Civil War 150th

[Capt. Harlock]

End of October 1862:

Ulysses S. Grant had received some new troops, though not enough to defend everything in his area of command. However, Grant was a firm believer that the best defense is a good offense, and he knew that Vicksburg and its sector of the Mississippi was more valuable to the Confederacy than anything he could lose by leaving it unguarded. Also, he had needed to assign Sherman to the Memphis area, too far away to cooperate easily, and he wanted his friend back with him. Grant began to put together a plan to take Vicksburg.

In the east, George McClellan had finally started to move his Army of the Potomac, possibly finally goaded into action by Lincoln's message about fatigued horses. But the movement was slow even by McClellan standards: it would take him nine days to get his entire force across its namesake river. This was plenty of time for Robert E. Lee to move the Army of Northern Virginia. Although the Southern army was significantly smaller, Lee divided it to cover the two best approaches to Richmond, counting on being able to re-combine once he knew which way McClellan was moving. It was bold, but Lee believed he had to take risks to win against superior manpower. As it turned out, Lee was actually over-thinking the problem: McClellan hadn't yet decided where to go after he got his army south of the Potomac.

What all this meant was that there would be no significant Union victories in the immediate future. With the mid-term elections taking place on November 4, the Lincoln administration was worried, and for good reason.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

U. S. Grant's men marched out of Bolivar, heading south for Holly Springs and the army of Earl Van Dorn. In the meantime Sherman was preparing his forces to move out of Memphis, so that he could swing around to the west and capture Vicksburg while Van Dorn was pinned down. It wouldn't quite work out that way . . .

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

Ulysses S. Grant's first campaign against Vicksburg seemed off to a good start. His forces entered La Grange and Grand Junction, just shy of the border out of Tennessee, on their way down the east bank of the Mississippi River.

The mid-term elections were held in the North. It had been clear that popular sentiment had turned against the war, which had seemed almost won in late May. But still, the magnitude of Republican party losses came as a staggering blow to the party. The Democrats picked up 28 seats in the House (for a new total of 72), and the Republicans lost 22, which brought them down to 86. This was now less than the 93 seats needed for a clear majority.

There was some good news, for at this date U. S. Senators were chosen by state legislatures instead of being directly elected. From the "reconstructed" governments of the captured Southern states, the Republicans actually managed a gain of five seats in the Senate. But they now needed allies, such as the Constitutional Union party, to get anything done in the House, and indeed the House would defeat the Thirteenth Amendment the first time it was submitted. In Lincoln's own home district of Springfield, Illinois, the Republican incumbent Congressman was defeated by John T. Stuart, one of Lincoln's former law partners but now a Democrat. When asked how he felt about the results, Lincoln managed to reply with his trademark humor; “Somewhat like that boy in Kentucky, who stubbed his toe while running to see his sweetheart. The boy said he was too big to cry, and far too badly hurt to laugh.”

The Republicans had learned one valuable lesson, however. The Union soldiers at the fronts had not been able to vote, and they tended to support the administration which was fighting the rebellion as they were. Clearly, absentee balloting needed to be permitted in the future.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

For Lincoln, the one silver lining in the dark cloud of the election results was that George McClellan could now be dismissed: the political damage had already happened. And it was clear than McClellan needed to go. He had missed multiple chances to destroy Lee's Army of Northern Virginia at Antietam, and had wasted the entire month of October. (Which had had unusually good "campaigning weather" in 1862.) Rumors had begun to circulate that there was a plan to prolong the war enough that both sides would be weary enough to accept a compromise. And though the Army of the Potomac had finally crossed the river, there had been plenty of time, which Lee had not wasted, for the Confederates to take up good defensive positions.

Therefore, just one day after the election:

[font="Times New Roman"]Major General McClellan, Commanding &c.:
General: On receipt of the order of the President, sent herewith, you will immediately turn over your command to Major General Burnside, and repair to Trenton, N.J., reporting, on your arrival at that place, by telegraph, for further orders.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant
[right]H. W. Halleck
General-in-Chief[/right][/font]

[Anthropoid]

Your devotion to the thread is commendable and inspiring Harlock!

Good stuff [:)]

[radic202]

And it is starting to seriously plug in to my game time. Haven't read so much on a Forum since this he started this thread. I am diligent in checking this every single day. Heck I am not even American and loving this part of US history so much. Now please do a vote-face and make a thread on The war of 1812 for us Canadians..........LOL! Thanks so much for greatly enriching my historical knowledge!

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

In an embarrassing meeting late in the evening, Major General Ambrose Burnside relieved George McClellan as commander of the Army of the Potomac. Interestingly, both men thought this was a really bad idea. Burnside did not believe himself up to the task of commanding an entire army, and McClellan apparently held the opinion that only he could save the Union. But Lincoln's orders through General-in-Chief Halleck were positive.

Like many officers in the Civil War, Burnside favored elaborate facial hair -- his style helped give rise to the term "sideburns". But generals who make fashion statements are often found wanting in military ability: the inventors of the Cardigan sweater and the Raglan sleeve between them bore much of the responsibility for the Charge of the Light Brigade. Burnside was no exception to this concept, for he would prove to quite possibly be the worst commander of the Army of the Potomac that it would ever have.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

Benjamin Butler's military governance of the New Orleans area had made him reviled throughout the South. His hanging of William Mumford, his arming of black recruits, and above all his order for treating the women of New Orleans as "ladies of the town" if they insulted U. S. soldiers, had earned him the epithet of "Beast" Butler. (He was also known as "Spoons" Butler, for it was rumored that he helped himself to the silverware of New Orleans' finer houses.) When he withdrew his troops from Baton Rouge, allowing the Confederates to re-occupy the Louisiana state capital, the administration in Washington decided it was the last straw.

In fairness, it should be noted that his administration was the most efficient the city had ever known up to that point. His patrols of black soldiers, though they enraged the whites, also reduced street crime to lower levels than anything before. And his maintenance of the city sewers and willingness to quarantine ships very likely saved thousands of lives from the summer yellow fever epidemic. But Louisiana now supposedly had a "reconstructed" government, and Lincoln had to pay attention to the popular will if there was to be anything even approaching democracy. Even more, he wanted an advance up the Mississippi River to coordinate with the advance down towards Vicksburg.

On this date, Lincoln selected Major General Nathaniel Banks to replace Butler in charge of the Union forces in Louisiana. Banks had done poorly against Stonewall Jackson in the famous Valley Campaign, but he was even more politically connected in Massachusetts than Butler. (He had been Governor just before the war.)

Knowing that the people's hatred was a major factor in his dismissal, Butler revenged himself on the inhabitants of New Orleans with one last barbarous act: he ordered all the breweries and distilleries in the city closed.

[nicwb]

[:D]

Love it ! I had read about the order proclaiming that women of New Orleans showing disrespect were to be treated as "ladies of the town plying their avocation." and "spoons" but not about the brewery revenge. You gotta hand it to Butler he knew how to hit where it hurts !

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

In Mississippi, General Grant's cavalry reached the railroad depot and town of Holly Springs. What had been a reconnaissance-in-force became a capture, for the Confederate army under Earl Van Dorn had evacuated. Grant decided, as Van Dorn had before him, to make Holly Springs his center of operations, for the rail line allowed him to accumulate supplies.


Grant's advance had not failed to get the attention of the Davis administration in Richmond. Also on this date, General Joseph Johnston went to Secretary of War Randolph's office to get his new orders. Johnston had been considered likely to die after being doubly wounded at the Battle of Seven Pines. Amazingly, in spite of being bled by surgeons who believed it would prevent fever, the 55-year-old Johnston had slowly made a full recovery. Now he reported for duty, and as one of the four most senior generals in the Confederacy, he could not easily be passed over for command. Secretary Randolph had proposed him to command the mid-western theater between the Allegheny Mountains and the Mississippi River -- which was exactly where Grant was operating.

Johnston had counter-proposed (wisely) that he be assigned the area on both sides of the Mississippi. (As long as there was no enemy interference, it was an easy matter to ferry men and equipment back and forth across the river.) But Randolph stopped him and read aloud a letter from President Davis. The Confederate commander-in-chief had just rejected that very plan.

Both Grant and Johnston would find their authority stopped at the water's edge -- but the war did not.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

President Lincoln reluctantly approved General Burnside's plan for the capture of Richmond. The idea was to shift Burnside's army to the east of Lee's army and quickly cross the Rappahannock River (the next major river south of the Potomac) at the town and rail junction of Fredricksburg, Virginia. This would give a rail line open towards Richmond, while Lee was still split between the eastern Blue Ridge mountains and the Shenandoah Valley.

The key was speed and secrecy: if Lee discovered what was up and marched his army to a blocking position, crossing the Rappahannock could be very costly. For this reason, Lincoln would have preferred a direct attack against the Rebel army on open ground. (With McClellan gone, it was now realized that the 120,000-man Army of the Potomac considerably outnumbered the 85,000-man Army of Northern Virginia.) Lincoln ordered Burnside to move quickly.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

If General Joseph Johnston had been unhappy about Jefferson Davis rejecting the plan to combine the two banks of the Mississippi, it paled beside Confederate Secretary of War George Randolph. Frustrated after eight months of being "the clerk of Mr. Davis", on this date Randolph submitted his resignation. (He was apparently also suffering from the tuberculosis which would kill him in less than five years.) President Davis would need yet another Secretary of War.


Near Culpepper, Virginia, Burnside put the first part of his plan into motion. The Union artillery opened up on the Rebel positions across the Rappahannock, while the Federal cavalry "demonstrated" at several crossings. The Confederates pulled back to less visible positions, which allowed the Northern infantry to start its march to the east and towards Fredericksburg.

But the Union cavalry had done its job a little too well. They actually managed to seize a railroad bridge across the river. When no crossing followed, Robert E. Lee guessed that it was a feint. He wired the Colonel in command of the garrison at Fredericksburg, "It is reported that the enemy is moving from Warrenton today, and it is probable that he is marching upon Fredericksburg." Orders followed to destroy all of the bridges near the town, and reinforcements were on the move that evening.

[nicwb]

Funny thing - whilst a number of Lincoln's war cabinet stand out - for me very few of Davis's do.

[Capt. Harlock]

whilst a number of Lincoln's war cabinet stand out - for me very few of Davis's do.

You are not wrong -- Davis insisted on being the man in charge, and was not good at delegating. More, and what is a little difficult to understand, he was highly suspicious of potential political rivals, although he was limited to a single six-year term.

Lincoln, on the other hand, was a master at working with temperamental, ambitious, but talented men. Doris Kearns Goodwin's book "Team of Rivals" (which I use for some of my source material) is an excellent study of this. The book was also apparently used for much of the background of the latest Spielberg movie, "Lincoln". I've not seen it yet, since it's only in limited release at the moment and the only theaters would be through miserable miles of traffic. But the word is that it will be a strong contender at next year's Oscars.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

"The British soldier can stand up to anything except the British War Office."
--George Bernard Shaw

In this case, the Union War Department showed much the same tendency. General Burnside's plan had been to have his engineers build a pontoon bridge at Fredericksburg, allowing his army to cross in overwhelming force before the Confederates could move sufficient troops to stop him. In spite of Robert E. Lee's correct guess, the first part of the Northern plan had worked. Nearly the entire mass of the Army of the Potomac's infantry was now facing Fredericksburg from across the Rappahannock River, and only a fraction of Lee's army had managed to take up position there.

But the vital pontoons had not arrived. In classic bureaucratic style, they had been moved to Washington rather than to where Burnside had requested. Burnside ordered the nearby fords across the Rappahannock to be scouted, but autumn rains had swollen the river to the point where infantry and artillery could not cross. Lee and the Confederacy had been given invaluable time to reinforce and build their defences.

[Capt. Harlock]

150 Years Ago Today:

Since the Northerners couldn't yet force a crossing at Fredericksburg, General burnside tried another way. He unlimbered his artillery on the north side of the Rappahannock, then sent a message across to the mayor demanding the surrender of the town, or he would shell it. He gave a sixteen-hour deadline.

The interestingly-named Mayor Montgomery Slaughter protested. The railroads leading out of Fredericksburg had been badly damaged, and most of the sixteen hours he had been given were at night. He could not evacuate the women, children and other civilians in time, and he could not prevent the Confederate troops from entering the town and resisting any attempt to occupy it. (Lee was wisely digging in on the heights to the far side of Fredericksburg, so at that point there were few Southern soldiers within the town limits -- but that could change in a moment.)

The Yankees realized those were valid points. It was decided to let the deadline lapse, and begin negotiations with a view to spare Fredericksburg as long as the Confederate troops stayed out. Nonetheless, most of the town's population began to hastily pack up and leave. They knew that the space between two hostile armies was a highly unsafe place to be.


From Peace to War: in Richmond, James Seddon became the fourth Secretary of War of the Confederacy. He had been a delegate to the Washington Peace Conference in February of 1861. (Coincidentally beginning on the same date as the convention in Montgomery, Alabama that had set up the Confederate government.)

[british exil]

Were there battles or skirmishes during Thanksgiving, or did the civil war have a break during Thanksgiving?

Mat

[Capt. Harlock]

Were there battles or skirmishes during Thanksgiving, or did the civil war have a break during Thanksgiving?

As it happened, there was no national Thanksgiving holiday in 1862. But fear not, Lincoln would proclaim it in 1863, so I'll be blogging about it in a little over a year. (This year, the fourth Thursday of November happened at the earliest possible day in the month, but in 1862 it was the 26th.) There had been one-off proclamations of "a day of thanksgiving" by presidents and state governors since Washington, but it was never made a repeating institution until Lincoln.

You are correct, though, in noting that there was an interesting pause in the major fighting at this point. Burnside was held up across the river from Fredericksburg because of delays with the pontoons for the pontoon bridge he hoped to build. In the west, Grant's advance was slowed by two factors: first, the need to repair the railroads to support his army. (The terrain on the east side of the Mississippi was swampy and unsuitable for marching, so his forces were advancing too far inland to be supported by riverine transports.) Even more, his advance had brought a flood of black runaways into the Union camps, encouraged by the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. He could neither return them nor allow them to starve, but there was no formal system for housing and feeding them. The steps taken to resolve this dilemma, of which there will be more in a subsequent post, would eventually lead to the Freedmen's Bureau.

[british exil]

Thanks Capt.

I really enjoy your posts, just spend a few youtube tours of the Gettyburg and Antietam Battlegrounds. Hard to believe that so many men fought and died on such "small" areas.

Please keep up your hard work.

Mat

[Capt. Harlock]

Late November 1862:

U. S. Grant was having trouble advancing further towards Vicksburg. For one thing, the Tallahatchie River was high from the autumn rains, and his Confederate opponent John Pemberton had burned the bridge Grant wanted to use. (Pemberton had also entrenched a position just on the other side of the river, making things even more difficult for the Yankees.) But there was another problem, which Grant describes in his memoirs:

[font="Times New Roman"]It was at this point, probably, where the first idea of a "Freedman's Bureau" took its origin. Orders of the government prohibited the expulsion of the negroes from the protection of the army, when they came in voluntarily. Humanity forbade allowing them to starve. With such an array of them, of all ages and both sexes, as had congregated about Grand Junction, amounting to many thousands, it was impossible to advance. There as no special authority for feeding them unless they were employed as teamsters, cooks and pioneers with the army; but only able-bodied young men were suitable for such work. This labor would support but a very limited percentage of them. The plantations were all deserted; the cotton and corn were ripe: men, women and children above ten years of age could be employed in saving these crops. To do this work with contrabands, or have it done, organization under a competent chief was necessary. On inquiring for such a man Chaplain Eaton, now and for many years the very able United States Commissioner of Education, was suggested. . . I gave him all the assistants and guards he called for. We together fixed the prices to be paid for the negro labor, whether rendered to the government or to individuals. The cotton was to be picked from abandoned plantations, the laborers to receive the stipulated price (my recollection is twelve and a half cents per pound for picking and ginning) from the quartermaster, he shipping the cotton north to be sold for the benefit of the government. Citizens remaining on their plantations were allowed the privilege of having their crops saved by freedmen on the same terms.

At once the freedmen became self-sustaining. The money was not paid to them directly, but was expended judiciously and for their benefit. . . [/font]


(Note that the idea of blacks going into business for themselves seems to have still been out of the question.) The flow of cotton northward became even greater -- which meant that even more traders and speculators began to appear in the vicinity. This would provoke Grant into one of the greater stains on his record.