Click 👉Today in History (general history) Oct. 23.
On This Day in Confederate History, Oct. 23.
1861: Northern President Lincoln unconstitutionally suspended the writ of habeas corpus on all military matters. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Ex parte Merryman that Lincoln's action was unconstitutional and illegal. Chief Justice Roger Taney wrote, "These great and fundamental laws, which Congress itself could not suspend, have been disregarded and suspended, like the writ of habeas corpus, by military order, supported by the force of arms. Such is the case now before me, and I can only say that if the authority which the Constitution has confided to the judiciary department and judicial officers, may thus, upon any pretext or under any circumstances, be usurped by the military power, at its discretion, the people of the United States are no longer living under a government of laws, but every citizen holds life, liberty, and property at the will and pleasure of the army officer in whose military district he may happen to be found." [22]
1863: The Rio Grande CAMPAIGN: Confederate Texas was invaded this day by Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks' Army of the Gulf near the border with Mexico. Banks had also called off his failed invasion across Southwest Louisiana but there was still skirmishing with Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin's divisions were left behind there. The Federals in Texas met little opposition at first but would soon meet serious opposition as they tried to move up the coast to the Houston, Galveston area. Confederate Maj. Gen. John Bankhead Magruder rallied available Confederate regiments and the Texas State Militia.
1864: The Second Battle of Fair Oaks and Darbytown Road, Va. took place this day. Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. "Beast" Butler commanded two corps, the X and XVIII, in the battle. Lt. Gen. James Longstreet commanded for the Confederates but only had to use Maj. Gen. Charles W. Fields Division to easily repulse the Federal attack. Federal casualties totaled 1,603 and the Confederates lost only 100 in all categories.
Confederate General Birthdays, Oct. 23.
Brigadier General Turner Ashby was born on this day in 1828 in Fauquier County, Virginia. He was a partner in a mill and also farmed. He was also active in the prewar Virginia Militia organizing a cavalry troop, Company A, 7th Va. Cav. During the war, Ashby was one of the most popular Confederate generals and led cavalry under Stonewall Jackson and led the famous Laurel Cavalry Brigade. He was killed in action on June 6, 1862, in a rear-guard action south of Harrisonburg, Va. Ashby is buried at the Stonewall Cemetery in Winchester, Va.
Brigadier General James Monroe Goggin was born on this day in 1820 in Bedford County, Virginia. He attended West Point but did not graduate. He moved to Texas and joined by Army of the Republic of Texas with the rank of first lieutenant. Goggin was also a real estate purchasing agent in Waller County, Texas. He moved to California in 1848 where he established mail routes, then moved to Memphis, Tenn., and worked as a cotton broker. Goggin joined the Confederate Army on July 1, 1861, as a major in the 32nd Virginia Infantry. His battles and campaigns included the Peninsula Campaign, and the Battle of Fort Sanders, Ky., and commanded a brigade in the Battle of Cedar Creek, Va. He was appointed a "special" brigadier general on Dec. 4, 1864, but the appointment was soon withdrawn. He served most of the war as a staff officer and was serving in that capacity on Maj. Gen. Joseph Kershaw's staff when he was captured on April 6, 1865. Following the war, Goggin made Texas his home again and died on Oct. 10, 1889, in Austin, where he was buried in Oakwood Cemetery.
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