RE: Civil War 150th (Full Version)

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GaryChildress -> RE: Civil War 150th (7/27/2014 7:57:22 PM)

Wow! Capt. Harlock you are a master of the U.S. Civil War (at the very least)!

Amazing thread!

I may have posted this earlier in this thread but I have a book called the "Civil War Chronicle" by John W. Keeler USAF ret. which was given to me by my step-grandfather who was a civilian working for the Navy Department during WW2 (he was between 30-40 at the time, born around the turn of the 20th century). He worked in the mail room in Washington D.C. most of his life, one of his bosses just before WW2 was Admiral Nimitz. Anyway, the "Civil War Chronicle" is an interesting collage of snips from various US newspapers during the ACW. Do you have this book? If not I have an extra copy I would like to give you. Please PM me if you are interested. [:)]

Thank you again for an amazing thread! [&o]



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (7/28/2014 4:04:26 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

We had learned through deserters who had come in that the people had very wild rumors about what was going on on our side. They said that we had undermined the whole of Petersburg; that they were resting upon a slumbering volcano and did not know at what moment they might expect an eruption.

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

At the tunnel outside Petersburg, the loading of the mine went remarkably smoothly. It was not as massive as the town's inhabitants feared, but no less than 320 kegs, totaling 8,000 pounds (3,600 kg) of gunpowder, were packed into the tunnels below the Confederate fort.


Near Atlanta, the Confederates detected the wing of the Union forces curving around west of the city to cut one of the vital railroad lines. Although he had been worsted in two previous attacks, John Bell Hood decided on a third attempt at a place called Ezra Church. But Sherman was alert to the possibility, although he ran some risk in finding out:

Personally on the morning of the 28th I followed the movement, and rode to the extreme right, where we could hear some skirmishing and an occasional cannon-shot. As we approached the ground held by the Fifteenth Corps, a cannon-ball passed over my shoulder and killed the horse of an orderly behind; and seeing that this gun enfiladed the road by which we were riding, we turned out of it and rode down into a valley, where we left our horses and walked up to the hill held by Morgan L. Smith's division of the Fifteenth Corps. Near a house I met Generals Howard and Logan, who explained that there was an intrenched battery to their front, with the appearance of a strong infantry support.

[...]

As the skirmish-fire warmed up along the front of Blair's corps, as well as along the Fifteenth Corps (Logan's), I became convinced that Hood designed to attack this right flank, to prevent, if possible, the extension of our line in that direction. I regained my horse, and rode rapidly back to see that Davis's division had been dispatched as ordered. I found General Davis in person, who was unwell, and had sent his division that morning early, under the command of his senior brigadier, Morgan; but, as I attached great importance to the movement, he mounted his horse, and rode away to overtake and to hurry forward the movement...

--Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman

The third time was not the charm for Hood and the Army of Tennessee. Although the Southerners actually had the edge in numbers on the battlefield, bringing a little over 18,000 men into action against 13,000 Federals, this time they did not have the advantage of surprise. The Union soldiers had time to put up field fortifications, and to unlimber and place their artillery. They were none too soon:

By this time the sound of cannon and musketry denoted a severe battle as in progress, which began seriously at 11.30 a.m., and ended substantially by 4 p.m. It was a fierce attack by the enemy on our extreme right flank, well posted and partially covered.

--Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman

During the four and a half hours of pitched battle, the Rebels made at least six separate charges against the Yankee lines. All ended in failure, with lopsided casualties for the Confederates. They lost roughly 3,000 men in all, while the Northerners lost only 642.

But from the strategic point of view, Ezra Church was Hood's most successful battle against Sherman. He had prevented the southern railroad into Atlanta from being wrecked, and Sherman was now convinced he could not afford to thin his lines enough to surround the city. For the time being at least, Union operations would now become a siege, and not a true siege, for there was still a supply route into the city. In the eyes of President Davis, and most of the rest of the South, it was worth the casualties if Atlanta could be saved.



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (7/29/2014 3:00:01 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

At the mine outside Petersburg, final preparations got underway.

“Meade’s instructions, which I, of course, approved most heartily, were all that I can see now was necessary. The only further precaution which he could have taken, and which he could not foresee, would have been to have different men to execute them."

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

In your humble amateur historian's opinion, Grant was less than forthright, for all three Union commanders did poorly on this date. Ambrose Burnside had spent the last two weeks training a division of "colored" troops to make the assault immediately after the mine was exploded. However, George Meade now became anxious, fearing that the assault would fail, and there would be outrage that black men had been sent to be slaughtered to save white men. He directed Burnside to select a white division. Burnside protested to Grant, but Grant, to his discredit, upheld the decision.

And now Burnside contributed his part to the fiasco. He called for a division commander to volunteer, but none of the available three leaders did so. Then Burnside, instead of choosing the division he judged best for the job, had the three men draw lots. As wretched luck would have it, the choice fell to the 1st Division, commanded by Brigadier James Ledlie, almost certainly the worst of the trio. Ledlie had been promoted to his position because of bravery on the battlefield, which was very likely due to his being drunk at the time and therefore heedless of the danger.

With less than twelve hours before the planned detonation, the division could not have been briefed and prepared fully, but something could have been done. Ledlie did nothing. No specific instructions were given, and no special equipment such as scaling ladders was issued.

[image]local://upfiles/4250/A8AA3A13401946F5BA3F2F0F80D7D743.jpg[/image]



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (7/30/2014 4:26:58 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

Outside Petersburg, the explosion was planned for between 3:30 and 3:45 A.M. The fuse was lit and the entrance sealed to contain the blast. But the minutes ticked away silently, and it became clear there was a "hang fire". With extraordinary courage, Lieutenant Jacob Douty and Sergeant Harry Reese unsealed the tunnel and crawled inside. They discovered the fuse had failed at a splice (no continous fuse of the necessary length had been available). Adding a new length, they relit the fuse and scrambled out. This time it worked, and at 4:44 A.M. the four tons of gunpowder detonated:

The explosion made a crater 150 feet long, 97 feet wide, and 30 feet deep, the contents being hurled so high in the air that the foremost ranks of the assaulting columns, 150 yards away, shrank back in disorder in fear of the falling earth. The bulk of the earth, however, fell immediately around the crater, mingled with the debris of 2 guns, 22 cannoneers, and perhaps 250 infantry (nine companies of the 19th and 22d S. C., which had been carried up in the air). Quite a number of these who fell safely were dug out and rescued alive by the assaulting column. Some, not yet aroused, were lost, covered up in the bomb-proofs of the adjacent trenches by the falling earth. This formed a high embankment, as it were, all around the crater, with one enormous clod, the size of a small cabin, perched about the middle of the inside rim, which remained a landmark for weeks.

--Edward Porter Alexander, Military Memoirs of a Confederate

The depiction of Battle of the Crater in the early part of the movie "Cold Mountain" is not quite accurate. There was no immediate charge right after the explosion, for both sides were awed by the destruction. The Yankees advanced cautiously at first. On the other hand, many Confederate were anxious to leave at first:

I . . . expected that when the mine was exploded the troops to the right and left would flee in all directions, and that our troops, if they moved promptly, could get in and strengthen themselves before the enemy had come to a realization of the true situation. It was just as I expected it would be. We could see the men running without any apparent object except to get away. It was half an hour before musketry firing, to amount to anything, was opened upon our men in the crater. It was an hour before the enemy got artillery up to play upon them; and it was nine o'clock before Lee got up reinforcements from his right to join in expelling our troops.

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

[image]local://upfiles/4250/B766A62C43F04CB195F6C613EA3B0A3F.jpg[/image]
The original division planned to lead the Union assault had been instructed to go around the sides of the crater as well as to enter it. But the enormous depression seemed to have a magnetic effect on the unprepared troops of the newly chosen division. Nor did they have much in the way of leadership, for their commander James Ledlie stayed behind, very likely drunk. And once they were in the crater, that found it was much harder to get back out, particularly since the walls were steeper on the far side, and they had no scaling ladders. Union guns opened up an impressive-sounding bombardment, but they dared not aim too closely for fear of hitting their own men. The Rebel artillery had no such difficulties.

Into this crater the leading division literally swarmed, until it was packed about as full as it could hold, and what could not get in there, crowded into the adjacent trenches, which the falling earth had caused to be vacated for a short distance on each flank. But, considering the surprise, the novelty of the occasion and the terrific cannonade by 150 guns and mortars which was opened immediately, the coolness and self-possession of the entire brigade was remarkable, and to it is to be attributed the success of the defence. This was conducted principally by Col. McMaster of the 17th S. C., Gen. Elliott having been soon severely wounded. The effect of the artillery cannonade was more a moral effect than a physical one, for the smoke so obscured the view that the fire was largely at random, at least for one or two hours, during which it was in fullest force. The effort was at once made to collect a small force in the trenches upon each flank, and one in an intrenchment occupying a slight depression which ran parallel to our line of battle some 250 yards in rear of it, the effort being to confine the enemy to the crater and the lines immediately adjoining. The multiplicity of the deep and narrow trenches, and the bomb-proofs in the rear of our lines, doubtless contributed to our success in doing this on the flanks,
[...]
Meanwhile the reenforcements to the storming column, instead of spreading to the flanks, massed outside of our lines in rear of the storming column, which had made no further advance, but had filled the crater and all the captured lines. Several efforts were made to advance from time to time, but the first were feeble, and could be checked by the remnants of the brigade under McMaster, until two regiments of Wise’s brigade and two of Ransom’s were brought up from the left. With their aid, the situation was made safe and held until about 10 A. M., when Mahone arrived at the head of three brigades of his corps, drawn from the lines on our right. A regiment of Hoke’s from the left also came up later. In the meantime, a few of our guns had found themselves able to fire with great effect upon the enemy massed in front of our lines. The left gun in the next salient to the right, occupied by Davidson’s battery, was in an embrasure which flanked the Pegram Salient, but was not open to any gun on the enemy’s line. This gun did fearful execution, being scarcely 400 yards distant.

--Edward Porter Alexander, Military Memoirs of a Confederate

Confederate reinforcements now began to arrive, including Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard to supervise. After the hapless Northerners in the crater had been subjected to hours of musket and artillery fire, the Rebels mounted their counter-attack:

Wright’s brigade arriving about half-past 11, Mahone made a second attack, which was repulsed with the aid of the Federal artillery bearing upon the ground. Between 1 and 2 P. M., Sanders’s brigade having arrived, and also the 61st N. C. from Hoke, a combined movement upon both flanks of the crater was organized. Mahone attacked on the left, with Sanders’s brigade, the 61st N. C. and the 17th S. C.; Johnson attacked on the right with the 23d S. C. and the remaining five companies of the 22d, all that could be promptly collected on that flank. This attack was easily successful. Mahone has stated that the number of prisoners taken in the crater was 1101, including two brigade commanders, Bartlett and Marshall.

--Edward Porter Alexander, Military Memoirs of a Confederate

Total Union losses were 504 killed, 1,881 wounded, 1,413 missing or captured, while the Confederates lost 361 killed, 727 wounded, 403 missing or captured. Once again, a number of black troops were killed rather than taken prisoner.

The last chance to take Petersburg and then Richmond by a quick move instead of a slow siege had passed. Now all eyes would turn to Sherman, and Atlanta.



The Confederates under Jubal Early now had the run of the entire Shenandoah Valley, and Early had been outraged to see the destruction inflicted by the Yankees as they had advanced through the valley in June. He decided on retaliation, claiming later that he believed it would cause the Northerners to restrain their troops if they knew their vandalism and arson would rebound on Northern soil. He chose cavalry General John McCausland for the job:
[image]local://upfiles/4250/130393EE90CE45BE99C7FA51F2324E6E.jpg[/image]

The town of Chambersburg in Pennsylvania was selected as the one on which retaliation should be made, and McCausland was ordered to proceed, with his brigade and that of Johnson and a battery of artillery, to that place, and demand of the municipal authorities the sum of $100,000 in gold or $500,000 in U. S. currency, as a compensation for the destruction of the houses named and their contents; and in default of payment, to lay the town in ashes. A written demand to that effect was sent to the authorities, and they were informed what would be the result of a failure or refusal to comply with it: for I desired to give the people of Chambersburg an opportunity of saving their town, by making compensation for part of the injury done, and hoped the payment of such a sum would have the effect of causing the adoption of a different policy.

On the 30th of July McCausland reached Chambersburg and made the demand as directed, reading to such of the authorities as presented themselves the paper sent by me. The demand was not complied with, the people stating that they were not afraid of having their town burned, and that a Federal force was approaching. The policy pursued by our army on former occasions had been so lenient that they did not suppose the threat was in earnest this time, and they hoped for speedy relief. McCausland, however, proceeded to carry out his orders, and the greater part of the town was laid in ashes.*

--Jubal Early, Autobiographical Sketch and Narrative of the War Between the States

* For this act I, alone, am responsible, as the officers engaged in it were simply executing my orders, and had no discretion left them. Notwithstanding the lapse of time which has occurred and the result of the war, I see no reason to regret my conduct on this occasion.

Your humble amateur historian does, in fact, see a reason. The burning of Chambersburg outraged the entire North. Unlike the burning of the Virginia Military Institute, there had been no military installations of any kind in the town, and the act was seen as premeditated extortion against a defenseless civilian population. The effect was exactly the opposite of what Jubal Early intended, for "remember Chambersburg" became a Union battle-cry, and the Union armies would proceed to unleash destruction on a scale far beyond anything yet seen in the war.



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/1/2014 3:21:44 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

At Atlanta, both sides settled in for the siege. One side was distinctly happier than the other:

The month of August opened hot and sultry, but our position before Atlanta was healthy, with ample supply of wood, water, and provisions. The troops had become habituated to the slow and steady progress of the siege; the skirmish-lines were held close up to the enemy, were covered by rifle-trenches or logs, and kept up a continuous clatter of musketry. The mainlines were held farther back, adapted to the shape of the ground, with muskets loaded and stacked for instant use. The field-batteries were in select positions, covered by handsome parapets, and occasional shots from them gave life and animation to the scene. The men loitered about the trenches carelessly, or busied themselves in constructing ingenious huts out of the abundant timber, and seemed as snug, comfortable, and happy, as though they were at home.

--Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman



Cannon balls, at long range, were falling into the city of Atlanta. Details of citizens put out the fires as they would occur from the burning shells. We could see the smoke rise and hear the shells pass away over our heads as they went on toward the doomed city.
[...]
When we got back to the regiment, then stationed near a fine concrete house (where Shepard and I would sleep every night), nearly right on our works, we found two thirty-two-pound parrot guns stationed in our immediate front, and throwing shells away over our heads into the city of Atlanta. We had just begun to tell all the boys howdy, when I saw Dow Akin fall. A fragment of shell had struck him on his backbone, and he was carried back wounded and bleeding. We could see the smoke boil up, and it would be nearly a minute before we would hear the report of the cannon, and then a few moments after we would hear the scream of the shell as it went on to Atlanta. We used to count from the time we would see the smoke boil up until we would hear the noise, and some fellow would call out, "Look out boys, the United States is sending iron over into the Southern Confederacy; let's send a little lead back to the United States." And we would blaze away with our Enfield and Whitworth guns, and every time we would fire, we would silence those parrot guns. This kind of fun was carried on for forty-six days.

--Sam R. Watkins, "Co. Aytch" Maury Grays, First Tennessee Regiment


Morale may have been lower with the Southerners, but the military advantage was theirs. Sherman was now stalled outside Atlanta as Grant was stalled outside Petersburg and Richmond. More, the cavalry raid towards Andersonville was meeting with disaster.

General George Stoneman had decided to ride for the prison instead of first destroying his assigned section of railroad and then linking up with the second Northern cavalry force under General Edward McCook. This proved a serious mistake, for the Confederates now had a strong cavalry force attached to their regular army as well as the independent force under Nathan Bedford Forrest. This force was led by General Joseph Wheeler (below), who now proved himself a match for either of the two Northern commanders. Along with Rebel infantry, Wheeler had overwhelmed McCook's Union troopers, and would soon deal with Stoneman's column.

[image]local://upfiles/4250/1D51A1924529428BB48D529A5208CFE2.jpg[/image]



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/3/2014 2:38:22 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

The Union naval blockade was doing great damage to the Southern economy, but it was far from perfect. Blockade runners continued to slip past the Yankee patrol vessels, so the Northerners wisely attempted to capture the Confederate ports as well. Mobile, Alabama, was now the only major port left on the Gulf Coast (outside of Texas, which was cut off by Union control of the Mississippi). Knowing it was a major asset to the Confederacy, the Federals had been planning to capture it since the fall of Vicksburg. But there always seemed to be some other task of greater importance, and the troops could not be spared.

In August 1864, the shortage of men was worse than ever because of the demands to replace the massive casualties Grant had sustained in his drive on Richmond. The Union commander in the area calculated that he could spare only about 3,000 men, not nearly enough to seize the protecting forts and then the city. But it might be enough for an amphibious operation against the other forts guarding the entrance to Mobile Bay, and that would shut down the blockade runners as had been done at Charleston, South Carolina. An amphibious operation meant naval cooperation, of course, and it happened that Rear Admiral David Farragut and his fleet were looking for useful employment.

But it also meant a fight on the water. The Confederates understood the situation very well, and in addition to three forts commanding the opening of Mobile Bay, they had planted a good-size minefield. (They had been compelled to mark it with buoys so as not to sink their own blockade runners, but it meant that any ships entering Mobile Bay had to sail directly under the batteries of the forts.) More, they had built their own flotilla of warships, including the CSS Tennessee, the best-armored Southern ironclad ever launched. To deal with this, the North would need ironclads of their own. Two river ironclads had joined up with Farragut, but he wanted a more powerful type with 15-inch Dahlgren guns. Finally, it had been decided to give them to him, and USS Tecumseh and USS Manhattan made the potentially deadly sea voyage around the tip of Florida. Tecumseh was late, but on this date joined the fleet, though her engines were still being worked on.

The Federal land troops had also been dispatched. They were to be led by Brigadier General Gordon Granger, who had helped to save the Union army at Chickamauga by sending in his reserves without orders to stem the Confederate breakthrough. His career had languished since then, apparently because he was more outspoken than most senior generals liked in a subordinate. Farragut himself was somewhat quick-tempered, and the two men do not seem to have been friends.
[image]local://upfiles/4250/55557E39AAEA465BB613B9AEE995222C.jpg[/image]
But they were both "fighters", commanders who believed in striking hard blows against the Rebels, and there was no serious disagreement about what needed to be done. Farragut also had other worries: the admiral of the Confederate squadron was none other than Franklin Buchanan, who had commanded the CSS Virginia (AKA Merrimac) the first day of battle at Hampton Roads in 1862. In addition to the Tennessee, Buchanan had three other ironclads under construction. Time was running short.

There were three Confederate forts that needed to be knocked out: Fort Morgan on the eastern side, and Fort Gaines and the smaller Fort Powell on the western side. On this date, General Granger landed his men on the far side of Dauphin Island, and began the march to Fort Gaines. Out to sea, Admiral Farragut summoned his ship captains and carefully went over the plan to steam past the forts while they were partly distracted by the ground troops. He made clear that his fleet was to avoid the sunken "torpedoes" (mines).

[image]local://upfiles/4250/9E83A8E5BB32443885173281B2947E05.gif[/image]



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/5/2014 3:27:50 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

There were political snags over what to do about the Shenandoah Valley. Parts of it fell into four different Union military districts, and the hapless Northern generals in the field kept receiving different orders. Even the narrow escape of Washington from Jubal Early's raid, plus his being able to evade the Yankee pursuit, had not resolved the squabbling. U. S. Grant was resolved to make the Valley area a unified command, and he knew just who he wanted as commander: Philip Sheridan, who had done much to turn his cavalry into a truly offensive instrument. But Congress and the War Department were unhappy; Sheridan was only 33 years old at this point.

The burning of Chambersburg focused minds. Lincoln gave Grant his approval, even telling the General-in-Chief that he would have to give the matter his personal effort. On this date, Grant and Sheridan met near Monocacy, Maryland, and Grant gave Sheridan the orders that had originally been meant for David Hunter:

HEADQUARTERS IN THE FIELD,
Monocacy Bridge, Md., Aug. 5, 1864.

GENERAL: Concentrate all your available force without delay in the vicinity of Harper's Ferry, leaving only such railroad guards and garrisons for public property as may be necessary.
Use in this concentration the railroad, if by so doing time can be saved. From Harper's Ferry, if it is found that the enemy has moved north of the Potomac in large force, push north, following and attacking him wherever found; following him, if driven south of the Potomac, as long as it is safe to do so. If it is ascertained that the enemy has but a small force north of the Potomac, then push south the main force, detaching, under a competent commander, a sufficient force to look after the raiders and drive them to their homes. In detaching such a force, the brigade of cavalry now en route from Washington via Rockville may be taken into account.
There are now on the way to join you three other brigades of the best of cavalry, numbering at least five thousand men and horses. These will be instructed, in the absence of further orders, to join you by the south side of the Potomac. One brigade will probably start to-morrow.
In pushing up the Shenandoah Valley, as it is expected you will have to go first or last, it is desirable that nothing should be left to invite the enemy to return. Take all provisions, forage, and stock wanted for the use of your command. Such as cannot be consumed, destroy. It is not desirable that the buildings should be destroyed —they should, rather, be protected; but the people should be informed that so long as an army can subsist among them recurrences of these raids must be expected, and we are determined to stop them at all hazards.
Bear in mind, the object is to drive the enemy south; and to do this you want to keep him always in sight. Be guided in your course by the course he takes.
Make your own arrangements for supplies of all kinds, giving regular vouchers for such as may be taken from loyal citizens in the country through which you march.

Very respectfully,
U. S. GRANT, Lieut.-General.

The farms of the Shenandoah Valley had provided for Lee's army and for the guerrillas in the valley itself. Now it was to become a scene of devastation.


Outside Mobile Bay, the day dawned clear, and the Union ground troops had dug in on Dauphin Island. Admiral Farragut had four of his gunboats placed to shell one of the Confederate forts, and ordered the rest of his force into position. The ironclad monitors took the lead, and the wooden warships were tied together in pairs, so that if the engines of one were knocked out, the other could still bring them both into the bay. At 5:30 a.m. the signal to sail past the Southern forts was raised.

For almost half an hour, as the fleet went closer and closer to the entrance of the bay, there was only an occasional shot fired. Then the forts opened up with everything that would bear, the Yankees fired back with equal determination, and the little Confederate flotilla joined in. Soon there was so much firing and smoke that Farragut had to go aloft into Hartford's rigging to see what was going on. It was not a happy sight. The monitors and the lead wooden ship, Brooklyn, were sailing erratically as they tried to engage the forts and the Rebel gunboats. Finally the lead monitor, Tecumseh, went too far to the west and struck a "torpedo", which detonated.

Water poured through the resulting hole, and it was immediately clear that the Union ironclad had been mortally wounded. Captain Tunis Craven and his helmsman rushed to the ladder leading to the deck. "After you, pilot," said the Captain. The courtesy was the difference between life and death, for the helmsman had just gone through the hatchway when the Tecumseh turned on its side and went under, carrying Craven and 93 other officers and crew to the bottom.
[image]local://upfiles/4250/4BB7F7B862A5497CA760170C60BC245D.jpg[/image]

Seeing this, the lead wooden ship Brooklyn hesitated, and thus held up the remainder of the Northern fleet. An impatient Farragut shouted, "What is the trouble?"

"Torpedoes! Torpedoes!" came the reply from the Brooklyn.

If flagship Hartford stayed on course to clear the Brooklyn, she would sail through the minefield. But Farragut instantly chose to take the risk, gambling that most of the torpedoes were now inactive from long immersion in salt water. He roared something like, "Damn the torpedoes! Four bells, Captain Drayton, go ahead. Jouett, full speed." This was later shortened to the immortal line, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"

Hartford, with Metacomet at her side and the remainder of the fleet following, plunged into the minefield. Some men reported they heard the snap of the primers as the sips brushed by the submerged torpedoes, but Farragut had calculated correctly. There were no further explosions.

Once past the minefield and the forts, the Union ships cast loose from each other and proceeded to make short work of the Rebel gunboats supporting the Tennessee. CSS Selma had her deck crew cut down by shell and grapeshot, and surrendered. CSS Gaines was quickly holed and her crew ran her aground to prevent her sinking, then evacuated and burned her. CSS Morgan turned around and fled, probably without firing a shot, eventually making her way to the docks of Mobile. That left the mighty ironclad Tennessee.

Admiral Franklin Buchanan apparently decided that he could defeat the entire Union flotilla with Tennessee alone. He gave the orders, and the Confederate ironclad moved out. Farragut, who had been watching Buchanan's ship intently, noticed at once. For a short time his officers believed the 63-year-old Admiral's eyesight was playing tricks. Surely the Rebels would not be so rash. But quickly the word spead from the other lookouts, "The ram is coming!"

Initially, the Northerners tried to do the ramming. First Monongahela and then Lackawanna hit, but the Tennessee was too sturdily built, and the Union vessels only took damage themselves. With Tecumseh sunk, the only guns on the Federal side that had a chance of penetrating Tennessee's armor were the pair on the Manhattan. And one, but only one, of them did:

The Monongahela was hardly clear of us when a hideous-looking monster came creeping up on our port side, whose slowly revolving turret revealed the cavernous depths of a mammoth gun. "Stand clear of the port side," I cried. A moment after a thunderous report shook us all, while a blast of dense, sulphurous smoke covered our port-holes and four hundred and forty pounds of iron, impelled by sixty pounds of powder, admitted daylight through our side, where before it struck us there had been over two feet of solid wood, covered with five inches of solid iron. This was the only fifteen-inch shot that struck us fair. It did not come through; the inside netting caught the splinters, and there were no casualties from it. I was glad, however, to find myself alive after that shot.
--Lieutenant A. D. Wharton, C.S.N.

But then the Manhattan's propulsion and steering turned troublesome. Unable to manuver with the rest, she dropped out of the fight. The monitor Winnebago also developed problems, and could not fire effectively.

Then it was the turn of Hartford. For a few moments the two flagships bid fair for a head-on collision at full steam, which would likely have been fatal for both. But this would have left the remainder of the Union fleet in control of Mobile Bay. So, at almost the last second, Tennessee swerved, and the ships scraped each other, ending up broadside to broadside. They were so close that the Hartford's Captain Drayton spotted Buchanan through an open port and threw his binoculars at the Southern admiral. (As a high-ranking officer, Drayton carried a sword but no gun.) The binoculars did no damage, but neither did Hartford's cannon.
[image]local://upfiles/4250/59CA450D5DEE45ADBB3F3DF5130CF004.jpg[/image]
At this point, Franklin Buchanan's rash move seemed to be paying off: Tennessee was taking little real damage, but inflicting a good amount on the Union vessels. More, in attempting to ram the Confederate ironclad again, Lackawanna accidentally rammed the Hartford.

There was only one effective Northern ironclad left, the Chickasaw. Farragut had not expected much from her captain Perkins, who had gone into battle with his officer's jacket off and wearing a straw hat against the August heat. But Perkins now placed his vessel in the ideal spot, less than 50 yards (46 m) off the stern and fired his guns "like a pair of pocket pistols". The 11-inch projectiles still could not penetrate Tennessee's armor, but they could do serious damage. By a poor design choice, the chains controlling the the Confederate ship's rudder were outside the armor, running in grooves to the stern. These were shot away, leaving the vessel without the ability to change course. The smokestack was shot nearly in two, and toppled sideways, slowing the ship. The concussion of the solid shot striking the armor gave the crew nosebleeds. The shutters over the gunports jammed one by one, and when the crew attempted to clear the one bearing on the Yankee ship, they received a horrifying lesson in the transmission of shock. One man had braced himself against the inside of the armored casemate, and when a shot struck the outside, his body was instantly pulverized.

At around this time Admiral Buchanan himself was wounded, sustaining a compound fracture of his leg. (He had also been shot in the leg during the fight with the Monitor in 1862.) He ordered the captain to fight until there was no more hope. Going to the pilot house, the captain observed that three of the Yankee steamships, including Hartford, had untangled themselves and were on ramming courses. No longer having the ability to dodge, he personally lowered his ensign and hoisted the white flag.

The casualties were even heavier than when Farragut had attacked New Orleans: The Northerners lost 151 killed and 177 wounded, while the Southerners lost 13 killed, 22 wounded, and 1,587 captured, including Admiral Buchanan. The result was equally decisive: Mobile Bay passed into the control of the Union Navy. Now for the forts.




Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/6/2014 3:45:14 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

In the aftermath of the naval battle of Mobile Bay, The Northerners set to work repairing damage, including on the captured Tennessee. They found their prize easily repairable: a new smokestack, new steering chains, unjamming the shutters to the gunports, and the now USS Tennessee would be fit for action in a few days. (They also had to train a crew.) In the meantime, the three surviving monitors were able to find positions from which they could shell the three main Confederate forts with minimal risk. For the smallest fort, Fort Powell, this was too much. The garrison had been shocked witnessing the defeat of the Southern fleet, and now their morale broke. Even though no Union troops had approached the fort as yet, they spiked the guns, blew up the magazines, and evacuated.


On the outskirts of Atlanta, Sherman faced the loss of two generals. The news had come in that George Stoneman's cavalry column had been surrounded near Macon. Stoneman had broken his force into smaller groups, some of which made their way back to the main Union lines and safety. Stoneman himself had stayed behind with a brigade, drawing the attention of the Confederates, and eventually surrendered. He became the most senior Union officer to be made prisoner during the war. Sherman correctly guessed that the Southerners would now return the gambit and send cavalry raids into his own rear, and gave top priority to re-constituting his disorganized troopers.

But he also had to worry about his infantry. Major-General John Schofield, with XXIII Corps, had been assigned to seize the Macon Railroad below Atlanta, and he had also been given XIV Corps under Major-General John Palmer. Palmer promptly claimed to be senior to Schofield by date of commission, and argued that he was merely cooperating with Schofield rather than under his orders. As in most cases throughout history, two commanders proved to be one too many, and the move against the railroad was a failure. On this date, Palmer met with Sherman and gave his resignation. Sherman referred him to George Thomas, who was Palmer's immediate superior, and the resignation was accepted, the only example of a general's quitting in the middle of an operation in the history of the U. S. Army.

Shortly thereafter, Jefferson Davis (the Union general, not the Confederate President) took command of XIV Corps and was accordingly promoted to Major General, the highest rank in the Union Army save for the single Lieutenant General.



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/7/2014 3:49:25 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

On this date, it was the Southerners' turn to suffer a cavalry disaster, as the Yankees got a measure of revenge for the burning of Chambersburg. A cavalry force led by Brigadier William Averell (below) had been chasing after the Rebels, and in the early hours of this date, finally caught up near the town of Moorefield in West Virginia. The Federals were actually outnumbered by about 1,800 to 3,000, but Confederate commander John McCausland had divided his command into two separate camps:

[McCausland] then invested the post on the railroad at New Creek, but finding it too strongly fortified to take by assault, he moved to Moorefield in Hardy County, near which he halted to rest and recruit his men and horses, as the command was now considered safe from pursuit. Averill, however, had been pursuing from Chambersburg with a body of cavalry, and Johnson's brigade was surprised in camp, before day, on the morning of the 7th of August, and routed by Averill's force. This resulted also in the rout of McCausland's brigade, and the loss of the artillery (4 pieces), and about 300 prisoners from the whole command. The balance of the command made its way to Mount Jackson in great disorder, and much weakened. This affair had a very damaging effect upon my cavalry for the rest of the campaign.
--Jubal Early, Autobiographical Sketch and Narrative of the War Between the States

The Confederate losses were even worse than Early was willing to admit, with at least 13 killed, 60 wounded, and 415 captured. The Union lost only 11 killed, 18 wounded, and 13 captured or missing. This would be the last major engagement in West Virginia of the war.

[image]local://upfiles/4250/91A17B84FABA4A009C9E7D724BEAC392.jpg[/image]



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/8/2014 4:06:04 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

At Mobile Bay, Fort Gaines turned out to be a poorly designed work. Especially, it had not been constructed with good protection from the rear, for it had not been anticipated that a Union fleet would be cruising around Mobile Bay with impunity. The front was only a little better, for the Northern troops were able to quickly dig in to the sand dunes and fire mortars into the fort.

Colonel Charles D. Anderson, in command of the 818-man garrison, did not believe he could hold the fort long under the conditions he now faced. He requested permission to surrender from Brigadier Richard L. Page at Fort Morgan. Page flatly forbade it, and even sent a wire attempting to relieve Anderson from command. But the officers and men of Fort Gaines apparently agreed with Col. Anderson, for on this date they surrendered to the over 3,000 Union besiegers.

Two forts down, one to go.



[image]local://upfiles/4250/7B60524A1DAB48A6A5F75676B27CF774.jpg[/image]



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/9/2014 3:57:19 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

City Point, Virginia, had been made the main supply base for the besieging Union army, and also U.S. Grant's primary headquarters. On this date a Confederate agent named John Maxwell managed to get inside the base carrying what he called a "horological torpedo", but would now be simply called a time bomb. According to the report he filed later:

Sir:

I have the honor to report that in obedience to your order, and with the means and equipment furnished me by you, I left this city on the 26th of July last, for the line of the James River, to operate with the Horological Torpedo against the enemy’s vessels navigating that river. I had with me Mr. R. K. Dillard, who was well acquainted with the localities, and whose service I engaged for the expedition. On arriving in Isle of Wright County, on the 2nd of August, we learned of immense supplies of stores being landed at City Point, and for the purpose, by stratagem, of introducing our machine upon the vessels there discharging stores, started for that point. We reached there before daybreak on the 9th of August last, with a small amount of provisions, having traveled mostly by night and crawled upon our knees to pass the East picket line. Requesting my companion to remain behind about half a mile, I approached cautiously the wharf with my machine and powder covered by a small box.

Finding the captain had come ashore from a barge then at the wharf, I seized the occasion to hurry forward with my box. Being halted by one of the wharf sentinels, I succeeded in passing him by representing that captain had ordered me to convey the box on board. Hailing a man from the barge, I put the machine in motion and gave it in his charge. He carried it aboard. The magazine contained about twelve pounds of powder. Rejoining my companion, we retired to a safe distance to witness the effect of our effort. In about an hour the explosion occurred. Its effect was communicated to another barge beyond the one operated upon and also to a large wharf building containing their stores (enemy’s), which was totally destroyed. The scene was terrific, and the effect deafened my companion to an extent from which he has not recovered. My own person was severely shocked, but I am thankful to Providence that we have both escaped without lasting injury. We obtained and refer you to the enclosed slips from the enemy’s newspapers, which afford their testimony of the terrible effects of this blow. The enemy estimates the loss of life at 58 killed and 126 wounded, but we have reason to believe it greatly exceeded that. The pecuniary damage we heard estimated at $4,000,000 . . .


Grant was at City Point, but luckily was missed by the flying debris. Others were not so fortunate: one man was killed by the impact of a saddle airborne from the blast. The true death toll will never be known, for there were some unregistered black laborers who were essentially vaporized. In spite of the devastation, however, the docks and depot were back in operation in little more than a week.

Maxwell and Dillard got away so quietly that a board of inquiry ruled that the explosion had resulted from an accident. It was not until after the war that the North learned the truth, when Maxwell attempted to register the "horological torpedo" with the Patent Office.



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/10/2014 3:22:46 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

The woman who would become the South's most famous diarist made on interesting entry on this date:

August 10th. - To-day General Chesnut [her husband] and his staff departed. His troops are ordered to look after the mountain passes beyond Greenville on the North Carolina and Tennessee quarter.
Misery upon misery. Mobile is going as New Orleans went. Those Western men have not held their towns as we held and hold Charleston, or as the Virginians hold Richmond. And they call us a "frill-shirt, silk-stocking chivalry," or "a set of dandy Miss Nancys." They fight desperately in their bloody street brawls, but we bear privation and discipline best.
-- Mary Boykin Chesnut, A Diary From Dixie

Chesnut was being unfair to the Confederates in the West. Mobile would actually be held much as Charleston was being held: although the Union fleet and land-based artillery would essentially close the port to blockade running, the city itself would hold out, boosting Southern morale.


In Georgia, a force of Southern cavalry under Joseph Wheeler rode around the Union forces besieging Atlanta, and headed north to disrupt Sherman's supply line. This was what Sherman had feared, and he had taken steps to strengthen the garrisons at key points along the railroad that his troops depended on. However, the Northern cavalry forces had not yet recovered from the disastrous attempt to liberate Andersonville. Sherman decided to keep his cavalry with him instead of sending it to chase after Wheeler's troopers.

Both the Confederate commander and the Union commander were making high-stakes gambles. If the Southern horsemen could disrupt the railroad for more than a few days, the Yankees might well have to retreat back from Atlanta. On the other hand, without Confederate cavalry near Atlanta, they would essentially be blind to what the Northerners were doing.



Lecivius -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/12/2014 7:33:35 PM)

Just to give a difference in size on the 2 guns mounted on ironclads as mentioned above...



[image]local://upfiles/26061/B9AAB050F28A4FE883A10599C38557A6.jpg[/image]



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/13/2014 2:56:22 AM)

Mid-August, 1864:

Of the several advantages the Union had over the Confederacy, the greatest was clearly the much larger manpower pool the North could draw from. But now that advantage started to fade with the gloom pervading the Union. Although Lincoln had decreed another draft in July, recruits were coming forward very slowly. Some took advantage of the ability to pay a fee to escape from the draft, some hid in the countryside or disappeared into city slums, and some even became "bounty jumpers", taking the enlistment bonus and then deserting before they could be sent to the front. The Federals did their best to catch such men, but they could only be partly successful.
[image]local://upfiles/4250/8EE30766E02D4EFB998C4FF897A37D4A.jpg[/image]

Making the problem even worse was the failure of veteran soldiers to re-enlist. Once they had served their time, many men could not see the point of staying in a war that seemed to be making no progress. Even Sherman, who had suffered only about half of the casualties that Grant had, wired to Henry Halleck in Washington:

"I do not propose to assault the works, which are too strong, nor to proceed by regular approaches. I have lost a good many regiments, and will lose more, by the expiration of service; and this is the only reason why I want reenforcements. We have killed, crippled, and captured more of the enemy than we have lost by his acts."

--Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman

Halleck forwarded the request to General-in-Chief Grant, but with some depressing news:

To add to my embarrassment at this time Sherman, who was now near Atlanta, wanted reinforcements. He was perfectly willing to take the raw troops then being raised in the North-west, saying that he could teach them more soldiering in one day among his troops than they would learn in a week in a camp of instruction. I therefore asked that all troops in camps of instruction in the North-west be sent to him. Sherman also wanted to be assured that no Eastern troops were moving out against him. I informed him of what I had done and assured him that I would hold all the troops there that it was possible for me to hold, and that up to that time none had gone. I also informed him that his real danger was from Kirby Smith, who commanded the trans-Mississippi Department. If Smith should escape Steele, and get across the Mississippi River, he might move against him. I had, therefore, asked to have an expedition ready to move from New Orleans against Mobile in case Kirby Smith should get across. This would have a tendency to draw him to the defence of that place, instead of going against Sherman.

Right in the midst of all these embarrassments Halleck informed me that there was an organized scheme on foot in the North to resist the draft, and suggested that it might become necessary to draw troops from the field to put it down. He also advised taking in sail, and not going too fast.

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

There was little actual danger of Confederate troops crossing the Mississippi River in numbers, but otherwise the South did have the advantage of interior lines. Especially, they could rapidly transfer men from the lines near Richmond to the Shenandoah Valley. And about this time, they did just that, sending another corps of about 9,000 men to reinforce Jubal Early and his Army of the Valley. Philip Sheridan had been preparing to take the offensive with his Army of the Shenandoah, but learned of this move and realized that he no longer outnumbered his enemy. An advance might uncover Washington again, which would cause enormous political problems with the election less than three months away.

The North had a circular dilemma: without a major victory, new troops would not come forward. But how could a major victory be won without new troops?




Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/14/2014 4:01:22 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

In Georgia, the Confederate cavalry loosed from Atlanta had made it all the way back to Dalton, where the campaign had begun in early May. The Rebels easily overran the town, but the Union garrison retreated into a fort on the outskirts. Confederate commander Joe Wheeler sent a demand for surrender, but the Yankees refused. Cavalry were generally at a disadvantage when attacking fortifications, but the Southerners gave it a determined effort. The Northerners were equally resolute in their defense, and successfully held their works although the fighting continued almost until midnight.

In the meantime, the Confederates not trying to storm the fort busied themselves tearing up the railroad tracks. Sherman's supply line had been cut, for the moment at least.



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/15/2014 4:07:47 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

At Dalton, Georgia, Confederate commander Joe Wheeler had already decided not to renew the attack on the Union fort. But as he pondered his next move, Northern reinforcements began to show up, led by General James B. Steedman (below). Steedman had gone to Texas and fought in the Texas War of Independence from Mexico, but his allegiance stayed with the Union. Fighting continued for four hours, with more Federal troops coming in, some by rail car.
[image]local://upfiles/4250/13C069293B53485A99186A39C50C8900.jpg[/image]

Wheeler realized he could not stay in Dalton. The odds against him continued to get worse, and he could get no reinforcements nor replenish his ammunition that far away from Atlanta. He decided to pull out, easy enough since his cavalry was fighting mostly infantry. But he made a decision which the Confederates probably regretted later on: he led his troopers north into Tennessee instead of rejoining the Rebel army in Atlanta.

Union losses were 40 killed, 55 wounded for the two days of combat. Confederate losses are unknown. The break in the railway was repaired within two days, and Sherman's forces seem to have scarcely noticed the interruption.




Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/16/2014 3:11:14 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

Near Atlanta, William T. Sherman knew that he was going to have to do something besides throwing shells into the city. His first plan was to make another wide swing around the Confederate defensive lines, seize the railroad to the south, and so force the Rebels to evacuate Atlanta or be starved out. But he had made two attempts already, and both times the units he had sent had been stopped by a counter-move from John Bell Hood. To make the sweep work, Sherman would probably have to use nearly his entire force, which would leave his own railroad supply source vulnerable. On this date, events suggested a less risky way:

On the 16th another detachment of the enemy's cavalry appeared in force about Allatoona and the Etowah bridge, when I became fully convinced that Hood had sent all of his cavalry to raid upon our railroads. For some days our communication with Nashville was interrupted by the destruction of the telegraph-lines, as well as railroad. I at once ordered strong reconnoissances forward from our flanks on the left by Garrard, and on the right by Kilpatrick. The former moved with so much caution that I was displeased; but Kilpatrick, on the contrary, displayed so much zeal and activity that I was attracted to him at once. He reached Fairburn Station, on the West Point road, and tore it up, returning safely to his position on our right flank. I summoned him to me, and was so pleased with his spirit and confidence, that I concluded to suspend the general movement of the main army, and to send him with his small division of cavalry to break up the Macon road about Jonesboro, in the hopes that it would force Hood to evacuate Atlanta...

--Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman

Judson Kilpatrick had been involved in the notorious Dahlgren Affair, and had likely been sent west to allow the controversy to die down. Naturally, when writing his memoirs, Sherman was somewhat diplomatic. During the actual war, he is reported to have said: "I know Kilpatrick is a hell of a damned fool, but I want just such a man to command my cavalry."

[image]local://upfiles/4250/9F2B79F65CE247129A6623E5D209D47F.jpg[/image]



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/18/2014 3:58:37 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

Near Atlanta, the Union cavalry under Judson Kilpatrick started off on its raid around the city. Sherman knew he could do nothing but wait until the troopers returned -- if they did. The last attempted cavalry raid had ended with many of the horses and men killed or captured.


South of Petersburg, Virginia, U. S. Grant decided on another attempt to seize the Weldon Railroad. This time, he knew that the Confederates were short of men, because Robert E. Lee had sent a corps to the Shenandoah Valley. IV corps under Gouverneur Warren advanced at dawn, and by mid-morning had overrun the railroad at Globe Tavern. They busied themselves tearing it up, while one division was sent even further.

But shortly after noon there was a Confederate counter-attack. The Southerners knew the loss of the railroad would be a serious blow, and they wanted it back. They pushed to within a mile of Globe Tavern, but Union numbers were too great, and they had to fall back for the night. The Federals began entrenching themselves, and the weather turned rainy -- but the Rebels were determined on another attempt come the morning.



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/19/2014 4:42:12 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

At Petersburg, Virginia, things went badly for the Union. The Confederate counter-attack found a weak point in the Northern lines, and the Rebels poured through. The resulting debacle was something like Chickamauga on a smaller scale. Two whole Federal brigades surrendered, and the remainder had to fall back to a new defensive line -- in spite of the fact that the Southerners still had fewer men on the field.

Losses for the two days of combat were: Union, 251 killed, 1,148 wounded, 2,897 missing or captured, Confederate, 211 killed, 990 wounded, 419 missing or captured. However, the new Federal line still blocked a section of the Weldon Railroad, and matters would stay that way. The Northerners could thus claim something of a victory (particularly since enemy losses were not known until after the war), as the Southerners were now forced to improvise wagon transport around the occupied track.
[image]local://upfiles/4250/4A23F068D1DD4B6684764246467C0C6E.gif[/image]
Map by Hal Jespersen, www.cwmaps.com


At the White House, Lincoln met with Frederick Douglass. In this interview, the President was pessimistic. Knowing that the odds were currently against him in the upcoming election, he inquired about sending the word to blacks still held in slavery in the South that they would be free if they could escape to the North before the end of the war. Douglass promised to bring the matter up with fellow leaders of the black community, but both men were aware that blacks who went behind Confederate lines into the South were at grave risk.

Lincoln also sounded out Douglass about a possible reply to Charles Robinson, the editor of a Wisconsin newspaper who had editorialized about offering peace by abandoning the emancipation of the Southern slaves. Douglass strongly urged Lincoln to turn the proposal down. Jefferson Davis was insisting on both independence and the continuation of slavery, and there was as yet no hint that he would abandon either one. More, Douglass said, "it would be taken as a complete surrender of your anti-slavery policy, and do you serious damage."

Later that evening, Lincoln met with Joseph T. Mills and Ex-Governor Alexander W. Randall of Wisconsin. Heartened by his meeting with Douglass, the President declared he could not accept the Robinson proposal of peace with continuation of slavery. According to his secretary, John Mills, Lincoln used words he had already composed in an unsent draft:

"I don't think it is personal vanity, or ambition---but I cannot but feel that the weal or woe of this great nation will be decided in the approaching canvas. My own experience has proven to me, that there is no program intended by the Democratic party but that will result in the dismemberment of the Union. But Genl McClellan is in favor of crushing out the rebellion, & he will probably be the Chicago candidate. The slightest acquaintance with arithmetic will prove to any man that the rebel armies cannot be destroyed with democratic strategy. It would sacrifice all the white men of the north to do it. There are now between 1 & 200 thousand black men now in the service of the Union. These men will be disbanded, returned to slavery & we will have to fight two nations instead of one. . . Abandon all the posts now possessed by black men, surrender all these advantages to the enemy, & we would be compelled to abandon the war in 3 weeks. We have to hold territory. Where are the war democrats to do it . . . There have been men who have proposed to me to return to slavery the black warriors of Port Hudson & Olustee to their masters to conciliate the South. I should be damned in time & in eternity for so doing. The world shall know that I will keep my faith to friends & enemies, come what will. My enemies say I am now carrying on this war for the sole purpose of abolition. It is & will be carried on so long as I am President for the sole purpose of restoring the Union. But no human power can subdue this rebellion without using the Emancipation lever as I have done. Freedom has given us the control of 200 000 able bodied men, born & raised on southern soil. It will give us more yet."

But in private, Lincoln was not yet wholly convinced that he should abandon all offers of peace. He was mulling the idea of sending another peace commissioner, no less than the editor of the New York Times, to sound out Jefferson Davis about possible terms.


[image]local://upfiles/4250/23B29A7B94E54149AB2F7B2D06824374.jpg[/image]



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/20/2014 7:18:36 PM)

150 Years Ago Today:

So far, Judson Kilpatrick's raid around Atlanta had been going well. They had attacked the supply depot at Jonesborough on the crucial Macon & Western Railroad, managing to burn a large amount of Confederate supplies. On this date, they reached Lovejoy's Station on the railroad, and began the work of destroying it. Unfortunately, before very long, a division of Southern infantry appeared. And this was the division under Patrick Cleburne, generally considered the best division in the Army of Tennessee. Fighting went on for several hours, with the Yankees having to fall back slowly but carefully to avoid being cut off. Finally they managed to escape when darkness fell.

Losses were remarkably even for both sides, about 240 men each. The railroad was cut temporarily, but because of the Confederate interruption, the damage was not as thorough as it might have been. Repairs would take the Southerners only two to three days -- and that meant Sherman's attempt to cut off Atlanta with cavalry would be a failure.



parusski -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/20/2014 8:01:07 PM)

Occasionaly I must let Capt. Harlock know how wonderful this thread has been-all three years of it.

THANK YOU.[&o]



Orm -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/20/2014 9:10:41 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: parusski

Occasionaly I must let Capt. Harlock know how wonderful this thread has been-all three years of it.

THANK YOU.[&o]

Hear, hear!



t001001001 -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/20/2014 9:13:34 PM)

Me too. I don't want to post in it b/c I don't want to interrupt im. I read the thread almost every day. Good stuff [img]http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/micons/m6.gif[/img]



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/21/2014 4:15:33 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

Nathan Bedford Forrest's foot had healed from the wound at Tupelo, and now there would be more bad news for the North. At the head of 2,000 Confederate cavalry, Forrest stormed into Memphis, Tennessee. The Rebels hoped to capture two Union Major Generals, Stephen Hurlbut and Cadwaller C. Washburn, and to free a number of Southern prisoners held in Irving Block Prison. They came close, but both Northern generals escaped; Washburn scurried from his hotel still in his nightshirt. (There is now a street in Memphis named "General Washburn's Escape Alley".)
[image]local://upfiles/4250/AE78C4477ECD49DD8393100C75AE1F82.jpg[/image]
Union garrison soldiers managed to stop the Southern troopers before they could reach the prison. Forrest gave the order to withdraw, but did not leave entirely empty-handed, for his men took supplies, horses, and a number of Yankee prisoners.

Afterwards, General Hurlbut reportedly exclaimed, "They superseded me with Washburn because I could not keep Forrest out of West Tennessee, and Washburn cannot keep him out of his own bedroom!"

[image]local://upfiles/4250/90144D919D1C4B2A85C0405FB9F010C0.jpg[/image]



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/23/2014 4:26:01 PM)

150 Years Ago Today:

While Northern morale sank ever lower, Southern morale was now cautiously optimistic:

August 23d. - All in a muddle, and yet the news, confused as it is, seems good from all quarters. There is a row in New Orleans. Memphis has been retaken; 2,000 prisoners have been captured at Petersburg, and a Yankee raid on Macon has come to grief.

-- Mary Boykin Chesnut, A Diary From Dixie


The Union actually did make some progress on this day, but it scarcely registered with either side. At Mobile, Fort Morgan was the last Confederate fort commanding the entrance to the bay. It was commanded by Brigadier General Richard L. Page, a cousin of Robert E. Lee. Page had vowed to defend his command to the last ditch, but had come to realize that he would not be able to take many Yankees with him. The fort was now being bombarded, by land and by sea, from all points of the compass, including from the now-repaired USS Tennessee. Fires had broken out in several places, and to prevent the main magazine from blowing up, most of the gunpowder had been placed in the cistern and gotten flooded.

With the fort's walls crumbling, a number of sick and wounded were now exposed to shelling. Page reluctantly ran up a white flag and asked for terms. Admiral Farragut demanded unconditional surrender, and Union land commander Gordon Granger joined him. The Rebels agreed but page and a few other officers broke their swords before yielding them. That may not have been all that they did: when the Federals took possession they found cannons spiked, gun carriages axed, and other sabotage that they reported had been done after the raising of the white flag. To his indignation, General Page was arrested for this breach of the rules of war. (He would eventually be acquitted by a military court.)
[image]local://upfiles/4250/EA4F6D7985C74F96AA6DB597E726B70F.jpg[/image]
The Northerners still did not have enough men to capture the city of Mobile proper, but it was now in the same situation as Charleston, South Carolina. With the forts in Union hands, and the Union fleet occupying the bay, the city was essentially closed to blockade runners. But although the Federals had scored a significant strategic success, it was not seen as an important victory by the people in either the North or the South. The possession of the city itself was what impressed the public mind.


Near Atlanta, W. T. Sherman received some less than pleasant news about his cavalry raid:

Kilpatrick . . . returned to us on the 22d, having made the complete circuit of Atlanta. He reported that he had destroyed three miles of the railroad about Jonesboro, which he reckoned would take ten days to repair; that he had encountered a division of infantry and a brigade of cavalry (Ross's); that he had captured a battery and destroyed three of its guns, bringing one in as a trophy, and he also brought in three battle-flags and seventy prisoners. On the 23d, however, we saw trains coming into Atlanta from the south, when I became more than ever convinced that cavalry could not or would not work hard enough to disable a railroad properly, and therefore resolved at once to proceed to the execution of my original plan.
--Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman


Sherman was disappointed but not disheartened. In Washington, however, there was something much like despair. Sherman was blocked at Atlanta, Grant was blocked at Richmond, and Sheridan's retreat in the Shenandoah Valley had raised fears of yet another Confederat invasion of the North. Thurlow Weed, the publisher of the influential Albany Evening Journal, had written to Secretary of State Seward: "When, ten or eleven days since, I told Mr Lincoln that his re election was an impossibility, I also told him that the information would soon come to him through other channels. It has doubtless, ere this, reached him. At any rate, nobody here doubts it; nor do I see any body from other States who authorises the slightest hope of success ... The People are wild for Peace. They are told that the President will only listen to terms of Peace on condition Slavery be 'abandoned.'"

Abraham Lincoln had apparently come to agree that he was going to lose the election. He made an extraordinary decision: he wrote out a memorandum, and then requested the members of his Cabinet to sign it without having read it. The text was:

"This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not be re-elected. Then it will by my duty to so cooperate with the President elect, as to save the Union between the Election and the inauguration; as he will have secured his election on such ground that he cannot possibly save it afterwards."
[image]local://upfiles/4250/5D9E8BA1569E4011B2425F1DD8F34C30.jpg[/image]

It should be borne in mind that the Democrats had not yet held their convention or officially chosen a nominee. But the odds were strong that said nominee would be George McClellan, who opposed the emancipation of slaves and had moved so cautiously against the Confederacy when he had been General-in-Chief.



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/25/2014 3:36:27 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

In Washington, President Lincoln was still mulling over the proposal to send New York Times editor Henry J. Raymond to Richmond with a peace proposal. Lincoln had gone so far as to draft the following instructions:

You will proceed forthwith and obtain, if possible, a conference for peace with Hon. Jefferson Davis, or any person by him authorized for that purpose.
You will address him in entirely respectful terms, at all events, and in any that may be indispensable to secure the conference.
At said conference you will propose, on behalf this government, that upon the restoration of the Union and the national authority, the war shall cease at once, all remaining questions to be left for adjustment by peaceful modes. If this be accepted hostilities to cease at once.
If it is not accepted, you will then request to be informed what terms, if any embracing the restoration of the Union, would be accepted. If any such be presented you in answer, you will forthwith report the same to this government, and await further instructions.
If the presentation of any terms embracing the restoration of the Union be declined, you will then request to be informed what terms of peace would, be accepted; and on receiving any answer, report the same to this government, and await further instructions.

On the morning of this date, Lincoln met with Secretary of State Seward, Secretary of War Stanton and Secretary of the Treasury William Pitt Fessenden about the peace mission. (Note Fessenden had occupied his post for less than two months.) The conclusion reached was that such a mission would likely be interpreted as weakness, and the chances for peace were slim. When Raymond arrived at the White House, he was told the plan had been rejected.



Winfield Hancock's II Corps, once the best in the Union army, was ordered to sweep around the Confederate lines to the south and cut off the Weldon Railroad in a second spot. However, Robert E. Lee had anticipated just such a move, and sent reinforcements to the area. Battle erupted at a place called Ream's Station. For a time, the Yankees held off the Rebel attack while they tore up the railroad tracks. But late in the afternoon, after some effective softening-up by artillery, the Southerners mounted their strongest assault. Two inexperienced Northern regiments collapsed and fled, opening up a gap which was quickly exploited.

Hancock galloped back and forth along his lines, trying to rally his men, but he was only partly successful. The main thing that slowed the Confederate attack was the sheer number of prisoners that they took. Matters became still worse for the Yankees when Rebel cavalry attacked on the southern flank. Hancock mounted a minor counter-attack, which was valuable only to buy time. Nightfall allowed the remainder of the Federals to retreat back to the fortifications they had started from.

The Northerners lost 140 killed, 529 wounded, and 2073 men captured. The Southerners lost only 814 men all told. It was a shattering defeat for "Hancock the Superb", who had never before seen his men routed from the field and his guns captured. Combined with the lingering effects of his Gettysburg wound, it probably lead to his resignation from field command. It was grim news for U. S. Grant as well, for it showed clearly that the reinforcements he was receiving could not perform the attacks he planned. Time and training was needed.

[image]local://upfiles/4250/1BAB69E054D546F1964916EA4F06B4F3.gif[/image]



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/26/2014 2:48:08 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

The shelling of Atlanta stopped. General John Bell Hood knew perfectly well that the Yankees were doing something, but he did not know what. The bulk of his cavalry under Joe Wheeler was away in Tennessee, so Hood ordered his artillery to open up and see if there was a response from the Union guns. There was not, for Sherman's great sweep around the west of Atlanta was in full swing:

The next night (26th) the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Corps, composing the Army of the Tennessee (Howard), drew out of their trenches, made a wide circuit, and came up on the extreme right of the Fourth and Fourteenth Corps of the Army of the Cumberland (Thomas) along Utoy Creek, facing south. The enemy seemed to suspect something that night, using his artillery pretty freely; but I think he supposed we were going to retreat altogether.

--Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman

Of the seven corps under his command, Sherman had left one (under General Henry Slocum) to defend the rail-head. The remaining six, under his three Army commanders, left his supply line (temporarily, he hoped) and were heading south. The objective was to cut the last rail links into Atlanta between the towns of Jonesborough and the interestingly named Rough and Ready.

[image]local://upfiles/4250/D8E3B329032D4191B8E077F79531D86B.jpg[/image]



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/27/2014 2:43:59 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

[image]local://upfiles/4250/A16CD4B63E484F738821949BFAE89A15.jpg[/image]

Though it did not appear in the movie, on this date General John Bell Hood believed that the miracle had happened:

...the next morning some of his infantry came out of Atlanta and found our camps abandoned. It was afterward related that there was great rejoicing in Atlanta "that the Yankees were gone;" the fact was telegraphed all over the South, and several trains of cars (with ladies) came up from Macon to assist in the celebration of their grand victory.

--Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman

There was some plausibility for Hood's belief that the Northerners had retreated. Both his own cavalry and that under Nathan Bedford Forrest had been sent against Sherman's narrow supply line. If they had been successful, then the Federals would have had to fall back, perhaps as far as the border with Tennessee, to get food and ammunition. The Southerners could not know that Forrest, although causing trouble as usual, had not made any serious breaks of the railroad, and Hood's own cavalry under Joe Wheeler had gone all the way to east Tennessee. This was bad news for the long-suffering Unionists of the region, but posed no real threat to Sherman's forces.

There were scattered reports from scouts about Union activity west of the city, and there was the single Northern corps still guarding the nearest part of Sherman's railroad. To this writer, it seems quite likely that had Joe Johnston still been in command, he would have guessed the Union maneuver. What he would have been willing or even able to do about it is another question, for there were six Yankee corps on the move to only three in the Army of Tennessee. But Hood was now in command, and for the day he prided himself on having driven the Federals back.

(Image from "Gone With The Wind" included under the Fair Use provision)



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/28/2014 4:23:14 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

West of the Mississippi, Lt. General Edmund Kirby Smith was in command of everything still in the hands of the Confederacy. He had been requested to send what troops he could spare to the east, but there was no chance of a major crossing with Union gunboats patrolling all along the length of the river. Instead, he decided to do what he could in Arkansas and Missouri, which might pull Union forces to the west and away from Atlanta and Richmond. Kirby Smith called on Major General Sterling Price, who had considerable experience fighting in Missouri, to lead an expedition into the state and capture either St. Louis, the biggest city, or the state capital, Jefferson City.

Between them, Kirby Smith and Price selected units totaling about 12,000 men. However, nearly all were cavalry, and not very well equipped cavalry at that. Many men did not have canteens or cartridge boxes, carrying their water in jugs and their ammunition in sacks or their pockets. Price hoped to capture more equipment and supplies by overrunning the smaller Union forts along the way, and also gather more recruits from the pro-south areas of Missouri.

But first, he needed to pull his army together. On this date, Price left Camden, Arkansas, heading towards the camps of his first two divisions.


In Atlanta, the reports of Union soldiers to the south and west became more definite. General Hood decided he needed to send a force to protect his railroad lines, but he did not want to abandon the city. He compromised by sending one of his three corps, under William Hardee, to drive the Northerners back. His second corps would trail behind, ready to support Hardee, while his third would hold Atlanta against any attack by the Yankees still to the north.



Capt. Harlock -> RE: Civil War 150th (8/29/2014 3:29:35 AM)

150 Years Ago Today:

The Democratic National Convention began in Chicago, Illinois, ironically the same city where the Republicans had nominated Lincoln four years before. General George B. McClellan, without assignment since his removal before Gettysburg, led the list of potential nominees. Former President Franklin Pierce, Senator Lazarus W. Powell of Kentucky, and Governor Horatio Seymour of New York, were considered, but declined. McClellan's nearest rival was Thomas H. Seymour, former Governor of Connecticut and a radical Peace Democrat.
[image]local://upfiles/4250/060EDEC3AEBE44C4B49C3FF1B77A6AF6.jpg[/image]

Seymour and the other "Copperheads" denounced the war as a failure and favored an immediate armistice, leaving the Confederacy standing. A disgusted U. S. Grant would later write that "Treason was talked as boldly in Chicago at that convention as had ever been in Charleston." McClellan, who was at that point still a Major General in the U. S. Army, advocated peace by re-admitting the South into the Union but abandoning the abolition of slavery.


But, perhaps at the very same hour as the anti-war speeches, Sherman and his forces made a critical move south of Atlanta:

... both Thomas and Howard reached the West Point Railroad, extending from East Point to Red-Oak Station and Fairburn, where we spent the next day (29th) in breaking it up thoroughly. The track was heaved up in sections the length of a regiment, then separated rail by rail; bonfires were made of the ties and of fence-rails on which the rails were heated, carried to trees or telegraph-poles, wrapped around and left to cool. Such rails could not be used again; and, to be still more certain, we filled up many deep cuts with trees, brush, and earth, and commingled with them loaded shells, so arranged that they would explode on an attempt to haul out the bushes.

--Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman

[image]local://upfiles/4250/D0F2C75B551A41CAA3BACF42B74F6A3A.jpg[/image]

It was perhaps nasty, but effective. The last railroad links into the city had been cut, and this time they were not to be repaired. Even as the Confederate infantry tardily marched to stop them, the Yankees had effectively doomed Atlanta -- and with it, arguably the Confederacy itself.



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