Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, September 21.

 Click 👉Today in History (general history) Sept. 21.

On This Day in Confederate History, Sept. 21.

1863: CHICKAMAUGA  AFTERMATH--The defeated Federal Army of the Cumberland retreated into the fortifications in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg failed to send his victorious Army of the Tennessee immediately into Chattanooga before the Northerners could get reorganized and reinforced. Bragg's failure to follow up victories is a major reason why much of his army had lost confidence in him. Instead, Bragg put Chattanooga under siege, which was one of the biggest mistakes of the war.  Skirmishing continued around the area, including Rossville, Lookout Church, and Dry Valley, Georgia.

 

(Click on picture to enlarge)

Pvt. Felix Arroyo, Co. 5, Washington

Artillery of New Orleans, La. He was

wounded on 19 Sept. 1863 at Chickamauga

and hospitalized in Marietta, Ga. He returned

to duty in time for Missionary Ridge, the

Atlanta Campaign, and was paroled May 10,

1865 in Meridian, Miss. He enlisted on June 1, 1863 

in Mobile, Alabama, after being expelled by Federal

occupation authorities in New Orleans, after

refusing to take the oath of allegiance. 

(Arroyo was previously the 1st. Lt. of Co. G, 

Orleans Guards Reg't. La. State Guards.) 

He was a bookkeeper in New Orleans, born 

July 25, 1825, in St. Charles Parish, LA, 

was married with 3 children. He died August 18, 1891 

at age 66 and was entombed in Metairie Cemetery, 

Army of Tennessee tomb, crypt no. 11.

(Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

CLICK👉Fighting for Southern Independence: A History of the 13th Louisiana Infantry

From the Battle of Shiloh to the Siege of Spanish Fort

This is the story of one of the most heroic and hardest-fighting regiments in the Confederate Army, the 13th Louisiana Infantry. The men of this regiment were largely from the New Orleans area and fought in such famous battles as Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Atlanta (Campaign), Franklin, and Nashville in the main Confederate Army of the western theater of operations. They served under such great Confederate generals as P.G.T. Beauregard, Braxton Bragg, Joseph Johnston, and John Bell Hood

1864: The Battle of Fisher's Hill, Virginia, began as the Federals under Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan followed up their victory at the Third Battle of Winchester on Sept. 16. Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal Early thought Fisher's Hill would be another "Rock of Gibraltar." Early had only 9,500 men left in his Army of the Valley, while Sheridan had 35,000. In the skirmishing on this day, the Northerners captured the high ground and prepared for an assault the next day.

Confederate General Birthdays, Sept. 21.

Major General Carter Littlepage Stevenson was born this day in 1817 in Fredericksburg, Virginia.  He graduated from West Point in1838 and served as a second lieutenant in the 5th U.S. Infantry. Steveson, promoted to the first lieutenant, participated in the Second Seminole War, the Mexican-American War, the Third Seminole war, and the Utah War. He resigned from the U.S. Army in `861, returned to Virginia, and was commissioned a lieutenant colonel in the Confederate Army. Promoted to colonel, he commanded the 53rd Virginia Infantry. He was promoted to brigadier general in February 1862, and to major general in October 1862. His battles and campaigns included Champion's Hill, the Siege of Vicksburg, the Atlanta Campaign, the Battle of Nashville, and the Carolina Campaign. Following the war, Stevenson was a civil and mining engineer in Caroline County, Virginia. He died August 15, 1888, in Caroline County, Va., and was buried in the Confederate Cemetery in Fredericksburg, Va.

Maj. Gen. Carter. L. Stevenson

👱

Brigadier General Williams Carter Wickham was born on this day in 1820 in Richmond, Virginia. He was a lawyer, politician, and plantation owner before the war. He was elected to both the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate. In 1859, in response to John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry, he organized the Hanover Dragoons and was commissioned a captain in the Virginia militia. He was against secession and twice against it in the Virginia Secession Convention. But when Virginians voted to ratify Virginia's secession, he led his Hanover Dragoons into the Confederate Army and became lieutenant colonel and colonel of the 4th Virginia Cavalry, and was promoted to brigadier general on Sept. 9, 1863. His battles and campaigns included First Manassas, Williamsburg, Sharpsburg, Chancellorsville, Brandy Station, Gettysburg Campaign, and Yellow Tavern. Following the war, he became a Republican, president of the Virginia Central Railroad, and the president of the Covington & Ohio Railroad. He was also elected to the Virginia Senate. Wickham died on July 23, 1888, in Richmond, Va., and was buried in Hickory Hill Cemetery in Hanover County, Va.

Brig. Gen. Williams C. Wickham

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Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, September 20.

Click 👉Today in History (general history) Sept. 20. 

On This Day in Confederate History, Sept. 20.

1861: Federals in Lexington, Mo., under Col. James Mulligan surrendered on this day to the Missouri State Guard under Maj. Gen. Sterling Price. The siege lasted seven days. The pro-Confederate MSG suffered 30 men killed and 120 wounded, for a total of 150. The Federals lost 36 wounded, 117 wounded, 8 missing, and 3,000 captured. 

Pvt. P.S. Alexander, Moniteau County Rangers,

& Pvt. S.W. Stone, California Guards, Missouri

State Guard. (Library of Congress/colorization by AI)

1863: The Confederate Army of Tennessee under Lt. Gen. Braxton Bragg wins its biggest victory on this day at the Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia. The key to victory was a breakthrough assault under Lt. Gen. James Longstreet commanding the left wing, with Maj. Gen. Bushrod Johnson's Division of the AOT is in the forefront, followed by two divisions from the Army of Northern Virginia with Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood led all three divisions. The Federal right flank was crushed. Hood was severely wounded and had to have a leg amputated. He was later promoted to lieutenant general to date from Sept. 20, 1863. Confederate Brig. Gen. Benjamin H. Helm was wounded mortally. Brig. Gen. James Deshler was killed in action. Federal Brig. Gen. William H. Lytle was killed in action. Federal losses were 1,657 killed, 9,756 wounded, and 4,757 captured or missing for a total of 16,170 casualties. Confederates suffered 2,312 killed, 14,674 wounded, and 1,456 captured or missing for a casualty total of 18,454.

Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood

was severely wounded.

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.

1864: Simon Bolivar Buckner was promoted to lieutenant general and was assigned to important commands in the Trans-Mississippi Department. Also promoted on this day were Edwin Gray Lee, Patrick Theodore More, and William Henry Wallace, all to brigadier general.

Confederate General Birthdays, Sept. 20.

Major General Sterling Price was born on this day in 1809 in Prince Edward County, Virginia. He was a prewar Missouri politician who served in the Missouri House of Representatives. elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1844 and was governor from 1853-1857. During the Mexican-American War, Price was colonel of the 2nd Missouri Mounted Infantry Regiment. During the War for Southern Independence, he commanded the Missouri State Guard as a major general and was appointed a major general in the Confederate Army. His battles and campaigns included Carthage, Oak Hill, Lexington, Elk Horn Tavern (wounded), Iuka, Corinth, Helena, the Little Rock Campaign, Camden Expedition, and the Missouri Expedition. Following the war, he lived in Mexico, and when his health declined, he moved to St. Louis, Mo., where he died on Sept. 29, 1867, and was buried there in the Bellefontaine Cemetery.

Maj. Gen. Sterling Price

👱

Brigadier General Edward Asbury O'Neal was born on this day in 1818 in Madison County, Alabama. He was a prewar lawyer and judge who believed in secession. During the War Between the States, O'Neal was appointed the major of the 9th Alabama Infantry Regiment, then colonel of the 26th Alabama Infantry, and was appointed a brigadier general on June 6, 1863, but General R.E. Lee held up the appointment, and President Jefferson Davis canceled it. His battles and campaigns included the Peninsula Campaign, Seven Pines (severely wounded), Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Manassas Gap, Mine Run, and the Atlanta Campaign. Following the war, O'Neal practiced law in Alabama and was elected to the Alabama Constitutional Convention in 1875. He was an elector for 1880 Democratic Party presidential candidate Winfield Scott Hancock. O'Neal served as governor of Alabama from 1882 to 1886. He died on Nov. 7, 1890, in Florence, Alabama, and was buried in the Florence City Cemetery.

Brig. Gen. Edward A. O'Neal

👋

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, September 19.

Click 👉Today in History (general history), Sept. 19. 

On This Day In Confederate History, Sept. 19.

1862: General Robert E. Lee moved the Army of Northern Virginia across the Potomac River at Boteler's Ford to safety in Virginia. There was skirmishing in Sharpsburg, Shepherdstown, and near Williamsport, Maryland.

1863: At the Battle of Chickamauga, General Braxton Bragg planned a major assault on the Federal Army of the Cumberland early in the morning. However, poor communication with his subordinate generals led to disjointed, belated attacks that the Federals repulsed. Bragg assigned Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, newly arrived from Virginia, who would be in command of the Army of Tennessee's left wing late that night. Confederate Brig. Gen. Preston Smith was mortally wounded while directing a night attack. 

A charging Confederate shouting the

Rebel Yell at Chickamauga. This is an

AI rendering of a charging Confederate

statue picture that I took at the Chickamauga &

Chattanooga NMP. (M.D. Jones)

Brig. Gen. Preston Smith

Mortally wounded at Chickamauga

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.

1864: The Confederacy won the first two battles of Winchester, Va. but the third battle there on this day in the Shenandoah Valley was a serious loss for the South. Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's Army of the Valley with 15,514 men to Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan's 40,000 men in two Federal armies, the Army of the Shenandoah and the Army of West Virginia. The Confederates are overwhelmed by numbers and a double envelopment of their flanks. Early's army retreats back to a prepared fortress at Fisher's Hill, Va. after suffering some 5,015 casualties. The Federals lost 5,018 casualties. Among the Confederate casualties was Brig. Gen. Archibald Campbell Godwin, by a shell fragment, and Brig. Gen. Robert Rodes, who was mortally wounded while leading a counterattack. On the Federal side, Brig. Gen. David Allen Russell was instantly killed when hit by a shell fragment to the heart.

Brig. Gen. Archibald C. Godwin

Killed in action at Third Winchester

Click on the map for enlargement

Confederate General Birthdays, Sept. 19.

None.

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, September 18.

 Click 👉Today in History (general history) Sept. 18. 

On This Day in Confederate History, Sept. 18.

1861: Confederate Brig. Gen. Paul Octave Hebert takes command of Confederate forces in the Department of Texas with headquarters in Houston. Texas coastal ports are being blockaded, and the threat of invasion seems real.

1862: After the bloodiest day in American history, on the 17th, at Sharpsburg/Antietam, Gen. Robert E. Lee readjusted his defense line to a much stronger position on a hill and waited all day for the Federals to restart their assaults. But they never came. Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan saw that it would be suicidal to send his troops up that hill. Instead, both sides, by mutual agreement, have an unofficial truce to recover their wounded from the battlefield. That evening, General Lee decided to withdraw the Army of Northern Virginia back over the Potomac River and into Virginia.

1863: The first official day of the Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia, began on this day. The fighting is around Chickamauga Creek between 66,326 Confederates of the Army of Tennessee under Lt. Gen. Braxton Bragg, and 58,222 Federals of the Army of the Cumberland under Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans. On this day, Confederate Brig. Gen. Bushrod's Division takes the wrong road and runs into Federal Col. Robert Minty's cavalry brigade at Reed's Bridge, but the Confederates succeed in crossing when rushed by the 23rd Tenn. Inf. Johnson is joined by Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood's Division of Longstreet's Corps, arriving from Virginia, pushes on in the dark in front of Col. John T. Wilder's mounted infantry brigade, which is armed with Spencer repeating rifles.  Confederate Maj. Gen. Simon Buckner's Division crossed the creek, too. Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk is confronting Federals and Lee & Gordon's Mill. Lt. Gen. D.H. Hill's Corps crosses the creek further south. Troop maneuvering continues. 

Brig. Gen. Bushrod Johnson

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, Sept. 18.

Brigadier General Marcellus Augustus Stovall was born on this day in 1818 in Sparta, Georgia. He got early military experience in 1835-37 when he served as a private in the Georgia State Militia in the Seminole Wars. He was briefly a cadet at West Point but resigned after a year due to poor health. Stovall returned to Augusta to work as a merchant but continued in the Georgia State Militia as an artillery captain. In 1861, he was appointed the colonel of the 2nd Artillery Regiment in the militia but became a lieutenant colonel of the 3rd Georgia Battalion in the Confederate Army. He was promoted to brigadier general on Jan. 20, 1863, and fought with the Army of Tennessee. His battles included the Battle of Murfreesboro, the Siege of Jackson, Miss., the Battle of Chickamauga, the Atlanta Campaign, the Franklin-Nashville Campaign, and the Carolinas Campaign at the end of the war. Following the war, Stovall worked as a merchant, manager of the Georgia Chemical Works, a city alderman, and police commissioner in Augusta.  He died on August 4, 1895, in Augusta, Ga., and was buried in Magnolia Cemetery there.

Brig. Gen. Marcellus A. Stovall

👱

Brigadier General Henry Constantine Wayne was born on this day in 1815 in Savannah, Georgia. He graduated from West Point in 1838 and became a second lieutenant in the artillery. Wayne participated in the Aroostook War in Maine, was an instructor of artillery at West Point, and in the Mexican-American  War was in the battles of Contreras and Churubusco, after which he was brevetted a major. After that war, he proposed using camels in the army and led an expedition to the Middle East to purchase the camels. The War Between the States ended the camel experiment and his service in the U.S. Army. Wayne became Georgia's Quartermaster General. He was promoted to brigadier general on Dec. 16, 1861. He resigned his commission so he could remain with the Georgia militia. He led Confederate troops at the Battle of Ball's Ferry on Nov. 23-26, 1864, during Sherman's March to the Sea. Following the war, Wayne worked in the lumber business in Savannah, Ga. He died on March 15, 1883, and was buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery there.

Brig. Gen. Henry C. Wayne

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, September 17.

Click 👉Today in History (general history), Sept. 17. 

On This Day in Confederate History, Sept. 17.

1862: The Battle of Sharpsburg/Antietam, the bloodiest day in American military history, begins early when Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan began launching massive attacks at dawn on Gen. Robert E. Lee's greatly outnumbered Army of Northern Virginia. But Lee shows his military genius in the brilliant way he maneuvers his troops, among the best in history, in repulsing attack after attack. The attacks make place names famous, such as the East Woods, West Woods, the Cornfield, the Hagerstown Pike fence, the Cornfield, the Bloody Lane, the Dunkard Church, Burnside's Bridge, Mumma's Farm, and others. Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, and Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill contributed crucial decisions in the day's fighting, which ended after 12 hours in a stalemate. Confederate casualties, out of about 38,000 engaged, were 1,567 killed, 7,752 wounded, and 1,018 captured or missing, for a total of 10,316. The Federal casualties, out of 87,164 engaged, were 12,410 killed, 9,549 wounded, and 753 captured or missing, for a total of 12,410. The totals for both sides are 22,726.

Post-war image of Pvt. Armelin Linscomb

Co. K, 10th Louisiana Infantry Regiment

He was disabled by a gunshot wound to the

neck in the Battle of Sharpsburg and left for dead

 on the battlefield. The Federals found him, possibly being cared for in

 a private residence, Oct.8, 1862, and took him captive. He was treated at USA

General Hospital in Frederick, MD. He was paroled 

Nov. 12, 1862, at Fort McHenry, MD. He married after the

war and fathered 10 children.(Great-great uncle of the author)

Same photo colorized by AI

Brig. Gen. George B. Anderson

was mortally wounded in the 

battle and died on Oct. 16, 1862, in

Raleigh, N.C. He was wounded in the

ankle in defense of Bloody Lane.

 (National Park Service)

Bloody Lane 

(Library of Congress)

U.S. Army

 

1863: There is more skirmishing in the prelude to the Battle of Chickamauga, Ga., at Neal's Gap, Ala., Owen's Ford, West Chickamauga Creek, Ga. Lt. Gen. Braxton Bragg's order to the Army of Tennessee to attack Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans' isolated corps of the Army of the Cumberland fails to materialize, and Bragg puts the blame on his subordinate commanders.

1864: Confederate Lt. Col. Vincent A. Witcher leads a Confederate raid into western Virginia during which skirmishes occur at Bulltown, Jacksonville, Westover, Buckhannon, Walkerville, and Weston. Results of the raid include the destruction of $1 million in Federal supplies, 300 Federals taken captive, and livestock captured including 500 horses and 200 head of cattle for the Confederate Army.

Confederate General Birthdays, Sept. 17.

Maj. Gen. Howell Cobb was born on this day in 1815 in Jefferson County, Georgia. He was a major political figure in Georgia and nationally before the war. Cobb served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, including one as Speaker of the House. He also served as the Secretary of the Treasury during the administration of President James Buchanan. Cobb was also a Founding Father of the Confederacy and served as President of the Provisional Confederate Congress. During the war, he served as colonel of the 16th Georgia Infantry and was promoted to brigadier general on Feb. 13, 1862. He was then promoted to major general on Sept. 9, 1863. His battles and campaigns included the Peninsula Campaign, the Seven Days Battles, the Battle of South Mountain, and the Battle of Sharpsburg. With the Georgia Reserve Corps, he took part in the 1864 Atlanta Campaign and the Battle of Columbus, Ga. on April 16, 1865. His own plantation was burned at the direct order of Sherman. Following the war, Cobb opposed the North's Reconstruction policy, and on October 9, 1868, while on vacation in New York City was buried in Oconee Hill Cemetery in Athens, Georgia.

Maj. Gen. Howell Cobb

👱

Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn was born on this day in 1820 at Port Gibson, Mississippi. He graduated from West Point in 1838, ranking 52nd in a class of 68 cadets. During the Mexican-American War, he fought in seven battles and received brevet promotions, including the rank of captain. Van Dorn resigned from the U.S. Army on Jan. 31, 1861, and rose rapidly in the Confederate Army. He was a major general in the Mississippi Militia, then a colonel, brigadier general, and major general in the Confederate Army. His battles included Pea Ridge, Second Corinth, the Holly Springs Raid, Thompson's Station, and the First Battle of Franklin. He was murdered by a disgruntled doctor on May 7, 1863, at Spring Hill, Tenn. Van Dorn was buried on Sept. 17, 1820.

Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn

👋

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, September 16.

Click 👉Today in History (general history), Sept. 16.

On this Day in Confederate History, Sept. 16.

1861: New Orleans Campaign: Confederate forces evacuated Ship Island, Mississippi, and a landing party from the USS Massachusetts took possession of it. The Federals used it as a staging area for the invasion of Louisiana under the command of Brig. Gen. Benjamin "Beast" Butler in April 1862.

1862: Battle of Sharpsburg, Md. (Antietam): Both Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac conducted preliminary actions at Sharpsburg, Maryland, along Antietam Creek in preparation for the big battle the next day, the bloodiest day in American military history. Lee is greatly outnumbered, with 38,000 effective troops engaged versus McClellan's 87,164 men. On the 16th, McClellan attacked Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood's Division in the East Woods. The fighting ceased at nightfall except for continuing artillery fire.

Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood

CLICK👉Lt. Col. King Bryan

Freedom Fighter for Texas and Southern Independence

This is the story of Lieutenant Colonel Kindallis "King" Bryan, original commander of Company F (Invincibles No. 1), 5th Texas Infantry Regiment, Hood's Texas Brigade. Bryan, a native of St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, moved to Texas as a 16-year-old and then fought in the War for Texas Independence of 1835-36. He was a farmer and rancher in Liberty County, Texas, a county sheriff, and a state legislator before the War for Southern Independence. During the war, he led the company, and later his regiment, in some of the most famous battles of the war, including Gaines' Mill, Second Manassas, Gettysburg, and the Wilderness. Wounded three times, he commanded Hood's Texas Brigade for about three months in the winter of 1863-64. Bryan was one of the most aggressive and respected regimental officers in the brigade, but also respected and admired by his men, who appreciated a leader who took the same or greater risks than they did in battle.

1863: Skirmishing continues in the Chickamauga Campaign in Georgia at Gordon's Mills, on Chickamauga Creek, where Lt. Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee has concentrated. Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans concentrated the Army of the Cumberland at Alpine, Ga. Confederates had 65,000 men, and the Federals had 60,000.

1864: Forrest's Raid of 1864: Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest launches a cavalry raid into Northern Alabama and Middle Tennessee to interrupt Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's supply line and communications. 

Confederate General Birthdays, Sept. 16.

Major General George Washington Custis Lee was born on this day in 1832 at Fortress Monroe, Va. to Robert E. Lee and Mary Custis Lee. He graduated first in his class of 46 cadets and served in the Army Corps of Engineers. He resigned from the U.S. Army in 1861 and joined the Confederate Army in the Confederate Engineers working on fortifications around Richmond, Va. He also served on President Davis' staff as an aide-de-camp and was promoted to brigadier general in 1863 and given command of troops around Richmond. He was promoted to major general in 1864 and led troops in the Battle of Sayler's Creek and was captured on April 6, 1865. After the war, Lee was a professor at the Virginia Military Institute and president of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. He also won a famous court case recovering his property, the Arlington, aka the Custis-Lee Mansion, which had been confiscated by the Northern government during the war and turned into a cemetery. Lee then sold the property to the government for $150,000, which was a fortune in those days. He died Dec. 13, 1913, in Alexandria, Va., and was buried in University Chapel near his family in Lexington.

Maj. Gen. George W.C. Lee

Today in History (general history)/ On this day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, September 15.

 Click 👉Today in History (general history) Sept. 15. 

On This Day in Confederate History, Sept. 15.

1861: General Albert Sidney Johnston became the commander of Confederate Department No. 2 in Missouri. He had been given command of the Western Military Department. Johnston had less than 40,000 troops to defend this massive area, which included Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri. After the disasters of early 1862 befell the Confederacy, General P.G.T. Beauregard was appointed his second in command.

1862: Siege of Harper's Ferry: On this day, Sept. 15, Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson orders a bombardment of the Federal garrison of Harper's Ferry, western Virginia. The shelling began at 8 o'clock that morning, the last day of the siege there. Federal commander Col. Dixon S. Miles, running low on ammunition and not expecting relief from McClellan in time, decided to surrender his entire garrison. Miles was mortally wounded and died the following day. Jackson had gained one of the war's greatest victories for the Confederacy. The Federals lost 44 men killed, 173 wounded, and 12,419 captured. The Confederates lost 39 men killed and 247 wounded. The Confederates also captured 13,000 small arms, 200 wagons, and 73 artillery pieces. Gen. Lee ordered Jackson to immediately concentrate his forces at Sharpsburg along Antietam Creek. Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill's division was left behind to parole the Harper's Ferry prisoners.

Lt. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson

1863: While Confederate Lt. Gen. Braxton Bragg concentrates his Army of Tennessee around Chickamauga Creek in Georgia. Skirmishing with Federals under Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans continues at Summerville, Catlett's Gap, Pigeon Mountain, and Trion Factory, Georgia, in the Chickamauga Campaign. 

Confederate General Birthdays, Sept. 15.

None.