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.
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 Federals 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, prior to 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 (wounded), Petersburg, and Appomattox. Following the war, he practiced law and died July 10, 1875, in Columbus, Ga., and was buried in Linwood Cemetery.
Brigadier General Phillip Dale Roddy was born on this day in 1826 in Moulton, Alabama. Prior to 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.
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