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RE: Civil War 150th - 4/18/2014 3:34:52 AM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline 		150 Years Ago Today:

At Camden, Arkansas, Frederick Steele's Union force needed more foodstuffs. A report came in of a supply of corn about twenty miles (32 km) away. Steele dispatched a brigade of about 1,100 men with about 200 wagons to get it. The report was accurate, and the Northerners loaded the corn onto their wagons and began the march back.

But they were attacked by three times their number of Confederate cavalry and infantry at a place called Poison Springs. The First Kansas Colored Infantry held off two Rebel attacks, but broke under a third well-coordinated assault. With their defensive line gone, the Northerners made a headlong retreat, abandoning all their wagons and the corn with them.

Casualties were about 300 killed, wounded, and missing for the Union, and 110 for the Confederates. The first Kansas Colored Infantry suffered especially hard, because it had taken the brunt of the attacks but also very likely because some of its members were shot while trying to surrender or killed after being wounded. There are even reports of black soldiers being scalped by Choctaw Indians in the Southern ranks.

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1081
RE: Civil War 150th - 4/19/2014 3:51:15 AM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
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In Virginia, April had more than lived up to its reputation as the month of showers. U. S. Grant had no intention of repeating the "Mud March" that had made his predecessor Ambrose Burnside a laughingstock. He therefore dispatched a letter to his friend W. T. Sherman, tentatively naming Saturday, April 30 as the starting date for the grand coordinated offensive. The letter also mentioned that both of the two major armies of the Confederacy (Joseph E. Johnston and Robert E. Lee's commands) were to be kept busy so that neither could spare troops to reinforce the other.


At 4:00 a.m. on the Roanoke River in North Carolina, Union lookouts spotted the CSS Albemarle coming downstream to engage the Northern squadron. It was not unexpected, for Confederate land forces were already laying seige to the Union fortifications around the coastal town of Plymouth. The sound of Albemarle's guns being exercised the two days before had not gone unnoticed. Charles W. Flusser, skipper of the Federal gunboat Miami and commander of the little fleet, had made plans to defeat the Rebel ironclad by tangling her in a chain between his ship and another gunboat named Southfield. Both sides prepared for action.

Both sides had other vessels along, but the fight was essentially between the Confederate "ram" and the two Union warships. The Albemarle outmaneuvered her opponents by steaming close to the riverbank so that the chain could not be passed around her. At just the right moment she put on a burst of speed and turned to ram. The Miami was hit at an angle, tearing open a hole above her waterline, and then the Albemarle bounced away and struck Southfield, punching through the hull and starting to flood the Yankee ship's fireroom. Northern commander Flusser tried to take advantage of the close range, personally firing a 9-inch Dahlgren gun point-blank at the Southern vessel. It was a poor move, for even at that samll distance the shell bounced off Albemarle's armor plates, and exploded on the deck of Miami. Flusser was killed almost instantly.

Without her skipper, Miami continued on course, heading away from the Albemarle and towards the shallows. Meanwhile, Southfield began to sink, and threatened to take Albemarle down with her. As had happend more than once before, the metal ram on the rammer's prow had become stuck in the Union vessel. Albemarle was tilted to the point where water began to come into her forward gunports.

Albemarle's captain ordered full astern, and for once Southern steam engines delivered, pulling the ram free from her victim. On the Union side, Miami was also saved when a lieutenant from the Southfield managed to get aboard, take command, and steer her away from grounding. But it was now clear that the Northerners had nothing that could seriously damage the Confederate ironclad, and the entire flotilla retreated. Albemarle now controlled that section of the river, and Plymouth with its Yankee garrison was cut off.




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_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1082
RE: Civil War 150th - 4/20/2014 6:09:22 PM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline 		150 Years Ago Today:

At Camden, Arkansas, the Yankees under Frederick Steele had a bit of good luck. Their first attempt at gathering food from the surrounding countryside had failed, but on this date they managed to take in wagonloads of provisions from the direction of Pine Bluff. It was promising, but not enough for a march to Louisiana.


At Plymouth, North Carolina, the Confederates were not slow to take advantage of their new control of the Roanoke River. Their ground troops under General Robert Hoke (below) had already captured one of the outlying forts, driving most of the Union soldiers into the main fort, Fort Williams. This now became a trap for the Federals, because Fort Williams had been built on the assumption that the Northerners would always have naval superiority.

The CSS Albemarle moved in and began lobbing shells into the fort. She was joined by Confederate Army artillery on the other three sides. It became tragically clear that there were few safe places inside the fort, particularly not at the cannons. Unable to reply to any effect, and with no chance of relief, the Northerners ran up the white flag by 10 a.m. As many as 2,800 Union soldiers went into the bag, and Plymouth returned to Confederate control.

It was alleged that the Southerners committed another massacre of the black troops in the fort, but this time the weight of the evidence is against it. For instance, in a week the Richmond Examiner would apparently express disappointment that General Hoke and his men had not "made such thorough work" as Forrest had at Fort Pillow.




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_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1083
RE: Civil War 150th - 4/23/2014 7:38:14 PM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline 		Late April, 1864:

W. T. Sherman now realized that the two divisions he had lent to Nathaniel Banks' Red River expedition were not going to be returned to him in time. He had sent orders to General A. J. Smith to begin the march back to meet the rest of Sherman's army near Chattanooga. But Banks had countermanded those orders, declaring that he must have the troops to defend against the pesky Confederates harassing his army as he withdrew back down the river. (Banks did not realize that because the Southerners were now trying to concentrate against Frederick Steele's force in Arkansas, he now outnumbered them by about six to one.)

Sherman faced Joseph Johnston's Army of Tennessee, which had used the winter months building very strong fortifications. (Sherman did not know that Johnston had also fortified several fall-back positions as well, but he would find out.) A full-on frontal attack was out of the question, so Sherman had planned to "demonstrate" in front of the fortifications with a large force, while a second force went around Johnston's flank and cut him off from the rear. But now, although Sherman's forces still had more numbers, there were not enough spares so that the flanking force could match the Rebel army should it turn on them during the march. Sherman drew up a new plan, so that the flanking force would not be far from support while it moved. This meant Sherman could not make as great a sweep as he would have liked -- which would have consequences.


At his headquarters in Culpepper Court House, Virginia, Grant also found his choices narrowed:

At this time I was not entirely decided as to whether I should move the Army of the Potomac by the right flank of the enemy, or by his left. Each plan presented advantages. If by his right--my left--the Potomac, Chesapeake Bay and tributaries would furnish us an easy hauling distance of every position the army could occupy from the Rapidan to the James River. But Lee could, if he chose, detach or move his whole army north on a line rather interior to the one I would have to take in following. A movement by his left--our right--would obviate this; but all that was done would have to be done with the supplies and ammunition we started with. All idea of adopting this latter plan was abandoned when the limited quantity of supplies possible to take with us was considered. The country over which we would have to pass was so exhausted of all food or forage that we would be obliged to carry everything with us.

--The Personal Memoirs of General U. S. Grant

The chances of achieving tactical surprise over Lee and his army looked slim. Strategic surprise was, of course, out of the question. By this time everyone, North and South, knew that a major campaign was coming.

< Message edited by Capt. Harlock -- 4/23/2014 8:39:16 PM >

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1084
RE: Civil War 150th - 4/25/2014 4:07:35 AM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline 		150 Years Ago Today:

One Yankee expedition for supplies had been defeated, and one had been successful. Now General Frederick Steele gambled on a third attempt, and sent out a brigade reinforced by cavalry. In all, there were 1,750 men with 240 wagons, led by a Colonel with the promising name of Francis M. Drake. Unfortunately, Drake was a far less competent commander than his seafaring English namesake. Patrols reported movement in nearby woods and abandoned campsites, but the Colonel dismissed the possibility of any sizeable Confederate forces in the area. Unknown to him, his brigade was up against two divisions, sent by Edmund Kirby Smith now that the Federals were in retreat down the Red River. And the Federals were not traveling as fast as they might have. By this time in the war, whenever there was a large body of Union troops moving through southern territory, the word quickly spread and numbers of slaves ran away to follow the Northerners to the freedom granted by the Emancipation Proclamation.

The Federals encountered the Confederates in a bad place, called Marks' Mills. Much of the countryside was woods, but there was a large clear area where first contact was made. Colonel Drake threw his troops forward, only to have more and more Rebels come in from the sides. The Union cavalry attempted to prevent the brigade from being surrounded, but eventually was unsuccessful. After four hours of furious combat, the Northerners surrendered.
The Confederate losses are estimated at 41 killed, 108 wounded, and 144 missing. About 190 Union soldiers managed to escape the trap, but all of the remainder were killed or captured, along with with 240 wagons. Again there were reports of black troops being massacred after the surrender, along with a number of the "runaways".

The one benefit for the Union out of the disaster was that Steele now knew there were large Confederate forces in the area, and no further chance of collecting supplies. The time had come to abandon his intended march to Louisiana, and retreat back to his starting base while he still could.

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1085
RE: Civil War 150th - 4/26/2014 3:30:50 PM   
Capt. Harlock


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In Camden, Arkansas, Frederick Steele and his small Union army were now in serious trouble, with provisions for just a few more days and more and more Confederate troops arriving in the area. The only hope was a march back to their starting point, Little Rock. The Northerners spent the day preparing for a movement that would be as quiet as possible, muffling the wheels on their wagons and artillery. When night fell, they began the march out of the town and across the river, making sure not to walk in lock-step so that the noise of their boots would not be combined. It worked to perfection: the Rebels had no idea their enemy was slipping away.


However, in Louisiana, the Yankees had to accept a loss. The level of the Red River was falling, and the Union vessels that had gone above the rapids at Alexandria now found themselves trapped. Although the Confederates were now reduced in manpower with the bulk of their forces trying to crush the Yankees in Arkansas, there were still enough troops to give Admiral Porter's flotilla a hard time. Sharpshooters and land-based artillery did some damage to several ships, and brought further salvage work on the mine-damaged USS Eastport to a halt. Realizing the inevitable, the Northerners set the ship, previously the pride of the fleet, on fire. The flames reached the magazine in short order, and the ironclad blew up.






Attachment (1)

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1086
RE: Civil War 150th - 4/27/2014 6:55:12 PM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline 		150 Years Ago Today:

It was Ulysses S. Grant's 42nd birthday, and he dashed off a letter to his wife. Among other items, he wrote: "Don’t know exactly the day when I will start or whether Lee will come here before I am ready to move. Would not tell you if I did know." But later, in his memoirs, he would write: "By the 27th of April spring had so far advanced as to justify me in fixing a day for the great move. On that day Burnside left Annapolis to occupy Meade's position between Bull Run and the Rappahannock. Meade was notified and directed to bring his troops forward to his advance."


At Camden, Arkansas, the Confederates under General Edmund Kirby Smith advanced into a town now empty of Union soldiers. Kirby Smith hoped to destroy the Northern army before it could get back to its base at Little Rock, but the Federals had inconsiderately destroyed their bridge behind them. The Southerners had pontoons for bridges, but they were in the rear of their columns. They would lose over twenty-four hours in what had now become a high-stakes race, with the state of Arkansas going to the winner.


In Richmond, things seemed to be looking up after the gloom of the second half of 1863. Except for Sherman's temporary success of the Meridian Campaign, the Northerners had won nothing so far in 1864. Nonetheless, the article printed by the Daily Richmond Examiner certainly seems like an exercise in overconfidence:

From the head-waters of the Red River to the coast of North Carolina, the horizon is fairly radiant with Confederate victory. Forcing its way through the darkness of Yankee concealment, BANKS' defeat tells that all is well in the Trans-Mississippi Department. FORREST, at Fort pillow, undoes in an hour the year's work of Grant, and obstructs, in a very inconvenient manner, the free navigation of the Mississippi. Confederate horsemen career confidently In Western Kentucky, and white flags are hanging out at Columbus.

It was proper that these brilliant affairs in the West should be furnished with a pendant in the East, and nobly has it been done by HOKE at Plymouth. There, too, has storming been the order of the day, and success has been as complete as at Fort Pillow. Hitherto, though often led against field-works, the Confederate soldiers have rarely been called upon to assail permanent fortifications. These two brilliant examples fully attest their prowess in this trying mode of warfare, and evince that striking superiority of élan which most signally elevates them above the Yankee soldier. Not an instance in the war can be mentioned of the Yankees having driven our men from intrenched positions.

These cheering victories coming in such rapid succession from so many different quarters are auspicious of final success. They resemble those minor combats which so often, on the eve of great battles, have seemed to cast the shadow of coming events before them, and to give an earnest of future victory. While the two great armies are collecting their strength and preparing for a decisive spring, these hopeful auguries cannot fall to inspirit the one and to throw a gloom over the other. Thus far the year has been marked by a series of unbroken triumphs for the Confederate arms. Should the stream continue to set a little longer in the same direction, it will sweep away all the impediments in the course of our youthful Republic.

The facility with which we have achieved these triumphs is encouraging in another point of view. The enemy must have weakened his armies of occupation in the various districts he has overrun. His garrisons are a mixture of whites and blacks, enough probably, of the former to prevent the Africans from following their own inclination and surrendering at the first summons. By such a disposition it was thought that their conquests might be retained, and the negro soldiery be made to serve a useful purpose. The event has disappointed these expectations. They have lost their hard-won conquests, and as yet have failed to strike any compensating blow by means of the concentration for the sake of which they have weakened themselves elsewhere.

The details of the affair at Plymouth are not yet fully ascertained. It is, however, safe to pronounce it one of the most brilliant affairs of the war. Its immediate fruits are important. Those which may ultimately flow from it, the possession of an abundant country, and the possible command of the inland waters of North Carolina, (though as yet the subject of uncertain speculation,) may well excite high hopes for the future.

Gen. HOKE. judging from the large number of his prisoners, does not seem to have made such thorough work as that by which Forrest has so shocked the tender souls and frozen the warm blood of the Yankees. The resistance he encountered was, probably, not so desperate, and the blood of the victors was not so heated; though in a fortification carried by storm, the loss of the garrison must inevitably be large.

The strict laws of civilized warfare acknowledge the power of the victor to put all to the sword in such cases. However severe such an example might seem, it would strike a salutary terror in the Yankees, which will be useful to them in the end, and their melancholy whine at meeting a part of the punishment their barbarities merit is absurd.

In the rapid fall of these positions which the Yankees gained so easily, we see something like a revulsion of the gunboat mania. At that period they made most of the acquisitions which they have since held apparently in a firm grasp. The reflux of the tide is no less sudden than its advance. The year 1864 may undo the work of 1862, and suggest a solution of many difficulties which seemed almost insurmountable.

(Note this image is not of the paper on the actual date, but is given as an example of the format.)




Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Capt. Harlock -- 4/27/2014 7:58:18 PM >

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1087
RE: Civil War 150th - 4/29/2014 4:50:44 AM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline 		150 Years Ago Today:

In Arkansas, the near-starving Union army arrived at the Saline River, the last major stream standing between them and their base at Little Rock. Happily, they had remembered to bring their pontoons and other bridging material, and they promptly set to construction. Before long Confederate cavalry caught up with them, but the Yankees had anticipated that. A strong rear-guard had been set up, and infantry in close order backed by artillery was too tough a nut for horse troopers to do very much. The Rebels would need strong infantry forces of their own.

Just such forces were on the way. The Southerners had lost twenty-four hours when Camden was evacuated, but they were trying very hard to catch up. A number of units marched throughout the night, catching only one or two hours of sleep. By the next day, there would be enough grey-clad troops for a serious assault on the spot where the Yankees hoped to complete their bridge -- a place called Jenkins' Ferry, which those who have seen the Speilberg movie "Lincoln" will recognize as the battle scene in the first part of the film.




Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Capt. Harlock -- 4/29/2014 8:24:04 PM >

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1088
RE: Civil War 150th - 4/30/2014 4:34:00 AM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline 		150 Years Ago Today:

In the New York Gold Room, the price of gold climbed to 184. After the Confederate successes of the year, speculators were starting to wonder if the South might achieve its independence after all.


In Richmond, the Richmond Enquirer put forth its rationale that there had been no massacre at Fort Pillow:

“The ‘so-called’ massacre at Fort Pillow is merely an offset to the damaging truths that have made the names of BUTLER, MCNEILL and TURCHIN infamous all over the world. In this light it will be understood and appreciated as merely another false-hood … We have seen no evidence of any ‘massacre’ whatever, but should it become necessary to put a garrison to the sword, under the law of war, we should expect the whites to be shot and the negroes to be sold. A negro at $5,000 is too valuable to be shot.”

But at the Presidential residence there was tragedy. Davis' son Joseph Evan Davis, just twelve days after his fifth birthday, was exploring some scaffolding left by repairmen. He slipped and fell onto the paved patio, suffering fatal injuries. Diarist Mary Boykin Chesnut was with Mrs. Davis when she received the news:

That evening, as we walked up to Mrs. Davis's carriage, which was waiting for us at the landing, Dr. Garnett with Maggie Howell, Major Hall with me, suddenly I heard her scream, and some one stepped back in the dark and said in a whisper. "Little Joe! he has killed himself!" I felt reeling, faint, bewildered. A chattering woman clutched my arm: "Mrs. Davis's son? Impossible."
-- Mary Boykin Chesnut, A Diary From Dixie

Both Davis and Lincoln had suffered the loss of a son while in office.


At Jenkins' Ferry in Arkansas, the Union rear-guard had established an excellent defensive position. The flanks could not be turned, for there was a flooded creek on the right and swamp on the left. A successful attack by the Confederates needed a coordinated assault over the entire line, looking for a weak spot to break while pressure against the other parts of the line prevented reinforcement.

But it was a wet, foggy morning, preventing signals from being seen for any distance and interfering with couriers. The Rebel attacks went in piecemeal. The images in Spielberg's "Lincoln" are probably a good representation; for the combat turned into a nightmare of mud and tired but desperate men going on adrenaline and not much else. The Northerners were near starving, the Southerners near exhausted from all-night marching. Finally, after a Confederate assault was beaten back, the Second Kansas Colored Infantry counter-charged. Enraged by the reports of killings of blacks at Fort Pillow, Poison Springs, and Marks' Mills, they granted little quarter of their own, bayoneting a number of Southern soldiers trying to surrender. They may have gone even further, for there are reports of mutilated bodies found afterwards.

Shortly after noon, the Confederate commander had seen enough, and called off any further attacks. The Federals withdrew across the now completed bridge, then burned it, for the way was now clear to Little Rock. Reported casualties were Union: 63 killed, 413 wounded, 45 missing, Confederate: 86 killed, 356 wounded, and one missing. Actual losses were very likely higher, since some units did not make reports.

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1089
RE: Civil War 150th - 5/3/2014 4:14:36 AM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline 		Beginning of May 1864:

The Civil War was one of the last conflicts where it was possible for the two sides to look at each other from a distance, without being able to effectively attack. In Virginia, on top of an elevation called Clark's Mountain, Robert E. Lee had an excellent view of the forces under Ulysses S. Grant. Lee even correctly guessed the route Grant had chosen to advance, but the Confederate commander made no change in his dispositions. If he was right, he would be able to intercept the Northerners, and if he was wrong, it would open the way to Richmond. It was too big a risk to take.

At Little Rock, Arkansas, the small Union army under Frederick Steele made it back to its base, and finally, some square meals. They did delay just a short while to straighten their ranks and prominently display the three Confederate artillery pieces they had captured when marching into town.

At Alexandria, Louisiana, the larger Union army that had been planned to be the hammer to Steele's anvil paused in the retreat back to Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Partly this was because General John McClernand, whose intrigues had given Grant so much trouble the year before, had returned with a few reinforcements. This gave rise to a three-way struggle for command, between McClernand, Nathaniel Banks, and A. J. Smith, who was inferior in rank to the other two, but under orders to leave with his two divisions.

All three generals, however, agreed on the necessity of saving the Union gunboats and transports which were now trapped above the rapids at Alexandria. Since the Confederates had lowered the level of the river by destroying a levee, a Lieutenant Colonel of engineers named Joseph Bailey suggested that the level could be raised back up at that particular spot by building a dam. Nathaniel Banks for once showed intelligence and decision by promptly adopting the suggestion, and soon 3,000 soldiers were working night and day on the dam.




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1090
RE: Civil War 150th - 5/4/2014 1:10:59 AM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline 		150 Years Ago Today:

Soon after midnight, May 3d-4th, the Army of the Potomac moved out from its position north Rapidan, to start upon that memorable campaign, destined to result in the capture of the Confederate capital and the army defending it. This was not to be accomplished, however, without as desperate fighting as the world has ever witnessed; not to be consummated in a day, a week, a month, single season.

[ . . . ]

As soon as the crossing of the infantry was assured, the cavalry pushed forward, Wilson's division by Wilderness Tavern to Parker's store, on the Orange Plank Road; Gregg to the left towards Chancellorsville. Warren followed Wilson and reached the Wilderness Tavern by noon, took position there and intrenched. Sedgwick followed Warren. He was across the river and in camp on the south bank, on the right of Warren, by sundown. Hancock, with the 2d corps, moved parallel with Warren and camped about six miles east of him. Before night all the troops ... were safely on the south side of the river.
--The Personal Memoirs of General U. S. Grant

So far, so good; the Army of the Potomac had successfully crossed the Rapidan River, and entered the area known as The Wilderness. It was roughly the same location where the western part of the Battle of Chancellorsville had been fought almost exactly one year before. And now Grant made an error similar to that of his predecessor Joe Hooker -- he halted his army before it reached the open ground, where his numbers and his artillery would have given him the advantage.

Robert E. Lee was not slow to take advantage of the mistake. His scouts and cavalry gave him a much better idea of where the Union army was than the Northerners had of his dispositions. Two Corps, under Richard Ewell and A. P. Hill, were sent marching to engage the Yankees before they could emerge from the woods.



Map by Hal Jespersen, www.cwmaps.com

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Capt. Harlock -- 5/4/2014 2:11:48 AM >

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1091
RE: Civil War 150th - 5/5/2014 3:41:58 AM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline 		150 Years Ago Today:

On the Roanoke River in North Carolina, the formidable ironclad CSS Albemarle along with CSS Bombshell, a captured steamer, were escorting the troop-laden CSS Cotton Plant. They met Northern gunboats: their old foe USS Miami, now supported by USS Mattabesett, USS Sassacus, and USS Wyalusing. Albemarle fired first, and scored a hit on Mattabesett. The counter-salvoes from the Union flotilla were powerful, however; Bombshell was disabled and re-captured, and Cotton Plant forced to flee the scene.

Lt. Commander Francis Roe, commanding Sassucus, decided to ram. The Union gunboat covered the 400 yards (370 m) and struck the Southern ironclad square on the broadside, which broke the timbers of her own bow and twisted off her bronze ramming spur. Unfortunately for the Sassucus, one of Albemarle's guns was now almost touching her hull. The Rebels got off two shells, one of them puncturing the Northern ship's boilers. Amazingly, the crew was not driven off the ship by the live steam, but just managed to back her away.

Albemarle was now distracted from finishing off Sassucus by the attack of the Miami. Since their previous encouter, the Union vessel had been equipped with a spar torpedo, which she now tried to use. The Albemarle was alive to the danger, and managed to evade. Miami's crew then went to the back-up plan, and tried to entangle the Southerner's propellers with a net. Albemarle dodged again, but by this time Sassucus had retreated safely, and the leak from the ramming and the numerous shells fired by the other Federal warships had begun to take their toll.

With the approach of darkness, the Southern ironclad turned and headed back upriver. Her smokestack had been holed repeatedly, which meant that her fires were not drawing well enough to provide the power needed to steam against the current. The captain had the larders opened, and threw in all the butter and bacon fat on board, which made the fires sufficiently hot for her return to base, and some much-needed repairs.

Many accounts credit this action as a Southern victory. It is true that Albemarle had inflicted considerably more damage than she had received, but the Confederates had lost a ship, and the Federals managed to save all of theirs. More, with Albemarle out of action for months, the Confederate drive to recapture New Bern stalled. And, if this can be counted as a Northern victory, it is likely the only one in history scored by wooden warships against an ironclad.


In the Virginia wilderness, it was not long before first contact was made between the two advancing forces. The first fighting erupted in the north and west of the area, along the Orange Turnpike. Jubal Early gave a good description in his memoirs:

ON the morning of the 5th, Ewell's corps was put in motion, my division bringing up the rear. A short distance from the Old Wilderness Tavern, and just in advance of the place where a road diverges to the left from the old Stone Pike to the Germana Ford road, the enemy, in heavy force, was encountered, and Jones' brigade, of Johnson's division, and Battle's brigade, of Rodes' division, were driven back in some confusion. My division was ordered up, and formed across the pike, Gordon's brigade being on the right of the road. This brigade, as soon as it was brought into line, was ordered forward, and advanced through a dense pine thicket in gallant style. In conjunction with Daniel's, Doles' and Ramseur's brigades, of Rodes' division, it drove the enemy back with heavy loss, capturing several hundred prisoners, and gaining a commanding position on the right. Johnson, at the same time, was heavily engaged in his front, his division being on the left of the pike and extending across the road to the Germana Ford road, which has been mentioned. After the enemy had been repulsed, Hays' brigade was sent to Johnson's left...
--Jubal Early, Autobiographical Sketch and Narrative of the War Between the States

So fierce had been the Confederate attack that the famous Northern "Iron Brigade" was driven from the field for the first time in its history -- and they had fought at Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. The Federals deployed their artillery, but it was worse than useless; the shells started fires in the woods which made the already difficult visibility bad enough that the combat deteriorated into a large number of individual or squad-sized actions instead of organized lines.

To the south and east at the Orange Plank Road, the Yankees fared a little better. The advancing Rebels under A. P. Hill were detected, and a Union division supported by cavalry slowed them until most of II Corps under Winfield S. Hancock, probably the best Northern Corps in the Eastern theater, could come up. By 4 p.m. General Meade considered that he had enough troops for a successful attack, and ordered the men to go forward.

The terrain was bad, however, and the first assault was pinned down by heavy Confederate defensive fire. Undiscouraged, the Northerners comitted more and more units, and Lee was forced to send in his last reserve division in that area to hold them. Furious fighting continued until nightfall, with the Federals unable to break through, but the Rebels unable to drive their foes back.

In the meantime, the situation for the Union attack along the Orange Turnpike had gone downhill even more. The Southerners had managed to establish a defensive position out of the chaos:

Pegram's brigade was subsequently sent to take position on Hays' left; and, just before night, a very heavy attack was made on its front, which was repulsed with severe loss to the enemy. In this affair, General Pegram received a severe wound in the leg, which disabled him for the field for some months. During the afternoon there was heavy skirmishing along the whole line, several attempts having been made by the enemy, without success, to regain the position from which he had been driven; and the fighting extended to General Lee's right on the Plank road. Gordon occupied the position which he had gained, on the right, until after dark, when he was withdrawn to the extreme left, and his place occupied by part of Rodes' division.

The troops encountered, in the beginning of the fight, consisted of the 5th corps, under Warren; but other troops were brought to his assistance. At the close of the day, Ewell's corps had captured over a thousand prisoners, besides inflicting on the enemy very heavy losses in killed and wounded. Two pieces of artillery had been abandoned by the enemy, just in front of the point at which Johnson's right and Rodes' left joined, and were subsequently secured by our troops.
--Jubal Early, Autobiographical Sketch and Narrative of the War Between the States

Serious losses had been sustained by both sides. But the Battle of the Wilderness, as it would come to be known, was only half over, and the Overland Campaign was just beginning.

Map by Hal Jespersen, www.cwmaps.com




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1092
RE: Civil War 150th - 5/5/2014 6:41:33 PM   
Lecivius


Posts: 4845
Joined: 8/5/2007
From: Denver
Status: offline 		As an interesting side note

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/04/us/civil-war-150th-anniversary-prisons/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1093
RE: Civil War 150th - 5/6/2014 2:59:00 AM   
Capt. Harlock


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From: Los Angeles
Status: offline 		150 Years Ago Today:

Other parts of Grant's strategy began to roll. In northern Georgia, Sherman sent the Army of the Tennessee under James McPherson through Snake Creek Gap, ready to strike at the supply line of the Rebel Army of Tennessee. The Federals encountered no resistance; Joseph Johnston had not risked dividing his force in the presence of an enemy outnumbering him two to one. On the Virginia Peninsula, Benjamin Butler advanced the Army of the James up its namesake river, moving towards Richmond from the southeast. The Yankee advance probes were stopped by a Confederate brigade, but this would clearly be no match for the Union main body.

But all eyes were now on the Virginia wilderness. Grant and Lee both had the same idea: attack as early as practicable. In the northwest sector along the Orange Turnpike, things went badly for the Northerners:

Early on the morning of the 6th, the fighting was resumed, and a very heavy attack was made on the front occupied by Pegram's brigade (now under the command of Colonel Hoffman of the 31st Virginia Regiment); but it was handsomely repulsed, as were several subsequent attacks on the same point.

These attacks were so persistent, that two regiments of Johnson's division were moved to the rear of Pegram's brigade, for the purpose of supporting it; and when an offer was made to relieve it, under the apprehension that its ammunition might be exhausted, the men of that gallant brigade begged that they might be allowed to retain their position, stating that they were getting along very well indeed and wanted no help.

During the morning, the fact was communicated to General Ewell, by our cavalry scouts, that a column of the enemy's infantry was moving between our left and the river, with the apparent purpose of turning our left flank; and information was also received that Burnside's corps had crossed the river, and was in rear of the enemy's right. I received directions to watch this column, and take steps to prevent its getting to our rear; and Johnston's brigade, of Rodes' division, which had just arrived from Hanover Junction, was sent to me for that purpose. This brigade, with some artillery, was put in position, some distance to my left, so as to command some by-roads coming in from the river. In the meantime General Gordon had sent out a scouting party on foot, which discovered what was supposed to be the enemy's right flank resting in the woods, in front of my division; and, during my absence while posting Johnston's brigade, he reported the fact to General Ewell, and suggested the propriety of attacking this flank of the enemy with his brigade, which was not engaged ...

As soon as Gordon started, which was a very short time before sunset, I rode to my line and threw forward Pegram's brigade in a position to move when required. In the meantime Gordon had become engaged, and, while Pegram's brigade was being formed in line, I saw some of Gordon's men coming back in confusion, and Colonel Evans, of the 31st Georgia Regiment, endeavoring to rally them...

...Notwithstanding the confusion in part of his brigade, Gordon succeeded in throwing the enemy's right flank into great confusion, capturing two brigadier generals (Seymour and Shaler), and several hundred prisoners, all of the 6th corps, under Sedgwick. The advance of Pegram's brigade, and the demonstration of Johnston's brigade in the rear, where it encountered a part of the enemy's force and captured some prisoners, contributed materially to the result. It was fortunate, however, that darkness came to close this affair, as the enemy, if he had been able to discover the disorder on our side, might have brought up fresh troops and availed himself of our condition. As it was, doubtless, the lateness of the hour caused him to be surprised, and the approaching darkness increased the confusion in his ranks, as he could not see the strength of the attacking force...
--Jubal Early, Autobiographical Sketch and Narrative of the War Between the States

To the southeast, along the Orange Plank Road, the Northern attack under Hankock went so well at first that it seemed it might score a decisive breakthrough. But after an hour of Confederate retreating, a brigade of Texans arrived, the vanguard of James longstreet's Corps. Anxious to stabilize his lines, Lee himself showed up and started to accompany the Texans into battle. At this, however, the men halted and demanded that their commanding general retire to the rear. They knew well that if Lee were to be lost, it would mean the collapse of the Army of Northern Virginia.

They were wise: their charge halted the Union advance for a time, but 550 of the 800 men became casualties. The time they had bought, however, was enough for Longstreet to bring up the rest of his Corps, and deliver a punishing counter-attack -- at a cost to Longstreet himself:

As soon as the troops struck Hancock his line began to break, first slowly, then rapidly. Somehow, as they retreated, a fire was accidentally started in the dry leaves, and began to spread as the Confederates advanced. Mahone’s brigade approached the burning leaves and part of it broke off a little to get around, but the Twelfth Virginia was not obstructed by the blaze and moved directly on. At the Plank road Colonel Sorrel rode back to join us. All of the enemy’s battle on the right of the Plank road was broken up, and General Field was fighting severely with his three brigades on the left against Wadsworth and Stevenson, pushing them a little. The Twelfth Virginia Regiment got to the Plank road some little time before the other regiments of the brigade, and, viewing the contention on the farther side between Field’s and Wadsworth’s divisions, dashed across and struck the left of Wadsworth’s line. This relieved Field a little, and, under this concentrating push and fire, Wadsworth fell mortally wounded. In a little while followed the general break of the Union battle.
[...]
As the Twelfth Regiment marched back to find its place on the other side of the Plank road, it was mistaken, in the wood, for an advance of the enemy, and fire was opened on it from the other regiments of the brigade. The men threw themselves to the ground to let the fire pass. Just then our party of officers was up and rode under the fire. General Jenkins had not finished the expressions of joyful congratulations which I have quoted when he fell mortally wounded. Captain Doby and the orderly, Bowen, of Kershaw’s staff, were killed. General Kershaw turned to quiet the troops, when Jenkins’s brigade with levelled guns were in the act of returning the fire of the supposed enemy concealed in the wood, but as Kershaw’s clear voice called out “F-r-i-e-n-d-s!” the arms were recovered, without a shot in return, and the men threw themselves down upon their faces. At the moment that Jenkins fell I received a severe shock from a minie ball passing through my throat and right shoulder. The blow lifted me from the saddle, and my right arm dropped to my side, but I settled back to my seat, and started to ride on, when in a minute the flow of blood admonished me that my work for the day was done. As I turned to ride back, members of the staff, seeing me about to fall, dismounted and lifted me to the ground.
--James Longstreet, From Manassas to Appomattox: Memoirs of The Civil War in America

And now, to the horror of both sides, fires which had caused inconvenient smoke the day before became a lethal force:

The ground fought over had varied in width, but averaged three-quarters of a mile. The killed, and many of the severely wounded, of both armies, lay within this belt where it was impossible to reach them. The woods were set on fire by the bursting shells, and the conflagration raged. The wounded who had not strength to move themselves were either suffocated or burned to death. Finally the fire communicated with our breastworks, in places. Being constructed of wood, they burned with great fury. But the battle still raged, our men firing through the flames until it became too hot to remain longer.
--The Personal Memoirs of General U. S. Grant

Night again brought the fighting to a halt. The Confederates had inflicted considerably more casualties than they had received, but how many more is not clear. The most detailed breakdown lists Union losses as 2,246 killed, 12,037 wounded, 3,383 missing or captured, with Confederate losses as 1,495 killed, 7,928 wounded, and 1,702 missing or captured. The National Park Service estimates nearly a thousand more Union casualties.

Map by Hal Jespersen, www.cwmaps.com



Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Capt. Harlock -- 5/6/2014 4:00:41 AM >

(in reply to Lecivius)
Post #: 1094
RE: Civil War 150th - 5/7/2014 3:37:51 AM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
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From: Los Angeles
Status: offline 		150 Years Ago Today:

In the Virginia wilderness, daylight revealed that the Confederates had put up strong fortifications during the night. Grant still had a roughly two-to-one superiority in men, but the bloody fighting of the last two days showed that meant little in woods and brush. The Northerners would push Lee's army back at tremendous cost, if at all. Faced with similar situations, previous Union drives had been called off. But Grant was a different sort of commander. If he could not go through, he would go around.

He gave orders to pull out the wagons, and then the troops. The majority of the Army of the Potomac assumed they were retreating back across the Rapidan River, and it was one more failure. But at a key crossroads, the columns turned south, and the morale changed from gloomy to elated:

Soon after dark Warren withdrew from the front of the enemy, and was soon followed by Sedgwick. Warren's march carried him immediately behind the works where Hancock's command lay on the Brock Road. With my staff and a small escort of cavalry I preceded the troops. Meade with his staff accompanied me. The greatest enthusiasm was manifested by Hancock's men as we passed by. No doubt it was inspired by the fact that the movement was south. It indicated to them that they had passed through the "beginning of the end" in the battle just fought. The cheering was so lusty that the enemy must have taken it for a night attack. At all events it drew from him a furious fusillade of artillery and musketry, plainly heard but not felt by us.
--The Personal Memoirs of General U. S. Grant


In northern Georgia, Sherman put the second part of his plan into motion. The Army of the Cumberland, the largest of the three armies under his command, moved forward against the main body of the Confederate army. The two armies had not been in close contact, so there was an important railroad tunnel at a place called, simply enough, Tunnel Hill. This the Yankees captured without much more than skirmishing. Joseph E. Johnston took some pride in his memoirs that it took until 11:00 a.m. to seize the ground, but according to Sherman, he had neglected a simple precaution:

... on the 7th General Thomas moved in force against Tunnel Hill, driving off a mere picket-guard of the enemy, and I was agreeably surprised to find that no damage had been done to the tunnel or the railroad.
--Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman

This was a considerable help in bringing up supplies, but the really important action was still the advance of James McPherson's column through Snake Creek Gap. Some scouting reports on the Yankees reached Joseph Johnston, but he was getting a number of reports from different places. And none of the messages mentioned that there were a full 23,000 Federals on the move. For the time being, Johnston decided to concentrate on the threat to his front.

Map by Hal Jespersen, www.cwmaps.com




Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Capt. Harlock -- 5/7/2014 8:37:34 PM >

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1095
RE: Civil War 150th - 5/7/2014 3:41:35 AM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline
quote:

As an interesting side note

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/04/us/civil-war-150th-anniversary-prisons/index.html?hpt=hp_t3


It is indeed a dark note in America's history. And it didn't have to be that way: possibly the best of the Civil War prisons was also to be found in the South:
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/24/humanity-and-hope-in-a-southern-prison/

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Lecivius)
Post #: 1096
RE: Civil War 150th - 5/8/2014 3:18:42 PM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline 		150 Years Ago Today:

James Longstreet had been shot by Confederate troops, just as Stonewall Jackson had been in roughly the same area a year before. But Longstreet was more fortunate: although badly wounded, he had been struck by only one bullet. And while Jackson's left arm had been amputated, Longstreet's right arm was only paralyzed. (He would eventually regain the use of it by an early form of physical therapy, moving his right arm with his left.) Nonetheless, Longstreet was hors de combat for months, and the Confederate First Corps needed a new commander.

Lee selected Major General Richard (Fightin' Dick) Anderson. It was a risky choice, because Anderson had not distinguished himself at Gettysburg the year before. But on this date, whether by luck or wisdom, Anderson performed invaluable service to the Army of Northern Virginia. He had marched his men nearly the entire night before past Todd's Tavern, and so was in position to block the Union attempt to seize the key town of Spotsylvania Court House. (Grant would later claim it was by luck; the Confederates had marched so far to get away from the fires and smoke from the Wilderness battlefield.)



The two Northern corps under Warren and Sedgwick probed the area, but Anderson was supported by Richard Ewell's corps, and had quickly erected good defensive lines. Warren sent back to Grant that he could do no more with what was at hand. This would need the entire Army of the Potomac.



Map by Hal Jespersen, www.cwmaps.com

Attachment (2)

< Message edited by Capt. Harlock -- 5/8/2014 4:22:53 PM >

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1097
RE: Civil War 150th - 5/8/2014 9:34:26 PM   
dublish

 

Posts: 3
Joined: 12/10/2013
Status: offline 		Grant biographer Brooks D. Simpson has a pretty good day-by-day of the Overland campaign going on at his blog if anybody's looking for a supplement.

Keep up the hard work, Harlock. This thread is fantastic.

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1098
RE: Civil War 150th - 5/9/2014 11:04:53 AM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline 		150 Years Ago Today:

On the Red River at Alexandria, Louisiana, the Northern dam-building effort received a setback. Two of the barges being used broke loose, and much of the water being held back surged downstream. This was an opportunity for the ships that were ready, but few of them were. The USS Lexington and three other ships managed to pass through the rapids, using the brief swell, but the remainder of Admiral Porter's flotilla were still trapped.

However, in northern Georgia, things were looking up for the Union:

I had constant communication with all parts of the army, and on the 9th McPherson's head of column entered and passed through Snake Creek, perfectly undefended, and accomplished a complete surprise to the enemy. At its farther debouche he met a cavalry brigade, easily driven, which retreated hastily north toward Dalton, and doubtless carried to Johnston the first serious intimation that a heavy force of infantry and artillery was to his rear and within a few miles of his railroad. I got a short note from McPherson that day (written at 2 p.m., when he was within a mile and a half of the railroad, above and near Resaca), and we all felt jubilant.
--Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman

In Virginia, the armies of Lee and Grant were busy putting up fortifications for the battle which both sides knew was coming. They took care to leave some distance between their two lines, but the Yankees at least still didn't feel safe, and kept their heads down. Corps commander John Sedgwick was not happy that the work was thus slowed, and rode along the lines. He chided his men for ducking, saying several times "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance. " But he had not reckoned with the Whitworth rifle in the hands of Rebel marksmen. A bullet hit him squarely just below the right eye, killing him instantly.

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1099
RE: Civil War 150th - 5/10/2014 3:43:15 PM   
Capt. Harlock


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From: Los Angeles
Status: offline 		150 Years Ago Today:

The good cheer at Sherman's headquarters over James McPherson's advance through Snake Creek Gap turned out to be premature:

McPherson had startled Johnston in his fancied security, but had not done the full measure of his work. He had in hand twenty-three thousand of the best men of the army, and could have walked into Resaca (then held only by a small brigade), or he could have placed his whole force astride the railroad above Resaca, and there have easily withstood the attack of all of Johnston’s army, with the knowledge that Thomas and Schofield were on his heels. Had he done so, I am certain that Johnston would not have ventured to attack him in position, but would have retreated eastward by Spring Place, and we should have captured half his army and all his artillery and wagons at the very beginning of the campaign ... but at the critical moment McPherson seems to have been a little timid.
--Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman

McPherson pulled back his advance force,opening the way for the Confederates to retreat. And now Joseph Johnston realized the size of the force coming into his rear, and gave the order to head south. What could have been an immediate and smashing victory would now become a long and difficult campaign. There would be many miles of marching through hilly terrain, and worries about a narrow and ever - lengthening supply line. Sherman's disappointment is clear in his Memoirs, according to one report at least, he did not harshly criticize McPherson when his subordinate reported to his headquarters. Sherman merely said, "Well, Mac, you missed the opportunity of your life."

Sherman was even more right than he knew, for McPherson's life had only a few more weeks to run.


In Virginia, the Confederate army had solidly entrenched in a roughly U-shaped line that would come to be known as the Mule Shoe. This made it difficult to turn the flanks. The situation was now not too far from what the generals of WWI would face half a century later, and like the Germans of 1918, an intelligent young Colonel named Emory Upton came up with a surprisingly effective idea. Something like the storm-troopers, Upton planned an assault on a narrow front, with a column of picked men punching through a section of the line, then fanning out to hit the defenses from the sides.

At first, it worked surprisingly well, but Upton's men were not supported. The Confederates rallied and pushed the Yankees back,inflicting many casualties including the wounding of Upton himself. But the Northerners now had a new instrument in their arsenal of tactics.

< Message edited by Capt. Harlock -- 5/10/2014 4:46:38 PM >

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1100
RE: Civil War 150th - 5/11/2014 12:18:00 PM   
Capt. Harlock


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Status: offline 		150 Years Ago Today:

While the Union and Confederate infantry faced each other across their entrenchments, their cavalry was on the move. Philip Sheridan, after angry disagreements with George Meade, had gotten permission for a major raid into Southern territory.

Sheridan and his troopers had done well the first couple of days, freeing four hundred Northern prisoners from the Rebels who were marching them south, tearing up railroad tracks, and burning depots with what Sheridan estimated were over one million rations. (This seems high, since Lee's army apparently suffered no more than usual from hunger at this point.) But what really alarmed the authorities in Richmond was rat the Yankees were now south of the Army of Northern Virginia, and had what looked like a clear shot at the Confederate capital. (Reserve troops under P.G.T. Beauregard were occupied desperately trying to block a Union Army of the James advancing from the southeast.

"JEB" Stuart and his cavalry were ordered to intercept the Federal horsemen -- which was just what Sheridan had in mind. He had argued all along that he could "whip Stuart" if he were given a free hand.
The two forces of Cavalry met at a place called Yellow Tavern. The Confederates were outnumbered over two to one, and the Yankees were equipped with fast - firing Spencer carbines. Nonetheless, Stuart's presence encouraged his men, and the fighting went on for some time, neither side gaining a decisive advantage.

The Rebels eventually mounted a counter-charge, driving some of the Northerners back. But Stuart, eager to see the Yankees run, rode out too far. A Union man, temporarily on foot, turned and shot Stuart with his revolver. The wound was mortal.

Eventually Sheridan disengaged, since his objective was not to invade Richmond. He had disrupted transport behind the confederate lines, and beaten Stuart (though by accident more than anything else.)


NEAR SPOTTSYLVANIA C. H., May 11, 1864--8.30 A.M.
MAJOR-GENERAL HALLECK, Chief of Staff of the Army, Washington, D. C.
We have now ended the 6th day of very hard fighting. The result up to this time is much in our favor. But our losses have been heavy as well as those of the enemy. We have lost to this time eleven general officers killed, wounded and missing, and probably twenty thousand men. I think the loss of the enemy must be greater--we having taken over four thousand prisoners in battle, whilst he has taken from us but few except a few stragglers. I am now sending back to Belle Plain all my wagons for a fresh supply of provisions and ammunition, and purpose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer.

The arrival of reinforcements here will be very encouraging to the men, and I hope they will be sent as fast as possible, and in as great numbers. My object in having them sent to Belle Plain was to use them as an escort to our supply trains. If it is more convenient to send them out by train to march from the railroad to Belle Plain or Fredericksburg, send them so.

U. S. Grant
Lieut'nt General


The phrase "fight it out on this line if it takes all summer" would become famous. (And it would actually take much longer.)

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1101
RE: Civil War 150th - 5/11/2014 2:03:12 PM   
vonRocko

 

Posts: 1447
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Status: offline 		I just want to say Thank you again, Capt. Harlock, for keeping up with this great thread!!
Thanks!

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Post #: 1102
RE: Civil War 150th - 5/12/2014 12:57:37 AM   
RedArgo


Posts: 524
Joined: 8/2/2004
From: Illinois
Status: offline 		Yes, thank you. I look forward to this every day.

(in reply to vonRocko)
Post #: 1103
RE: Civil War 150th - 5/12/2014 3:52:07 AM   
Capt. Harlock


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Status: offline 		150 Years Ago Today:

In Richmond, J. E. B. Stuart died from the bullet he had taken the day before. He had been taken in an ambulance to the house of a doctor, but his wife Flora did not have time to reach his side before he succumbed. She wore black for the rest of her life, and never remarried. The rest of the Confederacy, from Robert E. Lee on down, was also grief-stricken: after Stonewall Jackson, Stuart's death was the second greatest loss of the war.


When the Confederates had put up their defensive fortifications at Spotsylvania, they had made a mistake. One part of the line stuck out, forming a salient. Lee had detected this, and given orders for the artillery within to be pulled back to safer position. But Grant had also been informed of the vulnerable spot, and ordered Winfield Hancock's II Corps to attack. The Southerners inside the salient, alerted by the preliminary bombardment, called for their guns to be returned -- but timing couldn't have been worse for them. The guns could not be unlimbered and loaded before:

The ground over which Hitchcock had to pass to reach the enemy, was ascending and heavily wooded to within two or three hundred yards of the enemy's intrenchments. In front of Birney there was also a marsh to cross. But, notwithstanding all these difficulties, the troops pushed on in quick time without firing a gun, and when within four or five hundred yards of the enemy's line broke out in loud cheers, and with a rush went up to and over the breastworks. Barlow and Birney entered almost simultaneously. Here a desperate hand-to-hand conflict took place. The men of the two sides were too close together to fire, but used their guns as clubs. The hand conflict was soon over. Hancock's corps captured some four thousand prisoners among them a division and a brigade commander twenty or more guns with their horses, caissons, and ammunition, several thousand stand of arms, and many colors. Hancock, as soon as the hand-to-hand conflict was over, turned the guns of the enemy against him and advanced inside the rebel lines. About six o'clock I ordered Warren's corps to the support of Hancock's.
--The Personal Memoirs of General U. S. Grant

Lee realized immediately that the Yankees had broken through the entrenchments in that spot. There were still Rebel troops in the area, but without the fixed defenses, they would be overrun by numbers, and the Army of Northern Virginia might be split in half as had happened to the Northerners at Chickamauga. As fast as Grant sent reinforcements, Lee was faster, gathering all the men he could and mounting a desperate effort to take back what had been lost. He even began to move forward with the troops, but for a second time the shout of "General Lee to the rear" went up from the men, and he was persuaded to stay behind.

When the forces collided, for whatever reason, both sides went berserk. Musket fire as heavy as anything in the war erupted, but it didn't prevent ferocious hand-to-hand fighting from also taking place. Rain came down, and darkness fell, but it seemed to make no difference; the combat went on hour after hour. There is no measurable way of knowing, but from the survivors' accounts, the fighting at Bloody Angle was the most intense of the Civil War. One man claimed he had fired over four hundred rounds, and he was not alone. Afterwards, a tree 22 inches (56 cm) in diameter was found shot completely in two.

Finally, after midnight, the Confederates received word that a second defensive position had been finished a short distance to the rear. They withdrew behind it, leaving the Northerners in possession of the ground, but blocked once more in their advance.




Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Capt. Harlock -- 5/13/2014 5:15:16 AM >

(in reply to RedArgo)
Post #: 1104
RE: Civil War 150th - 5/13/2014 4:12:57 AM   
Capt. Harlock


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The fighting at Bloody Angle finally died down in the hours before dawn. The rain continued, turning the trenches that had been dug into nightmare morasses of mud, bodies, and gore. In some places the bodies were three or four deep, and sadly, not all of them were corpses. With what little light was allowed by the rain, those who were lucky enough to still be on their feet searched for signs of movement, and managed to pull a number of wounded men from the grisly piles. Inevitably, aid came too late in many cases.

Bloody Angle is estimated to have cost the Union 9,000 casualties, and the Confederates from 6,000 to 8,000 casualties. (For this writer, the higher number seems more likely.) During the day, there was very little additional fighting while the Federals, who held the ground where the combat had taken place, now had the task of burying the dead.


In northern Virginia, a more dignified task of burial also began. Arlington National Cemetery received its first war dead for internment. Turning Robert E. Lee's plantation into a cemetery was in one sense a spiteful act, for it guaranteed that neither Lee nor any of his heirs would ever again be able to recover the property. But from a wholly logical standpoint, it was necessary for new cemeteries to be created, for the number of war dead had already exceeded the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Mexican War combined. And Lee's property was already legally forfeit by the Confiscation Act of 1862. It does seem unjust that, with so many United States soldiers buried on his old grounds, Lee's petition to have his citizenship in the United States restored was always denied during his lifetime. (It was finally granted in 1975.)




In northern Georgia, Joseph Johnston and the Army of Tennessee had successfully retreated from Dalton. Sherman and and his forces pursued, and found the Rebels at Resaca, already well entrenched. There are times in war when it is wise to keep the initiative and attack quickly. This was not one of them, for the Confederate troops were, as Sherman put it, "well in hand" and ready for a fight. Sherman sent back to the remainder of his columns to close around Resaca, avoiding any frontal assaults.


On the Red River in Louisiana, the dam had been repaired, and was now ready. The ironclad USS Mound City went first, and when she made it through successfully, the rest of the flotilla followed. Admiral Porter's command and reputation had been saved, but General Nathaniel Banks was in the process of being relieved and replaced. His ambitions were at an end for the time being.



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< Message edited by Capt. Harlock -- 5/13/2014 5:14:15 AM >

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RE: Civil War 150th - 5/15/2014 3:53:44 AM   
Capt. Harlock


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While Sherman and Grant were moving their massive armies, smaller Union forces were also pushing into Confederate territory. Franz Sigel was advancing south into the Shenandoah Valley with over 9,000 men, hoping to eventually seized the railroad junction at Lynchburg. To stop him, Major General John Breckinridge had pulled together a mixed force of just over 4,000 Rebels, famously including the cadet corps of the Virginia Military Institute of 247 students. The Yankees found the going a bit difficult, as had always been the case in the Shenandoah. They had found it necessary to leave garrisons at various places, so there were about 6,300 bluejackets present when the two sides clashed at New Market, still outnumbering the Confederates by about three to two.

But on this date, determination was more important than odds. The Rebels attacked and gained some ground, then held on to repel the Federal counter-assaults. One wing of the Confederate force attempted to flank the Union line, and while it was prevented from charging by a swollen creek, it delivered useful enfilading fire. Another attack by the main Confederate body, in which the V.M.I. cadets were prominent, finally sent the Northerners into retreat. Although both sides had sustained about 13% casualties, Union commander Sigel had evidently had enough of fighting. He retreated north to Strasburg, leaving most of the Valley still in the hands of the Southerners.


In northern Georgia, Sherman's forces were making costly but useful progress:

During the 15th, without attempting to assault the fortified works, we pressed at all points, and the sound of cannon and musketry rose all day to the dignity of a battle. Toward evening McPherson moved his whole line of battle forward, till he had gained a ridge overlooking the town, from which his field-artillery could reach the railroad-bridge across the Oostenuala. The enemy made several attempts to drive him away, repeating the sallies several times, and extending them into the night; but in every instance he was repulsed with bloody loss.

--Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman

Sherman's estimate of casualties seems to have been optimistic. Modern historians place the Union losses at about 4,500 combined, while the Confederates appear to have lost only 2,800. However, the the ground gained was the key to the town. That evening, Johnston decided that he could no longer hold Resaca. He began the evacuation promptly, crossing the bridges over the Oostenuala River, and then burning them.

Map by Hal Jespersen, www.cwmaps.com




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_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

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Post #: 1106
RE: Civil War 150th - 5/16/2014 4:02:02 AM   
Capt. Harlock


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At daylight, the Federals marched into Resaca, Georgia, with no further interference from Joseph Johnston's army. Although the railroad bridge to the south had been burned, Sherman decided to pursue the retreating Southerners as quickly as he could. The Union soldiers were soon busy not only repairing the railroad bridge, but also laying a pontoon bridge for the infantry to march across. By evening, they were at Calhoun, about 5 miles (8 km) south of Resaca. As fast as they moved, however, the Confederates moved faster, having reached Adairsville, a further 10 miles (16 km) towards Atlanta.


To the south and east of Richmond, General Benjamin Butler and the 30,000 strong Army of the James were slowly advancing up the Virginia Peninsula. P.G.T. Beauregard had only about 18,000 men to stop him, but as in the Shenandoah Valley, determination counted for more than numbers. This date saw the climax of the Battle of Proctor's Creek, with a Rebel division launching an assault on the Federal right flank. A number of Union units were disrupted and demoralized, and the Confederates might have scored a major victory if their own order had not broken down considerably in the fog.

Butler managed to pull his troops together and fall back, but from this time on he seems to have forgotten he was supposed to be on the offensive. He ordered an entrenched defensive line to be constructed at Bermuda Hundred, solidly anchored between two rivers. It was an admirable position -- for a stalemate. He could block any further advance, but so could the Southerners.





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< Message edited by Capt. Harlock -- 5/16/2014 5:07:28 AM >

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1107
RE: Civil War 150th - 5/17/2014 2:05:38 PM   
Capt. Harlock


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Joseph Johnston had hoped to catch one of Sherman's columns while they were separated from the rest of the Union troops. But in order to do that, he needed to split his own forces. He could not afford to allow the Yankee cavalry and fast-marching infantry to advance down the railroad, cutting off his supplies. So, half of his army would block the route south, while the other half would set up the ambush.

But when Johnston studied the terrain at Adairsville, he decided it wouldn't work. The valley was too wide at that point, so his outnumbered army would be stretched too thin to insure the Northerners would not break through. For a third time, the Rebel army was ordered to evacuate its position during the night, while its commander looked for better ground to fight on. They did not leave without giving a scare to Sherman, however:

On the 17th, toward evening, the head of Thomas's column, Newton's division, encountered the rear-guard of Johnston's army near Adairsville. I was near the head of column at the time, trying to get a view of the position of the enemy from an elevation in an open field. My party attracted the fire of a battery; a shell passed through the group of staff-officers and burst just beyond, which scattered us promptly.

--Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman

In the Confederate ranks, there was a different kind of alarm. This was the third time they had withdrawn from a position without a serious battle. The Army of Tennessee was retreatiing farther and farther away from Tennessee. Some of the soldiers began to wonder if Johnston ever meant to attack at all.

Map by Hal Jespersen, www.cwmaps.com




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< Message edited by Capt. Harlock -- 5/17/2014 3:11:44 PM >

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1108
RE: Civil War 150th - 5/18/2014 3:00:08 AM   
Capt. Harlock


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The newspapers New York World and New York Journal of Commerce published a report that President Lincoln had issued a proclamation of conscription of 400,000 more troops, because of "the situation in Virginia, the disaster at Red River, the delay at Charleston, and the general state of the country." Numerous officials and merchants quickly became suspicious of the fact that only those two newspapers had published the story, and visited the offices of the Journal to verify it. The editors there showed them a dispatch from Associated Press that they had received about 3:30 a.m. Before noon, the Associated Press gave a denial of the dispatch, and at 12:30 p.m. the State Department sent a telegram to formally declare that the call for men was "an absolute forgery". But it was too late; stocks had declined and the price of gold had jumped 10 percent.

Lincoln was incensed when he heard the story and ordered the two papers shut down, and their editors arrested for suspicion of complicity. Soldiers seized the two offices. However, after some questioning, investigators found that the dispatches had been delivered by a young courier with nearly perfect timing. The papers' editors had gone home, so it was up to the night foremen to decide whether to include the item in the next day's edition. Some foremen in other newspapers had tried to confirm the news, and found out that not every paper had received the dispatches. They therefore decided to delay. But the foremen for the World and Journal of Commerce had run with the story.

Whoever was behind the fraud clearly knew the New York newspaper business, but it wasn't the two editors. Lincoln would eventually have them let go, while the investigation continued.


Near Spotsylvania Court House, Grant had reports that Lee had pulled away some of his troops at one spot, leaving a weakness. The Union commander ordered an assault with II Corps, his best. But Lee had realized that situation, and hastily sent more men to the threatened point. More, in spite of the rain, some additions to the fortifications had been made, including abatis to interfere with the approach of the attacking columns. And while the Northerners were making their way through the obstacles, the Rebels opened up with their artillery. It proved so devastating that the Federals went into retreat without even reaching the main Confederate earthworks.

Nor was that all to depress Grant:

On this day (18th) the news was almost as discouraging to us as it had been two days before in the rebel capital. As stated above, Hancock's and Wright's corps had made an unsuccessful assault. News came that Sigel had been defeated at New Market, badly, and was retreating down the valley. Not two hours before, I had sent the inquiry to Halleck whether Sigel could not get to Staunton to stop supplies coming from there to Lee. I asked at once that Sigel might be relieved, and some one else put in his place. Hunter's name was suggested, and I heartily approved. Further news from Butler reported him driven from Drury's Bluff, but still in possession of the Petersburg road. Banks had been defeated in Louisiana, relieved, and Canby put in his place. This change of commander was not on my suggestion. All this news was very discouraging. All of it must have been known by the enemy before it was by me. In fact, the good news (for the enemy) must have been known to him at the moment I thought he was in despair, and his anguish had been already relieved when we were enjoying his supposed discomfiture,But this was no time for repining. I immediately gave orders for a movement by the left flank, on towards Richmond, to commence on the night of the 19th.
--The Personal Memoirs of General U. S. Grant


_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 1109
RE: Civil War 150th - 5/19/2014 3:26:04 AM   
Capt. Harlock


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In Georgia, Joseph Johnston now believed he had found the place to stand and fight in the area of Cassville. He would later describe it as "a position that I remember as the best that I saw occupied during the war -- the ridge immediately south of Cassville, with a broad, open, elevated valley in front of it completely commanded by the fire of troops occupying its crest."

When Sherman received word that the Confederates had stopped retreating, he was pleased as well, for he wanted any major battles to be fought as far north as possible, when his supply line was not drawn out. He was also aware that his opponents were receiving reinforcements. The Corps of Leonidas Polk, which he have moved against during the Meridian Campaign, had joined the Army of the Tennessee. All seemed to be ready for the first serious clash of the campaign.

The stout resistance made by the enemy along our whole front of a couple of miles indicated a purpose to fight at Cassville; and, as the night was closing in, General Thomas and I were together, along with our skirmish-lines near the seminary, on the edge of the town, where musket-bullets from the enemy were cutting the leaves of the trees pretty thickly about us. Either Thomas or I remarked that that was not the place for the two senior officers of a great army, and we personally went back to the battery, where we passed the night on the ground.

--Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman

Sleeping rough was a small matter for Sherman, who prided himself on being able to endure what his men had to go through. He had given orders that no full tents, except for the surgeons, be carried on the march. (Instead, waterproof cloths were draped over low branches or improvised poles.) George Thomas, however, preferred comfort, and was frequently to be found in a full tent or even a local house when Sherman was not with him.

Joseph Johnston had an even less enjoyable night, however. He joined two of his Corps commanders, John Bell Hood and Leonidas Polk, for a dinner which turned into a council of war. According to Johnston, both his subordinates insisted that they would not be able to hold their lines because Northern artillery was being emplaced to enfilade them. Eventually, he decided to evacuate because his two lieutenants did not have the confidence to fight, and would communicate this attitude to their troops. Differing considerably, Hood would later say that he had argued strongly for a tactical attack from his position while the others held the rest of the Federals in place. But (according to Hood) Johnston refused to allow any attack, and angrily gave the order to evacuate instead.

Whichever version was the truth, the Confederate army pulled out in the middle of the night, keeping up sporadic firing from small units so the Yankees would not suspect.


< Message edited by Capt. Harlock -- 5/20/2014 5:14:16 AM >

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

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