Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, May 12.

Click 👉Today in History (general history) May 12. 

On This Day in Confederate History, May 12.

1863: The Battle of Raymond, Mississippi, between Confederate Brig. Gen. John Gregg's 3,000-man infantry brigade, and Federal Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson's 12,000 men in the XVII Corps collide in the Vicksburg Campaign. Gregg has been dispatched to Raymond to help stop Maj. Gen. U.S. Grant's Army of the Tennessee but doesn't know the real strength of the enemy because of a lack of cavalry. He finds he is greatly outnumbered, but rather than retreat and risk destruction, he decides to bluff the enemy and charge. At first, he has great success in heavily wooded terrain where the enemy can't determine his strength, but the outnumbered Confederates are eventually pushed back. But Gregg manages to get the bulk of his brigade away and substantially intact. The Confederates suffered about 515 casualties and the Federals about 446.

Brig. Gen. John Gregg

In the Vicksburg Campaign, Lt. Gen. John Pemberton is getting his army ready to resist Grant but is greatly hampered by a lack of cavalry to monitor Grant's strength and movements and cut Grant's supply line at Grand Gulf. He has repeatedly asked General Joseph Johnston in Jackson, Mississippi, to release Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn's 6,000-man cavalry force to him, but Johnston, misreading the situation, repeatedly refuses.

 Click👉Vicksburg 28th Louisiana Infantry

1864: Maj. Gen. James Ewell Brown Stuart died of the wound he received on May 11 at the Battle of Yellow Tavern, Va. Stuart was the premier Confederate cavalry commander in the Army of Northern Virginia. His last words were, "I am resigned; God's will be done." The 31-year-old left behind his wife, Flora, and three children: a boy and two girls. General Robert E. Lee reportedly said he could hardly think of General Stuart without weeping.

Statue of Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart

R.I.P.😢

At the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, Va., Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia repulses the greatest Federal assault yet, at the Mule Shoe salient, but suffers many casualties and is pushed back to a secondary line, which holds. The Federals capture some 3,000 Confederates and 20 cannons. Among the captured is Maj. Gen. Edward Johnson was one of Lee's best division commanders. 

Maj Gen. Edward Johnson

1865: The Battle of Palmito Ranch east of Brownsville, Texas, is the last battle of the War for Southern Independence, and it is a Confederate victory. Confederate forces, about 300 strong, led by Colonel John "Rip" Ford, clashed with Federal forces numbering about 500 under Colonel Thomas H. Barrett. Barrett started the battle by breaking a truce that probably would have led to a peaceful surrender. The Federals didn't realize Ford had six artillery pieces, probably supplied by the French Army just across the border in Mexico. On this first day of the battle, the Federals captured several Confederates but were driven back by the end of the day.

Col. John S. "Rip" Ford

Confederate General Birthdays, May 12.

None.

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, May 11.

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On This Day in Confederate History, May 11.

1862: C.S.S. Virginia is destroyed in Virginia by the Confederates to prevent it from falling into Federal hands. It was the first Confederate ironclad in battle and had great success against some of the best Federal Navy wooden warships. However, the North's ironclad U.S.S. Monitor canceled out its advantage.

1864: Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, commander of the cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia, is mortally wounded at the Battle of Yellow Tavern, Va. The 4,500 Confederate troopers under Stuart blocked Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan's 12,000 Federal cavalry attempted to raid Richmond, but Stuart was wounded just as the Yankees were retreating. Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee is put in temporary command of the Confederate cavalry. The Federals suffered 635 casualties. The Confederates lost 300 men captured.

Maj. Gen. James E.B. Stuart

R.I.P.

At Rocky Face Ridge, Georgia, in the Atlanta Campaign, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman withdraws his army and heads for Resaca. General Joseph Johnston moves his Army of Tennessee to block Sherman again at Resaca.

Red River Campaign: In Louisiana,
Maj Gen. Camille Polignac's Texas and Louisiana Infantry Division moves from LeCompte, La., toward Marksville, La., to cut off any attempts by a Federal relief force to save Banks at Alexandria. The Federal gunboats have also been shelling Confederate-reoccupied Fort DeRussy.

Maj. Gen. Camille de Polignac

Click👉General Mouton's Regiment

This regiment, the 18th La. Inf., fought

at the Battle of Shiloh and then in most

of the Louisiana campaigns in late 1862

through the Red River Campaign.

Confederate General Birthdays, May 11.

None.

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, May 10.

Click 👉Today in History (general history) May 10. 

On This Day in Confederate History, May 10.

1861:  CAMP JACKSON AFFAIR: Pro-Union Missouri Volunteers and a regiment of U.S. Army  Regulars clashed in St. Louis, Missouri, with the pro-secession Missouri Volunteer Militia at Camp Jackson and took them captive. The Federal soldiers also killed 28 civilians and injured dozens of others. So great was the outrage over this massacre that St. Louis had to be put under martial law. The next day, May 11, 1861, the Missouri General Assembly created the pro-South Missouri State Guard under Major General Sterling Price.

1862: The Naval Battle of Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River takes place when the eight vessels of the Confederate River Defense Fleet take on the Federal Mississippi River Squadron. The Confederate ships rammed and sank the USS Cincinnati and the USS Mound City.

1863: DEATH OF STONEWALL JACKSON: The great Lt.. Gen. Thomas J "Stonewall" Jackson died on this day in Guinea Station, Virginia. He was wounded severely at the Battle of Chancellorsville a week earlier and contracted pneumonia, and died. His death is a severe blow to the Confederacy, and General Robert E. Lee soon discovers he is irreplaceable in skill and competence. General Jackson was 39 years old.

Lt. Gen. Thomas J "Stonewall" Jackson

Rest in Peace

 

Click👉Fighting First Louisiana Infantry 

1864: At the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia repulses three Federal army corps that attack the Confederate left and center. The Yankees suffer heavy casualties. 

AFTERMATH OF THE BATTLE OF CALCASIEU PASS: Also on that day at Calcasieu Pass, Louisiana, not knowing about the battle of May 6 in which the blockading gunboats USS Granite City and USS Wave have been captured, the blockader USS New London arrives and sends Ensign Henry Jackson and six bluejackets in a boat to deliver a message to the Granite City. When Jackson sees a Confederate flag flying over the ship, he thinks it is a joke and takes a rifle and fires at the flag. The Confederates on the gunboat return fire, and Jackson is killed. The bluejackets are added to those previously captured.

1865: CAPTURE OF PRESIDENT DAVIS: President Jefferson Davis and his party are taken prisoner near Irwinville, Georgia, by Federal cavalry. The president is imprisoned at Fort Monroe, Virginia, as a political prisoner. 

Confederate General Birthdays, May 10.

Brigadier General Alfred Jefferson Vaughn Jr. was born on this day in 1830 in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1848, ranking 15th out of 29 cadets in the graduating class. Vaughan became a civil engineer in Missouri, California, and Mississippi, where he took up farming. During the War for Southern Independence, he raised a company in Mississippi, the Dixie Rifles, then joined the 13th Tennessee Infantry. Vaughan was slightly wounded at the Battle of Shiloh and in May 1862 was elected a lieutenant colonel. His other battles included the battles of Richmond, Ky., Perryville, Ky., Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Chickamauga, Ga., after which he was promoted to brigadier general. He led his brigade at Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge, Vining's Station, and Marietta, during which he was severely wounded. Vaughan was disabled for the rest of the war and paroled on May 10, 1865, at Gainesville, Ala. Following the war, Vaughan returned to farming in Mississippi and Tennessee. He was elected sheriff of Shelby Co., Tenn. in 1878 and was active in the United Confederate Veterans. He also wrote a history of the 13th Tenn. Inf. Vaughan died Oct. 1, 1899, in Indianapolis, Ind., and was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis, Tenn.

Brig. Gen. Alfred J. Vaughn Jr.

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederated General Birthdays, May 9.

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On This Day in Confederate History, May 9.

1862: The Battle of Farmington, Miss., occurs in the Siege of Corinth. Capt. W.E. Walker of the 16th Louisiana Infantry gives this account of the battle: "In the battle of Farmington, on the 9th instant, the Sixteenth Regiment Louisiana Volunteers formed the right of the Second Brigade, commanded by Major Daniel Gober, Ruggles' division. Line of battle having been formed at Farmington, it was directed to move forward beyond a field to our front, in order to occupy the woods, in possession of the enemy. Arriving near the point, a brisk fire was opened on us. Having crossed the ridge of woods referred to, the firing of the enemy upon us was resumed with such effect as to occasion temporary derangement of our line. Order having been restored, we again advanced in of battle across the adjacent fields in pursuit of the enemy, then retiring, but, unable to overtake them, we were ordered to return to the encampment at Corinth." [War of the Rebellion: Vol. 10, Page 8] Confederate casualties were 8 killed, 189 wounded, and 110 missing. Federal casualties were 16 killed, 148 wounded, and 192 missing.

Photos of Confederate soldiers

with the "Jeff Davis and the South"

sign is believed to have been taken

by a Corinth, Miss., photographer.

This one is of Pvt Henry A. Moore

Co. F, 15th Miss. Inf.

(Library of Congress)

1863: In the Vicksburg, Miss. campaign, Confederates skirmish with Maj. Gen. U.S. Grant's army is headed for Jackson, Miss., near Utica, Miss. at Big Sandy Creek.

Bayou Teche Campaign, 1863, in Louisiana, Confederates under Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor retreats to Natchitoches, La., while Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks' Army of the Gulf arrives at Alexandria, La. The Federals cleared the Confederates out of the Bayou Teche region west of New Orleans, before turning east to attack the Confederate bastion at Port Hudson, which is the southern anchor of Vicksburg and Confederate control of that portion of the Mississippi River.

1864: At the Battle of  Spotsylvania Court House, Va., a Confederate sharpshooter picks off a Major. Gen. John Sedgwick just as he derided some of his men who were dodging Confederate fire. He was the highest-ranking general killed in Grant's Overland Campaign. Meanwhile, General Robert E. Lee's men continued entrenching.

In the Atlanta Campaign, Confederates of the Army of Tennessee under General Joseph Johnston repulsed repeated attacks on their line at Dug Gap, Georgia. The Federals were under Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman. Also, the Federals attacked Snake Creek with some success but failed to cut off Johnston's line of retreat.

In the Red River Campaign, Maj. Gen. Camille Polignac's Texas and Louisiana Infantry Division was poised at Lecompte, La., while Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks' much larger army is bottled up at Alexandria, La. Federal engineers were building a dam to save the Federal Navy, which was stranded by the low level of the water in the river.

Confederate General Birthdays, May 9.

Brigadier General William George Mackey Davis was born on this day in 1812 in Portsmouth, Virginia. Before the war, Davis was a lawyer and speculator in cotton in Apalachicola, Florida. During the War for Southern Independence, Davis raised the 1st Florida Cavalry and elected its colonel. He was promoted to brigadier general on Nov. 6, 1862, and was a brigade commander and then department commander in East Tennessee. He resigned on May 6, 1863, and moved to Richmond, Va. He also ran a fleet of blockade runners out of Wilmington, N.C. Following the war, he moved to Jacksonville, Fla., and then to Washington, D.C., where he practiced law. David died on March 11, 1898, in Alexandria, Va., and was buried in Tacket-Burroughs-Davis Cemetery in Remington, Va.

Brig. Gen. William G.M. Davis

👱

Brigadier General William Edmondson "Grumble" Jones was born on this day in 1824 in Washington County, Virginia. Jones graduated from West Point in 1848 and ranked 12th in his class of 48 cadets. His antebellum service in the army was with the cavalry on the western frontier, fighting Indians. Jones resigned in 1857 and went into business. During the War for Southern Independence, Jones joined the 1st Virginia Cavalry as a company commander. While he was a skilled and courageous leader of cavalrymen, he and his commander, Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart developed a strong dislike for one another.  Nevertheless, his ability as a cavalry commander earned him a promotion to colonel of the 7th Virginia Cavalry. He was then promoted to brigadier general, commanding brigades. His battles included the First Battle of Manassas, Stuart's Raid around the Federal Army in 1862, the Second Battle of Manassas, Brandy Station, the Gettysburg Campaign, and Culpepper Court House. He also led many successful raids. Jones was killed in action on June 5, 1864, while leading a charge against the enemy at the Battle of Piedmont, Va. 

Brig. Gen. William E. "Grumble" Jones

👱

Brigadier General William Feimster Tucker was born on this day in 1827 in Iredell County, North Carolina. He moved to Houston, Mississippi, in 1848, where he became a lawyer. He began the War for Southern Independence he became a captain in the 11th Miss. Inf. and was in the First Battle of Manassas. In May 1862, Tucker became the colonel of the 41st Miss. Inf. and led it at the battles of Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga. Promoted to brigadier general on March 1, 1864, he was severely wounded in the Battle of Resaca. He finished the war as commander of the District of Southern Mississippi and East Louisiana. Following the war, Tucker practiced law in Chickasaw Co., Miss., and was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives. Tucker was assassinated on Sept. 14, 1884, and was buried in the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Okolona, Miss.

Brig. Gen. William F. Tucker

👋

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History, Confederate General Birthdays, May 8.

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On This Day in Confederate History, May 8.

1862: The Battle of McDowell, Va., occurs in the Shenandoah Valley Between Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson with about 10,000 men and Brig. Gen.  Robert Schenk's 6,000 Federals. Jackson places his men on Sitlington's Hill, repulses a federal attack, and chases the Yankees for several days before returning to the Valley. The Confederates have around 500 casualties to the Federals' 256.

Captain William H. Powell

Co. A, 33rd Va. Inf., Stonewall Brigade

(Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

Click👉Confederate States Rangers

1864: General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia beats Maj. Gen. U.S. Grant's Army of the Potomac, and went to Spotsylvania Court House and dug in, blocking Brock Road. The Federals had about 110,000 men, and the Confederates had about 63,000. The Confederates repulse a cavalry attack and an attack by the V Corps at Laurel Hill. Fighting here would go on for 21 bloody days.

Battle of Spotsylvania Court House by Thure de Thulstrup

Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor near Alexandria, La., in the Red River Campaign, reports that they are recovering the guns from the Federal gunboats they have captured. He notes that he needs more artillery horses and ammunition. He also says his men have been fighting for sixteen consecutive days. 

Click👉Mouton's Charge

Two days after the Battle of Calcasieu Pass, La., ignorant of the battle, the Federal transport Ella Morse, carrying a detachment of the 2nd New Orleans (Union) Infantry, approached the USS Granite City, which had been captured. The gunboat was manned by Confederate gunners, and Southern sharpshooters opened up on the Ella Morse and wounded the pilot. The Federal transport quickly retreated back into the Gulf of America.

  Click 👉Spaights Battalion history

Confederate General Birthdays, May 8.

Brigadier General Bryan Morel Thomas was born on this day in 1836 in Milledgeville, Georgia. He graduated from West Point in 1858, 22nd in a class of 54 cadets. Thomas served in the 8th U.S. Infantry and did garrison duty in New York, Utah Territory, and was stationed at Fort Union in New Mexico Territory in 1861. Thomas resigned from the U.S. Army on April 6, 1861. He then joined the Confederate Army and became a major in the 18th Alabama Infantry. At the Battle of Shiloh, he was on the staff of Maj. Gen. Jones M. Withers, who was his father-in-law. Thomas was afterward given command of the Reserve Corps artillery in the Army of Tennessee and took part in the Kentucky Campaign of 1862 and the Battle of Murfreesboro at the end of that year. His next assignment in 1863 was as assistant inspector general of Wither's Division, and he was then promoted to colonel in command of the 12th Mississippi Cavalry. Thomas was appointed a "temporary" brigadier general on Aug. 4, 1864, and commanded a brigade at Mobile, Alabama. He was captured with his command at Fort Blakely at Mobile on April 9, 1865, and released from captivity at Fort Gaines until June 1865. Following the war, Thomas farmed in Georgia, served as a deputy U.S. Marshal, founded a private academy, and was superintendent of city schools in Dalton, Ga. He died July 16, 1905, in Dalton and was buried there at West Hill Cemetery.

Brig. Gen. Bryan M. Thomas

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, May 7.

 Click 👉 Today in History (general history) May 7. 

On This Day in Confederate History, May 7.

1862: The Battle of Eltham's Landing, Va., occurs in the Peninsular Campaign. In this battle, the Confederates under Maj. Gen. G.W. Smith and William H.C. Whiting thwart a Federal attempt under Maj. Gen. William Franklin was to outflank the Confederate forces still withdrawing to Richmond. Franklin landed his 11,300-man division, but they were blocked by 11,000 Confederates in several brigades. The battle was the first battle for Hood's Texas Brigade-1st, 4th & 5th Texas & the 18th Georgia infantry regiments. The Confederates suffered 48 casualties to 194 for the Federals.

Soldiers of the 1st Texas Infantry in their encampment

1864: The Battle of the Wilderness ends in a victory for General Robert E. Lee in his first direct clash with Maj. Gen. U.S. Grant. With just 61,025 men in the battle, Lee blocked Grant's 101,895-man advance through the Wilderness. Grant made a serious mistake in not taking the advice of his officers, who had advised against his strategy. The Federals suffered 17,666 casualties, including 2,246 killed, 12,037 wounded, and 3,383 captured or missing. The Confederates had 11,033 casualties, including 1,477 killed, 7,866 wounded, and 1,690 captured or missing.

A prewar photo of Brig. Gen. Leroy A. Stafford,

one of three Confederate generals killed or mortally

wounded in the Battle of the Wilderness, including

John M. Jones and Micah Jenkins. Stafford was

shot in the spine and died on May 8, 1864, in Richmond, Va.

In the Red River Campaign in western Louisiana, Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor reports that the previous day, there was brisk skirmishing on the Rapides Road and some severe fighting on the Robert and Boeuf roads. "After heavy cannonading for some hours, the enemy advanced on our line. His attack threw both our flanks into some confusion when Bagby (Texas Cavalry Brigade) led a charge on the center and drove him across the Lamourie. Our line occupied the scene of fighting and slept last night on their arms. Polignac commanded on the field. Prisoners captured were of the Seventeenth Corps, some of the Vicksburg troops," Taylor reported. (Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 34, Pt. 1, 589.)

Confederate General Birthdays, May 7.

None.

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, May 6.

Click👉Today in History (general history) May 6. 

On This Day in Confederate History, May 6.

1861: Arkansas became the 8th Southern state to secede from the Union on this day at the Old State House in Little Rock. The vote was 65 to 5. Arkansans fought in the Army of Northern Virginia, the Army of Tennessee, and the Army of the Trans-Mississippi.

Hempstead Rifles, 3rd Regiment, Arkansas State Troops 

pictured early in the war. They fought in the Battle of Wilson's

Creek, Mo. (aka Battle of Oak Hills).

(Wilson's Creek National Battlefield)

1864: The Battle of Calcasieu Pass, La., took place in the lower part of Calcasieu Parish in Southwest Louisiana, which today is in Cameron Parish. Not part of the Red River Campaign, the battle was between two Federal gunboats in the Calcasieu River, and a force of 350 Confederate infantry (Griffin's and Spaight's battalions), cavalry (Daly's battalion), and artillery from Sabine Pass, Texas, about 30 miles west. The two gunboats were blockade sidewheel steamers, the U.S.S. Granite City and U.S.S. Wave. Both gunboats greatly outgunned the Confederate field artillery, two six-pounders, and two 12-pounder Napoleons. But the Confederates caught the Federals completely by surprise and the crack 5th Texas Light Artillery of Captain Edmund Creuzbaur, a former cannoneer in the Prussian Army, began drilling shell holes in the two ships. Lt. Col. William H. Griffin was the Confederate commander. The Confederate infantry and dismounted cavalry advanced and took positions in the marshes and began picking off the Yankee gunners as they bravely manned their guns. Neither gunboat had steam up and were sitting ducks in the water. After about an hour and a half of this punishment, the USS Granite City surrendered first and then the USS Wave. One Confederate gun was knocked out, and there were about 50 casualties on both sides plus 177 Federal sailors and soldiers taken captive. Both gunboats and their crews were captured for a complete victory for the Confederates.

Pvt. William Kniep, Creuzbaur's Battery

Texas Artillery, KIA, May 6, 1864 at

Calcasieu Pass, La.

(Click on image to enlarge)

1st Lt. Charles Whelhausen

Creuzbaur's 5th Texas Light Artillery

Pvt. Thomas J. Smith, Co. A, 11th Bn. 

(Spaight's) Texas Volunteers.

(Fine A Grave)

Pvt. John A. Strobel, Co. F, 21st Bn.

(Griffin's) Texas Infantry.

(Richmond Civil War Antiques)

CLICK👉 The Battle of Calcasieu Pass

The Battle of Calcasieu Pass, Louisiana, 6 May 1864 was a small but sharp battle between two Union gunboats, the U.S.S. Wave and the U.S.S. Granite City, and about 350 Confederates with four small cannons. The Confederates included a diverse group of Texas Germans, Mexicans and Anglo-Celts. The battle was a complete victory for the Confederates. The book includes photos, maps, footnotes, bibliography and index.

On the second day of the Battle of the Wilderness, Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Lt. Gen. U.S. Grant's Army of the Potomac tangled in the thick woods, and the fighting was fierce and bloody, continued into the night, and ended in stalemate. Confederate Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon found a way to outflank the Federals. The bluecoats were driven back about a mile. Artillery and cavalry weren't of much help in this type of terrain, which helped the outnumbered Confederates. Lt. Gen. James Longstreet is severely wounded by friendly fire, and Brig. Gen. Micah Jenkins is killed. 

Brigadier General Micah Jenkins

Killed in Action in the Wilderness

Confederate General Birthdays, May 6.

None.