Friday, August 25, 2006
An Amateur’s Look at the American Civil War: October
October 1
1861: There is a conference between US President Lincoln, the Cabinet, and Generals Scott and McClellan discussing strategy for operations along the Confederate Atlantic coast.
Union General Butler appointed commander of the Department of New England and tasked with recruitment.
CS President Davis meets with his commanders in Centerville, VA about meeting any new Federal threats.
1862: Union gunboats transferred from Army to Navy command and placed under the command of newly promoted Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter.
Command of Vicksburg, MS defenses placed under the command of Confederate General John C. Pemberton, a northerner who decided to go south when the war began.
Confederates under General Thomas Hindman cross into Arkansas but were stopped by Union troops under General John Schofield.
Confederate General Price’s troops reach Ripley, MS and join General Van Dorn’s forces. They attempt to launch an attack on Corinth, MS but run into Union cavalry.
Union troops under Generals Buell and Thomas begin movement toward Frankfort, KY.
The Southern press calls US President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation an invitation to start a slave revolt.
Skirmish at Shepardstown, MD as US President Lincoln meets with General McClellan to discuss post-Antietam strategy.
Skirmish at Floyd’s Ford, KY.
1863: The Federal supply line from Bridgeport to Chattanooga, TN is cut by Confederate raiders, leaving a 28-mile route through mountainous terrain the only remaining supply route. Union General Rosecrans orders flat bottomed steamers built to get the supplies to the Federal lines.
1864: Union and Confederate troops clash near Saltville, VA with the Federals being driven off.
Confederate spy Rose Greenhow drowns off the North Carolina coast. The gold that she was carrying dragged her down.
Confederates under General A.P. Hill attack Union General Grant’s lines southwest of Petersburg, VA but is repulsed.
Union garrisons at Athens and Huntsville, AL attacked by Confederate General Forrest’s troops.
Confederate General Hood launches a campaign toward Tennessee in order to bring Union General Sherman out of Atlanta, GA. Sherman responds by sending General John Corse to Altoona, GA.
Orestes A. Brownson publishes an essay rejecting harsh Reconstruction measures for the South, calling it “New-Englandizing.”
October 2
1861: A Confederate force is repulsed at Chapmanville, Western Virginia.
Skirmish at Charleston, MO.
1862: Confederate General Van Dorn’s troops meet Federal troops ten miles from Corinth, MS but decide to press the attack anyway.
1863: Union troops under General Hooker reach Bridgeport, AL only to find that the only way to get to Chattanooga is that same mountain path. It has taken Hooker’s 20,000 men and 3000 horses and mules a week to get to Bridgeport by rail. A distance of 1159 miles.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that he manages to get a pair of shoes for $13, while the going price is $75. Boots are now going for $200.
1864: Confederate General Beauregard is named commander of Confederate armies in the West.
Skirmishing at Big Shanty and Kennesaw Water Tank, GA. This results in Union General Sherman’s communication lines with the North being cut.
Confederates occupy Washington, MO.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that he bought a quart of apples for .75. He also mentions that area doctors agreed to charge $30 a visit.
October 3
1861: Confederates begin their plan to force diplomatic recognition from Britain and France by halting cotton shipments. Louisiana Governor Moors bans cotton shipments from going to New Orleans. This plan will backfire due to new supplies of cotton from Egypt and India reaching European mills.
Union forces win minor engagement at Greenbriar, Western Virginia.
1862: Battle of Corinth, MS. Union commander: General William Rosecrans. Confederate commander: General Earl Van Dorn. Day One. Confederates launch an all out attack and manage to drive the Federals out of the outer defensive line. Troops on the second line of defenses finally halt the Confederate advance. Fighting ends at sundown with no decision.
1863: Union General Hooker establishes his headquarters near Bridgeport, AL. He has received reports of Confederate cavalry under General Wheeler in the area.
1864: Union General Sherman orders General Thomas to Nashville, TN on the idea that Confederate General Hood is headed there. Those same orders sent General Schofield to Knoxville, TN.
CS President Davis makes a speech at Columbia, SC calling on Southerners to join General Hood and drive Union troops out of Georgia.
Confederate troops under General Price reach Hermann and Miller’s Station, MO.
1865: Officers commanded by Mexican leader Benito Juarez attends a party organized by US General Sherman. Under the assumption that Juarez is with them, Emperor Maximillian issues the “Black Decree” declaring that all Mexican rebel forces have fled the country and that any further rebellion id punishable with death. In fact, Juarez has not left Mexico.
October 4
1861: USS South Carolina captures two Confederate blockade runners carrying almost 5000 weapons between them.
US President Lincoln observes a balloon flight made by Thaddeus Lowe.
Federal Cabinet approves contract for John Ericson to build a new type of warship.
Confederate Government signs treaties with several Indian nations.
Skirmish at Buffalo Hill, KY
Skirmish at Alamosa, New Mexico Territory.
Two Confederate blockade runners are captured by USS South Carolina off the Louisiana coast.
1862: Battle of Corinth, MS. Day Two. Van Dorn orders a massive artillery attack followed by massed infantry, which breaks the Union line. Federals reform their lines and withstand any further attacks. Confederates are forced to withdraw but Rosecrans does not order a pursuit. Union victory.
1863: Union General Hooker observes the construction of steamers at Bridgeport, AL. Union engineers take a flat bottomed barge and mount an engine, boiler, and sternwheel. Hooker is impressed and orders the work to continue, since the supply situation in Chattanooga, TN is getting desperate.
1864: Confederate General Price abandons his plan to take St. Louis, MO and heads for Independence, MO.
Confederate General Hood’s troops head for Dallas, GA, tearing up 15 miles of track in the process.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that flour is now $450 a barrel, cornmeal sells for $72 a bushel, and bacon for $10 a pound.
October 5
1861: Contract between the Federal Government and John Ericson is signed. Construction on what will become USS Monitor will begin soon.
Union troops leave Los Angeles, CA to investigate reports of Confederate supporters operating in the Santa Ana Mountains.
1862: Confederate General Van Dorn holds off Federals at the Big Hatchie River, MS, and then resumes his retreat.
Union naval forces seize Galveston, TX.
US President Lincoln gives General McClellan a direct order to “cross the Potomac, give battle to the enemy, and drive him south.” McClellan’s answer is to demand more troops and supplies and that he will move when he is good and ready.
1863: CSS David, a torpedo boat, attacks USS New Ironsides, damaging her. The David is also damaged and taking on water. Four of the six crew are captured and the other two manage to get the cigar shaped vessel back to Charleston, SC where she runs aground.
Confederate General Wheeler’s troopers destroy the bridge at Stone’s River, near Murfreesboro, TN. This makes getting supplies to Chattanooga, TN even more difficult.
1864: Confederates under General Samuel French attack the Union garrison at Altoona, GA. Despite repeated attacks, the Federals do not budge and French is forced to pull back when ammunition runs short.
October 6
1861: Confederate strategy at this point is to close the Potomac River to river traffic, isolate Washington, DC, and cut the Baltimore and Ohio railroad.
1862: Union troops under General Buell occupy Bardstown, KY.
1863: Confederate raiders under William Quantrill attack a Union post at Baxter Springs, KS but are driven off. By chance they spot a Union column under General James Blunt approaching. The confederates attack, killing many of the Union soldiers including the band members. Blount escapes.
In Chattanooga, TN both sides dig in while putting up with heavy rains.
New York Herald prints an editorial criticizing the extravagance shown by the local elites while a war is going on.
1864: Having completed the destruction of the Shenandoah Valley, VA, Union General Sheridan begins a pull out from the valley, despite a cavalry raid by Confederate General Rosser, which is easily driven off.
The Richmond Enquirer publishes an editorial calling for the enlistment of African-Americans into the Confederate Army. Since the available manpower resources of the Confederacy are now down to teenage boys and old men, this idea is gaining acceptance.
October 7
1861: Union General Fremont leaves St. Louis, MO to fight Confederate General Price, unknowing that US President Lincoln and Secretary of War Cameron have decided to remove him from command.
Private Robert Sneeden, 40th NY, observes a prisoner exchange at Ft Monroe, VA involving soldiers captured at the Battle of Bull Run (Manassas, VA).
1862: Union troops under General Buell reach Perryville, KY and find Confederates there.
Confederates try to take Nashville, TN but are driven back.
1863: A Union force travels from the Mississippi River to the Red River, where they manage to capture and destroy two Confederate steamers.
Upon finding that Confederate General Lee is trying to outflank him, Union General Meade orders the Army of the Potomac to retreat north of the Rappahannock River, VA.
The situation in Chattanooga, TN is even getting bad for the civilians trapped in the city as the wood needed for campfires and shoring up the trenches has come from all the wooden structures in the city.
1864: USS Wachusett sails into Bahia, Brazil and engages CSS Florida, capturing the Confederate vessel and towing her out under Brazilian gunfire.
Confederate General Lee attempts to turn Union General Grant’s right flank, but is repulsed, with Confederate General John Gregg getting killed in the process.
October 8
1861: Union General William Tecumseh Sherman is given command of the Department of the Cumberland after General Robert Anderson retires due to ill health.
Skirmish at Hillsborough, KY.
1862: Battle of Perryville, KY. Union commander: General D.C. Buell. Confederate commander: General Braxton Bragg. There is confusion on both sides. Buell thinks he is hitting Bragg’s main force, but is only hitting part. Bragg thinks he is hitting part of Buell’s force, but is engaging the main force. Union attack is spearheaded by General Sherman’s troops, who gain the heights that dominate the area. Buell, however, is slow to gather his forces. Confederate General Polk attacks Buell’s left flank with some success. Neither side gains the advantage and Bragg withdraws after sundown. Union victory because they kept the field.
Skirmish at Fairfax, VA.
1863: The situation in Chattanooga, TN is getting very desperate, with most of the Union Army animals eaten. Starvation and the wet weather have resulted in sickness running rampant.
1864: CSS Shenandoah leaves Liverpool, UK to rendezvous with a supply vessel off Madeira, Spain.
October 9
1861: Confederates attempt to take Ft Pickens, FL but are repulsed.
1862: Confederates begin withdrawal from Perryville, KY that will end with all Confederate forces out of Kentucky.
Confederate General Stuart leads 1800 cavalry behind Federal lines to make some havoc.
1863: Confederate General Wheeler’s troops have totally wrecked the supply system supporting Union General Rosecrans’ forces in Chattanooga.
1864: Union and Confederate cavalry clash at Tom’s Brook, VA with a crushing defeat for the Confederates.
October 10
1861: CS President Davis rejects an early proposal to allow the enlistment of African-Americans into the Confederate Army. This decision will lock into place the numerical superiority of the North.
1862 Confederate General John Magruder is assigned command of the District of Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico.
Confederate General Stuart’s troopers destroy property at Chambersburg, PA.
CS President Davis makes a request for 4500 slaves to be used in building fortifications around Richmond, VA.
1863: CS President Davis arrives at General Bragg’s headquarters near Chattanooga, TN to try and quell the dissent amongst Bragg’s senior commanders.
Union and Confederate cavalry clash near Blue Springs, WV with the Confederates getting repulsed.
Confederate General Lee attempts to force the Union army to withdraw by moving toward Washington, DC. Union General Meade manages to block that maneuver, but still withdraws.
1864: Union General Sheridan positions his troops near Cedar Creek, VA.
A Union attack on Confederate General Forrest’s position near Eastport, TN fails.
October 11
1861: Union forces extend their lines from Harper’s Ferry, Western Virginia in order to stop any Confederate move towards Maryland.
1862: CSS Alabama captures the Union ship Manchester off Nova Scotia. They find out the dispositions of Union gunboats by reading a captured New York newspaper.
Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart starts running in a circle around the Union Army of the Potomac.
Skirmish at LaGrange, AR.
1863: Union General Sherman has left Memphis, TN for Corinth, MS.
1864: Union General Sherman masses his army near Rome, GA.
Supporters of US President Lincoln are winning elections in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Ohio, giving Lincoln hope for the upcoming Presidential election.
1865: US President Johnson pardons former CS vice-President Stephens and several Confederate Cabinet members.
October 12
1861: CSS Manassas and two steamers attack Union ships in the Mississippi River Delta south of New Orleans, LA. USS Richmond and USS Vincennes are forced aground.
Confederate commissioners Mason and Slidell depart for Cuba on board the blockade runner Theodora.
US Nave launches its first ironclad, USS St. Louis at Carondelet, MO.
Skirmishes at Bayles Cross Roads, LA and Upton Hill, KY.
Fighting at Clintonville, Pomme de Terre, Cameron, and Ironton, MO.
1862: Confederate General Stuart has completed another ride around the Union Army of the Potomac, causing a stir in Washington, DC about General McClellan’s inactivity.
Federal troops set off from Ozark, MO towards Yellville, AR.
1863: Union Army of Potomac continues withdraw as Confederate General Lee approaches Manassas, VA.
1864: Union General Sherman’s and Confederate General Hood’s troops clash near Resaca, GA.
US Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney, who was noted for the Dred Scott Decision, which stated that African-Americans had no rights to citizenship, dies at the age of 89.
Union Admiral Porter assumes command of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
October 13
1861: Union garrison at Harper’s Ferry, Western Virginia assaulted by Confederate cavalry under Colonel Turner Ashby with little success other than psychological. (That means the Federals got rattled.)
1862: US President Lincoln once again urges General McClellan to get moving.
1863: Union cavalry almost isolate Confederate J.E.B. Stuart at Auburn, VA. He escapes.
War critic Clement Vallandingham, in exile in Canada, loses the Ohio governor’s race.
1864: Confederates probe Union General Sheridan’s positions around Cedar Creek, VA.
Union forces probe the Richmond, VA defense but have to withdraw due to heavy causalities.
Confederate partisan John Singleton Mosby hits a Union payroll wagon near Harpers Ferry, WV. He makes off with $175,000.
Maryland adopts a new state constitution that abolishes slavery.
Confederate General Hood’s troops capture Dalton, GA and tear up another 20 miles of track.
October 14
1861: US President Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus.
Former Mayor of St Louis, MO, Jeff Thompson, vows to drive the Federals out of southeastern Missouri.
1862: Union General Hurlbut is given command of the military district of Mississippi. His field command is given to General James McPherson.
The Midwest states hold Congressional mid-term elections, which are won by mostly Democrats.
The only success in the Confederate attempt to take Kentucky is the amount of supplies taken. That according to the Richmond Examiner.
1863: Two Union brigades fight a regard action against Confederate General Stuart’s cavalry at Auburn, VA.
Battle of Bristoe Station, VA. Union commander: General George Meade. Confederate commander: General A.P. Hill. Hill’s troops find two Union corps and proceeds to attack. The large numbers of Union troops allow Meade to hold off Hill and complete a retreat to Centerville, VA. Hill’s force sustains heavy losses and has to withdraw. Union victory.
1864: Confederate General Price calls for recruits to join his army, but this is now increasing falling on deaf ears.
October 15
1861: Union gunboats scramble on reports of a blockade runner carrying Confederate commissioners to Europe. That vessel was not found.
Confederates destroy Big River Bridge near Potosi, MO.
Skirmish at Lime Creek, MO.
1862: Union forces make a reconnaissance along the Potomac River into Western Virginia.
It is around this time that Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, was sent into Washington, DC when Union General Heintzelman was assigned the command of the District of Washington.
1863: CSS Hunley sinks in Charleston Harbor, SC, taking the entire crew including the builder of the submarine, H. L. Hunley.
1864: Confederate troops from General Price’s command attacks Glasgow, MO, in the process forcing the Union garrison, commanded by Colonel Chester Harding to surrender. Earlier that day the Confederates capture Sedalia, MO.
October 16
1861: Confederate General Evans moves four regiments to Leesburg, VA. His force is outnumbered but manages to convince Federal troops in the area that it is they who are outnumbered. During this day there was a skirmish at Bolivar Heights, VA.
Federal troops recapture Lexington, MO without a shot.
Skirmish at Warsaw, MO.
1862: US President Lincoln sends another message to General McClellan telling him to do something, anything, just make an attack!
1863: New Union military District of the Mississippi is created, uniting all the armies in the West. Union General Grant is given the command of the district.
Naval assault begins on Ft Brooke, near Tampa, FL. This diverts the Confederates attention while a land force marches to the Hillsborough River where they capture and destroy two blockade runners.
Union supply ship at Bridgeport, AL saved from rising flood waters.
1864: Skirmish at Ship’s Gap, GA.
Confederate troops capture Ridgley, MO.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about reaching a new prison at Millen, GA, dashing his hopes for exchange.
October 17
1861: Skirmishing around Fredericktown and Ironton, MO.
1862: Confederate General Morgan’s forces defeat Union troops near Lexington, KY.
1863: Confederate General Lee pulls his army back from Manassas, VA to the Rappahannock River.
Union General Grant receives two sets of orders from Secretary of War Stanton at a meeting in Indianapolis, IN concerning General Rosecrans. Grant chooses to relieve Rosecrans as commander of the Army of the Cumberland and give it to General Thomas.
1864: Confederate General Hood’s army starts moving into position at Gadsen, GA to invade Tennessee.
Confederate General Price’s troops are near Lexington, MO and are facing three Federal forces.
October 18
1861: Union General McClellan’s name is being considered to replace General Scott as General-in-Chief.
Federal gunboats begin movement down the Mississippi River from Cairo, IL.
Skirmish at Ironton, MO.
1862: Skirmish at Haymarket, VA.
1863: CS President Davis leaves General Bragg’s headquarters, having failed to resolve the differences among his commanders.
CSS Hunley is located and plans made to bring the submarine up.
Union General Grant receives authorization to remove General Rosecrans from command of the Army of the Cumberland and replace him with General Thomas.
1864: Confederate General Early prepares to attack Federal positions near Cedar Creek, VA.
October 19
1861: Fighting continues at Ironton, MO.
Skirmish at Big Hurricane Creek, MO.
1862: Confederate General Van Dorn has regrouped his troops near Holly Springs, MS.
The administration of Union General Butler at New Orleans, LA continues to astonish and anger Southerners with not only the raising of three regiments of African-American soldiers, but also with the announcement that Blacks and Whites are equal under the law, at least in New Orleans.
1863: While maintaining a screen to protect Confederate General Lee’s movements, General Stuart meets Union cavalry under General Kilpatrick. The Union forces give chase and are lured into an ambush near Buckland Mills, VA. Kilpatrick’s forces, once the pursuer, becomes the pursued as they run for five miles, all the while being chased by Stuart’s troopers in what became known as the “Buckland Races.”
1864: Confederate General Forrest leaves Corinth, MO and heads to Jackson, TN in support of General Hood’s advance.
Battle of Cedar Creek, VA. Union commander: General Philip Sheridan. Confederate commander: General Jubal Early. Early launches an attack on the Union encampment, sending the Federals into a near rout. Sheridan was returning from a conference with General Grant. Upon hearing of the attack, Sheridan makes an epic ride from Winchester, VA, rallying his troops to counter attack. This counterattack totally smashes Early’s army and drives them from the field. Union victory.
Confederate raiders ride from Canada to St Albans, VT. There they rob the three banks of a combined $200,000.
US President proclaims the last Thursday in November to be a National Day of Thanksgiving. This is the predecessor of today’s Thanksgiving Day.
October 20
1861: Confederate General Evans forces at Leesburg, VA move toward Ball’s Bluff, VA as Union forces attempt to cross the Potomac River there.
1862; Skirmishing at Bardstown, KY.
1863: Confederate General Stuart brings his troopers to the Confederate side of the Rappahannock River, VA.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that flour is now selling for $61 a barrel, while wood sells for $32 a cord and coal for $30 for 25 bushels.
1864: A Union force under General Blunt engages Confederate General Price at Lexington, MO but is repulsed.
Union General Blunt sets up a strong position on the Little Blue River near Independence, MO. Most of his troops are then sent into Independence itself.
Confederate General Early reforms his army ay Fisher’s Mill, VA.
October 21
1861: Battle of Ball’s Bluff, VA. Union commander: General Charles Stone. Confederate commander: General Nathan Evans. An ill advised crossing of the Potomac Ricer fails to establish a secure bridgehead and allowing a Confederate response, resulting in the death of large numbers of Union troops, including Edward Baker, a personal friend of US President Lincoln. Confederate victory.
Skirmishing ends at Ironton, MO.
1862: Union General John McClernand is ordered by US President Lincoln to raise a force to assault Vicksburg, MS.
US President Lincoln expresses support for elections in Tennessee, at this time under a military government.
1863: Union General Grant departs Nashville, TN and heads for Stevenson, AL.
1864: Battle of Little Blue River, MO. Union commander: General James Blunt. Confederate commander: General Sterling Price. Price takes advantage of the weakened Union line and attacks. Blunt returns with the remainder of his army and proceeds to drive the Confederates back. However, Blunt does not have the numbers and has to pull back into Independence, MO. Confederate victory.
Union General Sherman detaches part of his army at Gaylesville, AL in order to deal with Confederate General Hood.
October 22
1861: US President Lincoln’s cabinet meet to discuss the Ball’s Bluff, VA debacle and the concerns about General Fremont’s activities in Missouri.
1862: Skirmishing at Port Royal and Hilton Head, SC.
Union force leaves Ft Donaldson, TN and heads for Waverly, TN.
Confederates capture Loudon, KY.
Union troops seize Maysville, AR.
1863: Union General Grant arrives at Bridgeport, AL.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that a woman tried to buy a barrel of flour. The merchant demanded $70. “My God!” exclaimed she, “how can I pay such prices? I have seven children; what shall I do?” He said, “I don’t know madam unless you eat your children.”
1864: Confederate General Price, finding himself between Union General Curtis’ Army of the Border and Union cavalry under General Pleasonton, decides to cross the Big Blue River near Westport, MO and attack Curtis’ forces before Pleasanton’s troopers arrive.
Confederate General Hood and his troops reach Guntersville, AL and prepare to move into Tennessee. They are delayed by the swollen Tennessee River.
October 23
1861: Piracy trial of officers and men of CSS Savannah begin in New York, NY. This is an attempt by the Union government to stop privateering by the Confederacy.
Fighting at West liberty and Hodgeville, KY.
1862: Small action at Waverly, TN.
1863: Union General Grant arrives in Chattanooga, TN to oversee the situation involving the trapped Union army in the city.
1864: Battle of Westport, MO. Union commanders: Generals Samuel Curtis and Alfred Pleasonton. Confederate commander: General Sterling Price. Price launched four hours of attacks against the entrenched Federal line while Pleasonton pushes back Marmaduke’s troops. Price has no choice but to withdraw. Union victory.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes about hearing the news of the St Albans, VT raid.
October 24
1861: Union General R.S. Curtis receives orders to remove General Fremont from command. General David hunter has been selected to replace Fremont. Fremont is still out on a mission to find Confederate General Price, so he does not know what is happening.
1862: Union General D.C. Buell is replaced by General William Rosecrans as commander, Army of the Ohio.
Skirmishes at Brownsville, TN and Morgantown, KY.
Skirmish at Grand Prairie, MO.
1863: Union General Sherman assumes command of the Army of the Tennessee.
US President Lincoln pressed General Meade to attack Confederate General Lee.
1864: Confederate troops under General Price retreat along the Kansas-Missouri line with Federals in pursuit.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that he is almost fully recovered from the illnesses that plague him at Andersonville, GA. He is still in the hospital at Savannah, GA.
October 25
1861: USS Monitor’s keel laid in New York, NY.
Skirmish at Springfield, MO.
1862: US President Lincoln is now getting pretty annoyed that General McClellan has not moved an inch from his position. Responding to a complaint that the Army’s horses are worn out and that remounts were needed, Lincoln writes, “Will you pardon me for asking what the horses of your army have done since the Battle of Antietam that fatigues them anything?”
1863: Union General Grant initiates plans to open a supply line into Chattanooga, TN. This will become known as the “Cracker Line” for the amount of hardtack brought in.
The improvised supply steamer is launched at Bridgeport, AL.
Union and Confederate forces clash near Pine Bluff, AR. Confederates are forced to pull back after several attempts to break the Union line.
1864: Union General Pleasonton’s forces encircle part of Confederate General Price’s forces as they retreat from Westport, MO. General Marmaduke, another Confederate general, and 600 soldiers captured. Another Union detachment catches up with more of Price’s army at the Marmilton River, but holds off on attacking, allowing Price to escape.
Battle of Maria Des Cygnes, MO. Union commander, General Alfred Pleasonton. Confederate commander: General Sterling Price. Pleasonton orders a heavy artillery bombardment, followed by a massed cavalry charge, which breaks the Confederate line. Price is forced once again to pull back. Union victory. This effectively ends Confederate operations in Missouri.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that he will soon go to a new prison at Millen, GA.
October 26
1861: Skirmish at Romney, Western Virginia.
Skirmish at Saratoga, KY.
1862: Union Army of the Potomac finally begins to move across the Potomac River into Virginia.
1863: Union General Hooker’s troops cross into Tennessee to meet up with the Chattanooga garrison.
1864: Confederate partisan William “Bloody Bill” Anderson killed in an ambush near Richmond, MO.
Confederate General Hood attempts to take his army across the Tennessee River at Decatur, AL, but is stopped by a smaller Union force. The Nashville campaign has begun.
October 27
1861: Union General Fremont arrives in Springfield, MO and does not find Confederate General Price, who is at Neosho, MO.
1862: Action at Labadieville, LA results in a Federal victory.
1863: Union forces under General William B. Hazen establish a bridgehead across the Tennessee River to form the first stage of the “Cracker Line”
1864: A small Union force under Naval Lieutenant William Cushing attack and sink CSS Albemarle on the Roanoke River, VA. Only Cushing and one other return to Union lines.
Union troops under Generals Warren and Hancock attack the South Side Railroad near Petersburg, VA, but are halted by a strong Confederate defense line commanded by Generals Heth and Mahone.
Union General Butler makes an attack on Richmond, VA defensives, but is repulsed, with 600 of his troops taken prisoner.
October 28
1861: Confederate General A.S. Johnston assumes command of the Army of Central Kentucky.
Confederate General Price makes an impassioned appeal for 50,000 to join him. This is five Federal divisions are searching Missouri for him.
1862: Confederate General Lee moves his army up the Shenandoah Valley, VA in order to check Union General McClellan’s movements.
Federal troops defeat a larger Confederate force a Fayetteville Hollows, AR.
1863: Union troops under General Hooker move to secure the bridge head across the Tennessee River and the Wauhatchie Station on the nearby Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad. Confederates plan a night attack to drive them back.
CSS Georgia arrives in Cherbourg, France for repairs.
1864: Union Naval Lieutenant Cushing rescued by USS Valley City following the attack on CSS Albemarle.
Union General Sherman decides to return to Atlanta, GA. He will leave General Thomas to deal with Confederate General Hood.
October 29
1861: 77 Union ships depart Ft Monroe, VA en route to attack Port Royal, SC.
1862: Union Army of the Potomac, about 130,000 men, moves across the Potomac River and into the Shenandoah Valley, VA. All of this under observation of Confederate Generals Lee and Jackson.
1863; Confederate General Longstreet launches his attack on Union troops at Wauhatchie, TN at midnight. He tries to communicate by signal flares but the code was cracked by the Federals. Despite this, there is no control over the fighting and the battle sputters out by sunrise.
1864: Union gunboats find the river channel near Plymouth, NC blocked by hulks.
Confederate General Forrest captures the transport Mazeppa near Ft Henry, TN.
October 30
1861: The Union fleet heading for Port Royal, SC runs into bad weather along the North Carolina coast.
1862: US Navy offers a $500,000 reward for the capture of CSS Alabama.
Union General Rosecrans formally takes command of the Department of the Cumberland.
1863: The scratch steamer Chattanooga arrives in its namesake city with the first fresh supplies for the beleaguered garrison.
1864; Confederate General Forrest captures three more ships, giving him a fleet on the Tennessee River.
Union IV Corps moving from Chattanooga TN, to Pulaski, TN.
October 31
1861: Union General Scott formally asks to be relieved as General-in Chief. It will be his “Anaconda” plan that becomes the overall Union strategy used against the Confederacy.
Skirmish at Morgantown, MO.
1862: Union General Grant begins gathering troops at Grand Junction, TN with an aim to attack Vicksburg, MS.
1863: “The Cracker line is open! Full rations boys!” Supplies begin to flood into Chattanooga, TN.
1864: Confederate General Hood’s army reaches Tuscumbia, AL.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes about being put on a train and being sent to Millen, GA.
1865
Birthdays:
Union General James Wadsworth, commander of CSS Shenandoah, 1807
Texas Governor Francis Lubbock, 1815
Confederate General Bushrod Johnson, 1817
Union General Irvin McDowell, 1818
Union General Edward Ord, 1818
Confederate Postmaster General John Reagan, 1818
Union spy Elizabeth Van Lew, 1818
Union General George Washington Getty, 1819
Confederate General Samuel McGowan, 1819
Union General Daniel Sickles, 1819
Confederate General Benjamin Franklin Cheatham, 1820
Confederate General Richard Anderson, 1821
Photographer Alexander Gardner, 1821
Confederate General Alexander Stewart, 1821
Union General Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th President of the United States, 1822
Union General George Sykes, 1822
Union General Joseph Hawley, 1826
Confederate General Turner Ashby, 1828
Sketch artist Alfred Waud, 1828
Union General Chester A. Arthur, 21st President of the United States, 1829
Union General Daniel Butterfield, who wrote Taps, 1831
Union General Adelbert Ames, 1835. (He died in 1933, the last surviving Civil War officer.)
Confederate Surgeon Hunter McGuire, 1835
Confederate General Thomas Rosser, 1836
Union Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, commander of the 54th MA, 1837
John Hay, assistant to US President Lincoln, 1838
1861: There is a conference between US President Lincoln, the Cabinet, and Generals Scott and McClellan discussing strategy for operations along the Confederate Atlantic coast.
Union General Butler appointed commander of the Department of New England and tasked with recruitment.
CS President Davis meets with his commanders in Centerville, VA about meeting any new Federal threats.
1862: Union gunboats transferred from Army to Navy command and placed under the command of newly promoted Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter.
Command of Vicksburg, MS defenses placed under the command of Confederate General John C. Pemberton, a northerner who decided to go south when the war began.
Confederates under General Thomas Hindman cross into Arkansas but were stopped by Union troops under General John Schofield.
Confederate General Price’s troops reach Ripley, MS and join General Van Dorn’s forces. They attempt to launch an attack on Corinth, MS but run into Union cavalry.
Union troops under Generals Buell and Thomas begin movement toward Frankfort, KY.
The Southern press calls US President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation an invitation to start a slave revolt.
Skirmish at Shepardstown, MD as US President Lincoln meets with General McClellan to discuss post-Antietam strategy.
Skirmish at Floyd’s Ford, KY.
1863: The Federal supply line from Bridgeport to Chattanooga, TN is cut by Confederate raiders, leaving a 28-mile route through mountainous terrain the only remaining supply route. Union General Rosecrans orders flat bottomed steamers built to get the supplies to the Federal lines.
1864: Union and Confederate troops clash near Saltville, VA with the Federals being driven off.
Confederate spy Rose Greenhow drowns off the North Carolina coast. The gold that she was carrying dragged her down.
Confederates under General A.P. Hill attack Union General Grant’s lines southwest of Petersburg, VA but is repulsed.
Union garrisons at Athens and Huntsville, AL attacked by Confederate General Forrest’s troops.
Confederate General Hood launches a campaign toward Tennessee in order to bring Union General Sherman out of Atlanta, GA. Sherman responds by sending General John Corse to Altoona, GA.
Orestes A. Brownson publishes an essay rejecting harsh Reconstruction measures for the South, calling it “New-Englandizing.”
October 2
1861: A Confederate force is repulsed at Chapmanville, Western Virginia.
Skirmish at Charleston, MO.
1862: Confederate General Van Dorn’s troops meet Federal troops ten miles from Corinth, MS but decide to press the attack anyway.
1863: Union troops under General Hooker reach Bridgeport, AL only to find that the only way to get to Chattanooga is that same mountain path. It has taken Hooker’s 20,000 men and 3000 horses and mules a week to get to Bridgeport by rail. A distance of 1159 miles.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that he manages to get a pair of shoes for $13, while the going price is $75. Boots are now going for $200.
1864: Confederate General Beauregard is named commander of Confederate armies in the West.
Skirmishing at Big Shanty and Kennesaw Water Tank, GA. This results in Union General Sherman’s communication lines with the North being cut.
Confederates occupy Washington, MO.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that he bought a quart of apples for .75. He also mentions that area doctors agreed to charge $30 a visit.
October 3
1861: Confederates begin their plan to force diplomatic recognition from Britain and France by halting cotton shipments. Louisiana Governor Moors bans cotton shipments from going to New Orleans. This plan will backfire due to new supplies of cotton from Egypt and India reaching European mills.
Union forces win minor engagement at Greenbriar, Western Virginia.
1862: Battle of Corinth, MS. Union commander: General William Rosecrans. Confederate commander: General Earl Van Dorn. Day One. Confederates launch an all out attack and manage to drive the Federals out of the outer defensive line. Troops on the second line of defenses finally halt the Confederate advance. Fighting ends at sundown with no decision.
1863: Union General Hooker establishes his headquarters near Bridgeport, AL. He has received reports of Confederate cavalry under General Wheeler in the area.
1864: Union General Sherman orders General Thomas to Nashville, TN on the idea that Confederate General Hood is headed there. Those same orders sent General Schofield to Knoxville, TN.
CS President Davis makes a speech at Columbia, SC calling on Southerners to join General Hood and drive Union troops out of Georgia.
Confederate troops under General Price reach Hermann and Miller’s Station, MO.
1865: Officers commanded by Mexican leader Benito Juarez attends a party organized by US General Sherman. Under the assumption that Juarez is with them, Emperor Maximillian issues the “Black Decree” declaring that all Mexican rebel forces have fled the country and that any further rebellion id punishable with death. In fact, Juarez has not left Mexico.
October 4
1861: USS South Carolina captures two Confederate blockade runners carrying almost 5000 weapons between them.
US President Lincoln observes a balloon flight made by Thaddeus Lowe.
Federal Cabinet approves contract for John Ericson to build a new type of warship.
Confederate Government signs treaties with several Indian nations.
Skirmish at Buffalo Hill, KY
Skirmish at Alamosa, New Mexico Territory.
Two Confederate blockade runners are captured by USS South Carolina off the Louisiana coast.
1862: Battle of Corinth, MS. Day Two. Van Dorn orders a massive artillery attack followed by massed infantry, which breaks the Union line. Federals reform their lines and withstand any further attacks. Confederates are forced to withdraw but Rosecrans does not order a pursuit. Union victory.
1863: Union General Hooker observes the construction of steamers at Bridgeport, AL. Union engineers take a flat bottomed barge and mount an engine, boiler, and sternwheel. Hooker is impressed and orders the work to continue, since the supply situation in Chattanooga, TN is getting desperate.
1864: Confederate General Price abandons his plan to take St. Louis, MO and heads for Independence, MO.
Confederate General Hood’s troops head for Dallas, GA, tearing up 15 miles of track in the process.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that flour is now $450 a barrel, cornmeal sells for $72 a bushel, and bacon for $10 a pound.
October 5
1861: Contract between the Federal Government and John Ericson is signed. Construction on what will become USS Monitor will begin soon.
Union troops leave Los Angeles, CA to investigate reports of Confederate supporters operating in the Santa Ana Mountains.
1862: Confederate General Van Dorn holds off Federals at the Big Hatchie River, MS, and then resumes his retreat.
Union naval forces seize Galveston, TX.
US President Lincoln gives General McClellan a direct order to “cross the Potomac, give battle to the enemy, and drive him south.” McClellan’s answer is to demand more troops and supplies and that he will move when he is good and ready.
1863: CSS David, a torpedo boat, attacks USS New Ironsides, damaging her. The David is also damaged and taking on water. Four of the six crew are captured and the other two manage to get the cigar shaped vessel back to Charleston, SC where she runs aground.
Confederate General Wheeler’s troopers destroy the bridge at Stone’s River, near Murfreesboro, TN. This makes getting supplies to Chattanooga, TN even more difficult.
1864: Confederates under General Samuel French attack the Union garrison at Altoona, GA. Despite repeated attacks, the Federals do not budge and French is forced to pull back when ammunition runs short.
October 6
1861: Confederate strategy at this point is to close the Potomac River to river traffic, isolate Washington, DC, and cut the Baltimore and Ohio railroad.
1862: Union troops under General Buell occupy Bardstown, KY.
1863: Confederate raiders under William Quantrill attack a Union post at Baxter Springs, KS but are driven off. By chance they spot a Union column under General James Blunt approaching. The confederates attack, killing many of the Union soldiers including the band members. Blount escapes.
In Chattanooga, TN both sides dig in while putting up with heavy rains.
New York Herald prints an editorial criticizing the extravagance shown by the local elites while a war is going on.
1864: Having completed the destruction of the Shenandoah Valley, VA, Union General Sheridan begins a pull out from the valley, despite a cavalry raid by Confederate General Rosser, which is easily driven off.
The Richmond Enquirer publishes an editorial calling for the enlistment of African-Americans into the Confederate Army. Since the available manpower resources of the Confederacy are now down to teenage boys and old men, this idea is gaining acceptance.
October 7
1861: Union General Fremont leaves St. Louis, MO to fight Confederate General Price, unknowing that US President Lincoln and Secretary of War Cameron have decided to remove him from command.
Private Robert Sneeden, 40th NY, observes a prisoner exchange at Ft Monroe, VA involving soldiers captured at the Battle of Bull Run (Manassas, VA).
1862: Union troops under General Buell reach Perryville, KY and find Confederates there.
Confederates try to take Nashville, TN but are driven back.
1863: A Union force travels from the Mississippi River to the Red River, where they manage to capture and destroy two Confederate steamers.
Upon finding that Confederate General Lee is trying to outflank him, Union General Meade orders the Army of the Potomac to retreat north of the Rappahannock River, VA.
The situation in Chattanooga, TN is even getting bad for the civilians trapped in the city as the wood needed for campfires and shoring up the trenches has come from all the wooden structures in the city.
1864: USS Wachusett sails into Bahia, Brazil and engages CSS Florida, capturing the Confederate vessel and towing her out under Brazilian gunfire.
Confederate General Lee attempts to turn Union General Grant’s right flank, but is repulsed, with Confederate General John Gregg getting killed in the process.
October 8
1861: Union General William Tecumseh Sherman is given command of the Department of the Cumberland after General Robert Anderson retires due to ill health.
Skirmish at Hillsborough, KY.
1862: Battle of Perryville, KY. Union commander: General D.C. Buell. Confederate commander: General Braxton Bragg. There is confusion on both sides. Buell thinks he is hitting Bragg’s main force, but is only hitting part. Bragg thinks he is hitting part of Buell’s force, but is engaging the main force. Union attack is spearheaded by General Sherman’s troops, who gain the heights that dominate the area. Buell, however, is slow to gather his forces. Confederate General Polk attacks Buell’s left flank with some success. Neither side gains the advantage and Bragg withdraws after sundown. Union victory because they kept the field.
Skirmish at Fairfax, VA.
1863: The situation in Chattanooga, TN is getting very desperate, with most of the Union Army animals eaten. Starvation and the wet weather have resulted in sickness running rampant.
1864: CSS Shenandoah leaves Liverpool, UK to rendezvous with a supply vessel off Madeira, Spain.
October 9
1861: Confederates attempt to take Ft Pickens, FL but are repulsed.
1862: Confederates begin withdrawal from Perryville, KY that will end with all Confederate forces out of Kentucky.
Confederate General Stuart leads 1800 cavalry behind Federal lines to make some havoc.
1863: Confederate General Wheeler’s troops have totally wrecked the supply system supporting Union General Rosecrans’ forces in Chattanooga.
1864: Union and Confederate cavalry clash at Tom’s Brook, VA with a crushing defeat for the Confederates.
October 10
1861: CS President Davis rejects an early proposal to allow the enlistment of African-Americans into the Confederate Army. This decision will lock into place the numerical superiority of the North.
1862 Confederate General John Magruder is assigned command of the District of Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico.
Confederate General Stuart’s troopers destroy property at Chambersburg, PA.
CS President Davis makes a request for 4500 slaves to be used in building fortifications around Richmond, VA.
1863: CS President Davis arrives at General Bragg’s headquarters near Chattanooga, TN to try and quell the dissent amongst Bragg’s senior commanders.
Union and Confederate cavalry clash near Blue Springs, WV with the Confederates getting repulsed.
Confederate General Lee attempts to force the Union army to withdraw by moving toward Washington, DC. Union General Meade manages to block that maneuver, but still withdraws.
1864: Union General Sheridan positions his troops near Cedar Creek, VA.
A Union attack on Confederate General Forrest’s position near Eastport, TN fails.
October 11
1861: Union forces extend their lines from Harper’s Ferry, Western Virginia in order to stop any Confederate move towards Maryland.
1862: CSS Alabama captures the Union ship Manchester off Nova Scotia. They find out the dispositions of Union gunboats by reading a captured New York newspaper.
Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart starts running in a circle around the Union Army of the Potomac.
Skirmish at LaGrange, AR.
1863: Union General Sherman has left Memphis, TN for Corinth, MS.
1864: Union General Sherman masses his army near Rome, GA.
Supporters of US President Lincoln are winning elections in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Ohio, giving Lincoln hope for the upcoming Presidential election.
1865: US President Johnson pardons former CS vice-President Stephens and several Confederate Cabinet members.
October 12
1861: CSS Manassas and two steamers attack Union ships in the Mississippi River Delta south of New Orleans, LA. USS Richmond and USS Vincennes are forced aground.
Confederate commissioners Mason and Slidell depart for Cuba on board the blockade runner Theodora.
US Nave launches its first ironclad, USS St. Louis at Carondelet, MO.
Skirmishes at Bayles Cross Roads, LA and Upton Hill, KY.
Fighting at Clintonville, Pomme de Terre, Cameron, and Ironton, MO.
1862: Confederate General Stuart has completed another ride around the Union Army of the Potomac, causing a stir in Washington, DC about General McClellan’s inactivity.
Federal troops set off from Ozark, MO towards Yellville, AR.
1863: Union Army of Potomac continues withdraw as Confederate General Lee approaches Manassas, VA.
1864: Union General Sherman’s and Confederate General Hood’s troops clash near Resaca, GA.
US Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney, who was noted for the Dred Scott Decision, which stated that African-Americans had no rights to citizenship, dies at the age of 89.
Union Admiral Porter assumes command of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
October 13
1861: Union garrison at Harper’s Ferry, Western Virginia assaulted by Confederate cavalry under Colonel Turner Ashby with little success other than psychological. (That means the Federals got rattled.)
1862: US President Lincoln once again urges General McClellan to get moving.
1863: Union cavalry almost isolate Confederate J.E.B. Stuart at Auburn, VA. He escapes.
War critic Clement Vallandingham, in exile in Canada, loses the Ohio governor’s race.
1864: Confederates probe Union General Sheridan’s positions around Cedar Creek, VA.
Union forces probe the Richmond, VA defense but have to withdraw due to heavy causalities.
Confederate partisan John Singleton Mosby hits a Union payroll wagon near Harpers Ferry, WV. He makes off with $175,000.
Maryland adopts a new state constitution that abolishes slavery.
Confederate General Hood’s troops capture Dalton, GA and tear up another 20 miles of track.
October 14
1861: US President Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus.
Former Mayor of St Louis, MO, Jeff Thompson, vows to drive the Federals out of southeastern Missouri.
1862: Union General Hurlbut is given command of the military district of Mississippi. His field command is given to General James McPherson.
The Midwest states hold Congressional mid-term elections, which are won by mostly Democrats.
The only success in the Confederate attempt to take Kentucky is the amount of supplies taken. That according to the Richmond Examiner.
1863: Two Union brigades fight a regard action against Confederate General Stuart’s cavalry at Auburn, VA.
Battle of Bristoe Station, VA. Union commander: General George Meade. Confederate commander: General A.P. Hill. Hill’s troops find two Union corps and proceeds to attack. The large numbers of Union troops allow Meade to hold off Hill and complete a retreat to Centerville, VA. Hill’s force sustains heavy losses and has to withdraw. Union victory.
1864: Confederate General Price calls for recruits to join his army, but this is now increasing falling on deaf ears.
October 15
1861: Union gunboats scramble on reports of a blockade runner carrying Confederate commissioners to Europe. That vessel was not found.
Confederates destroy Big River Bridge near Potosi, MO.
Skirmish at Lime Creek, MO.
1862: Union forces make a reconnaissance along the Potomac River into Western Virginia.
It is around this time that Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, was sent into Washington, DC when Union General Heintzelman was assigned the command of the District of Washington.
1863: CSS Hunley sinks in Charleston Harbor, SC, taking the entire crew including the builder of the submarine, H. L. Hunley.
1864: Confederate troops from General Price’s command attacks Glasgow, MO, in the process forcing the Union garrison, commanded by Colonel Chester Harding to surrender. Earlier that day the Confederates capture Sedalia, MO.
October 16
1861: Confederate General Evans moves four regiments to Leesburg, VA. His force is outnumbered but manages to convince Federal troops in the area that it is they who are outnumbered. During this day there was a skirmish at Bolivar Heights, VA.
Federal troops recapture Lexington, MO without a shot.
Skirmish at Warsaw, MO.
1862: US President Lincoln sends another message to General McClellan telling him to do something, anything, just make an attack!
1863: New Union military District of the Mississippi is created, uniting all the armies in the West. Union General Grant is given the command of the district.
Naval assault begins on Ft Brooke, near Tampa, FL. This diverts the Confederates attention while a land force marches to the Hillsborough River where they capture and destroy two blockade runners.
Union supply ship at Bridgeport, AL saved from rising flood waters.
1864: Skirmish at Ship’s Gap, GA.
Confederate troops capture Ridgley, MO.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about reaching a new prison at Millen, GA, dashing his hopes for exchange.
October 17
1861: Skirmishing around Fredericktown and Ironton, MO.
1862: Confederate General Morgan’s forces defeat Union troops near Lexington, KY.
1863: Confederate General Lee pulls his army back from Manassas, VA to the Rappahannock River.
Union General Grant receives two sets of orders from Secretary of War Stanton at a meeting in Indianapolis, IN concerning General Rosecrans. Grant chooses to relieve Rosecrans as commander of the Army of the Cumberland and give it to General Thomas.
1864: Confederate General Hood’s army starts moving into position at Gadsen, GA to invade Tennessee.
Confederate General Price’s troops are near Lexington, MO and are facing three Federal forces.
October 18
1861: Union General McClellan’s name is being considered to replace General Scott as General-in-Chief.
Federal gunboats begin movement down the Mississippi River from Cairo, IL.
Skirmish at Ironton, MO.
1862: Skirmish at Haymarket, VA.
1863: CS President Davis leaves General Bragg’s headquarters, having failed to resolve the differences among his commanders.
CSS Hunley is located and plans made to bring the submarine up.
Union General Grant receives authorization to remove General Rosecrans from command of the Army of the Cumberland and replace him with General Thomas.
1864: Confederate General Early prepares to attack Federal positions near Cedar Creek, VA.
October 19
1861: Fighting continues at Ironton, MO.
Skirmish at Big Hurricane Creek, MO.
1862: Confederate General Van Dorn has regrouped his troops near Holly Springs, MS.
The administration of Union General Butler at New Orleans, LA continues to astonish and anger Southerners with not only the raising of three regiments of African-American soldiers, but also with the announcement that Blacks and Whites are equal under the law, at least in New Orleans.
1863: While maintaining a screen to protect Confederate General Lee’s movements, General Stuart meets Union cavalry under General Kilpatrick. The Union forces give chase and are lured into an ambush near Buckland Mills, VA. Kilpatrick’s forces, once the pursuer, becomes the pursued as they run for five miles, all the while being chased by Stuart’s troopers in what became known as the “Buckland Races.”
1864: Confederate General Forrest leaves Corinth, MO and heads to Jackson, TN in support of General Hood’s advance.
Battle of Cedar Creek, VA. Union commander: General Philip Sheridan. Confederate commander: General Jubal Early. Early launches an attack on the Union encampment, sending the Federals into a near rout. Sheridan was returning from a conference with General Grant. Upon hearing of the attack, Sheridan makes an epic ride from Winchester, VA, rallying his troops to counter attack. This counterattack totally smashes Early’s army and drives them from the field. Union victory.
Confederate raiders ride from Canada to St Albans, VT. There they rob the three banks of a combined $200,000.
US President proclaims the last Thursday in November to be a National Day of Thanksgiving. This is the predecessor of today’s Thanksgiving Day.
October 20
1861: Confederate General Evans forces at Leesburg, VA move toward Ball’s Bluff, VA as Union forces attempt to cross the Potomac River there.
1862; Skirmishing at Bardstown, KY.
1863: Confederate General Stuart brings his troopers to the Confederate side of the Rappahannock River, VA.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that flour is now selling for $61 a barrel, while wood sells for $32 a cord and coal for $30 for 25 bushels.
1864: A Union force under General Blunt engages Confederate General Price at Lexington, MO but is repulsed.
Union General Blunt sets up a strong position on the Little Blue River near Independence, MO. Most of his troops are then sent into Independence itself.
Confederate General Early reforms his army ay Fisher’s Mill, VA.
October 21
1861: Battle of Ball’s Bluff, VA. Union commander: General Charles Stone. Confederate commander: General Nathan Evans. An ill advised crossing of the Potomac Ricer fails to establish a secure bridgehead and allowing a Confederate response, resulting in the death of large numbers of Union troops, including Edward Baker, a personal friend of US President Lincoln. Confederate victory.
Skirmishing ends at Ironton, MO.
1862: Union General John McClernand is ordered by US President Lincoln to raise a force to assault Vicksburg, MS.
US President Lincoln expresses support for elections in Tennessee, at this time under a military government.
1863: Union General Grant departs Nashville, TN and heads for Stevenson, AL.
1864: Battle of Little Blue River, MO. Union commander: General James Blunt. Confederate commander: General Sterling Price. Price takes advantage of the weakened Union line and attacks. Blunt returns with the remainder of his army and proceeds to drive the Confederates back. However, Blunt does not have the numbers and has to pull back into Independence, MO. Confederate victory.
Union General Sherman detaches part of his army at Gaylesville, AL in order to deal with Confederate General Hood.
October 22
1861: US President Lincoln’s cabinet meet to discuss the Ball’s Bluff, VA debacle and the concerns about General Fremont’s activities in Missouri.
1862: Skirmishing at Port Royal and Hilton Head, SC.
Union force leaves Ft Donaldson, TN and heads for Waverly, TN.
Confederates capture Loudon, KY.
Union troops seize Maysville, AR.
1863: Union General Grant arrives at Bridgeport, AL.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that a woman tried to buy a barrel of flour. The merchant demanded $70. “My God!” exclaimed she, “how can I pay such prices? I have seven children; what shall I do?” He said, “I don’t know madam unless you eat your children.”
1864: Confederate General Price, finding himself between Union General Curtis’ Army of the Border and Union cavalry under General Pleasonton, decides to cross the Big Blue River near Westport, MO and attack Curtis’ forces before Pleasanton’s troopers arrive.
Confederate General Hood and his troops reach Guntersville, AL and prepare to move into Tennessee. They are delayed by the swollen Tennessee River.
October 23
1861: Piracy trial of officers and men of CSS Savannah begin in New York, NY. This is an attempt by the Union government to stop privateering by the Confederacy.
Fighting at West liberty and Hodgeville, KY.
1862: Small action at Waverly, TN.
1863: Union General Grant arrives in Chattanooga, TN to oversee the situation involving the trapped Union army in the city.
1864: Battle of Westport, MO. Union commanders: Generals Samuel Curtis and Alfred Pleasonton. Confederate commander: General Sterling Price. Price launched four hours of attacks against the entrenched Federal line while Pleasonton pushes back Marmaduke’s troops. Price has no choice but to withdraw. Union victory.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes about hearing the news of the St Albans, VT raid.
October 24
1861: Union General R.S. Curtis receives orders to remove General Fremont from command. General David hunter has been selected to replace Fremont. Fremont is still out on a mission to find Confederate General Price, so he does not know what is happening.
1862: Union General D.C. Buell is replaced by General William Rosecrans as commander, Army of the Ohio.
Skirmishes at Brownsville, TN and Morgantown, KY.
Skirmish at Grand Prairie, MO.
1863: Union General Sherman assumes command of the Army of the Tennessee.
US President Lincoln pressed General Meade to attack Confederate General Lee.
1864: Confederate troops under General Price retreat along the Kansas-Missouri line with Federals in pursuit.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that he is almost fully recovered from the illnesses that plague him at Andersonville, GA. He is still in the hospital at Savannah, GA.
October 25
1861: USS Monitor’s keel laid in New York, NY.
Skirmish at Springfield, MO.
1862: US President Lincoln is now getting pretty annoyed that General McClellan has not moved an inch from his position. Responding to a complaint that the Army’s horses are worn out and that remounts were needed, Lincoln writes, “Will you pardon me for asking what the horses of your army have done since the Battle of Antietam that fatigues them anything?”
1863: Union General Grant initiates plans to open a supply line into Chattanooga, TN. This will become known as the “Cracker Line” for the amount of hardtack brought in.
The improvised supply steamer is launched at Bridgeport, AL.
Union and Confederate forces clash near Pine Bluff, AR. Confederates are forced to pull back after several attempts to break the Union line.
1864: Union General Pleasonton’s forces encircle part of Confederate General Price’s forces as they retreat from Westport, MO. General Marmaduke, another Confederate general, and 600 soldiers captured. Another Union detachment catches up with more of Price’s army at the Marmilton River, but holds off on attacking, allowing Price to escape.
Battle of Maria Des Cygnes, MO. Union commander, General Alfred Pleasonton. Confederate commander: General Sterling Price. Pleasonton orders a heavy artillery bombardment, followed by a massed cavalry charge, which breaks the Confederate line. Price is forced once again to pull back. Union victory. This effectively ends Confederate operations in Missouri.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that he will soon go to a new prison at Millen, GA.
October 26
1861: Skirmish at Romney, Western Virginia.
Skirmish at Saratoga, KY.
1862: Union Army of the Potomac finally begins to move across the Potomac River into Virginia.
1863: Union General Hooker’s troops cross into Tennessee to meet up with the Chattanooga garrison.
1864: Confederate partisan William “Bloody Bill” Anderson killed in an ambush near Richmond, MO.
Confederate General Hood attempts to take his army across the Tennessee River at Decatur, AL, but is stopped by a smaller Union force. The Nashville campaign has begun.
October 27
1861: Union General Fremont arrives in Springfield, MO and does not find Confederate General Price, who is at Neosho, MO.
1862: Action at Labadieville, LA results in a Federal victory.
1863: Union forces under General William B. Hazen establish a bridgehead across the Tennessee River to form the first stage of the “Cracker Line”
1864: A small Union force under Naval Lieutenant William Cushing attack and sink CSS Albemarle on the Roanoke River, VA. Only Cushing and one other return to Union lines.
Union troops under Generals Warren and Hancock attack the South Side Railroad near Petersburg, VA, but are halted by a strong Confederate defense line commanded by Generals Heth and Mahone.
Union General Butler makes an attack on Richmond, VA defensives, but is repulsed, with 600 of his troops taken prisoner.
October 28
1861: Confederate General A.S. Johnston assumes command of the Army of Central Kentucky.
Confederate General Price makes an impassioned appeal for 50,000 to join him. This is five Federal divisions are searching Missouri for him.
1862: Confederate General Lee moves his army up the Shenandoah Valley, VA in order to check Union General McClellan’s movements.
Federal troops defeat a larger Confederate force a Fayetteville Hollows, AR.
1863: Union troops under General Hooker move to secure the bridge head across the Tennessee River and the Wauhatchie Station on the nearby Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad. Confederates plan a night attack to drive them back.
CSS Georgia arrives in Cherbourg, France for repairs.
1864: Union Naval Lieutenant Cushing rescued by USS Valley City following the attack on CSS Albemarle.
Union General Sherman decides to return to Atlanta, GA. He will leave General Thomas to deal with Confederate General Hood.
October 29
1861: 77 Union ships depart Ft Monroe, VA en route to attack Port Royal, SC.
1862: Union Army of the Potomac, about 130,000 men, moves across the Potomac River and into the Shenandoah Valley, VA. All of this under observation of Confederate Generals Lee and Jackson.
1863; Confederate General Longstreet launches his attack on Union troops at Wauhatchie, TN at midnight. He tries to communicate by signal flares but the code was cracked by the Federals. Despite this, there is no control over the fighting and the battle sputters out by sunrise.
1864: Union gunboats find the river channel near Plymouth, NC blocked by hulks.
Confederate General Forrest captures the transport Mazeppa near Ft Henry, TN.
October 30
1861: The Union fleet heading for Port Royal, SC runs into bad weather along the North Carolina coast.
1862: US Navy offers a $500,000 reward for the capture of CSS Alabama.
Union General Rosecrans formally takes command of the Department of the Cumberland.
1863: The scratch steamer Chattanooga arrives in its namesake city with the first fresh supplies for the beleaguered garrison.
1864; Confederate General Forrest captures three more ships, giving him a fleet on the Tennessee River.
Union IV Corps moving from Chattanooga TN, to Pulaski, TN.
October 31
1861: Union General Scott formally asks to be relieved as General-in Chief. It will be his “Anaconda” plan that becomes the overall Union strategy used against the Confederacy.
Skirmish at Morgantown, MO.
1862: Union General Grant begins gathering troops at Grand Junction, TN with an aim to attack Vicksburg, MS.
1863: “The Cracker line is open! Full rations boys!” Supplies begin to flood into Chattanooga, TN.
1864: Confederate General Hood’s army reaches Tuscumbia, AL.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes about being put on a train and being sent to Millen, GA.
1865
Birthdays:
Union General James Wadsworth, commander of CSS Shenandoah, 1807
Texas Governor Francis Lubbock, 1815
Confederate General Bushrod Johnson, 1817
Union General Irvin McDowell, 1818
Union General Edward Ord, 1818
Confederate Postmaster General John Reagan, 1818
Union spy Elizabeth Van Lew, 1818
Union General George Washington Getty, 1819
Confederate General Samuel McGowan, 1819
Union General Daniel Sickles, 1819
Confederate General Benjamin Franklin Cheatham, 1820
Confederate General Richard Anderson, 1821
Photographer Alexander Gardner, 1821
Confederate General Alexander Stewart, 1821
Union General Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th President of the United States, 1822
Union General George Sykes, 1822
Union General Joseph Hawley, 1826
Confederate General Turner Ashby, 1828
Sketch artist Alfred Waud, 1828
Union General Chester A. Arthur, 21st President of the United States, 1829
Union General Daniel Butterfield, who wrote Taps, 1831
Union General Adelbert Ames, 1835. (He died in 1933, the last surviving Civil War officer.)
Confederate Surgeon Hunter McGuire, 1835
Confederate General Thomas Rosser, 1836
Union Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, commander of the 54th MA, 1837
John Hay, assistant to US President Lincoln, 1838
# posted by FSPowers : 6:24 PM
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