Click 👉Today in History (general history) August 1.
On This Day in Confederate History, August 1.
1861: At Mesilla, New Mexico, Confederate Lt. Col. John Baylor proclaims the Confederate Territory of Arizona and New Mexico south of the 34th parallel. This follows the rout of the Federal forces from Fort Fillmore at the First Battle of Mesilla on July 25, 1861, and the defeat of the 500 Federals by Baylor's 300 Confederates on July 27. Mesilla was also declared the capital of the Confederate Territory of Arizona. The Federals burned Fort Fillmore and retreated to Fort Stanton.
1864: Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's Confederate Army of the Shenandoah Valley, which has defeated two Federal armies in the Valley, is now confronted by Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan's much larger army. Lt. Gen. U.S. Grant tasked Sheridan with executing a "scorched earth" policy against Early's army and Valley residents.
In the Atlanta Campaign before the city of Atlanta, the Federals heavily bombard both Confederate defenses as well as the city which becomes a daily routine. Both the Federals and Confederates continue to extend their lines.
Confederate General Birthdays, August 1.
Brigadier General Maxcy Gregg was born on this day in 1814 in Columbia, South Carolina. Gregg was a lawyer before the War for Southern Independence but got some military experience in the Mexican-American War serving as a major in the 12th U.S. Infantry. He was also a scholar dabbling in such fields as astronomy, botany, ornithology, and foreign languages. In politics, he was a strong advocate and secession for South Carolina. A man of action, Gregg organized the 1st South Carolina Volunteers when South Carolina seceded and was its first colonel. With the organization of the Confederacy, he became a brigadier general. His battles included Fort Sumter, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg (wounded), and Fredericksburg, mortally wounded. His mortal wound came in the Battle of Fredericksburg, Va. while commanding a brigade in A.P. Hill's "Light Division," and died on Dec. 15, 1862, in a field hospital. On his deathbed he was reported to have said, "I yield my life cheerfully, fighting for the independence of South Carolina." Gregg was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Columbia, South Carolina.
Brigadier General William Yarnel Slack was born on this day in 1816 in Mason County, Kentucky. His family moved to Boone County, Missouri when he was 3-years-old. During the Mexican-American War, Slack served as a captain in the 2nd Missouri Volunteers. Afterward, he served in the Missouri General Assembly. In 1861, Slack was appointed a brigadier general in the Missouri State Guard. His battles included Carthage, Springfield, and Oak Hill (Wilson's Creek). General Slack was commanding a division of Confederates when he was mortally wounded in the Battle of Elk Horn Tavern (Pea Ridge), Arkansas, and died on March 21, 1862. He was posthumously commissioned a brigadier general on April 12, 1862. In 1880 his remains were transferred to the Fayetteville Confederate Cemetery in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
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