Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, December 31.

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ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Dec. 31.

1862: First Day Battle of Murfreesboro, Tenn. (aka Stones River). Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee, with 35,000 effective troops, clashed with Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans' Army of the Cumberland, with 43,400 effective troops, along Stones River at Murfreesboro, Tenn. Rosecrans's army came from Nashville to attack Bragg's right flank. Bragg also planned to attack Rosecrans' right flank and attacked first, and overran Maj. Gen. Alexander McCook's Wing. However, Brig. Gen. Philip Sheridan's line stopped the collapse of the Federal army. Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge's assaults at the "Round Forest" were also repulsed. The battle continued.

Confederate POWs of the 20th Tenn. Inf.

Preston's Brigade, Breckinridge's Division

These POWs were taken at Missionary Ridge.

(Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

Battle of Murfreesboro, Tenn. 

(Stones River NMP)

Also, on this day in 1862, the Battle of Parker's Crossroads, Tenn., took place between 3,000 men under Federal Brig. Gen. Jeremiah C. Sullivan, who was blocking Confederate Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's 1,8000 cavalrymen from crossing the Tennessee River after their successful raid in West Tenn. Forrest then took the initiative with his artillery, driving the Federals back. Then his men struck in front and on both flanks and rear. Forrest demanded a surrender, which was refused. The Confederates were then attacked from the rear by the Federals, and Forrest famously gave the order, "Charge 'em both ways." The Confederates repelled the bluecoats, who then withdrew south to Lexington, Tenn., and Forrest's command crossed the river.

Capt. John W. Morton Jr.

Commanded Forrest's artillery.

CLICK👉The Bloody 23rd Tennessee Infantry Regiment

Battling for Southern Independence

This is the history of one of the hardest-fighting infantry regiments in the War for Southern Independence, the 23rd Tennessee Infantry. The regiment was raised predominantly from the Middle Tennessee counties, where there was considerable support for secession and Southern Independence. The men were overwhelmingly made up of yeoman farmers of predominantly Anglo-Celtic descent who were to face some of the largest, bloodiest, and most memorable battles of the war, both in the West and the East. They got their baptism of fire in the Battle of Shiloh, followed by the battles of Perryville, Murfreesboro, Hoover's Gap, Chickamauga, and Knoxville in the West with the famed Army of Tennessee. They were then transferred to the East, where they fought in the Bermuda Hundred Campaign in Virginia, under the legendary General P.G.T. Beauregard, and then in the famed Army of Northern Virginia in the Petersburg Campaign, and ended the war with the great General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Courthouse. The book covers the history of the regiment from letters, diaries, memoirs, and official records to cover both officers and men in a personal way. It also has an annotated roster of some 1,164 men who served in the regiment, as well as maps, photos, illustrations, bibliography, footnotes, and index.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Dec. 31. 

NONE.

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays.

Click 👉 TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Dec. 30.

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Dec. 30.

1861: Confederate commissioners James Mason and John Slidell are transferred by the United States to Great Britain's minister to the U.S., Lord Lyons, thus ending the Trent Affair. 

1862: BATTLE OF MURFREESBORO, TENN.: Lt. Gen. Braxton Bragg has the Army of Tennessee ready and waiting for the Federals under Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans with the Army of the Cumberland. Bragg has Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk's Corps west of Stone's River and Maj. Gen. William J. Hardee's Corps was on the east side waiting for the Northerners to attack. The battle begins the next morning. The battle will begin on the 31st.

Pvt./Cpl. John M. Sellers, Co. G, 16th La. Inf. was

wounded in action at the Battle of Murfreesboro

and was hospitalized until July 1863, when he returned

to duty. He had been present for the Battle of Shiloh

and for most of the battles of the Army of Tennessee.

He was present for the last roll call of his company

at the end of the war on April 30, 1865, at Mobile, AL. Sellers

was paroled with the Chalmette Reg't. (a consolidation

of the fragmental La. regiments) on May 14, 1865, at

Meridian, MS. By all records, he was an outstanding combat

infantryman. (Courtesy of David McCollum & Robert Albanese, descendants.)

Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge

He led a division at the Battle.

of Murfreesboro.

Skirmish at New Haven, Ky. The action was part of Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan's 1862 Christmas Raid into Kentucky. The Confederates demanded the surrender of the Federal of Fort Allen but were turned down. The Confederate bombardment missed the fort and hit the town doing some damage there. Dismounted cavalry then made one charge on the fort and was repulsed. The Confederates then withdrew. There was one Confederate soldier wounded, and the Federals suffered no casualties.

Meanwhile, in Tennessee, Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry skirmishes at Clarksburg and Huntington. Other skirmishes in Tennessee take place at La Vergne, Nolensville, and Rock Spring. But the Federals under Brig. Gen. Samuel Powhattan Carter captured Union, Tenn., and destroyed a railroad bridge over the Holston River.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Dec. 30.

Brigadier General James Cantey was born in 1818 in Camden, South Carolina. Before the war, he was a lawyer and was elected to two terms in the South Carolina legislature. During the Mexican-American War, he was an officer in the Palmetto Regiment and was severely wounded. After that war, Cantey moved to Alabama and became a planter in Russell County. During the War for Southern Independence, he became colonel of the 15th Alabama Infantry and fought under Stonewall Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862 and the Seven Days Battles. Cantey was appointed brigadier general to date from June 8, 1863. He was sent to Alabama, where he organized another, and was transferred to the Army of Tennessee. There, he fought in the Atlanta, Franklin-Nashville and Carolinas campaigns with distinction. After the war, Cantey returned to planting in Alabama and died on his plantation on June 30, 1874. He was buried in the Crowell family cemetery at Fort Mitchell, Ala.

Brig. Gen. James Cantey

👱

Brigadier General Mark Perrin Lowery was born in 1828 in McNairy County, Tennessee. His family moved to Mississippi when he was young, and during the Mexican-American War, he served as a private in the 2nd Mississippi Volunteers in 1847, but saw no combat. After that war, he became a Southern Baptist preacher. During the War for Southern Independence, Lowery began as a captain and later rose to the rank of colonel in the state militia. He then became the colonel of the 4th Mississippi Infantry and the 32nd Mississippi Infantry. Lowry fought at Shiloh and Perryville, where he was wounded, in 1862. He recovered sufficiently to fight at Murfreesboro and the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863. Lowry was promoted to brigadier general on Oct. 4, 1863. After the Franklin-Nashville Campaign, he resigned on March 14, 1865. After the war, he was president of the Mississippi Baptist Convention and founded the Blue Mountain Female Institute, where he taught. Lowery died Feb. 27, 1885, in Middleton, Tennessee. Gen. Patrick Cleburne once called Gen. Lowrey "the bravest man in the Confederate Army."

Brig. Gen. Mark P. Lowery

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, December 29.

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ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Dec. 29.

1862: Second Day of the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, Miss. -- Sherman's bluecoats launch a futile frontal assault against outnumbered Confederates on Walnut Hills, under the command of Brig. Gen. S.D. Lee repulses the attack. Sherman admits the failure of the campaign. Federal losses are 208 killed, 1,005 wounded, and 563 captured for a total of 1,776. Confederate casualties are 63 killed, 134 wounded, and 10 missing. Vicksburg celebrates the victory.

Pvt. Thomas I. Booker, Co. B, 28th La. Inf.

Fought at the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou.

(Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

(colorized, the pants should be sky blue, not red)

CLICK👉The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou

This is a concise history of the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, Mississippi

 , from December 26-29, 1862. Also covered are the preliminary 

cavalry raids of Generals Earl Van Dorn and Nathan Bedford Forrest. 

The book contains maps, photographs, and illustrations, 

a bibliography, and an index.

Capt. James W. Bryan, Co. I,

28th La. Inf. and the regiment

held off large numbers of the enemy

at the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou.

BATTLE OF MURFREESBORO, TENN.-- Also in 1862, Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans with his 43,400-man Army of the Cumberland, which had started its march from Nashville on Dec. 26, was approaching Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where General Braxton Bragg's 35,000-man Army of Tennessee is encamped and dug in. On this day, skirmishing was increasing between the two sides. The Federals have a decided advantage in artillery, and on Dec. 16 Bragg was ordered by President Davis to send Maj. Gen. Carter Stevenson was sent to Mississippi to reinforce Vicksburg, which reduced the Army of Tennessee's manpower by 7,500 infantrymen.

Brig. Gen. John A. Wharton

He led his cavalry brigade to

slow down the Federals approaching

Murfreesboro.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Dec. 29.

Brigadier General Albert Pike was born on this day in 1809, in Newburyport, Massachusetts.  Prior to the war is was a prominent member of the Freemasons, author, poet, editor, lawyer, and editor. He moved to the west in 1831 and engaged in hunting, trading, and trapping. He was also prominent in the legal profession and had permission to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. Pike served in the Mexican-American War with the Arkansas Mounted Infantry Regiment and fought in the Battle of Buena Vista. During the War for Southern Independence, he was commissioned as a brigadier general who led a brigade of Indians at the Battle of Elk Horn Tavern, Ark. He resigned his commission in May 1862. He was appointed an associate justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court. He died April 2, 1891, in Charleston, S.C., and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery. 

Brig. Gen. Albert Pike

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, December 28.

 Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Dec. 28. 

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Dec. 28.

1861: Battle of Mount Zion Church, Missouri--The Missouri State Guard (Confederate) with about 900 men under Col. Caleb W. Dorsey, clashes with the 3rd Missouri Cavalry, and Birge's Western Sharpshooters (both Union), 440 men, under Brig. Gen. Benjamin M. Prentiss. Most of the Confederates were local volunteers with civilian guns or unarmed. The Federals attacked the Confederate encampment and overrun it after three charges. The Confederates suffered 25 dead, 150 wounded, and 60 prisoners of war. The Federals lost three dead, 63 wounded, and four prisoners of war.

1862: First Day of the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, Mississippi -- Brig. Gen. Stephen D. Lee, with 13,792, defended Vicksburg by blocking a Federal flanking movement north of the city at Chickasaw Bayou and the Walnut Hills. Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman attacks with 30,720 bluecoats. The Northern invaders find the terrain rugged and well defended and their attempt at a flanking movement is blocked.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Dec. 28.

Major General William Booth Taliaferro was born in 1822 in Gloucester County, Virginia. He gained military experience in the Mexican American War serving in both the 11th and 9th U.S. Infantry regiments. In the War for Southern Independence, Taliaferro was in command of the Virginia State Militia in 1861, then became colonel of the 23rd Virginia Infantry and led it in the Battle of Green River, W. Va., and became a brigadier general by the end of that year. His brigade served under Stonewall Jackson and rose to division major general in 1862. However, he and Jackson didn't get along.  Taliaferro was severely wounded at the Second Battle of Manassas. Following the Battle of Fredericksburg, he was given command of the District of Savannah and led troops at the Battle of Fort Wagner on Morris Island, S.C. Taliaferro also commanded Confederates in the Battle of Olustee, Fla. in February of 1864, another Confederate victory. After the war, he served in the Virginia State Legislature and as a judge. He died Feb. 27, 1898, and was buried in Ware Church Cemetery, Gloucester, Virginia.

Maj. Gen. William Booth Taliferro

👱

Brigadier General Charles Miller Shelley was born in 1833 in Sullivan County, Tennessee. He started the war as a first lieutenant in the 5th Alabama Infantry and was promoted steadily to and became brigadier general and led Cantey's Brigade at the Battle of Franklin in 1864. General Hood credited Shelley with saving Stewart's Corps from capture there. After the war, he was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1876. He died on Jan. 20, 1907, and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Talladega, Alabama.

Brig. Gen. Charles M. Shelley

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, December 27.

 Click 👉 TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Dec. 27

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Dec. 27.

1861: A Missouri State Guard detachment under Col. Caleb Dorsey skirmishes with a company sent by Federal Brig. Gen. Benjamin M. Prentiss to disrupt secessionists near Hallsville, Missouri. The MSG was formed by pro-secession Gov. Claiborne Fox Jackson to resist the Federal Army invasion of his state.

1862: Battle of Chickasaw Bayou:  Maj. Gen. W.T. Sherman leads 32,000 bluecoats north of Vicksburg, MS at Chickasaw Bayou to outflank the Confederates and take the city. Major General Martin Luther Smith was in command at Vicksburg with 13,792 men. Brigadier General Stephen Dill Lee was the Confederate commander at the beginning of the battle. It was a situation for the Confederates sometimes likened to the ancient Battle of Thermopylae, Greece but with a different outcome for the outnumbered army.

Maj. Gen. Martin Luther Smith

(Library of Congress)

1864: General Hood leads the Confederate Army of Tennessee to Tupelo, Mississippi where it regroups after the disastrous Battle of Nashville. This defeat wasn't the last chapter in the history of the Army of Tennessee. It had been reduced to just 4,500 stalwart men but was rebuilt by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston to over 20,000 and made its last stand in the Carolinas Campaign of 1865. His men loved Johnston and he was arguably their favorite commander of the Army of Tennessee.

Gen. Joseph E. Johnston

(Library of Congress)

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Dec. 27.

None.

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, December 26.

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ON THIS DAY DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Dec. 26.

1861: Trent Affair: The United States bows to Great Britain's demand to release Confederate commissioners James Mason and John Slidell to the custody of Great Britain. Mason and Slidell were released from Fort Warren, then boarded the British warship HMS Rinaldo and brought the Provincetown, Mass. St. Thomas Island, where they boarded the British mail packet La Plata on Jan. 14, 1862, and were taken to Southampton, England, where they were released. Mason stayed in England seeking diplomatic recognition for the Confederacy, and Slidell went to France seeking diplomatic recognition there. Although unsuccessful at that mission, Slidell was successful in securing a large loan for the Confederacy as well as an ironclad warship, the CSS Stonewall.

1863: Captain Felix Pierre Poché, Mouton's Brigade, Army of Western Louisiana, writes on this day: "This morning, after getting provisions for the Brigade I started on the road for Monroe with Capt Ranson, at 5 1/2 o'clock, and arrived there at 10 o'clock, and arrived there at 10 o'clock, and arrived there at 10 o'clock A.M.

     "Due to the great negligence of Major Mouton, I found only a few bushels of corn flour which in turn I was forced to divide with the other Brigade. 

     "Tonight, maintaining my rights, I had a great deal of trouble with Majors Mouton & Griffin, and at last I consented to give a barrel of flour to the latter.

     "Our Brigade camped tonight two miles from Monroe."

1864: General Hood crosses the Army of Tennessee over the Tennessee River, which effectively ended his campaign against Nashville. Hood resigned from command of the Army of Tennessee in January 1865 and the command devolved on Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor who siphoned off some of the brigades to Mobile, Ala. defenses, and the rest of the Army of Tennessee was sent to North Carolina under the command again of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston who rebuilt the army once again to resist Lincoln's and Sherman's scorched earth policy in the Carolinas. 

Brig. Gen. Randall L. Gibson

His Louisiana brigade was among

those which were transferred by Gen.

Richard Taylor from the Army of

Tennessee to the Mobile, Ala. defenses

(Library of Congress)

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Dec. 26.

Brigadier General William Nelson Pendleton was born in 1809 in Caroline County, Virginia. He graduated from West Point in 1830, fifth in a class of 42 cadets. He left the U.S. Army in 1833 and was a mathematics teacher until 1838, when he was ordained into the Episcopal priesthood. In 1861, he was commissioned a captain in the Confederate artillery and commanded the Rockbridge Artillery at the First Battle of Manassas. Pendleton was promoted to brigadier general on March 26, 1862, and was put in command of the artillery of the Army of Northern Virginia. He was wounded during the Battle of Sharpsburg, Md. but recovered and served until the end of the war. Postwar he served as rector of Grace Church in Lexington, Va. and one of his parishioners was Robert E. Lee, as well as other prominent Confederates. He died on Jan. 15, 1883, and is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Lexington.

Brig. Gen. William Nelson Pendleton

 Click 👉 TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Dec. 25

                                    HAVE A MERRY AND BLESSED CHRISTMAS

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Dec. 25

1862: General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, on Dec. 13, 1862, had established his winter headquarters at Moss Neck Manor, which was two miles from the Rappahannock River in Virginia. On December 25, 1862, he wrote a letter to his wife Anna and hosted a Christmas Day party for Generals Lee, Stuart, and others in the mansion. They dined on turkey, sipped wine, and sang Christmas carols.

Lt. Gen. Stonewall Jackson

(Library of Congress)

General John Hunt Morgan's Confederate Cavalry Brigade raids a Federal outpost near Bear Wallow, Kentucky in continuation of disrupting Yankee communications before the Murfreesboro Campaign in 1862.

1863: A Confederate salt works near Bear Inlet, North Carolina, is destroyed by Federal raiders.

1864: General Hood's Army of Tennessee skirmishes with Federals at Richland Creek, Devils Gap, and White's Station, Tennessee in the aftermath of the Battle of Nashville.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Dec. 25

Brigadier General Milledge Luke Bonham was born in 1813 at Red Bank, South Carolina. He was the younger brother of James Butler Bonham, who died fighting at the Alamo in 1836. He got prewar military experience in the South Carolina militia and in the Mexican-American War in which he served as colonel of the 12th U.S. Infantry. Bonham was elected to the 35th & 36th U.S. Congress and served until the day after South Carolina seceded. He then traveled to other Southern states promoting secession. In the war, he was a brigadier general commanding a brigade of infantry, six companies of cavalry, and two batteries of artillery at the First Battle of Manassas. Bonham resigned from the army on Jan. 27, 1862, when he became a member of the Confederate Congress. He was then elected governor of South Carolina on Dec. 17, 1862. After the war, he served in the South Carolina House of Representatives, railroad commissioner, owned an insurance business, and was a planter. He died Aug. 27, 1890, at White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., and was buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Columbia, S.C.

                                                     

Brig. Gen. Milledge Luke Bonham

👱

Brigadier General Preston Smith was born in 1823 in Giles County, Tennessee. He had a successful law practice in Memphis until he was elected colonel of the 154th Tenn. Inf. in 1861. Smith fought with his regiment at the Battle of Shiloh and received a severe shoulder wound. He then commanded a brigade in Cleburne's Division at the Battle of Perryville, after which he was promoted to brigadier general on Oct. 27, 1862. Smith was killed in action on Sept. 19, 1863, at the Battle of Chickamauga, Ga. Smith is buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis.

Brig. Gen. Preston Smith, KIA Sept. 19, 1863, Chickamauga, Ga.

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, December 24.

 Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history), Dec. 24

Merry Christmas

Father Abram J. Ryan

Confederate chaplain and poet

(Ca. 1870)

The poet-priest of the South, born at Norfolk, Virginia, 15 August 1839; died at Louisville, Kentucky, 22 April 1886. He inherited from his parents, in its most poetic and religious form, the strange witchery of the Irish temper. Fitted for the priesthood by a nature at once mystic and spiritual, he was ordained just before the beginning of the Civil War, entered the Confederate army as a chaplain, and served in this capacity until the end of the war. In the hour of defeat, he won the heart of the entire South by his "Conquered Banner," whose exquisite measure was taken, as he told a friend, from one of the Gregorian hymns. The Marseillaise, as a hymn of victory, never more profoundly stirred the heart of France than did this hymn of defeat the hearts of those to whom it was addressed. It was read or sung in every Southern household and thus became the apotheosis of the "Lost Cause." While much of his later war poetry was notable in its time, his first effort, which fixed his fame, was his finest production. The only other themes upon which he sang were those inspired by religious feeling. Among his poems of that class are to be found bits of the most weird and exquisite imagery. Within the limits of the Southern Confederacy and the Catholic Church in the United States, no poet was more popular. After the war, he exercised the ministry in New Orleans, and was editor of "The Star," a Catholic weekly; later, he founded "The Banner of the South" in Augusta, Georgia, a religious and political weekly; then he retired to Mobile. In 1880, he lectured in several Northern cities. As a pulpit orator and lecturer, he was always interesting and occasionally brilliant. As a man, he had a subtle, fascinating nature, full of magnetism when he saw fit to exert it; as a priest, he was full of tenderness, gentleness, and courage. In the midst of pestilence, he had no fear of death or disease. Even when he was young, his feeble body gave him the appearance of age, and with all this, there was the dreamy mysticism of the poet so manifest in the flesh as to impart to his personality something which marked him off from all other men. His "Poems, Patriotic, Religious, and Miscellaneous" has reached dozens of printings.

[Taylor, H. (1912). Father Abram J. Ryan. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13282b.htm]

A CHRISTMAS CHAUNT

(Excerpted From Father Abram Ryan's Poem)

 Ah! no eve is like the Christmas Eve!
                         Fears and hopes, and hopes and fears,
                         Tears and smiles, and smiles and tears,
                         Cheers and sighs, and sighs and cheers,
                         Sweet and bitter, bitter, sweet,
                         Bright and dark, and dark and bright.
                         All these mingle, all these meet,
                         In this great and solemn night.

                         Ah! there's nothing like a Christmas Eve!
                         To melt with kindly glowing heat,
                         From off our souls the snow and sleet,
                         The dreary drift of wintry years,
                         Only to make the cold winds blow,
                         Only to make a colder snow;
                         And make it drift, and drift, and drift,
                         In flakes so icy-cold and swift;
                         Until the heart that lies below
                         Is cold and colder than the snow.

                         And thus with the shadows only,
                         And the dreamings they unweave,
                         Alone, and yet not lonely,
                         I keep my Christmas Eve.

Father Ryan Monument, Mobile, Ala.

(Photo by M.D. Jones)

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Dec. 24

1861: Confederate War Department Clerk John Jones in Richmond, Virginia spends Christmas Eve day working. He writes, "I am at work working on the resolution passed by Congress. The Secretary sent it to me, with an order to prepare the list of names, and said that he would explain the grounds upon which they are permitted to depart. I can only give the number registered in this office.

1862: General Rosecrans was getting his Army of the Cumberland at Nashville, Tenn. ready for his campaign against the Confederates at nearby Murfreesboro. But General John Hunt Morgan was carrying out his raid on the Yankee lines of communications by driving out three companies of Michigan cavalry from Glasgow, Ky. The Confederates would spend Christmas there and occupy the town for three days while destroying the Federal railroad and communications facilities there.

Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan

1863: Captain Felix Pierre Poché of Mouton's Brigade writes in his daily diary, "We made about 14 miles, and encamped 32 miles from Monroe. I had a lot of trouble trying to buy potatoes for the troops without success. I never thought that there was a place as poor and miserable as this in the State of Louisiana.

     Tonight, despite the bad colds suffered by the men, it was easy to realize it was Christmas Eve by the shouting and noise in the regiments." (A Louisiana Confederate, 1972)

1864: The Federal Navy bombarded Fort Fisher, North Carolina on this day in preparation for an assault on the fort on Christmas day. Fort Fisher was guarding Wilmington, which was the Confederacy's last link to a port on the Atlantic coast. General Benjamin "Beast" Butler was commanding the invasion force for the Yankees. While the fort was temporarily silenced and some guns dismounted, General Maj. Robert F. Hoke's Division of Confederate infantry arrived there in a nick of time before the land assault began. But the Federals also managed to land their forces on this day.

Maj. Gen. Robert F. Hoke

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Dec. 24

NONE

Today in History (general history/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, December 23.

 Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Dec. 23.

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Dec. 23.

1861: Trent Affair: Lord Lyons, Queen Victoria's ambassador in Washington, pressured the U.S. government to release the two Confederate commissioners to Great Britain illegally seized on the high seas by the U.S. warship San Jacinto from the British ship Trent. After a meeting between Lincoln and his cabinet, U.S. Sen. Charles Sumner advised the Northern president to order the political prisoners released.

1862: Confederate President Jefferson Davis proclaims U.S. Brig. Gen. Benjamin Butler of New Orleans occupation infamy to be an enemy of mankind. Butler, who had recently been relieved by General Nathaniel Banks, was labeled by New Orleans residents with such nicknames as "Beast Butler," for his infamous "Women's order," which many take to mean allowing rape, and "Spoons Butler," for his alleged involvement in looting. 

Captain Elijah Petty of the 17th Texas Infantry, Walker's Texas Division, writes home, "We are still here near Little Rock in a state of uncertainty waiting for orders and hoping that they will come for us to go somewhere." (Find A Grave)

Capt. Elijah Petty

17th Texas Infantry

1863: Captain Felix Pierre Poché of Mouton's Louisiana Infantry Brigade, writes in his diary, "We made about 14 miles, and encamped 32 miles from Monroe. I have not had one serious accident on my wagon train. I had today the pleasure of receiving a very acceptable present from my Friend Emile Morvan, a wonderful pair of drawers." (A Louisiana Confederate, 1972).

1864: Skirmishing occurs between General Hood's Army of Tennessee, still in retreat from the Battle of Nashville, and the pursuing Federals around Columbia, Tennessee. Columbia today is the international headquarters of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. 

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Dec. 23.

Brig. Gen. David A. Weisiger

Brigadier General David Addison Weisiger was born in 1818 in Chesterfield County, Virginia. During the Mexican-American War, he was a 2nd Lieutenant in the 1st Virginia Volunteers. He also served with the Virginia Militia in the 39th Regiment between 1853 and 1860 rising to the level of colonel.  During the War for Southern Independence, he served as a major in the 4th Infantry Battalion, Virginia Militia then, on May 9, 1961, the colonel of the 12th Virginia Infantry Regiment. He fought at the Battle of Seven Pines, the Seven Days Battles, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, and as a brigade commander at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, and his promotion as a brigadier general was confirmed on June 7, 1864. His promotion was canceled, but then he was appointed again to the brigadier general rank to date from July 30, 1864, and he carried on as such in the Siege of Petersburg to the end of the war. He was wounded three times during the war and had two horses shot from under him. After the war, he made his living as a bank cashier in Petersburg, Va., and died on Feb. 23, 1899. Weisiger was buried at the historic Blandford Cemetery in Petersburg.

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day In Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, December 22.

 Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Dec. 22. 

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Dec. 22.

1862: Murfreesboro Campaign: The encampment of the Army of Tennessee under Lt. Gen. Braxton Bragg was in winter camp in Middle Tennessee while Federal Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans, at Nashville, Tenn., under intense pressure from Washington, was preparing to advance on the Confederates after Christmas. But Bragg got the jump on Rosecrans by sending Brig. John Hunt Morgan's cavalry brigade started a raid on the Federal lines of communications. Morgan had just been promoted to brigadier general on December 11 and married Martha "Mattie" Ready on December 14. In just 8 days, North and South would be engaged in one of the bloodiest battles of the war along Stone's River near Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan

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1863: Captain Felix Pierre Poché, commissary department, Mouton's Brigade, Army of Western Louisiana wrote in his daily diary: "Tuesday, Dec. 22. We were again on the road all day and camped at 6 o'clock P.m. on Bayou Dugdemonna [sic] 4 1/2 miles from Winnfield, the seat of Justice of Winn Parish, an ugly little town of about six or seven ugly houses and two or three stores. I was traveling ahead of the Brigade to inquire about some corn flour ground. I finally found a mill near Winnfield and had enough ground for two days' rations. We had rain tonight and a miserable camp.

Capt. Felix Pierre Poché, Mouton's La. Brigade 

(Poché Family Collection)

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Dec. 22.

NONE.

Today in history (general history)/ On this Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthday, December 20.

Click 👉 TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Dec. 21.

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Dec. 21.

1862: Confederate War Clerk John Jones writes in his diary in the War Department in Richmond, Va.: "Nothing yet has been done by the immense Federal fleet of iron-clad gunboats which were to devastate our coast this winter. But the winter is not over yet, and I apprehend something will be attempted. However, we shall make a heroic defense of every point assailed." Born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1810, Jones had built a successful career as a journalist and author before the war. He had been the editor of the  Baltimore Sunday Visitor, authored a novel, Wild Western Scenes, and pro-Tyler publication Madisonian. He also served in the Tyler administration as the U.S. Consul at Naples, Italy. Jones later edited the Southern Monitor in Philadelphia. Jones moved to Richmond, Va. the same day as the firing on Fort Sumter occurred. His writing talent and keen observations in the War Department made his wartime diary one of the most important primary sources for historians ever since. He died Feb. 4, 1866, in Burlington, N.J.

John Beauchamp Jones, 

Confederate War Dept. Clerk, and famous diarist.

John Beauchamp Jones is seated at left in

Caleb Bingham's 1852 painting "Canvassing for Votes."

1862: Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's lightning raid in West Tennessee. After the Battle of Jackson, Tenn. on the 19th, then on the 20th captured Trenton, Tenn. after a sharp fight with the local garrison. He then ransacked the courthouse destroyed Federal supplies did more damage to the Mobile and Ohio Railroad Depot and took 700 prisoners. Then on the 21st., Forrest captured Union City, Tenn. The town was occupied by a 106 detachment of the 54th Ohio Infantry commanded by Capt. Samuel B. Logan. Forrest overran the Federals burned the train depot, severed communications, and captured what supplies his men needed. The Confederates then moved on to Jordan, Ky., and burned the RR depot there as well.

Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest

1864: The Confederate city of Savannah, Georgia falls to Sherman and his "bummers." The fall of Savannah marked the end of Sherman's destructive march across Georgia from Atlanta to the sea (Atlantic Ocean) during which many war crimes were committed against civilians. "General Howard reported to Sherman, “We have found the country full of provisions and forage…. private dwellings…have been destroyed by fire…; also, many instances of the most inexcusable and wanton acts, such as the breaking open of trunks, taking of silver pate, etc.”

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Dec. 21.

NONE.