jjohnson
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Post by jjohnson on Feb 13, 2020 21:08:22 GMT
Chapter 10: Finishing the War in 1863Governor Parker Reminds Us of the Cause of War
New Jersey Governor Parker noted this year: " Slavery is no more the cause of this war than gold is the cause of robbery." Lincoln Comes to Gettysburg
Lee was in Maryland on the 4th, and Lincoln got the report of the casualties and the response from Meade not even pursuing Lee he was furious, but realized he had a great chance for a propaganda victory, and pulled out the paper from his desk he had shelved nearly a year prior. By train, Lincoln made it to Gettysburg, and had a platform built for him by the troops. Members of his administration and members of the Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey political class and newspapermen were there for his address.  Lincoln amongst the troops On July 6th, Abraham Lincoln made what would come to be called the Gettysburg Proclamation, incorporating portions of his old Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that the Union armies would be enforcing freedom of the southern slaves in areas under their control still in rebellion as a military measure. The Proclamation specifically exempted areas under Union control or border states, a point of contention in later decades with Lincoln mythologists who tried to describe him as "the Great Emancipator." Newspapers across the north would show the new Medal of Honor, which would be awarded to over 85 Union troops for their actions at Gettysburg alone, and praising Meade for having run the Confederates out of the north and breathlessly describing the valor of the Union troops in their deeds, and how they saved Harrisburg, New York, and New England from the depredations of the monstrous and devilish Rebels, who wanted to enslave northern blacks and take women and children with them down south. Lincoln himself gauged the reaction to his speech, saying it was " a flat failure and the people are disappointed." The measures in the proclamation to deport freed blacks were lambasted at home and abroad. The Patriot and Union of Harrisburg said, " The President acted without sense and without constraint in a panorama that was gotten up more for the benefit of his party than for the honor of the deed...We pass over the silly remarks of the President; for the credit of the nation we are willing that the veil of oblivion shall be dropped over them and that they shall no more be repeated or thought of." The Chicago Times said, " The cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly, flat, and dishwatery utterances of the man who has to be pointed out to intelligent foreigners as the President of the United States." The London Times said: " Anything more dull and commonplace it would not be easy to reproduce." Lincoln's vapid speech declaring his intent to emancipate the slaves, enlist them, and once they helped conquer the South, to be deported to a foreign country was seen as duplicitous and dishonorable. This marked the beginning of the turn against Lincoln amongst those supporting him in the public, with those able to do so to support the Confederacy with small 'subscriptions' for helping get out from under such a tyrant as to use an entire race of people simply for conquering a part of the country that wished for the freedom the thirteen colonies asked for not 80 years prior. Lincoln's threat of war against any who would support the South may have scared off European support for a time, but the groundswell from the lower classes and a growing number of merchants would soon turn things against him. Lee would return to Maryland west through Chambersburg, PA, then Hagerstown, MD, and back into Virginia over the next fortnight through Winchester, returning to the area around Fredericksburg to act as a front line in case of pursuit by the Union troops. Having foraged north and replenished his army, Lee, along with Stuart, Jackson, Longstreet, Ewell, and AP Hill would all be praised for their actions in newspapers across the south, telling readers this was a great victory for the South, and the north should be expected to give up the invasion within only a few months. The London Spectator called his speech "a very sad document," and a "hypocritical sham." The London Standard said it was intentionally meant to "deceive England and Europe." The Times of London denounced his speech as "the wretched makeshift of a pettifogging lawyer," a man who was making his best attempt to "excite a servile war in the States he cannot occupy with his armies." In Ireland, the Belfast News called his proclamation "the latest and foulest crime perpetuated by the Lincoln administration." The editor wrote that this was nothing more than a "permit to murder men and rape women." He continued that Lincoln's "cruel and contemptible outburst" was the greatest example of vindictiveness ever seen from a so-called "Christian" dictator. He called all of Europe to rise up in protest, and to do all they could and necessarily do to try to stop the coming bloodbath. Yankee abolitionist Lysander Spooner publicly excoriated Lincoln, writing that he and his party did not abolish slavery as " an act of justice to the black man himself, but only as 'a war measure,' and because they wanted his assistance, and that of his friends, in carrying on the war they had undertaken for the maintaining and intensifying that political, commercial, and industrial slavery, to which they have subjected the great body of the people, both black and white." The text of Lincoln's Gettysburg Proclamation, which declared free all slaves in States not currently under Union occupation, but kept them in bondage where the Union occupied, struck many as duplicitous, including William Seward, who said, " We show our sympathy with slavery by emancipating slaves where we cannot reach them, and holding them in bondage where we can set them free." The London Spectator noted that the President's way of thinking " is not that a human being cannot justly own another, but that he cannot own him unless he is loyal to the United States." The State of Illinois reacted by issuing its own Emancipation Proclamation: " That the emancipation proclamation of the president is as unwarrantable in military as in civil law, a gigantic usurpation, at once converting the war, professedly commenced by the administration for the vindication of the authority of the constitution, into the crusade for the sudden, unconditional, and violent liberation of 3,000,000 of negro slaves; a result which would not only be a total subversion of the federal Union, but a revolution in the social organization of the Southern States. The proclamation invites servile insurrection as an element in this emancipation crusade, a means of warfare, the inhumanity and diabolism of which are without example in civilized warfare, and which we denounce, and which the civilized world will denounce, as an ineffaceable disgrace to the American name." Later on, even Lincoln admitted in a letter to Treasury Secretary Salmon Chase, "The original proclamation has no constitutional or legal justification..." and he said in September of 1862 to a group of abolitionist ministers that it was pointless to issue a proclamation for emancipation, since it would "necessarily be inoperative, like the Pope's bull against the comet." In writing the document, which in the 20th century would go on to become a more valued speech, Lincoln was noted by letters and recollections of his own words in saying that it was a 'war measure,' saying: "I view this matter as a practical war measure, to be decided on according to the advantages or disadvantages it may offer to the suppression of the rebellion." It would, he hoped, siphon off southern blacks from being used to support the Confederate war effort, in food, and in the armies, weakening the enemy; it could foment a servile insurrection, forcing soldiers home to suppress it; allow northern blacks to be allowed into the army since they were no longer legally 'property' and therefore act as ideal replacements for white soldiers, and to be 'purchased' as 'substitutes,' as was legal at the time, bolstering northern numbers and reducing southern numbers. General Grant wrote: " I have given the subject of arming the negro my hearty support. This, with the emancipation of the negro, is the heaviest blow yet given the Confederacy...by arming the negro we have added a powerful ally. They will make good soldiers and taking them from the enemy weakens him in the same proportion they strengthen us. I am therefore most decidedly in favor of pushing this policy to the enlistment of a force sufficient to hold all the South falling into our hands and to aid in capturing more." Rather than fomenting a slave revolt, as he may have hoped, southern blacks continued to support the Confederate Army and Navy. A quarter of the Ordnance Department was black, and while the Confederate Army hadn't officially enlisted blacks, States were doing so, by the voluntary enlistment of free blacks. From Louisiana, Jacques Esclavon, Lufray Pierre-August, Jean Baptiste Pierre-August, and other free men of color served to try to free New Orleans from Union occupation. Gabriel Grappe, Charles Lutz, Levin Graham, Peter Warren, Henry Love, Kiram Kendael, Joe Warren, Dam Humphreys, George Briggs, Hardin Blackwell, Joe McConnel, Daniel Robinson, Fielding Rennolds, and more went to battle against the Union armies invading their homes, as they viewed it. In Washington DC, white Union soldiers rioted against the Gettysburg Proclamation*, stoning blacks they hunted down, including black Union soldiers serving to restore the Union. *This actually happened, but in February 1863, according to Reveille in Washington, 1860-1865. After several days of his Gettysburg Proclamation, however, Lincoln admitted that it did fail in several respects in a letter to his Vice President Hamlin: My Dear Sir: Your kind letter of the 25th is just received. It is known to some that while I hope something from the proclamation, my expectations are not as sanguine as are those of some friends. The time for its effect southward has not come; but northward the effect should be instantaneous.
It is six days old, and while commendation in newspapers and by distinguished individuals is all that a vain man could wish, the stocks have declined, and troops come forward more slowly than ever. This, looked soberly in the fae, is not very satisfactory. We ahve fewer troops in the field at the end of six days than we had at the beginning - the attrition among the old outnumbering the addition by the new. The North responds to the proclamation sufficiently in breath; but breath alone kills no rebels.
I wish I could write more cheerfully; nor do I thank you the less for the kindness of your letter. Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.A Little Bribery to Go Around
By personal request of Abraham Lincoln, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton sent letters to the commanding officers of the 25th and 27th Maine regiments on June 28th, asking them to remain beyond their contracts due to the invasion of Pennsylvania by General Lee and his army. The 25th Maine declined, but the 27th was asked and over 300 volunteered to remain in defense of Washington during what would later be called the Gettysburg Campaign. Colonel Wentworth delivered the message to the Secretary, and when he did, he was informed that " Medals of Honor would be given to that portion of the regiment that volunteered to remain." When the battle at Gettysburg ended, they left Washington for home on July 4th, reuniting with the rest of the regiment to muster out on the 17th. By war's end, the promise was fulfilled, and the men got Medals of Honor for staying beyond their contracts; there was no agreeable list, and 864 medals ended up being made, distributed by Colonel Wentworth to the men he remembered as staying behind with him. Over 60 years later, Congress would purge these medals in 1917, as the actions of the regiment did not meet the criteria for receiving such a medal. *This actually happened. A Political Thanksgiving (July 15) With his Gettysburg Proclamation, intended to turn a battlefield loss into a propaganda victory, having failed in the press and abroad, and seen for the naked fraud that it was, Lincoln, ever the political animal, sought to find something else to help shore up support for the failing war support on the part of the Northern public who were feeling more despondent with each passing month, as well as more hostile and apathetic. So, to help appear patriotic and more religious than he really was, he made a Thanksgiving Proclamation to set aside August 6 as a holiday to thank God for the north's military victories, or as he put it, "Almighty God's signal and effective victories." Proclamation: It has pleased Almighty God to hearken to the supplications and prayers of an afflicted people and to vouchsafe to the Army and the Navy of the United States victories on land and on the sea so signal and so effective as to furnish reasonable grounds for augmented confidence that the Union of these States will be maintained, their Constitution preserved, and their peace and prosperity permanently restored. But these victories have been accorded not without sacrifices of life, limb, health, and liberty, incurred by brave, loyal, and patriotic citizens. Domestic affliction in every part of the country follows in the train of these fearful bereavements. It is meet and right to recognize and confess the presence of the Almighty Father and the power of His hand equally in these triumphs and in these sorrows:
Now, therefore, be it known that I do set apart Thursday, the 6th day of August next, to be observed as a day for national thanksgiving, praise, and prayer, and I invite the people of the United States to assemble on that occasion in their customary places of worship and in the forms approved by their own consciences render the homage due to the Divine Majesty for the wonderful things He has done in the nation's behalf and invoke the influence of His Holy Spirit to subdue the anger which has produced and so long sustained a needless and cruel rebellion, to change the hearts of the insurgents, to guide the counsels of the Government with wisdom adequate to so great a national emergency, and to visit with tender care and consolation throughout the length and breadth of our land all those who, through the vicissitudes of marches, voyages, battles, and sieges, have been brought to suffer in mind, body, or estate, and finally to lead the whole nation through the paths of repentance and submission to the divine will back to the perfect enjoyment of union and fraternal peace. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this 15th day of July, A. D. 1863, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-eighth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State .His proclamation called the seceding states' efforts to defend their independence a "needless and cruel rebellion," despite having endured years of northern slander, murder supported by people from Massachusetts in the form of John Brown and his raids, and lack of support for spending money in the south from tariff revenue derived from southern cotton exports. No Betrayals by Confederates (After Gettysburg) One Confederate officer, Colonel W. S. Christian of the 51st Virginia Infantry had been captured by the Union on the retreat from Gettysburg, along with a number of black soldiers, and imprisoned on Johnston's Island. One of the prisoners with him, a black man named George, was given several opportunities to turn against the Confederates and fight for the Union, but he refused the offer from the prison commander over and over, saying: " Sah, what you want me to do is desert I ain't no deserter and down South, where we live, deserters always disgrace their families. I'se got a family doen home, sah, and if I do what you tell me, I will be a deserter and disgrace my family, and I am never going to do that." Colonel Christian recalled himself after the end of the war: " My recollection is that there were thirteen Negroes who spent that dreadful winter of 1863-64 with us at Johnston's Island and not one of them deserted or accepted freedom though it was urged upon them time and again." Another officer, Captain Robert Park of the 12th Alabama Regiment was imprisoned in Baltimore, Maryland, with a servant from Georgia, Charles, who refused to take the oath the Union troops were trying to make them all take. Captain Park recalled, " I received a letter from Abe Goodgame, a mulatto slave belonging to Colonel Goodgame of my regiment, who was captured in the Valley and is now a prisoner confined at Fort McHenry, having positively refused to take the oath. He asks me to write his master when I am exchanged and tell him of his whereabouts, and that he is faithful to him." Jackson Expedition (July 12) During his Vicksburg Campaign, Major General Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Tennessee captured Jackson back on May 14th, but evacuated to move west to capture Vicksburg. During the siege on Vicksburg, General Johnston had been gathering troops at Jackson intent upon relieving Lt. Gen. John Pemberton's garrison. He cautiously advanced his 30,000 soldiers to the rear of Grant's army which had surrounded Vicksburg. In response, Grant ordered Sherman to deal with the threat from Johnston. By July 1st, Johnston's force was in position along Big Black River. Sherman used his newly arrived IX Corps to counter. On the 5th, the day after Vicksburg's surrender, Sherman was free to move against Johnston. Johnston hastily withdrew his force across the Big Black River, and Champion's Hill battlefields with Sherman in pursuit. Sherman took with him the IX Corps, XV Corps, XIII Corps, and a detachment of the XVI Corps, giving him 40,000 troops.  Sherman's Siege of Jackson
On the 10th, the Union Army took up position around Jackson. The heaviest fighting happened on the 11th, during an unsuccessful Union attack. Brig. Gen. Jacob Lauman ordered a brigade under Col. Isaac Pugh to attack the Confederate defensive works manned by Brig. Gen. Daniel Adams's brigade. There were heavy casualties, but instead of risking his entrapment in the city like Vicksburg, Johnston chose to evacuate, and left on the 16th, allowing Sherman to occupy the city the next day. This ended the threat to Union control of Vicksburg. Command
-US: William Tecumseh Sherman -CS: Joseph E. Johnson Strength
-US: 40,000 -CS: 30,000 Casualties
-US: 350 killed, 980 wounded, 210 missing -CS: 71 killed, 304 wounded, 564 missing New York Draft Riots (July 13 - 16, 1863) A series of violent disturbances rocked New York in the middle of 1863, as a result of the draft recently passed by Congress. Many white lower-class people and many immigrants were being drafted into the war, while richer men could pay $300 (roughly $9200 in 2017) to get out of the draft and hire a substitute. Additionally, many of those same white people feared the competition by free black people, coupled by the historic racism inherent in northern society, leading to riots. While it was at first a protest on the draft, the riots devolved into a race riot, with many white Irish immigrants especially, attacking and lynching black people throughout the city. Over 50,000 whites rioted against the military draft in New York, but they vented their anger not on Lincoln or the government, but on blacks. Even black women and children were murdered, and their corpses were set on fire in the streets. One little black girl, found hiding under a bed, who was under the care of some Catholic priests, was also dragged out onto the street and killed. White abolitionists were also tracked down, attacked, and their property was looted and torched.* The official death toll was around 200 black individuals beaten, hung, or shot by New Yorkers, but locals counted at least 500 mostly black deaths. The severity of those riots meant that for over 50 years, no black person lived in New York, Brooklyn, or the Bronx, with the black people fleeing to Kearny in New Jersey to escape the rioters. President Lincoln had to divert several militia regiments from Gettysburg to control the city, not arriving until the second day of the riot, by which time many public buildings had been burned, ransacked, or destroyed, including two Catholic churches, homes of various abolitionists or sympathizers, many black homes and schools, and the Colored Orphan Asylum on 44th Street and 5th Avenue, which was burned to the ground. The black population of the area fell below 5,000 for the first time in decades. For several days afterwards, the bodies of black Americans could be seen hanging from trees and lampposts, the cruel work of white New Yorkers. A northern newspaper, the Christian Recorder, reported: These rioters of New York could not be satisfied with their resistance of the draft and doing all the damage they could against the government and those of the white citizens who are friends to the administration, but must wheel upon the colored people, killing and beating every one whom they could see and catch, and destroying their property...A gloom of infamy and shame will hang over New York for centuries.*This actually happened, from a book "American Patriots: The Story of Blacks in the Military from the Revolution to Desert Storm." Peterhoff Affair
A ship named the Peterhoff sailed from Falmouth, Cornwall on January 27, 1863. She was a blockade runner. The tightening blockade had been worrisome to textile manufacturers and others in the British public. On February 20th, she was boarded and searched by the USS Alabama off St Thomas in the Danish West Indies. The Alabama found her papers in order and released her. Peterhoff then entered the harbor, where two US Navy ships, under command of Acting Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes were at anchor. Wilkes, who was already notorious for the part he played in the Trent Affair, ordered the Peterhoff to be boarded by the USS Vanderbilt just after she left harbor on the 25th. Peterhoff had papers stating that she was bound for Tampico Alto in Mexico, but a sailor on board let slip she was really bound for Texas, just across the border line. This comment was taken as sufficient justification for the Vanderbilt to seize the ship as a blockade runner, and she was sent to Key West, a Union foothold in Florida. Both the British and Danish governments vigorously protested the seizure and treatment of their subjects, but the ship was eventually condemned by a New York prize court, and bought by the Union Navy. She would be recommissioned in February 1864 with Acting-Volunteer Lieutenant Thomas Pickering in command, assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. United Kingdom
The reaction was firm over in the United Kingdom. Lincoln was interfering with British subjects and property. Given the recent Gettysburg Proclamation, though, the elites could not afford to come out and recognize the Confederacy, as the middle class and factory workers sided with the Union and their cousins who were living and fighting there. Some Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and even Channel Islanders had gone over to join the Confederacy, but not many. Given this second affair, the US was cooling relations with the United Kingdom, not helping matters much, given Lincoln's lack of awareness of consequences of his administration's actions and reactions. US envoys to the United Kingdom were working diligently to prevent the Confederates from ordering and receiving seagoing vessels to outfit their navy, and so far had done quite a good job. Charles Francis Adams, Jr., the grandson of the Federalist President John Adams, was an effective minister so far, but would soon find himself delayed and his social calendar changing. At Birkenhead, the shipyards of John Laird and Sons, several more keels would be finished by the end of July, with Commander James Bulloch taking ownership of 8 stocked ships similar to the CSS Alabama. They were not armed in British waters, so the United Kingdom was not violating neutrality by building them, and the US Navy was requested to take port elsewhere in the United Kingdom under various auspices. Soon the CS Navy would gain 9 more ships sailing from the Azores: CSS Congress, CSS Enterprise, CSS President, CSS Confederate States, CSS Confederacy, CSS Constitution, CSS Charleston, CSS Fort Sumter, CSS Secession. CSS Secession at sea. These ships, like the CSS Alabama under command of Admiral Raphael Semmes, would act as commerce raiders, hoping to affect US trade on the high seas. One side effect of these vessels was the number of whaling ships either sunk or caught, which incidentally helped save three species of whales from extinction. Another side effect was, based on the act authorizing the navy saying: "All the Admirals, four of the Captains, five of the Commanders, twenty-two of the First Lieutenants, and five of the Second Lieutenants, shall be appointed solely for gallant or meritorious conduct during the war." On the CSS Congress, the only available person to take a Second Lieutenant position was a free black of color, Henry Jones, who became the first black officer in the Confederate Navy and the Confederate Armed Forces; he had saved the captain from a savage beating from the USS Kearsarge, when three other men ducked or avoided fire. Captain Harrison Cocke made the promotion in late 1864, having served with him for over a year on the Congress, and two years prior. Jones would also be the first black to receive the Confederate Medal of Honor in the CS Navy. Utah
Over in Utah, the Mormons had had another request for statehood rejected, and they in reaction ceased consideration of helping the Union efforts. Captain Lot Smith and his militia of around 200 men had done their duty in securing the overland mail route and securing the telegraph lines to the east, but otherwise would not make any meaningful martial contribution to the Union efforts. Just five years prior, President James Buchanan had replaced Brigham Young as territorial governor with a non-Mormon appointee, and sent a fifth of the US army to make sure he arrived safely in Utah. The Mormons believed the Civil War was God's retribution against the US for its past mistreatment of their church, and their failure to protect their prophet, Joseph Smith, who was killed by a mob in Illinois in 1844.  Brigham Young, 1863
Young parsed his words in a statement saying Utah was "firm for the Constitution." Privately, he said he “earnestly prayed for the success of both North & South.” He was hoping a long war would distract Washington enough to let the Mormons govern themselves. When Lot Smith's men were asked to re-enlist, they declined; Congress had carved out Nevada from the west of Utah, and passed an Anti-Bigamy Act, permitting federal prosecution of Mormon polygamists. More immediately, Young refused to consider the continued service of Lot Smith’s men because he learned that the Army had dispatched a brigade of California volunteers to garrison Utah for the remainder of the war. Col. Patrick Edward Connor, the unit’s commander, made no secret of his anti-Mormon animosity. In June of 1863, a Mormon journalist, Thomas Stenhouse, went to DC to find out Lincoln's policy regarding the Mormons. When Stenhouse asked Lincoln about his intentions in regard to the Mormon situation, Lincoln reportedly responded: “Stenhouse, when I was a boy on the farm in Illinois there was a great deal of timber on the farm which we had to clear away. Occasionally we would come to a log which had fallen down. It was too hard to split, too wet to burn, and too heavy to move, so we plowed around it. [That’s what I intend to do with the Mormons.] You go back and tell Brigham Young that if he will let me alone I will let him alone." De Stoeckl's Journey
The Russian Minister to the United States, Eduard de Stoeckl, had met with the British officer Lt Col Arthur Fremantle in 1863 while the latter was on his way to New York to return to his homeland. Fremantle had given him a positive view of the southerners, quite in contrast to some of the stories that de Stoeckl had heard from his northern hosts. De Stoeckl had made overtures to the United States to purchase Alaska, but in view of the South now having disrupted Union trade, captured gold from the Union in Colorado, he might need to re-assess his views of the South. Eduard got permission to cross lines, and went south to see what Fremantle had only described for him. De Stoeckl journeyed to view the Army of Northern Virginia, being somewhat shocked at the close quarters between white soldiers and the black teamsters with them, who were acting as cooks, tailors, guards, and filling other positions in the army, not segregated as he had seen while in the North. He spoke with several colonels and several generals, including Lee, Jackson, and Longstreet, who answered his questions quite honestly about their goals. None told him they were looking to expand slavery; Lee himself told de Stoeckl he thought slavery was a moral evil, and worse for the white man than the black man. Jackson and Longstreet impressed de Stoeckl with their descriptions of the things Union soldiers had done - theft, rapine, burning civilian houses, and more - to southerners where they were invading. The Russian Minister spent a week with the army before journeying to northern Georgia and meeting with Bragg's army, and was suitably impressed with Patrick Cleburne, an Irishman fighting for the Confederates, as Arkansas was his new home. Cleburne had a sober view of the war, and had no real stake in slavery. In speaking with Cleburne, de Stoeckl learned the southern slaves were more like bonded servants than what he viewed as slaves. Southern slaves could own property, earn money, purchase their own freedom, and own businesses. Granted their rights were curtailed in comparison to white southerners, but the tales of beatings and whippings and separating families were in fact much rarer than he had been led to believe by his northern hosts. De Stoeckl spoke with Cleburne about Russian Emancipation which had occurred two years prior in 1861, which future historians would credit with the inspiration for his own Cleburne Manifesto, though other historians would cite other evidence that he would've issued the manifesto without having spoken to de Stoeckl. After spending roughly three months and three days in the South, de Stoeckl returned to DC and sent private correspondence to the Tsar back in Russia via his own trusted aids, avoiding the telegraph, which he knew was tapped, and regular mail, which he knew was being opened by the Lincoln administration. Prussian Training
Foreigners from Prussia served in notable positions in the southern army. Most notably, Heros von Borcke, who was a Lieutenant Colonel serving under JEB Stuart. Adolphus Heiman, a Brigadier General, was still alive and kicking*, and was helping train new recruits in Georgia in drill and moving in formation. Baron Robert von Massow, son of the Prussian King's chamberlain, was serving under John Mosby in the 43rd Virginia Cavalry Battalion, otherwise known as Mosby's Rangers. Justus Scheibert was a Prussian military observer who followed Lee at several battles, such as Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. He would return to Prussia in 1864, and write down his observations, placing them in several of Prussia's best libraries. What he wrote would help Prussia and a future unified Germany in five different wars. While Prussia overall sided with the Union efforts, many of the poor of Prussia would side with the Confederates and some would even risk coming to Mexico or even New York to cross lines and join the Confederate army. Bermuda
 Col. Henry Feilden, Army of Tennessee, CSA
The oldest British colony still in existence was founded by accident. In 1609, British had settled Bermuda as an extension of Virginia. Located about 640 miles off Cape Hatteras, NC retained close ties to the south. They sympathized with the US during the War for Independence, supplying them with ships and weapons in exchange for exemption from the embargo of the Continental Congress on colonies not in revolt. With independence, Bermuda became the HQ and dockyard for the Royal Navy's North America and West Indies Squadron, with a heavy build-up of regular British Army units for both defense and potential expeditions and campaigns, such as during the War of 1812, when most of the Atlantic ports of the US were blockaded by a fleet based in Bermuda. The Chesapeake Campaign, which included the Burning of Washington, was launched from Bermuda. During the War for Southern Independence, St George's, Bermuda, was the primary harbor from which British and European war material was being smuggled into the Confederacy aboard blockade runners (also built in the UK), and southern cotton traveled out in payment. The capture of US gold stabilized the Confederate Dollar and made smuggling more profitable, allowing goods to continue flowing, despite the growing blockade. After the Trent Affair, the UK built up their forces in Canada in defense of the colony, and after the Peterhoff affair, they began building up their naval forces in Bermuda to defend against a Union attack or to launch an invasion of the northern states, intended to capture New York. They also turned more of a blind eye to smuggling efforts which picked up more around December. Many British citizens did take part in the war on the Confederate side, including Colonel Henry Wemyss Feilding, who resigned his commission in the British Army to become an officer in the Confederate Army, William Watson, who served as a sergeant in the 3rd Louisiana Infantry before crewing blockade runners, and James William Hammond, who would aid the Confederate Navy procuring steam engine components and source a naval yard in North Carolina. Scottish-born Captain William Watson was another prominent volunteer as was Thomas Leslie Outerbridge, who crewed blockade runners. In Bermuda, close historic ties to the South, and the enticement to profiteer from the war by supplying the South allowed the Confederate agent to operate openly from the Globe Hotel at St. George's, but the US government's consul was attacked in the street and had his flagpole cut down on the 4th of July. Many Bermudians earned fortunes supplying the south during the war. Mexico
In 1861, conservatives in Mexico looked to the French leader Napoleon III to abolish the republic which had been led by liberal President Benito Juárez. France did favor the Confederacy, but had not yet given it diplomatic recognition, as it was waiting for the United Kingdom, and wanted to act in concert in that arena. The French expected a Confederate victory would facilitate French economic dominance in Mexico. France helped the Confederates by shipping urgently needed supplies through Brownsville, TX, Matamoros, and Tampico, Mexico. The Confederates themselves sought closer relations with Mexico. Juárez had turned them down, but the Confederates, unwisely, worked well with local warlords in northern Mexico, and with the French invaders. Mexico owed France debts and was reneging on payment, encouraging France to take part in Mexico's politics. Realizing that Washington could not intervene in Mexico as long as the Confederates controlled Oklahoma, Texas, and Rio Grande, France invaded Mexico in 1861, and in 1864, would install Austrian prince Maximilian I of Mexico as its puppet ruler in that year. Owing to shared convictions of the democratically elected governments of Juárez and Lincoln (who had barely gotten 40% of the popular vote in his own country), Matías Romero, the Mexican minister in Washington, mobilized support in the US Congress, raised money, soldiers, and ammo in the US for war against Maximilian. His mobilization was slowed though, due to the need for the Union to protect Colorado from further Confederate raids. Washington would simply protest France's violation of the Monroe Doctrine, but would not act until the war was over. Medical Experimentation on Prisoners of War
 At Point Lookout, Maryland, the Union Army had more Confederates than it had tents or cabins in which to hold the prisoners. They couldn't exchange them, as they would go back to the fight. Union Prisoners of War, however, would simply go home, eroding the war effort on the part of the north. Another part of the difficulty of war was disease. Disease often killed more than gunshot wounds, and the War Department was looking for something to help, but doctors needed to test their medicines.  Secretary of War Edwin Stanton
Edwin Stanton, the Secretary of War, authorized the prisoner of war camps to allow doctors to use the prisoners to test their vaccinations and medicines on July 3rd, 1863. Starting at Point Lookout, prisoners were first given medications and injections, but when they started getting sick, other prisoners refused and nearly rioted to avoid the medications. By the hottest part of August, the guards at Point Lookout stopped giving prisoners food and water unless they took the medicines and injections. Some agreed, only because they were addled with hunger. Others continued until they were physically forced to take the medications, often having to be knocked out with the butt of a gun to stop struggling. By war's end, the camp would hold over 50,000 prisoners of war, and of those, 9,433 died, of which 5,419 had been medically experimented upon. General Jackson's View on Victory or Defeat
General Jackson noted somberly in a letter to President Davis: "If the North triumphs, it is not alone the destruction of our property, it is the prelude to anarchy, infidelity, the ultimate loss of free & responsible government on this continent." He urged the President to enlist massive numbers of blacks into the army to make up the manpower deficit. North America's Situation
In June, the United States recognized the state of West Virginia, carved out of the Old Dominion. Idaho Territory was carved out of Nebraska and Washington Territory.  Lincoln Stuns in a MeetingOn the 14th of August, Lincoln requested to have a group of blacks meet with him in the White House, the first free blacks ever to enter the building. The five who entered were hand-picked by Rev. James Mitchell, Lincoln's commissioner of emigration. Four were former slaves, and they were not rushed into the President's office. The group finally got to see him, and sat in stunned silence as he pulled out a crumpled-up paper from his famous stove-pipe hat, and began reading in his thin, alto voice: ...many men engaged on either side (of the war) do not are for you one way or the other...It is better for us both, therefore, to be separated...
There is an unwillingness on the part of our people, harsh as it may be, for you free colored people to remain with us...The colony of Liberia has been in existence a long time. In a certain sense it is a success...The question is, if the colored people are persuaded to go anywhere, why not there?...
The place I am thinking about for a colony is in Central America...The country is a very excellent one for any people...and especially because of the similarity of climate with your native soil, thus being suited to your physical condition...this particular place has all the advantages for a colony...The practical thing I want to ascertain is, whether I can get a number of able-bodied (black) men, with their wives and children, who are willing to go when I present evidence of encouragement and protection...I want you to let me know whether this can be done or not.
He continued, telling them: It is exceedingly important that we have (black) men at the beginning capable of thinking as white men...He closed: For the sake of your race, you should sacrifice something of your present comfort for the purpose of being as grand in that respect as the white people.Lincoln waited for their response, but it would take a few days from the stunned party. The brief letter he got was furious in tone, and to the point. They scolded Lincoln for campaigning for the deportation of black Americans and then asked him to mind his own business. Educated black leaders who found out about this conference were angered at Lincoln. Frederick Douglass wrote in a newspaper, Douglass' Monthly: The tone of frankness and benevolence which Mr. Lincoln assumes in his speech to the colored committee is too thin a mask not to be seen through. The genuine spark of humanity is missing in it. It expresses merely the desire to get rid of them... A New Jersey newspaper printed the response of one frustrated black citizen, calling the president meddlesome and impudent, and asked Lincoln to remember that in God's eyes, there was only one race - the human race. *this actually happened. See Abraham Lincoln Complete Works by Nicolay and Hay. Battle of Chattanooga (August 21) To keep the Confederates off-balance, Col. Joseph Wilder used his Lightning Brigade to keep D.H. Hill and Bragg focused on him while Rosecrans moved his army southwest of Chattanooga. The ruse worked, eventually leading Bragg to abandon Chattanooga for Georgia. The shelling of the town caught many in the town while they were praying and fasting. Richmond, VA
Following the events at Vicksburg, which cut the country in two, and Gettysburg, which were soon being seen as a loss to the Confederates, open talk of freeing and arming their slaves became more common. Tennessee's Confederate governor allowed blacks to be placed in non-combatant roles, and Alabama's legislature brought up a bill to conscript blacks, paid at the same rate as white soldiers, for non-combat duty within the army - soldiers, just soldiers not in combat. The First Black Chaplain (September 10) Reported in the Religious Herald newspaper, a Tennessee regiment was in need of a chaplain but was unable to find one, until a black man, Uncle Lewis, who accompanied the regiment in its maneuvers, was asked to conduct a religious service. The soldiers of the regiment were so pleased with his performance, that they asked him to serve as their chaplain, which Lewis did faithfully until the end of the war. The correspondent for the newspaper reported, "He is heard with respectful attention and for earnestness, zeal, and sincerity can be surpassed by none." For this Tennessee regiment, and the editors of the Richmond, VA newspaper, their black chaplain was a source of great pride. Battle of Chickamauga (September 19, 20)  Battle of Chickamauga, painting in the Milledgeville Capitol Rotunda, GA
Confederate Brigadier General Bushrod Johnson's division took the wrong road coming from Ringgold, but eventually headed west on Reed's Bridge Road on the 18th of September. They had come from Mississippi to reinforce Bragg, just as Longstreet came from Virginia to reinforce the beleaguered Army of Tennessee. At 7 AM, his men encountered cavalry pickets from Col. Robert Minty's brigade, which was guarding the approach to Reed's Bridge. He was outnumbered 5-to-1, so Minty's men eventually withdrew across the bridge, after being pressured by elements of Forrest's cavalry, but they couldn't destroy the bridge to prevent Johnson's men from crossing. At 4:30 PM, when Johnson reached Jay's Mill, Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood of Longstreet's Corps arrived from the railroad station at Catoosa and took command of the column. He ordered Johnson to use the Jay's Mill Road instead of Brotherton Road, as Johnson planned originally. At Alexander's Bridge to the south, Union Colonel John Wilder's mounted infantry brigade defended the crossing against the approach of Walker's Corps. Armed with Spencer repeating rifles and Captain Lilly's four guns from the 18th Indiana Battery, Wilder was able to hold off a brigade of Brig. Gen. St. John Liddell's division, which suffered 105 casualties against Wilder's superior firepower. Walker moved his men downstream a mile to Lambert's Ford, which was an unguarded crossing, and was able to cross around 4:30 PM, which was considerably behind schedule. Wilder, who was concerned about his left flank after Minty's loss of Reed's Bridge, withdrew and established a new blocking position east of Lafayette Road, near the Viniard Farm.  September 18 positioning by both sides
By the time the sun set, Johnson's division was halted in front of Wilder's position. Walker crossed the creek, but his troops were well scattered along the road behind Johnson. Buckner had only been able to push one of his brigades across the creek at Thedford's Ford. Polk's troops were facing Crittenden's at Lee and Gordon's Mill, and D.H. Hill's corps guarded crossing sites to the south. Though Bragg had achieved some degree of surprise against his Union opponents, he failed to exploit it strongly. Rosecrans, observing the dust raised by the marching Confederates in the morning, anticipated Bragg's plan. He ordered Thomas and McCook to Crittenden's support, and while the Confederates were crossing the creek, Thomas began to arrive in Crittenden's rear. September 19
 Morning of the 19th
Yesterday's movement of Maj. Gen. George Thomas's XIV Corps put the left flank of the Army of the Cumberland further north than Bragg expected when he formulated his attack plan for the 20th. Maj. Gen. Thomas Crittenden's XXI Corps was concentrated around Lee and Gordon's Mill, which Bragg had assumed was the left flank, but Thomas was arranged behind him, covering a wide front from Crawfish Springs to the McDonald Farm. Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger's Reserve Corps was spread out along the northern end of the battlefield from Rossville to McAfee's Church. Bragg's plan was for an attack on the supposed Union left flank by the corps of Maj. Gens. Simon Buckner, John Hood, and W.H.T. Walker, screen by Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry to the north, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Cheatham's division in the center in reserve, and Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne's division in reserve at Thedford's Ford. Maj. Gen. Thoman Hindman's division faced Crittenden at Lee and Gordon's Mill, and Breckinridge's faced Negley. The Battle of Chickamauga began almost by accident, when pickets from Union Col. Daniel McCook's brigade of Granger's Reserve Corps moved toward Jay's Mill looking forwater. McCook moved from Rossville on the 18th to aid Col. Robert Minty's brigade. His men established a defensive position several hundred yards northweset of Jay's Mill, about as far away as the 1st Georgia Cavalry waited through the night south of the mill. About the time McCook sent a regiment to destroy Reed's Bridge, Brig. Gen. Henry Davidson from Forrest's Cavalry Corps sent the 1st Georgia forward, and they encountered some of McCook's men near the mill. McCook was ordered by Granger to withdraw back to Rossville, and his men were pursued by Davidson's troopers. McCook encoutnered Thomas at the LaFayette Road, having finished an all-night march from Crawfish Springs. McCook reported to Thomas that a single Confederate infantry brigade was trapped on the west side of Chickmauga Creek; Thomas told Brannan's division to attack and to destroy it.  Confederate troops advancing at Chickamauga
Brannan sent three brigades in response to Thomas's order, Col. Ferdinand Van Derveer, Col. John Croxton, and Col. John Connell sending their brigades in. Brannan's division held its ground against Forrest and his infantry reinforcements, but their ammo was running low, so Thomas sent Baird's division to assist, advancing two brigades forward with one in reserve. Brig. Gen. John King's brigade of US Army regulars relieved Croxton. The brigade of Col. Benjamin Scribner took up a position on King's right, and Col. John Starkweather's brigade remained in reserve. With their superior numbers and firepower, Scribner and King were able to start pushing back Wilson and Ector from Forrest's troops. Bragg decided to commit the division of Brig. Gen. Liddell to the fight, countering Thomas's reinforcements. Confederate Brigades under the commands of Col. Daniel Govan and Brig. Gen. Edward Walthall advanced along the Alexander's Bridge Road, smashing Baird's right flank. Both Scribner's and Starkweather's Union brigades retreated in panic, followed by King's regulars, who ran for the rear through Van Derveer's brigade. Despite the disorder, Van Derveer's men halted the Confederate advance with a concentrated volley at close range. Liddell's exhausted Confederates began to withdraw, and Croxton's brigade, returning to the action, pushed them back beyond the Winfrey field. Believing that Rosecrans was trying to move the center of the battle farther north than Bragg had planned for, Bragg began rushing heavy reinforcements from all parts of his line to his right, beginning with Cheatham's division of Polk's Corps, with five of the largest brigades of the Army of Tennessee. About 11 AM, Cheatham's men approached Liddell's halted division and formed on its left. Three Confederate brigades under Brig. Gens. Marcus Wright, Preston Smith, and John Jackson formed the front line, and Brig. Gens. Otho Strahl and George Maney commanded the brigades in the second line. Their advance overlapped Croxton's brigade, and had no difficulty pushing it back. As Croxton withdrew, his brigade was replaced by Union Brig. Gen. Richard Johnson's division of McCook's XX Corps, near the LaFayette Road. Johnson's lead brigades, under Col. Philemon Baldwin and Brig. Gen. August Willich engaged Jackson's brigade, protecting Croxton's withdrawal. Although he was outnumbered, Confederate Brig. Gen. John Jackson held under the pressure till his ammo ran law and he called for reinforcements. Cheatham sent in Maney's small brigade to replace Jackson, but they were no match for the two larger Union brigades and Maney was forced to withdraw because both his flanks were crushed.  Early afternoon maneuvers on the 19th
More Union reinforcements arrived shortly after Johnson. Maj. Gen. John Palmer's division of Crittenden's corps marched from Lee and Gordon's Mill and advanced into battle with three in-line brigades - Hazen, Cruft, and Grose - against the Confederate brigades of Wright and Smith. Smith's brigade took the brunt of the attack, and was replaced by Strahl's brigade, which also had to withdraw under the pressure. For a third time, Bragg ordered a fresh division to move in, Maj. Gen. Alexander Stewart's (Buckner's corps) from its position at Thedford Ford around Noon. Stewart encountered Wright's retreating brigade at Brock Farm, and decided to attack Van Cleve's position on his left, made under his own authority. Brig. Gen. Henry Clayton's was the first to hit them at Brotherton Farm. They fired till their ammo ran out, when they were replaced with Brig. Gen. John Brown's brigade. He drove Beatty's and Dick's men from the woods east of LaFayette Road, and paused to regroup. Stewart committed his last brigade, Brig. Gen. William Bate's, about 3:30 PM, and routed Van Cleve's division; during the fight, Van Cleve was shot through the lung and bled out. Hazen's brigade was caught up in the retreat as they were replenishing their ammo. Col. James Sheffield's brigade from Hood's division drove back Grose's and Cruft's brigades. Brig. Gen. John Turchin's brigade (Reynold's division) counterattacked and briefly held off Sheffield, but the Confederates had caused a major penetration into the Union line at Brotherton and Dyer fields. Steward didn't have sufficient men to maintain his position, and was forced to order Bate to withdraw east of LaFayette Road. About 2 PM, Brig. Gen. Bushrod Johnson's division of Hood's Corps encountered the advance of Union Brig. Gen. Jefferson C. Davis's two brigade division of the XX Corps (no relation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis), marching north from Crawfish Springs. They attacked Col. Hans Heg's brigade on Davis's left, and forced it across LaFayette Road. Hood ordered Johnson to continue the attack with two brigades in line, one in reserve; the two drifted apart during the attack. During the afternoon fighting, Hood's and Johnson's men pushing strongly forward, approached so close to Rosecrans's new HQ at the tiny cabin of hte widow Eliza Glenn that the staff officers inside had to shout to make themselves heard over the battle outside. There was a huge risk of a Union rout at this part of the line. Wilder's men eventually managed to hold back the Confederate advance, fighting from behind a drainage ditch. The Union troops launched several unsuccessful counterattacks late in the afternoon to try to regain ground around the Viniard House. Col Heg was mortally wounded during one of these advances. Late in the day, Rosecrans deployed almost his last reserve, Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan's division of McCook's corps. Sheridan took two brigades with him, and was successful in pushing out the Confederates from the Viniard Field, but Col. Luther Bradley was wounded in the attack.  Late afternoon maneuvers on both sides
By 6 PM, the sun was setting, and Bragg had not abandoned his idea of pushing the Federal army south. He ordered Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne's division (from Hill's corps) to join Polk on their right flank. That area of the battlefield had been quiet for several hours as the fighting moved progressively southward. George Thomas had been consolidating his lines, withdrawing slightly to the west to what he considered a superior defensive position. Richard Johnson's division and Absalom Baird's brigade were in the rear of Thomas's westward moves, covering his withdrawal. At sunset, Cleburne launched an attack with three brigades in line - Brig. Gens. James Deshler, Sterling Wood, and Lucius Pol (left to right). The attack degenerated into chaos with the limited visibility of both twilight and the smoke from the burning underbrush. Some of Absalom Baird's men advanced to support Baldwin's Union brigade, but mistakenly fired at them, and were subjected to return friendly fire. Baldwin was shot dead from his horse while attempting to lead a counterattack. Deshler's brigade missed their objective entirely, and Deshler was nearly shot in the chest while examining ammo boxes. Brig. Gen. Preston Smith led his brigade forward to support Deshler, but mistakenly rode into the lines of Col. Joseph Dodge's brigade (Johnson's division), where he managed to shoot Dodge dead. By 9 PM, Cleburne's men retained possession of Winfrey Field, and Johnson and Baird had been driven back inside Thomas's new defensive line. The first day's casualties were difficult to calculate but somewhere around 8,000 Union and 5,000 Confederate would be reasonable. September 20
For the 20th, Bragg reorganized his army into two wings - right with Polk, and left with Longstreet.  Morning assault by Polk's wing
Fighting on the second day began about 9:30 AM, on the Union's left flank, about 4 hours after Bragg had ordered the attack to start, with coordinated attacks planned by Breckinridge and Cleburne from D.H. Hill's Corps in Polk's Right Wing. Bragg's intention here was for this to be the start of successive attacks progressing leftward along the Confederate line to try to drive the Union south, away from escape routes through the Rossville Gap and McFarland's Gap. The late start was significant. Bragg's aides reported that he believed had they not delayed, that would've been the moment they won their independence; at dawn, there was no defensive breastworks by Thomas's men. They were built a few hours after dawn. Breckingridge's brigades under Brig. Gens. Benjamin Helm, Marcellus Stovall, and Daniel Adams moved forward, left, and right in line. Helm's Brigade of Kentuckians made first ontact with Thomas's breastworks, and Helm (Abraham Lincoln's favorite brother-in-law) was slightly wounded while motivating his Kentuckians forward and removed from the field. Breckinridge's other two brigades did better against Brig. Gen. John Beatty's brigade from Negley's division, which was trying to defend a line more suitable for a division it was so wide. Once he found the Union's left flank, Breckinridge realigned his two brigades to straddle the LaFayette Road and then move south to threaten Thomas's rear. Thomas called up reinforcements to drive them back, and Adam's brigade was stopped by Col. Timothy Stanley's brigade. Adams got wounded, and was left behind as his men retreated from their position, and was later retrieved. The other part of Hill's attack also faltered. Cleburne's division met heavy resistance at the breastworks built that morning. Confusing lines of battle and overlap with Stewart's division to Cleburne's left diminished the Confederates' effectiveness in their attack. Cheatham's division, which was being held in reserve, couldn't advance either due to the troops in their front. Hill brought up Gist's Brigade, headed by Col. Peyton Colquitt to fill in the gap between Cleburne and Breckinridge. Colquitt was killed in the attack, and his brigade suffered severe casualties in their aborted advance. Walker brought up the rest of his division to rescue the survivors of Gist's Brigade. To his right flank, D.H. Hill sent Col. Daniel Govan's brigade to support Breckinridge, but the brigade had to retreat along with Stovall's and Adams's men faced with the Union counterattack. The Union attack on the Confederates' right flank petered out by noon, but caused a huge commotion throughout Rosecrans's army, as Thomas sent staff officers to get help from other generals along the line. Here Rosecrans dictated an order to Thomas to close up on Reynolds; the chief of staff, James A Garfield, was busy writing orders and didn't catch the error, as Frank Bond wrote the order instead, a person who was usually competent but inexperienced at writing orders. Wood was confused by the order, but when he spoke to corps commander McCook, he claimed later that McCook agreed to fill the gap with XX Corps units; McCook said he didn't have enough units to spare, though he did send Heg's brigade to partly fill the gap. On the other side, Bragg also made an order based on incomplete information. He was impatient that his attack wasn't progressing on the left, so he sent orders for all his commands to advance at once. Maj Gen. Alexander Stewart from Longstreet's wing got the order and advanced immediately without checking with Longstreet. Stewart's men disabled Brannan's right flank, and pushed back Van Cleve's division which was at Brannan's rear, momentarily crossing Lafayette Road. The Union counterattack to this drove Stewart's men back to their starting point. Longstreet got Bragg's order, but didn't attack immediately. He was surprised by Stewart's advance, and held up the order for the rest of his wing so that he could arrange his lines with his divisions from the Army of Northern Virginia in the front line, but this just resulted in the same kind of battle line confusion that Cleburne experienced earlier. When he was finally ready, he created a central striking force commanded by Maj. Gen. John Hood with three divisions in five lines. Longstreet's 10,000 infantry men were concentrated in a narrow column to try to break the enemy's line. Longstreet's after-action report showed he learned the effectiveness of the maneuver and would seek to emulate it later in the war.  Longstreet's mid-day Left-Wing assault
Longstreet gave the order to move at 11:10 AM, and Johnson's division proceeded across Brotherton field, by chance at the exact point where the Union division of Wood was pulling out of the line. The Confederates drove directly into the gap; the brigade to the right encountered opposition from Union troops but was able to push through. The result was soon a devastating rout of the Union Army. The few Union troops in that area of the field ran in panic from the onslaught. At the far side of Dryer Field, several Union batteries from XXI Corps (reserve artillery) were set up but had no infantry support. Gregg's brigade under Col. Cyrus Sugg flanked the guns on their right, capturing 15 of the 26 cannons on the ridge. As Union troops were withdrawing, Wood stopped his brigade, under Col. Charles Harker, and sent it back with orders to counterattack the Confederates. They had appeared on the scene on the flank of the Confederates who had captured the artillery, forcing them to retreat. Brigades under McNair, Perry, and Robinson got intermingled as they ran for shelter in the woods to the east. Hood ordered Kershaw's brigade to attack Harker, and raced towards Robertson's Brigade of Texans, which was Hood's old brigade. As he reached his former unit, a bullet struck him in his right thigh, hitting his artery and knocking him from his horse. He was taken to a hospital near Alexander's Bridge, but by the time the doctor got to him, he had bled out. Harker conducted a fighting withdrawal under pressure from Kershaw, retreating to Horseshue Ridge, near the tiny house of George Washington Snodgrass. Harker's men resisted several assaults there, since it was a good defensible position. The Confederates had no help from their fellow brigade commanders. On the Union side as the battle waged, Wilder sent the Assistant Secretary of War to Chattanooga; the time it took for him to do this wasted the opportunity for a successful attack, so Wilder ordered his men to withdraw. Union resistance at the southern end of the battlefield evaporated, and Sheridan's and Davis's divisions fell back to the escape route at McFarland's Gap, taking elements of Negley's and Van Cleve's divisions. The majority of units on the right fell back in disorder, and Rosecrans, Garfield, McCook, and Crittenden tried rallying their troops, but soon joined them in the mad rush to safety. Rosecrans decided to make haste to Chattanooga so that he could organize his men and the city's defenses. He sent Garfield to Thomas, with orders to take command of the forces remaining at Chickamauga and withdraw to Rossville. Sheridan decided to use a circuitous route to return.  Union defense of Horseshoe Ridge and Union retreat
Luckily for the Union, not all of their Army had fled. Thomas still had four divisions holding their lines at Horseshoe Ridge. James Negley deployed artillery to protect his position on Kelly Field, and retreating men rallied in groups of squads and companies, erecting breastworks from felled trees. Units continued to arrive on Horseshoe Ridge, extending the line. Bushrod Johnson's division advanced on the western edge, threatening the Union flank, but fresh Union reinforcements had arrived. Through the day, the sounds of battle reached 3 miles north to Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger who proceeded without orders to send two brigades as reinforcements, but they were harassed by Confederate Maj. Gen. Forrest, causing them to veer west. Several more attacks and counterattacks shifted lines back and forth as the Confederates under Johnson got more and more reinforcements. Despite the furious action on the field, Longstreet was up enjoying a leisurely lunch of bacon and sweet potatoes with his staff in the rear. When he was summoned to a meeting with Bragg, Longstreet asked for reinforcements from Polk's stalled wing, even though he hadn't committed his own reserve, Preston's division. Bragg told Longstreet the battle was being lost, which Longstreet found inexplicable, but Bragg knew the successes at the southern end were just driving the Union to their escape route to Chattanooga, ending their chance to destroy the Army of the Cumberland. After repeated delays in the morning's attacks, Bragg lost confidence in his generals on the right wing, and denied Longstreet the reinforcements. Finally Longstreet deployed Preston's division, making several attempts to assault Horseshoe Ridge, starting about 4:30 PM. Longstreet later wrote there were 25 assaults in all on Snodgrass Hill. At the same time, Thomas got the order from Rosecrans to take command of the army and begin a general retreat. Thomas left, then Granger was placed in charge; when Granger left, no one was left to coordinate the withdrawal. Three regiments, the 22nd Michigan, 89th Ohio, and 21st Ohio, were left behind without sufficient ammo, and had to use their bayonets. They held until surrounded, at which time they surrendered to the Confederates. Command -US: William Rosecrans -CS: Braxton Bragg Army -US: Army of the Cumberland; 60,000 -CS: Army of Tennessee; 65,000 Casualties -US: 3657 killed, 13756 wounded, 4757 captured/missing; 22,170 -CS: 2313 killed, 9674 wounded, 1468 captured/missing; 13,455 Notable Casualties -US: William Lytle, George Crook*, Edward McCook*, Horatio Van Cleve* -CS: John Bell Hood* Almost Casualties -US: -CS: Brig. Gen. James Deshler*, Brig. Gen. Preston Smith*, Brig. Gen. Benjamin Helm* * indicates a change; a casualty that didn't otherwise occur or some other change in events. Battle of Chattanooga (Sept 21) After the victory at Chickamauga, the Confederates went northward to Chattanooga, and were able to besiege the city before Rosecrans could successfully set up his defensive works with men and artillery. Through inspired maneuvering with horse and artillery, the already exhausted Rosecrans gave up Chattanooga after ten hours of shelling from the Confederates, evacuating for Murfreesboro. It was this which cost him his command, as he was relieved by Grant and replaced with Thomas. The Secretary of War, however, interceded and got Major General John McClernand reinstated, despite misgivings from Grant, Sherman, and Admiral Porter, but he wouldn't arrive till November, letting Thomas begin refitting the army till then. Command -US: William Rosecrans -CS: Braxton Bragg Army -US: Army of the Cumberland: 42,000 fielded -CS: Army of Tennessee: 51,000 fielded Casualties -US: 2,198 wounded/killed -CS: 1,044 wounded/killed Proclamation 106 - A Day of ThanksgivingA Proclamation
The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.
In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.
Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.
No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.
It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans. mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity, and union.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this 3d day of October, A. D. 1863, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.
Subtle hints come through when Lincoln calls the southerners fighting for independence as 'perverse' and 'disobedient,' which then resulted in southern newspapers likening him to King George III, and non-London papers noting the hypocrisy of the US President fighting against the south just like they had fought against their own colonial forefathers. Battle of Bristoe Station (October 16-18)  Course of battle at Bristoe Station
Union forces were led by Maj. Gen. George Meade, and the Confederates by General Robert E. Lee. Lee led his army around Cedar Mountain, forcing Meade to retreat towards Centreville. By withdrawing, Meade prevented Lee from coming on an exposed flank of his Army of the Potomac. Maj. Gen. Gouverneur Warren, in charge of II Corps, fought with J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry back on the 13th near Auburn, VA. Warren needed to retreat and push Stuart's men aside before Jackson's corps. On the 14th, Warren moved to Bristoe Station, where Stuart's Cavalry harassed his rear guard at the Second Battle of Auburn. Ewell, leading the Confederate Third Corps, was advancing on Jackson's left, reaching Bristoe Station on the 14th. Ewell tried engaging the rearguard of V Corps just across Broad Run, but missed the II Corps just coming up from Auburn. Seeing their advance, Ewell managed a rapid deployment of his forces behind the embankment of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad near Bristoe Station, resulting in a spectacular ambush as Ewell's corps moved to attack the Union's rear guard across Broad Run. Confederate Major General Henry Heth's division move to attack the Union V Corps, but redirected to attack II Corps. Union artillery, including a battery under Capt. R. Bruce Rickets, opened fire on the Confederates, with infantry joining in shortly thereafter. Despite this, Heth's men briefly secured a foothold, but were driven back, the Union capturing five of their guns. Col. Mallon was killed in the fighting. Maj. Gen. Richard Anderson's division attacked but was also repelled. Brig. Gen. Carnot Posey was wounded in the attack, and though it was a minor wound, infection set in and he died in November. Two of Heth's brigade commanders, William Kirkland and John Cooke, were wounded, but would return to active duty later. Warren saw Jackson's Second Corps coming up on the right, and had to withdraw. When the Confederates had to leave, they destroyed much of the railroad to deny it to the Union; the Union eventually rebuilt it. Command
-US: Gouverner Warren -CS: Richard Ewell Army
-US: Army of the Potomac, II Corps -CS: Army of Northern Virginia, Third Corps Strength
-US: 8,383 -CS: 17,218 Casualties
-US: 566 -CS: 988 Battle of Rappahannock Station (November 7) Part of a series of sparring matches between Meade and Lee, the battle at Rappahannock resulted in a lopsided win for the Union, which lost around 480 men, while the Confederates lost 1603 men, who were captured as POWs.
Battle of Campbell's Station (November 16) James Longstreet's men deployed first at the field at Campbell's Station, facing Union Major General Ambrose Burnside's men, who were delayed by the muddy rains. Longstreet managed a successful double-envelopment, which forced Burnside's withdrawal from the area. Battle of Fort Sanders (November 23) Longstreet pursued Burnside to Fort Sanders, where he successfully used the element of surprise, coordinating his artillery and skirmishers to force a defeat, and the withdrawal of Burnside, who left past Knoxville, and up to Bean Station.
Battle of Chattanooga (November 23 to 25)  Bragg knew his siege was effectively broken when the cracker line reopened. He had options - retreat; assault the fortifications of Chattanooga; wait for Grant to attack; move around Grant's right flank; move around his left flank. The only promising option was to move around Grant's left flank, which would possibly allow him to re-establish another supply line to Virginia via Knoxville, and join forces with around 10,000 Confederates under the command of Maj. Gen. Samuel Jones, operating in southwestern Virginia. Unfortunately Burnside was currently occupying Knoxville, and blocking the railroad. He sent 11,000 men under Maj. Gen. Carter Stevenson to accomplish this, but Davis said he was sending Longstreet and his two divisions into East Tennessee, replacing the Stevenson/Jackson force.  Battles of Chattanooga, 24-25 November
The first action was at Orchard Knob. On the 23rd, the Union saw Cleburne's and Buckner's men marching away from Missionary Ridge, and heard from some Confederate deserters that the entire army was falling back. Thomas ordered Brig. Gen. Thomas Wood's division to conduct a reconnaissance in force, and avoid engagement with the enemy, then return to the fortifications when they knew the strength of the Confederate line. Wood's men assembled outside the entrenchments, and observed their objective about 2000 yards away on Orchard Knob. Sheridan's division lined up similarly to protect Wood's right flank; Howard's XI Corps extended the line to the left, presenting about 20,000 troops. At 1:30 PM, 14,000 Union soldiers moved forward at the double quick, sweeping across the plain, stunning the 600 Confederate defenders, who were able to fire only a single volley before they were overrun. Casualties were relatively light; Grant and Thomas ordered their men to hold their positions and entrench, rather than withdraw, as was their original order. Orchard Knob became Grant and Thomas's HQ for the remainder of the action of Chattanooga. Mistakenly the Confederates couldn't decide whether to defend the crest or base, and the divisions of Brig. Gens. William Bate and Patton Anderson were ordered to move half their divisions to the base at the rifle pits there, the rest to the crest. Even worse, they were on the physical crest, not the military crest, handicapping the defenders. The Union also changed their plans; Sherman had 3 divisions ready to cross the river, but the pontoon bridge at Brown's Ferry had torn apart, and Brig. Gen. Peter Osterhaus's division was stranded over in Lookout Valley. After Sherman assured him he could do it with 3 divisions, Grant decided to allow the attack on Lookout Mountain, and moved Osterhaus to Hooker's command. November 24
Hooker had about 10,000 men in 3 divisions for his operation on Lookout Mountain. Hooker was ordered to "take the point only if his demonstration should develop its practicability." 'Fighting Joe' ignored the subtlety, and ordered the troops to "cross Lookout Creek and to assault Lookout Mountain, marching down the valley and sweeping every rebel from it." The men of Brig. Gen. John Brown's Confederate brigade on the mountain top found they were powerless to intervene in the battle below. The fighting continued between both sides, and by 3 PM, thick fog enveloped the mountain. The two sides fired blindly in the fog, but few men were hit. Hooker sent a stream of messages to Grant, one of which predicted the Confederates would evacuate in the night. Realizing the battle was lost, Bragg ordered his men to withdraw. As the fog cleared out about midnight, under a lunar eclipse, the divisions of Cheatham and Stevenson retreated behind the Chattanooga Creek, burning bridges behind him. That night Bragg asked his two corps commanders whether to retreat or fight; Hardee counseled retreat, Breckinridge convinced Bragg to fight it out on Missionary Ridge. November 25
 Battle of Missionary Ridge
Sherman's remaining 3 divisions crossed the Tennessee River on the 24th, and thought he took the north end of Missionary Ridge, but it was a completely separate rise called Billy Goat Hill. Across a deep ravine, the Confederates had fortified Tunnel Hill, the northernmost portion. So Sherman dug in. On the 25th, Grant changed his plans, and called for a double envelopment by Sherman and Hooker. Thomas was supposed to advance after Sherman reached Missionary Ridge from the north, Hooker from the South. Grant had no real expectation for Hooker other than to act as a diversion. Thomas wanted support on his flank and called on Hooker to cross the valley and demonstrate against Bragg's left flank at Rossville Gap. Sherman launched multiple direct assaults against Cleburne's line on Tunnel Hill, but despite his much larger numbers, committed only 3 brigades, and made no headway. Hooker's advanced was slowed for hours at the south end by burned bridges on the Chattanooga Creek. Impatient at the lack of progress, around 3:30 PM, Grant ordered Thomas to move forward in the center as instructed. The Army of the Cumberland advanced and quickly pushed the Confederates from their rifle pits, but faced heavy fire from the Confederates up the ridge. Most of Thomas's men had been at the loss of Chickamauga, and had suffered taunts and jeers by Sherman's and Hooker's newly arrived forces. And now, they were under fire from above with no apparent plan to move forward or back. At some point, the Union troops decided to continue the attack, taken up but the commanders on the spot. Bragg had made a critical mistake in placing his artillery and infantry trenches on the actual ridge crest, rather thn the military crest, and couldn't provide effective fire. The Union advance was disorganized, but effective. It finally overwhelmed and scattered what ought to have been an impregnable Confederate line. This was a huge event studied by military historians for the next century and a half. At first, Grant was furious that his orders hadn't been followed exactly, but the attack succeeded. By 4:30 PM, the center of Bragg's line broke completely, and fled in panic. He was shot in the arm, necessitating an amputation, but due to complications, he would die 9 days later, leaving command to Lt. Gen. Cleburne till a permanent replacement would be named. The Confederates abandoned Missionary Ridge, and retreated back to Chickamauga Creek. The sole exception to the panic was Cleburne's command, augmented with two brigades from another division, forming the rearguard of the army while it retreated east. Rossville Gap
After Maj. Gen. Hooker's command left Lookout Moutain about 10 AM and moved east, they encountered a significant obstacle. The bridge across the Chattanooga Creek had been burned by the Confederates as they withdrew the night before, and the creek was flowing a bit high. Brig. Gen. Osterhaus assigned a 70-man pioneer unit to rebuilt the bridge, while men from the 27th Missouri created a rickety footbridge, and began crossing one by one. Hooker decided to leave his guns and wagons behind, so his infantry could cross first, but this delayed his advance by about 3 hours, and he didn't reach Rossville Gap till 3:30 PM. Breckinridge was absent while the Union attack wrecked his corps. He rode to the end of his line in the early afternoon, as he was worried about his left flank. At 3:30 PM, about the same time Thomas launched his attack on Missionary Ridge, Breckinridge ordered Holtzclaw to send some regiments to hold the south at Rossville Gap, which was undefended, but it was too late. By the time they got there, Osterhaus's division had already marched through. Lt. J. Cabell Breckinridge, the general's son and aide-de-camp rode into a group from the 9th Iowa and was captured. Hooker quickly faced his troops north, organizing a three-pronged attack. He sent Osterhause east, Cruft on the ridge, and Geary on the west of Missionary Ridge. Holtzclaw faced south with his men to put up a fight, but when they were surrounded on all 4 sides, they had to surrender. Cleburne's men performed admirably at the battle of Ringgold Gap, preserving the retreat back into Georgia. Command
-US: William Rosecrans, George Henry Thomas -CS: Braxton Bragg Army
-US: Army of the Cumberland, Army of the Tennesee; 72,533 -CS: Army of Tennessee; 48,948 Casualties
-US: 6833: 830 killed; 4821 wounded; 1182 missing -CS: 8684: 1141 killed; 6599 wounded; 944 missing Notable Casualties
-US: -CS: Braxton Bragg* Battle of Mine Run (November 26 to December 2)  Troops crossing Germanna Ford
After their win at Gettysburg in July, Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his army returned back across the Potomac River into Virginia. Union Major General George Meade was widely criticized in the north for not pursuing the Rebels aggressively and defeating Lee's Army. Meade planned new offensives into Virginia for the fall. His first attempt was a series of inconclusive duels and maneuvers from October to November which was called the Bristoe Campaign. Having Stonewall Jackson with Lee greatly helped him counter everything Meade threw at him. In late November, Meade attempted to steal a march through the Wilderness of Spotsylvania, and strike the right flank of the Confederate Army south of the Rapidan River. Meade had intelligence reports telling him Lee's army was split in two, separated by the Clark's Mountain, half his size (48,000 to Meade's 81,000), with two flanks anchored at Mine Run and Liberty Mills, over 30 miles apart. His plan was sound; cross the Rapidan past Maj. Gen. Stuart's cavalry screen, overwhelm the right flank (Stonewall Jackson's Second Corps), and then follow up with the rest (Lt. Gen. Richard Ewell's Third Corps). Unlike Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's plan back during the Chancellorsville Campaign over almost the same ground, Meade planned making no diversions; he wanted a lightning strike with his entire army. His army marched on the 25th of November, getting off to a good start, and aided by the fog on Clark's Mountain, which screened his movements from the Confederate lookouts. Unfortunately Maj. Gen. William French's III Corps got bogged down while fording the river at Jacob's Ford, which caused traffic jams with the army when they moved their artillery to Germanna Ford, where other units were also attempting to cross. Speed had escaped Meade, who was furious with French, since he had allowed Lee time to react. Lee ordered Lt Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson to take his Second Corps to march east on the Orange Turnpike to meet French's advance near Payne's Farm, allowing what Jackson had been advocating during the past two years - make them attack where you're strongest, then attack them at their weakest. Brig. Gen. Joseph Carr's division of French's corps attacked twice. Maj. Gen. Edward "Allegheny" Johnson's division countered, and inflicted casualties, but was scattered by heavy return fire and broken terrain. They only got 1800 casualties to 475. After dark, Lee withdrew to the prepared field fortifications along Mine Run. The next day the Union Army closed on the Confederates' position. Meade planned a heavy artillery bombardment, followed by an attack in the south by Maj Gen. Gouverneur Warren's II Corps, and in the north Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick's IV Corps in the north an hour later. On the Confederate side, Lee planned an assault for December 2nd, which would've exploited the dangling left flank of the Union line, which had been discovered the prior day by Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton's cavalry. Although the Union bombardment began on schedule, their major attack did not materialize. Meade made the conclusion that the Confederate line was too strong to attack and retired on the night of the 1st, ending the fall campaign. Lee was disappointed he had no one left on his front to attack. The Union went into winter quarters at Brandy Station, VA. This was Meade's last chance for an offensive before the arrival of U.S. Grant as general-in-chief in the spring. Lee himself said to one of his aides, "I am too old to command this army. We never should have permitted those people to get away." Confederate hopes of repeating their Chancellorsville triumph had been dashed. Command
-US: George Meade -CS: Robert E. Lee Army
-US: Army of the Potomac; 81,000 -CS: Army of Northern Virginia; 48,000 Casualties
-US: 1,838 -CS: 562; 475 during Jackson's offensive Union Closes Jewish Businesses in MemphisIn December of 1863, Union General Stephen Hurlbut issued General Order No. 162, which required all clothing stores in Memphis not having his permission to "keep and sell military clothing" to ship such clothing stocks immediately to the North. At the time, only 17 stores selling clothing were operating in Memphis at the time, of which 15 were Jewish-owned. Rabbi Korn noted that 15 stores were owned by Jews, and "prejudice was the controlling factor" in the issuance of the order. But others suspected Hurlbut of smuggling, and then, according to Selma Lewis, a historian, he "then blamed Jewish merchants for the entire problem." One of the two non-Jewish stores was notified in advance of the order and given permits to bring such clothing to Memphis, and with their closure, monopolize the trade. If that's the case, Hurlbut violated paragraph 46 of the Lieber Code, using his position for private gain. *This happened in the original timeline also. Davis speaks before Congress (December 7) Union policy was to 'recruit' southern blacks by force, either at gunpoint or by bayonet, into service against the South. Such tactics prompted President Davis to speak before the Confederate Congress about this behavior, saying that the "unrelenting warfare that has been waged by these pretended friends of human rights and liberties against the unfortunate negroes." In his speech, he said: Wherever the enemy have been able to gain access, they have forced into the ranks of their army every able-bodied (black) man forced that they could seize, and have either left the aged, the women, and the children to perish by starvation, or have gathered them into camps, where they have been wasted by a frightful mortality. Without clothing or shelter, often without food, incapable, without supervision, of taking the most ordinary precaution against disease, these helpless dependents, accustomed to have their wants supplied by the foresight of their masters, are being rapidly exterminated wherever brought in contact with the (Yankee) invaders. By the Northern man, on whose deep rooted prejudices no kindly restraining influence is exercised, they are treated with aversion and neglect. There is little hazard in predicting that, in all localities where the enemy have gained a temporary foothold, the negroes, who under our care increased six fold in number since their importation into the (Yankee) colonies of Great Britain, will have been reduced by mortality during the war to not more than one half their previous number.
Information on this subject is derived not only from our own observation and from the reports of the negroes who succeeded in escaping from the enemy, but full confirmation is afforded by statements published in the Northern journals, humane persons engaged in making appeals to the charitable for aid in preventing the ravages of disease, exposure, and starvation among the negro women and children who are crowded into (Union) encampments.Battle of Bean Station (December 13) Longstreet managed to fight Burnside at Bean's Station, but was forced to withdraw back to Knoxville for winter quarters. Burnside was replaced with Maj. Gen. John Parke afterwards. ChristmasMajor General Jackson was able to visit his wife Mary Anna, who was 6 months pregnant with his son, whom he would name Thomas Jonathan Jackson, Jr., while the army rested over the winter. The armies were set down for winter quarters. Confederates on meager rations and with shoes falling apart; the Union blockade at this point was blocking enough traffic that shoes, clothes, medicines and arms were not coming in reliably enough for the needs of the army, and blockade runners were at this point trying more for profit than the needs of the country, despite orders coming from President Davis for them to save half their cargo holds for military supplies. The runners thought this was more an infringement of their rights, and ignored it a good portion of the time, despite the danger it placed their country in. Union forces were frustrated with the stalled progress, and Lincoln's Gettysburg Proclamation was going into effect on the 1st. Across the pond, the British press ridiculed it as a desperate measure to try to persuade others not to help by holding up the issue of slavery. At this point, the UK did reduce some of its shipments of munitions, but it needed the Union grain to feed its people, so it couldn't do too much to press the point. Confederates would need some kind of miracle to save their quest for independence.
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jjohnson
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Post by jjohnson on Feb 16, 2020 3:22:06 GMT
Chapter 11: The Divergence of 1864Lincoln's ReasoningIn a letter, Lincoln wrote of his reason for making his Gettysburg Proclamation: " Things had gone from bad to worse until I felt that we had reached the end of our rope on the plan of operations we had been pursuing [the plan to quickly crush southern resistance] - that we had played our last card and must change our tactics, or lose the game. I determined on the Emancipation Proclamation and...called a Cabinet meeting upon the subject." No mention of his concern of black civil rights, no humanitarian concern on the evils of slavery - just discussion of tactics and the 'game' they were playing. Around this time, General Grant advised, and Lincoln enacted a halt to prisoner exchanges between the Confederates and Union Armies. The reason was that Union men, when released, simply went home. Confederates would return to the battlefield and continue fighting; the question to historians would be why would they continue fighting just to keep slaves when only 5% of southerners, and only 20% of the army, were slaveholders. Confederates also had much less food than the north, which had undisturbed railroads, farms, and factories, unlike the South. For the South, feeding prisoners the same rations as soldiers was draining their resources and they eventually pleaded with the north to take them even without equal exchange. But as Grant said: "It is hard on our men held in Southern prisons but it is humanity to those left in the ranks to fight our battles." Lincoln had also declared that medicine was contraband, and would not allow it through the blockade, greatly increasing the suffering not only of the Confederate Army, but PoWs in Confederate prison camps, despite the pleading of the Confederates to resume prisoner exchanges. As Vice President Alexander Stephens remarked on this issue, "The men at the head of affairs in Washington were solely responsible for all these sufferings." He continued, saying, "There was no discrimination in either particular between Federal prisoners and Confederate soldiers." He then said, "I insist upon the irrefutable fact that but for the refusal of the Federals to carry out an exchange, none of the wrongs or outrages you speak of (at the prisons), and none of the sufferings incident to prison life on either side, could have occurred." Dalton, Georgia (January 2) Confederate General Patrick Cleburne, having lived over a decade in the United States and pledged to the service of the new Confederate States, desired to express his concerns to a meeting of the General officers of the Army of Tennessee concerning the straits in which the army finds itself, read aloud to the fellow generals what would become known as the "Cleburne Memorial," a document which called for the recruitment of slaves to replenish the armies of the Confederacy, freeing the slaves for their faithful service. It further declared the Confederacy should "guarantee freedom within a reasonable time to every slave who shall remain true to the Confederacy." The document was signed by a number of other officers who supported it, but reaction in amongst the generals was mixed. Cleburne was 36, and came from Ireland, and brought his time in the British 41st Foot regiment which made him an excellent officer and soldier. He was a model soldier and fit in well with his new countrymen. He started as a corporal drill master, but his experience made him an excellent leader, earning him the nickname "Stonewall of the West." Excerpts from the Memorial: "Through some lack in our system the fruits of our struggles and sacrifices have invariably slipped away from us and left us nothing but long lists of dead and mangled. Instead of standing defiantly on the borders of our territory or harassing those of the enemy, we are hemmed in today into less than two-thirds of it, and still the enemy menacingly confronts us at every point with superior forces. Our soldiers can see no end to this state of affairs except in our own exhaustion; hence, instead of rising to the occasion, they are sinking into a fatal apathy, growing weary of hardships and slaughters which promise no results."
If things kept up as they were, the outcome was plain to see: "If this state continues much longer we must be subjugated. Every man should endeavor to understand the meaning of subjugation before it is too late. We can give but a faint idea when we say it means the loss of all we now hold most sacred--slaves and all other personal property, lands, homesteads, liberty, justice, safety, pride, manhood. It means that the history of this heroic struggle will be written by the enemy; that our youth will be trained by Northern school teachers; will learn from Northern school books their version of the war; will be impressed by all the influences of history and education to regard our gallant dead as traitors, our maimed veterans as fit objects for derision."
He continued, as if he had a glimpse of Nostradamus's power: "It means the crushing of Southern manhood, the hatred of our former slaves, who will, on a spy system, be our secret police. The conqueror's policy is to divide the conquered into factions and stir up animosity among them, and in training an army of negroes the North no doubt holds this thought in perspective."
In that, Cleburne foresaw a future where parties from the North would divide white and black in the South to rule them both. Having worked in the war for three years now, he knew firsthand why things had gotten to this point: "We can see three great causes operating to destroy us: First, the inferiority of our armies to those of the enemy in point of numbers; second, the poverty of our single source of supply in comparison with his several sources; third, the fact that slavery, from being one of our chief sources of strength at the commencement of the war, has now become, in a military point of view, one of our chief sources of weakness."
To the Confederate immigrant, the solution to their troubles was clear: "Adequately to meet the causes which are now threatening ruin to our country, we propose...that we immediately commence training a large reserve of the most courageous of our slaves, and further that we guarantee freedom within a reasonable time to every slave in the South who shall remain true to the Confederacy in this war. As between the loss of independence and the loss of slavery, we assume that every patriot will freely give up the latter--give up the negro slave rather than be a slave himself."
The proposal made by General Cleburne was a shock to many who heard it. Destroy the old slave-based south to save the South. The South would have to choose - independence or bonded servants - but not both. Besides, the British had paid millions to free their slaves. Why would they help the Confederates to keep theirs? Sometimes it took an outsider like Cleburne to see what those who grew up in the system couldn't see themselves. Cleburne believed it would strip the North of its moral superiority and virtue signaling to the world and hopefully make them see the tyranny under which Lincoln was making them live: "One thing is certain, as soon as the great sacrifice to independence is made and known in foreign countries there will be a complete change of front in our favor of the sympathies of the world. This measure will deprive the North of the moral and material aid which it now derives from the bitter prejudices with which foreigners view the institution, and its war, if continued, will henceforth be so despicable in their eyes that the source of recruiting will be dried up. It will leave the enemy's negro army no motive to fight for, and will exhaust the source from which it has been recruited. The idea that it is their special mission to war against slavery has held growing sway over the Northern people for many years, and has at length ripened into an armed and bloody crusade against it. This baleful superstition has so far supplied them with a courage and constancy not their own. It is the most powerful and honestly entertained plank in their war platform. Knock this away and what is left? A bloody ambition for more territory, a pretended veneration for the Union, which one of their own most distinguished orators (Doctor Beecher in his Liverpool speech) openly avowed was only used as a stimulus to stir up the anti-slavery crusade, and lastly the poisonous and selfish interests which are the fungus growth of the war itself. Mankind may fancy it a great duty to destroy slavery, but what interest can mankind have in upholding this remainder of the Northern war platform? Their interests and feelings will be diametrically opposed to it. The measure we propose will strike dead all John Brown fanaticism, and will compel the enemy to draw off altogether or in the eyes of the world to swallow the Declaration of Independence without the sauce and disguise of philanthropy. This delusion of fanaticism at an end, thousands of Northern people will have leisure to look at home and to see the gulf of despotism into which they themselves are rushing."
"The measure will at one blow strip the enemy of foreign sympathy and assistance, and transfer them to the South; it will dry up two of his three sources of recruiting; it will take from his negro army the only motive it could have to fight against the South, and will probably cause much of it to desert over to us; it will deprive his cause of the powerful stimulus of fanaticism, and will enable him to see the rock on which his so called friends are now piloting him."
Additionally: "It would remove forever all selfish taint from our cause and place independence above every question of property. The very magnitude of the sacrifice itself, such as no nation has ever voluntarily made before, would appal our enemies, destroy his spirit and his finances, and fill our hearts with a pride and singleness of purpose which would clothe us with new strength in battle. Apart from all other aspects of the question, the necessity for more fighting men is upon us. We can only get a sufficiency by making the negro share the danger and hardships of the war. If we arm and train him and make him fight for the country in her hour of dire distress, every consideration of principle and policy demand that we should set him and his whole race who side with us free."
"It is a first principle with mankind that he who offers his life in defense of the State should receive from her in return his freedom and his happiness, and we believe in acknowledgment of this principle. The Constitution of the Southern States has reserved to their respective governments the power to free slaves for meritorious services to the State. It is politic besides. For many years, ever since the agitation of the subject of slavery commenced, the negro has been dreaming of freedom, and his vivid imagination has surrounded that condition with so many gratifications that it has become the paradise of his hopes. To attain it he will tempt dangers and difficulties not exceeded by the bravest soldier in the field. The hope of freedom is perhaps the only moral incentive that can be applied to him in his present condition. It would be preposterous then to expect him to fight against it with any degree of enthusiasm, therefore we must bind him to our cause by no doubtful bonds; we must leave no possible loophole for treachery to creep in. The slaves are dangerous now, but armed, trained, and collected in an army they would be a thousand fold more dangerous: therefore when we make soldiers of them we must make free men of them beyond all question, and thus enlist their sympathies also. We can do this more effectually than the North can now do, for we can give the negro not only his own freedom, but that of his wife and child, and can secure it to him in his old home. To do this, we must immediately make his marriage and parental relations sacred in the eyes of the law and forbid their sale."
"The past legislation of the South concedes that large free middle class of negro blood, between the master and slave, must sooner or later destroy the institution. If, then, we touch the institution at all, we would do best to make the most of it, and by emancipating the whole race upon reasonable terms, and within such reasonable time as will prepare both races for the change, secure to ourselves all the advantages, and to our enemies all the disadvantages that can arise, both at home and abroad, from such a sacrifice. Satisfy the negro that if he faithfully adheres to our standard during the war he shall receive his freedom and that of his race. Give him as an earnest of our intentions such immediate immunities as will impress him with our sincerity and be in keeping with his new condition, enroll a portion of his class as soldiers of the Confederacy, and we change the race from a dreaded weakness to a position of strength."
Cleburne asked rhetorically, " will the slaves fight?" Yes; he drew numerous examples from history - helots in Sparta, galley slaves at Lepanto, the slaves of Haiti, and Maroons of Jamaica: "and the experience of this war has been so far that half-trained negroes have fought as bravely as many other half-trained Yankees. If, contrary to the training of a lifetime, they can be made to face and fight bravely against their former masters, how much more probable is it that with the allurement of a higher reward, and led by those masters, they would submit to discipline and face dangers."
Concluding his speech, Cleburne read the names of a number of his senior subordinates who had signed the manifesto. The reaction was not what he thought. While a number of his assembled generals spoke favorably about the issue, the ones opposed shouted them down and called him almost treasonous for suggesting what he did. Joseph Johnston, though inclined towards his proposal, was typically cautious and thought this was a political document, not a military one, and asked Cleburne to shelve it and not talk about it again. He was occupied with refitting and repairing the army which General Bragg, recently killed in action, nearly destroyed with his horrible management. Lt. Gens. Hardee and Cheatham and Major General Thomas Hindman were in agreement with Cleburne, while Major General William H.T. Walker was strongly opposed. Naively, when Walker asked Cleburne for a copy of his document, Cleburne gave it to him; Walker secretly mailed it to the President directly a few short days later to prove to the President Cleburne's 'treason.' Sherman's CrimesWilliam Tecumseh Sherman, Union General, wrote to Major R.M. Sawyer: To those who submit to the rightful law and authority all gentleness and forbearance; but to the petulant and persistent secessionists, why, death is mercy, and the quicker he or she is disposed of the better...
Next year their lands will be taken, for in war we can take them, and rightfully, too, and in another year they may beg in vain for their lives.Through using "he or she," Sherman is clearly indicating that he intends to act upon civilians, as women were not in the army, whether Union or Confederate, in combat duty. Richmond, VA (January 13) In the capital, the food shortages were beginning to affect everyone, as were the stresses of war. President Davis did not clamp down on dissent by arresting opponents of the war, nor did he shut down newspapers which expressed dissent. While that was in keeping with the Confederate Constitution's guarantee of a free press, that was affecting morale, making it difficult for the southerners, who lacked the sizable population of the north, to fight back against the hordes of Yankees. A letter from Major General Walker made its way to the Secretary of War, James Seddon, revealing itself to be the Cleburne Memorial, that incendiary document. While sitting on his desk, a clerk whose name would be lost to history got a copy of it, and leaked it to the Richmond Enquirer, while the Secretary sought to pass the document on to the President. President Davis ordered the document squelched, as he was too busy prosecuting the war to worry about handling the issue of nearly 4 million bonded servants, over 200,000 of which the North had 'freed' to continue the same work under northern eyes to work against the South. The next day, however, the cat was out of the bag. The Richmond Enquirer printed the document in full, along with a very favorable editorial opinion which supported the idea: "We believe that the negroes, in their home land and identified with us these past three years and sharing hardships with us, and fighting for their freedom here, would be faithful and reliable soldiers, and under officers who would drill them, could be depended upon for much of the hard fighting that our brave soldiers have endured. It is no longer necessary to discuss the matter, and may never become so, but slavery or independence is the question. The war is for national independence on our side, and the subjugation of both white and black to the all powerful consolidated Union on the side of the enemy. If we fail, the negroes will be nominally free, but their masters will really be slaves. We must therefore succeed, and we should be glad to see the Confederate Congress provide for the purchase of 250,000 negroes currently bonded, present them their freedom in return for their fighting for our joint independence, where they will then enjoy the privilege of remaining in the States they call home. We can arm, equip, drill, and fight with the negroes by our side. This we believe is the only sure way to win this war."
*
The idea spread like lightning. The Cleburne Memorial and the Enquirer's editorial were reprinted throughout the South, causing a confederation-wide discussion, with editors and opinion-influencers taking sides for or against the proposal. From January to March, the discussion flowed around the free and occupied Confederacy, largely falling into three groups: (1) those opposed to the proposal because it would mean the end of slavery; (2) those supporting the enlistment of bonded servants into the army and navy, agreed that the slaves should be freed, but were against gradual emancipation; and (3) those who supported the proposal in its entirety and wanted gradual and general emancipation. Various letters from unnamed privates, sergeants, lieutenants, captains, colonels, and majors would be printed in the various newspapers around the south, largely supporting the measure, asking their friends and family to support the memorial to support the army and their independence. The tone developed that they could either have slavery within the Union and subjugation to the Yankees who supported John Brown's murderous raids and had committed horrible acts through the war, or they could have independence and determine their relations to the emancipated black southerners on their terms. Family and friends soon began talking to their Congressmen, and they began to feel the pressure over the next few months. January 19
President Davis asked General Lee to see him in Richmond, and the General obliged. Davis was a micromanager, while Lee delegated with somewhat of a wide degree of latitude to his subordinates. But Davis left Lee alone, and Lee flattered the President's ego, so their relationship worked. More than simple flattery, Davis did value Lee's military advice, especially since Albert Sidney Johnston was out of the picture, and his recovery at the moment was not yet complete. Davis tossed a stack of paper over to Lee, who looked at it in confusion. "Sir?" "Letters. General Walker over in Johnston's Army sent them here. It seems one of the Generals....Cleburne," he said, struggling to remember the name of one of a hundred generals in the army, "seems to have proposed freeing the slaves to fight for the Confederacy!" Lee kept his expression even, knowing not to interrupt the President while he was in the middle of this. "Bad enough this leaked to the papers somehow. I ordered my Secretary of War to suppress it! If this proposal had come from me I might as well resign given the political backlash I would face." Davis continued for a few more moments before Lee spoke up. "I have heard it in passing," he began, speaking in measured tones. "May I read the offending proposal Mr. President? If I remember the same general of whom you speak, I do believe I have heard nothing but good reports of his effectiveness and the loyalty he engenders from his men. Some compare him to General Jackson in my own army." The pair continued their conversation as Davis handed him the papers. He turned back from the window and sighed. He looked at the general and said, "If you intend to stay in town over night, I would appreciate if you would review the document so that we can review it tomorrow at your earliest convenience." At first, Davis's reaction to the news coming from the Enquirer was to deny that they were considering it, and try to ride out the political furor, but in speaking with the general, he couldn't discount his respect for Cleburne. In the late afternoon sun, Davis saw a beautiful monarch butterfly flitting about the garden, flying towards his hedges, resting, then flying to the right to the next flower it encountered. Davis slept and again he had a vivid dream. Jackson, Stuart, Cleburne, Longstreet, and Johnston were all running into the field, barely any men around them, getting shot to pieces. They were yelling "We need more men! We don't have enough!" In the dream, Davis looked behind him, field hands rested, watching, pointing. They spoke directly to Davis, "We'd help if you'd let us. This is our land too. If you're too scared, we can just let the Yankees come right on in and arrest you for treason too." He awoke in a cold sweat, and fitfully tried to sleep again. When he did, the dream was much calmer. He was shaking Abraham Lincoln's hand, exchanging papers, as the Confederate army marched past, an integrated black and white force watching the somber Lincoln leave as people from around the South praised him for saving the Confederacy. Lee stayed the night in Richmond with his family, which had evacuated his home in Arlington, which had been seized by the Union early in the war. He loved spending time with his wife and daughters, a momentary respite from the hardships of war. After he had dined with them, he retired to his study with his aide, Major Charles Taylor, to study the document dubbed the 'Cleburne Memorial.' The two men read through the document, Lee handing it to his aid after he finished. He walked over to the window, looking out towards where his army was currently camped, his mind thinking of them, even now. He spoke up, as he heard Taylor put the documents down, "Just before I resigned my commission in the United States Army Taking a chair, Lee read the document, then reread it before handing it to his aid to read. The younger man was quick and read through the document as instructed. A look of surprise came to his face. As the man finished, Lee stood and walked over to the window, looking out in the distance at where his army was; the fire keeping them warm in the winter danced upon his back before he turned to face Taylor. "A few years before this war began, I wrote to a friend that I believed slavery to be an evil to the white man as it was the black man. I resigned my commission in the United States Army not to preserve slavery, but to preserve Virginia, my home country. We fight for the preservation of our constitutional rights as free men in this war, and I believe we have come to the point where the black man must join us in this fight and join us in the freedom that so many of his fellow men here in Virginia also possess. Slavery is an anchor upon our necks that weighs us down and I believe that it depletes our reserve of good will amongst the nations of the world. With it, I believe we might fail and the chance of success slim. Without it, I believe we have a much better chance of achieving what we all say we are fighting to achieve. If we were to embark upon this idea I believe we may achieve all we say we want." January 20
Lee rejoined the President early the next day, finding that he had changed his mind on the topic and was now saying it was a mistake to even humor it. Judah Benjamin was present as well, and waited till Davis had vented his anger, having gotten quite a few angry letters from some large plantation owners and congressmen. "We haven't reached the point where this is a necessity to the victory of our independence." Once finished, Lee spoke up. "With all due respect, Mr. President, we have." Lee had the President's attention now. "Our ports are empty due to the blockade, and we are soon to be drawing boys and old men into the service because most of the men are already in service or incapable. If we do not do this now, while there is a chance of having trained men refreshing our armies, then we will be ground down until we are only a few thousand starved men barely able to walk before the millions of Yankee soldiers fat off the grain and beef shipped down to them, while our farms are burned out from under us and our cattle slaughtered to feed our enemies." General Lee repeated what he had written in a letter to Andrew Hunter not too long ago that he believed that freeing and arming black men would work and under proper instruction and treatment, they would become fit soldiers. Judah Benjamin jumped into the conversation at this point, "Mr. President, we know that Europe wants to see us win, but at the moment, we haven't given them a victory to show them we can sustain ourselves. They don't want to attach themselves to a sinking vessel for fear of what the United States may do afterwards. Mr. Lincoln's threat of war has kept them away thus far, but if we free our bonded servants, and we bring them into the army and navy, we can give Europe the victory they seek so that they can support us." "If I may say so Mr President, whatever measures we adopt should be adopted without delay. Every day makes it that much more difficult. It will take time to organize and discipline the men, and if we defer too long, it may come too late," Lee said. "Wait a year or even six months, and this chance for victory will be gone forever." The conversation ended soon after, and President Davis stayed up quite late pondering the issue. He eventually got to sleep for a few hours at least. Davis awoke in a sweat, but he knew what he needed to do. He sent a message to Henry Hotze, their agent in London, and the other Confederate agents in Europe. The Confederates were open to a complete and full emancipation but would need loans to see it through. He asked the Secretary of War to put a hold on the manifesto, and call Cleburne for an interview with the President. Richmond, Virginia (February 10) Congressman Ethelbert Barksdale, from Mississippi, introduced a bill on the floor of the Confederate House of Representatives: "The Act to Increase the Military Force of the Confederate States." In the bill, he proposed that "...in order to provide additional forces to repel invasion, maintain the rightful possession of the Confederate States, secure their independence and preserve their institutions, the President be, and is hereby, authorized to ask for and accept from the owners of slaves the services of such number of able-bodied Negro men as he may deem expedient, for and during the war, to perform military service in whatever capacity he may direct."  Congressman Barksdale, 1867
The bill went on to specify that Confederate black troops were to receive pay, rations, clothing and equipment equal to that provided for white troops, and that all such soldiers must be volunteers. The Conscription Act would not apply to blacks. The bill made no mention of freedom in the proposal, and the bill appeared to discourage the idea of emancipation, stating "Nothing in this act shall be construed to authorize a change in the relationship which the said slaves shall bear toward their owners." Richmond, VA (February 18) Following a visit in the field by Congressman Barksdale to his HQ, General Lee sent Barksdale a letter, in which he detailed his views on the proposed legislation. He wrote, "We must decide whether slavery shall be extinguished by our enemy and the slaves be used against us, or use them ourselves at the risk of the effects which may be produced upon our social institutions. My own opinion is that we should employ them without delay. I believe that with proper regulation they can be made efficient soldiers." Lee wrote that they should fight as free men, not as slaves. " In my belief," Lee wrote, " the best means to secure the efficiency and fidelity of this auxiliary force would be to accompany the measure with a well-digested plan of gradual and general emancipation." Lee concluded his letter by urging the Congress to act swiftly on the proposal, as " Every day’s time increases the difficulty. Much time will be required to organize and discipline the men and action may be deferred until it is too late. If you truly want independence you will act swiftly, otherwise we are fighting for no reason." Barksdale read the letter on the floor of the Confederate Congress, and many who were previously opposed to the bill reconsidered their views. (quotes from Lee are actual quotes from a letter to Andrew Hunter) Battle of Olustee (February 20)  General Seymour's HQ in Jacksonville, still standing in downtown Jacksonville in the National Register of Historic Places
The Union had made some headway in the south, capturing Hilton Head Island. Major General Quincy Gillmore, in charge of the Union Department of the South, ordered an expedition to Florida to secure Union enclaves, sever Confederate supply routes (especially for beef and salt), and recruit black soldiers. Brigadier General Truman Seymour was placed in charge of the expedition and landed his troops in Jacksonville, which had already been captured in March 1862 by the Union. His forces made several raids northeast and into north-central Florida. During these raids, he met little resistance, seized several Confederate camps, captured small bands of troops and artillery pieces and 'liberated' slaves (according to the slaves, they had exchanged one master for a Yankee master). Seymour was under orders from Gillmore not to advance deep into the state. General PGT Beauregard, however, sent a detachment under Georgian Alfred Colquitt to bolster Florida's defenses and try to stop Seymour. Seymour at the same time, had begun a drive across north Florida to try to capture the capital, Tallahassee, without Gillmore's knowledge.  Plan of attack at Olustee
Over near there entrenchments, Elias Nesmith handed a spare gun to his body servant, John Nesmith. Elias 'owned' John's wife and two boys, and his father, Uncle Gregory, had raised Elias since he was a boy. "Johnny, you fight in this battle, and we win, I'll free your family. You's a Confederate just like me. If'n they win, all of us will be slaves to DC." John took the rifle, with a nod and a smile, loaded it just like Elias had and marched with his childhood friend to battle. Following the Florida, Atlantic, and Gulf Central Railroad, Union Brigadier General Seymour led his 5500 men in the direction of Lake City. About 2:30 PM on February 20, the Union troops approached General Finnegan's 5000 Confederates entrenched near Olustee Station. Finnegan sent out an infantry brigade to meet Seymour's advance units, and hopefully lure them into the entrenchments, but the plan went awry. The opposing forces met at Ocean Pond, and the battle began there. Seymour made the mistake here of assuming he was facing more Florida militia units, like the one he had easily dispensed with before, and committed his troops piecemeal to the fight. Finnegan and Seymour both reinforced their engaged units during the afternoon, and the battle took place in open pine woods. The Union forces attacked bravely, but were savagely repulsed by the withering barrage of cannon and rifle fire. The battle raged through the afternoon, till the time when Finnegan committed the last of his reserves, including Johnny and Elias Nesmith. The Union line broke and began to retreat. Finnegan didn't exploit the retreat, but allowed most of the Union forces to flee to Jacksonville. The Confederates did make one final attempt to engage the rear element of Seymour's forces before night, but were repulsed by troops from the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and the 35th US Colored Troops, both composed of black soldiers. After the war, the Confederate cavalry commander received criticism for failing to pursue retreating forces.   Confederate and Union battle reenactments, 2015
Command
-US: Brig. Gen. Truman Seymour -CS: Brig. Gen. Joseph Finnegan Strength
-US: 5500 -CS: 5000 Casualties
-US: 1865 (208 killed; 1152 wounded; 506 captured/missing) -CS: 846 (83 killed; 757 wounded; 6 captured/missing) Richmond, VA (February 20) On the 20th, with the extra gravitas given by the support of General Lee, along with other Generals like Forrest, the Confederate House of Representatives passed the Barksdale Bill, sending it forward to the Senate. Its fate there is not certain, given the divisions in the upper house. Battle of Dalton (February 22-March 15) For a good while, McClernand spent time refitting his army, as did Joseph Johnston. McClernand decided to probe Johnston's strength, to determine if the loss of Longstreet's reinforcements had made the Army of Tennessee vulnerable to attack. On the 22nd, McClernand made a series of reconnaissance movements, including three columns of Union troops. His dithering though did not impress some of his generals, and the small-scale skirmishing let Lincoln think he was accomplishing something. By March, McClernand knew Johnston could repel any assault and would ask for reinforcements. Command
-US: John McClernand -CS: Joseph Johnston Army
-US: Army of the Cumberland; 25,000 -CS: Army of Tennessee; 40,000 Casualties
-US: 311 -CS: 155 White House, Washington DC (February 24) The Confederate proposal hit London like a slap to the face, and news over the telegraph that they were now actually voting on the measure was turning even the anti-slavery parties, which were usually pro-Union, and even some of the public, to voice wary support of the proposal. Back in the North, news couldn't be more surprising. If the South were freeing their slaves, what were they fighting for? If they were fighting this long and this hard not to be in the Union, why force them back in at this point? That thought was beginning to seep into the North, despite the press censorship widespread in the North. It didn't take long for the reaction to make its way back to Washington, where the reaction was even more explosive within the government. Lincoln was still a believer in the American Colonization Society, one of three different abolitionists in the north (Exclusionists, Deportationists, and Abolitionists), but the war he had inaugurated by maneuvering the South to firing first to rally people to the flag in the North was now at risk. His maneuvering was intended to help consolidate power, but it had ignited a war that had now lasted 3 years. His ploy to play on the anti-slavery opinion from the Europeans was falling flat, even more so now that the South was also freeing and arming slaves. Richmond, VA (March 6) The Virginia legislature took the lead amongst the states, adopting legislation allowing recruitment of free blacks and slaves into Virginia's Home Guard and its State Troops. The same bill also ordered the Virginian Senate delegation to vote in favor of the Barksdale Bill. By April 10, ten companies would be raised and trained, a white captain at their head, but full of free men of color from around Virginia. While most black troops would enter the war as privates, there would be a number of corporals and sergeants by the end of the war. Richmond, VA (March 13) The Barksdale Bill, as it has been commonly called in the newspapers, passes the Confederate Senate by one vote. Virginian Senator Robert M.T. Hunter becomes the deciding vote, despite his making a passionate speech against the measure. This day would become known as Confederate Emancipation Day in the near future. (note: exactly what happened a year later in OTL) March 14
In Richmond, a large number of black hospital orderlies enlist in the Confederate Army. They would be formed, along with recovered white troops in the various hospitals, into integrated battalions, and begin drilling shortly afterward in Capitol Square. Negro hospital orderlies in Richmond enlist en masse. They are formed, along with convalescing white troops from the various hospitals, into an integrated battalion. They begin drilling shortly afterward in Capitol Square March 16
From within the Executive Mansion, President Davis was informed of the Senate passage of the bill, and had already signed it into law, realizing that it would mean the emancipation of all southern bonded servants; it was something he told his wife when the war started - whatever the outcome, slavery would be over when the war was finished. At the urging of his Secretary of State, Judah Benjamin, he sent a diplomatic mission to the courts of the European monarchs, including Napoleon III, Queen Victoria, Friedrich Wilhelm in Prussia, and others. Louisiana Congressman Duncan Kenner was named to head the diplomatic mission, and made a daring escape through the Bahamas, Bermuda, and on to Europe. Speaking to several monarchs' courts, he informed them of the Confederate emancipation plan, and offered favorable trade deals on their products in exchange for their diplomatic recognition, and in the case of France and Britain, loans to accomplish the emancipation. Each court was favorably impressed by the proposal, but responded they cannot recognize the Confederacy at this time. The south's military fortunes are in a precariously low point, and the north's threat of war against anyone who supports the south is keeping many away. They don't want to tie themselves to a sinking ship. Each government, however, leaves open the possibility of recognition in the future, should the South's military performance improve in the near future. Note: OTL, Kenner was sent in January 1865 with the same proposal
It seemed the South would need a big and clear victory to secure its recognition and independence. March 18
Marching through Richmond, an integrated battalion of negro orderlies parades up to the Capitol Square, where they make a drill exhibition to a mixed reaction from the crowd gathered to watch. Newspapers were by and large favorable towards the demonstration, and soon, recruiting of black troops began in earnest, as resistance to their enlistment began to slacken. March 24
The Richmond Sentinel wrote on the 24th, " None…will deny that our servants are more worthy of respect than the motley hordes, which come against us." and later in the same article, " Bad faith to black Confederates must be avoided as an indelible dishonor." Under the direction of President Davis, in his role as commander-in-chief, the War Department issues General Order 14, which detailed the regulations for treatment of the black troops enlisting into the Confederate armed forces. One regulation stated, despite the actual wording of the Barksdale Bill, that no slave would be accepted into the army unless he was freed by his master first. In other words, enlistment would actually mean emancipation. Another regulation stated that no 'regiments, brigades, or divisions' would be formed solely of negro troops; they would instead be used as replacements within the existing regiments of the various Confederate armies in Virginia, Georgia, and out west (which was standard practices throughout the war). Unlike the segregated Union armies, the Confederate armies would have black and white fighting side-by-side, and in practice, with those from the same state, and if possible, same county. A third regulation expanded on the legislation's provision of 'equal pay, rations, clothing, and equipment,' to state that black troops must receive equal treatment as white soldiers. Such regulation would reverberate through history for a long time after the war. Lincoln Explains His Proclamation
While speaking with a group of Kentuckians on the 26th of March, President Lincoln spoke of why he issued his proclamation. I felt that measures, otherwise unconstitutional might become lawful by becoming indispensable to the preservation of the Constitution through the preservation of the nation. Right or wrong, I assumed this ground, and now avow it. I could not feel that, to the best of my ability, I had even tried to preserve the Constitution, if, to preserve slavery, or any minor matter, I should permit the wreck of government, country, and Constitution altogether. When, early in the war, General Fremont attempted military emancipation, I forbade it, because I did not then think it an indispensable necessity. When, a little later, General Cameron, then Secretary of War, suggested the arming of the blacks, I objected because I did not yet think it an indispensable necessity. When, still later, General Hunter attempted military emancipation, I again forbade it, because I did not yet think the indispensable necessity had come. When, in March and May and July, 1862, I made earnest and successive appeals to the border States to favor compensated emancipation, I believed the indispensable necessity for military emancipation and arming the blacks would come, unless averted by that measure. They declined the proposition; and I was, in my best judgment, driven to the alternative of either surrendering the Union, and with it the Constitution, or of laying strong hand upon the colored element. I chose the later. In choosing it, I hoped for greater gain than loss; but of this, I was not entirely confident. More than a year of trial now shows no loss by it in our foreign relations, none in our home popular sentiment, none in our white military force,-no loss by it anyhow or anywhere. On the contrary, it shows a gain of quite a hundred and thirty thousand soldiers, seamen, and laborers. These are palpable facts, about which, as facts, there can be no caviling. We have the men and we could not have had them without the measure.He was asked later to defend his plan to free and enlist black slaves, saying: ...no human power can subdue this rebellion without the use of the emancipation policy and every other policy calculated to weaken the moral and physical forces of the rebellion.
In other words, it was necessary to defeat the South, not a humanitarian concern for the freedom of those who weren't free. Richmond, VA (April 1) Secretary of State Judah Benjamin promised freedom for any black who served from the State of Virginia, finally getting the authority to do so on the first of April, when the state offered $100 bounties to black soldiers. Confederate officers were ordered to treat them humanely, protecting them from all "injustice and oppression." April to July
 General Albert Sidney Johnston
Albert Sidney Johnston had been recovering from his wounds at Shiloh, and was finally feeling well enough to be just a little more active, though his doctor would urge him to take it easy. President Davis, who had a near reverence for the man, asked if he would be the first man to head the Confederate Negro Recruitment Board. It took a few days, while Johnston assessed the military situation of the nation, but he would agree early on the 1st of April, and when he arrived in Richmond on the 18th, would begin his work in earnest. Johnston had CNRB offices opened in every major city - Richmond, Atlanta, Tallahassee, Austin, etc. - at least, every major city not under Union occupation. A number of free blacks from most every city would respond to the call for volunteers; balls would be held to help pay for uniforms for the new recruits. It would be slow at first, but the pace would pick up by May. Many black slaveholders in the Carolinas, Virginia, Louisiana, especially, but also elsewhere in the unoccupied Confederacy would not only enlist, but recruit their own slaves into the army as well. CNRB recruitment officers visited plantations across the unoccupied Confederacy, attempting to persuade the slaves to enlist, as well as trying to persuade slave-owners to manumit those slaves who wanted to enlist. At the beginning, their efforts bore little fruit, but that would soon change. The response from the slaves is positive at this point, but less so from the owners, which quite often refused to cooperate, citing the need for labor on their fields. Newspaper editorials soon branded those hesitant owners as "unpatriotic," and eventually, most would decide to put the interests of the country over their own due to the peer and family pressure to do so, and allow their slaves to enlist. Drilling and preparation would take time, but by the end of August, the number of recruits required by law were raised (200,000) and were spending time training in camps throughout the South. By the end of June, the first of these new recruits joined their units, but wouldn't be a major factor till mid to late July, beginning in Virginia. Richmond, VA (April 1) President Davis calls his main army commanders to Richmond for a conference. Generals Lee, J. Johnston, A.S. Johnston, and Beauregard were in attendance. They hammered out a plan for how to best use the new troops the enlistment bill gave them. "We are approaching the breaking point," Lee said. "If we do not make a real strike and soon, we may lose this war. General Hood, General Bragg, and more generals and officers have been lost and if we continue further who next? General Stuart? General Jackson? Where will be find men to lead our men if this war goes on for much longer?" The men made a plan; Johnston will relocate to Atlanta and build its defenses, and concentrate their new troops there, who would march north to meet with Joseph Johnston to retake Chattanooga; they would take 70,000 troops, Lee would take 70,000, and Trans-Mississippi would take 40,000. The remaining 20,000 would be distributed around to the various smaller armies to take up guard posts to free up other militia from the states to bolster the various armies. The major issue would be finding arms and field equipment for the new recruits. There were about 70,000 smooth-bore muskets available, which had been phased out while the armies had been rearmed with Springfield or Enfield rifle muskets as they became available through capture, blockade running, or otherwise; as with other troops, captured rifles would be distributed to the new black soldiers as they would be able. The very real issue of supply meant they would first reinforce the Army of Tennessee, then the Army of Northern Virginia, then the other armies. Battle of Mansfield (April 9) In Louisiana, Nathaniel Banks and his 12,000-man strong Army of the Gulf attacked Richard Taylor and his army of 14,000, with a number of MPs, including Narcisse Doucet, and a number of now-freed and enlisted body servants managed to defeat the Union forces of Banks. A series of battles over the next few days, including Pleasant Hill, Blair's Landing, and a few other spots in Louisiana meant the Confederates regained some ground but didn't retake New Orleans. Battle of Fort Pillow (April 12) A Confederate force under Lt Gen Nathan Bedford Forrest surrounded the Union garrison at Fort Pillow, TN. For the past few weeks, the garrison had been responsible for depredations on the surrounding countryside, stealing from local farms and citizens and causing trouble for everyone. General Forrest, on learning of the Barksdale Bill, gave his own slaves their papers, all 45 of them, and several other local slaves. Forrest decides to approach the fort, which he had already found contained half black and half white troops from Tennessee. He sent up Private Louis Napoleon Nelson under flag of truce to read a proclamation.  Private Louis Napoleon Nelson, about 35 years after the war; he was promoted to Sergeant before being mustered out.
Forrest's Proclamation declared that any Union negro soldier's life would be spared if he took an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy and would be accepted into the Confederate armed forces if they volunteered. But, Forrest would not be responsible for what might happen to any traitors who continued to fight against their own country. He gave them the night to mull it over. During the night, 140 of the negro troops deserted to the Confederate lines. This was in line with how Forrest had operated even before now; he would tell a fort or troops to surrender or he would kill them all, and more often than not, he didn't have to fight them, wasting time, men, and supplies. On the 12th, Forrest made a demonstration and began his assault of the fort (again as was his typical tactic). The fighting had begun at 10 AM. Chalmers surrounded the fort. Forrest deployed sharpshooters around the high ground, bringing many of the remaining occupants into their line of fire. Major Booth was killed by a sharpshooter's bullet to the chest, and Bradford assumed command. By 11 AM, the Confederates had captured two rows of barracks about 150 yards from the southern end of the fort. Union soldiers failed to destroy the buildings before the Confederates occupied them, and during the fight, Bradford failed to strike colors, the universally recognized sign that a fort had surrendered. By about 3:30, Union gunboats were coming up the river, Forrest sent a note demanding their unconditional surrender: "The conduct of the officers and men garrisoning Fort Pillow has been such as to entitle them to be treated as prisoners of war. I demand the unconditional surrender of the entire garrison, promising that you shall be treated as prisoners of war. My men have just received a fresh supply of ammunition, and men, and from their present position can easily assault and capture the fort. Should my demand be refused, I cannot be responsible for the fate of your command." Bradford refused to surrender, and Forrest ordered the charge. The Confederates were fighting furiously, and caused the Union troops to run for the river, where they had stashed extra supplies. They were running and shooting as they did, and this was when even more Union troops died in the fight. The gunboats, which had closed their gunports till this point, were near enough they could begin assisting, and started firing on the Confederates. The Confederates were greeted with covering fire from the gunboat, and Union men were allowed to swim the river or get into the gunboat and withdraw. Forrest had his men fire the fort and take all the supplies, so that he could provision his new troops. True to his word, Forrest enlisted the 140 former Union troops into his command, where they would go on to serve honorably as infantry, artillery, and cavalry. He would later write of them, "Better Confederates did not live." Command
-US: Lionel Booth; William Bradford -CS: Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest Units
-US: Garrison of Fort Pillow: 6th US Artillery, Battery D, 2nd US Artillery, Bradford's Battalion -CS: 1st Division, Forrest's Cavalry Corps Casualties
-US: 221 killed; 140 deserted; 240 fled -CS: 14 killed, 86 wounded Richmond, VA (April 18) President Davis, upon hearing of Forrest's actions at Fort Pillow, was impressed, and knowing a good idea when he heard one, issued a proclamation to all Confederate military commanders to take identical actions when confronted with Union black troops. Over the next few months, news would spread, despite the best efforts of Union troops to squelch it, of the Confederates' more enlightened policies towards black troops, causing US Colored Troops to begin deserting for the South starting in late June. Richmond, VA (May 9) The Confederate Congress passed a bill entitled, "An Act to Honor the Sacrifices and Service of the Armed Forces of the Confederate States." The bill would authorize a series of medals and ribbons for the servicemen, to be awarded at the earliest opportunity, for various criteria, as soon as a metalsmith could be found to create the molds. The awards would include:  Name: Medal of Honor Ribbon: Solid gray; thin white stripes on the edges For: Servicemen who demonstrated outstanding bravery above and beyond that which would normally be expected of a Confederate soldier. Unlike the 25th/27th Maine, soldiers in the South were not awarded this medal for simply re-enlisting.  Name: Southern Cross of Honor Ribbon: none; later even gray/white/red/white/gray stripes For: recognition of loyal, honorable service to the South; a number of black troops received this medal, years before their Union counterparts would receive any medals for their service.  Name: Davis Guard Medal Ribbon: Green For: Created and awarded to 50 men of the F Battery, 1st TX Heavy Artillery Regiment for their victory at the Second Battle of Sabine Pass. One was given to President Davis as their honorary commander. This medal was funded by the government of Texas. More medals and ribbons would be authorized after the war. At the 25th anniversary of the war, both the Confederate and United States Congress would authorize a war service medal for all their respective veterans; the Union version would be blue and gray (L/R) with an image of Abraham Lincoln surrounded by the words "With malice toward none and charity for all." The Confederate version was gray and blue (L/R) with an image of Jefferson Davis and the words "For the cause of constitutional liberty." Women in the Military
At the outbreak of the War for Southern Independence, Lucy Mina Otey, a 60-year-old widow, organized 500 women from Lynchburg, VA into the Ladies' Relief Society. She charged the members of her society with preparing and delivering food to the wounded soldiers in hospitals, preparing bandages, mending clothes, and assisting the surgeons however they could. Their insistence on clean water would help save lives of many soldiers. The ladies would write letters for the soldiers to their families and loved ones, and try to keep them comfortable while they healed. One morning at the hospital, Mrs. Otey was denied access by order of Doctor Owen, who was the head of the military hospitals of Lynchburg. He ordered her removal and the removal of all women from the hospital. One of the nurses, Sarah Emma Bacon was there at the time, and urged Otey to talk to the President. Bacon had found that fennugreek and turmeric were useful for their medicinal properties; the fennugreek more so for women, especially in seed form. When Otey got to Richmond, she managed to speak to the President, and got his personal permission to found her own hospital, and to have it run entirely by female nurses. It was a frequent issue with Confederate hospitals, the corruption and mismanagement, so the Confederate government would eventually order them shut down if they weren't under direct government control. If a hospital weren't headed by a commissioned officer, at least a captain in rank, then the patients had to be moved. Due to the excellence of her hospital and her service to the Confederacy, she was named a captain in the Confederate Army personally by the President. The first woman commissioned into the military in the world, Sallie Tompkins, a 28-year-old resided in the capital. She responded to the war soon after the First Battle of Manassas in July, 1861. The capital was not prepared for the hundreds of wounded who poured in. Judge John Robertson had fled to the countryside, and allowed Sallie to use his house as a hospital. A number of ladies from the St James Episcopal Church, as well as a number of slaves, would run what became known as Robertson Hospital. The women were known collectively as the "Ladies of Robertson Hospital." It would go on to become one of the South's biggest wartime hospitals. After the initial crisis had passed, Davis instituted regulations requiring military hospitals to be under military command. Sallie's Robertson Hospital had done such good work, that Davis commissioned her a captain so she could continue her work. Both she and Lucy Otey were officially commissioned as officers in the CS Army. Sallie refused payment for her services, using the funds for the hospital instead. On her commission, dated September 9, 1861, she wrote, "I accepted the commission as Captain in the C.S.A. when it was offered. But, I would not allow my name to be placed upon the pay roll of the army." Robertson Hospital treated patients throughout the war, discharging its final patient on June 19, 1865. During its 4-year-existence, it treated 1344 wounded soldiers, and had only 71 deaths, the lowest mortality of any military hospital during the war. Mary Chesnut was a frequent visitor, as was another diarist, Judith McGuire, who was also a volunteer at the hospital. Supplying the hospital was difficult, as the blockade had tightened and they had to hire a blockade-runner to bring in necessities from overseas. Word got to the British in July that the Union was stopping medical supplies, and in conjunction with the PoW camps not getting medical aid, and the end of prisoner exchanges, would contribute to Parliament begin discussions of sending official aid to the Confederates. Sally was a beautiful woman, and got a number of marriage proposals from the soldiers she saved, all of which she declined. The men who were fortunate enough to be sent to her hospital simply called her "Captain Sallie." One time a nurse, Sally Westberry, had difficulty getting supplies from a quartermaster, leading Tompkins to make her a 2nd Lieutenant and after the Emancipation Bill passed, she would enlist the female slaves as Privates; this solved the issue of her getting supplies in the beleaguered capital.  In 1865, some female nurses made their own gray jackets and took the kepis left behind in their hospitals. This exact uniform was never worn by any woman during the War for Southern Independence, however, the jacket, skirt, boots, sword, and kepi combination did appear for a small group of twenty nurses marching through Charleston at war's end to cheering crowds. A green cross sewn into the sleeves on an ordnance sergeant chevron appeared as their own semi-official rank, with one, two, or three green chevrons indicating nurse seniority. Green collar and sleeve markings indicated they were in the medical service, while the black background of their chevrons indicated being part of the wider medical service. Despite not being officially in the armed forces, the various states did pay these women pensions after the war for their service. To this day female re-enactors across the south use this as an example of a female army uniform, despite that not being exactly true.
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jjohnson
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Post by jjohnson on Feb 18, 2020 22:13:44 GMT
Chapter 12: The War for 1864
Battle of the Wilderness, VA (May 9-11)  Troop movements at the beginning of the battle
The first battle of Lt. Gen. Grant's Overland Campaign where he intended to fight a war of attrition against the Confederates. He didn't believe that slaves would fight for the Confederates in any great number, and given the greater numbers of men and industries, the North would win eventually in his mind. Grant decided that the Wilderness would be where he would fight. Rather than fighting in the Wilderness, he would move to the open ground south and east, before fighting Lee, taking advantage of his numbers and artillery, and avoiding what happened with Stonewall Jackson and Chancellorsville the year prior.  Initial actions on May 9
Grant's plan was for V Corps and V Corps to cross the Rapidan at Germanna Ford, followed by the IX Corps after supply trains had crossed. Speed was of the essence, as his army was stretched thin. Though Grant insisted on traveling light, with minimal artillery and supplies, it's logistical 'tail' was almost 70 miles. Meade's supply trains were 4300 wagons, 835 ambulances, and a herd of cattle for slaughter, and Grant gambled Meade could move his army quickly enough to avoid being ensnared in the Wilderness, but Meade wanted to camp overnight to allow it to catch up. Grant also miscalculated in assuming Lee was incapable of intercepting the Union army at its most vulnerable point, and Meade hadn't provided enough cavalry coverage to warn of a Confederate movement from the west. On May 4, Lee met with his Generals on Clark Mountain, getting a panoramic view of the enemy. He knew Grant was getting ready to attack, but didn't know the precise route he would use. He knew he'd be crossing east of their fortifications, but couldn't be certain. To retain flexibility, he dispersed his army over a wide area. Longstreet's First Corps would be around Gordonsville; Lee and Ewell's Third Corps would be outside Orange Courthouse, and Jackson's Second Corps would be at Morton's Ford. Jackson successfully convinced Lee to allow a flanking maneuver by his corps, so that they could envelop the Union from the side. As Grant's plan became clear to Lee on the 5th, he knew he needed to fight in the Wilderness for the same reason as before - his army was outnumbered about 2-to-1, and he had fewer artillery and his artillery was inferior to the Union's artillery. Fighting in the woods would eliminate the artillery advantage, and the close quarters would give Lee's force better odds. So he ordered his troops to intercept them in the Wilderness. The thick underbrush prevented the Union from recognizing how close the Confederates were. Meade got an erroneous report of Stuart's cavalry operating in the rear, near Fredericksburg, so he ordered most of his cavalry to move east to deal with that, leaving his army blind. He assumed the corps under Sedgwick, Warren, and Hancock could hold off any potential advance till the supply trains came up, at which time Grant could move forward for a major battle. On the 9th, some small attacks occurred between some elements of Ewell's Third Corps and Longstreet's First Corps, facing elements of the V Corps (Warren) and III Corps (Hancock), respectively. The fighting started about 4 PM under Grant's order, and continued till nightfall, with neither side gaining an advantage. On the 10th, most of Longstreet's men had arrived, as had Ewell's, and Jackson's Corps was ready for action. Grant assumed Ewell's Corps was spent and easy to defeat. The Union started the fight about 5 AM, leaving their entrenchments to form lines of battle against the Confederates. Longstreet faced the forces of Sedgwick and Warren to the north, while Ewell's Third Corps faced Hancock's III Corps. Burnside was positioned to protect Grant and Meade's flank. Ewell's Corps had four fresh brigades under Early flank against Hancock, attacking his southward flank, while Jackson waited to be unleashed. Around 2 PM, Jackson and Stuart were unleashed. Jackson launched between Grant's two armies, and started the attack on Burnside, while Stuart made his attack on the northern flank, surprising the Union army, since they had no cavalry screen. Sedgwick's and Burnside's troops were under withering attack, while Hancock's men slowly gave ground. At about 4 PM, the Union forces had lost ground and were slowly moving back till they reached their own entrenchments, which finally forced the Confederates back about 6:30 PM. The fighting was fierce, and at times, troops resorted to clubbing each other with rifles and stabbing with bayonets. As the Confederates returned to their own entrenchments, they managed to disarm the Union troops left on the field, and both sides settled into their camps for the night. Grant had taken heavy losses, but he could afford them. Lee couldn't, and Grant could fight a war of attrition, hopefully destroying Lee before the election. He decided instead of renewing the attack to maneuver around Lee, finding ground better for his troops, and would decide upon Spotsylvania. Both sides had been badly bruised; Union forces had 24,350 casualties and the Confederates had 9,875. Under such circumstances earlier Union commanders in Virginia had withdrawn behind the nearest river to lick their wounds. The men expected the same thing, but Grant had told Lincoln, "whatever happens, there will be no turning back." When the supply trains began moving around, they thought they were retreating, but then they turned south. The Union men began singing and smiling, their morale improving. Finally they would be fighting to force the South back into the Union under the weight of Union firepower. Lee fielded roughly 1800 black Confederates in this fight, of which there were 211 casualties. Importantly, their presence made the difference in the casualty disparity between North and South, and they saved a great number of lives with their actions on the field. Command
-US: Lieutenant General Ulysses S Grant; Major General George Meade -CS: General Robert E Lee Army
-US: Army of the Potomac, IX Corps; 124,232 -CS: Army of Northern Virginia; 70,000 Casualties
-US: 24,350; (3,869 killed; 17,000 wounded; 3,481 captured/missing) -CS: 9,875; (1,281 killed; 7,161 wounded; 1,433 captured/missing) Battle of Cloyd's Mountain (May 9)* Hoping to sever the last line of supply between Kentucky and Virginia, Brig. Gen. Crook decided that he needed to destroy the Confederates under Brig. Gen. Albert Jenkins. Jenkins had managed to entrench himself well, and began his artillery barrage, inflicting casualties at the outset. Col. Horatio Sickel, taking with him Col. Rutherford B Hayes and Col. William McKinley, attempted flanking them, but the steeps slope of the mountain and muddy creek slowed their advance such that Jenkins was able to outmaneuver them and halt their advance. Sickel was shot through, and Hayes decided to lead the retreat back, rather than suffer more casualties. The fight continued another two hours before Crook left the field, with the lines between Kentucky and Virginia still open for the Confederates. There were 196 black Confederates with Jenkins, of which there were 30 casualties. Command
-US: George Crook -CS: Albert Jenkins Army-US: 6100 -CS: 2600 Casualties
-US: 887; -CS: 530; *Change: US won this originally. Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse (May 13-23)  Painting of the Battle of Spotsylvania, US National History Museum
Lee didn't know Grant's plan, but did know that river-crossing equipment had been taken, so he wasn't going back North as his predecessors had.  Battle on May 13
At dawn on the 13th, Wesley Merritt's Union cavalrymen attacked Fitzhugh Lee's barricades on Brock Road, but were repulsed. Meade ordered Warren's V Corps to break through with infantry, and a division of Brig. Gen. John Robinson to help with the cavalry. Fitzhugh Lee's horse artillery stalled the Union advance, while their cavalry made a defensive line at a place they called Laurel Hill. Lee sent for Anderson's infantry to help, and he dispatched two infantry brigades and an artillery battalion, arriving just as Warren's did a hundred yards north. Warren assumed only cavalry was blocking his path, and ordered an immediate attack, but his multiple attacks were repulsed with heavy casualties. By noon, the Union troops began building earthworks on the northern end of Spindle clearing. Elsewhere, a Union cavalry division under James Wilson reached and occupied the town of Spotsylvania Court House, and at 8 AM, sent a brigade under Col. John McIntosh to strike the Confederates from the rear. J.E.B. Stuart only had a single cavalry regiment available to help. Anderson at the same time had sent Joseph Kershaw's infantry division to help. Sheridan ordered them to withdraw, and Wilson withdrew up to Fredericksburg Road. Generals Meade and Sheridan argued about the cavalry's performance throughout the campaign, and the performance of Wilson only compounded the frustration. After a heated exchange with expletives thrown about on both sides, Sheridan told Meade he could "whip Stuart" if Meade let him. Meade told Grant, who replied, "Well, he generally knows what he is talking about. Let him start right out and do it." Meade deferred to Grant's judgment, and sent Sheridan's entire command of 10,000 cavalrymen to depart the next day. Grant and Meade were left without cavalry resources for several critical days ahead. May 14
 May 14's battle maneuvers
Over the night of the 13th/14th of May, the Confederates were busy building a series of earthworks over 4 miles long, starting at the Po River, and encompassing Laurel Hill, Brock Road, and back past the court house. Union soldiers were busy building their own entrenchments. About 9 AM, Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick was busy inspecting his own VI Corps's line, remarking "they couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." A moment later, he was shot through the head by a Confederate sharpshooter, dying instantly. He was one of the most beloved generals amongst the Union men, and his death was a huge blow to his men and colleagues. Meade had Maj. Gen. Horatio Wright to replace him. On the Union left/Confederate right, the IX Corps under Burnside approached on Fredericskburg Road, but they were delayed by Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry. When they reached close enough to observe the Confederates were at the court house, Burnside got worried he had advanced too far, and began entrenching. At the same time, Hancock saw Early's men pulling back; Grant concluded the Confederates were shifting their men from west to east, giving him an opportunity to attack. He ordered Hancock to attack their left flank, driving them back towards Burnside, while the rest of his command would wait in the center for an opening to attack. Hancock's II Corps advanced across the Po, but became nervous that the Confederates had the Block House bridge heavily defended, and delayed his attack till morning, which was fatal to Grant's plan. Lee moved two divisions of Early's corps into position against him, and Mahone's division was placed right in Hancock's path, while Heth's division swung around to get Hancock's right flank. May 15
 Grant's attack on the 15th
As morning dawned on the 15th, Grant realized his assumptions were wrong, and Hancock had more of a threat to face. But this opened a new opportunity; he guessed (incorrectly) that the troops facing Hancock had been withdrawn from Laurel Hill. So Grant had Hancock withdraw north of the Po, leaving a single division in place to occupy the Confederates there, while the rest of his army was to attack at 5 PM across the entire line of Confederates, which would identify and exploit any potential weak spots. Hancock left Barlow's division behind some hasty earthworks along Shady Grove Church Road, and withdrew the rest of his men north of the Po. At 2 PM, Jubal Early attacked Barlow with Heth's division. Barlow's men were in a difficult position as the Confederate artillery, lobbing shells at them, had set the surrounding woods on fire. They were able to retreat, destroying the bridge behind them. Hancock was needed to help Barlow's withdrawal, leaving Warren in charge of the Laurel Hill sector. Just after Hancock left, Warren requested permission to attack immediately, apart from the rest of Grant's attack. He was embarrassed by his performance from the day before, and wanted to restore his reputation for aggressiveness. Meade granted permission, surprisingly to future historians. At 4 PM, elements of the II and V Corps assaulted Laurel Hill's trenches, requiring them to move through a grove of gnarled, splintered, dead pine trees. The attacks were beaten back with heavy losses. With this, Grant was forced to postpone his 5 PM coordinated assault until Warren could reform his troops. About 6 PM, the VI Corps began its attack in an unusual formation. Col. Emory Upton led a group of 12 hand-picked regiments, about 5000 men in four battle lines, against a weak point on the west side of the Mule Shoe they called Doles's Salient (after Brig. Gen. George Doles's Georgian troops there). The plan was for Upton's men to rush across the open field, not pausing to fire and reload, then reach the earthworks before the Confederates could fire more than a few shots. Once the initial breakthrough was made, then the following lines would widen the breach, and spread out to each side. Gersham Mott's division was named to support the breakthrough, but his division (4th Division, II Corps) was the weakest in the army. This was once Joe Hooker's command, having been transferred from the III Corps two months earlier. Their morale had suffered from this, and several of their enlistment terms were going to expire in a few weeks, making them extremely gun-shy. They had been badly shot up at the Wilderness, and routed there. As they approached the Confederate entrenchments, a burst of artillery fire caused them to panic and flee the field, never getting closer than a quarter mile to the Confederates. Three days later, Mott's division would be dissolved and Mott demoted to command of a brigade made of most of the remaining troops from the division. Upton's men encountered stiff resistance from the Confederates, but drove all the way to the parapets, where they did carry the day and managed to drive the Confederates from the trenches. Lee and Ewell were quick to organize a vigorous counterattack with brigades from all sectors of the Mule Shoe, and no supporting units for the Union survived. Mott had been repulsed, and units from Warren's V Corps were too spent from their earlier attacks to help, unknown to Upton. Upton's men were driven out of the works and he ordered them to retreat. Grant would promote Upton to brigadier general for his performance. Also at 6 PM, on the Union left flank, Burnside advanced along Fredericksburg Road. He and Grant were unaware that when Lee had moved units to the Po, he left only Cadmus Wilcox's division to defend there, and left a large gap between Wilcox and Ewell. Without cavalry, they couldn't know. As Burnside got resistance from Wilcox, he timidly stopped and entrenched. Grant decided that evening he was too isolated and ordered him to pull back behind the Ni river, and move to join his lines with Wright's. Also at 6 p.m., on the Union left flank, Burnside advanced along the Fredericksburg Road. Grant would later blame himself for the lost opportunity here. May 16
Grant was still optimistic despite his reverses. Upton's innovative assault was a partial success, but had failed only for lack of support, and figured the same tactics would work with an entire corps. General Wright, the new VI Corps commander, visited Grant, suggesting the fights on the 15th failed due to poor support, especially from Mott's division. Wright told Meade, "General, I don't want Mott's troops on my left; they are not a support. I would rather have no troops there." He assigned the II Corps under Hancock to assault the Mule Shoe, while Burnside's IX Corps attacked the eastern end, and Warren's V and Wright's VI Corps would apply pressure to Lauren Hill. Grant sent a famous message to Stanton, the Secretary of War, "The result to this time is much in our favor. Our losses have been heavy as well as those of the enemy. ... I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." Almost no major combat action occurred on the 16th, just some small-scale skirmishing and artillery fire. Lee got intelligence reports that Grant was planning to withdraw towards Fredericksburg. If that happened, he wanted to be ready. He was about to pull artillery from the Mule Shoe, but General Jackson cautioned him not to do that, as that was the best point to attack, and assured him that in case of retreat, he could pull the artillery quickly for pursuit. Hancock's men began assembling near Brown Farm that evening, about 1200 yards north of the Mule Shoe in a torrential rainstorm. The men lacked basic information of the nature of the ground to cover, obstacles they would encounter, or how the Confederate line was configured. Confederates heard their preparations through the storm, but couldn't decide whether they were going to attack or pull back. The Confederates decided to prepare the artillery for an attack. May 17
Hancock's assault was supposed to start at 4 AM, but it was still pitch black and he delayed till 4:35, when the rain stopped and was replaced with thick mist. The attack crashed against the Confederate works, which fired artillery nearly point blank at the Union troops. Much of the Confederate gun powder had been ruined by the rain, but they had enough left to get off two or three shots each. This was the point of the heaviest casualties in the fighting, and eventually the Union broke through the Mule Shoe, but the brave combat by the Stonewall Brigade and other Confederates managed to hold the Union troops, who had no plan to capitalize on the breakthrough, and the crowded infantrymen, 15,000 strong, lost all unit cohesion and became little more than an armed mob. Brig Gen. George Steuart and Allegheny Johnson, Col. William Monaghan, and Brig. Gen. James Walker resisted as well as they could, and soon Brig. Gen. Robert Johnston's brigade of North Carolinians raced towards the fight; Johnston was wounded, but his brigade halted the Union advance. John Gorden sent forward Col. John Hoffman's brigade and three regiments from Col. Clement Evan's brigade. After about thirty minutes of fighting, the Confederates secured the eastern leg of the Mule Shoe. On the western end, Maj. Gen. Robert Rodes and Brig. Gen. Stephen Ramseur coordinated the defense and regained the entrenchments despite the losses by the Stonewall Brigade. Grant sent in reinforcements about 6:30 AM, ordering both Wright and Warren to move forward. The VI Corps under Brig. Gen. Thomas Neill headed for the western leg of the Mule Shoe, known as the Bloody Angle. The Union brigade slammed into the line, but Confederate Brig Gens. Abner Perrin and Nathaniel Harris came to Ramseur's aid, surviving the attack. By 8 AM, another heavy rain came in, making the earthworks slippery with blood and water. South Carolinians under Brig. Gen. Samuel McGowan's brigade joined the defense at the critical point. At 9:30 AM, the VI Corps under Brig. Gen. David Russell joined the attack. A section of Union artillery was able to get closet to the Confederate lines to inflict numerous casualties, but Confederate artillery had a deleterious effect on his approach. Warren's attack began at 8:15 AM. For some of his men, this was their 4th or 5th attack on the same objective and few fought with any enthusiasm. After the attack went on for about 30 minutes, it petered out, and Warren told Meade he wasn't able to advance "at present." Meade ordered Warren to attack "at once, at all hazards with your whole force, if necessary." So, Warren relayed the order to his division commanders: "Do it. Don't mind the consequences." The attack was another failure, adding to the high casualties the Union faced against the Confederate divisions. Not only was the V Corps unable to make its objective, it also failed to draw Confederates from elsewhere in the line as Grant intended. Both Meade and Grant were upset at Warren's performance, and Grant authorized Meade to relieve him. He was replaced by Maj. Gen. Andrew Humphreys, who diplomatically coordinated the withdrawal of the V Corps, without relieving Warren, but Meade began to order Warren's subordinates to reinforce Wright, and no further attacks on Laurel Hill were planned. Burnside was also a part of the grand assault, advancing against the eastern leg of the Mule Shoe. His division's attack under Brig. Gen. Robert Potter aided Hancock's breakthrough. The North Carolina brigade under Brig. Gen. James Lane, reinforced by Brig. Gen. Edward Thomas's Georgian brigade and Brig. Gen. Alfred Scales's North Carolinians. The two sides stalemated. At 2 PM, Grant and Lee, by chance, ordered simultaneous attacks. Grant wanted a new breakthrough in a lightly defended sector, and Lee wanted to take out an artillery position of the IX Corps. Union Brig. Gen. Orlando Willcox's division was stopped as Lane's brigade moved forward and hit them in the flank. Through the afternoon, the Confederate engineers scrambled to create a new defensive line 500 yards south at the base of the Mule Shoe, while fighting at the Bloody Angle continued, neither side getting the advantage. The fighting finally ended at midnight. At 4 AM, exhausted Confederate infantrymen were notified the new line was ready, and they withdrew by unit from the original line. The nearly 24 hours of combat was characterized by an intensity of firepower never before seen in the war, with the entire landscape being flattened, and all the foliage destroyed. The Smithsonian Museum of American history even had an example of this, a 22-inch stump of an oak tree from the Bloody Angle, completely severed by rifle fire. The fighting was so frenzied, the men were reduced to hand to hand combat; corpses piled four or five high, having to be pushed over the parapets since they made an obstacle to the fighting. Dead and wounded men were shot so many times, many simply fell apart into unrecognizable lumps of flesh. Survivors of the battle attempted to describe in their letters, diaries, and memoirs the hellish intensity of the day, many saying it was beyond words. One man put it thus: "Nothing can describe the confusion, the savage, blood-curdling yells, the murderous faces, the awful curses, and the grisly horror of the melee." Some men claimed to have fired up to 400 rounds that day. May 18-21
 Reorienting the lines
Despite the heavy casualties of May 17, Grant was undeterred. He telegraphed the chief of staff of the army, Maj. Gen. Henry Halleck, "The enemy are obstinate and seemed to have found the last ditch." Grant planned to reorient his lines, shifting the center of action east of Spotsylvania, where he could renew the battle. He ordered the V and VI Corps to move behind the II Corps, and take positions past the IX Corps's left flank. On the night of the 18-19th, the Union corps began a difficult march in heavy rain, over a treacherously muddy set of roads. Early on the 19th, elements of the VI Corps occupied Myers Hill, overlooking most of the Confederate line. Col. Emory Upton's brigade skirmished most of the day, trying to retain possession of the high ground, but Grant's command was too scattered and exhausted to undertake any kind of assistance or even assault on the court house on the 19th, despite it being left almost undefended for most of the day. When Lee realized what Grant was planning, Lee shifted some troops from Longstreet's First Corps to that area. Grant notified DC that, after having endured five days of near continuous rain, his army could not resume effective offensive operation till they had 24 hours of dry weather. Notably a 'blood moon' occurred on the 21st of May. May 22-23
 Final day of fighting
The weather finally cleared on the 22nd. Grant made an assumption which led him to his next plan of attack: since Lee had seen his build-up along Fredericksburg Road, he must have shifted his forces away from former Mule Shoe positions. So he ordered II Corps and VI Corps to attack at sunrise on the 23rd. They retraced their steps back to the Landrum house. Hancock's II Corps would make the main assault, with Wright on the right, and Burnside on the left. Unfortunately for Grant, the former Confederate works were still occupied by Jackson's Second Corps, and they had used the respite to improve the earthworks and obstacles laid out in front of them. Unlike the 18th, they weren't caught by surprise. As Hancock's men advanced, they were caught up in Confederate abatis, and were subjected to artillery fire so devastating they didn't need to use infantry rifle fire to repulse the attack. Wright and Burnside had no better luck. Confederates had also taken several hundred Spencer rifles from the Union dead in case they needed them. May 24
Grant decided to abandon the general area as a battlefield. He ordered Hancock's II Corps to march to the railroad line, then turn south, placing him between Fredericksburg and Richmond. Hopefully, Lee would take the bait and follow, to try to overwhelm and destroy the isolated corps. In that case, Grant would chase Lee with his remaining corps and strike him from behind before he could create new entrenchments. Lee was also planning. Before Hancock began his move, Lee ordered Jackson to conduct a reconnaissance in force, to locate the northern flank of the Union army. Jackson took most of his Second Corps up the Brock Road, and swung widely to the north and east of Harris Farm. They encountered several units of heavy artillery soldiers who had been recently converted to infantry duty. Fighting commenced between Jackson's veterans and the relatively inexperienced Union troops. The fighting lasted till about 7 PM, when Lee was worried he was risking a general engagement while separated from the main army, and ordered them recalled. The Confederates managed to inflict another 1100 casualties to 200 before leaving the field. Confederates at this time fielded roughly 1930 black soldiers from training in Virginia and the Carolinas. Some of the white soldiers with whom they were stationed doubted their abilities to fight as well as they could, given the atmosphere both north and south concerning blacks. But the 10 days of fighting near and around Spotsylvania Courthouse changed many minds. There were 296 casualties amongst the various black soldiers, but they were also instrumental in saving over 433 lives with cover fire, dragging wounded off the battle field, and catching a Union soldier before they shot another Confederate. Command
-US: Lieutenant General Ulysses S Grant; Major General George Meade -CS: General Robert E Lee Army
-US: Army of the Potomac, IX Corps; 109,200 -CS: Army of Northern Virginia; 66,000 Casualties
-US: 20,310; (2944 killed; 14,944 wounded; 2,422 captured/missing) -CS: 11,660; (1,410 killed; 4,971 wounded; 5,279 captured/missing) Notable Casualties
-US: General Sedgwick Battle of Yellow Tavern (May 15) Sheridan was given permission to take his cavalry, over 10,000 troops with 32 artillery pieces, to the southeast to move behind Lee's Army. They had 3 goals: defeat Stuart; disrupt Lee's supply lines; threaten Richmond to distract Lee. The Union cavalry column stretched at times over 13 miles, reached the Confederate supply base at Beaver Dam Station that night. Confederates had already destroyed many critical military supplies, so Sheridan's men destroyed numerous railroad cars and six locomotives of the Virginia Central Railroad, destroyed telegraph wires, and rescued 400 Union soldiers captured in the Wilderness. Stuart moved his 4500 troops, joined with 1,400 newly trained colored cavalry and about 2,000 colored infantry. The two met at noon on May 15 at Yellow Tavern, an abandoned inn 6 miles north of Richmond. The Union outnumbered the Confederates and had superior firepower - the Spender carbines. Confederates tenaciously resisted from a low ridgeline, fighting over three hours. Stuart sent the colored troops to see how they would do, on a flank to the right of Sheridan, while at the same time ordering a countercharge by the 1st Virginia Cavalry, as Stuart shouted encouragement. One of the black troopers, Thomas Madison, shot John Huff, a dismounted Union private, who was aiming at Stuart, throwing his shot, which nicked his sleeve but missed his arm entirely. Madison bayoneted Huff shortly thereafter, as the 5th Michigan Cavalry was retreating. An infantryman, William Winter, and his body servant Andrew, made the fateful shot that wounded Sheridan, as Sheridan was trying to shout encouragement to his men from his horse. Andrew Winter's shot managed to hit Sheridan's intestines and lodge near his spine. He would bleed out in quick order. William's shot went through his right lung, making it difficult for Sheridan to breath, till he died within the hour in great pain. The fighting kept up for an hour after Sheridan was wounded, Brig. Gen. Alfred Torbert took temporary command of the Union Cavalry. Torbert disengaged the men and headed south toward Richmond to continue their mission. They avoided the modest defenses north of the city, and went south across the Chickahominy River to link up with Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler's forces on the James. After resupplying Butler, Torbert's men returned to join Grant at Chesterfield Station. The raid achieved a victory over a numerically inferior opponent, but accomplished little overall, and lost General Sheridan in the process. Lee was deprived of Stuart during a two-week period, but neither had the Union any cavalry screening at the same time.  Major General Philip Sheridan, the highest ranking casualty of the Battle of Yellow Tavern; a focus of what would become 'alternate history' novels would be if the roles were reversed, and instead Stuart had died at Yellow Tavern
. They often focus on the Confederates not arming their slaves, without which, Andrew Winter, William's body servant, would not have fired the fateful shot at Sheridan.
Command
-US: Philip Sheridan -CS: J.E.B. Stuart Army-US: Army of the Potomac Cavalry; 12,000 -CS: Army of Northern Virginia Cavalry Corps; Virginia 1st and 2nd Colored Militia; 8,000 Casualties
-US: 1,240; (312 killed; 518 wounded; 410 captured/missing) -CS: 312; (0 killed; 0 wounded; 312 captured/missing) Notable Casualties
-US: Philip Sheridan* -CS: n/a Washington, DC (May 25) President Lincoln was troubled with the stalled progress of the war. Neither Meade nor McClernand were making headway, and he was worried he would not make it to reelection. His dream, his own vision of the Union, with the American System propping up American business, a national bank, subsidized rail and internal improvements, it all was in desperate troubles. Effective June 1, he would make Major General William Tecumseh Sherman the head of the Military Division of the Mississippi, and Lieutenant General Ulysses S Grant at the head of the Army of the Potomac, in charge of Meade. Grant's objective was not to touch Richmond. It was to get Lee to surrender. Sherman's objective was Atlanta. Stop that, and perhaps they could cripple the Confederates' war-making abilities. Battle of North Anna (May 27-29) After Grant disengaged from the stalemate over at Spotsylvania Court House, he tried to lure Lee into a battle with Burnside, but he didn't fall for it. He lost the race to Lee's next defensive position, south of the North Anna River. Lee was unsure of Grant's intentions, but Jackson believed he was going to attack and urged his commander to build defensive works. They devised a scheme of an inverted "V" to try to split the Union army when it advanced, and allow the Confederates to use interior lines to attack and defeat one wing, and prevent the other wing from reinforcing it in time. Surprisingly, Warren's V Corps missed Lee's army marching south right next to it.  Battle on the 28th
On the morning of the 28th, Grant sent additional troops south of the North Anna River. Wright's VI Corps crossed at Jericho Mills, and by 11 AM both Warren and Wright advanced to the Virginia Central Railroad. At 8 AM, Hancock's II Corps finally crossed the Chesterfield Bridge, with the 2nd US Sharpshooters and 20th Indiana dashing across the bridge to try to disperse a thin Confederate picket line. Down the river, the confederates had burned away the rail bridge, but soldiers from the 8th Ohio cut down a large tree so the men could cross single-file. The Union troops soon got a pontoon bridge set up and all of Maj. Gen. John Gibbon's division crossed. This is when Grant began to fall into Lee's trap. Seeing how easy it was to cross the river, he assumed the Confederates to be retreating. He wired command back in Washington: "The enemy have fallen back from North Anna. We are in pursuit." The only visible opposition to their crossing was at Ox Ford, which Grant saw as simply a rear guard action, just an annoyance. So Grant ordered Burnside's IX Corps to deal with hit. Burnside had Brig. Gen. Samuel Crawford march upriver to Quarles Mill and seize the the ford there. Burnside ordered Maj. Gen. Thomas Crittenden's division to cross there at the ford, and follow the river's southern bank to Ox Ford, and attack the Confederate positions from the west. Crittenden's lead brigade was unfortunately led by Brig. Gen. James Ledlie, known for his excessive consumption of alcohol in the field. Being intoxicated and ambitious, Ledlie decided to attack the Confederate position alone with just his brigade. His brigade encountered the Confederate earthworks, manned by Brig. Gen. William Mahone's division. Ledlie sent his 35th Massachusetts forward, but were immediately repulsed. Then he sent an officer back to ask for three more regiments from Crittenden as reinforcements. The division commander was surprised and had the officer instruct Ledlie not to attack till the full division crossed over. Unfortunately by that time, Ledlie was completely drunk. When several Confederate artillery batteries on the earthworks were pointed out to him, he dismissed them and ordered a charge. His men started as a rain began to fall, and in their rush to get to the enemy's earthworks, the regiments got mixed up and confused. The Confederates waited to fire till they got close, which drove them into ditches for protection. A violent thunderstorm erupted, and though the 56th and 57th Massachusetts regiments tried to rally, Mahone's Mississippi troops stepped out of their earthworks and shot them down. Col. Stephen Weld (56th MA) was wounded, and Lt. Col. Charles Chandler (57th MA) was mortally wounded. Soon all of Ledlie's men had to retreat, and they made it back to Quarles Mill. Despite his utterly miserable performance, Ledlie got praise from his division commander, saying his brigade "behaved gallantly." Ledlie was promoted to division command after this battle, and his drunkenness would continue to plague his men. Hancock's II Corps began pushing south from Chesterfield Bridge about the same time Ledlie was just crossing over. Hancock ordered Gibbon's division to advance down the railroad. They pushed aside some Confederate skirmishers, but then ran into the earthworks, and most of his division was engaged. The fighting was interrupted by the thunderstorm, since men on both sides were worried it would ruin their gunpowder. As the rain slacked off, Maj. Gen. David Birney's division came to Gibbon's aid, but even both at once couldn't break the Confederate line. The Union army was doing precisely what Lee wanted it to do. His commanders, especially A.P. Hill and Lt. Gen. Richard Ewell, were both exhausted, and Lt. Gen. James Longstreet was slightly ill, so Maj. Gen. Richard Anderson was replacing him. His inexperience at Corps command showed during the battle, but he performed to the best of his ability. Stonewall Jackson commanded the longest line with his Stonewall Brigade, and put forth his best efforts. The Confederates were exhausted but they fought with tenacity and inflicted heavy casualties on the Union soldiers. Jackson had them concentrate their fire along the line, decimating every attempt to approach along his line. Without Stuart, Jackson couldn't flank as he had planned, to sweep the field, but he had Jubal Early take two brigades from his earthworks, under Doles and Battle, and come around to flank, along with Breckenridge and Pickett. They approached through the forest, using it as cover for their approach, and when they emerged, were able to destroy the brigades under McIvor, McKeen, and Owen. The men began running back in panic, causing chaos in the field, disrupting the efforts of Birney and Barlow against Jackson and Longstreet. About 5:30 PM, Hancock told Meade their position was being turned on their left flank. Grant finally realized the situation he faced, and ordered his men to stop advancing and retreat back across the bridge. They made a fighting retreat on their left flank back across the river. That night, Grant and Meade argued again about the campaign, and Grant mollified Meade somewhat by ordering Burnside's IX Corps to report to him, rather than Grant. Though Burnside was a senior major general to Meade, he accepted the new subordinate position without protest. The next day, there was some light skirmishing, but nothing major. Grant would be reluctant still to attack strong defensive lines, and would try to turn Lee's flank again, and meet his army soon at Cold Harbor. Command
-US: Ulysses S Grant, George Meade -CS: Robert E Lee Army
-US: Army of the Potomac, IX Corps; 67,000-94,034 -CS: Army of Northern Virginia; 56,811 Casualties
-US: 4,455; (765 killed; 2,988 wounded; 702 captured/missing) -CS: 1,427; (101 killed; 644 wounded; 682 captured/missing) Battle of Fort Merced (May 28) Named for the Merced River, the Union forces had built a fort nearby to guard the pass up towards the capital of California. Col. Tomas Avila Sanchez, and Lt. Col. Roberto Perez with their brigade under Brig. Gen. J.P. Gillis marched with 4,000 men, along with another 4,000 under Brig. Gen. Dan Showalter. They had 8 horse artillery each, though they had poor reconnaissance done of the Fort, not knowing its defenses, because of the cavalry there blocking their own reconnaissance. Showalter decided to attack the morning of the 28th, launching his artillery first for surprise at 4:30 AM, concentrating his fire to try to destroy the fort's walls. The wooden walls collapsed along the southern face, while his cavalry were riding and shooting, trying to pick off the defenders. The Union efforts were panicked at first, but by about 5:45 AM the Union managed to mount somewhat of a defense. By 6:30, the tides had turned, and the Union forces and their cavalry were turning the tide out in the open, pushing back Showalter's cavalry. Lt. Col. Marco Zapatero helped the cavalry retreat, while Gillis ordered the retreat after four hours of fierce fighting. The Confederates suffered 480 casualties to the 360 casualties by the Union defenders. Gillis would send his troops south of the California border for rest and refit before trying again. Baltimore, Maryland (June 7-8) In Maryland, the Republicans hold their convention in Baltimore, under the name of the National Union party, to help War Democrats support the party. The Republicans renominated Lincoln, but switched Vice-Presidents to Andrew Johnson, currently serving as military governor of Tennessee.   Upon hearing of his re-nomination, Lincoln wrote: " I have not permitted myself, gentlemen, to conclude that I am the best man in the country; but I am reminded, in this connection, of a story of an old Dutch farmer, who remarked to a companion once that "it was not best to swap horses when crossing streams."" There was a lot of back-room dealing involved in getting the nomination again, specifically the promise to name Simon Cameron to the cabinet if he were re-elected, to help shore up support in Pennsylvania. During the convention, Radical Republicans, a hard-line faction within Lincoln's own party, whom some blamed for the South's secession, believed Lincoln incompetent and that he shouldn't be re-elected, and formed a splinter party, the Radical Democracy Party, which met over in Cleveland, Ohio on the 31st of May. They nominated John C Frémont, the old 1856 Republican nominee. They did this hoping someone else other than Lincoln would get the nomination. Republicans loyal to Lincoln and the party created a new name for the party, the National Union Party, to accommodate the war Democrats who supported the war, and wanted to separate themselves from what some derisively called "Copperheads." The convention dropped the Vice President Hannibal Hamlin, a Radical Republican, from the ticket, and replaced him with War Democrat Andrew Johnson, hoping that would stress the national character of the war and attract more voters. During the convention, the party created a platform of 11 resolutions: 1. Integrity of the Union, quelling the Rebellion, and punishing the rebels and traitors 2. No compromise with the Rebels, no peace but unconditional surrender and return to the Union: " in full reliance upon the self-sacrificing patriotism, the heroic valor and the undying devotion of the American people to their country and its free institutions." 3. Slavery is the cause and strength of the Rebellion and must be destroyed. The Rebels now arm slaves and will return them to the fields if their rebellion succeeds. 4. The nation owes the soldiers and sailors thanks and " permanent recognition of their patriotism and their valor" 5. Approval of the " practical wisdom, the unselfish patriotism, and the unswerving fidelity to the Constitution and the principles of American liberty, with which Abraham Lincoln has discharged" as well as approval of the Gettysburg Proclamation and enlisting former slaves into the army 6. Only those approving of these resolutions will serve in public office 7. The Government will protect the troops from any violation of the laws by the Rebels 8. Foreign immigration should be fostered and encouraged. 9. Speedy construction of a railroad to the Pacific coast. 10. Keeping the faith and redemption of public debt, just taxation, and loyal states will promote the credit and national currency of the United States. 11. The US will not ignore any European power attempting to overthrow any republican government in the western hemisphere near the US. Each of these was met with applause of the crowd. Battle of Cold Harbor (June 8-24)  Battle of Cold Harbor, Smithsonian War Between the States Exhibit
June 7
Both Union and Confederate cavalry continued sparring each other as they had at Old Church. Lee sent a division under Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee to reinforce Brig. Gen. Matthew Butler, and secure the crossroads at Old Cold Harbor. He kept Stuart close as his own cavalry screen. As Union Brig. Gen. Alfred Torbert, now in charge of the Union cavalry corps tried to increase pressure on the Confederates, Lee had Longstreet's Corps shift right from Totopotomoy Creek to support the cavalry. About 4 PM, though, Torbert drove the Confederates from the crossroads of Old Cold Harbor and began digging in. As more of the Confederates arrived, the Union cavalry commander Torbert got concerned and pulled back towards Old Church. Grant decided to make his stand at Old Cold Harbor and ordered Torbert to hold it "at all hazards." He sent Wright's VI Corps to move in that direction. June 8
 First day of battle on the 8th
Lee's plan for the 8th was to use his partly reinforced infantry, with a small trickle of the new black troops filling in for casualties as they happened, against the small cavalry forces at Old Cold Harbor. The Confederates, rather than segregating their black troops, put them into existing white brigades so they could benefit from veterans and train up more quickly, within two to three months, as opposed to about a year for Union Colored Troops, who were segregated and didn't have the benefit of veterans to train them. The policy of integrating would also have repercussions politically, as the black troops would affect the old attitudes of their fellow soldiers about the place of black people in Confederate society, especially when a black soldier is the one covering your attack or retreat, or dragging your injured body from a field under fire. Lee also made sure discipline was kept between the black and white troopers, that troops were treated equally regarding provisions, rations, and so on. Longstreet integrated Hoke's division into his attack plan, making sure he understood he was to attack with everyone else. Wright's VI Corps didn't move out till after midnight, and was on a 15-mile march, and Smith's XVIII Corps had been mistakenly sent to New Castle Ferry on the Pamunkey River, several miles away, and didn't reach Old Cold Harbor in time to help Torbert. Longstreet led his attack with the brigade under veteran Brig. Gen. Joseph Kershaw, who had taken on the task of ensuring his new colored troops, about 80, were as efficient as his white troops and drilled them when time permitted. Kershaw's men approached the entrenched cavalry of Brig. Gen. Wesley Merritt. The Union men were armed with seven-shot Spencer repeating carbines, so they delivered heavy fire, mortally wounding Col. Laurence Keitt, but Kershaw managed to keep unit cohesion, and Hoke's participation kept up the Confederate assault, till they were recalled by Longstreet. The Union here suffered casualties slightly greater than the Confederates. But the armaments took their toll. By 9 AM, Wright's lead elements arrived at the crossroads, and began extending and improving the Union entrenchments. Though Grant originally intended Wright to attack immediately, they were exhausted from their march, and were unsure of Confederate strength. Wright waited till Smith arrived in the afternoon, and the XVIII Corps began entrenching to the right of VI Corps. Union cavalry moved east to retire. For the upcoming attack, Meade was concerned that Wright and Smith's corps wouldn't be enough and tried to convince Warren to send reinforcements. He wrote to him, and Warren sent a division under Brig. Gen. Henry Lockwood, which began marching at 6 PM. Without adequate reconnaissance of the road, he couldn't reach the battle in enough time to make a difference. Meade was also concerned about his left flank, which wasn't anchored on the Chickahominy and was potentially threatened by Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry. He ordered Torbert to send scouting parties there, but Torbert resisted, telling Meade he couldn't move his men before dark. It took till 6:30 PM, but the attack Grant had ordered to happen that morning finally began. Both Wright's and Smith's corps moved forward. Wright's men made little progress, recoiling from heavy fire south of Mechanicsville Road. North of that road, Brig. Gen. Emory Upton's brigade faced heavy fire from Confederate Brig. Gen. Thomas Clingman's brigade, later quoted as "A sheet of flame, sudden as lightning, red as blood, and so near that it seemed to singe the men's faces." Though Upton tried valiantly to rally his men forward, they fell back to their starting point. To the right of Upton, Col. William Truex's brigade found a gap in the Confederates' line, between Clingman and Wofford's brigades, through a swampy, brush-filled ravine. As Truex sent his men charging into the gap, Clingman swung two regiments around to face them, and Longstreet sent Brig. Gen. Eppa Hunton's brigade from his reserves. Truex was then surrounded on 3 sides, and was forced to withdraw, without anything to show for it but casualties*. *Change: No Georgians as prisoners While the southern end of the lines of battle was active, the three corps of Hancock, Burnside, and Warren were occupying a 5-mile line stretching southeast to Bethesda Church, facing the Confederates under Ewell, Breckinridge, and Early. At the border between the IX and V Corps, the division of Maj. Gen. Thomas Crittenden, newly arrived after his poor performance at Chickamauga, occupied a doglegged position (looking like an L pointing north) with the long face on Shady Grove Road, separated from V Corps by a march called Magnolia Swamp. Two divisions of Early's Corps would use this as their avenue of approach, but despite the poor battle management of Crittenden, the Confederate probes would be repulsed. At this time, Warren's division under Lockwood got lost wandering around on unfamiliar farm roads. Despite having dispatched Lockwood explicitly the V Corps commander wrote Meade, "In some unaccountable way, [Lockwood] took his whole division, without my knowing it, away from the left of the line of battle, and turned up the dark 2 miles in my rear, and I have not yet got him back. All this time the firing should have guided him at least. He is too incompetent, and too high rank leaves us no subordinate place for him. I earnestly beg that he may at once be relieved of duty with this army." In response Meade relieved Lockwood and replaced him with Brig. Gen. Samuel Crawford. By sunset, fighting had petered out on both ends of the line. The Union had suffered 2400 casualties to 800 Confederate casualties, but some progress had been made - they had almost broken the Confederate line, which was now pinned into place with Union entrenchments being dug yards away. Several Union generals were furious at Grant for ordering an assault without proper reconnaissance. June 9
 Makeshift Confederate breastworks shown after the battle
Though the attacks of June 8th had been unsuccessful, Meade believed an attack early enough on the 9th would be successful if he could get sufficient force on an appropriate location. He and Grant decided to attack Lee's right flank. Longstreet's men had been heavily engaged there yesterday, and it was unlikely they'd found enough time to build stronger defenses. If the attack were successful, Lee's right could be driven back to the Chickahominy River. Meade ordered Hancock's II Corps to shift southeast from the Totopotomoy Creek, and assume position left of Wright's VI Corps. Once in position, Meade planned to attack on his left with 3 Corps in line, 35,000 men in total (II Corps (Hancock), VI Corps (Wright), and XVIII Corps (Baldy Smith)). Meade also ordered Warren and Burnside to attack Lee's left flank in the morning "at all hazards." It was a great plan, but Hancock's men had been marching almost all night, and were too worn out when they arrived for an immediate attack in the morning. Grant agreed to let them rest, and postponed the attack till 5 PM, then again till 4:30 AM on the 11th. Unfortunately Grant and Meade didn't give specific orders for the attack, leaving up to the corps commanders to decide where to strike and how they would coordinate with each other. No senior commander had reconnoitered the Confederate positions; Baldy Smith would write that he was "aghast at the reception of such an order, which proved conclusively the utter absence of any military plan." He told his staff that the whole attack was, "simply an order to slaughter my best troops." On the Confederate side, they took advantage of Union delays to bolster their defenses and add obstacles to slow the Union troops. When Hancock had left, Lee shifted Breckinridge's division to the far right flank, to face Hancock again. Breckinridge drove a small Union force from Turkey Hill, which dominated the southern portion of the battlefield. Lee moved Mahone and Wilcox's divisions to support him, and Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry to guard the right flank; this made a 7-mile curving line on low ridges, making flanking impossible. Later historians would write that Lee's engineers had built "the most ingenious defensive configuration the war had yet witnessed" with barricades of earth and log, artillery posted with converging fields of fire at every avenue of approach, and stakes being driven into the ground to aid gunners' range estimates. One reporter from the Richmond Examiner called it a "maze and labyrinth of works within works," with heavy skirmish lines to suppress the Union's ability to determine the strength or exact positions of the Confederate entrenchments. Lee gained another 3000 black troops, further bolstering his strength while Grant waited. While they didn't know the details of their objectives, one of Grant's aides, Lt Col Horace Porter wrote in his memoirs that the soldiers knew what they would be facing. Many would be writing their names on papers pinned inside their uniforms. Burnside was advised to attack Early's unprotected flank, but he delayed. June 10
 Battle on the 10th of June
(OOC: replace Anderson with Longstreet, Hill with Ewell)
At 4:30 AM on the 10th, three Union corps began to advance through a thick ground fog. Massive return fire from the Confederate lines caused heavy casualties very quickly, and the survivors were pinned down. Though the results varied across the line, the overall repulse of the Union advance resulted in the most lopsided casualties since the Battle of Fredericksburg. Some of the most effective fire came from the new Confederate black troops, earning them the ire of the Union troops, many of whom believed they were there to free them, and they should be thanking them; they earned the respect of their fellow Confederates, which would help their efforts at civil rights after the war. The most effective performance of the day turned out to be Hancock's corps on the Union left flank, which broke through a portion of Breckinridge's front line, and drove them out of their entrenchments in hand-to-hand fighting. The Union caught 4 guns and several hundred prisoners. Unfortunately for the blue-clad warriors, nearby Confederate artillery was brought to bear on the entrenchments, turning them into a death trap for the Billy Yanks. Breckinridge's reserves counterattacked and drove off the Union troops. Hancock's other advance division, under Brig. Gen. John Gibbon got disordered in the swampy ground, and couldn't advance through the heavy fire, losing two brigade commanders (Cols. Peter Porter and H. Boyd McKeen) in the fighting. One of Gibbon's men, who complained about the lack of reconnaissance, wrote, "We felt it was murder, not war, or at best a very serious mistake had been made." In the center, Wright's corps was pinned down by heavy fire, and could make little effort to advance, as they were still trying to recover from the action two days prior. Emory Upton, normally aggressive, felt further movement by his division, was "impracticable." Confederate defenders on this part of the line were unaware a serious assault had been made against them. On the Union right, Smith's men advanced through unfavorable terrain, and were channeled into two ravines. When they emerged in front of the Confederate line, rifle and artillery fire mowed them down. One Union officer wrote, "The men bent down as they pushed forward, as if trying, as they were, to breast a tempest, and the files of men went down like rows of blocks or bricks pushed over by striking against one another." On the Confederate side, one described the carnage of double-canister artillery fire as "deadly, bloody work." The artillery fire set against Smith's corps was heavier than might have been expected, as Warren's V Corps to Smith's right was reluctant to advance, so the Confederate gunners in that sector concentrated on Smith's men instead. It was here the Union first saw black Confederate artillery men, one of which, John Parker aimed the barrel right at Brig. Gen. John Martindale, cutting him in half when it fired. On the northern side of the field, the only activity was Burnside's IX Corps facing Jubal Early, reinforced by Stonewall Jackson. Burnside launched a powerful assault at 6 AM, but the Confederates found his corps halted in the first line of earthworks and brought heavy fire down on them, forcing them to retreat as well. At 7 AM, Grant advised Meade to exploit vigorously, any successful part of the assault. Meade ordered his three corps commanders on the left to assault at once, without regard to the movements of their neighboring corps. Unfortunately all of then had had enough of the fight. Hancock advised against it; Smith called it a "wanton waste of life," and refused to advance again. Wright's men increased their rifle fire, but stayed in place. By 12:30 PM, Grant conceded his army was done. He wrote to Meade, "The opinion of the corps commanders not being sanguine of success in case an assault is ordered, you may direct a suspension of further advance for the present." The Union soldiers still pinned down in front of Confederate lines began entrenching, using cups and bayonets to dig, sometimes including the bodies of their dead comrades in their improvised earthworks. The next day, Meade bragged to his wife that he was in command for the assault, but his own performance in the fight had been poor. Despite orders from Grant for the corps commanders to examine the ground, their reconnaissance had been lax, and Meade didn't supervise them adequately, either before or during the attack. Meade was only able to motivate about 20,000 of his men to attack, the II Corps, along with parts of the IX and XVIII, which meant he failed to achieve the mass he knew he would require to succeed. His men paid for the poorly coordinated assault with casualties between 4,000-8,000, with no more than 1,500 on the Confederate side. Grant would later write in his memoirs: " I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made. I might say the same thing of the assault of the 22d of May, 1863, at Vicksburg. At Cold Harbor no advantage whatever was gained to compensate for the heavy loss we sustained. Indeed, the advantages other than those of relative losses, were on the Confederate side. Before that, the Army of Northern Virginia seemed to have acquired a wholesome regard for the courage, endurance, and soldierly qualities generally of the Army of the Potomac. They no longer wanted to fight them "one Confederate to five Yanks." Indeed, they seemed to have given up any idea of gaining any advantage of their antagonist in the open field. They had come to much prefer breastworks in their front to the Army of the Potomac. This charge seemed to revive their hopes temporarily; but it was of short duration. The effect upon the Army of the Potomac was the reverse. When we reached the James River, however, all effects of the battle of Cold Harbor seemed to have disappeared." At 11 AM on the 10th, Confederate Postmaster General, John Reagan, arrived with a delegation from Richmond. He asked Lee, "General, if the enemy breaks your line, what reserve have you?" Lee replied, "Not a regiment, which has been my condition ever since fighting has commenced on the Rappahannock. If I shorten my lines to provide a reserve, he will turn me; if I weaken my lines to provide a reserve he will break them. The Congress have emancipated bondservants. Now we need them trained, supplied, and provided if we are to win our independence." Modern scholars have shown Lee to have had ample reserves unengaged. His comments were likely to persuade the War Department to send more troops. June 12-20
Both sides did not launch any further assaults, but engaged in trench warfare facing each other for the next nine days, some places only yards apart. Sharpshooters worked continuously, killing many. Union artillery bombarded the Confederates with a battery of 8 Coehorn mortars; the Confederates responded by depressing the trail of a 24-lb howitzer and lobbing shells over the Union positions. Though there were no more large-scale assaults, the casualties for the whole battle were twice as large as that from just the assault on the 10th alone. The trenches were miserable, but conditions were worse between the lines, where thousands of wounded Union troops suffered horribly in the hot conditions without food, water, or medical help. Grant was reluctant to ask for a formal truce to recover them, because that would be acknowledging he lost the battle. Lee and Grant traded notes from the 12th-14th across the lines without coming to an agreement, when Grant finally requested a two-hour cessation of hostilities, but it was too late for most of the wounded, who were now just bloated corpses. He would be widely criticized for this lapse of judgment in the Northern press. Again, the disparity in casualty figures between the Union and Confederates could be largely attributed to the difference in morale and the presence of black Confederates. Confederates here fielded around 9400 blacks, while the Union blacks were behind the scenes suffering more abuse at the hands of their commanding officers, which spread through the ranks. Confederates had been deserting until the addition of black troops, and began believing again that they could win this war for the first time since Gettysburg. The press began changing its tune in the South, and began writing more positive stories about the black troops and their courage and commitment to the cause of Southern Independence, and reenlistments increased in the south, while desertions increased in the south, notably amongst their black troops. Command
-US: Ulysses Grant, George Meade -CS: Robert E. Lee Army
-US: Army of the Potomac (108,000-117,000) -CS: Army of Northern Virginia (64,000) Casualties
-US: 15,193; (2,655 killed; 10,347 wounded; 2,191 captured/missing) -CS: 4,703; (691 killed; 3,109 wounded; 903 captured/missing) Notable Casualties
-US: Brig Gen John Martindale* -CS: Battle of Rocky Face Ridge (June 10-16) In Whitfield County, Georgia, the Union army under Maj. Gen. William Sherman faced off against General Joseph E. Johnston. General Johnston had a strong entrenchment on the Rocky Face Ridge, and eastward across Crow Valley. The Union forces demonstrated against the Confederates with two columns, while he sent a third through Snake Creek Gap to the south to hit the railroad at Resaca. The first two columns engaged the Confederates at Buzzard Roost (Mill Creek Gap), and at Dug Gap, while the third column, under Maj. Gen. James McPherson passed through Snake Creek Gap, and found the Confederates entrenched there. McPherson pulled his column back, fearing the strength of the Confederates there. On the 12th, Sherman decided to join McPherson to take Resaca. Sherman's army withdrew from the ridge. Johnston discovered his movement, and retired south towards Resaca. Command
-US: William Sherman -CS: Joseph Johnston Army
-US: Military Division of the Mississippi -CS: Army of Tennessee Casualties
-US: 1240 -CS: 455 Siege of Petersburg (June 10-November 9)  Soldiers in the trenches
Grant at this point had engaged in a series of bloody battles of maneuver with Lee, which pushed Lee closer and closer to Richmond. Grant suffered tens of thousands of losses, as did Lee, which earned Grant the nickname "butcher" in northern newspapers. But Grant could afford those losses, and he didn't believe Lee could; Grant didn't believe that slaves would fight for the Confederates in any great number. Grant decided to change strategies. Instead of maneuvering him into fighting in the open, he decided to attack his main supply base, Petersburg. It supplied Richmond and his army, and was the main supply base and rail depot for the entire region. If he could take it, it would be impossible for Lee to continue defending the capital. Lee thought Grant's main target was Richmond, and only devoted a small number of troops under General P.G.T. Beauregard to defend Petersburg. About half of Petersburg's population was black and 36% of Petersburg was free black and a large number of Virginia's black population, both free and slave, enlisted to help the defense of the city for various reasons and in various capacities. Once the emancipation bill came through, many of the blacks would earn enough to buy the freedom of relatives and spouses once the war was over. While the Union's United States Colored Troops would come to serve in the XXV Corps in the Army of the James, being between 9,000 and 16,000 troops, the number of black Confederates defending Petersburg numbered about 12,000, including a diversion of a number of troops originally intended to go join General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. US Colored Troops would go on to participate in 6 major engagements, and earn 15 of 16 Medals of Honor awarded to black US troops, and the Confederate counterparts earned 18 of 24 Medals of Honor awarded to black Confederates. Initially, 15,000 Union troops faced off against 14,400 Confederates, including 9,000 black Confederates who were sent in once the Union arrived, building earthworks and trenches. It would peak at about 70,000 Union troops to the 48,000 Confederates.  Layout of the defenses and Union attacks
Initial assault on June 10
While Lee and Grant were sparring with each other, Benjamin Butler believed the defenses of Petersburg to be in a vulnerable state, as its troops came north to reinforce Lee. Being sensitive to his failure at the Bermuda Hundred campaign, Butler was looking for a success to vindicate his generalship. He wrote in his memoirs, "the capture of Petersburg lay close to my heart." Petersburg was protected by multiple lines of fortifications, the outermost being the Dimmock Line, a line of earthworks and trenches 10 miles long and 55 redoubts, east of the city. The initial defense of 2500 Confederates were stretched thin, commanded by Brig. Gen. Henry Wise, the former Virginia governor. Despite the number of fortifications, at the start of the siege, cavalry could just ride through because of a series of hills and valleys around the outskirts of town, till they reached the inner defenses of the city. Butler's plan was to cross the Appomattox with three columns, and advance with 4500 men. First and second, columns of infantry, and the third was 1300 cavalrymen under Brig. Gen. August Kautz, which would sweep around Petersburg and strike from the southeast. They moved out on June 8 but made poor progress by encountering numerous Confederate pickets. The assault began at Battery 27. also known as Rives's Salient, manned by 150 militiamen commanded by Maj. Fletcher Archer. The Union started their assault with the 11th Pennsylvania Cavalry against the Home Guard, consisting initially of teens, elderly men, wounded soldiers, and freed slaves newly enlisted into the armed forces. The Home Guards retreated into the city with heavy losses, but by this time Beauregard brought out reinforcements from Richmond and Petersburg, which were able to repulse the assault, and began the large-scale reinforcement of the line with newly enlisted black Confederates. Meade's Attempts (June 16-19)  Meade's assaults
By the 16th, Beauregard had 50,000 Union troops facing his 14,000 men. A bout of indecisiveness from Hancock appeared to spare Petersburg for a few days till Meade arrived. The Union had a series of uncoordinated attacks on the 16th, and continuing on the 17th as more black Confederates poured into the lines to man them and fight them off. During the day, Confederate engineers built new defensive positions and assigned their new troops to them as well. Lee even sent some of his veterans, two divisions under Maj. Gen. Joseph Kershaw and Charles Field to aid in training and ensuring the men could defend the city well. Unfortunately, the Union got the V Corps of Maj. Gen. Gouverneur Warren brought them up to 67,000. On the morning of the 18th, Meade went into a rage at his corps commanders due to their failure to take the initiative and break through the Confederate positions and seize the city. He ordered the entire Army of the Potomac to attack the Confederate defenses. The first attack began at dawn, by the II and XVIII Corps on the Union right. The II Corps made no progress, as they met up against a full line of defenses by black Confederates, all dressed in gray, halting their progress as they met heavy Confederate fire for hours* By noon another attack plan was devised to try to break through the Confederate defenses. However, by this time, parts of Lee's army had reinforced Beauregard's troops, and passing on their wisdom to the new recruits. By the time the Union attack started again, Lee himself took command of the defenses. Maj. Gen. Orlando Willcox's division of IX Corps led the next attack, but suffered significant losses in the march and open fields crossed by Taylor's Branch. Warren's V Corps got halted by murderous fire from Rives's Salient; Col. Joshua Chamberlain was seriously wounded in this attack while commanding the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, V Corps. At 6:30 PM, Meade ordered his last assault, which also had more horrendous losses. One of the leading regiments, the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery Regiment lost 632 of 900 men in the assault, the heaviest single-battle loss of any regiment during the whole war. Having gotten almost nothing from four days of assaults, and with Lincoln facing re-election in the coming months in the face of a loud public outcry against the casualty figures, Meade ordered his army to dig in, starting the actual siege. During 4 days of fighting, the Union had 13,188 casualties (2,688 killed; 8.556 wounded; 1,944 missing/captured) *Originally, Beauregard moved back to the second line; here he has enough troops to man the first line. Wilson-Kautz Raid (June 22-July 1) At the same time as the Jerusalem Plank Road infantry action, Brig. Gen. James Wilson was ordered by Meade to conduct a raid to destroy as much track as possible south/southwest of Petersburg. He was assigned Brig. Gen. August Katz's small division to help the effort. The 3300 men and 12 guns departed early to destroy the railroad tracks 7 miles south of Petersburg at the Weldon Railroad at Reams Station. Kautz's men moved west to Ford's station and began destroying track, locomotives, and cars on the South Side Railroad. The next day, they encountered elements of Rooney Lee's cavalry between Nottoway Court House and Black's and White's (now Blackstone). The Confederates struck the rear of his column, forcing Col. George Chapman's brigade to fend them off. Wilson followed Kautz along the South Side Railroad, destroying about 30 miles of track as they went. On the 24th, while Kautz remained to skirmish near Burkeville, Wilson crossed over to Meherrin Station on the Richmond and Danville to begin to destroy track there. On the 25th, Wilson and Kautz continued tearing up track, and encountered the Home Guard commanded by Capt. Benjamin Farinholt, with about 1,400 black recruits, a mix of free men and freed slaves newly recruited back in April. They were dug in with earthworks and artillery positions at the bridge. Kautz's men never got closer than 80 yards. Lee's cavalry closed in on the Union troops from the northeast and skirmished with the rear guard of Wilson. Union casualties came to 55 killed, 49 wounded, and 39 missing or captured. Confederates lost 9 killed and 23 wounded. Kautz's men gave up and retreated to the railroad depot at 9 PM. Despite these minor losses, the two Union cavalry generals decided to abandon their mission, leaving the Staunton River bridge intact, having inflicted only minor damage on the railroads. As Wilson and Kautz turned back to the east after the defeat at Staunon River, Rooney Lee's cavalry pursued and threatened their rear. Meanwhile, Lee ordered Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton's cavalry, which was engaged with Torbert's Union cavalry at Trevilian Station on the 11th to 12th, to join the pursuit and attack Wilson and Kautz. Before leaving on his raid, Wilson was assured by Maj. Gen. Andrew Humphreys, Meade's chief of staff, that the Army of the Potomac would be immediately taking control of the nearby railroad as far as Reams Station, so Wilson thought he would be able to return to safety there. Unfortunately for him, the defeat at Jerusalem Plank Road meant that promise would not be kept. Wilson and Kautz were surprised on the 28th when they got to Stony Creek Station, and were faced with Confederate Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton's cavalrymen and infantry blocking their path. They tried to break through but failed. They slipped out of a Confederate trap and rode north to Halifax Road to try to reach Reams Station. On the 29th, Kautz approached Reams Station, expecting to find friendly infantry, but instead found Mahone's division behind well-constructed earthworks. Kaurtz's attacks were unsuccessful, and Mahone countered against their flanks. Brig. Gen. Lunsford Lomax and Williams Wickham maneuvered around the Union troops and turned their flank. Wilson managed to send a message through to Meade requesting help, but Wright realized it would take too long, so he requested Torbert's cavalry to help. Torbert demurred, complaining of worn out horses and men. Caught in the trap without promise of immediate aid, the Union raiders tried to burn their wagons and destroy their artillery, but the Confederates were able to stop them before they could do so; the men escaped with casualties of 1,688, but managed to destroy 60 miles of track. Given the lost equipment, Grant reluctantly described the expedition as a "disaster," but Wilson would count it as a strategic success. The captured Union artillery would soon find its way into the defense of Petersburg. First Battle of Deep Bottom (July 28-30)  Preparing for the forthcoming battle near Petersburg featuring the mine (Battle of the Crater), Grant wanted Lee to dilute his forces by forcing him to attack elsewhere. He sent Hancock's II Corps and two divisions of Torbert's Cavalry Corps across the river to Deep Bottom by pontoon bridge to advance against the Confederate capital. His plan was to pin down Confederates at Chaffin's Bluff, and prevent reinforcements from opposing Torbert's cavalry, which would attack Richmond if possible. If not, Torbert would ride around the city and cut the Virginia Central Railroad, which was supplying the city from the Shenandoah Valley. Lee found out about Hancock's movement, and ordered the lines to be reinforced at Richmond to 18,500 men. Black recruits were being forced into defenses, rather than in a real fight with Grant. The II Corps took up positions at New Market Road and captured the high ground on the right, but were counterattacked and driven back. Confederate works on the west bank of Bailey's Creek were formidable, so Hancock chose not to attack and instead performed reconnaissance. While Hancock was blocked at Bailey's Creek, Lee began bringing up more reinforcements from within Richmond - enlisted freedmen, not reacting as Grant hoped. Ewell was assigned to the Deep Bottom sector. On the morning of the 28th, Grant reinforced Hancock with a brigade from the XIX Corps. Torbert's men tried to turn the Confederate left, but their movement was disrupted by Confederate attacks. Three brigades attacked Torbert's right flank, but were hit by heavy fire from Union repeating carbines. Mounted Union troops in Torbert's reserve followed and caught about 200 prisoners. By afternoon, the combat had stopped and the Union stopped attacking the rails. Grant was frustrated and turned instead to the idea of using a mine to blow a hole in the Confederate line. Battle of the Crater (July 30)  Battle plan (July 30)
Grant was hoping to defeat Lee's army without a lengthy siege, having already experienced the damage it could do to morale with the Siege of Vicksburg. Lt. Col. Henry Pleasants seemed to have a novel proposal to solve his problem. The man from the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry in Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside's IX Corps was a mining engineer when he was a civilian, and proposed digging a long mine shaft under the Confederate lines, and planting explosive charges directly underneath a fort (they would decide on Elliott's Salient) in the middle of the Confederate First Corps line. If successful, Union troops could drive through the resulting gap in the line. Diggin began late in June, creating a mine with a T shape, with a 511-foot approach shaft, and at the end a perpendicular line of 75-feet in both directions. They filled it with 8,000lb of gunpowder, buried 20 feet under the Confederate works. Burnside had trained a division of US Colored Troops under Brig. Gen. Edward Ferrero to lead the assault. Two regiments would leave the attack column, and extend the breach, while the remaining regiments were to rush through and seize the Jerusalem Plank Road. Burnside's two other divisions of white troops would then move in, supporting Ferrero's flanks and the race to take Petersburg. The day before the attack, Meade, who lacked confidence in the operation, ordered Burnside not to use black troops to lead the assault. When volunteers didn't come forward, he selected a replacement division by drawing lots. Brig. Gen. Ledlie's 1st division was chosen, but he failed to brief the men on what was expected of them, and was reported during the battle to be drunk, well behind the lines, providing them no leadership. At 4:44 AM on the 30th, the charges exploded in a massive shower of earth, men, and guns. A crater 170' long, 60-80' wide, and 30' deep was created, and is still visible today.  Sketch of the explosion
The blast destroyed Confederate fortifications in the vicinity, and instantly killed between 250 and 350 Confederates. Ledlie's untrained white division wasn't prepared for the explosion, and waited ten minutes before leaving their own entrenchments. Once they wandered to the crater, instead of moving around it as the black troops had been trained to do, they moved down into the crater itself. Since this wasn't the planned movement, there were no ladders provided for the men to use to exit the crater. The Confederates, under Maj. Gen. William Mahone, gathered as many troops as they could for the counterattack, over 70% of which were black Confederates. They formed up within an hour's time, and began firing rifles and artillery down into the crater, in what Mahone would later call a "turkey shoot." The plan failed, but instead of cutting his losses, Burnside sent in Ferrero's men. Now facing flanking fire, they also went down into the crater, and for the next few hours, Mahone's soldiers, along with those of Maj. Gen. Bushrod Johnson and artillery, slaughtered the men of the IX Corps as they tried escaping the crater they had created. Some Union troops eventually advanced and flanked to the right beyond the Crater to the earthworks, and assaulted the Confederates' lines, driving them back for a few hours in hand-to-hand combat. Mahone's Confederates conducted a sweep out of a sunken gully area about 200 yards right of the Union troops' advance, reclaiming the earthworks and driving the Union force back towards the east. Grant's Personal Memoirs would mention this, "It was the saddest affair I have witnessed in the war." Union casualties were 3996 ( 651 killed, 1,926 wounded, 1,419 missing/captured), Confederate casualties about 1410. Many of the losses were suffered by Ferrero's division of the USCT. Burnside was relieved of command after this. Second Deep Bottom (August 14-20)  Order of battle
While the Union failed at the Crater, Lt Gen. Jubal Early and his Army of the Valley were burning Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, operating out of the Shenandoah Valley, and threatening towns in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the Federal District. Lee sent the infantry of Maj. Gen. Joseph Kershaw from Longstreet's corps, and Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry division to Culpeper, VA, to either provide aid to Early, or be recalled to Richmond-Petersburg if needed. Grant misread this as being Longstreet's entire corps, leaving only 8500 men north of the James River. So he tried again to advance toward the Confederate capital, the effort led by Hancock. This would either prevent reinforcements from helping Early, or dilute Confederate strength at Petersburg, and he could get to Richmond that way. The X Corps under Maj. Gen. David Birney, and Brig. Gen. Henry Eugene Davies's cavalry division crossed pontoon bridges from Bermuda Hundred to Deep Bottom. The II Corps crossed by steamships the night of the 13th-14th of August. Birney's X Corps successfully pushed aside Confederate pickets on Kingsland Road, but were stopped by the fortifications on New Market Heights. The II Corps moved its units slowly into position, but unfortunately suffered numerous deaths from heat stroke. It took till midday on the 14th for the Union to make contact with the Confederates, which were manning rifle pits on the Darbytown Road just north of Long Bridge Road. Upon encountering them, the Union generals were surprised at the strength of the Confederates. They had a full division under Maj. Gen. Charles Field dug in on the right; Chaffin's Bluff defended by a division led by Maj. Gen. Cadmus Wilcox. Brig. Gen. Edward Porter, who suspected the tunneling preceding the Crater, was coordinating their artillery, with several hundred black and white soldiers together. Union Brig. Gen. Francis Barlow's 10,000 men in two divisions of II Corps tried to attack Fussell's Mill, but the strength of the integrated Confederate force was too much, and were repulsed by Lt. Gen. Longstreet's brigade. The Union couldn't capture any guns or make headway*. Grant tried again against Richmond, with Hancock ordering Birney's corps to make a night march to join Barlow's end of the line. His movement was delayed by the difficult terrain for most of the 15th and the plan to attack was abandoned that day. On the 16th, Gregg's cavalry swept to the right and rode northwest on the Charles City Road toward Richmond. They encountered Rooney Lee's integrated cavalry division blocking the road, and a full day of fighting resulted. The 65th and 66th Virginia Cavalry, majority black units under Lee's command, performed admirably according to his report afterwards. Confederate Brig. Gen. John Chambliss nearly* died that day, having endured two bullet hits that tore his sleeve, and shot a hole in his hat, missing him by inches. Union infantrymen of the X Corps had a better start to their day, with Brig. Gen. Alfred Terry's division successfully breaking through the line of Confederates. Confederate Brig. Gen. Ambrose P. Wright's Brigade got hit hard, and retreated, opening a significant gap. The heavily wooded terrain prevented Birney and Hancock from realizing they had gotten an advantage, so they were unable to exploit that advantage before the Confederates rearranged their lines to close the gap and drive back the Union soldiers. Lee planned a counterattack for 11 AM on the Union right, but it was poorly coordinated and made no significant gains. On the night of the 20th, Hancock withdrew his forces back across the James River. Union forces had casualties of about 3150 men, some due to heat stroke. The Confederate casualties were about 1,200. Globe Tavern (August 18-21)  Battle of Globe Tavern
While the Union II Corps was fighting again at Deep Bottom, Grant planned another attack against the Weldon railroad. He chose Gouverneur Warren's V Corps to lead the operation. Grant got some encouragement from Abraham Lincoln in the President's message on the 17th: I have seen your despatch expressing your unwillingness to break your hold where you are. Neither am I willing. Hold on with a bulldog grip, and chew and choke as much as possible.
Grant remarked to his staff, " The President has more nerve than any of his advisors." At dawn on the 18th, Warren advanced south and reached the railroad at Globe Tavern about 9 AM. Parts of the division began destroying the track, while another formed a line of battle and moved north to block any Confederate advance from that direction. Brig. Gen. Romeyn Ayres's division encountered Confederates at 1 PM, and Warren ordered Brig. Gen. Samuel Crawford's division to move to Ayres's right to try to block the Confederate left. Ewell sent three brigades to meet the advancing Union divisions. They launched a strong attack starting about 2 PM, and pushed the Union troops back to within less than half a mile of the Globe Tavern. Warren countered and regained his lost ground. They entrenched for the night. Union forces got reinforcements through the night (Union IX Corps under Maj. Gen. John Parke), as did the Confederates (Rooney Lee's cavalry division and three infantry brigades from Mahone's division). Late in the afternoon on the 19th, Mahone launched a flanking attack, finding a weak spot in Crawford's line, causing hundreds of Crawford's men to flee in a panic. Heth launched a frontal assault on the center and left, and despite his reinforcement by over two thousand black Confederates standing shoulder to shoulder with their fellow white soldiers, Ayres's division managed to repulse them, but not without heavy casualties. The XI Corps counterattacked, and fighting ended as dusk arrived. On the night of the 20th-21st, Warren pulled his men back two miles to a new line of fortifications, connected with the main Union lines on the Jerusalem Plank Road. Confederates attacked at 9 AM on the 21st, with Mahone striking the Union left, and Heth the center. Both were unsuccessful and suffered heavy losses. By 10:30 AM, the Confederates withdrew. Union casualties were 6,744 (988 killed, 2,569 wounded, 3187 missing/captured), and Confederate 1,593 (165 killed, 1,077 wounded, 351 missing/captured). The Confederates lost a key section of the Weldon Railroad, and were forced to carry supplies by wagon 30 miles from the railroad at Stony Creek, up the Boydton Plank Road and into Petersburg. This wasn't a critical problem for the Confederates, and Grant was not entirely satisfied with Warren's victory, which was the first real victory by the Union in this campaign. Beefsteak Raid (September 14-17) On the 5th of September, a Confederate scout, Sgt. David Thomas Jackson, reported to Wade Hampton that 5 miles east of Grant's HQ at City Point, there were about 3000 beeves (beef cattle, attended by 120 men, and 30 citizens, without arms. While Grant was conferring with his general in the Shenandoah, Torbert, Hampton led about 4500 men in four brigades southwest from Petersburg and launched an attack on the 16th in three columns. While this was going on, a detachment under Lt. Col. Lovick Miller went to seize the cattle herd. He met little resistance, and by 8 AM, Hampton's men were driving 2,685 cattle back to their lines in Richmond and Petersburg. When they reached Petersburg, they turned the cattle over to the Confederate commissary department. Since the path between Kentucky and Virginia remained open, and Torbert hadn't been as successful in the Shenandoah, the Confederates had enough feed for the cattle, and were able to keep stocked through most of the winter, preserving the meat in jerky or salted. For days, Confederates feasted on the beef, the best meals they had had in a good while, giving them all plenty of protein for the first time in a long time. They taunted their Union counterparts across the lines. A visitor to Grant's HQ asked him, " When do you expect to starve out Lee and capture Richmond?" Grant replied, " Never, if our armies continue to supply him with beef cattle." The Union continued skirmishing in various efforts to break through Richmond and Petersburg till late October with little to show for it. Time was running out and the Union needed a big victory somewhere if Lincoln were to get reelected legitimately. Command
-US: Ulysses Grant, George Meade, Benjamin Butler -CS: Robert E Lee, P.G.T. Beauregard Army
-US: Army of the Potomac: 67,000 to 125,000 -CS: Army of the James: 68,000 Casualties
-US: 46,000 -CS: 19,000 Almost Casualties
-US: -CS: Brig. Gen. John R. Chambliss* Lincoln "Recruits" In Occupied Southern States
Beginning in the summer of 1864, it became more evident to the North that they needed more warm bodies, given their falling morale and declining recruitment numbers. So Lincoln decided upon 'recruiting' blacks from the South, and sent 1,045 agents into occupied southern states to "recruit" blacks, by force if necessary, most often at gunpoint. Those who resisted were shot or bayoneted on the spot without a trial. Despite the agents acting much like bounty hunters, using particularly hard-handed tactics, they only came up with 5,052 blacks. One provost marshal would later write of their efforts: No material advantage to the service resulted from this undertaking. All, or nearly all, of the (black) recruits to be had in the rebel States were being obtained through the proper military officers and agents of the War Department. Without increasing the number of men enlisted, the law enabled States in the North to lay claim to credits for the men enlisted in the South, and thus reduce their quota for draft. To obtain these credits local bounties were lavishly provided. They were unnecessary, and did not have the effect of increasing the number of (black) recruits obtained, but in many instances enriched bounty brokers and corrupted military officers.When these "recruits" rebelled against the "recruiters" they were whipped, and those who deserted were tracked down with hounddogs. Those who remained loyal to the south had Union soldiers, black and white, barge into their homes, shoot bullets through their walls, overturned furniture, and broke or stole valuable personal items. Even the "Official Records of the War of the Rebellion" noted this in an admission in 1864, General Rufus Saxton reporting on such recruiting tactics. Of southern blacks, General Saxton wrote, " were hunted to their hiding places by armed parties of their own people, and, if found, compelled to enlist. This conscription order is still in force. Men have been seized and forced to enlist who had large families of young children dependent upon them for support and fine crops of cotton and corn nearly ready for harvest, without an opportunity of making provision for the one or securing the other.Three (black) boys, one only fourteen years of age, were seized in a field where they were at work an sent to a regiment serving in a distant part of the department without the knowledge or consent of their parents.
A (black) man on his way to enlist as a volunteer was stopped by a recruiting party. He told them where he was going and was passing on when he was again ordered to halt. He did not stop and was shot dead, and was left where he fell. It is supposed the (Union) soldiers desired to bring him in and get the bounty offered for bringing in recruits.
Another (black) man who had a wife and family was shot as he was entering a boat to fish, on the pretense that he was a deserter. He fell in the water and was left. His wound, though very severe, was not mortal. An employee (black) in the U.S. Quartermasters Department was taken, and without being allowed to communicate with the quartermaster or settle his accounts or provide for his family, was taken to Hilton Head and enrolled, although he had a certificate of exemption from the military service from a medical officer.
I protested against the order of the major-general commanding (General Foster) and sent him reports of these proceedings, but had no power to prevent them. The order has never to my knowledge been revoked."
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jjohnson
Chief petty officer
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Post by jjohnson on Feb 19, 2020 19:38:56 GMT
Chapter 13: The Fight in the WestBattle of Resaca (June 17-19) Over in Georgia, Johnston had withdrawn from Rocky Face Ridge to the hills around Resaca. On the 17th of June, the Union troops began testing their lines to find their position. On the 18th, full scale fighting ensued, with the Union forces being repulsed across the lines. Sherman finally got his pontoon bridges delivered, so that he could cross the Oostanaula River at Lay's Ferry and threaten Johnston's railroad supply line. Being unable to halt the movement, Johnston was forced to retire southward. General Sherman wrote a letter to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, in which he wrote: " There is a class of people, men, women, and children, who must be killed or banished before you can hope for peace and order" His comments are similar to those of Major James Austin Connolly, who wrote, "We'll burn every house, barn, church, and everything else we come to; we'll leave their families houseless and without food; their towns will all be destroyed, and nothing but the most complete desolation will be found in our track." He wrote this after southerners had begun hiding their valuables from Sherman's army coming towards Atlanta. Battle of Adairsville (June 29) Once they got across the Oostanaula River, Johnston decided to make a stand and give the Union troops a costly fight. He expected to find favorable land near Calhoun, but moved to Adairsville for more favorable ground. Sherman followed, dividing into three columns and advancing on a broad front. There were skirmishes all along the route, but the main bodies of both armies were not engaged. Two miles north of Adairsville, the Union V Corps and Oliver Howard began skirmishing with entrenched units of Wiliam Hardee's Corps. The 44th Illinois and 24th Wisconsin infantry regiments, led by Maj. Arthur MacArthur, Jr. attacked Benjamin Cheatham's division, suffering heavy losses. The rest of Howard's corps prepared for battle, but General Thomas called off further attacks. At Adairsville, Johnston again hoped for a position where he could give battle, but the terrain was unsuitable for a good defense, and he continued his withdrawal. But Johnston saw that there were two roads leading south of Adairsville, one to Kingston and one to Cassville. Johnston bet that Sherman would divide his armies to use both roads, so Johnston could attack one column, before the other one could come to its aid. Sherman did as Johnston hoped, with James McPherson and most of George Thomas's army heading to Kingston, and sending only John Schofield and one corps of Thomas's army heading to Cassville. At Cassville, Cleburne commanded his corps, reinforced with an 800-man brigade of black recruits. Since it was his idea, figured A.S. Johnston, he would be the first in the Army of the Tennessee to field the recruits in battle. Cleburne was ordered to form his corps for battle facing west. He saw the potential for vulnerability to the east, though, and had his corps form breastworks in both directions, twin Vs with the western longer than the eastern. He would have the advantage of internal lines, and he could swing artillery around to hit either side. John Schofield led his corps to the west, while Daniel Butterfield's brigade arrived to the east; Butterfield had unfortunately engaged in too much liquor and women the night prior, and was still somewhat inebriated, leading to ineffective leadership on his side. Cleburne's corps managed to defend their ground, and decimated Schofield's corps including three of his senior officers. On the east, Cleburne's corps faced Butterfield and held him off, inflicting over 400 casualties. Given that they held a strong position, Cleburne held his ground for several days as did the Union army, which entrenched, both sides skirmishing for a few days before the Union troops retreated and moved around to join Sherman. Cleburne's actions delayed Sherman's approach past the 4th of July as he waited for those troops to rejoin him so they could proceed to Atlanta. After having given the Union a sound defeat, Johnston wanted Cleburne to rejoin him, and they met up at New Hope Church with Hardee's corps. Johnston made it clear to Cleburne and Hardee they were acting as a delaying force so that General Albert Sidney Johnston's force of black enlistees could meet them at Atlanta to destroy Sherman. Battle of New Hope Church (July 5-6) After Johnston left for Allatoona Pass, Sherman decided against attacking Johnston there, so he tried to move around Johnston's left flank. But Johnston anticipated Sherman's move and moved his army into Sherman's path, centering a new line at New Hope Church. Sherman mistakenly thought Johnston had just a token force there, and ordered Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's XX Corps to attack. Advancing his three divisions in parallel routes, Hooker pushed the Confederate skirmishers back for three miles, before encountering Johnston's main line. The difficult terrain prevented Hooker from coordinating his corps's attacks effectively, and they suffered severe casualties as a result, especially from canister and shrapnel. On the 6th, both sides entrenched and skirmished throughout the day. By the time the fighting ended, the Confederates reported 840 Union soldiers killed, and 386 taken prisoner. Union forces then tried concentrating their efforts to the northern end of the Confederate line, resulting in the Battle of Pickett's Mill. Battle of Pickett's Mill (July 8) After their defeat at New Hope Church, Sherman ordered Maj. Gen. Oliver Howard to attack Johnston's apparently exposed right flank. The Confederates were ready for his attack, which didn't unfold as he had planned, because supporting troops never appeared. The Confederates repulsed the attack, causing heavy Union casualties in the process. The IV Corps suffered over 2,400 casualties in the fight. Author Ambrose Bierce fought for the Union at Pickett's Mill as a topographical engineer under William Hazen. He reported the battle took about 45 minutes; one half were killed and wounded in Hazen's brigade in 30 minutes of actual fighting. Battle of Dallas (July 7-13) Sherman's 80,000 man army faced off against Johnston's 42,000 man army at Dallas, Georgia for several days in July. Some historians include New Hope Church and Pickett's Mill in the Battle of Dallas. On July 7th, Maj. Gen. Sherman learned his Confederate counterpart, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, was forming a defensive line on the south side of Pumpkinvine Creek. Having fallen back from Cassville and Kingston, and before, he thought he could force him to retreat again. Sherman's army tested the Confederate line while entrenching themselves. Hardee's Corps probed the Union defensive line on the 9th, held by Logan's Army of the Tennessee Corps, to exploit any weakness or possible withdrawal. Fighting occurred at two different points, where the Union forces repulsed the Confederates, but suffered high casualties themselves. Confederates suffered 2,800 casualties to 3,400 Union casualties. Among the thousands of casualties was brigade commander Archibald McDougall formerly of the Army of the Potomac. Sherman continued looking for away around his foe's line, and his cavalry occupied Allatoona Pass, which had a railroad, and would allow his men and supplies to reach him by train. So Sherman abandoned his lines at Dallas and moved towards the railhead, forcing Johnston to follow soon afterwards. Battle of Kolb's Farm (July 22) During the afternoon days after the fight at Dallas, Maj. Gen. Carter Stevenson, in command of one of Stephen D. Lee's divisions, advanced his division from its campsite near Mt. Zion Church towards Kolb's Farm, at the south side of the Powder Springs Road. He reported heavy skirmish fire from two Union regiments - 14th Kentucky Infantry, and 123rd New York Infantry. Shortly after, Lee ordered his corps to prepare to advance west along the road, conducting reconnaissance beforehand before committing his entire corps*. *Hood didn't do his reconnaissance before fighting.
Confederate cavalry reported considerable Union infantry in the area, not just the two outpost regiments. Union and Confederate cavalry skirmished for a time before retreating. Based on their report, Lee decided not to attack, saving them potentially thousands of casualties. The Union and Confederates instead suffered in total maybe 25-30 casualties each in the cavalry engagement. Battle of Chattanooga (July 31-August 15) Hoping to relieve some of the pressure from Atlanta, the Confederates manages to slow down the Union advance towards one of their key industrial cities by having General Forrest, along with his additional 8,000 colored troops conduct operations against General Sherman's supply lines, hoping to divert some of his army off of General Johnston. The Battle of Chattanooga really is a series of separate battles at Cartersville, Adairsville, Calhoun, Dalton, and Chattanooga. Over the course of about two weeks, Forrest would spar with Union General George Thomas and his Army of the Cumberland, facing about 20,000 of the 60,000-man army, drawing them off the approach to Atlanta to try to protect Sherman's supply lines. Raid after raid, battle after battle, the Union and Confederates traded blows, but Forrest's cavalry continued to gain numbers while making successful raids on Sherman's supplies. They drew the men more and more north, hoping that Johnston would do something, but he continued his entrenchment at Kennesaw Mountain, while Sherman stalled. Forrest reached Chattanooga by the 13th, and fought Thomas's men at Missionary Ridge, taking the military crest of the hill, rather than the physical crest. In so doing, Forrest held them two days, before he escaped capture by evacuating around Lookout Mountain. His actions here, reinforced by newly trained black cavalrymen, slowed Sherman's march towards Atlanta as his supply train was interrupted. Forrest suffered maybe 200 casualties and managed to send off hundreds of wagons' worth of medicine, food, munitions, and other supplies to Johnston and Lee, aside from what he took for his own men. Forrest made sure his black cavalrymen were treated to the spoils just as his white cavalrymen; even the former Union Colored Troops who had joined him proved their loyalty to Forrest and earned his respect. Battle of Kennesaw Mountain (August 22 - August 25)  Battle of Kennesaw Mountain
OOC: Replace Hood with Cleburne
Contrary to what General Sherman did in each of the past battles, he decided to make a head-on battle at the fortifications of Kennesaw Mountain rather than flanking. His plan at first was to try to make Johnston thin out his line, by ordering Schofield to extend his army to the right, then McPherson would make a feint to the extreme left, the northern outskirts of Marietta and the northeastern end of Kennesaw Mountain, with his cavalry and a division of infantry, and to make a major assault on the southwestern end of Little Kennesaw Mountain.  Confederate positions on the mountain
 Union entrenchments at the foot of the mountain
While this was to happen, Thomas's army was to conduct the principal attack against the Confederate fortifications in the center of their line, and Schofield would demonstrate on the Confederate left flank, and then attack somewhere near Powder Springs Road "as he can with the prospect of success." At 8 AM on August 22, Union artillery opened a furious bombardment with over 200 guns on the Confederate works, and their artillery responded in kind. Lt. Col. Joseph Fullerton would write, "Kennesaw smoked and blazed with fire, a volcano as grand as Etna." As the Union infantry began moving soon after, the Confederates quickly determined these were just demonstrations, rather than concerted assaults along the 8-mile advance. The first assault was about 8:40 AM, with three brigades under Brig. Gen. Morgan Smith's division moving against Loring's corps on the southern end of Little Kennesaw, and the spur called Pigeon Hill near Burnt Hickory Road. If this attack were successful, capturing Pigeon Hill would isolate Loring's corps on Kennesaw Mountain. The Union brigades were disadvantaged in their approach by the dense thickets, steep and rocky slopes, and lack of knowledge of the terrain. About 5500 Union troops in two columns attempted to move against 5000 well entrenched Confederates. On the right of Smith's attack, the Union forces had to advance through a knee-deep swamp, and stopped short of the Confederate breastworks by enfeilading fire. They managed to overrun the rifle pits, but couldn't pierce the main line of Confederates. On the Union left, brigades of Col. Charles Walcutt and Brig. Gen. Giles Smith crossed difficult terrain, interrupted by steep cliffs, and scattered with huge rocks to approach the Missouri brigade of Brig. Gen. Francis Cockrell. Some Union troops got as far as the abatis, but most couldn't, and were forced to remain in place, firing behind trees and rocks. When General Logan rode forward to judge their progress, he found many of his men being "uselessly slain" and ordered them to withdraw and entrench behind the gorge that separated the lines. About 2 miles south, Thomas's Union troops were behind schedule, but began their main attack at 9 AM. Two divisions of the Army of the Cumberland, about 9000 in all, advanced in a column formation against the Confederate divisions under Maj. Gens. Benjamin Cheatham and Patrick Cleburne, entrenched on what would later be called Cheatham Hill. During this advance, Brig. Gen. Charles Harker was mortally wounded, as was Union Brig. Gen. Jefferson C Davis*. The dense undergrowth slowed the Union advance and prevented most of them from advancing very far. Davis's division tried to continue to advance, but it was a large, concentrated target for Confederate guns. They were to try to advance quietly, capture the works, then cheer to give a signal for the reserve divisions to move forward, secure the railroad, and cut the Confederate army in twain. Col. Daniel McCook's brigade advanced down a slope to a creek, crossed a wheat field, then tried to ascend the slope of the hill. They got to a few yards distance from the Confederates, and began firing, but the Confederate counter fire was too strong, and his brigade lost two commanders - McCook and his replacement, Col. Oscar Harmon - nearly all its field officers, and a third of its men. McCook was killed while shouting "surrender you traiters!" while slashing with his sword at the Confederates. After ferocious fighting, the battle there stopped about 10:45 AM. To the right of Davis's division, Maj. Gen. John Geary's division advanced, but didn't join the attack. Even Schofield's army was unable to get close to the Chattahoochee* making the entire day a wash. A second day of Sherman's troops fighting the Confederates caused similarly bad casualties, but Schofield's army was finally able to get close to the Chattahoochee on the 5th day. Johnston managed to hold off the Union troops and cause a large number of casualties. Sherman was unreachable for some time as his troops stopped fighting and moved back, out of range of the Confederates. Some have speculated his concern over his lines and lack of men to make the assault may have contributed to a psychological break similar to that he experienced in 1861, but so far, that has only been speculation, and Sherman kept the trust of both Grant and Lincoln, both of whom urged further action. Command
-US: William Sherman -CS: Joseph E. Johnston Armies
-US: Army of the Cumberland; Army of the Ohio; Army of the Tennessee: 15,100 -CS: Army of Tennessee: 21,844 Casualties
-US: 7,100 -CS: 1,081 Battle of Marietta (September 3-October 1)*  Engraving of the battle at Marietta
The Battle of Marietta was really a series of battles, including at Pine Mountain, Gilgal Church, and Kolb's Farm. At Pine Mountain, while helping to delay the Union forces, General Leonidas Polk was nearly cut in two when Sherman ordered artillery fire on the exposed Confederate generals. The 5th Indiana Battery, commanded by Capt. Peter Simonson obeyed the order within minutes. The first round came close, and the generals moved out of danger. The second round came closer, and the third through right where Polk had been standing, exploding against a tree. Had he still been standing there, he would've been cut in two. Battle of Noonday Creek (September 4-October 1) Similarly, the Battle of Noonday Creek was really a series of fights through September. General Garrard was ordered to interpose between Confederate General Joseph Wheeler's cavalry and his HQ at Big Shanty, which had stayed with Johnston, since Forrest was up in Tennessee attempting to disrupt Sherman's supply lines. After a week, Garrard failed to do so, so two brigades of infantry and three cavalry brigades with artillery support were advanced against the Confederate positions in early September. Two charges failed, and the Union army retired from the field. Wheeler's cavalry was moved to a position between Bell's Ferry and Canton Road. On the 4th of September, the 15th regiment of the Iowa Veteran Volunteer Infantry pushed the Confederates across Noonday Creek after heavy fighting. On the 9th, a division of Union cavalry were attacked and repelled. On the 11th, the Union pushed Wheeler down Bell's Ferry Road, where he retired to Robert McAffee's house. On the 13th, the Union army attacked but was driven off with heavy losses. On the 17th, Col. Eli Long crossed Noonday Creek with his brigade, and attacked, and repelled the Confederates.  Lieutenant General Joseph Wheeler, 1865
 Major General Kenner Garrard, 1863
Democrat National Convention (September 29-October 1)   The Democrats nominated General McClellan as their nominee, with Daniel Vorhees as their Vice-Presidential nominee. McClellan personally opposed the peace platform, supporting the continuation of the war, and restoration of the Union. The party platform, written by Clement Vallandigham, opposed this position. The Democrats were still split, though now between war Democrats and peace Democrats, and the peace Democrats had factions too. Moderate peace Democrats supported the war, but thought a negotiated peace was a wise course of action; one notable proponent was Horatio Seymour. These Democrats proposed a negotiated peace to secure Union victory after the debacle of Gettysburg, a Pyrrhic victory like Sharpsburg. They thought this was the best course of action because an armistice could finish the war without destroying the South. Radical peace Democrats like Thomas Seymour, believed the war was a failure and wanted an immediate end to hostilities without securing a Union victory. Battle of Salinas (June 3-5) Col. A.J. King attempted to defend the town of Salinas, South California, from the forces of Col. Clarence Bennett, coming in from the northwest. Southern California's 1st Infantry, 2nd Infantry and 1st Cavalry were pushed back and out of Salinas, a town of maybe 400, after Bennett's forces had taken the high ground northeast of town, and King couldn't continue his attack without taking heavy casualties. Battle of Soledad (June 10) Col. Clarence Bennett reported to Brig. Gen. William Ketchum about his success in Salinas and they decided to proceed for San Diego by land to capture the southern 'capital' of California.  King reported his loss to Confederate Brig. Gen. Lewis Armistead, the Confederate commander in California, who agreed that he did what he could do. They would try to defend the line at the old mission at Soledad if possible.  Unfortunately for the Confederates, the Union force was about 8,200 men in two brigades to their 2,400 man force of 2 brigades. While the Confederates were preparing for a fight, the Union cavalry scouted them out by 7:30 AM on the 10th, formed up lines of battle against their outnumbered Confederate opponents. Armistead's forces were outnumbered and they were able to take a few shots before escaping the field, but not before suffering 244 casualties, and 87 captured. Battle of Kern Island (June 10-11) Brig. Gen. J.P. Gillis with his and Brig. Gen. Dan Showalter's two brigades were engaged at the heights east of Kern Island, a marsh with a few log cabins, at their entrenchments by a union brigade under Brig. Gen. Curtis Clark and Major Jack Biderman, in control of the 3rd Northern California Cavalry. The 7700 Confederates were able to hold off the Union force of 3,350 over ten hours of fighting on the 10th in a brave stand just south of the Kern River. It wasn't until the morning of the 11th, when Gillis realized the Union forces had scouted a mountain pass that exposed their right flank that they retired from their entrenchments, but not after having inflicted over 443 casualties to their 165. Battle of Los Angeles (July 3-5) Union cavalry, screening the approach south towards Los Angeles early on the 3rd, met with the Confederate cavalry under Brig Gen. George Gordon Belt. Maj. Gen. George Wright had the foresight to engage defenses for the city, and entrenched artillery along Hollywood Hill and the Verdugo Mountains, creating a kill box for the Union, and entrenching his forces between them, including Brig. Gens. Gillis, Showalter, and Lewis Armistead. On the 4th, the Confederates engaged the Union forces once they reached range, unleashing the artillery on Brig. Gen. Ketchum's Union force of about 12,000, aligned against his forces of around 11,400. For the entire day, the Confederates kept the Union soldiers boxed in and inflicted over 3600 casualties, taking 1900 themselves, including wounded and killed. Fighting slacked off as night fell. Late at night, Zapatero, one of their cavalry commanders, found the Union exploring a way to flank behind them, and the Confederates decamped, taking their artillery and marching south, and into the interior of the state. Battle of Santa Ana River (July 12) Maj. Gen. George Wright made his stand on the south side of the Santa Ana, an open field where he was able to build earthworks and dig in. Only Brig. Gen. Curtis Clark made his presence known and was driven off by the Confederate artillery and infantry, suffering 93 casualties in the process, but alerting the Union to their position. Wright had the cavalry screen to the left and right, and found the Union forces had split and were going to attack through the mountains west and north. So he decided to decamp and move south for better ground. Battle of Temecula (July 28-30) Maj. Gen. George Wright found the ground near Temecula perfect for the defense he imagined. He entrenched his artillery and created earthworks and obstacles for any skirmishers approaching his infantry. Several thousand troops worked three days to entrench, and the Union finally obliged them on the 28th. Gillis and Showalter's brigades were manning the infantry lines, while the artillery under Brig. Gen. Daniel Fang had the high ground, along with 200 enlisted freedmen. The Union troops arrived just outside range, and on the morning of the 29th, they engaged the Confederates. The hills to the southeast provided plenty of high ground for their artillery embankments and Newly minted Brig. Gen. Clarence Bennett led his brigade on the first charge, having formed up a line of battle by 6:30 AM. The Union has maybe 16,000 to the 12,500 Confederates, but both sides had Enfield rifles, neither getting the Spencer repeating rifles just yet. The artillery shelled his men but they were able to advance to within 30 yards before the combination of Confederate artillery and infantry drove them back. Union artillery finally started returning fire by 9:30 AM. Major Jack Biderman's four batteries did their job, inflicting serious casualties on the CS Infantry, despite their artillery protection above. The Union managed to outflank the Confederates by 11:15 with their cavalry and infantry coming from the southwest flank, finally driving the Confederates from their entrenched positions by 11:45, forcing them inland. The Union had a costly victory, though, with 1800 casualties to the 940 Confederate casualties. Maj. Gen. George Wright was forced inland, towards the mountains where some sheep herders kept their flocks. With the path clear, the Union forces under Brig. Gen. Ketchum marched for the capital of San Diego. Siege of San Diego (September 4-20) The Union under William Ketchum waited till the August heat broke, taking his time, despite telegraphs from Washington to speed things up, to show progress in the war. By the second day of September, Bennett has scouted the defenses the Confederates had made, and decided on a siege. The settled outside the town, which had had entrenchments set up in a ring to the north and west. For two weeks, Ketchum fired on the Confederates, then he finally settled on firing the town. Old Town San Diego began burning on the 19th. Civilians died as they tried escaping the blaze. For two days the fires blazed, till the defenders of the city left their entrenchments to try to save their families. By evening on the 20th, San Diego was captured, and South California was now under Union control.
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jjohnson
Chief petty officer
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Post by jjohnson on Feb 20, 2020 18:27:24 GMT
Chapter 14: What a Difference an Idea Makes
Battle of Pace's Ferry (October 5) This was more of a skirmish than a real battle; the Union army managed to capture a pontoon bridge from the Confederates before they could burn the bridge, securing a way towards Atlanta. Lincoln's ElectionAbraham Lincoln's management of the war showed he had three main objectives - defeat the Confederates, maintain leadership over the Republican party, and ensure the ascendancy of the party. Doing the second and third could allow him to achieve the first objective, but by now, in fall and near the election, Grant had lost over 100,000 to casualties and was no closer to Richmond; Sherman was outside of Atlanta, and the hospitals in and around DC were filled with the thousands of wounded soldiers. Lincoln predicted in August that if they didn't take Atlanta before November, then he would lose the election. Sherman's Approach to Atlanta (Late September to Early October) Proceeding on his way to Atlanta, Sherman is quoted as saying " I am going into the very bowels of the Confederacy, and propose to leave a trail that will be recognized fifty years hence." While on the way, Sherman rode out without his coat or rank insignia, and came upon a soldier "covered with plunder." He threatened him with arrest, and the soldier began cursing, using words like "damn" and "hell." They argued back and forth, till Sherman identified himself and demanded to know the soldier's identity. With chickens swinging in his hands, the soldier answered, "Oh, hell, General, I am Abner F. Dean, Chaplain of the 112th Massachusetts." Without bothering to salute the general, he picked up whatever loot he dropped and walked away. At Roswell, Georgia, there was a large woolen mill and two cotton mills producing cloth till they were captured by Sherman. A unit commanded by General Kenner Garrard took the town and burned the mills, one of which tried to escape burning by flying the French flag, a neutral in the war, hoping for special treatment. Garrard informed Sherman of the action and told him about the women at the mills. Sherman ordered: To make the matter complete you will arrest the owners and employees, and send them, under guard charged with treason, to Marietta, and I will see as to any man in American hoisting the French flag and then devoting his labor and capital in supplying armies in open hostility to our Government and claiming the benefit of his neutral flag. Should you, under the impulse of anger, natural at contemplating such perfidy, hang the wretch, I approve the act before hand...
I repeat my orders that you arrest all the people, male and female, connected with those factories, no matter what the clamor, and let them foot it, under guard to Marietta, whence I will send them by cars to the North...The poor women will make a howl. Let them take along their children and clothing, providing they have the means of hauling or you can spare them.
The roughly 400 women and children were loaded into 110 wagons and transported 13 miles in the heat to the Georgia Military Institute, then by rail went to Nashville, and then on to Louisville, Kentucky. Two weeks after their arrest, the New York Tribune wrote of the affair, " Only think of it! Four hundred weeping and terrified Ellens, Susans, and Maggies transported...away from their lovers and brothers of the sunny south, and all for the offense of weaving tent-cloth and spinning stocking yarn!" When the women arrived, a Wisconsin reporter visited them and came away disgusted, saying, " They uttered loud and bitter curses on General Sherman," and asked the man why they'd been driven from their homes, why he arrested women and children, and why he sent them all the way to Louisville to be imprisoned. Instead of considering their questions, the reporter instead wrote an article ridiculing their grammar and accent. The Louisville Journal claimed they had begged to leave Georgia, and Sherman's " enlarged and generous spirit of humanity" had prompted him to send them to where they could " find new work and security." Despite the editor of the paper writing that their new rooms were "clean and airy" and the children were "rosy-cheeked," one of the inmates, Rose McDonald, described her imprisonment in Louisville as a "living death." She reported that " we slept on the bare floor without a pillow, blanket, or bedding of any kind, and were never alone, for day and night n armed guard was with us...After a time I sickened and lay for several days unnoticed on the bare floor, suffering from a scorching fever." Soon, a notice appeared in the newspaper from the 'Commission for the Aid of Refugees' asking for funds to aid the deported Georgians, saying " There are children of every age, some so attenuated as to be living skeletons, perishing for want of proper care." The military authorities in Louisville eventually sent Dr. Mary Edwards Walker to provide care, being appointed 'Surgeon in Charge' of the Louisville Female Military Prison hospital. She wrote: " It was during my illness that I first saw the anomalous creature that was put over us for our sins. If ever a fiend in human guise wlaked this earth it did it in that woman's body." A two-year-old recalled when Dr Walker came "storming along" while she sat at the top of the stairs, when she yelled, " Get out of my way you little brat!" and kicked the little child down the stairs. This is who the Union Army placed in charge of the refugees they placed in this situation. Some of the ladies of Louisville promised the female prisoners Christmas dinner, but when the day arrived, the Doctor gave each room a single loaf of bread and a pitcher of water for the day. The Doctor received the dinner, however. Christmas morning, some Confederate prisoners marched past their windows, and they waved their handkerchiefs to them. The Doctor saw this, and they spent the rest of the day locked in the dungeon. An army inspector came by, and the prisoners complained of their treatment by Dr. Walker. There was no change, except when she found out about the complaints, as Rose McDonald would later inform the Richmond Enquirer, " She was like an insane person after that." Sherman also ordered General Louis Watkins who was near Calhoun, GA: " Cannot you send over about Fairmount and Adairsville, burn ten or twelve houses of known secessionists, kill a few at random, and let them know that it will be repeated ever time a train is fired on from Resace to Kingston!" Despite the Lieber Code, paragraphs 44 and 47 forbidding murder as a capital offense, General Garrard and General Watkins performed as Sherman asked. When passing Kennesaw, GA, General Sherman ordered their Confederate PoWs and civilians to be drawn back and forth by long ropes over areas suspected of torpedoes (land mines). He wrote: " Of course an enemy cannot complain of his own traps." Paragraph 33 of the Lieber Code said that it is a " serious breach of the law of war to force the subjects of the enemy into the service of the victorious government," and paragraph 75 said that prisoners of war could not " be subjected to no other intentional suffering or indignity," which this obviously was. Atlanta, GA (October 8-9) Outside Atlanta, the Confederate defenders were planning their stand. President Davis needed a win, as Lee was being sieged, and Joseph Johnston was retreating each time in the face of Sherman. But with the death of Hood a short time ago, and Albert Sidney Johnston not being fit for a field command according to several doctors, Davis had nothing else but to trust Johnston with the defense of Atlanta. He sent a telegram to Johnston saying: General Johnston:
The fate of Atlanta and the Confederacy lie in your hands in the coming battle. May God grant you and your army victory in the battle to come.
President Davis.
President Davis had a contentious relationship with Joseph Johnston since the beginning of the war, and even before since West Point. But without Hood, and having asked Lee for advice on replacing Johnston, Davis got a stunning letter from Robert Lee urging him not to replace Johnston before a decisive battle. It would create confusion and morale problems, which would devastate the army in the fight to come. Just a day or two before battle, Johnston was pouring over maps, and found the spot to make his stand; he would just need to find the land himself.  The Dexter Niles House, still standing today
Johnston walked outside his headquarters at the Niles House, and walked around the command area, eventually finding his horse and combing its hair himself. He heard a crash, and dispatched someone to see what it was. An hour later, he was informed that a carriage had crashed into the river, and a sergeant, James David Johnson, saved a woman and her father. Her father, however, turned out to be William Henry Saylor, the owner of the iron works in Atlanta. Johnston mused that it was lucky that he survived. The next day, Johnston scouted the area around Peachtree Creek, and examined the creek itself. He found it was deep and tall, and would serve as a barrier to the Union army's retreat. Having your back to a river during a fight was a dangerous position, and he would have to strike at the right moment - too early and not enough would be taken out to matter; too late, and they would be entrenched and the gain would be equaled or outweighed by the cost to his own army. He resolved to fight, and telegrammed the President his decision to destroy the Army of the Tennessee. Perhaps it was the threat of being replaced that finally moved him to action, perhaps it was the discovery of favorable ground, or even having enough troops thanks to Albert Sidney Johnston, who was training and sending troops to him weekly now that they were close. That would become a topic of discussion for future historians for decades. Soon after the death of Hood, Johnston had placed his army into 4 corps: Stewart, Hardee, Cleburne, and Hindman, who took over Hood's corps. He had initially resisted promoting Cleburne, as did Richmond, but given the success of the policy proposed by Cleburne so far in the Siege of Petersburg, Davis reluctantly promoted him to Lieutenant General, like the others in command of his corps. Given that they would be leading the assault, Cleburne and Hardee, two old friends, rode out to get the lay of the land before the battle tomorrow. Battle of Peachtree Creek (October 10) Johnston had resolved to attack at 1 PM, with the woods helping hide his troops and negate the Union advantage in artillery. He wasn't going to contest the Union crossing, he would allow them to cross, and fight with Cleburne and Hardee straight ahead, Polk to the east to distract Sherman and act as his reserves. Cleburne was in front as he had voiced his support for arming freedmen, so Johnston was going to use them in this fight. Union General Thomas followed his orders from General Sherman and moved his men north of Peachtree Creek. His right flank was protected by the river, but his left was unprotected. Sherman had planned to let McPherson and Schofield attack from the east, while his army would threaten the city to the north, likely not seeing much action. His army hadn't started crossing till last night, with most of his army not crossing till the morning of the 10th, when they had pushed back the cavalry under General Wheeler, who pulled back. Perhaps their fight had left them, he would later write in his memoirs. Sherman was sure they were evacuating, as Johnston had allowed the Union officers to see trains leaving the city to the south and southwest, and to capture a few so-called deserters to give him disinformation that they were leaving, giving Sherman the expectation not to have much resistance. Sherman told them they'd be entering the city within two or three days, and with hit, destroy the Confederates, burn their homes, demolish their industry, kill a few random civilians who supported them, then burn a path to the sea.* The downfall to their plan would be their lack of belief of the Confederates training massive amounts of freedmen. The Union troops didn't think the Confederates would give up slavery that easily, as they were the ones tending fields while they were away at war. Most Union generals in Sherman's army believed that their pool of candidates had dried up. With a large part of the Army of the Tennessee having crossed over, the Confederates struck at 1 PM as planned. General Thomas was talking to a staff officer at the time when a series of low booms sounded across the field - artillery fire. The pops started sounding off from left and right across the field. It was all too intense to be skirmishing or a simple picket line. Over the din of the weaponry came another unmistakable noise - the Rebel Yell. General Thomas wasn't a man given to fear normally, but for a moment, his blood ran cold. Thomas began shouting orders and sending couriers running to communicate with his other generals to coordinate their response. Cleburne and Hardee and Stewart were mixing in with their troops urging them to fight, as it often occurred in 19th century fighting. Their battle lines were intact, but disorderly, with their gunpowder acrid and impairing visibility along the field. The Union blue helped see them against the smoke, and on the other hand, the Confederate butternut and gray helped camouflage them into the smoke. Unfortunately for the Confederates, the Union lines were holding without a gap. On the Union side of the fight near the creek, their wounded were heading back, and from their view, it looked like the rebels were faltering, and he ordered his men to hurry across the creek with fresh divisions and brigades. General George Thomas sent a note to Sherman that he had engaged the rebels, but believed he could hold his position. General Johnston was watching the battle unfold as his staff officers kept him apprised of the situation and how it had stalled at the creek. He began to see a trickle, then a stream of Confederates coming from the battlefield, unarmed and scared; the Union hurrahs were growing in intensity and the Rebel Yell no longer broke through the din. If he didn't do something, they would lose the fight. Johnston and soon his staff officers started moving to rally the troops and reform them into a line of troops, which probably couldn't withstand a concerted Yankee push. They were moving their cannon forward. Several historians record him as saying something to the effect of: " You fellow men of the South! We must maintain this position! Reinforcements are coming! We have made too many retreats, too many sacrifices to give up now! The Yankees invaded Kentucky and we fell back. They invaded Tennessee and we fell back. They conquer and assimilate entire towns, stealing everything belonging to innocent civilians and violating our women. Not again! No more! The line must be drawn here!" His men slowly regained their courage as reserves began appearing. "This far and no further!" Johnston yelled as he tried to lead his troops into battle personally, before his aide, Mackall pulled him back. Confederate artillery pulled forward, loaded with canister, firing from all ten pieces towards the Union lines. As Johnston re-situated to the rear, he viewed the battle as a whole and thought that if they could only punch a hole in the line and roll them up, they could drive them back into the creek. The fight had been going on for hours already, so Johnston decided to put the reserves in. At this point, on his own initiative, according to the Official Records of the War for Southern Independence, Cleburne decided to strike with an inspired feint. Cleburne ordered General Lowery's brigade to fall back a few hundred yards, while at the same time, he brought up two brigades full of freedmen, and had them lie down in the vegetation, obscuring them, at a 45° angle to Lowery. Granbury and Govan would be enfilading the Union if the ruse worked. Ten minutes later, Lowery was in position, with everyone locked and loaded, ready to fire. As they retreated, they were reloading as they ran. Through the smoke of the field, their actions were obscured. Several tense moments passed as a large formation of Union troops, around a division in number, raced southward through the haze of the smoke, believing they were pursuing a defeated foe. They yelled with believed triumph, until Captain Jose Cleary yelled for his troops to stand, and ready. Their rifles raised, and soon the Union troops saw what they were running into, yelling 'right flank!' and others 'left flank!' Cleary ordered the men to fire, and instantly, the 4th Georgia Volunteer Infantry fired off their muskets along with hundreds of other units into the oncoming Union troops. Dozens upon dozens of Union soldiers were cut down in an instant. Seconds later, Lowery's brigade fired into the mass, then Govan's. By the time Govan's troops fired, Cleary's were ready to fire again, with the mass of troops being stunned at the fire coming at them from three sides. The Confederates reloaded to fire again and again, and as a result, the Union division began melting away. Several threw their weapons down and ran back north towards the creek, unwilling to continue fighting against what was certain death, when Cleary gave the order to charge bayonets into the Union troops. The resistance of the Union force broke easily after what they had just faced, as many dropped their rifles and turned to run, while a few tried to stand their ground, swinging their spent rifles like clubs, but it was no use. They were now outnumbered, having lost a large number of their men, and the herd's morale shattered, sending most fleeing, with the few remaining to be killed or captured. This was the moment the tide turned at Peachtree Creek, with Cleary ordering his troops to give chase as the Rebel Yell sounded. From his position at a distance, Johnston saw the hole punched into the center of the Union line, now being rolled up left and right. ** East of the city, Sherman finally got George Thomas's message, and based on its contents, he declined to let Schofield move his force to help. At his current position, Sherman believed he could now capture both the city of Atlanta and the Army of Tennessee. Another message let Sherman know the city's defenses were held by militia, not regular army, letting him believe it would break more easily as he pressed the attack on the city ** Cleburne having shown the way, now General Cheatham broke through has well, capturing two 4-gun batteries and turning them on the Union troops. As Cleburne was getting the situation, he saw some of his sergeants and privates coming through the smoke with Union prisoners, one of which was Horace Boughton. ** General Thomas mounted his horse and took the risk to ride forward. The sound of muskets closer to him was tapering off and the ominous silence worried him. Soon he began seeing frantic soldiers running back alone or in groups with the look of defeat on their dirty and bloodied faces. They were mostly unarmed, running away in panic from the fight, some just dazed as if they'd been hit in the head. Thomas asked one of the soldiers who he was and what was happening, told that Cleburne punched a hole through with freedmen. He found out General Ward fell on the field with a hole in his head. Quickly, he sent off the staff officers he had to get a picture of their situation to try to salvage the situation. It might be tough, but it could happen now as in every other battle these past 3 years. Finally, he ordered his cavalry escort to fan out in a line to try to act as a stop-break to the tide of soldiers coming towards them to try to get them to stop, but the majority of the Union men simply kept running past without stopping. ** It had been two hours since they had punched through the Union line. Johnston's men had captured the battle flags of the 31st Wisconsin, 147th Pennsylvania, 40th Ohio, and 36th Indiana, and were continuing to roll up prisoners. Some Yankees had been too exhausted to keep running and just sat down to await capture, having thrown their rifles away. One group of soldiers, Company K of the 4th Georgia Infantry, kept pressing ahead, happy to finally have the advantage and to defeat the Yankees for real, rather than have to retreat again. They pressed on. ** General Thomas's escort urged him to move to the rear, believing them too far forward. Thomas thought he needed to stay to try to prevent his army from bolting for the rear and falling apart. He didn't want to abandon his men. He tried rallying his men, and for a while, it worked, sending a few Confederates down for the count either dead or wounded, but soon more of the rebels fired back, including a number of freedmen, and they pressed their advantage, breaking Thomas's thin and fragile line of troops, sending most of them running for the creek. As he turned around, General Thomas faced the barrel of a rifle, a Sergeant holding the Enfield and asking for his surrender. ** The battle had been raging for hours, and now as evening fell, the Confederates pushed further, with Hardee, Stewart, and Cleburne leading the charge towards the creek, now possessing most of the Union artillery and turning it on the fleeing Union troops. Cleburne's men held Collier's Bridge against the Yankees, creating a barricade to prevent the Yankees from crossing on the bridge. But he only had maybe a thousand men to hold against a horde of Yankees. Union troops began pouring back, and they poured fire into them, including an officer who tried to rally them, later identified as Nathan Kimball. As his men were fighting, and he was reloading himself, Cleburne would see a sight which would haunt him. Union troops fled into the deep creek and were scrambling up the sides, grabbing exposed roots to pull themselves up and out. But more troops dropped down, and grabbed their feet, pulling them down into the basin. More and more troops dropped into the basin, with only a few making it out. Some of the men were knocked down into the ravine by the waves of men coming from the south side, still trying to fire back at the Confederates. Something just clicked and hundreds of Union troops just dropped their rifles and tried to escape in the ravine, jumping down and making the entire creek a mass of confused blue-coated men, scrambling wildly for the north bank, shouting in the confusion. The Confederates came up on the south side, and it was understandable what happened. After hours of fighting today, weeks of hardships at the hands of the Yankees, and letters from friends and family about the theft, embarrassments, rape, pillage, arson, and more at the hands of Yankee invaders, the men, under orders from their officers, opened fire. The screams from the Union troops were unlike anything Cleburne had heard before. Not everyone died of bullets. In their rush to try to escape, many unlucky Union troops were shoved under the waist-high creek waters by the weight of their comrades. They flailed as others ran over them, unthinkingly pinning them down under the water till they stopped moving, drowned, or were crushed. The south bank was in flames as the Confederates poured shot after shot into the writhing mass in the creek. Shouts and cries of 'we surrender!' and 'don't shoot!' went unheard as the Confederates continued firing. Combat could do this to men, Cleburne had seen. Yesterday, the water was clear, and now it ran thick and red with blood. He almost shouted to stop the carnage, but he stopped himself, believing that every Yankee stopped meant one less person firing on them in battle tomorrow. Eventually the Confederates gained control of their men and called for the Yankees to return to the south bank for surrender, many of them doing so, while others tried to escape. ** Around that time, Sherman's scouts came back to inform him the city was defended not just by militia, but 20,000 freedmen troops, all in gray and butternut uniforms. Then messages began pouring in that several officers from the Army of the Cumberland had arrived in a panic, letting him know their army had collapsed and the rebels were pouring in, and Thomas was either killed or captured. Sherman's mind swam, and he decided that attacking the city was no longer an option. He ordered the Army of the Tennessee back to the north side of Atlanta, all of it, to prevent Johnston from attacking him and destroying the entire army. ** General Johnston met with his staff to get the report, finding they had about 10,000 prisoners, 8000 dead Union soldiers, 64 captured artillery, 48 battle-flags, and a large quantity of ammunition, small arms, and other various supplies. Johnston sent a very happy telegram to President Davis that night and noted that the black brigades were the deciding factor. Casualties: Union: 8200 killed; 10,000 captured; 2500 missing, 6200 wounded Confederate: 6800 killed; 2977 captured; 1344 missing; 3811 wounded ** Richmond, VA (October 11) While Congress had many things on its plate, it took some time to authorize the creation of a series of medals and ribbons in response to Johnston's successful defense of Atlanta. The 'Defense of Atlanta' ribbon, a red/white/red ribbon, with a small bronze medal containing the seal of Georgia, and around it "Defense of Atlanta" "Army of Tennessee." The year 1864 between them on the right, and 'Oct.20' on the left. Everyone in the Army of Tennessee would get one...when materials and resources were available to do so.  The "Bonnie Blue" Ribbon, blue with a single white star on it, for those who served in the provisional armies of their respective states.  The 'National Defense' Service Ribbon would go to all troops who served honorably, after peace would be achieved.  Washington, DC (October 11) While in his office in the White House, President Lincoln was visited by Secretary of War Stanton, who relayed the news of Peachtree Creek. The 'rebels' as they were called in DC had defeated the Army of the Cumberland, with over 10,000 prisoners including General Thomas, killed or wounded thousands, and captured a huge number of valuable supplies - ammunition, rifles, small arms, cannon, rations, and more. Lincoln's first reaction was that he might have lost the election, then the war. Stanton assured him that they still outnumbered the rebels, and could recover from this. Stanton was a more radical Republican than Lincoln; when the war was over, Stanton's faction wanted to punish the South, destroy her people, and take the resources for their own as punishment for resisting them. But that was for another day. President Lincoln absorbed the information and told Stanton to pack his bags for a trip to Virginia. They would be seeing General Grant to try to salvage the situation outside Atlanta. ** Atlanta, GA (October 11) General Joseph Johnston thought if only he could get to the north side of the Chattahoochee, he could trap Sherman south of the river. Unfortunately, two of his corps had suffered heavy losses, and their divisions had become disorganized. Utilizing the forces Albert Sidney Johnston had luckily trained, he was slowly beginning to rebuild his army with freedmen, placing them into divisions with people close to their home counties and states. For the moment, he couldn't tell if Sherman intended to make a retreat or was just keeping his options open. General Cleburne spoke to Johnston last night after the fight, and mentioned the sergeant who had captured Union General George Thomas. Johnston spoke up: "That man deserves a promotion. Three years as a sergeant? That's officer material. See to it." "He'll resist," Cleburne said in response. "Not this time," Johnston said, the unstated meaning clear. "Take care of it personally." "Yes sir." The enlisted men were out in the battlefield, scavenging for useful equipment and burying their dead, when General Cleburne himself visited a sleeping Sergeant, the one who had caught General George Thomas himself. After the surprise wore off, Sergeant Johnson spoke to the General whose tactics had assured them of victory the day prior. Cleburne handed his commanding officer, Captain Cleary some papers. It turns out, Cleary was being promoted to Major, and James David Johnston of Company K was being promoted to Lieutenant. He'd resisted for three years, but General Cleburne was not giving him any option to deny the promotion. Once the general left, his men cheered, leaving the young lieutenant stunned. ** Chattahoochee River (October 12) General Sherman was leaning against a tree, smoking a cigar, and gazing south towards Atlanta. Five or so miles away, but it might as well be London across the channel from Normandy for all he could do to get there. Just three days ago, he had an army of over 100,000 men. After the Battle of Peachtree Creek, he had maybe 75,000, and maybe half that could be considered reliable in a fight. He bet the Confederates, flush with their victory, were likely getting those reinforcements from the Carolinas, and all the freedmen the other General Johnston had been training. And they could equip them now with all that captured cannon and musket. That was likely one of the big things keeping the Confederates from fielding them in battle till now. Sherman didn't know what kind of casualties they had suffered, nor how many or if Lee were sending troops. All he knew was he needed to put the river between him and the Confederates so he could regroup. General McPherson asked whom he would have replace Thomas, who was now prisoner, according to the message sent under flag of truce. Sherman put Oliver Howard, despite Hooker being the senior rank. Eppes House, Virginia (October 13)    In the Eppes House, Lincoln, Grant, and Stanton meet to discuss the situation. The short of it is that they would need to send reinforcements from Virginia to make good on Sherman's losses. The Union would have to stop their actions against Jubal Early in the Shenandoah, which feeds Lee's army, if they were to hold the siege and reinforce Sherman. Grant suggests the Sixth Corps, with its three divisions, be sent immediately to Sherman. It was currently in eastern Tennessee maintaining the Union hold on the Kentucky/Tennessee area, so it could be to Sherman very quickly by rail. Per agreement with Lincoln and Stanton, Grant would journey to Georgia himself to get the situation of the army. With the severity of the situation, Grant left on the same day for Georgia at all speed. Richmond, Virginia (October 13)  Given the news, the President, Jefferson Davis, was holding a reception at the Confederate Executive Mansion, with the social well-to-do congratulating him on the defense of Atlanta. He had a long reception line; the band even struck up 'Hail to the Chief'* when Davis entered the reception. His son, little Joe** woke up during the party and he went to put him back to bed. Secretary of State Judah Benjamin took President Davis aside and let him know that the British ambassador was conferring with his government about the action at Peachtree Creek, and Parliament was considering whether to recognize the Confederates. Davis was happy with the news, but kept it from the party as it was too early to share such information. *Hail to the Chief was used by both the US and CS Presidents at this point in actual history. **Joe didn't fall from a balcony and die this timeline. Mobile, Alabama (late 1864) General Richard Taylor, son of former US President Zachary Taylor, found a group of black Confederate troops hard at work on fortifications. When the conversation between them turned to the black enlistment and contribution to the war effort, one of the black soldiers told the general: " If you will give us guns we will fight for these works, too. We would rather fight for our own white folks than for strangers." Within two weeks, those same soldiers, per the emancipation bill from earlier in the year, were given rifles and would soon defend Alabama from invasion. Outside Atlanta, GA (October 13) Lieutenant Johnson was drilling the men in his company, for the first time giving the orders he'd been saying silently in his head the past three years. The company had been practicing and drilling to be ready to move against the Yankees in case they came back south, or they went across the river, whichever came first. His company was now back up to 100 men, forty-seven of which were freedmen. After several hours of drilling, they all were looking good and maneuvering like pros. To the new Lieutenant, skin didn't matter; everyone bled red in the field. A distraction among the men turned out to be the young woman, Sarah Emma Saylor, and her servant, Percival, whom he had saved from drowning in the river shortly before the battle. They were driving a wagon with a fat cow, chickens, and through the tarp covering it, he could see plenty of greens and vegetables. Johnson's pulse quickened with the sight of the young lady. She was 21, just a little younger than Lieutenant James David Johnson, and they had gotten in some good conversation when he had been invited to dinner with her father and mother. It turns out they weren't that fond of bonded servitude, rather paying their servants just like they paid in the iron works. "Lieutenant?" she said with a smile and a nod. "Yes, Miss Saylor?" he said with an unconscious smile in his voice, though his face kept some control. "I brought the food my father promised he would bring," she said. The men behind him gave a hearty cheer, before he asked. "He did?" "Did you not get the note?" "It must've gotten delayed in the chaos of the battle," he admitted. "What's going on here, Lieutenant?" asked Major Cleary, his half-Hispanic, half-Irish commanding officer, and also a good friend these past few months. Cleary wasn't a man of faith, but he was still a moral man and Jim valued the deep conversations they were able to have when they had the time to do so. He had a slightly dark complexion, brown eyes, and black hair, and was one of the best commanders that James David had the pleasure to serve with during the war. Given that the war meant little time for grooming, Cleary now sported a thick beard and long hair he tied off behind his collar. "Mr. Saylor from Atlanta has sent us a wagon of provisions, sir." Cleary took a hard look at the wagon. The cow, chickens, and vegetables looked to be more food than the 4th Georgia Infantry had seen in a month. "Dear God, what possessed the man to send us all this?" "Lieutenant Johnson saved my father's life, and mine, sir," Sarah Emma replied. "He felt these provisions would be a good way to say thank you to the men of the Confederate Army." "Well we definitely won't turn this gift down!" Cleary said with a big smile. Major Cleary organized a detail of men from the 4th Georgia to unload the wagon. In minutes, they had created a makeshift pen for the chickens, deciding to keep them for the eggs, rather than killing and eating them. The eggs would be a valuable source of protein for the army. The vegetables were piled up next to the pen, and the cow was herded off, its throat slit, and they commenced slaughtering the beast to start cooking its beef for dinner. "Where'd your father get all this?" Cleary asked, a few minutes later. "Perhaps the less you know, the better, sir," said Percival, who had asked them to call him Percy. "I'll trust you on that, Percy," Cleary said. "Just promise me General Cleburne won't come down here and arrest me for pilfering." Percy and Sarah Emma laughed, and she replied, "I can promise you that, Major." As the evening progressed, Lt. Johnson introduced her to his Major, and the men of Company K, who performed a few simple drill maneuvers expertly under his command. They conversed after the presentation. "Are you aware that Lieutenant Johnson here is a hero?" "Oh, is he?" she said with an amused expression on her face. "Save any other fair damsels in distress, did he?" "Just you," Cleary chuckled. "But he did manage to capture General George Thomas, the commanding officer of the Army of the Cumberland." "I don't recall him saying that the last letter he sent over to us," she said, giving him a glance. "I didn't want to brag," he said. "Well, all of Atlanta will soon know of your heroism," she smiled. She had a lovely smile with full lips, he noted. "My father will make sure of it." "I hope to be spared the infamy," Johnson said. "I don't like fame. I just want to life my life in peace, to be honest. A farm, wife, and a few kids would suit me fine once this war is over, God willing." "Well, if anything, my parents will know," she told him. "They will be happy to know they dined with the man who captured the South's most famous traitor." "Miss Saylor, would you do us the honor of dining with us?" Major Cleary asked. "Thank to your father, we will be enjoying fresh beef for the first time in months. It would please us greatly to have you as our honored guest." "So long as my man Percy dines with us as my chaperone," she said. "Done," he replied. As the evening progressed, Sarah Emma placed her arm in his as he walked her around the camp, showing her captured material, their camp, how they made do and recycled spent cartridges, and so on. They enjoyed roast beef stew with the vegetables and beef, while some of the men produced fiddles to give them some music. One even produced a hurdy-gurdy, a guitar-body he cranked with wooden piano-keys on it. His parents had come from Germany and England, so they knew of the instrument. He played some traditional tunes on it, and even played Dixie on the hurdy-gurdy. "I didn't think your mother would let you come so close to the front," Johnson said to her later in the evening. "Mother was opposed, but father wanted me to go. He is intent on making sure I grow into a capable woman like my other sisters, more focused on business than frivolous things like chatting and gossiping and fashion. He says in the future, women won't be coddled by their men folk, since the war has changed everything. Women are supporting troops in many areas formerly reserved for men." "He may be right," Johnson admitted. "There are two female captains in the army up in Virginia running hospitals. While we probably shouldn't fight on the front lines, why not have a Confederate Nurse Corps?" "That does sound like a good idea," Johnson said, thinking about it. "Nothing wrong with taking the initiative where I can. I bought this food on my own, and drove it up on my own initiative," she said, proud of herself. "Wasn't Percy with you?" "Yes. Sorry. He chaperoned for my protection, and drove, but the dealing was my own," she clarified. "I see," he said. The two continued their conversation till she had to leave, with Miss Saylor telling him of the loss of her brother up in Lee's Army at Fredericksburg, and him telling her of the loss of his brother back at First Manassas. "I think when this war finishes, we should make a memorial to the fallen," she said, as he walked her back to the wagon. "Something that we never forget their sacrifice for our independence and the principle of self-government." "I'm sure the Yankees will just say we fought to preserve slavery and how we're just a bunch of sinners and horrible people for having a different opinion than they have," Johnson quipped. "Well, when we win this war, they can kiss my grits," she said, shocking the new Lieutenant with her bluntness. Both laughed, as did Percy. He whispered to Lt. Johnson, "Mr. Saylor, he likes you sir." "Does he?" Johnson said, surprised a bit. "Yes, he does. Heard him say so, sir." "How about you, Percy?" "I like you just fine sir. But you are an interesting fellow," he said, as he climbed up into the wagon, and the two departed. General Johnston also decided to dispatch General Wheeler and his cavalry to harass Sherman's supply lines, sending his 4000 cavalry north. Wheeler had been an issue, plotting behind his back with Hood before Hood had been killed in combat. Both got what they wanted out of the agreement - Johnston didn't have to deal with Wheeler, and Wheeler finally got to see some action. His appointment of Cleburne to Corps command was finally officially approved, as was Cleburne's promotion to Lieutenant General, despite him having the brevet rank for two or three months now. Richmond, VA (October 13) To bring some order to the rank system used by the Confederate Army, before the reception held by Davis, Congress approved changing the insignia for officers, and in particular generals: 2nd Lt:  1st Lt:  Captain:  Major:  Lt Col:  Col:  Brig. Gen.:  Maj. Gen.:  Lt. Gen.:  General:  General of the Army:  Now generals could be told apart by the number of stars within their wreaths, whereas before, all generals had 3 stars and intricate Austrian knots on their sleeves. The sleeve decorations were done away with for all officers, now only bearing pointed cuff coloration depending on the specialty. Congress also officially created a Confederate Nurses Corps, with the two women captains in Virginia in charge, with the remainder of the nurses there being officially enlisted. Judah Benjamin, now the Secretary of State, spoke to his own slaves earlier in 1864, and one of them told him, " Master, set us free, and we will fight for you. We had rather fight for you than for the Yankees." It took till October, but Benjamin freed his slaves once the harvest finished, and asked they aid General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.
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jjohnson
Chief petty officer
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Post by jjohnson on Feb 20, 2020 23:55:37 GMT
Chapter 15: Look Over Here, Look Over ThereLincoln's Letter on SlaveryUS President Lincoln, in August, was almost going to open negotiations with the Confederates, without insisting on abolition of slavery, given the situation at that point being desperate enough with the huge influx, according to Union spies in the South. But Lincoln pulled back at the last minute, as it would be fatal to his own political future in November, and to the military efforts, destroying morale among the troops. A letter he sent to a friend stated that should the black be left in slavery " all recruiting of colored men would instantly cease, and all colored men now in our service, would instantly desert us. And rightfully too...The party who could elect a President on a War & Slavery Restoration platform, would, of necessity, lose the colored force; and that force being lost, would be as powerless to save the Union as to do any other impossible thing. It is not a question of sentiment or taste, but one of physical force." Near the Chattahoochee (October 13) The other men of the 4th Georgia were patrolling closer to the river, seeing the Union soldiers setting fire to boxes of supplies before evacuating to the north shore. The Confederates ordered them to stop, and shot, killing one or two and injuring three, but they continued and left. The Confederates took shots at a few as they rowed across, while others put out the fires to the supplies. In the end, they saved several boxes of food, horse tackles, and various other supplies that they could distribute to their army to make up for their lack of a large industrial base. North of the River (October 15) In the Union camp north of the river, the news was growing worse for General Sherman. In the days since the fight at Peachtree Creek, around 900 men had deserted the Union Army of the Cumberland, currently leaderless and believing their mission hopeless and looking just to get home. Many didn't think there was a need to fight to free the slaves if the South were doing it for them, and with the wins on the southern side, the Northerners just outside Atlanta were in the same boat Johnston's men were in just a short few weeks ago. Sherman, a tough general on his best days, ordered that a dozen deserters to be caught, tried, and shot in public to try to tamp down on desertions. General Howard questioned if that would be good for morale, but Sherman was not having it. General McPherson reminded Sherman that many of the regiments were coming up on the ends of their three-year enlistments, so the situation was going to continue unless morale improved. They had just under 75,000 men now, and from the looks of it, the situation was going to get worse. Sherman read and informed them of a telegram he just opened to the generals gathered around in their war council. General Grant sent them the Sixth Corps from Tennessee to Georgia, with some of their lead brigades already in Chattanooga. That would bring them up to nearly 15,000 more men. McPherson kept to himself that more than a single corps would have been better, but this was a good start to regaining the initiative, and hopefully finishing the war soon to save the Union. ** (October 17) Another telegram from Grant informed Sherman that he was sending another three infantry divisions, giving them a total of 25,000 new men to make good the losses from Peachtree Creek. Grant suggested either a renewed attack on Atlanta or an attack on Montgomery or Selma, two other militarily important cities, and to be informed of what he decided. Sherman was angered by the telegram, as Grant hadn't seen the black troops reinforcing the Confederates, fighting alongside them, rather than in segregated units like in the Union army. They fought just as bravely as the white troops to defeat his armies. Sherman believed attacking Atlanta was ill-advised; didn't Grant think he'd have attacked if it were possible? McPherson interrupted Sherman's doubts, and read the telegram. He like the idea, expressing great enthusiasm at getting moving again. He talked of living off the land like at Vicksburg, and how both cities were militarily important, and would help the fall election. Perhaps McClellan wouldn't win after all and their sacrifices for the Union wouldn't be made worthless with the rumors of peace with the rebels. Unfortunately Sherman was sour and dismissed the thought. He then shouted at McPherson, one of his closer friends during the war, surprising him, dismissing his idea, and dismissing Grant. He tried explaining the logic of the campaign to Sherman, but Sherman cut him off, told him that if he wanted his advice, he'd ask for it, and to return to his command. ** (October 17) As Grant approached via Chattanooga, he got a telegram from Generals Schofield, McPherson, and Howard, expressing their doubts about Sherman's mental well-being. Luckily, members of Grant's staff couldn't tell the content of the letter from his lack of reaction. Atlanta (October 18) Sherman and Grant ate dinner together, with Grant telling Sherman his plan for Atlanta. He would spend time refitting the army, which was about 90,000 men shortly, against the maybe 65-70,000 men in Johnston's. The return of Grant had improved Sherman's mood, which was hopeful for Grant. His decision for the army was also a turning point. Grant would take half the army and 2/3 of the cavalry, and march to Montgomery and Selma, forcing Johnston to follow, and abandon Atlanta. Sherman would remain behind, with the artillery, and shell the city into submission, thus giving him the opportunity to redeem himself in the eyes of the northern population. Richmond (October 18) Jefferson Davis met with a man representing the British Government, but the man made it very clear their talking was as two gentlemen, not as a President to the British Government. Mr. Malet, the secretary of Lord Lyons, clarified to him that the British government recognized the victory they had made at Peachtree Creek, and the stalemate in Virginia, and if the Democrat were to win, the British government would be willing to offer to negotiate between the United States and "the entity calling itself the Confederate States of America," as he phrased it. Mr. Malet qualified his statement by letting Mr. Davis know the British government would require certain 'assurances,' before they would recognize their independence and nationhood. They required to know the terms they would seek from the United States, and the status of the slaves remaining and not in arms. Mr. Davis spoke up, "The first and most important item would be the recognition by the government of the United States of the independence of the Confederacy and cessation of all claims to any state or territory thereof, and any right to interfere in our internal affairs." "That's the easy part, isn't it?" Malet said with a grin. "You're right. There are many more issues," Davis said with a nod. "Her Majesty's Government would appreciate knowing your positions on the issue of which states, specifically those of Kentucky and Tennessee, then Maryland, Missouri, and Delaware, and how they relate to your claim of sovereignty." "We believe any peace agreement must contain a clear statement on borders. We don't lay claim to Delaware, nor Maryland, which was denied her sovereign right to choose secession or not," Davis began; Malet ignored the opinion insertion there. "But Tennessee and Kentucky, though heavily occupied, must be included in the Confederation. Missouri is a hotbed, and though we believe it should be allowed a choice as a single political unit, we would be willing to divide Missouri between the US and CS." Davis continued, "We would be willing to offer free navigation of the Mississippi River, so that US agriculture can exit to the Gulf of Mexico." "We would not object to that," Malet said. The British needed US grain to feed their population. "Good." "The hiccup needing to be resolved, as it were," Malet said as he swirled his bourbon and took another sip, "is slavery. You made mention of being willing to emancipate your remaining slaves, or bondservants, as some of your people would call them, in exchange for loans from the British to accomplish this." "Yes," Davis said, wanting instead to build to that point, but might as well get to it. "I talked to a few other people and they have informed me you once said slavery was a blessing and the black man your inferior, so your willingness to emancipate does not seem to fit with such opinions," Malet said. Davis sighed. He knew his words would come back to haunt him. But he felt as if a hand were on his shoulder, and a calmness come upon him, and he spoke, "The United States offered us an amendment, called the Corwin Amendment, yielding their ability to interfere in slavery if we would rejoin the Union, and we rejected the offer. What we want is not to keep blacks enslaved or bonded, but we want our independence. Since seeing our fellow black Confederates in arms, serving and toiling as bravely and boldly as any white man, I must say my own opinions on their place in society have changed. I cannot say so very openly, as there are some in the Congress which would fight to hold on to the old order. But upon starting the war, I knew that if we won or lost, slavery would be finished; we value our freedom and independence more than slavery, so if it requires emancipation to achieve, we will do so. The Slave must be made fit for his freedom by education and discipline, and thus made unfit for slavery. And as soon as he becomes unfit for slavery, the master will no longer desire to hold him as a slave. They should be apprenticed and prepared for citizenship through education in how to manage their own lives. If your government were to provide us the loans for such an endeavor, we would be willing to outline a plan to bring them into citizenship with the white man, but each state manages the specifics." "That sounds like a much more enlightened opinion than several persons with whom I spoke in the government of the United States," said Mr. Malet. "I myself was surprised to know that President Lincoln's own state of Illinois forbade free blacks from settling there like Oregon." "Perhaps they aren't such the friend of the black man as they claim to be abroad," Davis quipped. Mr. Malet chuckled slightly but regained his composure. "We will need to see your plan in detail soon so that I can present it to my government, and thus help secure your loan if they decide to do so." "Of course," Davis said, as he nodded to Judah Benjamin, who was also in the room with them. Benjamin gave Mr. Malet an envelope with their multi-point plan, which they were prepared to send to Congress. Malet took it and put it in his jacket. "As to your other points, Mr. Davis, let us proceed," Mr. Malet said. "As you wish," Davis said. "We would like to seek compensation for the destruction of civilian property of no military necessity, as we believe it violates the rules of civilized warfare." "I cannot guarantee that, as I do not believe it would be accepted by the United States government," Mr. Malet said. "But continue." "Perhaps there are concessions the British Empire would be amenable to receive from the Confederacy, to gain friendly relations from us in the event we emerge victorious in this current conflict. Certainly there are actions your government could take to promote such a relationship," Benjamin chimed in. "Such as?" Davis asked, masking his mild irritation. He didn't like the thought of being dictated to, but he felt he needed to listen to Malet. That feeling he had when he had those dreams came back to him. "Before the war, English textile mills were supplied with southern cotton of good quality and in a tremendous quantity. When the war is over, we would wish to restore this mutually beneficial economic partnership." "That would be our wish as well," Davis said with a nod. "We would like to codify this in the form of a treaty which would guarantee free trade," Mr. Malet said. "Our Senate would need to ratify any treaty, but I don't foresee any problems," Davis said. "What else?" asked Benjamin. "We would seek the Confederate government to agree to a treaty on suppressing the slave trade," Malet answered. "Our Constitution already prohibits the importation of slaves," Davis began, but he got a feeling he needed to agree, so he adjusted his tone. "But, we will agree to this if your government is willing to assist in our emancipation efforts." "Our government would also require you to accept the loss of those slaves freed under the Gettysburg Proclamation," Malet continued. "With that and the agreement on the slave trade, it would be much easier to make a proposal to my government regarding your recognition." "That would be agreeable, Mr. Malet," Davis said as Malet rose; Davis had changed, he realized. A year prior, he might not have agreed to such terms, but now, with independence nearly guaranteed by this and the military situation, he would be willing to entertain the small loss in exchange for such a great prize. The man excused himself due to the hour, and once he left the executive mansion, Davis and Benjamin spoke for another hour or two about what just happened. Earlier that same day, the Confederate Congress passed a bill to update the rank structure and insignia of their navy. Ensigns and Masters had one 3/4" stripe on their sleeves; Lieutenants had 2. Commanders 3, and Captains 4. A new rank of Lieutenant Commander was created with 2 3/4" stripes on their sleeves, with a 1/4" braid between those. Adopting a similar structure to the Union, the ranks of Commodore, Rear Admiral, Vice Admiral, and Admiral were adopted, using the same rank insignia on the shoulder straps as the army did, with a 1.5" gold stripe near the cuff, and 3/4" stripes depending on the rank (4 for admiral). Atlanta (October 19) General Joseph E Johnston was meeting with his generals while Sherman appeared to be stalled north of the river. They went over the railroads, having gone a good way to repairing the line to Augusta, their link to the Carolinas and Virginia. Since having sent Wheeler north, Johnston discovered his cavalry had been nearly completely decimated, and he had been killed in their attempts on the supply lines. In his place, Johnston appointed General William H. Jackson, and had begun attempting to rebuild the cavalry, which necessarily included more freedmen to replace the decimated cavalry. From the recruits of Albert Sidney Johnston, another 2,000 black cavalry had been added and trained up, though at the meeting Jackson expressed his doubts he could spare any of his troops to guard the fords over the Chattahoochee as well as scouting, and then guard the railroads as well. The arrival of Grant yesterday meant they needed to prepare for any assault he would make. Johnston conferred with his like-named fellow General, and had asked for as many troops as he could spare, bringing him up to 80,000 men. Some generals had expressed themselves against the arming of blacks, though both Johnstons had made it very clear they would be treated the same as any white soldier in or out of combat, or the generals themselves would be held personally responsible. Given the proven combat performance of the new black troops, generals like William Walker, Patton Anderson, and William Bate had been expressly told they would be court-martialed if they refused to obey orders and accept the new troops as if they were white troops. Johnston explained his plan to face Grant on the south bank of the river, with three corps, believing he could cripple Grant enough that the campaign couldn't resume before the end of the campaigning season. General Cheatham interrupted and asked if they shouldn't consider the possibility he wouldn't cross to the south bank. Johnston asked him to explain, and he continued, saying that Grant has a history of doing the unexpected, and if they assumed he would just take a direct approach to Atlanta, perhaps he is planning something else? Cheatham used a map and suggested Grant might try heading to Alabama instead, capturing Montgomery and Selma. Montgomery was the first capital, and had a symbolic significance, and it and Selma were hugely important in keeping the Confederate war industry going. The first was a critical transportation hub, while the latter was critical for its iron foundry churning out cannon, iron plating, and more. Johnston at first dismissed the idea, but remembered what Grant did at Vicksburg, when he defeated him, by abandoning his supply line to move faster. Hardee doubted Grant had enough supply wagons to carry the supplies for his 100,000 men, but Johnston reminded him not to underestimate Grant. Johnston told his fellow General that Grant wouldn't take the entire force with him, that he would leave enough men to prevent the Confederates from going north to attack Chattanooga. Jackson chimed in, letting Johnston know that with his limited cavalry force available for scouting, the Union could theoretically leave and it would be able to march for a few days without being detected. Johnston ordered him to detach a brigade to monitor for that eventuality, despite the fact that that would limit the Army of Tennessee's ability to monitor the fords. Johnston was a bit jealous of Robert Lee. Somehow he managed to keep his generals from fighting each other over the black enlistment, and even General Forrest integrated blacks into the cavalry without the rancor Johnston faced. He didn't know what Grant was planning, so he felt Cheatham's plan would be feasible to try to prepare for. Orders went out for three corps, those of Hardee, Hindman, and Stewart, to prepare for march, while Cleburne would assume command of Atlanta with the totality of A.S. Johnston's black trainees, which could give another 10,000 men to Cleburne, even though their training was incomplete. That would solve the problem of the ruffled feathers in the three corps over Cleburne, still protect Atlanta, and also give Cleburne the chance to be the defender of Atlanta, sticking it to those who ridiculed his plan of emancipation. The meeting broke up and Cleburne rode his horse out to his command. But he was unsettled. He didn't know Grant's plan, so he needed one of his own. Then he got the idea and smiled. They have plenty of captured Union troops, so why not return one of those uniforms? Besides, the cavalry couldn't handle all the scouting. Cleburne's Camp (October 19) General Cleburne thought as he rode back whom he would send, and worked on the layout of his plan. As he dismounted, the 4th Georgia walked past. Lt. Johnson was in charge, and handling his new officer rank with aplomb. "Lt. Johnson!" called Cleburne. "Come with me." Across the River (October 19) Lt Johnson waded out of the river, dried off, and put on his uniform. Not his gray, but a Union blue. Having spoken with General Cleburne, Johnson agreed they needed to find out the Union plan. He could've offered the job to spy on the Union to someone else, but then he'd feel guilty if the mission failed when he could've done it himself. Cleburne asked him to write any letters to his loved ones, and get ready. Major Cleary had been informed and given permission for him to go on the mission. He was going as Samuel Weaver, 140th Pennsylvania, a private, having escaped from Andersonville. The colonel which found him questioned him several times. Asking where he was from, he answered "Pittsburgh, by way of Georgia and Virginia." Johnson had some relatives he had seen about 5 years ago who moved from Virginia to Pittsburgh, and their accents fascinated him. He was good at accents. He relayed his story of escaping and hiding out in slave quarters, making it back to north of the river. It sounded good when he thought it up but sounded a bit implausible as he said it aloud. The colonel took it in before shaking his hand, telling him "well done! well done!" Johnson asked what he would do now, and the colonel said he'd be sent to Virginia, or serve in Georgia, since there'd be plenty of action soon. "Action, sir?" he asked. "Yes. The orders are coming in. The entire Army of the Ohio and the Army of the Tennessee are moving out in two days. No one knows where. But wherever Grant orders us to go, we'll go," he said. "Well, I guess I might as well join up with one of your regiments, sir," Johnson said in his adopted accent. He could hide his Georgia accent quite well. The colonel clearly wanted to end the interview, as Johnson saw a woman outside when the tent flap waved, and the colonel got a glimpse. So the man signed an order directing him to the 18th Michigan chief-of-staff. Proclamation 118 - A Day of Thanksgiving and VotingA Proclamation
It has pleased Almighty God to prolong our national life another year, defending us with His guardian care against unfriendly designs from abroad and vouchsafing to us in His mercy many and signal victories over the enemy, who is of our own household. It has also pleased our Heavenly Father to favor as well our citizens in their homes as our soldiers in their camps and our sailors on the rivers and seas with unusual health. He has largely augmented our free population by emancipation and by immigration, while He has opened to us new sources of wealth and has crowned the labor of our workingmen in every department of industry with abundant rewards. Moreover, He has been pleased to animate and inspire our minds and hearts with fortitude, courage, and resolution sufficient for the great trial of civil war into which we have been brought by our adherence as a nation to the cause of freedom and humanity, and to afford to us reasonable hopes of an ultimate and happy deliverance from all our dangers and afflictions:
Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do hereby appoint and set apart the last Thursday in November next as a day which I desire to be observed by all my fellow-citizens, wherever they may then be, as a day of thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God, the beneficent Creator and Ruler of the Universe. And I do further recommend to my fellow-citizens aforesaid that on that occasion they do reverently humble themselves in the dust and from thence offer up penitent and fervent prayers and supplications to the Great Disposer of Events for a return of the inestimable blessings of peace, union, and harmony throughout the land which it has pleased Him to assign as a dwelling place for ourselves and for our posterity throughout all generations.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this 20th day of October, A.D. 1864, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
Secretary of State .
The numerous religious sentiments in the document would later prove to be hollower than at first glance, given the revelation about Lincoln's atheism (freethinking in the terminology of the era). The real reason for changing his initial August 6th date for Thanksgiving to November was because numerous northern states did not allow troops to vote outside their home state. Sending those troops home would mean thousands upon thousands of votes for the Republicans, especially if Lincoln and Seward instructed the generals to make sure to furlough those they believed would vote for Lincoln, which they did. The proclamation followed a letter sent to Sherman before the debacle of Peachtree Creek, wherein Lincoln suggested to Sherman to send home Indianan soldiers to vote: Executive Mansion, Washington, September 19, 1864
To General W. T. Sherman.
Major-General Sherman:
The State election of Indiana occurs on the 11th of October, and the loss of it, to the friends of the Government would go far toward losing the whole Union cause. The bad effect upon the November election, and especially the giving the State government to those who will oppose the war in every possible way, are too much to risk if it can be avoided. The draft proceeds, not withstanding its strong tendency to lose us the State. Indiana is the only important State voting in October whose soldiers cannot vote in the field. Anything you can safely do to let her soldiers, or any part of them, go home and vote at the State election will be greatly in point. They need not remain for the Presidential election, but may return to you at once. This is in no sense an order, but is merely intended to impress you with the importance to the Army itself of your doing all you safely can, yourself being the judge of what you can safely do.
Yours truly, A. LINCOLN.Governor Isaac Murphy, a Pennsylvanian who moved to Arkansas and opposed secession, got a letter from Lincoln on the issue: "I am not appointing officers for Arkansas now, and I will try to remember your request. Do your best to get out the largest vote possible, and of course as much of it as possible on the right side." A. Lincoln.Lincoln 'encouraged' governors in occupied states to vote "for the right side" and offered protection for those who did so. North of Atlanta (October 21) The day was bright, and Grant was mounted on his horse, watching the infantry marching into columns. Thousands looked up to him with hope again. The army in front of him was the Army of the Ohio, the smallest at 25,000 men, one corps and two cavalry divisions. He found General Schofield.  General Schofield
"Good morning, General Schofield," Grant said. "Morning, sir." "Good day for a march, huh?" Grant said with a cigar in his mouth. "Indeed sir." Grant glanced at the staff officers, and Schofield got the hint. "Gentlemen," he said, tossing his head to the side. Grant waved his hand to dismiss the dismissal, so they stayed. "Do you understand your orders?" Grant asked. "Yes sir, I am to march the Army of the Ohio southwest along the bank of the Chattahoochee River," he replied. "Correct. The Army of the Tennessee will be right behind yours. Both you and General McPherson have exchanged your liaison officers, I assume." "We have, sir." "Good." Schofield cleared his throat and continued, "Our orders didn't specify our destination, but considering the supply wagons and ammunition we were allocated, I trust this will be a long march." "Quite right, General Schofield." "May I ask where we are going, sir?" "Your initial destination will be the town of Auburn, just across the Alabama border. If we move quickly, we will reach it in about a week. It won't be an easy march, but I don't expect much resistance along the way. I had a tougher time getting to Vicksburg. From Auburn, it's only around 55 miles to Montgomery, and another 35 or so to Selma." "Montgomery? Selma?" Schofield asked. "That's right, Schofield," Grant said, with a slight grin. "Atlanta is no longer the goal of this campaign. We are shifting our forces to Alabama, with the goal of capturing both cities. Montgomery has political significance as the birthplace of this so-called Confederacy. Selma is a military production hub. Both are critical transportation and logistical hubs. If we capture both, we can inflict a critical blow against these rebels." "What about General Taylor's army?" "I wouldn't call that smattering an army," Grant replied. "Besides, our victory at Mobile Bay not too long ago has forced Taylor to divert most of his forces to Mobile to prevent an amphibious operation there." "I apologize sir," Schofield said. "I've been so fixated on Atlanta that the change in focus has me at a loss." "Well fixate on Montgomery and Selma, because that's just where we're going." "What will prevent Johnston from just going north to capture Chattanooga?" "The Army of the Ohio and the Army of the Tennessee are marching," Grant answered. "The Army of the Cumberland will remain to block and pin them down, preventing them from intervening in Alabama. We're leaving about 40,000 at Vining's Station." Schofield smiled as he took it all in. The fall of Montgomery and Selma would be as momentous as Vicksburg and New Orleans, and even more important than just Atlanta falling. "I'm overwhelmed sir." "How so?" Grant asked. "I was preparing myself and my men for a long fight for Atlanta. I wasn't expecting something as ingenious as this. I'm honored to be a part of it. If we succeed, you will go down in the annals of military history as one of the most innovative generals in American history." "And if it fails, I will go down as a blundering fool," Grant quipped. "No use worrying now. We have a march to coordinate and a siege ahead. I'm confident in our success." General Howard was in command of the Army of the Cumberland, while General Sherman remained as well, resting. Grant suggested he remain to rest, and when he felt able, resume command of the Army. He asked Sherman to have Howard attack Atlanta on the 6th (Sunday), shelling the city, and Grant would be in Montgomery to do the same there. It was a nearly flawless plan. Atlanta (October 24) The telegram was perfectly clear to Johnston, the morning of the 24th. The War Department ordered him to investigate with cavalry the presence of Union troops near Tallapoosa. That was nearly 60 miles away. He remembered what Jackson said just a few days ago concerning his ability to scout, and then Cheatham's concern Grant would try for Montgomery and Selma. A chill ran down his spine; Pemberton had been outmarched at Vicksburg, and Lee had been in the early days of the operations at Petersburg. A telegram from Col. Josiah Gorgas, the Chief of Ordnance was handed to him about John Maxwell, a Confederate Secret Service agent with an horological torpedo that had been used at City Point. Johnston read it and told the staff officer, "Give this to Cleburne to use at his discretion. I don't have time to worry about this." A second telegram told Johnston that the cavalry scout brigade had been attacked; Union troops had been seen occupying Riverton, bypassing his scouts at Campbellton. Shortly after reading that, a third confirmed his brigade at Campbellton had been destroyed. It confirmed what he had already been fearing, but prepared for already. Cheatham had been right, and listening to him was the correct course of action. Grant was going for Montgomery, and possibly Atlanta at the same time, by leaving a force north of the city. "Mackall, prepare to have Cheatham, Hardee, and Stewart's corps march immediately. Cleburne's corps will remain to defend Atlanta," Johnston ordered. "With General Sidney Johnston's freedmen recruits and the Georgia militia, he should have more than enough men to defend the city and we shall have enough to destroy Grant. Look into the viability of using the railroads to get ahead of Grant. I want to stop him before he gets to Montgomery." Past Campbellton (October 25)  Just before the march, Grant with his horse, Cincinnati
Grant smiled as he saw his 60,000 men marching. It was a sight to behold, watching them marching along as they were. As they did, he knew that if he kept his ultimate plan in mind, he could win this. Then the Union would be restored, the South put in its place for daring defy the National government. Within the ranks of the 18th Michigan, Lt Johnson, disguised as Private Samuel Weaver, marched along in line. He had heard they'd done a number on Union supply lines, but with all the bacon, coffee, fresh fruit and vegetables, and other supplies, he doubted that report as wishful thinking. If the Union could feed its soldiers so well and so easily, what hope did they have? Only guile could help the Confederates, not brute force, he figured. It was very tempting to just stay with the Union just for the coffee alone. One of his neighbor friends back home, a Catherine Anne Janeway would have nearly killed for so good a cup of coffee, he mused to himself. General Grant rode past as he was deep in thought, and he mused he was close enough to shoot, though he'd never get out alive if he did. Everyone's cheering roused him from his mind to look upon the general as he walked past. The adoration of the men reminded Johnson of his own General Cleburne. As they marched he caught a conversation of two men, named Brian Richards and David Caswell. "What'll we do with them rebels when we get there?" asked Caswell "I think we'll shut them up but good," Brian said. "They have no right to disagree with what we think." "Yeah, I agree," David said, a little bit sycophantically. "All southerners are sinners for having the sin of slavery about them." "We'll shut their newspapers, march them to the sea, and exterminate the lot of them," Brian said with a bit too much enthusiasm. "Then we can recolonize the land and run it like civilized people with the right opinions. We can fund internal improvements with taxes, like we should. We can provide old age pensions for soldiers. Make a new city on a hill." "God does tell the Israelites to exterminate the people they found in the promised land," David added, getting into it. "So we're only doing God's will in exterminating the southerners and making the South howl, burning them out of their towns and fields." The two laughed, and in the waning light no one saw him roll his eyes. The Confederate-in-disguise mused to himself that there would be no peace in this generation if people up north thought this way of the South. All they wanted to do was be left alone to solve their problems their way. Atlanta (October 26) The remaining men of the Army of Tennessee were mounting the rolling stock, getting ready for transport west. Hindman's force had already left the day before, as had Stewart. Hardee was last to leave. Johnston's plan was to meet the Union at a rail crossing (Heflin), the only rail link past the mountains, and the best place for a defensive stance. At the same time, General Taylor had been ordered east to that point, to begin building defensive entrenchments there at the crossing (Heflin). While the others left, Cleburne felt the Union armies would not cross Peachtree Creek again; he believed they would cross from the west, so he concentrated his forces there, while leaving some men either north or south in case they try to pass him over. That way, he could move his forces in whichever direction the enemy was coming to meet them head-on. Near the Border (October 28) Grant looked to McPherson and handed him an envelope with his new orders. He was going to head to Montgomery, while Grant would take the Army of the Tennessee back to Atlanta. Divide and conquer was the plan. With McPherson heading to Montgomery, hopefully Johnston would still follow them, leaving Atlanta underdefended, and allowing Grant to make it a gift for the President before the election. Given that General Taylor was undermanned, and now, so was Atlanta, he would be able to defeat the Confederates with his larger army. The man disguised as Private Sam Weaver found out his orders. The 15th Michigan was returning to Atlanta. As his troop stopped, they were informed that Johnston was moving to Alabama to meet them, leaving Atlanta with just Cleburne and his 20,000 against what would be over twice that number. The march had been long, but when they stopped for the night, 'Private Sam Weaver' chose to slip away to try to stop his fellow soldiers from making a mistake. He walked past where the generals were talking, purely by chance, without raising suspicion, as he had told them he was going to relieve himself. Walking at least a good two or three miles, now out of the camp, he made it to the rail line he knew was out here. It was clear of any Union troops, luckily for him. So he decided to leave a sign for his true compatriots to tell them to return to Atlanta. He carved into several trees and into railroad ties, and moved a series of rocks to point back to Atlanta. Cleburne hadn't given him any kind of signs or hidden signal to cooperate with Johnston, which in hindsight, was definitely not a good decision, but he did have his invitation to the Saylors, sewn into the jacket lining. So Lt. Johnson would only hope his carvings would be seen when the Confederates passed by the border.* He ripped the jacket, and saw, in addition to the invitation, his signed order from Cleburne, with a note from Robert Crane, who had done the sewing. It let him know he thought he'd need the order to get back into Confederate lines, so he sewed it into his jacket for him. Robert may have just saved the Army of Tennessee with that. Campbellton (November 1) Grant's forces were back at Campbellton, not finding any resistance at all to their return. It took the better part of the last two days to form up for their march back to Atlanta, but Grant felt it necessary to make the march. Now he could finish what Sherman couldn't. Now the Army of the Tennessee, his army, would be able to meet up with Howard's Army of the Cumberland, and with his planned shelling of the city, and McPherson's planned attack on Montgomery on the 6th, deal a dual death blow to the so-called Confederacy. Atlanta (November 2) Cleburne and his aide looked over at the army north of the river. There was no mistaking it. Their artillery was coming to bear, but they weren't moving to try to cross the river. Their 3" guns were being brought up front across the river at Vinings Station. The 3" ordnance rifle had a range of 4830 yards (2.7 miles), and could easily hit their positions but not the city. Cleburne had a suspicion this was not the main center of their attack. Unfortunately his lack of cavalry, most having gone with Johnston, meant his scouting was limited. He knew they couldn't attack Atlanta from there. Alabama
General Johnston had ordered the train stopped just past the border. A series of carved trees, some arrows, and a few rocks on the track forced his troop train to stop. He was on the last train on the way to the rail crossing (Heflin), and was hoping to get there in time to stop Grant. "What's the hold up?" Johnston asked as he de-trained. He walked up to the train's conductor and a few of his own staff, who handed him an envelope. Johnston read the contents, his face staring in unbelief. General Johnston,
My name is Lieutenant J. David Johnson, of General Cleburne's corps. He placed me in Grant's army to find out their plan. They are planning on sending McPherson to Montgomery to continue their ruse, while General Grant is returning to Atlanta with the Army of the Tennessee so that he and Sherman can finish what they started. It is imperative that the majority of our forces return to Atlanta to stop Grant, otherwise the city will fall by November 7. Please believe my sincerity in this. I have enclosed in this envelope an invitation I received to dinner with the Saylors as proof and a signed order from General Cleburne.
He saw the two papers, and sure enough they were legitimate. How could he have been fooled? Most of his army was now in Alabama, chasing a phantom of a threat when Grant's real threat is still to Atlanta! Johnston began shouting orders to his aids, furious at his own blunder. He would not be the man who lost Atlanta. He was turning around. But he sent General Hardee on to Montgomery to coordinate with General Taylor. Cheatham and Hindman were returning with him. The only question was if he could make it in time. He even asked General Forrest to aid General Hardee in destroying McPherson, then joining him in Atlanta to defend against the Union attack if at all possible. Guaymas, Sonora (November 1) Brig. Gen. Lewis Armistead's army had been clear on the purpose of this mission. His army was marching towards San Francisco from the east, after having been forced to abandon San Diego. Brig. Gen. Gillis took Asbury Harpending's plan and decided to sail with several hundred of his troops for the bay city, and they decided to make way for the mint. They had been dressed in Union blue, using newly stolen uniforms smuggled west from Texas and Arkansas. If all went to plan, they could be out of the city in hours, while Armistead's diversion kept everyone occupied. Twelve Confederate ships, no longer working on striking Union commerce, had been rerouted to carry them to San Francisco. Arkansas (November 1) General Kirby Smith looked upon the city of Little Rock and drew up his plan. He knew the importance of the upcoming election, and decided it was time to recapture the city for his country. The collaborator governor, Isaac Murphy, needed to be removed from office as well to restore Governor Harris Flanagin. Atlanta (November 6) The pounding began early in the morning, at the same time as the church bells called the civilians to service. General Sherman had ordered the timing himself, and ordered his artillery to fire over Cleburne and into the city. The siege of Atlanta had begun. The Confederates were aghast that the Union would think to attack a city, on Sunday, while people were at worship services. They were shelling the city with their 3" ordnance rifles from the east, at Clifton, well within range of their artillery, but outside that of the Confederate artillery. They would need to leave their entrenchments to face them. Most civilians had left the city, but the mayor, city council, and others were still there, including the Saylors.   To the west, General Grant heard the sounds of the artillery and smiled. He'd wait a day, let the city get softened up, then march in and seize control. Montgomery (November 6) McPherson had rounded the rail line, bypassing both General Taylor and Johnston, and had made it to Montgomery. He found the city had built some defensive entrenchments, but with his 3" ordnance rifles, he could safely wait outside their range while he shelled the city. He waited until the usual hour for services to start, and gave the command. The siege of Montgomery had started. Washington, DC (November 6) The telegraph lines were on fire from DC to New York, Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, and everywhere else. Voting was in 2 days, so they had to act fast. News of Atlanta and Montgomery being attacked flew across headlines, with breathless accounts that the Union Army was closing in on taking out the first rebel capital at Montgomery, and the rebel industrial base in Atlanta. Sympathetic editors speculated on the quick end to the war if Lincoln and Grant were allowed to continue in power, and the prospect of victory on the minds of northern voters helped sway a lot of votes towards Lincoln that were just days ago likely to vote for McClellan. San Francisco (November 7) While much of California's armies were occupying the southern part of the state, Armistead had taken up position outside the city, which was north of him on the peninsula. He awaited the signal to begin, which was the stroke of 10 AM. He needed to draw out as much of their forces as possible to make Gillis's job easier. So Armistead ordered his artillery to attack San Francisco. The United States of America (November 7) All across the north, newspapers ran news of the war. Both Montgomery and Atlanta were burning, and there were pictures to prove it. Grant would be walking into the city soon. Loyal Americans knew the war would end soon, or so the papers said, if they could just re-elect Lincoln to finish the war. Peace would come, but only after rebel surrender. The hoped-for fall of Atlanta meant the years of sacrifice would all be worth it. Statehood (October 31) Congress voted to approve statehood for Nevada by a large margin, as a move to help secure Lincoln's re-election. The states sent its constitution to Congress by telegram, being over $3,000, the most expensive telegram in history. But it would be worth it to secure the electoral votes. Georgia-Alabama Border (November 3) Johnston knew one of Grant's armies was going west to Montgomery; the other returning to Atlanta. Time was against him. He decided to have General Taylor coordinate with General Hardee's force of around 25,000 to envelop the Union invaders at Montgomery, going west on the train as far as possible, while he would take Cheatham and Hindman back to Atlanta to try to defeat Grant. Hopefully the Union hadn't destroyed the railroad up ahead. He silently cursed himself. If Grant made it to Atlanta, his victory at Peachtree Creek would be worthless. His men reloaded and moved east on the train. General Joseph E. Johnston prayed he would get back in time. Atlanta (November 3) One of his orderlies came up to General Cleburne, with the letter of introduction for John Maxwell, from the Ordnance Bureau's Colonel Gorgas. He mispronounced 'horological torpedo' but explained to Cleburne what it was. He was intrigued, so he decided to meet the man. Well outside Atlanta, Lt Johnson, still disguised as Pvt. Sam Weaver, managed to steal a horse, and silently escape from the Union army. He had to warn Atlanta of the oncoming storm. Atlanta (November 5) He shed his Union disguise, and put back his normal gray uniform, and galloped back to his troops. They were still facing north, south, and west. It took over an hour to get to Major Cleary, explain what he had seen, and get an audience with General Cleburne. He made his presentation, giving all the information he gleaned from his time in the Union Army. Grant had split his forces, and they were approaching from the west. Cleburne needed an ace up his sleeve, now that he had this information. Their artillery had range that the Confederates didn't have, and they needed an advantage. His eyes caught the paper of introduction again. An horological torpedo...he thought...but how to use it, and when? November 6
Cleburne's forces were concentrated on the west now; militia and freedmen were manning the artillery as well. They were ready when the Union started shelling them, but were surprised and horrified that the Union, instead of firing directly on them, was firing on the city, on a Sunday, when people were in church. The Confederates had maybe 8 cannon which they had captured that would hit that far out, but they tried firing as much as they could with their 3" ordnance rifles. The siege had been joined. The siege lasted over the course of three days, from the 6th to the 8th. For Cleburne, one bright side, morbid as it was, was the death of General Walker, the man who tried to call him a traitor over his Memorial earlier in the year, during the first 6 hours of the siege. But by the end of the 6th, they had to abandon East Point for the city, having been overrun by Yankees. November 8
At East Point, several batteries were critical in defense of the city, but Cleburne knew it would be overrun with the forces arrayed against him. So he had Maxwell place some of his horological torpedoes in the batteries, with instructions to several officers on how to set the clocks if they were about to be overrun. His unfortunate back-up plan would be executed today. Unfortunately for General Cleburne, that eventuality came to pass after more than 8 hours of intense fighting, Union soldiers hacking back at the abatis, even though the Confederates were firing nearly point blank at them from their trenches. Union and Confederate fired upon each other; the Union troops gained ground slowly but surely. They were approaching the Confederate entrenchments. The abatis were slowing them down, but they eventually were taken apart and moved out of the way, allowing the bluecoats closer to the lines. Soon fighting devolved into hand to hand combat as they fired their single shots and then worked with bayonets, then using their rifles as clubs. Back and forth the two sides fought, but Cleburne's corps was manning the defenses, augmented with freedmen, and handling themselves capably. The Confederates put in their reserves, and 40 minutes after the charge sounded, the Union troops retreated. Then in about another 30 minutes, another charge. The process repeated several times, each causing heavy Union casualties, and light Confederate casualties. In total, the Union forces had suffered about 16,000 casualties over the last two and a half days. The most important of these batteries was Battery Bate. By the time the Union troops were covering Battery Bate, Major Cleary set the clock, covered it with scraps, and left the Battery, retreating with his men. Once Cleary and the rest of his men were well outside the Battery, and closer to Atlanta, the entire battery exploded in a fireball unseen before in the war by many troops. It mushroomed and showered the ground around them with Union men, several hundred in one fell swoop, but causing hundreds of casualties was the shrapnel of metal from everything in there. From his vantage point in the city, General Cleburne was able to see the explosion through his spyglass. As he saw the event unfold, his mind raced with possibilities. He put down his spyglass and smiled. "Lieutenant Johnson, I have another assignment for you," General Cleburne said to the newly minted officer. Given superior Union numbers, they would eventually be overrun. But having proven John Maxwell's theory on horological torpedoes, Cleburne now had an ace. Cleburne's intelligence, limited as it was, told him that General Howard's Army of the Cumberland had been marched around, two corps' worth, leaving only a single corps to guard the bridges over the Chattahoochee, and all their supplies there. He got a telegram from Johnston that his forces were coming and to hold on. Cleburne's corps had suffered 8000 casualties in the last 3 days, but hope was a great motivator. Given that the Union was shelling the city, Cleburne asked Lt Johnson to pick up another Union disguise once more, and work with that clock man, John Maxwell. The evening of the 8th they had made their way into the Union camp near the railroad, under the guise of seeking the medical tent. ** Near Palmetto, with a ridge behind him, and forest on either side to help protect from flanking, Johnston dug in. Luckily, Grant was obliging him by meeting him there. For much of the late afternoon of the 8th, Grant's men arrived and fought, but having been shelling and attacking the fortress city of Atlanta the past two to three days, their nerves were frazzled and they didn't press the attack too much. Johnston didn't suffer many casualties, luckily, but wanting to avoid another Sherman-esque flanking maneuver, posted two divisions on either side in the forest, hiding and waiting once the day was done. Having arrived late morning, Johnston's forces had only managed light entrenchments, so the lack of dedicated fighting by the Union forces had been a lucky break for them. Even luckier was the arrival of the rest of his army, two full corps. San Francisco (Night of November 7-8) Brig. Gen. Gillis and his troops heard the shelling of the city, south of San Francisco. Their diversion was in play. Sailing in during the night, a fog had come through the bay, obscuring their boats. They all bore the stars and stripes, while they were clad in blue. He formed up and marched his men quickly and silently up 5th Street to the mint building.  Old Mint Building, before the 1874 building was built
Brig Gen Gillis and his troops came to the door, guarded by four poor guards, who were nodding off at the doors. Most everyone was fighting to the south, and this was all they could afford to spare, apparently. "Private, my name is Brigadier General Gerald Waterson. We're here to protect the gold in the building from the rebels to the south. We need you to help us load everything to take north to Seattle for safe-keeping," he said in his most commanding voice. The private snapped to, saluted and with a sharp "yes, sir!" and opened the doors, not questioning him in the slightest. From midnight till 5:30 AM, the gold was loaded into wagons and carried to the docks and loaded on the ships. About $3 million in all was loaded out of the mint before Brig. Gen. "Jerry Waterson" decided they needed to leave. By about 2 PM on the 8th, the Confederate attack ceased, and they retreated; likewise all the "Union" troops who had landed left on their "Union" ships, floating past the island of Alcatraz. United States of America (November 8) All across the United States votes were counted in every state. New England was doing well for the Republicans, due to the abolitionists there (more like deportationists and exclusionists over true abolitionists, to be technical). New York was decided by 6,749 votes, sending McClellan its 33 electoral votes. Pennsylvania had a margin of only 18,849, sending its 26 electoral votes to the little general. Unfortunately for Lincoln, his own home state of Illinois went Democrat, by 6,788 votes, sending McClellan its 16 electoral votes along with Indiana, both midwestern states tired of the war sending their sons to fight to keep a few states who didn't want to be in the same Union with them anyway. It may have helped the Republicans that they had won a victory in Mobile Bay, along with the shelling of both Montgomery and Atlanta, the German Forty-Eighters who gave Lincoln his 1860 win, or maybe the presence of Republican troops at some polling places, or even some judges closing polling locations at times convenient to one side or the other. Whatever the cause, Abraham Lincoln gained a victory with 132 electoral votes to McClellan's 117 votes (2,122,880 to 1,894,654, a margin of 228,226). Any Confederate hope of a quick peace left many minds when this result was made known. Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation was a huge help, as he had his generals give furloughs to those soldiers who would, conveniently enough, vote for him, and deny furloughs to those who were known not to be voting for him. At the polls, Union soldiers were present, intimidating those who might think of voting against the President and his party. His election manipulations were quite successful, giving the Republicans 134-41-18 control over the House, with 18 Unconditional Unionists, the border state party of people who advocated remaining in the Union, caucusing with the Republicans. In the Senate, they held 41-8-5, with the 5 Unconditional Unionists again working with the Republicans. Those were huge gains for the young party, despite the real discontent brewing across the North at the progress of the war, though they had been hopeful going to the polls that the south would soon fall. The party took this as a sign to keep up the fight, rather than with caution at having won underhandedly. Richmond, VA (November 8*) Confederate President Jefferson Davis gave an address to the Confederate Congress once he knew that Atlanta was safe from General Sherman: ...if the campaign against Richmond had resulted in success instead of failure; if the valor of the army, under the leadership of its accomplished commander, had resisted in vain the overwhelming masses which were, on the contrary, decisively repulsed; if we had been compelled to evacuate Richmond as well as Atlanta, the Confederacy would have remained as erect and defiant as ever. Nothing could have been changed in the purpose of its Government, in the indomitable valor of its troops, or in the unquenchable spirit of its people. The baffled and disappointed foe would in vain have scanned the reports of your proceedings, at some new legislative seat, for any indication that progress had been made in his gigantic task of conquering a free people. The truth so patent to us must ere long be forced upon the reluctant Northern mind. There are no vital points on the preservation of which the continued existence of the Confederacy depends. There is no military success of the enemy which can accomplish its destruction. Not the fall of Richmond, nor Wilmington, nor Charleston, nor Savannah, nor Mobile, nor of all combined, can save the enemy from the constant and exhaustive drain of blood and treasure which must continue until he shall discover that no peace is attainable unless based on the recognition of our indefeasible rights.
Our former brethren in the North continued to signal their virtue to the world that they ended slavery while continuing to insult and harass us, the people to whom they sold their slaves so that they could claim exemption from blame in their own minds for responsibility for the institution engaged in by the entire world since before written history. They now claim we fight to preserve slavery, so as to incite a moral crusade against the sinners who deign to deny them their superior moral positioning, while being the ones solely responsible for purchasing and transporting slaves from Africa as late as 1861 in violation of U.S. law. Yet it is we, the honorable people of the South who have determined upon our own path, a compensated emancipation plan which allows us to make a transition to a New South maintaining all the best aspects of our people, our history, and our traditions, while achieving that which so many of our fellow southerners have tried to accomplish and would have three decades ago had the North not agitated an incited violence against us all the way. Let us leave to each State the speed at which our servants assume a place in society as free men, and let us decide amongst our Confederate States how best we meet the challenges of the coming peace and future prosperity of these Confederate States of America. May Almighty God, the author of the human soul and our yearnings for freedom guide us to peace with the North and amongst each other, and a future where our freedom is assured for all time.*This speech was originally given November 7th in real history. The second paragraph is additional. Montgomery (November 8) Arriving late in the afternoon, the Confederate forces surprised McPherson, who had not gotten a telegram from Grant telling him when they would be arriving. Unfortunately for McPherson, it was General Hardee's forces who came from the southeast, while General Taylor's forces, about 9500 now, faced him from within their strong entrenchments. Three days of siege was wearing on both sides, McPherson and Taylor. His Louisiana 1st and 2nd Native Guard were earning their pay, and even a few of McPherson's colored troops deserted over the last night. General Hardee had his men roll up the artillery right behind the Union forces and fired, scattering their battle lines; his cavalry was coming from the south, his infantry from the east. The fighting was intense, but the decisive factor was General Taylor's men. They had managed to get a telegram on the 6th that help was on the way and to hold out for General Hardee. Once he arrived, they were asked to fight as hard as they could. For over six hours, McPherson's men faced 9500 to their west, around 2500 cavalry to the south with another 6000 infantry, plus artillery to the east and another 14,000 infantry to their east. The musket fire was intense enough to create a cloud of smoke over the battlefield. The Confederate gray and butternut tended to blend into the smoke, while Union blue stood out, making them easy targets. Regimental commanders had their men kneel, go prone, or stagger to keep up a constant rate of fire and protect themselves somewhat. The Union forces charged the infantry to their rear, but after four successive charges failed, the Confederates finally captured the artillery, having killed the gun crews; the firing on Montgomery had ceased by about 3 PM, but the fight continued till at least 5:30 PM, when something broke, and the Union lines of battle collapsed and the men left in panic. About this time, the cavalry, having suffered over 600 casualties, tried to help route them north. Taylor's defense forces left their entrenchments to charge, while Hardee moved west to try to destroy the invading Union army. Over the course of the next hour, the Union suffered another 1200 casualties, adding to their already 5000, before they successfully withdrew their forces to take a circuitous route around Martin Lake and try to regroup with Grant near Atlanta. The Confederates cheered their success, the men giving shouts of joy and utter happiness, as the Union troops left; both sides took potshots at each other, most missing rather than hitting. By about 7:15, the Union troops had withdrawn. General Hardee wanted to pursue, but his men were exhausted by the march, the fight, and the stress of the last few days. He ordered them to help put out fires in Montgomery and attempt to restore order there, including putting back the cut telegraph lines and rail lines, plus act as a discouragement to looters. Palmetto (November 9) Grant met Johnston near a small town called Palmetto, southwest of Atlanta. The rebels had given stubborn resistance over the course of the 8th, but with Lincoln re-elected, the Union war effort would continue until the rebellion was smashed to pieces. He had used the night to reform his men and restore their lines to order for the attack today. Cheatham and Hindman had reformed their various divisions; their entrenchments improved and abatis in place. Confederate reserve artillery was in place. Two divisions were held in the pine forest, concealed from General Grant, on either side now. Four thousand men each. Grant couldn't have known his other troops had finally made it. When the attack would come, Grant would be enveloped on his flanks by Confederate fire. The Confederates put in their reserves, and 40 minutes after the charge sounded, the Union troops retreated. Then in about another 30 minutes, another charge. The process repeated several times, each causing heavy Union casualties, and light Confederate casualties. Then, about 11:30 AM, the unexpected happened. His cavalry had been forward and to the north and south, but not behind him. He didn't expect Johnston to come back this soon, or at all, for that matter. Artillery shells began booming in the distance. Crash! Boom! Boom! Canister and shot and heated shells exploded, causing his lines to fray. "What the hell is going on back there?" he asked, angry. His staff officers began shouting orders, and within about 15 minutes, they had their answer. Johnston had returned. What looked like about 48,000 men, obviously picking up some since leaving the city. Grant was ready to take East Point, where Cleburne had about 22,000 men entrenched, but now with another 48,000 on his back, he had no options left. Atlanta (November 9) Shortly after midday, Lt. Johnson and John Maxwell, disguised as Union soldiers, had walked to the Western and Atlantic Railroad, already repaired and bearing a train across it, resupplying the Union soldiers. The train, with its 14 cars full of ammunition, was a prime target. The pair managed to sneak over to the train to place the torpedo and set it for 30 minutes while en route. Maxwell slit the throat of the engineer and forced the train into reverse, so it would back over the rail bridge as well. Johnson kept look out, but no one was noticing them as of yet, or at least till the engine went backwards. The two men escaped notice and began walking towards the woods. The lack of security near the supply depot was appalling. But then again, no one expected this to happen. A sudden thunderous boom, followed by 14 more afterwards, reverberated in their chests, throwing them to the ground. They felt the heat and smelled the fire, and saw the train from their position, exploding on the bridge. It was a train wreck they couldn't stop watching. The bridge collapsed as the train exploded. Shells rained out and caused even more destruction of ammunition on the Union depot. Tents caught on fire; food stores were stricken with fire. The two men started walking away, and shed their Union garb once they were maybe a mile or so away. Their hearts were beating a mile a minute, but they eventually managed to lose themselves in the forest, away from the Union camp. They heard more artillery firing to the south, with a distinctive high-pitched ring of Confederate shot, possibly Cleburne attacking. ** At Palmetto, Grant was disappointed; his attack had petered out by nightfall. They had suffered heavy casualties, a large number of artillery had been captured, and the Army of the Tennessee had been knocked out of the battle. Johnston's flanking maneuver had worked on him, and he didn't even see it coming. General Schofield rode up to Grant. "My men have been repulsed sir, but we are still capable of fighting." "Did you hear that explosion a few hours ago?" he asked him. "I did, sir. The whole army did. What was it?" "It was most of our ammunition reserve going up in smoke," Grant said more calmly than expected. "Surely we can replace the ammunition with reserves from Chattanooga," Schofield said. "We could, but it would take days to get here. The bridge was utterly destroyed, and we have maybe a day's worth of ammunition left here at Palmetto. We will withdraw," Grant said. "To where sir?" asked Schofield. "North to Marietta to rest and resupply the men," Grant answered. "Dig in your men. They will act as a shield to protect our withdrawal, and be the last to leave. Make your preparations." Montgomery (November 9)  Most of the fires were out, and General Hardee and General Taylor were walking towards the state capitol to begin their plan of what to do. "Good morning, sergeant," said Hardee to the man guarding the mayor's building. "Good morning, general!" he said, snapping to attention. "What's your name, son?" Hardee asked. "Narcisse Doucet, Sergeant Narcisse Doucet, sir," he answered. "Military police," Taylor said. "Not a front-line fighter for most of our fights, though he has been a great asset here in restoring order. Stopped three looters last night. "Thank you for your service, Sergeant Doucet," Hardee said, before adding, "Merci." Doucet smiled and saluted sharply as the two generals entered the building. The two generals spoke with brigade commanders, and got a picture of the situation. The Union forces had retreated north, and were out of range. They weren't going to return any time soon. So, the two decided that Taylor had things under control in Montgomery, and Hardee would take the train back to Atlanta to reinforce the Army of Tennessee with his 15,400 remaining troops. **I delayed Peachtree Creek and Atlanta so that Lincoln would have a chance to win. An Actor's PlotA famous actor in Maryland, the well-known John Wilkes Booth makes a living earning over $20,000 a year, a handsome sum for the 1860s. He is also an agent for the Confederate Secret Service, and had begun plotting to kidnap President Lincoln, either on the way to the Soldiers' Home, or at Ford Theatre where he acted, to try to bargain for southern prisoners of war held in the North.
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jjohnson
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Post by jjohnson on Feb 21, 2020 2:42:49 GMT
Chapter 16: As the War Turns
Washington DC (November 9) Lincoln was disappointed in the telegram he had received from General Grant. His forces had been engaged with the rebels near Palmetto, and both the Army of the Cumberland and the Army of the Tennessee had been defeated; in addition, the rebels had managed to destroy an ammunition train, full of their reserves. Secretary Stanton exclaimed that he was sending orders to hunt down the perpetrators like dogs and hang them from the nearest trees. Lincoln smiled at that. He had personally chosen the 39 people who would die over in Minnesota from those savage Indian tribes, what were a few rebels denying the proper place of the centralized government? The men decided to let Grant withdraw, as they were confident Johnston would not attack them, since he usually required a long time to prepare his attacks. Richmond (November 9) The telegraph wire was live with reports coming in from all over the Confederacy, multiple attacks had occurred nearly simultaneously. Over in northern California, Gillis and Armistead had attacked San Francisco and managed to steal over $3 million in gold; this from taps on the transcontinental line, and a very roundabout route to Richmond. Near Atlanta, Cleburne had managed to destroy the Union ammo supply and the bridge across the Chattahoochee, while Johnston had pushed Grant back at Palmetto, while Hardee had saved Montgomery, and Lee held on in Petersburg. In the Transmississippi Department, General Kirby Smith, along with Brigadier General Joseph Shelby, had fought for three days approaching Little Rock, and looked to have a good shot at retaking the state capital. If that were possible, maybe they could take hold of Missouri as well. President Davis and his cabinet met to discuss the events, and everything appeared to be looking up for their nation. Secretary Trenholm informed them that the Grayback, the Confederate Dollar, had recovered a remarkable amount of value since the news of these events. From an estimated 90% inflation, they were now at maybe 15% inflation, and the value of the dollar had changed from $25 per gold US dollar to $15 per gold US dollar, roughly 1/20 oz of gold. The only problem was the lack of goods with which to spend the money. Davis asked Benjamin to send word to their agents in both London and Paris to see about humanitarian aid, due to the attacks on civilian farms and livestock, and medical supplies for their civilians and prisoners of war. Secretary Benjamin would send word detailing how the Lincoln administration had made medicines and medical equipment 'contraband,' causing a great humanitarian crisis within their country, including at prisons such as Andersonville in Georgia, and that they would request aid be sent first there, then to their civilian populations, so as to relieve the suffering caused by the war. The telegram was worded in such a way as to shift the focus onto the hardships forced upon the southerners, and how they wanted not to inflict the hardships on their prisoners of war. Atlanta (November 10) Lt Johnson had finally returned to Confederate lines, with John Maxwell in tow. They surprisingly made it out, but the chaos had helped immensely; it was past night, and they had tied white armbands onto their sleeves in case they should be spotted, they could wave them. Finally making it to the Confederate picket lines, Johnson saw a man who identified himself as Elias Nesmith, a private. The two shook hands, and Johnson had Nesmith take him back into town to see Cleburne. He also wanted to know if the Saylors were still alive, truthfully. It had been days since he'd seen them, and he knew the city had been shelled. Hours later, the two made it back to Cleburne for debriefing, and Johnson asked for permission to search for the Saylors once they had finished. As he walked into the city in the direction of the Saylors' house, he saw the effects of the shelling of the city. Everywhere, buildings and houses had been shattered and punctured with bullets and shells; some burnt to the ground, others just empty shells of the once beautiful and lively homes. Even the churches had not been spared the Yankees' ire. At once, Johnson felt a wave of disgust against the Union armies and people for creating such a culture that would think such total war was acceptable to achieve their ends, and a wave of sadness at the suffering of his fellow southerners at the hands of such angry, prideful, and haughty people. Who could wage war on defenseless women and children? There was no telling how many civilians had been wounded, including slaves and freedmen, the supposed beneficiaries of Yankee kindness.    Ruins of AtlantaJohnson saw the central train station, Union Depot, had lines of people at it. The Confederate army was distributing rations and other foods they were able to find. Hardtack was not great, but it was something, and it kept the men going for a good portion of the war. Coming upon the Saylors' house, finding it a bombed out ruin, with three bodies, Lt Johnson teared up and began crying. He knew then that he did love Sarah Emma. In that instant he hated the war and everything he had been put through because of it. He felt nauseous and the exhaustion of the past few months caught up to him. He needed to find peace, some solace. He found a Methodist Episcopal Church, the Wesley Chapel and walked in.   "Can I help you son?" said the man who spoke with a compassion that must've meant he was a pastor. "I just need a place to sit and talk to God," Johnson said. He sat down in a back pew, and his exhaustion, including the trauma of the explosion, were finally catching up to him and he fell asleep. -- "James? James David?" said a very familiar voice. "Sarah Emma?" he said, questioning the apparition. "It can't be. You're dead..." "Dead?" said the voice as he was slowly coming out of it into wakefulness. "I'm not dead, I'm right here," she said sitting in front of him in the pew directly in front of him. "But your house! I saw four bodies in there!" he said, trying to keep his voice down. "Those were our servants, Percival, Anna Beth, Marcus, and a friend of our father's, Pedro Sanchez, from Texas," she said with sadness. "They all urged us to get out of the house and get to the bomb-proof here at the church, practically forced us to leave. They said they'd pack a few things and join us shortly, but once we walked not ten yards, a shell hit the house and exploded, killing them all. I remember screaming out in anger and shock, and trying to run to the house, but my parents pulled me back, saying we had to get to the church." "Where are they now?" Johnson asked. "They're at the train depot, where the troops are passing out food," she answered. "We've been at the church with barely anything to eat or drink for the last 3 days. I heard about your group, the 4th Georgia, had the worst of the fighting. I was so worried about you." "You don't know the half of it," he said with a slight chuckle. She stood and so did he, and they finally embraced. His physical pain seemed to ease, as her parents walked into the church; the mother, Elisabeth Ann was about to say something but her father, Jacob Henry, smiled, and pulled her close. She looked at him, then her daughter, and smiled. ** Within Atlanta, General Johnston was shocked by the field of dead Union troops spread out outside the city; the smell was revolting. Soldiers and slaves were out there preparing the bodies for burial, removing ammunition and weaponry before doing so.   City Hall, temporary Confederate HQ for General Cleburne
When he finally entered the city Johnston met Cleburne at city hall, and found out that in the days since the attack started on the 5th, his once 20,000 man force was reduced to now 12,800. Floating about, updating maps and figures, Cleburne snapped to attention, as did the others, to greet General Johnston. "Good afternoon, sir!" Cleburne said smartly. "Good afternoon, General. Congratulations on a successful defense of Atlanta! Please, inform me as to the situation here," General Johnston said, returning the salute. "Thank you sir. We suffered heavily during the siege, but we beat them back," Cleburne began. "Who's left alive in command?" Johnston asked. "Brigadier Generals Govan, Kelly, and Lowrey; Majors Deakins, Person, Ashford; Colonels Murray, Baucum, Colquitt; Lieutenant Colonels Snyder, Warfield; Captain Collett," Cleburne started, before listing a few dozen more names.* "We know General Walker, along with several of those closest to him died in the defense of the city." "Understood," Johnston said. Walker's insubordination with respect to Cleburne had been a thorn in Johnston's side, and while he was glad to be rid of the thorn, he was still a fellow officer, so he felt the less said the better. He didn't own slaves, never wanted to. He wasn't even fighting to maintain it. He secretly wanted Cleburne's proposal to win, and was inwardly happy when the Congress passed the bill. The freedmen had proven themselves capable soldiers. The only question now was to how they would integrate into society as freedmen. "What can you tell me about that large explosion we heard?" Cleburne told him of the story of Lt. Johnson and his time spent within Grant's army, and how he had escaped, and gotten word to them, and tried leaving a clue for Johnston by putting rocks on the tracks and an arrow, and then how he had escorted John Maxwell behind enemy lines to destroy the depot. "Johnson? Isn't that the Lieutenant who caught General Thomas?" "Yes sir. He succeeded beyond expectations, I must say." "Indeed. We shall have to arrange a promotion for him as soon as we return Atlanta to some semblance of order before winter comes," Johnston said. "Where is he now?" "In the city, sir," Cleburne said. "He is looking for the Saylors, the owners of the iron works." "Understood," Johnston replied. Cleburne had gossiped a little that one of his men was sweet on the girl, something Johnston understood all to well with his own wife. "Send some men to help him find them, wherever their house is...or was." Sandtown (November 10) It was little consolation to General Grant that the withdrawal across the river was going well. Men had discarded equipment they no longer wanted to carry; morale was low, and the men who cheered him before now ignored his presence, despite the best efforts of their regimental commanders. Grant may have had second thoughts about withdrawal, but the final elements of the Army of Tennessee, formerly in Montgomery, were now in Palmetto, and were likely to be heading into Atlanta, according to the last report he received. General Grant sent word that they should withdraw not to Atlanta, but north into Tennessee so they could rest, regroup, and try again for Atlanta in the spring. What Make a Soldier
The Union General, August Valentine Kautz, a 48-er from Germany, defined what he considered to be a soldier, including 'private soldiers': In the fullest sense, any man in the military service who receives pay, whether sworn in or not, is a soldier, because he is subject to military law. Under this general head, laborers, teamsters, sutlers, chaplains, etc., are soldiers.Given his definition of a soldier including those not directly in combat, but in support roles, the south could theoretically count about 2 million soldiers, including all their teamsters, sutlers, 'body servants,' chaplains, and so on, and the north could count roughly 2.9 million total in their ranks. London (November 12) The British Parliament had voted and decided that, given the recent developments with the Confederacy in Atlanta, from their representative in North America, Lord Lyons, they actually stood a chance at achieving their independence from the United States. Many MPs wanted to recognize the CSA as a nation, diplomatically, but had instead decided on a humanitarian mission to bring medical aid, shoes, uniforms, food, and other equipment through the Union blockade, waiting to see if the CS would actually keep its word on emancipation before fully recognizing them. Their vessels would land near Wilmington, Charleston, Savannah, and Norfolk, with word for Mr. Davis that the United Kingdom and the British Empire would keep their word once they keep theirs. The hesitance on the part of the British could be explained by Lincoln's earlier stated threat of war if anyone interfered with their "civil war" as he put it, but already the British press was calling it the "War for Southern Independence." British observers, including Lt. Col. Fremantle, would journey with the ships to inspect the conditions of places such as Andersonville to see as to the truth of the southern claims, to see if they were worth extending official recognition. Paris (November 13) A small fleet of 12 ships set sail on the orders of Napoleon III from Normandy, sending non-war goods to the southerners. The French also made clear their aid was contingent upon a definite signature from the Confederate Congress of a legitimate emancipation bill before any treaty or true recognition would be signed. The French, who had spoken to their English fellow diplomats, sent with their goods inspectors to see if the French should truly recognize the rebellion in America. Washington DC (November 14) While the balls and receptions for his re-election had taken place, they had grown more somber as the news of the victories of the rebels in Atlanta, Montgomery, and now Little Rock. Lincoln got a telegram from the State Department, via the transatlantic cable, that both England and France were sending medical and food supplies to the southerners, through the blockade. He felt a sour mood come over him. Lincoln knew that the campaign season was coming to a close, when winter would make operations cease at least until February. If his men didn't do something soon, though, the United Kingdom and France would diplomatically recognize the rebels, and possibly come to their aid against the United States. Canada had already secured its border with New England, with a number of forts being built. He was being hemmed in. Grant was in Marietta, and in the process of pulling back to Chattanooga for the winter. He himself wanted to move back to Virginia so that he could resume control and try to defeat Lee come spring. For Lincoln, that was the best hope the Union had. He had to hope that either Sherman would recover his senses in Chattanooga, or Grant would recommend someone else to take his place that would restore their momentum. On the 24th of November, Senator Orville Browning wrote in his diary: " I said to General Singleton I thought the President would make the abolition of slavery a condition precedent to any settlement. He replied that he knew he would not - that he had a long interview with him before the election - that the President showed him all the correspondence between himself and Greeley and said it put him in a false position - that he did not mean to make the abolition of slavery a condition, and that after the election he would be willing to grant peace with an amnesty, and restoration of the union, leaving slavery to abide the decisions of the judicial tribunals." It was becoming known throughout the Congress that President Lincoln wanted peace so badly by this point after the defeats at Atlanta that he was willing to let the slavery issue go and planned to make only a reestablishment of the Union the only real condition for a cessation of hostilities if they managed to defeat Lee or Johnston in the coming months. Savannah (November 26) The port of Savannah saw something it had not seen in nearly a year - a British vessel; six in fact. The men at Fort Pulaski cheered and saluted the arrival of the vessels. Soldiers, freedmen soldiers, civilians, and slaves all helped the British unload the supplies they brought. Preserved meats, rum, wine, potatoes, boots, new uniforms, blankets, overcoats, medicines, and even new repeating rifles with ammunition had been unloaded, all to be sent to the Army of Tennessee in Atlanta ; the men at the docks, including the local Brigadier General, Taylor Hammond, spoke with the British captain, and was informed the medicines would go first to their prisoners then to the armies, which Hammond disliked, but agreed to ensure happened. He entrusted Colonel Thomas Nesmith with the task of escorting the Captain, Benedict Williams, to Andersonville to deliver food and medicine and blankets for the coming winter. Similar scenes played out at Charleston and Wilmington, and would be repeated in mid-December and in early January. Battle of Franklin (November 30) Wanting to follow up on their successful defense in Atlanta, the Confederates decided to go around Chattanooga, where most of the Union was refitting for winter, and strike at Franklin, Tennessee, where General Schofield and the Army of the Ohio was refitting, hoping to prevent a strike from General Taylor or General Kirby Smith from Transmississippi. Lieutenant General Cleburne, fresh from his successful defense of Atlanta, was allowed the command of 35,000 rested soldiers, of which about 12,000 were freedmen newly trained by General Albert Sidney Johnston.  Initial battle plan of the Battle of Franklin
 Painting of the Confederates shelling the city with captured Union artillery from AtlantaThe Confederate forces broke through the 100th Ohio's defenses, having been weakened by the captured Union artillery now shelling the Union positions. The Confederates pushed past Wagner's defenses easily once he fell attempting to rally his men, via an artillery shell that cut him in half.  Second phase of battle
The divisions of Brown, Cleburne, and French converged on a gap in the Union lines, their artillery finally outnumbering those of the Union troops at Franklin. The 100th Ohio Infantry was driven back, while the 72nd Illinois Infantry was swept away, and soon the 183rd Ohio Infantry was put in to battle to try to shore up the line, but Cleburne's men under Nesmith, Polite, and Crane were too much for them.  Painting depicting the Confederates breaking through the Union lines at FranklinUnion troops under Emerson Opdycke's brigade were in reserve, but the frontline men pouring back threw these troops into disorder, getting in the way of their aim. Soon, Col. Edward Polite fired the shot that struck Opdycke, as he led his men through Union lines. While Col. Polite was hit in the arm, his other arm was free, and he struck five bullets, four hitting David Stanley in his chest, straight through his neck, and head, killing him instantly. The success of the Confederates, especially of the Confederate Colored Troops, was shocking to the Union men. Reilly's division, the 12th and 16th Kentucky Infantry, was hit with Alabamans and Mississippians, who felt they were betraying their own men, many of whom fought in the Orphan Brigade of General Breckinridge, the former Vice President. Fighting was hard, and though Schofield valiantly tried to save the day, in the end, the loss of morale from his defeat scarcely a month before, the British and French aid, and the huge boost to Confederate morale meant that Schofield had to withdraw from the defenses and from the city of Franklin, but not before his men fired the town, leaving the Confederates needing to fight the fires rather than fight his retreating troops. By night fall, the Union troops were withdrawing to Nashville. After the fighting, and after the fires were put under control, Confederate Generals Cleburne, Adams, Granbury, Gist, Strahl, and Carter were all greeted as heroes by the citizens in Franklin. The bucket brigade included white and black Confederates, with no distinctions made other than who could pass the water fastest to put out the burning town. Union Casualties: 6,252 Confederate Casualties: 2,326 Union General Casualties: Generals Nathan Kimball, George Wagner, Walter Whitaker, William Grose, Thomas Wood, and David Stanley; Union Regimental Commander Casualties (55 total): Jessie Hale Moore, Porter Olson, Theodore S. Thomasson, Charles A. Zollinger, and 51 other regimental commanders. *Note: These Union generals survived OTL. **Note: I reversed the effects of the battle. OTL it was 6 CS Generals and 55 regimental commanders. Sherman's March (December 1-14) With the Confederate victory over Union forces at Chattanooga, Sherman took his command of the forces, having shown he was more than capable of leading the men again since Peachtree Creek. He decided to make the south howl, and ordered Union forces to conduct a campaign of massive destruction, to deny the Confederates any aid and to slow them down in reaching Nashville.   " If the people raise a great howl against my barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is war, and not popularity seeking," Sherman was quoted as saying on the march towards Nashville. The 134 mile march took Sherman through Monteagle, Manchester, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and finally to Nashville, a Union stronghold. His soldiers made themselves into a twenty mile column, and took total war to new heights. His troops, with his knowledge and permission, killed livestock, stole silver, furniture, clothes, and other possessions from farmhouses before firing the houses, destroyed fences, and swarmed like locusts on crops, trampling fields under foot. Black slaves who wanted freedom swarmed to the Union army, but they would shoot back; even the official records show: " ...the irregularities of the soldiery - such as taking poultry, pigs, milk, butter, preserves, potatoes, horses, and in fact everything they want; entering and searching houses, and stealing in many cases; committing rapes on the negroes and such like things - the effect has been to make a great many Union men inveterate enemies." - Official Record of the War of the Rebellion, United States The Confederates were aghast at what they saw; their pursuit was slowed by the need to rebuild railroads and telegraph lines, along with trying to send food to the destitute persons in Tennessee. Lt. Col. Arthur Fremantle, now an official observer from the British Army marching with the Confederates, rather than on his own leave, witnessed firsthand the depredations committed by Union forces on the people of Tennessee. His memoirs, A Year with the Confederate Army detailed several dozen stories that were shocking to the British public who read them. General Johnston had Lt. General Cleburne join with Hardee, Stewart, and Hindman on the march towards Nashville. They could have moved quicker, but Johnston eventually allowed Hindman to stay behind with a force of 14,000 to help the people with food, constructing fences, and rebuilding houses, with aid coming from Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina in the form of livestock, charity, and even freedmen came to help.  Sherman's Sentinels, all that was left of many buildings in Murfreesboro after Sherman marched through the town. His march killed almost all Union sentiment in Tennessee.
Battle of Nashville (December 14-15) Facing off against the Union stronghold of Nashville, General Joseph E. Johnston, joined now with General Albert Sidney Johnston, with Generals Cleburne, Stewart, Hardee, and Hindman leading the four corps, plus A.S. Johnston being given field command of a corps of mostly black recruits, General J. Johnston decided to free Nashville of Union control, and repay Sherman for what he did to the people of Tennessee.  Battle of Nashville battle plan
OOC: Ignore the name of Hood and Thomas; just use the Union fortifications as still operative here
General Sherman faced an attack from the south by General Cleburne's forces, augmented by Stewart and Hardee; Hindman was only a participant with his corps on the 15th, and then only half of them were able to fight. General A.S. Johnston split his corps in two, crossing the Cumberland five miles in either direction away from the city of Nashville, carrying artillery and captured pontoon bridges. Having received blankets, overcoats, shoes, and rations from the British and French, the Confederates were able to march to Nashville despite the bitter ice storm. The forces of A.S. Johnston fired on both the eastern and western sides with twenty cannon a piece, while Cleburne, Stewart, and Hardee fired upon the fortifications south of Nashville. The decimation of the IV Corps back at Franklin would reverberate here, as those men fought very poorly at Nashville. The lack of fighting spirit by the IV Corps allowed the XXIII Corps to be smashed by a combination of A.S. Johnston's colored troops, along with Stewart's attack from the front. The Confederates rolled Steedman's troops up from the Cumberland before night fell on the first day. Over 800 US CT would defect to the Confederate side that night. The second day of fighting began about 5:30 AM. General Johnston wanted the town. The Union tried maneuvering on their positions, but the defenses were well constructed, with deep entrenchments, abatis, and earthworks protecting them from Union efforts. Confederate artillery, reinforced by the arrival of another twenty pieces from Montgomery, continued shelling the Union trenches and helped Johnston attack the XXIII Corps, including Brig. Gen. Joseph Cooper being one of the casualties. By mid-afternoon, the combination of continual artillery fire from the front and sides, along with musket fire, including five failed charges on the part of the Union troops, Schofield recommended retreat; Sherman reluctantly agreed, and continued his destructive march to Bowling Green to winter.  Nashville's train station shortly after capture by the ConfederatesCasualties: -US: 6,500 (roughly 1500 killed/wounded, 4500 missing/captured) -CS: 2,958 With this battle, the Confederate and Union operations in the west stopped for winter, especially due to the unseasonably cold weather. Much of General Johnston's army was occupied with putting out fires and helping the civilians rebuild homes and coordinate the provisioning of livestock and horses, building fences, and cataloging all the possessions stolen by Sherman's army. Some of the dead soldiers had the stolen property on their persons, with General Hindman's corps being given the unenviable task to return the property to persons in Nashville and southward. Virginia (December) Despite the loss in Georgia, General Grant retained the confidence of President Lincoln; the recovery of Sherman's fighting spirit helped somewhat. Grant removed his forces from the siege of Petersburg and Richmond for winter, and returned the Army of the Potomac to the vicinity of Washington DC to rest and refit for winter to prepare for the spring offensive, and protect against Jubal Early's raids coming from the Shenandoah. *Everyone who signed the Cleburne Memorial lived. Those who sided with Walker died in the attack. Karma.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Feb 21, 2020 2:56:03 GMT
Chapter 15: Look Over Here, Look Over ThereNear the Chattahoochee (October 13) The other men of the 4th Georgia were patrolling closer to the river, seeing the Union soldiers setting fire to boxes of supplies before evacuating to the north shore. The Confederates ordered them to stop, and shot, killing one or two and injuring three, but they continued and left. The Confederates took shots at a few as they rowed across, while others put out the fires to the supplies. In the end, they saved several boxes of food, horse tackles, and various other supplies that they could distribute to their army to make up for their lack of a large industrial base. North of the River (October 15) In the Union camp north of the river, the news was growing worse for General Sherman. In the days since the fight at Peachtree Creek, around 900 men had deserted the Union Army of the Cumberland, currently leaderless and believing their mission hopeless and looking just to get home. Many didn't think there was a need to fight to free the slaves if the South were doing it for them, and with the wins on the southern side, the Northerners just outside Atlanta were in the same boat Johnston's men were in just a short few weeks ago. Sherman, a tough general on his best days, ordered that a dozen deserters to be caught, tried, and shot in public to try to tamp down on desertions. General Howard questioned if that would be good for morale, but Sherman was not having it. General McPherson reminded Sherman that many of the regiments were coming up on the ends of their three-year enlistments, so the situation was going to continue unless morale improved. They had around 75,000 men now, and from the looks of it, the situation was going to get worse. Sherman read and informed them of a telegram he just opened to the generals gathered around in their war council. General Grant sent them the Sixth Corps from Tennessee to Georgia, with some of their lead brigades already in Chattanooga. That would bring them up to nearly 15,000 more men. McPherson kept to himself that more than a single corps would have been better, but this was a good start to regaining the initiative, and hopefully finishing the war soon to save the Union. ** (October 17) Another telegram from Grant informed Sherman that he was sending another three infantry divisions, giving them a total of 25,000 new men to make good the losses from Peachtree Creek. Grant suggested either a renewed attack on Atlanta or an attack on Montgomery or Selma, two other militarily important cities, and to be informed of what he decided. Sherman was angered by the telegram, as Grant hadn't seen the black troops reinforcing the Confederates, fighting alongside them, rather than in segregated units like in the Union army. They fought just as bravely as the white troops to defeat his armies. Sherman believed attacking Atlanta was ill-advised; didn't Grant think he'd have attacked if it were possible? McPherson interrupted Sherman's doubts, and read the telegram. He like the idea, expressing great enthusiasm at getting moving again. He talked of living off the land like at Vicksburg, and how both cities were militarily important, and would help the fall election. Perhaps McClellan wouldn't win after all and their sacrifices for the Union wouldn't be made worthless with the rumors of peace with the rebels. Unfortunately Sherman was sour and dismissed the thought. He then shouted at McPherson, one of his closer friends during the war, surprising him, dismissing his idea, and dismissing Grant. He tried explaining the logic of the campaign to Sherman, but Sherman cut him off, told him that if he wanted his advice, he'd ask for it, and to return to his command. ** (October 17) As Grant approached via Chattanooga, he got a telegram from Generals Schofield, McPherson, and Howard, expressing their doubts about Sherman's mental well-being. Luckily, members of Grant's staff couldn't tell the content of the letter from his lack of reaction. Atlanta (October 18) Sherman and Grant ate dinner together, with Grant telling Sherman his plan for Atlanta. He would spend time refitting the army, which was about 90,000 men shortly, against the maybe 65-70,000 men in Johnston's. The return of Grant had improved Sherman's mood, which was hopeful for Grant. His decision for the army was also a turning point. Grant would take half the army and 2/3 of the cavalry, and march to Montgomery and Selma, forcing Johnston to follow, and abandon Atlanta. Sherman would remain behind, with the artillery, and shell the city into submission, thus giving him the opportunity to redeem himself in the eyes of the northern population. Richmond (October 18) Jefferson Davis met with a man representing the British Government, but the man made it very clear their talking was as two gentlemen, not as a President to the British Government. Mr. Malet, the secretary of Lord Lyons, clarified to him that the British government recognized the victory they had made at Peachtree Creek, and the stalemate in Virginia, and if the Democrat were to win, the British government would be willing to offer to negotiate between the United States and "the entity calling itself the Confederate States of America," as he phrased it. Mr. Malet qualified his statement by letting Mr. Davis know the British government would require certain 'assurances,' before they would recognize their independence and nationhood. They required to know the terms they would seek from the United States, and the status of the slaves remaining and not in arms. Mr. Davis spoke up, "The first and most important item would be the recognition by the government of the United States of the independence of the Confederacy and cessation of all claims to any state or territory thereof, and any right to interfere in our internal affairs." "That's the easy part, isn't it?" Malet said with a grin. "You're right. There are many more issues," Davis said with a nod. "Her Majesty's Government would appreciate knowing your positions on the issue of which states, specifically those of Kentucky and Tennessee, then Maryland, Missouri, and Delaware, and how they relate to your claim of sovereignty." "We believe any peace agreement must contain a clear statement on borders. We don't lay claim to Delaware, nor Maryland, which was denied her sovereign right to choose secession or not," Davis began; Malet ignored the opinion insertion there. "But Tennessee and Kentucky, though heavily occupied, must be included in the Confederation. Missouri is a hotbed, and though we believe it should be allowed a choice as a single political unit, we would be willing to divide Missouri between the US and CS." Davis continued, "We would be willing to offer free navigation of the Mississippi River, so that US agriculture can exit to the Gulf of Mexico." "We would not object to that," Malet said. "Good." "The hiccup needing to be resolved, as it were," Malet said as he swirled his bourbon and took another sip, "is slavery. You made mention of being willing to emancipate your remaining slaves, or bondservants, as some of your people would call them, in exchange for loans from the British to accomplish this." "Yes," Davis said, wanting instead to build to that point, but might as well get to it. "I talked to a few other people and they have informed me you once said slavery was a blessing and the black man your inferior, so your willingness to emancipate does not seem to fit with such opinions," Malet said. Davis sighed. He knew his words would come back to haunt him. But he felt as if a hand were on his shoulder, and a calmness come upon him, and he spoke, "The United States offered us an amendment, called the Corwin Amendment, yielding their ability to interfere in slavery if we would rejoin the Union, and we rejected the offer. What we want is not to keep blacks enslaved or bonded, but we want our independence. Since seeing our fellow black Confederates in arms, serving and toiling as bravely and boldly as any white man, I must say my own opinions on their place in society have changed. I cannot say so very openly, as there are some in the Congress which would fight to hold on to the old order. But upon starting the war, I knew that if we won or lost, slavery would be finished; we value our freedom and independence more than slavery, so if it requires emancipation to achieve, we will do so. The Slave must be made fit for his freedom by education and discipline, and thus made unfit for slavery. And as soon as he becomes unfit for slavery, the master will no longer desire to hold him as a slave. They should be apprenticed and prepared for citizenship through education in how to manage their own lives. If your government were to provide us the loans for such an endeavor, we would be willing to outline a plan to bring them into citizenship with the white man, but each state manages the specifics." "That sounds like a much more enlightened opinion than several persons with whom I spoke in the government of the United States," said Mr. Malet. "I myself was surprised to know that President Lincoln's own state of Illinois forbade free blacks from settling there like Oregon." "Perhaps they aren't such the friend of the black man as they claim to be abroad," Davis quipped. Mr. Malet chuckled slightly but regained his composure. "We will need to see your plan in detail soon so that I can present it to my government, and thus help secure your loan if they decide to do so." "Of course," Davis said, as he nodded to Judah Benjamin, who was also in the room with them. Benjamin gave Mr. Malet an envelope with their multi-point plan, which they were prepared to send to Congress. Malet took it and put it in his jacket. "As to your other points, Mr. Davis, let us proceed," Mr. Malet said. "As you wish," Davis said. "We would like to seek compensation for the destruction of civilian property of no military necessity, as we believe it violates the rules of civilized warfare." "I cannot guarantee that, as I do not believe it would be accepted by the United States government," Mr. Malet said. "But continue." "Perhaps there are concessions the British Empire would be amenable to receive from the Confederacy, to gain friendly relations from us in the event we emerge victorious in this current conflict. Certainly there are actions your government could take to promote such a relationship," Benjamin chimed in. "Such as?" Davis asked, masking his mild irritation. He didn't like the thought of being dictated to, but he felt he needed to listen to Malet. That feeling he had when he had those dreams came back to him. "Before the war, English textile mills were supplied with southern cotton of good quality and in a tremendous quantity. When the war is over, we would wish to restore this mutually beneficial economic partnership." "That would be our wish as well," Davis said with a nod. "We would like to codify this in the form of a treaty which would guarantee free trade," Mr. Malet said. "Our Senate would need to ratify any treaty, but I don't foresee any problems," Davis said. "What else?" asked Benjamin. "We would seek the Confederate government to agree to a treaty on suppressing the slave trade," Malet answered. "Our Constitution already prohibits the importation of slaves," Davis began, but he got a feeling he needed to agree, so he adjusted his tone. "But, we will agree to this if your government is willing to assist in our emancipation efforts." "Our government would also require you to accept the loss of those slaves freed under the Gettysburg Proclamation," Malet continued. "With that and the agreement on the slave trade, it would be much easier to make a proposal to my government regarding your recognition." "That would be agreeable, Mr. Malet," Davis said as Malet rose; Davis had changed, he realized. A year prior, he might not have agreed to such terms, but now, with independence nearly guaranteed by this and the military situation, he would be willing to entertain the small loss in exchange for such a great prize. The man excused himself due to the hour, and once he left the executive mansion, Davis and Benjamin spoke for another hour or two about what just happened. Atlanta (October 19) General Joseph E Johnston was meeting with his generals while Sherman appeared to be stalled north of the river. They went over the railroads, having gone a good way to repairing the line to Augusta, their link to the Carolinas and Virginia. Since having sent Wheeler north, Johnston discovered his cavalry had been nearly completely decimated, and he had been killed in their attempts on the supply lines. In his place, Johnston appointed General William H. Jackson, and had begun attempting to rebuild the cavalry, which necessarily included more freedmen to replace the decimated cavalry. From the recruits of Albert Sidney Johnston, another 2,000 black cavalry had been added and trained up, though at the meeting Jackson expressed his doubts he could spare any of his troops to guard the fords over the Chattahoochee as well as scouting, and then guard the railroads as well. The arrival of Grant yesterday meant they needed to prepare for any assault he would make. Johnston conferred with his like-named fellow General, and had asked for as many troops as he could spare, bringing him up to 80,000 men. Some generals had expressed themselves against the arming of blacks, though both Johnstons had made it very clear they would be treated the same as any white soldier in or out of combat, or the generals themselves would be held personally responsible. Given the proven combat performance of the new black troops, generals like William Walker, Patton Anderson, and William Bate had been expressly told they would be court-martialled if they refused to obey orders and accept the new troops as if they were white troops. Johnston explained his plan to face Grant on the south bank of the river, with three corps, believing he could cripple Grant enough that the campaign couldn't resume before the end of the campaigning season. General Cheatham interrupted and asked if they shouldn't consider the possibility he wouldn't cross to the south bank. Johnston asked him to explain, and he continued, saying that Grant has a history of doing the unexpected, and if they assumed he would just take a direct approach to Atlanta, perhaps he is planning something else? Cheatham used a map and suggested Grant might try heading to Alabama instead, capturing Montgomery and Selma. Montgomery was the first capital, and had a symbolic significance, and it and Selma were hugely important in keeping the Confederate war industry going. The first was a critical transportation hub, while the latter was critical for its iron foundry churning out cannon, iron plating, and more. Johnston at first dismissed the idea, but remembered what Grant did at Vicksburg, when he defeated him, by abandoning his supply line to move faster. Hardee doubted Grant had enough supply wagons to carry the supplies for his 100,000 men, but Johnston reminded him not to underestimate Grant. Johnston told his fellow General that Grant wouldn't take the entire force with him, that he would leave enough men to prevent the Confederates from going north to attack Chattanooga. Jackson chimed in, letting Johnston know that with his limited force, the Union could theoretically leave and it would be able to march for a few days without being detected. Johnston ordered him to detach a brigade to monitor for that eventuality, despite the fact that that would limit the Army of Tennessee's ability to monitor the fords. Johnston was a bit jealous of Robert Lee. Somehow he managed to keep his generals from fighting each other over the black enlistment, and even General Forrest integrated blacks into the cavalry without the rancor Johnston faced. He didn't know what Grant was planning, so he felt Cheatham's plan would be feasible to try to prepare for. Orders went out for three corps, those of Hardee, Hindman, and Stewart, to prepare for march, while Cleburne would assume command of Atlanta with the totality of A.S. Johnston's black trainees, which could give another 10,000 men to Cleburne, even though their training was incomplete. That would solve the problem of the ruffled feathers in the three corps over Cleburne, still protect Atlanta, and also give Cleburne the chance to be the defender of Atlanta, sticking it to those who ridiculed his plan of emancipation. The meeting broke up and Cleburne rode his horse out to his command. But he was unsettled. He didn't know Grant's plan, so he needed one of his own. Then he got the idea and smiled. They have plenty of captured Union troops, so why not return one of those uniforms? Besides, the cavalry couldn't handle all the scouting. Cleburne's Camp (October 19) General Cleburne thought as he rode back whom he would send, and worked on the layout of his plan. As he dismounted, the 4th Georgia walked past. Lt. Johnson was in charge, and handling his new officer rank with aplomb. "Lt. Johnson!" called Cleburne. "Come with me." Across the River (October 19) Lt Johnson waded out of the river, dried off, and put on his uniform. Not his gray, but a Union blue. Having spoken with General Cleburne, Johnson agreed they needed to find out the Union plan. He could've offered the job to spy on the Union to someone else, but then he'd feel guilty if the mission failed when he could've done it himself. Cleburne asked him to write any letters to his loved ones, and get ready. Major Cleary had been informed and given permission for him to go on the mission. He was going as Samuel Weaver, 140th Pennsylvania, a private, having escaped from Andersonville. The colonel which found him questioned him several times. Asking where he was from, he answered "Pittsburgh, by way of Georgia and Virginia." Johnson had some relatives he had seen about 5 years ago who moved from Virginia to Pittsburgh, and their accents fascinated him. He was good at accents. He relayed his story of escaping and hiding out in slave quarters, making it back to north of the river. It sounded good when he thought it up but sounded a bit implausible as he said it aloud. The colonel took it in before shaking his hand, telling him "well done! well done!" Johnson asked what he would do now, and the colonel said he'd be sent to Virginia, or serve in Georgia, since there'd be plenty of action soon. "Action, sir?" he asked. "Yes. The orders are coming in. The entire Army of the Ohio and the Army of the Tennessee are moving out in two days. No one knows where. But wherever Grant orders us to go, we'll go," he said. "Well, I guess I might as well join up with one of your regiments, sir," Johnson said in his adopted accent. He could hide his Georgia accent quite well. The colonel clearly wanted to end the interview, as Johnson saw a woman outside when the tent flap waved, and the colonel got a glimpse. So the man signed an order directing him to the 18th Michigan chief-of-staff. North of Atlanta (October 21) The day was bright, and Grant was mounted on his horse, watching the infantry marching into columns. Thousands looked up to him with hope again. The army in front of him was the Army of the Ohio, the smallest at 25,000 men, one corps and two cavalry divisions. He found General Schofield. General Schofield
"Good morning, General Schofield," Grant said. "Morning, sir." "Good day for a march, huh?" Grant said with a cigar in his mouth. "Indeed sir." Grant glanced at the staff officers, and Schofield got the hint. "Gentlemen," he said, tossing his head to the side. Grant waved his hand to dismiss the dismissal, so they stayed. "Do you understand your orders?" Grant asked. "Yes sir, I am to march the Army of the Ohio southwest along the bank of the Chattahoochee River," he replied. "Correct. The Army of the Tennessee will be right behind yours. Both you and General McPherson have exchanged your liaison officers, I assume." "We have, sir." "Good." Schofield cleared his throat and continued, "Our orders didn't specify our destination, but considering the supply wagons and ammunition we were allocated, I trust this will be a long march." "Quite right, General Schofield." "May I ask where we are going, sir?" "Your initial destination will be the town of Auburn, just across the Alabama border. If we move quickly, we will reach it in about a week. It won't be an easy march, but I don't expect much resistance along the way. I had a tougher time getting to Vicksburg. From Auburn, it's only around 55 miles to Montgomery, and another 35 or so to Selma." "Montgomery? Selma?" Schofield asked. "That's right, Schofield," Grant said, with a slight grin. "Atlanta is no longer the goal of this campaign. We are shifting our forces to Alabama, with the goal of capturing both cities. Montgomery has political significance as the birthplace of this so-called Confederacy. Selma is a military production hub. Both are critical transportation and logistical hubs. If we capture both, we can inflict a critical blow against these rebels." "What about General Taylor's army?" "I wouldn't call that smattering an army," Grant replied. "Besides, our victory at Mobile Bay not too long ago has forced Taylor to divert most of his forces to Mobile to prevent an amphibious operation there." "I apologize sir," Schofield said. "I've been so fixated on Atlanta that the change in focus has me at a loss." "Well fixate on Montgomery and Selma, because that's just where we're going." "What will prevent Johnston from just going north to capture Chattanooga?" "The Army of the Ohio and the Army of the Tennessee are marching," Grant answered. "The Army of the Cumberland will remain to block and pin them down, preventing them from intervening in Alabama. We're leaving about 40,000 at Vining's Station." Schofield smiled as he took it all in. The fall of Montgomery and Selma would be as momentous as Vicksburg and New Orleans, and even more important than just Atlanta falling. "I'm overwhelmed sir." "How so?" Grant asked. "I was preparing myself and my men for a long fight for Atlanta. I wasn't expecting something as ingenious as this. I'm honored to be a part of it. If we succeed, you will go down in the annals of military history as one of the most innovative generals in American history." "And if it fails, I will go down as a blundering fool," Grant quipped. "No use worrying now. We have a march to coordinate and a siege ahead. I'm confident in our success." General Howard was in command of the Army of the Cumberland, while General Sherman remained as well, resting. Grant suggested he remain to rest, and when he felt able, resume command of the Army. He asked Sherman to have Howard attack Atlanta on the 6th (Sunday), shelling the city, and Grant would be in Montgomery to do the same there. It was a nearly flawless plan. Atlanta (October 24) The telegram was perfectly clear to Johnston, the morning of the 24th. The War Department ordered him to investigate with cavalry the presence of Union troops near Tallapoosa. That was nearly 60 miles away. He remembered what Jackson said just a few days ago concerning his ability to scout, and then Cheatham's concern Grant would try for Montgomery and Selma. A chill ran down his spine; Pemberton had been outmarched at Vicksburg, and Lee had been in the early days of the operations at Petersburg. A telegram from Col. Josiah Gorgas, the Chief of Ordnance was handed to him about John Maxwell, a Confederate Secret Service agent with an horological torpedo that had been used at City Point. Johnston read it and told the staff officer, "Give this to Cleburne to use at his discretion. I don't have time to worry about this." A second telegram told Johnston that the cavalry scout brigade had been attacked; Union troops had been seen occupying Riverton, bypassing his scouts at Campbellton. Shortly after reading that, a third confirmed his brigade at Campbellton had been destroyed. It confirmed what he had already been fearing, but prepared for already. Cheatham had been right, and listening to him was the correct course of action. Grant was going for Montgomery, and possibly Atlanta at the same time, by leaving a force north of the city. "Mackall, prepare to have Cheatham, Hardee, and Stewart's corps march immediately. Cleburne's corps will remain to defend Atlanta," Johnston ordered. "With General Sidney Johnston's freedmen recruits and the Georgia militia, he should have more than enough men to defend the city and we shall have enough to destroy Grant. Look into the viability of using the railroads to get ahead of Grant. I want to stop him before he gets to Montgomery." Past Campbellton (October 25)  Just before the march, Grant with his horse, Cincinatti
Grant smiled as he saw his 60,000 men marching. It was a sight to behold, watching them marching along as they were. As they did, he knew that if he kept his ultimate plan in mind, he could win this. Then the Union would be restored, the South put in its place for daring defy the National government. Within the ranks of the 18th Michigan, Lt Johnson, disguised as Private Samuel Weaver, marched along in line. He had heard they'd done a number on Union supply lines, but with all the bacon, coffee, fresh fruit and vegetables, and other supplies, he doubted that report as wishful thinking. If the Union could feed its soldiers so well and so easily, what hope did they have? Only guile could help the Confederates, not brute force, he figured. It was very tempting to just stay with the Union just for the coffee alone. One of his neighbor friends back home, a Catherine Anne Janeway would have nearly killed for so good a cup of coffee, he mused to himself. General Grant rode past as he was deep in thought, and he mused he was close enough to shoot, though he'd never get out alive if he did. Everyone's cheering roused him from his mind to look upon the general as he walked past. The adoration of the men reminded Johnson of his own General Cleburne. Atlanta (October 26) The remaining men of the Army of Tennessee were mounting the rolling stock, getting ready for transport west. Hindman's force had already left the day before, as had Stewart. Hardee was last to leave. Johnston's plan was to meet the Union at a rail crossing (Heflin), the only rail link past the mountains, and the best place for a defensive stance. At the same time, General Taylor had been ordered east to that point, to begin building defensive entrenchments there at the crossing (Heflin). While the others left, Cleburne felt the Union armies would not cross Peachtree Creek again; he believed they would cross from the west, so he concentrated his forces there, while leaving some men either north or south in case they try to pass him over. That way, he could move his forces in whichever direction the enemy was coming to meet them head-on. Near the Border (October 28) Grant looked to McPherson and handed him an envelope with his new orders. He was going to head to Montgomery, while Grant would take the Army of the Tennessee back to Atlanta. Divide and conquer was the plan. With McPherson heading to Montgomery, hopefully Johnston would still follow them, leaving Atlanta underdefended, and allowing Grant to make it a gift for the President before the election. Given that General Taylor was undermanned, and now, so was Atlanta, he would be able to defeat the Confederates with his larger army. The man disguised as Private Sam Weaver found out his orders. The 15th Michigan was returning to Atlanta. As his troop stopped, they were informed that Johnston was moving to Alabama to meet them, leaving Atlanta with just Cleburne and his 20,000 against what would be over twice that number. The march had been long, but when they stopped for the night, 'Private Sam Weaver' chose to slip away to try to stop his fellow soldiers from making a mistake. He walked past where the generals were talking, purely by chance, without raising suspicion, as he had told them he was going to relieve himself. Walking at least a good two or three miles, now out of the camp, he made it to the rail line he knew was out here. It was clear of any Union troops, luckily for him. So he decided to leave a sign for his true compatriots to tell them to return to Atlanta. He carved into several trees and into railroad ties, and moved a series of rocks to point back to Atlanta. Cleburne hadn't given him any kind of signs or hidden signal to cooperate with Johnston, which in hindsight, was definitely not a good decision, but he did have his invitation to the Saylors, sewn into the jacket lining. So Lt. Johnson would only hope his carvings would be seen when the Confederates passed by the border.* He ripped the jacket, and saw, in addition to the invitation, his signed order from Cleburne, with a note from Robert Crane, who had done the sewing. It let him know he thought he'd need the order to get back into Confederate lines, so he sewed it into his jacket for him. Robert may have just saved the Army of Tennessee with that. Campbellton (November 1) Grant's forces were back at Campbellton, not finding any resistance at all to their return. It took the better part of the last two days to form up for their march back to Atlanta, but Grant felt it necessary to make the march. Now he could finish what Sherman couldn't. Now the Army of the Tennessee, his army, would be able to meet up with Howard's Army of the Cumberland, and with his planned shelling of the city, and McPherson's planned attack on Montgomery on the 6th, deal a dual death blow to the so-called Confederacy. Atlanta (November 2) Cleburne and his aide looked over at the army north of the river. There was no mistaking it. Their artillery was coming to bear, but they weren't moving to try to cross the river. Their 3" guns were being brought up front across the river at Vinings Station. The 3" ordnance rifle had a range of 4830 yards (2.7 miles), and could easily hit their positions but not the city. Cleburne had a suspicion this was not the main center of their attack. Unfortunately his lack of cavalry, most having gone with Johnston, meant his scouting was limited. He knew they couldn't attack Atlanta from there. Alabama
General Johnston had ordered the train stopped just past the border. A series of carved trees, some arrows, and a few rocks on the track forced his troop train to stop. He was on the last train on the way to the rail crossing (Heflin), and was hoping to get there in time to stop Grant. "What's the hold up?" Johnston asked as he de-trained. He walked up to the train's conductor and a few of his own staff, who handed him an envelope. Johnston read the contents, his face staring in unbelief. General Johnston,
My name is Lieutenant J. David Johnson, of General Cleburne's corps. He placed me in Grant's army to find out their plan. They are planning on sending McPherson to Montgomery to continue their ruse, while General Grant is returning to Atlanta with the Army of the Tennessee so that he and Sherman can finish what they started. It is imperative that the majority of our forces return to Atlanta to stop Grant, otherwise the city will fall by November 7. Please believe my sincerity in this. I have enclosed in this envelope an invitation I received to dinner with the Saylors as proof and a signed order from General Cleburne.
He saw the two papers, and sure enough they were legitimate. How could he have been fooled? Most of his army was now in Alabama, chasing a phantom of a threat when Grant's real threat is still to Atlanta! Johnston began shouting orders to his aids, furious at his own blunder. He would not be the man who lost Atlanta. He was turning around. But he sent General Hardee on to Montgomery to coordinate with General Taylor. Cheatham and Hindman were returning with him. The only question was if he could make it in time. He even asked General Forrest to aid General Hardee in destroying McPherson, then joining him in Atlanta to defend against the Union attack if at all possible. Guaymas, Sonora (November 1) Brig. Gen. Lewis Armistead's army had been clear on the purpose of this mission. His army was marching towards San Francisco from the east, after having been forced to abandon San Diego. Brig. Gen. Gillis took Asbury Harpending's plan and decided to sail with several hundred of his troops for the bay city, and they decided to make way for the mint. They had been dressed in Union blue, using newly stolen uniforms smuggled west from Texas and Arkansas. If all went to plan, they could be out of the city in hours, while Armistead's diversion kept everyone occupied. Twelve Confederate ships, no longer working on striking Union commerce, had been rerouted to carry them to San Francisco. Arkansas (November 1) General Kirby Smith looked upon the city of Little Rock and drew up his plan. He knew the importance of the upcoming election, and decided it was time to recapture the city for his country. Atlanta (November 6) The pounding began early in the morning, at the same time as the church bells called the civilians to service. General Sherman had ordered the timing himself, and ordered his artillery to fire over Cleburne and into the city. The siege of Atlanta had begun. The Confederates were aghast that the Union would think to attack a city, on Sunday, while people were at worship services. They were shelling the city with their 3" ordnance rifles from the east, at Clifton, well within range of their artillery, but outside that of the Confederate artillery. They would need to leave their entrenchments to face them. Most civilians had left the city, but the mayor, city council, and others were still there, including the Saylors. To the west, General Grant heard the sounds of the artillery and smiled. He'd wait a day, let the city get softened up, then march in and seize control. Montgomery (November 6) McPherson had rounded the rail line, bypassing both General Taylor and Johnston, and had made it to Montgomery. He found the city had built some defensive entrenchments, but with his 3" ordnance rifles, he could safely wait outside their range while he shelled the city. He waited until the usual hour for services to start, and gave the command. The siege of Montgomery had started. San Francisco (November 7) While much of California's armies were occupying the southern part of the state, Armistead had taken up position outside the city, which was north of him on the peninsula. He awaited the signal to begin, which was the stroke of 10 AM. He needed to draw out as much of their forces as possible to make Gillis's job easier. So Armistead ordered his artillery to attack San Francisco. The United States of America (November 7) All across the north, newspapers ran news of the war. Both Montgomery and Atlanta were burning, and there were pictures to prove it. Grant would be walking into the city soon. Loyal Americans knew the war would end soon, or so the papers said, if they could just re-elect Lincoln to finish the war. Peace would come, but only after rebel surrender. Statehood (October 31) Congress voted to approve statehood for Nevada by a large margin, as a move to help secure Lincoln's re-election. The states sent its constitution to Congress by telegram, being over $3,000, the most expensive telegram in history. But it would be worth it to secure the electoral votes. Georgia-Alabama Border (November 3) Johnston knew one of Grant's armies was going west to Montgomery; the other returning to Atlanta. Time was against him. He decided to have General Taylor coordinate with General Hardee's force of around 25,000 to envelop the Union invaders at Montgomery, going west on the train as far as possible, while he would take Cheatham and Hindman back to Atlanta to try to defeat Grant. Hopefully the Union hadn't destroyed the railroad up ahead. He silently cursed himself. If Grant made it to Atlanta, his victory at Peachtree Creek would be worthless. His men reloaded and moved east on the train. General Joseph E. Johnston prayed he would get back in time. Atlanta (November 3) One of his orderlies came up to General Cleburne, with the letter of introduction for John Maxwell, from the Ordnance Bureau's Colonel Gorgas. He mispronounced 'horological torpedo' but explained to Cleburne what it was. He was intrigued, so he decided to meet the man. Well outside Atlanta, Lt Johnson, still disguised as Pvt. Sam Weaver, managed to steal a horse, and silently escape from the Union army. He had to warn Atlanta of the oncoming storm. Atlanta (November 5) He shed his Union disguise, and put back his normal gray uniform, and galloped back to his troops. They were still facing north, south, and west. It took over an hour to get to Major Cleary, explain what he had seen, and get an audience with General Cleburne. He made his presentation, giving all the information he gleaned from his time in the Union Army. Grant had split his forces, and they were approaching from the west. Cleburne needed an ace up his sleeve, now that he had this information. Their artillery had range that the Confederates didn't have, and they needed an advantage. His eyes caught the paper of introduction again. An horological torpedo...he thought...but how to use it, and when? November 6
Cleburne's forces were concentrated on the west now; militia and freedmen were manning the artillery as well. They were ready when the Union started shelling them, but were surprised and horrified that the Union, instead of firing directly on them, was firing on the city, on a Sunday, when people were in church. The Confederates had maybe 8 cannon which they had captured that would hit that far out, but they tried firing as much as they could with their 3" ordnance rifles. The siege had been joined. The siege lasted over the course of three days, from the 6th to the 8th. For Cleburne, one bright side, morbid as it was, was the death of General Walker, the man who tried to call him a traitor over his Memorial earlier in the year, during the first 6 hours of the siege. But by the end of the 6th, they had to abandon East Point for the city, having been overrun by Yankees. November 8
At East Point, several batteries were critical in defense of the city, but Cleburne knew it would be overrun with the forces arrayed against him. So he had Maxwell place some of his horological torpedoes in the batteries, with instructions to several officers on how to set the clocks if they were about to be overrun. His unfortunate back-up plan would be executed today. Unfortunately for General Cleburne, that eventuality came to pass after more than 8 hours of intense fighting, Union soldiers hacking back at the abatis, even though the Confederates were firing nearly point blank at them from their trenches. Union and Confederate fired upon each other; the Union troops gained ground slowly but surely. They were approaching the Confederate entrenchments. The abatis were slowing them down, but they eventually were taken apart and moved out of the way, allowing the bluecoats closer to the lines. Soon fighting devolved into hand to hand combat as they fired their single shots and then worked with bayonets, then using their rifles as clubs. Back and forth the two sides fought, but Cleburne's corps was manning the defenses, augmented with freedmen, and handling themselves capably. The Confederates put in their reserves, and 40 minutes after the charge sounded, the Union troops retreated. Then in about another 30 minutes, another charge. The process repeated several times, each causing heavy Union casualties, and light Confederate casualties. In total, the Union forces had suffered about 16,000 casualties over the last two and a half days. The most important of these batteries was Battery Bate. By the time the Union troops were covering Battery Bate, Major Cleary set the clock, covered it with scraps, and left the Battery, retreating with his men. Once Cleary and the rest of his men were well outside the Battery, and closer to Atlanta, the entire battery exploded in a fireball unseen before in the war by many troops. It mushroomed and showered the ground around them with Union men, several hundred in one fell swoop, but causing hundreds of casualties was the shrapnel of metal from everything in there. From his vantage point in the city, General Cleburne was able to see the explosion through his spyglass. As he saw the event unfold, his mind raced with possibilities. He put down his spyglass and smiled. "Lieutenant Johnson, I have another assignment for you," General Cleburne said to the newly minted officer. Given superior Union numbers, they would eventually be overrun. But having proven John Maxwell's theory on horological torpedoes, Cleburne now had an ace. Cleburne's intelligence, limited as it was, told him that General Howard's Army of the Cumberland had been marched around, two corps' worth, leaving only a single corps to guard the bridges over the Chattahoochee, and all their supplies there. He got a telegram from Johnston that his forces were coming and to hold on. Cleburne's corps had suffered 8000 casualties in the last 3 days, but hope was a great motivator. Given that the Union was shelling the city, Cleburne asked Lt Johnson to pick up another Union disguise once more, and work with that clock man, John Maxwell. The evening of the 8th they had made their way into the Union camp near the railroad, under the guise of seeking the medical tent. ** Near Palmetto, with a ridge behind him, and forest on either side to help protect from flanking, Johnston dug in. Luckily, Grant was obliging him by meeting him there. For much of the late afternoon of the 8th, Grant's men arrived and fought, but having been shelling and attacking the fortress city of Atlanta the past two to three days, their nerves were frazzled and they didn't press the attack too much. Johnston didn't suffer many casualties, luckily, but wanting to avoid another Sherman-esque flanking maneuver, posted two divisions on either side in the forest, hiding and waiting once the day was done. Having arrived late morning, Johnston's forces had only managed light entrenchments, so the lack of dedicated fighting by the Union forces had been a lucky break for them. Even luckier was the arrival of the rest of his army, two full corps. San Francisco (Night of November 7-8) Brig. Gen. Gillis and his troops heard the shelling of the city, south of San Francisco. Their diversion was in play. Sailing in during the night, a fog had come through the bay, obscuring their boats. They all bore the stars and stripes, while they were clad in blue. He formed up and marched his men quickly and silently up 5th Street to the mint building. Old Mint Building, before the 1874 building was built
Brig Gen Gillis and his troops came to the door, guarded by four poor guards, who were nodding off at the doors. Most everyone was fighting to the south, and this was all they could afford to spare, apparently. "Private, my name is Brigadier General Gerald Waterson. We're here to protect the gold in the building from the rebels to the south. We need you to help us load everything to take north to Seattle for safe-keeping," he said in his most commanding voice. The private snapped to, saluted and with a sharp "yes, sir!" and opened the doors, not questioning him in the slightest. From midnight till 5:30 AM, the gold was loaded into wagons and carried to the docks and loaded on the ships. About $3 million in all was loaded out of the mint before Brig. Gen. "Jerry Waterson" decided they needed to leave. By about 2 PM on the 8th, the Confederate attack ceased, and they retreated; likewise all the "Union" troops who had landed left on their "Union" ships, floating past the island of Alcatraz. United States of America (November 8) All across the United States votes were counted in every state. New England was doing well for the Republicans, due to the abolitionists there (more like deportationists and exclusionists over true abolitionists, to be technical). New York was decided by 6,749 votes, sending Lincoln its 33 electoral votes. Pennsylvania had a margin of only 18,849, sending Lincoln its 26 electoral votes. Unfortunately for Lincoln, his own home state of Illinois went Democrat, by 49,212, sending McClellan its 16 electoral votes. It may have helped the Republicans that they had won a victory in Mobile Bay, along with the shelling of both Montgomery and Atlanta, the German Forty-Eighters who gave Lincoln his 1860 win, or maybe the presence of Republican troops at some polling places, or even some judges closing polling locations at times convenient to one side or the other. Whatever the cause, Abraham Lincoln gained a victory with 143 electoral votes to McClellan's 94 votes. Even with this victory, the Democrats gained in the House, yet Republicans retained control, now with 85 Democrat seats to the Republican 101. Any Confederate hope of a quick peace left many minds when this result was made known. Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation was a huge help, as he had his generals give furloughs to those soldiers who would, conveniently enough, vote for him, and deny furloughs to those who were known not to be voting for him. At the polls, Union soldiers were present, intimidating those who might think of voting against the President and his party. Montgomery (November 8) Arriving late in the afternoon, the Confederate forces surprised McPherson, who had not gotten a telegram from Grant telling him when they would be arriving. Unfortunately for McPherson, it was General Hardee's forces who came from the southeast, while General Taylor's forces, about 9500 now, faced him from within their strong entrenchments. Three days of siege was wearing on both sides, McPherson and Taylor. His Louisiana 1st and 2nd Native Guard were earning their pay, and even a few of McPherson's colored troops deserted over the last night. General Hardee had his men roll up the artillery right behind the Union forces and fired, scattering their battle lines; his cavalry was coming from the south, his infantry from the east. The fighting was intense, but the decisive factor was General Taylor's men. They had managed to get a telegram on the 6th that help was on the way and to hold out for General Hardee. Once he arrived, they were asked to fight as hard as they could. For over six hours, McPherson's men faced 9500 to their west, around 2500 cavalry to the south with another 6000 infantry, plus artillery to the east and another 14,000 infantry to their east. The musket fire was intense enough to create a cloud of smoke over the battlefield. The Confederate gray and butternut tended to blend into the smoke, while Union blue stood out, making them easy targets. Regimental commanders had their men kneel, go prone, or stagger to keep up a constant rate of fire and protect themselves somewhat. The Union forces charged the infantry to their rear, but after four successive charges failed, the Confederates finally captured the artillery, having killed the gun crews; the firing on Montgomery had ceased by about 3 PM, but the fight continued till at least 5:30 PM, when something broke, and the Union lines of battle collapsed and the men left in panic. About this time, the cavalry, having suffered over 600 casualties, tried to help route them north. Taylor's defense forces left their entrenchments to charge, while Hardee moved west to try to destroy the invading Union army. Over the course of the next hour, the Union suffered another 1200 casualties, adding to their already 5000, before they successfully withdrew their forces to take a circuitous route around Martin Lake and try to regroup with Grant near Atlanta. The Confederates cheered their success, the men giving shouts of joy and utter happiness, as the Union troops left; both sides took potshots at each other, most missing rather than hitting. By about 7:15, the Union troops had withdrawn. General Hardee wanted to pursue, but his men were exhausted by the march, the fight, and the stress of the last few days. He ordered them to help put out fires in Montgomery and attempt to restore order there, including putting back the cut telegraph lines and rail lines, plus act as a discouragement to looters. Palmetto (November 9) Grant met Johnston near a small town called Palmetto, southwest of Atlanta. The rebels had given stubborn resistance over the course of the 8th, but with Lincoln re-elected, the Union war effort would continue until the rebellion was smashed to pieces. He had used the night to reform his men and restore their lines to order for the attack today. Cheatham and Hindman had reformed their various divisions; their entrenchments improved and abatis in place. Confederate reserve artillery was in place. Two divisions were held in the pine forest, concealed from General Grant, on either side now. Four thousand men each. Grant couldn't have known his other troops had finally made it. When the attack would come, Grant would be enveloped on his flanks by Confederate fire. The Confederates put in their reserves, and 40 minutes after the charge sounded, the Union troops retreated. Then in about another 30 minutes, another charge. The process repeated several times, each causing heavy Union casualties, and light Confederate casualties. Then, about 11:30 AM, the unexpected happened. His cavalry had been forward and to the north and south, but not behind him. He didn't expect Johnston to come back this soon, or at all, for that matter. Artillery shells began booming in the distance. Crash! Boom! Boom! Canister and shot and heated shells exploded, causing his lines to fray. "What the hell is going on back there?" he asked, angry. His staff officers began shouting orders, and within about 15 minutes, they had their answer. Johnston had returned. What looked like about 48,000 men, obviously picking up some since leaving the city. Grant was ready to take East Point, where Cleburne had about 22,000 men entrenched, but now with another 48,000 on his back, he had no options left. Atlanta (November 9) Shortly after midday, Lt. Johnson and John Maxwell, disguised as Union soldiers, had walked to the Western and Atlantic Railroad, already repaired and bearing a train across it, resupplying the Union soldiers. The train, with its 14 cars full of ammunition, was a prime target. The pair managed to sneak over to the train to place the torpedo and set it for 30 minutes while en route. Maxwell slit the throat of the engineer and forced the train into reverse, so it would back over the rail bridge as well. Johnson kept look out, but no one was noticing them as of yet, or at least till the engine went backwards. The two men escaped notice and began walking towards the woods. The lack of security near the supply depot was appalling. But then again, no one expected this to happen. A sudden thunderous boom, followed by 14 more afterwards, reverberated in their chests, throwing them to the ground. They felt the heat and smelled the fire, and saw the train from their position, exploding on the bridge. It was a train wreck they couldn't stop watching. The bridge collapsed as the train exploded. Shells rained out and caused even more destruction of ammunition on the Union depot. Tents caught on fire; food stores were stricken with fire. The two men started walking away, and shed their Union garb once they were maybe a mile or so away. Their hearts were beating a mile a minute, but they eventually managed to lose themselves in the forest, away from the Union camp. They heard more artillery firing to the south, with a distinctive high-pitched ring of Confederate shot, possibly Cleburne attacking. ** At Palmetto, Grant was disappointed; his attack had petered out by nightfall. They had suffered heavy casualties, a large number of artillery had been captured, and the Army of the Tennessee had been knocked out of the battle. Johnston's flanking maneuver had worked on him, and he didn't even see it coming. General Schofield rode up to Grant. "My men have been repulsed sir, but we are still capable of fighting." "Did you hear that explosion a few hours ago?" he asked him. "I did, sir. The whole army did. What was it?" "It was most of our ammunition reserve going up in smoke," Grant said more calmly than expected. "Surely we can replace the ammunition with reserves from Chattanooga," Schofield said. "We could, but it would take days to get here. The bridge was utterly destroyed, and we have maybe a day's worth of ammunition left here at Palmetto. We will withdraw," Grant said. "To where sir?" asked Schofield. "North to Marietta to rest and resupply the men," Grant answered. "Dig in your men. They will act as a shield to protect our withdrawal, and be the last to leave. Make your preparations." Montgomery (November 9) Most of the fires were out, and General Hardee and General Taylor were walking towards the state capitol to begin their plan of what to do. "Good morning, sergeant," said Hardee to the man guarding the mayor's building. "Good morning, general!" he said, snapping to attention. "What's your name, son?" Hardee asked. "Narcisse Doucet, Sergeant Narcisse Doucet, sir," he answered. "Military police," Taylor said. "Not a front-line fighter for most of our fights, though he has been a great asset here in restoring order. Stopped three looters last night. "Thank you for your service, Sergeant Doucet," Hardee said, before adding, "Merci." Doucet smiled and saluted sharply as the two generals entered the building. The two generals spoke with brigade commanders, and got a picture of the situation. The Union forces had retreated north, and were out of range. They weren't going to return any time soon. So, the two decided that Taylor had things under control in Montgomery, and Hardee would take the train back to Atlanta to reinforce the Army of Tennessee with his 15,400 remaining troops. **I delayed Peachtree Creek and Atlanta so that Lincoln would have a chance to win. Good updates jjohnson. |
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jjohnson
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Post by jjohnson on Feb 21, 2020 14:35:43 GMT
Thanks!
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jjohnson
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Post by jjohnson on Feb 21, 2020 17:59:56 GMT
Chapter 17: The Dawn of a New Day
Richmond (January 1) President Davis held a New Year's Reception at the Confederate Executive Mansion with a number of high profile politicians and generals. Generals Lee, J.E. Johnston, A.S. Johnston, N.B. Forrest, Jackson, Stuart, and even Patrick Cleburne was in attendance. Several of the people who had just a year ago reviled him and spoke out against him were now praising his wisdom and foresight, and his performance at Atlanta. But Cleburne knew they were just fairweather friends. Now that it was okay to be for black enlistment amongst many, there was no danger in saying you supported it all along. In speaking to the President, General Cleburne did finally hear the President congratulate his performance, and apologize for thinking to silence his proposal. It was 'far-sighted' and 'ahead of its time,' he said. It was a very rare instance of President Davis actually admitting he was wrong. Perhaps Varina had something to do with it, or Jim Limbor, the little black boy the Davis family adopted, but whatever the reason, his apology was welcomed. President Davis, hours earlier, signed the Emancipation Amendment, the first to the Constitution, as well as the Emancipation Bill of 1865, which had taken nearly two months of wrangling and hassling, especially due to the hard-liners in the House and Senate, though Senator Robert Hunter, from Virginia, having read and seen himself the conduct of black soldiers, changed his vote to support both bills. The Emancipation Amendment had roughly the following text: 1. The President shall have the authority to emancipate slaves who served honorably in the armed forces of the Confederate States of America, as well as their spouses or widows, and dependent children in accordance with law.
2. Each state shall legally recognize marriages between any man and woman without regard to color or previous condition of servitude.
3. Congress shall have the authority to draft a plan of compensated emancipation to provide for the freedom of slaves within ten years of passage of this amendment; each State shall obligate itself to full and complete emancipation within ten years of passage of this amendment in accordance with state law.
4. Ten years from the date of ratification of this amendment, neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the Confederate States of America.
5. Emancipated slaves shall have the right to equal protection of the law of the states wherein they reside, including the right to life, liberty, and property.
6. Each State shall have the authority to provide for reasonable measures for the determination of emancipation of their slaves to be completed within ten years of the passage of this amendment.
7. Congress shall have the authority to enforce this amendment by law.
The Emancipation Amendment was proposed by the governor of Virginia, after urging by Generals Lee and Jackson, and by the governor of Georgia, who saw firsthand how Atlanta was saved by the actions of the black soldiers, and the governor of Louisiana. It was then sent via telegraph to all governors and legislatures during December. President Davis, along with Secretary Trenholm and Secretary Benjamin, spoke in favor of the amendment; many governors, especially in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and South Carolina were very hesitant to pass such an amendment, nearly every general spoke in favor of it via telegram, as did the newspapers. It was made clear by the generals leading the fight that if the Confederacy wanted recognition and foreign assistance in the war for independence, they would need to do this. Everyone in support of this amendment agreed that the choice was to have slaves, or independence, but they couldn't have both. Notably South Carolina, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Alabama did not ratify the amendment until two to three years later. The true key to this amendment was the performance of black soldiers, stories of which had been in newspapers for months. There were many hard-liners in the various state governments and amongst the public, but many minds had been changed over the last year, and soon, the three states (VA, GA, LA) were joined by TN, FL, then NC, KY, TX, and AR, making it binding law by January 31 on all the Confederate States. On January 31st, the ratification came into effect, and President Davis would sign the bill passed by Congress on the 1st, known as the Emancipation Bill, which provided for compensated emancipation of slaves in the Confederacy. Later, January 31 would become Jubilee Day in many black communities. For his role in the passage of both the amendment and the bill, Jefferson Davis would become known to history as the "Great Emancipator." The Emancipation Bill provided the following key points: -all bondservants which served in the armed forces of the Confederacy who served 18 months or the duration of the war, whichever comes first, in an honorable manner shall be guaranteed their freedom, and that of their wives and dependent children.
-all negroes currently serving in the United States Colored Troops, who within thirty days of the passage of this law, return to the Confederate States, renounce their oath to the U.S. Army, and take an oath of loyalty to the Confederate States, and take up arms in the armed forces thereof, shall not be considered disloyal to the Confederate States and shall receive the same pay, treatment, and privileges of Confederate States Colored Troops.
-marriages between bondservants shall be recognized legally in accordance with state law.
-all children born to bondservants on or after the first day of the first January following the signing of a peace treaty with the United States shall be born and forever free
-all persons to whom service or labor is owed shall be compensated $500 per bondservant, provided that each bondservant shall have demonstrated competency in reading, writing, basic mathematics, and demonstrate a usable trade to a local three-judge panel in accordance with state law; such bondservants will be freed within 6 months of the signing of peace with the United States, during which time they shall be allowed to earn wages for their labor in accordance with state law and shall not be made to pay any portion to their owners. Those bondservants who do not demonstrate such competency shall be put in indenture for 3 years for the purpose of developing such skills and prepare for independence; if after three years, such bondservants are unsuccessful, they shall be indentured another 3 years, after which time they shall be declared free. During indenture, bondservants shall earn a wage for their labor in accordance with state law.
-no person shall become what amounts to a wage slave, earning barely enough to survive, or a debt slave, being charged usurious amounts of interest to keep someone indebted to another such that they are not free.
-the Confederate government shall use British funds to pay for compensated emancipation, paid back over a period of 10 years at 3% interest, during which time various goods may also be used as a form of payment if accepted by the British government (cotton, tobacco, etc.).
With the signing of this bill, the so-called 'moral superiority' of the northern armies fighting in the South evaporated. Morale amongst those who believed in the cause began dropping even more. Northern generals found it harder and harder throughout spring campaign season to maintain their armies' integrity and fighting will. "If they freed their slaves, why're we fightin' to free 'em as well?" would be an often heard murmuring amongst the enlisted. From the states claimed by the Confederate States, there were roughly 125,843 blacks fighting in the USCT. Within the thirty day limit, ending March 2nd, roughly 38,450 blacks defected from the USCT to join the Confederate Army and Navy, while a number of USCT were caught and shot for desertion (roughly 9,455). Various Confederate States would later build memorials and monuments to those who attempted to join the Confederate Army, and would assist their widows and orphaned children. By war's end, 77,938 US Colored Troops would remain, but would have to wait years for recognition in many instances. Second Battle of Fort Fisher (January 13-15)  The Union needed to score a victory, despite foreign recognition of the Confederacy. Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, was desperate, and getting a bit frantic in his desire to score a victory, and President Lincoln was urging him to do something quickly by the time of his inauguration in March. They couldn't allow the Confederates to continue to have trade coming in, or the Union high-tariff-dependent economy would collapse. So they decided on trying for a huge win at Fort Fisher, called the 'Gibraltar of the South." In a lull between foreign ships coming in to North Carolina, Rear Admiral David Porter was tasked with reducing the fort and taking the port. The Union army found a landing spot south of the fort, and Major General Alfred Terry was able to land his force of 7100* on the shores of North Carolina to try to make a combined attack on the fort. He landed on the 13th of January, but he was delayed by Major General Robert Hoke, who commanded a force of 10,940 mixed white and black Carolinians from both North and South Carolina. For two days, they would face off against each other, with the Confederates, who were rested and fresh due to the frequent imports from abroad of fresh food, drink, and medicine, were able to hold him off to prevent him from coordinating with Rear Admiral Porter.  On the 15th, however, the Union Navy commenced its attack on the fort. For hours, the Union barraged the fort from the sea. To their surprise, however, the fort made a much stronger defense than it originally was expected, as they were unable to land a reconnaissance force before the fight. The Union had 58 ships, 14 of which were held in reserve, bombarding the fort. The attack was joined by 11 AM, however, by 18 new Confederate ships purchased and built in Scotland, and outfitted in the Azores with weapons, who had come with a convoy of British merchant vessels over the horizon. For an hour the Confederates joined the fight, attacking the New Ironsides, Brooklyn, Mohican, and Kansas first. With brilliant maneuvering by the captains involved, including Christopher Pike on his ship, the CSS Intrepid, a hole was punched through the attack, reducing pressure on Fort Fisher, and enabling the fort itself to help sink ships. Pawtucket and Seneca sank in the harbor by attack on both sides, while the British vessels broke the horizon, flying the Union Jack. As they approached the Union vessels accidentally threw several cannonballs nearby, before their cannons were redirected on the Confederates. By 1 PM, the Union was hemmed in, and had lost 2 of every 5 ships in the harbor, with hundreds of sailors swimming in the harbor. By 1:30 PM, the Union force withdrew so as to avoid starting a war with Britain under a white flag, while the Confederate ships escorted the British into the harbor and they both began picking up the survivors as POWs. Major General William Whiting accepted the British as guests a few short hours after accepting the capture of Alfred Terry. Strength: Union: -Army: 7100* -Navy: 58 ships; 2,261 (sailors/marines) Confederate: -3,900 (Fort Fisher) -10,940 (Hoke's Division) Casualties and losses
Union: -Army: 664 (111 killed; 540 wounded; 13 missing); 4977 captured -Navy: 393 (88 killed; 271 wounded; 34 missing) ; 644 captured Confederate: -583 killed and wounded *2500 fewer than OTL due to declining Union morale The Plot Dissolves (January 18) Booth is disappointed when he goes to Ford Theatre, expecting to kidnap the President, and discovers he would not be in attendance due to the heavy sleet and freezing temperatures. Booth and his companion instead go to the nearest tavern, where they are met with another of the many Confederate agents in the area. Booth is asked not to kidnap or harm the President. Judah Benjamin, who runs the CSS, tells agents that there are peace feelers out and with recent battlefield successes and foreign recognition, there is no need to harm the President. With this, Booth is saddened, but enjoys the company of his colleagues, George Atzerodt, John Surratt, Lewis Powell, Samuel Arnold, and Michael O'Laughlin over the next week, each of whom returns to other duties in the CSS, mostly advising the Confederates of troop movements and the inner workings in the Congress to give them advance knowledge in the event of negotiations. Hampton Roads Conference (February 2) A secret conference took place at Hampton Roads between the Union representatives (Abraham Lincoln, and Secretary William Seward) and Confederate Representatives (Vice President Alexander Stephens, Assistant Secretary of War John Campbell, and Senator Robert Hunter) to try to end the war. They met on the steamboat River Queen at Hampton Roads, VA.  While meeting, Lincoln insisted on the supremacy of the Union and rejoining the Union, and offered the Southerners that they could continue slavery if they wanted; they could stop the coming Thirteenth Amendment if they returned to the Union, and perhaps both could form an alliance in France over Mexico. President Davis was not present but Stephens refused the offer, stating that slavery was no longer an issue, since they had decided upon emancipation a year prior; even the staunchest supporters of the institution in the South had resigned themselves to the end of the unfortunate institution and were beginning to make plans for emancipation once the war ended. As for rejoining the Union, given that Sherman was on the run and Grant was stalled, and their recent success in raiding gold from Colorado and California, and running cotton out of Florida through the Bahamas, it was unlikely that they would desire reunion. Stephens made known that they could end the war now with the seceded states, a plebiscite on Kentucky and Missouri, and the South would assume its portion of the 1860 debt. There are no records of the actual conference, just recollections and memoirs, but Lincoln did not believe the situation warranted giving up on restoring the Union, and the conference ended after several hours of back and forth between the two parties. What did come about, however, was a resumption of prisoner exchanges, with the sickest of the prisoners at Point Lookout, Elmira, and Camp Chase chosen to be sent South, as they would be the least likely to return to the fight, while the Southerners sent the same and plenty of relatively healthy prisoners north. Northern PoWs didn't tend to return to the fight, they more often than not simply returned home. At least with this, both sides could say they got something out of the conference, and some lives would be saved. In all, roughly 2,936 southern PoWs were returned home, while 3,016 Union PoWs were sent north. Foreign Recognition (February 15) It took some time for the news to reach London and Paris, but with the actual signing of emancipation, the Confederates eliminated the last hurdle to foreign recognition in the eyes of many in Europe. Implementation was another hurdle, but now they had removed the last moral roadblock for foreign governments. The British were very interested in the low tariff markets of the south for the ease of acquiring cotton and the ability to sell their finished goods back to the southerners. Given the higher quality, and lower price, especially in comparison to the subsidized northern goods, for southerners it was a win-win. The British Parliament voted to recognize the Confederate government, with thirty votes to spare. The Parliament also floated the Confederates a loan of around $512 million to emancipate their slaves, and help pay for their education, of which the Confederates were given notice by the end of February, and took possession of the hard currency in late April. Within a week of British recognition, came French recognition, also eager to sell their goods, including wines, furniture, and other valuable items in the low tariff nation. Writing Home (February 26) The Union's heavy-handed forced "recruitment" of southern blacks meant that many would flee from the Union armies as soon as they could, which did not impress the Union top commanders. Lt. Thomas Myers, one of General Sherman's officers, who, at this point had been forced out of Georgia last fall by Johnston, and was in Tennessee or Kentucky, depending on the day, wrote to his wife: The damned Southern n*****s, as a general rule, preferred to stay at home, particularly when they found out that we only wanted the able bodied men (and to tell you the truth the youngest and best looking women).Northern newspapers expressed their confusion as well at the tendency of southern blacks to flee from their "Saviors" and return to the horrid and backwards southerners. Given how Yankee troops treated them, deriding and insulting them, it shouldn't have been too surprising, but Union soldiers were often "high" on their own moral superiority that the negative effects of their own actions failed to sink in as having a causal relationship here. Union commanders only ever allowed 100 blacks to become officers, and even they were quickly replaced due to the complaints of white officers, so that all Union blacks were only enlisted and never got equal pay to white soldiers. Carolinas (February) Major General Lafayette McLaws and his three brigades are ordered north to Lynchburg to reinforce General Lee to end the war and capture Grant. Harrison's, Kirkland's, and Logan's Brigades, along with Major William Blackwell's cavalry, brought 1200 men north to join the Army of Northern Virginia. Without Sherman's capture of Savannah and Atlanta, there is no Battle of River's Bridge. Without the fall of Fort Fisher, Wilmington remained open to trade, and the blockade by the Union Navy allowed British and French ships into the port so as to avoid starting a wider war. Brigadier General George Jackson, commanding the fortifications of Wilmington was ordered north starting March 20th to Lynchburg to meet up with General Lee to end the war. Battle of Waynesboro, VA (March 2) While Brig. Gen. Alfred Torbert was a veteran and a cavalry commander of some merit, he was not as capable as Philip Sheridan. When faced with the 5000 men in Jubal Early's Army of the Valley, a mostly cavalry and artillery command, the smaller force of 2500 was no match for the resupplied, refreshed, and well-fed Confederates. From November to February over 50 British vessels had brought medicines, boots, new uniforms, satchels, blankets, overcoats, ammunition, and new repeating rifles. Given the victories at Peachtree Creek, Franklin, and Nashville, Confederates had a high morale, while the Union morale was barely holding the small force together. Just outside Waynesboro, the Confederates held their lines and made a brilliant flanking maneuver that swept the Union forces to the river and destroyed Torbert's force. Torbert himself died in the battle, leaving General Custer to retreat across the river with a small force of only a few hundred to return to Grant. The Union faced 1900 casualties in this fight to the 590 Confederate casualties. Virginia (March 3) General Lee had split his army into 4 corps and cavalry: 1st: Longstreet (24,000) 2nd: Jackson (24,000) 3rd: A.P. Hill (17,000) 4th: Richard Ewell (11,500) Cavalry: J.E.B. Stuart (9500) Due to the swelling ranks, it was necessary for Lee to reorganize his forces. Black enlistments increased following Peachtree Creek and Atlanta, as many freemen expected the South to win, and many slaves took the opportunity for freedom for themselves and their families. In total, Lee had about 85,000 men in his ranks, with the black enlistees mixed in with each corps, filling in vacancies where necessary, rather than segregating them into their own corps, which reduced their ability to be trained up quickly. Washington DC (March 4)  Lincoln is inaugurated in his second term, promising a swift end to the "civil war" as he has called it. Notably, Lincoln shifts blame for the war away from himself and his instigation at Fort Sumter and attempted instigation at Fort Pickens, and onto the Confederates: On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it, all sought to avert it. While the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war—seeking to dissolve the Union and divide effects by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came.
His address was incorrect in that it was not a civil war, since the Confederates wanted to leave the country, not take it over. The entire address was picked apart by future historians for its disingenuous wording, and shifting blame for the war to the Confederates rather than on his scheme to reinforce Sumter or Pickens, violating the truce begun by President Buchanan and the Confederates. Battle of Bowling Green, KY (March 4) With his army rested and refit, General Joseph Johnston drove north from its base in Nashville, with a force of around 95,000 to face off against the Union soldiers headquartered in Bowling Green. Theoretically the Union armies had had more than two months of rest and refit; their supply lines had not been harassed by Forrest since Atlanta. But the Army of Tennessee approached starting on the 2nd from just across the border, and made their way to Bowling Green. General Sherman ordered his forces prepared for battle, with their entrenchments ready, and with their artillery to soften up the Confederates. The battle started with the Union forces entrenched in a horseshoe around the city, but the Confederates, under Cleburne and Hardee hit hard on the left, while Stewart hid hard to the front, and with the extra 60 cannon they captured in Atlanta, plus fresh gunpowder and shell from the iron works the Union never captured or destroyed in Atlanta and Selma, the Confederates were able to keep up a high rate of fire on the Union. Starting around 5:30 AM, the Confederates' rebel yell shook their resolve, making the Union defenders hesitate ever so slightly and make little mistakes and hesitations. The battle was going well till about 9:45 AM for the Union till Cleburne's reserves entered the fray, and the Union line broke just west of town, and their panic threw others into a run, and the Confederates began routing the armies of the Union, as they began running for the Indian Hills area, but Generals Sherman and McPherson were able to stem the panic; Schofield and Howard attempted to route the Confederates. The Union forces made a pinched drive back to the west, and forced the Confederates back a few hundred yards, impressively enough. The issue came when Hardee's and Stewart's reserves were put into battle, and they drove the Union from the field. Armies: -CS: Army of Tennessee (General Joseph E. Johnston; Cleburne, Stewart, Hardee) -US: Army of the Cumberland (Maj. Gen. Oliver Howard); Army of the Tennessee (Maj. Gen. James McPherson); Army of the Ohio (Maj. Gen. Schofield); overall command by Sherman Casualties -US: 4,940 out of 80,000 -CS: 1,833 out of 95,000 Battle of Natural Bridge (March 6) In Florida, the Confederates stop a Union assault attempting to capture Tallahassee. Carolinas (March) Without the Union capture of Atlanta and Savannah, there are no battles at Wyse Fork, Monroe's Crossroads, Averasborough, and Bentonville, freeing up thousands of Confederate soldiers who are ordered by President Davis up to Lynchburg, Virginia, to participate in the spring offensive to end the war by defeating Grant. Andersonville, GA (March) Beginning in January, Captain Wirz had written, begging for aid for the PoW camp he was in charge of in Andersonville in southwest Georgia. Prisoners were dying of scurvy and dysentery, and sanitation was sorely lacking due to the hardships of war. Starting in February, he began getting aid, including blankets, new clothing, including socks and shoes, and more importantly lemons and limes amongst the fresh fruits and vegetables, pemmican, jerky, flour, and means to boil and sanitize water, not to mention medical implements and medicines themselves. Without Sherman and the Union blockading Savannah, medicine, which Lincoln had made contraband, civilians and prisoners of war were now able to get healthier. The prison camp was expanded, having a population of around 42,000 prisoners, with the PoWs being used to build new barracks for themselves. Working 16 hours a day, prisoners built 16-man cabins in neat rows, a large improvement from the poor tents they'd suffered in through winter. Groups of 10 cabins, facing each other, now lined the original camp, while the prisoners were given clean water to bathe and drink for the first time in a while. While their health would take some time to improve, Captain Wirz worked diligently to try to improve their condition when the shipments from Europe came in, which several in the war department agreed to do, coming from James Seddon, the Secretary of War, so as to try to help with prisoner exchanges. By the end of March, the majority of prisoners, while still thin, were not bone-thin starved skeletons anymore, as they had a much improved diet without the march of the Union Army destroying farms through 1864. Kentucky Roll (March 5-17) The Union forces in retreat moved back through Kentucky as Sherman had through Tennessee. Sherman's March continued, and he made Kentucky howl. His tactics were just as harsh and just as cruel, but he only steeled Confederate resolve and made Kentuckians turn from somewhat Union and somewhat Confederate to majority Confederate. His attempt to scare them into supporting the Union failed in his march. Two battles were fought along the way, at Leitchfield and Elizabethtown, slowing the progress of both armies. Supply line issues caused by Forrest forced Sherman to retreat into Louisville by April 4th. The Confederates won the battle at Leitchfield due to Forrest's work against Union supply lines and their early deployment of artillery against the Union, but their efforts stalled at Elizabethtown due to effective entrenchment by Schofield and McPherson. During a series of five engagements, two major, the Confederates lost 3,955 men while the Union lost 6,221. Union desertions were becoming a problem again in the west. Battle of Culpepper, VA (March 13) Lead units of the Army of the Potomac fought in a skirmish with one corps under General Longstreet, as Lee was forming up his army. It was a minor skirmish, but the Confederate approach from the west encouraged Grant to swing around the Confederate right, hoping to smash them. While this maneuver failed to destroy the Confederates, this was a tactical victory for Grant in forcing the Confederates to move south, and west into Virginia, giving him a small sense of confidence and improving the morale of his troops. In his meetings with Lincoln over the winter, Grant spent time coordinating his plan for the spring offensive, deciding to focus solely on destroying Lee, rather than attempting to get Richmond or Petersburg, which had simply stalled his army; Lincoln approved his plan. Union Casualties: 1,200 Confederate Casualties: 450 Battle of Ruckersville (March 17) In this small-scale battle, General Jackson led two divisions from Stuart's cavalry and swung around the Union left (east) flank while Lee took them from the South, forcing Grant to go west, when Stuart's remaining cavalry started attacking his northern flank. In the west, Generals Forrest and Cleburne begin their march, via rail or otherwise, to Lynchburg, to attempt to force an end to the war by helping General Lee in Virginia against Grant. Johnston now had to figure how to defeat Sherman with only two corps, slowing his progress and due to his caution, allowing Sherman and his men time to rest from battle. Battle of Charlottesville (March 22-24) Grant swung around the Confederate left, and hard marched to the city of Charlottesville, occupying the town and getting his army a much-needed rest; their occupation of the town resulted in wide-scale looting and burning of houses and businesses, which was difficult for the Union command to control. His army of 85,000 was reduced at this point to 76,000. For two days his army was bombarded from the north and west by Confederate cannon, making it difficult for the Union troops to sleep, and forcing them to maintain their cannon to counter the barrage. The Union entrenchments were well fortified, and their foes did lose a number of men attempting to take the Union fortifications, but after two days, Grant decided he needed to evacuate the town and saw an opportunity to go for Richmond. Lee's Army went from about 81,000 to 95,000 due to black enlistments and drawing troops from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, and would continue to grow in size despite losses in these battles. Casualties: -US: 3,900 -CS: 4,500 Battle of Cunningham (March 26) Due to the speed of both Stuart and Jackson, their men were able to force Grant to halt an eastward movement on Richmond, and using quick maneuvering and flanking, inflict heavy damage on Grant's supply wagons as well as several artillery. The Confederates forced them to give up 8 cannon, as well as 25 supply wagons. Try as he might, Major General Wesley Merritt did not show the temerity and ingenuity that J.E.B. Stuart showed in this battle; while he did what he could, Merritt was somewhat intimidated by Stuart's reputation and the ferocity of the Confederate cavalry, who fought especially hard due to his responsibility in burning homes, farms, and livestock in the area under orders from his commanders. Grant's Army has reduced due to prisoners and desertion now to 68,400. Casualties: -US: 944 -CS: 688 Buckingham (March 28) General Jackson and General Longstreet fought against the First and Third Division of the XXIV Corps, which were hoping to outflank the Confederates to march eastward, though the Confederates routed them, forcing them south and west to Andersonville. During this small series of battles through the morning and early afternoon, the Confederates caught 2,000 prisoners and 40 supply wagons. Here, Grant's army has again dwindled due to desertion or capture to 65,190 persons. Morale in the north in the success of the fight in the east begins to dwindle. Casualties: -US: 744 -CS: 410 Andersonville (March 30) The Army of the Potomac was dwindling down as it came deeper into Virginia, facing a combined force of Generals Longstreet, Ewell, and Hill, preventing them from retreating north and escaping west, leaving the Union troops forced to continue their march south, while preventing them from approaching Richmond, leaving the Confederate capital operating. This was one of the worst defeats of the spring campaign, and Grant's use of direct attacks was contrasted with Longstreet's adoption of Stonewall Jackson's use of flanking maneuvers, which routed the Union troops, forcing a retreat southward. Jackson, Lee, and Longstreet all see the notable change in the performance of Grant's army. They appear to be making more mistakes, and not pressing obvious battlefield advantages when Ewell or Longstreet's brigade commanders made some mistakes on the battlefield or left their flanks unprotected. Grant's army reduces in strength now to 61,900 persons due to casualties, desertions, and taking of prisoners. Lynchburg (March 31) The Confederates noted the lower morale of their Union opponents and General Lee felt it was time to strike a decisive blow against their foes. He had asked in early March for General N.B. Forrest and General Cleburne to be detached to Lynchburg to perform in the defeat of the Army of the Potomac. Both Generals and a combined force of 35,000 men camped at Lynchburg, aided by a Shenandoah Valley feeding them. Grant's forces were facing issues with their supply lines being raided while they were so far into Virginia, but he felt they could still force a defeat if their forces from Elizabethtown came through. The supply issues were affecting the ability to feed his army within enemy territory, but Grant had gotten a telegram from General Sherman stating he would be able to march to meet them with provisions, ammunition, and more troops; unfortunately for General Grant, the Army of Tennessee arrived in the area of Bowling Green to the east and north, preventing him from leaving the area. They cut the telegraph lines after the message left, so Sherman was unable to sent word that he couldn't come to his assistance. Second Battle of Elizabethtown (April 4) General Johnston finally attacks Sherman's forces entrenched just outside Elizabethtown in the high terrain northeast of town. He lets his infantry fire from behind their entrenchments, using repeating rifles purchased from England, while their artillery, now fielding 108 pieces, barraged the Union troops behind their fortifications. The situation of Kennesaw Mountain seemed to have reversed itself, and the irony was not lost on Johnston. For a good part of the day, the Confederates lobbed thousands of shells onto the Union forces, but it was the concerted efforts on the Union right flank, to open up an opportunity for an infantry charge, on the part of Stewart's forces, who managed to inflict over 800 casualties by rifle fire alone before resorting to bayonets, that caused a route, forcing Schofield to need to send in his reserves to try to shore up the line. Stewart's men were pushed back, and the Union artillery hesitated so they wouldn't fire on their own men. By 4 PM, however, the day had taken its toll on the Union men and Stewart's reserve came in to push the charge, and the Union men finally broke, and started retreating. Schofield and Howard attempted to turn the men back but with that beginning, the other Confederates charged in even closer and the Union forces had to retreat or be totally defeated. Sherman's men retreated to Louisville via the Bardstown Road through the hills and mountains, where they had plenty of supplies waiting for them and more men. Casualties: -US: 7,533 -CS: 3,129 Farmville (April 7) Longstreet's Confederate forces hold off the Union Army's advance near Farmville, as they crossed the Appomattox River, and continued their trek on the north side of the river. On the night of April 7, Lee sent to Grant, then headquartered near Farmville, a letter proposing that his army should surrender. Grant demurred, retaining one last hope that his army could get to Appomattox Station and meet up with Union forces from Tennessee, which he had gotten a telegram three weeks prior that they would be arriving from Bowling Green through Lynchburg. He returned a noncommittal letter asking about the surrender terms Lee might propose. Grant's forces had reduced to under 60,000 men due to desertion and casualties by the 7th. Lee had word sent to the restless Confederates in Lynchburg to march east, and they set out on the morning of the 8th for the roughly 20-mile march. Cumberland Church (April 7)  Brig. Gen. Thomas Smyth
About 2 PM on April 7 the advance of the Union II Corps encountered Confederate forces entrenched on the high ground near Cumberland Church. They attacked the Confederates twice, but were repulsed, and the coming darkness halted the conflict. Union Brig. Gen. Thomas Smyth was mortally wounded nearby, and Union Col. John Irvin Gregg was captured north of Farmville. Roughly 12,000 on each side faced off; the battle left 820 dead on the Union side, and 245 on the Confederate side. The Confederates caught bout 2500 prisoners, leaving Grant with around 56,000 men. Appomattox Station (April 8) J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry division seized a Union supply train and 25 guns, effectively blocking Grant's path, because Appomattox Station is to the west of Appomattox Court House, making him unable to meet up with Union forces coming from Bowling Green. This unique action pitted artillery without infantry against cavalry. Stuart captured and burned three trains loaded with provisions for Grant's army. Lee sent a letter to Grant offering generous surrender terms, as urged by President Jefferson Davis, and proposing a meeting to discuss them. With his rations and supplies destroyed, Grant's last hope was to outmarch his Confederate pursuers to Lynchburg, where he believed there to be more rations and supplies. Some food was still available in Grant's remaining wagons, and it was distributed to the units as they arrived in the vicinity of Appomattox Court House, to Meade's army first, then Ord's, then the rest of the army. Grant's forces had dwindled again to 52,700 men. Appomattox Courthouse (April 9) At dawn on April 9, 1865, the Confederate Second Corps under Stonewall Jackson attacked units of Major General Wesley Merritt's cavalry. Ahead of Jackson's corps was Major General Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry, which quickly forced back the first line under Col. (Brevet Brig. Gen.) Charles H. Smith. The next Union line, under Major General George Crook's division of the Army of the Potomac and Brigadier General Ranald S. Mackenzie's smaller division from the Army of the James, slowed the Confederate advance. Jackson's troops charged through the Union lines and took the ridge, but saw the enter Union XXIV Corps and Union V Corps, both in lines of battle once they got to the crest of the ridge. The key to the battle was the arrival of Forrest's entire cavalry, aided by General Patrick Cleburnes' Corps, a force totaling 35,000 men and over 80 pieces of artillery coming from the Union right flank, while Lee's forces maneuvered J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry to the Union left flank, and deployed their artillery. Having interior supply lines, along with a better fed, and higher-morale army was of huge benefit to Lee. He was able to maneuver his armies to envelop Grant's own forces, now numbering about 47,500 due to the fighting occurring since dawn. The morale of the Union army was in a dismal state. Grant's invincibility had worn off and his trademark aggressiveness had almost disappeared in his Virginia campaign. Perhaps the fall campaign had affected him, or his realization the game was up. He didn't press his attacks as much as he usually did, and when the casualty figures mounted, he broke off the engagements to move further south to try to meet up with Sherman. Forrest's cavalry, a force of around 11,000, including 3,500 black soldiers, including a number of black sergeants, harried the Union troopers, managing to kill off large numbers of the artillery crews, in concert with J.E.B. Stuart's forces on the other flank confining Grant's forces to a limited area and preventing a true retreat until General Cleburne managed his forces into lines of battle along the Union right flank and rear flank, while Lee positioned his forces into lines of battle on the south, southwest, and southeast flanks. Lee had his artillery, including pieces from Georgia and the Carolinas shell the Union armies. Sixty pieces were brought to bear on Grant, while their artillery crews attempted to respond. Casualties proceeded to mount for much of the morning. Thundering again and again, the Confederate artillery tore through Union soldiers, as the Union artillery did the same. By noon, there were another 5,000 casualties on the Union side, and another 2,800 on the Confederate side. By 2 PM, the Union lost another 3,000 as Cleburne's corps coordinated with Ewell, Hill, Jackson, and Longstreet and shrank the available area for Grant to operate. Grant's assistant adjutant general, Brigadier General Seth Williams rode in at this time, about 2:15 PM, and George Meade gave him a reply he knew Grant would not want to hear: "Tell General Grant that I have fought my corps to a frazzle, and I fear I can do nothing unless we are supported heavily by Sherman's corps." Upon hearing it and considering the positions of the armies, Grant finally stated the inevitable: "Then there is nothing left for me to do but to go to see General Lee, and I would rather die a thousand deaths." Many of Grant's officers, including Meade, agreed that surrendering the army was the only option left. Lee was extraordinarily gracious to the defeated Grant, allowing him to choose the place of his surrender. He chose Appomattox Court House, a small settlement of maybe 20 buildings, and chose the house of Wilmer McLean, built in 1848.  With gunshots still being heard on Longstreet's front, and Confederate skirmishers still advancing on Meade's front, Grant received a message from Lee. After several hours of correspondence between Grant and Lee, a cease-fire was enacted and Lee received Grant's request to discuss surrender terms. General Grant surrendered his army at 5 PM, accepting the terms that Lee had proposed by letter the previous day. He was accompanied to the McLean House where the surrender occurred by his aide and his corps commanders. Lee offered the same terms he had offered the day before: In accordance with the substance of my letter to you of the 8th inst., I propose to receive the surrender of the Army of the Potomac, Army of the James, and the Army of the Shenandoah on the following terms, to wit: Rolls of all the officers and men to be made in duplicate. One copy to be given to an officer designated by me, the other to be retained by such officer or officers as you may designate. The officers to give their individual paroles not to take up arms against the Government of the Confederate States until properly exchanged, and each company or regimental commander sign a like parole for the men of their commands. The arms, artillery, and public property to be parked and stacked, and turned over to the officer appointed by me to receive them. This will not embrace the side-arms of the officers, nor their private horses or baggage. This done, each officer and man will be allowed to return to their homes, not to be disturbed by Confederate States authority so long as they observe their paroles and the laws in force while they travel home and leave the Confederate States.
The terms were as generous as Grant could hope for; his men would not be imprisoned or prosecuted for treason (for those coming from southern states considered as part of the Confederate States). Officers were allowed to keep their sidearms. In addition to his terms, Lee also allowed the defeated men to take home their horses and mules to carry out the spring planting and provided Grant with a supply of food rations for his hungry army; Grant said it would have a very happy effect among the men and do much toward reconciling the two countries. The terms of the surrender were recorded in a document hand written by Lee's adjutant Col. William H Thomas, a North Carolina Cherokee, and completed by around 4 PM, April 9.  Grant surrenders at Appomattox Court House
Surrender at Appomattox
Well-dressed in a new uniform, thanks to shipments coming in from Europe, with a wreathed five-stars on his crisp white collar, Lee waited for Grant to arrive. Grant, whose headache had ended when he received Lee's note, arrived at the McLean house in a mud-spattered uniform—a government-issue sack coat with trousers tucked into muddy boots, no sidearms, and with only his tarnished shoulder straps showing his rank. It was the first time the two men had seen each other face-to-face in almost two decades. Suddenly overcome with sadness, Grant found it hard to get to the point of the meeting and instead the two generals briefly discussed their only previous encounter, during the Mexican-American War. Lee brought the attention back to the issue at hand, and offered Grant the same terms he had before.  Grant signing the document of surrender of his army to General Lee
Grant, upon discovering Thomas to be a Cherokee, remarked, "It is good to have one real American here." Thomas replied, "Sir, we are Confederates, but we are all Americans and brothers." As Grant left the house and rode away, Lee's men began cheering in celebration, the Rebel Yell being sounded by some, but Lee ordered an immediate stop. "I at once sent word to all the men to have it stopped," he said. "The Yankees are our brothers, and we did not want to exult over their downfall." Longstreet and other Confederate officers purchased from McLean the furnishings of the room in which Grant and Lee met as souvenirs, emptying it of furniture. Lee soon visited the Union army, and then he and Grant sat on McLean's porch and met with visitors such as Major General Gouvernor Warren and Brig. Gen. Joshua Chamberlain before the two men left for their capitals.  General Lee on the porch with his staff shortly after Grant's signature of surrender.
On April 10, Grant gave his farewell address to his army. The same day a six-man commission gathered to discuss a formal ceremony of surrender, even though no Union officer wished to go through such an event. Lieutenant General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was chosen as the Confederate officer to lead the ceremony. He would later write in his book, The End of the War for Southern Independence, on what he saw on April 12, 1865, as the Army of the Potomac marched in to surrender their arms and their colors: The momentous meaning of this occasion impressed my soul deeply. I wished to mark it by some token of recognition, which honor would dictate could be no other than a salute of arms. As one soldier to another it was altogether appropriate and fitting as a salute to our brothers in arms. My reason, is one for which I neither sought authority nor asked forgiveness. Before us stood soldiers tried by combat as we had been, standing before us in proud humiliation as the embodiment of manhood: men whom neither toils and sufferings, nor the fact of death, nor disaster, nor hopelessness could bend from their resolve; standing before us now, thinner, worn, and famished, but erect, and with eyes looking level into ours, waking memories that bound us together as no other bond;—was not such manhood to be saluted on its way back to its now separate nation, one we called the old Union? I gave instructions, and when the head of each division column came opposite our group, our bugles sounded the signal, and instantly our whole line, from right to left, regiment by regiment in succession, gives the soldier's salutation, from the 'order arms' to the old 'carry' - the marching salute. Meade at the head of the column, riding with heavy spirit and downcast face, caught the sound of shifting arms, looked up, and taking the meaning, wheeled superbly, making one uplifted figure of himself and his horse, and with a profound salutation, dropped the point of his sword to the boot toe; then facing his own command, gave word for his successive brigades to pass us with the same position of the manual - honor answering honor. On our part, not a single trumpet sounded, nor drum rolled; not a cheer, word, nor whisper of vain-glorying, nor motion of man standing again at the order, but an awed stillness took hold.
Several pictures of this moment took place, and can be seen in the Museum of Southern History today. At the surrender ceremonies, about 43,900 Union soldiers passed by and stacked their arms. The Appomattox Roster lists approximately 43,800 men who surrendered; the reference does not include the casualties from the 9th, nor several desertions since the fighting ceased. Union officers presented arms before a number of black Confederate soldiers, privates, colonels, and sergeants in rank, who presented themselves with honor, despite many of them having formerly been comrades in arms to those Union troops and having switched sides. Many of the black Confederates had suffered discrimination and racism while serving in the Union forces, while the Confederate army was not perfect, they had been treated with more respect and had not been segregated as in the USCT. Private John Leach of the 53rd North Carolina Regiment, Company C, received several dozen Union soldiers, with "one lieutenant, nine white men and two Negro servants" who were in uniform and had served in battle. Washington, DC (April 9) News of Grant's surrender hit like a thunderbolt across DC. Democrats crowed that the war was a mistake; Republicans blamed abolitionists; abolitionists blamed Lincoln and Democrats, and yet more people blamed all of the above for the handling of the war. Many in the north blamed the Colored Troops for defecting, weakening their strength and morale, and giving intelligence to the enemy. Opinions abound in DC, New Englanders railed at losing the moral high ground by not abolishing slavery first, allowing the Confederates to do it first robbed them of their moral crusade against the 'sin of slavery.' In the White House, Mrs. Lincoln was having one of those days when she heard the news, while Abraham reread the telegram from Grant two more times to make sure he read it correctly. Grant, who had been the savior of the Union, was now laying down his arms to those rebels, ruffians, traitors. How could this be? How could their advantage in industry, men, immigrants, horses, food, and even the moral high ground have all counted for nothing? Richmond, VA (April 9) News of Lee's victory over Grant electrified the town. It was a town of maybe 45,000 - 50,000, less than half that of Washington, DC, just a few dozen miles away. People cheered Davis's name, and newspapers printed special editions with the sparse details they had available to them, to be corrected later. Headlines exclaimed the war would end soon. Flags flew from every building, and a spontaneous parade erupted down the streets and past the Confederate Executive Mansion, where Davis and his wife, Varina, watched with their children, the parade-goers cheering as they marched past, waving their flags all the more as they did. With the power vested in the office of the president with the first amendment, Davis emancipated 100 slaves in Richmond who had served loyally during the entire war and their families, with a personal message to each of them. Over the course of the next few months, he would emancipate several thousand slaves under his personal hand, and tens of thousands who served in the army, earning him the sobriquet "The Great Emancipator," something no northern newspaper would use for decades. Davis asked to speak before the Congress, which they agreed; the opponents of the Davis administration couldn't help but allow it given the success of Lee and the very likely success of the war effort. It was brief and to the point: My fellow Confederates:
On this day, I wish to inform you of the battlefield success of our General-in-Chief, Robert Edward Lee, against the forces of the Union Army to our west at Appomattox. I was informed that as of today, General Lee has accepted the surrender and parole of over 40,000 Union troops to be escorted out of Virginia and into the United States.
With this we hope, under the favor of Almighty God, that the dread war brought upon is by a sectional party and a sectional president will soon come to an end. At this time I would encourage all sons of the Confederacy of able body and sound mind that if they had lost hope, return to arms and finish the conflict with us, and any desertions will be given amnesty.
At the beginning of this conflict, we sent peace commissioners to the United States to propose a fair and amicable settlement of all questions of public debt or property that might have been in dispute at that time. Recently, we again sent peace commissioners at Hampton Roads, who were again rebuffed, and against logic given the condition of rejoining the Union and paying their protective tariffs as a condition of peace.
With international recognition and victory close at hand, I again have sent peace commissioners to the United States to attempt to secure peace and friendly relations. As our fathers did in their struggle to secure the sacred right of consent of the governed, so have we too struggled to vindicate that right by the appeal to arms. At this late hour, let us all pray that success crown our efforts as did our fathers, and provide to us and our posterity a speedy and peaceful resolution to this unpleasant war.
I ask each Southerner to reflect with humble gratitude upon Providence's protection to our young Confederacy, and invoke the blessings of God upon us in our efforts to secure independence and remain faithful to the pledges we have made to ourselves and our posterity. Battle of Shepherdsville, KY (April 11) A minor battle between the rear guard of Sherman's army under General Howard against General Hardee, resulting in about 840 Union casualties and 410 Confederate casualties. Howard successfully held off Hardee, and his cavalry screened his retreat, preventing too many more casualties. While Johnston had been successful in pushing Sherman back, both he and President Davis desired a decisive end to the conflict in the western theater. Davis ordered Forrest and Cleburne back to his aid, while Longstreet, Hill, and Stuart would take their forces west to defeat Sherman, holed up in Louisville. Lee would maintain eye on the Union retreat from Virginia with his two corps and the men defending Richmond and Petersburg. Battle of New Orleans (April 12) Confederate General Richard Taylor, in concert with Brig. Gen. St. John Richardson Liddell managed to defeat Union Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks, ending a month-long fight against his supply lines along the Mississippi River. Fighting began around 6:15 AM between Confederate cannon and the captured Louisianan forts, and was aided by the arrival of another twenty captured Union cannon.  General Richard Taylor
Given the word of General Grant's surrender in Virginia, Nathaniel Banks was quoted as saying to his staff, "My God, the game is up." At about 11:30 AM, in view of six Confederate naval ships on the river and a force of 12,000 surrounding the city, he surrendered New Orleans to the Confederates. Shortly after, citizens went up and tore down the Union flag, and put up the third national flag, cheering as it was done, in remembrance of the "Butcher," Butler, having killed a man for doing so during his occupation of the city. Good Friday at Ford's Theater (April 14)  Ford's Theatre in DCBoth Lincoln and Grant were rumored to be in attendance for Our American Cousin that night at the Ford's Theatre. Grant politely declined the invitation, as his wife was not on speaking terms with Mary Lincoln, and he himself was not in the mood to attend a play.  The President's Box at Ford's Theatre
That night, Major Henry Rathbone and his fiancee Clara Harris finally accepted the invitation of the President, and they attended the play as intended. One of his bodyguards, William Crook, advised him not to go, but he said that he had promised his wife. During the intermission, the policeman John Frederick Parker, who had been assigned to guard the President's box, left to a nearby tavern with the footman and coachman, while Crook and Ward Hill Lamon had decided, in fact, to be present, and slipped into the President's Box and made their quiet greetings to the President. During a moment of laughter in the play, a man slipped into the box, and attempted to shoot the President, but the man, a radical northerner from Indiana named David Caswell, was wrestled to the ground, but not before shooting Lincoln in the arm with a grazing shot. It would turn out that two other assassinations were attempted that night, both of which failed. Caswell's other co-conspirator, Bryan Richards, along with Olivia Wolffe, C. Jones, Edward O'Neal, and Michael Edwards, all on whom were quickly hanged for treason, but not before all were kept in isolation, with their eyes and ears covered so they couldn't talk to other prisoners. None of the conspirators had any ties to the Confederacy, and all came from either Ohio, Pennsylvania, or New York. President Lincoln's arm was barely injured, but he was given medical care for the grazing wound, which recovered quickly. From then on, Lincoln did not travel without at least two guards at all times, and no other assassination attempts were made on him for the rest of his second term. Battle of St Louis (April 15) The news of the victory over Grant had shaken the morale of the Union forces holding on to Missouri. General Kirby Smith assaulted the fortress there, resulting in a loss of 2300 Union soldiers to his 1187 casualties. Union Major General Frederick Steele faced the desertion of a number of his German Forty-Eighters, immigrants from the failed revolutions of Europe who came over to fight in this revolution, who knew the game was up. Johnston was able to send Smith 200 cannon, captured along the way from their roll up of Union forces in Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama, along with militia from the southeast to try to free Missouri, a state which did have representation in the Confederate Congress. The Confederates were able to push Steele back against the river in St Louis, Missouri before he surrendered on the 26th to Kirby Smith and Johnston. Major General Sterling Price was also present for the surrender. Battle of Frankfort (April 24) Generals Longstreet, Hill, and Stuart routed the Union occupation of Frankfort, the capital of Kentucky, which at this point put up only token resistance to the Confederate forces marching through the city. Longstreet paroled the troops, removing all equipment except side-arms, horses, and provisions. He had them sign paroles with the understanding they would leave the Confederate States and cease their conflict with them. About 5,000 men marched north, while Longstreet led his men north to Louisville. John Hunt Morgan, having luckily escaped being shot in the back during his escape from Greeneville, Tennessee last year, had been under orders to join Forrest's Corps, and had now returned to Kentucky to free Louisville. Richmond Gains a New Resident (April 25) John Jones, the black man who voiced such vocal support for the Confederacy in New York, arrives in Richmond, VA. President Davis greets him, and hosts him for dinner with Varina, and Jones's wife. News of the Confederate President hosting a black man in their Executive Mansion is shocking and appalling to northern readers. Davis gives Jones the Presidential Bronze Cross for his support of the Confederacy, and for the hardships he endured on behalf of that support. Numerous northern black and white civilian would receive this medal, while a number of PoWs would receive the Bronze Star, a similar medal. Battle of Louisville (April 26) General Johnston was in a rare position to have more men than Sherman. Fifty thousand from Virginia, plus his own 78,000 now. Their now 210 guns placed them at a unique advantage as well, a number of them confiscated from Grant with a very long range. .jpg) Union fortifications at Louisville, KYGiven the fortifications of Louisville, impressive as they were, from Fort Southworth to the west near the Ohio River, to Fort Elstmer just east of Butchertown. Johnston had the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and the Louisville and Lexington Railroads cut by Stuart and Forrest's cavalry corps over the last week, preventing maybe a quarter or so of Sherman's food from getting to him. He had maybe 70,000 troops at his command. Beginning at 4:30 AM, General Johnston had his men concentrate on Forts Clark and Karnasch in the west of the city, Forts McPherson and Philpot at the center, and Forts Hill, Saunders, and Elstmer in the east. Their artillery started battering the forts at exactly 4:30 AM, and didn't stop until 8:30, when those forts had been reduced to practically nothing; the Confederates turned their artillery to the other forts, while their infantry concentrated on taking out the troops in the entrenchments joining the forts. Having a force of nearly 130,000 was something Johnston was not used to having, to say the least. General Cleburne concentrated on the western sector of the defenses, and his use of cavalry plus reserves smashed through west of Can Run Turnpike, sending a large number of the men west of Fort St. Clair Morton running back from the field into the city for safety. News of Virginia and New Orleans had already reached Louisville; to these men, the Confederates had already beaten them and freed their own slaves. Why continue fighting? Cleburne's forces routed the western sector and finally silenced the artillery of Fort Southworth, killing the artillery crews and taking 1,200 prisoners in the process. Once they were defeated, Cleburnes forces began pushing east to help Hardee, who was almost going to send in his own reserves before Cleburne showed up. Between Fort St. Clair Morton and Fort Horton, Hardee and Cleburne began routing McPherson's tough and experienced soldiers, who, despite McPherson's best efforts, would not push forward once the Confederates came to their entrenchments, firing repeating rifles at near point-blank range. Union soldiers dashed through the Hebrew Cemetery and past the Oakland Stables, while Confederates captured the now unoccupied horses for themselves. McPherson's men poured back to the original 1862 entrenchments further into the city. East of the Shepherdsville Turnpike, Forrest's Corps was fighting with their usual verve and tenacity, while the infantry was pushing on Schofield's army manning the eastern sector of the defenses. After the western side had fallen, though, large numbers of Schofield's men either ran for the inner defenses or surrendered, yielding a total of 11,000 prisoners across the entire line for the Confederates. Stuart and Hill's men managed taking the prisoners back, while Johnston pressed the advantage. Their artillery began maneuvering for the Taylor Barracks, when a rider, Lieut. William McCrory, under flag of truce came bearing a note for Johnston to discuss terms of surrender of the Military Department of the Mississippi. Influenced by General Lee, to whom he had often been compared, General Johnston prepared terms of surrender that were as generous as he could make them, despite everything Sherman did on his march: In accordance with the temporary peace we now enjoy, I propose to receive the surrenders of the Army of the Ohio, Army of the Tennessee, and the Army of the Cumberland on the following terms, to wit: Rolls of all the officers and men to be made in duplicate. One copy to be given to an officer designated by me, the other to be retained by such officer or officers as you may designate. The officers to give their individual paroles not to take up arms against the Government of the Confederate States until properly exchanged, and each company or regimental commander sign a like parole for the men of their commands. The arms, artillery, and public property to be parked and stacked, and turned over to the officer appointed by me to receive them. This will not embrace the side-arms of the officers, nor their private horses or baggage. This done, each officer and man will be allowed to return to their homes, not to be disturbed by Confederate States authority so long as they observe their paroles and the laws in force while they travel home and leave the Confederate States. All silver, household goods, books, or other items acquired within the Confederate States shall be left within the Confederate States to be returned to the people thereof. Generals Sherman, Schofield, Howard, and McPherson will meet in person with Generals Johnston, Longstreet, Hill, Stuart, Forrest, Stewart, Cleburne, and Hardee to accept the surrender.
 Generals Sherman and Johnston meet outside Louisville, Kentucky to discuss terms of Sherman's surrender.
In what was a respectful and somber ceremony, the armies led by Sherman and his generals laid down their arms, and saluted Old Glory as they passed the Union flag, saddened that their cause of " Union Forever" was no longer a possibility. The Confederates, including the Orphan Brigade, gave salute to their brothers in arms out of martial respect for those who had not hours ago had been mortal foes. Johnston had Forrest and Stuart ensure proper distribution of rations to Sherman's army as necessary, while Hill and Longstreet aided processing all the soldiers. In all, there were maybe 72,000 men left, a large number having deserted in the march back to Louisville, either crossing a bridge, or disappearing into the woods.  General Sherman reads over the terms of surrender presented by Johnston
Union soldiers, once the official ceremony took place on the 28th, were allowed to march across the Ohio River on Union pontoon bridges. Many crossed into New Albany, west of Louisville, between West Louisville and Portland; about 1/3 crossed into Jeffersonville, Ohio from Butchertown. There was no looting, nor violence, remarkably, though Confederates removed a large amount of silverware, random household items, and other things from soldiers' packs and from Louisville that was certainly taken from farms and houses along Sherman's March in Kentucky and Tennessee. With the marching of the last soldiers in the west, the war was almost over. Vicksburg (April 26) General Albert Sidney Johnston had not taken a field command since his injuries at Shiloh, and had concentrated on training the black troops slightly south of Atlanta, making all the difference in that decisive battle. But at his insistence, while General Johnston was marching into Tennessee and Kentucky, he had taken a force of around 12,000, added Taylor's men from New Orleans just two weeks prior, Brig. Gen. St. John Richardson Liddell's force of 6000, and marched on Vicksburg. While the victory was a token victory, it was a symbolic one for Johnston who managed to win a battle in the field, forcing the surrender of the Union garrison of 7,800 men after only 5 hours of bombardment, despite the fortifications of the town. Louisville, KY (April 27)* The women's prison is liberated by the Confederates, and 400 nearly skeletally thin women and children, barely capable of walking, are freed, while Dr Walker is arrested for mistreatment of prisoners in violation of the laws of war. The women's condition was photographed as were their living conditions, which were poorer than the Union, with all its vast resources, could have provided. Another nurse, Olivia Wolff, who took a particular delight in torturing the prisoners by telling them how evil they were and how they didn't care for negroes as well as President Lincoln did, and how they deserved to be imprisoned for their treasonous support of the Confederacy, was arrested as well. She had started her time in 1864 at an average weight for a woman of the age, and when the prison was liberated, she was over 250 lb in weight; most of the food intended for the women, she ate instead of feeding them Pictures of the prisoners were taken and reprinted across the CSA, and across Europe with lurid tales from the prisoners of their mistreatment by the radical Republican, Olivia Wolff, and her guardsmen, David Himmler and Bryan Schicklgruber, two German '48-ers who had moved to America after the fail revolutions to get military experience before returning to Germany. *The story of these women's capture, deportation, and imprisonment is true. Their rescue by Confederates did not happen OTL. Virginia (May of 1865) Famed diarist Mary Chesnut wrote about an encounter she had with a freeman, former slave, who was talking to his former owner now that the war was essentially over and negotiations were ongoing up in Canada. The former bonded servant said: " When you all had de power you was good to me, and I'll protect you now. No n*****s nor Yankees shall tech (touch) you. If you want anything call for Sambo. I mean, call for Mr. Samuel; day my name now."* This scene was repeated throughout the now independent Confederate States in various ways, as former servants promised to help their former masters and protect them from the Yankees till they left. *This was in Mary Chesnut's Diary from Dixie, p389
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jjohnson
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Post by jjohnson on Feb 21, 2020 20:08:14 GMT
Chapter 18: Negotiations for Peace
1864After the CSS Shenandoah took sail from England, along with a number of her sister ships, one of the last ships to leave port was to be the CSS Enterprise, with Captain Robert April from Georgia in charge. His ship would sail along the Caribbean and harass Union shipping there and at South America before returning home to Savannah in 1865. Fifteen of his crewmen were black Confederates. 1865
Washington DC (April 15) It took several days for Lincoln to finally acknowledge his cabinet's request to speak to the Confederate commissioners. They had requested a meeting back in February at Hampton Roads, but Lincoln stubbornly refused to agree to the Confederates' demands of independence and recognition at that time; that stubborn refusal had cost the Union over 25,000 young men's lives. Lincoln didn't want to believe that the war that he inaugurated and wanted for the purpose of finally putting down the southerners who stood in the way of his "American System" had failed, but the evidence was staring him in the face. Grant had surrendered, and Sherman was on the run. Maybe he could pull off a miracle, but it was doubtful. His fight was off ever since Peachtree Creek, but he was still a relatively capable commander, despite that loss. A Union emissary called for discussion of a 'convention of states,' at first, but this was refused by the Confederates. British ambassador, Lord Lyons, met with Lincoln and made a formal request for a conference to be held in Montreal to discuss the terms of surrender and peace between the two parties. By April 26, and the news of Sherman's defeat, however, Lincoln finally acquiesced to a conference with the rebels. To his dying day, Lincoln would call them rebels, or traitors, or anything but Confederates. He never got over them rejecting his authority as President of the United States. Papers around the north were printing scathing editorials of his conduct of the war, Grant, Sherman, and the rest. Abolitionists were calling on the Union to abolish slavery, which was still legal; if the Confederates, the evil slaveholders could say they're doing it, why couldn't the Union emancipate immediately and without compensation to the evil slaveholders? Lincoln nominated William Seward (Secretary of State), Henry Halleck (Union Major General), James Speed (Attorney General), and Andrew Johnson (Vice President) to represent the United States. Richmond, VA (April 15) President Davis was informed of the acceptance, several days later than he would have liked, of the offer of British mediation of peace between the two nations. President Davis now had to think whom to send to Montreal. He considered John Reagan, but his very hard-line views on slavery, given the new reality of the Confederacy, were simply not possible. He decided on his Vice President, despite his constant criticism. He was a sharp constitutional mind. Breckinridge, a former Vice President and General was a good choice. Judah Benjamin was likely to help ease the tensions with his personality, and Congressman Barksdale would be a good choice to round out the commission, given his support of emancipation and enlistment. The Confederates informed the United States that they would send the following persons to Montreal: Alexander Stephens (Vice President), John Breckinridge (Secretary of War), Ethelbert Barksdale (Congressman), and Judah P. Benjamin (Secretary of State). At this point, the Confederate States measured an area of 1,055,263.33 mi2 (2,733,120.00 km2), with their claims on the lower half of the large southwestern New Mexico Territory (or Arizona Territory). James River (April 18) The Confederate delegation left the capital on the CSS Enterprise, gliding gracefully down the James River and out to sea. It was decided to leave from Richmond, since the cabinet was already there, and it would be easier than traveling to a different port to sail north to Montreal. The crew of the vessel were working hard, sweating as they went about their business, trimming sails, hauling the rope, scrubbing the deck, and everything else that went along with a sailing vessel, yet they were all singing happily as they worked; Bonnie Blue Flag, Dixie, Yellow Rose of Texas, and dozens of other unique songs created during the war were sung as they sailed out to sea. Captain Robert April stood astern, watching the ensign and the naval jack fluttering in the wind, the commissioning pennant from the main mast fluttering in the strong wind they caught, which put a smile to his face as it did so. His naval uniform was perfectly trimmed as were those of his crew; the newest uniforms had come in from England not three months prior. Steel Gray pants, darker than the 'cadet gray' of the army uniforms, black boots, and a gray coat bearing the captain's four stars on the shoulder straps. Another new change from Richmond, but it made it easier to tell officers from enlisted, he figured.  Pennant flown by the CSS EnterpriseAs they sailed down the James River, they got people in boats waving at them, and salutes from the forts, batteries, and cannons along either side of the river. The wind was strong on the river, so he didn't need to engage the steam engine just yet. John Breckinridge strolled on deck, with his freshly shaven face feeling cool in the breeze. He wasn't used to not having a beard, having gone so long during the war with one. The lack of supplies and time meant shaving had been a luxury, and most generals and their men were unshaven. He chatted with sailors as they went about their work, discovering what they did in their duties to make the ship work. The Enterprise exited the James near Norfolk Naval Base, which fired off their cannons in a final salute with three cheers. The crew could hear strains of Dixie playing as they left for the open ocean. Captain April ordered the guns on the frigate to fire their own salute in response, as the crew of his ship gathered on the starboard rail to wave their hats and cheer to their land-based comrades. This all brought a big smile to Breckinridge's face. Just as much as the army on land, these men of the navy had helped bring about Confederate independence. Secretary of State Benjamin joined him on the deck and smiled, as both men leaned out over the railing watching the land recede in the distance. "Lovely day, isn't it, Mr. Secretary?" Benjamin said with a smile. "I still can't get used to that title. It's been General for so long," he replied. "Well, get used to it. You were chosen for Secretary of War, and over the past few months since the British sent aid and finally recognized our nation, you've done a marvelous job with supplying the armies with food and navies with lumber." "That's just the beginning," John said. "Much easier with British and French supplies..." "Well, first we work on peace, the rest will follow," Judah said as the two men leaned over the rails and took in the coastline of Virginia as they sailed out past the Chesapeake Bay and past Northampton County. "I guess this is how it must've felt to John Jay, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams, when they went to meet with the British in Paris to discuss terms after the first Revolution," John remarked. "It's a great feeling, but with that sense of apprehension that keeps you from wanting to make mistakes," Judah said. "It's invigorating." Changing the subject, he pulled out a flask and passed it over to Breckinridge, saying, "Let's indulge in a little bit of my new favorite beverage." He gave Breckinridge a swig of his flask, which had a fine Kentucky bourbon in it, bringing a smile to Breckinridge's face as he enjoyed the smooth taste of his home state's liquor. "This is going to be a fine voyage," John said with a smile, as the two went to find their fellow commissioners. -- As the ship made for open sea northward, Breckinridge got a chance to talk to Congressman Barksdale, while he was watching the coastline to port. "How do you like our voyage so far, Mr. Barksdale?" asked the Secretary of War. "It's been lovely, I have to say," he replied with a smile. "It's just a shame we had to make it." "Indeed. Thousands of men dead," Breckinridge said. "Just because the northerners wanted higher tariffs, political power, and to stop us from settling out west." "Everyone knows that's the reason," Barksdale said. "They can't claim to use slavery as a millstone to bludgeon us into submission and death now. Hence why I took Cleburne's proposal and put forth that bill. Besides, slavery was going to die anyway. We might as well end it on our own terms. Maybe we can invent some steam engine or something to harvest crops so we won't need so much manual labor anyhow." "A forward-thinking move," Breckinridge said with a nod as he leaned over onto the rails with the Congressman. "But lots of people didn't like it. Disturbed the 'old way' of doing things." "Well those people forget that the south had 4 out of 5 abolition societies before the Nat Turner rebellion was instigated and their form of abolitionist started hurling insults our way. Had they not agitated, perhaps our two countries wouldn't have gone to war," Barksdale mused. "Or maybe we would've just fought over tariffs and the constitution. Who knows?" "Indeed. Water under the bridge," Breckinridge said, moving the conversation along. "What do you think of our position?" "The ones Davis gave us, that we have to push for? Not realistic. I know some powerful slave owners want to try to weasel out of emancipation, and push for return of the emancipated blacks, and undo the amendment, but it's not going to happen," Barksdale said. "The Republicans still have control of the Senate and barely hold their House, but they won't continue the war. Reality being what it is, the Republicans need to have a peace treaty." "We do to," Breckinridge added. "Our economy's been wrecked and we have a lot of inflation to get under control." "Luckily we now have an extra what, $30 million in gold we stole from the Yankees?" Barksdale chuckled, getting a smile from Breckinridge. "Realistically speaking we need labor in our fields. So the question is what do we say?" "I remember a man....Cyrus....McCormick, that's the one. He's from Virginia, but living in Chicago now," Breckinridge said, remembering the man. "He invented a mechanical reaper machine for harvesting. If we can encourage him to come down to the Confederacy, and sell those reaper machines, that would free up a lot of hands to do something else." "What else, though? We don't have much industry to speak of other than some iron foundries." "Once we secure this treaty, we should make a concerted effort, and I'll talk to Benjamin about this, to recruit and encourage industrialists, engineers, scientists, chemists, and other people with something worthwhile to contribute to move to the Confederacy. We don't need manual labor to improve our country; we need progress and science," Breckinridge said. "And we need to open new universities for teaching the latest in agriculture, machinery, and science." "Now who's 'forward thinking'?" Barksdale laughed. -- The ship docked in Quebec City, and Secretary Benjamin served as a tour guide for the men, translating for them for the two days they spent there until their train left for Montreal. Having gotten aboard and in their private car (of two the men had to themselves), Breckinridge took out a stack of papers, notes from various generals on their after-action reports, detailing their successes, failures, things that they couldn't do and why they couldn't do them, most of which came down to the horrid railroad system in the Confederate States, and lack of industry. He put the papers down and looked out the window at the Canadian countryside. He lost himself for a few moments in its beauty, then remarked to himself that the railroad was faster and smoother than anything he'd experienced back home. Confederate railroads were slow and rickety, having been worn down by lack of public funds, most of which were spent on internal improvements in the north, and Yankee raids during the war. A knock on the door, and he was greeted by Benjamin and Stephens. "Come in, gentlemen," he said. "Just trying to get some work done." "Aren't we all?" said Benjamin with a smile. "So, what's on your minds?" he asked. "We were talking and wondering if you shared our opinion of our commissions from President Davis," Stephens said. "That depends," he replied. "Do you believe his original instructions are unrealistic?" "Yes," said Benjamin, while Stephens nodded. "But we have to present them per our commissions," Stephens said, ever the stickler for the law. "The concern is if our initial position is too extreme, they'll cancel the peace conference." "I don't think they'll do that. They need peace as much as we do," Breckinridge said. The Yankee public has no stomach for continued war, and the South can't fight a war for much longer."I think you're right," Benjamin said. "The Republicans' hold on power is very tenuous, as is that of Lincoln. If they don't get a good peace deal out of this, the Republicans could very well lose both houses of Congress in the next election. And their populace has no stomach to resume the war if the peace talks break down. They've had draft riots since 1863 over the continuance of this war." "So, what should we do?" Breckinridge asked. "Well, perhaps if we were to look at the President's instructions as...advisory," he said, talking like Elim Garak from DS9 for a moment. "Now you're sounding like a lawyer," Breckinridge said with a chuckle. "We were both lawyers before the war," Benjamin reminded him with a smile. "Return of emancipated slaves is simply not going to happen," Stephens said, cutting to the chase. "The North complained about our nullification of their tariffs, but they turn around and nullify a provision of the Constitution as if it were the same thing, but it revealed a greater truth. They won't budge on that point, not now. And I'm tired of being misquoted on that damned so-called 'Cornerstone Speech,' where I was quoting someone else's words in mockery of them, pointing out the Yankee hypocrisy on the issue." "On many issues," Benjamin quipped, making everyone chuckled. Stephens continued, "It's the law of the land now and we have to move forward. Black men served the army with honor, and my initial reticence was misplaced. Now we are honor-bound to see to it we uphold our legal and moral obligations to our black veterans the same as our white veterans to emancipate their families." "Some would say that's a slippery slope to equality for blacks and whites," Breckinridge said. "Better we do that our way and in our own time, rather than have it imposed upon us by opportunistic Yankees," Stephens said. "That's why we fought at any rate, to control our own destinies, rather than be dictated to by a group of agitators who know better than the world how to run everyone else's lives...and make a profit off everyone else while they're at it. As for equality, I don't believe our generation can handle such a thing, but the future is not yet written, and that can remain a question for a future generation of Confederates." The men kept talking for a while, agreeing to keep Davis's instructions as a guideline, not scripture. Their conversation meandered onto other subjects, including how to build their post-war country. Everyone agreed on the need to improve the rail network in the South, a weak point throughout the war, as well as the need to drastically improve industry over their meager capacity now. --- During the journey, it became known that the accommodations in Montreal would not be sufficient for their needs and the group was routed to Ottawa, the capital of Canada. Barksdale mused it was so the Yankees could have a hotel they liked more than what was in Montreal. But Stephens suspected it was to confuse them and place them on the defensive, while Breckinridge urged both to calm down and focus on the task at hand. --  The crowd welcoming the Confederate Delegates
Once they arrived, they were greeted by a crowd with a sign saying "Welcome Confederate Peace Delegates!" in English and French. Benjamin smiled, and Stephens thought to himself this must not be a particularly exciting town. The four delegates exited the train as various attendants got their luggage for them. Once they de-trained, the four were greeted by the playing of Dixie by the resident fife and drum band. One company of British infantry, brilliantly dressed in their red coats, presented arms in a salute to the four delegates in a precision better than any Confederate unit could muster, in Breckinridge's experience. "I wasn't expecting all this," Barksdale said. Stephens took it all in. "How should I respond?" he asked. "You're the head of this delegation, Mr. Vice President," Breckinridge reminded him, emphasizing his official title.  Mayor Dickinson of OttawaThree men approached. One in a very well tailored suit, the other in immaculate British uniforms. One colonel, Arthur Fremantle, was already known to the delegation. "Gentlemen, please allow me to introduce myself," said the civilian with a smile on his face. "My name is Moss Kent Dickinson, Mayor of the city of Ottawa. On behalf of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, I would like to welcome you to our fair city." Stephens collected himself and stepped forward, extending his hand, "We are pleased to make your acquaintance, your honor. My name is Alexander Stephens, Vice President of the Confederate States of America. On behalf of the Confederate States, we thank you for your hospitality and willingness to host our peace conference with the United States." "Peace is a welcome goal," he replied. "May I present Colonel Arthur Fremantle, whom you may already know?" The men were introduced to the man who toured the Confederacy during 1863 and had given such a positive report back to the British in London. The other man was Col. Garnet Wolseley, the head of the militia in this part of Canada. They made some small talk before departing for the hotel. Originally scheduled to be at Rideau Hall, the delegation moved over to the first railway hotel in Ottawa, Chateau St Laurence Rossin* at the request of the US delegation.  The next day, the delegates from the Confederacy went to the West Block, which would soon become the Parliament of Canada, a wing currently not in use so that they could speak without being overheard.   Committee Room which housed the two delegations during negotiations.
The four Confederates were impressed by the West Block in which they would be working with their counterparts from the United States. Once entering the grand hall, they saw an immense wooden table, likely oak, about 20 feet by 4 feet. They found their breakfast on the table, as indicated by their personal valet, William. Freshly brewed coffee, Canadian bacon and eggs, and various other delights were laid out for them. They decided to wait to eat, but Breckinridge poured some coffee and added some cream and sugar. He took a whiff and delighted in the smell, and once he took a sip, smiled at its delicious taste. Given that he had to make do with a concoction made from chicory root while in the field, which tasted awful, he vowed never to take the simple taste of coffee for granted again. William returned to the room, saying, "The Union delegation has arrived, gentlemen." In walked four men, one in a very nicely tailored Major General's blue uniform, the other three in perfectly bespoke suits. They halted at the sight of the Confederates, a tense moment at the sight of the opposing party. A few tense moments passed before William broke the tension, saying, "As you can see gentlemen, breakfast has been served on the table for you. Please ring the bell on the table if you need anything further. Otherwise you will not be disturbed." Johnson spoke first, "Thank you young man. You may leave." William nodded and left the room. Judah Benjamin broke the ice, "Good morning, Mr. Secretary," he said, shaking the hand of William Seward, the Secretary of State. "And Mr. Vice President Johnson, so good to finally meet you! Mr. Speed, I hope you're doing well today! I assume you must be Major General Halleck? Pleased to meet you!" The men exchanged greetings for a few minutes before Breckinridge asked, "Why don't we enjoy some breakfast before we start out business?" "I don't see why not," said Seward in a friendly tone. Union Delegation
    William Seward, Henry Halleck, James Speed, Andrew Johnson
Breckinridge knew Seward, Speed, and Johnson, and Halleck by reputation. The fifth man he assumed to be their secretary. Confederate Delegation
    Alexander Stephens, John Breckinridge, Ethelbert Barksdale, Judah Benjamin
Surprisingly the men talked amiably during breakfast for a good 45 minutes. Johnson talked about the new capital dome in response to a question by Benjamin, while Barksdale and Speed spoke about which plays were being shown in Richmond and Washington, DC. The Union men rang the bell, and William took breakfast away, while refreshing the coffee, before he withdrew from the room. "So, gentlemen, shall we get down to business?" asked William Seward, clearing his throat to get their attention. "The sooner the better," said Alexander Stephens, taking the lead. "Very well then," Seward replied. "I believe we should begin negotiations by agreeing to keep our deliberations strictly confidential." "Agreed," Stephens said quickly. "The members of the 1787 Constitutional Convention were wise to agree to the same protocol. Had they not, they likely could not have negotiated freely before their great work had completed." "Well put," Seward said. "If it's good enough for the Founders, it must be good enough for us, right?" "Indeed," Stephens replied. "I don't believe this needs to be in writing, since we're all gentlemen. All agreed?" Seward glanced at everyone at the table, who nodded in agreement. "Excellent. While we're agreeing, shall we also agree to break for lunch at noon?" The second question was agreed by nods again. "May we start?" asked Stephens. "By all means," said Seward. "Thank you," Stephens said. "Well, first, we should agree that the first clause of a potential peace treaty be the acknowledgement by the United States of the complete independence of the Confederate States from them." Johnson and Halleck gained pained expressions on their faces. Both were Unionists, so it was understandable. "We wouldn't be sitting here at this table with you had we not already agreed to this, Mr. Stephens," Seward said, his bushy eyebrows moving a little as he spoke. "No one in the North is happy about the outcome of the late war, but the Confederate States have succeeded in defeating the United States in armed combat as well as gaining diplomatic recognition of eight powers in Europe as of this moment. Acknowledging your independence at this point in time is simply admitting reality." "Thank you for saying so," Benjamin said in a pleasant voice, hoping to make the negotiations a little more pleasant than Stephens's blunt nature could sometimes make things. "Shall we continue on to other points rather than dwell on our 'recent unpleasantness' as it were?" "Agreed," Johnson said. "If you gentlemen will excuse me, I would like to discuss the military matters which must be included in the treaty," interjected Major General Halleck. "I hope we can discuss these matters quickly and amicably." Breckinridge nodded, his other commissioners looking to him, since he was Secretary of War, "Go ahead." "Thank you," Halleck replied. "Obviously, the treaty must say that the state of war between our two nations has come to its end." "We agree," Breckinridge said. "Excellent," Halleck said. "As for the details, I would propose that on the date of ratification, the United States shall begin its withdrawal of all remaining forces from the territory of the Confederate States, to be completed within three months." Breckinridge knew how military maneuvering took time, getting riverboats, railroads, and other transportation ready, organizing supply depots along the way, and so on, and in the interest of being gracious, he said, "We can agree to a three month timeline from ratification." There were Union troops on various Atlantic islands, in various prison camps, and along many places on the Mississippi River, plus in places in Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri. "Why three months?" asked Barksdale, understandably worried at leaving now-foreign troops in the South. "Can it not be accomplished sooner?" "It is quite complicated to coordinate for the transportation to be gathered, be it rail or riverboat, for thousands of men," Halleck explained. "Plus we would need supply depots along the route, and possibly clearing roads in some situations." "General Halleck is correct, Mr. Congressman," Breckinridge said. Having fought in the war, he knew the complicated logistics of maneuvering thousands of men through a territory, and the need to supply and feed them. "Especially given our infrastructure's current condition." Halleck continued, "Likewise, the treaty must include a provision for Confederate troops to withdraw from Union territory currently occupied. If I am not mistaken, there are Confederate troops currently in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Missouri." "Kentucky, Missouri, and West Virginia are Confederate territory," Stephens said quickly. "West Virginia was not created with the permission of the elected legislature of Virginia, and as such is an unconstitutional and illegal creation." Breckinridge raised his hand to silence his fellow delegate, even if he were the Vice President, trying to return the discussion to its formerly civil tone. "I don't believe we've discussed the issue of borders just yet, Mr. Vice President. Let's begin with the technical aspects first, such as troop withdrawals." "Very well," Stephens said. "We will get to it soon enough." "Thank you, Mr. Breckinridge. Shall we agree to mutual troop withdrawal within this treaty?" asked Seward. "We do," Breckinridge said. "While we discuss military matters, we would like to include a provision detailing the end of the Union naval blockade of our ports." The blockade had not been seriously enforced though since early April, about a month ago. "Wouldn't the treaty saying the war has ended mean the blockade would end at the same time?" asked the current US Vice President, Andrew Johnson. "Yes, that would be legally correct," said William Seward. "Even with that," Breckinridge interrupted. "We would like a provision of the treaty to state this explicitly." "We would not object to this," said Henry Halleck, "if you would be willing to include a provision for your commerce raiders to cease attacking our ships and return to port." "We would agree to that," Breckinridge said. Most Confederate ships, including the CSS Shenandoah had already ceased operations since mid-April in the Atlantic and Pacific since news of Grant's surrender became known, so this really cost them nothing and let the Union say they got something from the Confederates. "Thank you," Halleck said with a nod. "Now we must get to the exchange of prisoners." Breckinridge tensed up. Prison camps on both sides were neither sanitary nor pleasant; in the South, lack of food and medicine due to the blockade, and in the north, they had adequate food and blankets for winter but refused to give them to traitors and rebels, whom they treated as coldly as the weather did. He hoped his delegation would not interject at this point to try to keep the civility going. His own son suffered through a prison camp, so he knew what they were like from his son's experience. His delegation remained silent, luckily, so he could speak, "We have no objection to a complete release of all prisoners of war once peace is established, on both sides, regardless of race." Barksdale nodded. He had drawn up the emancipation and enlistment bill, and had a hand in the next emancipation bill, despite the acrimony he had gotten from some elements of his state. But he and Breckinridge had discussed this on deck of the CSS Enterprise, and given the mutual enlistment of black soldiers, they had agreed to treat them not as 'contraband' but as legitimate soldiers just as white soldiers. Unfortunately it was known that at Point Lookout, the black Confederate soldiers had been segregated from their white colleagues, to their cries of objection, and put to work, despite their freed status, at various work gangs doing the unpleasant work the persons in charge of the camp didn't want to do. "Per the instructions of President Davis, we are required to include in this discussion a request to return all 'contraband' created via the Gettysburg Proclamation or any runaway slaves," said Congressman Barksdale. "That won't happen," said Vice President Johnson, who began to speak, but Barksdale cut him off by continuing himself. "We know, but we were required to bring the point up," Barksdale said. "Given the laws in effect in states such as Illinois and Oregon banning all black persons from settling in those states, however, we thought you might wish to release them to us." "If they freely choose to settle in the Confederacy, that's their choice, and the choice of the state itself to allow or not to allow persons," said Johnson. "But it's a state's right to choose whom they allow in." "To that point, we can agree," said Alexander Stephens. Luckily for Breckinridge, they wisely moved off the topic of slavery for the time being; it was dying out in the South anyhow, so they need not continue to press the issue too much. The issue of the Fugitive Slave Act was a moot point that they were told to bring up, but would do so later. "Let us return to the topic of borders," suggested General Halleck. "Agreed. Shall we start, or would you prefer to start?" asked Stephens. "Feel free, Mr. Stephens," said Halleck with a gracious gesture of his hand. "Thank you," said the Confederate Vice President. He unrolled a map containing a map of North America, and began, using a line he had drawn in black ink earlier to indicate their requested border. "We would request the recognition of the 37th parallel out west as our mutual border from Oklahoma to the Pacific." "I would like to object to this," Seward said. "Our state of Nevada is quite dry, and the use of river resources would greatly help our settlement of this state. We would request the border out west follow that of California to the Colorado River, and continue thus until it reached the 120th parallel west. That would allow both Arizona and Nevada access to that river. In exchange we would grant the southern portion of California if you also allow free river access from Nevada down the Colorado River." Hoping to smooth over things, Breckinridge took lead and said, "We agree to this, if you will agree that Kentucky and its river border shall also be considered part of the Confederate States." "We would rather locate the border at Tennessee," said James Speed who'd been silent till this point. "Such that West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri would be United States territory." "I don't believe we can agree to such terms," Breckinridge said, his face in a bit of shock at their large request; his own home state was Kentucky, so he certainly had a vested interest in it remaining with the Confederacy. "That would cut largely into what is clearly a Confederate State of Tennessee." "There is a recognized Union government in Tennessee," said Andrew Johnson, the governor of that Union government. "We would also request then a plebiscite for both Maryland and Delaware, since Maryland's legislature has been partially arrested, preventing a vote on secession," said Stephens, countering the extreme Union claim. "That's unacceptable," said Halleck firmly. "You cannot expect us to allow our capital to be surrounded by a foreign country!" He thought a moment, looking at Stephens's map. He spoke up, without any of Davis's instructions, and came up with what he thought might be a solution, "Leaving aside Missouri, would you accept Kentucky and Tennessee's recognition as Confederate States, in exchange for Nevada gaining river access, and our recognition of West Virginia, to include Morgan, Berkeley, Jefferson, as well as," he drew a line himself by hand, "the remaining counties you have organized into West Virginia? With this we would also drop any claim to Maryland and Delaware." He looked up, leaning on the table, as his Union counterparts, three of which remained unpassable. For a few moments, Seward studied the map. "We could agree to this, a recognition of West Virginia, the addition of those counties, plus Nevada, if you would also include Alexandria county. It was once part of the federal district, and we have a desire to create a national cemetery there." Stephens spoke up, "But on land stolen from General Lee!" Breckinridge gave Stephens a death glare, silently willing him to shut up. A bit selfishly, Breckinridge was trying to negotiate for his own home state to join the Confederacy, and he almost had it until Stephens opened his mouth. "The land was taken for non-payment of taxes," said Mr. Seward. "What would you have us do, since our capital is on the Potomac? Our government has asked us, since we are on the topic of borders, for the territory of Virginia up to the Rappahannock River, so as to protect our capital from constant military threat." "That's...that's unacceptable," Breckinridge said, surprised the issue had even come up. "Out of the question!" said Barksdale, surprisingly, standing up out of his chair in protest. The room fell silent as he slammed the table; the secretaries grabbed their inkpots to prevent them spilling. "We thought we would like to inform you as well of what our government has required of us," Seward said, catching on to the phrasing the Confederates themselves had used earlier. "But we would be willing to...forget such a requirement, if the Confederates would be willing to agree that all counties along the Potomac shall be...demilitarized on both sides of the river, aside from our federal district. No forts, no cannons, and you keep Alexandria County. That way our government would feel safe, and your government would not have to cede any further Virginian territory." The man touched his fingertips to each other and leaned back in his seat, as the Confederates whispered to each other, before Breckinridge spoke up. "We will agree to the demilitarization of the Potomac counties on both sides in exchange for the border agreements we made thus far." "Very well," said Seward. "It appears we have reached the time for lunch. I think it would be a productive use of our time if we were to break for lunch and use the time to cool off." "We can agree to that," Stephens said. "Shall we reconvene in two hours?" "That would be acceptable," said Seward. ---- The four Confederate delegates ate their lunch, some of the finest food they'd had in some time, due to the Union blockade, discussing various points of the negotiations as they did. They brought up the desire for reparations for the civilian damage in Tennessee and Kentucky, but Stephens countered they'd simply ask for the Confederates to take a share of the national debt. They agreed that the issue with Arizona and Nevada was a good solution, despite not having been tasked with that authority; however, the US delegation had given them Kentucky (despite a massive Union presence there still) and keeping northern Virginia in return for giving up their plebiscite in Maryland and Delaware, and recognizing West Virginia. Amazingly they hadn't contested Oklahoma, which was formerly Indian Territory, and admitted to the Confederacy as a state 3 years prior. Likely the Union didn't want a bunch of Indians acting like citizens, otherwise they'd have made the populous territory a state already. What remained was the status of Missouri. Luckily slavery was no longer going to be an issue for much longer, at least in the Confederacy, at any rate. ---- The delegations came back from lunch, and having mostly settled their mutual border, aside from the issue of Missouri, moved to the navigation of Mississippi. Surprisingly, the negotiation agreed to free navigation of the river, without Confederate tolls. The two parties agreed that the Union would collect its tariffs at the border, and to facilitate this, both sides agreed to a 10'-tall border fence starting from Oklahoma/Kansas westward, with gates every 10-20 miles, with a graded roadbed 45' wide on either side for water drainage, with both sides cleared for easy visibility out to 50 feet from either side of the fence. Both sides would have a telegraph line run along the fence-line, with stations at the gates to provide for easy communications between the Confederate border officials and United States border officials all along the border. Both sides agreed to a joint British-French monitoring program, with five officials per state along the border fence to ensure both sides were living up to their expectations. This negotiation alone took much of the rest of the first day of negotiations, and the monitoring program came about due to a side conversation with Wolseley about how to ensure both sides could live up to their responsibilities. The delegations decided to break for the day at 7 PM, after which both sides went to have dinner and relax, preparing for the next day. Day 2-4
The second day of negotiations came to a very difficult issue concerning money. The Union men wanted the Confederates to take on a proportional share of the national debt, as of 1865; the Confederates balked, considering that was a huge number, including money spent waging war on them. Of course, this was a negotiating tactic, and they then replied with the 1860 number, $65 million. Given the 1860 population number was 32,043,321, that would mean a Confederate assumption of $24,608,526.69. The Confederates brought up Sherman's March and his total war policy, Turchin, and Grant, all of whom did not control the theft, pillaging, and destruction of their armies, destruction of crops to induce starvation of the Confederate civilian population, nor the rape of women along the way. These topics became incredibly heated and took a large part of the day, and even into the third day. The Confederates agreed to assume their share of the debt, and to drop the issue of civilian reparations, given the large amount of gold they had confiscated from the United States, if the United States would agree to holding their troops responsible for atrocities they committed during the war, to which the US delegation demanded the same of Confederates. Day 5
During the acrimony, Halleck and Breckinridge had come to an understanding that both sides should be allowed to create monuments to their war dead on either side without obstruction and that vandalism or willful damage to the monuments or flags of either side would be treated as a serious crime. On the same vein, they came to an understanding that the Lee family would be paid for the Arlington plantation they lost so they could purchase a new home for themselves. Breckinridge had great respect for General Lee, and he thought this would be a great present for him when they finally finished their negotiations. Breckinridge and Seward also made an agreement that Confederates would not be tried for 'treason against the United States' and the United States would not claim their secession was treason or name them traitors henceforth. The Confederates and United States delegation finally hammered out an agreement between them that the Confederacy would assume its share of the pre-war national debt, and Confederate citizens could sue the US federal government for confiscation, damage, or destruction of their property by the Union Army, receiving compensation if such damage, destruction, or confiscation was not of military necessity. Likewise, the Confederates were forced to agree to the same provision against them for the raids into Ohio and Pennsylvania by their own men, and they would not ask for a resumption of the Fugitive Slave Act or ask for slaves freed and enlisted into the Union Army to be returned. It was a great concession on both sides, both gaining something they wanted. Returning to the issue of atrocities, Breckinridge came up with a proposal for an international tribunal including an equal number of European officers and Union and Confederate officers, binding both sides to the results of the tribunal, whether they liked them or not. Both sides would be permitted to defend their men accused of a crime, and the European officers would allow the tribunal's votes to be relatively unbiased. Continuing the spirit of the day, the two parties agreed, based on Breckinridge's proposal that officers who served on the other side would not be prosecuted for treason or otherwise harassed in any way when they returned home if their state went to the opposing nation, which would go a long way to restoring communities and good relations across the now international border. There were a number of Delawareans, Marylanders, Kentuckians, Tennesseans, and Missourians who had served on both the Union and Confederate side. Similarly, if persons on either side wished to remain a US Citizen, they could move freely into the US for a year after the ratification; likewise, persons north of the border could move South into the Confederate States and would, after the year's time was up, become Confederate citizens. The group decided to take a break again for dinner and resume again Monday. The delegation had a nice dinner, which Mayor Dickinson joined in, along with Wolseley and Fremantle, who got along quite well with both Halleck and Breckinridge, all of them talking about historic battles, the Revolution, the War of 1812, the Plains of Abraham up in Canada, and the recent Crimean War, amongst other military topics, including making the armies more professional and less based on personalities. The men got to the subject of alcohol, and traded their favorite spirits, such as bourbons, whiskeys, and scotches, making gifts of a few bottles of their favorites to help encourage congeniality. A few friendly games of poker and trading cigars made quite a few friends between the Canadians and Confederates. ----- The Confederates spent the day wandering about town to see the local sites, of which there were a few, even in a small town such as this. The four were impressed with the theater, the library, and met with various officials of the town. Afterwards, Breckinridge noted that the northern delegation was able to discuss a large variety of topics like theater or universities with the Canadians. The South had 77 universities to the North's 216, about 118,000 people per university to the North's 102,000 people per university. They were said by foreign observers to be quite educated in the aristocratic class, but there were common folk who couldn't read, much like the North. There was little industry, and not much homegrown orchestra or fine arts, something their new nation would need to strive to create in the coming years. Breckinridge knew of the Union's Morrill Land Grant Colleges, taking land to start Agricultural and Mechanical Schools, and thought that something along those lines would need to be done for the South to improve its industrial and intellectual competitiveness. Sunday was spent in quiet reflection and church services, the afternoon spent writing letters home and sending telegrams to Richmond. ------ The second week of negotiations was productive for both sides. The Union finally agreed to give up the coastal forts they had seized during the war, when the Confederates agreed to pay the US for all forts and federal property seized as a result of secession, something they had been willing to do in 1861 if the Union had just let them go peacefully. A threatened impasse on Missouri was eventually resolved with a plebiscite on whether to join the Union or the Confederacy, with both Union and Confederate troops agreeing not to interfere, and with British and French observers to ensure a fair vote and fair count. The tribunal idea was revisited, provided that neither president, vice president, nor cabinet official would be brought before it. The Confederates were put off by this, as Lincoln's secretary of war, Stanton, they believed, was responsible for or at least tacitly accepted, the total war policy, but they believed they would gain more than they lost by this, as Benjamin Butler and John Turchin would be able to be tried and brought to justice. The third week had a break for three days, wherein Breckinridge, Wolseley, and Fremantle visited the Plains of Abraham and discussed the battle and Canada's military history, while the other Confederate delegates spoke to other officials in the city on trade and various subjects. It was a pleasant diversion for the three men. The fourth week, now coming into June, had the delegations agree to various minor provisions of the treaty between the two nations, and after two days to let both secretaries write up identical copies for the men to sign and transmit to their respective governments, both groups signed the treaty in public, with dozens of witnesses to the event. ------- The wrangling in the Senate of the US took till at least June 20th, while the Confederate Senate tarried until July 2 to sign the document, which, according to the treaty, had made the official ratification event at Alexandria on July 4th. Some in the United States balked at it, suggesting it be moved to the 5th, but the treaty's provision was for exchanging copies of the treaty, making it official, two days after both parties signed it. Thus it was made that July 4th would be the date of both American and Confederate Independence. *Chateau Laurier in Ottawa. I had it built earlier and named something else.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Feb 21, 2020 20:14:40 GMT
Chapter 18: Negotiations for Peace
1864After the CSS Shenandoah took sail from England, along with a number of her sister ships, one of the last ships to leave port was to be the CSS Enterprise, with Captain Robert April from Georgia in charge. His ship would sail along the Caribbean and harass Union shipping there and at South America before returning home to Savannah in 1865. 1865
Washington DC (April 15) It took several days for Lincoln to finally acknowledge his cabinet's request to speak to the Confederate commissioners. They had requested a meeting back in February at Hampton Roads, but Lincoln stubbornly refused to meet with them at that time; that stubborn refusal had cost the Union over 25,000 young men's lives. Lincoln didn't want to believe that the war that he inaugurated and wanted for the purpose of finally putting down the southerners who stood in the way of his "American System" had failed, but the evidence was staring him in the face. Grant had surrendered, and Sherman was on the run. Maybe he could pull off a miracle, but it was doubtful. His fight was off ever since Peachtree Creek, but he was still a relatively capable commander, despite that loss. A Union emissary called for discussion of a 'convention of states,' at first, but this was refused by the Confederates. British ambassador, Lord Lyons, met with Lincoln and made a formal request for a conference to be held in Montreal to discuss the terms of surrender and peace between the two parties. By April 26, and the news of Sherman's defeat, however, Lincoln finally acquiesced to a conference with the rebels. To his dying day, Lincoln would call them rebels, or traitors, or anything but Confederates. He never got over them rejecting his authority as President of the United States. Papers around the north were printing scathing editorials of his conduct of the war, Grant, Sherman, and the rest. Abolitionists were calling on the Union to abolish slavery, which was still legal; if the Confederates, the evil slaveholders could say they're doing it, why couldn't the Union emancipate immediately and without compensation to the evil slaveholders? Lincoln nominated William Seward (Secretary of State), Henry Halleck (Union Major General), James Speed (Attorney General), and Andrew Johnson (Vice President) to represent the United States. Richmond, VA (April 15) President Davis was informed of the acceptance, several days later than he would have liked, of the offer of British mediation of peace between the two nations. President Davis now had to think whom to send to Montreal. He considered John Reagan, but his very hard-line views on slavery, given the new reality of the Confederacy, were simply not possible. He decided on his Vice President, despite his constant criticism. He was a sharp constitutional mind. Breckinridge, a former Vice President and General was a good choice. Judah Benjamin was likely to help ease the tensions with his personality, and Congressman Barksdale would be a good choice to round out the commission, given his support of emancipation and enlistment. The Confederates informed the United States that they would send the following persons to Montreal: Alexander Stephens (Vice President), John Breckinridge (Secretary of War), Ethelbert Barksdale (Congressman), and Judah P. Benjamin (Secretary of State). James River (April 18) The Confederate delegation left the capital on the CSS Enterprise, gliding gracefully down the James River and out to sea. It was decided to leave from Richmond, since the cabinet was already there, and it would be easier than traveling to a different port to sail north to Montreal. The crew of the vessel were working hard, sweating as they went about their business, trimming sails, hauling the rope, scrubbing the deck, and everything else that went along with a sailing vessel, yet they were all singing happily as they worked. Captain Robert April stood astern, watching the ensign and the naval jack fluttering in the wind, the commissioning pennant from the main mast fluttering in the strong wind they caught, which put a smile to his face as it did so. His naval uniform was perfectly trimmed as were those of his crew; the newest uniforms had come in from England not three months prior. As they sailed down the James River, they got people in boats waving at them, and salutes from the forts, batteries, and cannons along either side of the river. The wind was strong on the river, so he didn't need to engage the steam engine just yet. John Breckinridge strolled on deck, with his freshly shaven face feeling cool in the breeze. He wasn't used to not having a beard, having gone so long during the war with one. He chatted with sailors as they went about their work, discovering what they did in their duties to make the ship work. The Enterprise exited the James near Norfolk Naval Base, which fired off their cannons in a final salute with three cheers. The crew could hear strains of Dixie playing as they left for the open ocean. Captain April ordered the guns on the frigate to fire their own salute in response, as the crew of his ship gathered on the starboard rail to wave their hats and cheer to their land-based comrades. This all brought a big smile to Breckinridge's face. Just as much as the army on land, these men of the navy had helped bring about Confederate independence. Secretary of State Benjamin joined him on the deck and smiled, as both men leaned out over the railing watching the land recede in the distance. "Lovely day, isn't it, Mr. Secretary?" Benjamin said with a smile. "I still can't get used to that title. It's been General for so long," he replied. "Well, get used to it. You were chosen for Secretary of War, and over the past few months since the British sent aid and finally recognized our nation, you've done a marvelous job with supplying the armies with food and navies with lumber." "That's just the beginning," John said. "Well, first we work on peace, the rest will follow," Judah said. "I guess this is how it must've felt to John Jay, Ben Franklin, and John Adams, when they went to meet with the British to discuss terms after the first Revolution," John remarked. "It's a great feeling, but with that sense of apprehension that keeps you from wanting to make mistakes," Judah said. "It's invigorating. Let's indulge in a little bit of my new favorite beverage." He gave Breckinridge a swig of his flask, which had a fine Kentucky bourbon in it, bringing a smile to Breckinridge's face. "This is going to be a fine voyage," John said with a smile, as the two went to find their fellow commissioners. -- As the ship made for open sea northward, Breckinridge got a chance to talk to Congressman Barksdale, while he was watching the coastline to port. "How do you like our voyage so far, Mr. Barksdale?" asked the Secretary of War. "It's been lovely, I have to say," he replied with a smile. "It's just a shame we had to make it." "Indeed. Thousands of men dead," Breckinridge said. "Just because the northerners wanted higher tariffs and to stop us from settling out west." "Everyone knows that's the reason," Barksdale said. "They can't claim to use slavery as a millstone to bludgeon us to submission and death now. Hence why I took Cleburne's proposal and put forth that bill. Besides, " "A forward-thinking move," Breckinridge said with a nod as he leaned over onto the rails with the Congressman. "But lots of people didn't like it. Disturbed the 'old way' of doing things." "Well those people forget that the south had 4 out of 5 abolition societies before they had the Nat Turner rebellion instigated and their form of abolitionist started hurling insults our way. Had they not agitated, perhaps our two countries wouldn't have gone to war," Barksdale mused. "Or maybe we would've just fought over tariffs and the constitution. Who knows?" "Indeed. Water under the bridge," Breckinridge said, moving the conversation along. "What do you think of our position?" "The ones Davis gave us, that we have to push for? Not realistic. I know some powerful slave owners want to try to weasel out of emancipation, and push for return of the emancipated blacks, and undo the amendment, but it's not going to happen," Barksdale said. "The Republicans still have control of the Senate and barely hold their House, but they won't continue the war. Reality being what it is, the Republicans need to have a peace treaty." "We do to," Breckinridge added. "Our economy's been wrecked and we have a lot of inflation to get under control." "Luckily we now have an extra what, $30 million in gold we stole from the Yankees?" Barksdale chuckled, getting a smile from Breckinridge. "Realistically speaking we need labor in our fields. So the question is what do we say?" "I remember a man....Cyrus....McCormick, that's the one. He's from Virginia, but living in Chicago now," Breckinridge said, remembering the man. "He invented a mechanical reaper machine for harvesting. If we can encourage him to come down to the Confederacy, and sell those reaper machines, that would free up a lot of hands to do something else." "What else, though? We don't have much industry to speak of other than some iron foundries." "Once we secure this treaty, we should make a concerted effort, and I'll talk to Benjamin about this, to recruit and encourage industrialists, engineers, scientists, chemists, and other people with something worthwhile to contribute to move to the Confederacy. We don't need manual labor to improve our country; we need progress and science," Breckinridge said. "Now who's 'forward thinking'?" Barksdale laughed. -- The ship docked in Quebec City, and Secretary Benjamin served as a tour guide for the men, translating for them for the two days they spent there until their train left for Montreal. Having gotten aboard and in their private car (of two the men had to themselves), Breckinridge took out a stack of papers, notes from various generals on their after-action reports, detailing their successes, failures, things that they couldn't do and why they couldn't do them, most of which came down to the horrid railroad system in the Confederate States, and lack of industry. He put the papers down and looked out the window at the Canadian countryside. He lost himself for a few moments in its beauty, then remarked to himself that the railroad was faster and smoother than anything he'd experienced back home. Confederate railroads were slow and rickety, having been worn down by lack of public funds, most of which were spent on internal improvements in the north, and Yankee raids during the war. A knock on the door, and he was greeted by Benjamin and Stephens. "Come in, gentlemen," he said. "Just trying to get some work done." "Aren't we all?" said Benjamin with a smile. "So, what's on your minds?" he asked. "We were talking and wondering if you shared our opinion of our commissions from President Davis," Stephens said. "That depends," he replied. "Do you believe his original instructions are unrealistic?" "Yes," said Benjamin, while Stephens nodded. "But we have to present them per our commissions," Stephens said, ever the stickler for the law. "The concern is if our initial position is too extreme, they'll cancel the peace conference." "I don't think they'll do that. They need peace as much as we do," Breckinridge said. "I think you're right," Benjamin said. "The Republicans' hold on power is very tenuous, as is that of Lincoln. If they don't get a good peace deal out of this, the Republicans could very well lose both houses of Congress in the next election. And their populace has no stomach to resume the war if the peace talks break down." "So, what should we do?" Breckinridge asked. "Well, perhaps if we were to look at the President's instructions as...advisory," he said, talking like Elim Garak from DS9 for a moment. "Now you're sounding like a lawyer," Breckinridge said with a chuckle. "We were both lawyers before the war," Benjamin reminded him with a smile. "Return of emancipated slaves is simply not going to happen," Stephens said, cutting to the chase. "The North complained about our nullification of their tariffs, but they turn around nullify a provision of the Constitution as if it were the same thing, but it revealed a greater truth. They won't budge on that point, not now. And I'm tired of being misquoted on that damned so-called 'Cornerstone Speech,' where I was quoting someone else's words in mockery of them, pointing out the Yankee hypocrisy on the issue." "On many issues," Benjamin quipped, making everyone chuckled. Stephens continued, "It's the law of the land now and we have to move forward. Black men served the army with honor, and my initial reticence was misplaced. Now we are honor-bound to see to it we uphold our legal and moral obligations to our black veterans the same as our white veterans to emancipate their families." "Some would say that's a slippery slope to equality for blacks and whites," Breckinridge said. "Better we do that our way and in our own time, rather than have it imposed upon us by opportunistic Yankees," Stephens said. "That's why we fought at any rate, to control our own destinies, rather than be dictated to by a group of agitators who know better than the world how to run everyone else's lives...and make a profit off everyone else while they're at it." The men kept talking for a while, agreeing to keep Davis's instructions as a guideline, not scripture. Their conversation meandered onto other subjects, including how to build their post-war country. --- During the journey, it became known that the accommodations in Montreal would not be sufficient for their needs and the group was routed to Ottawa, the capital of Canada. Barksdale mused it was so the Yankees could have a hotel they liked more than what was in Montreal. But Stephens suspected it was to confuse them and place them on the defensive, while Breckinridge urged both to calm down and focus on the task at hand. -- The crowd welcoming the Confederate Delegates
Once they arrived, they were greeted by a crowd with a sign saying "Welcome Confederate Peace Delegates!" in English and French. Benjamin smiled, and Stephens thought to himself this must not be a particularly exciting town. The four delegates exited the train as various attendants got their luggage for them. Once they de-trained, the four were greeted by the playing of Dixie by the resident fife and drum band. One company of British infantry, brilliantly dressed in their red coats, presented arms in a salute to the four delegates in a precision better than any Confederate unit could muster, in Breckinridge's experience. "I wasn't expecting all this," Barksdale said. Stephens took it all in. "Should I respond in some fashion?" he asked. "You're the head of this delegation, Mr. Vice President," Breckinridge reminded him, emphasizing his official title. Mayor Dickinson of OttawaThree men approached. One in a very well tailored suit, the other in immaculate British uniforms. One colonel, Arthur Fremantle, was already known to the delegation. "Gentlemen, please allow me to introduce myself," said the civilian with a smile on his face. "My name is Moss Kent Dickinson, Mayor of the city of Ottawa. On behalf of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, I would like to welcome you to our fair city." Stephens collected himself and stepped forward, extending his hand, "We are pleased to make your acquaintance, your honor. My name is Alexander Stephens, Vice President of the Confederate States of America. On behalf of the Confederate States, we thank you for your hospitality and willingness to host our peace conference with the United States." "Peace is a welcome goal," he replied. "May I present Colonel Arthur Fremantle, whom you may already know?" The men were introduced to the man who toured the Confederacy during 1863 and had given such a positive report back to the British in London. The other man was Col. Garnet Wolseley, the head of the militia in this part of Canada. They made some small talk before departing for the hotel. Originally scheduled to be at Rideau Hall, the delegation moved over to the first railway hotel in Ottawa, Chateau St Laurence Rossin* at the request of the US delegation. The next day, the delegates from the Confederacy went to the West Block, which would soon become the Parliament of Canada, a wing currently not in use so that they could speak without being overheard. Committee Room which housed the two delegations during negotiations.
The four Confederates were impressed by the West Block in which they would be working with their counterparts from the United States. Once entering the grand hall, they saw an immense wooden table, likely oak, about 20 feet by 4 feet. They found their breakfast on the table, as indicated by their personal valet, William. Freshly brewed coffee, Canadian bacon and eggs, and various other delights were laid out for them. They decided to wait to eat, but Breckinridge poured some coffee and added some cream and sugar. He took a whiff and delighted in the smell, and once he took a sip, smiled at its delicious taste. Given that he had to make do with a concoction made from chicory root while in the field, which tasted awful, he vowed never to take the simple taste of coffee for granted again. William returned to the room, saying, "The Union delegation has arrived, gentlemen." In walked four men, one in a very nicely tailored Major General's blue uniform, the other three in perfectly bespoke suits. They halted at the sight of the Confederates, a tense moment at the sight of the opposing party. A few tense moments passed before William broke the tension, saying, "As you can see gentlemen, breakfast has been served on the table for you. Please ring the bell on the table if you need anything further. Otherwise you will not be disturbed." Johnson spoke first, "Thank you young man. You may leave." William nodded and left the room. Judah Benjamin broke the ice, "Good morning, Mr. Secretary," he said, shaking the hand of William Seward, the Secretary of State. "And Mr. Vice President Johnson, so good to finally meet you! Mr. Speed, I hope you're doing well today! I assume you must be Major General Halleck? Pleased to meet you!" The men exchanged greetings for a few minutes before Breckinridge asked, "Why don't we enjoy some breakfast before we start out business?" "I don't see why not," said Seward in a friendly tone. Union Delegation
William Seward, Henry Halleck, James Speed, Andrew Johnson
Breckinridge knew Seward, Speed, and Johnson, and Halleck by reputation. The fifth man he assumed to be their secretary. Confederate Delegation
Alexander Stephens, John Breckinridge, Ethelbert Barksdale, Judah Benjamin
Surprisingly the men talked amiably during breakfast for a good 45 minutes. Johnson talked about the new capital dome in response to a question by Benjamin, while Barksdale and Speed spoke about which plays were being shown in Richmond and Washington, DC. The Union men rang the bell, and William took breakfast away, while refreshing the coffee, before he withdrew from the room. "So, gentlemen, shall we get down to business?" asked William Seward, clearing his throat to get their attention. "The sooner the better," said Alexander Stephens, taking the lead. "Very well then," Seward replied. "I believe we should begin negotiations by agreeing to keep our deliberations strictly confidential." "Agreed," Stephens said quickly. "The members of the 1787 Constitutional Convention were wise to agree to the same protocol. Had they not, they likely could not have negotiated freely before their great work had completed." "Well put," Seward said. "If it's good enough for the Founders, it must be good enough for us, right?" "Indeed," Stephens replied. "I don't believe this needs to be in writing, since we're all gentlemen. All agreed?" Seward glanced at everyone at the table, who nodded in agreement. "Excellent. While we're agreeing, shall we also agree to break for lunch at noon?" The second question was agreed by nods again. "May we start?" asked Stephens. "By all means," said Seward. "Thank you," Stephens said. "Well, first, we should agree that the first clause of a potential peace treaty be the acknowledgement by the United States of the complete independence of the Confederate States from them." Johnson and Halleck gained pained expressions on their faces. Both were Unionists, so it was understandable. "We wouldn't be sitting here at this table with you had we not already agreed to this, Mr. Stephens," Seward said, his bushy eyebrows moving a little as he spoke. "No one in the North is happy about the outcome of the late war, but the Confederate States have succeeded in defeating the United States in armed combat as well as gaining diplomatic recognition of eight powers in Europe as of this moment. Acknowledging your independence at this point in time is simply admitting reality." "Thank you for saying so," Benjamin said in a pleasant voice, hoping to make the negotiations a little more pleasant than Stephens's blunt nature could sometimes make things. "Shall we continue on to other points rather than dwell on our 'recent unpleasantness' as it were?" "Agreed," Johnson said. "If you gentlemen will excuse me, I would like to discuss military matters which must be included in the treaty," interjected Major General Halleck. "I hope we can discuss these matters quickly and amicably." Breckinridge nodded, his other commissioners looking to him, since he was Secretary of War, "Go ahead." "Thank you," Halleck replied. "Obviously, the treaty must say that the state of war between our two nations has come to its end." "We agree," Breckinridge said. "Excellent," Halleck said. "As for the details, I would propose that on the date of ratification, the United States shall begin its withdrawal of all remaining forces from the territory of the Confederate States, to be completed within three months." Breckinridge knew how military maneuvering took time, getting riverboats, railroads, and other transportation ready, organizing supply depots along the way, and so on, and in the interest of being gracious, he said, "We can agree to a three month timeline from ratification." There were Union troops on various Atlantic islands, in various prison camps, and along many places on the Mississippi River, plus in places in Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri. "Why three months?" asked Barksdale. "Can it not be accomplished sooner?" "It is quite complicated to coordinate for the transportation to be gathered, be it rail or riverboat, for thousands of men," Halleck explained. "Plus we would need supply depots along the route, and possibly clearing roads in some situations." "General Halleck is correct, Mr. Congressman," Breckinridge said. "Especially given our infrastructure's current condition." Halleck continued, "Likewise, the treaty must include a provision for Confederate troops to withdraw from Union territory currently occupied. If I am not mistaken, there are Confederate troops currently in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Missouri." "Kentucky, Missouri, and West Virginia are Confederate territory," Stephens said quickly. "West Virginia was not created with the permission of the elected legislature of Virginia, and as such is an unconstitutional and illegal creation." Breckinridge raised his hand to silence his fellow delegate, even if he were the Vice President, trying to return the discussion to its formerly civil tone. "I don't believe we've discussed the issue of borders just yet, Mr. Vice President. Let's begin with the technical aspects first, such as troop withdrawals." "Very well," Stephens said. "We will get to it soon enough." "Thank you, Mr. Breckinridge. Shall we agree to mutual troop withdrawal within this treaty?" asked Seward. "We do," Breckinridge said. "While we discuss military matters, we would like to include a provision detailing the end of the Union naval blockade of our ports." The blockade had not been seriously enforced though since early April, about a month ago. "Wouldn't the treaty saying the war has ended mean the blockade would end at the same time?" asked the current US Vice President, Andrew Johnson. "Yes, that would be legally correct," said William Seward. "Even with that," Breckinridge interrupted. "We would like a provision of the treaty to state this explicitly." "We would not object to this," said Henry Halleck, "if you would be willing to include a provision for your commerce raiders to cease attacking our ships and return to port." "We would agree to that," Breckinridge said. Most Confederate ships, including the CSS Shenandoah had already ceased operations since mid-April in the Atlantic and Pacific since news of Grant's surrender became known, so this really cost them nothing and let the Union say they got something from the Confederates. "Thank you," Halleck said with a nod. "Now we must get to the exchange of prisoners." Breckinridge tensed up. Prison camps on both sides were neither sanitary nor pleasant; in the South, lack of food and medicine due to the blockade, and in the north, they had adequate food and blankets for winter but refused to give them to traitors and rebels, whom they treated as coldly as the weather did. He hoped his delegation would not interject at this point to try to keep the civility going. His own son suffered through a prison camp, so he knew what they were like from his son's experience. His delegation remained silent, luckily, so he could speak, "We have no objection to a complete release of all prisoners of war once peace is established, on both sides, regardless of race." Barksdale nodded. He had drawn up the emancipation and enlistment bill, and had a hand in the next emancipation bill, despite the acrimony he had gotten from some elements of his state. But he and Breckinridge had discussed this on deck of the CSS Enterprise, and given the mutual enlistment of black soldiers, they had agreed to treat them not as 'contraband' but as legitimate soldiers just as white soldiers. Unfortunately it was known that at Point Lookout, the black Confederate soldiers had been segregated from their white colleagues, to their cries of objection, and put to work, despite their freed status, at various work gangs doing the unpleasant work the persons in charge of the camp didn't want to do. "Per the instructions of President Davis, we are required to include in this discussion a request to return all 'contraband' created via the Gettysburg Proclamation or any runaway slaves," said Congressman Barksdale. "That won't happen," said Vice President Johnson, who began to speak, but Barksdale cut him off by continuing himself. "We know, but we were required to bring the point up," Barksdale said. "Given the laws in effect in states such as Illinois and Oregon banning all black persons from settling in those states, however, we thought you might wish to release them to us." "If they freely choose to settle in the Confederacy, that's their choice, and the choice of the state itself to allow or not to allow persons," said Johnson. "But it's a state's right to choose whom they allow in." "To that point, we can agree," said Alexander Stephens. Luckily for Breckinridge, they wisely moved off the topic of slavery for the time being; it was dying out in the South anyhow, so they need not continue to press the issue too much. The issue of the Fugitive Slave Act was a moot point that they were told to bring up, but would do so later. "Let us return to the topic of borders," suggested General Halleck. "Agreed. Shall we start, or would you prefer to start?" asked Stephens. "Feel free, Mr. Stephens," said Halleck with a gracious gesture of his hand. "Thank you," said the Confederate Vice President. He unrolled a map containing a map of North America, and began, using a line he had drawn in black ink earlier to indicate their requested border. "We would request the recognition of the 37th parallel out west as our mutual border from Oklahoma to the Pacific." "I would like to object to this," Seward said. "Our state of Nevada is quite dry, and the use of river resources would greatly help our settlement of this state. We would request the border out west follow that of California and South California to the Colorado River, and continue thus until it reached the 120th parallel west. That would allow both Arizona and Nevada access to that river." Hoping to smooth over things, Breckinridge took lead and said, "We agree to this, if you will agree that Kentucky and its river border shall also be considered part of the Confederate States." "We would rather locate the border at Tennessee," said James Speed who'd been silent till this point. "Such that West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri would be United States territory." "I don't believe we can agree to such terms," Breckinridge said, his face in a bit of shock at their large request. "That would cut largely into what is clearly a Confederate State of Tennessee." "There is a recognized Union government in Tennessee," said Andrew Johnson, the governor of that Union government. "We would also request then a plebiscite for both Maryland and Delaware, since Maryland's legislature has been partially arrested, preventing a vote on secession," said Stephens, countering the extreme Union claim. "That's unacceptable," said Halleck firmly. "You cannot expect us to allow our capital to be surrounded by a foreign country!" He thought a moment, looking at Stephens's map. He spoke up, without any of Davis's instructions, and came up with what he thought might be a solution, "Leaving aside Missouri, would you accept Kentucky and Tennessee's recognition as Confederate States, in exchange for Nevada gaining river access, and our recognition of West Virginia, to include Morgan, Berkeley, Jefferson, as well as," he drew a line himself by hand, "the remaining counties you have organized into West Virginia? With this we would also drop any claim to Maryland and Delaware." He looked up, leaning on the table, as his Union counterparts, three of which remained unpassable. For a few moments, Seward studied the map. "We could agree to this, a recognition of West Virginia, the addition of those counties, plus Nevada, if you would also include Alexandria county. It was once part of the federal district, and we have a desire to create a national cemetery there." Stephens spoke up, "But on land stolen from General Lee!" Breckinridge gave Stephens a death glare, silently willing him to shut up. A bit selfishly, Breckinridge was trying to negotiate for his own home state to join the Confederacy, and he almost had it until Stephens opened his mouth. "The land was taken for non-payment of taxes," said Mr. Seward. "What would you have us do, since our capital is on the Potomac? Our government has asked us, since we are on the topic of borders, for the territory of Virginia up to the Rappahannock River, so as to protect our capital from constant military threat." "That's...that's unacceptable," Breckinridge said, surprised the issue had even come up. "Out of the question!" said Barksdale, surprisingly, standing up out of his chair in protest. The room fell silent as he slammed the table; the secretaries grabbed their inkpots to prevent them spilling. "We thought we would like to inform you as well of what our government has required of us," Seward said, catching on to the phrasing the Confederates themselves had used earlier. "But we would be willing to...forget such a requirement, if the Confederates would be willing to agree that all counties along the Potomac shall be...demilitarized on both sides of the river, aside from our federal district. No forts, no cannons, and you keep Alexandria County. That way our government would feel safe, and your government would not have to cede any further Virginian territory." The man touched his fingertips to each other and leaned back in his seat, as the Confederates whispered to each other, before Breckinridge spoke up. "We will agree to the demilitarization of the Potomac counties on both sides in exchange for the border agreements we made thus far." "Very well," said Seward. "It appears we have reached the time for lunch. I think it would be a productive use of our time if we were to break for lunch and use the time to cool off." "We can agree to that," Stephens said. "Shall we reconvene in two hours?" "That would be acceptable," said Seward. ---- The four Confederate delegates ate their lunch, some of the finest food they'd had in some time, due to the Union blockade, discussing various points of the negotiations as they did. They brought up the desire for reparations for the civilian damage in Tennessee and Kentucky, but Stephens countered they'd simply ask for the Confederates to take a share of the national debt. They agreed that the issue with Arizona and Nevada was a good solution, despite not having been tasked with that authority; however, the US delegation had given them Kentucky and keeping northern Virginia in return for giving up their plebiscite in Maryland and Delaware, and recognizing West Virginia. Amazingly they hadn't contested Oklahoma, which was formerly Indian Territory, and admitted to the Confederacy as a state 3 years prior. Likely the Union didn't want a bunch of Indians acting like citizens, otherwise they'd have made the populous territory a state already. What remained was the status of Missouri. Luckily slavery was no longer going to be an issue for much longer, at least in the Confederacy, at any rate. ---- The delegations came back from lunch, and having mostly settled their mutual border, aside from the issue of Missouri, moved to the navigation of Mississippi. Surprisingly, the negotiation agreed to free navigation of the river, without Confederate tolls. The two parties agreed that the Union would collect its tariffs at the border, and to facilitate this, both sides agreed to a 10'-tall border fence starting from Oklahoma/Kansas westward, with gates every 10-20 miles, with a graded roadbed 45' wide on either side for water drainage, with both sides cleared for easy visibility out to 50 feet from either side of the fence. Both sides would have a telegraph line run along the fence-line, with stations at the gates to provide for easy communications between the Confederate border officials and United States border officials all along the border. Both sides agreed to a joint British-French monitoring program, with five officials per state along the border fence to ensure both sides were living up to their expectations. This negotiation alone took much of the rest of the first day of negotiations, and the monitoring program came about due to a side conversation with Wolseley about how to ensure both sides could live up to their responsibilities. The delegations decided to break for the day at 7 PM, after which both sides went to have dinner and relax, preparing for the next day. Day 2-4
The second day of negotiations came to a very difficult issue concerning money. The Union men wanted the Confederates to take on a proportional share of the national debt, as of 1865; the Confederates balked, considering that was a huge number, including money spent waging war on them. Of course, this was a negotiating tactic, and they then replied with the 1860 number, $65 million. Given the 1860 population number was 32,043,321, that would mean a Confederate assumption of $24,608,526.69. The Confederates brought up Sherman's March and his total war policy, Turchin, and Grant, all of whom did not control the theft, pillaging, and destruction of their armies, nor the rape of women along the way. These topics became incredibly heated and took a large part of the day, and even into the third day. The Confederates agreed to assume their share of the debt, and to drop the issue of reparations, given the large amount of gold they had confiscated from the United States, if the United States would agree to holding their troops responsible for atrocities they committed during the war, to which the US delegation demanded the same of Confederates. Day 5
During the acrimony, Halleck and Breckinridge had come to an understanding that both sides should be allowed to create monuments to their war dead on either side without obstruction and that vandalism or willful damage to the monuments of either side would be treated as a serious crime. On the same vein, they came to an understanding that the Lee family would be paid for the Arlington plantation they lost so they could purchase a new home for themselves. Breckinridge had great respect for General Lee, and he thought this would be a great present for him when they finally finished their negotiations. The Confederates and United States delegation finally hammered out an agreement between them that the Confederacy would assume its share of the pre-war national debt, and Confederate citizens could sue the US federal government for confiscation, damage, or destruction of their property by the Union Army, receiving compensation if such damage, destruction, or confiscation was not of military necessity. Likewise, the Confederates were forced to agree to the same provision against them for the raids into Ohio and Pennsylvania by their own men, and they would not ask for a resumption of the Fugitive Slave Act or ask for slaves freed and enlisted into the Union Army to be returned. It was a great concession on both sides, both gaining something they wanted. Returning to the issue of atrocities, Breckinridge came up with a proposal for an international tribunal including an equal number of European officers and Union and Confederate officers, binding both sides to the results of the tribunal, whether they liked them or not. Both sides would be permitted to defend their men accused of a crime, and the European officers would allow the tribunal's votes to be relatively unbiased. Continuing the spirit of the day, the two parties agreed, based on Breckinridge's proposal that officers who served on the other side would not be prosecuted for treason or otherwise harassed in any way when they returned home if their state went to the opposing nation, which would go a long way to restoring communities and good relations across the now international border. There were a number of Delawareans, Marylanders, Kentuckians, Tennesseeans, and Missourians who had served on both the Union and Confederate side. The group decided to take a break again for dinner and resume again Monday. The delegation had a nice dinner, which Mayor Dickinson joined in, along with Wolseley and Fremantle, who got along quite well with both Halleck and Breckinridge, all of them talking about historic battles, the Revolution, the War of 1812, the Plains of Abraham up in Canada, and the recent Crimean War, amongst other military topics, including making the armies more professional and less based on personalities. The men got to the subject of alcohol, and traded their favorite spirits, such as bourbons, whiskeys, and scotches, making gifts of a few bottles of their favorites to help encourage congeniality. ----- The Confederates spent the day wandering about town to see the local sites, of which there were a few, even in a small town such as this. The four were impressed with the theater, the library, and met with various officials of the town. Afterwards, Breckinridge noted that the northern delegation was able to discuss a large variety of topics like theater or universities with the Canadians, but the South had fewer such universities, few orchestras, or other fine arts, and little industry, something their new nation would need to strive to create in the coming years. Sunday was spent in quiet reflection and church services, the afternoon spent writing letters home and sending telegrams to Richmond. ------ The second week of negotiations was productive for both sides. The Union finally agreed to give up the coastal forts they had seized during the war, when the Confederates agreed to pay the US for all forts and federal property seized as a result of secession. A threatened impasse on Missouri was eventually resolved with a plebiscite on whether to join the Union or the Confederacy, with both Union and Confederate troops agreeing not to interfere, and with British and French observers to ensure a fair vote and fair count. The tribunal idea was revisited, provided that neither president, vice president, nor cabinet official would be brought before it. The Confederates were put off by this, as Lincoln's secretary of war, Stanton, they believed, was responsible or at least tacitly accepted, the total war policy, but they believed they would gain more than they lost by this, as Benjamin Butler and John Turchin would be able to be tried and brought to justice. The third week had a break for three days, wherein Breckinridge, Wolseley, and Fremantle visited the Plains of Abraham and discussed the battle and Canada's military history, while the other Confederate delegates spoke to other officials in the city on trade and various subjects. It was a pleasant diversion for the three men. The fourth week, now coming into June, had the delegations agree to various minor provisions of the treaty between the two nations, and after two days to let both secretaries write up identical copies for the men to sign and transmit to their respective governments, both groups signed the treaty in public, with dozens of witnesses to the event. ------- The wrangling in the Senate of the US took till at least June 20th, while the Confederate Senate tarried until July 2 to sign the document, which, according to the treaty, had made the official ratification event at Alexandria on July 4th. Some in the United States balked at it, suggesting it be moved to the 5th, but the treaty's provision was for exchanging copies of the treaty, making it official, two days after both parties signed it. Thus it was made that July 4th would be the date of both American and Confederate Independence. *Chateau Laurier in Ottawa. I had it built earlier and named something else. So the Civil War has ended, now two nations where there was once have to live with each other. Another good update jjohnson. |
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jjohnson
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Post by jjohnson on Feb 22, 2020 8:49:03 GMT
Chapter 19: The Treaty between the Confederate States and United States
TREATY OF PEACE, FRIENDSHIP, LIMITS, AND SETTLEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA CONCLUDED AT OTTAWA, CANADA, JUNE 9, 1865; RATIFICATION ADVISED BY SENATE WITHOUT AMENDMENTS, JUNE 20, 1865; RATIFIED BY PRESIDENT, JUNE 26, 1865; RATIFICATIONS EXCHANGED JULY 4, 1865; PROCLAIMED JULY 4, 1865. IN THE NAME OF ALMIGHTY GOD The United States of America and the Confederate States of America, moved by a sincere desire to put an end to the calamities of war and to establish a solid relationship of peace and friendship and mutual respect, as good neighbors have for that purpose appointed their respective plenipotentiaries, that is to say: The President of the United States has appointed William Seward, Secretary of State; Henry Halleck, Major General of the United States Army; James Speed, Attorney General; Andrew Johnson, Vice President; and the President of the Confederate States has appointed Alexander Stephens, Vice President of the Confederate States; John Breckinridge, Secretary of War; Ethelbert Barksdale, Congressman from Mississippi; Judah Benjamin, Secretary of State; who, after a reciprocal communication of their respective full powers, have, under the protection of Almighty God, the author of peace, arranged, agreed upon, and signed the following: Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America. Article 1 There shall be firm and universal peace between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America, and between their respective countries, territories, cities, towns, and people, without exception of places or persons. Article 2 The United States of America shall recognize the full independence and sovereignty of the Confederate States of America as a separate and sovereign nation, and shall conduct diplomatic relations with them as such. Article 3 The territory of the Confederate States shall consist of the following states: Virginia (excluding the counties recognized as West Virginia, including Jefferson and Berkeley Counties), Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma; and the territories of New Mexico and Arizona, and South California. Article 4 The Confederate States shall forever cede all claims to the territories of Maryland and Delaware. The United States shall likewise forever cede all claims to the states and territories of the Confederate States as named in Article 3, and to be determined by Article 5. Article 5 The status of the state of Missouri shall be determined by plebiscite which shall occur within 1 year of ratification of this treaty. The United States, Confederate States, United Kingdom, France, and Russia shall form a 15-member panel tasked with overseeing the election to ensure that it is conducted freely and fairly, and without interference by any military official or other person. Article 6 Virginia shall cede all claim to the territory now part of West Virginia, and shall be compensated for the value of the land and all improvements in gold and silver coin within three years of ratification of this treaty by the United States. Article 7 The United States cedes all claim to Indian Territory, having been accepted as the state of Oklahoma into the Confederate States of America, and all land west thereof below the 37th parallel, aside from the land between the South California boundary, the Colorado River, and the 120th line of longitude, which shall be ceded to the state of Nevada. Article 8 Confederates now established in territories previously belonging to the United States, and which remain for the future within the limits of the Confederate States, as defined by the present treaty, shall be free to continue where they now reside, or to remove at any time to the United States, retaining the property which they possess in the said territories, or disposing thereof, and removing the proceeds wherever they please, without their being subjected, on this account, to any contribution, tax, or charge whatever. Those who shall prefer to remain in the said states and territories of the Confederate States may either retain the title and rights of Confederate citizens, or acquire those of citizens of the United States. But they shall be under the obligation to make their election within one year from the date of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty; and those who shall remain in the said territories after the expiration of that year, without having declared their intention to retain the character of Confederates, shall be considered to have elected to become citizens of the United States. In the said territories, property of every kind, now belonging to Confederates not established there, shall be inviolably respected. The present owners, the heirs of these, and all Confederates who may hereafter acquire said property by contract, shall enjoy with respect to it guarantees equally ample as if the same belonged to citizens of the United States. Article 9 The Americans who, in the territories aforesaid, shall not preserve the character of citizens of the Confederate States, conformably with what is stipulated in the preceding article, shall be incorporated into the Union of the United States. and be admitted at the proper time (to be judged of by the Congress of the United States) to the enjoyment of all the rights of citizens of the United States, according to the principles of the Constitution; and in the mean time, shall be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty and property, and secured in the free exercise of their religion without restriction. But at no time shall any person having born arms in either the Armed Forces of the Confederate States, or the Armed Forces of the United States be disadvantaged in his free enjoyment of his liberty and property, and shall be secured in the free exercise of all rights of a citizen of his chosen country. Article 10 The vessels and citizens of the United States shall, in all time, have a free and uninterrupted passage by the Gulf of California, and by the river Colorado below its confluence with the Gila, to and from their possessions situated north of the boundary line defined in the preceding article; it being understood that this passage is to be by navigating the Gulf of California and the river Colorado, and not by land, without the express consent of the Confederate Government. If, by the examinations which may be made, it should be ascertained to be practicable and advantageous to construct a road, canal, or railway, which should in whole or in part run upon the river Colorado, or upon its right or its left bank, within the space of one marine league from either margin of the river, the Governments of both republics will form an agreement regarding its construction, in order that it may serve equally for the use and advantage of both countries. Article 11 The vessels and citizens of the United States shall, in all time, have a free and uninterrupted passage by the Mississippi River, to and from their possessions situated north of the boundary line defined in the preceding article; it being understood that this passage is to be by navigating the Mississippi River, and not by land, without the express consent of the Confederate Government. If, by the examinations which may be made, it should be ascertained to be practicable and advantageous to construct a road, canal, or railway, which should in whole or in part run upon the river Mississippi, or upon its right or its left bank, within the space of one marine league from either margin of the river, the Governments of both republics will form an agreement regarding its construction, in order that it may serve equally for the use and advantage of both countries. In Confederate ports along the Mississippi river, citizens of the United States shall enjoy the same rights and privileges on matters of deposit and harbor fees as citizens of the Confederate States. Article 12 The river Mississippi and the river Ohio shall be free and common to the vessels and citizens of both countries; and neither shall, without the consent of the other, construct any work that may impede or interrupt, in whole or in part, the exercise of this right; not even for the purpose of favoring new methods of navigation. Nor shall any tax or contribution, under any denomination or title, be levied upon vessels or persons navigating the same or upon merchandise or effects transported thereon, except in the case of landing upon one of their shores. If, for the purpose of making the said rivers navigable, or for maintaining them in such state, it should be necessary or advantageous to establish any tax or contribution, this shall not be done without the consent of both Governments. The stipulations contained in the present article shall not impair the territorial rights of either republic within its established limits. Article 13 Vessels of the Confederate States or of the United States, being within the jurisdiction of the other nation, shall be subject to the same rules, regulations, and protections as are extended to the vessels of the other nation, but vessels of the United States, or flying the flag thereof, shall not be permitted to transport persons held to service or labor under any circumstance. Article 14 The citizens of the Confederate States of America and the United States of America shall enjoy the freedom to trade in the territory of the other nation, and shall not pay greater duties, charges, or other fees whatsoever, than the most-favored-nations are or shall be obliged to pay; and they shall enjoy the rights, privileges, and exemptions on navigation and commerce of the most-favored-nation does or shall enjoy; and shall submit themselves to the same laws and usages established for the citizens and subjects of the most-favored-nations. Article 15 Considering that a great part of the territories, which, by the present treaty, are to be comprehended for the future within the limits of the United States, is now occupied by savage tribes, who will hereafter be under the exclusive control of the Government of the United States, and whose incursions within the territory of the Confederate States would be prejudicial in the extreme, it is solemnly agreed that all such incursions shall be forcibly restrained by the Government of the United States whensoever this may be necessary; and that when they cannot be prevented, they shall be punished by the said Government, and satisfaction for the same shall be exacted all in the same way, and with equal diligence and energy, as if the same incursions were meditated or committed within its own territory, against its own citizens. Article 16 It shall not be lawful, under any pretext whatever, for any inhabitant of the Confederate States to purchase or acquire any United States citizen, or any foreigner residing in the United States, who may have been captured by Indians inhabiting the territory of either of the two republics; nor to purchase or acquire horses, mules, cattle, or property of any kind, stolen within United States territory by such Indians. And in the event of any person or persons, captured within United States territory by Indians, being carried into the territory of the Confederate States, the Government of the latter engages and binds itself, in the most solemn manner, so soon as it shall know of such captives being within its territory, and shall be able so to do, through the faithful exercise of its influence and power, to rescue them and return them to their country. or deliver them to the agent or representative of the Confederate Government. The Confederate authorities will, as far as practicable, give to the Government of the United States notice of such captures; and its agents shall pay the expenses incurred in the maintenance and transmission of the rescued captives; who, in the mean time, shall be treated with the utmost hospitality by the American authorities at the place where they may be. But if the Government of the United States, before receiving such notice from the Confederate States, should obtain intelligence, through any other channel, of the existence of Mexican captives within its territory, it will proceed forthwith to effect their release and delivery to the Confederate agent, as above stipulated. For the purpose of giving to these stipulations the fullest possible efficacy, thereby affording the security and redress demanded by their true spirit and intent, the Governments of the United States and Confederate States will now and hereafter pass, without unnecessary delay, and always vigilantly enforce, such laws as the nature of the subject may require. And, finally, the sacredness of this obligation shall never be lost sight of by the said Governments, when providing for the removal of the Indians from any portion of the said territories, or for its being settled by citizens of the United States and Confederate States; but, on the contrary, special care shall then be taken not to place its Indian occupants under the necessity of seeking new homes, by committing those invasions which the United States and Confederate States have solemnly obliged themselves to restrain. This article shall apply equally upon United States citizens purchasing from Indians any citizen of the Confederate States in like manner. Article 17 The Confederate States agree to assume a portion of the United States national debt, to wit, the sum of $24,608,526.69 Article 18 The United States do agree to discharge the Confederate States from all claims of citizens of the United States to any land or other property of and within the Confederate States, considering them entirely and forever cancelled, whatever their amount may be, and to undertake to make satisfaction for the same, to an amount not exceeding three and one-half millions of dollars. To ascertain the validity and amount of those claims, a board of commissioners shall be established by the Government of the United States, whose awards shall be final and conclusive; provided that, in deciding upon the validity of each claim, the board shall be guided and governed by the principles and rules of decision agreed to by both the United States and Confederate States; and in no case shall an award be made in favor of any claim not embraced by these principles and rules. Article 19 Immediately after the exchange of ratifications of this treaty by the Government of the United States and the Government of the Confederate States, orders shall be transmitted to the commanders of their land and naval forces, requiring the former immediately to desist from blockading any Confederate ports, as well as to commence at the earliest moment practicable, withdrawing all troops of the United States then in the territory of the Confederate States of America to points selected by common agreement, to be completed with the least possible delay; the Confederate Government shall do the same for its land forces from the territory of the United States of America. For both parties, care shall be taken to promote good understanding between their armed forces and the inhabitants, to avoid any unnecessary disruptions to civilians or destruction, damage, or theft to the property thereof. While the withdrawal shall be conducted, any damage, theft, or destruction of private property shall be repaid to the citizen by the offending government upon application by the citizens of the other government. To this end, immediately upon the signature of this treaty, orders shall be dispatched to the American officers commanding any castles and forts within the designated limits of the Confederate States, securing against the removal or destruction of any artillery, arms, apparatus of war, munitions, or other public property. All supplies whatever for troops of the United States in the Confederate States, arriving at ports in the occupation of such troops previous to the final evacuation thereof, although subsequently to the restoration of the custom-houses at such ports, shall be entirely exempt from duties and charges of any kind; the Government of the United States hereby engaging and pledging its faith to establish and vigilantly to enforce, all possible guards for securing the revenue of the Confederate States, by preventing the importation, under cover of this stipulation, of any articles other than such, both in kind and in quantity, as shall really be wanted for the use and consumption of the forces of the United States during the time they may remain in the Confederate States. To this end it shall be the duty of all officers and agents of the United States to denounce to the Confederate authorities at the respective ports any attempts at a fraudulent abuse of this stipulation, which they may know of, or may have reason to suspect, and to give to such authorities all the aid in their power with regard thereto; and every such attempt, when duly proved and established by sentence of a competent tribunal, They shall be punished by the confiscation of the property so attempted to be fraudulently introduced. Article 20 The United States and the Confederate States shall return within three months of ratification of this treaty, all prisoners of war regardless of previous condition of servitude, on land or on sea, to their respective nations, and shall not impede their journeys back to their country. Article 21 The Confederate States agree to pay the Government of the United States for all federal forts, armories, bases, and other government facilities within their territories, at the value stated as of January 1, 1860. The United States shall agree to vacate all persons from such forts at all possible speed. Article 22 Both the United States and the Confederate States agree that the counties bordering directly upon the Potomac River of Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia which form their mutual border shall be demilitarized, without any forts, armories, bases, or other military installations upon them. Article 23 Both the United States and Confederate States reserve the right to place forts and other needful military installations at all other points excluding those defined in Article XIV that they shall deem needful for their security. Article 24 The United States shall allow citizens of the Confederate States to construct monuments and cemeteries to their veterans and war dead, and the Confederate States shall likewise allow citizens of the United States the same right, within their respective territories. Any vandalism, damage, or destruction of such monuments shall be treated as a serious crime which shall be promptly and expediently investigated and adjudicated in accordance with the laws of the country and state wherein the crime shall have occurred. Article 25 Persons from the United States and Confederate States whose property was damaged, destroyed, or stolen by the military forces of the United States or the Confederate States, who maintain that such damage, destruction, or theft was not warranted by military necessity, shall retain the right to sue the government of the other nation for financial restitution or return of the actual item stolen, or replacing the item stolen. Article 26 The United States and the Confederate States shall adopt rules of civilized warfare that shall governed the conduct of their respective armed forces, to include measures that prevent and punish the theft, destruction, arson, and damage of civilian property not warranted by direct military necessity; prevent and punish the violation of women; do not hinder the purchase and use of medicine or medical equipment for injured soldiers and prisoners of war; prevent and punish the destruction, theft, pillage, arson, or damage to civilian farm produce, tools, buildings, or other items which primarily aid the civilian population; prevent the mistreatment of prisoners of war and hindering their exchange, and allow the proper shelter, medical care, nutrition, and sanitation to prisoners of war as allowed to soldiers of the respective nation's armed forces Article 27 All persons held to service or labor, having been released from such service by the military forces of the United States shall not be required to return to bondage in the Confederate States, nor shall the Confederate States be financially compensated for such persons. The Confederate States shall recognize such persons as citizens of the United States in accordance with the provisions of this treaty with equal rights to any other citizen of the United States. The Confederate States and citizens thereof shall consider any claims of ownership of such persons null and void. Article 28 When traveling to the United States, citizens of the Confederate States shall not be permitted to bring into the states or territories of the United States, any person held to service or labor in accordance with the laws of the Confederate States, or of their several states. Article 29 Neither the United States of America or the Confederate States of America, nor any state or local government authority therein, shall make any attempt to try any person, having served in the armed forces of the other country, for treason, and all such persons having served in the armed forces of the other country, shall receive and enjoy for themselves and everything appertaining to them, the protection of the local authorities of Government, who shall defend them from all insult or injury of any sort. If their dwellings or property be threatened or attacked by mobs, incendiaries, or other violent or lawless persons, the local officers, on requisition of the Consul, shall immediately dispatch a military force to disperse the rioters, apprehend the guilty individuals, and punish them with the utmost rigor of the law. Citizens of the Confederate States of America, or of the United States of America, guilty of any criminal act towards citizens of the other country shall be tried in accordance with the laws of their respective home countries. Arrests in order to trial may be made by either the Confederate or United States authorities. Any person currently incarcerated on accusation of treason, having born arms for the other nation, shall be set at liberty upon ratification of this treaty, and any prosecutions thereof shall be ended. Article 30 Citizens of the United States, and of the Confederate States, upon requisition made in their name through their respective diplomatic or consular agents, shall deliver up to justice such persons who, being charged with murder, attempt to commit murder, rape, forgery, arson, robbery, polygamy, bigamy, embezzlement, or other felony or misdemeanor, committed within the jurisdiction of the requesting party, shall be found within the territories of the other; provided that this shall be done only when the fact of the commission of the crime shall have been so established as to justify apprehension and trial as if the crime had been committed in the country wherein the persons so accused shall be found. The expenses of detention and delivery shall be made at the expense of the party so demanding extradition. Article 31 Both the United States and the Confederate States agree to the creation of an international tribunal consisting of 10 military officers, two each from the British Empire, French Empire, German Confederation, Russian Empire, and Spanish Empire, which shall be tasked to investigate those military and civilian personnel, excluding the current and former Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the two nations, of accusations of having committed, ordered, encouraged, or allowed the crimes during the war of murder, rape, robbery, arson, theft, on the civilian populations of the respective countries during the course of the late war, that were not of a military necessity to prosecute the late war, as well as intentional mistreatment up to death of prisoners of war. This tribunal shall be called together within 90 days of ratification of this treaty by both nations, at which time both nations shall provide a list of names of military officers and political officers for the tribunal to investigate. Such officers shall be required to show before the tribunal or be considered fugitives from justice and liable to arrest. The prosecution and defense shall both enjoy the right to call witnesses for and against the accused, to subpoena and present evidence for defense and prosecution, a speedy and public trial. Witnesses called shall be under oath, under penalty of perjury in accordance with the laws of their respective countries. Persons found innocent by the tribunal shall not be harassed or subject to double jeopardy for the same crime in their respective countries. Persons found guilty shall receive the same punishment for their crimes as a person in their own country shall receive for having committed the same crime. Both the United States and Confederate States shall agree to abide by the rulings of the tribunals. The tribunal shall establish its rules for procedure with the basis in common law tradition of the United States as of January 1, 1861. The tribunal shall begin its trials with general officers and cabinet-level officials of the respective governments if so named by the other government; but in no case shall either be tried for treason for having fought against the authority of the other. By mutual agreement, the United States and the Confederate States shall have the right to end the investigation of any individual by the tribunal, and to end the tribunals and all pending trials before it by mutual agreement. Article 32 Both the United States and Confederate States shall endeavor to maintain the peace between them to the best of their abilities, and not permit any act of hostility between the two nations whether by sea or land for any cause or pretext. Article 33 Both the United States and the Confederate States shall avoid any act which would give any assistance or protection, whether directly or indirectly, to any party or parties having the intent or desire to injure the other nation or the citizens thereof. Article 34 If unhappily any disagreement should hereafter arise between the Governments of the two republics, whether with respect to the interpretation of any stipulation in this treaty, or with respect to any other particular concerning the political or commercial relations of the two nations, the said Governments, in the name of those nations, do promise to each other that they will endeavor, in the most sincere and earnest manner, to settle the differences so arising, and to preserve the state of peace and friendship in which the two countries are now placing themselves, using, for this end, mutual representations and pacific negotiations. And if, by these means, they should not be enabled to come to an agreement, a resort shall not, on this account, be had to reprisals, aggression, or hostility of any kind, by the one republic against the other, until the Government of that which deems itself aggrieved shall have maturely considered, in the spirit of peace and good neighbourship, whether it would not be better that such difference should be settled by the arbitration of commissioners appointed on each side, or by that of a friendly nation. And should such course be proposed by either party, it shall be acceded to by the other, unless deemed by it altogether incompatible with the nature of the difference, or the circumstances of the case. Article 35 If war should unfortunately arise between the Confederate States and United States in the future, citizens of either nation residing in the other shall have three months to settle their affairs, collect their debts and property and leave to their home nation, without hindrance or molestation. This treaty of peace, amity, navigation, and commerce shall be ratified by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, within one year, or sooner if possible, and by the the President of the Confederate States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate within one year. Concluded in Ottawa, Canada in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, and of the independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth, and of the independence of the Confederate States of America the fourth. *Lots of text taken from the Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo and Tientsin.  Postwar map of the Union and Confederacy, showing states, territories, and the undetermined status of Missouri as of this point. The Confederate States, including their claim on Missouri, have an area of 1,240,065.38 mi 2 (3,284,198.13 km 2), an increase of 184802.5 mi 2, or roughly 17.5%.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Feb 22, 2020 9:46:13 GMT
*Lots of text taken from the Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo and Tientsin. View AttachmentPostwar map of the Union and Confederacy, showing states, territories, and the undetermined status of Missouri as of this point. Good to see a map of North America now divided between these two countries. |
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jjohnson
Chief petty officer
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Post by jjohnson on Feb 24, 2020 20:53:13 GMT
Chapter 20: The Nations Move Forward
Grant and Sherman Return to the United States
Once the surrender and parole of the United States Army under Grant was attained, General Lee and his men took the remainder of April to ensure that their former foes were treated with magnanimity and given food and shelter, and returned home promptly. By April 30, General Lee, General Jackson, General Stuart, along with General Hill, Ewell, and Longstreet, bid farewell to General Grant, Howard, McPherson, and the other Union generals, gave them all an official gun salute of 19 cannons as they retired to the United States, exiting Virginia. In Louisville, Kentucky, it took the Confederates about 2 weeks to properly process, duplicate the muster rolls, and parole the Union army remaining. General Johnston was gracious to his defeated foes, and allowed them quite elaborate dinners with fresh beef, fresh vegetables, and wines, despite the cost to him personally. Over the two weeks, the Confederates ensured their defeated former enemies were housed and fed, and overall the quality of food increased as fresh food came in from Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana. It was the first fresh food the deprived and malnourished Confederate soldiers had had in a long time, which the men savored. General Kirby Smith and General Taylor paroled the Union Army in St. Louis, while the Confederate governor began restoring order in the capital of Jefferson City, trying to re-open the civil government and civil courts, and begin what he expected to be a plebiscite on the future of his state, whether it would become a Union state or a Confederate state, despite being represented in both nations' Congresses. The unfortunate thing of the war in Missouri was the presence of John Turchin, who was not above allowing his troops to burn and destroy anything in their way, in both the north and south of the state; he was court-martialed, but knowingly had it stopped by the cabinet and was promoted by President Lincoln to brigadier general before his court-martial was complete, and allowed to operate in Missouri and Arkansas with impunity. As the Union armies dispersed North into the United States, around 75,000 of the blacks who had born the Union uniform, former slaves who had been 'drafted' as it were, returned South, without their uniforms. Per treaty they would be given clemency for their part, though their experiences in the Union army would be felt for years through the south. General Lee Goes Home
 Stratford Hall, childhood home of General Lee
While General Lee's home in Arlington had since been looted by Union soldiers, and its possessions disbursed, he had been renting a home in Richmond. On June the 20th, Lee received a letter that Henry Storke and his wife sold the plantation to his nephew, Fitzhugh Lee, for $100, and he subsequently gifted it to his father, surprising him by riding together with him, his wife, and their sisters to Westmoreland County. The six members of the Lee family rode their horses, and the carriage for the ladies, before coming up on the old plantation. "I have some of the fondest memories of this place," Lee said with a tinge of sadness, remembering his father losing the home due to his financial issues. "Well, father, the Storkes and I would like you to be able to make new memories in it," Fitz said to his father, handing him a key to the door. "They sold it to me, and I have signed over the deed to your name with the county courthouse. The property is yours, father. Welcome home." Lee's eyes watered a bit, and a smile crept onto his face. "Thank you son. Thank you," he said, giving his son a handshake that turned into a hug. The family smiled and hugged for a few moments, until the Lees left their horses, and entered the house. It had been well maintained, but the furniture had not arrived from Richmond as of yet. "Everything will be here on Tuesday," Fitz said. Two days later. "We can stay in a hotel if we wish until then." Fitz treated his family to dinner at one of the nearest hotels, as the family spoke animatedly about home and hearth. Robert E. Lee's heart was warmer than it had been in a long time. For the first time in a long time, he truly had a home, and he had his family with him. President Davis's SpeechUpon reading the treaty that came via telegraph, President Davis was amazed at what it contained, and told Varina, his wife, and all his children that the Confederacy would now be recognized as a sovereign nation amongst the body of nations. He called for a state dinner to celebrate, and was motivated to make a speech to his new nation. His speech: To my fellow Confederates, it is with a joyful heart that we can finally declare the bloody war between us and the United States has come to an end and peace is almost at hand. Four years ago, we declared that we wanted independence so that we could maintain our liberty, freedom, and government by consent of the government. It pains my heart that our brothers to the north decided that Union was more important than freedom, coercion through bayonets rather than friendship and mutual self-interest.
The President of the United States addressed his people saying "you have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the government." We had no desire to destroy their government. They have now had two presidential elections, two congressional elections, and numerous state elections without our interference since we seceded. The government of the United Kingdom was not destroyed by the secession of the United States, and continues to this day representing her people. I believe and hope that the government of the United States shall continue in perpetuity and that their current direction of centralization of authority in Washington and preoccupation with looking towards Washington for the answers to daily struggles of life that they could better resolve themselves in their own communities and States would reverse itself so that they could avoid further secessions such as ours, as a strong neighbor and friend to our north can only benefit us going forward.
That President has also claimed the Union was older than the States, when the states began their existence shortly after the start of the 17th century and our former Union began in the decade of the 1770s. He also claimed the Constitution was older than the States, when the Constitution was written in 1787, nearly 180 years after Virginia herself was founded by royal charter. He also claimed the States could no leave the Union, yet the very ratifications of New York, Rhode Island, and Virginia declared the right of secession reserved without any controversy arising from the other states so joining the Union, a tacit admission of a fact widely known until his claim denying it. We have no such misconceptions on the origins of our government and the right of states to secede and we ask that our neighbors to the north correct any such misconceptions quickly before they cause more sadness and misery in their country.
The very Declaration of Independence our fathers and grandfathers signed asserted the God-given right to dissolve the political bands connecting one to another, and resume the powers delegated to the common government, first from the sovereign of Great Britain, and now from the federal government of the United States. Governments are instituted so as to preserve life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness, and derive their powers from consent of the government. It is the people who are to determine when to exercise their right to dissolve their common government to institute another, not the government, as asserted in the north.
As John Locke said, "Men can never be secure from Tyranny, if there be no means to escape it." In the Constitution of the United States, the Ninth and Tenth Amendments thereto protect the rights of the states to resume their delegated powers. But some believed in obfuscation of such a reserved right, that our Confederation should explicitly state such rights to prevent any such doubts from corrupting the political minds of our new Confederation in an amendment as soon as we are able.
Through our experience of war and the lengths to which our neighbors to the north were willing to go in targeting women, children, and other persons who were not in uniformed combat against them, many hearts were hardened against the north and it may take a generation or more for the feelings engendered by the behavior and propaganda of northern soldiers, politicians, and newspapermen to recede and true friendship between our peoples to resume.
It is my fervent hope that we can resume friendly relations among us as two independent and sovereign nations, guided by devotion to the rule of law and our common Christianity.
Our Confederated Republic is a compact between sovereign states as it has always been intended under the Union and each state shall retain her sovereign powers under our new Constitution. May God protect the Confederate States of America and their independence.Alexandria, Virginia (June 28)With the Senate having ratified the treaty, the Confederate States began working on disinterring the Union soldiers that the US Army had buried in Robert Lee's yard, so as to prevent him from ever returning home, and returning the bodies home to the United States. The Confederate Congress sent a letter to Lee saying that he could return to the land. Once the Union officers and men were removed, he donated a southern portion of the land, with a note saying "Let the land be a memorial to those who died to protect the right of the people to a government by consent of the governed, and the right to liberty for all Confederates who served." Several days later, the Confederate Congress established Arlington National Confederate Cemetery, with the consent of the Lee family, who was compensated $520,000 for the land and the loss of nearly all their belongings, which were looted during the Union occupation of the house. The small portion of their land was incorporated into an area of land comprising Fort Runyon, Fort Albany, Fort Richardson, and Fort Scott, fronting the small river. The Confederate Government received the land donated from Virginia to establish a cemetery to those who fought for independence. Fort Scott was disassembled, and replaced with an amphitheater and statuary with a scenic view of the river, sunrise, and sunset. Soon, several monuments were established at the entrances to the cemetery land, bearing the names of several generals during the war:  One of seven gates, each named for the seven original generals of the Confederacy: Samuel Cooper, Albert Johnston, Joseph Johnston, Robert Lee, Pierre Beauregard, Braxton Bragg, Edmund Kirby Smith. The first monumental gate, known as the Lee Gate, was built in 1865 from red stone:  The entrance to the land was constructed and dedicated by November 11, 1865:  The final battle is traditionally held to be April 26th when Johnston defeated Sherman, and on that day every year, all gravestones are decorated with the battle flag of the Confederate States:  Each State that fought in the war got a monument, bearing a giant 8'x12' state flag for each on a 40' flagpole, arranged according to the locations of their capitals, their soldiers and generals buried nearby, and at the site of the former Fort Scott holding the amphitheater and a 20'x30' Confederate National Flag on an 80' flagpole. A boardwalk was added along the shoreline, with memorial plaques from various people detailing what they went through during the war, dedicated to family members who fought in the war. After many veterans of the war were buried in the cemetery, more would be buried there in future Confederate Wars. Washington, DC (June 29) The US Congress designated a far away portion of the federal district as a National Cemetery, taking the heights from Fort Greble, Fort Carroll, and Fort Snyder to the border, and began interring bodies coming home from Alexandria. They named the area Union National Cemetery, and built the first monument to the 'Civil War Unknowns' later in 1865. The site was uninhabited other than the forts, but was also chosen on the part of Speaker Schuyler Colfax so that a giant U.S. Flag could fly over the cemetery in full view of the Confederate States and Arlington across the Potomac River.   In honor of those who fought for the preservation of the Union, the United States placed this memorial in October of 1865 in Union National Cemetery.   The memorial theater was built by 1913, the 50th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg, to replace a wooden amphitheater that had served since the founding of the cemetery. Several notable war generals, including General Sheridan, whom JEB Stuart shot in battle in Virginia, was buried within the cemetery on General's Row, a section of the cemetery near the central amphitheater, leading up to it and facing the wide lane leading up to it. Over two dozen Union generals were buried here, with more buried here with their comrades after the war. Their epitaphs revealed why they fought, often with variations of "Fought for the maintenance of the Union of his forefathers" on the stone. California Cession (July 2) The Union State of California passed a bill authorizing the cession of all land south of 37° N to the Confederate States, at $17.50 per acre, being a total of $1,426,590.38 for the 81519.45 acres ceded to the Confederacy. The cession itself was greeted with cheers in some crowds, and boos by others. Some were happy to be rid of the southerners who had settled southern California since 1850, with a sense of 'good riddance' to them. Others thought they should be expelled from the state, that once a free state was created that it shouldn't have to cede land to a bunch of slave owners. The Confederate Territory of California would be declared on the 7th of July, with its capital at San Diego, the southwestern-most town in the territory.  Territorial flag for California, based on the Gillis Flag.The territorial legislature quickly met and passed a variation on the Gillis Flag as the territorial flag, with 15 stars (despite the national flag having only 13 stars on it, this flag was counting Missouri already as the 14th state, making this the 15th eventual state). Ratification Celebration (July 4) While it had delayed things, finally President Lincoln agreed to meet with his counterpart at the border of the Federal District and Virginia, the peninsula across the river from the White House and Congress, shaking hands and exchanging ratifications of the treaty. Overhead, easily visible from Washington, DC, was a giant Confederate Flag, 60 feet by 40 feet, waving in the breeze, over the heads of the two Presidents who had gathered to meet.   The stage itself where the two would speak had a podium for either man, facing east, with the Confederate flag on the southern edge of the stage, and the Union flag on the northern edge of the stage. "President Davis," Lincoln said, finally, after 4 years, admitting to the title of Jefferson Davis, shaking his hand. "President Lincoln," Davis said, acknowledging his counterpart. The band had played Hail to the Chief when both men entered the stage, then the Star-Spangled Banner, and then Dixie, while the men exchanged their ratifications.  The moment they shook hands and stood next to one another was photographed by dozens of cameras, and the pictures still memorialized in history books to this day. Seen in the picture is former US President, Confederate Representative John Tyler (VA), and former US President James Buchanan. Davis appeared with his wife, Varina, who held the hands of Jim Limbor Davis (their adopted black son), and Margaret (born 1855), along with Jeff Davis, Jr., Joseph Evan, William Howell, and Varina Anne. Unannounced, but Varina was pregnant with another daughter, who would be known as Sarah Anne. Lincoln's wife did appear but at some distance, while his other family were present, including Robert Todd Lincoln, Mary Eunice, Edward Baker, William Wallace, and Thomas Lincoln III. Both men spoke briefly, and there was a 21-gun salute afterward before both departed for their respective capitals. "It is unfortunate that the recent war became necessary," President Lincoln said, getting close to an old line from his second inaugural where he blamed the war on the Confederates, "but having concluded peace with our southern brethren, let us strive for charity for all and malice toward none." "We look forward to peace and free commerce with our neighbors and brothers to the north," President Davis said. "Let us put the recent unpleasantness behind us, and move forward as two sovereign American nations seeking liberty and justice for all, and constitutional government for both nations." The full speeches are available in the national archives of both nations. Lincoln's Speech: It is a sad day that war came between the several States, something no man wanted or sought. The horror and sadness of war no one would intend or ordain but many are glad that such has passed. Both of us have prayed to the same God and asked for his Providence to end the war. The hope of many is that between our now separated Peoples we can now resume beneficial commerce with charity for all and malice toward none. We ask God to bless our Peoples, and establish a lasting peace amongst ourselves and with all nations.Davis's Speech: We thank the President of the United States for joining us here in the Confederate States. We look to our Declaration of Independence from Great Britain where we acknowledged the God-given right of a people to 'alter or abolish' their government when it becomes injurious to their safety and happiness. President Lincoln as well acknowledged almost two decades hence "Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better." That is simply what we did, correcting those things we felt needed correcting to better protect our safety and happiness. Neither of us initiated war to preserve or eradicate slavery; on the one hand it was fought to preserve the Union by force and the economic well-being of a portion of the States, and on the other hand it was fought to separate and defend that independence and establish equal benefit to all States with preference towards no one section through the manipulation of the levers of government. Let no man misconstrue our intentions to something so simple as to keep a portion of our people in bondage, as we have freed and will continue to free in accordance with law, that portion which was once bonded and restrained, with a plan to bring them into society as independent persons capable of caring for themselves. All Southern men ever asked was to be left alone, not to be chastised for doing things our own way and in our own time, and to be given the same chance to emancipate as the North had before us with a proper plan for freedom for those formerly bonded persons.
The people of the South sought no war, nor did we initiate any war without provocation. We sought to obey the laws of Christian warfare and admonished our forces to protect women and children and all non-uniformed combatants. I fervently worked years to avoid the need for secession but cooler heads did not prevail and a history of differing views upon our common constitution and its interpretation and a loss of the amity we once shared with each other necessitated our separation. Many people suffered during our late unpleasantness and much of it was needless and vindictive, but our people should remember the spirit of '76 which bound us together in friendship and hope for the future, and let the spirit of '61 again be viewed with an eye towards friendship and "charity toward all, and malice towards none."
We ask the God protect and guide both the United States and Confederate States to abide by our respective constitutions and give our two sovereign and independent nations statesmen who can steer our nations with liberty and justice for all rather than a small, connected few. May God bless the United States and the Confederate States.
It is understandable in the occasion that President Lincoln spoke briefly, but he would be excoriated in the Southern press for his speech where many believed he caused the war, and was again trying to avoid blame for initiating the war. Lincoln's later diaries record that that was the hardest moment of his life, and viewed it as being 'paraded around' amongst people he viewed as having fought to destroy the Union. On the other hand, Jefferson Davis's speech received applause and cheers in the crowd, and is even today part of standard textbooks in Confederate schools, brought up whenever a pundit or newspaper in the US claims the CS were fighting for slavery. Richmond Celebrates (July 4) The trip back to Richmond took some time for those over in Alexandria, but the early morning ceremony meant that many of those present were able to return to Richmond by late afternoon when a military parade took place through the streets of Richmond and in front of the capital building. Confederate soldiers, black and white, marched in formation in brand new uniforms, freshly woven and tailored, bearing all their medals and promotions earned. The uniforms were slightly changed from those worn during the war, not having the sleeve Austrian knots, which had made it easy for Union soldiers to target officers, and saved cost and time. Enlisted ranks were sewn on the sleeves, mirroring the officer 9-rank structure with 1, 2, or 3 diagonal slashes for privates of varying seniority, 1 chevron for corporal, 2 for sergeant, and 3 for staff sergeants. 3 chevrons with 1, 2, or 3 bows over it would be for first sergeant, sergeant major, and master sergeant of the Confederate Army. Quartermaster Sergeant was made a position instead of a rank in May, as was ordnance sergeant, though those continued having distinct rank patches until 1892. First sergeant retained the diamond badge until 1878, when master sergeant took the star emblem as the only upper rank containing something within the dark space, until the early 1920s, when first sergeants regained the diamond in their chevrons. Each State had their own representation on the uniform. Each State had buttons with the state initials on them. Floridians had the six-pointed Florida Star on their kepis, for example. Enlisted would have a single-breasted uniform, while officers had a double-breasted uniform. Atlanta (July 6) Having processed the last of the Yankees, Captain James David Johnson, promoted again due to the recommendation of Lieutenant General Patrick Cleburne to General Joseph E. Johnston, had finally finished helping the Saylors complete their new home, built on the foundations of the old home, looking almost exactly like the old one, if not for the slightly different colors, wood used for doors and railing, and newer furnishings. "Thank you again," said Henry Saylor. "We can't thank you and the Army of Tennessee enough. We have a home again." "You're more than welcome, Mr. Saylor," Johnson said with a smile. Five freedmen, all soldiers with home Johnson had served, had been a huge help in finding materials to rebuild the house. Aside from them, Lt. Col. Cleary (also promoted), Sgt Robert Crane, and Sgt Darryl Polite had all helped rebuild the house. "We're just trying to rebuild and move forward from the war." "Speaking of moving forward, I approve of you and my daughter courting," Mr. Saylor said, sincerely. "I know you will treat her right." Johnson's eyes brightened and a smile appeared on his face. "You can count on me, sir. I love your daughter from the depths of my heart." "I can see it every time you're together," he said. In the past six months, the people of Atlanta had done an impressive job in trying to rebuild their town. Buildings which had been destroyed had been cleared and rebuilt, while buildings which had been simply damaged had been repaired, with some owners leaving the bullet and artillery damage present as a reminder of what happened. Unfortunately, some black soldiers and white soldiers had died as a result of unexploded shells exploding when disturbed, but by and large, Atlanta was over 2/3 back to normal. Arkansas (July 14) Lt. General Cleburne and his now wife, Susan, found themselves back in Cleburne's adopted home town of Helena, Arkansas, near the Mississippi River. He was greeted, to his surprise, with a parade of black men, cheering and waving his Corps's flag, the Third National Flag, the square Battle Flag, and the Battle Flag of the Army of Tennessee (reversed blue and red version of the Battle Flag).     A huge lunch was prepared with a large amount of food, including tea that someone had decided to put sugar into. It took some time for Cleburne to return home; he had to participate in the official surrender up in Louisville, process his troops out of service to return home, decide who would be promoted, who would be retained to help civilians and refugees be returned home and rebuild fences and homes, and how to return black refugees to their homes. On his way home, black men and women would cheer him as the 'First Emancipator' and shake his hand, which often flustered him or made his cheeks red. Battle was something he knew; fame was not, and he didn't want to turn into a Bragg or a Hood, getting an inflated opinion of his own importance. Memphis (July 14) General Forrest newly promoted to a full general for his role in winning the war in the 'west,' finally came home to Memphis, and his wife, Mary Ann. In his entourage were 44 black Confederates, whom he had freed in 1864 when it looked like the Confederacy was going to lose the war*. They had all served in the army with him, and he promised to employ them all, giving them the same wages as a white man, if they finished the war with him.* Once he returned and settled down back in Memphis, he began the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad, and began seeking subscriptions from the locals to help fund construction of the railroad. His subscription model was a modest payment, 50¢, per share, and every share got an equal quarterly payment of the dividends when the railroad would finish. It took $4 million to complete the 133-mile railroad, which eliminated the need for stagecoach and steamboat to travel between the two cities, including a partial relaying of track that was 5.5' gauge instead of the new 6' gauge that Forrest switched to using in 1865. Over 200 black Confederate soldiers purchased several dozen shares a piece, and at $4, there were thousands of customers going back and forth along the railroad once completed. There were 11,500 people who bought shares in the MLR, each share returning about $952.17 back to the people in both Little Rock and Memphis who invested in Forrest's railroad. Many of the former soldiers who served with Forrest used their funds to build houses for themselves, start businesses, and also bring their families in from the fields to the cities, beginning what would become a renaissance in Memphis in the black population which for the first time was raised out of poverty by investments. The growing black population would find some hard lessons in whom to trust, but fellow veterans were often their best comrades in business as well, helping them invest wisely for the future. Without Reconstruction being led by northern military officers using freed slaves to vote for them so they could loot the south's resources, blacks and whites were not set at odds with each other, and instead worked together to rebuild their common society. This is not to say that black Confederates were treated as equals, as many southern whites were not ready to make that much of a change, but they were not treated with anger or acrimony. *He did this in the original timeline. Richmond (July 15) The Confederate Congress was in session, intent upon fixing some of the issues caused by the war and made evident, including transport, supply, and other logistics. Railroads
One of the bills they managed to push through was to pay for surveyors for a transcontinental railroad; since the Confederate constitution forbade paying for internal improvements, the Congress volunteered simply to pay for surveyors for a triple-lane railroad of a 6-foot gauge, while the various states volunteered to float bonds to cover the costs of building railroads. This would be the first in establishing a pattern of interstate compacts to facilitate commerce, keeping such things locally owned and controlled. For the Confederacy, since their railroads were not subsidized as those in the United States were, they kept costs down and quality higher, and none of the Confederate rail companies went bankrupt when the subsidies dried up like in the United States. The 'interstate compacts' were more like advisory boards where the states would meet with one of the cabinet secretaries and come up with a coordinated plan of action, avoiding the constitutional ban on making treaties amongst each other. One of the surveyors was a young man named Samuel Spencer, who had served in the Confederate Cavalry. Having observed train collisions before, and the damage caused, he was the one who advocated for a triple-track wide-gauge (6') railway across the new Confederacy as straight as possible, to reduce wait times, reduce collisions, and increase speeds. The advantage would be that it would allow round-the-clock simultaneous traffic in both directions, and it would allow faster trains to pass slower trains, allowing for the third track for trains to be out of service for maintenance. The new gauge was set because Spencer believed trains would only get faster, heavier, and haul bigger loads in the future, so the current 4' 8.5" gauge common around the Confederacy would be phased out in favor of the new gauge as lines were built. Tracks destroyed by the Union army would be melted down and recast into tracks for the new railroads across Dixie. These triple-track lines would be finished within thirty-five years, the transcontinental from Jacksonville west and from Richmond south being the first to be built. Many single or double-track railroads would be built to connect to this express network, such as the Richmond-Atlanta-New Orleans line (Richmond, Danville, Greensboro, Charlotte, Spartanburg, Atlanta, Montgomery, Hattiesburg, New Orleans).  Samuel Spencer, 1895
James Guthrie had opposed secession, and sided with Lincoln, but his ties to his home state were strong, and he decided to stay there. He petitioned Congress to allow him to survey for a transcontinental railroad, and was assigned Sam Spencer as one of the surveyors.  James Guthrie
Algernon Sidney Buford, from Virginia, was designated one of the persons to have surveyed a line from Virginia to Miami, becoming President of the Virginia-Miami Railroad. His surveyed route would go through Norfolk, Savannah, Brunswick, Jacksonville, Daytona, and Miami. He was impressed with the concept of a triple-track railroad and was eager to participate in its construction. A number of other men would even move south from the midwest to help the Confederates over the next decade to build up their railroads. This bill would also set the standard Confederate practice of triple-track multi-state railroad lines. Based on the interstate compacts, the Confederates would create two, and later three main east-west lines: East-West
1. Jacksonville to San Diego: Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Mobile, Gulfport, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Houston, Austin, Fort Stockton, El Paso, Tucson, San Diego 2. Richmond-Salinas: Richmond, Lynchburg, Knoxville, Nashville, Jackson, Memphis, Little Rock, Fort Smith, Oklahoma City, Amarillo, Albuquerque, Flagstaff, Kingman, Bakersfield, Salinas A third East-West line was added ten years later: 3. Wilmington-San Diego: Wilmington, Florence, Columbia, Augusta, Atlanta, Birmingham, Starkville, Greenville, Texarkana, Dallas, Fort Worth, Abilene, Las Cruces, Tucson, Mexicali, San Diego A fourth line was added in 1879: 4. Savannah-Dallas: Savannah, Macon, Columbia, Montgomery, Meridian, Jackson, Vicksburg, Shreveport, Dallas North-South
1. Alexandria-Miami: Miami, West Palm Beach, Daytona, St Augustine, Jacksonville, Brunswick, Savannah, North Charleston, Summerville, Myrtle Beach, Wilmington, Jacksonville, New Bern, Windsow, Franklin, VA, Petersburg, Richmond, Fredericksburg, Alexandria 2. Covington-Tampa: Covington, Lexington, Richmond, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Dalton, Atlanta, Macon, Valdosta, Spring Hill, Tampa 3. Louisville-Pensacola: Lousville, Nashville, Birmingham, Montgomery, Pensacola 4. Memphis-New Orleans: Memphis, Grenada, Jackson, Baton Rouge, New Orleans 5. Little Rock-New Iberia: Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Monroe, Alexandria, Lafayette, New Iberia 6. Oklahoma City-Galveston: (Wichita), Oklahoma City, Ardmore, Denton, Dallas, Corsicana, Huntsville, Houston, Galveston 7. Fort Worth-Laredo: Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Laredo 8. Santa Fe-Las Cruces: Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Las Cruces 9. Flagstaff-Tucson: Flagstaff, Phoenix, Tucson 10. Salinas-San Diego: Salinas, Bakersfield, Los Angeles, San Diego From these main lines, various spurs would be developed, enabling rail transport to almost any city within the Confederacy by 1900. The first Confederate Transcontinental Railroad would be finished in 1874, with a ticket across the continent costing $65. This would begin a migration of Confederates from the east to the west, populating the western territories and soon making them states as well. Military Supply
Given the performance of the military during the war, the Congress made a bill to upgrade the weaponry of the armed forces. The Spencer Repeating Rifles were purchased in the number of 80,000, plus cartridges for them. Artillery was upgraded to new cannon that was the equal of the Union cannon they faced during the war, with rifling to extend the range. But this exposed the issue of industry for the fledgling nation. Commerce
The House Committee on Commerce sought to aid the internal economic situation, somewhat lagging due to the war and destruction of Sherman's March in Kentucky and Tennessee especially. They drafted a bill to purchase the means of production, namely steam engines, machine tools, metal working, and importing that equipment which would be valuable in rail, textiles, military production, and other industries. The eventual bill that made it out of committee agreed to pay for the equipment with the cotton so badly needed in the United Kingdom. They got cotton, the Confederates got machinery. It wasn't subsidy to industry, which was unconstitutional, as the government sold the equipment on loan to various southern industrialists. Indians on the Frontier
Given the withdrawal of the United States Army from the frontier, the western frontier of Texas was suffering Indian raids, and the Indian Affairs Committee of the House, under Otho Singleton, ordered 25,000 currently enlisted and officers to proceed to the Arizona and New Mexico territories to pacify the Indians, either by settling them in Oklahoma, expelling them to the United States, or placing them in a reservation. The measure passed the House and Senate, and by August, military forces were marching west to handle the issue of Indian raids. 9,250 of these soldiers were black Confederates, nicknamed 'Buffalo Soldiers' by the Indians, who thought their hair resembled that of the Buffalo for being curly. Symbols
Given the end of the war, the Confederate Congress began drawing up designs for the seals of each of the federal departments, plus standardized flags for various parts of the government. The House Committee on Flag and Seal came up with several new seals:  Seal of the Confederate Army
 Seal of the Confederate Congress (with enough stars to represent the number of states in the Confederacy)
 Seal of the President (with stars numbering the same as the states in the Confederacy)The committee added the additional stars to the Third National Flag, bringing the total up to 14 stars (until Missouri was decided); given the design of the cross, however, representing each state on the cross could sometimes be difficult. Three committee members proposed returning to the first national flag with the stars in a circular pattern, but this proposal did not leave committee, given the hard feelings still present towards the United States, its resemblance to the old flag, and the belief by some in a 'revanchist' United States that would attempt to attack again at some point. Another proposal was for the First National Flag to become the peacetime flag, while the Third National Flag would become the wartime flag, though that proposal failed on the floor of the house. Supreme Court
Now that the war was over, Jefferson Davis was able to appoint a true Supreme Court, of 7 persons. John Campbell, John Marshall Harlan, Howell Edmunds Jackson, William J. Robertson, Alexander Rives, Nathaniel Job Hammond, and James Edward Cobb were appointed and would join the Confederate Supreme Court over the next five months. The Confederate States survived without a Supreme Court during the war, and was leery of it being instituted, since in the United States, the court had presided over a gradual erosion in states' rights, as there was no way for states to overturn the court, an idea that would come up again in the form of an amendment. One of its early rulings was over the constitutionality of an executive order during the war that applied to the people and not just the cabinet. The court overturned the order as unconstitutional, saying that the president had no constitutional authority to issue an order to apply to the people outside of the law, even in wartime. Executive orders applied only to the cabinet and to the executive branch agencies. With this ruling, one of the biggest abilities to overreach was taken away from the Confederate president, preventing a number of abuses of power that could otherwise have happened.        First Seven Supreme Court JusticesA New Capital
Given the proximity of Washington, the Confederate Congress commissioned a survey to find a site for a new capital. Two promising locations would both involve Tennessee. One at the Tennessee/Alabama/Georgia border, the second at the Tennessee/Alabama/Mississippi border, both satisfying the 10-mile square requirements in the Constitution.  The five most popular choices, where the cession of land would be roughly equal between three states; blue square 1, 2, 3, or diamond 4, or 5?
Immigration
Congress knew that the Confederacy was a largely rural nation and could not really compete on the international stage with the United States. But they had rivers for transport, and they would soon have railroads built that would put the US to shame. So the Congress passed a bill setting immigration quota to 6% of the 1860 population until Dec 31, 1869, which was estimated to be 9,730,380, giving 583,823 persons. The House Committee on Foreign Affairs set the quota for immigration to bring in persons from the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and the Scandinavian countries with skills in railroad technology, steam engines, machine tools, textile manufacturing, metal working from ore mining to making final products, architects, scientists, and engineers. The bill that came from committee required immigrants to be sponsored, have a specific destination, and once they had both they would be placed on an approval list to get an immigration permit, and the sponsor would be contacted to coordinate the arrival. The bill prioritized those with skills as described before, who could speak English (but it was not required), and had a strong family unit; a strong Christian or Jewish faith (Judah Benjamin spoke with the House on this bill, since the Constitution granted cabinet officers a seat in the House for that reason) was often a plus, as church groups and synagogue groups would often sponsor immigrants. Over the next four years, the Confederates would welcome over 500,000 new persons, in roughly equal numbers of men and women, into their country with the necessary skills. Unlike the United States to their north, Confederates didn't want bodies to perform menial factory work. They wanted intelligent people who could advance their nation and make it better. The focus of the Confederates on intelligent and capable people would transform the face of the southern republic and increase its overall IQ dramatically. Washington DC (July 15) In a solemn ceremony, a new US flag was raised over the capitol building, with 12 fewer stars (Missouri was still counted since its plebiscite was not yet completed, and Oklahoma had been a US Territory, so it didn't have a star on the flag as of 1865).  26-star US flag, last used in 1822 United States (July to December) Soldiers returned home defeated, and many wanted to return to their former lives. They had endured hardships but had fought what they believed was for a good cause - the Union. Many didn't believe that the South really freed their slaves, and would just enslave them again now that the war was over. Some of the soldiers blamed the black soldiers who fought with them, since so many had deserted to the southern side. The governor of Indiana had acted essentially as a dictator during the war and now that a large number of soldiers had returned home, he was removed from office by the legislature, which finally convened. Members of Congress met to determine the conduct of the war, and to begin their list of names for the tribunal which would start up shortly, beginning with Captain Wirz. Congress passed a pension bill to pay for invalids and widows and orphans. People across the US still flew the old flag with 38 stars, refusing to take it down, as they didn't accept that they really lost, and every time a new state was added to either the US or CS, they would increase the stars, with the faint hope that the US and CS would merge again in the future, as the CS would collapse without the New Englanders or other Americans to 'guide' the 'backwards' part of the nation. Such a fate was the subject of a number of 'speculative history' books Many Americans who had sided with the Confederacy left for the Confederacy, from Delaware, Maryland and elsewhere, while some midwesterners left for the Confederacy, if in lower numbers. About 50,000 came south into the Confederacy. Papers across the north that had been closed due to Lincoln's so-called war powers re-opened, renewing the criticism of his performance of the war, his unconstitutional actions during the war, and even mentioning his genealogy, claiming his real father was Abraham Enloe, not Thomas Lincoln, and that he was born in 1805, not 1809. Confederate States (July to December) Celebrations abounded in cities big and small across the Confederate States, and the Third National Flag flew high and proudly in the wind everywhere, from Fort Sumter to San Diego, and very often close to the border with the United States. Since the majority of the South (Georgia and South Carolina especially) had not been devastated by Sherman's March (only portions of Tennessee and Kentucky), a lot of people had livestock, and a lot of the existing population had not been disrupted, so the people could continue their lives as before the war, but holding their heads up a little higher since they had defeated the Yankees, who would no longer be able to tell them what to do. Blacks celebrated the victory that they had played a part in; the Confederates had been true to their word and were beginning to emancipate them. Free blacks, who could already read and write, were teaching their black slaves how to read and write, and making sure they had a trade. White slave owners began the process as well, if slowly. Many slaves could already read and write, despite the laws against it; now it was out in the open. By the end of 1865, out of the 3.95 million slaves, 500,000 of which were taken north due to the war, 3.45 million remained, and of those who remained, around 398,400 were freed by their owners, as they demonstrated the ability to live on their own and take care of themselves, mostly in Virginia, North Carolina, and a little in the other states, while Kentucky and Tennessee progressed slowly due to the need for labor to repair Sherman's damage. The Confederates began building their border fence with the United States, both sides appropriating money to build the fence and the gates by the end of August, as it would help prevent smuggling and help control immigration. Within the few months after independence, some Confederates who had sided with the Union, mostly in Kentucky, Tennessee, western North Carolina, and some in western South Carolina, decided to leave the Confederacy so they could stay with the Union. Over 80,000 men, women, and children headed northwest, and began settling north of Kansas and west of Iowa in accordance with the treaty that had just been signed. Another 40,000 or so decided to leave altogether, settling in Brazil, British South Africa, and even Argentina's southern cone. The Confederates who moved to the west would benefit from the Army's war on the Indians, but would also ensure that the western US culture would remain conservative to the present day. Notably Joseph Ruggles Wilson and Jessie Janet Woodrow would choose to immigrate to the United States, settling in Maryland with their children and slaves, retaining their US citizenship. Captain Henry Wirz, a Swiss-Confederate in charge of Camp Sumter, saw to the return of the last PoWs from the camp, and would then go on to begin working on improving Confederate Army Medical provisioning as well as sanitation in army camps and prison camps. He was responsible for instituting a water filtration method he read about being used in London since 1854, which required first boiling water, letting it cool, then putting it in a tank with charcoal and fine sand, which made it safe to drink. Using this method, the army would be able to ensure safe drinking water for its armies in the field in the event of another war, and provide safe drinking water for prisoners of war. His method would be used by his son, Henry, who would create the Wirz Water Safety Company, which would eventually create the WirzPure Water filter in the late 20th century.  Lt. Col. Henry Wirz, 1867.
Missouri (November 11) With the end of the war, and the removal of both Confederate and Union troops from Missouri, the people of the state were beginning to rebuild, and newspapers had reopened, filled with lurid tales of Union General John Turchin, the German Forty-Eighters, and other Union depravity, filling headline after headline for months. Missouri's governor set the plebiscite for November 11, a Saturday, and the outcome was beyond a contest. Missouri vote to join the Confederacy by 58.5%. The Missourians had 3 options: Join the Union, Join the Confederacy, or split the state north/south at the river. Those north of the Missouri river voted to remain in the Union by 55/45, while those south of the river voted 72/28 to remain in the Confederacy. A British Welcome
The CSS Shenandoah finally sailed in to Liverpool, England, to the cheers of the crowd. The pilot, a black man named Edward Weeks, would later recall he'd never seen such a crowd cheering a black man before. The crew were received in various homes for several days, and the men of the town presented the crew with fresh uniforms, food, rum, and other provisions for their trip home.  Richmond (December 9th) Missouri's seven representatives and two senators are seated in the Congress officially as of December 4th, the first Monday of the month. President Davis held a reception for the Missouri delegation, and a number of people from the Richmond social elite. Missouri Senators Waldo Porter Johnson and George Graham Vest were joined by Congressmen Thomas Lowndes Snead, Nimrod Lindsay Norton, John Bullock Clark, Sr., Aaron H. Conrow, Peter Singleton Wilkes, Robert Anthony Hatcher, and William O'Brien in the Confederate Executive Mansion for a reception in their honor. US Finances For the War (1861-1865) To fight the war to prevent southern independence, the United States took its roughly $65 million national debt, and ballooned it to $2.7 billion. The Confederates agreed to take a proportional share of the prewar debt, but that's a pittance in comparison to the debts incurred to keep the south in a nation they wanted to leave. Budgets: 1861: $ 80,200,000 1862: $ 485,900,000 1863: $ 726,100,000 1864: $ 878,000,000 1865: $1,311,300,000 The ballooning of the budget became a huge subject of the newspapers. " What has the three billions of dollars gotten us? The southern states wanted independence so badly they freed their own slaves to help them get it. That ape in Washington City congratulates himself on fighting for freeing the black man, yet we all know why he caused the war. He wanted to save his own political career and his party, whom he loved more than the Union. And there are over three hundred thousand of our best men dead in southern soil for his ego." - Michael Lockamy, Columbus Gazette, April 29, 1865 " During the war, you'd have been arrested for questioning that buffoon in Washington. Even Francis Scott Key's grandson was locked up in this supposed land of the free. Each year hundreds of millions spent on canister and shot. To free the black man? I think not. It was to conquer the south and steal its cotton for those capitalists in New England to make a colony out of the south for themselves to rule as they see fit. We all know it." - Thomas Visali, Chicago Tribune, April 19, 1865 " Each year, more and more of our money was stolen from us, and for what benefit? The South is gone. Had the ape let them leave in the first place we would be hundreds of millions richer, and three hundred thousand men stronger to settle the west and trade with our former confederates. How many young men were maimed for his ego and his party's political futures?" - William Tyler, Indianapolis Herald, May 1, 1865 " Every year of the war we spend hundreds of millions of dollars more than our Treasury took in. No one has ever seen so much money in his life! Over six hundreds of millions in 1864 alone! With the South gone, how will we pay for our government? Most of our tariffs were collected in southern ports, and they paid most import duties. Now how will the government continue but on the backs of our farmers and merchants rather than on theirs?" - Timothy Jones, Boston Herald, April 27, 1865 More such comments could be seen across the Union in papers, people venting their anger at losing the war, wondering how the United States would fare going forward without the South to pay their tariffs and the export of their cotton, which made up more than 3/4 of all US exports, that money now being redirected to the southern confederation rather than to New England merchants via the federal government's coffers to make internal improvements like roads, bridges, and canals for their goods.
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