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

CLICK👉Today in History (general history) July 12

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, July 12

1861: Confederate Commissioner Albert Pike signed peace treaties between the Confederacy and the Choctaw Nation and Chickasaw Nation, in Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma). 

1863: The bloodiest fight during the Siege of Jackson, MS (July 10-16) occurred on July 12 when the Federal brigade of Brig. Gen. Isaac Pugh attacked the Bailey's Hill sector of the Confederate right into a blistering firefight with the 32nd Alabama and 14th Louisiana Sharpshooters, who cut the bluecoats down. The Federals lost 68 men killed and 302 wounded, and 149 captured. The Confederate losses amounted to 7 men. However, Johnston wisely withdrew his forces mostly intact to fight another day. Confederate casualties for the entire siege totaled 71 men killed, 504 wounded, and 25 captured. The Northern casualties were 129 killed, 752 wounded, and 231 captured.

1863: The Battle of Fort Stevens (and Forts Reno and DeRussy) was launched by Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's Confederate Army of the Shenandoah, which in reality was merely a demonstration, and he never expected to storm the massive Federal forts guarding Washington, D.C. The Southern attackers included Brig. Gen. John McCausland's Confederate cavalry on the left to guard the flank and line of retreat. Then came the Confederate skirmishers with the divisions of Maj. Gen. Robert E. Rodes and Maj. Gen. John Brown Gordon. The Southern sharpshooters made it hot for a while on the Federals of the VI and XIX corps, which were occupying the forts. The Yankees threw out their own skirmishers and engaged with the gray coats, withdrawing after their demonstration was completed. Confederate casualties were estimated to be between 400 and 500 men. The Federal casualties totaled 373.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, July 12.

     Gen. Daniel Harvey Hill was born on this day in 1821, in York District, South Carolina. He was of Scot-Irish and Scots descent and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y, ranking 28 out of 56 in his Class of 1842. Hill served as a 2nd Lt. in the 1st, 3rd, & 4th U.S. Artillery regiments.  He was promoted to 1st Lt. and in the Mexican-American War, was breveted captain & major for his gallantry in the Battles of Contreras and Churubusco. Hill resigned from the U.S. Army in 1849 and became a professor of Mathematics at Washington College in Lexington, VA. He started out in the War for Southern Independence as colonel of the 1st North Carolina Infantry regiment. He was promoted to brigadier general in 1861, then to major general, and finally lieutenant general. His battles included Big Bethel, Seven Pines, Seven Days Battles, South Mountain, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, and Bentonville. Post-war, Hill edited the magazine, The Land We Love, was president of the University of Arkansas, and was president of the Military and Agricultural College of Milledgeville, GA. In his personal life, Hill married Isabella Morrison on Nov. 2, 1848, and the couple was blessed with 9 children. He died on Sept. 24, 1889, at Charlotte, N.C., and was buried in Davidson College Cemetery.

Lt. Gen. Daniel Harvey Hill

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

Click 👉Today in History (general history) July 11.

On This Day in Confederate History, July 11.

1863:The First Battle of Fort Wagner, South Carolina, ended on this day. On the first day of the battle on July 10, the Federals bombarded the fort from Folly Island and from four ironclad warships under Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren. Then the brigade of Federal Brig. Gen. George C. Strong landed at the southern tip of Morris Island and moved up to within three miles of Fort Wagner on the northern tip. On this day, July 11, at dawn, Strong's brigade attacked and was repulsed by Confederate Col. Robert F. Graham, who had 1,770 men under his command. The blue coats lost 49 men killed, 123 wounded, and 167 missing. The Confederates had only 12 casualties.

1864: BATTLE OF FORT STEVENS: Lt. Gen. Jubal Early with his 10,000-man Confederate contingent arrived before Fort Stevens on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. to begin his two-day demonstration. The fort was manned by 9,600 men with Maj. Gen. Alexander M. McCook in command. Among the unwanted spectators was President Lincoln. The Confederates only engaged in skirmishing with the Federals and exchanges of artillery fire. This was really just a demonstration.

 

A typical Confederate infantryman

He appears to be holding a two-band sergeant's

Enfield rifle, as indicated by the size of the gun, the 

sword bayonet, and the chevron that can just barely

be seen on his left arm. The cap box on his belt

also appears to be of the British pattern. His shell jacket

appears to be the Atlanta Depot style, as indicated by the

way the standing collar meets. Thousands of Enfields

were run through the blockade for the Confederacy.

(Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

CLICK👉Lee's Second Louisiana Infantry Brigade

In the Army of Northern Virginia

This is the history of one of the hardest-fighting brigades in Gen. Robert E. Lee's legendary Army of Northern Virginia, the Second Louisiana Infantry Brigade. It was one of Lee's most reliable infantry brigades, often used in some of his most dangerous situations, and it never let him down. The brigade included the 1st, 2nd, 9th, 10th, 14th, and 15th infantry regiments, and the 1st Battalion Louisiana Zouaves. The brigade was commanded throughout the war by outstanding brigadiers, including Brig. Gen. William E. Starke, Brig. Gen. Francis T. Nicholls and Brig. Gen. Leroy Stafford. The brigade fought in such epic battles as Second Manassas, Sharpsburg (Antietam), Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Mine Run, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Courthouse, Petersburg, and many other smaller battles and skirmishes. The men of the brigade were representative of the diverse population of Louisiana of the time, including typical Southern farm boys, ruffians from the New Orleans waterfront, as well as refined gentlemen from some of Louisiana's finest families. There was also a virtual Babylon of foreign languages spoken in the brigade. This is their story, from secession to Appomattox.

Confederate General Birthdays, July 11.

Brigadier General William Paul Roberts was born on this day in 1841 in Gates County, North Carolina. He was the youngest general in the Confederate Army when he was promoted to brigadier general at age 23 on February 23, 1865. He joined the Confederate Army in 1861 as a private in the 19th North Carolina Infantry, which later was converted to the 2nd North Carolin Cavalry Regiment. He was promoted to second lieutenant on Aug. 30, 1861, then first lieutenant on Sept. 13, 1862,  to captain and major in early 1864, and then to colonel in June 1864. His battles included Fredericksburg, Suffolk, Brandy Station, Ream's Station, Five Forks, Petersburg, and Appomattox. Following the war, he resided in Gates County, N.C., and was elected a state representative. Roberts also served as the Auditor of North Carolina, and President Grover Cleveland appointed him the U.S. Consul for Victoria, British Columbia. General Roberts died March 28, 1910, in Norfolk, Virginia, and was buried in Gatesville, N.C.

Brig. Gen. William P. Roberts

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

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

On This Day in Confederate History, July 10.

1863: The Battle of Funkstown, Md. (Gettysburg Campaign) occurs when Brig. Gen. John Buford's Federal Cavalry attacked Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's Confederate Cavalry, which is the rear guard of Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, which is still withdrawing from Gettysburg, Pa., Stuart's men have a crescent-shaped battle line at Funkstown when dismounted Federal cavalry attacks at 8 o'clock in the morning. Buford is reinforced by Federal infantry, but it is then challenged by Confederate infantry under Brig. Gen. George T. Anderson. Not making progress, the Federals withdrew that evening. The total casualties for both sides were 479.

1864: After his victory at the Battle of Monocacy, Md., which is only 40 miles away from Washington, D.C., Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's 14,000-man Confederate Army of the Valley pushes on toward the U.S. capital to threaten it, and force Lt. Gen. U.S. Grant to send reinforcements from his Petersburg, Va. campaign. On the outskirts of Washington, there are massive fortifications under the command of Maj. Gen. Christopher C. Augur with 31,000 troops and 1,000 artillery pieces in 160 fortifications, batteries, and trenches. The stage is set for one of the most dramatic confrontations of the war. 

Col. Mandeville Marigny, the original

colonel of the 10th La. Inf. Reg't., in his

French Cavalry uniform when he served

in the French Army in the 1830s. Marigny

resigned in 1862. The 10th La. was part of

Early's Raid on Washington. The French 

language was used in giving commands

early in the war. (La. State Library)

CLICK👉Confederate States 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 History, July 10.

Brigadier General Lucius Eugene Polk was born on this day in 1833 in Salisbury, North Carolina. He was a nephew of Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk. Lucius Polk grew up in Middle Tennessee, attended the University of Virginia, and moved to Helena, Arkansas, to farm. At the beginning of the war, Polk enlisted as a private in Captain Patrick Cleburne's Yell Rifles, which became part of the 15th Arkansas Infantry Regiment. He rose through the ranks to second lieutenant, colonel of the 15th Arkansas, and then to brigadier general, to date from Dec. 13, 1862. Polk's battles and campaigns included Shiloh, Richmond, Ky., Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Ringgold Gap, the Atlanta Campaign, and the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, Ga. Polk was wounded four times during the war, the last time at Kennesaw Mountain, which resulted in his honorable discharge. Following the war, he lived quietly on his farm near Columbia, Tennessee. He also served as a delegate in the 1884 Democratic National Convention. Polk was elected to the Tennessee Senate in 1887. He died Dec. 1, 1892, in Columbia and was buried in St. John's Church cemetery in Ashwood, Tennessee.

Brig. Gen. Lucius E. Polk

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Brigadier General John Stuart Williams was born on this day in 1818 in Sterling, Kentucky. He was a prewar lawyer practicing in Paris, Ky., and served in the Mexican-American War as a captain of an independent company attached to the 6th U.S. Infantry and as colonel of the 4th Kentucky Volunteers. In the Battle of Cerro Gordo, Mexico, he earned the nickname of "Cerro Gordo William." In the War for Southern Independence, Williams became colonel of the 5th Kentucky Infantry in 1861 and, in late 1862, was elevated to brigadier general. His battles included the Battle of Princeton Court House, Ky., in 1862, the Battle of Blue Springs, Tenn., and the Battle of Saltville, Va. He was also the commander of the Department of Southern Virginia. Following the war, Williams lived in Winchester, Ky., and was elected to the Kentucky Legislature in 1873 and 1875. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1879 for one term. Williams engaged in land development in Florida and co-founded Naples, Florida. He died on July 17, 1898, in Mount Sterling, Ky., and was buried in Winchester Cemetery in Winchester, Ky.

Brig. Gen. John S. Williams

Click 👉Today in History (general history) July 9. 

On This Day in Confederate History, July 9.

1862: Confederate Colonel John Hunt Morgan began his "First Kentucky Raid" at Tompkinsville, Kentucky. Morgan surprised the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry and captured the garrison within two hours, and a large number of logistical supplies.

1863: The surrender of the Confederate garrison at Port Hudson, La., took place at 7 a.m. when the two armies paraded in the open with Brig. Gen. George L. Andrews at the head of the Federal column and Maj. Gen. Franklin Gardner led the Confederates. Gardner handed over his sword to Andrews, saying, "Having thoroughly defended this position as long as I deemed it necessary, I now surrender to you my sword, and with it this post and this garrison." Andrews replied, "I return your sword as a proper compliment to the gallant command of such gallant troops--conduct that would be heroic in another cause." He then handed it back to Gardner. The Confederate general kissed his sword and said, "This is neither the time nor the place to discuss the cause." In the course of the siege, Confederate losses for the longest true siege in American military history were 188 killed, 483 wounded, for a total of 671, and about 200 died of disease during the siege. Federals paroled 5,935 men, which included non-combatants such as sick, wounded, missing, armed civilians, cooks, clerks, teamsters, and staff officers. Not paroled were 405 Confederate officers. Federals lost 752 men killed, 226 mortally wounded, 3,224 wounded, and 418 captured or missing. Naval casualties were not given. In addition, over 4,000 soldiers were hospitalized from sunstroke and disease. The Confederate government objected to the parole terms on the grounds that it violated terms for parole already agreed to by both armies. It then furloughed the paroled men and ordered them to report back for duty on September 15, 1863. The outraged Federals objected, but General Halleck had to admit the Confederates were right.

Capt. John M. Kean, 12th La. Heavy Artillery

at Port Hudson, La.

He was sent to Johnson's Island, Ohio where

he died on Nov. 21, 1863, and was buried on the island.

(Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

Click on the image to enlarge

Pvt. L. Cormier, Boone's Artillery

He was among those troops who was surrendered

at Port Hudson. (Courtesy of Port Hudson State Historic Site)

CLICK👉Major General Franklin Gardner

Hero of the Siege of Port Hudson

This is the biography of a professional soldier who led the Confederate defense of Port Hudson, Louisiana, during the epic siege from May 21 to July 9, 1863. He was one of the finest commanders of the Confederate Army, and this is believed to be the first book-length biography of his life.

1864: The Battle of Monocacy took place on this day in Maryland in Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's 14,000 Confederates against Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace's 5,800. After Brig. Gen. John McCausland's 1,100 cavalrymen failed to break Wallace's left flank. Early sent Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon's infantry division, with other attacks on the Federal center and right, Wallace ordered a retreat toward Baltimore. The victorious Confederates continued on toward Washington, D.C. Confederates suffered about 700 casualties, and the Federals 1,294.

Confederate General History, July 9.

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

On This Day in Confederate History, July 8.

1861: President Davis officially puts Brigadier General Henry Hopkins Sibley in command of the Confederate Territory of New Mexico.

1863: Siege of Port Hudson, La.: After receiving a copy of Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks' notification from Maj. Gen. U.S. Grant that Vicksburg had surrendered, Confederate commander Major General Franklin Gardner called his top officers to a meeting to discuss the situation. They agreed that further resistance was futile, and at 12:30 a.m. a cease-fire was arranged with the Yankees. A commission of officers from both sides met at 9 a.m. Surrender discussions went on until 2 o'clock in the afternoon when both Gardner and Banks signed the articles. The surrender would formally take place at 7 a.m. July 9. Banks also sent in wagonloads of food and drugs for the starving and sick Confederates. Meanwhile, many Confederates seized upon the delay and cease-fire as a chance to escape and slipped away that night. One of these Confederates is believed to be young Second Lieutenant Edward Douglass White Jr., a future chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Maj. Gen. Franklin Gardner

(Colorization by M.D. Jones)

Click for 👉Biography

This is the biography of a professional soldier who led the Confederate defense of Port Hudson, Louisiana during the epic siege from May 21 to July 9, 1863. He was one of the finest commanders of the Confederate Army and this is believed to be the first book-length biography of his life. Born in New York in 1823, Gardner was a West Point graduate in 1843, he had a distinguished record in the U.S. Army and was brevetted a captain in the Mexican American War. His older sister married La. Gov. & U.S. Senator Alexandre Mouton and he married Mouton's daughter, Marie Celeste. In 1861, Gardner sided with the Confederacy and resigned from the U.S. Army and joined the C.S. Army. He was commissioned a lt. col., he commanded a brigade of cavalry at Shiloh and was promoted to brigadier general April 11, 1862 and to major general Dec. 13,1863, when he was assigned to command of the important Confederate bastion on the Mississippi River, Port Hudson. The book covers his entire life from 1823 to his death in 1873 in Lafayette, La. It has maps, photos, index, and bibliography.

Maj. Gen. Franklin Gardner, standing tall

1864: In the Atlanta Campaign, Confederates continue to fortify the Chattahoochee River line while skirmishing with the Federals. However, one of Maj. Gen. W.T. Sherman's three Federal Armies manage to cross the Chattahoochee on the Federal left and make the Confederate position untenable.

Valley Campaign of 1864: In Maryland, Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal Early leads his army toward Washington D.C. in hopes of drawing Federal forces away from the Siege of Petersburg. Meanwhile Maj. Gen. Lew Wallis prepares to block Early at Monocacy, Md. with a hastily raised force including untrained militia.

Lt. Gen. Jubal Early

Confederate General Birthdays, July 8.

None.

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

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

On This Day in Confederate History, July 5.

1861: Lt. Col. Charles Didier Dreux Jr., 29, of New Orleans, La., commander of the 1st Battalion Louisiana Infantry, and Pvt. Stephen Hackett of the Shreveport Greys Company, Dreux's Battalion, became the first two Louisianians killed in the war in a skirmish with Federal cavalry near the Curtis Farm in present-day Newport News, Virginia. Dreux was given a hero's funeral in New Orleans. Now, in modern-day New Orleans, his memorial bust has been repeatedly vandalized. 

Lt. Col. Charles D. Dreux Jr., 1st Bn. La. Inf.

became the first Louisiana officer killed in

the war. (Ancestry.com)

Also in 1861, the Battle of Carthage, Missouri took place between 6,000 Missouri State Guard troops (Confederate), under Maj. Gen. Sterling Price and Gov. Claiborne Jackson, against 1,100 Federal troops who were under the command of Col. Franz Sigel. However, 2,000 of the   Missouri State Guardsmen were unarmed and didn't take part in the battle. In addition, the Federal troops were better armed than the state troops. Eventually, Siegel retreated back to Carthage when he saw State Guard reinforcements arriving. The victory raised the morale of Southern sympathizers and resulted in a recruiting boost for the South. The Missouri State Guard suffered 200 casualties and the Federals 44.

1863: The Confederates at the Siege of Port Hudson, La., having not gotten the news yet of the surrender of Vicksburg, continue holding out against the overwhelming force of Maj. Gen. N.P. Banks's Army of the Gulf. However, the Southerners have been reduced to eating mules, horses, dogs, and rats. But the morale of the defenders was still strong.

1st Lt. William R. Felton

Co. H, 1st Alabama Infantry

Served at Port Hudson.

(Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

1864: Early's Raid on Washington, D.C.: Maj. Gen. Jubal Early crossed the Potomac River at Harper's Ferry with his Confederate Division and alarmed Washington, D.C. 

Confederate General Birthdays, July 5.

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

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

On This Day in Confederate History, July 6.

1863: The Battle of Williamsport, Md. takes place between elements of Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia as part of the Gettysburg Campaign. On that day, two Confederate Cavalry Brigades fought a Federal brigade under Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick's Cavalry Division then retreated through Hagerstown, Maryland, until the rest of the Confederate cavalry, Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's Cavalry Corps, arrived and drove off Kilpatrick.

Private David M. Thatcher of Company B, Berkeley Troop, 

1st Virginia Cavalry Regiment. He was mortally wounded

Oct. 19, 1863, in the Battle of Buckland Mills, Va., and died

on Oct. 20, 1863. (Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

1864: First Battle of Hagerstown, Md.: Lt. Gen. Jubal Early sends Brig. Gen. John McCausland's Brigade to Hagerstown, Maryland, to capture the town and demand reparations for damages caused by Federal Maj. Gen. David "Black Dave" Hunter in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Early instructs McCausland to demand $200,000 from the town. McCausland does indeed capture the town and threatens to burn it if the town officials don't pay $20,000 (McCausland felt $200,000 was too much). The town pays the amount demanded. Early and his army then turned toward Washington, D.C.

Maryland Confederate soldier

(M.D. Jones Collection, 6th plate tintype) 

Click👉The Battles of Stirling's Plantation

and Bayou Bourbeau: The Fall 1863

Campaign in Louisiana & Texas

The Battles of Stirling's Plantation and Bayou Bourbeau in South Louisiana, and the Rio Grande Expedition in Texas, in the Fall of 1863, were a major Federal attempt to loot thousands of bales of cotton for Northern speculators, and to subjugate western Louisiana and Texas. The campaign left behind a swath of death and destruction that would lead to the even more destructive Red River Campaign of 1864.

Confederate General Birthdays, July 6.

Brigadier General Edmund Winston Pettus was born on this day in 1821 in Limestone County, Alabama. A pre-war lawyer in Tuscumbia, Alabama, Pettus was elected a judge, served in the Mexican-American War in the Alabama volunteers, and lived a few years in California afterward. He returned to Alabama in about 1853 and served as a court solicitor. During the War for Southern Independence, Pettus became lieutenant colonel of the 20th Alabama Infantry. He was promoted to colonel on May 28, 1863, and then to brigadier general on Sept. 1863. His battles and campaigns include Murfreesboro (captured), Vicksburg (captured), Chattanooga, Atlanta, the Carolinas Campaign, Battle of Bentonville, N.C. (wounded and captured). He was still a P.O.W. when the war ended and was paroled on May 2, 1865. Following the war, he again practiced law in Alabama, farmed, and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1896 and died while still in office on July 27, 1907, in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and was buried in Live Oak Cemetery in Selma, Alabama.

Brig. Gen. Edmund W. Pettus