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Post by lordroel on May 4, 2023 2:48:57 GMT
Day 23 of the United States Civil War, May 4th 1861
District of Columbia
In orders issued on May 1st 1861, (United States) Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles appointed United States Navy, Captain Silas Horton Stringham to command the Coast Blockading Squadron. Stringham received this order and took command on May 4th 1861. His headquarters were at Hampton Roads, Virginia, and he took responsibility for the blockade of the Atlantic Coast from the Chesapeake Bay to the southern extremity of Florida and Key West.
Louisiana
The steamship QUEEN OF THE WEST, captured earlier at Indianola, Texas, was commissioned as the receiving ship of the Confederate Navy in New Orleans.
Missouri
The United States Ordnance Store at Kansas City was seized by Confederate sympathisers.
Virginia
Virginia State Militia, Colonel George A Porterfield was assigned to command state forces in north-western Virginia. He moved to Grafton to take charge of enlistments in that area and to provide a defence for the strategically vital junction on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.
Virginia State Militia, Brigadier-General Joseph Eggleston Johnston was ordered to proceed by the Orange & Alexandria Railroad to Harper’s Ferry, accompanied by Lieutenant-Colonel Edmund Kirby Smith as chief of staff and Major William Henry Chase Whiting as chief engineer.
The 50-gun sailing frigate USS CUMBERLAND under the command of United States Navy, Captain Garrett J Pendergrast, seized the schooner MARY AND VIRGINIA with a cargo of coal, and also reported the capture of the schooner THERESA C, running the blockade off Fort Monroe with cotton on board.
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Post by lordroel on May 5, 2023 6:35:08 GMT
Day 24 of the United States Civil War, May 5th 1861
District of Columbia
On April 15th 1861, following the firing on Fort Sumter, (United States) President Lincoln had published an executive proclamation ordering that those in rebellion "disperse and retire peacebly to their respective abodes, within twenty days from this date." This day marked the expiry of that period.
Virginia
Alexandria was evacuated by the Virginia State Militia under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel A S Taylor in spite of orders from Virginia State Militia, Brigadier General Philip St George Cocke not to abandon the city without a fight, even though faced by overwhelming numbers. Under orders from Virginia State Militia, Major General Robert Edward Lee, Cocke selected a new defensive line further south behind Bull Run Creek near Manassas Junction.
Texas
Occupation of forts Arbuckle, Cobb and Washita, Indian Territory by the 11th Texas Cavalry Regiment (Confederate States) under the command of Confederate States Army, Colonel Col. W. C. Young.
Indian Territory
Fort Arbuckle and Fort Cobb in the Chickasaw Nation were abandoned by United States Army, Lieutenant Colonel William Hemsley Emory (1st US Cavalry), during his march to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Washington Territory
Henry M. McGill, the acting governor of Washington Territory, issues issued a appeal regarding (United States) President Abraham Lincoln April 15th 1861, 75,000 volunteers cal:
"Proclamation
By the Governor of Washington Territory
"Whereas, the President of the United States has issued his proclamation, stating that the laws of the United States have been, and now are opposed in several States by combinations too powerful to be suppressed in the ordinary way, and therefore calling for the militia of the several States.
"Now, therefore, deeming it expedient that the militia of the Territory of Washington should be placed in readiness to meet any requisition form the President of the United States or the Governor of this Territory to aid in 'maintaining the laws and integrity of the National Union,' I do hereby call upon all citizens of this Territory capable of bearing arms and liable to militia duty, to report immediately to the Adjutant General of the Territory and proceed at once to organize themselves into companies, and elect their own officers, in the manner prescribed by the act of January 26, 1855, and the amendatory act of February 4, 1858, to organize the militia".
United Kingdom
Answering a question in Parliament, the British foreign secretary, Lord John Russell stated that the British government had decided Southern Confederacy "must be treated as a belligerent" and that the United Kingdom will therefore honor the United States blockade on Southern ports.
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Post by lordroel on May 6, 2023 5:39:48 GMT
Day 25 of the United States Civil War, May 6th 1861
District of Columbia
(United States) Secretary of State William H. Seward informed British minister in Washington, Lord Richard Lyons, that Federal agents had been dispatched to purchase arms in the United Kingdom and France. The minister had no objections. Three days later, Seward wrote to the United States minister to France, William L. Dayton, instructing him to assure the French that preserving the United States was a certainty. These instructions were made public on the 6th:
“You cannot be too decided or too explicit in making known to the French government that there is not now, nor has there been, nor will there be any—the least—idea existing in this Government of suffering a dissolution of this Union to take place in any way whatever. There will be here only one nation and one government, and there will be the same republic and the same Constitutional Union that have already survived a dozen national changes and changes of government in almost every other country. These will stand hereafter, as they are now, objects of human wonder and human affection.” Seward added: “The thought of a dissolution of this Union, peaceably or by force, has never entered into the mind of any candid statesman here, and it is high time that it be dismissed by the statesmen in Europe.”
The Gulf Blockading Squadron was formed to patrol the Confederate coasts from Key West to the Mexican border.
Virginia
Virginia State Militia, Colonel William B. Taliaferro commander of defenses at Gloucester Point, Virginia on the York River opposite Yorktown, Virginia ordered a company of fifty men of the Richmond Howitzers, a Virginia volunteer artillery regiment, with two six-pounder cannons, to report to Gloucester Point to assist in the defense and operation of the shore battery
Alabama
The Confederate Congress passed an Act recognising a state of war with the United States of America and authorised the issuing of Letters of Marque to private vessels, with provisions for prizes and prize goods. President Jefferson Finis Davis issued detailed instructions to these armed “privateers”.
Arkansas
The state government of Arkansas at Little Rock passed an Ordinance of Secession by a vote of 69 to 1. Arkansas authorized its delegates to the Provisional Congress to transfer the arsenal at Little Rock and the hospital at Napoleon to the control of the Confederate government.
Tennessee
Tennessee votes to put the question of secession before the people in a popular referendum.
Louisiana
The New Orleans Bulletin reports on plans to blockade Southern ports on the Mississippi after May 25. Foreign vessels entering port previous to the actual blockade will be given 15 days to leave, with or without cargo. England worries whether cotton will be exempted from the blockade, or, if not, whether it can be sent over interior routes to free Northern ports. The Southern States are the chief source of cotton supply for the world.
Maryland
Commissioners Otho Scott, Robert M McLane, and William J Ross reported the results of their interview with (United States) President Abraham Lincoln, expressing the opinion that some modifications of the course of the United States government towards Maryland ought to be expected.
Massachusetts Militia, Brigadier General Benjamin F. Butler and the 8th New York Infantry took possession of the Relay House, nine miles south of Baltimore, at the vital junction of the Baltimore, Washington, and Ohio railroads.
Missouri
Missouri State Militia, Brigadier General Daniel M. Frost establishes a camp of instructions near Saint Louis, by the direction of the pro-secession Governor of Missouri, Claiborne Fox Jackson.
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Post by lordroel on May 7, 2023 7:46:46 GMT
Day 26 of the United States Civil War, May 7th 1861
District of Columbia
The routes between Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Washington, D.C, via Baltimore, are re-established by Federal authorities after a period of disruption by pro-Confederate militants.
Tennessee
Governor of Tennessee, Isham G. Harris presses successfully for closer ties between Tennessee and the Confederacy. The state was already experiencing clashes between those who sympathized with the North and those who endorsed the links to the seceded Southern states.
Alabama
The United States blockading force captured the Confederate steamers DICK KEYES and LEWIS near Mobile.
Kentucky
United States Army, Major Robert Anderson, the erstwhile United States Army commander of Fort Sumter, accepted a commission as Major General of the Kentucky Militia.
Texas
The former United States Army garrison of Fort Davis was made prisoner by 1,800 Confederates near Eastonville. The 11 officers and 300 men refused an invitation to enlist with the Confederacy.
Virginia
Virginia was admitted to the Confederate States of America after announcing its secession on 17 April 1861.
Virginia State Militia troops occupied Arlington Heights on the south bank of the Potomac River, overlooking Washington, D.C.
(Virginia) Blockade of the Chesapeake Bay - Battle of Gloucester Point
The side-wheel steamer USS YANKEE under the command of United States Navy, Lieutenant Thomas O Selfridge, a converted steam tugboat of 328 tons displacement with 2 guns, sailed the YANKEE up the York River in a reconnaissance with the purpose of developing intelligence on the fortifications at Gloucester Point. As the YANKEE approached to within about 2,000 yards of the shore battery, the battery fired a shot across the boat's bow. The YANKEE slowly continued on its course. The battery then fired another shot at the boat.
United States Navy, Lieutenant Selfridge reported that the shore battery fired 12 shots at the YANKEE, but in a later account, T. Roberts Baker of the Richmond Howitzers stated that the Virginia force had fired 13 shots. United States Navy, Lieutenant Selfridge reported that all but 2 of the battery’s shots were short. The YANKEE fired 4 shots and 2 shells at the battery in return. Selfridge stated that he could not hit the opposing force's guns because of their elevation and because his guns were too small to damage the battery and fortifications in any event. The YANKEE'S guns were "light 32s". Selfridge opined that the Rebels had 2 "long 32s" and an "8-inch shell". He thought the rebels had a force of about 40 men. In fact, the battery only had smaller "six-pounder" guns on this date.
After this exchange of cannon fire, the YANKEE turned around and headed for its base at Hampton Roads near Fort Monroe. Selfridge did not mention damage to the YANKEE in his report. T. Roberts Baker of the Virginia force recalled that two shots from the battery hit the YANKEE. Neither side reported any of their men as killed or wounded.
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Post by lordroel on May 8, 2023 2:53:09 GMT
Day 27 of the United States Civil War, May 8th 1861
Alabama
In the Confederate Capital City of Montgomery, Alabama, the decision was made to name the City of Richmond, Virginia as the new Capital of the Confederacy.
The Confederate Congress voted for military enlistments to be made for the duration of the war and not for a pre-determined period. A call for 82,000 more volunteers had been issued in April.
Virginia
Virginia State Militia, Major Thomas H Williamson, aided by military engineers, began the construction of fortifications at the Aquia Creek landing to protect the terminus of the Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad. The Confederate defences were subsequently strengthened by the addition of a second battery on the bluffs to the south of the confluence of the Aquia Creek with the Potomac River.
Missouri
A consignment of arms sent by (Confederate States) President Jefferson Finis Davis from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, reached the pro-secession militia at Camp Jackson, near St Louis.
Maryland
The steamer BALTIC and the training ship USS CONSTITUTION prepared to complete the relocation of the United States Naval Academy from Maryland, to Newport, Rhode Island, in order to avoid disruption by the civil unrest in Maryland.
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Post by lordroel on May 9, 2023 2:59:24 GMT
Day 28 of the United States Civil War, May 9th 1861
District of Columbia
The steamers PHILADELPHIA, BALTIMORE and MOUNT VERNON were armed by the United States authorities to provide an improvised naval defence of the capital on the Potomac River.
Maryland
United States troops heading for Washington, D.C, landed at Locust Point near Baltimore and were conveyed through the city on a branch line of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.
Maryland House Committee on Federal Relations adopts report, resigned to fact that situation was hopeless, but condemning the United States war against the Confederacy and calling for recognition of Southern independence.
Tennessee
East Tennessee complains that the Legislature does not represent the will of the people and threatens to secede from the state.
Texas
United States Army, Lieutenant-Colonel Reeves was in command of six companies of the 8th Infantry Regiment (United States) near San Lucas Springs, about 22 miles west of San Antonio. They were compelled to surrender to a pro-Confederate Texan force commanded by Confederate States Army, Colonel Earl Van Dorn. Along with the infantry, several officers on leave were also captured and paroled.
Virginia
The side-wheel steamer USS YANKEE was fired on by Confederate batteries at Gloucester Point on the York River near Yorktown. This was the first exchange of fire by the United States Navy against pro-Confederate forces in the state of Virginia, which had not yet officially seceded and joined the Confederacy. More Confederate batteries were erected around Norfolk, at Craney Island, Sandy Point, the Hospital, Fort Norfolk, and the Bluffs.
The 50-gun sailing frigate USS CUMBERLAND, sloop-of-war USS PAWNEE, wooden screw-steamer USS MONTICELLO, and side-wheel steamer USS YANKEE began to enforce the blockade from Fort Monroe.
Missouri
United States Army, Captain Nathaniel Lyon met with the Safety Committee of St. Louis and urged them to approve a move on Camp Jackson to capture the State Militia and munitions there. Having received their concurrence, Lyon consolidated his volunteer forces at the Saint Louis Arsenal on the morning of May 10th.
Department of the Ohio
The United States Department of War issued General Orders, No. 19, altering the boundaries of the Department of the Ohio:
General Orders, No. 19
War Dep’t, Adjutant General’s Office
Washington, May 9, 1861
I – The Department of the Ohio is extended so as to embrace so much of Western Virginia and Pennsylvania as lies north of the Great Kanawha, north and west of the Greenbrier, thence northward to the southwest corner of Maryland, thence along the Western Maryland line to the Pennsylvania line, and thence northerly to the northeast corner of McKean county in Pennsylvania.
By Order:
L. Thomas, Adjutant General
Second French Empire
The Confederate States diplomatic mission to England and France lead by William L Yancey and consisting also of Pierre A Rost and A Dudley Mann met with the (French Emperor) Napoleon III to seek recognition for the Confederate government. No commitment was made by the French to intervene unless they were joined by the British government.
United Kingdom
Former United States Navy officer James Dunwoody Bulloch was ordered by the Confederate government to travel to the United Kingdom to purchase ships, guns, and ammunition.
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Post by lordroel on May 10, 2023 2:49:16 GMT
Day 29 of the United States Civil War, May 10th 1861
District of Columbia
(United States) President Abraham Lincoln issued Proclamation 84—Declaring Martial Law, and Suspending the Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Islands of Key West which read:
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Whereas an insurrection exists in the State of Florida by which the lives, liberty, and property of loyal citizens of the United States are endangered; and
Whereas it is deemed proper that all needful measures should be taken for the protection of such citizens and all officers of the United States in the discharge of their public duties in the State aforesaid:
Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do hereby direct the commander of the forces of the United States on the Florida coast to permit no person to exercise any office or authority upon the islands of Key West, the Tortugas, and Santa Rosa which may be inconsistent with the laws and Constitution of the United States, authorizing him at the same time, if he shall find it necessary, to suspend there the writ of habeas corpus and to remove from the vicinity of the United States fortresses all dangerous or suspected persons.
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 10th day of May, A. D. 1861, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-fifth.
Abraham Lincoln.
By the President:
William H. Seward,
Secretary of State.
Alabama
A secret Act of the Confederate Congress, signed by (Confederate States) President Jefferson Finis Davis, authorised the Navy Department to send an agent abroad to purchase six additional steam propellers, rifled artillery, small arms, and other ordnance stores and munitions.
(Missouri) - Camp Jackson affair
United States Army, Captain Nathaniel Lyon had been up most of the night preparing for the march against Camp Jackson. His plans called for a coordinated march by eight columns using separate routes. All columns were expected to converge on Camp Jackson at 2:30 p.m. on the afternoon of May 10th. That night, Lyon had also written the message he would have delivered to pro-Secession militia of Missouri Militia, Brigadier General Daniel Marsh Frost inside of Camp Jackson, a portion of which included the following statements: SIR: Your command is regarded as evidently hostile toward the Government of the United States. It is, for the most part, made up of those secessionists who have openly avowed their hostility to the General Government and have been plotting at the seizure of its property and the overthrow of its authority . . . I do hereby demand, of you an immediate surrender of your command, with no other conditions than that all persons surrendering under this demand shall be humanely and kindly treated.
United States Army, Captain Nathaniel Lyons leading four volunteer regiments (mainly German militia units) along with a battalion of the 2nd Infantry Regiment (United States) to take possession of weapons at the St Louis Arsenal and to capture the pro-Confederate militia as they drilled at nearby Camp Jackson in Lindell Grove. Forces under the command of United States Army, Captain Nathaniel Lyons captured Camp Jackson and the encamped pro-Secession militia of Missouri Militia, Brigadier General Daniel Marsh Frost. Frost was in a hopeless situation against better-drilled and equipped troops and surrendered between 635 and 1,000 prisoners. Lyon marched the prisoners through St Louis, inadvertently inciting a deadly riot. A hostile crowd pelted the United States volunteers but after a drunken civilian shot and wounded a United States officer, Colonel Boernstein ordered his regiment and an artillery detachment under Lieutenant Rufus Saxton to open fire, killing 28 people and breaking up the secessionist assembly.
South Carolina
The first blockade patrol of Charleston Harbor, SC, is begun with the screw frigate USS NIAGARA.
Maryland
The Maryland House of Delegates passed a series of resolutions reported by the Committee on United States Relations declaring that Maryland should protest against the war, and implored (United States) President Abraham Lincoln, to make peace with the Confederate States; also, that “the State of Maryland desires the peaceful and immediate recognition of the independence of the Confederate States.”
Massachusetts Militia, Brigadier-General Benjamin Franklin Butler captured the experimental Winans Steam Gun near the Relay House.
Texas
Confederate States Army, Colonel Earn Van Dorn,, reports to his Confederate Government of the capture of the last columns of United States troops in Texas.
Virginia
Virginia State Militia, Major General Robert E. Lee issued General Orders, No. 13, announcing that he had been ordered to assume the control of the forces of the Confederate States in Virginia:
General orders, No. 13
Headquarters Virginia Forces,
Richmond Va., May 10, 1861.
The following telegraphic dispatch has this day been received, and is published for the information of all concerned:
Montgomery, Ala., May 10, 1861.
Maj. Gen R. E. Lee:
To prevent confusion, you will assume the control of the forces of the Confederate States in Virginia, and assign them to such duties as you may indicate, until further orders, for which this will be your authority.
L.P. Walker,
Secretary of War.
Officers of the Confederate States Army now serving in Virginia will accordingly report (by letter) to the adjutant-general of the Virginia forces their present stations, the nature of the orders under which they are acting, and, if in command of troops, their numbers and organization.
By command of Major-General Lee:
H.S. Garnett,
Adjutant-General.
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Post by lordroel on May 11, 2023 2:47:25 GMT
Day 30 of the United States Civil War, May 11th 1861
District of Columbia
Sloop-of-war USS PAWNEE under the command of United states Navy, Commander Stephen Clegg Rowan, was ordered to proceed from the Washington Navy Yard to Alexandria, Virginia, to protect vessels from attack by Confederate forces.
Alabama
Ben McCulloch is appointed Brigadier General in the Confederate States Army.
Minnesota
Minnesota enters the United States as a free state.
California
Pro-United States demonstrations are held in San Francisco.
Missouri
Pro-secession riots continued to break out in St Louis from the previous day which results in several additional deaths. The 5th Missouri Reserve Regiment (United States) quell the secessionist uproar.
In direct response to the Camp Jackson Affair the previous day, the Missouri State Legislature passed “An act to raise money to arm the State, repel invasion, and protect the lives and property of the people of Missouri” which authorized Governor of Missouri, Claiborne Fox Jackson to reorganize the state militia into the Missouri State Guard.
Department of the West
United States Army, Brigadier General William S. Harney, resumes the command of the Department of the West.
Virginia
Pro-United States demonstrations are held in Wheeling.
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Post by lordroel on May 12, 2023 6:16:15 GMT
Day 31 of the United States Civil War, May 12th 1861
Maryland
Troops under the command of Massachusetts Militia, Brigadier-General Benjamin Franklin Butler restored United States control in Baltimore over armed pro-secessionist groups.
Missouri
The Missouri General Assembly created the Missouri State Guard to defend the state from attacks from perceived enemies, either from the North or South. The governor appointed Sterling Price as Major General of State Militia, and specifically of the Missouri State Guard. Fearing Missouri’s drift towards the Confederacy, United States Army, Brigadier General William Selby Harney drew up a truce with Price which affirmed Missouri’s neutrality in the impending conflict. Governor of Missouri, Claiborne Fox Jackson declared his support for the United States. Harney’s action was considered to be too favourable to the secessionist cause. United States Army, Captain Nathaniel Lyon, who had been leading the pro-United States resistance, was promoted Brigadier General of Missouri Militia to provide a pro-United States counter-balance. (United States) President Abraham Lincoln made a specific request for Missouri troops to be recruited into United States service, which Governor of Missouri, Claiborne Fox Jackson refused.
South Carolina
The screw frigate USS NIAGARA under the command of United States Navy, Captain William Wister McKean, captured the blockade-runner GENERAL PARKHILL, en route from Liverpool to Charleston.
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Post by lordroel on May 13, 2023 2:52:54 GMT
Day 32 of the United States Civil War, May 13th 1861
Virginia
The (United States) 1st Vermont Infantry Regiment (United States) under the command of United States Army, Colonel John Wolcott Phelps reinforced the garrison at Fort Monroe. Several other volunteer regiments followed on to make it an impregnable base for the United States Army.
A convention of pro-United States delegates from 35 Virginian counties met in Wheeling to consider a separation of the western counties from the state of Virginia.
(Wheeling Intelligencer) Seizure of cattle at Harpers's Ferry On Friday last ten car loads of cattle and a number of horses, which were being shipped over the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, were seized by Letcher's troops at Harper's Ferry. The insurgents suppose the stock to belong to the Government. Several car loads were on the way eastward, east of Grafton, which it is expected will be seized unless recalled.
Maryland
Both Houses of the Maryland state legislature adopted a resolution providing for a committee of eight members, four from each House, to visit (United States) President Abraham Lincoln and (Confederate States) President Jefferson Finis Davis. The committee chosen to visit (Confederate States) President Jefferson Finis Davis was instructed to convey the assurance that Maryland sympathised with the Confederate states and that the people of Maryland were wholeheartedly on the side of reconciliation and peace.
Moving from Relay Station, the 6th Massachusetts Militia Regiment (United States) and 8th Massachusetts Militia Regiment (United States) moved onto Federal Hill to dominate the city of Baltimore. The movement was made without the official authorisation of United States Army, General-in-Chief Major-General Winfield Scott, and was led by Massachusetts Militia, Brigadier-General Benjamin Franklin Butler.
North Carolina
North Carolina elects delegates to the Secession Convention.
Indian Territory
Confederate States Army, Brigadier General Benjamin McCulloch is assigned to the command in the Indian Territory.
Department of Ohio
Ohio militia, Major General George McClellan appointed arrived to take command of the Department of the Ohio at the headquarters in Cincinnati. He planned an offensive into the western counties of Virginia with the optimistic hope that this would develop into a campaign towards the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. His immediate objectives were to occupy territory in western Virginia to protect the predominantly pro-United States population of the area and to keep open the critical Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.
United Kingdom
(United Kingdom) Queen Victoria announces Britain's position of neutrality, Britons are prohibited from enlisting "for sea or land service" and barred from providing arms, munitions, or war materiel to either side thereby unofficially recognizing the Confederacy as a belligerent but not as a sovereign nation.
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Post by lordroel on May 14, 2023 5:58:50 GMT
Day 33 of the United States Civil War, May 14th 1861
District of Columbia
John Charles Fremont is appointed Major General in the United States Army.
The following are appointed Brigadier Generals in the United States Army:
- Irvin McDowell.
- Joseph King Fenno Mansfield.
- Montgomery Cunningham Meigs.
- Erastus Barnard Tyler.
(United States) President Abraham Lincoln orders United States Army, Major Robert Anderson,to provide aid to the Pro-United States Kentuckians even though the state has claimed neutrality.
Alabama
Robert Edward Lee is appointed Brigadier General in the Confederate States Army.
Virginia
United States Army, Colonel Justin Dimick and the garrison of Fortress Monroe seized a well just outside the fort because the fort did not have enough water for its garrison. United States forces also occupied the Mill Creek Bridge which was needed for access to the Peninsula from the fort and the nearby Clark farm.
The wooden steam frigate USS MINNESOTA under the command of United States Navy, Captain Silas Horton Stringham captured the schooners MARY WILLIS, DELAWARE FARMER and EMILY ANN at Hampton Roads laden with tobacco for Baltimore. The ARGO, bound for Bremen from Richmond, was captured on the same date.
Maryland
Governor Hicks of Maryland issued a call to raise four regiments to serve the United States within the state of Maryland and for the defense of the capital.
Massachusetts Militia, Brigadier General Benjamin Franklin Butler seized a supply of weapons and a schooner loaded with arms in Baltimore.
Department of Ohio
Ohio militia, Major General George McClellan is promoted major general in the United States Army, his current rank in the Ohio militia. Only United States Army, General-in-Chief Winfield Scott holds a higher rank than McClellan.
Washington Territory
The Adjutant General of Washington Territory appointed enrolling officers for the territory's 22 counties. These officers were instructed to open muster rolls and register all males between the ages of 16 and 60 who were fit for military duty. The enrollments were to be forwarded to the Adjutant General and updated regularly.
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Post by lordroel on May 15, 2023 2:50:46 GMT
Day 34 of the United States Civil War, May 15th 1861
District of Columbia
Robert Anderson promoted to Brigadier General in the United States States Army.
Alabama
Confederate States Army, Colonel Abraham Charles Myers was appointed as Quartermaster-General of the Confederate States Army. He had already been appointed on March 25th 1861 as Acting Quartermaster-General. His post was confirmed substantively in December 1861.
Panama
(United States) Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles appointed United States Navy Lieutenant Thomas M Brasher to take command of the 12-gun brig USS BAINBRIDGE and to proceed to Aspinwall in New Granada (Panama). His mission was to protect California steamers against Confederate privateers. California steamers transported large quantities of gold from Aspinwall to New York and were vulnerable to interference.
Virginia
Confederate States Army, Brigadier General Joseph Eggleston Johnston is assigned to the command of troops near Harper's Ferry.
Missouri
Expedition from St Louis to Potosi. Pro-United States forces commanded by United States Army, Captain Nathaniel Lyon captured some secessionist prisoners and munitions in Potosi and sent them back to St Louis.
The Missouri State Legislature passed “An act to authorize the appointment of one Major General for the Missouri Militia.” Governor of Missouri Claiborne Fox Jackson appointed Sterling Price to be Major General of the Missouri State Guard.
United Kingdom
Pressure on the Bank of England's bullion reserves had increased dramatically at the start of the year with the secession crisis in the United States. The pressure eased in February and April and the Bank was able to reduce its discount rate, the interest charged to smaller banks, from the emergency high of eight percent to five. Within days, however, the outbreak of the War again drained Bank of England gold reserves, half a million pounds sterling in April alone, and the rate was quickly raised once more to six percent.
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Post by lordroel on May 16, 2023 2:51:36 GMT
Day 35 of the United States Civil War, May 16th 1861
District of Columbia
Benjamin Franklin Butler is appointed Major General in the United States States Army.
John Adams Dix is appointed Major General in the United States States Army.
William Starke Rosecrans is appointed Major General in the United States States Army.
Maryland
(United States) President Abraham Lincoln empowers Major-General of the Pennsylvania Militia George Cadwalader, to arrest any persons under certain circumstances.
Alabama
The Confederate Congress authorized the recruiting of 400,000 men for the Provisional Army of the Confederate States. A $10 enlistment bounty was authorised for volunteers.
New York
United States Navy, Commander James Harmon Ward set out from the New York Navy Yard with three vessels, the gunboats USS THOMAS FREEBORN, USS RELIANCE and USS RESOLUTE, to form the first active force of the “Flying Flotilla” or Potomac Flotilla.
Tennessee
The state of Tennessee was officially admitted to the Confederacy under the governorship of Isham Harris.
Ohio
United States Navy, Commander John Rodgers by order of (United States) President Abraham Lincoln is to establish a naval force to control the strategically vital western rivers. Rodgers purchased three river steamers (TYLER, LEXINGTON and CONESTOGA) at Cincinnati for conversion to gunboats.
Missouri
United States Army, Captain Nelson Cole, 5th Missouri Infantry Regiment (United States), enters Potosi and arrests a number of anti-United States citizens.
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Post by lordroel on May 17, 2023 2:48:38 GMT
Day 36 of the United States Civil War, May 17th 1861
District of Columbia
The Coast Blockading Squadron of the United States Navy was re-designated as the Atlantic Blockading Squadron, remaining under the command of United States Navy, Captain Silas Horton Stringham.
The following are appointed Brigadier Generals in the United States Army:
- Don Carlos Buell.
- James Cooper.
- Darius Nash Couch.
- Jacob Dolson Cox.
- Samuel Ryan Curtis.
- William Buel Franklin.
- Ulysses Simpson Grant.
- Charles Smith Hamilton.
- Samuel Peter Heintzelman.
- Joseph Hooker.
- Philip Kearny.
- Benjamin Franklin Kelley.
- Erasmus Darwin Keyes.
- Rufus Ring.
- Nathaniel Lyon.
- John Alexander McClernand.
- William Reading Montgomery.
- John Walcott Phelps.
- John Pope.
- Andrew Porter.
- Fitz John Porter.
- Benjamin Mayberry Prentiss.
- Joseph Jones Reynolds.
- Robert Gumming Schenck.
- Thomas West Sherman.
- William Tecumseh Sherman.
- Franz Sigel.
- Charles Pomeroy Stone.
- Alpheus Starkey Williams.
North Carolina
The Confederate Congress passed an act permitting the admission, under certain specified conditions, of North Carolina to the Confederate States.
Tennessee
The Confederate Congress passed an act permitting the admission, under certain specified conditions, of Tennessee to the Confederate States.
Virginia
The wooden steam frigate USS MINNESOTA under the command of United States Navy, Captain Silas Horton Stringham, captured the bark STAR en route from Richmond to Bremen in Germany.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on May 18, 2023 7:14:33 GMT
Day 37 of the United States Civil War, May 18th 1861South CarolinaThe schooner SAVANNAH under the command of Captain Thomas H Baker, was commissioned as a Confederate privateer. Arkansas The State of Arkansas is admitted to the Confederacy. (Virginia) Blockade of the Chesapeake Bay - Battle of Sewell's Point:Two United States Navy gunboats, including USS MONTICELLO commanded by United States Navy, Captain Henry Eagle and Lieutenant Daniel L Braine as his second in command, dueled with Confederate batteries on Sewell’s Point near Norfolk, in an attempt to enforce the blockade of the Chesapeake Bay and Hampton Roads. The Confederate forts were commanded by Virginia State Militia, Brigadier-General Walter Gwynn and Virginia State Army, Captain Peyton Colquitt. The Confederate battery was unfinished but when its guns were permanently in place, it could command the entrance to the Elizabeth River and the harbour at Norfolk. New YorkHarper's Weekly: United States Army Colonel William Wilson, commanding officer of the 6th New York Infantry Regiment "Wilson's Zouaves" and his staff, May 18, 1861
 United KingdomCharles Francis Adams, son of John Quincy Adams and grandson of John Adams, appointed by (United states) President Abraham Lincoln as minister to the Court of St. James met with (United Kingdom) Foreign Secretary Lord Russell to formally protest the Queen’s Proclamation of Neutrality. Adams contended that Britain had recognized the Confederates as belligerents “ before they had ever showed their capacity to maintain any kind of warfare whatever, except within one of their own harbors (Fort Sumter) under every possible advantage… it considered them a maritime power before they had ever exhibited a single privateer upon the ocean.” Adams also expressed his concern that Britain would soon extend full recognition to the Confederacy. Russell told Adams that Britain was not considering recognition, but if that position changed, Adams would be notified. (United Kingdom) Foreign Secretary Lord Russell instructs British Minister to the United States, Richard Lyons to urge the Confederacy to abide by the 1856 Declaration of Paris. This was an international agreement banning participating nations from engaging in piracy against each other, protecting neutral goods shipped to belligerent nations except for “contrabands of war,” and recognizing blockades only when they proved effective.
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