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

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

On This Day in Confederate History, July 2.

1863: The second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Pa., brings on major fighting and casualties to both sides. Gen. Robert E. Lee has Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill's Third Corps attacked from Seminary Ridge on Cemetery Ridge, and at the Confederate center, Lt. Gen. Richard Ewell, commanding the Second Corps on the left, Maj. Gen. Edward Johnson's Division attacked Culp's Hill and Maj. Gen. Jubal Early's Division attacked Cemetery Hill. And Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's First Corps attacked at the Peach Orchard, Rose Woods, Devil's Den, Wheatfield, and Little Round Top on the Confederate right. Fighting continued until late in the night, but the Federals under Maj. Gen. George Meade manages to hang on.

Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood

WIA at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863

 

Click👉The Second Louisiana Infantry

of the Army of Northern Virginia. 

The Second Louisiana Infantry Regiment was one of hardest hardest-fighting combat units in General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia during the War for Southern Independence. This is the story of that regiment and its men.

At the Siege of Vicksburg, Miss., Brig. Gen. Francis Shoup reports: "Enemy advancing his sap in front of stockade. Protects himself from hand grenades by covering his track with rails, thus making a sort of gallery. We are running a gallery from our trenches to blow in the enemy's works." Shoup's Brigade consisted of the 26th Louisiana Infantry, Col. Winchester Hall; the 27th Louisiana Infantry, Col. Leon Marks; and the 28th Louisiana Infantry, Col. Allen Thomas. Hall was wounded in the leg, and Marks was mortally wounded on June 28, 1863, and was replaced by Lt. Col. Alexander Norwood and promoted to full colonel.

 

Colonel Winchester Hall

26th Louisiana Infantry

Shoup's Brigade.

1864: In the Atlanta Campaign, Maj. Gen. W.T. Sherman once again outflanks Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee so Johnston orders the army to move out of the Kennesaw Line and fall back to the prepared positions at the Chattahoochee River, the last natural barrier before Atlanta. 

Confederate General Birthdays, July 2.

Brigadier General Robert Augustus Toombs was born on this day in 1810 in Wilkes County, Georgia. A prominent Georgia lawyer and politician, Toombs served in the Georgia House of Representatives, the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, and was active in Whig Party politics nationally. When the Confederacy was formed, Toombs was considered for president but was rejected because of his drinking problem. He was chosen as the first Confederate secretary of state but only served for a short time before resigning to join the Confederate army as a brigadier general. Toombs led his brigade in the Peninsula Campaign, the Seven Days Battles, and was wounded at the Battle of Sharpsburg. He resigned from the Confederate Army and returned to Georgia where he was active in the Georgia Militia as a colonel and brigadier general. He led troops in the Battle of Columbus, Ga. in 1865. Following the war, Toombs evaded arrest by U.S. troops and spent time in Cuba and France. He returned to Georgia in 1867 and refused to ask for a pardon. He died on Dec. 15, 1885, and was buried in Resthaven Cemetery in Wilkes County, Ga.

Brig. Gen. Robert A. Toombs

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Brigadier General John Bordenave Villepigue was born on this day in 1830 in Camden, South Carolina. He attended the South Carolina Military Academy and the Military College of South Carolina before entering West Point and graduating in 1854. He served in various frontier posts with the U.S. Army and was active in the Utah War. He resigned from the U.S. Army on March 31, 1861, and joined the Confederate Army and was colonel of the 36th Georgia Infantry Regiment. He defended Fort McRee in Pensacola, Fla. during the bombardment there on Nov. 22, 1861, and was seriously wounded. He then commanded Fort Pillow, Tenn., and was appointed a brigadier general in early 1862. He commanded a brigade at the Second Battle of Corinth, Miss. He died of pneumonia on November 9,  1862, at Port Hudson, Louisiana. General Villepigue was buried in the Old Quaker Cemetery in Camden, S.C.

Brig. Gen. John B. Villepigue

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

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

On This Day in Confederate History, July 1.

1862: The Battle of Malvern Hill, Va., ends the Seven Days Battles with the Federal invasion army of the North driven back to Harrison's Landing on the James River, and Richmond is freed from immediate destruction. General Robert E. Lee completely turned the direction of the war around in just seven days and gave the South new hope that it could achieve freedom and liberty in its own Southern Republic.  The Federals have a nearly impregnable position on Malvern Hill thanks to an overwhelming advantage in artillery. The attacks by Confederates come in three stages, but each one is bloodily repulsed. Lee has 55,000 to attack but only 12-14 batteries, while Maj. Gen. G.B. McClelland has 54,000 men and 33 batteries with 171 guns. The Confederates suffered 5,400 casualties, while 3,000 losses are attributed to the Federals. The grim totals for the Seven Days Battles are Confederates suffered 20,050 casualties and the Federals 15,849; the capital of the Confederacy is secured for the rest of the war.\

Pvt. Edwin Jemison, Co. C, 2nd La. Inf.

KIA at Malvern Hill, Va., July 1, 1862.

(Library of Congress & Wpclipart)  

This Confederate soldier is unidentified

But his unit is spelled out on top of his cap,

The 1st Texas Infantry Regiment, which

was in Hood's Brigade at Gettysburg.

(Liljnquist Collection, Library of Congress)

1863: The first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Pa., is a Southern triumph with General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia driving the Army of the Potomac, now under Maj. Gen. George Meade is out of town. But the Federals now occupy the high ground and dig in all night. Meade has 104,256 bluecoats present for duty. The North also had 146 artillery pieces at Gettysburg. General Lee had between 71,000 and 75,000 men engaged in the battle and 73 artillery pieces. Highlights of the first day included fighting at Herr Ridge, McPherson Ridge, the town of Gettysburg, and Seminary Ridge. Both sides were continuing to receive reinforcements throughout the day.

Click👉The Fighting First Louisiana Infantry Regiment

In The Army of Northern Virginia

The 1st Louisiana Infantry Regiment was one of the hardest-fighting units of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the War for Southern Independence. This is its story.

As the Battle of Gettysburg is just getting underway, the situation for Confederates at the Siege of Vicksburg, Miss., is growing rapidly more critical. Brig. Gen. Francis Shoup reports from the Confederate defense line: "Enemy drove in our pickets in front of stockade last night, wounding 2 men. The enemy is erecting a gabionade in front of Redan. Amounts to nothing."

Confederate General Birthdays, July 1.

Brigadier General John Adams was born on this day in 1825 in Nashville, Tennessee. He graduated from West Point in 1846, ranking 25th in his class. During the Mexican-American War, he was brevetted a first lieutenant for gallantry at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Rosales. Adams resigned from the U.S. Army in 1861 and became a captain in the Confederate cavalry. Promotions came quickly, and he was made a brigadier general in December 1862. He commanded a brigade of Mississippi infantry in 1863 and served under Gen. J.E. Johnston's army in its failed attempt to relieve Vicksburg. His brigade then served in the Army of Tennessee and was distinguished in the battles of the Atlanta Campaign. General Adams was severely wounded in the arm on November 30, 1864, in the Battle of  Franklin, Tennessee. He refused to leave the field and insisted on leading his men in a fatal charge, and was hit by nine bullets and killed in action when he attempted to jump his horse over Yankee breastworks. Adams was buried in Maplewood Cemetery in Pulaski, Tennessee.

Brig. Gen. John Adams

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Brigadier General Josiah Gorgas was born on this day in 1818 in Running Pumps, Pennsylvania. He was a 1841 graduate of West Point and served in the Mexican American War. Gorgas spent most of his time in the U.S. Army in the Ordnance Department at various arsenals around the country. He resigned on March 21, 1861, while commanding Frankford Arsenal. Gorgas joined the Confederate Army as a major and chief of the Ordnance Department. In that position, he worked to create an arms industry for the Confederate Army, procured arms and ammunition, created the Nitre Bureau, and established the Augusta, Ga. Powder Works. He was promoted to brigadier on Nov. 10, 1864. Following the war, Gorgas got into the iron-making industry by purchasing an interest in the Brierfield Furnace in Bibb County, Alabama. In 1870, he became the 2nd vice-chancellor of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., and in 1878 became the 8th president of the University of Alabama. Gorgas died May 15, 1883, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery there.

Brig. Gen. Josiah Gorgas

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Brigadier General James Argyle Smith was born on this day in 1831 in Maury County, Tennessee. He graduated from West Point in 1853 and then served in the U.S. Army on the frontier fighting Indians. Smith saw action against the Sioux in the Battle of Ash Hollow in 1855 and then fought against the Mormons in the Utah War. In 1861, he resigned from the U.S. Army and joined the Confederate Army, and quickly rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel and led the 2nd Tennessee Infantry at Shiloh. He was then promoted to colonel and commanded the 5th Confederate Infantry at Perryville, Murfreesboro, and Chickamauga. Smith was then promoted to brigadier general and led his brigade at Missionary Ridge, was wounded in the Battle of Atlanta, and after recovering, fought at Franklin and Bentonville near the end of the war. Post-war, Smith farmed in Mississippi and was elected to the post of Superintendent of Education in 1878. Then in 1893, he became an agent in the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and next the Marshal of the Mississippi Supreme Court. Smith died Dec. 6, 1901, in Jackson, Miss., and was interred in Greenwood Cemetery in that city.

Brig. Gen. James A. Smith

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Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthday

Click 👉Today in History (general history) June 30. 

On This Day in Confederate History, June 30.

1862:  The Battle of Frayser's Farm (Glendale) was the sixth battle in the Seven Days Battles. It is considered Gen. Robert E. Lee's last real chance of destroying the Army of the Potomac in the campaign. The Federals had 40,000 men in the battle, and the Confederates 45,000. Confederates under Maj. Gen. Benjamin Huger and Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson was delayed at White Oak Swamp by Brig. Gen. William B. Franklin's Corps. But divisions under Major Generals James Longstreet and A.P. Hill succeeded in breaking through Federal lines near Glendale at Wills Church. However, a Federal counterattack sealed the breach. Also Maj. Gen. Theophilus H. Holmes made an attack on the blue coats at Turkey Creek, but it was also unsuccessful. The Northern army's retreat continued. The Confederates had 3,297 total casualties and the Federals 3,673.

Confederate infantryman holding a

D-guard bowie knife, a rifle with a fixed bayonet. 

(Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

Painting of a typical Confederate cavalryman

by artist William Ludwell Sheppard, 1903

who was a Confederate veteran himself.

1863: In the Gettysburg Campaign on this day, there was a skirmish at Sporting Hill in Pennsylvania. A cavalry brigade from Ewell's Corps under Brig. Gen. Albert G. Jenkins skirmished with the 22nd and 37th New York Militia under Federal Maj. Gen. Darius N. Couch before retreating. Ewell's plan to capture Hamburg, Pennsylvania, was foiled. The Confederates lost 16 killed and between 20 and 30 wounded. The Federals lost 11 men wounded.

Brothers and privates William H. Landis and John A. Landis

of Company F, 23rd Tennessee Infantry Regiment.

(Confederate Veteran Magazine)

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 Northern Virginia. 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 an index.

1864: The Confederacy lost two of its best fighting colonels on this day in action at the Bermuda Hundred (Howlett's) siege line in Virginia. On this day, Johnson's Tennessee Brigade, commanded at that time by Colonel John S. Fulton of the 44th Tennessee Infantry, was supporting Brigadier General Archibald Gracie's Alabama Brigade, which was under heavy bombardment. The enemy had advanced with a skirmish line followed by a battle line. When the Confederates opened up, the Federals hit the ground and then retreated to their lines. But their bombardment did serious damage. Killed was Colonel Richard H. Keeble of the 17th/23rd Tennessee Infantry Consolidated Regiment, who was hit by a small ball while in the rear of the trenches by the railroad tracks and was found dead later that evening. Mortally wounded was Colonel Fulton, who was hit by a shell fragment in the skull. He lingered until July 4, 1864, and then died. Johnson's Brigade lost a total of  2 killed and 11 wounded in the action. Gracie's Brigade lost 5 killed and 17 wounded; Ransom's Brigade 1 killed and 12 wounded, and Elliott's Brigade 4 killed and 5 wounded.

Confederate General Birthdays, June 30.

None.

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, June 29.

Click 👉Today in History (general history) June 29. 

On This Day in Confederate History, June 29.

1862: The Battle of Savage Station, Va., takes place in the Seven Days Battles. The battle began at 9 o'clock in the morning along the Richmond & York Railroad, and when Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder's Confederate division, numbering 14,000 men, attacked Brig. Gen. Edwin Sumner's 26,000-man II Corps, which was the rear guard of Maj. Gen. G.B. McClellan's retreating Army of the Potomac. Stonewall Jackson's divisions were supposed to reinforce Magruder, but did not show up because they were stalled at the Chickahominy River. The battle ended in a stalemate. Confederate casualties totaled 473, while the Federal casualties totaled 1,038.

 

Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder

led Confederate troops in the

Battle of Savage Station.

(Cdv, M.D. Jones Collection)

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.

1863: At the Siege of Vicksburg, Brig. Gen. Francis A. Shoup reports: "Enemy seems to change his point of attack. It is at work in front of the stockade [redan], between the Redan and [27th Louisiana] lunette. The declivity is so great that we can do him little harm. [We} Are using hand grenades on him."

In the Gettysburg Campaign, the Battle of Westminster, MD, occurred on this day between Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's Confederate Cavalry and Maj. Napoleon B. Knight's Federal 1st Delaware Cavalry. Maj. Knight was absent, and Captain Charles Corbit was in charge. When Corbit got word that Confederate cavalry was approaching the town, Corbit led the 1st Delaware with less than 100 men in a futile charge, not realizing he was facing Stuart's whole corps. There was a sharp clash between the two sides before the Delaware horse soldiers were overpowered, and many were captured, including Captain Corbit. Two Federal cavalrymen were killed, and 11 were captured. The Confederates lost two officers killed and 10 enlisted men wounded. This skirmish became known as "Corbit's Charge."

1864:  In the Atlanta Campaign on this day, Captain Samuel Foster of the 24th Texas Cavalry (Dismounted), Granbury's Brigade, Cleburne's Division, along the Kennesaw Line, writes: "We are ordered to make preparations to clean the ground in rear of our breastworks, and make preparations for a regular campground. There is still a cessation in our front, but our pickets are still at their posts. They talk across the lines and occasionally exchange newspapers, and our men give them Tobacco for Coffee." (One of Cleburne's Command, 1980)

Confederate General Birthdays, June 29.

None

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, June 28.

Click 👉Today in History (general history) June 28. 

On This Day in Confederate History, June 28.

1862:

Pvt. John Rigby, Co. D, 35th Ga. Inf.

Brig. Gen. J.R. Anderson's Brigade

Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill's Division

(Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

The Battle of Garnett's and Golding's Farm continues on the fourth day during the Seven Days' Battles in Virginia. Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder orders the brigade of Brig. Gen. Robert A. Toombs to make another reconnaissance in force, which turns into a battle. It is supported by Col. George T. Anderson's brigade. The Federals counterattack with the 49th Pennsylvania Infantry and 43rd New York Infantry. Maj. Gen. George McClellan decides to continue his retreat to the safety of Harrison's Landing on the James River, and the protection of the big guns of U.S. Navy warships. The Confederates recorded 438 casualties to 189 for the Federals.

Col. (later Brig. Gen.) George T. Anderson

led a Georgia Brigade in the Seven Days Battles.

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 over the course of 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.

1863: At the Siege of Vicksburg, Miss., Brig. Gen. Francis A. Shoup reports: The enemy fired upon and drove in our working parties, which were attempting to construct a picket on the outside of the lunette. No change is observable in the enemy's doings. Colonel [L.D.] Marks, Twenty-seventh Louisiana, mortally wounded. He was a gallant officer."

Col. Leon D. Marks, 27th La. Inf.

Mortally wounded at Vicksburg

In the Gettysburg Campaign, General Robert E. Lee orders the Army of Northern Virginia to concentrate at Gettysburg, Pa. General Ewell is at Carlisle, Pa., and Generals Longstreet and A.P. Hill are at Chambersburg, Pa. The Federal Army is now under the command of Maj. Gen. George Meade is concentrating on 100,000 men at Fredericksburg, Md. There is also skirmishing at Chambersburg on this day.

1864: Continued fighting on the Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia line, but without any more futile Federal frontal assaults, while Maj. Gen. W.T. Sherman looks for a way around Gen. J.E. Johnston's Confederate defense line. Cpl. Sam Watkins of Co. H, 1st & 28th Tenn. Reg'ts wrote of the aftermath of the battle: "We remained here three days after the battle. In the meantime, the woods had taken fire, and during the nights and days, of all, that time continued to burn, and at all times, every hour of the day and night, you could hear the shrieks and  screams of the poor fellows who were left on the field, and a stench, so sickening as to nauseate the whole, of both armies, arose from the decaying bodies of the dead left lying on the field."

Confederate General Birthdays, June 28.

Brigadier General William Tatum Wofford was born on this day in 1824 in Habersham County, Georgia. He served in the Mexican-American War as captain of the Georgia Mounted Volunteers. After that experience, he was a planter, elected to the state legislature, and practiced law. Wofford also became editor of the Cassville Standard newspaper. Although he opposed secession, when war came, he served as colonel of the 18th Georgia Infantry in Hood's Texas Brigade, fighting at Eltham's Landing, Seven Pines, and Second Manassas (during which he commanded the Texas Brigade). Transferred to Brig. Gen. Thomas R.R. Cob's brigade, he assumed command of the brigade when Cobb was mortally wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg, Va. Wofford was promoted to brigadier general on Jan. 17, 1863. He led his brigade at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House. He was given command of a district in Georgia in 1865, where he ended the war when paroled on May 2, 1865, at Resaca. Following the war, Wofford practiced law and was active in politics, and Confederate veteran affairs. He died May 22, 1884, in Cassville, Ga., and was buried in Cassville Cemetery.

Brig. Gen. William T. Wofford

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, June 27.

Click 👉Today in History (general history) June 27. 

On This Day in Confederate History, June 27.

1862: The third battle of the Seven Days Battles occurred this day at the Battle of Gaines' Mill, Va. General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia attacked the V Corps of Brig. Gen. Fitz John Porter, who is strongly dug in behind Boatswain's Swamp on Turkey Hill. The terrain was a nightmare for the attacking Confederates. Successive Confederate charges were repulsed. Finally, at 7 p.m., Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood led a successful charge with his Texas Brigade in the center, and the 20th North Carolina on the left broke the Federal line, and Porter's blue coats were driven back. The Confederates lost 894 killed, 3,107 wounded, and 2,836 missing or captured. The Federals lost 1,483 killed, 6,402 wounded, and 108 missing or captured.

Col. (later Brig. Gen.) Jerome B. Robertson

led the 5th Texas Infantry at the Battle of

Gaines' Mill.

Click👉Lt. Col. King Bryan of Hood's Texas Brigade

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 was also respected and admired by his men, who appreciated a leader who took the same or greater risks than they.

1863: At the Siege of Vicksburg, Miss., Brig. Gen. Francis Shoup reports: "Our mines at the Redan were sprung last night with success. The wire undercharged mines. No damage was done to the counter-scarp of the ditch. It is still perfect. Must have done the enemy much harm."

1864: The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, Ga., occurred on this day. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee is strongly dug in on the mountain when Maj. Gen. W.T. Sherman's three combined armies attack and are bloodily repulsed. Captain Samuel Foster of the 24th Texas Infantry, Granbury's Brigade, Cleburne's Division, writes, "Weather fine and cool, Firing (sic) all going on. At 9 AM, the cannon opened on our right and left from both Armies, and at about 10 AM, the Yanks charged (sic) our works on our left. Our men drive them back, capturing a good many of them. (One of Cleburne's Command, 1980). The Federals lost 3,000 men in the battle and the Confederates 1,000.

Confederate General Birthdays, June 27.

Brigadier General Junius Daniel was born on this day in 1828 in Halifax, North Carolina. He graduated 33rd out of a class of 42 cadets in the West Point Class of 1851. Daniel served in the U.S. Army and fought the Apache Indians in 1855 and resigned in 1858 to be a planter in Louisiana. In the War Between the States, Daniel became colonel of the 45th North Carolina Infantry. He then became a brigade commander as a colonel and served in the Seven Days Battles from June 26-July 1 1862 but his brigade was not involved in the fighting. He was then promoted to brigadier general on Sept. 1, 1862. His brigade played a key role on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg July 1, 1863. General Daniel was mortally wounded at the Battle of the Mule Shoe, Va. on May 12, 1864, and died the next day in a field hospital. He was buried in Colonial Cemetery in Halifax, N.C.

Brig. Gen. Junius Daniel

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, June 26.

Click 👉 Today in History (general history) June 26.

On This Day in Confederate History, June 26.

1862: On the second day of the Seven Days Battles, in the Battle of Beaver Dam Creek, Va. (Mechanicsville), General Robert E. Lee unleashes his newly reorganized Army of Northern Virginia on the slow-moving Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major General George B. McClellan. Leading the counter-offensive is Major General A.P. Hill's "Lightning" Division. Lee planned the attack for early in the morning, but the late arrival of Major General Stonewall Jackson's Division from the Shenandoah Valley slowed the starting time. Believing, mistakenly, that Jackson had arrived at 3 p.m. and was attacking the strong Federal position at Beaver Dam Creek, Hill launched his men. Jackson's Division arrived late in the afternoon after Hill's men had been bloodily repulsed. However, McClellan decided to retreat that night, which handed over the initiative to Lee, turning the whole campaign around. The Federals lost a total of 361 men while the Confederates lost 1,484.

Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill

CLICK👉The Tiger Rifles, The Making of a Louisiana Legend

A history of Company B, 1st Special Battalion (Wheat's), Louisiana Volunteers in the War Between the States. The Tiger Rifles, Company B, of Wheat's Battalion became famous because of their flashy Zouave uniforms, their famous battalion commander, Major Roberdeau Wheat, and their heroics at the First Battle of Manassas. Their nickname, Tigers, became attached, first to the battalion, and then to all Louisiana troops serving in the Army of Northern Virginia. The book tries to separate fact from myth concerning the Tigers. The men became so notorious for their antics in camp, they got blamed for a lot of things they didn't do, although they did plenty on their own to deserve their reputation. Also examined is the possible real identity of their company commander, Captain Alexander White. His name is an alias, but as far as is known, his real identity has been a mystery. The book focuses tightly on the men of the Tiger Rifles and brings them to life as much as the limited resources allow.

1863:  At the Siege of Vicksburg, Miss., Brigadier General Louis Hebert, commanding the Third Louisiana Redan, reports: "Kept out at the trenches during the entire night, and afflicted today with a fever, I have failed to this time to hand in my usual daily report. The night of the 24th passed off with little firing on my line, and no change was visible, except the nearer approach of saps and the addition of newly thrown-up earth at several points. During the 25th, the enemy continued his labors, but no movements of troops were seen. The skirmishing was as usual. ... At that hour [5:30 p.m.] the enemy spring his mine under the main [Third Louisiana] redan, on the left of the road, and advanced to the assault. His attempt was a feeble one, and was easily defeated. . .."

1864: At the Atlanta Campaign in Georgia, the Army of Tennessee takes up strong positions on Kennesaw Mountain with Hood's Corps on the right, Loring's Corps covering Hood's left and the crest of the mountain, Hardee's Corps on the left flank. Captain Samuel Foster notes in his diary that there was heavy firing all night.

Confederate General Birthdays, June 26.

None.