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

Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) March 8. 

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, March 8. 

1862: On the second day of the Battle of Elk Horn Tavern (Pea Ridge), General Van Dorn's Confederates were running low on artillery ammunition and suffered a massive Federal bombardment, which caused him to order a retreat back to the Arkansas River. Two Confederate generals were killed, Benjamin McCulloch (on March 7) and James M. McIntosh (on March 7), and Gen. Sterling Price was wounded. Col. Louis Hebert of the 3rd Louisiana Infantry was captured. Total Confederate casualties were about 2,000. Federal losses were 203 killed, 980 wounded, and 201 missing.

Brig. Gen. James McQ. McIntosh

Killed in action on March 7, 1862 at

Elk Horn Tavern, Ark.

On the first day of the Battle of Hampton Roads, Virginia, the ironclad C.S.S. Virginia (formerly the U.S.S. Merrimac), destroys the U.S.S. Congress and U.S.S. Cumberland and runs the U.S.S. Minnesota aground. Virginia is commanded by Captain Franklin Buchanan, who is wounded on the first day, when the second in command, Lt. Catesby ap Roger Jones, takes command. 

Battle of Hampton Road, Va.

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Shiloh Campaign: Also on March 8, Federal troops landed in force at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee from the transports of the Golden State and the John Adams backed up by a gunboat. Major Charles Baskerville of the 2nd Mississippi Cavalry reports the landing to Col. Alfred Mouton of the 18th Louisiana Infantry and that the Federals appear to be making a massive build-up there.

1863: Captain James Singleton Mosby and his Confederate partisan rangers capture Federal Brig. Gen. E.H. Stoughton and some of his men at Fairfax County Courthouse in Virginia. 

1865: At the Battle of Wyse Fork, near Kinston, North Carolina, General Braxton Bragg's Confederate forces attacked a Federal force under Brig. Gen. Jacob Cox in an attempt to prevent Cox from joining up with Sherman's 60,000 Yankees, which is just crossing the border into North Carolina. The Confederates are repulsed.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, March 8.

Major General Matthew Calbraith Butler was born on this day in 1836 in Greenville, South Carolina. He was a prewar lawyer and politician. Butler started out the War for Southern Independence as a captain in Hampton's Legion and was promoted to major on July 21, 1861. He was then elected colonel of the 2nd South Carolina Cavalry on Aug. 22, 1862. He was promoted to brigadier general in Feb. 1864, and to major general before the end of the war. Among his battles were Brandy Station, where he lost a foot when hit by a bullet, and the Battle of Bentonville, N.C. where he was wounded for the second time. Following the war, he became a politician in South Carolina and served three terms as a U.S. Senator from South Carolina. During the Spanish-American War, Butler served in the U.S. Army as a major general and supervised the evacuation of Spanish forces from Cuba. He died April 14, 1909, in Washington, D.C., and was buried in Willow Brook Cemetery in Edgefield, S.C.

Maj. Gen. Matthew C. Butler

👨

Brigadier General James McQueen McIntosh was born circa 1828 at Fort Brooke, Fla., modern-day Tampa. His exact date of birth is unknown, however, his brother, John B. McIntosh, was born on June 6, 1829, at Fort Brooke and became a Federal major general during the War for Southern Independence. The two had a remarkable resemblance. Their father, Colonel James S. McIntosh, was stationed at Fort Brooke and was later killed in action in 1847 in the Mexican-American War at the Battle of Molina Del Rey. The younger James entered West Point in 1845 and graduated 43rd, dead last, in his Class of 1849. McIntosh's record shows he dropped his middle name after graduation. He was made a brevet 2nd Lt. in the 8th U.S. Inf. and served on the frontier. He was promoted to 2nd Lt. on May 15, 1851, and then to 1st Lt. in the 1st U.S. Cavalry on March 3, 1855. McIntosh was then elevated to captain on Jan. 16, 1857. He was stationed at Fort Smith, Ark. in 1861 and when Arkansas seceded on May  6, he officially resigned from the U.S. Army on May 7, 1861. However, Confederate records show him serving as a captain in the C.S. Army from March 16, 1861, but he was soon made colonel of the 2nd Arkansas Mounted Rifles and served with distinction at the Battle of Oak Hill (aka Wilson's Creek), Mo. on Aug. 10, 1861. He was given a brigade and led it to victory at the Battle of Chustenahla, Indian Territory on December 26, 1861. Promoted to brigadier general on Jan. 17, 1862, he led his brigade at the Battle Elk Horn Tavern, Ark. During the battle, he was given command of a division after the death of Brigadier General Ben McCulloch. But, 15 minutes later, McIntosh was killed instantly when shot through the heart on March 7, 1861. General McIntosh is buried at Fort Smith National Cemetery in Arkansas.

Brig. Gen. James McIntosh

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

Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) March 7.

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, March 7.

1862: The Battle of Elk Horn Tavern (Pea Ridge), Arkansas begins. The Federals are under the command of Brig. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis with 10,500 troops. The Confederates are commanded by Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn with an army of 16,500 men. Curtis was staging an invasion after driving out Maj. Gen. Sterling Price and the Missouri State Guard from Missouri. Van Dorn was ordered to stop the invasion. The first day of the battle is a stalemate.

Sgt. William H. Tunnard, 

3rd Louisiana Infantry, which

was among the Confederate 

regiments at the Battle of Elk Horn Tavern.

(The Hill Collections: Holdings of the LSU  Libraries)

1865: Carolinas Campaign: Confederates in North Carolina assemble reinforcements in hopes of stopping Sherman's juggernaut force from approaching the state. The Northerners have committed numerous war crimes against civilians throughout South Carolina. General Joseph E. Johnston is in command of the Army of Tennessee and other elements being assembled.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, March 7.

Maj. Gen. Henry DeLamar Clayton was born on this day in 1827 in Pulaski, Georgia. Prior to the war he was a lawyer and politician in Clayton, Alabama, and was elected to the state House of Representatives and served from 1857 to 1861. Clayton also got active in the state militia in 1860 organizing the 3rd Alabama Volunteers. When Alabama seceded in January 1861, he led his men to Pensacola, Florida, and was formally mustered into the Confederate Army in March as colonel of the 1st Alabama Infantry. His regiment was in the Battle in the Bay for Fort Barrancas. He resigned in January 1862 but soon organized another regiment, the 39th Alabama Infantry, and took part in Bragg's Kentucky Campaign of 1862. With the Army of Tennessee, he fought at the battles of Murfreesboro where he was wounded and promoted to brigadier general in April 1863. Clayton's other battles included Chickamauga, Chattanooga, New Hope Church, Franklin, Nashville, and at the end of the war the Carolina Campaign. He resigned in April 1865 and returned home. In the postwar years, he resumed his career in the law, served as a judge, and was president of the University of Alabama until his death on Oct. 3, 1889, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and was buried in City Cemetery in Eufaula, Alabama.

Maj. Gen. Henry D. Clayton

👱

Brig. Gen. John Bratton was born on this day in 1831 in Winnsboro, South Carolina. Prior to the war, he was a physician and planter. Bratton joined the Confederate Army as a private in 1861 in Co. C, 6th South Carolina Infantry. After only a month he was promoted to captain and on March 1, 1862, became colonel of the regiment. He was promoted to brigadier general on May 6, 1864. Bratton's battles included Seven Pines, where he was wounded and captured, Fredericksburg, Suffolk, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Petersburg, and Appomattox. After the war, Bratton was a cotton farmer and raised livestock. He was also active in Democratic Party politics and was elected state comptroller general of South Carolina and served in the State Legislature. Bratton died on Jan. 12, 1898, in Winnsboro, S.C., and was buried at St. John's Episcopal Church Cemetery.

Brig. Gen. John Bratton

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

Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) March 6.

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, March 6.

1861: President Davis, to avoid war and arrange a peaceful separation, sent peace commissioners to Washington to open negotiations with Lincoln, but Lincoln refused to meet with them. They remain in Washington in hopes of meeting with other Republicans. The three commissioners are Martin J. Crawford of Georgia, John Forsyth of Alabama, and Andre B. Roman of Louisiana.

1864: Captain Felix Poché of the commissary department of Mouton's Louisiana Infantry Brigade, writes on this day, after attending Sunday Catholic Mass in Alexandria, of the increasing Federal activity on the Red River. He notes, "The town is full of rumors: that the obstruction in Red River at the fort [DeRussy] had been carried away by the current, and the enemy had advanced through Franklin, and of other rumors of fighting on the other sides of the Mi[Mississippi River].  

1865: The Battle of Natural Bridge, Florida happened on this day in 1865. Confederate Major General Sam Jones and Brigadier General William Miller commanded a force of Confederate Army units, Florida Militia, and reinforcements from Georgia, totaling about 1,000 soldiers, against Federal Brigadier General John Newton's 2nd Florida Cavalry (Union), 2nd U.S. Colored Infantry, and the U.S. 99th U.S. Colored Infantry numbering 700 men. The Confederates were in breastworks guarding all approaches to the bridge and repulsed three assaults by the Federals. Federal casualties were 21 killed, 89 wounded, and 38 captured. The Confederates lost 3 killed and 23 wounded. The battle saved Tallahassee, the only Confederate capital east of the Mississippi.

Maj. Gen. Samuel Jones

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, March 6.

NONE.

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

Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) March 5. 

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, March 5.

1862: SHILOH CAMPAIGN: General P.G.T. Beauregard at Jackson, Tennessee is put in charge of Confederate defenses in the Mississippi Valley as he concentrates all available reinforcements at Corinth, Mississippi. General A.S. Johnston is still in overall command. Meanwhile, Federal armies under the command of Maj. Gen. U.S. Grant concentrates at Savannah, Tennessee, Crump's Landing, and Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. Confederates countered by sending the 18th Louisiana Infantry to keep an eye on Federal movements and the Louisianians drove off the first Federal landing attempt at Pittsburg Landing on March 1.

Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard

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 units organization in New Orleans, the Battle of Shiloh and their campaigns in Louisiana, which includes the LaFourche Campaign in 1862, the Teche Campaigns in 1863, and the Red River Campaign in 1864. The book includes photographs, maps, illustration, bibliography and index.

1863: Confederates win a decisive victory at the Battle of Thompson's Station in Williamson County, Tennessee. The forces included a Federal reinforced infantry brigade under Col. John Coburn versus the Confederate First Cavalry Corps under Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn. Confederates under Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest turn the Federal left flank when another division of Confederates stormed and took the hilltop, forcing Coburn to surrender his entire force. Federal casualties total 1,906 to 300 for the Confederates. The victory gave the Confederates control of Middle Tennessee.

1864: The Confederate government ordered all ships to provide half of their cargo space for government shipments when needed. The order is intended to reduce profiteering and to address shortages in the Confederacy.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, March 5.

Brig. Gen. John Dunovant was born on this day in 1825 in Chester, South Carolina. He had gained military experience in the Mexican-American War as a sergeant in the Palmetto Regiment and was wounded at the Battle of Chapultepec. Dunovant was commissioned a captain in 1855 in the U.S. Army. He resigned on Dec. 29, 1860, after South Carolina seceded from the Union. Initially a major in the South Carolina militia, he was at Fort Moultrie during the bombardment of Fort Sumter. Dunovant was promoted to colonel on July 28, 1863, and given command of the 5th South Carolina Cavalry. He was promoted to brigadier general in August 1864. His battles included Fort Sumter, Drewry's Bluff, Cold Harbor, Trevillian Station, and Peebles' Farm. He was killed in action on Oct. 1, 1864, while leading a cavalry charge during the Battle of Vaughan Road, Va. Dunovant was buried in the Dunovant Family Cemetery near Chester, South Carolina. He was one of two Confederate cavalry generals killed during the Siege of Petersburg.

Brig. Gen. John Dunovant

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

Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) March 4. 

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, March 4.

1861: The Confederate Congressional Flag Committee recommended the adoption of the flag design for the First National Flag, also called the "Stars and Bars." The flag design is a red field with a white bar in the middle and a blue canton with the number of white stars corresponding to the number of states in the Confederacy in the upper quarter on the hoist side. Although the committee didn't give anyone credit for the design of the flag, two men later claimed credit. Nicola Marschall of Alabama and Orren Randolph Smith of North Carolina. Both men served in the Confederate Army. Marschall was an accomplished artist from Prussia who also designed the official Confederate uniform. Smith claimed he had submitted a model of his flag design to the committee and flew a copy at his hometown and made copies for militia companies. The Sons of Confederate Veterans and other organizations investigated the claims and couldn't find conclusive evidence either way.

Nicola Marschall

(Encyclopedia of Alabama)

Major Orren Randolph Smith

(The History of the Stars and Bars, 1913)

From the top, the First National,

the Battle Flag, the Second National,

and the Third National Confederate flags.

Click the image to enlarge it.

(Library of Congress)

1862: General Robert E. Lee is transferred from the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and East Florida to Richmond, Virginia where he is assigned to be President Davis's military advisor. 

1863: Major General Earl Van Dorn's Confederate Army captures several of Major General William Rosecrans' regiments near Spring Hill, Tennessee.

1864: Confederates fight off another raid by Major General Judson Kilpatrick in the area where Colonel Ulric Dahlgren was killed in King and Queen County, Virginia.

1865: The Confederate Congress adopted the Third National Confederate Flag on this day. The flag was like the Second National Flag, also called the "Stainless Banner," except there is a broad red bar on the fly end of the flag so it can be better distinguished from a white flag of surrender.

Third National Confederate Flag as designed.

(Wikipedia Commons)

\

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, March 4.

Brigadier General Elisha Franklin Paxton was born on this day in 1828 in Rockbridge County, Virginia. He was a prewar lawyer and an advocate of secession. After the War for Southern Independence started, he joined the Rockbridge Artillery as a first lieutenant. While he had no military experience Paxton was a fast learner and was a participant in the First Battle of Manassas, Va. in Stonewall Jackson's brigade. He was elected a major in the 27th Virginia Infantry on Oct. 14, 1861, and when he was not reelected circa May 1862, was appointed to Stonewall Jackson's staff. He was promoted from major to brigadier general on Nov. 1, 1862, and given command of the Stonewall Brigade and led it at the Battle of Fredericksburg, Va. Paxton was killed in action on May 3, 1863, at the Battle of Chancellorsville while in command of the Stonewall Brigade. At first, he was buried at Guinea Station, Va., and then reburied in Lexington, Va. in Oak Grove Cemetery, the same cemetery where Stonewall Jackson is buried.

Brig. Gen. Elisha F. Paxton

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

Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) March 3.

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, March 3.

1863: PORT HUDSON CAMPAIGN: Brigadier General Albert Rust's 2,800-man infantry brigade and three batteries of artillery enter Port Hudson to bolster the Confederate fortress there about 16 miles north of Baton Rouge, which is threatened by the Federal army and navy. Major General Franklin Gardner has greatly improved the defenses there since he took command in December. He has also set up a crack intelligence network to keep an eye on the enemy. More reinforcements are on the way.

Maj. Gen. Franklin Gardner

1864: Captain Elijah Petty of the 17th Texas Infantry, Walker's Texas Division, notes in a letter the Confederates are seeing and hearing an increase of Federal gunboat activity on the Red River. He noted the enemy warships were headed in the direction of Fort DeRussy and some had been diverted up the Black River and bombarded Fort Beauregard.

Capt. Elijah Petty

On this same day, Brigadier General Alfred Mouton's Louisiana Infantry Brigade passes in review before Major General Richard Taylor. Captain Felix Poche of the brigade commissary, who was not present, notes in his diary that he was told there were ladies present and everything went well.

Capt. Felix Poche

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, March 3.

NONE.

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

Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) March 2. 

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, March 2.

1862: New Mexico Campaign: Confederate Brigadier General Henry H. Sibley's Army of New Mexico captures Albuquerque, New Mexico after driving out the Federals there. Sibley has 2,515 Texas cavalrymen, mounted infantry, and artillery.

1863: Confederates skirmish with Federals near Petersburg, Tennessee which leaves 12 Southerners killed and 20 wounded.

1864: Death of Ulric Dahlgren: Near King and Queen County Court House, Virginia, Confederates set an ambush for Colonel Ulric Dahlgren's detachment of Federal cavalry, which is retreating from its failed attempted raid on Richmond. At 11 o'clock P.M., the Northern horse soldiers enter the trap and the Confederates open fire. Dahlgren is killed in the action and 92 of his men are captured. Plans for the assassination of President Davis and his cabinet are taken from Dahlgren's dead body.

Unidentified Virginia Confederate volunteer in

 uniform with a bayoneted musket. (Library of Congress)

1865: At the Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia, Lieutenant General Jubal Early's Army of 1,600 Confederates is defeated by Brigadier General George A. Custer's 2,500-man cavalry division. Most of the Southerners are captured.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, March 2.

NONE.