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

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ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY

1864: Feb. 29, 1864, was the only leap year day in the War for Southern Independence. Brigadier General Louis Hébert was the target of a Federal Navy kidnap attempt by Navy Lt. William B. Cushing, commander of the blockade ship U.S.S. Monticello. Hébert, at the time, was in command of the defenses around Wilmington, N.C. and with headquarters at Fort Caswell, located at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, and was residing in Smithville, North Carolina. Hébert, pronounced A-bear, was born on March 13, 18120, at Plaisance Plantation, about five miles south of Plaquemine in Iberville Parish, Louisiana. He graduated in 1845 ranking third in his class. Hébert resigned in 1846 to return home to assist his ailing father run the family plantation. He started the war as colonel of the 3rd Louisiana Infantry Regiment. He led the regiment at the Battle of Oak Hills, Mo. with great distinction. For his next battle, the Battle of Elk Horn Tavern, Ark. where he was captured, but was soon exchanged. He was promoted to brigadier general on May 26, 1862, but came down with typhoid fever. When he recovered, Hébert led his brigade with great distinction at the Battle of Iuka, Miss. on Sept. 19, 1862. He became sick again during the Battle of Corinth, Miss. Oct. 3-4, 1862. After recovering, he was given command of the Third Louisiana Redan at Vicksburg, Miss. and fought throughout the Siege of Vicksburg, again with great distinction. After exchange, Hébert was assigned to command the forts, batteries, troops and defenses at the two mouths of the Cape Fear River, N.C. on the Atlantic Coast, including Fort Fisher, but he was headquartered at Fort Caswell. This area protected Wilmington, N.C. which was the last great port on the Atlantic Coast held by the Confederates and was important for supplying the Army of Northern, Va.

Brig. Gen. Louis Hebert

        Lieutenant Cushing knew of Hébert's importance which is why he targeted him. Cushing had the reputation for such daring operations as the Smithville Raid. He was just 21-year's old at the time and was the youngest man of his rank in Naval History at the time. His raiding expedition consisted of 20 sailors in two row boats that were able to sneak past both Fort Caswell and Fort Johnston during the night of February 29th. Luckily for Hébert, he was absent from his headquarters in Smithville and away on business in Wilmington. They did capture Hébert's aid, Captain Patrick Kelly. While he failed to capture Hébert, Cushing would go on to have other daring adventures. General Hébert survived the war, returned to Louisiana, taught school and died in 1901.

Confederate General Birthdays, Feb. 29.

NONE.

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

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THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Feb. 28.

1861: Missouri delegates assembled to meet in a convention in Jefferson City to consider the question of secession from the Union.

North Carolina's election to have a secession convention resulted in a narrow majority for not holding it. The vote was 46,603 against holding the convention to 46,409 for it. 

1862: At President Davis' request, a day of fasting is held throughout the Confederacy. Also on this day, federal forces occupy Charleston, Virginia.

1863: The Confederate privateer Rattlesnake (formerly the cruiser CSS Nashville), runs aground on the Ogeechee River in Georgia and is sunk by the USS Montauk, a single-turret ironclad. 

1864: Kirkpatrick-Dahlgren Raid: Confederate forces at Richmond, Virginia thwart an assassination attempt on President Davis and his cabinet. Federal Major General Judson Kilpatrick leads the ill-fated raid and Colonel Ulric Dahlgren, the son of Admiral Dahlgren, is killed and plans for the assassination are found on his body. Richmond home guardsman William Littlepage found the incriminating documents on Dahlgren's dead body.

An unidentified young Confederate taken

by Richmond, Va. photographer Charles Rees.

He is wearing the plain style uniform

similar to those issued to Richmond Home Guard

units. (Library of Congress)

1865: Carolinas Campaign: Confederate defenders battle with Sherman's unstoppable blue coats at Rocky Mount and Cheraw on their relentless campaign of destruction through South Carolina. 

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Feb. 28. 

Brigadier General John Creed Moore was born on this day in 1824 at Redbridge, Hawkins County, Tennessee. He graduated from West Point in 1849 and was 17th in his class. While serving as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, he participated in the Seminole War, and in various frontier posts until he resigned in 1855. Before the War for Southern Independence, Moore became a professor at Shelby College in Kentucky. After the war started, he joined the Confederate Army as a captain and then helped raise the 2nd Tex. Inf. Regiment and selected as its colonel. Moore led the regiment at the Battle of Shiloh and was promoted to brigadier general on May 26, 1862. He was in the Second Battle of Corinth, Miss., and was captured at the end of the Siege of Vicksburg. After the exchange, he was in the Chattanooga Campaign. He resigned in February after a dispute with Lt. Gen. William Hardee. Moore finished the war as a lieutenant colonel commanding arsenals in Savannah, Ga. and Selma, Ala. He resumed his education career following the war in Texas. Moore died on Dec. 31, 1910, and was buried in Osage Cemetery in Osage, Texas which is now a ghost town.

Brig. Gen. John C. Moore

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Brigadier General Matthew Duncan Ector was born on this day in 1822 in Putman County, Georgia. He was a lawyer and served one term in the Georgia legislature before moving to Henderson, Texas in 1851 where he also practiced law and served in the Texas legislature. Ector began the War for Southern Independence as a private in the 3rd Texas Cavalry before being elected a second lieutenant and serving on the staff of Brig. Gen. Joseph L. Hogg. When he was promoted to colonel of the 14th Texas Cavalry Regiment, he was then assigned to command a Texas infantry brigade in the Army of Tennessee which fought at the Battle of Murfreesboro, the Battle of Chickamauga, the Atlanta Campaign, and was wounded July 27, 1864, and had a leg amputated. Ector recovered enough to lead a brigade at the Battle of Spanish Fort, Mobile, Ala. at the end of the war. Following the war, he was elected to the Texas Court of Appeals in 1875 and died Oct. 29,1879 in Tyler, Texas, and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Marshall, Texas.

Brig. Gen. Matthew D. Ector

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Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, Feb. 27.

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ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Feb. 27.

1861: President Davis tries to make peace with the Federal government and avoid war. He appoints three officials, Martin J. Crawford, John Forsyth, and A.B. Roman to go to Washington to open peaceful negotiations. At the same time, Governor Pickens of South Carolina urges the president to seize Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor for the safety of Charleston and honor. There was also a peace conference at the Willard Hotel in Washington and Virginia also proposed a peace conference. All of them failed.

1862: The Confederate Congress authorizes President Davis to suspend habeas corpus as a wartime measure. A writ of habeas corpus is part of the Constitution which protects an individual from illegal arrest by allowing the accused to force the government to show proof before a court. The Constitution also empowers Congress to suspend the writ during times of rebellion or invasion. Lincoln had suspended habeas corpus in the U.S. in April 1861.

1864: Confederate Camp Sumter at Andersonville, Georgia begins intaking U.S. prisoners of war at the compound. The P.O.W. camp becomes necessary because the Yankee government cuts off prisoner exchanges. Captain Henry Wirz, a native of Switzerland and a Louisiana physician before the war, was put in command. He would become a scapegoat and the victim of an unjust military court at the end of the war.

Capt. Henry Wirz

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1865: Carolinas Campaign: Confederate forces contest Sherman's route of march at Mount Elon and at Cloud's House, South Carolina. There is also skirmishing between Confederates and Yankees at Spring Place, Georgia.

Burning of Columbia, S.C.  Feb. 17, 1865

by Sherman's bummers.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Feb. 27.

NONE.

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, Feb. 26.

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ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Feb. 26.

1861: Federal troops evacuate in Texas: Future Confederate General E. Kirby Smith, but still a major in the U.S. Army with the 2nd U.S. Cavalry and in command of Camp Colorado, Texas, abandoned the camp on this day. He had previously refused to surrender it to Texas State Troops under Colonel Benjamin McCulloch. Another future Confederate general, but then as a U.S. Army general, Gen. David E. Twiggs had agreed to the evacuation of all troops, and the surrender of all installations and property, to the Texas States Troops.

Unidentified Pvt. in the 1st Tex. Inf.

(Library of Congress)

1862: New Orleans Campaign: The "Committee of Safety" in New Orleans reports to President Davis that the Navy Department's finances are deplorable and inhibiting enlistments and the payment of debts that are owed by the government.

1863: Confederate partisans near Woodburn, Tennessee capture a Federal supply train and confiscate 200 mules as well as commercial and military stores. They then burn the train.

1864: Private John S. Jackman of the 9th Kentucky Infantry in the famed "Orphan Brigade," writes in his diary that at Rocky Face Ridge, Georgia there is sharpshooting and skirmishing during the day, but otherwise it has been relatively quiet.

An unidentified Kentucky Confederate

with 2 revolvers. (Library of Congress)

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Feb. 26.

NONE.

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, Feb. 25.

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ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Feb. 25.

1863: There is minor skirmishing going on in Virginia at Winchester, Hartwood Church, Chantilly, and Strasburg. At Charleston, South Carolina, inflation is making life hard for civilians, including a loaf of bread costing $25 and a barrel of flour $65.

1864: First Battle of Dalton, Ga.: Fighting on this day is reported near Dalton, Georgia,  and the Federals had to retreat. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston commanded about 40,000 soldiers in the Army of Tennessee. Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas commanded about 25,000 bluecoats in the Army of the Cumberland. Confederate casualties amounted to 140 and Federals lost about 300.

1865: Last Charge of the Army of Tennessee: Gen. Joseph E. Johnston was appointed to command the Army of Tennessee to rebuild it to give Sherman serious opposition in the Carolina Campaign. He assembles enough troops to at least be able to make a serious stand against the rampaging bluecoats.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Feb. 25.

Brigadier General Clement Anselm Evans was born on this day in 1833 in Stewart County, Georgia. Before the war, Evans was a lawyer and George State Senator but when Lincoln was elected in 1860, raised a state militia company. After the War for Southern Independence came in 1861, Evans was commissioned a major in the 31st Georgia Infantry and promoted to colonel on May 13, 1862. He was promoted to brigadier general in 1864. Evans' battles included the Seven Days Battle, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Monocacy (where he was wounded), Hatchers Run, and Appomattox at the war's end. Following the war, he became a Methodist minister and was active in Confederate veteran organizations and causes, such as the Confederate Survivors Association. He was one of the founders of the United Confederate Veterans and was the Georgia UCV commander for 12 years. Evans also authored his own memoirs and the Military History of Georgia. He was also the editor and co-authored the 12-volume Confederate Military History. Evans died July 2, 1911, and paid the honor of having his body lay in the state capitol's central rotunda. He was buried in Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta. 

Brig. Gen. Clement A. Evans

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Brigadier General Robert Hall Chilton was born on this day in 1815 in Loudoun County, Virginia. He graduated from West Point in 1837 ranking 48th out of 57 cadets. His U.S. Army career includes service in the 1st Regiment of Dragoons with duty on the frontier and then in Mexican American War and was brevetted a major for gallantry at the Battle of Buena Vista. He rescued wounded Col. Jefferson Davis in that battle. Following that war was a paymaster in various posts. Chilton resigned from the U.S. Army on April 29, 1861, and joined the Confederate Army as a lieutenant colonel on the staff of General Robert E. Lee. He was promoted to brigadier general on Feb. 16, 1864. In May 1864 he led a small force against an enemy force raiding the Richmond & Petersburg Railroad. Following the war he lived in Columbus, Georgia where he served as the president of a manufacturing company. Chilton died Feb. 18, 1879, in Columbus and was buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Va. 

Brig. Gen. Robert H. Chilton

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Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, Feb. 24.

 1862: SHILOH CAMPAIGN: Confederates under Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry evacuates Nashville, Tenn. under pressure from General Buel's Army of the Ohio. The Confederate forces were in shambles after the fall of Forts Henry and Donelson. General Albert Sidney Johnston appeared to be a failure and he had only 17,000 men to stop the Federal onslaught on the Mississippi Valley. Out of desperation, President Davis sent General P.G.T. Beauregard to the West to rescue the situation. Johnston welcomed Beauregard, who was sick, who set up his command in Jackson, Tennessee, and began calling on the region's Southern governors to immediately send reinforcements to Corinth, Miss. to throw back the Northern invaders.

Two Tennessee Confederates

(Library of Congress)

1863: The Confederate Ram C.S.S. Webb and C.S.S. Queen of the West attack the ironclad U.S.S. Indianola in the Red River in Louisiana, ramming it seven times until it is a wreck and surrenders. The Southern victory impairs Federal operations in the Red River and Mississippi River.

CSS QUEEN OF THE WEST AND THE CSS Web 

FORCED THE SURRENDER OF THE USS INDIANOLA

1864: President Davis appoints to the post of chief of staff General Braxton Bragg, who had been such a failure as the commander of the Army of Tennessee.

1865: Civilians in South Carolina suffer mightily under the onslaught of Sherman's vengeful bummers who feel they have a license to wreak havoc on the people of the first state to secede. Sherman complains to General Wade Hampton about the "murder" of some of the bluecoat foragers. Hampton replies he is unaware of the specific complaint but reiterates his standing order to shoot on sight any Federal caught burning people's homes. "This order shall remain in force so long as you disgrace the profession of arms by allowing your men to destroy private dwellings," Hampton writes.

Lt. Gen. Wade Hampton

CONFEDERATE GENERAL HISTORY, Feb. 24.

Brigadier General Thomas Benton Smith was born on this day in 1838 in Mechanicsville, Tennessee. He received a military education at the Nashville Military Academy and was appointed to West Point but resigned. Smith worked for the Nashville & Decatur Railroad. With the coming of war in 1861, he was elected a second lieutenant in the 20th Tennessee Infantry Regiment. After the battles of Mill Springs and Shiloh in 1862, he was promoted to colonel of his regiment and to brigadier general on July 29, 1864, and commanded an infantry brigade. His other battles included Baton Rouge, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, the Atlanta Campaign, and Nashville where he was captured. After his surrender, a Federal colonel, William L. McMillen, beat unarmed Smith over the head with Smith's own sword, inflicting serious brain damage. Incarcerated at Johnson's Island, Ohio, and Fort Warren, Mass., Smith was not released until July 24, 1865. Following the war, Smith worked for the railroad, unsuccessfully ran for Congress, and with lingering brain damage from the assault, spent many of his post-war years in an insane asylum in Nashville. Occasionally he was able to attend veteran reunions or social events. He died May 21, 1923, and was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville.

Brig. Gen. Thomas B. Smith

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Brigadier General John Crawford Vaughn was born on this day in 1824 in Roane County, Tennessee. He gained military experience in the Mexican American War serving as a captain in the Mexico City campaign. However, his regiment saw no combat action. In between wars he searched for gold in California, ran a hotel in Sweetwater, Tenn., and served as a sheriff in Monroe Co., Tenn. In the War for Southern Independence, Vaughn was elected colonel of the 3rd Tenn. Inf. Regiment and participated in the First Battle of Manassas, Va. Returning to Tennessee, he was promoted to brigadier general, led a brigade in the Vicksburg Campaign, and surrendered with the garrison at the end of the siege. Paroled in Oct. 1863, and then returned to active duty, took part in the Siege of Knoxville in 1863 under Lt. Gen. James Longstreet. After that, he mounted his brigade and served at the Battle of Piedmont, Bull's Gap, Morristown. On April 19, 1865, he joined President Jefferson Davis to escort his party. Vaughn surrendered on May 10, 1865, and was indicted by Tennessee for treason, but moved his family to Georgia. He returned to Tennessee in 1870 and entered politics and was elected to the Tennessee General Assembly. In 1874 he plead guilty in a fraud case involving a widow's pension and was fined $1,000, after which he moved back to Georgia. Vaughn died Sept. 10, 1875, and was buried with military honors at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Thomasville, Ga.

Brig. Gen. John C. Vaughn

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Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History, Confederate general birthdays, Feb. 23.

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ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Feb. 23.

1861: Texas voters validated Texas' secession by a pro-secession vote of 46,129 to 14,697. Governor Sam Houston campaigned against secession, but voters decided otherwise. The vote became official on March 2, 1861, and the Secession Convention authorized the state to apply for admission to the Confederacy. Texas supplies some 70,000 men to the Confederate armies during the war including some of its most famous units. The Federals never conquer Texas but there were small incursions along the coast. Although the battles were small, Galveston, and Sabine Pass in 1863 were important and Palmito Ranch was the very last battle of the war.

1863: Confederate forces skirmish with Federals in Athens, Kentucky, and Fort Caswell, North Carolina. 

1865: Carolinas Campaign: Confederates forces skirmished with Sherman's bummers near Camden, South Carolina. Sherman had about 60,000 men in two armies to carry out the Federal scorched earth policy against the people of the South while the Confederate forces were scattered, and the Confederate government was debating about reappointing Gen. Joseph E. Johnston to rebuild the army to give serious resistance to Sherman. Vice President Alexander Stephens was urging Gen. Robert E. Lee to appoint Johnston, but Lee would only go so far as to recommend him to President Davis, but Davis still had misgivings about Johnston.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Feb. 23.

Brig. Gen. Gilbert M. Sorrell

Brigadier-General Gilbert Moxley Sorrell was born on this day in 1838 in Savannah, Georgia. At the beginning of the war, he was a bank clerk in Savannah and enlisted as a private in the Georgia Hussars of the State Militia. Sorrell participated in the capture of Fort Pulaski, Georgia. He secured a position on Brig. Gen. James Longstreet's staff July 21, 1861, at the First Battle of Manassas, Va. He has commissioned a captain on Sept. 11, 1861, was promoted to lieutenant colonel on June 24, 1862, and lieutenant colonel on June 18, 1863. He served on Longstreet's staff until October 1864 when he was appointed a brigadier general and commanded an infantry brigade in Mahone's Division. Sorrell's battles were First Manassas, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Hatcher's Run.  Following the war, he became an executive with the Ocean Steamship Company and served on the board of directors for the Georgia Historical Society. Sorrell died Aug. 10, 1901, in Roanoke, Va., and was buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia.                                                     

Maj. Gen. Jeremy F. Gilmer

Major General Jeremy Francis Gilmer was born on this day in 1818 in Guilford County, North Carolina. He graduated in 1839 fourth in his class at West Point and was assigned to the Army Corps of Engineers as a second lieutenant. He was then an assistant professor of engineering at West Point. Gilmer was next assigned to Fort Schuyler, N.Y. Harbor in 1840. In the Mexican-American War, Gilmer was the Chief Engineer of the Army of the West in the New Mexico Territory and surveyed battlefields near Mexico City. After that war, Gilmer had engineering assignments in Georgia and California. During the War for Southern Independence, he left the U.S. Army and joined the Confederate Army. He served as the chief engineer on Gen. Albert Sydney Johnston's staff as a lieutenant colonel. Gilmer was severely wounded at the Battle of Shiloh, Tenn. When he recovered from his wound, he was promoted to brigadier general and made chief engineer for the Army of Northern Virginia in August 1862 stationed in Richmond, Va. A year later he was promoted to major general and made the Chief of the Engineer Bureau of the Confederacy. He also worked on the defenses of Atlanta, Ga., and Mobile, Ala. Following the war, Gilmer became president and engineer of the Savannah, Ga. Gas Company and director of the Georgia Central Railroad. Gilmer died Dec. 31, 1883, in Savannah and was buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery there.

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, Feb. 22.

   Click 👉 TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Feb. 22. 

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Feb. 22.

1862: President Davis has his second inauguration in Richmond, Virginia, this time as the full president of the Confederacy after having been popularly elected in November 1861 to a six-year term. His first inauguration on Feb. 18, 1861, was as the Provisional President as the government was organizing. In his second inauguration address, the president said, "We are in arms to renew such sacrifices as our fathers made to the holy cause of constitutional liberty." This day is also the 292nd anniversary of Washington's Birthday.

President Jefferson Davis was inaugurated.

on Washington's Birthday in 1862, a nationwide holiday.

1864: Confederate Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry scored another victory for Southern arms at the Battle of Okolona, Mississippi. The Federal cavalry Brig. Gen. William Sooy Smith had 7,000 bluecoat troopers. Forrest's cavalry numbered just 2,500 hardened Southern horse soldiers. Forrest thwarted the Federal plan of Smith's cavalry to join up with Sherman's forces at Meridian, Mississippi. The Yankee cavalry had to limp to safety in Tennessee instead. The total casualties for the Federals were 388, to the Confederate total of 144.

1865: Sherman's bummers enter Wilmington, North Carolina, which had been abandoned by the Confederates the day before. Fighting occurs elsewhere in Camden, South Carolina, and at the Watertree River.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Feb. 22.

Brig. Gen. Hylan B. Lyon

Brig. Gen. Hylan Benton Lyon was born on this day in 1836 in Caldwell, Kentucky. He graduated from West Point in 1856 ranking 19th in a class of 48 cadets. Lyon was assigned as a second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Artillery at Fort Myers during the Third Seminole War. Transferred to the Washington Territory, he was in two battles with Indiana tribes. Resigning in 1861 to join the Confederate Army, he raised Co. F of the 3rd Ky. Inf., became part of the 1st Ky. Artillery and was promoted to lieutenant colonel. Lyon was captured at Fort Donelson, Tenn., and was exchanged in September 1862. His regiment reenlisted for three years as the 8th Ky., and he was appointed colonel of the regiment. He served in the Siege of Vicksburg but managed to avoid the surrender with 250 of his men. They joined the Confederates in Jackson, Miss. served in the Army of Tennessee commanding regiments of cavalry. He was briefly captured in January 1865 but managed to escape. After the war, he went to Mexico where he worked as a civil engineer for about a year, and then returned to Kentucky. Lyon was a commissioner of prisons in Kentucky after the war and died April 25, 1907, and was buried in the Old City Cemetery in Eddyville, Ky.

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, Feb. 21.

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ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Feb. 21.

1862: The Battle of Valverde in the New Mexico Territory is a Confederate victory. Brigadier General Henry Hopkins Sibley's Confederate Army of New Mexico (aka Sibley's Texas Cavalry Brigade) comprises the 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 7th Texas cavalry regiments with a total of 2,590 men. Federal forces under Colonel Edward Canby are made up of the 1st and 3rd U.S. Cavalry; 5th, 7th, and 10th U.S. Infantry regiments; McRae's Battery, and various Colorado Territory and New Mexico units for a total of 3,000 men. In the battle, the Confederates captured six field artillery pieces converted into the outstanding Texas Valverde Battery of the Confederate Army, which did crack service for the South in the Trans-Mississippi Department. Federal casualties are 68 killed, 160 wounded, and 204 captured or missing. The Confederates lost 36 killed, 150 wounded, and one missing.

1865: Battle of Wilmington: Confederate General Braxton Bragg orders the evacuation of Wilmington, North Carolina, the last Confederate port on the East Coast. Confederates hold Galveston, Texas on the Gulf of Mexico to the very end of the war.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Feb. 21.

Brigadier General Johnson Hagood was born on this day in 1829 in Barnwell County, South Carolina. He graduated at the top of his class from the South Carolina Military Academy in 1847, studied law, and was admitted to the bar, but never practiced. Hagood spent the rest of the prewar years running his plantation and when war came in 1861, enlisted as a private in the 1st S.C. Infantry. His leadership abilities and military education marked him as the ideal citizen soldier, and he was made a brigadier general effective July 21, 1862. His battles and campaigns included Fort Sumter, Second Manassas, Second Fort Wagner, Drewry's Bluff, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and Wilmington near the end of the war. Hagood's postwar career included resuming his planter's life, working in politics against Reconstruction in South Carolina, and serving one term as governor, 1880-1882. He died on Jan. 2, 1898, and was buried in Holy Apostles Episcopal Church Cemetery.

Brig. Gen. Johnson Hagood

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Brigadier General John Henry Winder was born in 1800 in Somerset County, Maryland. He graduated from West Point in 1820 ranking 11th in a class of 30 cadets. Winder resigned from the U.S. Army in 1823 to take care of family matters and business but rejoined in 1827 as a second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Artillery, taught tactics at West Point, and was promoted to 1st lieutenant in 1833 and then to captain in 1840. During the Mexican-American War, he was promoted to major and then lieutenant colonel. Winder distinguished himself, particularly at the Battle of Chapultepec. He resigned from the U.S. Army on April 20, 1861, and was appointed a colonel in the Confederate Army and then to brigadier general on June 21, 1861, and appointed Assistant Inspector General of the Camps of Instruction. After President Davis proclaimed martial law in Richmond, Winder was appointed provost marshal general. Late in the war, he was given command of all Confederate prisoner-of-war camps. He died of a heart attack during the war, on Feb. 7, 1865, and was buried at Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore, Md.

Brig. Gen. John Henry Winder

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Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, Feb. 20

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ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Feb. 20.

1861: Confederate Congress in 1861: Montgomery, Alabama established the Confederate States Navy and authorized President Jefferson Davis to purchase war materials. Stephen R. Mallory was the Secretary of the Navy. He had been a U.S. Senator from Florida, a former admiralty lawyer, and chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Naval Affairs. Although never able to break the Federal blockade, he built a Confederate Navy that seriously depleted the U.S. Merchant fleet, was a serious challenge to the Northern fleets at Hampton Roads, Va., New Orleans, La., Mobile Bay, Ala., and achieved the first successful submarine attack in all naval history at Charleston, S.C. in 1864. Admiral Raphael Semmes was the most famous military leader in the C.S. Navy.

C.S. Navy Seal

1862: General Leonidas Polk withdraws his Confederate forces from Columbus, Kentucky. General Albert Sydney Johnston withdraws to near Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk

1863: Confederate forces at Yazoo Pass, Mississippi repulse an attack by Federal forces. Another effort by the Northerners to get at Vicksburg is foiled.

Confederate battle flag

1864: Confederate forces under Major General Joseph Finegan are victorious at the Battle of Olustee, Florida. Finegan has 5,000 men to 5,500 for Seymour. Losses for both sides are heavy. The Federals lost 203 killed, 1,152 wounded and 506 captured or missing. The Confederate losses amount to 93 killed, 847 wounded, and six captured or missing.

1865: The Confederate House of Representatives authorizes the use of black soldiers in the Confederate Army. For more information on the subject, check out Black Confederates – Sons of Confederate Veterans (scv.org)Black Confederates – Sons of Confederate Veterans (scv.org)

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Feb. 20.

Brigadier General James Barbour Terrill was born on this day in 1838 in Bath County, Virginia. He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va. in 1858. Terrill was appointed to the Virginia State Militia in 1859 with the rank of major, and in 1860 practiced law in Warm Springs, Va. With the coming of war, he was elected a major of the 13th Virginia Infantry and was promoted to lieutenant colonel and then colonel. His battles were First Manassas, the Valley Campaign of 1862, the Seven Days Battles, Cedar Mountain, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House. Terrill was killed in action on May 30, 1864, at the Battle of Totopotomoy Creek, also called the Battle of Bethesda Church. His nomination to brigadier general had been filed prior to his death and he was promoted posthumously to his generalship on May 31, 1864. General Terrill was buried at Bethesda Church, Va.

Brig. Gen. James B. Terrill

Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Feb. 19. 

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Feb. 19.

1861: President Davis begins assembling his first cabinet in Montgomery, Ala. which would include Vice President Alexander Stephens, Robert Toombs of Georgia, Secretary of State; Christopher Memminger of South Carolina; Leroy Pope Walker of Alabama, Secretary of War; John Reagan of Texas, Postmaster General; Judah P. Benjamin of Louisiana, Attorney General; and Stephen Mallory of Florida, Secretary of the Navy. In New Orleans, the State of Louisiana gains control of the federal paymaster's office.

The first Confederate cabinet

1863: Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest skirmishes this day with the Federal Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand's cavalry near Yazoo Pass, Mississippi. One of the regiments in the fight was the 27th Texas Cavalry, also known as Whitfield's Legion.

Maj. John T. Whitfield and his

brother John W. Whitfield posing

in front of the 27th Tex. Cav. flag.

(Houston Public Library)

1865: Captain Felix Poché writes in his diary, "Today I met Capt. [J.N.] Babin [of Co. B, 9th (Ogden's) La. Cav.] who comes from below with a squad of men and some deserting prisoners. Capt. Babin had a newspaper from N.O. in which was published correspondence between Col. [Charles] Pyron of our army [2nd Tex. Cav.], and a Mexican general, who speaks very amicably and assures us of the friendship and sympathy of his government. He gives us hope that France will intervene soon in our affairs. Pray to God that he is not deceiving us."

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Feb. 19.

None.

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, Feb. 17.

Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) April 17.

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, April 17.

1861: Virginia's Secession Convention voted 88 to 55 to secede from the Union. The measure would have to be ratified by a vote of the people. It was Lincoln's call for 75,000 volunteers to attack the South that was the final straw for many Virginians.

Pvt. Samuel Read Anderson, 11th Va. Inf.

(Library of Congress)

1862: Peninsular Campaign: Trench warfare continues on the Warwick Line in the Peninsular Campaign as both sides build up their forces. General McClellan ordered approach parallels dug toward the Confederate lines. His powerful siege guns included two 200-pounder Parrotts, 12 100-pounder Parrotts, rifled 20-pounder, and 30-pounder Parrotts, and 41 mortars, for a total of 70 heavy guns that could deliver 7,000 pounds of ordnance every time they were fired in unison.

1863: Marmaduke's Raid: Confederate Brig. Gen. John Marmaduke leads a 16-day cavalry raid into Missouri, while Federal Col. Benjamin Grierson leads his brigade on the 16-day raid through Mississippi to Baton Rouge, La. 

1864: Red River Campaign: Brig. Gen. Polignac's Louisiana and Texas infantry division marches 25 miles in pursuit of the retreating Federals to near the Calcasieu River in the Red River Campaign in Louisiana. Confederate engineers begin building a pontoon bridge across the river.

1865: In the aftermath of the Battle of Columbus, Georgia, Wilson's Raiders ravage the city, a major Confederate manufacturing center. The bluecoats take many prisoners. The battle and destruction of the city was practically meaningless in ending the war since the major Confederate Army in the east had already surrendered and Johnston was in negotiations with Sherman to surrender the remnants of the Army of Tennessee.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, April 17.

Brig. Gen. Phillip St. George Cocke was born on this day in 1808 in Fluvanna County, Virginia. He graduated from West Point in 1832 and resigned from the Army in 1834. St. George Cocke became a plantation owner. He wrote a manual on running a plantation in 1852 and was president of the Virginia State Agricultural Society in 1856. He raised a militia company in 1859 after the Harper's Ferry Raid in 1859. During the War for Southern Independence, he was commissioned a brigadier general on April 21, 1861, and reported to General Robert E. Lee on April 24, 1861. However, he was demoted to colonel when the Confederate Army was organized. After the First Battle of Manassas, he was promoted to brigadier general on Oct. 21, 1861. He died by his own hand on December 26, 1861, after reportedly having a physical and mental breakdown after eight months of hard service. 

Brig. Gen. Phillip St. George Cocke

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General History, Feb. 18.

Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Feb. 18. 

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Feb. 18.

1861: President Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as the president of the Confederate States of America on the front portico of the state capitol in Montgomery, Alabama. The president notes in his inauguration address that consent of the governed is required for the American idea of government and that the South only wants to be left alone in peace to govern itself. For the time being, Montgomery is the capital of the new Confederate nation.

President Jefferson Davis

1862: The CSS Virginia, the Confederate Navy's first ironclad warship, is commissioned in Virginia. It was built on the hull of the scuttled USS Merrimack at Norfolk, Virginia.

CSS Virginia, May 1862

1865: General Lee endorsed the proposal of Confederate Rep. Ethelbert Barksdale of Mississippi to enlist black men into the Confederate Army to help achieve Southern Independence. Lee wanted black men to fight as free men.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Feb. 18.

Brigadier General Lewis Addison Armistead was born on this day in 1817 in New Bern, North Carolina. He attended West Point but didn't graduate. However, he got a commission as a second lieutenant in the 6th Infantry in 1839. In the Mexican-American War, he fought in the battles of Contreras, and Churubusco, and was wounded at Chapultepec. He was breveted a major for his distinguished service in the war. Armistead resigned from the U.S. Army in 1861 and was appointed a major in the 57th Va. Inf., C.S.A.  His battles included Seven Pines, Seven Days Battles (Malvern Hill), Sharpsburg, and Fredericksburg.  Armistead was mortally wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, in Picket's Charge and died July 5, 1864, in captivity. He was buried in the Old Saint Paul's Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland.

Brig. Gen. Lewis A. Armistead

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Brigadier General James Deshler was born on this day in 1833 in Tuscumbia, Alabama. He graduated from West Point in 1854 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He served in the Utah War in 1858 and was stationed at Fort Wise until 1861 when he resigned. Deshler was commissioned as captain of the artillery in the C.S. Army and served in the Battle of Cheat Mountain, the Battle of Camp Allegheny, and was promoted to colonel and commanded a Texas brigade in the Army of Tennessee. He was captured at the surrender of Arkansas Post on Jan. 11, 1863. After being exchanged, he was promoted to brigadier general on July 28, 1863. Deshler was killed in action instantly on September 20, 1863, at the Battle of Chickamauga, Ga. A Federal artillery shell tore his heart from his body. Initially buried on the battlefield, he was later reinterred at Oakwood Cemetery in Tuscumbia, Alabama.

Brig.  Gen. James Deshler

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General Alfred Mouton was born on this day in 1829 at Opelousas, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana. He graduated from West Point in 1850 ranking 38th in a class of 44 cadets. He resigned soon after graduation and resumed his life as a Louisiana planter. However, he was active in the Louisiana state militia in which he was a brigadier general. Mouton also led a force of 600 mounted men in a vigilante militia to victory in the Battle of Queue de Tortue, against anti-vigilantes in a fortified compound on Sept. 3, 1859. The vigilantes were eradicating rampant criminal activity in South Louisiana. In the War for Southern Independence, he was the colonel of the largely French-speaking 18th Louisiana Infantry and was seriously wounded on April 7, 1862, in the Battle of Shiloh. While recovering from his Shiloh wound, he was promoted to brigadier general and given command of a Louisiana infantry brigade of the Army of Western Louisiana. He led the brigade in the Bayou Lafourche Campaign in October 1862, the Bayou Teche Campaign in the spring of 1863, and the Great Texas Overland Campaign in the fall of 1863. Mouton then led a division made up of his Louisiana brigade and a Texas brigade led by Brig. Gen. Prince Camille de Polignac in the Red River Campaign in 1864. Mouton was killed in action on April 8, 1864, at the Battle of Mansfield while leading a charge that broke the Federal lines. He was treacherously killed by five Federal soldiers who first laid down their guns to surrender, then picked them up and shot the general. Initially buried on the battlefield, postwar his body was removed to his hometown of Vermilionville, today Lafayette, Louisiana and he was laid to rest in St. John The Baptist Catholic Church Cemetery. 

                                                

Brig. Gen. Alfred Mouton 

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Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, Feb. 17.

Click 👉 TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Feb. 17.

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Feb. 17.

1863: Confederate partisans attack the federal steam tug Hercules and in retaliation, two days later, the Federal troops drive the civilian residents of Hopefield, Arkansas, from their homes and burn the town.

1864: The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley makes military history by sinking the USS Housatonic off Charleston, South Carolina. This was the first successful sinking by a submarine of an enemy warship. The Southern submersible, however, was also lost in the attack. The vessel was commanded by Lt. George E. Dixon who lost his life along with seven other crewmen. The inventor of the Hunley was Horace Lawson Hunley who lost his life in an earlier test dive. The crew that lost their lives in the attack were later awarded the Confederate Medal of Honor posthumously by the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

C.S.S. Hunley painting by Conrad Wise Chapman

1865: Carolinas Campaign: City officials of Columbia, South Carolina formally surrendered the state capital to Sherman's vengeful army. The bluecoats go on a wild spree of rape and arson and burn the city. Such lawless soldiery leaves a black mark of shame on Sherman and his soldiers.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Feb. 17.

Brigadier General Samuel Read Anderson was born on this day in 1804 in Bedford County, Virginia. Prior to the war, Anderson was a successful businessman in Nashville, Tennessee. During the Mexican- American War, he was the lieutenant colonel of the 1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment. In the War for Southern Independence, Anderson was made a major general in the Tennessee militia and then transferred to the Confederate Army on July 9, 1861, as a brigadier general. He led his brigade in the Battle of Cheat Mountain, Va. under the leadership of General Robert E. Lee. But his health suffered, and he resigned on May 10, 1862. However, he returned to active duty Nov. 7, 1864, to a position more suited to his age, supervisor of the Confederate Bureau of Conscription for Tennessee in Selma, Alabama. Following the war, Anderson resumed his business career in Nashville, died there on Jan. 2, 1883, and was interred in the Nashville City Cemetery.

Brig. Samuel R. Anderson

Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Feb. 16. 

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Feb. 16.

1862: Confederate General Simon Bolivar Buckner surrendered the Fort Donelson garrison to Grant. Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest refused to surrender and led 100 men through Federal lines to fight another day. The Federals lost 507 men killed, 1,976 wounded, and 208 captured. The Confederates lost 327 killed 1,127 wounded, and 12,392 captured or missing.

1863: Confederate forces at Vicksburg, Mississippi continued to thwart Federals under Grant from getting to Vicksburg. Skirmishing occurs at Yazoo Pass.

1864: A skirmish occurs between Confederate and Federal forces at Lauderdale Springs, Mississippi.

1865: Carolinas Campaign: Generals P.G.T. Beauregard and Wade Hampton evacuated Columbia, South Carolina and the city surrendered to Sherman. At Charleston, South Carolina, General William Hardee was cut off from reinforcements and evacuated his Confederate forces.

Portrait of Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard by

Andres Molinary. (NARA, digitally colorized)

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Feb. 16.

Major General James Patton Anderson was born on this day in 1822 in Franklin County, Tennessee. He grew up in Kentucky and Mississippi, attended a medical school, and began practicing medicine in 1862. Anderson then studied law and became a lawyer. During the Mexican American War, he became the lieutenant colonel of the Mississippi Rifles. Following the war, he served in the Mississippi House of Representatives, as a U.S. Marshal in the Washington Territory, and represented the territory in the 34th U.S. Congress. During the War for Southern Independence, he became the colonel of the 1st Florida Infantry. He was promoted to brigadier general on Feb. 19, 1862, and major general on Feb. 17, 1864. His battles were Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Ezra Church, Utoy Creek, and Jonesboro. In his last battle, he was seriously wounded in the jaw but rejoined the army, against his doctor's order, in April 1865 for the Carolina Campaign and was paroled on May 1, 1865. Following the war Anderson lived in Memphis, Tenn., was a tax collector for Shelby County, and died Sept. 20, 1872, of complications from his old war wound and was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis.

Maj. Gen. James P Anderson

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Major General Joseph Reid Anderson was born in 1813 in Botetourt County, Virginia. He was an 1836 graduate of West Point ranking 4th in his class and was assigned to the Army Corps of Engineers. Anderson joined the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Va., and became its owner in 1848. During the War for Southern Independence, he supervised ordnance and munitions production for the Confederacy. Promoted to brigadier general in September 1861 and commanded a brigade in the Seven Days Battles at Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mill, and Glendale, where he received a concussion. He resigned on July 19, 1862, and operated his ironworks for the benefit of the Confederacy. After the war, he regained control of the iron works in 1867, served in the Virginia House of Delegates and died on vacation in New Hampshire Sept. 7, 1892, and was buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.

Maj. Gen. Joseph R. Anderson

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Major General Prince Camille Armand Jules Marie de Polignac was born on this day in 1832 in Millemont, Seine-et-Oise, France. From a noble family, he attended St. Stanislas College and joined the French Army in 1853. Polignac served in the Crimean War as a second lieutenant. He came to the American South and joined the Confederate Army and initially served on the staff of General Beauregard and Braxton Bragg with the rank of lieutenant commander. He was called the "Lafayette of the South." Polignac was promoted to brigadier general in January 1863 and led a Texas brigade at the battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill, Louisiana in 1864. After the death of General Mouton at Mansfield, he led Mouton's Division and was promoted to major general. He was affectionately nicknamed "Prince Polecat" by his Texans who were unable to pronounce his French name. In March 1865 he was sent to France to seek intervention of France for the Confederacy. Following the war, Polignac also fought in the Crimean War and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and became a brigadier general in the French Army and commanded a division. Polignac died Nov. 16, 1913, and was buried at Hauptfriedhof, Frankfurt-on-Main, Germany.

Maj. General Camille Polignac

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Brigadier General John Daniel Imboden was born on this day in 1823 in Staunton, Virginia. Prior to the war he was a teacher and lawyer and served in the Virginia House of Delegates. After John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry in 1859, Imboden helped found the Staunton Light Artillery and was commissioned a captain in the state militia. After Virginia seceded in 1861, he took part in the capture of the U.S. Arsenal at Harper's Ferry and commanded an artillery battery at the First Battle of Manassas. Subsequently, he was promoted to colonel of the 62nd Virginia Mounted Infantry and was promoted to brigadier general on Jan. 28, 1863. He and Brig. Gen. William "Grumble" Jones led partisan rangers in a raid into western Virginia and served with the Army of Northern Virginia in the Gettysburg Campaign under General Lee. Imboden also served in the Valley Campaign of 1864. He was incapacitated by typhoid fever and served in the final months of the war in commanding several prisoners of war camps. Following the war, he practiced law in Richmond and Abington, Va., wrote about the war, and was active in the United Confederate Veterans and many other activities. Imboden died Aug. 15, 1895, and was buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Va.

Brig. Gen. John D. Imboden

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