Click 👉Today in History (general history) Sept. 5.
On This Day in Confederate History, Sept. 5.
1862: Confederate Captain Raphael Semmes, commander of the CSS Alabama, takes his first prize, a New England whaling ship the Ocmulgee in the Azores, which he burns. The ship's crew became prisoners.
1863: In the Chickamauga Campaign there is a skirmish at Lebanon, Alabama and the Federals destroy a Confederate salt works at Rawlinsville, Alabama.
In Texas, Maj. Gen. John Bankhead Magruder, commander of the District of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona had gotten intelligence from New Orleans that a massive Federal invasion fleet had left from that area and was headed for Texas. He alerted Captain Frederick Odlum of Company F, 1st Texas Heavy Artillery at Sabine Pass. Odlum alerted the garrison for Fort Griffith and 1st Lt. Richard W. "Dick" Dowling to be ready. Dowling had trained his small command, the Jefferson Davis Guard, about 42 artillerymen present for duty, to be on alert. They were finely trained and had placed range markers in the river. His command was made up of mostly Irish laborers from the Houston-Galveston area. Dowling was an Irish native as well and a Houston businessman, including a saloon keeper, with many other business interests. The only other troops on hand was a company from Daly's Battalion of Texas Cavalry, and some troops at Beaumont and Orange were being gathered.
Reporting on the Siege of Charleston, S.C., Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard noted: "On the 5th instant, Brigadier-General Ripley, commanding the First Military District, prepared by my order a confidential letter, which was forwarded to the officer commanding Battery Wagner [Col. L.M. Keitt], pointing out that it might be necessary to evacuate Morris Island. In the letter, the brigadier-general gave full instructions for destroying the magazine and rendering the guns useless in the event of abandoning the island."
Confederate General Birthdays, Sept.5.
Brigadier General Tyree Harris Bell was born on this day in 1815 in Covington, Kentucky. Prior to the war, Bell was a plantation owner in Sumner County, Tenn. During the war, as a lieutenant colonel, Bell led the 12Tennessee Infantry at the Battle of Shiloh where he was severely wounded. He later served under Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and led the Third Cavalry Brigade. He was promoted to colonel, and then on Feb. 28, 1865, to brigadier general. Bell's other battles included the battles of Richmond, Murfreesboro, Fort Pillow, Brice's Crossroads, Tupelo, Johnsonville, the Franklin-Nashville Campaign, and the Battle of Nashville. He was again wounded at Pulaski, Tenn. Sept. 27, 1864. His final battle was the Battle of Selma, Ala. Following the war, Bell moved to Fresno County, Calif. where he farmed. He died August 30, 1902, in New Orleans, La., and was buried in Bethel Cemetery near Sanger, Calif.
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