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

Click 👉Today in History (general history) Sept. 8.

On This Day in Confederate History, Sept. 8.

1862: On Sept. 7, the ironclad USS Essex, with the USS Anglo-American lashed to her starboard side, is ordered to reconnoiter the Port Hudson, La. batteries to test their strength. When she arrived within range of the Confederate guns after 4 o'clock on the morning of Sept. 7, the big Confederate guns, two 32-pounder and two 20-pounder Parrott guns, opened fire and struck the ironclad 14 times. The Essex responded with several rounds, killing a horse and striking an empty house. But two of the ironclad's guns burst, including a 10-inch gun. The Federals reported that they had no casualties, but Southern sources said the ironclad had from 15 to 32 men killed and wounded. The Essex had to go to New Orleans for major repairs.

1863: The Confederate garrison at Fort Griffin, Sabine Pass, Texas, is put on alert for a possible Federal invasion of Texas coming there. Sabine Pass is on the border with Louisiana, and the Confederates have a small fort there with six heavy artillery pieces manned by 42 Irish Texans commanded by First Lieutenant Richard W. Dowling of Company F, Jefferson Davis Guard, 1st Texas Heavy Artillery Regiment. The Federals had four gunboats, 18 transport ships, and 5,000 Federal invasion troops under the command of Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin. The Federals were steaming from the New Orleans area and were supposed to land there on Sept. 7, but because the lead gunboat, USS Granite City, couldn't find the pass in the dark, the invasion fleet missed Sabine Pass. It eventually found the missing Granite City 37 miles to the east at Calcasieu Pass, Louisiana, and had to delay the invasion to the next day. Meanwhile, the Confederates had more time to get ready for what was coming. The lasted about 45 minutes and ended in a Confederate Victory with the Jefferson Davis Guard driving off the Yankee invasion, killing 50 of the enemy, capturing two gunboats and some 350 prisoners.;

CLICK👉Dick Dowling and the Jefferson Davis Guard 

Among the most famous Texas heroes of the 19th Century were Lt. Richard W. Dowling and the Jefferson Davis Guard, officially known as Company F, 1st Texas Heavy Artillery, Confederate States of America. They were among the Confederate forces that won the Battle of Galveston, battled Federal blockade ships in the Gulf of America, and blocked a full Federal invasion of Texas at Sabine Pass with just 42 artillerymen. The book tells of his life and the backgrounds of some of his soldiers. An Irish immigrant, as were many of his men, he was a Houston entrepreneur and a great combat leader. This is their story.

In the Siege of Charleston, S.C., Sept. 7, the Federal ships USS Ironsides and five Federal monitors attacked the Confederate Fort Moultrie and Sullivan's Island.

Confederate General Birthdays, Sept. 7.

None.

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

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

On This Day in Confederate History, Sept. 6.

1862: Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia occupied Frederick, Maryland on this day. While there, soldiers of Starke's Louisiana Brigade were accused of looting. Brig. Gen. William E. Starke, brigade commander, protested Jackson's order to return his brigade there so the victims could identify the guilty soldiers. Starke's refused unless the other brigades were ordered to do so as well. Jackson put Starke under arrest, but General Lee returned Starke to duty for the upcoming battles at Harper's Ferry and Sharpsburg (Antietam Creek). An investigation proved that members of the Stonewall Brigade were the guilty parties, not Starke's men.

Brig. Gen. William Edwin Starke

(AI restoration)

1863: After a day of heavy fighting at Battery Wagner in the Siege of Charleston, S.C., Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard decides to evacuate it.  He reports: "The evacuation began at 9 o’clock on the night of September 6. According to instructions, a guard of 35 men, under the command of Captain T. A. Huguenin, had been left to bring up the extreme rear and to fire the only magazine that contained powder. With the necessary arrangements completed, and Colonel Keitt informed that the transportation was ready, embarkation commenced and continued with the utmost quietness and dispatch. The wounded were embarked first, followed by the remnants of the infantry garrison. Captain [C, E.] Kanapaux, commanding light artillery, was then ordered to spike his three howitzers and embark on his command. Captain [H. R.] Lesesne, commanding at Battery Gregg, spiked the guns of that battery, and followed with his command, and the rear guard from Wagner coming up at this time, in pursuance of orders from Colonel Keitt, the safety fuses communicating with the magazines were lighted—that at Wagner by Captain Huguenin and that at Gregg by Major [E. L.] Holcombe, commissary of subsistence—and the remainder of the command was safely and expeditiously embarked. Owing to defects in the fuses themselves, they failed to accomplish the purpose, though their lighting was superintended by careful and reliable officers. The magazines, therefore, were not destroyed. The guns in the batteries were spiked as far as their condition allowed, and the implements were generally destroyed and equipment carried off. The evacuation was concluded at about 1.30 a.m. on the 7th instant. The boats containing the portion of the garrison last embarked were fired upon by the enemy’s barges, but without effect. Only two of our boats, containing crews of about 19 men and 27 soldiers (or some 46 in all), were captured by the enemy’s armed barges between Cumming’s Point and Fort Sumter."

Confederate Colonel Alexander R. Chisolm, 

aide-de-camp to General P.G.T. Beauregard, in uniform

(Liljenquist College, Library of Congress)

In the Chickamauga Campaign, there was a skirmish at Stevens' Gap, Georgia, which was a pass through Missionary Ridge. Both sides were maneuvering for the best position prior to the coming Battle of Chickamauga.

1864: Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor assumed command of the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana. He said in his memoir his main initial duty was to support the Army of Tennessee in the aftermath of the fall of Atlanta. One of his first commands was to assign Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry had the mission of cutting Sherman's supply lines. Taylor was very impressed with Forrest and said they had a good working relationship.

Confederate General Birthdays, Sept. 6.

Major General William "Extra Billy" Smith was born on this day in 1797 in King George County, Virginia. He was a long-time Virginia lawyer, and member of congress and served two terms as governor of Virginia. Smith was made a brigadier general after Virginia seceded in 1861. His battles included Fairfax Court House, First Manassas, Seven Pines, Seven Days Battles, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg. Smith resigned his commission on July 10, 1863, but received a promotion to major general. He was then made the Assistant Inspector General and was on recruiting duty in his home state. Smith was also elected governor of Virginia again on Jan. 1, 1864, and served in that office until removed by the Yankees on May 9, 1865. However, he was paroled on June 8, 1865, and retired to his plantation. But at age 80, he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. Smith died May 18, 1887, at age 89 in Warrenton, Virginia, and was buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.

Maj. Gen. William "Extra Billy" Smith

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Brigadier General Francis Stebbins Bartow was born on this day in Savannah, Georgia. He was a prewar lawyer in Savannah, Ga., and was elected to two terms in the Georgia House of Representatives and to one term in the Georgia Senate. Bartow was also a captain in the 21st Oglethorpe Light Infantry and supported the right of secession. In the War for Southern Independence, he commanded as a colonel two Georgia regiments and two battalions of Kentucky infantry at the First Battle of Manassas on July 21, 1861. They played a key role in blocking a Federal flanking movement early in the battle. He was killed in the battle and posthumously promoted to the rank of brigadier general. Bartow was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Savannah, Ga.

Brig. Gen. Francis S. Bartow

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Brigadier General St. John Richardson Liddell was born on this day in 1815 at Woodville, Mississippi. A wealthy plantation owner, he was an outspoken proponent of freeing the slaves. He attended West Point for two years, 1834 and 1836, but resigned before graduating. Liddell returned to Louisiana and established his plantation in Catahoula Parish. He had a famous prewar feud with Charles Jones in the 1840s & 1850s. In 1861, he joined the Confederate Army and was a staff officer of Gen. William Hardee and Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston. Liddell was given command of an Arkansas Brigade in the Army of Tennessee and led it at the battles of Perryville and Murfreesboro, where his 16-year-old son was killed. He refused a promotion to major general to secure a transfer to the Trans-Mississippi Department. His brigade had the highest number of casualties at the Battle of Chickamauga. He was finally transferred to the Trans-Mississippi and was given command of the Sub-District of North Louisiana. Before the end of the war, he was transferred to Mobile, Ala., where he commanded the infantry, and his last battle was at the Battle of Fort Blakely. After the war, he resumed his feud with Jones and was killed in New Orleans on Feb. 14, 1870, in New Orleans, La., and was buried on his plantation.

Brig. Gen. St. John R. Liddell

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Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, September 5.

 Click 👉Today in History (general history) Sept. 5. 

On This Day in Confederate History, Sept. 5.

1862: Confederate Captain Raphael Semmes, commander of the CSS Alabama, takes his first prize, a New England whaling ship the Ocmulgee in the Azores, which he burns. The ship's crew became prisoners.

 1863: In the Chickamauga Campaign, there is a skirmish at Lebanon, Alabama, and the Federals destroy a Confederate salt works at Rawlinsville, Alabama.

In Texas, Maj. Gen. John Bankhead Magruder, commander of the District of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona had gotten intelligence from New Orleans that a massive Federal invasion fleet had left from that area and was headed for Texas. He alerted Captain Frederick Odlum of Company F, 1st Texas Heavy Artillery at Sabine Pass. Odlum alerted the garrison at Fort Griffith and 1st Lt. Richard W. "Dick" Dowling to be ready. Dowling had trained his small command, the Jefferson Davis Guard, about 42 artillerymen present for duty, to be on alert. They were finely trained and had placed range markers in the river. His command was made up of mostly Irish laborers from the Houston-Galveston area. Dowling was an Irish native as well and a Houston businessman, including a saloon keeper, with many other business interests. The only other troops on hand were a company from Daly's Battalion of Texas Cavalry, and some troops at Beaumont and Orange were being gathered.

An unidentified Confederate artilleryman

with a Bowie knife. He is wearing an artillery uniform.

(Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

Reporting on the Siege of Charleston, S.C., Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard noted: "On the 5th instant, Brigadier-General Ripley, commanding the First Military District, prepared by my order a confidential letter, which was forwarded to the officer commanding Battery Wagner [Col. L.M. Keitt], pointing out that it might be necessary to evacuate Morris Island. In the letter, the brigadier-general gave full instructions for destroying the magazine and rendering the guns useless in the event of abandoning the island."

Confederate General Birthdays, Sept.5.

Brigadier General Tyree Harris Bell was born on this day in 1815 in Covington, Kentucky. Prior to the war, Bell was a plantation owner in Sumner County, Tenn.  During the war, as a lieutenant colonel, Bell led the 12Tennessee Infantry at the Battle of Shiloh, where he was severely wounded. He later served under Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and led the Third Cavalry Brigade. He was promoted to colonel, and then on Feb. 28, 1865, to brigadier general. Bell's other battles included the battles of Richmond, Murfreesboro, Fort Pillow, Brice's Crossroads, Tupelo, Johnsonville, the Franklin-Nashville Campaign, and the Battle of Nashville. He was again wounded at Pulaski, Tenn., Sept. 27, 1864. His final battle was the Battle of Selma, Ala. Following the war, Bell moved to Fresno County, Calif., where he farmed. He died August 30, 1902, in New Orleans, La., and was buried in Bethel Cemetery near Sanger, Calif.

Brig. Gen. Tyree H. Bell

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, September 4.

 Click 👉Today in History (general history), Sept. 4.

On This Day in Confederate History, Sept. 4.

1861: Confederate Gen. Leonidas Polk seized Columbus, Kentucky on the Mississippi River before the Federals could take it. Two U.S. gunboats, Tyler and Lexington, exchanged fire with Confederate batteries.

1862: Federal occupation troops were ravaging civilian property in the Bayou Lafourche, La. area. The Terrebonne Militia, Rapides Militia, St. Charles Militia, and the 2nd Texas Mounted Rifles struck back. On Sept. 4, they ambushed a detachment of Federal infantry with a howitzer near Boutte Station at Bayou des Allemands, New Orleans, Opelousas, and the Great Western Railroad, which connected areas west of the city with Algiers, which is across the river from New Orleans. The Confederates then marched on the army outpost with their prisoners ahead of them up to the station and demanded its surrender. The Federal commander, Captain Edward Hall, then surrendered. The Federal casualties were 9 killed, 27 wounded, 155 captured, and three guns seized. There were also seven Confederate deserters found among the captured enemy soldiers, who were promptly executed.

Unidentified soldier in Confederate uniform and 

Louisiana state seal belt buckle and oilcloth cover on kepi

(Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

CLICK👉Confederate Guards Response Battalion

This is the history of one of the hardest-fighting Louisiana units in the War for Southern Independence, the Confederate Guards Response Battalion. It covers the unit's organization in New Orleans, the Battle of Shiloh, and their campaigns in Louisiana. The book includes photographs, maps, illustrations, a bibliography, and an index.

1863: Gen. Beauregard reports on this day in the Siege of Charleston, S.C.: "On September 4, 1863, I had convened a meeting of general officers and the chief engineer of the department, to assist me in determining how much longer the Confederate forces should attempt to hold Batteries Wagner and Gregg and the north end of Morris Island. The rapid advance of the enemy’s trenches to Battery Wagner has made it evident that in many days' work must become untenable...It was agreed that the holding of Morris Island as long as possible was most important to the safety and free use of the harbor of Charleston and our ability to keep up easy communication with the works on Sullivan’s and James Islands, in view of which I deemed it proper to renew application by telegraph to the Secretaries of War and Navy Departments for some 200 sailors for oarsmen. It was further decided that the five heavy guns on Morris Island were necessary, morally and physically, for the defense of the positions to the last extremity, and such being the difficulties—if not, indeed, the insurmountable obstacles in the way of their removal at this time—that no effort should be made to save them, and consequently that they should be ultimately destroyed, with as much of  the works as practicable, when the further defense was abandoned."

1864: On September 4, near Greenville, Tennessee, Brigadier John Hunt Morgan was shot in he back by a Federal soldier in the garden of a house where he had slept the night before. He died on the spot.

Confederate General Birthdays, Sept. 4. 

None.

Today in history (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, September 3.

Click 👉Today in History (general history) Sept. 3. 

On This Day in Confederate History, Sept. 3.

1862: Sharpsburg Campaign: Gen. Robert E. Lee was readying the Army of Northern Virginia to move into Maryland to liberate that state and recruit up his ranks. Moving the army there would also give some relief to the Virginians from the ravages of war. He was also looking for a clear Confederate victory on northern soil to further discourage the North from its war of subjugation of the South after his victory at Second Manassas. He would first dispatch Gen. T.J. "Stonewall" Jackson to Harper's Ferry and reduce the large Federal garrison there. The ANV had about 55,000 men on hand for the invasion.

Confederate troops marching through Fredericksburg, MD.

1863: Confederate Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard reports on Sept. 3, 1863, in the Siege of Charleston, S.C., the Federal bombardment on Battery Wagner that was answered by the Confederate guns on James Island. 

The Chickamauga Campaign is underway in Georgia, and the Federal Army of the Cumberland has about 60,000 men under Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans. The Confederate Army of Tennessee under Gen. Braxton Bragg has about 65,000 men. Rosecrans was successful in pushing Bragg out of Tennessee and was then invading Georgia to catch the Confederates. On this day, an early skirmish occurred in Alpine, Georgia, in northeast Georgia. Bragg is awaiting the arrival of reinforcements from Virginia in the form of two divisions of Maj. Gen. James Longstreet's First Corps.

1864: In Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's Valley Campaign, Lt. Gen. Richard H. Anderson's Confederates were on the way to Petersburg, Va. under Gen. Robert E. Lee, when they had an engagement with Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan's Federal Army, which forced them to Winchester, Va.

CLICK👉Confederate States Rangers

of the 10th Louisiana Rangers of the 10th Louisiana Infantry

This is the history of Company K, Confederate States Rangers, and the regiment to which it belonged, the 10th Louisiana Infantry. It fought in nearly every major engagement of General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, including the Yorktown Peninsula of 1862, the Seven Days, Cedar Run, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg (Antietam), Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Mine Run, The Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864, Petersburg, and Appomattox. The book features photographs, illustrations, maps, a bibliography, and an Index.

Confederate General Birthdays, Sept. 3.

Brigadier General States Rights Gist was born on this day in 1831 at Union, South Carolina. He had experience before the war as a brigadier general in the South Carolina Militia. After South Carolina seceded on Dec. 20, 1860, Gov. Francis Pickens appointed Gist the adjutant general of the militia. In that capacity, I recruited the state's armed forces and acquired the necessary armaments to defend the state against the expected Northern aggression. He also accompanied Gov. Pickens and Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard in raising the Confederate flag over Fort Sumter on April 14, 1861. During the First Battle of Manassas, while acting as an aide to Brig. Gen. Bernard Bee and Gen. Beauregard assigned Gist to command the 4th Alabama Infantry after the colonel of the regiment was killed. He suffered a minor wound in the battle. After returning to South Carolina to defend his state, Gist was appointed a brigadier general in the Confederate Army. His other battles included Jackson, Secessionville, Chickamauga, the Chattanooga campaign, and the Atlanta Campaign. He was leading his brigade in a charge at the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, on Nov. 30, 1864, and was shot in the chest. He died shortly thereafter in a field hospital. He was buried at Columbia, South Carolina, in Trinity Episcopal Church cemetery. He was an exemplary example of citizen-soldier.

Brig. Gen. States Rights Gist

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Brigadier General William Gaston Lewis was born this day in 1835 at Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Before the war, Lewis worked as a civil engineer, and when the war began, he started out as a third lieutenant in the 1st N.C. Inf. He took part in the Battle of Big Bethel on June 10, 1861, then, after being promoted to major, fought at the Battle of New Bern in January 1862. Lewis was next promoted to lieutenant colonel in the 33rd N.C. Inf. He then fought in the Battle of Malvern Hill, the Battle of Gettysburg, and the Battle of Cold Harbor, and was promoted to brigadier general in June 1864. He was wounded during Early's Raid in Washington, D.C., but survived. Lewis was wounded and captured at the Battle of Farmville, Va. on April 7, 1865. Following the war, he resumed his career in civil engineering, including in the railroads. Lewis died Jan. 7, 1901, in Goldsboro, N.C., and was buried there in Willow Dale Cemetery.

Brig. Gen. William G. Lewis

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Brigadier General Armistead Lindsay Long was born this day in 1825 at Campbell, Virginia. He was an 1850 graduate of West Point and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He served at Fort Moultrie, S.C., in New Mexico, Fort McHenry, Md., Barrancas Barracks, Fla., Kansas, Nebraska, Indian Territory, Monroe, Va., and Augusta Arsenal, Ga. He resigned from the U.S. Army on June 10, 1861. He joined the Confederate Army as a major, then was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and colonel on the staff of President Jefferson Davis. Long then became a military secretary on Gen. Robert E. Lee's staff and acted in that capacity in the Seven Days Battles, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. He was promoted to brigadier general on Sept. 23, 1863, and commanded the artillery in Lt. Gen. R.S. Ewell's 2nd Corps. He also took part in the Bristoe Campaign, Mine Run, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, the Valley Campaign of 1864, Petersburg, Richmond, and Appomattox Court House. Following the war, Long served as the Chief Engineer for the James and Kanawha Canal, was elected vice president of the Association of the Army of Northern Virginia, and wrote his classic book, the Memoirs of Robert E. Lee. Long died April 29, 1891, in Charlottesville, Va., and was buried there in Maplewood Cemetery.

Brig. Armistead L. Long

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Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, September 2.

Click 👉Today in History (general history) Sept. 2. 

On This Day in Confederate History, Sept. 2.

1862: Following the victorious Second Manassas Campaign, President Davis and General Lee planned an invasion of Maryland with the Army of Northern Virginia, while General Bragg planned a movement with the Army of Tennessee to liberate Kentucky, which became known as the Confederate Heartland Campaign. In addition, Confederates were strengthening their strongholds on the Mississippi River with their fortresses at Vicksburg and 200 miles south on the Louisiana side of the river at Port Hudson. Chances for Southern Independence looked bright, as well as possible European recognition.

Three unidentified soldiers in 

Confederate artillerymen's uniforms.

(Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

1863: General P.G.T. Beauregard reported on the ongoing masterful Confederate defense in the Siege of Charleston, S.C. He reported: "At 11.40 p.m., six monitors opened on Fort Sumter from distances of 800 to 1,000 yards. They were joined at 1 a.m. of the 2d by the Ironsides, and together fired 185 shots, of which 116 struck outside, 35 inside, and 34 passed over. The projectiles used were an 8-inch Parrott rifle shell, an 11 and 15-inch smooth-bore shot, and shell. Fort Sumter was unable to answer, not having a gun in working order; but a heavy fire was kept up on the fleet from Fort Moultrie with good effect, two of the monitors being apparently injured and requiring assistance when they retired. The effect of this fire on Fort Sumter was thus described by the engineer officer: The chief external injury has been done upon the east scarp, which now has lost its integrity, and hangs upon the arches apparently in blocks and detached masses. The remainder of the day passed in comparative quiet. The fleet was occupied in placing sandbags on the decks of the monitors, the enemy’s land batteries firing but 148 shots; 38 of these were directed against Sumter. In the same period, our batteries fired sixty-six times. During the night, the enemy in front of Wagner was engaged in strengthening his advanced position, which was then within 80 or 100 yards of the salient. Owing to the difficulty of transporting ammunition to Battery Wagner, the fire from that work was slack."

Siege of Charleston, South Carolina

1864: At the skirmish at Franklin, Tennessee, on this day in Wheeler's Raid on Sherman's supply line, Brigadier General John Herbert Kelly was mortally wounded. Kelly, the youngest Confederate brigadier general, was hit in the chest by a bullet fired by a federal sharpshooter. The young general was taken to the Harrison House, where he was treated by Confederate surgeons. However, on the following day, the Confederates had to move, but Kelly could not be moved, and he was captured by the Federals. He died September 4, 1864, and was buried the next day in the Harrison House Garden. The community provided a coffin and fresh clothing for the burial, under his uniform. After the war, in 1866, he was moved to the historic Magnolia Cemetery in Mobile, Alabama, and reburied. He is remembered today in Gordo, Alabama, which has a Sons of Confederate Veterans camp named in his honor. Kelly was born on March 31, 1840, in Carrollton, Alabama, and became an orphan at age 3. He was raised by his grandmother and an uncle, U.S. Rep. Philemon T. Herbert, who helped him get into West Point. But he resigned a few months before graduation when Alabama seceded. Joining the Confederate Army as a second lieutenant, fought at Shiloh, Murfreesboro, Perryville, Chickamauga, Pickett's Mill, and Franklin-Nashville. He was promoted to brigadier general at age 23 on Nov. 16, 1863.

Brig. Gen. John H. Kelly

Confederate General Birthdays, Sept. 2.

None.

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.

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, September 1.

Click 👉Today in History (general history) Sept. 1. 

On This Day in Confederate History, Sept. 1.

1862: The Battle of Chantilly, Va., took place on this day in the Second Manassas Campaign of 1862. Gen. Stonewall Jackson was trying to cut off Maj. Gen. John Pope's retreat to Washington, D.C. It was raining heavily, and two Federal divisions attacked the Confederates and were repulsed and driven back by counterattacks. Federal major generals Philip Kearny and Isaac Stevens were killed in the battle. Federal casualties totaled 1,300 and Confederate casualties 800.

Colonel James M. Gadberry of Co. E, 1st South Carolina 

Infantry Regiment and Co. B, 18th South Carolina Infantry 

Regiment in uniform with a sword in front of 

a painted backdrop showing a landscape. Col. Gadberry

was killed in the Second Battle of Manassas on Aug. 30, 1862.

(Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

1863: Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard reports what happened on this day in 1863 in the Siege of Charleston, S.C.: "At daylight on September 1, the enemy opened up on Wagner with mortars, and continued at intervals during the entire day. The two 8-inch howitzers on the salient and curtains of the works were disabled, and two 8-inch shell guns on the land face were also partially disabled. From early morning the Morris Island batteries kept up a heavy fire on Fort Sumter, firing through the day 382 shots-- 166 striking outside, 95 inside, and 121 missing. The fire was very destructive, disabling the remaining guns en barbette and damaging the fort considerably.

1864: The second day of the Battle of Jonesborough, Ga. in the Atlanta Campaign finds Lt. Gen. William Hardee's Corps behind fortifications and being attacked by Sherman's Federals. The fighting was fierce, and the Federals made a breakthrough at one point. But Hardee sent in three brigades that counterattacked and sealed the breach. That night General Hood began a successful withdrawal from Atlanta, passed the Federals at Jonesborough, and made it to Lovejoy Station. Confederate casualties in the battle numbered about 2,000 including many captured in the Federal breakthrough. The Federal casualties totaled 1,149 in the last battle of the Atlanta Campaign.

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. 1.

Brigadier General James Conner was born this day in 1829 in Charleston, South Carolina. He was a lawyer in Charleston, was appointed the U.S. District Attorney there in 1856, and was an ardent secessionist and member of the South Carolina Secession Convention. During the war, Conner was a participant in the bombardment of Fort Sumter and joined Hampton Legion as a captain. He was promoted to major, and then commanded the 22nd North Carolina Infantry. Conner resigned command on Aug. 13, 1863, and then served on a military court. He returned to a field command after being promoted to brigadier general in 1864. His battles included First Manassas, Seven Pines, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Siege of Petersburg, and a skirmish at Cedar Creek. In that skirmish, Conner was severely wounded in a skirmish at Cedar Creek, Va. six days before the battle. One of his legs had to be amputated which ended his service in the field but he survived the war. Following the war, Conner again practiced law in Charleston and served as Grand Master of Masons in South Carolina from 1868 to 1870. He was elected attorney general of South Carolina in 1876. He died June 26, 1883, in Richmond, Va., and was buried in Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston, S.C.

Brig. Gen. James Conner