Click 👉Today in History (general history) July 31.
On This Day in Confederate History, July 31.
1864: In the aftermath of the Battle of the Crater, in the Petersburg, Va. Campaign, Confederate generals were praised, particularly generals William Mahone, Bushrod Johnson, and Stephen Elliot. The Federal generals were tainted by their actions in the battle. General George G. Meade brought charges against Ambrose Burnside and a court of inquiry censured him and brigadier generals James Ledlie, Edward Ferro, Orlando B. Wilcox, and Col. Zenas R. Bliss. Later, in 1865, the Congressional Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War absolved Burnside and censured Meade.
In the Atlanta Campaign, General John Bell Hood and Major General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler responded to a Federal Cavalry road on the Confederate supply lines, which began July 27. Federal cavalry generals George Stoneman, Edward McCook, and Kenner Garrard were scheduled to meet at Lovejoy Station on July 28 to destroy it. They have initial successes in capturing 300 prisoners and almost 500 wagons. Wheeler engages Garrard in heavy skirmishing at Flat Rock on July 28 and 29 and forces him back to Latimer, Ga.
Confederate General Birthdays, July 31.
Brigadier General Philip Cook was born on this day in 1817 in Twiggs County, Georgia. A prewar lawyer in Macon County, Georgia, Cook had some military experience in the U.S. Army in the Seminole Wars in Florida. In 1861, he joined the Confederate Army as a private in the 4th Georgia Infantry and worked his way up to brigadier general. He fought in the Seven Days Campaign, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, and Chancellorsville where he was wounded. While recovering, he served for a brief time in the Georgia legislature. Returning to duty in 1864, he took command of a brigade at the Battle of Cold Harbor, Va., and was wounded for a second time during the Siege of Petersburg, Va. After recovering, Cook fought in the Battle of Cedar Creek and then at Petersburg again where he was wounded again in 1865. Following the war, he practiced law in Americus, Georgia, and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, then Secretary of State in Georgia. Cook died May 21, 1894, in Atlanta, Georgia, and was buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, Georgia.
Brigadier General Thomas Hart Taylor was born on this day in 1825 at Frankfort, Kentucky. Before the war, Taylor was a lawyer and farmer who raised cattle. He received some prewar military experience in the Mexican-American War. During the War for Southern Independence, he joined the Confederate Army as a captain of the cavalry and became a lieutenant colonel. He became colonel of the 1st Kentucky Infantry Regiment and then commanded a brigade in Eastern Tennessee. Taylor was appointed a brigadier general but failed to get nominated by President Davis or approved by the Confederate senate. He was captured at the end of the Siege of Vicksburg, Miss., and after he was exchanged served at Mobile, Ala., and in the Battle of Meridian, Miss. He became commander of local defense troops and reserves at Mobile until the evacuation of that city on April 11, 1865. Following the war, Taylor was a businessman in Mobile, then a U.S. Marshal for five years in Kentucky. Taylor then became the chief of police in Louisville, Ky., and was a superintendent of Louisville and Portland Canal. He died on April 12, 1901, in Louisville and was buried in State Cemetery in Frankfort, Ky.
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