Friday, August 25, 2006
An Amateur’s Look at the American Civil War: March
March 1
1861: Diarist Mary Chesnut writes about meeting Varina Davis, the Confederate First Lady.
1862: Union General Grant begins moving his troops from Ft Donaldson to Pittsburg Landing, on the Tennessee River, where Union gunboats destroy a Confederate battery.
Richmond, VA is under martial law.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about working on maps for the Peninsular Campaign.
1863: Skirmish at Bradyville, TN.
1864: USS St Louis fails in an attempt to capture CSS Florida near Funchal, Spain.
Union cavalry under General Kilpatrick skirmishes with Richmond defenses and withdraws. Colonel Dahlgren visits the house of CS Secretary of War Seddon and drinks wine with Mrs. Seddon. His troops then ride to the James River and, finding it swollen, hangs the African-American who was guiding them for suspected treachery. Dahlgren lost track of Kilpatrick during all of this.
Union Admiral Porter sends a reconnaissance up the Black and Ouachita Rivers. This is in preparation for the Red River Expedition.
Union General Grant formally nominated for the rank of Lieutenant General.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about his first meal at Andersonville, GA, a tin cup of cornmeal which he had to make into a cake!
1865: Union Admiral John Dahlgren loses his flagship to a mine. Escapes injury but is left with the uniform on his back.
Wisconsin passes the 13th Amendment while New Jersey rejects it.
Confederate General Early begins massing his army at Waynesborough, VA in order to counter the Union cavalry force.
March 2
1861: Territories of Nevada, Dakota (modern day North and South Dakota), Wyoming, and Montana formed.
1862: Confederate General Polk completes evacuation of Columbus, KY leaving all of Kentucky in Union hands.
Confederate General Van Dorn assumes command of CS forces along the Mississippi River upon reaching the Confederate encampment in the Boston Mountains, AR.
1863: US Congress approves a bill for military appointments, which include the dismissal of 30 officers.
Union General Hooker has quite the reputation in the Army of the Potomac. He is seen as a great organizer, but also for his drinking and entertaining "women of ill repute." A common story is that his name became a term for prostitute. Today, there is a dispute over that, with some claiming that the term "hooker" actually referred to prostitutes working in Washington DC and would "hook" young soldiers into their bordellos.
1864: Union Colonel Dahlgren is ambushed and killed outside Richmond, VA. Papers found on his body point to an assassination plot against CS President Davis. US officials deny knowledge of any plot.
US Senate formally confirms the appointment of Ulysses Grant to Lieutenant General, the first since George Washington.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes about paying $20 for a half-cord of wood, $60 for a bushel of white beans, and $8 for a pound of bacon.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about helping a friend build a shelter with whatever they could find. He also begins making sketches of the living conditions, which were already becoming horrible.
1865: Confederate General Lee proposes a conference to resolve differences in order to end the war.
Confederate General Jubal Early’s attempt to retake the Shenandoah Valley ends with his army detachment no longer a threat, following an attack by Union General Philip Sheridan at Waynesboro, VA.
March 3
1862: Skirmish at New Madrid, MO
1863: Union warships fire on Ft McAllister, GA to no effect.
US Congress approves the Enrollment Act, making men between 20 and 45 eligible for the draft.
1864: In Dayton, OH, fifteen men of the 44th Ohio, on leave, wrecked the offices of the Dayton Daily Empire after the newspaper printed a series of anti-Lincoln editorials.
Union General Kilpatrick continues his retreat while Colonel Dahlgren's body is stripped bare and sent to Richmond, VA.
1865: The Freedmen’s Bureau, tasked with looking after freed slaves, is established.
Union troops enter Cheraw, SC where they find a cache of vintage wine. That wine is soon drunk.
Union General Grant receives orders not to enter into discussions with Confederate leaders. Army commanders will not make political decisions.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that his household income has risen to $16,000 a year, but that only equals $300 in gold.
March 4
1861: Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated at the 16th President of the United States.
The “Stars and Bars” (Confederate First National Flag) is raised for the first time.
Mary Chesnut writes after attending a slave auction, “South Carolina slave holder as I am my very soul sickened--- it is too dreadful. I tried to reason--- this is not worse than the willing sale most women make of themselves in marriage--- nor can the consequences be worse.”
1862: Union General John Pope leads an assault on New Madrid, MO and Island No. 10 on the Mississippi River.
Union Flag Officer Foote arrives in Columbus, KY to find that Confederate forces have already left.
Union General Henry Halleck relieves General Grant for allegedly being drunk on duty.
Andrew Johnson appointed military governor of Tennessee.
Confederate General Lee is recalled from South Carolina back to Richmond, VA.
Confederate General Van Dorn begins operations against Union forces in northern Arkansas.
1863: Confederate General Van Dorn launches an attack on Union General Rosecrans' troops neat Spring Hill, TN, shattering a brigade.
1864: Union General Sherman's forces return to Vicksburg, MS.
Union General Kilpatrick raids the area where Colonel Dahlgren was killed before returning to Union lines.
US Congress approves Andrew Johnson's appointment as military Governor of Tennessee.
1865: Union General Sherman’s army enters North Carolina.
US President Lincoln inaugurated for second term.
CS Congress approves the design for the Third National flag.
March 5
1862: Union General Nathaniel Banks moves against Confederate General Thomas Jackson at Winchester, VA (Shenandoah Valley Campaign begins)
Union General Smith's troops concentrate at Savannah, TN.
Confederate General Beauregard is given command of Confederate troops in the Mississippi River Valley.
Union General Sigel avoids getting surrounded by Confederate General Van Dorn's troops by pulling back to Sugar Creek, AR.
1863: Battle of Thompson’s Station, TN. Union commander: Colonel John Coburn. Confederate commander: General Earl Van Dorn. Colonel Coburn saw a target of opportunity and attack. The Confederates counterattacked and Coburn’s force was taken prisoner. Confederate victory.
Union engineers begin construction of canal across the area of land opposite Vicksburg, MS. This is being done while under fire from the city.
1864: A Confederate attack on Yazoo City, MS is repulsed.
Confederate Government orders that 1/2 of all space on blockade runners be devoted to war materiel. Also authorized is the formation of a fleet of government blockade runners.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that a turkey can now be bought for $60.
1865: Confederate General Breckenridge assumes command of Confederate forces in the Appalachian Mountains of Western Virginia.
US President Lincoln names Hugh McCulloch to be Secretary of the Treasury.
CS President Davis is still confident in a Confederate victory, expressing that in a letter to a Confederate Congressman.
March 6
1862: Union General Curtis concentrates his forces to face Confederate General Van Dorn near Pea Ridge, AR.
Confederate General Van Dorn's soldiers launch an attack on Union lines at Sugar Creek, AR
CS Congress approves scorched earth policy for Confederate forces in Virginia.
US President Lincoln pushes for funding to help states considering emancipation laws.
1863: The cavalry of the Union Army of the Potomac is re-equipping with Sharps breech-loading carbines. This will give the Union mounted arm more fire power than their Confederate counterparts.
1864: Both Northern and Southern newspapers print articles on the recent Kilpatrick raid. Northern papers call it a great victory while the Southern papers decry the raid as barbaric.
1865: Union force fails to secure a crossing at St Marks, FL.
Union General Sherman's troops cross the Pee Dee River, NC.
Confederate General Joe Johnston is given command of the Department of North Carolina, with an area of responsibility covering all of NC and north to the Petersburg, VA siege lines.
Meta Morris Grimball, a South Carolina resident, does not share CS President Davis’ confidence. She writes in her diary about current conditions in her home state.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes about buying a cord of oak and green pine wood for $55.
March 7
1862: Battle of Pea Ridge (Elkhorn Tavern), AR. Union commander: General Samuel Curtis. Confederate commander: General Earl Van Dorn. Day One: Confederate forces attack on a two pronged front, threatening any possible Union retreat route, but Federal forces managed to turn the right wing attack back. Confederates lose two generals (McCulloch and McIntosh) in the process. Fighting ends at sundown.
USS Monitor encountering storms enroute to VA.
Skirmish between Union General Banks and Confederate General Jackson at Winchester, VA.
1863: Baltimore, MD prohibits sale of "secesh" music.
Union troops under General Banks advance on Baton Rouge, LA.
Confederate General Smith assumes command of all Confederate troops west of the Mississippi River.
1864: A cargo ship arrives at Halifax, NC with iron for the under construction CSS Albemarle.
The New York Times prints an editorial depicting the effect that African-American soldiers are having on Northern racial attitudes. Sadly, discriminatory laws are still in effect in the North.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that on this date he and other prisoners were taken from their prison and placed in railroad cars and are taken south.
1865: Union General Jacob Cox's troops establish themselves at New Berne, NC.
March 8
1862: CSS Virginia sails into Hampton Roads, VA. Sinks USS Cumberland and USS Congress. Forces USS Minnesota aground. Retires up the James River after the Virginia’s commander, Commander Franklin Buchanan, is wounded. . USS Monitor arrives about 1a.m.
Union General McClellan gets approval to launch a campaign against Richmond, VA from the coast.
Battle of Pea Ridge, AR. Day Two. Union forces open the second day with an artillery bombardment of Confederate lines followed by an infantry assault. This attack forces the Confederates to retreat from the area. Battle ends as Union victory.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about visiting Mount Vernon, George Washington's home, and finding the place a little run down.
1863: Confederate Captain John Mosby leads a force into Fairfax Court House, VA and captures Union General Edwin Stoughton, plus 30 other men and 58 horses. Ironically, that Union force had orders to seek and capture Mosby.
Writer Nathaniel Hawthorne writes a friend in England expressing the war weariness that many Northerners feel.
1864: Union General Grant arrives in Washington, DC.
1865: Confederate General Bragg makes an unsuccessful attack on Union General Cox’s position at Kinston, NC.
CS Senate votes to approve the enlistment of African-Americans into the Confederate Army.
March 9
1862: First battle between ironclad ships begins after dawn as CSS Virginia reenters Hampton Roads with the idea to finish off USS Minnesota. Union commander: Naval Lieutenant John Worden aboard USS Monitor. Confederate commander: Lieutenant Catsby ap R Jones aboard CSS Virginia (ex-USS Merrimac). During the battle both ships sustain damage and the Monitor’s commander is wounded. Both ships pull back, each crew believing they had defeated the other.
Union troops probe toward suspected Confederate positions in northern Virginia, but fail to find any enemy troops to engage.
1863: Union General Banks concentrating his forces at Baton Rouge, LA. This force is supposed to join General Grant's campaign to take Vicksburg, MS but the Confederate stronghold at Port Hudson, LA is in the way. Meanwhile another fake Union gunboat is floated past the Vicksburg defenses, spooking the batteries into wasting much ammunition.
1864: Union General Grant is formally promoted to Lieutenant General. After the promotion ceremony, he leaves Washington, DC to make his headquarters in the field with the Army of the Potomac.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that bacon is selling for $15 a pound and cornmeal for $50 a bushel.
1865: Union General Kilpatrick is surprised at his camp at Monroe's Cross Roads, VA by Confederate Generals Hampton and Wheeler. It was believed that Kilpatrick was so surprised that he ran off without getting dressed.
Vermont passes the 13th Amendment.
The New York World prints an editorial blasting plans for a third draft for the Union armies.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that cornmeal is selling for $100 a bushel and bacon for $13 a pound.
March 10
1862: Skirmish at Burke's Station, VA.
Skirmish at Jacksbobough, TN.
1863: US President Lincoln proclaims that any Union deserter who returns to his unit by April 1 will not be punished.
Jacksonville, FL occupied by Union troops.
1864: Union Generals Grant and Meade meet at Brandy Station, VA. Grant tells Meade that he will retain command of the Army of the Potomac. Grant feels that he will better command all Union forces by staying in the field rather than behind a desk in Washington, DC.
1865: Confederate cavalry led by General Hampton are repulsed by rallying Union cavalry under Union General Kilpatrick at Monroe’s Cross Roads, VA.
Confederate General Bragg is forced across the Neuse River, withdrawing from Kinston, NC.
Confederate General William Whiting dies of injuries suffered in the fall of Ft Fisher, NC.
March 11
1861: Confederate Congress meets in Montgomery, AL. Adopts a Constitution almost exactly like the US Constitution, except that slavery in endorsed.
1862; US President Lincoln relieves Union General McClellan as commander-in-chief but leaves him in command of the Army of the Potomac.
Confederate General Jackson’s forces withdraw to the south of Winchester, VA.
Skirmish at Paris, TN.
Confederate Generals Floyd and Pillow are sacked for their actions at Ft Donaldson, TN.
1863: A Union force heading down the Yazoo River toward Vicksburg, MS reaches Ft Pemberton and is repulsed by the defenders.
Baltimore, MD prohibits the sale of pictures of Confederate leaders.
1864: Union commanders planning to advance up the Red River, LA are concerned with river levels. They seem to be lower than expected.
1865: Union General Sherman captures Fayetteville, NC.
March 12
1862: Skirmish at Lexington, MO.
Federal forces take Jacksonville, FL.
Mary Chesnut writes, “Lincoln came through Baltimore locked up in Adam’s express car! Noble entrance into the Government of a free people.” This is in reference to US President-elect Lincoln traveling to Washington, DC under tight security due to death threats.
1863: Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner expresses his concerns about Confederate commerce raiders being built in British ports in a letter to a friend in England.
Union Admiral Farragut plans to run his vessels past Port Hudson, LA in order to block the supply routes from northwestern Louisiana.
1864: The Red River Expedition begins as Union General Banks launched a joint Army/Navy force against Confederate General Kirby Smith’s Trans-Mississippi army.
Union General Henry Halleck is relieved as commander-in-chief and named chief of staff.
Union General Grant assumes command of all Union armies and names Union General Sherman commander of the armies in the West (Army of the Tennessee, Army of the Ohio, and Army of the Cumberland.)
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that flour is selling for $600 a barrel, cornmeal for $50 per bushel and fresh fish for $5 a pound. His household income is $7200 a year.
1865: Union Naval forces reach Wilmington, NC and establish communications with General Sherman, presently at Fayetteville, NC destroying the arsenal there.
March 13
1862: Confederate troops evacuate New Madrid, MO and move to Island #10.
Union General Burnside moves his troops from Roanoke Island to the North Carolina mainland.
Union General McClellan is reminded that his plans for an offensive from the tip of the York Peninsula to Richmond, VA must take into account the defense of Washington, DC.
Union troops under General Pope take Point Pleasant, MO.
1863: A second Union attack on Ft Pemberton, MS, is repulsed.
The Confederate States Laboratory on Brown’s Island, Richmond, VA, explodes, killing 69 women and children.
1864: Union troops reach Simsport, LA. (Red River Expedition)
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that boarding houses in Richmond, VA are charging $300 a month for rent.
Union Sergeant John Ransom's train has reached Macon, GA. The prisoners have been given "a pone of corn bread apiece weighing about two pounds, which is liberal on their part."
1865: Union General Sheridan’s cavalry involved in a skirmish at Beaver Dam Station, near Richmond, VA.
CS President Davis signs the bill allowing enlistment of African-Americans into the Confederate Army.
March 14
1862: Union forces capture New Berne, NC defeating a larger Confederate army.
Union General Pope's forces take New Madrid, MO.
1863: A Federal attempt to sail past Confederate batteries at Port Hudson, MS results in only two ships making it past. This now places Union naval forces between Port Hudson and Vicksburg.
A Confederate attack on Union positions at Ft Anderson, on the Neuse River, NC, is repulsed.
1864: CS Vice President Stephens makes a speech critical of CS President Davis before the Georgia Legislature.
Union troops capture Ft De Russy, LA (Red River Expedition)
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that he has reached Camp Sumter (Andersonville, VA).
1865; Union General Cox captures Kinston, NC.
Union general Sherman's advance troops skirmish at the Black River while the main body crosses the Cape Fear River, advancing deeper into North Carolina.
March 15
1862: Union Generals Sherman and Hurlbut reach Pittsburg Landing, TN. Union General Don Carlos Buell is also ordered to Pittsburg Landing with his Army of the Ohio.
Union General C. F. Smith injures his leg and Union General Grant is restored to command of the Union armies massing at Pittsburg Landing.
1863: USS Mississippi, grounded in the attempt to sail past Port Hudson, LA is destroyed to prevent the gunboat falling into Confederate hands.
1864: Louisiana state functions transferred from military to civilian control.
Union fleet arrives at Alexandria, LA, on the Red River.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about several tunnels that were being dug in order to escape from Andersonville, GA. He also writes that a barber shop has been set up next to his shanty.
1865: Union General Sherman begins moving from Fayetteville to Goldsborough, NC.
March 16
1861: Arizona territory declares itself aligned with the Confederacy.
US Army Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Lee is promoted to Colonel in charge of 1st US Cavalry.
1862: Skirmish at Black Jack's Forest, TN.
1863: The Steele’s Bayou expedition is launched to find another way to Vicksburg from the northeast. This will end on March 22 in failure.
Union General Averill plans a cavalry raid in response to Confederate raids and taunting by Confederate General Fitzhugh Lee, Averill's West Point classmate. General Hooker approves the raid, noting the attitude in the Union army at the time that no one has "seen a dead cavalryman."
1864: Union forces concentrate at Alexandria, LA.
Confederate General Forrest begins raids into Tennessee and Kentucky.
CS Vice President Stephens gives a speech before the Georgia Legislature, ripping the government and President Davis for recently passed acts.
1865: Battle of Averasboro, NC. Union commander: General William Sherman. Confederate commander: General William Hardee. Hardee’s troops were put as a blocking force as Sherman’s forces were marching from Fayetteville, NC. Union cavalry under General Kilpatrick tried to break the Confederate line, but it took two divisions of infantry to finally break through. Hardee was forced to withdraw to Bentonville, NC, where the rest of Confederate General Johnston’s army was. Union victory.
March 17
1862: The Union Army of the Potomac starts boarding transports for the trip to the York Peninsula. This begins the Peninsular Campaign.
1863: The Yazoo pass expedition is ended in failure. Another way to get to Vicksburg is needed.
At Kelly’s Ford, VA, Union cavalry under General Averill engages Confederate cavalry under General Fitzhugh Lee, son of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and Averill’s classmate at West Point. When told that General J.E.B. Stuart was approaching, Averill sounded retreat and forfeits the opportunity to destroy Lee. Among the Confederate dead was Major John Pelham (“the Gallant Pelham”), one of the best artillery officers the Army of Northern Virginia had.
Members of the 116th PA put out this advertisement,"To come off the 17th of March, rain or shine, by horses the property of, and to be ridden by, commissioned officers of that brigade. The prozes are a purse of $500; second horse to save his stakes; 2 1/2 mile heat, best two in three, over four hurdles four and a half feet high, and five ditch fences including two artifical rivers fifteen feet wide and six deep; hurdles to be made of forest pine and braced with hoop." This became known as the "Grand Irish Steeple Chase."
1864: US President Lincoln presses Maryland to adopt emancipation.
1865: Confederate General Hardee's army reaches Bentonville, NC and joins General Joe Johnston's force, the only force in the area that might slow down the Union juggernaught.
Union General Canby begins operations against Mobile, AL.
March 18
1861: Texas governor Sam Houston refuses to take Confederate Oath of Allegiance.
Mary Chesnut, wife of a wealthy planter and living in Charleston, SC, writes in her diary about the moral effect that Slavery has on the society she lives in.
1862: Judah Benjamin is named Confederate Secretary of State while George W. Randolph is named Confederate Secretary of War.
Confederate troops under General Albert Johnston arrive in Corinth, MS.
1863: Union naval forces stop a blockade runner from entering Charleston Harbor, SC.
Union General Hooker is angry over the failure of General Averill at Kelly's Ford, VA.
In Paris, France, the Erlanger Bank lends the Confederacy 3,000,000 Pounds Sterling. The bank would never recoup the losses.
1864: The US Sanitary Commission, formed in 1861 to take care of soldier’s welfare, finished a fair in Washington, DC which showcased their work. The organization was praised for their accomplishments by US President Lincoln.
Union General Sherman formally assumes command of the Military Division of the Mississippi.
Confederate forces concentrate at Carroll Jones' Plantation, 36 miles from Alexandria, LA to counter any Union move up the Red River.
Arkansas voters approve a new state constitution that ends slavery.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that most residents of Richmond, VA may average two ounces of meat per day, if there is any. Cornmeal is selling for $50 a bushel and bacon for $7.75 a pound.
1865: Confederate Congress ends its current session. They will never meet again.
Skirmishing at Bentonville, NC as both Union and Confederate forces concentrate. The sinking fortunes of the Confederacy are evident in the fact that General Joe Johnston can only muster 17,000 men. Union General Sherman is fielding 60,000.
Union troops advancing up the west side of Mobile Bay toward Mobile, AL. This is a diversion, the real attack will come from the east.
March 19
1861: Forts Clark, Inge, and Lancaster are surrendered to Texas authorities.
1862: The Confederate strategy in Tennessee is to prevent Union forces from opening avenues if invasion into the heart of the Confederacy. General Beauregard's army will join General Albert Johnston's at Corinth, MS to attack a reported Union force under General Grant at Pittsburg Landing, TN.
1863: Union forces, retreating from Ft Pemberton, north of Vicksburg, MS, meet reinforcements and try another assault on the fort.
USS Hartford and Albatross sail past Confederate batteries at Natchez and Grand Gulf, MS and position themselves below Vicksburg, MS.
1864: Battle of Laredo, TX, Union commander: General Edmund Davis. Confederate commander: Colonel Santos Benavides. Small Confederate force prevents two Union cavalry units from seizing the Rio Grand River valley. This battle pitted Union Hispanics versus Confederate Hispanics. Confederate victory.
Georgia Legislature votes to press the Confederate Government to offer peace terms after a Confederate victory. Of course, they are looking nervously at the prospect of a Union invasion from Tennessee.
Union General Bank's forces start entering Alexandria, LA.
1865: Battle of Bentonville, NC. Union commander: General Henry Slocum. Confederate commander: General Joseph Johnston. Day One. Johnston orders an attack on a part of the Union XIV Corps, driving them back. Between thick forests and swamps and the arrival of XX Corps, Johnston has no choice but to return to their original trenches. Sherman is rushing the bulk of his army to the area.
Union General Sheridan has joined General Grant's command at Petersburg, VA.
Letters from Confederate soldiers in Petersburg, VA express knowledge of the entire war effort failing if they have to pull out of the trenches. Union soldier’s letters express a feeling that the war will soon be over.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that bacon is selling at $20 a pound and cornmeal for $140 a bushel.
March 20
1861: Two of US President Lincoln’s sons, Tad and Willie, contract measles, adding to his other worries.
1862: Union General Benjamin Butler assumes command of Army units assigned to the assault on New Orleans.
Confederate General Jackson moves his troops toward Winchester, VA in pursuit of fleeing Federal troops.
1863: A Union attempt to take Vicksburg, MS by way of Steele's Bayou is repulsed.
1864: CSS Alabama arrives at Cape Town, South Africa.
1865: Battle of Bentonville, NC. Day Two. Confederate General Johnston holds the line as Union reinforcements approach. Federals begin hitting the Confederate center while fending off cavalry attacks by Confederate General Wheeler.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that a barrel of flour can be had for $1500.
March 21
1861: CS Vice-President Stephens makes a speech in Savannah, GA in which he defends the position taken by the South.
Louisiana approves the new Confederate Constitution.
1862: Skirmish at Mosquito Inlet, FL.
1863: Union General Sumner dies before assuming a new command in the West.
Confederates hit a Federal train between Bolivar and Grand Junction, TN.
Skirmishing at Salem, TN.
1864: US President Lincoln approves recently passes acts allowing the territories of Colorado and Nevada to become states.
A Union advance force captures the 2nd LA Cavalry at Bayou Rapides, 23 miles from Alexandria, LA.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that Camp Sumter (Andersonville, GA) is fast filling up and wood for fires is already getting scarce. He also meets fellow Michiganders among the prisoners.
1865: Union General Schofield captures Goldsborough, NC.
Battle of Bentonville, NC. Day three. Federal XX Corps attempts to turn the Confederate left but is stopped by Confederate Generals Hardee and Hampton. Hardee's son, who joined the 8th TX Cavalry that morning, is killed in a charge. He was 16. That night, General Johnston has to pull his army back to preserve what is left. Battle ends in a Union victory and Confederate forces in North Carolina no longer are able to go on the offensive.
CSS Stonewall tries to start a fight with USS Niagara and USS Sacramento off Ferrol, Spain, but the Federal warships do not accept the challenge.
March 22
1862: Confederate General Jackson’s troops meets Union forces near Winchester, VA.
1863: Confederate General Morgan's raiders capture Mount Sterling, KY.
Confederate General Pegram's troopers conducting raids into Kentucky.
1864: Union General Lewis Wallace assumes command on the Middle Department, with headquarters at Baltimore, MD.
A heavy snow has fallen at Richmond, VA.
1865: Union General James Wilson sets out on a campaign to take out the last Confederate manufacturing center at Selma, AL.
March 23
1862: Battle of Kernstown (Winchester), VA. Union commander: General John Shields. Confederate commander: General Thomas Jackson. Confederates are repulsed by superior forces, but the action results in commanders in Washington, DC redeploying troops from McClellan’s army to support operations in the Shenandoah Valley. Union victory.
Union General Burnside's troops head toward Ft Macon, near Beaufort, NC.
Union forces under General Sherman encamp at Pittsburg Landing, TN while General Grant establishes headquarters at Savannah, TN, eight miles away. No one is aware to the growing Confederate force one day's march away at Corinth, MS.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, describes the town of Hampton, VA as "in utter ruin."
1863: Massachusetts Governor Andrew Curtin pledges to local African-American businessman George T. Dowling that blacks will receive equal treatment in the Union Army (sadly that was not the case).
USS Hartford and USS Albatross bombard Confederate batteries at Warrenton, MS.
1864: Union Generals Banks, Smith and Admiral Porter meet at Alexandria, LA.
Union General Grant returns to Washington, DC after allowing General Warren to assume command of V Corps.
1865: At Goldsborough, NC Union General Sherman unites his army with those of Generals Schofield and Terry, giving him 100,000 men.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that beef is selling for $15 a pound, bacon for $20 a pound, and butter for $20 a pound.
March 24
1862: Confederate General Jackson’s troops go back to Mt. Jackson, VA.
Confederate General Albert S. Johnston arrives in Corinth, MS.
Wendell Phillips, an abolitionist speaker, is attacked at a rally at Cincinnati, OH and a small riot breaks out.
Union troops besiege Ft Macon, NC when a surrender demand is refused.
1863: A last Federal attempt to take Vicksburg, MS by a water route fails as General Sherman's troops are repulsed at the Black Bayou.
1864: Confederate General Forrest captures Union City, TN.
Skirmish at Trough Bottom, AR.
1865: With Union General Sherman firmly in North Carolina, Confederate General Lee knows that supplies from the south are now cut off. Lee now asks General Gordon to try to open a line in the Union line so the army can escape and join General Johnston's forces in North Carolina. The Army of Northern Virginia has 35,000 left.
March 25
1862: Union troops pursuing Confederate General Jackson's forces stop at Woodstock, VA.
1863: Confederate cavalry under General Forrest attack a small Union garrison at Paducah, KY.
Union General Burnside appointed commander of the Department of the Ohio.
USS Lancaster is destroyed and USS Switzerland is damaged while withdrawing from Black Bayou, MS.
Skirmishing at Brentwood, TN.
1864: Confederate cavalry under General Forrest hit Paducah, KY, causing panic in nearby Ohio.
Any further Union push up the Red River in Louisiana must wait until the river rises.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes about first seeing Confederate Captain Wirz, who just took over command of the prison.
1865: Battle of Ft Steadman, VA. Union commander: General Grant. Confederate commander: General Lee. Confederate forces take a fort within the Union lines in order for the Army of Northern Virginia to escape south and join up with General J. Johnston’s army. A Union counterattack results in the capture of 1900 Confederates and a large segment of Confederate entrenchments. This is the last offensive Lee will be able to attempt in the war. Union victory.
Union siege of Mobile, AL, begins.
March 26
1862: Skirmishes at Hammondsville and Warrensburg, MO.
Fighting at Denver, Colorado Territory.
Action at Apache Canyon, New Mexico territory.
1863: West Virginia approves emancipation measure.
Confederate Congress passes act allowing the government to seize private property for military use.
1864: Union Army of the Tennessee taken over by General McPherson.
Confederate General Forrest heads for Ft Pillow on the Mississippi River.
1865: Union General Sheridan’s crossing the James River near Petersburg, VA.
Union General Grant plans another extension of his lines with the aim to surround Confederate General Lee's forces and cut off all avenues of retreat.
March 27
1862: Union forces at Apache Canyon fall back to Glorieta Pass, New Mexico Territory.
1863: US President Lincoln meets with a delegation of Indians.
Union forces complete pullback from Steele's Bayou, MS.
1864: Union General Banks receives orders from General Grant to march his army to Mobile, AL while detaching General Smith's corps to join General Sherman at Vicksburg, MS. This would cause Banks to abandon the Red River Campaign. He decides to press ahead with the campaign in the absence of orders front General Halleck canceling the operation.
Union Sergeant John Ransom describes a daily ration at Camp Sumter (Andersonville, GA),"We have issued to us once each day about a lint of beans, or more properly peas, (full of bugs), and three-quarters of a pint of meal, and nearly every day a piece of bacon the size of your two fingers."
1865: Confederate forces are finding the vise tightening around Spanish Fort at Mobile, AL.
Union Generals Grant and Sherman, Admiral Porter, and President Lincoln meet on board the River Queen at City Point, VA where Lincoln advocates for lenient terms for the soon to be defeated South.
At Mobile, AL, Spanish Fort and nearby Ft Blakely are surrounded.
March 28
1862: Battle of Glorieta Pass, NM. Union commander: Colonel John Slough. Confederate commander: Colonel W. R. Scurry. Confederate General Sibley continues his attempt to seize New Mexico for the Confederacy. Southeast of Santa Fe, they run into Scurry’s Colorado troops. While the Confederates were busy, a Union force of 400, under command of Major J. M. Chivington move west and manage to destroy the Confederate supply wagons. Sibley is forced to withdraw his entire force back onto Texas, ending any dreams of Confederate westward expansion. Union victory.
Union troops capture Shipping Point, VA.
Skirmish at Warrensburg, MO.
1863: Confederates improve batteries at Grand Gulf, MS.
USS Diana captured at Pattersonville, LA.
French Foreign Legion lands at Vera Cruz, Mexico in support of French forces besieging the town of Pubela. This act concerns the Lincoln Administration because a victorious Imperial Mexico could help the CSA.
1864: Union troops under General Banks begin movement toward Shreveport, LA.
A mob of 100 Copperheads attack Union troops on furlough at Charleston, IL killing 5, wounding 20 and setting off a riot.
1865: Union General Wilson’s cavalry skirmish with Confederates at Elyton, AL.
Confederate General Lee has managed to amass 50,000 men for a planned breakout. The problem is that he now faces 125,000 Union troops.
March 29
1861: Texas governor Sam Houston removed from office by pro-Confederate state legislature.
US President Lincoln orders a relied expedition to Ft Sumter, SC.
1862: Skirmish at Middleburg, VA. First recorded use of a machine gun in battle.
Union General Fremont assumes command of one of three Federal armies squaring off against Confederate General Jackson.
Confederate General Albert Johnston assumes command of the army that is assembled at Corinth, MS.
1863: Union General Grant orders General McClernand to Milliken’s Bend to New Carthage in order to bypass Vicksburg, MS
Skirmish at Kelly's Ford, VA.
Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, calling herself Lyons Wakeman, a member of the 153rd NY, writes of her experiences as a soldier. She will die in a Union hospital in 1864 with her disguise intact.
1864: Union General Meade demands an inquiry after newspapers publish articles critical of his leadership at the Battle of Gettysburg, PA. US President Lincoln convinces Meade to withdraw the request.
Federal fleet departs Alexandria, LA and head up the Red River.
1865: Union General Grant begins moving troops toward Dinwiddie Court House, VA, beginning the Appomattox Campaign. Confederates abandon their line at White Oak Road after a sharp fight.
Confederate General Fitzhugh Lee moves his cavalry to Five Forks, VA to support General Pickett's infantry.
March 30
1862: Confederate General Jackson's troops pull back to Harrisonville, VA.
1863: Confederate General A.P. Hill moves his forces to besiege the Federal Garrison at Washington, NC.
US President Lincoln proclaims April 30 a Day of Prayer.
Fighting at Dutton's Hill, KY.
1864: Skirmishes at Bolivar, TN, Caperton's Ferry, AL, Monett's Ferry and Cloutierville, LA, and Arkadelphia, AR.
1865: Union General Wilson’s cavalry encountering Confederate General Forrest’s cavalry at Montevallo, AL.
Union II and V Corps press into the Confederate right flank at Hatcher's Run and Gravelly Run, VA. The Confederate line is now stretched razor thin.
CSS Stonewall leaves Tenerife, Canary Islands.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes about 2,000,000 rations of bread in a North Carolina warehouse but no way to get it to Confederate General Lee's army.
March 31
1862: Union troops are concentrating at Pittsburg Landing, TN.
1863: Skirmish at Dranesville, VA.
Union troops leave Jacksonville, FL
Federal warships Hartford, Albatross, and Switzerland run past the Grand Gulf, MS batteries.
1864: Union General Bank's troops engage Confederates at Natchitoches, LA.
Skirmishes at Arkadelphia, AR, Palatka, FL, and Forks-of-Beaver, KY.
1865: Confederate General Pickett stops Union General Sheridan’s drive to Dinwiddie Court House, however he is forced to redeploy to nearby Five Forks by superior Union numbers.
At Mobile, AL, the Union forces ate delayed because the column coming from Pensacola, FL is delayed by weather.
Birthdays:
US Secretary of War Simon Cameron (1861-1862), 1799
Union General Neal Dow, 1804
Union Naval Officer William Porter, 1809
Confederate General George Crittenden, 1812
Virginia Governor John Letcher, 1813
Confederate General Jerome Robertson, 1815
Confederate General Braxton Bragg, 1817
Union General Herman Haupt, 1817
Union General Don Carlos Buell, 1818
Confederate General Wade Hampton, 1818
Union Naval Captain John Worden, commander of USS Monitor, 1818
London Times correspondent William Russell, 1820
Union General Horatio Wright, 1820
Union General Samuel Zook, 1821
Union General John Pope, 1822
Confederate Diarist Mary Chesnut, 1823
Confederate General Samuel Maxey, 1825
Union General John Buford, 1826
Confederate General Patrick Cleburne, 1828
Union General Jefferson C. Davis (no relation to CS President Davis), 1828
Confederate General John Robert Jones, 1828
Union Major Sullivan Ballou, an officer in the 2nd RI who wrote a very poignant letter to his wife before being killed in the 1st Battle of Bull Run (Manassas, VA), 1829
Confederate General Robert Rhodes, 1829
Union General Carl Schurz, 1829
Confederate General Thomas Munford, 1831
Confederate General Edward Perry, 1831
Union General Philip Sheridan, 1831
Confederate General John Marmaduke, 1833
Union Captain Hubert Dilger, noted artillerist, 1836
Confederate General William Henry “Rooney” Lee, 1837
Union Captain Oliver Wendell Holmes, future US Supreme Court Justice, 1841
Union Sergeant John Ransom, a diarist who kept a journal of his experiences at Camp Sumter (Andersonville, GA), 1843
1861: Diarist Mary Chesnut writes about meeting Varina Davis, the Confederate First Lady.
1862: Union General Grant begins moving his troops from Ft Donaldson to Pittsburg Landing, on the Tennessee River, where Union gunboats destroy a Confederate battery.
Richmond, VA is under martial law.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about working on maps for the Peninsular Campaign.
1863: Skirmish at Bradyville, TN.
1864: USS St Louis fails in an attempt to capture CSS Florida near Funchal, Spain.
Union cavalry under General Kilpatrick skirmishes with Richmond defenses and withdraws. Colonel Dahlgren visits the house of CS Secretary of War Seddon and drinks wine with Mrs. Seddon. His troops then ride to the James River and, finding it swollen, hangs the African-American who was guiding them for suspected treachery. Dahlgren lost track of Kilpatrick during all of this.
Union Admiral Porter sends a reconnaissance up the Black and Ouachita Rivers. This is in preparation for the Red River Expedition.
Union General Grant formally nominated for the rank of Lieutenant General.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about his first meal at Andersonville, GA, a tin cup of cornmeal which he had to make into a cake!
1865: Union Admiral John Dahlgren loses his flagship to a mine. Escapes injury but is left with the uniform on his back.
Wisconsin passes the 13th Amendment while New Jersey rejects it.
Confederate General Early begins massing his army at Waynesborough, VA in order to counter the Union cavalry force.
March 2
1861: Territories of Nevada, Dakota (modern day North and South Dakota), Wyoming, and Montana formed.
1862: Confederate General Polk completes evacuation of Columbus, KY leaving all of Kentucky in Union hands.
Confederate General Van Dorn assumes command of CS forces along the Mississippi River upon reaching the Confederate encampment in the Boston Mountains, AR.
1863: US Congress approves a bill for military appointments, which include the dismissal of 30 officers.
Union General Hooker has quite the reputation in the Army of the Potomac. He is seen as a great organizer, but also for his drinking and entertaining "women of ill repute." A common story is that his name became a term for prostitute. Today, there is a dispute over that, with some claiming that the term "hooker" actually referred to prostitutes working in Washington DC and would "hook" young soldiers into their bordellos.
1864: Union Colonel Dahlgren is ambushed and killed outside Richmond, VA. Papers found on his body point to an assassination plot against CS President Davis. US officials deny knowledge of any plot.
US Senate formally confirms the appointment of Ulysses Grant to Lieutenant General, the first since George Washington.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes about paying $20 for a half-cord of wood, $60 for a bushel of white beans, and $8 for a pound of bacon.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about helping a friend build a shelter with whatever they could find. He also begins making sketches of the living conditions, which were already becoming horrible.
1865: Confederate General Lee proposes a conference to resolve differences in order to end the war.
Confederate General Jubal Early’s attempt to retake the Shenandoah Valley ends with his army detachment no longer a threat, following an attack by Union General Philip Sheridan at Waynesboro, VA.
March 3
1862: Skirmish at New Madrid, MO
1863: Union warships fire on Ft McAllister, GA to no effect.
US Congress approves the Enrollment Act, making men between 20 and 45 eligible for the draft.
1864: In Dayton, OH, fifteen men of the 44th Ohio, on leave, wrecked the offices of the Dayton Daily Empire after the newspaper printed a series of anti-Lincoln editorials.
Union General Kilpatrick continues his retreat while Colonel Dahlgren's body is stripped bare and sent to Richmond, VA.
1865: The Freedmen’s Bureau, tasked with looking after freed slaves, is established.
Union troops enter Cheraw, SC where they find a cache of vintage wine. That wine is soon drunk.
Union General Grant receives orders not to enter into discussions with Confederate leaders. Army commanders will not make political decisions.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that his household income has risen to $16,000 a year, but that only equals $300 in gold.
March 4
1861: Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated at the 16th President of the United States.
The “Stars and Bars” (Confederate First National Flag) is raised for the first time.
Mary Chesnut writes after attending a slave auction, “South Carolina slave holder as I am my very soul sickened--- it is too dreadful. I tried to reason--- this is not worse than the willing sale most women make of themselves in marriage--- nor can the consequences be worse.”
1862: Union General John Pope leads an assault on New Madrid, MO and Island No. 10 on the Mississippi River.
Union Flag Officer Foote arrives in Columbus, KY to find that Confederate forces have already left.
Union General Henry Halleck relieves General Grant for allegedly being drunk on duty.
Andrew Johnson appointed military governor of Tennessee.
Confederate General Lee is recalled from South Carolina back to Richmond, VA.
Confederate General Van Dorn begins operations against Union forces in northern Arkansas.
1863: Confederate General Van Dorn launches an attack on Union General Rosecrans' troops neat Spring Hill, TN, shattering a brigade.
1864: Union General Sherman's forces return to Vicksburg, MS.
Union General Kilpatrick raids the area where Colonel Dahlgren was killed before returning to Union lines.
US Congress approves Andrew Johnson's appointment as military Governor of Tennessee.
1865: Union General Sherman’s army enters North Carolina.
US President Lincoln inaugurated for second term.
CS Congress approves the design for the Third National flag.
March 5
1862: Union General Nathaniel Banks moves against Confederate General Thomas Jackson at Winchester, VA (Shenandoah Valley Campaign begins)
Union General Smith's troops concentrate at Savannah, TN.
Confederate General Beauregard is given command of Confederate troops in the Mississippi River Valley.
Union General Sigel avoids getting surrounded by Confederate General Van Dorn's troops by pulling back to Sugar Creek, AR.
1863: Battle of Thompson’s Station, TN. Union commander: Colonel John Coburn. Confederate commander: General Earl Van Dorn. Colonel Coburn saw a target of opportunity and attack. The Confederates counterattacked and Coburn’s force was taken prisoner. Confederate victory.
Union engineers begin construction of canal across the area of land opposite Vicksburg, MS. This is being done while under fire from the city.
1864: A Confederate attack on Yazoo City, MS is repulsed.
Confederate Government orders that 1/2 of all space on blockade runners be devoted to war materiel. Also authorized is the formation of a fleet of government blockade runners.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that a turkey can now be bought for $60.
1865: Confederate General Breckenridge assumes command of Confederate forces in the Appalachian Mountains of Western Virginia.
US President Lincoln names Hugh McCulloch to be Secretary of the Treasury.
CS President Davis is still confident in a Confederate victory, expressing that in a letter to a Confederate Congressman.
March 6
1862: Union General Curtis concentrates his forces to face Confederate General Van Dorn near Pea Ridge, AR.
Confederate General Van Dorn's soldiers launch an attack on Union lines at Sugar Creek, AR
CS Congress approves scorched earth policy for Confederate forces in Virginia.
US President Lincoln pushes for funding to help states considering emancipation laws.
1863: The cavalry of the Union Army of the Potomac is re-equipping with Sharps breech-loading carbines. This will give the Union mounted arm more fire power than their Confederate counterparts.
1864: Both Northern and Southern newspapers print articles on the recent Kilpatrick raid. Northern papers call it a great victory while the Southern papers decry the raid as barbaric.
1865: Union force fails to secure a crossing at St Marks, FL.
Union General Sherman's troops cross the Pee Dee River, NC.
Confederate General Joe Johnston is given command of the Department of North Carolina, with an area of responsibility covering all of NC and north to the Petersburg, VA siege lines.
Meta Morris Grimball, a South Carolina resident, does not share CS President Davis’ confidence. She writes in her diary about current conditions in her home state.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes about buying a cord of oak and green pine wood for $55.
March 7
1862: Battle of Pea Ridge (Elkhorn Tavern), AR. Union commander: General Samuel Curtis. Confederate commander: General Earl Van Dorn. Day One: Confederate forces attack on a two pronged front, threatening any possible Union retreat route, but Federal forces managed to turn the right wing attack back. Confederates lose two generals (McCulloch and McIntosh) in the process. Fighting ends at sundown.
USS Monitor encountering storms enroute to VA.
Skirmish between Union General Banks and Confederate General Jackson at Winchester, VA.
1863: Baltimore, MD prohibits sale of "secesh" music.
Union troops under General Banks advance on Baton Rouge, LA.
Confederate General Smith assumes command of all Confederate troops west of the Mississippi River.
1864: A cargo ship arrives at Halifax, NC with iron for the under construction CSS Albemarle.
The New York Times prints an editorial depicting the effect that African-American soldiers are having on Northern racial attitudes. Sadly, discriminatory laws are still in effect in the North.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that on this date he and other prisoners were taken from their prison and placed in railroad cars and are taken south.
1865: Union General Jacob Cox's troops establish themselves at New Berne, NC.
March 8
1862: CSS Virginia sails into Hampton Roads, VA. Sinks USS Cumberland and USS Congress. Forces USS Minnesota aground. Retires up the James River after the Virginia’s commander, Commander Franklin Buchanan, is wounded. . USS Monitor arrives about 1a.m.
Union General McClellan gets approval to launch a campaign against Richmond, VA from the coast.
Battle of Pea Ridge, AR. Day Two. Union forces open the second day with an artillery bombardment of Confederate lines followed by an infantry assault. This attack forces the Confederates to retreat from the area. Battle ends as Union victory.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about visiting Mount Vernon, George Washington's home, and finding the place a little run down.
1863: Confederate Captain John Mosby leads a force into Fairfax Court House, VA and captures Union General Edwin Stoughton, plus 30 other men and 58 horses. Ironically, that Union force had orders to seek and capture Mosby.
Writer Nathaniel Hawthorne writes a friend in England expressing the war weariness that many Northerners feel.
1864: Union General Grant arrives in Washington, DC.
1865: Confederate General Bragg makes an unsuccessful attack on Union General Cox’s position at Kinston, NC.
CS Senate votes to approve the enlistment of African-Americans into the Confederate Army.
March 9
1862: First battle between ironclad ships begins after dawn as CSS Virginia reenters Hampton Roads with the idea to finish off USS Minnesota. Union commander: Naval Lieutenant John Worden aboard USS Monitor. Confederate commander: Lieutenant Catsby ap R Jones aboard CSS Virginia (ex-USS Merrimac). During the battle both ships sustain damage and the Monitor’s commander is wounded. Both ships pull back, each crew believing they had defeated the other.
Union troops probe toward suspected Confederate positions in northern Virginia, but fail to find any enemy troops to engage.
1863: Union General Banks concentrating his forces at Baton Rouge, LA. This force is supposed to join General Grant's campaign to take Vicksburg, MS but the Confederate stronghold at Port Hudson, LA is in the way. Meanwhile another fake Union gunboat is floated past the Vicksburg defenses, spooking the batteries into wasting much ammunition.
1864: Union General Grant is formally promoted to Lieutenant General. After the promotion ceremony, he leaves Washington, DC to make his headquarters in the field with the Army of the Potomac.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that bacon is selling for $15 a pound and cornmeal for $50 a bushel.
1865: Union General Kilpatrick is surprised at his camp at Monroe's Cross Roads, VA by Confederate Generals Hampton and Wheeler. It was believed that Kilpatrick was so surprised that he ran off without getting dressed.
Vermont passes the 13th Amendment.
The New York World prints an editorial blasting plans for a third draft for the Union armies.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that cornmeal is selling for $100 a bushel and bacon for $13 a pound.
March 10
1862: Skirmish at Burke's Station, VA.
Skirmish at Jacksbobough, TN.
1863: US President Lincoln proclaims that any Union deserter who returns to his unit by April 1 will not be punished.
Jacksonville, FL occupied by Union troops.
1864: Union Generals Grant and Meade meet at Brandy Station, VA. Grant tells Meade that he will retain command of the Army of the Potomac. Grant feels that he will better command all Union forces by staying in the field rather than behind a desk in Washington, DC.
1865: Confederate cavalry led by General Hampton are repulsed by rallying Union cavalry under Union General Kilpatrick at Monroe’s Cross Roads, VA.
Confederate General Bragg is forced across the Neuse River, withdrawing from Kinston, NC.
Confederate General William Whiting dies of injuries suffered in the fall of Ft Fisher, NC.
March 11
1861: Confederate Congress meets in Montgomery, AL. Adopts a Constitution almost exactly like the US Constitution, except that slavery in endorsed.
1862; US President Lincoln relieves Union General McClellan as commander-in-chief but leaves him in command of the Army of the Potomac.
Confederate General Jackson’s forces withdraw to the south of Winchester, VA.
Skirmish at Paris, TN.
Confederate Generals Floyd and Pillow are sacked for their actions at Ft Donaldson, TN.
1863: A Union force heading down the Yazoo River toward Vicksburg, MS reaches Ft Pemberton and is repulsed by the defenders.
Baltimore, MD prohibits the sale of pictures of Confederate leaders.
1864: Union commanders planning to advance up the Red River, LA are concerned with river levels. They seem to be lower than expected.
1865: Union General Sherman captures Fayetteville, NC.
March 12
1862: Skirmish at Lexington, MO.
Federal forces take Jacksonville, FL.
Mary Chesnut writes, “Lincoln came through Baltimore locked up in Adam’s express car! Noble entrance into the Government of a free people.” This is in reference to US President-elect Lincoln traveling to Washington, DC under tight security due to death threats.
1863: Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner expresses his concerns about Confederate commerce raiders being built in British ports in a letter to a friend in England.
Union Admiral Farragut plans to run his vessels past Port Hudson, LA in order to block the supply routes from northwestern Louisiana.
1864: The Red River Expedition begins as Union General Banks launched a joint Army/Navy force against Confederate General Kirby Smith’s Trans-Mississippi army.
Union General Henry Halleck is relieved as commander-in-chief and named chief of staff.
Union General Grant assumes command of all Union armies and names Union General Sherman commander of the armies in the West (Army of the Tennessee, Army of the Ohio, and Army of the Cumberland.)
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that flour is selling for $600 a barrel, cornmeal for $50 per bushel and fresh fish for $5 a pound. His household income is $7200 a year.
1865: Union Naval forces reach Wilmington, NC and establish communications with General Sherman, presently at Fayetteville, NC destroying the arsenal there.
March 13
1862: Confederate troops evacuate New Madrid, MO and move to Island #10.
Union General Burnside moves his troops from Roanoke Island to the North Carolina mainland.
Union General McClellan is reminded that his plans for an offensive from the tip of the York Peninsula to Richmond, VA must take into account the defense of Washington, DC.
Union troops under General Pope take Point Pleasant, MO.
1863: A second Union attack on Ft Pemberton, MS, is repulsed.
The Confederate States Laboratory on Brown’s Island, Richmond, VA, explodes, killing 69 women and children.
1864: Union troops reach Simsport, LA. (Red River Expedition)
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that boarding houses in Richmond, VA are charging $300 a month for rent.
Union Sergeant John Ransom's train has reached Macon, GA. The prisoners have been given "a pone of corn bread apiece weighing about two pounds, which is liberal on their part."
1865: Union General Sheridan’s cavalry involved in a skirmish at Beaver Dam Station, near Richmond, VA.
CS President Davis signs the bill allowing enlistment of African-Americans into the Confederate Army.
March 14
1862: Union forces capture New Berne, NC defeating a larger Confederate army.
Union General Pope's forces take New Madrid, MO.
1863: A Federal attempt to sail past Confederate batteries at Port Hudson, MS results in only two ships making it past. This now places Union naval forces between Port Hudson and Vicksburg.
A Confederate attack on Union positions at Ft Anderson, on the Neuse River, NC, is repulsed.
1864: CS Vice President Stephens makes a speech critical of CS President Davis before the Georgia Legislature.
Union troops capture Ft De Russy, LA (Red River Expedition)
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that he has reached Camp Sumter (Andersonville, VA).
1865; Union General Cox captures Kinston, NC.
Union general Sherman's advance troops skirmish at the Black River while the main body crosses the Cape Fear River, advancing deeper into North Carolina.
March 15
1862: Union Generals Sherman and Hurlbut reach Pittsburg Landing, TN. Union General Don Carlos Buell is also ordered to Pittsburg Landing with his Army of the Ohio.
Union General C. F. Smith injures his leg and Union General Grant is restored to command of the Union armies massing at Pittsburg Landing.
1863: USS Mississippi, grounded in the attempt to sail past Port Hudson, LA is destroyed to prevent the gunboat falling into Confederate hands.
1864: Louisiana state functions transferred from military to civilian control.
Union fleet arrives at Alexandria, LA, on the Red River.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about several tunnels that were being dug in order to escape from Andersonville, GA. He also writes that a barber shop has been set up next to his shanty.
1865: Union General Sherman begins moving from Fayetteville to Goldsborough, NC.
March 16
1861: Arizona territory declares itself aligned with the Confederacy.
US Army Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Lee is promoted to Colonel in charge of 1st US Cavalry.
1862: Skirmish at Black Jack's Forest, TN.
1863: The Steele’s Bayou expedition is launched to find another way to Vicksburg from the northeast. This will end on March 22 in failure.
Union General Averill plans a cavalry raid in response to Confederate raids and taunting by Confederate General Fitzhugh Lee, Averill's West Point classmate. General Hooker approves the raid, noting the attitude in the Union army at the time that no one has "seen a dead cavalryman."
1864: Union forces concentrate at Alexandria, LA.
Confederate General Forrest begins raids into Tennessee and Kentucky.
CS Vice President Stephens gives a speech before the Georgia Legislature, ripping the government and President Davis for recently passed acts.
1865: Battle of Averasboro, NC. Union commander: General William Sherman. Confederate commander: General William Hardee. Hardee’s troops were put as a blocking force as Sherman’s forces were marching from Fayetteville, NC. Union cavalry under General Kilpatrick tried to break the Confederate line, but it took two divisions of infantry to finally break through. Hardee was forced to withdraw to Bentonville, NC, where the rest of Confederate General Johnston’s army was. Union victory.
March 17
1862: The Union Army of the Potomac starts boarding transports for the trip to the York Peninsula. This begins the Peninsular Campaign.
1863: The Yazoo pass expedition is ended in failure. Another way to get to Vicksburg is needed.
At Kelly’s Ford, VA, Union cavalry under General Averill engages Confederate cavalry under General Fitzhugh Lee, son of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and Averill’s classmate at West Point. When told that General J.E.B. Stuart was approaching, Averill sounded retreat and forfeits the opportunity to destroy Lee. Among the Confederate dead was Major John Pelham (“the Gallant Pelham”), one of the best artillery officers the Army of Northern Virginia had.
Members of the 116th PA put out this advertisement,"To come off the 17th of March, rain or shine, by horses the property of, and to be ridden by, commissioned officers of that brigade. The prozes are a purse of $500; second horse to save his stakes; 2 1/2 mile heat, best two in three, over four hurdles four and a half feet high, and five ditch fences including two artifical rivers fifteen feet wide and six deep; hurdles to be made of forest pine and braced with hoop." This became known as the "Grand Irish Steeple Chase."
1864: US President Lincoln presses Maryland to adopt emancipation.
1865: Confederate General Hardee's army reaches Bentonville, NC and joins General Joe Johnston's force, the only force in the area that might slow down the Union juggernaught.
Union General Canby begins operations against Mobile, AL.
March 18
1861: Texas governor Sam Houston refuses to take Confederate Oath of Allegiance.
Mary Chesnut, wife of a wealthy planter and living in Charleston, SC, writes in her diary about the moral effect that Slavery has on the society she lives in.
1862: Judah Benjamin is named Confederate Secretary of State while George W. Randolph is named Confederate Secretary of War.
Confederate troops under General Albert Johnston arrive in Corinth, MS.
1863: Union naval forces stop a blockade runner from entering Charleston Harbor, SC.
Union General Hooker is angry over the failure of General Averill at Kelly's Ford, VA.
In Paris, France, the Erlanger Bank lends the Confederacy 3,000,000 Pounds Sterling. The bank would never recoup the losses.
1864: The US Sanitary Commission, formed in 1861 to take care of soldier’s welfare, finished a fair in Washington, DC which showcased their work. The organization was praised for their accomplishments by US President Lincoln.
Union General Sherman formally assumes command of the Military Division of the Mississippi.
Confederate forces concentrate at Carroll Jones' Plantation, 36 miles from Alexandria, LA to counter any Union move up the Red River.
Arkansas voters approve a new state constitution that ends slavery.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that most residents of Richmond, VA may average two ounces of meat per day, if there is any. Cornmeal is selling for $50 a bushel and bacon for $7.75 a pound.
1865: Confederate Congress ends its current session. They will never meet again.
Skirmishing at Bentonville, NC as both Union and Confederate forces concentrate. The sinking fortunes of the Confederacy are evident in the fact that General Joe Johnston can only muster 17,000 men. Union General Sherman is fielding 60,000.
Union troops advancing up the west side of Mobile Bay toward Mobile, AL. This is a diversion, the real attack will come from the east.
March 19
1861: Forts Clark, Inge, and Lancaster are surrendered to Texas authorities.
1862: The Confederate strategy in Tennessee is to prevent Union forces from opening avenues if invasion into the heart of the Confederacy. General Beauregard's army will join General Albert Johnston's at Corinth, MS to attack a reported Union force under General Grant at Pittsburg Landing, TN.
1863: Union forces, retreating from Ft Pemberton, north of Vicksburg, MS, meet reinforcements and try another assault on the fort.
USS Hartford and Albatross sail past Confederate batteries at Natchez and Grand Gulf, MS and position themselves below Vicksburg, MS.
1864: Battle of Laredo, TX, Union commander: General Edmund Davis. Confederate commander: Colonel Santos Benavides. Small Confederate force prevents two Union cavalry units from seizing the Rio Grand River valley. This battle pitted Union Hispanics versus Confederate Hispanics. Confederate victory.
Georgia Legislature votes to press the Confederate Government to offer peace terms after a Confederate victory. Of course, they are looking nervously at the prospect of a Union invasion from Tennessee.
Union General Bank's forces start entering Alexandria, LA.
1865: Battle of Bentonville, NC. Union commander: General Henry Slocum. Confederate commander: General Joseph Johnston. Day One. Johnston orders an attack on a part of the Union XIV Corps, driving them back. Between thick forests and swamps and the arrival of XX Corps, Johnston has no choice but to return to their original trenches. Sherman is rushing the bulk of his army to the area.
Union General Sheridan has joined General Grant's command at Petersburg, VA.
Letters from Confederate soldiers in Petersburg, VA express knowledge of the entire war effort failing if they have to pull out of the trenches. Union soldier’s letters express a feeling that the war will soon be over.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that bacon is selling at $20 a pound and cornmeal for $140 a bushel.
March 20
1861: Two of US President Lincoln’s sons, Tad and Willie, contract measles, adding to his other worries.
1862: Union General Benjamin Butler assumes command of Army units assigned to the assault on New Orleans.
Confederate General Jackson moves his troops toward Winchester, VA in pursuit of fleeing Federal troops.
1863: A Union attempt to take Vicksburg, MS by way of Steele's Bayou is repulsed.
1864: CSS Alabama arrives at Cape Town, South Africa.
1865: Battle of Bentonville, NC. Day Two. Confederate General Johnston holds the line as Union reinforcements approach. Federals begin hitting the Confederate center while fending off cavalry attacks by Confederate General Wheeler.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that a barrel of flour can be had for $1500.
March 21
1861: CS Vice-President Stephens makes a speech in Savannah, GA in which he defends the position taken by the South.
Louisiana approves the new Confederate Constitution.
1862: Skirmish at Mosquito Inlet, FL.
1863: Union General Sumner dies before assuming a new command in the West.
Confederates hit a Federal train between Bolivar and Grand Junction, TN.
Skirmishing at Salem, TN.
1864: US President Lincoln approves recently passes acts allowing the territories of Colorado and Nevada to become states.
A Union advance force captures the 2nd LA Cavalry at Bayou Rapides, 23 miles from Alexandria, LA.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that Camp Sumter (Andersonville, GA) is fast filling up and wood for fires is already getting scarce. He also meets fellow Michiganders among the prisoners.
1865: Union General Schofield captures Goldsborough, NC.
Battle of Bentonville, NC. Day three. Federal XX Corps attempts to turn the Confederate left but is stopped by Confederate Generals Hardee and Hampton. Hardee's son, who joined the 8th TX Cavalry that morning, is killed in a charge. He was 16. That night, General Johnston has to pull his army back to preserve what is left. Battle ends in a Union victory and Confederate forces in North Carolina no longer are able to go on the offensive.
CSS Stonewall tries to start a fight with USS Niagara and USS Sacramento off Ferrol, Spain, but the Federal warships do not accept the challenge.
March 22
1862: Confederate General Jackson’s troops meets Union forces near Winchester, VA.
1863: Confederate General Morgan's raiders capture Mount Sterling, KY.
Confederate General Pegram's troopers conducting raids into Kentucky.
1864: Union General Lewis Wallace assumes command on the Middle Department, with headquarters at Baltimore, MD.
A heavy snow has fallen at Richmond, VA.
1865: Union General James Wilson sets out on a campaign to take out the last Confederate manufacturing center at Selma, AL.
March 23
1862: Battle of Kernstown (Winchester), VA. Union commander: General John Shields. Confederate commander: General Thomas Jackson. Confederates are repulsed by superior forces, but the action results in commanders in Washington, DC redeploying troops from McClellan’s army to support operations in the Shenandoah Valley. Union victory.
Union General Burnside's troops head toward Ft Macon, near Beaufort, NC.
Union forces under General Sherman encamp at Pittsburg Landing, TN while General Grant establishes headquarters at Savannah, TN, eight miles away. No one is aware to the growing Confederate force one day's march away at Corinth, MS.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, describes the town of Hampton, VA as "in utter ruin."
1863: Massachusetts Governor Andrew Curtin pledges to local African-American businessman George T. Dowling that blacks will receive equal treatment in the Union Army (sadly that was not the case).
USS Hartford and USS Albatross bombard Confederate batteries at Warrenton, MS.
1864: Union Generals Banks, Smith and Admiral Porter meet at Alexandria, LA.
Union General Grant returns to Washington, DC after allowing General Warren to assume command of V Corps.
1865: At Goldsborough, NC Union General Sherman unites his army with those of Generals Schofield and Terry, giving him 100,000 men.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that beef is selling for $15 a pound, bacon for $20 a pound, and butter for $20 a pound.
March 24
1862: Confederate General Jackson’s troops go back to Mt. Jackson, VA.
Confederate General Albert S. Johnston arrives in Corinth, MS.
Wendell Phillips, an abolitionist speaker, is attacked at a rally at Cincinnati, OH and a small riot breaks out.
Union troops besiege Ft Macon, NC when a surrender demand is refused.
1863: A last Federal attempt to take Vicksburg, MS by a water route fails as General Sherman's troops are repulsed at the Black Bayou.
1864: Confederate General Forrest captures Union City, TN.
Skirmish at Trough Bottom, AR.
1865: With Union General Sherman firmly in North Carolina, Confederate General Lee knows that supplies from the south are now cut off. Lee now asks General Gordon to try to open a line in the Union line so the army can escape and join General Johnston's forces in North Carolina. The Army of Northern Virginia has 35,000 left.
March 25
1862: Union troops pursuing Confederate General Jackson's forces stop at Woodstock, VA.
1863: Confederate cavalry under General Forrest attack a small Union garrison at Paducah, KY.
Union General Burnside appointed commander of the Department of the Ohio.
USS Lancaster is destroyed and USS Switzerland is damaged while withdrawing from Black Bayou, MS.
Skirmishing at Brentwood, TN.
1864: Confederate cavalry under General Forrest hit Paducah, KY, causing panic in nearby Ohio.
Any further Union push up the Red River in Louisiana must wait until the river rises.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes about first seeing Confederate Captain Wirz, who just took over command of the prison.
1865: Battle of Ft Steadman, VA. Union commander: General Grant. Confederate commander: General Lee. Confederate forces take a fort within the Union lines in order for the Army of Northern Virginia to escape south and join up with General J. Johnston’s army. A Union counterattack results in the capture of 1900 Confederates and a large segment of Confederate entrenchments. This is the last offensive Lee will be able to attempt in the war. Union victory.
Union siege of Mobile, AL, begins.
March 26
1862: Skirmishes at Hammondsville and Warrensburg, MO.
Fighting at Denver, Colorado Territory.
Action at Apache Canyon, New Mexico territory.
1863: West Virginia approves emancipation measure.
Confederate Congress passes act allowing the government to seize private property for military use.
1864: Union Army of the Tennessee taken over by General McPherson.
Confederate General Forrest heads for Ft Pillow on the Mississippi River.
1865: Union General Sheridan’s crossing the James River near Petersburg, VA.
Union General Grant plans another extension of his lines with the aim to surround Confederate General Lee's forces and cut off all avenues of retreat.
March 27
1862: Union forces at Apache Canyon fall back to Glorieta Pass, New Mexico Territory.
1863: US President Lincoln meets with a delegation of Indians.
Union forces complete pullback from Steele's Bayou, MS.
1864: Union General Banks receives orders from General Grant to march his army to Mobile, AL while detaching General Smith's corps to join General Sherman at Vicksburg, MS. This would cause Banks to abandon the Red River Campaign. He decides to press ahead with the campaign in the absence of orders front General Halleck canceling the operation.
Union Sergeant John Ransom describes a daily ration at Camp Sumter (Andersonville, GA),"We have issued to us once each day about a lint of beans, or more properly peas, (full of bugs), and three-quarters of a pint of meal, and nearly every day a piece of bacon the size of your two fingers."
1865: Confederate forces are finding the vise tightening around Spanish Fort at Mobile, AL.
Union Generals Grant and Sherman, Admiral Porter, and President Lincoln meet on board the River Queen at City Point, VA where Lincoln advocates for lenient terms for the soon to be defeated South.
At Mobile, AL, Spanish Fort and nearby Ft Blakely are surrounded.
March 28
1862: Battle of Glorieta Pass, NM. Union commander: Colonel John Slough. Confederate commander: Colonel W. R. Scurry. Confederate General Sibley continues his attempt to seize New Mexico for the Confederacy. Southeast of Santa Fe, they run into Scurry’s Colorado troops. While the Confederates were busy, a Union force of 400, under command of Major J. M. Chivington move west and manage to destroy the Confederate supply wagons. Sibley is forced to withdraw his entire force back onto Texas, ending any dreams of Confederate westward expansion. Union victory.
Union troops capture Shipping Point, VA.
Skirmish at Warrensburg, MO.
1863: Confederates improve batteries at Grand Gulf, MS.
USS Diana captured at Pattersonville, LA.
French Foreign Legion lands at Vera Cruz, Mexico in support of French forces besieging the town of Pubela. This act concerns the Lincoln Administration because a victorious Imperial Mexico could help the CSA.
1864: Union troops under General Banks begin movement toward Shreveport, LA.
A mob of 100 Copperheads attack Union troops on furlough at Charleston, IL killing 5, wounding 20 and setting off a riot.
1865: Union General Wilson’s cavalry skirmish with Confederates at Elyton, AL.
Confederate General Lee has managed to amass 50,000 men for a planned breakout. The problem is that he now faces 125,000 Union troops.
March 29
1861: Texas governor Sam Houston removed from office by pro-Confederate state legislature.
US President Lincoln orders a relied expedition to Ft Sumter, SC.
1862: Skirmish at Middleburg, VA. First recorded use of a machine gun in battle.
Union General Fremont assumes command of one of three Federal armies squaring off against Confederate General Jackson.
Confederate General Albert Johnston assumes command of the army that is assembled at Corinth, MS.
1863: Union General Grant orders General McClernand to Milliken’s Bend to New Carthage in order to bypass Vicksburg, MS
Skirmish at Kelly's Ford, VA.
Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, calling herself Lyons Wakeman, a member of the 153rd NY, writes of her experiences as a soldier. She will die in a Union hospital in 1864 with her disguise intact.
1864: Union General Meade demands an inquiry after newspapers publish articles critical of his leadership at the Battle of Gettysburg, PA. US President Lincoln convinces Meade to withdraw the request.
Federal fleet departs Alexandria, LA and head up the Red River.
1865: Union General Grant begins moving troops toward Dinwiddie Court House, VA, beginning the Appomattox Campaign. Confederates abandon their line at White Oak Road after a sharp fight.
Confederate General Fitzhugh Lee moves his cavalry to Five Forks, VA to support General Pickett's infantry.
March 30
1862: Confederate General Jackson's troops pull back to Harrisonville, VA.
1863: Confederate General A.P. Hill moves his forces to besiege the Federal Garrison at Washington, NC.
US President Lincoln proclaims April 30 a Day of Prayer.
Fighting at Dutton's Hill, KY.
1864: Skirmishes at Bolivar, TN, Caperton's Ferry, AL, Monett's Ferry and Cloutierville, LA, and Arkadelphia, AR.
1865: Union General Wilson’s cavalry encountering Confederate General Forrest’s cavalry at Montevallo, AL.
Union II and V Corps press into the Confederate right flank at Hatcher's Run and Gravelly Run, VA. The Confederate line is now stretched razor thin.
CSS Stonewall leaves Tenerife, Canary Islands.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes about 2,000,000 rations of bread in a North Carolina warehouse but no way to get it to Confederate General Lee's army.
March 31
1862: Union troops are concentrating at Pittsburg Landing, TN.
1863: Skirmish at Dranesville, VA.
Union troops leave Jacksonville, FL
Federal warships Hartford, Albatross, and Switzerland run past the Grand Gulf, MS batteries.
1864: Union General Bank's troops engage Confederates at Natchitoches, LA.
Skirmishes at Arkadelphia, AR, Palatka, FL, and Forks-of-Beaver, KY.
1865: Confederate General Pickett stops Union General Sheridan’s drive to Dinwiddie Court House, however he is forced to redeploy to nearby Five Forks by superior Union numbers.
At Mobile, AL, the Union forces ate delayed because the column coming from Pensacola, FL is delayed by weather.
Birthdays:
US Secretary of War Simon Cameron (1861-1862), 1799
Union General Neal Dow, 1804
Union Naval Officer William Porter, 1809
Confederate General George Crittenden, 1812
Virginia Governor John Letcher, 1813
Confederate General Jerome Robertson, 1815
Confederate General Braxton Bragg, 1817
Union General Herman Haupt, 1817
Union General Don Carlos Buell, 1818
Confederate General Wade Hampton, 1818
Union Naval Captain John Worden, commander of USS Monitor, 1818
London Times correspondent William Russell, 1820
Union General Horatio Wright, 1820
Union General Samuel Zook, 1821
Union General John Pope, 1822
Confederate Diarist Mary Chesnut, 1823
Confederate General Samuel Maxey, 1825
Union General John Buford, 1826
Confederate General Patrick Cleburne, 1828
Union General Jefferson C. Davis (no relation to CS President Davis), 1828
Confederate General John Robert Jones, 1828
Union Major Sullivan Ballou, an officer in the 2nd RI who wrote a very poignant letter to his wife before being killed in the 1st Battle of Bull Run (Manassas, VA), 1829
Confederate General Robert Rhodes, 1829
Union General Carl Schurz, 1829
Confederate General Thomas Munford, 1831
Confederate General Edward Perry, 1831
Union General Philip Sheridan, 1831
Confederate General John Marmaduke, 1833
Union Captain Hubert Dilger, noted artillerist, 1836
Confederate General William Henry “Rooney” Lee, 1837
Union Captain Oliver Wendell Holmes, future US Supreme Court Justice, 1841
Union Sergeant John Ransom, a diarist who kept a journal of his experiences at Camp Sumter (Andersonville, GA), 1843
# posted by FSPowers : 7:01 PM
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