Shon Powers' Civil War Blog

January 1

1861: As the year 1861 begins, tension and excitement is gripping the nation. South Carolina is the only state so far that has seceded. Other states are now considering their own Articles of Secession. The Administration of US President James Buchanan has adopted a "wait and see" attitude to the situation. It is felt in Washington DC that even though they believe that secession is illegal, the government does not have the power to prevent it. The US Constitution spelled out the procedures for making new states, but was silent on what to do if a state wanted to leave the Union. In South Carolina, newly formed militia units drill under the Palmetto flag while glowering at the US flag that still flies over Fort Sumter in Charleston, SC. On Christmas Day, 1860, the US Army garrison had relocated to the fort to avoid a confrontation with the locals. This only angered the citizens of the city. The garrison has provisions for several months, but they are beginning to feel that they are pawns in a game in which the rules have yet to be written. The question this morning is this; will the United States of America remain a loose collection of states where some find it legal to keep 4,000,000 African-Americans in bondage, or a new nation in which the promises of the Founding Fathers will finally become a reality?

1862: Federal artillery on Ft Pickens used to shell Pensacola. FL.
Union and Confederate troops exchange fire at Port Royal, SC.

1863: US President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation. This action will put the Union on the moral high ground and kill any chance of foreign diplomatic recognition for the CSA.
Union General Burnside takes responsibility for the defeat at Fredericksburg, VA and offers to resign, but that is refused.
Union General William Sherman withdraws his troops from Chickasaw Bluffs, north of Vicksburg, MS.
Battle of Murfreesboro, TN, Day Two. Not much fighting takes place but Union general Rosecrans and Confederate General Bragg maneuver their troops for another fight the next day.
Confederate forces under General Magruder capture Galveston, TX and drive off the Union blockade.

1864: New Years Day in Charleston, SC is marked by another shelling of Ft Sumter.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about a fine New Years meal of mule meat and boiled rice, barely edible.


1865: Union General Benjamin Butler’s attempt to cut a canal to the James River, to bypass Confederate batteries, fails. The explosion that was supposed to open the channel instead fills in the ditch.

January 2

1861: South Carolina troops seized Ft Johnson in Charleston Harbor.

1862: Confederate diplomats A.P. Mason and John Slidell are released and resume their mission to Great Britain to seek recognition of the Confederacy.

1863: Battle of Stones River, TN. Day three. Confederate General Bragg resumes his attack by launching a massive artillery bombardment on the Union lines. A Union counterattack threatens to outflank the Confederate lines. That attack is halted but another Union assault causes the confederates to pull back from the line in general. Battle that started on December 31, 1862 ends with a Union victory.

1864: CS Senate confirms George Davis as Attorney-General.
Union General Banks continues to advance in Texas towards Galveston.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about inventorying boxes of goods sent from the North, and taking advantage of the situation to improve their diet.

1865: Skirmishing at Franklin and Lexington, MS.

January 3

1861: Georgia troops seized Ft Pulaski.
Delaware votes to reject secession

1862: CS President Davis considering how dangerous the Union occupation of Ship Island, MS is. New Orleans, LA is 65 miles away and Mobile, AL is 50 miles away.
Stonewall Brigade heads to Romney, VA to cut the Baltimore and Ohio railroad.

1863: Confederate General Braxton Bragg pulls his army from Murfreesboro, TN. Federal troops can not pursue due to the muddy conditions.

1864: It is noted that the Confederate economy is collapsing, with prices 28 times their 1861 levels and wages falling by 400%.
Jonesville, VA occupied by Union cavalry.

1865: Union General Sherman begins preparations for renewing the offensive, now turning his attention to South Carolina, the “cradle of the Rebellion.”
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that coffee is selling for $45 a pound and sugar for $10 a pound.

January 4

1861: Alabama troops seized the arsenal at Mouth Vernon.

1862: Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson captures the town of Bath, VA with other action at Great Cacapon Bridge, VA and Hancock, MD.

1863: Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women, serving as a nurse in a Washington DC hospital.
Confederate General Roger Hanson, commander of the Kentucky Orphan Brigade, dies of wounds suffered at Stones River.
Union General McClernand begins an expedition against Ft Hindman (Arkansas Post), AR. This is against the wishes of General Grant, who needed the troops for the Vicksburg, MS campaign.
USS Quaker City captures a blockade runner off Charleston, SC.

1864: Confederate General Lee receives authority to take food stocks in order to feed his army. This measure maybe too little too late due to the fact that Virginia farms can barely support the civilian population, let alone a starving army.
Union General Halleck orders General Banks and General Steele to renew an offensive up the Red River, LA in the spring. Problem is that the two forces are 500 miles apart and Banks is bust in Texas.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, helps pass put new clothes to Union prisoners at Libby prison, Richmond, VA.


1865: Grant assigns Union General Alfred Terry to make an assault on Ft Fisher, NC in order to take Wilmington, NC, the last open Confederate port.

January 5

1861: The merchant ship Star of the West leaves New York to resupply Ft Sumter’s small garrison of Federal troops. Senators of several Southern states meet in Washington to discuss secession.

1862: The town of Hancock, MD refuses to surrender, Jackson orders the town shelled.

1863: Confederate General Bragg’s withdrawal has the effect of leaving Central and Western Tennessee under Federal control.

1864: 1000 African-Americans send a petition to Washington demanding the right to vote.
US President Lincoln asks Congress to continue bounty payments to attract new volunteers for the Union army.
Jonesville, VA recaptured by Confederate troops.
With Tennessee and Kentucky fully in Union hands, another source of food is denied to the Confederacy.

1865: Peace feelers are now being extended to the South as the Confederacy must be reading the handwriting on the wall. US President Lincoln issues a pass to James Singleton to go south and sound out the Confederate leadership about a negotiated settlement. Lincoln’s terms, all states back into the Union and slavery abolished.

January 6

1861: New York City mayor Fernando Wood urged ties be kept with South Carolina and any other state that secedes. Suggests that NYC should be independent.

1862: Union reinforcements reach Hancock, MD and Jackson is forced to pull back.
US President Lincoln resists demands that Union General McClellan be replaced. Lincoln is also urging General Buell to move into Tennessee.

1863: Union General McClernand’s expedition to Ft Hindman, AR continues. The force is made up of two corps, his and General Sherman’s.

1864: Union steamer Delta attacked on the Mississippi by Confederate guerillas.

1865: Union General Grant asked US President Lincoln to remove Union General Butler as commander of the Army of the James. This is a sign that the “political generals” time has indeed ended and that professionals will win the war.
CS President Davis and Vice-President Stephens have a falling out over the way the war has gone. Stephens has lived in his house in Georgia for most of the war and is Davis’ harshest critic.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that a barrel of flour now sells for $500 a barrel and cornmeal for $75 a bushel.



January 7

1861:

1862: Confederate General Jackson withdraws into Virginia after a skirmish at Hanging Rock Pass, MD.
Union General Grant receives information about Forts Henry and Donaldson, TN.
Federal gunboats Essex, Lexington, and Tyler head down the Mississippi River toward Columbus, KY.
Skirmishing at Blue Gap, VA.

1863: Three blockade runners break through the Federal cordon and reach Charleston Harbor.
CS Secretary of the Navy Mallory sent a dispatch to Commander Bullock in the UK urging the buying of new ironclad vessels as quickly as possible. Funding the vessels has now become an issue.
Confederate troops under General Marmaduke approach Springfield, MO.

1864: US President Lincoln commutes the death sentence of a Union deserter, not wanting to add to “the butchering business.”
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that beef is selling for $1.25 per pound. Also writes about meeting an Englishman staying in a Richmond, VA hotel who says he lives greatly on three British Shillings a day, equal to $20 Confederate.

1865: Article in New York World laments the availability of weapons in NYC as an effect of the war. Lincoln removes Butler from command.
Union General Butler is formally removed from command on not only the Army of the James but also of the Department of Virginia and North Carolina. Those commands now in the hands of General Ord.
In Denmark, an ironclad warship that was built in France and sold to the Danes was bought back by France when the Danish Navy could not make payments. The French would then off load the vessel on the Confederacy. This is the future CSS Stonewall.

January 8

1861: US Secretary of the Interior Jacob Thompson of Mississippi resigns.
US President James Buchanan calls for compromise in order to preserve the Union.

1862: Skirmish at Dry Forks, Western Virginia.
Skirmishing at Charleston, Silver Creek, and Roan’s Tin Yard, MO.

1863: Union General John McClernand makes an unauthorized maneuver toward the Confederate outpost at Arkansas Post.
Confederate attack on Springfield, MO is repulsed by a scratch Union defense force.
John Usher named new US Secretary of the Interior.
Fifteen women of secessionist views living north of New Orleans, LA write Confederate Generals Pemberton and Joe Johnston, demanding their aid in pushing Union troops out of Louisiana and Mississippi.

1864: Confederate General Morgan reaches Richmond, VA to a hero’s welcome.
Pro-Unionists meet in New Orleans, LA to discuss Louisiana’s reentry into the Union.
Confederate spy David Dodd hanged at Little Rock, AR.
Federals bombard Caney Bayou, TX.

1865: Union General Terry’s forces are met by Admiral Porter’s fleet off Beaufort, NC. The two commanders meet to discuss the assault on Ft Fisher and Wilmington, NC.

January 9

1861: Mississippi votes to secede.
A civilian ship, Star of the West, is fired upon while trying to deliver supplies to the Ft Sumter garrison. The ship departs without reaching the fort.

1862: Union General Grant begins operation against Columbus, KY.
Skirmish at Columbus, MO.

1863: McClernand’s forces, back by US Navy river boats, reach Ft Hindman, AR.
Skirmish at Ripley, TN.

1864: At this point, Confederate General Kirby Smith’s army is totally cut off from any help as Southern Arkansas is surrounded by Union held territory.
Calls go out for volunteers to become officers in Colored Regiments as there is a dearth of volunteers. A New England group offers free military schooling to volunteers. Many white Union officers were themselves racially prejudiced and were fearful of what would happen to them if they were captured.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that beef is now selling for $2.50 a pound and therefore he could not buy any, instead buying some rice, getting 25 pounds for .40.

1865: Democratic Party opposition to the proposed Constitutional amendment abolishing slavery begins to crumble.
Tennessee votes to abolish slavery.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that flour is now selling for $700 a barrel, cornmeal for $80 a bushel, and coal and wood for $100 a load.

January 10

1861: Florida votes to secede.
Louisiana seizes federal forts and arsenals.
William Seward becomes US Secretary of State.
William T. Sherman resigns his position as head of the Louisiana Military Academy (now Louisiana State University).

1862: Confederate General Jackson’s forces approach Romney, VA causing a Union
pullout.
At Middle Creek, KY there is a battle between Union troops under Colonel James Garfield and Confederates under Colonel Humphrey Marshall. Both sides claim victory but both are also in retreat. Colonel Garfield in the future will become President Garfield.
There are inconsistent procedures for handling escaped slaves who make it to Union encampments. Some are pressed into service with the army as teamsters, cooks, and laborers. Some are allowed to pass to the North. Others are held and turned over to locals and Confederate officers who claim them as property in compliance with the Fugitive Slave Act.

1863: Federal gunboats shell Ft Hindman.
Federal forces shell Galveston, TX.
Skirmishes at Suffolk and Fairfax Court House, VA.
France offers mediation of peace talks between the US and CS while the UK postpones such a move.

1864: Federals are using fake Confederate money to wreck the Southern economy even more. Merchants are now demanding payment in either gold, specie (coins), of foreign currency.
USS Iron Age runs aground at Folly Inlet, SC and is destroyed by Confederates.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that conditions at Belle Island prison (Richmond, VA) are killing off prisoners at the rate of sometimes twenty a day.

1865: Confederate Army of Tennessee reaches Tupelo, MS.

January 11

1861: New York votes in a pro-Union state constitution.

1862: US Secretary of War Simon Cameron resigns amid charges of corruption.
Union Naval force of over 100 ships and 15,000 men under General Burnside leaves Hampton Roads, VA and is heading south to reinforce Port Royal SC.
Union General McClernand begins a probe toward Columbus, KY.
Private Robert Sneeden, 40th NY, writes about starting a new job as a mapmaker. Despite the fact that mapmakers were officers, his talent for drawing has caught the attention of Union General Heintzelman and is assigned to the general's staff.

1863: CSS Alabama attacks and sinks USS Hatteras off Galveston, TX.
Battle of Arkansas Post, AR. Union commander: General John McClernand. Confederate commander: General Thomas J. Churchill. McClernand sent his two brigades, under Generals Sherman and George Morgan against Confederate defenses backed onto the Arkansas River. The area was dominated by Ft Hindman. Supported by Naval Admiral David Porter’s flotilla of gunboats, the fort was surrounded. At the end of the day, the Confederates surrendered. Union victory.
Federal gunboat sunk at Memphis, TN.

1864: A joint resolution is proposed in the US Senate calling for the abolishing of slavery.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that a house in Richmond, VA was rented for $6000 a year.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, gets several parts of a Confederate uniform and manages to leave Libby Prison and walks the streets of Richmond, VA, looking for a way out of town and back to Union lines. He did not get too far, getting himself recaptured and taken back to prison.

1865: Confederate forces under General Thomas Rosser raid West Virginia, capturing 500 Union troops and destroying tons of supplies.
Missouri abolishes slavery.
Group of Confederate Navy personnel arrive on Gravesend, UK to take possession of that former Danish ironclad.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that $60 Confederate will now but $1 in gold.

January 12

1861: Alabama votes to secede.

1862: In the nine months since the war began, the US Navy has grown from 76 vessels to 264.
One of those units who disregarded the Fugitive Slave Act was members of the 14th NY who harbored a runaway named John Boston.

1863: Union General Grant hears of General McClernand’s attack on Ft Hindman. Secures authorization to remove McClernand from command but does not use it.
Third session of Confederate Congress meets.

1864; A common practice at this time was for a draftee to pay someone $300 (a great sum at the time) to take his place in the ranks. This had the effect of filling Union ranks with those who were unfit for service.
US troops enter Matamoros, Mexico to rescue the US Counsel there.
Attitudes were already changing in the South as freed slaves asserted their new freedom. An account in Louisiana tells of an overseer being run off a plantation.

1865: Francis Blair meets with CS President Davis about peace talks. Davis agrees on talks but he is insistent that the only thing he will agree to is Southern Independence.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that the same gold dollar is now equal to $66 Confederate.

January 13

1862: Roanoke Island assault fleet stalled off Hatteras Inlet due to storms. This will last until Jan 20.
Union Naval LT John Worden assumes command of USS Monitor, at this time under construction in New York.
Edwin Stanton names as the new US Secretary of War.

1863: Federal officials authorize the enlistment of African-Americans into the South Carolina Volunteer Infantry (US).
Ft Hindman, AR is ordered destroyed because the fort is of no use to the Union.
Federal troops attack Mound City, AR.

1864: US President Lincoln asks officials in Louisiana and Florida to form pro-Union state governments.

1865: Naval bombardment of Ft Fisher, NC begins. The defense forces in Wilmington, NC are commanded by no other than General Bragg, so no help from the town is coming.
Confederate General John Bell Hood resigns and is replaced by General Richard Taylor.
Even at this late date, there are those in the South who are of the opinion that independence without slavery is unacceptable, as an editorial in the Arkansas Telegraph explains.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that in Richmond, VA beef sells for $6 a pound, cornmeal for $80 a bushel, and white beans for $160 per bushel.

January 14

1861: Louisiana troops seize Ft Pike, near New Orleans.

1862: Union General McClernand has his troops at Blandville, KY.
Frederick Douglass gives a speech in Philadelphia, PA and calls for emancipation to be the war aim.

1863: A Union attempt to advance up the Bayou Teche, LA is stopped by determined Confederate defenses.
Ohio Representative Clement Vallandingham, a leader in the rising anti-war party known as the Copperheads, delivers a blistering speech in the House against US President Lincoln’s conduct of the war. Copperheads were so named because they wore Indian heads cut from copper pennies on their lapels. (It’s an ironic fact that their main enemy is now depicted on the penny.)

1864: Union forces advance on Dandridge, TN forcing Confederate General James Longstreet to retreat.
CS President Davis writes General Joe Johnston, warning him that some of his troops may be needed to defend Alabama and Mississippi in the spring.

1865: Ft Fisher, NC is rendered unusable by a bombardment rate of 100 shells per minute.
Confederate General Beauregard assumes temporary command of the Army of Tennessee while General Taylor is en route to take permanent command.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that a barrel of flour was sold for $1000.

January 15

1862: Stonewall Brigade reaches Romney, VA.
Edwin M. Stanton is confirmed as Union Secretary of War.
Union General Grant concentrates his forces at Milburn, KY. Confederates are now wondering if the axis of attack is Columbus, KY or if the attack is going somewhere else.

1863: CS President Davis suggests that General Bragg should go on the offensive in Tennessee.
US President Lincoln views a demonstration of new weapons at the Washington, DC Navy Yard.

1864: Confederate General Longstreet orders in additional forces and moves toward Dandridge, TN.
A new crisis hits the Union war effort. Soldiers who signed three-year enlistments will have those enlacements expire this year. If they all leave, the Union effort will effectively end!

1865: US Marines and sailors attack Ft Fisher, NC and receive heavy losses. A second attack by Union General Alfred Terry takes the fort. Result is that the entire Confederate coast is now in Union hands.

January 16

1861: Arkansas legislature calls for a vote on secession.
The Crittenden Compromise, a last attempt to ease Southern fears, fails in the Senate.

1862: Five Confederate regiments and 12 cannon have been posted at Mill Spring, KY to watch for any Union attack through the Cumberland Gap.
In a sign that long-term care of wounded will be needed, private organizations begin to set up hospitals in both North and South.

1863: CSS Florida sails out of Mobile Bay, AL and through the Federal blockade.
There is an unusual prisoner exchange as women and children who were detained North are allowed to travel from Washington DC to Richmond, VA. They were searched, to their great complaint, but much material made it through to be made into uniforms for Confederate soldiers.

1864: Union cavalry under General Samuel Sturgis encounter Confederate troops near Kimbrough’s Crossroads, TN and is forced back.
Any lingering hope that the UK and France would recognize the CSA has evaporated with both countries directing their attention to a looming war between Denmark and Prussia over the territory of Schleswig-Holstein.

1865: Confederate General Robert E. Lee is named commander of all CSA armies. General Joe Johnston is also named commander of the Army of Tennessee while General Beauregard is given command of defense forces in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that a gold dollar is now worth $70 Confederate.

Francis Blair meets with US President Lincoln and presents CS President Davis’ proposal for allowing the Southern states to secure independence, but also proposes joint operations against the Imperial Government in Mexico.
At Ft Fisher, NC, two drunken sailors enter the powder magazine with lighted lanterns. Within moments the magazine blew up, killing 25, injuring 66, and 13 missing. Most of them were of the 169th NY, who was sleeping on the mound covering the magazine at the time.
Confederate General Bragg receives a telegram from CS President Davis ordering him to retake Ft Fisher. That order will not be carried out.

January 17

1862: Union General Thomas stops at Somerset, KY, near Mill Spring in order to gather his strung out forces.

1863: Union General U.S. Grant leaves Memphis, TN for Milliken’s Bend to take charge of what will be the Vicksburg Campaign.
Morale in the Union Army of the Potomac hits new lows due to recent defeats and the fact that the Emancipation Proclamation is not popular with the army, whose members feel they did not enlist to free slaves.

1864: Confederate General Longstreet attacks Union forces at Dandridge, TN, forcing them to retreat to New Market.
Confederate Navy Commander James Wallace is given command of CSS Albemarle at Edward’s Ferry, NC.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that flour is now selling for $200 a barrel and (corn)meal for $20 a bushel.
.

1865: US President Lincoln rejects a call by CS President Jefferson Davis for negotiations.
Union General Sherman orders his army to prepare to march. At the same time he issues Field Order No.15, offering displaces former slaves land along the Georgia coast. This not only creates hope in the former slaves, but it also keeps him from having to feed the 10,000 that are tagging along with his army.

January 18

1861: There are reports of death threats against US President-elect Lincoln. One such report mentions that a body of armed men would come to the Inauguration and prevent Lincoln from taking the oath.

1862: Confederate General Thomas Jackson orders the Stonewall brigade into winter quarters.
USS Kearsarge departs Cadiz, Spain to search for Confederate Captain Raphael Semmes, at this time commanding CSS Sumter.
CSA Territory of Arizona as created.
Former US President and Confederate Congressman John Tyler dies at Richmond, VA.
Confederate General Thomas Crittenden has taken command of Confederate forces in the Cumberland Gap, KY and plans to take the battle to Union General Thomas’ troops.

1863: Union General Grant organizes his Army of the Tennessee into four corps, the 13th (General McClernand), the 15th (General Sherman), the 16th (General Hurlbut), and the 17th (General McPherson). This, along with supporting naval units, will be the force that will go after Vicksburg, MS.

1864: There is opposition in North Carolina to the CS Government’s conscription law, which makes all white males 18 to 45 eligible for service.

1865: Union General Sherman begins a march from Savannah, GA, to link up with Grant’s forces, currently at Petersburg, VA. His army is now aimed at South Carolina.

January 19

1861: Georgia votes to secede.

1862: Battle of Mill Springs (aka Logan’s Cross Roads), KY. Union commander: General George H. Thomas. Confederate commander: General Felix Zollicoffer. Fighting starts at dawn as the 15th MS encounters two companies from the 10th IN. At first, Confederate assaults push back Union troops who were running out of ammunition. During one such attack Zollicoffer was killed. At one point troops from both sides were firing at each other over a single fence. In the after, Thomas got in some artillery and proceeded to pummel the Southern line. A flanking movement followed by a bayonet charge finally routed the Confederates, who reformed at Beech Grove, 10 miles away.

1863: Union Army of the Potomac commander General Ambrose Burnside proposes to move troops up the Rappahannock River to United States Ford in order to launch another assault on the Confederates.
An article in the Bangor, MA Whig and Courier highlights the exploits of Anna Etheridge, a nurse with the 5th MI. These accounts include times when she was exposed to fire, a situation considered scandalous at the time. What not many people knew at the tine was that many women were dressed as men and serving in the ranks.

1864: Construction begins on CSS Albemarle in a North Carolina cornfield.
Pro-Unionists meet in Little Rock, AR to discuss abolishing slavery in the state.

1865: Confederate General Lee accepts his new position as General-in Chief of the Southern Armies. The attitude is now that it is too late for even an experienced soldier like Lee to turn things around.

January 20

1861: Ship Island, MS is seized by secessionists.
Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis formally resigns his seat in response to his state seceding.

1862: A planned Union assault on the regrouped Confederates at Beech Grove, KY is called off when morning finds the Southern lines deserted. Battle of Mill Springs (Logan’s Cross Roads, or Somerset), KY ends in a Union victory.
US Navy sinks vessels filled with stones in order to bottle up Charleston, SC.

1863: Mud March, the attempt by Burnside to reposition troops for the planned assault, begins. It will end in failure due to weather and ground conditions.

1864: US President Lincoln proposes elections in Arkansas so that the state can be readmitted.
Skirmish at Tracy City, TN.

1865: Two Confederate blockade runners captured near Ft Fisher.
Rain hampers Union General Slocum’s corps from leaving Savannah, GA.


January 21

1862: Union General Grant pulls his forces back to Cairo, IL in order to execute the real mission, to attack Forts Henry and Donaldson in Tennessee.

1863: Confederate forces recapture Sabine Pass, TX
Union General Fitz John Porter is dismissed from the US Army, having been blamed for the Union defeat at the Second Battle of Manassas, VA. It will take 23 years to clear his name.
Thirty hours of rain has made any movement of Union troops across the Rappahannock River, VA impossible.

1864: A pro-Union convention in Nashville, TN proposes an anti-slavery resolution.
Ohio bans distillation of whisky in order to preserve grain stocks.

1865: Union General Sherman reaches Beaufort, SC.

January 22

1862; Confederate General Wise is given command of forces at Roanoke Island, NC in order to counter the growing union presence at nearby Port Royal, SC.

1863: Mud March ends as Federal troops are ordered back to the same camps they left.
Union General Grant now has Federal forces in Arkansas added to his command.

1864: Pro-Unionist Isaac Murphy is installed as provisional governor of Arkansas.
USS Restless captures blockade runners at St Andrew’s Bay,
Union General William Rosecrans assumes command of the US Federal Department of the Missouri.

1865: Skirmish at Little Rock, AR.

January 23

1862: More ships filled with stones sunk at Charleston, SC.

1863: US Army of the Potomac is pulled back from Fredericksburg, VA and into winter quarters. General Burnside now turns his attention against many of his subordinate generals.
Henry Brooks Adams writes to his brother, Charles Francis Adams, the US Minister to the UK that the British reaction to the Emancipation Proclamation seems to be mostly in favor.

1864: US President Lincoln approves plans to allow freed slaves to be hired by their former masters.
US Department of the Treasury lifts trading ban on Kentucky and Missouri.
Skirmish at Rolling Prairie, AR.

1865: The Federal headquarters at City Point, VA is attacked by a Confederate fleet of three ironclads, a gunboat, and a torpedo (sea mine) boat. All but one run aground and come under fire by Union batteries.
Confederate General Taylor assumes command of the Army of Tennessee.

January 24

1861: Georgia troops seize the US Arsenal at Augusta, GA.

1862: Union General Halleck orders arrests of any who opposes his enforcement of martial law in St Louis, MO.

1863: Union General Burnside goes to Washington, DC and demands that US President Lincoln remove several senior officers from the Army of the Potomac.
Skirmish at Woodbury, TN.
Union forces land on the land opposite Vicksburg, MS and send patrols up the Yazoo River.

1864: Skirmish at Baker Springs, AR.

1865: Surviving Confederate vessels from the aborted attack on City Point, VA withdraw. This ends any further Confederate river attacks.
Confederate Congress authorizes the resumption of prisoner exchanges.
CSS Stonewall rendezvous with a tender off Belle Isle, France.

January 25

1862: Burnside’s forces reach Pamlico Sound and begin maneuvers toward Roanoke Island, NC.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about seeing Thaddeus Lowe's balloon ascend over Alexandria, VA.

1863: US President Lincoln responds to General Burnside’s demands by removing him from command of the Army of the Potomac and replacing him with General Joseph Hooker.
Confederate General John Marmaduke’s cavalry reaches the safety of the White River.

1864: Confederate General Longstreet orders his cavalry to stop Union cavalry from disrupting his supply lines.
Union forces bombard Ft Sumter, SC without success.
Union troops evacuate Corinth, MS.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes about a shipment of hams arriving from the north, but the Confederate guards get them. A friend in the cookhouse managed to get a substantial number of the hams into the prison enclosure, at great risk.

1865: Skirmishing along the Salkehatchie River, SC.

January 26

1861: Louisiana votes to secede.

1862: Confederate General Pierre Beauregard is appointed second in command under General Albert S. Johnston.
Union naval force off Cape Hatteras, NC attempting to enter Pamlico Sound. This would create another jumping off point for Union attacks on the North Carolina coast.

1863: Union General Joseph Hooker formally assumes command of the Army of the Potomac. He is nicknamed “Fighting Joe Hooker” due to a newspaper misprint.

1864: A Confederate force of 600 attacks the Federal garrison, numbering 100, at Athens, AL. The Confederates were repulsed.
US President endorses reopening trade with Confederate territory now completely under Federal control.
Several skirmishes take place between Longstreet’s cavalry and Union cavalry under General Sturgis.

1865: Union General Sherman sends troops towards Charleston, SC while his main force marches on Goldsborough, SC.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that beef is selling for $8 a pound and wood is selling for $150 a cord.

January 27

1862: Confederate commander at Roanoke Island, General Wise, is ordered to hold at all costs.
US President Lincoln issues General War Order 1, ordering an offensive on all fronts on February 22.

1863: Editor of Philadelphia Journal is arrested for printing anti-Union articles.
CS President Davis calls for the increase in food production in order to alleviate shortages.

1864: Battle of Kelly’s Ford, TN. Union commander: General Samuel Sturgis. Confederate commander: General William Martin. Union forces are victorious but withdrew upon hearing of fresh Confederate troops approaching.
Confederate General Bragg appointed as CS President Davis’ military advisor.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that the prisoners at Belle Island (Richmond, VA) are told that instead of being exchanged, they will be sent to a new prison in Georgia.

1865: Confederate General Lee communicates with the South Carolina governor about the deteriorating situation in the state.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that someone broke into his house and stole two sticks of wood. Wood is selling for $5 a stick.

January 28

1862; Union forces enter Pamlico Sound, NC.

1863: There is a mass meeting in St Louis, MO in which the Emancipation Proclamation is endorsed.
As Union General Hooker takes command, there are as many as 200 desertions per day. Many of the senior officers are also McClellan partisans who are not happy with Hooker’s appointment.

1864; Skirmish at Tunnel Hill, GA.

1865: Three commissioners, CS Vice-President Stephens, President of the Senate R.M.T. Hunter, and former US Supreme Court Justice John Campbell, are appointed by CS President Davis to hold talks with Union officials.

January 29

1861: Kansas is admitted as the 34th US state.

1862: Skirmish at Occoquan Bridge, VA.

1863: Skirmishes at Suffolk and Turner’s Mills, VA.
Skirmish on the Stono Rover, SC.

1864: Small engagement at Medley, WV.
CSS Charleston, nicknamed “the Ladies Ironclad” because the local ladies raised the funds to build her, is launched in Charleston, SC.
Union steamer Sir William Wallace attacked on the Mississippi River.
Union General Sherman’s men received much needed winter gear.

1865: Even if the Charleston, SC garrison and General Hardee’s forces are combined, there is not much force that can slow Union General Sherman’s army down.

January 30

1862: USS Monitor launched in New York, NY.
Confederate Commissioners Mason and Slidell arrive in London, UK.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, describes a raid at Colchester, VA.

1863: Confederate General Pemberton, commanding the Vicksburg, MS defenses, is asked by CS President Davis if the Yazoo River could be obstructed to prevent a Union advance from the north.

1864: Confederate General Pickett moves to attack the Union garrison at New Berne, NC.

1865: Union General Pope is given command of the Department of the Missouri.
Skirmish at Champlintown, KY.

January 31

1861: An editorial in Cincinnati, OH decried the effect of secession on trade. The city had a thriving trade with Southern cities until this moment.

1862: UK announces its intention to remain neutral.
Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson visits Washington DC and meets with US President Lincoln. He records in his journal that he was impressed with Lincoln but that the attitude in the North was focused on trade and pleasurable pursuits, while the South’s attitude was on the war.

1863: Two US vessels are sunk by Confederate ramming boats in Charleston Harbor, SC.
Skirmish at Deserted House, VA.
Union General Grant proposes a canal be cut across the bend of the Mississippi opposite Vicksburg, MS. This had the idea to divert the Mississippi River away from Vicksburg. (The project would fail, but nature would accomplish what Grant couldn’t.)
Skirmish at Dover, TN.
Union commanders in Tennessee realize the importance of keeping the Cumberland River open in order to keep supplies moving.

1864: US President Lincoln expresses the opinion that only “loyal, free state men” should have their right to vote restored.

1865: US House of Representatives pass the 13th Amendment.
Confederate General Lee is appointed Confederate Commander in Chief.


Birthdays:

Secession Activist Edmund Ruffin, 1794
Union General David Hunter, 1802
Confederate General Robert E. Lee, 1807
US Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase, 1808
Confederate Naval Captain John Tucker, 1812
Union General John C. Fremont, 1813
Union General William Henry French, 1815
Union General Henry Halleck, 1815
Union General Nathaniel Banks, 1816
Confederate General Lloyd Tilghman, 1916
Union General Frederick Steele, 1819
Confederate General and CS Secretary of War John Breckinridge, 1821
Confederate General James Longstreet, 1821
Confederate General Joseph Kershaw, 1822
Confederate General Gustavus Smith, 1822
Union General Ivan Vasilovich Turchinoff (John Basil Turchin), 1822
Union General Peter Osterhaus, 1823
Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, 1824
Confederate General George Pickett, 1825
Union General John Tidball, 1825
Confederate General Richard Taylor, 1826
Confederate General Thomas Hindman, 1828
Union General Gouverneur Kemble Warren, 1830
Union General Edward Ferrero, 1831
Confederate General John Pegram, 1832
Union General Judson Kilpatrick, 1836
Union Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing, who was killed as his battery was engaging part of the Pickett-Pettigrew-Trimble charge at Gettysburg, PA, 1841
Union Major William McKinley, 25th President of the United States, 1843

February 1

1861: Texas votes to secede.

1862: Confederate General Albert Johnston finds out that he can expect no reinforcements for his army in Tennessee. This as General Beauregard arrives from Virginia.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, observes a discussion in which it is suggested that live shells could be dropped on Confederate formations from a balloon. It was rejected as not in line with the rules of war.

1863: CS Dollar now 1/5 its original value.
Union expedition departs New Berne, NC for Plymouth, NC.
Franklin, TN falls to Union troops.
Confederate agents attempt to hide cotton from Union forces, who can sell the cotton in order to assist the Union war effort.
In an example of growing Northern depression with the war, New York elites distract themselves with balls, banquets, and dances.

1864: Union General William “Sooey” Smith leads a cavalry force out of Memphis, TN in order to reach General Sherman at Meridian, MS.
US Congress revived the rank of Lieutenant General. General U.S. Grant is the only candidate considered for the rank.
US President Lincoln calls for a draft of 500,000 additional men.
Octave Johnson, an escaped slave who is now a Corporal in the 15th United States Colored Troops, gives an account of his escape to the American Freedmen’s Inquiry Commission meeting in New Orleans, LA.

1865: Illinois votes to ratify the 13th Amendment.
Three Confederate peace commissioners arrive at Hampton Roads, VA.
Union General Sherman begins his invasion of South Carolina.

February 2

1862: Confederate General Albert Johnston notices Union activity but believes that they are not ready to attack him.

1863: USS Queen of the West sails past Vicksburg, MS in broad daylight and engages CSS City of Vicksburg. Neither are damaged.
Skirmish at Rappahannock Station, VA.

1864: USS Underwriter, a gunboat, is captured and burned by Confederates near New Berne, NC.

1865: Union ships are sent up the James River, VA to break ice on the river.
Union General Sherman orders the building of bridges in order to bypass Confederates on the Salkehatchie River, SC.
US President Lincoln travels to Hampton Roads to meet with the CS commissioners.
Michigan and Rhode Island ratify the 13th Amendment.
CSS Stonewall arrives at Ferrol, Spain.
Skirmishes along the Salkehatchie River, SC.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that a barrel of flour can fetch about $1000 in the market.

February 3

1862: The US Federal government declares captures Confederate privateers to be considered prisoners of war.
The King of Siam (modern day Thailand) offers US President Lincoln war elephants. The offer was politely refused.
The Forts Henry and Donaldson campaign starts as four gunboats and troop carriers with 23 regiments under the command of Union General Grant leave Cairo, IL.
US President Lincoln urges General McClellan to launch an offensive on Richmond, VA. McClellan instead proposes moving the Army of the Potomac to the James River Peninsula, VA and attack Richmond from that direction.
USS Tuscarora attempts to intercept CSS Nashville off Southampton, UK but is stopped by HMS Shannon.

1863: USS Queen of the West captures three Confederate supply boats that were headed for Port Hudson, MS.
A levee north of Vicksburg, MS is blown to make a passage for Union gunboats. The passage proves too narrow.
Confederate forces attack Ft Donaldson, TN but are forced back by Union gunboat fire.
US Secretary of State Seward confers with the French Minister to the US, but nothing will come of it.
Skirmish at Mingo Swamp, MO.

1864: Union General Sherman leaves Vicksburg, MS for Meridian.
Confederate General Pickett abandons plans to assault New Berne, NC.
CS President Davis orders the suspension of habeas corpus.

1865: Two Union brigades use the bypass and launch a flanking attack on Confederate right flank. CS forces under General Layfatte McLaws retreat toward Branchville, SC. Main effort of the Union advance is now Columbia, SC, the state capital.
US President Lincoln meets with the CS commissioners aboard the steamer River Queen
and tells them that the only way to end the war was to agree to Union terms. The meeting ends in failure.
Maryland, New York, and West Virginia ratify the 13th Amendment.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that a cord of wood now costs $500.

February 4

1861: A convention of the seceded states is held in Montgomery, AL. This will result in the formation of the Confederate States of America.
Peace commissioners are in Washington for a conference.

1862: Union General Grant’s forces are landed south of Ft Henry, TN.
1863: Skirmish at Lake Providence, LA.

1864: Union troops under General Sherman now find Confederates under General Polk in the way of their advance in Mississippi.

1865: Confederate General Beauregard assumes command of the Carolina’s defense.
Skirmishes at Angley’s Post Office and Buford’s Bridge, SC.
Union General Slocum’s troops struggle to cross the Savannah River, GA.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes, "Yesterday much of the day was consumed by Congress in displaying a new flag for the Confederacy--- before the old one is worn out! Idiots!" This is in reference to the Confederate Third National flag.

February 5

1862: Union General Grant halts his forces at Bailey’s Ferry, TN so that all of his army can be present when nearby Ft Henry is assaulted. Grant orders Commodore Foote to beginning shelling the fort the next morning. Confederate General Tlighman orders all of his forces within the walls of the fort.
Federal fleet leaves Pamlico Sound, NC.

1863: Union General Hooker begins reorganization of the Army of the Potomac, with the first thing being done is eliminating the Grand Divisions that General Burnside had formed.
Skirmishes at Rappahannock Bridge and Grove Church, VA.

1864: Union forces under General Sherman reach Jackson, MS.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes about a plan to escape Belle Island (Richmond, VA) but the Confederate officers there had found out and had him and the other "escapees" held in confinement for a few days.

1865: First attack at the Petersburg, VA lines begins as Union troops take the Boydton Plank Road and extend their lines to the southwest.
As the winter begins to fade, the food situation in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia is critical. Rations are now a pint of oatmeal a day. General Lee’s attempts to get more food are not getting results. There are food supplies, but the rail network is almost non-existent. All the good rail lines are now in Federal hands. General Lee was heard to say that the Confederate Congress seemed happy to eat peanuts and chew tobacco while his army starves. The situation is so grave; there were 3000 desertions during the winter.


February 6

1862: At 10:30, Federal gunboats Essex, Carondelet, Cincinnati, St Louis, Conestoga, Tyler, and Lexington approach Ft Henry, TN, causing Confederate General Tlighman to order his Ft Henry garrison to evacuate to Ft Donaldson, with the exception of the artillery. At noon, the Federal vessels open fire, starting an engagement that dismounted 13 of the fort’s 17 guns. Despite damaging the Essex, Tlighman was forces to surrender, allowing Grant to take the fort without an infantry assault. Commodore Foote orders his flotilla back to Cairo, IL. The Tennessee River is now entirely in Union hands.

1863: US Secretary of State Seward formally rejects any French offer of mediation.
Union General Heintzelman is named commander of the Department of Washington and charged with protecting the Nation’s Capital.

1864: Union General George Meade forces several crossings at the Rapidan River, VA. This advance is resisted by Confederates under the command of General Richard Ewell.
Confederate Congress bans imports of luxury goods and the circulation of US currency within the CSA.

1865: Confederate Generals John Pegram and William Mahone launch attacks on Union General Warren’s position on the Boydton Plank Road, VA. Pegram is killed and the attack repulsed.
Confederate Secretary of War James Seddon resigns and is replaced by General John C. Breckenridge.
Confederate General Lee formally assumes command of all Confederate armies.

February 7

1861: The Choctaw Indian Nation declares themselves for the Confederacy.

1862: Confederate reinforcements are rushed to Ft Donaldson as Union General Grant begins moving his forces towards the fort.
Ft Henry is renamed Ft Foote.
Union assault on Roanoke Island, NC begins with the signal, “This day our country expects every man to do his duty.”

1863: Skirmish at Williamsburg, VA.
Confederate authorities announce the reopening of the port of Galveston, TX.
As the Confederate economy continues to decline, cotton becomes a medium of exchange, except that cotton exports are 1/10 of pre-war levels. Prices for goods and services are skyrocketing, with staples such as tea reaching $500.00 a pound. Another factor that is affecting the economy is that the rail network, not very large to begin with, is deteriorating.

1864: Union General Meade’s advance stalls, forcing a withdrawal back across the Rapidan River in Virginia.
Union troops under General Seymour land at Jacksonville, FL.
Union General Sherman resumes his march to Meridian, MS.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes, "The tocsin is sounding a 9 a.m." This is in reference to a report that Union General Butler's troops are marching towards Richmond, VA.

1865: Maine and Kansas pass the 13th Amendment. Delaware fails to pass it.
Union troops are forced back from the Boydton Plank Road, VA by a second Confederate counter-attack, but the line at nearby Hatcher’s Run holds.
The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia now holds 37 miles of defenses, from Richmond to Petersburg, VA, and has only 46,000 to do it with. (About 1243 per mile.)

February 8

1861: Convention in Montgomery, AL approves a Provisional Constitution for the Confederate States of America.

1862: Union forces under General Burnside succeed in capturing Roanoke Island, ensuring Union control over most of the NC coast.
Two Confederate riverboats taken at Chickasaw, MS.

1863: Union General Hooker completes his reorganization of the Army of the Potomac.

1864: Union General Smith and his troops have had trouble organizing and have not been able to support General Sherman’s march on Meridian, MS.

1865: Massachusetts and Pennsylvania pass the 13th Amendment.
Skirmishing at North Platte, Colorado Territory and Rush Creek, Nebraska Territory.

February 9

1861: Former Senator Jefferson Davis of Mississippi is elected Provisional President of the CSA.

1862: Confederate General Gideon J. Pillow assumes command of Ft Donaldson.
Federal warships begin crossing Albemarle Sound, NC to search for Confederate vessels.

1863: With the reorganization of the Army of the Potomac complete, Union General Hooker turns his attention to his headquarters staff.

1864: 109 Union prisoners tunnel out of Libby Prison in Richmond, VA. 59 will make it to Union lines.
Union General George Custer married Elizabeth Bacon.

1865: Union General Schofield named commander of the Department of North Carolina as he begins preparations to assault Wilmington, NC.
Confederate General Lee convinces CS President Davis to allow amnesty to deserters who return within 30 days.

February 10

1861: Former US Senator Jefferson Davis learns he is elected Provisional President of the CSA.

1862: USS Delaware engages a small Confederate fleet, known as the “Mosquito Fleet” off Roanoke Island, sinking one, capturing another, and forcing the Confederates to burn the remaining three.
Union General Grant orders troops to prepare to attack Ft Donaldson, TN.
Six Confederate steamships are burned on the Tennessee River to prevent them from falling into Union hands while three more are captured.

1863: Skirmish at Chantilly, VA.
Fighting at Camp Sheldon, MS and Old River, LA.
USS Queen of the West heading for the Red River, LA.

1864: Union General William S. Smith has completed preparations to launch a cavalry raid in support of General Sherman. Problem is that the raid was supposed to have been launched a week ago. A possible reason was that he had disobeyed orders and waited for reinforcements before leaving Memphis, TN.
CSS Florida gets past USS Kearsarge at Brest, France.

1865: Confederate Naval Captain Raphael Semmes assumes command of James River Squadron, part of the Richmond defenses.
Skirmishing at James Island and Johnson’s Station, SC as Union troops make contact with the Charleston, SC defenses.


February 11

1861: US President-elect Abraham Lincoln leaves his home in Springfield, IL for Washington, DC.

1862: Confederate General Simon Bolivar Buckner arrives at Ft Donaldson with more troops.
Union Commodore Foote sails from Cairo, IL in support of Union General Grant’s operations against Ft Donaldson. Union General John McClernand leads his troops overland to the Confederate fort.

1863: Union General Hooker reforms the Army of the Potomac by replacing bad officers and improving food and living conditions. As a result the level of desertions drops almost to zero.

1864: Confederate guerillas rob a train in West Virginia.
Union General Smith’s cavalry raid finally begins. This is happening one day past the time he was supposed to link up with General Sherman’s forces.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that bacon is selling for $6 a pound.

1865: With Union General Sherman’s army about to cut off Charleston, SC, CS President Davis orders the city defended at all costs while Confederate General Beauregard suggests evacuation.
Tennessee and Alabama are hotbeds of partisan activity, raising concerns that not all Confederates would surrender when organized armies are defeated.

February 12

1862: Union General Grant’s forces reach Ft Donaldson, TN and proceeds to surround the fort.

1863: Skirmish at Bolivar, TN.
There is action at the mouth of the Atchafalaya River, LA as USS Queen of the West and USS De Soto destroy several Confederate ammunition wagon trains on the river bank. The Union vessels then head up the Red River.
USS Conestoga captures two Confederate ships on the White River, AR.
CSS Florida captures the merchant ship Jacob Bell in the West Indies.

1864: Skirmishes at Chunky Station and Decatur, MS.
Skirmish at Macon and California House, MO.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that sugar is selling for $8 a pound and rice for .85 a pound.

1865: US President Lincoln is formally elected to a second term by the Electoral College.
Union General Sherman receives a letter from Nora Walker, a Union spy, confirming Confederate General Hood’s resignation and requesting payment for her services to the Union.

February 13

1862: Confederate General John Floyd arrives at Ft Donaldson and assumes command as Union General Grant’s first attack is driven back. Grant then proceeds to bombard the fort. That night, a snowstorm makes life rough for the defenders.
CSS Virginia, an ironclad warship built on the hull of the USS Merrimack, believed to have been destroyed as Union troops evacuated Norfolk Navy Yard, is launched.

1863: Union General Hooker reorganizes the cavalry in his army under a single corps command.
USS Indianola departs the mouth of the Yazoo River and sails past Vicksburg, MS without alerting the shore batteries.

1864: Expedition underway to clear Confederate forces from Indian Territory, now Oklahoma.
A Confederate force under General Joseph Finnegan is assembled at Lake City, FL to counter any Union advance from Jacksonville, FL. Union General Seymour has already left Jacksonville and is headed to the Suwanee River to destroy some bridges.

1865: Confederate General William Hardee withdraws his troops from Charleston, SC into North Carolina. CS Navy vessels in Charleston Harbor are destroyed.
There is a complaint by the UK about the increase in US Navy operations in the Great Lakes. This action, in response to the St Albans, VT raid, is making the Canadians nervous.

February 14

1862: Additional Union reinforcements arrive, allowing General Grant begin his assault on Ft Donaldson, TN in earnest. Gunboats begin shelling the fort at 3:00 p.m. but after St Louis and Louisville are damaged, Grant decides to wait until more reinforcements arrive before renewing the attack. Confederate General Pillow plans to attack the Federal right flank and break out of the fort and go south.

1863: USS Queen of the West comes under Confederate fire and is abandoned. This after she captured the Confederate steamer New Era Number 5. The crew makes it back to De Soto and also uses the New Era to get away.
Skirmish at Brentsville, VA.

1864: Confederate General Leonidas Polk evacuates Meridian, MS as Union General Sherman’s troops enter. General Smith’s cavalry still has not showed up.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that groups of prisoners are being taken out of Belle Island (Richmond, VA). Confederates say that they are being sent to Union lines. Word is that they are headed to the new prison in Georgia.

1865: Union General Sherman’s army crosses the Congaree River en route to Columbia, SC.

February 15

1862: Confederate General Pillow attempts to break through the Union lines but fails. That night he and General Floyd, a former US Secretary of War, flee the fort. Confederate General Nathan B. Forrest takes his cavalry out and escapes. General Buckner is left in command.

1863: Action at Nolansville and Cainsville, TN.
Steamer New Era reaches the Mississippi River while pursued by CSS Webb. The timely arrival of USS Indianola forces the Confederate ironclad to turn back.

1864: Confederate forces form a defensive line at Ocean Pond, FL along the Olustree River.

1865: Union General Sherman’s forces approach Columbia, SC as skirmishing takes place Red Bank Creek and Two League Cross Roads.


February 16

1862: Ft Donaldson is surrendered to Union General Grant, who refuses anything but unconditional surrender. Grant writes to Confederate General Buckner, a West Point classmate, in response to the question about terms of surrender: “Yours of this date proposing an armistice and appointment of commissioners to settle the terms of capitulation is just received. No terms other than an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works.”
Union Flag Officer Foote’s gunboats destroy the Tennessee Iron Works.

1863: US Congress passes first Conscription Act.
Skirmish at Romney, WV.
Skirmishing along the Yazoo Pass, MS.

1864; Skirmish at Lauderdale Springs, MS.

1865: Union troops arrive at Columbia. SC. During the afternoon, Confederate General Beauregard orders the city evacuated.
Confederate General Hardee prepares to evacuate Charleston, SC to avoid getting cut off by Union General Sherman’s troops.
Union gunboats shell Ft Anderson, near Wilmington, NC.

February 17

1862: Provisional Congress of the CSA meets for the last time.
Skirmish at Sugar Creek, MO.

1863: Union troops depart Lexington, TN and march on Clifton, TN.
USS Indianola takes up station on the Mississippi river south of Vicksburg, MS.

1864: In Charleston Harbor, SC the CSS H. L. Hunley, a submarine, attacks and sinks the USS Housatonic. The Hunley was lost with all hands in the attack. (It was found in 1995 and brought up in 2003. It is undergoing restoration. Its crew was interred with full Confederate military honors in 2004)
Confederate Government extends the conscription eligibility to cover all white males from 17 to 50.

1865: Columbia, SC is surrendered to Union forces. That night the city is burned to the ground, either by departing Confederates or drunken Union soldiers.
Union forces make a feint towards Charleston, SC, causing Confederate forces to abandon the remaining forts protecting the city. This evacuation includes Ft Sumter.
Union forces close in on Ft Anderson, NC.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes about buying a bushel of black beans for $65.

February 18

1861: Jefferson Davis inaugurated as CSA President.
Mary Chesnut writes: …our wise men say that if the President (Buchanan) had left us there to fret & fume a while with a little wholesome neglect we would have come back in time--- certainly nobody would have joined us. But Fort Sumter in (Union Major) Anderson’s hands united the cotton states…

1862: First elected Confederate Congress meets in Richmond, VA.
News of the Union victory reaches Washington, DC and Union General Grant is referred to as “Unconditional Surrender” Grant.

1863: Confederate Army of Northern Virginia moves a few divisions to better cover Richmond, VA.

1864: Union General Smith’s cavalry reaches Okolona, MS.
Confederate Naval Commander Bullock sends a letter to CS Secretary of the Navy Mallory that two ironclads being built in France will not be allowed to leave.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that sugar is selling for $12 a pound.

1865: Charleston, SC surrenders to Union forces under General Alexander Schimmelfennig.
Union General Sherman orders all useful buildings and material in Columbia, SC destroyed.
Confederate General Lee endorses the idea of allowing African-Americans to enlist in the Confederate Army. Unofficially, there have been African-Americans already in the CS Army as laborers and cooks, but quite a few are also carrying muskets.
Ft Anderson, NC is abandoned by Confederate forces.
CSS Shenandoah departs Melbourne, Australia and sails for the North Pacific.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that $1 in gold is now worth $100 Confederate.

February 19

1862: Confederate forces evacuate Clarksville, TN. This as the effect of the Confederate losses at Forts Henry and Donaldson is felt throughout the region.
Confederate Congress authorizes release of 2000 Union prisoners.

1863: At Keokuk, IA, the offices of the local newspaper is ransacked by Union troops who were home recovering from wounds suffered in recent battles. The paper had published anti-Union articles.
Despite concerns about the quality of leadership out west, CS President Davis refuses to relieve General Bragg.

1864: Union cavalry under General Smith head toward West Point, MS.

1865: Union General Sherman begins movement from Columbia, SC to Fayetteville, NC as his troops complete wrecking the rail station and yards.
Union troops attempting to encircle Wilmington, NC are stopped by Confederate defenders, leading to fighting at Town Creek. That night, the Confederates pull back to the east bank of the Cape Fear River.

February 20

1862: Tennessee state government moves from Nashville to Memphis.
Columbus, KY is evacuated at Confederates attempt to form a defensive line to counter any Federal moves toward the Tennessee capital.
Union Admiral David Farragut arrives at Ship Island, MS, staging area for the assault on New Orleans, LA.
US President Lincoln’s son William dies of typhoid fever.

1863: Mass rallies in Liverpool and Carlisle in support of the Emancipation Proclamation.
A Confederate attack at Yazoo Pass, MS is repulsed.

1864: Union General Sherman leaves Meridian, MS to look for General Smith, who is on his way from Memphis.
Union General Smith, enroute to meet Sherman, is hit by Confederate skirmishers.
Battle of Olustree, FL. Union commander: General Truman Seymour. Confederate commander: General Joseph Finnegan. Union troops attempt to secure North Florida but run into Confederate defense lines between Jacksonville and Lake City at the rail station of Olustree. Confederate victory as Union line is broken with last CS reserves.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that a ham was sold at a market for $350.

1865: Confederate lines at Cape Fear River, NC collapse.
CS House of Representatives approve the use of slaves as troops.

February 21

1862: Tons of Confederate supplies in Nashville destroyed.
Battle of Val Verde, NM. Union commander: Colonel Edward Canby. Confederate commander: General Henry Sibley. A Confederate incursion into the New Mexico Territory reaches Ft Craig, on the Rio Grande River. Canby hoped to make the Confederates besiege the post and let their lack of supplies drove them off. Sibley instead orders his troops to seize the Val Verde fords up river. A detachment of Union troops hold the Confederates (mainly Texas troops) in a ravine, but reinforcements under the command of Confederate Colonel Tom Green arrive and drive the Federals off, allowing the fords to be taken. Confederate victory.

1863: Skirmish at Prairie Station, MS.
Even though the Union industrial advantage was making itself apparent, there is proof that war profiteering is not a new thing. Colt Firearms was selling its Model 1861 Revolver on the open market for $15 per weapon. The price the US Army was paying was $25 per weapon. Politicians steering rich war contracts to companies in their districts were not helping the situation.

1864: Union General Smith’s troops are drawn into a swamp near West Point, MS. Waiting for them is Confederate General Forrest's troops.

1865: Confederate troops evacuate Wilmington, NC.
CS Senate delays debate of the bill authorizing slaves to enlist in the Confederate Army.

February 22

1861: California declares itself for the Union.
US President-elect Lincoln speaks at Independence Hall, Philadelphia, PA, en route to Washington, DC.

1862: Union gunboats have isolated Ft Pulaski, GA.
Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as President over a permanent Confederate government.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about going to Washington, DC on errands and observing officers at the various hotel bars around the city. He also attends a play and has an oyster supper afterwards.

1863: All the reforms that Union General Hooker imposed on the Army of the Potomac is having a positive effect on the health and morale of the troops.
Skirmish at Tuscumbia, AL.
Skirmish at Manchester Pike, TN.

1864: Confederate troops under General Forrest attack Union General Smith’s troops at Okolona, MS, forcing them to go back to Tennessee.
Union General Seymour’s troops reach Jacksonville, FL
Unionist Michael Hamm is elected Louisiana governor.
A paper advocating Salmon P. Chase for president in the upcoming 1864 elections is issued.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about receiving orders to prepare to leave Libby Prison and board rail cars.

1865: Confederate General Joseph Johnston is assigned command of all CS forces in SC, GA, FL, TN, and NC.
Kentucky rejects the 13th Amendment.
Wilmington, NC falls to Union troops.
February 23

1861: US President-elect Lincoln arrives in Washington DC.
Texas voters approve the secession declaration.

1862: Confederate troops in Missouri continue retreat into Arkansas.

1863: Around the Union Army of the Potomac's operational area, the Cavalry Corps is still having trouble with Confederate cavalry conducting raids and ambushes.
US Minister to Russia, Simon Cameron, resigns.

1864: US President Lincoln meets with his Cabinet without Secretary of the Treasury Chase, who is in trouble due to the paper issued the day before.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, and other prisoners are on a train and all they know is they are headed south.
Union Sergeant John Ransom and other prisoners are being held in a building at Richmond, VA after removal from Belle Island.

1865: Union gunboats sail into Georgetown, SC to make contact with General Sherman. Ft White was already abandoned. Meanwhile, Sherman's troops are approaching the SC/NC line. The only thing slowing them down is the rain.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes on the amassing of Confederate gold in Richmond, VA.

February 24

1862: Union troops under General Don Carlos Buell reach the Cumberland River opposite Nashville, TN.
Union troops under General Nathaniel Banks occupy Harpers Ferry, VA.
Skirmishing at Pohick Creek and Mason's Neck, VA

1863: Confederates used the recovered Queen of the West to capture the USS Indianola.
Arizona Territory is created.
Union troops continue advance down the Yazoo River towards Vicksburg, MS.

1864: CS President Davis appoints General Braxton Bragg chief-of-staff of the Confederate armies.
US President Lincoln approves a plan to pay former masters whose slaves enlist in the army at the rate of $300 per former slave.
Union General Thomas orders a probe of Confederate defense lines at Tunnel Hill, GA.
With the sale of proposed Confederate ironclad vessels to Denmark and Prussia, the efforts of the CS Navy to buy warships seems finished.
First 500 Union prisoners transferred from Belle Island, VA to Camp Sumter, GA.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about reaching the prison at Salisbury, NC.

1865: CS General Hampton denies knowledge that his troops are executing Union General Sherman's "bummers."
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that beef is selling for $7 a pound, pork for $9 a pound, and butter for $20 a pound.

February 25

1861: Diarist Mary Chesnut expressed pride that her husband, James, became the first US Senator to resign his seat.

1862: Nashville, TN falls to Union troops.
US War Department now has complete control over telegraph lines.
Union troops moving into Arkansas in pursuit of Confederate General Price's army.

1863: An international incident is avoided when mail aboard the British flagged blockade runner Peterhoff is returned unopened.
US Congress passes the National Currency Act, allowing the creation of a national paper currency.
Confederate cavalry continues attacks on Union outposts in Virginia.

1864: Union General Thomas is trying to see if he can break through the Confederate lines at Buzzard's Roost Gap, GA.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about going back on the train and resuming the trip south.

1865: Confederate General Joe Johnston assumes command of the Army of Tennessee once again. This time, that army is in North Carolina and only fields 25,000 men, including militia.

February 26

1862: Paper money (“greenbacks”) are recognized as national currency in the US.
Skirmish at Keytesville, MO.

1863: Cherokee Nation declares its support for the Union, overturning their earlier declaration for the Confederacy.
Confederate General Longstreet appointed commander of CS Department of Virginia and North Carolina.
Skirmish at Woodstock, VA.
Union Admiral Porter sends a dummy vessel down the Mississippi River past Vicksburg, MS. The ensuing panic causes the Confederates to destroy the captured USS Indianola to prevent a Union recapture.

1864: Union General Smith’s troops reach Memphis, TN, while General Sherman's forces reach Canton, MS.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that pork is selling for $8 a pound.

1865: Skirmish at Lynch's Creek, SC.

February 27

1862: CS Congress gives President Davis the right to suspend the writ of habeas corpus if necessary. Davis also asks to impose martial law at Norfolk and Portsmouth, VA.
USS Monitor departs New York, NY.

1863: Union cavalry are ordered to be more aggressive in facing Confederate cavalry incursions into the Army of the Potomac's area in Virginia.

1864: Union General Thomas’ troops are pulled to Dalton, GA.
First Union prisoners reach Camp Sumter, which will be known by the more notorious name of Andersonville.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that sugar is selling for $20 a pound, bacon for $8 a pound, and $12 will buy a pair of chickens.

1865: Union General Merritt launches an attack into the Shenandoah Valley, VA. Opposing them are two weak brigades under Confederate General Early.

February 28

1861: Colorado Territory is formed.
Mary Chesnut writes, “…these men (leaders in the new Confederate government) have brought old hatreds & grudges & spites from the old Union. Already we see they are will willing injure our cause to hurt Jeff Davis.”

1862: Day of Fasting held throughout the Confederacy.
Charleston, Western Virginia occupied by Federal troops.

1863: USS Montauk engages and destroys CSS Nashville on the Ogeechee River. The Montauk is commanded by Commodore Worden, who once commanded USS Monitor.

1864: Union cavalry under General George Custer makes a diversion to allow a raid led by General Judson Kilpatrick and Colonel Ulric Dahlgren to proceed against the prison at Belle Isle, VA.

1865: Union General Merritt's 10,000 cavalry troopers cross the North Fork of the Shenandoah River with each man carrying 15 days of rations, as the valley can no longer support an army in the field.

February 29, 1864: Dahlgren’s column splits from the main body to enter Richmond, VA. (1864 was a leap year)
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes that he and his fellow prisoners have reached Camp Sumter (Andersonville, GA).
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that the Union prisoners heard of the Dahlgren raid and are hopeful for release.

Birthdays:

Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston, 1803
Claude Minie, inventor of the Minie bullet, 1804
Union General Samuel Curtis, 1805
Confederate General Joseph Johnston, 1807
16th President of the United States Abraham Lincoln, 1809
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones, 1810
Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Herald, 1811
Union Admiral Samuel Lee, cousin of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, 1812
Confederate Vice-President Alexander Hamilton Stephens, 1812
Confederate General Henry Gray, 1816
African-American writer and abolitionist Frederick Douglass, 1817
Confederate General Richard Ewell, 1817
Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, 1820
Union Surgeon Elizabeth Blackwell, 1821
Union General Francis P. Blair, 1821
Union General John Chivington, 1821
Union General William Franklin, 1823
Confederate General Barnard Bee, who gave General Thomas Jackson the nickname of "Stonewall", 1824
Union General Winfield Hancock, 1824
Union General Quincy Adams Gilmore, 1825
Union General John Logan, 1826
Confederate General Lewis Armistead, 1827
Confederate General Robert Ransom, 1828
Confederate General Alfred Iverson Jr, 1829
Union General John Rawlins, 1831
Confederate General John Gordon, 1832
Secretary to US President Lincoln John Nicolay, 1832
Confederate General Camille Armand Jules Marie, Prince de Polignac, 1832
Union General Henry Pleasants, whose idea led to the Battle of the Crater (Petersburg, VA), 1833
Confederate General James Ewell Brown Stuart, 1833
Confederate General Dorsey Pender, 1834
Union General Alexander Webb, 1835
Confederate General Gilbert Moxley Sorrel, 1838

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

April 1

1862: Union General McClellan's headquarters now located at Ft Monroe, VA.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about watching some stores being unloaded at Ft Monroe, VA. "One wharf was piled with gunpowder in kegs and grape and canister. I saw a soldier rolling some of the kegs and smoking his pipe at the same time. I got off that wharf as soon as I could..." He also writes about seeing some old friends in the camp of the 40th NY.

1863: Union troops rout a Confederate cavalry unit at Ware River, VA
CSS Nashville sunk in the Savannah River, GA by a Union ironclad.
Union General Hooker requests siege equipment for the planned assault on Richmond, VA.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle, of HM Coldstream guards, arrives in the port of Bagdad, Mexico. He is on leave from the British Army and intends on touring the CSA.

1864: Richmond, VA resident Judith McGuire writes in her diary about the scarcity of food in the Confederate capital, noting that tea sold for $22 a pound, coffee for $12 a pound, and brown sugar for $10 a pound.
Union troops under General Steele moving south to join General Banks on the Red River.
CSS Albemarle is towed to Hamilton, NC.
USS Maple Leaf sunk by a torpedo (sea mine) in the St John's River, FL.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes that his shantymate died during the night.

1865: Battle of Five Forks, VA. Union commanders: Generals Philip Sheridan and Gouverneur Warren. Confederate commanders: Generals George Pickett and Fitzhugh Lee. At the junction of Five Forks, Sheridan holds down the entrenched Confederates while Warren launches a flank attack. At the same time, Fitz Lee and Pickett are having lunch two miles away and do not hear the battle. They return to their lines in time to see them broken and the Federals advancing. A counterattack is formed and Sheridan is almost stopped. Warren arrives late, infuriating Sheridan to the point that he secures permission to relieve Warren of command. General Lee, knowing that his lines are now beyond the breaking point, orders Pickett relieved of his command. Union victory.
Union General Steele and 13,000 men arrive at Mobile, AL. Now the Federals can besiege the city in earnest.

April 2

1862: US Senate considers President Lincoln’s plan to provide Federal funding support to states that free their slaves.
Confederate General Albert S. Johnston begins moving troops from Corinth, MS to Pittsburg Landing, TN.
Skirmish at Doniphan, MO.

1863: A women’s protest over the cost on food in Richmond, VA, degenerates into a riot. It is quelled after CS President Davis threatens to have the local militia fire on them. This became known as the Bread Riots.
Union General O.O. Howard succeeds General Carl Schurz as commander of the largely German XI Corps.
Small Confederate force repulsed at Snow Hill, TN.

1864: Confederates destroy Cape Lookout Light, NC.
Minor skirmishes at Cleveland, TN, and Grossetete Bayou and Crump’s Hill, LA.

1865: Battle of Selma, AL. Union commander: Union General James Wilson. Confederate commander: General Nathan Forrest. Union forces attack in three prongs and break the Confederate line. Forrest escapes but Selma surrenders. Union victory.
Union General Grant orders a general assault against Petersburg, VA.
Confederate General A.P. Hill is killed. General Lee orders Petersburg abandoned.
CS President Davis is informed at a church service that both Petersburg and Richmond must be abandoned. During the night, Petersburg is abandoned and Lee starts moving west in order to link up with General Joe Johnston’s forces in NC.
Union forces cut Lee’s last supply line at White Oak Road.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes, "It is true! The enemy have broken through our lines and attained the South Side Road. Gen. Lee has dispatched the Secretary to have everything in readiness to evacuate the city tonight."
At 11:00 p.m., the Confederate government flees Richmond.

April 3

1861: An artillery battery at Charleston, SC fires on the Federal vessel Rhoda H. Shannon.

1862: US Senate votes to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia.
Union General Irwin McDowell’s corps is ordered to remain at the Washington DC, defenses instead of joining General McClellan at Ft Monroe, VA.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about preparing "skeleton maps" to be used by officers as the Army of the Potomac begins marching from Ft Monroe, VA.

1863: Southern newspapers make no mention of the Bread Riots.
US President Lincoln makes a visit to the Army of the Potomac to press General Hooker to attack Confederate General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle arrives in Brownsville, TX, where he meets with Confederate officials. He decides to stay in Matamoros, Mexico for the time being.

1864: Union General Frederick Steele moves from Arkansas to assist General Banks, brushing aside a Confederate attempt to stop him.
Confederate held Ft Sumter bombarded by Union mortars.

1865: Tuscaloosa, AL falls to Union forces.
At 8: 15 a.m. Union forces receive the surrender of Richmond, VA. The Confederate capital is now in Union hands. The first troops to enter the city are African-American soldiers under the command of General Godfrey Weitzel.
Cavalry clash between Union General George Custer and Confederate General Fitzhugh Lee at Namozine Church, VA.
Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s army heading for Amelia Court House for supplies.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes about waking up to explosions in the west end of Richmond, VA. He also reports the following: 7 a.m.: government officials destroyed liquor stocks, causing a riot, 8:30 a.m.: the armory, arsenal, and related facilities are destroyed by explosions that last an hour, 10 a.m.: he reports seeing a Federal battery go by, 11 a.m.: he sees the streets filled with Union African-American troops, and at (p.m. he hears about a curfew.

April 4

1861: Virginia votes to reject secession. (Will revisit the issue later)

1862: Union troops landed at the mouth of the Mississippi River.
A canal is cut, bypassing Confederate guns at Island No. 10, MO.
Union General McClellan begins to move troops toward Yorktown, VA. The Peninsular Campaign has begun in earnest.

1863: CSS Alabama captures the merchant vessel Louisa, whose cargo of coal is seized for the Confederates own uses.
Union General Hooker orders preparations for an assault on Richmond, VA. .

1864: Union General Sheridan assumes command of cavalry units assigned to the Army of the Potomac.
US Congress passes a resolution that it will not tolerate the formation of a monarchy in Mexico. This as reports and rumors circulate that French Emperor Napoleon III intends to install the brother of the Habsburg emperor of Austria on a throne there.
George F. Davis, a resident of Cincinnati, OH writes to his Senator, John Sherman (brother of Union General William Sherman) to complain about refugees from the south flooding into his city.

1865: US President Lincoln visits Richmond, VA.

April 5

1862: At Yorktown, VA, Confederate General John Magruder holds back Union General McClellan’s army, despite the Federals having a 5 to 1 superiority.
There is skirmishing at the edge of Union lines at Pittsburg Landing, TN. Union commanders do not believe reports of a massed Confederate advance.
Military Governor of Tennessee, Andrew Johnson, suspends Nashville’s city government for not taking the oath to the Union.

1863: Yazoo Pass is formally eliminated as an option for an attack on Vicksburg, MS.
Several Confederate ships are detained at Liverpool, UK by British authorities.

1864: Confederate General Taylor masses 16000 troops in order to prevent Union General Banks from invading Texas.

1865: Confederate Army of Northern Virginia reaches Amelia Court House, VA but the promised supplies turned out to be munitions, not the badly needed food.
Confederate cavalry under General Fitzhugh Lee fighting Union forces between Amelia Court House and Jetersville, VA.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes about his feeling that he will son end his diary. The CS War Department building was destroyed the day before, so he is out of a job.

April 6

1861: An envoy is sent to Governor Pickens of SC to inform him that Ft Sumter will only be repositioned, not reinforced.

1862: Battle of Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing), TN. Union commander: General Ulysses Grant. Confederate commander: General Albert S. Johnston. Day One. In the early morning hours of April 6, the Confederates launch a surprise attack on Union encampments. The Federals are pushed back until Union General Stephen Hurlbut organizes a defense in a line or trees that afterwards is named The Hornets Nest. Assisted by General Benjamin Prentiss, the Union army is given time to form up a stronger defensive line and to get General Buell’s army from the landing. Confederate General Johnston is wounded and bleeds to death. Command is passed to General Beauregard, but everything is disorganized and the attack stops. First day Confederate victory, but was not able to exploit it.

1863: A Union flotilla enters Charleston Harbor, SC, but weather conditions do not favor an attack.
US President Lincoln suggests for the first time that Confederate General Lee’s army should be the target instead of Richmond, VA.

1864: Union state government of Louisiana adopts a new constitution that involves freeing its slaves.

1865: Confederate General Longstreet attempts to breakthrough to the south, but finds the Union XXXIV Corps in his way.
Confederate cavalry secures a crossing at the Appomattox River.
Union General Sheridan cuts off and captures ¼ of Lee’s remaining forces at Saylor’s Creek, VA. Eight Confederate Generals are among the captured.

April 7

1862: Battle of Shiloh, TN. Day Two. Union General Grant, supported by Generals Buell and Lew Wallace (he wrote Ben Hur) launch a counterattack and regained all the ground lost on April 6. Confederate General Beauregard orders his army to retreat back to Corinth, MS. Battle of Shiloh ends with a Union victory, but at a cost of 24,000 killed, wounded and missing on both sides.
Federal gunboats run past Island No. 10, MO and land troops to its south.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about the Union forces approaching Yorktown, VA, but not receiving an order to attack. There are, according to Sneeden, 53,000 men with 42,000 ready for battle, and 13,000 Confederates opposing them. "But by McClellan's orders, no general is permitted to bring on a battle until all out forces are up. One corps alone could take the place in an hour. Disgust at the inactivity is very manifest among most officers of all grades..."

1863: Union flotilla attacks Ft Sumter, failing to reduce the fort and losing USS Keokuk in the process.

1864: Battle of Mansfield, LA. Union commander: General Nathaniel Banks. Confederate commander: General Richard Taylor. Taylor established a line near Mansfield. Banks probes but does not attack. Taylor attacks, causing Banks to withdraw, even tough Union reinforcements had arrived. Confederate victory.
Confederate General Longstreet is ordered to return to Virginia from Tennessee.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes that a "deadline" has been placed around the prisoner's enclosure, about 30 feet in side the fence. The Confederate guards have orders to shoot anyone crossing the line. While the line was being built, some tunnels were found, causing no end to the anger amongst the Confederates.

1865: Confederate General Longstreet attempts to burn the High Bridge across the Appomattox River, but fails, allowing Union forces to capture the crossing and maintain pursuit of Lee.
Union General Grant receives a message from President Lincoln; “General Sherman says if the thing is pressed, I think Lee will surrender. Let the thing be pressed.”
Union troops repulsed at Farmville, VA.
Union General Grant sends a massage to Confederate General Lee asking him to surrender. Lee answers with a question about terms. Longstreet advises Lee to wait.
Confederate General Forrest’s cavalry skirmishes with Union forces near Stockton, AL.

April 8

1861: The Harriet Lane, with supplies for Ft Sumter, leaves New York. The message concerning the resupply is delivered to SC Governor Perkins.

1862: Union forces make an assault on Island No. 10, MO, capturing the position and forcing the Mississippi River open as far south as Memphis.

1863: Union General McClernand’s XIII Corps engage Confederates near New Carthage, LA, slowing his advance.

1864: US Senate approves the 13th Amendment, outlawing slavery.
Confederate General Taylor repulses Union General Banks at Sabine Cross Roads, near Mansfield, LA.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes about paying $25 for a cord of wood.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about a police force, called Regulators, that is formed to keep order and to deal with the Raiders, Union prisoners who rob and kill fellow prisoners. He also writes that the daily ration is taking a toll on the prisoners, the cornmeal is ground with the cob still in it, causing intestinal distress to those who eat it.

1865: Union General Custer cuts off all routes out of Appomattox Court House, effectively surrounding Lee. There is discussion about breaking up the army in order to continue the war as an insurgency, but Lee refuses, agreeing to meet with Grant.
In Mobile, AL, Spanish Fort surrenders.

April 9

1861: Charleston, SC newspaper editorials call for war if Ft Sumter is resupplied. Confederate government urges caution.

1862: Confederate government passes Draft Law.
Skirmish at Owen’s River, CA.

1863: Union General Nathaniel Banks launches an expedition to Bayou Teche, LA.
Union troops under General McClernand strip plantation houses in order to provide bridging material for a clear route towards Vicksburg, MS from Louisiana.

1864: Battle of Pleasant Hill, LA. Union commander: General Nathaniel Banks. Confederate commander: General Richard Taylor. Confederates launch an attack against larger Union forces and manage to drive back its left flank. Taylor is driven off but Banks decides to withdraw towards Alexandria, LA.
Union General Grant issues campaign orders for the Army of the Potomac, putting Confederate General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia in his sights.
Confederate General Forrest raids Federal communication lines in western Tennessee.
USS Minnesota is damaged by torpedo boat CSS Squib off Newport News, VA.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that the death rate at Camp Sumter (Andersonville, GA) is about 30 to 40 daily.

1865: Union General Ulysses Grant and Confederate General Robert E. Lee meet in the parlor of Wilmer McLean at Appomattox Court House where an agreement for the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia is signed.
At Mobile, AL, a general assault overruns the Confederate defensive lines.

April 10

1861: USS Pawnee sails from Hampton Roads, VA toward Ft Sumter.
Confederate Secretary of War Leroy Walker instructs Gen P.G.T. Beauregard to either force the surrender of Ft Sumter or its reduction by force.

1862: Union forces under Colonel Quincy Adams Gilmore attack Ft Pulaski, near Savannah, GA. The fort is taken after 30 hours.
US Congress passes joint resolution calling for the end of Slavery.
Union General W.H.L. Wallace dies of wounds suffered at the Battle of Shiloh, TN.

1863: There is an engagement between Union forces under General Gordon Granger and Confederate forces under General Earl Van Dorn near Franklin, TN. Despite Union forces being driven off by General Forrest’s cavalry, Van Dorn withdraws.
US President Lincoln reviews the Army of the Potomac in Falmouth, VA.

1864: Battle of Prairie D’Ane, AR. Union commander: General Frederick Steele. Confederate commander: General Sterling Price. Federal forces launch an attack at Moscow, AR, driving back the Confederates until late in the day. Union victory, but Steele is forced to change his line of march.
Archduke Ferdinand of Austria assumes the throne of Mexico as Maximilian I.

1865: Union General Sherman begins moving his army to the north.
Rations are distributed to the starving Confederate Army of Northern Virginia from Union stocks.
Word of the surrender has reached Washington, DC where celebrations break out. US President Lincoln delivers a speech at the White House, where he requests the song “Dixie” be played.
Pennsylvania Representative Thaddeus Stevens makes a speech at Lancaster, PA calling on harsh measures for the defeated Southern states. It seems he had not forgiven the Confederates for destroying his steel foundry during the Gettysburg Campaign in 1863.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes, "It is true! Yesterday Gen Lee surrendered the 'Army of Northern Virginia'" He also expressed that if CS President Davis had stayed in Richmond, VA that he would never allowed that to happen.

April 11

1861: Union Major Robert Anderson, commander of the Ft Sumter garrison, refuses a Confederate surrender demand.

1862: Union General Henry Halleck arrives at Pittsburg Landing, TN and assumes command of Union forces in the area, supplanting General Grant.
At Newport News, VA, CSS Virginia and USS Monitor are near each other but no shot is fired.
US House of Representatives passes resolution to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia.

1863: US President Lincoln returns to Washington, not sure of General Hooker’s plans.
Confederate General Longstreet begins a siege of Suffolk, VA.

1864: Unionist government is installed in Arkansas with Dr Isaac Murphy as Governor.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that potatoes are selling for $1 a quarter, chickens for $35 a pair, and turnip greens for $4 a peck. He also mentions a neighbor who lost all of his pigeons to thieves.

1865: Last Confederate forts around Mobile Bay, AL, surrender.
In North Carolina, Union General Sherman is now aiming at Confederate General Joe Johnston’s forces near Raleigh.

April 12

1861: Seeing the situation as grave, Union Major Anderson offers to evacuate Ft Sumter on April 15, when supplies are slated to run out. The Confederate authorities demand surrender or they will open fire. Citing no instructions from Washington, Anderson refuses. He has no way of knowing that a relief fleet is approaching.
At 4:30 a.m., according to legend, Virginia secessionist Edmund Ruffin was given the honor of firing the first artillery shot at Ft Sumter. The American Civil War has begun.
Mary Chesnut writes, “…at half past four we hear the booming of the cannon. I start up---dress & rush to my sisters in misery. We go to the house top & see the shells bursting. They say our men are wasting ammunition.”
Federal troops occupy Ft Pickens, near Pensacola, FL.

1862: Confederate Captain Raphael Semmes orders CSS Sumter abandoned at Gibraltar due to boiler problems that could not be fixed.
In what became known as the Great Locomotive Chase, Union operatives under James Andrews steal a Confederate train, the General, at Big Shanty (now Kennesaw), GA. The General’s crew gives chase until they were able to commandeer another train, the Texas. The chase continues until the General runs out of fuel. The operatives are eventually captured. Andrews and seven others are hung as spies. The others are paroled after a time in prison.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about an observation balloon getting loose with Union General Fitz-John Porter in it. General Porter rose to 2000 feet and momentarily came under Confederate rifle fire. He manages to open the gas valve but could not close it again. He finally crashes into a tree but is not injured. It was found that a sergeant with the 50th NY Engineers smeared the ropes with acid to get back at a captain who chewed him out the day before.

1863: Union forces under General Banks reach Ft Bisland, LA. One division is sent to cut off any routes of retreat.

1864: Confederate cavalry under General Tom Greene attack Union boats near Pleasant Hill landing, AR. General Greene is killed and the cavalry is forced back.
Confederate General Forrest attacks Ft Pillow, TN. The fort is taken and 200 of 262 African-American soldiers stationed there are massacred. Word was that the massacre took place after the Union garrison surrendered.

1865: Confederate General Joe Johnston meets with CS President Davis and receives authorization to negotiate surrender.
Mobile, AL surrenders to Union forces.
Montgomery, AL falls to Union forces.
Formal surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia takes place at Appomattox Court House, VA. Confederate General Lee issues a Farewell Address. Weapons and flags are turned over to Federal authorities. The soldiers are then given parole slips and sent home. This removes a major Confederate army from the field, but there are others.
General Order No. 9, After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources. I need not tell the brave survivors of so many hard fought battles, who have remained steadfast to the last, that I have consented to this result from no distrust of them; but feeling that valor and devotion could accomplish nothing that would compensate for the loss that must have attended a continuance of the contest, I determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endured them to their countrymen. By the terms of the agreement, officers and men can return to their homes and remain until exchanged. You will take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed, and I earnestly pray that a merciful God will extend to you his blessing and protection. With an unceasing admiration for your constancy and devotion to your country, and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous consideration for myself, I bid you all an affectionate farewell. R.E. Lee
Word has reached Union General Sherman of the surrender of General Lee.

April 13

1861: After hours of bombardment with surprisingly no causalities, Union Major Anderson agrees to surrender Ft Sumter and leave on the transports that have just arrived. He asks for and receives permission to fire a 100 gun salute as the US flag is lowered. Halfway through the salute, a spark lands on a pile of powder bags, causing an explosion and killing Private Daniel Hough, the first to die in the Civil War. The salute is halted and the garrison leaves Ft Sumter.

1862: Union troops begin to force Confederates to leave New Mexico Territory.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes on going up in a balloon and observing Confederate positions.

1863: Union forces attack Ft Bisland, LA, backed up by US Navy gunboats. The Confederate forces evacuate during the night.
Union General Burnside publishes General Order 38, allowing the death penalty for treason.

1864: The Union convoy that was attacked the previous day manages to deliver supplies to General Banks.
Columbus, KY under assault by Confederate General Forrest’s troopers.

1865: Union General Sherman enters Raleigh, NC.
Union General Kilpatrick’s cavalry reaches Durham Station, NC.

April 14

1861: Word of Ft Sumter, SC surrender reaches Washington, DC.

1862: Minor skirmish near Pollocksville, NC.
Skirmishes reported near Montavallo, Diamond Grove, and Walkersville, MO.

1863: Union General Banks’ troops enter Ft Bisland to find it deserted. Meanwhile, retreating Confederates run into the Union blocking force and is driven off, despite support from CSS Diana.

1864: US Tugboat Geranium fired by Confederates from Ft Moultrie, SC.
Confederate General Forrest assaults Paducah, KY.
Skirmishes at Bayou Saline, Dutch Mills, and White Oak Creek, AR.

1865: At Ft Sumter, SC, Union Major General Robert Anderson raises the same flag he lowered four years before.
US President Lincoln, his wife, and two guests, attend the performance of Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theatre, Washington, DC. At 10 p.m. John Wilkes Booth, an actor and Confederate supporter, enters the Presidential Box and fires a single shot into Lincoln’s head. The President is carried across the street to a boarding house. At the same time, Union Secretary of State Seward is attacked while another assailant chickens out, sparing Vice-President Johnson.

April 15

1861: US President Lincoln issues call for 75,000 volunteers for three month service to fight the rebellion.

1862: Union 1st CA Cavalry engage Confederates near Pechacho Pass, Arizona Territory.

1863: CSS Alabama captures two Union whaling ships off Fernando de Noronha Island, Brazil.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle writes that he has met Confederate General Magruder before departing for San Antonio, TX.

1864: The Union Red River fleet is assembled at Grand Ecore, LA. They now have to contend with a lowering river level and Confederate torpedoes, one of which heavily damages USS Eastport.

1865: Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, dies at 7:22 a.m. Union Secretary of War Stanton remarks, “Now he belongs to the Ages.” At 11:00 a.m., Vice-President Andrew Johnson is sworn in as the 17th President of the United States.

April 16

1861: The Governor of Tennessee rejects US President Lincoln’s call for troops and announces that his state is now part of the Confederacy, despite the fact that voters rejected secession. He proclaims, “Tennessee will not furnish a single man for coercion, but 50000, if necessary, for the defense of our rights, or those of our Southern brethren.”
New York Times publishes an editorial on the unity in the North as a result of the attack on Ft Sumter, SC.

1862: US President Lincoln signs a bill outlawing slavery in the District of Columbia into law.
CS President Davis approves a law making all white males between the ages of 18 and 35 liable for a military draft.
Skirmish at Lee’s Mills, VA
Skirmish at White Marsh, GA.
Skirmish at Savannah, TN.

1863: Union transport ships run the gauntlet at Vicksburg, MS. Only one vessel is sunk and the rest reaches Grand Gulf, MS.
Confederate forces seize Ft Huger, near Suffolk, VA.
Confederate General A.P. Hill abandons the siege of Washington, NC due to lack of supplies.

1864: A report is released stating that 146,634 Confederates have been captured since the war began.
Union vessel General Hunter destroyed by a Confederate torpedo on the St johns River, FL

1865: Confederate General Joe Johnston asks Union General Sherman to meet to discuss terms of surrender.
Union troops begin a dragnet, looking for the assassin of US President Lincoln.

April 17

1861: A secession convention in Virginia votes in favor of secession.

1862: Skirmish at Holly River, VA.

1863: Union Colonel Benjamin Grierson leads troops out of La Grange, TN on a mission into Mississippi. This will last 16 days and cover 600 miles.
Union forces under General Banks clash with Confederate forces under General Taylor at Vermillion Bayou, LA. Confederates forced to continue retreat.

1864: Union General Grant halts prisoner exchange program in response to Confederate refusal to treat African-American soldiers as prisoners of war.
Confederate forces under General R.F. Hoke attack the Union garrison at Plymouth, NC

1865: Union General Sherman and Confederate General Johnston meet at Durham Station, NC to discuss surrender terms.
Union forces capture West Point and Columbus, GA, destroying CSS Jackson and capturing 1200 Confederates.

April 18

1861: First Union troops reach Washington DC.
Colonel Robert E. Lee, commander of US 1st Cavalry, is offered command of the entire Union war effort. He refuses.
Union troops abandon Harpers Ferry, VA.
US Army Quartermaster General Joseph Johnston resigns his commission.

1862: Union naval forces begin bombardment of Forts Jackson and St Philip, on the Mississippi river southeast of New Orleans, LA.
A Confederate attack at Yorktown, VA is repulsed.
Falmouth, VA taken by Federal cavalry.

1863: Union General Grierson’s troops clash with Confederate patrols near New Albany, MS.
Skirmish at Fayetteville, AR.

1864: Confederate General Marmaduke’s forces attack one of Union Colonel Grierson’s foraging parties near Camden, AR
Confederate General Beauregard is relieved of command of the Charleston, SC defenses to assume command of the Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia.
Federal supply column captures near Poison Springs, AR.

1865: Union General Sherman and Confederate General Johnston sign an armistice with more liberal terms than Grant gave Lee.

April 19

1861: The 6th Massachusetts infantry regiment, marching through Baltimore, MD, is attacked by a pro-Southern mob. The soldiers fire on the crowd, killing 12 civilians while losing 4.
US President Lincoln declares a blockade on the ports of seceded states. At this time the US Navy has enough ships to block one or two ports.

1862: Skirmish at South Mills, NC
Union naval assault on Ft Jackson and Ft St Philip, LA continue.

1863: Union forces attack Ft Huger, VA, capturing the Confederate garrison within. They will withdraw, with their prisoners, the next day.
Union Colonel Grierson’s cavalry engage Confederates near Pontotoc, MS.

1864: CSS Albemarle attacks Union vessels near Plymouth, NC, driving them off.

1865: Union Colonel John Sprague leaves Cairo, IL to seek Confederate General Kirby Smith to discuss surrender.
CS President Davis learns of the death of US President Lincoln while at Charlotte, NC.
The body of US President Lincoln lies in state in the Capital.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes for the last time in his diary. He mentions about the death of US President Lincoln while he is waiting for permission from Federal authorities to move his family to the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

April 20

1861: US Navy personnel, while evacuating Gosport Naval Yard, set fire to USS Merrimack. Upon taking over the base, Confederate personnel succeed in raising the hulk. This hulk will eventually become CSS Virginia, an ironclad vessel.
Colonel Robert E. Lee resigns from the US Army.
An Indiana newspaper prints an editorial declaring that the “sin of Slavery” is the cause of the war and emancipation should be the main war aim.

1862: Union sailors attempt to breach an obstacle across the Mississippi River below Ft Jackson and Ft St Philip, LA
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes that on this Easter, no Easter eggs but plenty of broken shells from enemy guns.

1863: A Union flotilla consisting of four ships attack Ft Burton at Butte a la Rose, LA, forcing its surrender.
US President Lincoln announces that the breakaway counties of western Virginia will become the State of West Virginia on June 20, 1863.
Skirmish at Paterson, MO.

1864: Union garrison of Plymouth, NC surrenders.

1865: Union forces capture Macon, GA.
Arkansas passed the 13th Amendment.

April 21

1861: All rail and telegraph connections at Baltimore are cut, isolating Washington, DC.

1862: Despite 4000 shells hitting Ft Jackson and Ft St Philip, LA, the commander of the ground assault on New Orleans, Union General Butler, may have to take those forts by using his troops.

1863: In an effort to confuse his opponents, Union Colonel Grierson detaches one of his regiments, under Colonel Edward Hatch, and sends then north.
Confederate General John Marmaduke launches a raid into Missouri.
Union Army of the Potomac prepares for an offensive against the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia near Fredericksburg, VA.

1864: Union General Banks orders his forces withdrawn from Grand Ecore, LA.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about a rainstorm that wrecks most of the shanties in Andersonville Prison.

1865: President Lincoln’s funeral train leaves Washington, DC on a route that will reach Springfield, IL in May 3.
Confederate Colonel Mosby disbands his Partisan Rangers rather than surrender.

April 22

1861: CS President Davis hopes that Virginia can support the pro-Confederates in Baltimore, MD, possibly bringing Maryland into the Confederacy.
Union troops garrison Cairo, IL, a strategic town at the junction of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.
Federal arsenal in Fayetteville, AR is seized by Confederates.

1862: Union Flag Officer Farragut decides to run his ships past Ft Jackson and Ft St Philip, LA upon learning that the obstacles across the Mississippi River have been breached.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about seeing the Prince de Joinville and the duc de Chartres, French observers on Union General McClellan's staff. He also notes that newspaper reports include accurate maps. Perhaps they think that New York papers do not make it South.

1863: CS President Davis orders General Pemberton, commander of Vicksburg, MS defenses, to attack the Union flotilla with fire rafts.
18 Union ships run the Vicksburg, MS defenses with a loss of one transport and six barges.

1864: CS President Davis expresses the opinion that any African-American soldiers that are captures and turned out to be escaped slaves should be returned to their owners.
Skirmishes at Cotton Plant and Jacksonport, AR.

1865: John Wilkes Booth and one fellow conspirator in the Lincoln assassination cross the Potomac River and flee south.
Skirmishing around Macon, GA.

April 23

1861: Union General Butler offers the use of his troops in restoring order in Baltimore, MD.
Confederate General Lee formally assumes command of Virginia armed forces.

1862: Skirmish at Grass Lick, Western Virginia.
Union Admiral Farragut prepares to run past the forts guarding the approaches to New Orleans, LA.

1863: Union General Banks’ forces engage Confederates under General Hamilton Bee at Monett’s Ferry, LA. The Confederates are driven off.

1864: Federal Troops are hit at Camden, Monett’s Ferry, and Swan Lake, AR

1865: Federal cavalry continue to skirmish against Confederate holdouts.

April 24

1861: Threat to Washington, DC from the south is perceived.

1862: Union Admiral David Farragut sends his fleet past Forts Jackson and St Philip, driving off a Confederate flotilla that was guarding New Orleans, LA.

1863: Union Colonel Grierson succeeds in wrecking the main rail supply line into Vicksburg, MS.
Union General Michael Corcoran attacks Confederate General George Pickett’s forces near Fredericksburg, VA and is repulsed.
Confederate Congress levies taxes on agricultural goods as well as profits from the sale of goods and services.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle reaches San Antonio, TX and gets a room in the Menger Hotel, one block from the Alamo.

1864: Skirmishes at Decatur, AL, Pineville and Ringgold, GA, and Camden AR.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes about buying a black coat at an auction for $12. A new coat costs $100.

1865: Union General Sherman is ordered to either demand unconditional surrender from Confederate General Johnston or resume the offensive. Assassins Booth and Herold reach Port Conway, VA.
US President Lincoln’s body lies in state in New York City.

April 25

1861: A Unionist Captain named Stokes leads a raid on the Arsenal at St Louis, MO, seizing 10,000 muskets before local Confederate supporters could get them.
7th New York regiment, first of the reinforcements for Washington, DC arrives.
The Prairie du Chien (WI), Courier, reports on a town meeting in which there is support for the Union.

1862: New Orleans, LA surrenders to Union forces.
Confederate Ft Macon, NC falls to Federal troops.

1863: Confederate General Marmaduke reaches the Union garrison at Cape Girardeau, MO.
Union General Grant’s troops engage the Vicksburg, MS garrison at Hard Times Landing.

1864: Union General Steele, short of supplies, suffers a setback when a supply train is captured by Confederates at Mark’s Mills, AR.

1865: Union General Sherman delivers the message he received yesterday to Confederate General Joe Johnston. Johnston wires CS President Davis of the developments, including the intention to surrender. Davis and the remnants of the Cabinet leave Charlotte, NC with the intention to reach General Taylor’s army, still in the field.
Union cavalry learn that the assassins of US President Lincoln are hiding in a farm near the Rappahannock River, VA.

April 26

1861: Confederate General Joseph Johnston is assigned command of Virginia forces in the Richmond area.
Major Thomas Jackson, an instructor at the Virginia Military Institute, is promoted to Colonel and assigned to command forces at Harpers Ferry.
The government of Georgia cancels all debts owed to northern interests.
Communications are restored between Washington, DC and the North.

1862: Forts Jackson and St Philip surrender to Union forces.
Union Army of the Potomac advances on Yorktown, VA.
Skirmishes at Turnback Creek and Neosho, MO.

1863: Confederate General Marmaduke attacks Cape Girardeau, MO but is driven back.
Union Colonel Hatch has succeeded in drawing Confederates away from Union General Grierson’s forces and heads back to Lagrange, TN.
Union General Hooker begins his long awaited offensive against Confederate General Lee by marching on Kelly’s Ford, VA. Rain hampers the movement.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle takes some time off in San Antonio, TX and sees some of the sights, including Mission San Jose and Mission San Juan.

1864: Union General Grant orders the garrison at Washington, NC abandoned.
Union General Steel orders a retreat from Camden, AR, sealing Confederate victory in the Red River Campaign.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that he had escaped Camp Sumter (Andersonville, GA) on April 21, but was recaptured after only traveling three miles. Was put in a chain gang for two days afterwards.

1865: Confederate General Johnston agrees to the same surrender terms that General Lee had agreed to. This takes a second major Confederate army out of the war.
John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln, is trapped with David Harold, an accomplice, in a barn near Bowling Green, VA. Harold surrenders but Booth is killed. There are rumors going about that CS President Davis himself ordered Lincoln killed. The truth is that the conspirators acted alone, albeit with some financial assistance from the Confederate Secret Service.
The Confederate Cabinet meets in Charlotte, NC and agrees to flee west of the Mississippi River.

April 27

1861: Federal naval blockade is extended to include the Virginia coastline.
US President Lincoln suspends civilian laws in the Baltimore, MD area on order to let the military restore order.
Richmond, VA is offered as a permanent capital for the Confederacy.
J.B. Jones writes on an interview with CS President Davis in which the belief is expressed that the war would not take very long.

1862: Skirmish as Horton’s Mills, NC.
Confederate forts to the north of New Orleans, LA surrender.

1863: Union General Grierson’s forces damage another railroad, this time the railroad line north of Jackson, MS.
Union General Joseph Hooker sends three corps across the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers, near Fredericksburg, VA.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle leaves San Antonio and is headed for Alleyton (near Houston, TX).

1864: Union General Grant begins to issue orders for a spring offensive.
CS President Davis dispatches Jacob Thompson to Canada in order to send out peace feelers to supporters in the North.

1865: In what is considered the worst transportation accident in US history, the steamboat Sultana, carrying former Union prisoners of war, explodes on the Mississippi River north of Memphis, TN, killing 1450.
CS President Davis continues to flee as his party leaves Charlotte, NC.

April 28

1861: Unrest in Baltimore, MD continues.

1862: Union General Butler arrives in New Orleans, LA as the Union flag is hoisted above the Customs House, City Hall, and the Mint.
Union General Halleck awaits a Confederate attack at Corinth, MS.
At Nassau, British Bahamas, the vessel Oreto arrives and is outfitted and rechristened CSS Florida.

1863: Road repairs need to be accomplished in order to allow Union General Hooker’s forces to keep going after the rains in Virginia subsided.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle continues his journey to Alleyton, stopping at Sequin and Gonzales, TX.

1864: Another artillery assault on Ft Sumter, SC begins.

1865: US President Lincoln’s funeral train reaches Cleveland, OH.
Union General Sherman begins to redeploy his army towards Washington, DC.

April 29

1861: Maryland votes not to secede.
CS President Davis makes the case for secession in a speech to the Second Provisional Congress of the Confederacy.

1862: Minor action at Bridgeport, AL ends in favor of the Union.
100,000 Union troops advance on Corinth, MS.

1863: Confederate General Lee orders General Longstreet to abandon Suffolk, VA and join him.
Confederate General Lee learns that Federal forces are trying to flank him near an area known as the Wilderness, VA.
Union Admiral Porter’s ironclads engage Confederate forts at Grand Gulf, MS. After sundown, General Grant begins moving his troops across the Mississippi River.
Union General Francis Blair begins moving troops up the Yazoo River in order to distract the Confederates.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle reaches Alleyton, TX where he will catch a train.

1864: Union General Steele continues the retreat from Camden, AR and begins to cross the Saline River at Jenkins Ferry. The crossing is hampered by the swollen river.
Skirmish at Grand Ecore, LA.

1865: With the news of surrendering Confederate armies circulating, many soldiers are now demanding immediate demobilization.

April 30

1861: Federal forces abandon forts in the Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma), allowing the region to fall under Confederate control.
The New York Herald prints an article about women drilling as soldiers in Mississippi. This and other such articles stoke the opinion that the rebellion would be quashed quickly.

1862: The unofficial Southern anthem “Dixie” is published.
Confederate General Ewell’s division reaches the Shenandoah Valley, VA to reinforce General Jackson’s army.
Skirmishes at Cumberland Mountain and Monterey, TN.

1863: Union General Grant’s troops skirmish with Confederates at Bruinsburg, MS.
Union General Blair engages Confederates at Drumgould’s Bluff, MS.
Union General Hooker has the Army of the Potomac concentrated at Chancellorsville, VA.
Lt Col Arthur Fremantle’s train reaches Houston, TX and he checks into the Fannin House Hotel.

1864: CS President Davis’ son Joe is killed in a fall at the Confederate White House.
Union forces under Colonel Albert Streight engage Confederate forces under General Forrest in a series of battles beginning at Sand Mountain, AL and ending with the surrender of the Union force at Rome, GA on May 3.
The level of the Red River has dropped to the point that Union General Banks’ flotilla is stranded and in danger of capture. Engineers devise a series of dams that will eventually free the flotilla by May 13.

1865: Union General Edward Canby and Confederate General Richard Taylor discuss the surrender of Confederate forces in Alabama and Mississippi.



Birthdays:

US Presidential advisor Francis P Blair Sr., 1791
James Buchanan, 15th president of the United States, 1791
Pennsylvania Senator Thaddeus Stevens, 1792
Orator Edward Everett, who preceded Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, 1794
Union Naval Captain Charles Wilkes, commander of USS San Jacinto, 1798
Union Nurse Dorothea Dix, 1802
Union Naval Captain Theodorus Bailey, 1805
Missouri Governor Claiborne Jackson, 1806
Confederate General Leonidas Polk, 1806
French Emperor Napoleon III, 1808
Union General Daniel Ullmann, 1810
US Senator Stephen Douglas, 1813
Confederate General Henry Benning, 1814
Confederate General Edward Johnson, 1816
Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin, 1817
UK Minister (Ambassador) to the US Earl Richard Lyons, 1817
Confederate Naval Lieutenant Catsby ap Roger Jones, 1821
Union General Ulysses S. Grant (Hiram Ulysses Grant) and 18th President of the United States, 1822
Confederate General Simon Bolivar Buckner, 1823
Confederate General Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb, 1823
Confederate General Alfred Colquitt, 1824
Union General Joseph Bailey, whose plan saved the Red River Expedition from disaster, 1825
Confederate Colonel Chatham Wheat, 1826
Union General John Gibbon, 1827
Union General Lew Wallace, 1827
Union General Grenville Dodge, 1831
Confederate General Edward Walthall, 1831
Union General James Ledlie, who hid in a shelter and got drunk while his troops died at The Crater (Petersburg, VA), 1832
Union General David Gregg, 1833
Union General John Corse, 1835
Union Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, “first martyr of the Civil War,” 1837
Robert Smalls, only African-American to command a US Navy vessel in the Civil War, 1839
Lewis Powell, Lincoln assassination conspirator, 1844
John Harrison Surratt Jr., Lincoln assassination conspirator, 1844

May 1

1861: Virginia Army commander General Lee sends Colonel Tom Jackson to Harper’s Ferry, VA to secure the area.
US Naval forces blockade the mouth of the James River, VA.
Call for Union volunteers goes out in Nebraska.

1862: Skirmish at Clark’s Hollow, Western VA.
Union General Butler formally assumes command of the Union garrison of New Orleans, LA.
Laura Lee, a resident of Winchester, VA writes about the scarcity of fresh food in the area.

1863: Union General Blair’s forces continue their engagement at Drumgould’s Bluff, MS but withdraw that night.
Battle of Port Gibson, MS. Union commander: General Ulysses Grant. Confederate commander: John Pemberton. Confederate forces try to stop the Union advance but are repulsed several times until the Southern troops withdraw in the early evening. Union victory.
Union General Grierson engages three Confederate companies at Wall’s Bridge, MS and drives them off.
Battle of Chalk Bluff, MO. Union commander: General William Vandever. Confederate commander: General John Marmaduke. While attempting to cross the St Francis River, Marmaduke comes under attack. The Confederates manage to escape the next day, but with heavy losses. Union Victory.
Confederate General Lee begins to maneuver toward Union General Hooker’s left flank at Chancellorsville, VA.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that three friends of his, Samuel Hutton, Peter Christiancy, and Joseph Sargent, all 9th MI Cavalry members, have died in the past couple of weeks at Camp Sumter (Andersonville, GA).

1864: Skirmish at Stone Church, GA.
Confederates capture the Union transport Emma at David’s Ferry, LA
Skirmish between Union troops and Indians at Booth’s Run, CA.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about African-American soldiers captures at the Battle of Olustree, FL being treated very badly by the Confederate guards.

1865: US President Johnson orders a military commission formed to try those accused of taking part in the Lincoln assassination conspiracy.

May 2

1861: Virginia Army Colonel Jackson organizes his army on the basis of ability instead of the old method of letting the soldiers elect their officers. Also begins a training and discipline program that will turn a mob of militia into one of the best armies in Confederate service.

1862: Confederate General Joe Johnston prepares to evacuate Yorktown, VA in the face of masses of approaching Union troops.
L.H. Minor, a Virginia planter, writes CS Secretary of War Randolph about runaway slaves finding employment in the Confederate Army.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about the Union having 103,378 soldiers to the Confederates 50,000 but a full press is not being done.

1863: Battle of Chancellorsville, VA. Union commander: General Joseph Hooker. Confederate commander: General Robert E. Lee. Lee commits his forces in a maneuver that is against all conventional wisdom, he splits up his army in the face of a numerically superior enemy force. Lee sends ½ of the army, under General Jackson to his left upon receiving intelligence of the Union right flank being exposed and encamped. In the late afternoon, Jackson launches an attack on the Union XI Corps, crushing it. Other Union forces come to the rescue and fighting continues until darkness falls. That night, General Jackson rides ahead of his lines and is mistakenly fired upon by a North Carolina regiment. Jackson is seriously wounded and has his left arm amputated. Cavalry commander J.E.B. Stuart takes over Jackson’s corps.
Union General Grierson’s troops reach Baton Rouge, LA.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle takes a train to Galveston, TX and meets former Texas Governor Sam Houston.

1864: CS President Davis addresses the Confederate Congress, admitting for the first time that the hope of foreign recognition, especially from Great Britain and France, has ended. He also blasts the “Total War” policy of the Union armies in which all material means of supporting the war effort, especially farms, have been targeted for destruction.
Union General Sherman’s forces engage with Confederate outposts at Tunnel Hill and Ringgold Gap, GA.
Indian uprising in California is put down, with the survivors being forced to work on San Francisco harbor defenses.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes about seeing tomato plants on sale for $10 a dozen.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that a Confederate artillery battery has arrived at Andersonville, GA and was deployed around the prison. The cannon are aimed at the prison pen! Also reports about 19,000 in the prison with the death rate about 100 daily.

1865: US President Johnson accuses former CS President Davis of being a part of the Lincoln assassination conspiracy and offers a $100,000 reward for his capture.
In Abbeville, SC, CS President Davis conducts a meeting in which he expresses his determination to carry on the war. His military commanders do not express the same optimism.

May 3

1861: The Union Military Department of the Ohio, covering Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, is created with General George McClellan in command.
US President Lincoln calls for an additional 42,000 troops to serve three years.
Missouri Governor Jackson declares his state as part of the Confederacy.
US diplomats protest meetings between the British Foreign Minister and Confederate commissioners.
Union General Winfield Scott reveals the “Anaconda” plan for defeating the Confederacy. This plan calls for Union forces seizing the Mississippi River. The plan was derided at first, but eventually becomes the overall Union war plan.

1862: Confederate troops evacuate Yorktown, VA and pull back towards Richmond, VA.
Skirmishing near Farmington, MS as Union troops move toward Corinth, MS.

1863: Confederate General Lee orders a general attack along his front. Union General Hooker suffers a concussion when his headquarters is hit. He is finally forced to pull his army back to United States Ford. Battle of Chancellorsville concludes. Confederate victory.
Union VI and II Corps attack Confederate positions at Marye’s Heights, outside Fredericksburg, VA. The position is captured.
Battle of Salem Church, VA. Union commander: John Sedgwick. Confederate commander: General Jubal Early. Early was withdrawing from Fredericksburg when Sedgwick attacked. Upon learning of the attack, General Lee sends reinforcements.
A Union raid into northern Alabama is captured by Confederate General Forrest.
Union General Grierson’s forces reach Union lines at Baton Rouge, LA.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle returns to Houston, TX.

1864: US President Lincoln discusses the alleged Confederate massacre at Ft Pillow, TN.
Despite an attack by Confederate troops, Union General Steele manages to get his command to Little Rock, AR.
Union troops engage Indians at Cedar Bluffs, Colorado Territory.

1865; Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train reached Springfield, IL.
Confederate Secretary of the Navy Mallory resigns.
Confederate Secretary of State Benjamin leaves the Davis party and heads for Florida, where he will sail to the Bahamas and then on to Great Britain to begin his exile.

May 4

1861: Unionists in western Virginia meet to discuss seceding from Virginia.
Harper’s Weekly reports on the vulnerability of Washington, DC since the city is surrounded by either Confederate or Southern-leaning territory.
William H. Lee of Alabama writes a letter to CS President Davis calling for the Confederacy to either lock up the slaves or put them into the army.

1862: Union forces reach Yorktown, VA and continue to advance on Williamsburg, where Confederate forces under Generals Longstreet and D.H. Hill are waiting.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes a full description of the entry of Union troops into Yorktown, VA. He describes the area being bobby-trapped, with explosions killing several troops before engineers could disarm them.
Confederate General Jackson moves his troops to Staunton, VA to counter an expected Union move.
Skirmish at Cheese Cake Church, VA.
Skirmish at Licking, MO.

1863: Union General Sedgwick is forced to retreat back across the Rappahannock River under Confederate artillery fire. Battle of Salem Church concludes. Confederate victory.
Federal gunboats bombard Ft De Russy, on the Red River, LA but is repulsed.
Union General Hooker orders the Army of the Potomac back across the Rappahannock River.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle leaves Houston for Shreveport, LA.

1864: Union General Grant launches the Overland Campaign with the Army of the Potomac crossing the Rapidan River. No longer is Richmond, VA the main objective, the Army of Northern Virginia is.
Union General Sherman prepares to move his troops from Chattanooga, TN

1865: Confederate General Taylor officially surrenders to Union General Canby at Citronelle, AL.
US President Lincoln is buried at Springfield, IL.
Minor action near Lexington, MO.

May 5

1861: Virginia forces abandon Alexandria, VA, across the Potomac River from Washington, DC.

1862: Union forces engage Confederates forces at Williamsburg, VA.
US President Lincoln visits Ft Monroe, VA to see how General McClellan’s offensive is going.
Action at Lebanon, TN results in 66 Confederates taken prisoner.
Union Cavalry repulsed at Dresden, KY.

1863: Clement Vallandingham, a leader in the anti-war, pro-Confederate Copperhead group, is arrested.

1864: Confederate forces attack three of Union General Banks’ riverboats, capturing them.
Union General Ben Butler and his Army of the James lands at Bermuda Hundred, VA and begins to move inland.
Battle of the Wilderness, VA. Union commander: General Ulysses Grant. Confederate commander: General Robert E. Lee. Grant launches a flank attack in the same area as the 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville.
Naval engagement on the Alligator River, NC between CSS Albemarle and two transports and USS Mattabasset, Sassacus, Wyalusing, and Miami results in one Confederate transport driven off and the other battered. Albemarle pulls into Plymouth, NC after damaging Sassacus and surviving a hit from Miami.

1865: Skirmish at Peche Hill, MO.

May 6

1861: Union Captain Nathaniel Lyon conducts an intelligence gathering mission at St Louis, MO, dressed as a woman.
Tennessee and Arkansas officially secede.
CS President Davis approves a Congressional measure announcing a state of war between the Confederate States and the United States. The Federal government will not do likewise because they will not recognize the CSA.
William Howard Russell, a correspondent for the London Times arrives in Montgomery, AL and gives an account of a meeting of the Confederate Congress which details tobacco chewing, banquets, and a clergyman’s prayer for divine judgment in the US.

1862; Union troops take Williamsburg, VA.

1863: Union forces under Admiral Porter capture Alexandria, LA.
Confederate General A.P. Hill is assigned to command General Jackson’s corps.
Clement Vallandingham is tried in a military court for treason and sentenced to two years in prison.
CS Navy Commander James Bullock is sent to Europe with $2,000,000 to buy ironclad vessels.

1864: Union General Butler’s advance along the Richmond-Petersburg railroad is halted by Confederate troops at Port Walthall Junction, VA.
At the Wilderness, VA, Federal forces launch a frontal assault on Confederate positions. Confederate General A.P. Hill’s forces are about to collapse when General Longstreet’s corps arrive. Longstreet is wounded by his own troops five miles from where General Jackson was wounded one year and four days previously. General Lee attempts to lead a charge personally but his own men lead him away. The fighting is intense but inconclusive, with the Confederates regaining the trenches. The forest catches fire and hundreds of wounded soldiers burn to death.
A petition is sent to CS President Davis from Randolph County, AL asking that the county be exempt from providing any more slaves as laborers for the army.

1865: CSS Stonewall, a newly built ironclad, arrives at Nassau, Bahamas, where its crew learns of the end of the war. They will sail for Havana, Cuba. The vessel will end up with the Japanese Navy until the 1880s.

May 7

1861: Union steps up recruiting campaign in Western Virginia and Kentucky.
Tennessee declares itself allied with the Confederacy, effectively seceding.

1862: Union General McClellan transports four divisions up the York River to Eltham’s Landing, VA. There they engage Confederate troops who were retreating from Yorktown, VA.

1863: Confederate General Earl Van Dorn is killed by Dr George Peters, who claimed Van Dorn was having an affair with his wife.
Union Army of the Potomac’s morale remains high despite defeat in the Battle of Chancellorsville.
Union forces under General McClernand advance on Raymond, MS while a corps under General Sherman moves on Dillon’s Plantation, MS.

1864: Union general Grant ends the Battle of the Wilderness by moving the Army of the Potomac to the left, bypassing Confederate General Lee’s forces. This takes the Confederates off guard as they were used to Union troops marching back north after a defeat.
Confederate forces are driven away at Port Walthall Junction and the rail line cut.
Union General Sherman begins an offensive aimed at the rail junction of Atlanta, GA.
CSS Raleigh attempts to break the blockade at Wilmington, NC but is herself destroyed after grounding at the harbor entrance.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that bread is now being baked at a cookhouse built outside the stockade at Camp Sumter (Andersonville, GA). The daily ration is now one-quarter of a loaf of bread and five ounces of pork.

1865: Trooper of the 4th Michigan Cavalry set out from Macon, GA. This is the force that will eventually capture CS President Davis.

May 8

1861: Union Major Anderson, former Ft Sumter, SC commander, is selected to head recruiting efforts along the Border States (Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware).

1862: Union forces capture the arsenal at Baton Rouge, LA.
Battle of McDowell, VA. Union commander: General John Fremont. Confederate commander: General Thomas Jackson. Fremont attempts to take on Jackson, but is repulsed and chased toward Franklin, VA. Confederate victory.
Skirmishing at Corinth and Glendale, MS.

1863: Union ships begin shelling Port Hudson, MS.
Confederate General Jackson has taken a turn for the worst. His wounds, suffered at the Battle of Chancellorsville, VA are healing, but infection has set in. His wife and daughter are at his side.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle reaches Shreveport, LA. He meets Louisiana Governor Moore.

1864: Union General Grant arrives at Spotsylvania Court House to find Confederate General Lee waiting for him.
Confederate General A.P. Hill falls ill and is replaced by General Early.
Union cavalry under General Sheridan sets out to raid behind Confederate lines.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that a cow and calf was sold for $2500.

1865: The trial begins of all persons involved in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the attempted assassination of other government officials.
Confederate troops in Mississippi and Alabama are paroled.
Skirmish at Readsville, MO.

May 9

1861: US Naval Academy is evacuated from Annapolis, MD due to the political instability in Maryland.
USS Yankee exchanges fire with Confederate gun emplacements at Gloucester Point, VA.

1862: Union Flag Officer Andrew Foote is relieved of command due to injuries suffered in the Battle of Ft Donaldson.
Union General Halleck’s forces skirmish with Confederate forces at Corinth, MS.
Norfolk Navy Yard retaken by Union forces.
37th Indiana troops repulsed at Elkton Station, near Athens, GA.

1863: Confederate General Joe Johnston assumes command of all Confederate forces in the field.
Confederate General Lee reorganizes the Army of northern Virginia into three corps.
CS President Davis promises the Vicksburg, MS defenders every support, even though Union forces threaten to cut the city off.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle leaves Shreveport, LA for Munroe, LA in order to cross the Mississippi River and avoid the Federals.

1864: Union General McPherson finds Confederates entrenched at Resaca, GA.
Union General Butler defeats Confederates under General Bushrod Johnson but does not follow up.
Union General John Sedgewick is killed by a Confederate sniper after declaring, “They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance.”
A. Dudley Mann, CS agent in Brussels, Belgium, receives a letter of support from Pope Pius IX.

1865: CS President Davis releases the infantry brigades that were escorting him and his family. He still intends to head for the Trans-Mississippi, where he might continue the war.

May 10

1861: Union Captain Lyon jails 700 Confederate sympathizers in St Louis, sparking a riot in which 28 were killed.
CS President Davis and Confederate Navy Secretary Mallory send instructions to Admiral Bulloch in London to begin purchasing ironclad warships.
Judith McGuire, a resident of Alexandria, VA writes in her diary about her fears concerning a possible Union takeover of the city.

1862: Union forces occupy Pensacola, FL.
Union General Butler steals $80,000 in gold from the Dutch Consulate in New Orleans, LA.
Union General Fremont’s retreating army link up with General Huston Milroy’s army and together manage to stop Confederate General Jackson.
Engagement between USS Cincinnati, USS Mound City, and Confederate batteries at Ft Pillow, TN.

1863: At 3:15 p. m., Confederate General Thomas Jackson dies of pneumonia contracted while recovering from wounds suffered at Chancellorsville, VA. His last words are, “No, no, let us pass over the river and rest under the shade of the trees.”

1864: Union General Sherman moves his army to assist General McPherson.
Union General Crook burns the New River Bridge, severing the Virginia and Tennessee railroad.
Union General Butler is stopped at Chester Station, VA and returns to Bermuda Hundred.
Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart takes up position near Yellow Tavern, VA to try to stop Union General Sheridan.
Battle of Spotsylvania, VA. Union commander; General Ulysses Grant. Confederate commander: General Robert E. Lee. Federals attack Confederate entrenchments at the apex of what became known as the “mule shoe”, also known as the “Bloody Angle.”
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that new prisoners are being robbed by the "Raiders", fellow prisoners who prey on others.

1865: US President Johnson declares the rebellion against the US over.
Confederate guerilla William Quantrill is killed near Taylorsville, KY.
Union cavalry captures CS President Davis near Irwinville, GA.
Remaining Confederate flotilla at Mobile, AL surrender to Union naval forces.

May 11

1861: Unrest continues in St Louis, MO as seven rioters are killed in clashes with US Army troops.
Pro-Union demonstrations in California

1862: CSS Virginia is destroyed on the James River, VA to prevent her falling into Federal hands.
Skirmish at Bloomfield, MO.

1863: Democratic critic Clement Vallandingham applies for a writ of habeas corpus while in Federal prison.
Anti-war Democrats storm a Republican newspaper office in Dayton, OH.

1864: Battle of Yellow Tavern, VA. Union commander: General Philip Sheridan. Confederate commander: General J.E.B. Stuart. Confederate cavalry launches an attack which is quickly repulsed. General Stuart is mortally wounded.

1865: Confederate General Meriwether Thompson surrenders all of his forces in Arkansas.
CSS Stonewall surrenders in Havana, Cuba.

May 12

1861: Union General Butler moves troops into Baltimore, MD without authorization in order to prevent major unrest.

1862: Union Naval forces under Admiral Farragut capture Natchez, MS.
Beaufort, NC, Port Royal, SC, and New Orleans, LA are opened to shipping as they are back in Union control.
Baton Rouge, LA taken by Federal troops.

1863: The 54th Massachusetts, an African-American unit, is raised by Union Colonel Robert Shaw.
Battle of Raymond, MS. Union commander: General James McPherson. Confederate commander; General John Gregg. A Confederate artillery attack is launched in order to stop the Federals from crossing Fourteen Mile Creek. Despite heavy Union losses, they are reinforced and manage to push the Confederates back. Union victory.
Diarist Judith McGuire writes of the sorrow gripping the Confederacy following General Jackson’s death.

1864: Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart dies.
Confederate General Johnston pulls back from Resaca, GA.
Union General Grant renews attack at the “Mule Shoe”, near Spotsylvania, VA. A Confederate counterattack results in 20 hours of the worst fighting of the war.
Union General Butler moves against Confederate positions at Drewry’s Bluff, VA.

1865: All the accused in the Lincoln assassination trial plead not guilty.

May 13

1861: The Government of Great Britain announces that they are staying neutral in the growing conflict in the US. They also declared the CSA a belligerent, affording it rights under International treaties.

1862: Citizens begin to flee Richmond, VA as Union forces approach.
Skirmish at Monterrey, TN.
Confederate vessel Planter seized by its crew of African-Americans and surrendered to the Union blockading force at Charleston, SC.

1863: Confederate General Johnston arrives at Jackson, MS and orders its evacuation upon learning of two Federal corps approaching. This maneuver removes any chance of the garrison at Vicksburg getting any reinforcements.
Confederate General Pemberton deploys troops to Edward’s Station, MS in order to counter Union General Grant’s moves.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle has traveled from Munroe to Harrisonburg, LA.

1864: Union General Grant ends the Battle of Spotsylvania by making another move to the south.
Union General Butler’s attack at Drewry’s Bluff is repulsed by Confederate forces under General Beauregard.
Union General Sherman tried to find a weak point at Resaca, GA.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that his wife paid $100 for a bushel of cornmeal and five pounds of bacon.

1865: At Palmetto Ranch, TX, there was a skirmish between small units in what turned out to be the last military action of the war. Ironically it’s a Confederate victory.
Confederate General Edmund Smith is advised to surrender by the governors of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi at a meeting at Marshall, TX.

May 14

1861: William T. Sherman reenters the US Army as commander on the 13th US Infantry.
Irvin McDowell is promoted to Brigadier General in the Federal army.
US President Lincoln pledges support for Unionists in Kentucky despite the state’s official neutrality stance.
Sarah Emma Edmonds takes on the name “Franklin Thompson” and enlists in the 2nd MI.

1862: Confederate General Jackson concentrates his army at Harrisonburg, VA in order to strike divided Union forces in the Shenandoah Valley.

1863: Battle of Jackson, MS. Union commanders; Generals Sherman and McPherson. Confederate commander: General Gregg. Gregg organizes a rear guard action while General Joe Johnston evacuates the Mississippi State capital. At mid-afternoon, Gregg is ordered to disengage and join Johnston. Union victory.
There is discontent amongst the uppermost ranks of the Army of the Potomac toward General Hooker, the army’s commander, for the debacle at Chancellorsville, VA.
US diplomatic efforts to prevent Great Britain from building warships for the CSA begins to succeed as there is a plan to complete the ships that Confederate Commissioner Bullock bought in France instead of Britain.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle heads for Natchez, MS where he can cross the Mississippi River.

1864: Battle of Resaca, GA. Union commander: General Sherman. Confederate commander: General Johnston. Union forces are repulsed while attacking Confederate entrenchments. Sherman decides to threaten Johnston’s supply lines on the 15th, forcing the Confederates to pull back on the 15th. Union victory.
In the Shenandoah Valley, Confederate General Breckenridge leads a makeshift force to engage Union forces under General Franz Sigel.
Union General Grant seeking a weakness in Confederate positions around Spotsylvania, VA, orders General Warren’s corps to his left flank.

1865: Minor skirmishes continue in Missouri.

May 15

1861: Union General Butler continues occupation of Baltimore, MD due to the presence of a pro-Confederate group in the city.

1862: Union General Benjamin Butler, in command of the New Orleans garrison, issues Order No. 28, declaring that any woman who insults Union troops “shall be regarded and held liable to be treated as a woman of the town plying her avocation,” meaning as a prostitute. This is in response to an attack on a Union Admiral in which the contents of a chamber pot (toilet) was dumped on him. This order will result in fierce anger through the Confederacy.
A Union fleet is stopped at Drewry’s Bluff, eight miles from Richmond, VA.
Confederate General Joe Johnston pulls his army to within three miles of Richmond.

1863: Confederate General Pemberton attempts to cut Union General Grant’s supply line in a bid to halt the Union advance on Vicksburg, MS.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes on the following prices; a pair of boots for $200, a coat for $350, a pair of pants for $100, a pair of shoes for $125, flour for $275 a barrel, cornmeal for $80 a bushel, bacon for $9 a pound, chickens for $30 a pair, shad (fish) for $20 each, potatoes for $25 a bushel, turnip greens for $4 a peck, white beans for $4 a quart (or $120 a bushel), butter and lard for $15 a pound, and wood for $50 a cord. There is no beef to be had.

1864: Battle of New Market, VA. Union commander: General Sigel. Confederate commander: General Breckenridge. Federal lines are breached by a smaller Confederate force which includes students from the Virginia Military Institute. Confederate victory. Interesting to note that one of the Confederate units engaged there, the 22nd Virginia, was commanded by Colonel George S. Patton, grandfather of the famous WWII army commander of the same name.

May 16

1861: Confederate Provisional Congress passes a bill authorizing the recruitment of 400,000 troops.
Union Naval Commodore John Rodgers takes command of US Navy river operations in the West.
Kentucky Legislature submits a bill to codify its neutrality stance.

1862: Fighting rages around Princeton, western Virginia.

1863: Battle of Champion’s Hill, MS. Union commander: General Grant. Confederate commander: General Pemberton. Confederates establishing a defensive line east of Vicksburg are attacked by a strong Union force and are forced back after a day-long battle. Union victory.
Clement Vallandingham, a very vocal critic of the war, is convicted of treason and sentences to jail for the remainder of the war.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle is diverted in his journey by the fall of Jackson, MS, but still decides to try and reach the town.

1864: Confederate forces retreat toward Adairsville, GA.
A Confederate attack near Drewry’s Bluff forces Union General Butler to retreat to Bermuda Hundred, VA.

May 17

1861:

1862: Union troops under General McDowell advance on Richmond, VA from the North.
Skirmishing near Corinth, MS.

1863: Union forces under General McClernand engage Confederates at the Big Black River, east of Vicksburg, MS. 1700 Confederates are captured but the remainder escape and burn the bridges that they were using.

1864: Union troops under General Howard attack Confederates near Adairsville, GA. General Johnston orders a withdraw as General Sherman’s full army arrives.
Union forces under General Banks arrive at Atchafalaya River, LA as Confederate troops pursue.
Confederate General Beauregard has Union General Butler bottled up at Bermuda Hundred, VA.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes about new prisoners bringing reports on the Union advance on Atlanta, GA.

1865: Union General Sheridan is named commander of all US forces west of the Mississippi with the aim of both securing Texas and put pressure on the Imperial Mexican government, locked in a struggle with Republican forces under Benito Juarez and propped up by French troops.

May 18

1861: US Navy vessels block the mouth of the Rappahannock River, VA.
Union troops engage Confederate artillery positions at Sewall’s Point, VA.

1862: Suffolk, VA falls to Union troops.
US Naval forces under Flag Officer Farragut head up the Mississippi River toward Vicksburg, MS.

1863: Union forces reach the outskirts of Vicksburg, MS.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle reaches Jackson, MS with the help of a French boy whose family lived in the area. He gets into a spot of bother as local residents take him for a spy. Some letters from Confederate officials in Texas save him from a hanging.

1864: Battle of Yellow Bayou, LA. Union commander: General Banks. Confederate commander: General Taylor. Banks detaches a part of his force in order to hold off attacking Confederates while bridges are being built. Both sides retire as the foliage is set on fire by the battle.
Union General Grant attempts a flanking attack on Confederate troops near Spotsylvania VA, which fails.

1865: Emma LeConte, a resident of Columbia, SC, writes in her diary her hope of continued Southern resistance despite the capture of former CS President Davis.

May 19

1861: Union troops begin improving the defenses around Washington, DC.

1862: CS President Davis shows uncertainty in the ability of the CS Army to defend Richmond, VA in a letter to his wife.
Skirmish at Searcy Landing, AR.
US President Lincoln revokes an emancipation order made by Union General Hunter.

1863: Union General Grant orders an assault on the Vicksburg defenses but is repulsed.
US Secretary of War Stanton orders that Vallandingham be banished to the Confederacy.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle breakfasts with Confederate General State Rights Gist.

1864: There is an attack by Confederate forces under General Ewell at Harris Farm, VA, which is beaten back. This action ends the fighting around Spotsylvania, VA.
Confederate forces under General Johnston reach Allatoona Pass, GA.
Union General Sigel is relieved of his army command for his defeat at New Market, VA.

1865: CSS Stonewall formally surrendered to Spanish authorities in Cuba.

May 20

1861: North Carolina officially secedes.
Kentucky declares neutrality.
Telegraph offices in the North raided in order to find any messages sent by spies.

1862: CS President Davis declares that Richmond, VA will be held at all costs.
Confederate General Jackson’s forces are reinforced by those of General Richard Ewell.
Union General McClellan’s advance has come to a halt.
US President Lincoln signs the Homestead Act, opening large areas of the West to settlement.
Confederates repulsed at Searcy Landing, AR.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle goes to the village of Livingston, MS where he meets Confederate General Joe Johnston.

1863: Union General Grant orders his army to entrench themselves around Vicksburg, MS. Between retreating Confederates and the US Navy, the Confederate Nave base at Yazoo City, MS is destroyed along with three warships that were under construction.

1864; Union General Banks manages to get his forces across the Atchafalaya River, LA, ending the Red River Campaign in failure.
Union General Grant decides to move his army to the left, away from Spotsylvania, VA.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that the population of Camp Sumter (Andersonville, GA) is about 20,000. Malnutrition and disease are taking a huge toll on the prisoners.

1865: US Vice-Admiral Farragut appointed to review the entire Naval Academy, leading to reforms.

May 21

1861: Confederate capital to be moved from Montgomery, AL to Richmond, VA.

1862: Confederate General Jackson moves his army across Massanutten Mountain, VA on order to avoid Union forces under General Banks.
Union General McClellan asks for General McDowell’s troops, claiming that the Confederates outmanned his forces. (He actually had at least a 3 to 1 superiority.)
Minor skirmish at Phillip’s Creek, MS.

1863: A Union force from Baton Rouge, LA encounters Confederate troops at plains Store, LA and drives them off. A second Confederate force arrives and is also driven off. This reestablishes General Grant’s supply lines and continues the Union advance on Port Hudson, LA.

1864: In response to Union General Grant’s flanking maneuver from Spotsylvania, VA, Confederate General Lee begins moving his troops towards the North Anna River.
Confederate General Joe Johnston is firmly entrenched at Allatoona Pass, GA.
Union General Hunter assumes command of the Department of West Virginia from General Sigel.

1865: CSS Shenandoah enters Sea of Okhotsk, Russia in search of Northern whaling ships, unaware that the war is over.

May 22

1861: Union General Butler arrives at Fortress Monroe, VA to take command of Union efforts to seize the Confederate Atlantic coast.

1862: Confederate General Jackson moves his forces toward Front Royal, VA.
Skirmish at New Berne, NC.
Skirmish at Florida, MO.

1863: Union General Grant orders a second attack in the Vicksburg, MS defenses, which also fails. Grant now considers a siege.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle writes about hearing the artillery bombardment from Jackson, MS.

1864: Union forces under General Sherman reach Allatoona Pass, GA. Decides on another flanking maneuver toward Dallas, GA.
Confederate General Ewell’s corps reaches Hanover Junction, VA, ahead of Union General Grant’s troops, who have reached the North Anna River, VA.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that flour is selling for $400 a barrel and cornmeal for $125 a bushel.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that he has started a washing business alongside a Minnesota soldier who is running a barber shop. Services are being traded for food, which is the main currency in Camp Sumter (Andersonville, GA).

1865: US President Johnson lifts trade restrictions on Southern ports with the exception of Galveston, La Salle, Brazos Santiago, and Brownsville, all in Texas.
Former CS President Davis imprisoned in Fortress Monroe, VA.

May 23

1861: Virginia formally joins the Confederacy. The moving of the capital to Richmond was seen as the catalyst for that decision.

1862: Battle of Front Royal, VA. Union commander: General Nathaniel Banks. Confederate commander: General Thomas Jackson. Jackson’s maneuver puts his forces in a position to capture a number of Banks’ forces. Confederate victory.
US President Lincoln meets General McDowell at Fredericksburg, VA.
Skirmish at Ft. Craig, New Mexico Territory.

1863: Union General Banks’ force reaches Port Hudson, LA and begins to dig in.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle departs Jackson, MS for Mobile, AL.

1864: Battle of the North Anna River, VA. Union commander: General Ulysses S. Grant. Confederate commander: General Robert E. Lee. Confederate troops under General A.P. Hill attack Union V Corps positions near Jericho Mills with nothing decided.
Confederate General Lee is taken seriously ill during the battle.
Union General Sherman’s troops crossed the Etowah River en route to Dallas, GA.

1865: In Washington DC, the Grand Review victory parade begins with a mass march of the Army of the Potomac.
Pro-Union government of Virginia established in the state capital of Richmond.

May 24

1861: At Ft Monroe, VA, Union General Benjamin Butler declares all escaped slaves that crossed into Union lines are “contraband of war.” His rationale was reports he had received stating that slaves were being used to construct fortifications for the Confederates.
Alexandria, VA seized by Union forces. During the capture of the town, the commander of the 11th New York Infantry (known as the “Fire Zouaves” because they were comprised if NYC firefighters), Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, spotted a Confederate flag flying from a hotel. Taking two soldiers, he races to the roof and cuts the flag down. On the way down the stairs, Ellsworth is met by the hotel owner, James Jackson, who kills him with a shotgun. Jackson is killed by one of the soldiers. Both men become symbols to both sides.

1862: Union General Banks forces begin moving to Winchester, VA in a panic, leaving behind tons of supplies that the Confederates take advantage of.
US President Lincoln orders Generals Fremont and McDowell to attack Confederate General Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley, VA. (McDowell’s troops will not be sent to General McClellan.)

1863: Union General Hooker prepares for another Confederate assault near Fredericksburg, VA, not knowing that Confederate General Lee is busy planning an invasion of the North.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle reaches Mobile, AL and checks in to the "Battlehouse" Hotel.

1864: Union troops cross the North Anna River at Chesterfield Bridge and Ox Ford, VA.
CSS Albemarle searches for torpedoes (mines) in the Roanoke River, SC.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that peas are selling for $10 a half-peck and strawberries for $10 a quart.

Confederate cavalry under General Fitzhugh Lee (one of Robert E. Lee’s sons) attack the Federal supply depot at Wilson’s Wharf, VA, but is repulsed.
Confederate General Joe Johnston pulls his army out of Allatoona Pass, and heads for New Hope Church, GA.
Confederates under Colonel Colton Green begin attacks on Federal shipping on the Mississippi River.

1865: Union General Sherman’s armies march through Washington DC, ending the Grand Review.

May 25

1861: Union forces seize Hampton, VA.

1862: Union General Banks makes a stand at Winchester, VA, but they are routed and begin to flee to Harpers Ferry, VA. Confederates, noting another capture of Federal supplies, begin to refer to the Union commander as “Commissary” Banks.
Diarist Laura Lee expresses her glee at her town’s liberation.
Two additional Federal armies, under Generals Fremont and McDowell, enter the Shenandoah Valley, VA to pursue Jackson.
US President Lincoln orders General McClellan to either attack Richmond, VA or aid in the defense of Washington, DC.
Union General Halleck finally has his whole army at Corinth, MS, after taking 26 days to march a mere 20 miles.

1863: Clement Vallandingham is handed over to Confederate authorities in Tennessee.

1864: Battle of New Hope Church, GA. Union commander: General William Sherman. Confederate commander: General Joseph Johnston. A Union attack on Confederate positions results in heavy casualties. Both sides entrench and skirmish throughout the next day. Surviving Federals will call the area the “Hell Hole.” This battle will end on May 26 with another Union flanking maneuver.
Union Army of the Potomac receives reinforcements led by General Sheridan.
Union General Grant finds his way blocked by Confederates and considers another flanking move.
US Steamer Lebanon captured by Confederate Colonel Green’s raiders.

1865: A warehouse filled with gunpowder explodes in Mobile, AL, causing 300 casualties and widespread damage.

May 26

1861: US Postmaster General Blair announces that postal service to the Southern states will cease in May 31.
Author Nathaniel Hawthorne writes about the surge in patriotism in the North but wonders what the aim of the war should be.

1862: Confederate General Jackson keeps up the pursuit of Union General Banks, briefly engaging him near Loudoun Heights, VA. Banks manages to escape across the Potomac River.

1863: Union General Banks completes his encirclement of Port Hudson, LA.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle departs Mobile on an overnight train for Montgomery, AL.

1864: Battle of North Anna River ends with another Federal flanking maneuver. Technically this gave the Confederates the victory, since they still hold the field, but they notice that the Federals are flanking deeper into Virginia.
Union General Hunter begins movement in the Shenandoah Valley, VA. The Confederates opposing him are now commanded by General William “Grumble” Jones.
Union General Sherman reaches Dallas, GA.
Montana Territory established.
An African-American newspaper prints an article critical of the Lincoln Administration and its Emancipation Proclamation.

1865: Confederate General Buckner surrenders his army at New Orleans, LA.

May 27

1861: Union General McClellan crosses the Ohio River into Western Virginia to support Colonel Kelly and the 1st VA (US).
The only legal challenge to US President Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus is decided in the President’s favor.

1862: Union forces under General Fitz-John Porter attack Confederates near Hanover Court House, VA, routing them.
Skirmish near Searcy Landing, AR.

1863: Union General Banks launched an attack on Port Hudson, which fails.
CSS Chattahoochee destroyed on the Chattahoochee River, GA.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle passes through Montgomery, AL and continues traveling to West Point, GA and on into Atlanta, where he catches another overnight train for Chattanooga, TN.

1864: There are cavalry skirmishes along the Pamunkey River, VA.
Army of Northern Virginia begins movement to the southeast to counter Union General Grant’s next move.
Union troops under General Howard are repulsed at Pickett’s Mills, near Dallas, GA.

1865: US President Johnson orders the release of most of those held by Union military authorities.

May 28

1861: Union General Irwin McDowell is named Commander of the Department of Northeastern Virginia.

1862: Skirmish at Wardensville, VA.

1863: The 54th Massachusetts, an African-American regiment, departs Boston, MA for Port Royal, SC.
Union Admiral Porter supplies heavy guns to assist in reducing the Confederate fortifications around Vicksburg, MS.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle leaves Chattanooga for Shelbyville, TN. He stops at Wartrace, TN where he meets Confederate Generals Hardee, Polk, and Clement Vallandigham, recently exiled from the north.

1864: Battle of Dallas, GA. Union commander: General Sherman. Confederate commander: General Johnston. Confederate forces under General Hardee attack Union positions but withdraw after heavy fighting. Union victory.
Battle of Enon Church, VA. Union commander: General David Gregg. Confederate commander: General Fitzhugh Lee. Confederate cavalry attack Union cavalry that was covering Grant’s maneuver. Both sides fight to a standstill and begin to attract infantry to the area. Draw.
New York Times prints an article about Union spy Pauline Cushman.

May 29

1861: Dorothea Dix receives authorization to establish military hospitals in the Washington DC area.
Union troops under General Butler occupy Newport News, VA.

1862: There is skirmishing at Seven Pines, VA, near Richmond.
Union forces are massing near Harper’s Ferry, VA to counter Confederate General Jackson. This takes away troops that Union General McClellan needs for operations in the Peninsula.
Union troops occupy Ashland, VA.

1863: Union General Burnside offers to resign in protest over the release of Clement Vallandingham. US President Lincoln refuses to accept it.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle rides to Shelbyville, TN and meets Confederate General Bragg.

1864: Battle of Bethesda Church, VA. Union commander: General Ulysses Grant. Confederate commander: General Robert E. Lee. Union forces begin attacking Confederate positions along the Totopotomoy River. After failing to break through the lines, Grant is forced to move further south in order to outflank Lee. Union forces are now moving toward Cold Harbor, VA. Technically a Confederate victory since they still held the line.
Fighting continues at Dallas, GA. Confederates realize that they are losing valuable troops to casualties.

1865: US President Johnson grants a general amnesty, with few exceptions, to former Confederates.

May 30

1861: Union troops occupy Grafton, Western VA.

1862: Confederate troops under General Beauregard pull out of Corinth, MS, leaving the important crossroads town to Union General Halleck, but leaving a Confederate army in the field.
Confederate General Jackson’s troops skirmish with Union General Shields’ forces at Front Royal, VA.

1863: Confederate General Lee reorganizes the Army of Northern Virginia into three corps. 1st Corps is commanded by General James Longstreet. 2nd Corps is commanded by General A.P. Hill. 3rd Corps is commanded by General Richard Ewell.
Union General Grant prepares for a possible Confederate attack from the east, led by General Joe Johnston.

1864: Battle of Bethesda Church, VA ends in a draw as Union forces drive the Confederate left wing back as their left wing was being driven back. A Union cavalry attack under General Alfred Torbert succeeds in opening a way to Old Cold Harbor.
Confederate General Morgan begins a raid into Kentucky in order to disrupt Union General Sherman’s supply lines.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes about an Ohio man, Charlie Hudson, who was shot for attempting to get fresher water by reaching under the "deadline", the barrier at which Confederate guards were authorized to shoot prisoners.

May 31

1861: Confederate General Beauregard is appointed Commander of the Confederate Army of the Potomac. This is the force that is being gathered to counter any Union first moves to stop the rebellion.
Union troops move form the Indian Nations (modern day Oklahoma) to Ft Leavenworth, KS on a route that will become the Chisholm Trail, which will see massive cattle drives after the war.

1862: Battle of Fair Oaks (or Seven Pines), VA. Union commander: General George McClellan. Confederate commander: General Joseph Johnston. Johnston orders an attack while McClellan’s army was split along the Chickahominy River. Union General Edwin Sumner moves his command, without orders, in order to stop Johnston. During the fighting Johnston is severely wounded and General Robert E. Lee, on an inspection tour for CS President Davis, is placed in command of what will soon become the Army of Northern Virginia.
Confederate General Jackson’s forces use the cover of a heavy rainstorm to march south in the Shenandoah Valley, VA and avoid the trap being set by Union Generals Fremont and McDowell.
Skirmishing at Neosho, MO.

1863: Falling water levels and the high heat makes life difficult for Confederate troops in the trenches at Port Hudson, LA.

1864: Union General Sheridan’s troops seize the crossroads at Old Cold Harbor, VA.
A split in the Republican Party is evident as radicals push General john Fremont for President.
Union General Sherman’s push toward Atlanta, GA has been slowed to a mile a day despite outnumbering the Confederate defenders.

Birthdays:

Abolitionist John Brown, who led the raid on the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, VA (now WV), 1800
US Secretary of State William Seward, 1801
Union General George Greene, 1801
Confederate General Isaac Trimble, 1802
Confederate General “Prince” John Magruder, 1807
Union General Solomon Meredith, 1810
New York Governor Horatio Seymour, 1810
Union General John McClernand, 1812
Confederate General Felix Zollicoffer, 1812
US Postmaster General Montgomery Blair, 1813
Wilmer McLean, whose dwellings saw both the beginning and the end of the Civil War, 1814
Union Quartermaster General Montgomery Meigs, 1816
Confederate General Henry Sibley, 1816
Massachusetts Governor John Andrew, 1818
Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, 1818
Union General Thomas Crittenden, 1819
Julia Ward Howe, author of “Battle Hymn of the Republic”, 1819
James Eads, designer of a class of Union ironclad gunboats, 1820
Union General Ambrose Burnside, 1824
Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, 1824
Union General David Birney, 1825
Confederate General Cadmus Wilcox, 1825
Confederate First Lady Varina Davis, 1826
Union General Alfred Duffie, 1833
Confederate General Edward Porter Alexander, noted artillerist, 1835
Confederate General Stephen Ramseur, 1837
John Wilkes Booth, assassin of US President Lincoln, 1838
Confederate spy Maria "Belle" Boyd, 1844

June 1

1861: Confederate cavalry defeat a Federal force near Fairfax Court House, VA.

1862: Confederate General Lee assumes command of the Richmond, VA defenses.
Confederate troops renew the assault on Union lines at Fair Oaks, VA bur are repulsed with heavy losses.
Ohio Representative Samuel Sullivan Cox gives a speech on the House floor in opposition to any emancipation measures.

1863: There is an impasse between the CSA and the United Kingdom over the ironclad vessels which were supposed to be completed on this date. UK government is considering seizing the vessels.

1864: Union cavalry seize Altoona Pass, GA, opening a supply line all the way to Chattanooga, TN.
Union General Samuel Sturgis leads forces from Memphis, TN in pursuit of Confederate General Forrest.
Union General Sheridan’s forces at Old Cold Harbor, VA repulse a Confederate attempt to retake the crossroads.
Edmonia G. Highgate, an African-American teacher, begins teaching freed slaves around Norfolk, VA.

June 2

1861: 3000 Union troops under General McClellan move toward Philippi, VA.

1862: Confederate General Jackson’s troops clash with Union General McDowell’s forces near Strasburg, VA as the Confederates continue their retreat.

1863: Confederate Army of Northern Virginia receives orders to begin marching north.

1864: The two opposing armies in Virginia have entrenched themselves from Bethesda Church to the Chickahominy River, about seven miles.
Union General Sherman begins shifting his advance to the northeast of Atlanta, GA.

1865: Confederate General Kirby Smith surrenders all troops west of the Mississippi River. Some troops refuse to surrender and head for Mexico.
UK Government withdraws belligerent rights from the CSA.

June 3

1861: USS Joseph is captured by CSS Savannah, but in turned is captured by USS Perry.
Union troops in Western Virginia surprise Confederate troops near Philippi, VA. The resulting pursuit became known as the “Philippi Races.”
Stephen Douglas, the Northern Democrat candidate in the 1860 Presidential Election, and US President Lincoln’s opponent in a famous series of debates, dies.

1862: Skirmishing at Legare’s Point, near Charleston, SC.
Union forces at Corinth, MS begin to advance on Memphis, TN.

1863: Union General Burnside orders the Chicago Times newspaper shut down for its Democratic stance.
Confederate troops, numbering 70,000, depart Fredericksburg, VA and begin moving north. The movement is observed by Union balloon observers but General Hooker is unsure what this means.

1864: Battle of Cold Harbor, VA. Union commander: General Ulysses Grant. Confederate commander: General Robert E. Lee. A dawn attack on Confederate entrenchments results in the bloodiest hour of the war, with 7000 dead and injured within 60 minutes. Grant will later consider this one of two charges he would regret. There will be skirmishing and artillery engagements until June 12.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes about seeing African-American soldiers of the 54th MA arriving at Camp Sumter (Andersonville, GA).

1865: Confederate forces on the Red River, LA surrender.

June 4

1861: The action at Philippi, VA has instilled an over confidence in the Union forces in the belief that Confederate troops have no stomach for a fight.

1862: Confederates evacuate Ft Pillow, TN, opening the way for Union forces to reach Memphis, TN.
Union Army of the Potomac begins movement toward Richmond.
Confederate General Jackson’s forces continue to withdraw in the Shenandoah Valley, VA.
Skirmishes at Jasper, TN and Blackland, MS.

1863: US President Lincoln orders the Chicago Times reopened, countermanding Union General Burnside’s closure order of June 1.
Joint US Army/Navy operation destroys a foundry at Walterton, VA where cannon shells were being cast.
Confederate Generals Longstreet’s and Ewell’s corps advances north as General Hill’s corps remain at Fredericksburg, VA. General Stuart’s cavalry mass around Brandy Station, VA.
Situation is bleak for the Vicksburg, MS defenders as Confederate General Pendleton orders provisions seized and rationing is imposed.
Nadine Turchin, wife of 19th IL Colonel John Turchin, writes a letter decrying the role of women in 19th Century America. (John Turchin was actually Ivan Turchinoff, a Russian immigrant. His wife’s name was Nadia. She actually led a charge at one time.)

1864: There is a truce at Cold Harbor, VA so that the dead of both armies can be buried.
Confederate General Joe Johnston withdraws to a line covering three mountains in Georgia, Lost, Pine, and Brush, all north of Atlanta.
Federal forces pursue Confederate Generals Morgan and Forrest throughout Tennessee and Kentucky.

June 5

1861: A shipment of munitions that was slated to go south was seized at the DuPont works in Delaware.

1862: Union troops enter Ft Pillow, TN, finding the place deserted.
Small engagement at Tranter’s Creek, NC.

1863: Confederate General Lee is concentrating his army near Culpepper, VA while General Stuart holds a Grand Review of his cavalry at Brandy Station, VA.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle leaves Shelbyville, TN for Atlanta, GA.

1864: Union General Sherman’s forces leave Dallas, GA and head for Altoona Pass.
Battle of Piedmont, VA. Union commander: General David Hunter. Confederate commander: General William Jones. Union forces attack Confederates north of Piedmont, turning a flank and killing Jones in the process. Confederates flee from the area. Union victory.
Confederate General Breckenridge is ordered to rejoin the Army of Northern Virginia. This leaves a small force in the Shenandoah Valley to counter any Union thrusts.

June 6

1861: It was decided that the Federal Government would fund war expenditures as the states’ fulfill their quota of volunteers.

1862: Battle of Memphis, TN. Union commander: Commodore Charles Davis. Confederate commander: Captain James Montgomery. In a full scale river battle between ships, Union naval forces destroy a Confederate flotilla tasked with protecting Memphis. By mid-day the city surrenders to Union forces, opening the Mississippi River as far as Vicksburg, MS.
In a minor skirmish near Harrisonburg, VA, Confederate Colonel Turner Ashby, General Jackson’s cavalry commander is killed.

1863: Union Colonel Herman Lieb encounters Confederates near Richmond, LA. After beating them away, the Union African Brigade heads for Millikens Bend, LA
There is contention between Union General Hooker and US President Lincoln over what to do as Confederate General Lee’s army moves north. Hooker wants to invade Virginia and hit Richmond while Lincoln wants Washington, DC protected.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle travels from Atlanta to Augusta, GA.

1864: Union troops seize Lake Village, AR.
Union troops seize Staunton, VA.
Skirmishing at Raccoon and Big Shanty (Kennesaw), GA as Union General Sherman continues to shift his army around the Confederates.

June 7

1861: Union General McClellan’s victories in Western Virginia give hope to the anti-secession faction there.

1862: In New Orleans, LA, Union garrison commander General Butler orders William Munford hanged for cutting down a US flag from the Mint building.
Federal advance units are within sight of Richmond, VA.

1863: Confederate forces under General Henry McCulloch attack Union Colonel Lieb’s troops at Millikens Bend, LA. Confederates are almost victorious when two Union gunboats arrive, who’s fire help drive the Confederates off.
CS President Davis’ plantation, Brierfield, in Mississippi is burned by Union troops.
Mary Ann Loughborough, a Vicksburg, MS resident, writes about conditions in the city, including the constant shelling that forced most of the residents into caves.
After touring the Powder Works, Lt Col Arthur Freemantle leaves Augusta, GA for Charleston, SC.

1864: Union troops from Lake Village, AR, join Union river units at Columbia, AR.
National Union Convention meets in Baltimore, MD to choose their nominee for President. This group consists of Republicans and Democrats who support the war effort.
Union General Sheridan is sent to the Shenandoah Valley, VA to assist General Hunter.
Skirmish at Ripley, MS.

June 8

1861: All Virginia State forces are transferred to the Confederate government. Its commander, Robert E. Lee, becomes an advisor to CS President Davis.
US Sanitary Commission set up in Washington, DC. This group would render great assistance to the troops and is an ancestor to today’s support and morale agencies for the military.
Tennessee voters approve secession.

1862: Battle of Cross Keys, VA. Union commanders: Generals John Fremont, John Shields, and Irwin McDowell. Confederate commander: General Thomas Jackson. Union forces launch a two-pronged (Fremont and Shields) attack that was uncoordinated. What didn’t help was McDowell basically stayed out of the fight. Fremont’s troops attack Confederate General Ewell’s forces, but are partially repulsed. Confederate victory.

1863: Confederate General Stuart holds another cavalry review, this time for General Lee.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle arrives at Charleston, SC but fails to meet Confederate General Beauregard.

1864: Confederate Partisan John Hunt Morgan capturing the Union garrison at Mount Sterling, KY. He steals $18,000 in the process.
US President Lincoln receives the Union Party nomination for the 1864 Presidential Election. Chooses Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, a Democrat, as his running mate.
Confederate General Imboden’s troops are pushed back, by Union General Hunter’s forces, to Waynesboro, VA.
Imperial (French) troops enter Mexico City with Emperor Maximillian as Mexican President Benito Juarez vows to fight the takeover.

1865: Union VI Corps has its own review at Washington, DC.

June 9

1861: Union troops under General Butler begin movement toward a Confederate outpost at Little Bethel Church, VA.

1862: Battle of Port Republic, VA. Union commander: General John Fremont. Confederate commander: General Thomas Jackson. Having dealt with Shields, Jackson turns his attention to Fremont’s column. He pulls General Ewell’s forces back, and then launches a massive attack that breaks the Union line and forces them out of the Shenandoah Valley. The Shenandoah Valley Campaign is effectively over at this point with a victory for the Confederates.

1863: Battle of Brandy Station. Union commander: General Alfred Pleasonton. Confederate commander: General J.E.B. Stuart. Pleasanton launched a surprise while Stuart was holding a review. The fight lasts all day in what would become the largest cavalry battle of the war. Pleasonton withdraws from the battle, giving Stuart the victory but also embarrassed that he was surprised. At this point, Federal cavalry begin to gain in efficiency.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle tours Charleston, SC, viewing the forts there.

1864: Union General Sherman finds Confederate General Johnston entrenched near Marietta, GA. Performs a series of maneuvers that forces the Confederates to withdraw.
Union General Butler attacks Petersburg, VA but is repulsed.

June 10

1861: USS Merrimack, recovered at Gosport Navy Yard, VA is rechristened CSS Virginia.
The first serious battle of the Civil War takes place at Big Bethel, VA with a repulse of Union troops.

1862: At this point in time, the Federal Army of the Potomac is within four miles of Richmond, VA but is split into two groups. Confederate General Lee plans to take advantage of this by weakening the Richmond defenses and go on the offensive.
Skirmish at James Island, SC.

1863: Confederate Army of Virginia’s II Corps (General Ewell) begins it advance up the Shenandoah Valley, VA.
Union ship Maple Leaf was forced ashore at Cape Henry, VA by Confederate prisoners who then escaped.

1864: Battle of Brice’s Cross Roads, TN. Union commander: General Samuel Sturgis. Confederate commander: General Nathan Forrest. A Confederate force of 2000 forces back a Union force of 8000. Confederate victory.
Confederate Government authorizes military service for 15 to 50 year old males.

1865: CSS Shenandoah, its crew unaware that the war is over, attacks US whaling ships off Japan.

June 11

1861: Pro-Unionists meeting in Wheeling, VA to discuss seceding from seceded Virginia.
Skirmish at Romney, VA.
There is a meeting between Union General Lyon, commander of the US Army Department of the West, Missouri Governor Claiborne Jackson, and Missouri Militia commander General Sterling Price. Both Jackson and Price are pro-Confederate and they demand that the state be declared neutral and for US troops to leave the state. Lyon, armed with the intelligence that Jackson and Price have raised an army in order to take over Missouri and turn it over to the Confederacy, refuses. Meanwhile, troops from Texas under Ben McCulloch have crossed into Missouri and are headed to Springfield.
Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, writes a letter about meeting her son, who had joined a Massachusetts regiment.

1862: Minor action at Monterey, KY.
Atlanta newspaper prints an article about large families sending all of their able-body sons into the CS Army.

1863: Despite his exile, Clement Vallandingham is nominated for Ohio governor on the Peace Democrat ticket.
The arrival of two 10-inch Columbiad cannon at the Vicksburg, MS, adds to the daily bombardment.
US President Lincoln signs the Draft Act into law.

1864: At Cynthiana, KY, Confederate forces under General John Hunt Morgan capture the Union garrison and the reinforcements sent to help them.
CSS Alabama puts in to port at Cherbourg, France. Word of this reaches Union Captain John Winslow, commanding USS Kearsarge, presently in Dover, England.
Union forces capture Lexington, KY.
Battle of Trevilian Station, VA. Union commander: General Philip Sheridan. Confederate commanders: Generals Wade Hampton and Fitzhugh Lee. Union cavalry forces a wedge between the two Confederate cavalry formations, driving both back. Battle will conclude on June 12. During the battle, Sheridan learns that General Hunter, who he was supposed to meet, is not where he was expected, but is at Alexandria, VA burning down the Virginia Military Institute.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that new potatoes are selling for $160 a bushel.

June 12

1861: Missouri Governor Jackson calls for 50,000 volunteers to fight the Union “invasion.” Union forces under General Sigel move toward Springfield, MO to block Confederate troops under General McCulloch.

1862: Confederate General Jackson’s army crosses the South Fork of the Shenandoah River, VA, so they can rest before joining the Army of Northern Virginia. There is no threat to Richmond, VA from the north for the time being, so the focus can be placed on Union General McClellan and the Army of the Potomac.
Confederate General Stuart takes a cavalry force on a four-day mission that will encircle the Union Army of the Potomac.
Skirmish at Village Creek, AR.

1863: Union General Hooker receives intelligence that Confederate troops are on the move.
Rumors of a Confederate invasion cause panic in Pennsylvania as Governor Curtin calls out the state militia, who do not respond very well. A request to New York for help results in 26 militia regiments being loaned to Pennsylvania.
Confederate General Ewell’s corps has moved through Chester Gap, VA undetected by Union cavalry.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle finally meets Confederate General Beauregard. That evening he heard an artillery exchange.

1864: Additional Union reinforcements attack Confederate General Morgan’s forces at Cynthiana, KY capturing or killing most of them. Morgan escapes.
Union General Grant orders his troops to move toward Petersburg, VA while leaving one corps in place at Cold Harbor, VA to deceive Lee.
Battle of Trevilian Station ends with Union General Sheridan pulling back. Technically a Confederate victory.

June 13

1861: Union General Lyon takes 1500 men and head for Jefferson City, MO. Upon hearing of this, the pro-Confederate state government flees with local troops.

1862: Skirmish at James Island, SC.

1863: Confederate General Ewell attacks the Federal Garrison at Winchester, VA
American Missionary Association is one of several philanthropic organizations devoted to educating freed slaves.

1864: Union forces under General Sturgis reenter Tennessee after defeat at Battle of Brice’s Cross Roads.
USS Kearsarge leaves Dover, England for Cherbourg, France to face CSS Alabama.
Confederate General Lee pulls back toward Richmond, VA fearing a direct Union attack.
Union II Corps (General Hancock) reaches the James River at Wilcox Landing, VA.
Confederate General Leonidas Polk killed by a cannon ball near Marietta, GA

June 14

1861: Confederates abandon Harper’s Ferry, VA in the face of two Union forces.

1862: Confederate General Stuart’s troopers attack Union supply points and a train, creating confusion throughout the Union operation area.

1863: Union General Banks fails in another attack on Port Hudson, LA and is forced to keep up a siege.
Confederate General Ewell’s forces capture West Fort at Winchester, VA, surrounding the town and forcing Union troops under General Robert Milroy to withdraw in the night.
Confederate General Longstreet’s crosses the Potomac River at Sharpsburg, MD. General Lee is with him.

1864: Union transports in position to ferry II Corps across the James River, VA.
USS Kearsarge arrives off Cherbourg, France.

June 15

1861: Confederate forces are gathering strength in western Missouri.
At Los Angeles, CA a dinner party is given foe a small group of officers who have resigned their commissions and plan on joining the CS Army. The hosts are Captain and Mrs. Winfield S. Hancock (Captain Hancock will be a Union corps commander). The guests include Colonel Albert Johnston (who will die at Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing, TN)), Major Lewis Armistead, and Captain Richard Garnett (who will both lead brigades against Hancock at Gettysburg, PA and die in the process).

1862: Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart receives a hero’s welcome in Richmond, VA for his ride which encircled the area where Union General McClellan’s army is positioned. The tally of the raid was 165 prisoners and 300 horses. This boosts Southern morale but also serves to alert McClellan to his army’s weaknesses. Confederate General Lee orders Jackson to join his troops, while he sends 10,000 toward the Shenandoah Valley in order to trick the Federals into thinking that Jackson is being reinforced.

1863: CSS Atlanta sets out from Wilmington, NC.
Confederate General Ewell has his troops make a flanking maneuver that results in capturing 2400 Union troops at Winchester, VA.
Union troops attack the Vicksburg, MS defenses with no results.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle departs Charleston, SC and is delayed at Florence, SC.

1864: Arlington House, Confederate General Lee’s home in Alexandria, VA, is designated a military cemetery. This is now known as Arlington National Cemetery.
Union troops cross the James River on pontoon bridges at Weyanoke, VA.
Battle of Petersburg, VA. Union commander: General W.F. Smith. Confederate commander: General Pierre Beauregard. Union forces at the head of General Grant’s advance reach Petersburg, only to find Confederates forces waiting for them. The first attack drives the Confederates from their trenches, forcing them to maintain a defensive action while General Lee rushes the rest of his army to the city.
US House of Representatives votes in favor of a resolution abolishing slavery but fails to reach the 2/3 majority required.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that his own condition is deteriorating, suffering from scurvy. Also reports that lice are a serious problem. Daily life at Camp Sumter (Andersonville, GA) now consists of dealing with lice, bad water, poor rations, a soaring death rate, oppressive summer weather, and Raiders plundering the camp daily.

June 16

1861: Union General Lyon decides to attack Confederate forces in Missouri before they can concentrate.

1862: Union General Henry Benham launched an attack on Confederate positions at Secessionville, SC against orders and is repulsed with heavy losses.

1863: The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia continues its northward movement toward Pennsylvania.
Union General Grant’s strength has reached 77,000 which is over double the 30,000 Confederates holding Vicksburg, MS.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle arrives in Wilmington, NC and spends the day in the only active port in the Confederacy.

1864: 14,000 Confederate troops are massed to defend Petersburg, VA but the Army of the Potomac, minus VI Corps (General Wright), has arrived. Confederate General Lee still believes that the main Union thrust will be north of the James River, even though Union forces are south of the river.
Union forces briefly take Bermuda Hundred, VA but lose it to Confederates under General Pickett that evening.

June 17

1861: Thaddeus Lowe demonstrates his balloon as an observation and artillery fire direction platform.
Confederate cavalry come to within sight of Washington DC. On the way back, that same troop will ambush a Federal train at Vienna, VA.
Union General Lyon advances on Boonville, MO and draws the Confederates into the range of his own artillery. This forces the Confederates to withdraw with some losses.

1862: Confederate General Beauregard takes sick leave, replaced by General Braxton Bragg.
A Union assault on Confederate positions at St Charles, AR, results in Federal control of the White River. During this battle, the highest naval combat losses in the war occurred when the USS Mound City suffered a boiler explosion, killing over 100.
Union General John Pope assumes command of the newly created Army of Virginia, composed of Union armies that fought in the Shenandoah Valley.
Confederate General Jackson begins moving his army south to join General Lee’s army, ending the Shenandoah Valley Campaign.
Skirmishes at Smithville, AR, and Warrensburg, MO.
Confederate General Order 17 issued. This regulated “independent” commands.

1863: CSS Atlanta attacks two Union warships at Wassaw Sound, GA, but runs aground and eventually surrenders. (This vessel will be renamed USS Atlanta.)
Union cavalry under General Judson Kilpatrick attack Confederate cavalry under Colonel Thomas Munford at Aldie, VA. Confederates are forced back. Colonel Munford then regroups and attacks Union cavalry under Colonel Alfred Duffie, routing them.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle arrives in Petersburg, VA and catches another train, arriving in Richmond, VA later that morning. He meets CS Secretary of State Benjamin and CS President Davis.

1864: Union General Hunter’s forces reach Lynchburg, VA, only to be blocked by Confederate forces under General Ewell.
Confederate General Beauregard launches an attack on Union forces at Petersburg, VA and discovers that the main Union force is in front of him. That information is passed on to General Lee, who orders the corps of Generals A.P. Hill and R. H. Anderson to reinforce Beauregard.

June 18

1861: Engagement between Union and Confederate forces at Camp Cole, MO.

1862: US President Lincoln writes General McClellan, urging him to attack. McClellan believes he is outnumbered but in truth the Union forces outnumber Confederate forces.
Skirmishing on the Williamsburg Road, VA.

1863: Union General Grant relieves General McClernand after a message is published questioning the bravery of some units.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle meets with CS Secretary of War Seddon and is given letters and a pass to go to Confederate General Lee's army, at this time heading north towards Pennsylvania.

1864: Battle of Petersburg ends in a stalemate. Union General Grant now falls on the same tactics that brought him victory at Vicksburg. The Siege of Petersburg has begun.
Confederate General Joe Johnston moves into prepared positions around Kennesaw Mountain, GA.
Union General Hunter is forced to pull his troops back into West Virginia, leaving the Shenandoah Valley in Confederate hands.

June 19

1861: Francis H. Pierpont named provisional governor over the breakaway northwestern counties of Virginia.

1862: US President Lincoln begins to focus the end of slavery as the main war aim as he announces his intention to outlaw slavery in all states currently in rebellion.

1863: Confederate General Stuart’s cavalry are forced back at Middleburg, VA by Union cavalry under General Gregg. Continues to cover Blue Ridge mountain passes.
Confederate Army of Northern Virginia still advances northward as the Union Army of the Potomac waits to see which way Lee will go.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle tours Confederate vessels at Drewry's Bluff, VA.

1864: Battle of Cherbourg, France. Union commander: Captain John Winslow aboard USS Kearsarge. Confederate commander: Captain Raphael Semmes aboard CSS Alabama. Kearsarge is posted outside French territorial waters, effectively trapping the Alabama in port. Semmes decides to go out and force an engagement. The two ships meet in international waters and circle each other for over an hour, exchanging broadsides. Because of old ammunition aboard the Alabama and defensive chains hanging on the sides of the Kearsarge, it was a matter of time before the Alabama was finally holed and sunk. Semmes and 13 others escape with the help of an English nobleman. Union victory.
Mary Walker, a Union surgeon, receives press backing for her fight for official status while also being critized for wearing trousers, even though they are under her skirts.

June 20

1861: Efforts are underway to concentrate Confederate forces in the south of Missouri.

1862: Union General Williams heads out of Baton Rouge, LA and is headed for Vicksburg, MS.

1863: West Virginia is admitted into the union as a state.
Battle of Lafourche Crossing, LA. Union commander: Colonel Albert Stickney. Confederate commander: Colonel James Major. An attempt to dislodge Union forces from Port Hudson by causing havoc in the Union rear results in an engagement late in the afternoon on the 20th. Two attacks one on the 20th and another on the 21st are both driven back. Union victory.
Baltimore citizens begin to construct field fortifications around the city in case the invading Confederates head their way.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle departs Richmond for Culpepper, VA.

1864: Union General Sherman extends his lines in order to sever Confederate supply lines near Kennesaw Mountain, GA.
Entrenching continues at Petersburg, VA.
Union forces bombard Ft Sumter, SC.

June 21

1861: Union forces under General Sturgis are stopped at the Osage River, MO as retreating Confederates burn the bridge across the swollen river.

1862: Skirmish at Battle Creek, TN.

1863: The first units of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia are across the Potomac River and into Maryland.
Union cavalry attacks Confederate troopers at Middleburg and Upperville, VA driving back Confederate General Stuart, but to stronger positions as Ashby’s Gap.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle crosses into the Shenandoah Valley, VA.

1864: Union troops attempt to cut the Weldon Railroad, south of Petersburg, VA.
US President Lincoln visits the newly formed lines at Petersburg, VA.
Union General Birney replaces General Hancock as commander of II Corps.

June 22

1861: Missouri governor Jackson flees Boonville and heads south to join other Confederate forces.

1862: US president Lincoln meets with now retired General Winfield Scott for advice on running the war.
Skirmish at Algiers, LA.
Fannie Christian, a Virginia resident, writes CS Secretary of War Randolph asking that her husband be discharged from the army. It was refused and her husband will be killed the following year.

1863: Confederate cavalry has blocked Ashby’s and Snicker’s Gaps in Virginia. This shields General Lee’s forces from Union observation.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle reaches Berryville, VA where he meets members of Confederate General Lee's staff. He also meets Prussian Captain Scheibert, one on the foreign observers attached to the Army of Northern Virginia.

1864: Confederate General John Hood, on General Johnston’s right flank, attacks Union troops near Kennesaw Mountain, GA, but is driven back with heavy casualties.
Union General Sheridan captures 900 Confederate supply wagons.
Union cavalry under Generals James Wilson and August Kautz sever the South Side Railroad, also south of Petersburg.
Confederate troops under General A.P. Hill force back Union troops to the Jerusalem Plank Road, but this extends the Union siege line to the west.

1865: CSS Shenandoah, its crew still not knowing that the war is over, attacks a US whaling fleet in the Bering Strait. Newspapers found on one vessel tells of General Lee’s surrender, but also of CS President Davis’ intention to fight on. It is decided to seek the rest of the whaling fleet.

June 23

1861: Confederate Army of the Potomac, under General Beauregard, is deployed at Manassas Junction, VA while the Army of the Shenandoah, under General Joe Johnston, is deployed to the Shenandoah Valley, VA.

1862: Skirmish at Raytown, MO.

1863: Union General Rosecrans forces feints toward Confederate General Bragg’s left flank at Shelbyville, TN.
Confederate General Stuart receives orders to sever Union lines of communication. How it is done and in what direction is left to Stuart’s discretion. This action will cut off communication between Stuart and Lee until July 1.

1864: Union cavalry destroy 30 miles of railroad near Burke Station, VA.
Union cavalry under General Kautz skirmish with Confederates near Burkeville, VA while more Union cavalry under General Wilson cuts the Richmond and Danville Railroad.
Confederate General Hampton tries to recapture the wagons that Union General Sheridan had captured, but fails.

1865: US President Johnson orders the naval blockade of Southern ports lifted.

June 24

1861: The world’s first machine gun was demonstrated in front of US President Lincoln. Its cost and the views of senior military leaders ensure that few are produced and fewer are deployed.
Union gunboats shell Virginia artillery batteries at Mathias Point, VA.

1862: Union General McClellan receives intelligence from a Confederate deserter that General Jackson is coming to join General Lee.
Union General Williams reaches Vicksburg, MS but does not have enough troops to take the city.
Engagement at Mechanicsville, VA.

1863: Battle of Hoover’s Gap, TN. Union commander: General George Thomas. Confederate commander: General Braxton Bragg. The Union feint of the previous day masks the main attack on Bragg’s right flank. The advance continues until Confederate troops under General Alexander Stewart stops the movement. Fighting will continue until the 26th when Bragg is forced to withdraw. Union victory.
Confederate General Stuart leaves the main army with three brigades, leaving two to help screen the Confederate movement north.
Union cavalry units arrive at Shelbyville, TN. They build fires in order to convince the Confederates that the infantry has arrived.

1864: Maryland votes to abolish slavery.
Union General Sheridan is forced back at St Mary’s Church, VA.
Three Union steamers are attacked on the White River, AR. USS Queen City destroyed.

June 25

1861: Union General Patterson’s forces advance toward Winchester, VA. Most of this army is made up of three-month enlistees who are about to leave when their enlistments expire, no matter where they are at.

1862: Union General McClellan sends a corps under General Heintzelman to determine Confederate General Lee’s intentions. This force runs into Confederate troops under General Ben Huger, who stops the probe. Lee decides to go ahead and launch his planned attack. The Seven Days Battles has begun.

1863: Confederate General Stuart runs into the Union II Corps as they are marching toward Frederick, MD. It is determined that the Army of the Potomac is on the move. A message is sent to General Lee but it never arrives.
Union General Hooker is battling General Halleck and Secretary of War Stanton over reinforcements.
Confederate General Bragg’s troops remain in place at Shelbyville, TN as the Federal ruse seems to have worked.

1864: Confederate cavalry under General William H.F. Lee prevent Union cavalry from destroying the Staunton River Bridge.
A tunnel is started from the Union trenches surrounding Petersburg, VA. This tunnel will eventually be dug under the Confederate lines, filled with explosives, and detonated. The tunnel is being dug by the men of the 48th Pennsylvania, who are mostly coal miners.

June 26

1861: Skirmish at Patterson Creek (Kelley’s Island), VA.

1862: Union Admiral Farragut’s gunboats shell Vicksburg, MS.
Battle of Mechanicsville, VA. Union commander: General George McClellan. Confederate commander: General Robert E. Lee. Lee moves Longstreet’s and A.P. Hill’s troops overnight to position them to attack McClellan. Lee wants to wait until Jackson’s troops arrive, but Hill grows impatient and orders an attack. Union forces are forced into additional prepared positions while Longstreet’s troops join in the attack. The defensive line, commanded by Union General Fitz-John Porter, withstand the Confederate attack. Union victory, but McClellan orders Porter to withdraw. Lee decides to continue the advance.

1863: Confederate General Jubal Early’s division marched through Gettysburg, PA on the way to York, PA.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that the price of flour has fallen to $300 a barrel.

1864: Union General Sheridan reaches Union lines with the captured wagons.
Confederate General Early’s troops reach Staunton, VA enroute to stage a raid in the Washington, DC area in order for Union troops to be recalled from Petersburg, VA.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about conditions at Andersonville Prison, GA getting worse. Several hundred die a day and the dying are robbed. Rations are still cornmeal and bad bacon a day.
Union Sergeant John Ransom, either yards away or across the camp from Sneeden, figures about 100 a day are dying. He is using a cane to get around.

June 27

1861: Army and Navy costal survey experts meet in Washington, DC in order to examine problems that might be encountered during costal operations.
Federals attack Mathias Point, VA but are repulsed.

1862: Battle of Gains Mill, VA. . Union commander: General George McClellan. Confederate commander: General Robert E. Lee. Union forces are in improved positions Lee orders an attack, but is repulsed. Jackson arrives late in the day while Longstreet prepares another attack. The Union line is breached but it is too late in the day to exploit it, allowing McClellan to withdraw. Confederate victory.
Union Admiral Farragut rums his vessels past the batteries at Vicksburg, MS.
Confederate General Bragg is named as commander of the Army of the Mississippi, replacing General Beauregard.
Skirmishes at Village Creek and Waddell’s Farm, AR as well as along the Armite River, LA.

1863: Union General Hooker resigns as commander of the Army of the Potomac over General Halleck’s and Secretary Stanton’s refusal to allow troops from the Harper’s Ferry garrison. This resignation was made in anger but it was calmly accepted. General George Meade, V Corps commander, is made the new army commander (he will hold this post for the remainder of the war).
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle arrives at Confederate General Longstreet's headquarters, 10 miles inside Pennsylvania. That evening he is in Chambersburg, PA.

1864: Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, GA. Union commander: General William Sherman. Confederate commander: General Joseph Johnston. Sherman launched an attack in the belief that Johnston’s line is spread thin. Union attack is repulsed with heavy causalities. Confederate victory.

June 28

1861: New York Tribune published an article under the headline “On to Richmond” which becomes a battle cry in Washington, DC. This places pressure on the US Military to end the rebellion before the Confederates are strong enough.

1862: Union General McClellan orders a withdrawal to Harrison’s Landing on the James River. Much of the supplies at White House Landing is destroyed in order to keep it from Confederate hands.

1863: Union General Thomas moves toward Hillsboro, TN, after Confederate General Bragg’s right flank, but Bragg is headed to Tullahoma, TN. Thomas also sends General Wilder’s brigade to cut the rail lines in Bragg’s rear.
Confederate forces attack Fort Butler at Donaldsonville, LA. but are repulsed by supporting Union gunboats.
A scout named Harrison reaches Confederate General Longstreet’s headquarters with news that the Union army is on the move, following the Confederates. Among the information is the news of the change of command of the Army of the Potomac. This information is passed on to General Lee, who is dismayed that this information is not coming from General Stuart.
Lee starts to concentrate his army in Chambersburg, PA, west of Gettysburg.
Union General Meade formally assumes command of the Army of the Potomac.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle meets another foreign observer, an officer of the Austrian Army named Ross.

1864: Union cavalry reach Stony Creek Depot on the Weldon Railroad where they are attacked by Confederate cavalry under Generals William Lee and Hampton. Union forces escape during the night.
Confederate General Early’s leave Staunton, VA without needed supplies. They begin move toward Harper’s Ferry WV.
Confederate General Joe Johnston plans another defensive line, this time at the Chattahoochee River, GA.

June 29

1861: Confederate Naval Captain George Hollings seizes the steamer St Nicholas and proceeds to capture three other Union vessels.
Union General McDowell outlines his plan to seize Manassas Junction, VA.

1862: Battle of Savage Station, VA. . Union commander: General George McClellan. Confederate commander: General Robert E. Lee. After some uncertainty, Lee figures out where McClellan is heading and decides to follow. Lee sends a force under General Magruder to keep the Union forces occupied while Jackson attacks the flank. Jackson did not arrive and Magruder is repulsed. Union victory, however the retreat continues.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes, "Our lines stood as firm as a rock, 5,000 were simultaneously pointed and discharged with a terrific crash! To this the enemy replied by double the numbers, when all in front was hid by smoke."

1863: Confederates from Arkansas, commanded by Colonel William Parsons, reach Lane Providence, LA and force the surrender of the Union garrison.
Meade plans to form a defensive line at Pipe Creek, MD, but upon hearing of Lee’s movements, begins to move his forces towards the PA line.
Union cavalry under General John Buford conducting scouting mission in the Gettysburg area.

1864: Union cavalry under Generals Wilson and Kautz reach Reams Station expecting to find it Union held. Instead they face Confederate infantry, who surrounds them. After abandoning their wagons, both Union cavalry units escape. Kurtz reaches Union lines after dark. Wilson goes southeast.

June 30

1861: CSS Sumter, under the command of Commander Raphael Semmes, breaches the Union blockade at the mouth of the Mississippi River and escapes into the Gulf of Mexico.

1862: Battle of Glendale, VA. . Union commander: General George McClellan. Confederate commander: General Robert E. Lee. Lee is trying to give McClellan a knock out blow but his commanders are delayed by various factors. When the attack finally begins, Longstreet and A.P. Hill are repulsed and Jackson falls asleep and does not order his troops in. Union victory, but McClellan orders his army to Malvern Hill, VA.

1863: Confederate General Stuart attempts to engage Union cavalry at Hannover, PA but is not only repulsed but is almost captured. He moves to the northeast, further from Lee’s army.
US Marines under General Alfred Ellet engage Confederate troops under Colonel Parsons at Goodrich’s Landing, LA forcing the Confederates back.
Union cavalry spots Confederate troops on the Cashtown Road, west of Gettysburg, PA. Decides that the main attack will come down the next day and sends a message to the nearest infantry, the Union I Corps under General John Reynolds.
US President Lincoln resists pressure to put General McClellan back in charge of the Army of the Potomac.
Confederate General Bragg’s forces are pulled back in order to defend Chattanooga, TN.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle meets Confederate General Lee.

1864: Confederate General Jubal Early opens the Second Shenandoah Valley Campaign by moving his forces to New Market, VA. This move threatens both Winchester, VA and Washington, DC.
The Fugitive Slave Act, passed in 1850 and empowering owners to catch runaways is repealed.
Union Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase resigns.

Birthdays:

Union General Sylvanus Thayer, 1785
Union General Winfield Scott, 1786
Confederate General Gabriel Rains, head of the CS Torpedo Bureau, 1803
Union Major Robert Anderson, commander at Ft Sumter, SC, 1805
Union Admiral Andrew Foote, 1806
Confederate General Gideon Pillow, 1806
1st and only President of the Confederate States Jefferson Davis, 1808
Harriett Beecher Stowe, author of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, 1811
Union Admiral David Dixon Porter, 1813
Union General Philip Kearney, 1815
Union General Regis De Trobriand, 1816
Union General Abner Doubleday, 1819
US Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Vasa Fox, 1821
Union General Samuel Sturgis, 1822
Confederate Agent in the UK James Bulloch, 1823
Confederate General William Wofford, 1823
Confederate General John Hunt Morgan, 1825
Confederate General John Bell Hood, 1831
Union spy Pauline Cushman, 1833
Union General Wesley Merritt, 1837
Union General Galusha Pennypacker, youngest to even attain General's rank (before he was 21), 1841
Union Officer and Author Ambrose Bierce, 1842
Union Colonel Arthur MacArthur, Jr., 1845 (The father of famed US General Douglas MacArthur)

July 1

1861: US War Department announces a recruitment effort in Tennessee and Kentucky. There are two problems with that; Kentucky has declared neutrality and Tennessee has joined the Confederacy.

1862: Battle of Malvern Hill, VA. . Union commander: General George McClellan. Confederate commander: General Robert E. Lee. Lee has problems getting his entire army in place and it is the afternoon before he can attack. The battle is preceded by an artillery duel that renders all the Confederate artillery ineffective. Lee decides to launch a massive infantry attack on the Union positions, but the expert employment of artillery by Union General Henry Hunt is instrumental in repulsing the Confederates. Union victory. This ends the Seven Days Battles. McClellan won all but one, but still withdraws to Harrison’s Landing, where he plans to pull out his entire force!
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes, "About 6 p.m. by pushing out about twenty pieces of artillery from their front, followed by four lines of solid infantry colors flying, as if on parade, they advanced at a run with terrifying yells, heard all above the crash of musketry and roar of artillery. We now opened on them with terrible effects..."
Union Admiral Farragut’s fleet is united with the fleet of Flag Officer Davis below Vicksburg, MS.
Union cavalry under General Sheridan defeats Confederate forces south of Corinth, MS.

1863: Battle of Gettysburg, PA. Union commander: General George Meade. Confederate commander: General Robert E. Lee. Day one: At dawn, Confederates under General Henry Heth attack a defensive line west of Gettysburg consisting of two cavalry brigades and one battery of US Artillery. By 10 a.m. Union General Reynolds arrives and has the cavalry hold long enough for his infantry to arrive. At midday, while counterattacking in a wooded area, Reynolds is killed and General Abner Doubleday assumes command. By 12:15 p.m. 11th Corps under General Oliver Howard arrives and command of the battlefield is assumed by him. This command will soon be taken by General Winfield Hancock by order of General Meade, who is on his way. At 2 p.m. General Lee arrives on the field and assumed operational command. General A.P. Hill’s corps is pushing the Federals to the east while General Ewell’s corps is moving south from Carlisle, PA. By 3 p.m. the Confederate forces outnumber the Federals. By 4 p.m. the Federals are pushed through the town and begin to form on ridges to the south. By midnight, the Union forces are solidly entrenched and reinforcements arrive during the night, including General Meade, who arrives at 1 a.m. During the night, several couriers are sent by General Lee in order to find General Stuart.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle hears firing throughout the day while on a tour of the area. He catches up with General Lee west of Gettysburg, PA.

1864: Union General Irwin McDowell is assigned command to the US Department of the Pacific, headquartered in San Francisco, CA.
US President Lincoln appoints Senator William Fessenden of Maine as Secretary of the Treasury.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about traders selling everything from "goober beans" (peanuts), beer made from cornmeal, even whiskey for .50 a tablespoonful, to tobacco cut in 1-inch squares and selling for .25.

July 2

1861: US President Lincoln suspends writ of habeas corpus as regards to any military lines between Washington, DC and New York, NY.
Union General Robert Patterson moves his army into the Shenandoah Valley, VA to counter any possible moves by Confederate General Joe Johnston’s forces.

1862: Union Army of the Potomac completes retreat to Harrison’s Landing, VA.
US President Lincoln calls for 300,000 men to volunteer for three years.
US Congress approves the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad as well as the Morrill Land Grant Act, opening up lands in the West for settlement. US President Lincoln signs them into law.


1863: Battle of Gettysburg, Day Two. General Lee has decided to try a flank attack in order to dislodge the Federal Army from the heights south of Gettysburg. He orders General Longstreet to move his corps to the south and hit the Union left flank. Due to slow planning, those forces were not in place until 4 p.m. Union General Dan Sickles, commanding III Corps, advances his line forward in violation of General Meade’s orders. Meade was in the process of ordering Sickles back when the Confederates attacked. Despite Confederate General John Hood getting wounded by artillery fire, his troops manage to push the Union troops into a rocky area called Devil’s Den. While in the area, Army of the Potomac Chief Engineer General Gouverneur Warren notices two hills that the Confederates could use to reach the Federal rear. General Warren soon finds V Corps moving through the area and was able to direct the brigade of Colonel Strong Vincent to the area. This brigade consisted of the 16th MI, 44th NY, 83rd PA and 20th ME. This brigade was placed near the summit of a hill the locals called Little Round Top. Soon the Confederates were through the Devil’s Den and were attacking the hill. After several attacks, in which Colonel Vincent was mortally wounded, Colonel Joshua Chamberlain, 20th ME commander, orders a bayonet charge which breaks up the Confederate attack. Else ware, General Sickles receives a cannon ball in the right knee, resulting in that leg being amputated (that leg is in the Armed Forces Medical Museum in Washington, DC).
At 6:30 p.m. an attack was made on Union positions on Culp’s Hill, at the Union north end, with no results. Another attack on Cemetery Hill, the apex of the Union line also fails. Firing stops at midnight.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle stays with General Longstreet and observes the Confederate assault on the Federal left.
At Vicksburg, MS, after six weeks on bombardment, white flags appear on the Confederate lines as Union General Grant and Confederate General Pemberton meet to discuss surrender terms.
Confederate General John Hunt Morgan begins his raid into Indiana and Ohio.

1864: Confederate General Johnston pulls back from Kennesaw Mountain, GA.
Union General Wilson’s troops reach Union lines near Petersburg, VA.
James Island at Charleston, SC occupied by Union forces.
Confederate General Early receives orders to rest and resupply, then try to hit the Baltimore and Ohio lines in Maryland.
Susie King Taylor, an African-American woman with the Union Army as a laundress, writes about cooking and caring for wounded soldiers.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes that his health is deteriorating; he is now relying on a crutch to get around.

July 3

1861: Union troops under General Patterson approach Martinsburg, VA and forcing Confederate General Joe Johnston to pull his troops back toward Winchester, VA.

1862: Union General McClellan orders fortification of the Army of the Potomac’s positions around Harrison’s landing, VA.
Small action at Ellington Heights, western VA.

1863: Battle of Gettysburg, Day Three. At 6 a.m. Confederate General Ewell has made another attempt to dislodge Union forces from Culp’s Hill with no success. By noon, Ewell has no choice to pull back. General Lee devises a plan to attack the Union center at Cemetery Ridge. He orders General Longstreet to assemble his corps for the attack. Longstreet resists but finally agrees to Lee’s orders. All of the Confederate artillery is set up to deliver a massive fire on the Union center. Three divisions, commanded by Generals Isaac Trimble, Johnson Pettigrew, and George Pickett, are formed in the woods behind the artillery. At 1 p.m. the artillery bombardment begins. By 2:55, Union counter fire slackens and the Confederates believe the way is clear for the infantry attack. At 3 p.m. the infantry begins the over one mile march to the Union positions, not knowing that the Union artillery was resupplied and reinforced. The Union artillery fire smashes whole formations and as soon as the Confederates reached the Emmitsburg Road, they came within range of Union musket fire. The Confederate troops manage to reach the Union positions but had to withdraw after a sharp fight. General Lee has no choice but to begin to withdraw back into Virginia. Battle of Gettysburg ends. Union victory.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle was at the cupola of the Seminary when the bombardment started. He heads back to General Longstreet's headquarters and sees wounded men returning from the assault. He writes, "When I got close up to General Longstreet, I saw one of his regiments advancing through the woods in good order; so, thinking I was just in time to see the attack, I remarked to the General that, 'I wouldn't have missed this for anything.' Longstreet was seated at the top of a snake fence at the edge of the wood, and looking perfectly calm and impertubed. He replied, laughing, 'The devil you wouldn't! I would like to have missed it very much; we've attacked and been repulsed: look there!'" He later sees General Lee accepting blame for the failed attack.
Union cavalry skirmish with Confederate rear guard at Cowan, TN.
Two Confederates approach the Union lines at Vicksburg, MS to offer to surrender. US General Grant wants unconditional surrender but Confederate General Pemberton knows that 30,000 prisoners will be impossible to transport. Grant, knowing reality when he sees it, agrees to parole the surrendering army. (NOTE: Parole was when a captured soldier makes a pledge not to take up arms against the enemy until receiving a notice that an enemy soldier has been exchanged for him. Parolees either went home or to parole camps to await notification.)

1864: Union General Sherman moves toward new Confederate lines at Nickajack Creek, GA.
A Union attack on Ft Johnson near Charleston, SC is repulsed.
Union General Sigel pulls his troops back toward Maryland Heights, MD in the face of Confederate General Early’s movement.

July 4

1861: US Congress meets in session and hears US President Lincoln press his case for putting down the rebellion. Secretary of War Cameron calls for three-year enlistments for incoming volunteers. Secretary of the Treasury Chase asks for $240,000,000 for war expenses and $80,000,000 for other governmental expenses. Secretary of the Navy Wells begins pushing an expansion plan to include ironclad vessels.

1862: Confederate General Morgan begins a raid into Union territory in Kentucky with a force of Georgians, Texans, and Tennesseans.

1863; Confederate General Lee begins to move his army south from Gettysburg, PA.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle accompanies General Longstreet during the pullout.
Confederates abandon most of Tennessee as General Bragg’s army reaches Chattanooga, TN.
Vicksburg, MS surrenders to Union forces. Upon hearing of the criticism over surrendering, Confederate General Pemberton replies that as a Northerner, he knew that he could get favorable terms on the 4th of July.
Confederate forces under General Theophilus Holmes attack Helena, AR with no success.

1864: Confederate General Johnson’s forces pull back yet again, this time to the Chattahoochee River.
US President Lincoln vetoes a resolution calling for harsh treatment on the South after the war’s conclusion.
Confederate forces briefly occupy Harper’s Ferry, WV.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes that there was a great raid on the Raiders shanties, with 125 arrested and might be tried.

July 5

1861: Union General Franz Sigel’s forces attack Confederates under Missouri governor Claiborne Jackson at Carthage, MO. Union troops forced back and Confederates escape to join up with the army of General Sterling Price.

1863: Confederate General Morgan captures Lebanon, KY garrison.
Confederate Army of Northern Virginia has fully withdrawn from the Gettysburg, PA area.

1864: Union General A.J. Smith leads 14000 troops in a campaign to keep Confederate General Forrest from hitting General Sherman’s supply lines.
Confederate General Early crosses the Potomac at Shepherdstown, MD.
New York Times editor Horace Greeley receives news of Confederate commissioners in Canada with the authority to negotiate. Information is passed on to US President Lincoln.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that new potatoes are selling for $4 a quart.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes that a court-martial has begun for six of the worst Raiders. Those being tried were identified as William Collins, 88th PA, John Sarsfield, 154th NY, Charles Curtis, 5th RI Battery, Patrick Delaney, 83rd PA, John "Terrence" Sullivan, 72nd NY, and Andy Muir, USS Watch Witch.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes about witnessing the same trial.

July 6

1861: CSS Sumter arrives at Cienfuegos, Cuba with seven Union ships in tow.
Skirmish at Buckhannon, western VA.

1862: Union General Burnside moves his forces from Roanoke Island and New Bern, NC to reinforce McClellan in Virginia, leaving behind a garrison.
Skirmish at Grand Prairie, AR.

1863: Union General Meade begins his pursuit of General Lee’s army.
There is a skirmish between Union General Buford’s cavalry and Confederate General Lee’s advance guard at Williamsport, MD.

1864: Hagerstown, MD captured by Confederate General Early’s troops. Demands $20,000 ransom.
Union 3rd Division of VI Corps is ordered out of the line at Petersburg, VA in order to help defend Washington, DC. This is one of the objectives of Early’s raid.

July 7

1861: Skirmish at Great Falls, VA.

1862: Union General McClellan has written US President Lincoln, blaming him for the “difficulties” his army is facing. He claims that massive Confederate forces are at his front when in fact, Confederate General Lee has begun a pullback
Action at Cotton Plant, AR.

1863: Confederates begin to dig in at Hagerstown, MD upon finding the Potomac River too high to cross.
Confederate General Bragg has concentrated his forces around Chattanooga, TN leaving the rest of Tennessee in Union hands.
A Union assault on the Port Hudson, LA is called off as news of the victory at Vicksburg, MS arrives.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle has decided to leave the Confederates on their way back to Virginia and receives a pass from General Lee for safe conduct through the lines.

1864: Union 3rd Division of VI Corps arrives at Baltimore, MD.
Confederate General Early decides to bypass Union defenders at Maryland Heights, MD and heads for South Mountain. He receives a break in the form of a shipment of shoes that he ordered.
Confederates counter attack at James Island, SC as Union cannon continue to batter Ft Sumter.
CS President Davis writes Confederate General Joe Johnston that no reinforcements can be sent his way.
Skirmish at Ripley, MS.

1865: The co-conspirators in the assassination of President Lincoln, Lewis Powell, George Atzerodt, David Herold, and Mary Surratt are executed in Washington, DC. There is considerable protest over the hanging of Surratt, since she was only the owner of the boarding house where the conspirators roomed. US President Johnson was not in the mood to pardon anyone remotely connected with the Lincoln assassination. The minor players in this drama, Michael O’Laughlin, Dr Samuel Mudd (his only crime was setting Booth’s broken ankle), Edward Spangler, and Samuel Arnold, were sentenced to life imprisonment at the Dry Tortugas, FL.

July 8

1861: Confederate forces under General Sibley move into New Mexico Territory in order to secure it for the CSA. Sibley has been appointed Governor of the territory.

1862: Confederate General Lee continues to pull his troops back toward Richmond, VA while employing a deception tactic that keeps Union General McClellan in the dark.
Skirmish at Black River, MO.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about a visit by US President Lincoln to Harrison's Landing, VA, describing him as looking "ungainly on horseback."

1863: Port Hudson, MS surrenders to Union forces, placing the entire Mississippi River under Union control. US President Lincoln would proclaim that, “the Father of Waters flows again unvexed to the sea.”
At Gettysburg, PA, local farmers are charging high prices to transport wounded soldiers to the rail station. The railroad company that is providing the trains to carry the wounded away has not bothered to clean the cattle cars that are being used. US Army Medical Corps officers soon intervene.


1864: Confederate General Early sends his army through South Mountain, MD in three columns while a makeshift force under Union General Lew Wallace (of Ben Hur fame) assembles at Frederick, MD.
Union General Sherman’s troops cross the Chattahoochee River near Soap Creek, GA. Confederate General Joe Johnston orders his troops to fall back on Atlanta, GA itself.

July 9

1861: Confederate camp at Florida, MO is broken up by a small Union force.

1862: Confederates General John Morgan escapes capture in Tompkinsville, KY.
Confederate General Lee has his artillery to drive away Union gunboats on the James River, VA with no success.
Confederate positions along the Roanoke River, NC.
Skirmishing at Aberdeen, AR.

1863: Confederate General Morgan’s forces cross into Indiana, against orders.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle encounters Federal cavalry and id taken to a General Kelly, who allows him to pass through.

1864: Battle of Monocacy, MD. Union commander: General Lew Wallace. Confederate commander: General Jubal Early. Using a cobbled together force and the 3rd Division of VI Corps, General Wallace holds off General Early while the Washington defenses are strengthened. Wallace is flanked and has to leave the field. Confederate victory. Afterwards, Early demands $200,000 from the citizens of Frederick.
Union forces cross the Chattahoochee River, north of Atlanta, GA, forcing Confederate General Johnston to pull his forces to Peachtree Creek. Johnston is flanked once more and retreats into Atlanta proper.

July 10

1861: US President Lincoln sends a letter to the Kentucky Inspector General of Militia, Simon Bolivar Buckner, stating that Union troops will respect the states neutrality stance.
Union forces under General Rosecrans move toward Rich Mountain in western Virginia.
Confederate force defeated at Monroe Station, MO.

1862: Union General Pope, commander of the Army of Virginia, declares that he will be harsh with Confederate supporters in the Shenandoah Valley, VA.

1863; Union troops under General George Strong land at Morris island, SC with the objective of taking Battery Wagner.
Union General Meade’s troops make contact with retreating Confederates at Williamsport, MD as General Lee is now able to get his army across the Potomac. He sends the wounded and 4000 Union prisoners across first.

1864: Confederate General Early’s troops reach Rockville, MD where they encamp.
Union General Sherman has decided to besiege Atlanta, GA, sending cavalry to hit the rail line between Columbus, GA and Montgomery, AL.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes that the six
Raiders that were on trial were found guilty and sentenced to hang.

July 11

1861: Union forces under General William Rosecrans defeat Confederates at Rich Mountain in western Virginia.
At Laurel Hill, western VA, Union General T.A. Morris forces Confederates under General Robert Garnett to abandon their positions.

1862: Union General Henry Halleck assumes duties as commander in chief of Union forces in the field.
Skirmish at Williamsburg, VA.
Confederate General Morgan’s troops attack Lebanon, KY but fail to prevent Union forces from destroying the supplies there.
Skirmish at Pleasant Hill, MO.

1863: An initial Union attack on Battery Wagner, SC is repulsed.
Union General Sherman had Confederate General Johnston surrounded at Jackson, MS.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle reaches Johnstown, PA where he takes a train for Philadelphia, PA.

1864: Union cavalry under General Smith reach Pontotoc, MS while Confederate General Forrest has his troops at nearby Okolona, MS.
Confederate General Early reaches the outskirts of Washington, DC, finding the area reinforced.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes that the condemned Raiders were hanged in the stockade. John Collins' rope broke, but new rope was found and the hangings were soon finished. This is also witnessed and accounted by Union Sergeant John Ransom.

July 12

1861: Union troops take Beverly, Western Virginia.
Union forces under General Jacob Cox move into the Great Kanawha Valley in Western Virginia.

1862: Lebanon, KY captured by Confederate General Morgan’s forces.
Skirmish at Culpepper, VA.

1863: Union General Meade’s advance force arrives at Williamsport, MD and begins clashing with Confederates there. It is ironic that this is taking place only a few miles from the site of the Battle of Sharpsburg/Antietam.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle reaches Philadelphia, PA and switches trains for New York, NY.

1864: Union General Wright engages Confederate General Early outside Washington, DC, with US President Lincoln watching. Lincoln was standing on the parapet watching the battle when a Union Captain shouted, “Get down you d***ed fool or you will be killed!” Lincoln replies, “Captain, I see you already learned how to address a civilian.” The Captain involved would become Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes of the US Supreme Court.

July 13

1861: At Carrick’s Ford, VA, Confederate General Garnett becomes the first general officer to die in the Civil War. His death and the surrender of 555 troops clears the northern part of western Virginia of Confederates.

1862: Confederate forces under General Forrest capture the Union garrison at Murfreesboro, TN.
Confederate General Lee begins to move his army to the north towards Manassas Junction, VA.
Confederate General Morgan’s forces advance on Cynthiana, KY.

1863: Confederate forces under General Morgan cross into Ohio.
Confederate General Lee begins moving his army back into Virginia.
Draft Riots begin in New York as opposition to a planned draft of men into the Union Army explodes into violence aimed at African-Americans. Riots spread to Boston, MA, Portsmouth, NH, Rutland, VT, Wooster, OH, and Troy, NY.
Lt Col Arthur Freemantle observes some of the rioting.

1864: Union General Smith’s forces move to Tupelo, MS.
Union General Wright pursues Confederate General Early as he pulls back from Washington, DC.

July 14

1861: Union troops under General McDowell prepare to move into Virginia with Fairfax Court House as the main line of advance.

1862: Confederate General Morgan’s forces reach Cynthiana, KY, putting Ohio and Indiana under threat.
US Congress votes for the formation of the State of West Virginia.
Union Army of Virginia advances on Gordonsville, VA.
Skirmish at Batesville, AR.

1863: Union cavalry attack the Confederate crossing point at Williamsport, MD, taking 500 prisoners. It was during this time that Confederate General Pettigrew was mortally wounded. It is during this tine that General Meade learns about the Draft Riots and receives orders to send troops to New York.

1864: Battle of Tupelo, MS. Union commander: General A.J. Smith. Confederate commanders: General Nathan Forrest and Stephen Lee. Confederate forces attack at 7 a.m. but are not properly controlled, allowing both formations to be repulsed. Union victory.
Confederate General Early crosses back into Virginia.

July 15

1861: Union troops under General Patterson clash with Confederates near Winchester, VA.
USS Daylight has been stationed off Wilmington, NC as a blockade force. It is apparent that more warships are needed.

1862: Union Flag Officer Farragut takes his fleet by Vicksburg, MS, facing heavy fire.
CSS Arkansas attacks two Union ships on the Yazoo River north of Vicksburg, then faces heavy Union fire as the ship is sailed for Vicksburg itself.
Small Confederate force defeated at Fayetteville, AR.
Skirmish at Apache Pass, Arizona Territory.

1863: Draft Riots end as Union troops from the Gettysburg battlefield put down the rioters.
Confederate Army of Northern Virginia continues withdraw through the Shenandoah Valley, VA.
After much difficulty, Lt Col Arthur Freemantle boards a ship for the UK. his account ends here.

1864: Union General Smith moves his forces back toward Memphis, TN.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that the death rate at Camp Sumter (Andersonville, GA) is about 150 a day.

July 16

1861: 30,000 men, at the time the largest army on the North American continent, under the command of Union General Irwin McDowell, began moving toward Manassas Junction, VA.
Skirmish at Wentzville, MO.

1862: Union Flag Officer David Farragut promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral, the first in US Navy history.
France declines to give diplomatic recognition to the CSA.

1863: Confederate General Johnston pulls his troops put of Jackson, MS in the face of advancing Union forces under General Sherman.
At Shepherdstown, MD, there is a cavalry clash at the Potomac River between Union General Gregg and Confederate Generals Fitzhugh Lee and J.R. Chambliss with no advantage gained by either side.
Confederate General Morgan’s troops heading into Ohio after causing havoc in Indiana.

1864: Confederate General Early and his troops retreat from Washington, DC towards the Shenandoah Valley and back into Virginia.
In Atlanta, GA, Union General Sherman advances across the Chattahoochee River. Confederate General Joe Johnston receives a telegram from CS President Davis demanding to know what he is doing about the situation. Johnston plans to hold the city with militia troops and send the field army against Sherman.
Soldiers of the 54th and 55th MA are refusing pay in protest of unequal pay for African-American soldiers. Whites were paid $13 a month while Blacks were paid $10 a month with $3 taker for clothing. This has gone for over a year and they write US President Lincoln for help.

July 17

1861; Union forces reach Fairfax Court House, VA.
Union General Patterson ordered to leave Winchester, VA, allowing Confederate General Joe Johnston to move his army toward Manassas in order to support General Beauregard.
Skirmishes at Fulton, MO, Martinsburg, MO, Scarrytown, western VA, and Bunker Hill, VA.
Among the many Union soldiers now marching into Virginia is a private named Franklin Thompson of the 2nd MI. In reality, Pvt. Thompson is a Canadian woman named Sarah Emma Edmonds.

1862: Union General Grant assumes command of all Union armies in the West.
US Congress passes lifetime pension plan for disabled naval personnel.
US president Lincoln signs the Second Confiscation Act into law. This law grants freedom to slaves who enter Federal areas.
Confederate General Morgan captures Cynthiana, KY.

1863: Battle of Honey Springs. Union commander: General James Blunt. Confederate commander: General Douglas Cooper. Union troops make a frontal assault on Confederate positions. Defenders counterattacked several times but are forced to abandon the position. Union victory.
Confederate General Morgan’s troops ride through the suburbs of Cincinnati, OH.
Union forces bombard Battery Wagner, on James Island, SC.

1864: Confederate General Joe Johnston is relieved of command of the Army of Tennessee in favor of General John Hood.
Confederate General Early, retreating from Washington DC, receives intelligence that a Union force under Generals Hunter and Crook are waiting to attack him.
In an interview with Northern journalist James R. Gilmore, CS President Davis states “We are not fighting for Slavery. We are fighting for Independence, and that, or extermination, we will have.”

July 18

1861: Union and Confederate troops clash at Centerville, VA. Union troops are forced to retreat.
Confederate General Joe Johnston leaves a force at Winchester, VA to hold any Union troops while he marches the rest of his army through Ashby’s Gap to take trains to Manassas Junction, VA.

1862: Skirmish at Memphis, MO.

1863: Union troops make a second attempt to take Battery Wagner, near Charleston, SC. This time the attack is spearheaded by the all African-American 54th Massachusetts. Despite gaining the ramparts and penetrating the fort’s interior, Confederate reinforcements force the 54th back with heavy losses, including its commander, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, and most of its officers. Union General Strong decides on a siege.
Confederate General Morgan and his troops reach the Ohio River at Buffington Bar, OH. Union forces are closing in.

1864: US President Lincoln learns from New York Times editor Horace Greeley that the Confederate commissioners that he met with at Niagara Falls, NY are only interested in a negotiated settlement that leaves the CSA independent. Lincoln dismisses any thought of any settlement other than one that restores the Union.
Union troops under General Crook are attacked by Confederates under General Robert Rodes while crossing the Shenandoah River. Crook is forced to withdraw.

July 19

1861: Union General McDowell’s forces arrive at Fairfax Court house, VA but do not find any Confederates. He decides to proceed at a creek called Bull Run. The motivation for continuing is the fact that many of his troops are 90-day volunteers and their enlistments will end in a couple of days. McDowell finds a crossing and decides to use it in a flanking movement against the Confederate’s right. He does not know that reinforcements are coming to the aid of the Confederates.
An article in the Charleston Daily Courier advocates a complete break between Southerners and any friends and family in the North.
Diarist Judith McGuire has fled her Alexandria, VA home and is living with friends in Manassas. The war is now catching up with her.

1862; Confederate General Morgan’s troops clash with Federals at Paris, KY.
A court-martial clears Confederate Flag Officer Tattnall on any wrong doing in the scuttling of CSS Virginia on May 11.
Confederate forces are mostly expelled from Missouri, but concerns about guerilla activity continue.

1863: Confederate General Morgan’s command is encircled at Buffington Bar, OH, but he and 300 others escape.
Union Army of the Potomac crosses over the Potomac in pursuit of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.

1864: Confederate General Early’s force heads toward Winchester, VA.
Union General Sherman has divided his army into three segments. The Army of the Cumberland (General Thomas) holds north of Atlanta, GA, the Army of the Ohio (General Schofield) holds the east, and the Army of the Tennessee (General McPherson) is at Decatur, GA. Confederate General Hood decides to head north and strike Thomas first.

July 20

1861: Confederate General Johnston’s army completes their move to Manassas Junction, VA.
Confederate Congress meets in Richmond, VA.
Confederate General Joe Johnston has reached Manassas Junction, VA with 9000 men.
2000 Union troops leave as their 90 day enlistments expire and couldn’t be persuaded to stay.

1862: Union Department of Missouri, under command of General John Schofield, launches an anti-guerilla campaign.

1863: Union General Meade’s advance forces reach the Blue Ridge Mountains but have not spotted the retreating Confederates.
Merchants in New York meet to discuss compensation for the African-American victims of the recent riots.
O.G. Eiland, a Mississippi planter, writes CS President Davis advocating the enlistment of slaves into the army in order to save the Confederacy.

1864: Battle of Peachtree Creek, GA. Union commander: General George Thomas. Confederate commander: General John Hood. In his first engagement as an army commander, Hood attacks Thomas as his army is crossing the creek. A hasty move into a defensive line prevents Hood from gaining any advantage and forces him to retreat. Hood loses four of his brigadiers in the process. Union victory.
Bombardment of Ft Sumter, SC continue. On this day, the forts commander is mortally wounded.
Union troops under General Averill attack Confederate General Stephen Ramseur at Rutherford’s Farm, VA causing General Early to retreat further south.

July 21

1861: Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), VA. Union commander: General Irwin McDowell. Confederate commander: General Joseph Johnston. Two armies of green troops try flanking each other until General Jackson’s troops find a secure area. Jackson orders a full charge which sends the Union troops into a rout. A full blown cavalry charge led by Colonel James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart adds to the panic. The panic is compounded by the presence of civilians who were there to watch the battle. Confederate victory. Confederates too disorganized to press an attack toward Washington, DC.

1862: Union General Pope has failed to seize Gordonsville, VA, but still presents a considerable threat to central Virginia. Confederate General Lee has dispatched General Jackson to Gordonsville to keep an eye on things. Lee is waiting on what Union General McClellan will do before reinforcing Jackson.

1863: Union General Meade turns his army toward the Shenandoah Valley, VA in order to intercept Confederate General Lee.

1864: Confederate General Hood sends General Hardee to hit Union General McPherson near Decatur, GA. There were too many delays and the movement will not leave until early the next morning. Meanwhile, Union General McPherson’s troops hit a Confederate position at Bald Hill, east of Atlanta.

July 22

1861: There are two state governments in Missouri. The pro-Union government in Jefferson City and the pro-Confederate government in southwest Missouri.
Mary Chesnut writes, “Mrs. Davis came in, sat by me. Kissed me, said a great battle had been fought at Manassas--- Jeff Davis led the centre—Beauregard the right wing--- Johnston the left. Beauregard’s staff safe. What a load from my heart. Wade Hampton wounded--- Leiut. Col. Johnson killed--- Gen Bee killed--- Kirby Smith killed (wounded). Poor Col. Bartow--- killed gallantly leading his men into action.” In actuality, CS President Davis did not arrive until late in the day, so he never led troops in battle. General Smith was wounded, so she made a correction later.

1862: Confederate General Morgan reaches Livingston, TN.
Two Union ships attack CSS Arkansas but fail to sink her.
Union and Confederate governments sign an accord regulating the exchange of prisoners of war.
US President Lincoln presents the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation to his Cabinet. After debate, it was decided that they would wait until a Union victory.

1863: Union III Corps makes contact with Confederates at Manassas, VA as the remainder of the Army of Northern Virginia escapes further south.

1864: Battle of Atlanta, GA. Union commander: General James McPherson. Confederate commander: General William Hardee. Hood now focuses his attention in the Union Army of the Tennessee, having General Hardee send his troops on a 15 mile march, in the very early morning hours, into McPherson’s rear area. From the start the Confederates become confused. When Confederate General Walker goes forward to see where they are going, he is killed by a Union rifleman. The attack is finally launched at noon, but is repulsed. McPherson is killed when he accidentally rides into a Confederate line held by General Cheatham. Troops under General John Logan forced Hood back with heavy casualties. Union victory, but Hood tries to claim victory. Truth is the Confederates fail to force Sherman back from Atlanta.
Union troops under General Horaito Wright move to rejoin General Grant at Petersburg, VA.

July 23

1861: Union General John Fremont is named commander of the Department of Missouri.

1862: Confederate General Bragg begins to move his army from Tupelo, MS to Chattanooga, TN, but has to go by way of Mobile and Montgomery, AL due to state of the railroads.
Skirmishes at Florida and Columbus, both in MO.

1863: Confederate General Morgan and his troopers have spent 20 hours in the saddle in an attempt to shake off Federal pursuers.

1864: Confederate General Early turns his army around and advances on Union troops near Kernstown, VA.
Union General Smith’s troops return to Memphis, TN as Confederate General Forrest continues to raid.

July 24

1861: Union General Jacob Cox attacks the Confederate garrison, commanded by General Henry Wise, at Charleston, western VA, forcing them to retreat.

1862: Skirmishes at Trinity, AL and Santa Fe, MO.

1863: Confederate General Lee’s army has passed Front Royal, VA as Union troops enter.

1864: Confederate General Early attacks Union General Crook at Kernstown, VA forcing him back.

July 25

1861: Union General Nathaniel Banks assumes command of Union forces in the Shenandoah Valley, VA.
Union General Cox secures Charleston, VA, allowing the Union to hold the headwaters of the Ohio River and the Northwestern Virginia counties that will one day become the State of West Virginia.
US Congress passes a resolution that the preservation of the Union, not the abolishment of slavery, is the main war aim.
Skirmishing at Harrisville and Dug Springs, MO.
Federal troops at Ft Fillmore, New Mexico Territory, repel Confederates invading the area.

1862: Union troops leave Natchez, MS.
Confederates capture 100 Union troops at Courtland Bridge, AL.

1863: US Navy attempts to clear torpedoes (mines) from the entrance of Mobile Bay, AL.
Union bombardment of Battery Wagner continues. The failure of the Union artillery to reduce the fort’s walls is a testimony to the superiority of earthen (sand or dirt) walled forts to masonry (brick) ones.

1864: The Union tunneling operation has aroused the suspicion of Confederates at Petersburg, VA. They begin to do some tunneling of their own in an attempt to find the Federal tunnel.
Union General Grant orders that some of his troops be sent north of the James River, near Petersburg, VA in order to break the rail line between Petersburg and Richmond.

July 26

1861: Union Major Isaac Linde withdraws from Ft Fillmore, New Mexico Territory despite enjoying a 2-1 advantage.

1862: Skirmishes at Mountain Store and Big Piney, both in MO.

1863: Confederate General Morgan and his remaining troops surrender at New Lisbon, OH to Union forces that finally caught up with them. This ends Morgan’s Raid.
Sam Houston, who commanded the Texas Army in the Texas War of Independence, first president of the Republic of Texas, first US Senator from Texas, and Governor of the state at the time of secession (and who was thrown out of office for refusing to swear allegiance to the CSA), dies.

1864: Union General Crook pulls his army out of the Shenandoah Valley, VA.
The tunnel at Petersburg, VA is declared ready. The plan at this point is that when the gallery at the end of the tunnel is exploded, African-American troops under General Edward Ferrero will go through the breach and take a hill just inside Petersburg.

July 27

1861: The remnants of the Union army that lost at First Bull Run (Manassas, VA) are reorganized and redesignated the Army of the Potomac. General George Brinton McClellan is given command of the new army. (Union armies were named after rivers. Confederate armies were named after states or regions.)

1862: Skirmishing continues in Missouri in Brown’s Spring, Carroll County, Ray County, and Livingstone County.
Skirmish at Ft Gibson, Indian Territory (Oklahoma).

1863: Skirmishing at Rogersville, KY, Cassville, MO, and Bridgeport, AL.

1864: A Union Navy boat crew, commanded by LT J.C. Watson, runs into Mobile Bay, AL to study the depth of the bay and the area where torpedoes might be, in broad daylight.
Union II Corps (General Hancock) crosses the James River and head toward Richmond, VA.
Union General Otis Oliver Howard is given command of the Army of the Tennessee, replacing General McPherson who was killed at the Battle of Atlanta. In protest, General Joseph Hooker resigns his commission.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that he is hanging on despite his illness. Reports about 200 a day are dying at Camp Sumter (Andersonville, GA). Most of his friends in prison with him are now dead.

July 28

1861: US Seventh Infantry surrender to Confederates at Augustine Springs, New Mexico Territory.
CS President Davis calls for a follow-up action on the heels of the Confederate victory at Manassas Junction, VA.

1862: Confederate guerillas lose a short battle at Moore’s Mills, MO.
Skirmish at Bayou Bernard, Indian Territory (Oklahoma).

1863: Rear areas of the Army of the Potomac in Virginia are being struck in hit and run raids by Confederate partisans under Colonel John Singleton Mosby.

1864: Battle of Ezra Church, GA. Union commander: General O.O. Howard. Confederate commander: General Stephen D. Lee. Howard is sent on a mission to cut General Hood’s last rail line. General Lee, along with General Alexander Stewart, attacks Howard’s troops at Ezra Church. Howard has anticipated this and has already formed a defensive line that results in the Confederates withdrawing with heavy losses. Union victory, but Howard was not able to cut the rail line.
Union General Hancock finds entrenched Confederates near Four Mile Creek, VA and is forced to withdraw.

July 29

1861: CS President Davis decides to send his military advisor, General Robert E. Lee, to western Virginia to take command of Confederate forces there.

1862: Confederate spy Belle Boyd captures at Warrenton, VA and taken to Old Capital Prison at Washington, DC.
Steamer 290 leaves Liverpool, UK for the Azores where she will receive guns and munitions. This steamer will then be renamed CSS Alabama.
Confederate camp seized at Bollinger’s Mills, MO.
Skirmishes at Russellville, KY and Brownsville, TN.

1863: Plans are made to construct a Union artillery battery in the marshes of Morris Island, SC.
In London, UK, Queen Victoria reaffirms the Government’s stand on neutrality in response to statements that the British Government is pro-Confederate.

1864: Confederate General Early crosses the Potomac River and heads for Pennsylvania.
Union General Hancock’s troops return to their original position south of the James River, VA.
There is a meeting of Army of the Potomac concerning the plans for the follow-on attack after the tunnel is blown up. General Meade orders that the African-American troops, who have been training for weeks, not be used for fear of a public backlash if the attack fails. General Grant agrees and orders General Burnside to choose another division to spearhead the assault. Burnside then calls his division commanders and has them draw straws to choose who will go. The short straw was drawn by General James Ledlie, a noted drunkard and coward.

July 30

1861: Union General Butler at Ft Monroe, VA has about 900 runaway slaves on his hands and is waiting for orders from Washington, DC on what to do with them.

1862: Union General McClellan begins to pull his army out of Harrison’s Landing, VA. Meanwhile, General John Pope has placed his Army of Virginia (the only Union army to be named after a state) on the Rappahannock River and 12000 troops under General Burnside is near Fredericksburg, VA.
Skirmish at Paris, KY.

1863: CS President Davis announces that all African-American troops that are captured will be turned over to State authorities. The problem with that is that it is a State capital crime for an African-American to carry arms, with death as the penalty. The announcement also threatens White officers leading Black troops. US President Lincoln responds with a threat to execute a Confederate soldier for anyone executed by the Confederates. Lincoln added that any Black Union soldier sold into slavery will result in Confederate prisoners forced to do hard labor.
Skirmishes at Lexington and Marshall, both in MO.
Skirmishes at Grand Junction, TN and Barnwell’s Island, SC.

1864: Confederate General Early burns Chambersburg, PA after town officials do not pay a $500,000 ransom.
Battle of the Crater, Petersburg, VA. Union commander: General Ambrose Burnside. Confederate commander: General William Mahone. For the past several months, members of a Pennsylvania regiment who were coal miners have been digging a tunnel from the Union lines to a Confederate section of the line known as Pegram’s Salient. The end of the tunnel is widened to accommodate several tons of gunpowder. After a false start, the powder was exploded, blowing a huge hole in the Confederate lines. The follow-up attack was un-coordinated and got bogged down in the crater. An African-American division that was trained for the attack was held back and a white division was the first to go in, with their commander, General James Ledlie, hiding in a bomb shelter and getting drunk. The African-American troops were sent in as a reserve, but they got bogged down too. Their commander was found in the same shelter as Ledlie. Confederate General Mahone rushed reinforcements to the crater and the result was very high casualties among the Union troops. General Grant orders the assault pulled back, but not until after hundreds of African-American soldiers were massacred by enraged Confederates. General Burnside is relieved of his command and sent home for another assignment, which never comes. Confederate victory. This is the last major Union defeat of the war.

July 31

1861: Union Colonel Ulysses Grant is appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers.
Richmond Enquirer prints an article about the Union sympathies of Elizabeth Van Lew. Little did the paper’s staff know that Van Lew was a spy for the Union and leader of the Union Resistance in Richmond, VA. Her greatest coup was the placing of a spy in the Confederate White House.

1862: Confederate General D.H. Hill has his artillery send 1000 shells into the Union lines at Harrison’s Landing, VA with little effect.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, records this event in his journal.

1863: Both armies have completed their withdrawal from Gettysburg, PA and have taken up positions along the Rappahannock River, VA. The situation in the East has returned to the status quo.
Skirmishes at Paint Lick Bridge, KY and St Catherine’s Creek, MS.
US President Lincoln receives a letter from Hannah Johnson, whose son is with the 54th MA and survived the assault on Battery Wagner, SC. She asks for fair treatment for the African-Americans now serving in the Union Army.

1864: Union General Averill’s cavalry engages Confederate cavalry under General John McCausland near Hancock, MD. Confederates flee.
US President Lincoln meets General Grant at Ft Monroe, VA to discuss the situation in the East.

Birthdays:

Union General John Dix, 1798
Union Admiral David Farragut, 1801
US Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, 1802
John Ericsson, designer and builder of USS Monitor, 1803
Union General Silas Casey, 1807
Confederate General Thomas Clingman, 1812
Samuel Colt, inventor of the Colt revolver used by both sides, 1814
Union General Thomas Rodman, 1815
CS Secretary of War James Seddon, 1815
Union General George Thomas, 1816
Union Nurse Mary “Mother” Bickerdyke, 1817
Confederate Chief of Ordnance Josiah Gorgas, 1818
Union General Nathaniel Lyon, 1818
Union General James Steedman, 1818
Union General Alexander Hays, 1819
Anti-Union Democrat Clement Vallandigham, 1820
Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, 1821
Confederate General Daniel Harvey Hill, 1821
Union General W.H.L Wallace, 1821
Union general Darius Couch, 1822
Confederate General John Walker, 1822
Union General Wladimir Kryzanowski, 1824
Union General Alfred Pleasonton, 1824
Confederate Naval Captain James Waddell, 1824
Union General James Blunt, 1826
Union general Benjamin Grierson, 1826
Confederate General James Pettigrew, 1828
Union Cavalry General Elon Farnsworth, 1837
Confederate Guerilla William Quantrill, 1837

August 1

1861: Brazil recognizes the CSA as a belligerent.
Confederate Captain Baylor declares both New Mexico and Arizona Territories as part of the CSA.

1862: In response to Union General Pope’s order to treat harshly anyone who gives aid to the Confederate cause, the CS Government issues General Order #54, declaring that General Pope and his officers were not entitled to prisoner-of-war status and could be hanged if anyone is executed by Pope’s orders.
US President Lincoln signs the Second Confiscation Act into law. One of the provisions was that any slave that reached Union territory would be automatically freed.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about Union troops destroying a plantation that served as an observation post for Confederates.

1863: The army Union General Grant used to take Vicksburg, MS is broken up for occupation duty.
Union and confederate cavalry skirmish near Brandy Station, VA.
Confederate spy Belle Boyd once again captured and taken to Old Capital prison, Washington, DC. (Where she was this time the previous year.)
CS President Davis offers amnesty to all Confederate soldiers absent without leave.
Skirmish at Smith’s Shoals, KY.
While the blockade is strangling Southern ports, Northern ports, such as Boston, MA are having a boom.

1864: Union General Sheridan is named commander of the Army of the Shenandoah.
Confederate cavalry ride toward Cumberland, MD while pursued by Union General Averill’s cavalry. A scratch force under Union General Benjamin Kelly ambushes the Confederates, forcing a withdrawal.

August 2

1861: Union General Fremont sends reinforcements for General Lyon who is engaging Confederates near Dug Springs, MO.
Confederates take Ft Stanton, New Mexico Territory.

1862: US Minister to the UK, Charles Francis Adams, receives instructions to refuse any British offer of mediation. C. F. Adams is the son of President John Quincy Adams and the grandson of President John Adams.
Union forces seize Orange Court House, VA.
Skirmish at Coahoma County, MS.
Skirmishes at Ozark and Clear Creek, both in MO.

1863: Plan is submitted that involves mounting a single heavy cannon at the battery to be constructed at Morris Island, SC. This cannon could engage targets in Charleston, 7900 yards away.
Skirmishing along the Rappahannock River, VA.

1864: Union and Confederate cavalry engage again at Hancock, MD.
US Navy begins clearing Mobile Bay, AL of blockade runners.
Union Commodore George Colvocoresses and 115 men arrest Confederates at McIntosh Court house, GA who were trying to organize a coast guard.
CSS Rappahannock is abandoned at Calais, France after being repaired. The French will only allow a 35-man crew to sail the ship out of port and that is not enough to go out on the high seas. This is a sign of waning support for the Confederacy amongst Europeans.

1865: CSS Shenandoah hails a British ship in the eastern Pacific and her crew learns that the war is truly over. Realizing that they could now be considered pirates for attacking the US Whaling Fleet, Captain Waddell orders all arms dismounted and placed in the hold. Then he orders the crew to sail to England where he will turn her over to British authorities. This journey will make the CSS Shenandoah the only Confederate States Navy vessel to circumnavigate the globe.

August 3

1861: Union reinforcements reach General Lyon at Dug Springs, MO
Skirmish at Mesilla, New Mexico territory with Union troops getting the upper hand.

1862: Union General Halleck orders General McClellan to move his army back to Alexandria, VA.
Skirmish at Chariton Bridge, MO.
Action at Jonesboro and Lauguelle Ferry, both in AR.
At a meeting of the Federal Cabinet, Secretary of the Treasury Chase expressed the opinion that emancipation should be the main war aim.
New York Herald leads its news with a report on the capture of Confederate spy Belle Boyd, “the betrayer of our forces at Front Royal.” She had tipped Confederate General Jackson to the disposition of Federal forces in the area.
Jennie Hodges assumes the name of “Albert Cashier” and enlists in the 95th IL.

1863: Union troops begin building the access road for the new battery at Morris Island, SC.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that $12 to $15 Confederate will buy $1 in gold. Flour sells for $40 a barrel. Bacon is $1.75 a pound. Coal sells for $25 for a cart full. Fire wood can be had for $30 per cord. Butter can be had for $3 a pound.

1864: Union troops land on Dauphin Island, AL and besiege Ft Gains.

August 4

1861: US Government advertisements asking for proposals to improve the Navy, especially in ironclads.
Ralph Waldo Emerson writes to a friend that “If the abundance of heaven only sends us a fair share of light & conscience, we shall redeem America for all its sinful years since the century began.” Referring to slavery and that the war is the nations penance for slavery.

1862: Union General Burnside has moved his troops from Fredericksburg, VA, fearing an attack by Confederate General Lee.
Indiana offers two African-American regiments but is declined by US President Lincoln, despite a problem with raising troops. There is resistance to three-year enlistments and a nine-month enlistment is offered.
Skirmish at White Oak Swamp Bridge, VA.
Skirmish at Sparta, TN.

1863: At the Morris Island, SC Battery site, Union engineers come under Confederate fire. A dummy site is planned to be built so the Confederates will be distracted.
Skirmishing continues along the Rappahannock River, VA.


1864: Union General John Schofield’s Army of the Ohio crosses Utoy Creek in an attempt to cut the last rail line going to Atlanta, GA.
US Army Signal Corps officers have reported to Admiral Farragut near Mobile Bay, AL. They will maintain communication with ground forces during the attack planned for the next day.

August 5

1861: Union General Lyon’s troops are forced back from Dug Springs, MO in the face of heavy Confederate pressure.
Confederate blockade runner Alvarado is captured and burned by USS Vincennes off the Florida coast.
Henry Brooks Adams writes to a friend from London, England of the humiliation Americans living in Britain felt when news of the Battle of Bull Run (Manassas, VA) hit the front pages of UK papers.

1862: Confederate forces under General Breckenridge launch an attack on the Union garrison at Baton Rouge, LA. Before the assault is made, a group of Confederate partisans mistakes them for Union infantry and open fire. Among those killed is Captain Alexander Todd, brother-in-law of US President Lincoln. The attack itself has initial success but it was also dependent on supporting fire from CSS Arkansas, which never arrives. Breckenridge is forced to pull back. Among the Federal dead is the garrison commander, General Thomas Williams.
Iowa Governor Samuel Kirkwood sends a letter to Union General-in-Chief Halleck calling in him to allow African-Americans to join the Army, but only as cooks and laborers, not as soldiers.

1863: Foundation of Morris Island Battery, now named after a Colonel Serrell, commander of the effort, is in place.
Confederates strengthen both Battery Wagner and Ft Sumter in order to counter Union moves on James Island.
USS Commodore Barney is damaged by a electric (battery powered) torpedo near Dutch Gap, VA.
Skirmishes at Cold Spring Gap, WV, Little Washington, VA, and Muddy Run, VA.
US President Lincoln begins planning on how territory now under Federal control can be reintegrated into the USA.

1864: Battle of Mobile Bay, AL. Union commander; Admiral David Farragut aboard USS Hartford. Confederate commander: Admiral Franklin Buchanan aboard CSS Tennessee. At dawn, troops under the command of Union General Gordon Granger attack Ft Gains while Admiral Farragut’s fleet sails past Ft Morgan, guarding the east end of the bay opening. The area was covered with a field of torpedoes (mines). At 7:45 a.m. USS Tecumseh strikes a torpedo and sinks, taking 90 with her. Both fleets engage each other until 10 a.m. when CSS Tennessee surrenders. Union forces control the entrance of the bay but not the two main forts yet. Union victory. (It has been noted that Admiral Farragut had ordered when hearing of the torpedoes, “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” Today there is a debate whether or not he actually said that.)
A radical faction of the Republican Party issued a manifesto accusing US President Lincoln of overstepping his power when he vetoed a reconstruction bill.

August 6

1861: US Congress passes a law that allows for the confiscation of any and all property that is used for insurrection. That includes slaves used in the construction of Confederate fortifications. US President Lincoln signs the bill, although he felt by doing so he was giving belligerent status to the CSA, and therefore recognition.

1862: CSS Arkansas, while attempting to assist in an assault on Baton Rouge, LA loses her engines south of Vicksburg, MS. USS Essex appears and attacks. Arkansas’s commander decides to scuttle the vessel to prevent her from falling into Union hands.
In that same attack, Confederate forces under General Breckenridge contend with thick fog and Union gunboat support and have to withdraw.
Union General Robert McCook is ambushed by Confederate partisans north of Athens, AL. He will die of his injuries.
Skirmishes at Beech Creek, western VA, Thornburg, VA, and Tazewell, TN.

1863: US President Lincoln has declared this day a Day of Thanksgiving for the recent victories in Pennsylvania and Mississippi.
Confederate partisans under Colonel Mosby capture a Union wagon train near Fairfax Court House, VA.
At Table Bay, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, CSS Alabama captures the merchant vessel Sea Bride to the delight of a crowd of watchers onshore.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that the price of flour in Richmond, VA has risen to $30 a barrel with a limit of one.

1864: Union General Schofield renews his attempt to sever the rail lines west of Atlanta, GA with no success.
Ft Powell, northwest of Ft Gains at Mobile Bay, AL is evacuated.
CSS Tallahassee departs Wilmington, NC, now the last major Confederate port.

August 7

1861: Town of Hampton, VA burned by Confederate General John Magruder upon hearing that Union General Butler planned to use the town as a holding center for runaway slaves.

1862: Confederate General Lee finds that Union General McClellan has totally pulled out of the Malvern Hill, VA area. His attention soon turns north.
Confederate Generals Jackson and A.P. Hill reach Gordonsville, VA and spots Union troops. Upon reporting this to General Lee, the order comes to attack. Jackson moves his army to Orange, VA and prepares to cross the Rapidan River.
Skirmish at Trenton, TN
Confederates forced from Ft Fillmore, New Mexico Territory.

1863; US President Lincoln refuses a request to suspend the draft in New York.
Skirmish at New Madrid, MO.

1864: Confederate General McCausland cavalry is attacked by Union cavalry under General Averill and routed near Moorefield, VA.
There is an attempt to surrender Ft Gaines but the commander’s orders are countermanded.

August 8

1861: US Congress approves $1,500,000 for construction of ironclad warships, including USS Monitor.
CS Congress officially recognizes Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, and Delaware as Confederate states, allowing citizens of those states to be mustered into Confederate service, even though those states are not controlled by Richmond.
Union General Butler is ordered by Secretary of War Cameron to adhere to fugitive slave laws, but only in states not in rebellion.

1862: Union General Pope orders General Banks to deploy his troops south of Culpepper, VA in order to stop General Jackson.
US Congress passes a law making it a criminal offense to avoid conscription.
Skirmishing in the Cumberland Gap, TN.

1863: Confederate General Lee, citing the failure of the Gettysburg Campaign and ill health (possibly a mild heart attack, he was suffering from angina) offers to resign as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. CS President Davis refuses.

1864: Ft Gaines, at Mobile Bay, AL surrenders to Union forces.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that watermelons are selling for $20 each and corn for $10 for a dozen.

August 9

1861: Union General Lyon heads for Wilson’s Creek, MO in order to delay advancing Confederates.
Mary Chesnut writes, “Prince Napoleon, he is very stout & as he reviewed our troops--- it was so hot. John Manning says “en avant,” “Allons” is all he heard him say.” This is in reference to the French Crown Prince paying a visit to the CSA.

1862: Battle of Cedar Mountain, VA. Union commander: General Nathaniel Banks. Confederate commander: General Thomas Jackson. Confederate infantry hits Banks while on the march from Culpepper, VA to the Rapidan River. Union forces successfully flank the Confederates in several places, one of those attacks resulted in Confederate General Charles Winder being killed. The timely arrival of General A.P. Hill’s troops allows the Confederates to push Banks back. Union troops withdraw but Jackson keeps up the pursuit until midnight. Confederate victory.

1863: Siege of Battery Wagner, SC continues as Union troops dig a series of trenches to cover the advance.

1864: Union forces begin bombarding Ft Morgan, near Mobile Bay, AL.
Confederate agents penetrate Union security at City Point, VA and blow up a ammunition barge.
Union General Sherman begins bombarding Atlanta, GA.

August 10

1861: Battle of Wilson’s Creek, MO. Union commanders: Generals Nathaniel Lyon and Franz Sigel. Confederate commander: General Ben McCulloch. In the first major battle in the West, the Union troops were sent in a two pronged attack. Sigel’s attack on the Confederate rear was repulsed with heavy losses and Lyon was killed leading a charge. Union troops held off three Confederate charges. Confederates withdrew, but Union troops did not pursue due to lack of ammunition. The Federals pull back to Rolla, MO, leaving the Confederates in control of a large part of Missouri. Confederate victory because they were left on the field.

1862: Donaldson, LA is shelled by Union gunboats.
Union General Banks, retreating from Cedar Mountain, VA is reinforced by troops under Generals Sigel and McDowell, with General Burnside’s troops on the way. Union forces now outnumber General Jackson’s Confederate army.
Skirmishes in Missouri at the following locations; Grand River, Lee’s Ford, Chariton River, Walnut Creek, Compton Ferry, Switzler’s Mills, and Yellow Creek
A group of Texas Unionists, mostly Germans, are attacked on the Nueces River, TX.

1863: Union force under General Steel leaves Helena, AR for the state capital of Little Rock.

1864: Confederate cavalry under General Joseph Wheeler begin a mission to raid northern Georgia and eastern Tennessee.
Union General Sheridan begins moving his command toward the Shenandoah Valley, VA. Confederate General Early begins to maneuver in order to counter Sheridan’s moves.
CSS Tallahassee captures seven vessels off Sandy Hook, NJ.

August 11

1861: Union General McClellan urges the formation of a massive army that would totally crush the rebellion.

1862: Confederate General Jackson, seeing that the odds are now against him, pulls his army back to Gordonsville, VA.
Skirmish at Wyoming Court House, WV.
Union General Grant issues an order that any fugitive slaves in his area of operations will be employed by the military.
Action at Independence, MO and Helena, AR.

1863: Confederate artillery at Battery Wagner, SC shell Union trenches.

1864: Confederate General Early begins moving from Winchester to Cedar Creek, VA.

August 12

1861: Confederate patrol is attacked by Apaches in West Texas. Local militias are now guarding the frontier, a job that the US Army used to do.

1862: Confederate General John Morgan raids Gallatin, TN capturing the Union garrison there.

1863: Union gunboats patrol the area around Morris Island, SC to protect the new battery under construction.

1864: Skirmish at Cedar Creek, VA
CSS Tallahassee captures six vessels off New York.
Poet Walt Whitman writes about witnessing one of US President Lincoln’s daily outings. He saw Lincoln heading out to the Soldiers Home, where he slept during the summer, since the White House was too hot during that season.

August 13

1861: The popular opinion at this time was that it would take longer to build a pontoon bridge then to defeat the CSA. The Union army is learning that it might not be the case.

1862: Confederate General Lee sends General Longstreet to Gordonsville, VA to assist General Jackson while sending General John Hood to Hanover junction, VA to watch Union General Burnside’s troops at Fredericksburg, VA.
Collision of Federal ships George Peabody and West Point on the Potomac River.
Confederate General Morgan’s forces flee Gallatin, TN in the face of a large Federal force.
Fighting at Grand River, MO and Clarendon, AR.

1863: Confederate defenders of Battery Wagner, SC manage to keep up a defense despite losing their 32-pounder rifled cannon to a barrel burst. They only have two guns, 10-inch Columbiads, capable of engaging the Union guns on nearby Morris Island.

1864: Fighting at Berryville, VA as Union General Sheridan begins to move against Confederate General Early.
Union General Hancock begins another maneuver across the James River, VA.
CSS Richmond, CSS Fredericksburg, and CSS Virginia (Virginia II?) engaging Union monitors on the James River, VA.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that the price of flour has fallen to $200 a barrel, while bacon fell to $6 a pound.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes about the spring of water that came up in the middle of Camp Sumter (Andersonville, GA) after a massive rain storm.

August 14

1861: Martial law is imposed in St Louis, MO and two pro-Southern newspapers closed by order of Union General Fremont.
A mutiny in the 79th New York is put down.

1862: Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith leads a force from Knoxville, TN towards the Kentucky River valley.

1863: The Union battery at Morris Island, SC is almost complete, with 2300 soldiers dumping sandbags to create a stable platform for the guns.

1864: Battle of Dalton, GA. Union commander: Colonel Bernard Laibolt. Confederate commander: General Joseph Wheeler. Wheeler demands the surrender of the Union garrison, which is refused. Laibolt brings his troops into fortifications near Dalton and withstands a day of attacks. The next morning, a Union column under General James Stedman arrives and drives Wheeler off. Union victory.
Union General Sheridan orders a pullback from Confederate General Early’s position and will assume the defensive while awaiting reinforcements.
Union General Sherman continues the bombardment of Atlanta, GA as his troops extend their lines in order to encircle the confederate defenders.

August 15

1861: Former Ft Sumter commander, Union General Robert Anderson, is named commander of the Department of the Cumberland, covering Kentucky and Tennessee.
Another mutiny, this time in the 2nd Maine, is also put down.
US President Lincoln orders reinforcements to Missouri.

1862: Skirmish at Merriweather’s Ferry, TN.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about meeting some women while marching towards Williamsburg, VA who ask for tobacco and declare that they will not be conquered.

1863: CSS H.L. Hunley, a submarine, arrives at Charleston, SC.
At Morris Island, SC, 13,000 sandbags were used to create an artificial island in the middle of a swamp. Now they are ready to place the single gun chosen for this position.

1864: CSS Tallahassee captures and burns six ships off New England.
Union General Sheridan, citing supply problems, retires from Cedar Creek, VA.
Confederate General Richard Taylor is appointed commander, Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that the price of flour fell to $175 a barrel and bacon to $5 a pound.

August 16

1861: US President Lincoln formally declares the Southern states in rebellion.
Skirmishing at Fredericktown and Kirkville, MO.

1862: Confederate troops under General Edward Smith enter Kentucky.
Most of the Union Army of the Potomac has begun to leave Harrison’s Landing VA. General McClellan receives orders to link up with General Pope’s army and try again to capture Richmond, VA.
Fighting at Lone Jack, MO.

1863: Union General Rosecrans begins his campaign to take Chattanooga, TN.
Union General Burnside leaves Louisville, KY in order to support Rosecrans.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that a new pair of shoes can be had in Richmond, VA for $50. Meanwhile, sugar is selling for $2 a pound.

1864: CSS Tallahassee captures and burns five more ships off New England.
Union Cavalry under General Wesley Merritt captures 300 Confederates near Front Royal, VA. A rally by remaining Confederates force Merritt to withdraw to Cedarville, VA and then on to Nineveh, VA.
Union General Sheridan’s troops reach Winchester, VA.
Union General Hancock attacks Confederate lines at Fussell’s Mill, VA. After initial successes, he is forced back.

August 17

1861: Union Departments of Northeastern Virginia, Washington DC, and the Shenandoah are merged into the Army of the Potomac.
Skirmish at Brunswick, MO.

1862: Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry are surprised at Clark’s Mountain, VA. In his escape, he loses his hat with plume, cape, and a satchel containing General Lee’s plans.

1863: At Charleston, SC, the siege continues against Battery Wagner while Union batteries pound Ft Sumter and Charleston Harbor with no effect. Meanwhile on Morris Island, a single, 8-inch, 200-pounder Parrott rifled cannon is dragged into position. It takes all day to carry sufficient powder and shells into the battery, but the result is that for the first time, Charleston, SC itself is in artillery range.

1864: CSS Tallahassee heads toward Nova Scotia to resupply with coal, capturing three more vessels enroute.
Confederate General Early’s troops advance from Cedar Creek, VA while Union General Sherman’s troops head for Berryville, VA.

August 18

1861: Any Northern newspaper publishing pro-Southern opinions is targeted either for legal action or violence by outraged citizens.
Union General Butler is relieved as commander, Department of Virginia but remains at Ft Monroe, VA.

1862: CS President Davis delivers a “State of the Nation”” address before the Confederate Congress.
Confederate General Lee begins a series of probes to seek a weakness in Union General Pope’s lines. Pope’s army is wedged between the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers and manages to cross the Rappahannock before Lee can entrap him. Pope then sends a call to General McClellan for reinforcements. These reinforcements will never arrive.
Confederate ship Fairplay captured near Milliken’s Bend, LA.

1863: US President Lincoln test fires a Spencer Repeating Carbine, and orders 60,000 for the Union army.
An inspector for the US Treasury Department reports on the conditions at a plantation whose owner fled when Federal troops arrived. Report contains descriptions of the appalling condition that slaves were forced to live in.

1864: Union cavalry under General Judson Kilpatrick, on a mission to destroy remaining Confederate supply lines near Atlanta, GA, destroys part of the Atlanta and West Point Railroad.
Union forces under General Warren seize Globe Tavern, on the Weldon railroad, south of Petersburg, VA, stands up to counterattacks by Confederates under General Henry Heth.
Union General Grant again refuses any more prisoner exchanges. This will keep releases Confederates from rejoining the army but will worsen the situation for Union troops held in Southern prisons. The CSA can barely feed its troops, let alone its prisoners.
Union General Sheridan’s troops now heading for Charles Town, WV.
Confederate General Early’s army heading for Bunker Hill, VA.

August 19

1861: Confederate Congress declares a alliance with Missouri.
Fighting at Charlestown (Bird’s Point), MO.

1862: Confederate forces capture Clarksville, TN.

1863: Heavy artillery bombardment of both Battery Wagner and Ft Sumter, SC.

1864: Union General Kilpatrick’s forces destroy Confederate supplies at Jonesborough, GA.
Five Confederate brigades under General A.P. Hill drive Union General Warren out of his position at Globe Tavern, VA. He is soon reinforced and recaptures the station.

August 20

1861: Union General George McClellan formally assumes command of the Army of the Potomac.
Confederate Congress appoints commissioners who will be sent to Europe to buy supplies and weapons for the CS Army.
Skirmish at Hawk’s Nest, Western Virginia.
Engagement at Jonesboro, MO.

1862: Union and Confederate cavalry clash at Brandy Station, VA. This alerts Union General Pope that the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia is on the move and coming at him.
Skirmish at Union Mills, MO.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about reaching Yorktown, VA.

1864: Union cavalry under General Kilpatrick manage to destroy the Macon and Western Railroad at Lovejoy’s Station, GA, but has to flee to avoid being captured by Confederate General Cleburne.
Union General Hancock returns to his former positions but maintains a bridgehead across the James River at Deep Bottom, VA.
Union General Warren extends his lines from Globe Tavern, VA to the Jerusalem Plank Road, heading west from Petersburg.
Confederate General Early’s troops engage Union General Sheridan at Berryville, VA.

August 21

1861: With Ft Monroe, VA a secure Union base, operations along the Confederate Atlantic coast are being planned.

1862: Confederate General Bragg’s army departs Chattanooga, TN to campaign in Kentucky.
Union General Don Carlos Buell responds by deploying his troops to Murfreesboro, TN.
Union and Confederate artillery exchange fire along the Rappahannock River, VA as Confederate General Lee tries to find a way across.

1863: Union troops under Colonel John Wilder begin shelling Chattanooga, TN. General Rosecrans begin moving most of his army to the west and south of the city.
Confederate partisan Colonel William Quantrill’s forces raid Lawrence, KS and kill 150 men and boys.
Union General Gillmore demands that Battery Wagner and Ft Sumter be evacuated or else Charleston, SC will be fired on. Confederate General Beauregard decries this as a violation of the laws of war and asks for several days to evacuate the city. Meanwhile at the Morris Island Battery, the cannon, now christened the “Swamp Angel” is ready for firing.

1864: Confederate cavalry under General Forrest attacks Memphis, TN in an attempt to free Confederate POWs. Forrest withdraws after two hours.
Confederate General Early splits his forces in two and attacks Union General Sheridan near Charles Town, VA, forcing a Federal delaying action. Sheridan is then forced to pull back to Harper’s Ferry, WV.
Confederate General A.P. Hill attempts to break Union General Warren’s lines to no effect. The extension of the Union lines has severed the rail link between Petersburg, VA and Wilmington, NC.

August 22

1861: The Augusta (GA) Chronicle and Sentinel publishes an editorial calling for the strengthening of costal defenses against any Union seaborne attack.

1862: Confederate General Stuart’s cavalry raid Union General Pope’s headquarters in which Pope’s book containing copies of all his orders is taken.
Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Times, published an open letter to US President Lincoln called “The Prayer of Twenty Millions” calling for a declaration that the main aim of the war is to free the slaves.
US President Lincoln responds to Greeley’s letter with a letter of his own, stating,” If I could save the Union without freeing any slaves, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all of the slaves, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that.”

1863: CS postal workers go on strike in Richmond, VA, hampering vital war communication.
At 1:30 a.m. the Swamp Angel is fired at Charleston, SC. Upon learning that they had the range to hit the city, 16 more rounds are sent. 12 of those are filled with a flammable liquid concocted by William Parrott and the other four with something called “Short’s Solidified Greek Fire.” (Perhaps an early form of napalm.)

1864: Union General Sheridan pulls his troops toward Halltown, VA.
Union forces attack Ft Morgan, Mobile Bay, AL with both land and sea forces. The defenders are not able to respond and the cannon are soon knocked out. The forts commander orders the powder magazine flooded to prevent an explosion.
Judith McGuire writes on the prices paid during a shopping trip in Richmond, VA. She paid $110 for a pair of ladies’ boots, $22 per yard for linen, several spools of thread at $5 a piece, and $5 for a good amount of pins.

August 23

1861: Confederate forces in Western Virginia receive reinforcements under General Floyd. This will prove a disaster for the Confederate effort there. Floyd is an incompetent officer who has a newspaper editor as his chief-of-staff and a farmer as his cavalry commander.
Rose Greenhow, a Washington, DC socialite, is arrested for spying for the Confederacy when it was found that she had sent details of Union General McDowell’s movements to the Confederates.

1862: The Rappahannock River, VA has been swollen by rain storms, preventing both armies from crossing. Confederate General Lee decides to use Union General Pope’s orders book against him. A small force will keep Pope occupied while Lee takes the rest of his army around and into the Federal rear, cutting Pope off from communications with Washington, DC and prevent reinforcements from arriving.

1863: Confederate General Beauregard protests the shelling of Charleston, SC but the Swamp Angel itself decided the issue. The barrel burst after another 20 shells were fired. (The barrel is now on display in Trenton, NJ.)

1864: Ft Morgan, near Mobile Bay, AL surrenders to Union forces.
US President Lincoln, believing that he will lose the upcoming election, has his Cabinet sign a memo pledging to cooperate with an incoming administration. He also plans to force the war to a favorable conclusion before the new president, likely George McClellan, can make a settlement that would grant the CSA its independence.

August 24

1861: CS President Davis names James Mason as commissioner to Great Britain, John Slidell as commissioner to France, and Pierre Rost as commissioner to Spain. All three have been tasked with seeking diplomatic recognition as well as arms and equipment from the three European powers.

1862: CSS Alabama arrives at Terceira, Azores and is officially commissioned into the CS Navy.
Skirmishing at Dalls and Coon Creek, MO.

1863: CSS Hunley attacks USS New Ironsides in Charleston Harbor, SC but the water there was too shallow to dive deep enough.
Confederate Colonel Alfred Rhett, commander of Ft Sumter, SC reports that he has only one gun operational and the walls of the fort are now piles of broken bricks.
Confederate Colonel Mosby making raids in Northern Virginia along the Rappahannock River.
Skirmishes at Barbee’s Cross Roads and Coyle’s Tavern, VA.

1864: Confederate General Early moves against Union General Sheridan, now in positions along the Potomac River.
Skirmishing along the Weldon Railroad, south of Petersburg, VA.

August 25

1861: Union General McClellan continues to improve the Union Army but will not take the offensive as the public is demanding. He believes that only trained army with an intricate plan will defeat the Confederates with one blow. He does not seem to understand that 1). One of the first rules of war is that the plan will last until contact with the enemy, and 2). The nature of war was already changing and that a single victory will not end this war.

1862: Confederate General Jackson begins a flanking movement to draw Union General Pope out. Pope receives information that Jackson has 30 regiments plus cavalry moving around him. The truth is that Jackson has 66 regiments.
Confederate forces attack Ft Donaldson and the Cumberland Iron Works, both in TN.

1863: A Union attempt to take the rifle pits in front of Battery Wagner, SC is repulsed.
Skirmishing continues along the Rappahannock and Chickahominy Rivers in Virginia.
Union cavalry destroy Confederate saltpeter works at Jackson’s River, WV. (Saltpeter is an important ingredient in gunpowder.)
Union General Thomas Ewing issues General Order 11 in retaliation for Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence, KS. This order expels 20,000 people from Bates, Cass, and Jackson counties. Ewing then orders all the property and crops in those counties destroyed.
US President Lincoln defends his decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation in a letter to James Conkling, a Springfield, IL resident and a critic of the measure.

1864: Union General Sherman moves six of seven corps in an effort to encircle Atlanta, GA. Confederate General Hood counters with two corps under General Hardee.
CSS Tallahassee reaches Wilmington, NC by evading the blockade.
Confederate general Heth overruns Union General Hancock’s position at Ream’s Station, VA.

August 26

1861: Union forces defeated at Cross Lanes (Summerville), Western Virginia.
Action at Wayne Court House and Blue’s House, both in Western Virginia.
Eight Union vessels depart Hampton Roads, VA for Hatteras Inlet, NC.

1862: Confederate General Jackson’s troops reach the Union supply depot at Manassas Junction, VA and proceed to loot the place. Confederate General Longstreet begins to move his corps to join Jackson. Union General Pope decides to head for Manassas himself.
Confederate steamer Fairplay taken a second time, this time on the Yazoo River, MS.

1863: Troops of the 24th Massachusetts capture the rifle pits outside Battery Wagner, SC.
Union cavalry engage Confederates at Rock Gap, WV.
Confederate General John Floyd, a Secretary of War in the Buchanan Administration, dies at Abington, VA.

1864: Union General Sherman’s advance threatens to cut off any avenues of escape form Atlanta, GA. Confederate General Hood is pondering this development while skirmishing takes place along the Chattahoochee River.

August 27

1861: Skirmishing at Ball’s Cross Roads, VA.

1862: Confederate troops under General Jackson move on the Federal supply depot at Manassas, VA. Union General Pope moves to the north to face him.

1863: As Federal troops approach Battery Wagner, SC, they find what they call “sub-surface torpedo mines,” or in today’s terms, land mines.

1864: Confederate General Early pulls back to Bunker hill, WV.
Union General Sherman’s troops cut another rail link into Atlanta, GA. It is now a matter of time before the city falls.

August 28

1861: A Union force is landed at Hatteras Inlet, NC in order to attack the two Confederate forts, Hatteras and Clark. Ft Clark is evacuated but Ft Hatteras presents a problem for the Union warships.
Union General Grant is appointed commanded of Union forces in southern Illinois and southeastern Missouri.

1862: Union General Pope arrives at Manassas, VA while Confederate General Jackson forms his troops on the old battlefield of the previous year. Confederate General Longstreet begins moving his troops in order to support Jackson.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about moving from Alexandria, VA to Manassas, VA to join General Pope's forces.
Confederate spy Belle Boyd released due to lack of evidence.
Confederate General Bragg moves his troops to join General Smith’s troops, who are advancing into Kentucky.

1863: Confederate General Beauregard plans to evacuate Battery Wagner, SC.

1864: Union General Sheridan sets off from Halltown, VA toward Charles Town, WV.
Union forces destroy 10 miles of the rail line from Atlanta, GA to the Alabama line.
Skirmish at Holly springs, MS.

August 29

1861: Ft Hatteras, NC, falls to Union troops in the first incursion into Confederate territory. In one of the ironies of the war, the fort’s commander, a Commodore Barron, notices as he is going into captivity that one of the ships in the Union force is USS Wabash. Barron was that ship’s commander six months previously.
Engagement at Lexington, MO.
Diarist Mary Chesnut expresses her anger in her diary about William Russell’s account on the Battle of Manassas, VA written in the London Times. She was expressing the feeling that most Southerners had about Russell’s articles.

1862: Second Battle of Manassas (Bull Run), VA. Union commander: General John Pope. Confederate commander: General Thomas Jackson, but Generals Lee and Longstreet will arrive later. Pope orders troops under Generals McDowell and Porter to move against Jackson, who is already under attack by General Sigel. At midday, Pope himself is on the field. Longstreet and Lee arrive on the field in the early afternoon and see the situation. Jackson’s troops had run low on ammunition and were forced to throw rocks at one point. Lee orders Longstreet to attack, but Longstreet states there may be Union reinforcements in some woods (he is right, McDowell and Porter are there). At 4:30, Pope orders Porter to hit Jackson’s right and rear. At 5:30, an attack is ordered on Jackson’s left, turning the flank and forcing a pullback of several Confederate divisions. Neither side has left the field but Pope sends a victory telegram to Washington and asks for reinforcements.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes, "I saw the head of one of our artillerymen taken off, shot within fifty feet of my position. His blood spattered his gun. He was pulled up by his arms a few paces away, the blood gushing in streams from his neck....The other artillerymen kept on loading and firing without giving him further notice....Having seen enough of the terrible fighting, I returned to our headquarters..."
Small action at Manchester, TN.

1863: CSS Hunley accidentally sunk in Charleston Harbor, SC. Five crew members drowned.
Union troops cross the Tennessee River at Caperton’s Ferry, TN in order to counter moves by Confederate General Bragg.
CS Congress begins working on closing loopholes in the draft law which had allowed government clerks to be exempt from military service.

1864: Two Confederate divisions engage Union cavalry at Smithfield, VA but are stopped by Federal reinforcements.
Democrats begin their convention at Chicago, IL.

August 30

1861: Union General John Fremont declares martial law in Missouri and declares all slaves in the state free.
Union General Butler proposes that Ft Hatteras, NC be kept as a base for future Union operations along the Confederate Atlantic Coast.
Frederick Douglass writes to a minister of the fear he has that the US Government will not declare emancipation of slaves a war aim.

1862: Second Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) continues with General Pope renewing his attack on Jackson. At midday, Porters corps advances forward to hit Jackson’s lines, but Longstreet has put his troops in a position to hit Porter of his left and does so. Longstreet’s attack crushes Porter and forces the Federals to withdraw at sundown. Battle ends. Confederate victory.
Union General Buell orders a pursuit while Confederate troops under General Kirby Smith attack the Federal garrison at Richmond, KY, forcing a withdrawal.

1863: Confederates begin to withdraw operational cannon from Ft Sumter, SC.

1864: Union troops continue to encircle Atlanta, GA as Confederate General Hood sends the corps of Generals Hardee and Stephen D. Lee (no relation to Robert E. Lee) to Jonesboro, GA to protect the last rail line, the Macon Railroad.

August 31

1861: Confederate Government promotes Samuel Cooper, Albert Sidney Johnston, Robert E. Lee, Joseph Johnston, and Pierre Beauregard to the rank of General, equivalent to four-star rank in today’s military. The US Army will not use that rank until after the war.
Small action at Munson’s Mill, VA.

1862: Heavy rain in the area prevents Confederate Jackson from pursuing the defeated Union Army of Virginia. Union general Pope has not given up yet. Upon hearing that Jackson has started marching on Fairfax, VA, Pope sent three corps (Generals McDowell, Heintzelman, and Reno) to counter the Confederate’s move. Meanwhile, two corps from General McClellan arrived to assist Pope, but far too late.
Federal troops evacuate Fredericksburg, VA
Clara Barton, a volunteer nurse, helps attend to wounded Union soldiers brought back from the Second Manassas battlefield.

1863: 627 Union shells are fired at Ft Sumter, SC but the Confederates can no longer fire back.
In Washington, DC there is outrage at a $5 a month tax assessed on free African-Americans and several made their views known in a letter to Secretary of War Stanton.

1864: Democrats nominate former Union General George McClellan at its nominee for President on a peace at any costs platform. Including letting the CSA have its independence.
Confederate General Hardee attack Union General Sherman’s positions near Jonesborough, GA, but is repulsed. During the action, Union troops capture the station at Rough and Ready, severing the Macon Railroad and isolating Atlanta.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that salted herrings are going for $16 a dozen and salted shad (fish) for $8 each.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that rumors of a prisoner exchange are floating around Camp Sumter (Andersonville, GA).


Birthdays:

Union General John Abercrombie, 1798
Charles Francis Adams, Minister to the UK, 1807
US Vice-President (Lincoln’s first term) Hannibal Hamlin, 1809
Union General Ormsby Mitchel, 1809
Union General James Morgan, 1810
CS Secretary of State Judah Benjamin, 1811
Confederate General John Pemberton, commander at Vicksburg, MS, 1814
Union General John Eugene Smith, 1816
Union General William Barry, 1818
Union spy Allen Pinkerton, 1819
Confederate General William Barksdale, 1821
Union General John Newton, 1822
Union General Fitz-John Porter, 1822
Union General George Stoneman, 1822
Union General Thomas Meagher, 1823
Union General George Andrews, leader of the raid that resulted in the Great Locomotive Chase, 1828
Union Chief of Aeronautics (Balloons) Thaddeus Lowe, 1832
Union Colonel Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President of the United States, 1833
Confederate General Nathaniel Harris, 1834
Confederate General Evander Law, 1836
Union General Emory Upton, 1839
Union Captain Robert Lincoln, 1843

September 1

1861: Union offensive in Western Virginia continues as engagements occur at Boone’s Court House, Blue Creek, and Burlington.
Union General Grant arrives at Cape Girardeau, MO as skirmishing occurs at Bennet’s Mills, MO.

1862: Battle of Chantilly, VA. Union commanders: Generals I.I. Stevens and Phil Kearney. Confederate commander: General Thomas Jackson. Jackson’s troops are in pursuit of General Pope’s army when they run into a blocking force under Stevens and Kearny. The ensuing battle took place in a thunderstorm, which creates a lot of confusion during which both Stevens and Kearny are killed. Jackson is forced to halt his attack and the Federals continue their withdrawal. Confederate victory because the Union forces left the field. As a result of both victories, General Lee begins to envision a plan to take the war into the North.

1863: Confederate troops under General Cabell ambushed Federals at Devil’s Backbone, AR, with no success.
Ft Sumter, SC attacked by USS New Ironsides and six monitors.
Most of Union General Rosecrans’ army has crossed the Tennessee River.
One effect of Northern farmers going off to war is that farm machinery is increasingly in use. The South does not have that luxury.

1864: Union troops cut Confederate General Hardee’s supply and communication lines forcing a retreat toward Lovejoy’s Station, GA. That evening, General Hood orders Atlanta, GA evacuated.

September 2

1861: US President Lincoln rescinds General Fremont’s order freeing slaves in Missouri.
Leonidas Polk, Episcopalian Bishop of Louisiana, is made a Confederate General and given command of troops in Arkansas and Missouri.
Skirmishing at Dallas and dry Wood (Fort Scott), MO.

1862: US president Lincoln orders General McClellan to leave the field and take command of the Washington. DC defenses. Lincoln did complement the general by saying, “If he can’t fight himself, he excels in making others ready to fight.” McClellan has not much time to pull the army together as the Confederates begin to strike north.
Lexington, KY occupied by Confederate troops.
Union General Buell moves toward Nashville, TN.
Union troops withdraw from the Shenandoah Valley, VA leaving a large amount of supplies for the Confederates.

1863: Union troops under General Burnside capture Knoxville, TN.
A Union strike denies the Confederates the use of two captured steamers at Port Conway, VA.
Confederate troops rout a Mexican bandit force that had crossed into Texas.

1864: A telegram is sent from Union General Sherman to US President Lincoln, “Atlanta is ours, and fairly won,” as his army captures the city. The 2nd MA is the first into the city.
Union General Grant extends his lines to the southwest of Petersburg, VA cutting off more Confederate avenues of supply.
Confederate General Lee proposes the drafting of slaves as a labor force, freeing white laborers for the ranks.

September 3

1861: Confederate troops under General Gideon Pillow enter Kentucky on their way to occupy the town of Columbus. This violates the proclaimed neutrality of Kentucky.

1862: Confederate troops under General Kirby Smith occupy Frankfort, KY.
USS Essex is fired on by batteries at Natchez, MS. The Federals return fire causes the town’s surrender.
Union General Pope issues a report blaming everyone but himself for the defeat at Manassas, VA. This will result in his removal and reassignment.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, hears about the resignation of Union General Pope and records it in his journal.

1864: US President Lincoln declares September 5 as a day of thanksgiving for the recent victories at Atlanta, GA and Mobile Bat, AL.
Intelligence is received concerning Confederate cavalry around Greenville, TN. Union troopers are sent to investigate.
Confederate General Early, in response to an order from General Lee, sends General R.H. Anderson’s corps to Petersburg, VA. On the way there, they find Union General Sheridan’s army going into camp at Berryville, MD. A short attack on the camp of Union General Crook has no effect.
Spotswood Rice, an African-American serving in the Union Army, expresses hope in a letter to his family that they will be soon reunited as free people.

1865: Around this time, all Indian tribes that were aligned with the Confederacy signs a treaty pledging loyalty to the US.

September 4

1861: Columbus, KY occupied by Confederate troops.

1862: Confederate General Smith’s forces are reinforced in Lexington, KY by General John Morgan’s raiders.
CSS Florida reaches Mobile Bay, AL despite the Federal blockade and that some of the crew are ill with yellow fever. The blockade runner Oreto accomplishes the same feat.
Confederate General Lee begins positioning his army to invade the North.

1863: Union General Rosecrans’ troops have completed the crossing of the Tennessee River, forcing Confederate General Bragg out of his position near Chattanooga, TN.
Rioting in Mobile, AL as a result of food and clothing shortages.
Union gunboats are launched from New Orleans, LA in order to conduct operations along the TX/LA coastline.
Union General Grant, at New Orleans, is injured in a fall from a horse, causing in allegations from his detractors that he was drunk, a charge that would dog him for the rest of the war.

1864: At Greenville, TN, Union cavalry catches Confederate cavalry by surprise, resulting in Confederate General John Morgan being killed and most of his troops either killed or captured.
Confederate General Early brings his whole army up to face Union General Sheridan ay Berryville, MD, but soon has to pull back.
Union General Sheridan orders the city of Atlanta, GA evacuated.

September 5

1861: Union General Grant moves on Paducah, KY in response to the Confederate occupation of Columbus, KY.
US President Lincoln had doubts that General Fremont can handle the situation in Missouri.

1862: CSS Alabama captures a Union merchant vessel off the Azores.
Confederate Army of Northern Virginia begins to march into Maryland.
Meta Morris Grimball writes in her diary that several families that she knows have learned to read and write in order to communicate with their sons now in the Confederate Army.

1863: Union General Rosecrans had divided his army into three columns for the planned assault on Chattanooga, TN.
Union troops bombard Battery Wagner, SC.
An international incident is avoided when the British Government orders two ironclad ships being built for the CS Navy kept in the port of Liverpool.
Poet Walt Whitman writes on his experiences as a nurse in Washington, DC.

1864: Citizens in the Federal occupied areas of Louisiana who have taken a loyalty oath to the US vote to abolish slavery in the state.
Clashes between Confederate General Early’s and Union General Sheridan’s troops at Opequon Creek, VA.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that, "The loss of Atlanta is a stunning blow."

September 6

1861: Union General Grant’s troops seized Paducah, KY. He places General Charles Smith in command while Grant returns to Cairo, IL.

1862: Between September 6-9, CSS Alabama will destroy four more Union ships.
Union General McClellan begins moving his army to shield Washington, DC from Confederate General Lee’s army. No one has figured out where Lee is doing.
Lee, meanwhile, is crossing the Potomac River into Maryland, hoping to get support and volunteers from the state. Lee, Longstreet and Jackson are suffering from minor injuries while A.P. Hill and John Hood are under arrest.
Union General Pope is given command of troops in the Northwest and tasked with putting down a Sioux uprising in Minnesota.

1863: At Little Rock, AR, there is a duel between Confederate Generals Lucius Walker and John Marmaduke. Walker is killed.
During the night, Confederates evacuate Battery Wagner and Morris Island, near Charleston, SC.
Confederate General Bragg orders Chattanooga, TN evacuated.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes in Richmond, VA that apples sell for $35 per barrel, bacon for $2.10 pre hoground, butter for $3 per package, cheese for $2 per pound, corn for $9 per bushel, flour for $25 per barrel, onions for $40 per barrel, potatoes for $6 per bushel, oats for $6 per bushel, wheat for $5 per bushel, lard for $1.75 per pound, eggs for $1.50 per dozen, herb seeds for $10 per bushel, clover for $45 per bushel, brown sugar for $2.15 per pound, coffee for $4.75 per pound, molasses for $15 per gallon, rice for .25 a pound, salt for .45 per pound, soap for .80, candles for $3 a pound, corn whisky for $25 a gallon, rye whisky for $40 per gallon, apple brandy for $30 per gallon, and rum for $28 per gallon.


1864: Bombardment of Ft Sumter, SC resumes.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that the exchange rumors are this time for real. He now has a chance to leave Camp Sumter (Andersonville, GA).

September 7

1861: Union General Rosecrans begins moving against Confederates in Western Virginia. The Confederate force is now under the overall command of General Robert E. Lee.
1862: Union General Buell leaves Nashville, TN with five divisions to protect the Federal supply base at Bowling Green, KY.
Union Army of the Potomac is formed at Rockville, MD while panic grips Washington, DC.

1863: Union forces storm Battery Wagner, SC but find it already evacuated.

1864: Skirmishing continues at Winchester, VA.
Skirmishing at Searcy, AR and Centralia, MO.
The Rev. S.M. Chase, an African-American minister, gives a speech in Baltimore, MD praising US President Lincoln’s work on emancipation.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes about two English cannon arriving in Richmond, VA.
Union Sergeant John Ransom is released from Camp Sumter (Andersonville, GA) and taken to a hospital near Savannah, GA.

September 8

1861: Union troops defeat Confederates at Summersville, Western Virginia.

1862: Union General Banks is given command of the Washington DC defenses while General McClellan takes to the field.
Confederate General Lee issues a proclamation to Maryland that the Army of Northern Virginia is here to liberate the state and to call on Marylanders to rally to the Confederate flag.

1863: Confederate General Bragg pulls back from Chattanooga, TN and heads toward Georgia.
US Marines attempt to storm Ft Sumter, in Charleston Harbor, SC, but are repulsed.
Confederate General Longstreet’s corps is detached and sent to assist General Bragg near Chattanooga, TN.
Union flotilla attempts to sail up Sabine Pass, TX and take Ft Griffin. The attack is halted by 44 Confederates and very accurate artillery fire.

1864: George McClellan accepted the Democratic nomination for President, but shies away from the anti-war platform.

September 9

1861: Union General David Hunter is sent to Missouri to assist General Fremont over the furor over his handling of the situation in the state.

1862: The proclamation that Confederate General Lee issued the previous day has fallen on deaf ears. No one shows up to join the CS Army. At Frederick, MD, Lee issues General Order 191, ordering his army split into three groups. General Jackson will take Harpers Ferry, VA. General McLaws will take Maryland Heights. General Longstreet will move on Boonsboro, MD. Army will reunite after Harpers Ferry has fallen. Afterwards they would press into Pennsylvania. Copies of the order are made and distributed. One of those copies is used as a wrapper for three cigars. That package is soon lost!

1863: CS President Davis orders General Longstreet’s corps to come to the aid of General Bragg.
Union General Rosecrans’ troops advance on a 40-mile front and have separated themselves by as much as a 2-3 day march in mountainous country. Confederate General Bragg has stopped his withdrawal and is preparing to meet Rosecrans.

1864: Engagement at Warrensburg, MO.
Federal ship J.D. Perry attacked at Clarendon, AR.

September 10

1861: Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston is given command of Confederate armies in the West.
Union General Rosecrans attacks Confederate positions at Carnifix Ferry, western, VA forcing a withdrawal of Confederate troops from the region.

1862: Union General McClellan begins to move his army toward Frederick, MD as Confederate General Lee’s army departs. General Jackson begins attacking Harpers Ferry, WV as Generals Longstreet and D.H. Hill head for Hagerstown, MD.
US President Lincoln writes to a group of clergymen based in Chicago who sent him a letter stating that is was God’s Will that the slaves be freed. Lincoln was impatient with ministers who claim to speak for God in certain matters, and he told them that he would seek the “will of Providence” in the matter of emancipation.

1863: Union troops capture Little Rock, AR
Confederate General Bragg launched an attack on Union General Rosecrans’ forces with little success. The Federals push on with no idea to the massive Confederate force waiting for them.

1864: Union forces take Ft Hell, a part of the Confederate defenses surrounding Petersburg, VA.
Union General Grant sends a telegram to General Sherman urging to resume the offensive against Confederate General Hood.

September 11

1861: Confederate General Lee launches an attack on Union forces at Cheat Mountain, Western Virginia, but bad weather and poor coordination of troops causes the attack to fail.
US President Lincoln sends Judge Joseph Holt to St Louis, MO in order to convince General Fremont to soften his stand on freeing Missouri’s slaves.

1862: CS President Davis appoints General Van Dorn commander of Confederate forces in Missouri, except that the army he is supposed to take over, still led by General Price, is marching on Iuka, MO and is intending to head into Tennessee.

1863: Confederate General Bragg receives word that Longstreet’s corps from Virginia is en route to reinforce him. An order to General Polk to attack Federal infantry supporting the cavalry screen but nothing is done.

1864: A 10-day truce is put into effect in order for Atlanta to be evacuated of civilians.
In what is now Oklahoma, pro-Union and pro-Confederate Indians fight each other within the lands of the Cherokee Nation.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes that a mass escape took place, with about 31 escaping. Most were recaptured in a short time.

September 12

1861: Confederate General Sterling price besieges Union forces at Lexington, MO.
Maryland legislators suspected of secessionist leanings are arrested between 12-17 September. The state remains loyal to the Union.
Confederate General Lee has managed to concentrate his forces at Meadow Bridge, Western Virginia in order to counter Union General Rosecrans’ moves.

1862: Union General McClellan’s army enters Frederick, MD to the delight of its citizens.

1863: Union XXI Corps (General Crittenden) is found isolated southeast of Chattanooga, TN, but Confederate General Polk refuses to attack.

1864: US President Lincoln sends an order to General Grant to reinforce General Sheridan as Confederate General Early is still a threat to Washington, DC and the nearby rail links to the West.
Union General Sherman answers a letter from Atlanta, GA civic leaders who wanted him to rescind the evacuation order. Sherman says that not only he would not rescind the order, but it is necessary to deny the Confederate Army the use of Atlanta’s railroads and industry to continue the war with. Hence, his plan to destroy the city.

September 13

1861: Confederate Generals Lee and Wise are recalled to Richmond, VA. Having been left in command, General Floyd orders his army into winter quarters.

1862: Confederate General Bragg reaches Glasgow, KY.
Confederate troops under General W.W. Loring forces the Federals to abandon Charleston, Western Virginia.
Federal troops had just reached Frederick, MD when Private Billy W. Mitchell finds three cigars wrapped in a piece of paper. The paper looked official, so it was given to his lieutenant. (No one knows what happened to the cigars.) The paper ends up at General McClellan’s headquarters, where it is determined to be a copy of Confederate General Lee’s Special Order 191, outlining the Confederate battle plan. McClellan proclaims, “I now have a paper in which if I can not whip Bobby Lee, I’m willing to go home.”
US President Lincoln writes to a Chicago, IL religious group who had wrote to him stating that it was God’s Will that the war be fought for emancipation. Lincoln states that “I hope that it will not be irreverent for me to say that if it is probable that God would reveal his will to others an a point so connected with my duty, it might by supposed that he would reveal it directly to me: for, unless I am more deceived in myself than I often am, it is my earnest desire to know the will of Providence in this matter.”

1863: Confederate General Lee withdraws from Culpepper Court House, VA which is immediately occupied by Federals.
Union General Rosecrans learns that the Confederates are no longer running from Chattanooga, TN and orders his army concentrated. The farthest away is XX Corps (General McCook) who begins a 57 mile march.

1864: Skirmishing continues at Bunker Hill, VA.

September 14

1861: USS Colorado sinks the blockade runner Judah off Pensacola, FL.

1862: Union General Buell reaches Bowling Green, KY.
Confederate General Price’s army enters Iuka, MS.
Confederate troops attack a Union garrison at Munfordville, TN
Union General McClellan implements his own plan to destroy Confederate General Lee’s army by attacking General D.H. Hill’s position at South Mountain, MD. The Confederate line breaks but Longstreet’s timely arrival prevents a collapse. However the southernmost pass, Crampton’s Gap is in Union hands by evening.
Confederate General McLaws troops reaches Maryland Heights but is attacked by Union forces under General Franklin. The Confederate line breaks but the Federals do not pursue.
Confederate General Lee, seeing his plan unraveling, orders his army concentrated near Sharpsburg, MD.

1863: Confederate General Bragg refuses to believe that Federal troops are scattered (they are now concentrating) and issues orders to his commanders that are not in line with the situation. Bragg never got along with his subordinates, which contributed to his failing as an army commander.

1864: A Confederate corps under General Anderson has left the Shenandoah Valley to join General Lee at Petersburg, VA. This is needed because the fighting there is bleeding the Army of Northern Virginia white.

September 15

1861: Minor action at Darnestown, VA.
Confederate General Price continues his assault on Lexington, MO. The Union commander, a Colonel Mulligan, has called for reinforcements but all the couriers have been captured.

1862: Confederate General Jackson captures Harpers Ferry, VA and leaves a division under General A.P. Hill while he takes the rest of his force toward Sharpsburg, MD.
Lettie Kennedy, a resident of Jasper County, MS writes to the Confederate War Office asking for troops to guard their town because all of the men are away in the Army.

1863: Confederate General Bragg plans to maneuver around Union General Rosecrans’ troops and get between him and Chattanooga, TN. Orders to that effect are delayed by his poor performing staff.

1864: Union General Grant leaves Petersburg, VA to confer with General Sheridan.
Skirmish at Snake Creek Gap, GA.

September 16

1861: Confederate forces at Lexington, MO stop their assault in order to get more ammunition sent in.
Confederates evacuate Ship Island, MS, which would soon become a major Union base in the Gulf of Mexico.

1862: Confederate troops surround Munfordville, TN, forcing the surrender of the Federal garrison.
Union Army of the Potomac and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia gather near Sharpsburg, MD as long range artillery duels take place.

1863: Union General Rosecrans has concentrated his army around Lee and Gordon’s Mills on Chickamauga Creek, south of Chattanooga, TN.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that a decrepit house in Richmond, VA will now rent for $800 per year. He is paying $500 per year on his house, which can fetch $1200 a year now.

1864: Confederate General Forrest leaves Verona, MS to raid Union General Sherman’s supply lines.
Union Generals Grant and Sheridan meet at Charles Town, VA to discuss the situation in the Shenandoah Valley.
Confederate General Wade Hampton attacks a Union supply train heading to Petersburg, VA taking 2400 cows and 300 prisoners.

September 17

1861: Federal naval forces destroy Confederate defenses at Ocracoke Inlet, NC.
Federal naval forces seize Ship Island, MS for use as a base.
There is a shakeup in the Confederate Cabinet as Leroy P. Walker resigns as Secretary of War. Following this, Judah Benjamin resigned as Attorney General and was named the new Secretary of War. Finally, Thomas Bragg was named the new Attorney General.

1862: Battle of Antietam Creek (Sharpsburg, MD). Union commander: General George McClellan. Confederate commander: General Robert E. Lee. At dawn, General Hooker’s corps begins to advance but is held up by artillery fire. Meanwhile a brigade under Union General Gibbon attacks Confederates in a cornfield and fails to drive them out. The Confederates refuse to budge and with reinforcements coming in for both sides, losses are heavy. (This field became known as The Cornfield.) Confederates are driven off by 9 a.m. Between 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Union troops under General Sumner make repeated attacks on Confederate General D.H. Hill’s troops, who were in a sunken road. Those attacks fail to dislodge the Confederates until a mistake allows Federal troops to flank the position, allowing a cross fire. (The road is now known as Bloody Lane.) The federal troops advance until stopped by General Longstreet’s corps. At 10 a.m. a Union corps under General Burnside attempts to cross the Antietam at Rohrbach Bridge (now called Burnside’s Bridge), southeast of Sharpsburg. It takes three hours and several attacks to finally cross the creek. The amazing thing was that the ridges across the creek were lightly held by Georgia troops. General Lee is beginning to think that his army might be destroyed when A.P. Hill’s troops arrive and help drive back Burnside’s advance. Fighting dies away at dusk. Battle ends as a Union victory. This is the bloodiest day in US history with 23,000 causalities. Followed only by the attacks of 9/11/2001 and the attack on Pearl Harbor, HI on 12/7/1941.
Union General Grant attempts to take on Confederate General Price near Iuka, MS.
Confederate General Bragg captures Mumfordville, KY.

1863: Union General Rosecrans is now convinced that Confederate General Bragg will now fight. He places General McCook’s troops at Pond Spring (right flank), General Thomas’ at Crawfish Springs (middle), and General Crittenden’s troops covering the main road to Chattanooga, TN (left flank).

1864: Confederate General Early is back in the Shenandoah Valley, planning on hitting the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad near Martinsburg, VA.
Former Union General John Fremont withdraws from the 1864 Presidential Campaign.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes that he was part of a group of prisoners selected for exchange and has been placed on a train for Savannah, GA.

September 18

1861: There is now a clamor to have Union General Fremont replaced as commander of Union forces in Missouri.
Confederate General Price managed to get his troops resupplied and has resumed the assault on Lexington, MO.

1862: Confederate General Lee learns that the Federals near Sharpsburg, MD have 30000 fresh troops, while his army has been fully used up.

1863: Confederate General Bragg, now reinforced by General Longstreet and learning of the Federal army concentrating, halts his retreat from Chattanooga, TN and turns to face Union General Rosecrans army. Bragg now has 75,000 to face Rosecrans’ 57,000.

1864: Confederate General Early’s force is split near Bunker Hill, VA. Union General Sheridan begins moving toward him.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that $1 on gold equals $25 Confederate.

September 19

1861: Confederate forces attacking Lexington, MO have not only surrounded the town, but have sealed off river traffic to the town, preventing the Union defenders from resupply.

1862: Confederates begin pulling back into Virginia. Union General McClellan does not order a pursuit.
Battle of Iuka, MS. Union commanders: Generals Edward Ord and William Rosecrans. Confederate commander: General Sterling Price. Ord attacks Price from the north of the town, but Rosecrans is delayed, allowing Price to escape. Union victory.

1863: Battle of Chickamauga, Northern Georgia and Southern Tennessee. Union commander: General William Rosecrans. Confederate commander: General Braxton Bragg. Day One: Union General Thomas sends two brigades against what was believed to be a weak Confederate brigade and end up engaging Bragg’s reserve corps as well as Forrest’s cavalry. Reinforcements from both sides pour in and soon control of the battle is lost. At 11 a.m. Union troops form a command and control structure with Generals Thomas in the middle, Crittenden on the left, and McCook on the right. By noon, a hole has formed in the Union lines which the confederates try to exploit, but with no success. Fighting ends at nightfall with no decision. A noted participant is the future novelist Ambrose Bierce, a 1st Lieutenant in the 9th IN.

1864: Confederate General Price leads a raid into Missouri with the target being St Louis, MO. This will be a last desperate move since of the 12,000 men marching with Price, only 8000 of them are armed.
Battle of Opequon Creek, VA. Union commander: General Philip Sheridan. Confederate commander; General Jubal Early. Early tries to delay Sheridan’s advance toward Winchester, VA. Confederates are thrown back with General Robert Rhodes being killed. Union victory.
Confederate agents seize the vessel Philo Parsons after leaving Detroit, MI. The plan was to free Confederate POWs held at Johnson’s Island. The plan falls apart and the agents flee to Canada.

September 20

1861: Lexington, MO falls to Confederate forces.

1862: Union armies under Generals Thomas and Buell link up at Bowling Green, KY and begin to move toward Louisville, KY
Union General McClellan still has not moved from Sharpsburg, MD.
Confederate troops under General Price have begun a withdrawal from Iuka, MS.

1863: Battle of Chickamauga, Day Two. Confederate General Polk moves to attack two hours late. By 9:00 a.m. the Union left is smashed, causing Thomas (now on the left) to call for reinforcements. It is believed that the request was poorly interpreted and the result was that a huge hole was created in the Union lines, which is found quickly. Longstreet launches an assault at 11:15 with 20000 men and forces a collapse of the Union defense. The Army of the Cumberland (Union) is split in two and falls back in panic, except for Thomas’ troops, who placed themselves on Horseshoe Ridge and hold off Confederate attacks for the rest of the day. It is noted that several of Thomas’s regiments were equipped with Henry repeating rifles, which were instrumental in holding the Confederates at bay. The Confederates are soon spent and Thomas begins an orderly retreat toward Chattanooga, TN where the Union army will soon be besieged. Thomas would soon become known as “The Rock of Chickamauga.” Confederate victory, the only such major victory for the CSA in the West. One of those killed in the battle was Confederate General Ben Hardin Helm, brother-in-law of US President Lincoln.

1864: Union General Sheridan is now in pursuit of Confederate General Early’s troops, hitting them at Middletown and Strasburg, VA.
Confederate General Price captures Keytesville, MO.
Confederate General Forrest and his troopers are in Northern Alabama and plan to raid into Tennessee.

September 21

1862: A Federal reconnaissance force crosses the Potomac River at Blackford’s Ford, VA and skirmishes with elements of Confederate General A. P. Hill’s corps that was covering the Confederate retreat back into Virginia.
Confederate General Bragg’s troops leave Mumfordville, KY for Bardstown, KY in order to link up with General Smith’s forces. This move leaves the door open for Union General Buell to advance on Louisville, KY.

1863: Union General Rosecrans is collecting his army in Chattanooga, TN while the Confederates waste time looting captured Federal supplies. It is late afternoon before Confederate General Bragg orders a pursuit. This angers the cavalry commander, General Forrest, who told Bragg that “every hour is worth a thousand men.”

1864: Confederate General Forrest gets close to the Union garrison at Athens, TN.
Battle of Fisher’s Hill (Cedar Creek), VA. Union commander: General Philip Sheridan. Confederate commander: General Jubal Early. Sheridan’s attack pushed back the Confederate picket line and captures the high ground. Fighting ends at night fall. During the night, Union General Crook’s Army of West Virginia move into concealed positions to await morning.

September 22

1861: Pro-Union raiders burn the town of Osceola, MO.
Skirmishes at Papinsville and Elliot’s Mills, MO

1862: US President Lincoln issues his Emancipation Proclamation, citing the recent Union victory at Sharpsburg, MD. On January 1, 1863, all slaves in areas still in rebellion will be declared free. This now puts the Union war effort as both the restoration of the Union and the freeing of the slaves. This also puts the US on the moral high ground and also closes the door on any British of French recognition of the CSA.

1863: Union General Burnside begins the East Tennessee Campaign by attacking Confederate troops at Blountsville, TN defeating them.
Confederate General Bragg’s forces run into entrenched Union positions near Chattanooga, TN and another chance to destroy a Union force is lost.
News of the Union defeat at Chickamauga has reached US President Lincoln and he is wondering if Rosecrans can even hold Chattanooga, TN.

1864: Battle of Fisher’s Hill (Cedar Creek), VA. Day Two. Union General Crook’s troops launch an attack that collapses the Confederate line. Early retreats toward Rockfish Gap, losing 20 cannon in the process and opening the entire Shenandoah Valley to Sheridan. Union victory.

September 23

1861: Small engagement at Hanging Rock, Western Virginia.

1862: Union General McClellan has stopped his army on the Potomac River near Harper’s Ferry, WV. He believes that Confederate General Lee will force another crossing. In fact, Lee has no other plans than to reassemble his army near Winchester, VA.

1863: US President Lincoln is awakened at the Soldiers’ Home with the news that Secretary of War Stanton has called a Council of War. (During the summer, Lincoln slept at the Soldier’s Home because the White House was not well ventilated.)

1864: Confederate General Early’s shattered army falls back toward New Market, VA.

September 24

1861: Adding to the list of things to be held against him, Union General Fremont orders the St Louis Evening News closed and the editor arrested after an editorial is printed chiding him for his inaction concerning the Union defeat at Lexington, MO.

1862: Troops under Union General Buell reach Louisville, KY.
US President Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus in cases involving interference with recruitment and draft efforts.

1863: Confederate General Bragg’s forces have positioned them on Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, effectively cutting Union General Rosecrans’ supply line and sealing his army in Chattanooga, TN.
US President Lincoln meets with Secretaries Stanton (War), Seward (State), Chase (Treasury), and General-in-Chief Halleck to discuss the situation in Tennessee. Recognizing that Chattanooga TN, is the key to any future offensive into the Deep South, Orders are prepared to have Generals Grant and Burnside send reinforcements, as well as 20,000 from the Army of the Potomac.


1864: Union General Sheridan begins a scorched earth policy in the Shenandoah Valley, VA. Anything of any value to the Confederacy is burned. It was said at the time that the destruction would be so complete that “birds flying across the valley would have to carry their own provender.”
Confederate troops under General Price attack Fayette, MO.
Confederate General Forrest captures Athens, AL.

September 25

1861: US Navy Secretary Gideon Welles gives orders that “contrabands” (escaped slaves) can enlist in the Navy, almost two years before the same would be authorized for the Army.
Skirmish at Chapmanville, Western Virginia.
Skirmish at Canada Alamosa, New Mexico Territory.
Minot engagement at Lewinsville, VA.

1862: Union General McClellan sends in demands for supplies, uniforms, and reinforcements. Supplies and uniforms are sent, but not a single man is released from the Washington, DC defenses.

1863: Union 11th and 12th Corps, under General Hooker, begins to deploy to Chattanooga, TN to reinforce General Rosecrans.
Union General Burnside receives orders to reinforce General Rosecrans at Chattanooga but instead heads for Jonesboro, TN.

1864: Confederate General Early is forced to retreat to Brown’s Pass, VA. In the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Confederate General Forrest captures the Sulphur Branch Trestle in northern Alabama, disrupting Federal rail traffic.
CS President Davis visits General Hood at Palmetto, GA to discuss the current situation.

September 26

1861: Skirmish at Lucas Bend, KY.

1862: The Confederate Foreign Policy Committee issues a report calling for the Mississippi River to be kept open for trade, following a Confederate victory in the war, and that favored trade status be given to the Northwestern States.
Confederate General Bragg issues a proclamation calling on Northwest states to force the US government to stop the war.

1863: Union General Hooker’s troops reach Alexandria, VA to take trains for Tennessee.

1864: Skirmishes occur at Port Republic and Brown’s Gap, VA as Union General Sheridan’s troops press Confederate General Early.
Confederate General Forrest strikes a Federal garrison neat Pulaski, TN.
Confederate General Price’s troops engage Federals at Arcadia Valley, Shut-in-Gap, and Ironton, MO.

September 27

1861: Union General McClellan meets with US President Lincoln and the Cabinet about a new offensive into Virginia.
Confederates abandon a fort at Munson’s Hill, VA.

1862: There is panic in Louisville, KY as Confederate General Bragg’s forces approach and there is no confidence that Union General Buell’s troops will arrive in time.

1863: It took the better part of a day, but all of the horses and artillery of Union General Hooker’s force are on trains heading for Tennessee.

1864: Confederate General Price attacks the Union garrison at Ft Davidson, MO. He fails to capture the fort but the garrison escapes during the night.
Confederate raiders under William “Bloody Bill” Anderson attack and kill 24 unarmed Union soldiers at Centralia, MO. He then attacks the Union troops coming to reinforce the garrison.

September 28

1861: An early indication of how Union General McClellan operates is made apparent when he states that he can not conduct an offensive with any less than 150,000 men. McClellan cites reports that the Confederates have at least 150,000 (in fact, they did not have even 50,000).

1862: Union General McClellan is still under the assumption that he is outnumbered, not realizing that he has 100,000 troops and that Confederate General Lee only had 53,000.

1863: Battle of Fordoche Bridge, LA. Union commander: General Napoleon Dana. Confederate commander: General Tom Green. Union forces were marching in support of General Banks’ attempt to attack Texas when Dana’s troops were attacked by the Confederates. Skirmishing began at dawn while the battle proper was in full force at mid-day. Union lines were broken and only the cavalry escaped getting captured. Confederate victory.
Union General Rosecrans has brought charges against Generals McCook and Crittenden and they are ordered to Indianapolis, IN to stand before a court of inquiry. The main problem with that is they are all trapped in Chattanooga, TN. The only effect of this is a lowering of the morale of the besieged troops. This on top of the already short rations.

1864: Confederate General Price resumes his advance toward St Louis, MO.
Atlanta, GA is now reportedly clear of civilians. Atlanta Campaign ends.
Union Admiral Farragut takes sick leave, leaving Admiral David Porter in charge of the Union blockade and Admiral S.P. Lee (a relation to Confederate General Lee) in command of US Naval forces on the Mississippi River.
CS President Davis orders General Hardee relieved from command of a corps of General Hood’s army and reassigned him to command the Department of South Carolina.
Private James Henry Gooding, a private in the 54th MA, writes US President Lincoln to complain about the lower pay African-American soldiers are receiving.

September 29

1861; Munson’s Hill, VA is occupied by Federal troops. A friendly fire incident occurred nearby when the 69th PA fired on the 71st PA, killing nine.
Robert Knox Sneeden, a private who had joined the Union Army as a member of the 40th NY, writes about participating in an exercise which ended in a fistfight between members of the regiment.

1862: In Louisville, KY there was a duel between Union Generals Jefferson C. Davis (no relation to CS President Davis) and William Nelson. Nelson is killed. The incident never comes to trial. This happen on the same day that General Buell’s forces reach the city.

1863: Union General Grant received orders to send troops to the aid of the trapped Union force in Chattanooga, TN. General Sherman’s corps is already headed east and most of General McPherson’s corps has left Vicksburg, MS and is also heading east.

1864: Confederate cavalry under General Forrest skirmish with Federals neat Lynchburg, TN.
Confederates in Cuba seize the US vessel Roanoke in violation of Spanish neutrality (Cuba at the time was a Spanish possession).
Union General Sheridan’s and Confederate General Early’s troops skirmish near Waynesboro, VA.
Union Generals Birney and Ord launch an assault on the Richmond, VA defenses. XVII Corps (Ord) manages to take Ft Harrison but X Corps (Birney) is repulsed at Ft Gilmer.
Union forces push from Weldon Railroad towards the Southside Railroad near Petersburg, VA.
Action at Leesburg and Cuba, MO.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes about having breakfast with a Mr. Tyler. The meal consisted of two loaves of bread, two cups of coffee and six eggs. The bill came to $16.

September 30

1861: Things have settled down, but there are still problems. Skirmishing is still taking place in Missouri and Union General Fremont is causing a firestorm with recent actions. Kentucky is about to become a major war zone. Western Virginia is turning out in favor of the Union. Above all this, there is a major public clamor for a Union offensive into Virginia.

1862: Photographer Matthew Brady opens an exhibit of photographs taken on the Antietam, MD battlefield. Called “The Dead of Antietam,” this exhibit allows civilians to view the aftermath of a battle for the first time.
Engagement at Newtonia, MO.

1863: Confederate cavalry under General Wheeler begin disrupting lines of communication and supply to the Union army now trapped in Chattanooga, TN. The Siege of Chattanooga has begun.
Even if women could not vote in elections, they were still urged to get their men out to vote, as evidence during a campaign to re-elect Andrew Curtin Governor of Pennsylvania.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that in Richmond, VA, butter sells for $4 a pound, bacon for $3 a pound, lard for $2.25 a pound, beef for $1.25 a pound, lamb for $1.25 a pound, veal for $1.50 a pound, sausages for $1 each, chickens for $7 per pair, ducks for $5 a pair, salted herrings for $4 per dozen, cabbage for $1.50 each, green corn for $2 per dozen, sweet potatoes for $26 a bushel, regular potatoes for .75 a quart, butter-beans for $1.50 per quart, , onions for $1.50 per quart, eggplant for $2 each, tomatoes for $1 a quart, and soap for $1.50 a pound. Buying a pair of boots will take $100, shoes for $60, a mattress will set you back $40, blankets for $40, and sheets for $25 each.

1864: Union General Grant extends his lines southwest of Petersburg, VA, capturing Ft Archer from the Confederates.
Confederate General Lee attempts to take back Ft Harrison from the Federals, but fails. Lee now has only 50,000 troops to cover 35 miles of trenches.

Birthdays:

US Attorney General Edward Bates, 1793
John Burns, the civilian "Hero of Gettysburg", 1793
Confederate Admiral Franklin Buchanan, 1800
Union Admiral Samuel DuPont, 1803
Union General Samuel Heintzelman, 1805
Union Admiral Andrew Foote, 1806
Confederate General Sterling Price, 1809
Confederate Naval Captain Raphael Semmes, commander of CSS Alabama, 1809
Union General Alphesus Williams, 1810
Union General John Sedgewick, 1813
Confederate General Francis Bartow, 1816
Richard Jordan Gatling, inventor of the Gatling Gun, 1818
US Consul in Liverpool, England Thomas Dudley, 1819
Union General Henry Hunt, 1819
Union General William Rosecrans, 1819
Union General John Reynolds, 1820
Confederate General Earl Van Dorn, 1820
Union General Alvin Hovey, 1821
Union General Baron Adolf Wilhelm August Friedrich von Steinwehr, 1822
Union General Hiram Berdan, who created two regiments of United States Sharpshooters, 1823
Union General Truman Seymour, 1824
Union General Charles Stone, 1824
Union General Henry Slocum, 1827
Union General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, who initially led the 20th ME at Gettysburg, PA, 1828
Union General George Crook, 1828
Founder of the US Signal Corps, Union Colonel Albert Myer, 1828
Union General George Crook, 1829
Confederate General States Rights Gist, 1831
Union General John Schofield, 1831
Confederate General George Washington Custis Lee, 1832
Union Colonel Paul Joseph Revere, commander of the 20th MA and grandson of famed
Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere, 1832
Confederate General Joseph Wheeler, 1836
Union General James Wilson, 1837
Confederate Major John Pelham, the "Gallant Pelham", 1838
Political Cartoonist Thomas Nast, 1840

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

November 1

1861: Union General Fremont finally receives the order relieving him, but he arrests the messenger. Meanwhile, Confederate General Price has moved too far for Fremont to do anything.
Skirmishing continues in Western Virginia.
Union Naval fleet sailing for Port Royal, SC runs into weather problems off Cape Hatteras, NC, losing one transport (USS Sabine) in the process.
Union General Winfield Scott formally retires from the US Army. He had been in the service since the War of 1812.

1862: Confederates flee Plymouth, NC as Union naval forces seize the town.
Skirmishing at Philomont, VA.
An article in the Cincinnati, OH Gazette calls for the mechanization of farming to ease the labor shortage causes by many farmers joining the Union Army.

1863: Ft Sumter, SC bombarded by Federal siege batteries.
Union General Averill leads his cavalry on raids behind Confederate lines in WV.
Union General Sherman’s forces are enroute to Chattanooga, stopping at Eastport, TN.

1864: Confederate General Hood finds neither the rail line to Decatur, AL repaired nor has he received the supplies that he has ordered. This will hamper his operations.
Two divisions of the Union XVI Corps, who were recently in Missouri, move to rejoin General Thomas at Nashville, TN.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that he has arrived at Camp Lawton (Millen, GA).

November 2

1861: Union General Fremont sees the light and gives up command of the Department of Missouri.

1862: CSS Alabama leaves Nova Scotia for the waters near Bermuda.
Cavalry action at Bloomfield, VA.
Union General Grant moves his forces toward Holly Springs, MS to engage Confederate General Van Dorn’s troops.

1863: Union General Banks lands troops at Brazos Santiago, TX in another attempt to invade Texas.
US President Lincoln accepts a last minute invitation to say a few words at the dedication ceremony for a new military cemetery at Gettysburg, PA.
CS President Davis delivers a speech to embattled residents in Charleston, SC as Ft Sumter is bombarded again.

1864: New York, NY officials are warned of a Confederate plot to burn the city.
Confederate General Forrest’s fleet suffers a defeat at Johnsonville, TN.

November 3

1861: Small scale action in Western Virginia continues.

1862: Skirmishing continues in Loudon County, VA.

1863: Confederate cavalry attack Collierville, TN but are forced back to Mississippi when Union reinforcements arrive.
Union General Sherman detaches General Dodge’s division to rebuild the railroad from Memphis, TN to Stevenson, AL.

1864: Union IV Corps reaches Pulaski, TN. At the same time, one of Confederate General Forrest’s gunboats, the Undine, repulse three Federal boats on the Tennessee River.

November 4

1861: Union fleet regroups off Port Royal Sound, SC.
Union General McClellan has been organizing and training the Army of the Potomac, making himself popular in the process. He ignores calls from the Lincoln Administration to do any kind of offensive action. McClellan also begins criticizing the President, both publicly and privately.
Confederate General Jackson begins to moves his forces toward the Shenandoah Valley, VA.

1862: Union forces seize Hamilton, NC, chasing the same Confederates who fled Plymouth.
US Congressional elections end with Democrats gaining in many states, but Republicans maintain control of the US House of Representatives.
An article in the Philadelphia, PA Public Ledger illustrates the effect of a shortage of cotton on other industries, such as paper manufacturing.
An article in the Charleston, SC Mercury calls on Confederate citizens to save their rags for industrial use.

1863: Confederate General Bragg orders General Longstreet to move against Union General Burnside in Eastern Tennessee.
Union troops under General Banks capture Brownsville, TX.

1864: Confederate General Forrest attacks the Union supply base at Johnsonville, TN causing $2,000,000 in damage. This after he loses his fleet.
Confederate General Breckenridge leads a raid into east Tennessee from Virginia.

November 5

1861: Because of inclement weather, the Port Royal, SC assault is postponed until November 7.

1862: Union task force continues up the Roanoke River NC, but turns back when illness strikes the troops.
US President Lincoln orders General McClellan removed from command of the Army of the Potomac. General Burnside is assigned the command, even though he does not want it.
Skirmishing at Barbee’s Cross Roads and Chester’s Gap, VA.
Confederate attack on Nashville, TN is repulsed.

1863: Confederate Colonel Mosby and his Partisan Rangers continue to cause havoc for Union troops in Northern Virginia.
Union General Grant decides to allow General Burnside to hold Knoxville, TN while he concentrates on driving the Confederates from Chattanooga, TN.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that a barrel of flour was sold at an auction for $100, and then sold for $120.

1864: Confederate General Forrest begins to move his forces to rejoin General Hood’s army. Meanwhile, Hood is holding a Council of War with his commanders. He wants to press the advance north while the others are concerned that Union General Sherman will not follow them.

November 6

1860: Abraham Lincoln elected 16th President of the United States. First Republican elected.

1861: Jefferson Davis elected 1st President of the Confederate States. He was previously the provisional President.
Union General Grant leads 3500 men from Cairo, IL down the Mississippi River.

1862: Confederate Generals Longstreet and Jackson are promoted to Lieutenant General and assigned as commanders of First and Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia.
Skirmish at Gerrettsburg, KY.

1863: Union forces under General W.W. Averill defeat Confederates at Droop Mountain, WV, ending all Confederate attempts to reclaim Western Virginia.
Union forces under General Banks take Point Isabel and Brownsville, TX.
There is violent reaction to Maryland’s approval of a new state constitution in which slavery is outlawed. Local slave owners have refused to give up their slaves. One of the methods used to keep African-Americans in bondage was to “apprentice” the children for long periods. In other words, the parents were freed but the children kept.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that a common shirt can be bought for $40 per pair. Beef sells for $1.50 a pound and pork for $2 a pound.
Union Sergeant John Ransom, a quartermaster with the 9th MI Cavalry, is captured near Rogersville, TN. He begins to document his experiences.

1864: Authorities in Chicago, IL arrest the leaders in a Confederate plot to liberate prisoners at Camp Douglas and burn down the city.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes about the Presidential election going on up north. He is mad that Union authorities had suspended the exchange system. During a mock vote in the prison, he votes for McClellan.

1865: CSS Shenandoah surrenders to British authorities at Liverpool, UK.

November 7

1861: A Union force under General Grant attacks Confederate positions near Belmont, MO. Confederate General Polk is slow to send aid at first because he thinks the main target of the attack is Columbus, KY. Reinforcements are then sent and Grant has to withdraw in the face of 13,000 men and heavy artillery fire.
Union fleet sweeps up the channel between Hilton Head and St Philip’s Islands, SC and engage the Confederate’s Ft Beauregard. By 11 a.m. the fort was silenced. Another fort, Ft Walker, was also silenced at noon. That afternoon, both islands were in Union hands, giving the Federals a base to support the blockade of the South Carolina Coast.

1862: Union General McClellan receives the order relieving him of command.
Skirmishes at Big Beaver Creek, Mo and Marianna, AR.

1863: Union forces capture Lewisburg, WV.
Union troops cross the Rappahannock River, capturing 1600 of Confederate General Early’s troops and forcing General Lee to retreat across the Rapidan just as his army was about to settle into winter quarters.
Federal troops depart Fayetteville, AR for an expedition into an area known as Frog Bayou.

1864: CS President Davis makes an upbeat address to the Confederate Congress. He then sends orders to General Hood to press on to the Ohio River, but Hood is not that optimistic.

November 8

1861: Confederate commissioners Mason and Slidell leave Cuba aboard the British mail steamer Trent. In international waters, the Trent is stopped by USS San Jacinto, boarded, and Mason and Slidell taken aboard the Union warship. This is in violation of international treaty. This starts the Trent Incident.

1862: Union General Butler orders New Orleans breweries closed, not knowing that General Banks has been appointed to succeed him as commander.
Skirmish at Hudsonville, MS.

1863: Union General Meade’s advance continues with skirmishes at Warrenton and Culpepper Court house, VA.
Skirmishes at Vermillionville and Bayou Junica, LA.
Confederate General Bragg is conducting a purge of all senior commanders in his army. The latest to get his walking papers is General D.H. Hill, who is replaced by General Breckenridge.

1864: US President Lincoln elected to a second term.

November 9

1861: Union General Halleck is assigned command of the Department of the Missouri.
Union General Sherman is relieved of command after reporting numerous Confederate movements and stating that 200,000 troops are needed to win in the Mississippi valley. Sherman is reassigned to the Department of the Missouri amid accusations of insanity.
Union troops capture Beaufort, SC, cutting off communications between Savannah, GA and Charleston, SC.
Mary Chesnut writes, “Yankee invaders have succeeded in establishing themselves on our soil----Oh God help us!”
Pro-Union uprising in eastern Kentucky causing concern for Confederates there who want to hold the state for the CSA.

1862: Blockade runner Robert E. Lee captured off the North Carolina coast.
A Union reconnaissance force captures 34 Confederates at Fredericksburg, VA.
Union General Burnside officially assumes command of the Army of the Potomac.

1863: US President Lincoln attends a performance of Marble Heart starring the actor John Wilkes Booth.
Union troops head toward New Kent Court House, VA amid an early snowfall.
Skirmishing between Union troops and pro-Confederate Indians in the Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory (Oklahoma).
US President Lincoln receives a letter complaining that the draft is not being enforced in Pennsylvania.

1864; Union General Schofield and XXIII Corps passes through Nashville, TN and is heading toward Pulaski, TN.
Union General Sherman begins planning to advance on Savannah, GA. The overall plan is to march to Savannah, then swing north into the Carolinas. The long range goal is to join up with General Grant in Virginia, over 1000 miles away.

November 10

1861: Skirmishes at Guyandot and Gauley Bridge, VA.

1862: Union General McClellan departs the Army of the Potomac with much ceremony.

1863: Ft Sumter continues to be bombarded at the average rate of 600 shells a day.

1864: Confederate General Early takes one more shot at Union General Sheridan, despite the fact that Early’s army is mostly destroyed. Confederates move from New Market, VA.
Confederate General Breckenridge moves his forces into East Tennessee and finds Union forces waiting for him at Bull’s Gap.
Confederate General Forrest reaches Corinth, MS en route to join General Hood’s army.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that coal is selling for $90 for a 25 bushel load.

1865: Confederate Captain Henry Wirz, superintendent of Andersonville, GA prison, is executed in Washington, DC, the only one from either side to be convicted of war crimes.

November 11

1861: Celebrations marking the appointment of General McClellan as General-in-Chief of the Union Army include a torchlight parade through the streets of Washington, DC.
An article in the Keokuk, IA, Daily Gate City highlights the work of women in the US Sanitary Commission and calls for men not to limit them.

1862: Union General Burnside’s first act as army commander is to change the plan General McClellan had formed for an assault on Richmond, VA. Burnside begins formulating a plan to advance on the Confederate Capital by way of Fredericksburg, VA.

1863: Confederate General Longstreet and his troops reach the end of the rail line at Loudon, TN. Wagons are now used to carry supplies and the men start marching as they advance on Knoxville, TN.
Skirmishing at Greenleaf Prairie, Indian Territory (Oklahoma), Natchez, MS, and Vermillion Bayou, LA.

1864: Union and Confederate forces clash at Bull’s Gap, TN starting two days of battles that result in Union troops being driven off. Battle ends on November 13 as a Confederate victory.
Union General Sherman’s troops begin destroying anything of value at Atlanta and Rome, GA. His army is amassing as much supplies as the wagons can carry and they plan to live off the land as they march. It is a major risk in 19th Century warfare to advance more than 100 miles without a supply base. Sherman has decided that there will not be a supply base for his march.
US President Lincoln reveals to his Cabinet in a meeting how he would have handled the situation if he lost the election. Secretary of State Seward remarked that McClellan would have done nothing during the transition period.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, refuses to take an oath not to escape from Millen, GA prison.

November 12

1861: Union General McClellan reforms the Union command structure with a series of departments. The overall Department of the West is divided into the Department of New Mexico (Colonel Canby), Department of Kansas, consisting of Kansas, the Indian Territory (Oklahoma), Nebraska, Colorado, and Dakota Territory (General Hunter), and the Department of Missouri, consisting of Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Arkansas, and Western Kentucky (General Halleck). Other departments include the Department of the Ohio (Eastern Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Tennessee) under General Buell and the Department of Western Virginia under General Rosecrans. General McClellan takes control of the Department of the Potomac, which includes Virginia.

1862: Union victories have left General Rosecrans overextended, fortunately the Confederates do not have a commander that can take advantage of the situation, they have General Bragg!

1863: Pro-Union delegates meet on how to get Arkansas back into the Union.

1864: Union and Confederate troops skirmish near Cedar Creek, VA.
Confederate General Longstreet’s forces on the move from Loudon, TN.
Union General Sherman’s troops begin pulling down most of the structures in Atlanta, GA.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, has become a clerk with a Surgeon White in the prison hospital.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that the prisoners receive news of US President Lincoln's re-election.

November 13

1861: US President Lincoln visits General McClellan at his home. Not only does the general ignore the President, but he heads for bed!
Dr Mary Walker writes a letter home describing conditions in her hospital, located in the US Patent Office in Washington, DC. She is currently helping 80 patients.

1862: Confederate General Bragg advances on Murfreesboro, TN as some of his troops clash with Union forces near Nashville, TN.
Union forces under General Grant take Holly Springs, MS.

1863: Skirmishing at Palmyra and Blythe’s Ferry, TN.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that flour now sells for $110 a pound, corn meal for $20 a bushel, bacon for $3 a hoground, lard for $2.30 a pound, butter for $4 a pound, eggs for $2.25 a dozen, regular potatoes for $8 a bushel, sweet potatoes for $12 a bushel, candles for $4 a pound, salt for .45 a pound, coffee for $9 a pound, sugar for $3.25 a pound, molasses for $15 a gallon, rice for .35 a pound, whiskey for as much as $70 a gallon, apple brandy for $50 a gallon, rum for $50 a gallon, French brandy for as much as $100 a gallon, beef and mutton selling for $1.50 a pound, pork for $2 a pound, shoe leather (sole) for $7.50 a pound, shoe leather (uppers) for $8 a pound, harness leather for $6 a pound, hides for $2.75 each, tanning oil for $5 a gallon, and common tobacco for $1.25 a pound.
Union Sergeant John Ransom and other Union prisoners have reached the Confederate Prison at Belle Island, located in the middle of the James River at Richmond, VA.

1864: Confederate General Early orders his army to rejoin General Lee at Petersburg, VA. Union forces have complete control of the Shenandoah Valley and will keep it for the remainder of the war.
Confederate General Hood establishes his headquarters at Florence, AL.
Union Sergeant John Ransom refuses a job as a clerk at Camp Lawton (Millen, GA).

November 14

1861: Union General McClellan orders General Halleck to clean up the corruption he believes was rampant in General Fremont’s former command.

1862: Union General Burnside organizes the Army of the Potomac into three “Grand Divisions.” Right Grand Division (General Sumner), made up of II Corps (General Couch) and IX Corps (General Wilcox), Center Grand Division (General Hooker), made up of III Corps (General Stoneman) and V Corps (General Butterfield), and the Left Grand Division (General Franklin), made up of I Corps (General Reynolds) and VI Corps (General Smith). Detached units include the XI Corps at Manassas Junction, VA and the XII Corps at Harper’s Ferry, WV.

1863: Union General Sherman and 17,000 men arrive at Bridgeport, AL.
A disadvantage of the Confederate Government’s decentralized system is made apparent when the threat of force is considered to make North Carolina farmers pay taxes. The farmers feel that they owe more to the state than the central government. Isn’t that what they are fighting for?
A letter from a US Christian Commission member makes it plain that not only is it their mission to help soldiers, but lead them to Christ as well.

1864: Bad weather forces Confederate General Breckenridge to order his troops back into Virginia.
After losing the Presidential Election, George McClellan resigns from the US Army.
Union General Schofield reaches Pulaski, TN, bringing the Union force there to 18,000 with 5000 in reserve.
Confederate General Forrest reaches Florence, AL and joins General Hood.
Union General Kilpatrick’s cavalry leaves Atlanta, GA while General Slocum’s XX Corps heads for Decatur, GA.

November 15

1861: USS San Jacinto reaches Hampton Roads, VA and the commander, Captain John Wilkes, reports that he has the Confederate commissioners Mason and Slidell on board.
Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) organizing assistance for Union hospitals.

1862: Union General Burnside begins moving his army from Warrenton, VA to Fredericksburg, VA.

1863: Confederate General Wheeler’s cavalry joined General Longstreet’s army.
Union General Grant plans for the breakout from Chattanooga, TN by using General Sherman’s and Hooker’s troops for the main push.

1864: Atlanta, GA is now a wasteland as Union troops prepare to leave.

November 16

1861: Upon the news of the captured Confederate commissioners reaching Washington, DC, US President Lincoln is urged to release them immediately in order to avoid diplomatic trouble with Britain. Lincoln refuses.
Private Robert Sneeden, 40th NY, writes about a theatre being built for the entertainment of Union soldiers in Alexandria, VA. He also describes the daily whiskey ration.

1862: Union General Burnside’s reasoning for going through Fredericksburg, VA is simple; Washington, DC can still be covered, supply routes are shorter, and the distance to Richmond, VA is only 75 miles. The only question is whether he can pull it off.

1863: Union forces capture Corpus Christi, TX.
Battle of Campbell’s Station, TN. Union commander: General Ambrose Burnside. Confederate commander: General James Longstreet. Both armies are on parallel roads but Burnside reaches Campbell’s Station first. Longstreet responds by attacking both Union flanks. Burnside decides to retreat back toward Knoxville, TN. Confederate victory. Longstreet besieges Knoxville.
An article in the Philadelphia Press calls for higher wages for workers as the costs of goods and services rise.

1864: March to the Sea begins as Union General Sherman severs all communications with the North and begins to move his army toward Savannah, GA. The force of 60,000 carries 20 day’s rations. Opposing them are 10,000 Confederate infantry, 300 militia, and 10,000 cavalry. The Union force is marching in two columns, the first toward Lovejoy Station, GA and the other towards Augusta, GA.
Skirmish at Strawberry Plains, TN.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that prisoners are now being taken out of Camp Lawton (Millen, GA), as word of Union General Sherman's army is known. Rumor is they are going to Florida.

November 17

1861: Provisional Confederate Congress gathers in Richmond, VA.
Union General McClellan writes a letter to his wife in which he makes disparaging remarks about President Lincoln and Secretary of State Seward.

1862: Union vanguard reaches Falmouth, opposite Fredericksburg, VA and finds the Rappahannock River too deep to march across. Pontoon bridges are needed. A Confederate battery gives the Union troops a welcome but is soon suppressed. An idea was floated to send troops across to find suitable fords but General Burnside will not hear of it. He orders no action until the bridging material and the rest of the army arrives. Confederate General Lee is not idle, he is sending artillery and cavalry to the area to hold things until the rest of the army can get there.
CSS Alabama arrives at Martinique.

1863: Union troops drive off Confederates on Mustang Island, near Aransas Pass, TX.
US President Lincoln begins writing the speech he will give at Gettysburg, PA.

1864: CS President Davis denounces any plans by the seceded states to make a separate peach with the Union.
Skirmish at Flat Creek, TN.

November 18

1861: Confederate Congress opens its session in Richmond, VA. All is not united in the CSA as pro-Union groups meet in North Carolina and a secessionist government is formed in Kentucky, meaning that state has two governments.
Union Commodore Porter is assigned the task of amassing vessels for a planned attack on New Orleans.

1862: USS San Jacinto arrives off Martinique to prevent CSS Alabama from leaving. The Confederate ship does anyway.
Skirmish at Rural Hills, TN.
Confederate General Stuart has confirmed that the Union army has left Warrenton, VA and is headed for Fredericksburg, VA. General Lee orders General Longstreet to march there immediately.

1863: US President Lincoln departs Washington, DC for Gettysburg, PA. He is accompanied by Secretary of State Seward and the Ambassador from France. They will arrive that evening.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, is back in the field near Rappahannock Station, VA.

1864: Confederate General Hood finally gets his army across the Tennessee River at Florence, AL.
CS President Davis orders General Howard Cobb to do everything possible to stop Union General Sherman’s march in Georgia.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that to get in a months groceries would cost him $762.50. Three years ago that amount would buy a years worth.

November 19

1861: CS President Davis, in his inaugural message, calls for the building of additional rail links throughout the Confederacy in order to aid the war effort.
Union General Halleck assumes command of the Department of the Missouri in St Louis, MO.
Mary Chesnut writes, “The report is that Mason & Slidell are in Fortress Monroe--- taken from under the British flag. Oh that we could hear a growl from the British Lion.”

1862: James Seddon appointed Confederate Secretary of War.
Confederate General Jackson ordered to march his troops to Fredericksburg, VA in order to aid General Lee.

1863: US President Lincoln appears at the dedication of the first National Cemetery at Gettysburg, PA. After orator Edmund Everett delivers a two and one half hour speech, Lincoln then steps up and delivers a two minute speech that becomes one of the greatest speeches in American history, the Gettysburg Address. The speech was so quick that the photographer did not have time to set up his equipment, so there is no photographic record of the event except for a shot taken afterwards.

1864: Georgia Governor Brown calls on all men between 16 and 55 to help defend the state. Not many show up.
Confederate General Hood begins his invasion of Tennessee.

November 20

1861: Union General McClellan reviews 60,000 troops in Washington, DC.
Skirmish at Butler, MO.
Union troops engage Confederate sympathizers southeast of Los Angeles, CA.

1862: Confederate General Lee arrives at Fredericksburg, VA.
On the South Carolina Sea Islands, presently under Union occupation, newly freed African-Americans are being educated with great success.

1863: Union General Sherman’s movement at Chattanooga is hampered by rain, but they will soon be in place to hit the Confederate right flank.

1864: Union General Sherman’s army continues to advance through Georgia, skirmishing at Clinton, East Macon, and Griswoldville. Confederate defenders can not even slow the Federals down.

November 21

1861: Judah Benjamin replaces as Confederate Secretary of War by Leroy Walker.
Confederate General Tlighman is given command of Forts Henry and Donaldson in Tennessee.

1862: Confederate General Bragg sends General Forrest on a mission to cut Union communications.
Union General Burnside sends a letter to the Mayor of Fredericksburg, VA ordering the town’s surrender. The mayor’s reaction was to evacuate the town.

1863: US President Lincoln suffers a smallpox attack.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that a suit of clothes can be sold in Richmond for $700 and boots for $200. He also saw an opossum in a butcher’s shop sold for $10. $18 Confederate now equals $1 in gold.

1864: Confederate General Hood is now in a race with Union General Schofield’s troops to the Duck River in Tennessee.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes that $1 in gold will buy $40 Confederate. Oak wood is selling for $100 a cord. Apples are selling for $100 a barrel.

November 22

1861: Union held Ft Pickens, outside Pensacola, FL exchanges fire with Confederate batteries in the area.

1862: Union General Sumner sends his own message, promising not to fire on Fredericksburg, VA unless fired at.

1863: Union general Sherman’s troops are now ready to start the Battle of Chattanooga, TN.

1864: Union Generals Thomas and Schofield begin moving troops toward Columbia, TN in response to Confederate General Hood’s movements.
Advance Union units under General Slocum reach the Georgia capital of Milledgeville, southeast of Atlanta. (Atlanta was not the capital at the time.)
Union troops under General Charles Walcutt are stopped by Confederate cavalry under General Wheeler near Griswoldville, GA. They manage to hold off repeated attacks until reinforcements arrive.
Union Sergeant John Ransom has been taken out of Camp Lawton (Millen, GA) and placed in a train bound for Blackshear, GA, near the Florida line.

November 23

1861: A second day of artillery fire at Ft Pickens, FL convinces the Confederates that they can not take the fort. This fort will remain in Union hands during the entire war.

1862: The entire Union Army of the Potomac is on the bank of the Rappahannock River, opposite Fredericksburg, VA and no bridging material has arrived. The time for an easy occupation of the town has now passed.

1863: Battle of Chattanooga, TN. Union commander: General Ulysses Grant. Confederate commander: General Braxton Bragg. Day One; Union troops under General Sherman seize Orchard Knob near Missionary Ridge.

1864: Confederate General Hardee assumes command of the troops trying to oppose Union General Sherman’s marching army. It is interesting to note the method used to procure supplies. Using volunteers called “bummers”; these men would leave the army as the day’s marching began, usually on foot. In the evening they would return on a horse or a mule, towing a cow, and loaded down with chickens, pigs, grain, bread, and vegetables, which were turned over to the quartermaster so dinner could be cooked. The horses and mules were employed in pulling wagons and artillery. Other bummers, who were bakers in civilian life, would take over a mill where they would grind grain into flour and then bake soft bread all day long. Afterwards the mill would be destroyed to deny its use to the Confederates. A few of the bummers were thieves in civilian life so a few valuables could be found on their person.
Union Sergeant John Ransom escapes from the prison train near Doctortown, GA and hides in nearby woods.

November 24

1861: Union forces take Tybee Island, Savannah, GA.
Confederate commissioners Mason and Slidell are taken to Boston, MA and imprisoned.

1862; Skirmish at Beaver Creek, MO.
US President Lincoln writes to Union General Schurz criticizing fellow Republicans for trying to run the war for him.

1863: Battle of Chattanooga, TN. Day Two; Union General Hooker’s corps storm Lookout Mountain, with the resulting fight being called “The Battle Above the Clouds.” General Sherman attempts an assault on Missionary Ridge but is stopped by a ravine.

1864: Union General Schofield’s forces reach Columbia, TN and begin digging in, all the while being attacked by Confederate General Forrest’s cavalry.
Union General Kilpatrick makes a feint in order to get Confederate General Wheeler to concentrate his forces near Atlanta, GA.
In New York, NY, Confederate agents attempt to set several hotels on fire. The fires do not take hold and the agents are forced to flee to Canada.

November 25

1861: First load of armor needed to transform USS Merrimack into CSS Virginia reach Norfolk Navy Yard, VA.
CSS Sumter causing havoc in the Atlantis as another Federal ship is taken.
A blockade is taken off the South Carolina coast.

1862: Union General Grant has restored his lines of communication and is resuming the offensive against Vicksburg, MS.

1863: Battle of Chattanooga, TN. Day Three; Union General sends his men to the foot of Missionary Ridge but they proceed to the summit where they rout the Confederates. A brief counterattack splits the Federal line but that does not hold long. Bragg has no choice but to run and the Siege of Chattanooga ends. Union victory. A noted participant in the Union assault was a First Lieutenant named Arthur McArthur, who won the Medal of Honor. His son was General Douglas McArthur, commander of US forces in the Pacific during World War II.

1864: Confederate agents attempt to set New York, NY on fire by torching 10 hotels and Barnum’s Museum. This was a dismal failure, thankfully. They used a method of “Greek Fire” to start the blaze, but left the windows closed, so the oxygen in the room was used up.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that he is receiving help from slaves in the local area.

November 26

1861: Pro-Union delegates at Wheeling, Western Virginia call for the formation of State of West Virginia.
Captain Wilkes of USS San Jacinto treated to a lavish dinner at Boston, MA.
At Savannah, GA, Confederates at Ft Pulaski exchange fire with Federal warships with no effect.
Another Union ship falls to CSS Sumter in the Atlantic.

1862: Skirmish at Summerville, MS.

1863: Confederate General Hood’s infantry reach Columbia, TN and begin to probe Union defenses while looking to cross the Duck River.
Confederate General Wheeler’s cavalry engage two Union cavalry regiments near Atlanta, GA.
Union General Meade is attempting to turn Confederate General Lee’s right flank along the Rapidan River, VA.
Confederate General Cleburne’s troops fight a delaying action at Ringgold Gap, TN to cover General Bragg’s retreat to Dalton, GA.

1864: Heavy storms are making it difficult for Union General Schofield to cross the Duck River, TN as Confederate general Hood’s army arrives.

November 27

1861: British steamer Trent arrives in England. Reports about her boarding by USS San Jacinto are soon sent to London.
Preparations are made for the assault on New Orleans, LA with plans made to seize Ship Island, off Gulfport, MS, as a first step.
Union Secretary of War Cameron receives a letter from William Jones of Oberlin, OH expressing the desire of many African-Americans to serve in the Union Army and Navy.

1862: US President Lincoln visits the Army of the Potomac campsite near Fredericksburg, VA and confers with General Burnside.

1863: Confederate General Morgan and a few of his officers escape from a prison at Columbus, OH.
Union General Meade runs into Confederate General Lee’s right flank, now along positions Mine Run, VA.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, and several assistants were sleeping in an abandoned house near Culpepper, VA when they were captured by Confederates under Colonel Mosby.

1864: Union General Butler’s headquarters, the steamer Greyhound is blown up with no serious injuries.
Union General Schofield begins crossing the Duck River, TN in darkness.
Calvary engagement at Waynesboro, GA.

November 28

1861: Missouri is admitted to the Confederacy.
Union troops at Port Royal, SC seize slaves and foodstuffs in accordance with the Confiscation Act, allowing the seizure of any material that can help the Confederacy.

1862; Union General Grant continues his advance against Confederate General Van Dorn in Mississippi. Grant is now receiving assistance in the form of a Union column under General Hovey coming in from Arkansas.

1863: Union and Confederate troops skirmish along Mine Run, VA but nothing else develops. Union General Meade orders a corps to find a way around Confederate General Lee’s southern flank.

1864: Being hampered by bad weather and having spotted Confederate General Hood’s flanking maneuver, Union General Schofield pulls out of Columbia, TN and begin moving to the nearby town of Franklin.
Confederate General Wheeler engages Union General Kilpatrick at Buck Head Creek, but is forces to retire after high causalities among his troopers.
Joint Union Army/Navy force lands at Boyd’s Landing, SC to cut the Savannah-Charleston railroad.
Confederate General Rosser attacks the Baltimore and Ohio line at New Creek, VA.

November 29

1861: The former Federal frigate USS Merrimac, captured by the Confederates at Gosport Navy Yard, VA, has been renamed CSS Virginia and the process has begun to convert the vessel into an ironclad vessel.

1862; Confederate Army of Northern Virginia adopts a formal corps structure with General Longstreet commanding I Corps and General Jackson commanding II Corps.
Union troops building a supply base at Aquila Creek, VA to support the Fredericksburg operation.
Holly Springs, MS captured by Union troops.
Skirmish at Cane Hill, AR.
An article in the Chicago Times reported on a meeting in Dixon, Il to be held on December 1 to address what is felt to be an unfair advantage that Easterners have in getting military contracts and tax breaks.

1863: Confederate General Longstreet launches an attack on Ft Sanders, at Knoxville, TN, but stalls after 20 minutes.
The Union corps moving around Confederate General Lee’s right flank wave found the way clear and that the Confederates could be surrounded.

1864: Confederate General Hood’s forces converge at Spring Hill, TN to try and cut off Union General Schofield’s troops. Hood fails and Schofield completes his move to Franklin, TN.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about finally going to Savannah, GA. Afterwards onwards to Charleston, SC to await exchange.

November 30

1861: British Government in extreme uproar about the boarding of the vessel Trent. Lord Russell, the Foreign Secretary labeled it an “act of aggression” and prepared to recall Lord Lyons, UK Minister (Ambassador) to the US.
A Quaker group publishes an article stating its opposition to war for any reason, even emancipation.
John Sullivan Dwight, a Boston, MA music critic, writes an article calling for people to go on with cultural pursuits as if no war is going on.

1862: Confederate Captain Semmes moves his base of operations to the Leeward Islands. While in transit his ship, CSS Alabama, is approached by USS Vanderbilt but the Federal vessel does not catch her.
Confederate General Jackson’s corps arrives at Fredericksburg, VA.

1863: Union V and VI Corps are sent around the Confederate left at mine Run, VA. When everything was in place, the attack is called off. It does not help that freezing rain is also falling.
Private Robert Sneeden, mapmaker for III Corps, writes about reaching Richmond, VA and being placed into Libby prison.

1864: Battle of Franklin, TN. Union commander: General John Schofield. Confederate commander: General John Hood. Union forces reach Franklin at dawn and begin digging in. Hood arrives late and launches a frontal attack, breaking the Union line but not driving them off. At the end of the day, Hood has lost 6500 men, including five generals. Schofield manages to pull his troops out and move to Nashville. Confederates hold the field but the army is shattered. Hood decides to continue to advance on Nashville.
Joint Union Army/Navy force engage Confederates at Honey Hill, SC but pulls back after dark.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes that he is once again a prisoner, having been betrayed by a local woman to Georgia home guards.

Birthdays:

Confederate Diplomat James Mason, 1798
Confederate General Theophilus Holmes, 1804
Union Admiral John Dahlgren, 1809
Confederate General Joseph Finegan, 1810
Union General Andrew Humphreys, 1810
Union Colonel August Willich, 1810
Confederate General Ben McCulloch, 1811
Confederate General Jesse Finley, 1812
Union General Joseph Hooker, 1814
Confederate General Joseph Hardee, 1815
Confederate General Jubal Early, 1816
Confederate General William Walker, 1816
Union general Edward Canby, 1817
John Bigelow, US Consul General to Paris, France, 1817
Union General Speed Smith Fry, 1817
Confederate General Richard Garnett, 1817
Union General Benjamin Butler, 1818
Confederate Quartermaster General Alexander Lawton, 1818
Union General Benjamin Prentiss, 1819
Confederate Captain Henry Wirz, commander of Andersonville, GA prison, 1823
Union General Franz Sigel, 1824
Confederate General Ambrose Powell (A.P.) Hill, 1825
Union general Edward Wild, 1825
Union General William Lytle, 1826
Union General Alfred Terry, 1827
Confederate mapmaker Jedediah Hotchkiss, 1828
Union General James Birdseye McPherson, 1828
Union General Oliver Howard, 1830
Confederate General Albert Jenkins, 1830
Union General James Garfield, 20th President of the United States, 1831
Union General William Averell, 1832
Dr Mary Walker, Union Surgeon, 1832
Union Nurse and author of Hospital Sketches and Little Women Louisa May Alcott, 1832
Union General Thomas Ransom, 1834
Lt Col Arthur J.L. Fremantle, a British officer who observed the Battle of Gettysburg, PA, 1835
Confederate General Fitzhugh Lee, 1835
Union General Godfrey Weitzel, 1835
Union Naval Lieutenant William Cushing, who led the raid on CSS Albemarle, 1842

December 1
1861: US President Lincoln is growing frustrated with General McClellan’s inaction. Sent a letter demanding to know when he can expect the army moving.
US Cabinet is split over the Trent incident. Secretary of State Seward sets forward the idea that a war with Britain could reunite the country. President Lincoln’s response is, “one war at a time.”
USS Penguin takes the blockade runner Albion in the Atlantic.

1862: US President Lincoln gives the State of the Union Address, pledging that the full might of the Union will be used to bring about the abolition of Slavery.
Skirmishes at Charleston and Berryville, VA.

1863: Union General Meade decides that Confederate General Lee’s positions are too strong to attack, so he orders a withdraw.
Confederate spy Belle Boyd released from Old Capital Prison, Washington due to illness.
Confederate General Bragg resigns as commander of the Army of Tennessee, replaced by General William Hardee.

1864: Union General Thomas has concentrated all his army at Nashville, TN. General Schofield has joined him.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes about purchasing four yards of cloth at $12 a yard. He believes he can get a government tailor to make a suit for $50. A civilian tailor will charge $300.

December 2

1861: Union Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles reports that the newly established blockade has already resulted in the capture of 153 blockade runners.
US President Lincoln authorizes General Halleck to suspend the writ of habeas corpus in Missouri. One of the most controversial orders of the war.
CSS Patrick Henry damaged by Federal gunboats off Newport News, VA. This vessel will soon serve as the Confederate States Naval Academy. (Yes, the vessel was the academy.)
37th US Congress begins its session in Washington, DC.

1862: There is skirmishing along the Rappahannock River in Virginia, but Union troops still do not have the pontoon bridging needed to cross the river. Confederates are digging in to meet any attack.

1863: As Confederate General Hardee assumes command of the Army of Tennessee, he is urged by CS President Davis to start another offensive. Meanwhile, a Federal column is marching to assist the Union defenders at Knoxville, TN.

1864: Confederate General Hood sends troops under General William Bate to cut the Nashville-Murfreesboro rail line. At the same time he reaches Nashville and sets up a line facing the Federals. Union Thomas receives orders from Washington, DC to attack immediately.
Union General Sherman’s troops liberate the prison at Millen, GA and discover the conditions Union POWs are being kept.
Union Sergeant John Ransom, formally of that prison, was taken to Blackshear, GA.

December 3

1861: US President Lincoln makes a State of the Union Address to the 37th Congress.
Entire 3rd PA Cavalry captured at Vienna, VA.
USS Constitution carries the 26th MA and the 9th CT to Ship Island, MS. The presence of the Massachusetts troops will lead to the fort being renamed Ft Massachusetts.
Skirmish at Salem, MO.

1862: Granada, MS falls to Federal troops.
Skirmish along the Hardin Pike, near Nashville, TN.
Harper’s Weekly prints a poem by a Union soldier entitled “Thanksgiving.”

1863: Confederate General Longstreet decides that it is no longer worth the effort to take Knoxville, TN and orders his troops to Greenville, TN and into winter quarters.
Union Sergeant John Ransom writes, "Rumors of exchange to be effective soon. Rebels say we will all be exchanged before many days. It cannot be possible our government will allow us to remain here all winter. (The prison is an open enclosure and the prisoners have to build their own shelters.) Gen. Dow is still issuing clothing, but the rebels get more than our men do of it. Guards nearly all dressed in Yankee uniforms." Clothes were sent by the US Sanitary Commission, but were usually intercepted by Confederate soldiers, whose own organization can barely supply them.

1864: Both of Union General Sherman's columns begin converging on Savannah, GA.

December 4

1861: UK announces a trade embargo against the US in retaliation for the Trent incident.
Union General Halleck approves the death penalty for those caught aiding the Confederates.
Confederate raid repulsed at Dunksburg, MO.

1862: Confederate General Joe Johnston assumes command of the Department of the West.
Winchester, VA taken by Federal troops.
Rebecca Usher, a Union nurse, writes her sister on her experiences at a hospital at Chester, PA.

1863: Confederate General Longstreet abandons his siege of Knoxville and retreats to the northeast.
The previous week has seen 1307 shells strike Ft Sumter, SC.

1864: Confederate General Bates attacks Blockhouse No. 7 on the Overall Creek, TN with no success.
Battle of Waynesboro, GA. Union commander: General Judson Kilpatrick. Confederate commander: General Joseph Wheeler. Kilpatrick decides to take on Wheeler, the only creditable resistance between, General Sherman and Savannah, GA. After several attacks, Wheeler’s cavalry flees the area. Union victory.
Union General Thomas has received more demands to attack Confederate General Hood's forces. The freezing rain is hampering operations in the Nashville, TN area.
CS War Department clerk John B. Jones writes about the expenses involved in clothing his family. He got his cloth that he ordered on December 1. A government tailor has promised to make a suit for $40. His son bought a pre-war coat for $175, which was $15 at the time it was made. One of Jones' daughters made three bonnets from the scraps of old ones, the prices of three brand new ones would be $700.

December 5

1861: Confederate General William Hardee assumes command of the Central Army of Kentucky.
US Secretary of War announces troop levels of 660,971, of which 640,637 are three-year enlistees. New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois account for half.

1862: Confederate General Thomas Hindman defies orders to withdraw from Arkansas and marches against Union General Blunt’s forces at Fayetteville, AR. Blunt calls for reinforcements and General Francis Herron begins a forced march from 100 miles away in order to support Blunt.
Action at Coffeeville, MS.

1863: Confederate General Longstreet's troops finish their march despite heavy rains that turn the roads into a thick morass.
Union troops depart Little Rock, AR and head toward Princeton, AR.

1864: Confederate General Forrest attacks the Union garrisons of Blockhouse No. 4 and a fort at La Vergne, TN. Both surrender.
Union General Grant has joined the chorus that General Thomas must take the offensive.

December 6

1861: US Secretary of the Treasury announces that there is sufficient revenue to fund the war, provided that the war is over by mid-1862.

1862: Confederate General Hindman, upon hearing of Union reinforcements coming to Fayetteville, AR, decides to attack the reinforcements, and then deal with the other Union forces.

1863: Union general Sherman arrives at Knoxville, TN with orders to relieve General Burnside.
USS Weehawken sinks in Charleston Harbor, SC when an open hatch allowed water to pour into the already overloaded vessel.

1864: Confederate General Forrest engages Federals outside Murfreesboro; TN. Things calm down during the afternoon as Confederate infantry arrives to reinforce Forrest.
US President Lincoln nominates Salmon Chase, former Treasury Secretary, to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

December 7

1861: USS Santiago de Cuba stops the British vessel Eugenia Smith at the mouth of the Rio Grande River, Texas/Mexico border, and Confederate agent J.W. Zacherie is removed and placed into Union custody.
Glasgow, MO falls to Confederate forces.

1862: Battle of Prairie Grove, AR. Union commanders: Generals James Blunt and Francis Herron. Confederate commander: General Thomas Hindman. Herron’s forces arrive but are too tired to do much more than hold off Hindman’s attacks. Blunt brings in his forces but does not break the Confederate line. Battle ends in a draw, but Hindman pulls out during the night.
Confederate General John Morgan attacks the Union garrison at Hartsville, TN capturing it.
Confederate General Morgan defeats a Federal force at Hartville, TN.

1863: Seventeen Confederate agents seize the Union steamer Chesapeake and sail her to Nova Scotia.
CS President Davis gives an upbeat speech to the Confederate Cong