lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Apr 14, 2024 7:51:40 GMT
Day 368 of the United States Civil War, April 14th 1862
Virginia
Operations at Gloucester Point ended.
The United States Potomac Flotilla ascended the Rappahannock River and destroyed Confederate batteries and captured three vessels.
Confederate States Army, General Joseph Eggleston Johnston attended a military conference in Richmond with (Confederate States) President Jefferson Finis Davis, (Confederate States) Secretary of War George Wythe Randolph, Confederate States Army, General Robert Edward Lee (Military Adviser to the President), and his two senior subordinates Confederate States Army, Major General Gustavus Woodson Smith and Confederate States Army, Major General James Longstreet. Johnston contended that the Warwick Line was indefensible because it was too long, vulnerable to artillery fire, exposed to naval bombardment on the flanks, and at risk of being cut off by amphibious landings to the rear. The fact that retreat from the Warwick Line would lead to the abandonment of Norfolk and its vital Navy Yard and the risk of losing the ironclad CSS VIRGINIA did not sway Johnston’s judgment that the position could not be held. The conference did not end until 1 am the following morning when Davis declared that the Warwick line must be held and Norfolk would be defended. Johnston reluctantly maintained his positions, despite preferring a strategy of concentrating his forces for a counter-attack on the Union army in motion nearer to Richmond, where the Union preponderance in siege artillery and naval support would not count.
Missouri
Skirmishes at Diamond Grove, Montevallo, and Walkersville.
Skirmish on the Santa Fe Road with William Quantrill’s Confederate raiders.
Tennessee
United States mortar boats from United States Navy, Commander Andrew Hull Foote’s flotilla commenced a regular bombardment of Fort Pillow on the banks of the Mississippi. Foote had planned to attack the fort with the support of United States Army, Major General John Pope’s Army of the Mississippi. Pope had, however, been summoned eastwards after his victories at New Madrid and Island No 10, to combine his army with the United States armies concentrating around Pittsburg Landing. Pope left two regiments to cooperate with the gunboats but this was too small a force to threaten the powerful defences.
Fort Pillow had been reinforced by heavy guns withdrawn from Columbus, Kentucky, and was built on a high bluff over the river. Harassing fire was maintained by the Western Gunboat Flotilla and the mortar fleet but they lacked the means to do any more than irritate the defenders. The Confederate naval commander in the upper Mississippi, Confederate States Navy, Captain George Nichols Hollins, had departed to assist in the defence of New Orleans.
North Carolina
Skirmish at Pollocksville.
South Carolina
United States reconnaissance to Seabrook Island towards Rockville, under the protection of the gunboat USS POCAHONTAS.
Diarist Emma Holmes recalls the significance of the day, but tempers the memory with more recent and sobering events in Georgia: “The first anniversary of the surrender of Fort Sumter. We scarcely feel like celebrating it, when [Fort] Pulaski has just fallen.”
(New Mexico Territory) Engagements in Union New Mexico - Battle of Peralta
Retreating from Glorieta Pass, a Confederate rearguard of the 5th Texas Mounted Rifles Regiment (Confederate States) under Confederate States Army, Colonel Thomas Green camped in the town of Peralta and planned to cross a series of irrigation canals the next day. The rest of the Confederate army was encamped on the other side of the Rio Grande in the town of Los Lunas.
The pursuing United States Army forces under United States Army, Colonel Edward Richard Sprigg Canby caught up with Green’s troopers and the United States cavalry attacked at dawn. They captured the Confederate wagon train which was approaching Peralta, killing and capturing the guard. Canby sent United States Army, Major John Milton Chivington and United States Army, Major Gabriel Rene Paul to surround the Confederates to prevent any reinforcements from reaching Green. The Confederates used the low adobe houses and the irrigation ditches surrounding the town as natural fortifications and the defences were stronger than Canby was willing to assault.
Learning of the fighting, Confederate States Army, Brigadier General Henry Hopkins Sibley led the 4th Texas Mounted Rifles Regiment (Confederate States) and 7th Texas Mounted Rifles Regiment (Confederate States) across the river in relief. An artillery duel ensued until a dust storm allowed the Confederates to withdraw to the west bank of the Rio Grande. The Confederates reached Los Lunas at 4 am, where they rested for a few hours before continuing their retreat. Canby followed, harassing the Confederate column with his cavalry.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Apr 15, 2024 2:49:53 GMT
Day 369 of the United States Civil War, April 15th 1862
The following are appointed Brigadier Generals in the United States Army:
- Benjamin Alvord.
- Napoleon Bonaparte Buford.
- Charles Devens, Jr.
- George Lucas Hartsuff.
- Rufus Saxton.
- Carl Schurz.
- William Sooy Smith.
- James Henry Van Alen.
Virginia
Julius Adolph de Lagnel,is appointed Brigadier General in the Confederate States Army.
Incident at Berry’s Ferry.
United States Army, Captain Robert F Dyer was leading a detachment of the 1st Maine Cavalry Regiment (United states) on a reconnaissance to the Rappahannock River. When they neared Bealeton they encountered a Confederate force and were forced to withdraw.
Pennsylvania
Officers of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court briefly arrested former (United States) Secretary of War Simon Cameron in Philadelphia where he was preparing to travel to take up his new assignment as the United States minister to Russia. Pierce Butler, a prominent Philadelphian who owned South Carolina slave plantations and had been married to the famous English actress Fanny Kemble, had sued Cameron for having him arrested and imprisoned for treason in August 1861. He dropped the case the following month.
Missouri
Skirmish at Lost Creek.
South Carolina
The wooden sidewheel steamer USS KEYSTONE STATE under the command of United States Navy, Commander William Edgar Le Roy, captured the blockade-runner SUCCESS off Georgetown.
Tennessee
Confederate States Army, Major General Earl Van Dorn was ordered to move his Army of the West to Memphis.
Skirmish at Pea Ridge.
New Mexico Territory
Skirmish at Peralta.
(Arizona Territory) Engagements in Confederate Arizona - Battle of Picacho Pass
Due to years of neglect by the Federal government, pro-Confederate sympathies were high in Tucson, which had been proclaimed as the capital of the western district of the Confederate Arizona Territory. Mesilla, near Las Cruces, was both the territorial capital and seat of the eastern district of the territory. Confederate dreams included influencing sympathisers across the entire southwestern region as far as southern California to join the Confederacy and gain an outlet on the Pacific Ocean. The Federal government was anxious to prevent this and Union volunteers from California, known as the California Column led by Colonel James Henry Carleton, moved east to occupy Arizona, using Fort Yuma in California as their base of operations.
Confederate patrols reached the California border, where they burned hay at the remount stations along the Butterfield Overland Stagecoach route to delay the Union advance from California. Twelve Union cavalry troopers and a scout, commanded by Lieutenant James Barrett of the 1st California Cavalry were looking for Confederates reported to be near the Picacho Peak area. The Confederates were commanded by Sergeant Henry Holmes. Barrett was under orders not to engage the enemy but to wait for the main column. However, they surprised and captured three Confederate pickets. They failed to see seven other Confederate soldiers before they opened fire. During the ensuing skirmish, Barrett and two of his men were killed and three others wounded. After a brisk engagement lasting about ninety minutes, the Confederates watched the California cavalrymen retreat and then fell back to Tucson to warn the garrison of the approaching Union force. No reinforcements were sent to Tucson so the Confederates of Major Sherod Hunter’s garrison retreated without a fight, leaving the Union army to capture the desert town.
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Post by lordroel on Apr 16, 2024 2:49:46 GMT
Day 370 of the United States Civil War, April 16th 1862
District of Columbia
Nathan Kimball, is appointed Brigadier General in the United States Army.
The United States Congress authorised that the Surgeon-General of the United States Army may hold the grade of Brigadier-General and direct all medical services of the army.
(United States) President Abraham Lincoln signed the contentious bill abolishing slavery within the District of Columbia. It was the first federal bill abolishing slavery anywhere in the United States:
April 16, 1862
Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives:
The act entitled "An act for the release of certain persons held to service or labor in the District of Columbia" has this day been approved and signed.
I have never doubted the constitutional authority of Congress to abolish slavery in this District, and I have ever desired to see the national capital freed from the institution in some satisfactory way. Hence there has never been in my mind any question upon the subject except the one of expediency, arising in view of all the circumstances. If there be matters within and about this act which might have taken a course or shape more satisfactory to my judgment, I do not attempt to specify them. I am gratified that the two principles of compensation and colonization are both recognized and practically applied in the act.
In the matter of compensation, it is provided that claims may be presented within ninety days from the passage of the act, "but not thereafter;" and there is no saving for minors, femes covert, insane or absent persons. I presume this is an omission by mere oversight, and I recommend that it be supplied by an amendatory or supplemental act.
Abraham Lincoln.
Virginia
The following are appointed Brigadier Generals in the Confederate States Army:
- John Echols.
- Lewis Henry Little.
- George Earl Maney.
- Jean Jacques Alfred Alexander Mouton.
- Roger Atkinson Pryor.
- John Stuart Williams.
(Confederate States) President Jefferson Davis signed the bill for compulsory military service he had requested three weeks before. The first conscription act in the history of the Confederate States, it required service from any man between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five and extended the current enlistments in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States to three years. Further amendments protected certain occupations, some slaveowners, and those who hired substitutes. The age range was extended to forty-five within six months.
The 75th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment (United States), made up largely of German immigrants from Philadelphia, had been ordered to cross the Shenandoah River at Castleman's Ferry in Clarke County, Virginia and join the pursuit of Confederate States Army, General Jackson's Confederate forces. The river was running fast and high and when two companies of the regiment tried using a damaged old ferry boat, it swamped in mid-river and two officers and fifty-one enlisted men drowned.
Failure to exploit the initial success of the attack on the Warwick Line held up United States Army, Major-General George Brinton McClellan’s advance up the Yorktown peninsula for two additional weeks. He failed to convince the United States Navy to steam past the Confederates’ coastal guns at Yorktown and Gloucester Point and to ascend the York River to West Point with troop transports, thus outflanking the Warwick Line. Deprived of room to manoeuvre by this absence of naval support, McClellan settled in for a conventional siege of the Yorktown defences. United States Army, Brigadier General Fitz John Porter was ordered to direct the siege operations, aided by United States Army, Brigadier General William Farquhar Barry (the army’s Chief of Artillery) and United States Army, Brigadier General John Gross Barnard (Chief of Engineers).
The Confederate cavalry of Colonel Turner Ashby was scouting close to New Market, along Stony Creek. Union Brigadier-General Nathaniel Prentiss Banks, holding the opposite bank of Stony Creek, advanced to seize the crossroads at New Market. He sent some of his cavalry up the creek, where they forded at a place unguarded by pickets. The Union troopers surprised and captured sixty of the Confederates.
Expedition to Liberty Church by United States Army, Lieutenant Colonel Willard Sayles (1st Rhode Island Cavalry).
Reconnaissance to Rappahannock River by United States Army, Major Robert C Anthony (1st Rhode Island Cavalry). Skirmish at Warrenton Junction
Skirmish involving the troops of United States Army, Major General Nathaniel Prentiss Banks at Columbia Furnace.
(Virginia) - Peninsula Campaign - Siege of Yorktown (1862)
The United States Army of the Potomac probed the Confederate Warwick Line at Dam No 1 where a potential weak spot had been located on 6 April. Confederate States Army, Major General John Bankhead Magruder ordered the area strengthened and three regiments under Confederate States Army, Brigadier General Thomas Howell Cobb, with six other regiments in reserve, began to improve their position on the west bank of the river overlooking the dam.
United States Army, Major General George Brinton McClellan became concerned that this strengthening might impede the installation of his siege batteries. He ordered United States Army, Brigadier General William Farrar Smith, a division commander in the IV Corps, to disrupt the construction of new Confederate works but to avoid a general engagement.
Following an artillery bombardment at 8am, United States Army, Brigadier General William Thomas Harbaugh Brooks’ Brigade sent skirmishers forward to fire on the Confederate workers. McClellan told Smith to cross the river if it appeared the Confederates were withdrawing, a movement that Smith got underway by early afternoon. At 3pm, four companies crossed the dam and routed the remaining defenders. Behind the Confederate lines, Cobb organised a new line of defence with his brother Confederate States Army, Colonel Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb of the Georgia Legion and counter-attacked the United States troops who had occupied the Confederate rifle pits. Lacking reinforcements, the Vermont companies withdrew across the dam, suffering some casualties in their withdrawal. At about 5pm, Smith ordered the 6th Vermont Infantry to attack Confederate positions further downstream from the dam while the 4th Vermont Infantry Regiment (United States) demonstrated at the dam itself. This manoeuvre failed as the 6th Vermont came under heavy Confederate fire and was forced to withdraw. Some wounded men drowned as they fell into the shallow pond behind the dam. Smith was thrown twice from his unruly horse and was accused of drunkenness on duty, although investigations found the allegation to be groundless.
The action resulted in United States casualties of 35 killed and 121 wounded; the Confederate casualties were between 60 and 75.
Missouri
Skirmish at Blackwater Creek involving mounted Confederate bushwhackers.
Expedition to Quincy ended.
Expedition to Quincy began.
Reconnaissance to Camp Shiloh, Montevallo, and Little Niangua ended.
South Carolina
Skirmishes at Whitemarsh Island and Wilmington Island.
Tennessee
Expedition to the Hatchie River and Jackson ended.
Skirmish at Savannah.
Confederate States Army, Brigadier-General Gideon Johnson Pillow was relieved of command by (Confederate States) President Jefferson Finis Davis as a result of his incompetent leadership at Fort Donelson.
Louisiana
United States Navy, Captain David Glasgow Farragut assembled the attacking flotilla of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron near the Head of the Passes. The ships were positioned below Fort Jackson and Fort St Philip, which guarded the approaches to New Orleans and mounted over a hundred guns. High water in the river had flooded the forts. Confederate garrisons worked night and day to control the water and strengthen the forts against the impending assault. A chain obstruction supported by hulks spanned the river. Above the forts, a Confederate flotilla was collected under Confederate States Navy, Commander John K Mitchell, and it included the potentially invincible but still incomplete ironclad CSS LOUISIANA. Most of the other Confederate vessels were small, makeshift gunboats. There were also a number of fire rafts readied to be set adrift to flow with the current into the midst of the United States fleet. Against these combined defences, Farragut brought seventeen ships carrying 154 guns and a squadron of 20 mortar boats under United States Navy, Commander David Dixon Porter. Farragut made USS HARTFORD his flagship.
Kentucky
Incident at Paris.
Alabama
Tuscumbia occupied by United States troops.
United Kingdom
The United States Ambassador to Britain, Charles Francis Adams, received a group of representatives from the country's leading abolitionist group, the British and Foreign Ant-Slavery Society at the embassy in London. He heard them plead for a solution to the civil war in America that would include the end of slavery there.
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Post by lordroel on Apr 17, 2024 2:49:43 GMT
Day 371 of the United States Civil War, April 17th 1862
(YouTube) Civil War Week By Week - One Year (April 11th - 17th 1862)
Virginia
Mount Jackson and New Market were occupied by United States troops after skirmishes.
Skirmishes at Piedmont and Rude’s Hill.
Skirmishes at Falmouth and Fredericksburg involving Union troops under Major-General Irvin McDowell.
United States expedition from Summerville (Nicholas Court House) to Addison began. Skirmish between United States Army, Major Ebenezer Andrews (36th Ohio Infantry) and Confederate bushwhackers at Holly River.
Missouri
Skirmish at Warsaw.
North Carolina
Word reached United States Army, Major General Ambrose Everett Burnside at New Bern that the Confederates were building ironclads warships in Norfolk and intended to bring them south through the Dismal Swamp and Currituck Canals. Burnside ordered United States Army, Brigadier General Jesse Lee Reno to move troops to South Mills and blow up the locks there, then proceed to the Currituck Canal and destroy its banks. Reno transported his command of 3,000 men from Roanoke Island by water to Elizabeth City. From there, they marched north to South Mills, accompanied by three wagons loaded with explosive materials to be used on the locks. After marching all night long, Reno’s men encountered the 3rd Georgia Infantry Regiment (Confederate States) commanded by Confederate States Army, Colonel Ambrose Ransom Wright, about three miles below the locks at the edge of the woods at the north end of Sawyers Lane.
Tennessee
Skirmish at Monterey, near Corinth, Mississippi.
Confederate States Army, Major General Edmund Kirby Smith captured about 475 United States refugees at Woodson’s Gap.
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Post by lordroel on Apr 18, 2024 2:47:35 GMT
Day 372 of the United States Civil War, April 18th 1862
Virginia
The Confederate Congress, hoping to stem the control of the seas and inland waters by the United States fleets, passed an act authorizing contracts for the purchase of not more than six new ironclad warships to be paid for in cotton.
United States reconnaissance to the Rappahannock River by Union Brigadier-General John Joseph Abercrombie.
Skirmish at Chapmansville.
United States Army, Major General Irvin McDowell occupied Fredericksburg and Falmouth.
(Louisiana) New Orleans Expedition - Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip
United States Navy, Commodore David Dixon Porter opened a lengthy bombardment with 19 mortar schooners each armed with one 13-inch mortar against Fort Jackson and Fort St Philip on the Mississippi River. Moored some 3,000 yards from Fort Jackson, they concentrated their heavy shells for six days and nights on the nearest fort from which they were hidden by intervening woods. The Confederate garrison stuck to their guns even though their commander, Confederate States Army, Brigadier General Joseph Kelly Duncan reported that they endured up to 2,997 mortar bombs fired in a single day.
Mississippi
Reconnaissance of the Corinth Road.
Florida
Confederate States Army, Brigadier General Joseph Finegan, assumes the command of the Confederate Department of Middle and East Florida.
North Carolina
Learning that the Confederates were building ironclad warships at Norfolk, United States Army, Major General Ambrose Everett Burnside planned an expedition to destroy the Dismal Swamp Canal locks to prevent the transfer of the ships to Albemarle Sound. He entrusted the operation to United States Army, Brigadier General Jesse Lee Reno’s command of 21st Massachusetts Infantry Regiment (United States) and 51st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment (United States) which embarked from Roanoke Island on transports to make the attack.
New Mexico Territory
Confederate States Army, Brigadier General Henry Hopkins Sibley left his camp at La Joya overnight, He was within a day’s march of Socorro and Fort Craig and began a hundred-mile detour through the desert to avoid a clash with the fort’s garrison. United States Army, Brigadier General Edward Richard Sprigg Canby refused to pursue them into the trackless desert and instead followed the Rio Grande towards Fort Craig.
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Post by lordroel on Apr 19, 2024 2:57:34 GMT
Day 373 of the United States Civil War, April 19th 1862VirginiaThe Confederate Government authorised the establishment of a Signal Corps under the control of the Department of the Adjutant-General and Inspector-General. Sparta was occupied by troops under the command of United States Army, Major General Nathaniel Prentiss Banks. United States Army, Major General Nathaniel Prentiss Banks advanced to occupy New Market in the Shenandoah Valley. The Confederates forces under the command of Confederate States Army, Major General Thomas Jonathan Jackson fell back to Elk Run Valley. Incidents at Falmouth, Fredericksburg. Operation at New Market. Skirmishes at the South Fork Shenandoah River near Luray and by the Shenandoah River. ArkansasA United States force was operating near Yellville and moved to Talbot’s Ferry on the White River. They discovered a smaller Confederate force and forced them to retreat after a skirmish and then went on to destroy a Confederate salt works. Louisiana The mortar schooner USS MARIA J CANTON (one 13-inch (33 cm) mortar and two 12-pounder rifled howitzers) under the command of United States Navy, Acting Master Charles E Jack, was sunk by exceptionally accurate fire from Fort Jackson. South CarolinaUnited States Army, Brigadier General Rufus Saxton, is assigned to special duty in the Deptartment of the South, SC. South CarolinaSkirmish on Edisto Island. The UNADILLA-class gunboat USS HURON under the command of United States Navy, Lieutenant John Downes, captured the schooner GLIDE loaded with cotton, rice, and flour off Charleston. North Carolina Skirmish on the Trent Road. (North Carolina) Burnside's North Carolina Expedition - Battle of South MillsUnited States Army, Brigadier General Jesse Lee Reno reached Elizabeth City at midnight and began disembarking his brigade of 3,000 men from transports. Reno marched north during the morning along the road to South Mills in order to destroy the locks on the Dismal Swamp Canal. At a crossroads a few miles below South Mills, 750 men of Confederate States Army, Colonel Ambrose Ransom Wright’s 3rd Georgia Infantry Regiment (Confederate States) delayed the United States advance for five hours until darkness fell. Running low on ammunition, Wright withdrew his troops to a new position about a mile away from the canal. Unaccustomed to the oppressive humidity and heat, the United States forces did not pursue and withdrew to their boats, leaving their dead and wounded behind. The vital locks had been left intact and were saved from destruction. Reno abandoned the expedition and withdrew during the night on the transports at Elizabeth City. Total combined casualties were estimated at about 150, of which the United States lost 13 men killed, 101 wounded and 13 captured. Map: A map of the 1862 Battle of South Mills WisconsinGovernor for only a few months, Louis P. Powell was leading a group of prominent citizens bringing medical supplies to Wisconsin troops wounded at Shiloh. Transferring steamboats on a dark and wet night near Savannah, Tennessee, he fell into the Tennessee River and was swept away in the current. His body was not found until ten days later, sixty miles downsteam, and was buried as an unknown. It was recovered in early May, 1862 and buried with military honors in Madison. He was 41 years old and was succeeded by Edward Salomon.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Apr 20, 2024 6:40:03 GMT
Day 374 of the United States Civil War, April 20th 1862District of ColumbiaHenry Prince, is appointed Brigadier General in the United States Army. Virginia United States Army, Major General Irvin McDowell, meets (United States) President Abraham Lincoln near Fredericksburg, VA, on the Aquia Creek, and travels with the President to Washington, DC. United States blockading ships on the Potomac River reported the capture of nine vessels named EUREKA, FALCON, LOOKOUT, MONTEREY, REINDEER, ROUNDOUT, SARAH ANN, SEA FLOWER and SYDNEY JONES. (Louisiana) New Orleans Expedition - Battle of forts Jackson and St. PhilipThe UNADILLA-class gunboat USS ITASCA under the command of United States Navy, Lieutenant Charles H B Caldwell and UNADILLA-class gunboat USS PINOLA under the command of United States Navy, Lieutenant Peirce Crosby, under the direction of United States Navy, Commander Henry Haywood Bell, attempted under heavy fire to breach the river obstructions below Fort Jackson and Fort St Philip. Their aim was to open a way for United States Navy, Captain David Glasgow Farragut’s fleet. Confederate States Army, Brigadier General Johnson Kelly Duncan, commanding the forts, complained that the River Defence Fleet had sent no fire rafts down to light up the river or to distract the attention of the enemy and had stationed no vessels to warn of the approach of the USS ITASCA and USS PINOLA. Bell’s sailors attempted to cut the obstruction chain across the river under heavy fire. The United States sailor sent to explode the petard and break the line of boats failed in the attempt when his detonating wires broke. Bell would have set fire to the hulks but the illumination would have exposed one of the gunboats which had run aground to destructive fire. Harper's Weekly: Reconnaissance of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, on the Mississippi, by gun-boats from Flag-officer Farragut's Squadron Line engraving published in Harper's Weekly, 1862, depicting the attack on the obstructions below the forts, 20 April 1862. U.S. Navy gunboats shown in right center are ITASCA and PINOLA. Further to the right are KENNEBEC and WINONA. Fort Jackson is shown at far right, with Confederate gunboats beyond
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Post by lordroel on Apr 21, 2024 7:17:15 GMT
Day 375 of the United States Civil War, April 21st 1862
District of Columbia
Congress voted to establish a branch mint in Denver, Colorado, appropriating $75,000 and purchasing the building of the private company that had been minting coins and ingots there.
Virginia
The position of Engineer in Chief was established in the Confederate Department of the Navy. William P Williamson was appointed and served until April 1865.
Operations at New Market.
Skirmish at Monterey.
One Confederate brigade with 2,500 men under Confederate States Army, Brigadier General Charles William Field had been left to observe United States Army, Major General Irvin McDowell’s operations along the Rappahannock River near Fredericksburg. Field was told that he could call for reinforcements from the division of 8,000 men of Confederate States Army, Major General Richard Stoddert Ewell based at Gordonsville. However, Ewell was also alerted to be ready to reinforce the troops of Confederate States Army, Major General Thomas Jonathan Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley. Confederate States Army, General Robert Edward Lee decided that the only way to neutralise the threat from McDowell was to combine Ewell’s and Jackson’s forces for a diversionary operation in the Shenandoah Valley. McDowell was too strong to be attacked directly, but he could be induced to send reinforcements to assist the United States troops in and beyond the Shenandoah Valley, commanded by United States Army, Major-General Nathaniel Prentiss Banks and United States Army, Major General John Charles Frémont. Lee wrote to Jackson emphasising the urgency for him to distract McDowell’s attention and some of his forces from the Rappahannock, away from Richmond, and towards the Shenandoah Valley. Lee offered Jackson the use of Ewell’s division if necessary, to achieve that mission. Field’s brigade could not be left exposed so three brigades with 10,000 men were hurriedly transferred from North Carolina and South Carolina to reinforce him, thereby releasing Ewell to march west for the Shenandoah Valley with his division. The reinforced Confederate command on the Rappahannock was to be assigned in due course to Confederate States Army, Brigadier General Joseph Reid Anderson, who would outrank Field when he arrived with the North Carolina troops.
The Partisan Ranger Act is passed by the Confederate Congress, the Partisan Ranger Act is intended as a stimulus for recruitment of irregulars for service into the Confederate Army, the Partisan Ranger Act consisted of three provisions:
Section 1. The congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, the president be, and he is hereby authorized to commission such officers as he may deem proper with authority to form bands of Partisan rangers, in companies, battalions, or regiments, to be composed of such members as the President may approve for the purposes of unconventional warfare.
Section 2. Be it further enacted, such partisan Rangers, after regularly received in the service, shall be entitled to the same pay, rations, and quarters during the term of service, and subject to the same regulations as other soldiers.
Section 3. Be it further enacted, for any arms and munitions of war captured from the enemy by any body of partisan Rangers and delivered to any quartermaster at such place or places may be designated by a commanding general, the Rangers shall be paid their full value in such manner as the Secretary of War may prescribe.
Arkansas
Skirmish at Pocohontas.
Tennessee
The gunboat USS TYLER under the command of United States Navy, Lieutenant William Gwin, captured the steamer ALFRED ROBB on the Tennessee River.
The families of Messrs. Brownlow, Johnson, Maynard, and other United States men are ordered to leave the Confederacy, East Tennessee.
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Post by lordroel on Apr 22, 2024 4:09:06 GMT
Day 376 of the United States Civil War, April 22nd 1862
District of Columbia
Oregon named Democrat Benjamin Stark to fill the unexpired term of war casualty Edward Dickinson Baker. Republican activists in Oregon petitioned Congress to reject his being seated on grounds of his pro-slavery and seemingly disloyal statements made earlier in the war. The special committee of Congress investigating these charges returned on this day a finding that Stark was indeed disloyal. Since Stark's term only ran for a few more months, the full Senate took no action and Benjamin Harding replaced him in September 1862.
Virginia
In Richmond, Virginia, the First Confederate Congress is now adjourned till August.
United States Army, Brigadier-General William Buel Franklin’s division arrived near Yorktown.
Confederate States Army, General Joseph Eggleston Johnston ordered the repair of bridges over the Chickahominy River in his rear, anticipating the need to cross them in the event of a retreat from Yorktown to Richmond.
Operations at New Market. Harrisonburg was occupied by United States troops.
Skirmish at Luray involving the forces of United States Army, Major General Nathaniel Prentiss Banks.
North Carolina
United States Army, Brigadier General Jesse Lee Reno’s expedition arrived back at New Bern from its failed attempt to block the Dismal Swamp canal.
Texas
Two boats from the bark USS ARTHUR (six 32-pounder smoothbore guns) under the command of United States Navy, Acting Lieutenant John W John W Kittredge, captured a schooner and two sloops at Aransas Pass. They were forced to abandon the prizes and also lost their own boats when attacked by Confederate vessels and troops.
(Louisiana) New Orleans Expedition - Battle of forts Jackson and St. Philip
United States Navy, Flag Officer David Glasgow Farragut’s gunboats opened a way through the Confederate river obstructions during the night after a bombardment of the Mississippi river forts lasting seven days.
New Mexico Territory
United States Army, Brigadier General Edward Richard Sprigg Canby’s command arrived at Fort Craig.
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Post by lordroel on Apr 23, 2024 2:48:01 GMT
Day 377 of the United States Civil War, April 23rd 1862
Virginia
Operations at New Market.
West Virginia
Skirmish with Confederate guerrillas at Grass Jack (or Grass Lick) between Lost River and Cacapon.
Alabama. Skirmish at Bridgport.
Louisiana
The Confederate armed side-wheeler CSS JACKSON (2 × 32-pounder guns) moved further north under the command of Confederate States Navy, Lieutenant F B Renshaw to try to make the canals above New Orleans impassable to United States vessels.
(Louisiana) New Orleans Expedition - Battle of forts Jackson and St. Philip
The bombardment of Fort Jackson and Fort St Philip continued without respite. Confederate States Army, Brigadier General Joseph Kelly Duncan reported heavy and continuous bombardment at Fort Jackson but the garrison maintained good morale and the guns en barbette largely remained operational. Despite being hit by 13,000 shells in 96 hours, Confederate casualties in the fort amounted to only four men killed, fourteen wounded, and seven guns disabled. As the mortar bombardment was clearly ineffective, United States Navy, Captain David Glasgow Farragut decided to try a more aggressive approach to passing the forts.
(North Carolina) Burnside's North Carolina - Expedition Siege of Fort Macon
Preparations for the siege of Fort Macon were completed with the final installation of heavy artillery. United States Army, Major General Ambrose Everett Burnside repeated the demand for the surrender of the fort and Confederate Colonel Moses J White refused.
North Carolina
A United States expedition commanded by United States Navy ,Lieutenant Flusser, including USS LOCKWOOD, USS WHITEHEAD, and USS PUTNAM, blocked the mouth of the Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal, near Elizabeth City, sinking a schooner and other obstructions to block the canal.
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Post by lordroel on Apr 24, 2024 2:48:43 GMT
Day 378 of the United States Civil War, April 24th 1862(YouTube) Civil War Week By Week - When Oceans Burn, and Seas Catch Fire (April 18th - 24th 1862)VirginiaOperations and New Market. Skirmish near Harrisonburg. Confederate States Army, General Joseph Eggleston Johnston requested the stock-piling of supplies to begin at Richmond rather than at his lines around Yorktown, as part of his preparations for a withdrawal towards the capital. AlabamaSkirmish at Tuscumbia. MississippiSkirmish on Corinth Road. North Carolina United States siege artillery was ordered to begin the reduction of Fort Macon at the earliest opportunity. CSS NASHVILLE made a successful run through the blockade into Wilmington with a cargo of 60,000 stand of arms and 40 tons of powder. Tennessee Skirmish at Lick Creek. Skirmish on the Shelbyville Road, and at Little Rock Landing. (Louisiana) New Orleans Expedition - Battle of forts Jackson and St. PhilipSeeing that the week-long bombardment by his mortar fleet was having a negligible effect on Fort Jackson and Fort St Philip, United States Navy, Captain David Glasgow Farragut gave the order at 2 am for his fleet to run boldly past the forts and to head for New Orleans. Preparations were made on all ships to douse the flames if the Confederates launched fire rafts, and chains were draped over the vulnerable boilers and magazines. The fleet of seventeen warships got underway in three separate divisions of eight, three, and six ships. At about 3.40 am the first ships steamed through the breach in the obstructions which had been opened previously by USS PINOLA and USS ITASCA and they were immediately detected by the defenders. A withering fire from the forts only opened after the first division of eight ships was already through the breach. They were answered by heavy broadsides from the ships. Map: Plan of Fort Jackson showing damage done by the mortar bombardment and gunboats from April 18 to 24, 1862 The flagship USS HARTFORD led the second division but grounded in the swift current near Fort St Philip as it evaded a Confederate fire raft. The fire raft still hit the vessel and the ship was set afire. The crew saved the ship by sinking the raft in the river with two well-aimed shots. The ship was extricated from the mud flat and steamed on to rejoin the fleet. There were brief engagements between the converted merchant vessel and fast screw steamer USS VARUNA with eight guns and the unarmoured side-wheel steamer CSS GOVERNOR MOORE with two guns, and between the USS PENSACOLA and the CSS GOVERNOR MOORE. USS VARUNA was rammed by two Confederate ships and sank in the ensuing melee but the rest of the Confederate flotilla was quickly scattered and annihilated. CSS WARRIOR, CSS JACKSON , CSS COLONEL LOVELL and CSS BRECKINRIDGE, the tender PHOENIX, steamers STAR and BELLE ALGERINE, and Louisiana gunboat GENERAL QUITMAN were all destroyed. Map: The order of the advance of the Union Fleet past the forts from the Bailey Papers, endorsed by Admiral D.G. Farragut Drawing: Admiral Farragut's second division passes the forts Drawing: Mosher pushes the fire raft against HARTFORD The armoured ram CSS MANASSAS was brought under fire both by the United States ships and by misguided Confederate gunners in the fort. The iron armour was pierced and the engines smashed and then it was driven ashore by USS MISSISSIPPI and sunk. The steam tenders CSS LANDIS and CSS W BURTON surrendered and CSS RESOLUTE was destroyed to prevent capture. CSS GOVERNOR MOORE continued to resist but when it was brought under fire by five United States ships, it disintegrated in flames. Of its 93 crewmen, 57 were killed and 17 wounded. In all the Confederates lost 12 men dead and 40 wounded in the forts, in addition to an unknown number in the crews of the annihilated river fleet. The United States fleet lost 37 men dead and 149 wounded. Map: Map of the positions of Porter's mortar fleet and recommended positions of the CSS LOUISIANA (X) & (XX), April 16 to 24, 1862
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Apr 25, 2024 2:47:02 GMT
Day 379 of the United States Civil War, April 25th 1862District of ColumbiaThe following are appointed Major Generals in the United States Army: - George Cadwalader. - George Henry Thomas. The following are appointed Brigadier Generals in the United States Army: - Samuel Wylie Crawford. - John White Geary. - William Alexander Hammond. - Milo Smith Hascall. - Henry Walton Wessells. Virginia The gunboat USS MARATANZA (one 100-pounder gun, one 9" gun and four 24-pounder guns) under the command of United States Navy, Commander George H Scott, began shelling Gloucester and Yorktown, in support of United States Army, Major General George Brinton McClellan’s advance. United States Army, Major General Nathaniel Prentiss Banks advanced to occupy Harrisonburg in the Shenandoah Valley. Confederate States Army, Major General Thomas Jonathan Jackson weighed his options for an aggressive diversionary operation in the Shenandoah Valley. He had three ideas. The first was to reinforce Brigadier-General Edward Johnson further south and to strike at United States Army, Major General John Charles Frémont who was approaching from western Virginia. The second was to combine with Confederate States Army, Major General Richard Stoddert Ewell and to attack United States Army, Major-General Nathaniel Prentiss Banks in the Shenandoah Valley. The third choice was to make a flanking march around Massanutten Mountain and to attack Banks from the rear. He selected the first option and Ewell’s division was summoned from Gordonsville to replace his own division as a screening force in the valley while he headed southwards for Staunton. South CarolinaThe side-wheel steamship USS SANTIAGO DE CUBA (two 20-pounder Parrott rifles and eight 32-pounder guns), under the command of United States Navy, Commander Daniel Bowly Ridgely, captured the blockade-runner ELLA WARLEY at sea 120 miles off Port Royal. Tennessee Skirmish on the Corinth Road. Confederate States Navy, Commander Charles H McBlair notified the Confederate Navy Department that as a result of the passage of the forts below New Orleans that he intended to take a second unfinished ironclad, the ram CSS Arkansas, currently building at Memphis, up the Yazoo River to be completed. McBlair also reported that arrangements had been made to destroy the CSS TENNESSEE on the stocks to prevent her capture if Memphis fell to the enemy. AlabamaSkirmish at Tuscumbia. (Louisiana) New Orleans Expedition - Capture of New OrleansNew Orleans was a city of immense commercial importance and was strategically extremely significant as the gateway to the Mississippi River. The population of this one city exceeded the combined population of the five next largest southern cities. With the passage of Fort St Philip and Fort Jackson, the fall of New Orleans was inevitable. United States Navy, Captain David Glasgow Farragut and his West Gulf Blockading Squadron continued to steam up the Mississippi River after passing the defending forts. Although the Confederate flotilla under Confederate States Navy, Commander John K Mitchell had attempted to stop the United States ships in various ways, most of the United States forces had successfully passed the forts by dawn, and by 5 am they were steaming onward towards New Orleans. USS VARUNA (8x 8 inches (20 cm) Dahlgren guns and 2x 30-pounder Parrott rifles) had been sunk and three light gunboats were left above the bar – one of these was tangled in the river obstacles, a second was without steam power after taking a shot in the boiler, and the third was badly damaged above the waterline. Line engraving USS VARUNA sinking The United States fleet rapidly silenced the Confederate batteries at Chalmette and anchored before New Orleans. High water in the river allowed the ships’ guns to dominate the city above the levee top and United States Navy, Captain Theodorus Bailey went ashore to demand the surrender. The defenceless city was surrendered by its civilian authorities. Painting: Farragut's flagship, USS HARTFORD, forces its way past Fort Jackson United States troops under United States Army, Major General Benjamin Franklin Butler were already marching overland from landing points on the Gulf of Mexico to become the occupying garrison. To avoid being cut off, the Confederate garrison of 4,000 men under Confederate States Army, Major General Mansfield Lovell and other field troops of his Department No 1 evacuated the city. The defences at Fort Jackson and Fort St Philip would surrender three days later. Drawing: The Louisiana state flag is removed from City Hall The Confederate state government decided to abandon the capital at Baton Rouge, moving first to Opelousas, and then on to Shreveport. All cotton in the area was set afire to prevent it from falling into United States hands. Louisiana CSS MISSISSIPPI, which had been launched on April 19th and described by Confederate naval officers as the strongest and most formidable war vessel ever built, was burned at New Orleans to prevent capture by the United States fleet. Had the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond completed her propulsion shaft on time, an operational CSS MISSISSIPPI might have strengthened immeasurably the defence of New Orleans. Drawing: Burning of the Confederate gunboats, rams etc. at New Orleans and Algiers on the approach of the Federal Fleet The 1st Louisiana Native Guard (Confederate State) was disbanded. This was a Confederate Louisiana militia of free persons of colour formed in 1861 in New Orleans. The UNADILLA-class gunboat USS KATAHDIN under the command of United States Navy, Lieutenant George Henry Preble, captured the schooner JOHN GILPIN below New Orleans. Sketch: USS KATAHDIN on the Mississippi Missouri Skirmish with jayhawkers at Monagan Springs on the Osage River. (North Carolina) Burnside's North Carolina - Expedition Siege of Fort MaconUnited States Army, Brigadier General John Grubb Parke began the bombardment of Fort Macon at dawn from batteries previously concealed among the sand dunes. At first, the gunners in the fort manned their pieces and replied vigorously, but they were unable to inflict damage on the United States guns which were protected by the dunes. The defenders were also distracted by the appearance of four vessels from the United States Blockading Squadron: the steamers USS DAYLIGHT, USS STATE OF GEORGIA, and USS CHIPPEWA, and the bark USS GEMSBOK. Until this time, the Navy had not been involved in the siege but United States Navy, Commander Samuel Lockwood responded to the sound of gunfire and brought his section of the fleet into action. The weather was not good for a naval bombardment; a strong wind caused the vessels to rock and disrupted their aim so after about an hour the fleet withdrew. The Confederate return fire managed to hit two of the vessels but did little damage and slightly wounded one man. The United States Navy also supplied a pair of floating batteries for the attack but only one of them got into action in the uneven seas. The initial fire from the army’s mortars on shore was inaccurate but after midday, virtually all of the mortar shots had been corrected and were falling on target. They were aided by the messages of United States Army, Lieutenant William J Andrews, a Signals Officer, who reported the fall of shot. Before long, nineteen Confederate guns had been dismounted. The walls of the fort began to crumble and in mid-afternoon White began to fear that the magazine would be breached. At 4.30 pm he raised the white flag. Parke demanded unconditional surrender but agreed not to renew the bombardment until he could consult with United States Army, Major General Ambrose Everett Burnside. Burnside reasoned that White could hold out at least one more day but that further bombardment would only cause unnecessary loss of life and cause greater damage to the valuable fort. He, therefore, agreed to offer lenient terms of parole. These were accepted and the surrender was concluded. On the United States side one man was killed and three wounded. On the Confederate side, seven were killed, two died of wounds and sixteen were wounded. Around 480 prisoners were paroled. New Mexico TerritoryIncidents at Fort Bowie, Socorro, and Apache Pass.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Apr 26, 2024 7:37:17 GMT
Day 380 of the United States Civil War, April 26th 1862
District of Columbia
The French ambassador to Washington, Henri Mercier, invited (United States) President Abraham Lincoln to tour his navy's recently arrived dispatch steamer GASSENDI at the Washington Navy Yard. (United States) Secretary of State William H. Seward urged acceptance since relations with France needed a warming after the Trent Affair. Also, the GASSENDI and its captain, Jules Gauithier, had witnessed the recent naval battle of ironclads off Norfolk. The party was received with full honors, drank champagne, and toured the vessel, the first time an American president had been aboard a foreign warship.
Virginia
Arthur Middleton Manigault is appointed Brigadier General in the Confederate States Army.
Skirmishes at Yorktown and on the Gordonsville & Keezletown Railroad.
United States Army, Major General Nathaniel Prentiss Banks’s advance up the Shenandoah Valley reached New Market. He strengthened his outpost stationed further south at Harrisonburg. Confederate States Army, Major General Thomas Jonathan Jackson made a forced march through the Massanutten Mountains towards Swift Run Gap. This position brought him closer to reinforcements coming from Gordonsville in the form of the division of Confederate States Army, Major General Richard Stoddert Ewell. It also placed him in a flanking position, which prevented Banks from proceeding further south.
California
Skirmishes at Eel River and near Fort Baker.
Missouri
Skirmish at Neosho with pro-Confederate Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw Indians.
Skirmish at Turnback Creek.
(North Carolina) Burnside's North Carolina Expedition - Siege of Fort Macon
The siege of Fort Macon formally ended after the surrender and parole of the garrison. Troops of the 5th Rhode Island Infantry Regiment (United States) from United States Army, Brigadier General John Grubb Parke’s brigade entered and occupied Fort Macon on the Beaufort channel in North Carolina. USS DAYLIGHT, USS STATE OF GEORGIA, USS CHIPPEWA, and USS GEMSBOK under the command of United States Navy,Commander Samuel Lockwood, had bombarded the fort heavily. The blockade-runners ALLIANCE and GONDAR were captured after the fort’s surrender.
South Carolina
The gunboat USS ONWARD (8 × 32-pounder guns, 1 30-pounder Parrott rifle) under the command of United States Navy, Acting Lieutenant J Frederick Nickels, forced the schooner CHASE aground on Raccoon Keys near Cape Romain, and subsequently destroyed her.
The screw steamship USS FLAMBEAU (one 30-pounder rifle and one 20-pounder rifle) under the command of United States Navy, Lieutenant John H Upshur, captured the blockade-runner ACTIVE near Stono Inlet.
The side-wheel steamship USS SANTIAGO DE CUBA under the command of United States Navy, Commander Daniel Bowly Ridgely, captured the schooner MERSEY off Charleston.
The 192-ton steamer USS UNCAS (one 20-pounder Parrott rifle and two 32-pounder guns) under the command of United States Navy, Acting Master Lemuel G Crane, captured the schooner BELLE off Charleston.
Tennessee
Confederate reconnaissance to Forked Deer River began.
Skirmish at Atkins’ (or Arkins’) Mill.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Apr 27, 2024 7:12:03 GMT
Day 381 of the United States Civil War, April 27th 1862
Virginia
Skirmishes involving United States cavalry at McGaheysville and Swift Run Bridge near Harrisonburg.
Skirmish at Garrett’s Mill.
Confederate States Army, General Joseph Eggleston Johnston ordered Confederate States Army, Major General Benjamin Huger to prepare to evacuate Norfolk. Johnston needed all available forces for the defence of Richmond and Norfolk was at risk of becoming isolated by the United States occupation of the Yorktown peninsula and their advances in North Carolina.
United States Army, Brigadier General Robert Huston Milroy’s brigade of the Mountain Department arrived at McDowell.
Alabama
Skirmish at Bridgeport.
Georgia
USS WAMSUTTA under the command of United States Navy, Lieutenant Alexander A Semmes, and USS POTOMSKA under the command of United States Navy, Acting Lieutenant Pendleton G Watmough, exchanged fire with dismounted Confederate cavalry concealed in woods on Woodville Island in the Riceboro River.
Louisiana
Fort Livingston at Bastian Bay surrendered to a US Navy boat crew from the schooner USS KITTATINNY (four 32-pounder guns).
Fort Pike and Fort Wood in New Orleans were re-occupied by United States forces after a brief skirmish.
Fort Quitman was abandoned by Confederate forces and occupied by United States troops. A Confederate blockade runner was seized nearby.
The day before, New Orleans mayor John Monroe had refused to surrender the helpless city to United States Navy, Commodore David Farragut's naval forces. Farragut acted with great forebearance but a subordinate the next day ordered a United States flag hoisted over the United States Mint in the city which a mob immediately tore down. The mob's ringleader, William B. Mumford, was later arrested and hanged for treason on June 7th 1862.
North Carolina
Skirmish at Haughton’s (or Horton’s) Mill on the Pollocksville, involving the 103rd New York Infantry (Colonel Frederick W von Egloffstein).
Tennessee
Skirmish at Pea Ridge involving United States Army, Major General John Alexander McClernand.
Bahamas
The gunboat USS MERCEDITA under the command of United States Navy, Commander Henry S Stellwagen, captured the steamer BERMUDA northeast of Abaco with a large cargo of arms shipped from Liverpool.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Apr 28, 2024 6:24:09 GMT
Day 382 of the United States Civil War, April 28th 1862
Virginia
Reconnaissance to Lee’s Mill in Warwick County.
United States Army, Major General George Brinton McClellan reported that the siege works at Yorktown were progressing well with the construction of the first six of fifteen batteries each of ten 3-inch mortars. He requested 30-pounder Parrott rifles from the Washington defences but the request was turned down because of the anticipated delay involved in their relocation.
United States Army, Major General Nathaniel Prentiss Banks reported that he had occupied a secure position at Harrisonburg and was containing the Confederate army in the Shenandoah Valley.
Maine
New warship USS SACRAMENTO (1 × 150-pounder rifle, 2 × 11 in (280 mm) smoothbore guns, 1 × 30-pounder rifle, 2 × 24-pounder howitzers, 2 × 12-pounder rifles and 2 × 12-pounder smoothbore guns) is launched at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in eastern Maine. The new 2,100 ton steam screw sloop-of-war was the largest vessel built to that time at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine.
Mississippi
United States Army, Major General Henry W. Halleck merged the Army of the Tennessee, the Army of the Ohio, and the Army of the Mississippi to form one large army consisting of three corps.
Special Field Order, No. 31
Hdqrs. Dept of the Mississippi
Pittsburg Landing, April 28, 1862.
I. The troops on the Tennessee River will retain their present organization of three distinct army corps, viz: The First, of the Tennessee, commanded by Major-General Grant, which will constitute the right wing; the Second, of the Ohio, commanded by Major-General Buell, which will constitute the center; and the Third, of the Mississippi, commanded by Major-General Pope, which will constitute the left wing.
The reserve will be formed of detachments ordered from the several army corps.
II. Each general commanding an army corps will be charged with its organization, discipline, and preparation for service in the field, as well as police in camp. Having his own staff and chiefs of administrative corps he will be held responsible that his troops are properly provided for through the quartermaster, commissary, ordnance, and medical departments. The commanding general will interfere in these matters only in cases of negligence or abuse.
III. Brigadier General A. J. Smith is chief of cavalry; Colonel f. D. Callender, chief of ordnance; Colonel J. V. D. Du Bois, chief of artillery; and Brigadier General H. M. Judah, inspector general of the entire army. Surg. Charles McDougall is chief medical director of the army in the field, and the medical directors of each army corps will report to and receive their orders from him. Major J. J. Key is provost-marshal-general in the field.
IV. In advancing into the interior the amount of transportation must be reduced as much as possible. To this end the commanders of army corps will regulate the number of wagons to each division, brigade, and regiment according to its effective force, not more than two tents being allowed to any company, and a corresponding reduction being made for all officers of the staff. The usual allowance of wagons per regiment will be thirteen, one for each company, two for field officers, staff, and surgeons, and one for extra ammunition. Where a regiment is greatly reduced the number of wagons will be diminished in proportion. All surplus regimental transportation will be turned over to the quartermaster’s department for the general supply train.
V. Care will be taken that each regiment and battery is fully supplied with ammunition. In addition to the 40 rounds in the cartridge boxes, each man in going into a battle should carry upon his person 60 additional rounds, making 100 in all, a further supply being kept at a convenient distance in the rear. The chiefs of army corps and divisions will be held responsible for any want of ammunition, and the inspector-general and chief of artillery will report any neglect of preparation in this respect. When the cartridge boxes of the men are found unfilled, the commanding officer of the company will be arrested for neglect of duty.
VI. The commanding general is satisfied, from his own observation and from reports of others, that the sick list is greatly increased by the defective cooking of the soldiers’ food. A company officer will be detailed to inspect the food at each meal and to see that it is properly cooked, and field and general officers will give this subject their particular attention. The soldier’s health and comfort depends in a great measure upon the care and attention of his company and regimental officers, and those who neglect to provide and care for their men are unworthy to command. Medical officers should also give particular attention to the condition of the soldiers’ food, and should instruct them in the manner of cooking it whenever they observe a want of knowledge in this respect.
By order of Major-General Halleck:
J. C. Kelton,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
Alabama
Skirmishes at Bolivar.
Skirmish at Paint Rock Bridge.
A United States division commanded by United States Army, Brigadier General Ormsby McKnight Mitchel occupied Bridgeport during its advance towards Chattanooga, Tennessee, thirty miles away. Mitchel’s aim was to converge at Chattanooga with another detached division of the United States Army of the Ohio which United States Army, Brigadier General George Washington Morgan was bringing through the Cumberland Gap towards Knoxville.
The UNADILLA-class gunboat USS KANAWHA under the command of United states Navy, Lieutenant John C Febiger, captured the blockade-running British sloop ANNIE between Ship Island and Mobile, bound for Havana with a cargo of cotton.
California
Expedition to Owen’s River ended.
(Louisiana) New Orleans Expedition - Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip
The garrisons of Forts Jackson and St Philip on the Mississippi surrendered after being isolated by the capture of New Orleans. They were partially underwater and their demoralised garrisons mutinied and forced their commander Confederate States Army, Brigadier General Johnson Kelly Duncan to surrender. United States troops occupied the battered defences. Only the St Mary’s Cannoneers at Fort Jackson did not mutiny but their fate was sealed. The terms of capitulation were signed on board USS HARRIET LANE by United States Navy, Commander David Dixon Porter. The powerless ironclad CSS LOUISIANA LOUISIANA, and the CSS DEFIANCE and CSS McRAE were destroyed by the garrisons to prevent their capture.
Casualties in the capture of the forts and the city of New Orleans were reported as 229 (or 36 killed and 135 wounded) for the United States and 782 for the Confederates, of whom fewer than 50 were killed or wounded.
Mississippi
Incident at Union Church.
Missouri
Skirmish at Warsaw.
United States reconnaissances on the Marais Des Cygnes and the Elk Fork River.
Tennessee
United States expedition to Purdy
Skirmish near Monterey involving United States Army, Major General John Pope.
Skirmish at Cumberland Mountain.
Bahamas
The 700 ton screw steamship ORETO had been recently completed in Liverpool for secret purchase by the Confederacy as the first of its foreign-built raiders. She left Liverpool in March with a British crew and arrived in Nassau where she was transferred to the Confederate Navy where it would be renamed the CSS FLORIDA and equipped and armed as a commerce raider.
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