Tupelo, Mississippi.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

Union patrols entered Corinth in the morning, finding the Confederate army gone. General Pope set out with his force in pursuit, but foot soldiers had no real chance of catching the retreating Rebels. What did have a chance was cavalry. A force of Yankee troopers engaged at a place called Booneville, tearing up tracks, burning storehouses of weapons and ammunition, and taking hundreds of prisoners. This otherwise minor affair boosted the career of a colonel in the Michigan Cavalry named Philip Sheridan.

In the meantime, General Halleck decided the Confederates would not allow him to keep Corinth. He gave orders for entrenchments to be built around the city, big enough to hold his entire army. But this meant he would not be moving further into Southern territory.


One of the men involved in tearing down the first flag that Farragut's men had raised in New Orleans was William B. Mumford. He had unwisely worn a shred of the flag in his lapel, and General Butler had him arrested and charged with "high crimes and misdemeanors against the laws of the United States, and the peace and dignity thereof and the Law Martial." On this date, he was tried before a military tribunal and convicted, and sentenced to hang.

Technically, the city had not been occupied and martial law had not yet been declared when the flag had been destroyed. The Southerners would point this out repeatedly, but to no avail.

[appydavid1]

Interesting thresd..

Thanks to sharing..

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

In the Virginia Peninsula, General Joseph Johnston spotted the problem with the Union position. Spring rains had swollen the Chickahominy River and washed out several of the bridges, making it difficult for the two wings of the Federal army to reinforce each other. Johnston determined to attack one wing. The resulting Battle of Seven Pines (North) or Battle of Fair Oaks (South) was a confused and bloody affair. Although Johnston was one of the South's best generals, on this occasion he developed a plan that was probably too complex for his army to carry out, since it was composed of a number of hastily assembled units which had not previously marched or fought together. Then Johnston virtually guaranteed mix-ups by giving some of his most important orders verbally instead of in writing. The Union side had its own problems: McClellan was sick in bed with a flare-up of malaria.

The attack had been scheduled to start at 8:00 a.m. , but part of the Confederate force took the wrong road, and the rest waited. After five hours, General D. H. Hill became impatient and sent his brigades forward to assault the Northern position opposite him. News of the fighting traveled slowly to the two commanders. Not for the last time in the Civil War, the phenomenon of "acoustic shadow" appeared. The sounds of musketry and cannon fire carried over some nearer areas, though they could be heard further away, and so not many of the closer units could "march to the sound of the guns".

Later in the afternoon, reinforcements from both sides began to come in. The additional weight of Confederate troops successfully pushed back the Federals at Seven Pines, which is why that's the Southern name for the battle. At Fair Oaks, however, Union soldiers hurried over one of the few remaining bridges over the Chickahominy (which collapsed shortly after the last man had crossed) and stopped the Rebel advance. Johnston himself had brought fresh Southern troops to the spot, but near dusk, a Union rifleman and a Union artilleryman fired shots that changed history. Johnston was struck in the shoulder by a bullet, and the next moment in the chest by a shell fragment. Unconscious from the wounds, he was carried off the field. The Army of Northern Virginia would need a new commander.


Map by Hal Jespersen, www.cwmaps.com.

[nicwb]

The Union side had its own problems: McClellan was sick in bed with a flare-up of malaria.

Capt Harlock are you sure that was a problem for the Union forces ? [:)]

Have to laugh -one of the few Union successes that McLellan presided over and he was flat on his back ill !

[t001001001]

After five hours, General D. H. Hill became impatient and sent his brigades forward to assault the Northern position opposite him.

Adherence to Mission: If you don't know what to do, or get bored - find a enemy unit and attack [8D]

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

The Confederates renewed their attempt to drive the Union army back from Richmond. As the next in line, General G. W. Smith took over command from the badly wounded Johnston, and although this time the Southerners' attack was better coordinated, the Northerners had reinforced and entrenched during the night. The Rebels made little headway, and then a counter-attack nearly broke their lines. By 11:30 am, the Confederates withdrew, and the battle was over.

Although the Union had actually engaged fewer troops (34,000 vs. 39,000) they had slightly lower losses. The butcher's bill was 790 killed, 3,594 wounded, 647 captured or missing for the North and 980 killed, 4,749 wounded, 405 captured or missing for the South. Jefferson Davis happened to be just behind the lines, along with Robert E. Lee, now his chief military adviser. The Southern President was not impressed with General Smith's performance, and that very day appointed Lee as the new leader of the Army of Northern Virginia.

It was not as easy a decision as it appears to modern readers. Lee was still under a cloud for the loss of West Virginia, for which he was called "Evacuating Lee" by the Southern newspapers. He had spent much of the months since then supervising the construction of fortifications on the Atlantic coastline, for which the unsympathetic papers had then dubbed him the "King of Spades". And the work had not been very successful at preventing Union amphibious assaults from capturing several islands and harbors. But Jefferson Davis knew Lee still had the necessary aggressive streak in him. And so Davis made quite possibly the best decision of his presidency.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

In the Shenandoah Valley, Stonewall Jackson had reversed course. Knowing that Union troops were closing in, he marched away from Harpers Ferry and headed south down the main turnpike. Nonetheless, the Northerners deemed it wise to leave an 8,000-man garrison in Harpers Ferry. (In months, Jackson would demonstrate that this was none too many.)

A Northern army under General John Fremont might have engaged Jackson's army, but Fremont was too slow, and the Southerners evaded him. Now the best hope was a 10,000-man force under General James Shields. Shields was the one man not overawed by the new size of Jackson's army, in fact, he recommended that the rest of Irwin McDowell's corps be sent to George McClellan as previously decided. By this time, however, the corps had been split into three other units besides that of Shields, to guard the approaches to Washington.

On this date, Shields' force was marching parallel to Jackson's but on the other side of the Shenandoah River. Late in the afternoon, Shields’ division was in position to cross the river and intercept Jackson. What would have happened then is not clear, for Jackson still had 16,000 men and would likely have beaten Shields, but the time would have allowed the other Federal forces to bring him to bay. As it happened, both bridges that Shields had been planning to use had been thoughtfully burned. Now, instead of helping to close a trap, his force was in a stern chase.

[a7v]

Dear Captain Harlock,

thank you very much for posting these very interesting stories from the civil war. As a German I usually side with the underdog (Germany, Japan, Confederates) and follow your story already for a while.
At the moment I read Shelby Foote´s narrative of the Civil War (and not for the first time...) and have already passed the present date. I am in May 1863 and the battle in the wilderness has just begun. I´m only a few pages away from the death of one of the greatest generals of the CSA[:(]
Btw my favorite generals of the confederates are Jackson, A.P. Hill and Forrest. I have a good friend in Alabama who´s grandgrandfather, coming originally from Texas, rode with Forrest at the end of the war and he is very proud of that.

Best regards and please continue with your great story

Rainer

edit: I DO know that the word is please...[8|]