United States Civil War (1861 – 1865) in Real Time

Day 537 of the United States Civil War, September 28th 1862

District of Columbia

In a “Strictly private” communication, (United States) President Abraham Lincoln offers guarded optimism to longtime emancipation advocate (United States) Vice President Hannibal Hamlin regarding the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation: The time for its effect southward has not come; but northward the effect should be instantaneous. It is six days old, and while commendation in newspapers and by distinguished individuals is all that a vain man could wish, the stocks have declined, and troops come forward more slowly than ever. This, looked soberly in the face, is not very satisfactory. . . . The North responds to the proclamation sufficiently in breath; but breath alone kills no rebels. I wish I could write more cheerfully. . . .”

Virginia

Confederate States Army, Major General Hindman, is assigned to the command of the 1st Corps, Army of the West, Arkansas, Missouri.

Expedition from Centreville to Bristoe Station ended.

Expedition to Warrenton Junction ended.

Incident at Blackwater River.

Skirmish at Sanding Stone.

North Carolina

The gunboat USS STATE OF GEORGIA under the command of United States Navy, Commander James F Armstrong and the gunboat USS MYSTIC under the command of United States Navy, Lieutenant-Commander H M T Arnold, captured the blockade-running British steamer SUNBEAM near New Inlet.

Tennessee

Expedition to Durhamville and Fort Randolph began.

Kentucky

United States Army, Major General Don Carlos Buell completed the concentration of the Army of the Ohio at Louisville. The District of Western Virginia was established and subordinated to Buell’s Department of the Ohio to facilitate coordinated operations against Confederate threats and incursions in western Virginia and along the Ohio River. The new district comprised western Virginia and the counties in Ohio adjacent to Virginia. The experienced engineer officer United States Army, Brigadier General Quincy Adams Gillmore arrived from the Department of the South to assume command of the District of Western Virginia.

United States expedition from Columbus to Covington, Durhamville, and Fort Randolph (Tennessee) began.

Skirmish at Brookville.

Skirmish near Lebanon Junction.

Confederate States Army, General Braxton Bragg handed over temporary command of the Army of Tennessee to Confederate States Army, Major General Leonidas Polk at Bardstown. Bragg departed to confer with Confederate States Army, Major General Edmund Kirby Smith in Lexington. Bragg aimed to announce a Confederate provisional government to be led by the provisional Lieutenant-Governor, Richard Hawes, who was travelling from Chattanooga to Frankfort. A new supply depot was set up at Harrodsburg for the Confederate army, to hold the supplies being gathered and foraged in the region.

Mississippi

Skirmishes at Coldwater and Friar’s Point.

Day 539 of the United States Civil War, September 30th 1862

Virginia

Skirmish at Amissville.

Skirmish at Glenville involving United States cavalry.

Maryland

United States Army, Brigadier General Isaac Peace Rodman, dies from chest wounds received at the Battle of Antientam, MD.

Florida

Expedition to St John’s Bluff began.

Georgia

Reconnaissance to Savannah River began.

Kentucky

Incidents at Russellville and Glasgow

Skirmish near Louisville.

The provisional Lieutenant-Governor and putative pro-Confederate Governor of Kentucky, Richard Hawes, reached Danville and met Confederate States Army, General Braxton Bragg to plan the proclamation of Kentucky’s secession.

Mississippi

United States reconnaissance from Rienzi to the Hatchie River.

Missouri

Incidents in Scotland County and Boone County.

Skirmish at Clear Fork near Warrensburg.

(Missouri) Operations North of Boston Mountains - First Battle of Newtonia

YouTube (First Battle of Newtonia, September 30 1862)



The First Battle of Newtonia was fought between Confederate soldiers commanded by Confederate States Army, Colonel Douglas H. Cooper and a United States column commanded by United States Army, Brigadier General Frederick Salomon near Newtonia, Missouri. Cooper's force had moved into southwestern Missouri, and encamped near the town of Newtonia. The Confederate column was composed mostly of cavalry led by Confederate States Army, Colonel Joseph O. Shelby and a brigade of Native Americans. A United States force commanded by United States Army, Brigadier General James G. Blunt moved to intercept Cooper's force. Blunt's advance force, led by Salomon, reached the vicinity of Newtonia on September 29th, and attacked Cooper's position on September 30th. A United States probing force commanded by United States Army, Colonel Edward Lynde was driven out of Newtonia by Cooper's forces on the morning of the 30th.

Both sides brought up further reinforcements, and seesaw fighting took place during much of the afternoon. Shortly before nightfall, Cooper's Confederates made an all-out attack against the United States line; this led Salomon to withdraw from the field. Militia commanded by United States Army, Colonel George Hall covered the United States retreat, although Confederate artillery fire struck the retreating forces. This panicked some of Salomon's men, and the retreat turned into a disorderly rout. United States casualties are variously reported as either 245 or over 400, and Confederate casualties were 78.

Map: Map of the First Battle of Newtonia



South Carolina

Reconnaissance to the Savannah River and May River began. The transports Planter and Starlight conveyed troops to destroy Confederate saltworks.

United States Army, Brigadier General John Milton Brannan embarked with about 1,500 infantry aboard the transports BOSTON, BED DE FORD, COSMOPOLITAN, and NEPTUNE at Hilton Head in preparation for a landing near Jacksonville, Florida, the following day.

Tennessee

Skirmish at Goodlettsville.

United States Army, Major General Don Carlos Buell was ordered to turn over his command of the Army of the Ohio to his second-in-command United States Army, Major General George Henry Thomas, only to be immediately reinstated the following day after Thomas declined the appointment.

Utah Territory

Expedition from Fort Ruby in the Nevada Territory to Camp Douglas began.

Nevada Territory

Expedition from Fort Ruby to Camp Douglas in the Utah Territory began.

Day 541 of the United States Civil War, October 2nd 1862

(YouTube) Civil War Week By Week - The Proc Heard Around the World (September 26th-October 2nd 1862)



District of Columbia

Evander Mclvor Law is appointed Brigadier General in the United States Army.

Virginia

Francis Barretto Spinola is appointed Brigadier General in the Confederate States Army.

United States Navy, Commodore Andrew Allen Harwood reported the capture of the sloop THOMAS REILLY by USS THOMAS FREEBORN under the command of United States Navy, Lieutenant Commander Samuel Magaw.

Reconnaissance to Leesburg ended.

Operation in Hampshire County began.

Skirmish at Blue’s Gap (Hanging Rock).

The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia occupied positions between Mill Creek and Lick River, near Winchester.

Maryland

(United States) President Abraham Lincoln busy travel schedule includes a review of the division of United States Army, Brigadier General John W. Geary. That officer notes the degree to which the chief executive has begun to show the stresses and strains of his duties: “Abraham looks quite care-worn and not nearly so well as he did when I last saw him.”

When (United States) President Abraham Lincoln reaches United States Army, Major General McClellan’s main camp, he immediately begins his assessment. Pausing with a friend while overlooking the enormous martial array Lincoln responds sharply to a comment concerning the Army of the Potomac: “So it is called, but that is a mistake; it is only McClellan’s bodyguard.”

(Florida) Expedition to St. Johns Bluff - Battle of St. Johns Bluff

Skirmishes between Mayport Mills and St John’s Bluff. United States forces landed at Mount Pleasant Creek near Jacksonville and marched for the rear of the Confederate battery at St John’s Bluff held by Confederate States Army, Brigadier General Joseph Finegan.

Kentucky

Confederate States Army, General Braxton Bragg heard that a United States column was marching from Louisville towards Shelbyville and his present location at Frankfort. He sent instructions to Confederate States Army, Major General Leonidas Polk, who was commanding the Army of Mississippi at Bardstown during his absence, to march north and attack that force. Polk’s attack would be made in combination with Confederate States Army, Major General Edmund Kirby Smith’s army marching from Frankfort. Before Polk received these orders, he had already written to Bragg to say that he was being advanced upon by three columns approaching from Louisville. Polk reported that he had already acted on prior orders to fall back eastwards if threatened by superior forces and had begun to move his four divisions towards Harrodsburg and Danville. The opportunity to attack the United States column at Shelbyville was no longer available.

Skirmishes at Olive Hill and on the Shepherdsville Road.

Mississippi

Skirmish at Baldwyn.

Skirmish at Rainer’s (or Ramer’s) Crossing on the Mobile & Ohio Railroad involving the 17th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment (United States).

Confederate States Army, Major General Earl Van Dorn’s Army of West Tennessee turned southeast overnight from Pocahontas, arriving at Chewalla, within nine miles of Corinth. The Confederates hoped to seize Corinth from an unexpected direction, isolating United States Army, Major-General William Starke Rosecrans and his garrison from reinforcements, and then to press onwards into middle Tennessee to defeat more United States garrisons in detail. Reports from United States cavalry confirmed to United States Army, Major General Ulysses Simpson Grant that Corinth was the definite Confederate objective rather than Bolivar, Tennessee, which Rosecrans had suggested as their objective after being deceived by Van Dorn’s feint. Grant sent word to Rosecrans to be prepared for an attack, and at the same time, he directed United States Army, Major General Stephen Augustus Hurlbut to observe the enemy from Bolivar and to strike at his flank if a favourable opportunity offered. The Confederates pressed on towards Corinth with about 22,000 men through recurring skirmishes, aware that their presence had now been detected. Rosecrans had already drawn his divisions in from Jacinto and Burnsville, concentrating for what he expected to be a march to reinforce Hurlbut at Bolivar but, conversely and fortuitously, he was now concentrated in the right place for the defence of Corinth. Rosecrans held strong fortifications with the divisions of United States Army, Brigadier General Thomas Jefferson McKean on the left, United States Army, Brigadier General Thomas Alfred Davies in the centre, and United States Army, Brigadier General Charles Smith Hamilton on the right. The division of United States Army, Brigadier General David Sloane Stanley was kept in reserve. The combined United States force at Corinth was about 23,000 men.

Missouri

A United States force defeated a small group of Confederate guerrillas near Columbia.

Texas

A United States force arrived at the railroad depot near Beaumont. They engaged the Confederate garrison before destroying the depot and the Eastern Texas Railroad Bridge.

Day 543 of the United States Civil War, October 4th 1862

District of Columbia

General in Chief of the Armies of the United States, General Henry Halleck continues his assessment of the prisoner issue and determines that such persons might indeed be employed in “service against the Indians,” but United States Attorney General Edward Bates settles the matter by noting, “The terms of the contract are . . . beyond doubt . . . . It is the plainly declared purpose of the Cartel to prevent the use of prisoners paroled . . . in the discharge of any duties of a soldier.”

The following are appointed Brigadier Generals in the United States Army:

- Joseph Jackson Barlett.
- John Milton Thayer.
- John Henry Hobart Ward.

Virginia

Dabney Herndon Maury is appointed Major General in the Confederate States Army.

Operation in Highland County, Pendleton County, and Pocahontas County began.

United States reconnaissance from Conrad’s Ferry began.

United States reconnaissance from Loudoun Heights to Hillsboro and Neersville began.

Operation in Hampshire County ended.

Confederate troops captured a United States detachment at Little Cacapon Bridge.

Confederates captured a United States detachment from United States Army, Colonel Jacob M Campbell’s 54th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment (United states) at Paw Paw Tunnel.

Skirmishes at Blue’s Gap and Franklin.

United States troops from United States Army, Colonel Andrew T McReynolds’ 1st New York Cavalry Regiment (United States) attacked a Confederate camp at Hanging Rock.

A raiding party from the gunboat USS THOMAS FREEBORN under the command of United States Navy, Lieutenant-Commander Samuel Magaw, entered Dumfries and destroyed the telegraph office and the wires of the line running from Occoquan to Richmond via Fredericksburg.

United States Army, Brigadier General George Crook returned from Maryland to western Virginia with two brigades of the Kanawha Division. He joined United States Army, Brigadier General Jacob Dolson Cox for a new three-pronged offensive. United States Army, Brigadier General Robert Huston Milroy would lead Cox’s former division from Clarksburg towards Beverly; Crook would advance from Sutton on Gauley, while Cox led the third force himself up the Kanawha towards Charleston. The Confederates under Confederate States Army, Major General William Wing Loring were outnumbered and were soon forced once again to abandon western Virginia.

South Carolina

Confederate States Army, Brigadier General William Duncan Smith, CSA, dies from the yellow fever at Charleston, SC.

Florida

The gunboat USS SOMERSET under the command of United States Navy, Lieutenant-Commander Earl English, attacked the Confederate salt works at Depot Key. The landing party was augmented by a strong force from the UNADILLA-class gunboat USS TAHOMA under the command of United States Navy, Commander John C Howell, and the salt works were destroyed. Salt was among the most critical strategic material resources of the Confederacy, required for conserving rations and many industrial processes.

Kentucky

Skirmish near Bardstown on the Bardstown Pike during Confederate States Army, Brigadier General Joseph Wheeler’s raid.

Skirmishes at Springfield and Clay Village involving United States troops from the command of United States Army, Brigadier General Joshua Woodrow Sill.

Confederate States Army, Major Richard Hawes was inaugurated Governor of Kentucky at Frankfort in the presence of Confederate States Army, General Braxton Bragg. Hawes remained in the nominal post without true authority until the end of the war. At about 1.30 pm, United States artillery fired long-range shells into the outskirts of the capital. This was the advance guard of United States Army, Brigadier-General Joshua Woodrow Sill and United States Army, Brigadier-General Ebenezer Dumont, whose two divisions were now within twelve miles of the town. The governor’s inaugural ball scheduled for that evening was cancelled.

Confederate States Army, General Braxton Bragg had left the Army of Mississippi under Confederate States Army, Major General Leonidas Polk at Bardstown with orders to join Confederate States Army, Major General Edmund Kirby Smith and his Army of Kentucky at Frankfort. Bragg received word early in the morning from Polk that the four divisions of the Army of Mississippi had already begun to withdraw towards Harrodsburg and Danville rather than marching to attack the enemy column approaching Frankfort. Hearing Polk’s explanation that he was being threatened by strong Union forces, Bragg concurred with the change of plans and ordered Polk to concentrate at Harrodsburg while Smith’s army remained concentrated at Frankfort. When the inauguration at Frankfort came under long-range artillery fire, Bragg sent new instructions that Smith’s army would destroy the bridges at Frankfort and the two armies would now unite at Harrodsburg as quickly as possible. Bragg’s cavalry had already been sent away. Confederate States Army, Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest’s cavalry was in middle Tennessee recruiting for his brigade and Confederate States Army, Colonel John Hunt Morgan’s brigade had been sent to pursue the United States garrison of Cumberland Gap in its flight across the Kentucky Barrens to Greenup on the Ohio River. Short of cavalry, Bragg was finding it difficult to scout the exact strength and location of the United States forces and was convinced that the smaller diversionary column approaching Frankfort was the main United States army. In fact, the main United States force of United States Army, Major General Don Carlos Buell was aiming for Bardstown and Polk’s troops. The Confederate Army of Mississippi evacuated Bardstown during the day. After United States troops arrived during the evening, they continued onwards in three columns towards Mackville, Springfield and Lebanon.

Louisiana

Skirmish near Donaldsonville.

Mississippi

Incident at Middletown.

Maryland

(United States) President Abraham Lincoln travels to Frederick, Md. While visiting wounded United States Army, Brigadier General George Hartsuff, he receives and twice declines requests to present extended remarks, but offers a brief statement of thanks to the soldiers and citizens who have supported the United States:

I am surrounded by soldiers and a little farther off by the citizens of this good City of Frederick. Nevertheless I can only say, as I did five minutes ago, it is not proper for me to make speeches in my present position. I return thanks to our soldiers for the good services they have rendered, the energy they have shown, the hardships they have endured, and the blood they have shed for this Union of ours; and I also return thanks, not only to the soldiers, but to the good citizens of Frederick, and to the good men, women, and children in this land of ours, for their devotion to this glorious cause; and I say this with no malice in my heart towards those who have done otherwise. May our children and children's children, for a thousand generations, continue to enjoy the benefits conferred upon us by a united country, and have cause yet to rejoice under these glorious institutions, bequeathed to us by Washington and his compeers. Now, my friends, soldiers and citizens, I can only say once more-farewell.

(Mississippi) Iuka and Corinth Operations - Second Battle of Corinth

YouTube (Second Battle of Corinth October 3–4 1862)

Confederate States Army, Major General Earl Van Dorn planned to resume his attack on the United States forces at Corinth at daybreak. At 4.30 am, the Confederate artillery opened fire on the United States inner line of entrenchments with a six-gun battery. United States guns replied from Battery Robinett, Battery Williams, and Battery Phillips until the Confederate guns fell silent after sunrise. The United States troops prepared themselves to resist an attack but the attack was slow in coming. During the extended lull, Rosecrans pushed forward a regiment to scout the silent woods but it was struck hard by rifle fire and its colonel was captured. This proved that Van Dorn had not slipped away behind a diversionary cannonade.

Van Dorn had directed Confederate States Army, Brigadier General Louis Hébert to begin the engagement at daylight and the artillery fire was merely a preliminary to enable Hébert to get into position for the assault. At 7 am, Hébert sent word to Van Dorn that he was too ill to lead his division and Confederate States Army, Brigadier General Martin Edwin Green was ordered to assume his command and advance at once. Nearly two hours more elapsed before Green moved forward to the attack. His four brigades advanced en echelon until they occupied a position in the woods north of town. There they formed a battle line, facing south, and made a charge on Battery Powell with the brigades of Confederate States Army, Colonel Elijah Gates and Confederate States Army, Colonel McLain, while the brigades of Confederate States Army, Colonel Moore (deputising for Green) and Confederate States Army, Colonel W Bruce Colbert attacked United States Army, Brigadier General Charles Smith Hamilton’s division at about 9 am. United States artillery caused heavy casualties but the Confederates pressed on. They stormed Battery Powell, capturing the guns and scattering the defenders into the town. Confederate States Army, Colonel Charles Phifer’s brigade entered the town and engaged in a fierce battle near the Tishomingo Hotel. Part of United States Army, Brigadier General Jeremiah Cutler Sullivan’s brigade, held as a reserve on Hamilton’s left, charged in and threw the Confederates into confusion in the narrow streets. A few Confederates fought their way deeper into Corinth, but they were quickly driven out after reaching the railroad depot unsupported. As they fell back they came within range of batteries on both flanks and the cross-fire routed them utterly.

Confederate States Army, Brigadier General William Lewis Cabell’s brigade of Confederate States Army, Brigadier General Dabney Herndon Maury’s division was sent to reinforce the troops that had captured Battery Powell but, before they arrived, Davies and Hamilton had recaptured it. Cabell advanced against a murderous fire that forced his men to retreat. Maury’s division had been engaged since about 9 am. As soon as Maury heard the firing on his left, he realised that Davies and Hamilton would be kept too busy to interfere with his movements and gave the order for his division to move straight towards the town instead. His right flank encountered stubborn resistance at about 11 am from Battery Robinette, a three-gun redan just north of the Memphis & Charleston Railroad. Fierce hand-to-hand combat ensued and he was forced to retire with heavy losses. Confederate States Army,Colonel William P Rogers led three assaults on Battery Robinett but all of them failed.

Sketch: The defense of Battery Robinett



Sketch: An assault on Battery Robinett



At about 3 pm, Hamilton was ordered to change his front and to attack the Confederates on the left flank. A misunderstanding of the order and the unmasking of a force on United states Army, Brigadier General Napoleon Bonaparte Buford’s front delayed the movement. So much time was lost that it was sunset before the division was in position for the movement and it had to be abandoned.

Meanwhile, Confederate States Army, Major General Mansfield Lovell had been skirmishing with the Union left in the vicinity of Battery Phillips, in preparation for a general advance. Before his arrangements were complete, he was ordered to send one brigade to Maury’s assistance, and soon afterward received orders to move his command so as to cover the retreat of the army to Chewalla. As a result, Lovell’s Division contributed little to the attack. The Confederates ended their attack by 1 pm and were in retreat.

At 4 pm, United states reinforcements from United States Army, Major General Ulysses Simpson Grant, under the command of United States Army, Brigadier General James Birdseye McPherson, arrived from Jackson to seal the victory. United States Army, Brigadier General Edward Otho Cresap Ord arrived and camped near Pocahontas during the night of 4-5 October. United States Army, Major General William Starke Rosecrans postponed any pursuit until the morning. Van Dorn’s Army of West Tennessee at first retreated unhindered from Corinth. Van Dorn attributed his defeat to the failure of Hébert to open the second-day engagement on time.

The United States Army, lost 2,520 men (315 or 355 killed, 1,812 or 1,841 wounded, and 232 or 324 missing). Confederate losses were either 4,233 (473 killed, 1,997 wounded, and 1,763 captured or missing) or 1,423 killed, 5,692 wounded and 2,268 captured).

Map: Battle of Corinth, October 4, 1862



(Texas) Operations to Blockade the Texas Coast - Battle of Galveston Harbor (1862)

YouTube (First Battle of Galveston Harbor October 4 1862)



The United States Navy had established a blockade of Galveston Harbour in July 1861 but the town remained in Confederate hands for the next fourteen months. At 6 am,
United States Navy, Commodore William B Renshaw, commanding the United States blockading ships in the Galveston Bay area, sent the gunboat USS HARRIET LANE under the command of United States Navy, Commander Jonathan M Wainwright, into the harbour, flying a flag of truce. The intention was to inform the military authorities in Galveston that if the town did not surrender, the United States Navy ships would attack. A time limit of one hour was set for a reply.

Confederate States Army, Colonel Joseph J Cook, the Confederate military commander in the area, and his subordinate Confederate States Army, Colonel Xavier Blanchard Debray, would not come out to the United States ship or send an officer to receive the communication, so the gunboat USS HARRIET LANE weighed anchor and returned to the fleet. Four Union steamers with a mortar boat in tow entered the harbour and moved to the same area where the gunboat USS HARRIET LANE had anchored. Observing this activity, Confederates at Fort Point opened fire and the United States Navy ships answered. Eventually, the United States ships disabled the single Confederate gun at Fort Point and engaged other targets. Two Confederate guns from another location then opened on the Union ships.

The boat that Colonel Cook had dispatched now approached the United States vessels and two Confederate officers boarded the gunboat USS WESTFIELD. Renshaw demanded an unconditional surrender of Galveston or he would begin shelling the town. Cook refused Renshaw’s terms and conveyed to Renshaw that the responsibility of destroying the town and killing women, children, and aliens rested on him. Renshaw threatened to resume the shelling and made preparations for towing the mortar boat into position. One of the Confederate officers asked whether he could have time to talk again with Cook. This officer, a major, negotiated with Renshaw for a four-day truce to evacuate the women, children, and aliens from the city. Cook approved the truce but added a stipulation that if Renshaw would not move troops closer to Galveston, Cook would not permit his men to come below the city. The agreement was finalised but never written down, which later caused problems. The Confederates did evacuate the town, taking all of their weapons, ammunition, supplies, and whatever they could carry with them. Renshaw did not think that the agreement allowed for this but felt unable to intervene due to the absence of a written agreement. The fall of Galveston closed an important Confederate port to commerce raiders.

Day 545 of the United States Civil War, October 6th 1862

District of Columbia

The following are appointed Major Generals in the United States Army:

- Jacob Dolson Cox.
- Solomon Meredith.

Virginia

A Bill presented by the Confederate Congress which would authorise the grade of Brigadier-General for the Quartermaster-General of the Confederate Army, was vetoed by the President. The Senate failed to override the veto on October 8th 1862.

Operation in Highland County, Pendleton County, and Pocahontas County ended.

Reconnaissance from Loudoun Heights to Hillsboro and Neersville ended.

United States reconnaissance from Bolivar Heights to Charles Town.

Skirmish at Big Birch.

Florida

Confederate States Army, Brigadier General Joseph Finegan is assigned to the command of East Florida.

Confederate States Army, Brigadier General John H. Forney is assigned to the command of West Florida.

United States expedition from Jacksonville to Beresford Lake began.

Kentucky

Incidents at Frankfort.

Skirmish at Springfield during the Confederate withdrawal from Frankfort to Harrodsburg.

Skirmish at Grassy Mound.

Skirmish at Fair Ground.

Skirmish at Beech Fork.

Skirmish at Burnt Cross Roads.

United States Army, Major General Don Carlos Buell ordered the three corps of his Army of the Ohio to concentrate at Perryville. He proposed to find water for the troops there in Doctor’s Creek, which flowed into Chaplin River, a tributary of the Salt River. He called for United States Army, Brigadier General Joshua Woodrow Sill’s Division to rejoin his army from Frankfort, leaving only the division of United States Army, Brigadier General Ebenezer Dumont to maintain a feint in that direction. Buell ordered troops to occupy Bardstown.

Maryland

A message advocating a forward movement while circumstances permit reaches United States Army, Major General George Brinton McClellan from General-in-Chief of the Armies of the United States Major General Henry Halleck: “The President directs that you cross the Potomac and give battle to the enemy or drive him south. Your army must move now while the roads are good.”

Mississippi

Incident at Ruckersville.

Missouri

Skirmish at Liberty.

Skirmish at Sibley Landing involving the 5th Missouri Militia Cavalry Regiment (United States).

Tennessee

Incident at Garrison’s Creek.

Texas

The gunboat USS RACHEL SEAMAN under the command of United States Navy, Acting Master Crocker, captured the British schooner DART attempting to run the blockade at Sabine Pass.

Day 547 of the United States Civil War, October 8th 1862

District of Columbia

James Birdseye McPherson is appointed Major General in the United States Army.

United States Army, Brigadier General Orlando B. Wilcox, supersedes United States Army, Brigadier General Jacob D. Cox in the command of the 9th United States Army Corps, Army of the Potomac.

Virginia

Elkanah Brackin Greer is appointed Brigadier General in the Confederate States Army.

The departure of United States Army, Major General Jacob Dolson Cox to western Virginia with the Kanawha division left the command of the IX Corps in the hands of
United States Army, Brigadier General Orlando Bolivar Willcox. United States Army, Brigadier General William Wallace Burns took command of the 1st Division and United States Army, Brigadier General George Washington Getty took over the 3rd Division after the death of wounds of United States Army, Brigadier General Isaac Peace Rodman.

United States reconnaissance from Conrad’s Ferry to Leesburg.

United States reconnaissance by Major-General Franz Sigel from Fairfax Court House to Aldie began.

Skirmish at Aldie.

Kentucky

Skirmish at Lawrenceburg.

At long last, Confederate States Army, General Braxton Bragg was close enough to assert field command of the Army of Kentucky under Confederate States Army, Major General Edmund Kirby Smith. He began to direct Smith as a part of his own Army of the Mississippi, initially as an autonomous force and ultimately as a corps of his army. Smith had been operating with fierce independence but was now too close to the ranking Army officer not to cooperate with Bragg. The three senior Major-Generals in Bragg’s army were Leonidas Polk, William Joseph Hardee, and Smith – but Smith was the junior of the three. This state of affairs lasted only one day as the imminent announcement of the first promotions to the grade of Lieutenant-General in the Confederate Army would place Smith above both Polk and Hardee at that grade.

(Kentucky) Confederate Heartland Offensive/Kentucky Campaign - Battle of Perryville

YouTube (Battle of Perryville | Animated Battle Map)



On October 7th, United States Army, Major General Don Carlos Buell's army, in pursuit of Bragg, converged on the small crossroads town of Perryville in three columns. United States forces first skirmished with Confederate cavalry on the Springfield Pike before the fighting became more general, on Peters Hill, when the Confederate infantry arrived. Both sides were desperate to get access to fresh water. The next day, at dawn, fighting began again around Peters Hill as a United States division advanced up the pike, halting just before the Confederate line. After noon, a Confederate division struck the United States left flank—the I Corps of United States Army, Major General Alexander M. McCook—and forced it to fall back. When more Confederate divisions joined the fray, the United States line made a stubborn stand, counterattacked, but finally fell back with some units routed.

Map: Positions of the armies at 2 p.m., October 8



Buell, several miles behind the action, was unaware that a major battle was taking place and did not send any reserves to the front until late in the afternoon. The United States troops on the left flank, reinforced by two brigades, stabilized their line, and the Confederate attack sputtered to a halt. Later, three Confederate regiments assaulted the United States division on the Springfield Pike but were repulsed and fell back into Perryville. United States troops pursued, and skirmishing occurred in the streets until dark. By that time, United States reinforcements were threatening the Confederate left flank. Bragg, short of men and supplies, withdrew during the night, and continued the Confederate retreat by way of Cumberland Gap into East Tennessee.

Map: Attacks by Donelson, Maney, Stewart, and Jones (c. 3 p.m.)



Map: Attacks by Maney, Brown, Johnson, and Cleburne (c. 3:45 p.m.)



Map: High-water mark (c. 4:15 p.m.)



Map: Powel's attack on Sheridan (c. 4 p.m.)



Map: Defense of the Dixville Crossroads (c. 5:45 p.m.)



United States casualties were 4,276 (845 to 894 killed, 2,851 to 2,911 wounded, 471 to 515 captured or missing). Confederate casualties were 3,396 to 3,401 (510 to 532 killed, 2,635 to 2,641 wounded, 228 to 251 captured or missing).

Harper's Weekly: image of Battle of Perryville



California

Expedition to Owen’s River ended.

Cuba

The steamer BLANCHE, anchored off Havana, was set afire to prevent its seizure by the wooden screw steamer USS MONTGOMERY (1 × 8 in (200 mm) gun and 4 × 32-pounder guns) under the command of United States Navy,, Commander C Hunter.

Nova Scotia

The screw sloop-of-war CSS ALABAMA under the command of Confederate States Navy, Captain Raphael Semmes, captured and released on bond the packet TONAWANDA southeast of Nova Scotia.