Civil War 150th

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

The loss of Corinth, Mississippi, to the Union exposed other Confederate positions. In particular, the blocking of the railroad meant that Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River could no longer be supplied. General Beauregard therefore telegraphed to the fort's commander to evacuate, destroying everything that could be useful to the enemy.

The work was done with a will. Every structure inside the fort's walls was torched, and all the guns were over-charged and blown apart. As the sun rose, the fort had been reduced to a hollow ruin, and the 3,600-man garrison was on their way south.

The next position blocking the Union advance down the river was the city of Memphis, Tennessee, whose primary defense would be on the water instead of on land. A Confederate River Defense Fleet of eight "rams", which had been sent up from New Orleans before its fall, stood ready.

[parusski]

ORIGINAL: A7V_U

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 pleas continue with your great story

Rainer

Nothing beats the Civil War by Foote. I have read the trilogy four times and listened to the unabridged audio(134 HOURS) FIVE times.

[nicwb]

+1

I found it to be one of the most easily readable military histories. I like the small bits of detail Foote includes. Despite being a "Southern boy", he seems to have a real respect for the individual courage of the ordinary soldiers on both sides.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

Early in the morning, the Union river fleet showed up at the remains of Fort Pillow. The fleet was an odd mix of five ironclads commanded by Captain Charles Davis, and four unarmored but speedy "rams" commanded by Colonel Charles Ellet. Ellet had been a civilian engineer who had converted the rams from riverboats under the direct authority of Secretary of War Stanton. Since there was a separate Department of the Navy, Stanton had given Ellet an army rank.

Captain Davis was, not surprisingly, unhappy about this, and even less happy that the confederates had gotten away while the fort had been reduced to smoldering ruins. But the big prize, the city of Memphis, was now in reach. After leaving a company of infantry to clean up what they could, the Northern commanders put aside their differences and sailed downriver. By afternoon they had arrived at a point just north of the city, and they spent much of the night getting ready for the battle with the Confederate fleet that was sure to happen.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

Near Harrisonburg, Virginia, the 1st New Jersey Cavalry attacked Stonewall Jackson's cavalry, commanded by Turner Ashby. The Union troopers did not have the horse experience of their western counterparts, and Ashby's veterans soon drove them off. But a little later, Northern infantry appeared, and Ashby's horse was shot from under him. Ashby went ahead on foot, cheering his men, but within moments he was shot through the heart. He had been promoted to brigadier general just ten days earlier.


On the Mississippi River at Memphis, Tennessee, a crowd of spectators turned out to watch the battle between the two fleets. Union Captain Davis preferred to take a slow approach and shell the Rebel vessels, trusting to his ships' armor to give him the advantage. But Charles Ellet and his brother Alfred, commanding the Northern rams Queen of the West and Monarch respectively, decided to charge in.

Unnerved, the captain of the Rebel ram Lovell tried to evade, but wasn't fast enough. Queen of the West nearly cut her opponent in two. This turned out to be a problem as the two ships stuck together. The Confederate ram General Beauregard solved this by ramming Queen of the West, shaking her loose but also heavily damaging her. Coming on deck to inspect the damage, Charles Ellet was hit in the leg by a pistol bullet.

He was the only Union casualty of the day. Alfred Ellet's Monarch had a field day, ramming General Price, General Beauregard, and forcing the Confederate flagship Little Rebel aground. A shell from a Yankee ironclad hit General Jeff Thompson and the resulting fire blew up her magazine. Seeing this, two more Southern vessels hoisted the white flag, and only General Van Dorn managed to escape downriver.

The aftermath was an echo of the farce at New Orleans. Four men from the Northern rams marched to the Mayor's office to demand the surrender of the city, but Mayor John Park claimed that he was a civilian and surrender was a military matter. The four raised the Union flag over the Post Office, where they were quickly surrounded by an angry mob. Realizing that the Union fleet would likely shell the city if the men were harmed, Mayor Park went to the docks to personally guide a rescue force of Marines to the Post Office.

Charles Ellet went into the hospital for his gunshot wound, where he would contract measles and die a dozen days later. This allowed Captain Davis to claim much of the credit for the nearly complete victory, helped by the many confused accounts of the battle.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

Just before midday in New Orleans, William Mumford was taken to be hanged on a gallows erected in the courtyard of the Federal Mint. A number of people came to watch, and Mumford was permitted to give a last speech. He spoke of his allegiance to the Confederacy, and his love for what he considered the true meaning of the U.S. flag, which he had fought under in the Mexican-American War. This secured his place as a martyr for the Confederate cause, and an outraged South agreed as one man that Benjamin "Beast" Butler was a war criminal.

In Atlanta, by a grim coincidence, James Andrews was hanged for being the ringleader of the Great Locomotive Chase. His fiancée, Elizabeth Layton, apparently never recovered from the loss and died two years later.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

Stonewall Jackson's army had now arrived at a useful place. They held the only remaining serviceable bridge on the south fork of the Shenandoah River, which separated the two Union armies of John Frémont and James Shields. On this date, Jackson decided to hold for a while, giving Frémont the chance to bring his 11,000 bluecoats into action.

Against them were 6,000 Confederates led by Jackson's subordinate General Richard Ewell. They put up a stiff fight, costing one New York regiment 50% casualties. Frémont apparently was cowed by the early repulses, and committed only four more of his 24 infantry regiments. He then tried an artillery bombardment, cheerfully returned by the Rebels, and accomplishing nothing in particular. Eventually Frémont withdrew, leaving the field and the victory of the Battle of Cross Keys to the Southerners. Overall casualties were low: Union 684, Confederate only 288.

Now Jackson could turn his attention to the Northern force under Shields.

[mankatha]

its really hard to play.. and eating more time too

[planner 3]

An old message: "It is easier for a Spammer to enter the gates of MATRIX, then to get your old sign in name and password to work on the forums" CONFUSION

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

It was Stonewall Jackson's turn to attack, and run into heavy opposition. He sent the Stonewall Brigade forward against James Shields' Union forces, but early morning fog had masked the fact that the famed brigade was facing twice its number. As the Southerners fell back, Northern artillery fire began to come from a spur known as the Coaling. Jackson ordered an assault on the position, only to find the Federals were in strength there too.

Jackson ordered his units on the far side of the river facing John Fremont to join him, and then burn the bridge behind them. During the delay, two more Confederate attempts were made on the Coaling, finally succeeding. The Yankees drew reinforcements for a counter-assault, but just as they were moving forward, Jackson's own reinforcements appeared. Now the Southerners had the artillery advantage, with Jackson's subordinate General Richard Ewell himself enthusiastically serving a cannon. The Union troops reluctantly began to withdraw.

The Southerners had the advantage of superior numbers at the point of contact: 3,500 Yankees had faced 6,000 Rebels. Losses were a little closer: 1,002 for the Union and 816 for the Confederates. It wasn't the sweeping victory that Jackson had in mind, but it was a victory nonetheless. Jackson expected Frémont to cross the river and attack him on the following day, but with the bridge burned, during the night the timid Frémont withdrew his force back towards the town of Harrisonburg.

Jackson's valley campaign had gone from success to success. He had prevented his command from being crushed between two Union armies, and he had kept the way open to march to the aid of Richmond.

[shunwick]

This has been a very interesting thrread. I thank you for it.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

At the ungodly hour of 2:00 a.m., "Jeb" Stuart and 1,000 of his cavalrymen mounted up and rode out of the Confederate lines near Richmond. One of the first things Robert E. Lee had done was to request a reconnaissance of the Union right wing. Stuart had counter-proposed a spectacular feat: to ride completely around the Northern army of over 110,000 men, possible burning supply depots as they went. After some thought, Lee had given Stuart unspecific orders, telling him to exercise "due caution". Stuart interpreted this as a green light.

As daylight broke, Stuart and his troop veered toward the north, giving the impression he was going to support a march of Stonewall Jackson's forces from the Shenandoah Valley. He also picked up 200 more troopers, including Colonel Fitz Lee, who was Robert E. Lee's nephew. When no further Yankees could be seen, they veered east, and rode for the rest of the day without incident. After sundown, they bivouacked without campfires. So far, Stuart was following Lee's original request, and had not revealed his plan to the rest of his officers.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

Jeb Stuart's troopers broke camp and rode out early in the morning. Shortly after they were on their way, Stuart revealed Lee's orders and his own plan to his sub-commanders. And not too much later, the Southerners made their first contact with Union cavalry.

Stuart ordered about half his force to make a frontal attack, and the remainder to attempt to flank the Yankees. However, the Union leader quickly saw the danger, and retreated his men. Since they were falling back in the direction he wanted to go, Stuart and his men pursued. Union reinforcements arrived and the Northerners made a stand, but were soon put to flight by the more experienced and more numerous Rebel horsemen. In this area Stuart got the information that Robert E. Lee wanted: the right wing of the Union army was "hanging", that is, unsupported by any natural barrier such as a river or hill.

Stuart pressed on. A little later his force overran Tunstall's Station, a stop on the railroad line serving the main Union supply depot. The Rebels quickly put a wooden barricade across the tracks and attempted to stop the next Northern train. However, when the engineer saw the barrier, instead of slamming on the brakes he went to full throttle. It cost him his life, for the Southerners opened up with their revolvers on the train, and he was shot dead. The fireman took over, and the train smashed through the barricade. As it happened, the train was carrying Federal infantry, most of whom hugged the floor as Confederate bullets went through the windows, but a few of whom fired back. With the alarm given, Stuart decided not to attack the supply depot.

The Southerners continued on their grand tour of the Union rear, which caused total confusion among the Northern generals. By evening, Stuart's force had reached the Chickahominy river, and a bridge which the retreating Confederate army had burned some days before on their way towards Richmond. Happily, there was a barn nearby, and Stuart gave orders to tear loose a number of planks for a hasty re-build in the morning.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

Jeb Stuart's men planked over the un-burned supports of the bridge across the Chickahominy River with the speed of men who know that their lives depend on the job. Happily for them, the Union forces had no idea where they were at that point. To make things even more difficult for the Northerners, Brigadier General Philip St. George Cooke, who was in charge of most of the Yankee cavalry and also happened to be Stuart's father-in-law, had been ordered not to engage a superior force. His reports suggested Stuart could have as many as 5,000 men (instead of the actual 1,200), making him doubly cautious.

Once the Confederate troopers were over the bridge, they set fire to it again. The resulting smoke finally attracted some Union cavalry, but too few to do more than skirmish for a short time with Stuart's rear guard. From then on, the Southerners had a clear ride. There was no serious force of Yankee cavalry on that side of the Chickahominy, and they could outrun any force of infantry. By late afternoon, they were approaching the Confederate lines to the south of Richmond. At this point they could afford to slow down, so they bagged several dozen Northern prisoners. Stuart knew his primary duty was to report what he had learned to Lee without delay, so he rode on ahead, and reached Lee that evening.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

Two Union divisions attempted to overrun the north end of James Island, from which they could threaten Charleston. However, they ran into a well-laid-out Confederate fort equipped with cannons. Blasts of canister shot tore into the charging Yankees, and soon the attack was called off as a failure.

Tragically, Northern commander Brigadier General Henry Benham had mounted the assault against his orders. He had been instructed to hold the south end of the island only. Your humble amateur historian's guess is that from the north of James Island he could threaten Charleston, which after the fall of New Orleans was second only to Richmond itself in prestige as the "Cradle of the Rebellion". Whatever Benham's motives, this Battle of Secessionville cost the Union 683 casualties (107 dead), against only 204 (52 dead) for the Confederates.



After successfully riding around the entire Union Army of the Potomac, J.E.B. Stuart's force of cavalry made a triumphant entry into Richmond. They were given a classic heroes' welcome, with some ladies even throwing flowers into the streets along their way. Stuart was lionized as "Beauty" Stuart, and his fame almost approached that of "Stonewall" Jackson. It began to look as though the Confederacy was not in its final days after all -- but something still had to be done about the massive Union army and its siege guns.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

Some command re-shuffling started on both sides. In the North, the commands of Generals John Fremont and Nathaniel Banks were consolidated under John Pope. The ambitious but under-performing Fremont would soon resign.

In the South, Jefferson Davis was exceedingly unhappy with General P.T.E. Beauregard's loss of Corinth and other set-backs. He began the process of replacing Beauregard with General Braxton Bragg, who had already acquired a reputation as a strict disciplinarian. (He suffered from rheumatism, dyspepsia, nerves, and severe migraine headaches, which made him less than pleasant to deal with.)

In the years of political conflict before the war, no issue caused more trouble than slavery in the Territories. Those, like Stephen Douglas, who had argued that things would be fine if the slave and free states simply respected each other, were confounded by the issue of whether or not there would be slaves in areas that were not states but were on the way to becoming states. Because the number of states held the balance in the Senate and the Presidential elections, neither side had been prepared to give an inch on the question. On this date, with the Republicans now having strong majorities, the U.S. Congress passed a law forbidding slavery in all Territories.

On the White River in Arkansas, the Federals attempted to open up a better supply route to General Samuel Curtis' army, the victors of the battle of Pea Ridge. A small fleet of Union gunboats including the "Pook Turtle" Mound City dueled the Confederate batteries blocking the way. The action turned tragic when a Rebel shell hit the Mound City's boiler, and the resulting explosion killed 125 men of the 175 on board, many by scalding. (Quite likely the most deadly single shot fired during the war.) Appalled, the Union flotilla withdrew.

But the Yankees were not done. They had also embarked the 46th Indiana Infantry, which was landed and deployed for a ground assault. The Confederate guns were mounted on a bluff, which protected them well from gunboats, but they had not extensively fortified their position. The Union troops soon managed to flank the batteries, putting the cannoneers to flight, and the way was opened. The Mound City was towed back to Memphis, where she would be repaired.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

Abraham Lincoln signed into law the act of Congress forbidding slavery in all the Territories. It is worth noting that Lincoln had campaigned as an anti-slavery moderate: instead of calling for immediate and complete abolition, he had argued that preventing slavery from expanding would eventually lead to its demise. Two years before this, he might well have regarded the act as the crowning achievement of his life. Now, it was a mere historical footnote. Stronger measures would be needed.


After issuing orders to be ready to march but telling no one where they were going, Stonewall Jackson led his force out of the Shenandoah Valley and to the relief of Richmond. He left behind Union forces still confused about the size of his army and where he was going. Some years later, Von Moltke would remark that he didn't study the American Civil War, because it had consisted of armed mobs chasing each other around the countryside, from which nothing could be learned. Jackson had indeed lead the Yankee forces on a chase up and down the valley. But his Valley Campaign is studied to this day as a premier example of what mobility and knowledge of the terrain can do against enemy forces several times that of one's own.


Map by Hal Jespersen, www.cwmaps.com.

[nicwb]

Some years later, Von Moltke would remark that he didn't study the American Civil War, because it had consisted of armed mobs chasing each other around the countryside, from which nothing could be learned

Interesting quote. I guess it goes to show that how short sighted people can be given that the American Civil War was the one of the first wars where technology would dominate battlefields, concepts of "total war" would start to be experimented with and the Wilderness and Petersburg Campaigns would herald the trenches of WW1.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

In a two-story house about a mile and a half northeast of Richmond, Robert E. Lee held his first council of war as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. Present were two Major General Hills: D. Harvey and Ambrose Powell or "A.P.". Also there was James Longstreet, and having ridden 52 miles in 14 hours, Stonewall Jackson.

Lee laid out his plan. He would take almost three-quarters of his army to attack the northern flank of the Union army, which Jeb Stuart had discovered was vulnerable. It would expose the Confederate capital to a direct attack, but Lee believed he had no choice. The Yankees were already only six miles away from Richmond, close enough for the advance to hear the church bells in the city. And the Northern siege guns were being brought up. They had to be driven back -- but even with Jackson's 18,000 men as reinforcements, the Southerners were still outnumbered. They would have to rely on tactics.

But Lee was not the only one planning an attack. For one of the few times in the war, McClellan would get his blow in first.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

Near Richmond, McClellan wanted to advance his siege artillery about a mile and a half closer to the city. To lay the groundwork, he ordered an attack at Oak Grove, which had seen considerable fighting during the Battle of Seven Pines and numerous clashes between pickets since.

The advance stepped off on schedule, but McClellan had decided to stay to the rear and manage the battle by telegraph. The usual "fog of war" soon developed, partly because of heavy woods and partly because one of the Confederate units was wearing "Zouave" uniforms, which were also popular in the Union army. At a key point in the engagement, the 25th North Carolina regiment, though it was their first time in combat, delivered a volley worthy of veterans against the Yankees. The 71st New York regiment went into a panicked retreat.

McClellan received word over the telegraph and at 10:30 a.m. ordered a withdrawal back to the Union entrenchments. He sent a message that he would be arriving on the scene in person, but it took him two-and-a-half hours to get there. Finally at 1 p.m., seeing that many other Northern units remained ready for further action, he launched a second attack to take the same ground. The resulting fighting lasted until nightfall.

The final tally of losses was 68 killed, 503 wounded, 55 missing for the Union and 66 killed, 362 wounded, 13 missing for the Confederacy. For this cost, the Yankees had advanced a mere 600 yards (550 m) nearer to the city of Richmond. It was the closest McClellan would ever get.