u/Aaronsivilwartravels

Today in the Civil War August 19

1861-Henry Halleck promoted to Major General.

1862-Dakota (Sioux) warriors decided to bypass Fort Ridgely during an uprising in Minnesota. It was the third day of the uprising. It would be two months before Union troops would subdue the rebellion. More than 500 whites were killed and 2,000 Indians were captured. On December 26, 1862, 38 Dakota warriors were executed for their role in the uprising.

1862-[19-21] Federal raid on Louisville & Nashville Railroad.

1863-300 men under the command of William Quantrill, popularly known as Quantrill's Raiders, leave Blackwater Creek, Missouri heading for Lawrence, Kansas.

1864-President Lincoln meets with Frederick Douglass for a second time. He asks for Douglass's assistance in moving slaves north in case the war is unsuccessful.

1864-Union General Ulysses S. Grant's attack at Deep Bottom Run failed.

1864-Skirmish, Berryville, Clarke County Virginia.

Today in the Civil War August 18

1863-The Great Sioux Uprising begins under Chief Little Crow in Minnesota.

1863-General Thomas Ewing issues orders freeing slaves of Missourians actively involved with the Confederate Army.

1864-[18-19] Battle of the Weldon Railroad.
After gaining the railroad, 5th Corps commander G. K. Warren [US] spread out over a mile of track, then turned north towards Petersburg, but the didn't get far before Henry Heth's [CS] Confederates stopped them. A counterattack by A. P. Hill the next day contained Warren's advances, but in the end federal troops still controlled the railroad.

1864-Skirmish, Opequon Creek, Clarke/Frederick County Virginia.

Today in the Civil War August 17

1861-George Thomas appointed brigadier general of volunteers, Army of the Cumberland.

1862-J. E. B. Stuart assumes command of the cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia.

1862-In Minnesota, Dakota Indians (Sioux) attacked white settlements along the Minnesota River. The U.S. military overwhelmed the Dakota six weeks later after 500 white settlers and 150 Sioux warriors had been killed. President Lincoln dispatched General John Pope to organize the Military Department of the Northwest.

1863-In an impressive display of firepower, Federal batteries begin heavy shelling of Confederate positions ringing Charleston Harbor including Fort Sumter. Using Parrott rifled cannon including the 200 pound Swamp Angel, the artillery is deadly accurate and easily breaches Sumter, but no assault is forthcoming. Although the initial attack is the heaviest, Federal assaults continue off and on until September, 1864.

1864-General John Bankhead Magruder appointed commander of Confederate forces in Arkansas.

1864-Engagement, Abrams Creek, Frederick County Virginia.

Today in Civil War August 16

1861-U.S. President Lincoln prohibited the Union states from trading with the states of the Confederacy.

1862-Carter Stevenson [CS] appears at the entrance to the Cumberland Gap in eastern Tennessee.

1862-George McClellan completes the evacuation of Harrison's Landing, ending the Peninsula Campaign. His men land at Aquia Creek, VA and Alexandria, VA, within the week, but most are reassigned to John Pope's Army of Virginia.

1862-Don Carlos Buell orders William "Bull" Nelson to assume command of federal forces in Kentucky.

1862-Brigadier General Charles Stone is released from prison in New York.

1864-Union General Philip Sheridan pulled back from Winchester, Virginia to wait for reinforcements.

1864-Confederate General John Chambliss was killed during a cavalry charge at Deep Bottom Run, Virginia.

1864-Engagement at Guard Hill (Front Royal), Virginia.

Today in the Civil War August 15

1861-General George McClellan assumes command of the Army of the Potomac.

1861-The Department of Kentucky and the Department of the Cumberland are combined under General Robert Anderson.

1862-Skirmish at Clarendon, Arkansas.

1864-Skirmish, near Charles Town, Jefferson County West Virginia.

1864-Skirmish, near Cedar Creek, Shenandoah County Virginia.

Today in the Civil War August 14

1861-Soldiers of the 79th New York mutiny near Washington, D.C.

1862-Under orders from Halleck, McClellan withdraws from the Peninsula of Virginia.

1862-Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith began his invasion of Kentucky. He moved his troops out of Knoxville, Tennessee, and toward Cumberland Gap. The plan was to draw Union troops away from Chattanooga, Tennessee.

1862-A temporary Union jail in Kansas City collapsed. Confederate guerrilla leader William 'Bloody Bill" Anderson's 14-year-old sister was killed and his other two sisters were injured. Pro-Confederate William C. Quantrill exacted revenge on Lawrence, Kansas on August 21. The band killed 150 residents and much of the town was burned.

1864-Second battle of Dalton Georgia.

1864-Union General Ulysses S. Grant's troops began attacking Confederate fortifications around Deep Bottom Run.

1864-Skirmish, near Strasburg, Shenandoah County Virginia.

1865-Mississippi conventions passes an ordinance voiding the secession ordinance of 1861.

Today in the Civil War August 13

1862-Robert E. Lee issues orders in preparation for the Army of Northern Virginia's movement north to engage John Pope's [US] Army of Virginia.

1862-Skirmish on Yellow Creek, Missouri.

1864-Union General Ulysses S. Grant began the Deep Bottom Run campain by shipping parts of three corps across the James River. The attacks along the Confederate fortifications began the next day.

1864-Skirmish, near Strasburg, Shenandoah County Virginia.

Today in the Civil War August 12

1861-Confederates ambushed by Mescalero Apaches in Big Bend country south of Fort Davis, Texas.

1862-Confederate cavalry General John Hunt Morgan captured a Federal garrison in Gallatin, Tennessee.

1863-Federal batteries on Morris Island open up a "ranging" barrage that will last four days.

1864-Skirmish, Cedar Creek, Frederick County Virginia.

Today in the Civil War August 11

1862-Confederate partisans capture Independence, Missouri.

1863-Confederate forces pound Federal entrenchments on Morris Island.

1864-Action near, Newtown, Frederick County Virginia.

1864-Action, Double Toll Gate, Frederick County Virginia.

1864-Skirmish, near Winchester, Frederick County Virginia.

Today in the Civil War August 10

1861-Battle of Wilson's Creek [US]
Battle of Springfield [CS]
Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon [US] is killed in the Confederate victory.

1862-German-American Unionist are massacred by Confederates on the banks of the Nueces River in Texas.

1863-President Lincoln meets with former slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Among the topics discussed are the treatment and pay of black soldiers in the U. S. Army.

1864-Joe Wheeler [CS] begins raiding in North Georgia with his cavalry.

1864-Union General Philip Sheridan began marching his force toward Winchester, Virginia. Confederate General Jubal Early pulled out of the city in advance of Sheridan's arrival.

1864-Skirmish, near Stone Chapel, Clarke County Virginia.

1864-Skirmish, Berryville Road, Clarke County Virginia.

Today in the Civil War August 9

1862-Battle of Cedar Mountain [US]
Battle of Slaughter Mountain [CS]
Other names: Cedar Run, Cedar Run Mountain, Southwest Mountain.
Stonewall Jackson [CS] defeats Nathaniel Banks [US].

1864-Federals lay siege to Fort Morgan at Mobile Bay Alabama.

1864-Explosion of an ordinance vessel rocks the wharves at City Point.

Today in the Civil War August 8

1863-Robert E. Lee offers his resignation to Jefferson Davis. Davis refuses the offer.

1864-Fort Gaines, at the entrance to Mobile Bay, surrenders.

Today in the Civil War August 7

1861-John Bankhead Magruder burns the village of Hampton, near Fort Monroe. General Benjamin Butler had been planning to use it to house "contraband." (Butler's word for slaves).

1861-The Maryland legislature adjourns without seceding, but votes to reconvene in September.

1864-Battle of Moorefield. Last major engagement in West Virginia during the Civil War.

Today in the Civil War August 6

1861-First Confiscation Act or The Confiscation Act of 1861 allows federals to seize property used in the insurrection, essentially freeing slaves forced to participate in the Confederate war effort.

1861-Second Session of the Second Wheeling Convention is called to order.

1861-Lt. Bull Nelson of the U. S. Navy is ordered to build a camp where Kentucky residents can train for service in the Kentucky militia. Nelson names the camp for the owner of the property in Garrard County, Captain Dick Robinson.

1862-Battle of Kirksville Missouri.

1862-Union Brigadier General Robert McCook, ill and riding in an ambulance, is attacked by Confederate raiders between Athens, AL and Descherd, TN. He dies from his wounds.

1862-Near Baton Rouge, Louisianna, the Confederate ship CSS Arkansas ran aground after experiencing mechanical difficulties during a battle with the U.S.S. Essex. The crew destroyed the ship to prevent it from falling into Union hands.

1864-Union forces attacked the Confederates at Utoy Creek. The Union forces were repulsed.

1864-CSS Tallahassee departs Wilmington, North Carolina on a 3-week cruise.

Today in the Civil War August 5

1861-Abraham Lincoln approves a wide variety of bills passed during a special session of Congress including a new issue of bonds, tariff increase and the first direct income and real estate tax.

1862-Battle of Baton Rouge Louisiana. Major General John Breckinridge [CS] lost to Brigadier General Thomas Williams [US].

1862-Union forces under Joseph Hooker retake Malvern Hill with only light Confederate resistance. These troops withdraw the next day.

1863-In a letter to Nathaniel Banks, Abraham Lincoln states 'I am an anti-slavery man' and goes on to state he would never return a "negro" freed under the Emancipation Proclamation to slavery.

1863-Skirmish, Cold Spring Gap, Frederick County Virginia.

1864-18 Union ships sail past the entrance to Mobile Bay. The C. S. S. Tennessee, prize ironclad of the Confederate Navy awaited the attack. As the U. S. S. Tecumseh sinks Admiral David Farragut orders "Damn the torpedoes, go ahead." His flag vessel Hartford took the lead. The ships destroyed the Confederate fleet.

1864-Union General William T. Sherman declared that John Schofield was senior to John Palmer. An issue had arisen the day before and Palmer had not carried out orders at Utoy Creek. Palmer was resigned and returned to Illinois.

Today in the Civil War August 4

1862-Ambrose Burnsides [US] arrives at Aquia Creek. As they arrive his men are sent forward to join John Pope [US].

1864-Union General William T. Sherman moved General John Schofield from the east side of Atlanta to the west in an attempt to cut the supply rail lines. Due to General John Palmer refusing to accept orders from anyone other than General George Thomas at Utoy Creek.

1864-Operations around Brazos Santiago, Texas.

Today in the Civil War August 3

1861-Off the coast of Virginia a Union naval officer ascends in a tethered balloon to look at Confederate controlled Hampton Roads. It is the first balloon ascent from a ship in naval history.

1864-[3-23] Battle of Mobile Bay Alabama.

1864-Gordon Granger lands on Dauphin Island and invests Fort Gaines, one of two forts defending Mobile Alabama.

1864-Union General John Schofield and his forces arrived at Utoy Creek.

Today in the Civil War August 2

1861-Skirmish at Dug Springs Missouri.

1862-The U. S. Congress passes the first federal income tax, 3% on earnings greater than $800 dollars.

1863-Following Lee's retreat from Gettysburg, the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac establish lines with Virginia's Rappahannock River between them.

1863-Skirmish, Newtown, Frederick County Virginia.

1864-Cavalry skirmish at Hancock, Maryland.

1865-The C.S.S. Shenandoah accepted that the South had lost the war. The Shenandoah was still searching for Yankee ships in the Pacific when they were informed by a British vessel. Captain James I. Waddell then sailed the ship from the northern Pacific to Liverpool, England, without stopping at any ports. The ship was surrendered to British officials upon arrival at Liverpool on November 6.

Today in the Civil War August 1

1861-Tennessee votes to adopt the Constitution of the Confederate States of America.

1861-Captain John Baylor claimed most of the territories of Arizona and New Mexico for the Confederacy.

1863-Federal forces begin a prolonged bombardment of entrenchments around Charleston Harbor South Carolina.

1863-David Porter assumes command of federal Navy forces on the Mississippi River.

1863-Federal cavalry advance from Witteburg on campaign to capture Little Rock, Arkansas.

1864-Phil Sheridan [US] is named commander, Army of the Shenandoah.

Today in the Civil War July 31

1861-11 Union officers are submitted to Congress to be promoted to brigadier general.

1862-In response to Union General John Pope's order that citizens be shot as spies, Confederate President Jefferson Davis orders Pope's officers be held as felons and not prisoners-of-war.

1862-Braxton Bragg [CS] and Kirby Smith [CS] meet in Chattanooga to agree on strategy against the Army of the Ohio.