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

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

On This Day in Confederate History, May 8.

1862: The Battle of McDowell, Va., occurs in the Shenandoah Valley Between Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson with about 10,000 men and Brig. Gen.  Robert Schenk's 6,000 Federals. Jackson places his men on Sitlington's Hill, repulses a federal attack, and chases the Yankees for several days before returning to the Valley. The Confederates have around 500 casualties to the Federals' 256.

Captain William H. Powell

Co. A, 33rd Va. Inf., Stonewall Brigade

(Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

Click👉Confederate States Rangers

1864: General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia beats Maj. Gen. U.S. Grant's Army of the Potomac, and went to Spotsylvania Court House and dug in, blocking Brock Road. The Federals had about 110,000 men, and the Confederates had about 63,000. The Confederates repulse a cavalry attack and an attack by the V Corps at Laurel Hill. Fighting here would go on for 21 bloody days.

Battle of Spotsylvania Court House by Thure de Thulstrup

Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor near Alexandria, La., in the Red River Campaign, reports that they are recovering the guns from the Federal gunboats they have captured. He notes that he needs more artillery horses and ammunition. He also says his men have been fighting for sixteen consecutive days. 

Click👉Mouton's Charge

Two days after the Battle of Calcasieu Pass, La., ignorant of the battle, the Federal transport Ella Morse, carrying a detachment of the 2nd New Orleans (Union) Infantry, approached the USS Granite City, which had been captured. The gunboat was manned by Confederate gunners, and Southern sharpshooters opened up on the Ella Morse and wounded the pilot. The Federal transport quickly retreated back into the Gulf of America.

  Click 👉Spaights Battalion history

Confederate General Birthdays, May 8.

Brigadier General Bryan Morel Thomas was born on this day in 1836 in Milledgeville, Georgia. He graduated from West Point in 1858, 22nd in a class of 54 cadets. Thomas served in the 8th U.S. Infantry and did garrison duty in New York, Utah Territory, and was stationed at Fort Union in New Mexico Territory in 1861. Thomas resigned from the U.S. Army on April 6, 1861. He then joined the Confederate Army and became a major in the 18th Alabama Infantry. At the Battle of Shiloh, he was on the staff of Maj. Gen. Jones M. Withers, who was his father-in-law. Thomas was afterward given command of the Reserve Corps artillery in the Army of Tennessee and took part in the Kentucky Campaign of 1862 and the Battle of Murfreesboro at the end of that year. His next assignment in 1863 was as assistant inspector general of Wither's Division, and he was then promoted to colonel in command of the 12th Mississippi Cavalry. Thomas was appointed a "temporary" brigadier general on Aug. 4, 1864, and commanded a brigade at Mobile, Alabama. He was captured with his command at Fort Blakely at Mobile on April 9, 1865, and released from captivity at Fort Gaines until June 1865. Following the war, Thomas farmed in Georgia, served as a deputy U.S. Marshal, founded a private academy, and was superintendent of city schools in Dalton, Ga. He died July 16, 1905, in Dalton and was buried there at West Hill Cemetery.

Brig. Gen. Bryan M. Thomas

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

 Click 👉 Today in History (general history) May 7. 

On This Day in Confederate History, May 7.

1862: The Battle of Eltham's Landing, Va., occurs in the Peninsular Campaign. In this battle, the Confederates under Maj. Gen. G.W. Smith and William H.C. Whiting thwart a Federal attempt under Maj. Gen. William Franklin was to outflank the Confederate forces still withdrawing to Richmond. Franklin landed his 11,300-man division, but they were blocked by 11,000 Confederates in several brigades. The battle was the first battle for Hood's Texas Brigade-1st, 4th & 5th Texas & the 18th Georgia infantry regiments. The Confederates suffered 48 casualties to 194 for the Federals.

Soldiers of the 1st Texas Infantry in their encampment

1864: The Battle of the Wilderness ends in a victory for General Robert E. Lee in his first direct clash with Maj. Gen. U.S. Grant. With just 61,025 men in the battle, Lee blocked Grant's 101,895-man advance through the Wilderness. Grant made a serious mistake in not taking the advice of his officers, who had advised against his strategy. The Federals suffered 17,666 casualties, including 2,246 killed, 12,037 wounded, and 3,383 captured or missing. The Confederates had 11,033 casualties, including 1,477 killed, 7,866 wounded, and 1,690 captured or missing.

A prewar photo of Brig. Gen. Leroy A. Stafford,

one of three Confederate generals killed or mortally

wounded in the Battle of the Wilderness, including

John M. Jones and Micah Jenkins. Stafford was

shot in the spine and died on May 8, 1864, in Richmond, Va.

In the Red River Campaign in western Louisiana, Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor reports that the previous day, there was brisk skirmishing on the Rapides Road and some severe fighting on the Robert and Boeuf roads. "After heavy cannonading for some hours, the enemy advanced on our line. His attack threw both our flanks into some confusion when Bagby (Texas Cavalry Brigade) led a charge on the center and drove him across the Lamourie. Our line occupied the scene of fighting and slept last night on their arms. Polignac commanded on the field. Prisoners captured were of the Seventeenth Corps, some of the Vicksburg troops," Taylor reported. (Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 34, Pt. 1, 589.)

Confederate General Birthdays, May 7.

None.

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

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

On This Day in Confederate History, May 6.

1861: Arkansas became the 8th Southern state to secede from the Union on this day at the Old State House in Little Rock. The vote was 65 to 5. Arkansans fought in the Army of Northern Virginia, the Army of Tennessee, and the Army of the Trans-Mississippi.

Hempstead Rifles, 3rd Regiment, Arkansas State Troops 

pictured early in the war. They fought in the Battle of Wilson's

Creek, Mo. (aka Battle of Oak Hills).

(Wilson's Creek National Battlefield)

1864: The Battle of Calcasieu Pass, La., took place in the lower part of Calcasieu Parish in Southwest Louisiana, which today is in Cameron Parish. Not part of the Red River Campaign, the battle was between two Federal gunboats in the Calcasieu River, and a force of 350 Confederate infantry (Griffin's and Spaight's battalions), cavalry (Daly's battalion), and artillery from Sabine Pass, Texas, about 30 miles west. The two gunboats were blockade sidewheel steamers, the U.S.S. Granite City and U.S.S. Wave. Both gunboats greatly outgunned the Confederate field artillery, two six-pounders, and two 12-pounder Napoleons. But the Confederates caught the Federals completely by surprise and the crack 5th Texas Light Artillery of Captain Edmund Creuzbaur, a former cannoneer in the Prussian Army, began drilling shell holes in the two ships. Lt. Col. William H. Griffin was the Confederate commander. The Confederate infantry and dismounted cavalry advanced and took positions in the marshes and began picking off the Yankee gunners as they bravely manned their guns. Neither gunboat had steam up and were sitting ducks in the water. After about an hour and a half of this punishment, the USS Granite City surrendered first and then the USS Wave. One Confederate gun was knocked out, and there were about 50 casualties on both sides plus 177 Federal sailors and soldiers taken captive. Both gunboats and their crews were captured for a complete victory for the Confederates.

Pvt. William Kniep, Creuzbaur's Battery

Texas Artillery, KIA, May 6, 1864 at

Calcasieu Pass, La.

(Click on image to enlarge)

1st Lt. Charles Whelhausen

Creuzbaur's 5th Texas Light Artillery

Pvt. Thomas J. Smith, Co. A, 11th Bn. 

(Spaight's) Texas Volunteers.

(Fine A Grave)

Pvt. John A. Strobel, Co. F, 21st Bn.

(Griffin's) Texas Infantry.

(Richmond Civil War Antiques)

CLICK👉 The Battle of Calcasieu Pass

The Battle of Calcasieu Pass, Louisiana, 6 May 1864 was a small but sharp battle between two Union gunboats, the U.S.S. Wave and the U.S.S. Granite City, and about 350 Confederates with four small cannons. The Confederates included a diverse group of Texas Germans, Mexicans and Anglo-Celts. The battle was a complete victory for the Confederates. The book includes photos, maps, footnotes, bibliography and index.

On the second day of the Battle of the Wilderness, Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Lt. Gen. U.S. Grant's Army of the Potomac tangled in the thick woods, and the fighting was fierce and bloody, continued into the night, and ended in stalemate. Confederate Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon found a way to outflank the Federals. The bluecoats were driven back about a mile. Artillery and cavalry weren't of much help in this type of terrain, which helped the outnumbered Confederates. Lt. Gen. James Longstreet is severely wounded by friendly fire, and Brig. Gen. Micah Jenkins is killed. 

Brigadier General Micah Jenkins

Killed in Action in the Wilderness

Confederate General Birthdays, May 6.

None.

Today's South's Defender column (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, May 5.

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

On This Day in Confederate History, May 5.

1862: The Battle of Williamsburg, Va., is fought on the Yorktown Peninsula. The advancing Federals, 40,768 strong, encounter a fighting retreat by the Confederates, 31,823 strong, from the town of Yorktown (Warwick Line) to the fortifications at Williamsburg to slow down the advancing Northern juggernaut. The commanders are Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan for the Yankees and Gen. Joseph E. Johnston for the Confederates. The Southern forces under Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder holds the Northern army at bay at Fort Magruder while the bulk of Confederate forces withdraw to the defenses around Richmond. Confederate casualties are 1,682 to 2,283 for the Federals.

1863: At the Battle of Chancellorsville, Va., the Federal forces under Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick at Fredericksburg withdrew across the Rappahannock River at Banks' Ford under pressure from Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws' Confederates. After Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker hears of Sedgwick's retreat, and he orders a retreat of the entire rest of the Army of the Potomac behind the safety of the Rappahannock River at the U.S. Ford, which continues until May 6. The Federals suffered 17,287 casualties to the 12,764 on the Confederate side. The Battle of Chancellorsville is one of General Robert E. Lee's most masterful victories.

Capt. Murray F. Taylor of Gen. A. P. Hill's
 staff was present at the Battle of
Chancellorsville at the wounding of Hill and

 Stonewall Jackson on the night of May 2.
Taylor was injured when his horse fell on his
leg. (Library of Congress)

Capt. Murray Forbes Taylor

(Find A Grave)

Victorious Confederates at Chancellorsville

1864: Red River Campaign: As the Federal gunboats Covington and Signal, and transport John Warner carrying the 56th Ohio Infantry, reach Davidson's Ferry/Dunn's Bayou on the Red River in western Louisiana, they are again ambushed by Confederate dismounted cavalry and artillery. John Warner's rudder is broken by Confederate shells, and it is grounded on the riverbank. Concentrated fire on the vessel reduces it to rubble, with the men of the 56th Ohio badly cut up. The gunboat Covington sends over a demolition crew, but the colonel of the 56th Ohio pleads for them not to set fire to it, explaining he still has 125 killed and wounded men onboard. The captain of the John Warner surrendered by raising a white flag. The gunboat Signal also had damage to its steering assembly, and it had lost its port engine. When the Covington tried to tow it away, a Confederate shell hit the Signal's boiler. The Covington cut the towline to save itself, but it too was riddled by fire and was engulfed in flames, and the crew had to abandon ship. The Signal also surrendered. The Confederate forces included Baylor's and Hardeman's Texas cavalry brigades and Captain J.A.A. West's artillery battery. The crews of the John Warner and Signal were captured, while the captain and crew of the Covington escaped to Alexandria. The 56th Ohio lost approximately 50 men killed, wounded, and captured, while the rest of the regiment escaped to Alexandria.

Brig. Gen. George Baylor

Confederate dismounted cavalry and artillery ambush Federal

vessels on Red River, La. May 4-5, 1864.

Confederate General Birthdays, May 5.

None.

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

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On This Day in Confederate History, May 4.

1863: On the fourth day of the Battle of Chancellorsville, Va., General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia keeps General Joseph Hooker in place and sends 21,000 reinforcements to Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws' Division near Fredericksburg and drives the Federals under Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick further back. Gen. Lee was dissatisfied with McLaws' slowness and lack of aggressiveness in mounting the attack. 

Brig. Gen. Francis T. Nicholls

had his left foot shot off by a 

Federal shell at Chancellorsville,

while leading his 2nd La. Inf. Brigade. 

He lost his left arm in an earlier battle.

1864: The Overland Campaign began on this day with the Army of the Potomac under Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade with the Army of the Potomac and the IX Corps and XVIII Corps when they crossed the Rapidan River and entered the Wilderness in Virginia.  The Federals have 124,232 men for the company. Gen. Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia moved quickly to engage the Federals in the Wilderness to take advantage of the heavy forest to nullify Grant's superior numbers. Lee's army numbered about 60,000 veterans ready to engage the invaders and despoilers of their beloved Southland. It was the beginning of some of the fiercest fighting of the war.

Gen. Robert E. Lee

The Confederate Army of Western Louisiana launched more attacks on Federal shipping on the Red River, including the Federal transport John Warner, which was transporting the 56th Ohio Infantry, and the tinclad gunboats Covington and Signal. All the vessels are riddled with musket fire from the shores as they run the gauntlet of fire.

1865: The surrender of the Dept of Alabama, Mississippi, & East Louisiana took place at Citronelle, Alabama. Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor negotiated the surrender with Federal Maj. Gen. Edward S. Canby. The Army of Trans-Mississippi still remains in the field, but Gen. E. Kirby Smith is having trouble holding the army together.

Confederate General Birthdays, May 4.

None.

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

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On This Day in Confederate History, May 3.

1863: The third day of the Battle of Chancellorsville sees the Confederates still on the offensive, pounding the Federals at Hazel Grove. Federal Gen. Hooker orders an advance at Fredericksburg, but Gen. Lee stops it with a counterattack at Salem Church, Va. The North lost one of its top generals, Major General Hiram G. Berry, who was the III Corps, Second Division commander. He was killed in action by the fire of Confederate infantry. Mary's Heights was being defended by Barksdale's Mississippi Brigade, reinforced by Hays' 1st Louisiana Tiger Brigade.

Sgt. James Reeves

Co. K., 10th La. Inf.

KIA at Chancellorsville

May 3, 1863.

(Courtesy Anna Belle Reeves Morris)

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.

FEDERAL ADVANCE IN MISSISSIPPI: Confederates evacuate Grand Gulf, Miss., because of the Federal advance through Mississippi in the Vicksburg Campaign. The Northern army was breaking and advancing toward Raymond in a grand flanking maneuver. Pemberton's army with little cavalry, which he had been trying to obtain from Gen. J.E. Johnston, department commander, who had been hoarding it. Mississippi militia was attempting to provide some defense, but to little avail. 

1864: Skirmishing continues in the Red River Campaign around Alexandria, La., while the Federals continue building a dam there to save their stranded navy. In Arkansas, Gen. Steele's Federals limp back to Little Rock after being soundly whipped in the Camden Expedition. Meanwhile, Confederate infantry and artillery fire on the Federal steamer City Belle carrying the 120th Ohio Infantry. The Federals lost 225 casualties killed, wounded, and missing. About half escaped and are reported on the left bank of the Red River near Alexandria. Another skirmish occurs at Olive Branch Church near Baton Rouge, another action at Gov. Thomas Moore's Plantation, and a skirmish on Red River Road.

1865: President Davis's party continues toward Texas while Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin leaves the party and eventually succeeds in getting to London, England, and a successful postwar life there.

Confederate General Birthdays, May 3.

None.

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

 CLICK 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) May 2. 

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, May 2.

1863: On the second day of the Battle of Chancellorsville, Va., Generals R.E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson plan the most brilliant flanking maneuver of the war, based on Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's scouting information. Lee sends Jackson with the bulk of the army on the Federal right flank and Jackson rolls up the enemy flank at that point, while Lee keeps the Federal left busy and Gen. Hooker confused. The bluecoats are dispersed and driven back to Chancellorsville in confusion. However, while scouting the Federal line in the dark for the best spot to attack in the morning, Jackson is mistakenly fired upon by Confederates and mortally wounded. Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill is also wounded. Gen. Stuart is given command of Jackson's corps for the next day's battle.

Lt. Gen. T.J. "Stonewall" Jackson

GRIERSON'S RAID: At Baton Rouge, La. the Federal raiding force under Colonel Grierson completes its epic raid from Tennessee, through Mississippi after skirmishing with the Confederates at several points. At the skirmish at Wall's Bridge at the Tickfaw River, May 1, the Federals are temporarily delayed but two small (2-pounder smoothbores) Woodruff cannons dislodge the Confederates defending the bridge.

1864: More widespread skirmishing occurs in Louisiana with clashes between the Blue and the Gray at La. Gov. Thomas O. Moore's plantation in Rapides Parish, at Wilson's Landing, and Wells' Plantation.

1865: CHASING JEFFERSON DAVIS: President Davis's party reaches Abbeville, South Carolina. The president wants to continue the war in the Trans-Mississippi Department, but the remaining cabinet members disagree. Northern President Andrew Johnson offers a $100,000 reward for the capture of the Confederate Davis and accuses the Confederate government of complicity in the Lincoln assassination.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, May 2.

NONE.