Click 👉 TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Jan. 15.
ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Jan. 15.
1861: On January 15, the militiamen of both Florida and Alabama at Fort Barrancas, Pensacola, Fla., demand the surrender of Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island, but the Federal commander Lt. Adam J. Slemmer, refuses, and the standoff continues.
- Photograph shows Company B of the 9th Mississippi Infantry at Washington Navy Yard in Pensacola, Fla. in 1861. The cook is identified as Kinlock Falconer. (Information from the Image of War, 1981). Also depicted is Thomas A. Falconer of Holly Springs, Mississippi, holding a newspaper and James Cunningham standing at center. (Source: Field, Ron. Silent Witness, 2017, page 43) (Library of Congress)
1865: Second Battle of Fort Fisher, North Carolina. Known as the "Gibraltar of the South," Federal land and sea forces attacked the Confederate bastion which was commanded by Major General H.C. Whiting and Colonel William Lamb and manned by soldiers from Major General Robert Hoke's North Carolina Division. Whiting was mortally wounded and Lamb wounded, so command was turned over to Major James Reilly. By 10 o'clock P.M., the fort was overwhelmed and surrendered. Confederates suffered 583 killed and wounded and the entire 1900-man garrison was captured. The Federal forces consisted of 9,632 soldiers, 2,261 sailors, and marines in 58 ships. Casualties of the Northerners were 111 killed, 540 wounded, and 13 missing, for the Army; and 88 killed, 271 wounded, and 34 missing for the Navy.
CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Jan. 15.
Major General John Cabell Breckinridge was born on this day in 1821 in Louisville, Kentucky. Breckinridge had an impressive antebellum political career. He was in the Mexican American War briefly but the fighting was over before he got to the front. He was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives, and the U.S. Congress, was vice president under President Buchanan, and then was a U.S. Senator for Kentucky at the time the war began. He resigned from the Senate to join the Confederate Army. Although he had little military experience, he turned out to be one of the best of the many political generals. Commissioned a brigadier general, he led the Reserve Corps at the Battle of Shiloh and his performance there earned him a promotion to major general. He fought at the Battle of Baton Rouge, La. Aug. 5, 1862, the Battle of Perryville, Ky. Oct. 8, 1862, and then the very bloody Battle of Murfreesboro, Tenn. Dec. 31, 1862-Jan. 2, 1863. As part of the Vicksburg relief army, he was at the Battle of Jackson, Miss. in May 1863, then the Battle of Chickamauga in Sept. 1863, then the battles for Chattanooga in Nov. 1863. After a falling out with Gen. Braxton Bragg, President Davis assigned him to Eastern Theater and gave him command of the Department of E. Tenn. and W. Va. where he won a major victory in the Battle of New Market, Va. May 15, 1864. He then led a division in the Battle of Cold Harbor, Va. where he was injured when his horse was hit by a cannonball and fell on him. While still recovering and unable to walk, he led his forces at the Battle of Lynchburg, Va., and saved the day for the Confederates. Breckinridge reorganized the Dept. of E. Tenn. & W.Va., and his troops successfully defended the Salt Works at the First Battle of Saltville. Later he was able to drive off another attack on that area. Breckinridge was appointed Confederate Secretary of War on Feb. 6, 1865. After the surrender of Lee, he was put in charge of the Confederate treasury, $150,000 worth of gold. With the capture of President Davis, some of his group surrendered but he escaped to Cuba after many adventures. After President Andrew Johnson proclaimed a general amnesty, Breckinridge returned to the U.S. He worked in the insurance business, received a professorship and Washington College, and served in several railroad positions. He died May 17, 1873, at age 54. He was buried in Lexington Cemetery.
Major General Lafayette McLaws was born on this day in 1821 in Augusta, Georgia. He graduated from West Point in 1842, 48th in a class of 56 cadets. McLaws was an infantry officer in the Mexican-American War and served in the Utah War against the Mormons. He resigned from the U.S. Army in 1861 and became the colonel of the 10th Georgia Infantry in the Confederate Army. Promoted to brigadier general, he was in the Peninsular Campaign in 1862. He was promoted to major general on May 23, 1862, and led a division in the Army of Northern Virginia in the Seven Days Battles, the Second Battle of Manassas, Harper's Ferry, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Knoxville, after which he had a falling out with General Longstreet. McLaws was exonerated by a court-martial and was assigned to the defenses of Savannah, Ga. After the war, McLaws worked as a tax collector for the IRS, a postmaster in Savannah, and in various business ventures. He died in Savannah on July 24, 1897, and was buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery.
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