This day in Civil War history {NEW}

[RelicHound]

July 4, 1863
Surrender of Vicksburg

The Confederacy is torn in two when General John C. Pemberton surrenders to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Vicksburg.

The Vicksburg campaign was one of the most successful campaigns of the war. Although Grant's first attempt to take the city failed in the winter of 1862-63, he renewed his efforts in the spring. Admiral David Porter had run his flotilla past the Vicksburg defenses in early May as Grant marched his army down the west bank of the river opposite Vicksburg, crossed back to Mississippi, and drove toward Jackson. After defeating a Confederate force near Jackson, Grant turned back to Vicksburg. On May 16, he defeated a force under John C. Pemberton at Champion Hill. Pemberton retreated back to Vicksburg, and Grant sealed the city by the end of May. In three weeks, Grant's men marched 180 miles, won five battles, and took 6,000 prisoners.

Grant made some attacks after bottling Vicksburg, but found the Confederates well entrenched. Preparing for a long siege, his army constructed 15 miles of trenches and enclosed Pemberton's force of 29,000 men inside the perimeter. It was only a matter of time before Grant, with 70,000 troops, captured Vicksburg. Attempts to rescue Pemberton and his force failed from both the east and west, and conditions for both military personnel and civilians deteriorated rapidly. Many residents moved to tunnels dug from the hillsides to escape the constant bombardments. Pemberton surrendered on July 4, and President Lincoln wrote that the Mississippi River "again goes unvexed to the sea."

The town of Vicksburg would not celebrate the Fourth of July for 81 years.

 

[RelicHound]

July 5, 1861
Battle of Carthage, Missouri

On this day, the first large-scale engagement of the Civil War is fought in southwestern Missouri, signaling an escalation in the hostilities between the North and South.

Missouri was the scene of some of the most bitter partisan fighting during the war. After the clash at Fort Sumter in April, the state was deeply divided. The Missouri State Guardsmen, a force of 6,000 men commanded by Confederate Governor Claiborne Jackson and Colonel Sterling Price, were poorly equipped and outfitted mostly in civilian clothing. Their Union counterpart was a force of 1,100, mostly German-Americans from St. Louis, commanded by General Franz Sigel.

Sigel's force occupied Springfield in late June, and then collided with the Confederates at nearby Carthage on July 5. Outnumbered, Sigel eventually withdrew, but was able to hold off several small attacks. By nightfall, the Union troops had retreated through Carthage and escaped a dangerous trap. Both sides declared victory, and losses were light: 13 Union men were killed and 31 were wounded, while 40 Confederates were killed and 120 were wounded. The forces remained in the area of Springfield, gathering strength over the next month. They would fight again in August at Wilson's Creek, Missouri.

 

[RelicHound]

July 6, 1864
Jubal Early occupies Hagerstown, Maryland

On this day, Confederate General Jubal Early's troops cross the Potomac River and capture Hagerstown, Maryland. Early had sought to threaten Washington, D.C., and thereby relieve pressure on General Robert E. Lee, who was fighting to keep Ulysses S. Grant out of Richmond.

During the brutal six-week campaign against Grant in June 1864, Lee was under tremendous pressure. On June 12, he dispatched Jubal Early to Lynchburg, in western Virginia, to hold off a Union attack by General David Hunter. After defeating Hunter, Early was ordered to head down the Shenandoah Valley to the Potomac. Lee hoped that this threat to Washington would force Grant to return part of his army to the capital and protect it from an embarrassing capture by the Confederates. Lee was inspired by a similar Shenandoah campaign by Stonewall Jackson in 1862, in which Jackson occupied three Federal armies in a brilliant military show. However, the circumstances were different in 1864. Grant now had plenty of men, and Lee was stretched thin around the Richmond-Petersburg perimeter.

Still, the first part of Early's raid was successful. His force crossed the Potomac on July 6, and a cavalry brigade under John McCausland rode into Hagerstown. Early instructed McCausland to demand $200,000 from the city officials of Hagerstown for damages caused by Hunter in the Shenandoah Valley, but McCausland felt the amount was too large, so he asked for $20,000. After receiving the money, Early's army turned southeast toward Washington. The Confederates reached the outskirts of the city before being turned away by troops from Grant's army.

 

[RelicHound]

July 9, 1864
Battle of Monocacy, Maryland

On this day, Confederate General Jubal Early brushes a Union force out of his way as he heads for Washington.

Early's expedition towards the Union capital was designed to take pressure off Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia around Petersburg. Beginning in early May, Ulysses S. Grant's Union army had continually attacked Lee and drove the Confederates into trenches around the Richmond-Petersburg area. In 1862, the Confederates faced a similar situation around Richmond, and they responded by sending General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson to the Shenandoah Valley to occupy Federal forces. The ploy worked well, and Jackson kept three separate Union forces away from the Confederate capital.

Now, Lee sent Early on a similar mission. Early and his force of 14,000 marched down the Shenandoah Valley, crossed the Potomac into Maryland, and then veered southeast toward Washington. Union General Lew Wallace, commander of the Middle Department and stationed in Baltimore, patched together a force of 6,000 local militiamen and soldiers from various regiments to stall the Confederates while a division from Grant's army around Petersburg arrived to protect Washington.

Wallace placed his makeshift force along the Monocacy River near Frederick. Early in the morning of July 9, Early's troops easily pushed a small Federal guard from Frederick before encountering the bulk of Wallace's force along the river. Wallace protected three bridges over the river. One led to Baltimore, the other to Washington, and the third carried the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Early's first attack was unsuccessful. A second assault, however, scattered the Yankees. The Union force retreated toward Baltimore, and the road to Washington was now open to Early and his army.

Union losses for the day stood at 1,800, and Early lost 700 of his men. However, the battle delayed Early's advance to Washington and allowed time for the Union to bring reinforcements from Grant's army.

 

[RelicHound]

July 11, 1861
Battle of Rich Mountain

On this day, Union troops under General George B. McClellan score another major victory in the struggle for western Virginia at the Battle of Rich Mountain. The Yankee success secured the region and ensured the eventual creation of West Virginia.

Western Virginia was a crucial battleground in the early months of the war. The population of the region was deeply divided over the issue of secession, and western Virginia was also a vital east-west link for the Union because the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad ran through its mountains.

After McClellan scored a series of small victories in western Virginia in June and early July, Confederate General Robert Garnett and Colonel John Pegram positioned their forces at Rich Mountain and Laurel Hill to block two key roads and keep McClellan from penetrating any further east. McClellan crafted a plan to feign an attack against Garnett at Laurel Hill while he sent the bulk of his force against Pegram at Rich Mountain.

Part of McClellan's force, led by General William Rosecrans, followed a rugged mountain path to swing around behind the Rebels' left flank. McClellan had promised to attack the Confederate front when he heard gunfire from Rosecrans's direction. After a difficult march through a drenching rain, Rosecrans struck the Confederate wing. It took several attempts, but he was finally able to drive the Confederates from their position. McClellan shelled the Rebel position, but did not make the expected assault. Each side suffered around 70 casualties.

Pegram was forced to abandon his position, but Rosecrans was blocking his escape route. Two days later, he surrendered his force of 555. Although McClellan became a Union hero as a result of this victory, most historians agree that Rosecrans deserved the credit. Nonetheless, McClellan was on his way to becoming the commander of the Army of the Potomac.

 

[RelicHound]

July 14, 1864
Battle of Tupelo, Mississippi

On this day, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest suffers his biggest defeat when Union General Andrew J. Smith routs his force in Tupelo, Mississippi. The battle came just a month after the Battle of Brice's Crossroads, in which Forrest engineered a brilliant victory over a larger Union force from Memphis that was designed to keep him from threatening General William T. Sherman's supply lines in Tennessee.

Hoping to neutralize Forrest, Sherman sent Smith's expedition to destroy Forrest and his cavalry. Smith left LaGrange, Tennessee, on June 22 with 14,000 troops.

Forrest and his cavalry were part of a 10,000-man force commanded by General Stephen Lee, but Forrest and Lee shared command responsibilities. Forrest's strategy at Tupelo was similar to his tactics at the Battle of West Point, Mississippi, five months earlier. In both battles, Forrest used part of his force to entice the Yankees into a trap. The plan worked well at West Point, but in Tupelo Smith did not take the bait. Instead of driving right at Forrest, Smith dug his troops in around Tupelo. Lee and Forrest were uneasy about attacking the Yankees, but they agreed to try to drive Smith out of Mississippi.

The assault began on the morning of July 14. Smith's Union troops were in an ideal position for fending off an attack. The Confederates had to fight uphill across nearly a mile of open terrain. Lee struck one flank and Forrest struck the other. Poor communication ruined the Rebels' coordination, and after three hours they had not breached the Union line. Although Lee was the ranking Confederate, he had offered Forrest command of the battle. Forrest declined, but assigning blame for the defeat is difficult. Union losses stood at 674, while Forrest and Lee lost over 1,300 soldiers.

Despite the Union victory, the overly cautious Smith had lost an opportunity to completely destroy Forrest and Lee's army. He had not counterattacked, and the Confederates maintained a dangerous force in Mississippi.

 

[RelicHound]

November 11, 1811

Ben McCulloch born

Confederate General Ben McCulloch is born near Rutherford City, Tennessee.
Raised in Tennessee, McCulloch followed his friends Davy Crockett and Sam Houston to Texas in 1835. Measles kept him from joining Crockett at the Alamo, where its defenders, including Crockett, were massacred when the Mexican army overran the mission during the Texas War for Independence. McCulloch served with Houston at the decisive Battle of San Jacinto, in which Mexican General Santa Anna's army was defeated and Texas gained its independence. After the war, McCulloch served in the Texas legislature and the Texas Rangers, the primary law enforcement agency in the Republic of Texas. He fought under General Zachary Taylor during the Mexican War and served as a U.S. marshal in the 1850s.

When the Civil War broke out, McCulloch became a colonel in command of Texas troops. He rode to San Antonio and forced the surrender of a Federal arsenal there, while his brother, Henry, took control of Federal posts on the Texas frontier. In May 1861, Ben McCulloch became a brigadier general in the Confederate army and was assigned to defend Indian Territory. He formed alliances with several tribes in the area before moving his force to southwestern Missouri, where he played a key role in the Confederate victory at Wilson's Creek on August 10, 1861.

McCulloch commanded a wing of the Army of the West as it approached a Union force led by General Samuel Curtis in northwestern Arkansas in March 1862. Curtis took up a defensive position around Elkhorn Tavern and waited for the Confederates to attack. On the night of March 6, McCulloch marched his troops around Curtis's right flank and prepared for an early morning assault on March 7. Curtis discovered the movement, and blocked McCulloch's advance. That day, at the Battle of Pea Ridge, Curtis held off a furious attack by McCulloch's force. McCulloch rode forward to monitor his men's progress when he emerged from some underbrush directly in front of a Union regiment. Identifiable by his trademark black velvet suit (he eschewed uniforms), a volley from the Yankees killed McCulloch instantly. His successor, General James McIntosh, was killed minutes later and the leaderless Confederates retreated. McCulloch's death was the turning point in the battle, and the Confederate defeat ensured Union domination of northern Arkansas for the rest of the war.

 

[FIB]

I had kin that fought for the CSA. I'm from N. Arkansas (Mt. View to be specific). Randy Price

 

[Westernlegend1]

Old Ben came down with measles and was stuck in bed for several weeks. When able, him and his brother arrived at Nacogdoches, Texas a little too late to meet who they intended to hook up with, they then went to San Antonio, Texas. The measles saved both his and and his brothers lives, other wise both would have died with Davey Crockett at the Alamo.

 

[RelicHound]

Old Ben came down with measles and was stuck in bed for several weeks. When able, him and his brother arrived at Nacogdoches, Texas a little too late to meet who they intended to hook up with, they then went to San Antonio, Texas. The measles saved both his and and his brothers lives, other wise both would have died with Davey Crockett at the Alamo.

Yes the battle at mission San Antonio de valero was in 1836 it was for Texas independence...

 

[Westernlegend1]

Of course it was, the measles saved his life so he could fight in the civil war.

 

[RelicHound]

oh your just stating the obvious...never mind

 

[Westernlegend1]

Are you going to add pictures with your posts?

 

[RelicHound]

did I in the past?

 

[Westernlegend1]

did I in the past?

I check the early posts, you were adding pictures and maps which gave it all a good appearance and created enjoyable reading. I am sure many will enjoy this thread. Good Job!

 

[RelicHound]

wasnt sure if I did or not before the crash...Ill probably post pics with the days happenings after the contest is over or if I can easily find them.

 

[kystonewall]

I enjoy CW history and enjoyed this thread. I reenacted for several years and thought about doing it again but started detecting instead. Great history lesson...Thanks!

 

[wolf-n-wa]

AWESOME READING. Wish some of these events would have taken place in Washington state. Thanks for the thread Relichound and those that contributed to it. WOLF

 

[gordygroover]

I hear ya Wolf.
This little dirt-water town on the Columbia I live in was built in the mid 20's and never grew to any size until after ww2.
A old find for me is a coin from the 50s. Kind of makes me envy those hunters that live in Civil war areas and have hottie girlfriends or wives.
I threw the girlfriend part in there to see if you were paying attention.

 

[pete3870]

Good stuff relic thanks for sharing


I had a few that faught for both sides.One was a col. for the NJ 14th regimentthat fought in the battle of Monocacy.He trained on the site of a revolutionary war battlefield called monmouth battlefield.


I have been doing reasearch and found his picture.Im looking for the others now. I just love reading these heres an exerpt from some of my research


The 14th Regiment New Jersey Volunteers was organized on the Monmouth Battle Ground, and mustered in the United States service near Freehold, New Jersey August 26th, 1862, and was mustered out June 18th, 1865, near Washington, D.C.