Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in History/ Confederate General Birthdays, April 3.

Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) APRIL 3. 

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, April 3.

1861: Confederate batteries fired on the schooner Rhoda H. Shannon in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The ship was not seriously damaged.

1862: Shiloh Campaign: The newly organized Army of the Mississippi of Gen. A.S. Johnston had little march discipline and made too much noise on its way to Shiloh. On this day the rain greatly hampered the march and there were several skirmishes along the way. The noise included the beating of drums and soldiers firing their weapons. There was also much confusion in the line of march causing traffic jams.

Pvt. Robert Patterson, Co. D, 12th Tenn. Inf.

The regiment included men from the west Tennessee

counties of Dyer and Gibson, as well as Co. E

from Kentucky. It had been in the Battle of Belmont, Mo.

Army of the Mississippi

(Library of Congress)

1864: Red River Campaign: Confederate pickets are driven by Brig. Gen. Albert Lee's Federal cavalry at Grand Ecore, La., but he retreats when he sees the Army of Western Louisiana infantry drawn up in line of battle. The addition of Brig. Gen. Thomas Green's Texas/Louisiana Cavalry Division added mobility and aggressiveness to Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor's army.

Brig. Gen. Tom Green

1865: Appomattox Campaign: Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet arrive in Danville, Va. after evacuating Richmond the day before. The president brought with him the Confederate Treasury and archives.

President Jefferson Davis

(Library of Congress)

Battle of Tuscaloosa: Also, on this day Federal troops enter Richmond, Va., and Lt. Gen. N.B. Forrest skirmishes with Croxton's Raiders outside Tuscaloosa, Ala. Confederate forces consisted of Capt. Benjamin Eddins' Tuscaloosa Home Guard and the University of Alabama cadets under university commandant Col. James T. Murfee, numbering some 300. Eddins was killed in the action.

Lt. Col. James T. Murfee

(VMI Archives Photographs Collection)

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, April 3.

NONE.

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthday, April 2.

Click👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) April 2.

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, April 2

1862: Shiloh Campaign: Confederate units are ordered to begin their march from Corinth, Miss. for the Federal encampment at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee. General Albert Sidney Johnston is leading the army. The Federal Army, under Maj. Gen. U.S. Grant has become complacent at their encampment.

Col. Horace Ready

23rd Tenn. Inf.

He rose from 3rd Lt. to Col.

throughout the war. 

The 23rd Tenn. Inf. was

in Cleburne's Brigade at

Shiloh. (Find A Grave) 

1863: President Jefferson Davis personally quells the bread riot in Richmond, Va. He bravely went into the middle of the mob and told the rioters they (the militia) had no desire to hurt anyone, but the lawlessness must stop and that the militia would open fire if they did not disperse. The mob, seeing the militia ready, disperses and no one is hurt.

1864: Red River Campaign: Col. Xavier DeBray's 26th Texas Cavalry Regiment, on its way to join Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor's Army of Western Louisiana at Pleasant Hill crosses paths with Federal Brig. Gen. Albert Lee's Federal cavalry at Crump's Hill, Louisiana. The Confederates rallied and repulsed the Yankees.

1865: Petersburg Breakthrough: President Jefferson Davis at church receives a message from General Lee that the Federals have broken the Siege of Petersburg and that the Army of Northern Virginia must evacuate. The president quietly leaves the church and that evening leaves via railroad for Danville, Va.

At Petersburg, Va., Grant's Federals broke through the Confederate fortifications at multiple points and General Lee orders the army to Amelia Court House, Va. where he ordered supplies to be ready for the army. Lt. Gen. James Longstreet and Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon's forces hold back the Federals long enough for the rest of the Confederates to successfully leave the siege lines.

Mobile Campaign: At Mobile, Alabama, Spanish Fort is under siege, and Federal forces also begin another siege at Fort Blakely.

Battle of Selma, Ala.: At Selma, Alabama, Lt. Gen. N.B. Forrest's command outnumbered defending the city are overrun by numerically superior Federal forces.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, April 2.

Brigadier General Henry Lewis Benning was born on this day in 1814 in Columbia, Georgia. A citizen-soldier before the War for Southern Independence, Benning was a Georgia Supreme Court justice and started the war as colonel of the 17th Georgia Infantry Regiment and was promoted to brigadier general rank on Jan. 17, 1863. His battles included Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Wauhatchie, Knoxville, the Wilderness (where he was wounded), Petersburg, and Appomattox. Following the war, he practiced law and died July 10, 1875, in Columbus, Ga., and was buried in Linwood Cemetery.

Brig. Gen. Henry L. Benning

👱

Brigadier General Phillip Dale Roddy was born on this day in 1826 in Moulton, Alabama. Before the war, he was a tailor and sheriff in Lawrence County, Alabama, from 1846 to 1852. Roddy organized a cavalry company in 1862, which he commanded during the Battle of Shiloh. His outstanding performance led to his command of the 4th Alabama Cavalry Regiment, which served under generals Nathan Bedford Forrest and Fighting Joe Wheeler. Roddy was promoted to brigadier general and fought against various Northern raids in Alabama. His battles included Shiloh, Brices Cross Roads, and Selma. Following the war, Roddy worked as a commission merchant and lived in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, New York City, and London, England. He died in London on July 20, 1897, and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Tuscaloosa.

Brig. Gen. Phillip D. Roddy

👋

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, April 1.

Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) April 1. 

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, April 1. 

1863: Captain John Singleton Mosby, with 69 Confederate partisan rangers, are surprised while sleeping at the Miskel farmhouse near Dranesville, Va., by 150 Federal troopers of the 1st Vermont Cavalry under Captain Henry C. Flint. The Confederates fight on foot and win a complete victory over the Federals. The Southerners had one man killed and three wounded. The Northerners lost 9 men killed, including Captain Flint, 15 wounded, and 82 captured.

Maj. (Col.) John Singleton Mosby

1864: Red River Campaign: Brigadier General Tom Green's Texas Cavalry Division, 3,000 strong, arrives in Pleasant Hill to check in with the main Confederate Army near Pleasant Hill, La. The Texans are then dispatched to monitor the advancing Federals and slow them down while Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor gets his army ready to make a stand between Mansfield and Pleasant Hill.

1865: Petersburg Campaign: The Battle of Five Forks, Va., on the Petersburg siege line takes place. Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan's 22,000 Federals attack the 10,600 Confederates under Maj. Gen. George Pickett at Five Forks to cut the last Confederate supply into Richmond, which is the South Side Railroad. While Pickett and Brig. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee are at a shad bake while the Federals attack. Yankees overwhelm the outnumbered Confederates. Pickett and Fitz Lee arrive back in time to save a part of his command, which withdraws. The Federals lose about 830 from all causes and the Confederates about  2,950. Some historians call it the "Waterloo of the Confederacy." 

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, April 1.

Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner was born on this day in 1823 in Hart County, Kentucky. He graduated from West Point in 1844, 11th in a class of 25 cadets. During the Mexican-American War, he fought with the 6th U.S. Infantry in the battles of Amazoque, San Antonio, Churubusco, Molino del Rey, Chapultepec, and Mexico City. He was breveted a captain for his actions at Molino del Rey. He resigned from the U.S. Army in 1855 and worked in real estate in Chicago, Ill., and served in the Illinois State Militia as adjutant general. In 1857, he moved to Louisville, Ky., and served as inspector general of the Kentucky State Guard. He resigned from the State Militia in 1861 and accepted a brigadier generalship in the Confederate Army. He was given the onerous duty of surrendering Fort Donelson, Tenn. in 1862 and became a P.O.W. at Fort Warren, N.Y. After being exchanged later that year, he was promoted to major general and to lieutenant general in 1864. His other battles included Perryville, Chickamauga, and Munfordville. Late in the war, he was assigned to duty in the Trans-Mississippi Department and commanded the districts of Arkansas and West Louisiana. Following the war, Buckner was elected governor of Kentucky, and in 1896, he ran as vice president of the United States on the National Democratic Party ticket with John Palmer, a former Union general, as the presidential candidate. Buckner died on Jan. 8, 1914, and was buried in Frankfort Cemetery in Frankfort, Ky. His only son, Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., was killed in action in the Battle of Okinawa, the highest-ranking American general to be killed in action in World War II. 

Lt. Gen. Simon B. Buckner

Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) March 31.

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, March 31.

1862: In the Siege of Island No. 10 in the Mississippi River, near Tipptonville, TN, which began March 15, the Confederates and Federals skirmished. Here's background excerpted from the Naval History and Heritage Command article: "Island No. 10 derived its name from the fact that it was the tenth island south of the convergence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers at Cairo, Illinois. Located on an S-bend in the Mississippi River, the island was in the first bend, and the town of New Madrid rested in the second bend. The swampy lowlands on either shore of the river at this point prevented any attempt to flank the batteries on the river. The only approach to the peninsula across from the island was from the south."

Pvt. Reuben Harrison Nations, Co. I, 12th La. Inf.

The regiment was originally part of the Island No. 10

garrison but was transferred to Fort Pillow. He was 

severely wounded on Oct. 20, 1864, at Decatur, AL,

and both of his legs were amputated. (Find-A-Grave)

1864: Red River Campaign: As the Federal cavalry brigade under Brig. Gen. Albert Lee approaches Natchitoches, La., at 1 o'clock in the afternoon. They hit a roadblock six miles from the town set up by the 5th and 7th Texas cavalry regiments and the Valverde Battery of the Texas artillery. The Federals break through after a sharp skirmish and enter Natchitoches at 5 o'clock.

1865: Petersburg Campaign: Despite being outnumbered 5 to 1, Confederates pushed back Federals at the Battle of Hatcher's Run on the Siege of Petersburg, Va. Confederates suffered 800 casualties and the Federals lost 1,870.

On the same day, at the Battle of Dinwiddie Court House on the Petersburg siege line, Confederates pushed back another Federal force trying to reach Five Forks. The Confederates lost 760 men and the Federals 354. The two battles are considered the last offensive actions by General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, March 31.

Brigadier General John Herbert Kelly was born on this day in 1840 in Pickens County, Alabama. Kelly resigned from West Point a few months ahead of his graduation to his graduation when his home state seceded in 1861. He then joined the Confederate Army with the rank of second lieutenant. Kelly served on the staff of Lt. Gen. William Hardee. He was made a major in the 9th Arkansas Infantry Battalion and participated in the Battle of Shiloh. Kelly was then promoted to colonel and given command of the 8th Arkansas Infantry regiment. Kelly was promoted to brigadier general on Nov. 23, 1863. His other battles included Murfreesboro, Perryville, Chickamauga, Pickett's Mill, and Franklin and Nashville during Wheeler's Raid of Aug. & Sept. 1864. Kelly was mortally wounded Sept. 3, 1864, by a sharpshooter near Franklin, Tennessee, and captured, and died Sept. 4, 1864. He is buried in Magnolia Cemetery in Mobile, Ala. He was the youngest Confederate general.

                                                              Brig. Gen. John H. Kelly

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, March 30.

 Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) March 30.

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, March 30.

1864: Red River Campaign: As the Federal cavalry advances toward Natchitoches, La., cotton is burned to keep it from falling into Federal hands. "In fact, the road all the way to Natchitoches, a distance of 18 miles, one could say was a solid flame of, and the air was permeated with the smell of burning cotton," wrote Capt. Felix Poché of Mouton's brigade.

1865: Siege of Petersburg: Confederate and Federal forces pile up on the Confederate right in anticipation of a massive Federal attack at the Siege of Petersburg, Va.

Croxton's Raid: In Alabama, Federal Brig. Gen. John T. Croxton's brigade, detached from the main Federal force under Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson destroyed all public property at Tuscaloosa.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, March 30.

Brig. Gen. Samuel Bell Maxey was born on this day in 1825 in Tompkinsville, Ky. He graduated from West Point in 1846 and was assigned as a brevet second lieutenant in the 7th U.S. Infantry Regiment. He joined his regiment in Monterrey, Mexico, and took part in the battles of Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Churubusco, and Molino del Rey. Maxey was promoted to brevet first lieutenant for gallantry at Cerro Gordo and Contreras. He resigned from the U.S. Army in 1849 and became a lawyer and farmer in Paris, Texas, and the district attorney there for Lamar County. During the War for Southern Independence, Maxey became colonel of the 9th Texas Infantry Regiment. He was promoted to brigadier general on March 7, 1862. He was absent during the Battle of Shiloh but took part in the Siege of Port Hudson, La., in 1863. Late that year, he was assigned to command Indian Territory. Gen. E. Kirby Smith, commander of the Trans-Mississippi Dept., appointed him a major general in the Trans-Mississippi only. He had some success in interdicting Federal Army supplies. He resigned on May 22, 1865, and resumed his civilian life in Paris, Texas. After receiving a pardon in 1867, he resumed practicing law. Beginning in 1875, he served two terms in the U.S. Senate. He died Aug. 16, 1894, in Eureka Springs, Ark., and was buried in Evergreen Springs Cemetery in Paris, Texas.

2nd Lt. Samuel B. Maxey

Mexican American War uniform

Brig. Gen. Samuel Bell Maxey

as a U.S. Senator from Texas

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, March 29.

Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) March 29. 

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, 29.

1862: Shiloh Campaign: Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston assembles reinforcements at Corinth, Mississippi to attack the Federal Army under Maj. Gen. U.S. Grant at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, about 20 miles north, before he could join forces with another Federal Army under Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell. General P.G.T. Beauregard, second in command to Johnston, called upon governors in the Southern states in the Mississippi River Valley to send reinforcements.

1864: Red River Campaign: Confederate Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor orders the burning of cotton ten miles above the approaching Federal Army along the Red River. A major goal of the Red River Campaign by the Federals is to steal as much cotton as possible. The cotton stealing turns out to be a major distraction for the Federals.

1865: Siege of Petersburg: Confederate General Robert E. Lee prepares to counter the new Federal offensive to turn the Confederate right flank in the Siege of Petersburg, Va. Sherman's forces have united with Grant's before Petersburg, giving them an overwhelming advantage. This is considered the beginning of the Appomattox Campaign. 

Confederate General Birthdays, March 29.

Major General Robert Emmett Rodes was born on this day in 1829 in Lynchburg, Virginia. He was an 1848 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and taught there until 1851.  He then became a railroad engineer. In the War for Southern Independence, Rodes was the colonel of the 5th Alabama Infantry, then became a brigadier general in October 1861, and a major general effective May 2, 1863. His battles were First Manassas, Seven Pines, South Mountain, Sharpsburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Third Winchester. Rodes was killed in action on September 19, 1864, at the Third Battle of Winchester, Va. (aka Opequon) when he was struck in the back of the head by a shell fragment. He was buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery in Lynchburg, Va.

Brig. Gen. Robert E. Rodes

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, March 28.

 Click 👉 TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) March 28.

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, March 28.

1862: The major fighting in the Battle of Glorieta Pass, N.M. occurs on the third day of the battle. In the morning, the Confederates and the Federals both decide to launch attacks. Federal Lt. Col. J.P. Slough splits his forces and detaches Maj. Chivington's command is to make a flank attack while he is attacking the rebels from the front. Lt. Col. W.R. Scurry decides to attack the Federals in a frontal assault, but a small part of his command is detached to guard the supply place at Johnson's Ranch with one artillery piece. He is expecting reinforcements under Col. Tom Green. The two armies clash along the Glorietta River near Pigeon's Ranch, and the Federals attack first. Scurry counterattacked and outflanked the Federals, but Texan Maj. John Shropshire is killed in the action, and Texan Maj. Henry Raguet is mortally wounded. By the end of the day, Slough retreats to Kozloski's Ranch, with the Confederates winning that phase of the battle. However, Maj. Chivington doesn't flank the Confederates as ordered but attacks the small detachment at Johnson's Ranch and quickly overwhelms it, looting and destroying or capturing the vital Confederate supplies and livestock, including the artillery piece and some of the men. That phase is won by the Federals. The Confederates lost 222 men killed, wounded, and captured or missing. The Federal casualty total is 147.

Lt. Col. (later BG) William R. Scurry

1864: Confederate Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor on this day in the Red River Campaign gets positive word that Banks' Federal juggernaut has reached Cotile Landing just south of Natchitoches. Hoping to defend Natchitoches, but still waiting for Brig. Gen. Tom Green's Texas Cavalry Division, Taylor reluctantly orders his command to retreat to Pleasant Hill in Northwest Louisiana. The men, especially the Louisianians, are anxious to stop the looting and burning of their state. Federal Brig. Gen. Albert Lee's cavalry is in the lead, followed by Maj. Gen. A.J. Smith's detachment from Vicksburg, and the elements of the 19th Army Corps and other units. The Federal flotilla brings added punch to the Northern offensive.

1865: Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest in Alabama scrambles to set up an effective defense against Wilson's Raiders, which are headed for the major Confederate base at Selma. But the Federal cavalry is moving fast, and Forrest has few men with little hope of stopping them. 

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, March 28.

Lieutenant General Wade Hampton III was born this day in 1818 in Charleston, South Carolina. A wealthy prewar planter and politician in South Carolina, Hampton was a citizen soldier who rose to the second-highest rank of generals in the War for Southern Independence. He organized Hampton's Legion early in the war, took part in the First Battle of Manassas, was wounded, and fought in most of the major campaigns and battles of the Army of Northern Virginia, rising to the level of lieutenant general and commanding the cavalry of the army. He finished the war with Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee in North Carolina in 1865. In the post-war years, he was a major political figure in South Carolina, fighting Reconstruction and serving as governor of the state. He died April 11, 1902, and is buried in Trinity Cathedral Churchyard, Charleston, in S.C.

Lt. Gen. Wade Hampton III

👱

Brigadier General Thomas Taylor Munford was born on this day in 1831 in Richmond, Virginia. He was an 1852 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and in the War for Southern Independence, rose to the rank of brigadier general. His battles were First Manassas, Cross  Keys, White Oak Swamp, Second Manassas, Mile Hill, South Mountain, Gettysburg, Bristoe, Wapping Heights, Five Forks, High Bridge, and Sayler's Creek. Following the war, he worked as a cotton planter in Alabama and served as president of the Virginia Military Institute Board of  Visitors. He died Feb. 27, 1918, in Uniontown, Alabama and was buried in Spring Hill Cemetery in Lynchburg, Va.

Brig. Gen. Thomas T. Munford

👋