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

 Click 👉Today in History (general history)

On This Day in Confederate History, June 6.

1862: The First Battle of Memphis, Tenn., a naval battle, takes place on the Mississippi River. The Confederates have eight riverboats equipped with cotton bales for protection, small guns, and rams on the prow. The Federals have nine ships, including four powerful ironclads and five steamers equipped with rams. The Confederate boats are vastly outmatched and quickly overwhelmed. The South loses seven of its eight vessels, and 100 men were killed or wounded, and 150 were captured. The Federals have one of their steamer rams disabled and one man wounded. 

1863: Confederate Brigadier General John C. Vaughn in the Siege of Vicksburg, Miss. defenses gives his report on June 6, 1863, of the happenings of his brigade on the previous day: "Everything unusually quiet on my line yesterday; but little sharpshooting, and no artillery fire until evening, when the enemy shelled my line for a short time. One killed in Major Stevens' command; one wounded in the Sixty-second  Tennessee Regiment."

CLICK👉The Vicksburg 28th Louisiana Infantry

Colonel William R. Miles, commanding the Confederate right in the defenses at the Siege of Port Hudson, reports this day: "The [Federal] batteries and fleet for some two hours this forenoon gave us a very heavy fire. The [Federal] battery heretofore stationed at the mouth of Troth's lane moved off this evening in the direction of the river below, and the battery near Hunt's house, with eight wagon-loads of stores, moved off also, but at the same hour and in the same direction. Unless these movements are a ruse, it is evident the enemy is moving off a large portion, if not all, of his forces. I have no casualties to report for the day."

Maj. Micajah Rodgers Wilson

8th Arkansas Infantry Battalion

(LOC has his unit as 1st Ark. Inf. Bn.)

Wounded & taken prisoner at Port Hudson

As P.O.W. "Immortal 600"

(Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

1864: Confederate harassment of traffic on the Mississippi River resulted in the Battle of Lake Chicot, Arkansas (aka Battle of Old River Lake), which was fought on this day, the last battle of the war in Arkansas. In the battle, Major Joseph H. Pratt's 10th Texas Field Artillery and 600 Missouri Confederate cavalrymen under Major General  John S. Marmaduke in Ditch Bayou fight against 3,000 Federal troops under Brigadier General Joseph Mower. In the rain, the outnumbered Confederates fall back and destroy the only bridge over the ditch. Hidden Confederate artillery and sharpshooters then open fire on the Federals and pin them down. But a Federal flanking force crosses the ditch to the south, and the Confederates, running low on ammunition, withdraw. Four Confederates are killed and 33 wounded. The Federals lost 33 killed and 98 wounded. The Federals looted and burned in the area before withdrawing from the area on steamboats, leaving the Confederates still in control of the area.

Confederate General Birthdays, June 6.

Brigadier General James Edwin Slaughter was born on an unknown day in June 1827 at Cedar Mountain, Virginia. He attended the Virginia Military Institute for one year, 1845, and then accepted a commission as a second lieutenant in the regiment of Voltigeurs and Foot Riflemen for the Mexican-American War. Slaughter took part in the Mexico City campaign. After that war, he continued to serve in the army with the U.S. 1st Artillery Regiment and was promoted to 1st Lt. in 1852. In May 1861, he resigned from the U.S. Army and joined the Confederate Army, and mostly served as a staff officer. Slaughter served on the staff of Gen. Beauregard who recommended him for brigadier general, which occurred on March 8, 1862. He then became Gen. A.S. Johnston's inspector general and was at the Battle of Shiloh. Slaughter then joined the staff of Lt. Gen. Braxton Bragg, with whom he was present in the Kentucky Campaign. Next, he was given command of Mobile, Alabama. Slaughter was then assigned in April 1863 to serve as chief of artillery for Maj. Gen. J.B. Magruder in Galveston, Texas. His next assignment was to command the Second Division in the eastern sub-district of Texas, and then became the chief of staff. At the end of the war, Slaughter moved to Mexico, where he worked as a civil engineer for several years. He moved back to the U.S. and finally settled in New Orleans. Slaughter was on a visit to Mexico when he became sick and died of pneumonia on Jan. 1, 1901. His final resting place is in the Mexico City National Cemetery.

Brig. Gen. James E. Slaughter

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

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

On This Day in Confederate History, June 5.

1863: At the Siege of Vicksburg, Miss. Brig. Gen. John C. Vaughn writes a report on his brigade's activities of the previous day: "The usual sharpshooting, interspersed with artillery fire, was kept up by the enemy during the day. Major Stevens' command, near the mouth of Mint Spring Bayou, was ordered to keep up a heavy fire on the mound during the night, should any attempt be made by the enemy to throw up new works at that point which, I think, was successful, as no new works can be discovered at that point. One wounded, Sixtieth Tennessee; one wounded, Sixty-second Tennessee; one wounded, Third Battalion Mississippi State Troops."

Sgt. James B. White, Co. B, 60th Tenn. Inf.

Vaughn's Brigade at Vicksburg

(Library of Congress/Liljenquist Collection)

CLICK👉9th Battalion Louisiana Infantry

In the Battle of Baton Rouge and the Siege of Port Hudson

This is the history of the 9th Battalion Louisiana Infantry which fought 

at the Battle of Baton Rouge and the Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana

 in the War for Southern Independence. The unit took part in the famous

 charge of Allen's Brigade at Baton Rouge. The men of the unit were

 fighting in defense of their own home area since most were from 

East Baton Rouge and nearby parishes.

1864: Atlanta Campaign: Captain Samuel T. Foster of the 24th Texas Cavalry (Dismounted), Granbury's brigade, writes in his diary what a day's march is like in the Atlanta Campaign in Georgia: "We started, but very slow, and Mud! Nearly the whole army had passed along, with all the Artillery, so the road was nearly knee-deep in mud and loblolly. Occasionally, a man would stumble and fall flat in the mud, get up, and go on again, the rain just pouring down, and the men all in good humor, passing their jokes as usual, as though it was noon instead of midnight and clear and dry instead of raining and muddy." [From One of Cleburne's Command, page 91, University of Texas Press, 1980.]

Confederate General Birthdays, June 5.

Brigadier General Beverly Holcombe Robertson was born on this day in 1827 in Amelia County, Virginia. He graduated from West Point in 1849, ranking 25th out of 43 cadets in his class. Robertson served at Carlisle Barracks, New Mexico, Kansas, Nebraska, and Utah territories before resigning from the U.S. Army. In the Confederate  Army, he commanded the 4th Virginia Cavalry and was promoted to brigadier general on June 9, 1862. His battles and campaigns included Northern Virginia, Maryland, the Battle of Whitehall, Gettysburg, and the Carolinas at the end of the war. Following the war, Robertson made his living in the insurance business. He died Dec. 12, 1910, in Washington, D.C., and was buried in the Robertson Cemetery near Scott's Fork, Amelia County, Va.

Brig. Gen. Beverly H. Robertson

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Brigadier General Marcus Joseph Wright was born on this day in 1831 in Purdy, Tennessee. Before the war, he was a lawyer in Memphis, Tenn., clerk of the common law and chancery court, and a lieutenant colonel in the 154th Tennessee militia regiment. During the war, the regiment became the 154th Tennessee Senior Infantry and compiled a top-notch war record. Wright was promoted to brigadier general on Dec. 13, 1862. Among his battles and campaigns were the Tullahoma Campaign, the battles of Chickamauga, and Missionary Ridge. Wright was also in command of the Atlanta district and was the Confederate governor of Kentucky. Following the war, Wright returned to his law practice, was sheriff of Shelby County, and purser for the U.S. Navy Yard in Memphis. He was also hired by the U.S. War Department to collect Confederate military records for inclusion in the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion. Wright died Dec. 27, 1922, in Washington, D.C., and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery on the south side of the Confederate Memorial, one of two Confederate generals to be buried there. The other one was Gen. Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler.

Brig. Gen. Marcus J. Wright

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

Click 👉Today in history (general history) June 4. 

On This Day in Confederate History, June 4.

1862: Confederate Richmond is still threatened by the large Federal army of Maj. Gen. G.B. McClellan, but in reality, he has lost the initiative in the campaign, and General Robert E. Lee has seized it.

 1863:  At Vicksburg, Miss., the Confederates do everything they can to stop the Federal approach trenches, but on this day, they were within 150 yards of the Confederate defense line. The Federal Navy is also continuing to pour shells into the city and the Confederate batteries. Captain David Harris was the Confederate engineer who oversaw the placement of the river batteries at Vicksburg. The First Louisiana Heavy Artillery (Regulars) defended the South Fort area, the 8th Louisiana Heavy Artillery & the 22nd Louisiana Infantry (converted to heavy artillery) defended the riverfront of Vicksburg, and the 1st Tennessee Heavy Artillery commanded the north part of the Vicksburg defenses at Fort Hill.

 

Pvt. John Weir, Co. E, 1st La. Heavy Artillery Regiment 

(Public Domain)

CLICK👉Thunder Guns of Vicksburg

The First Louisiana Heavy Artillery Regiment

This is the history of the First Louisiana Heavy Artillery Regiment in the War For Southern Independence. The regiments started the war by safeguarding the most populous city in the Confederacy, New Orleans. The big "Thunder Guns" then was assigned to the Confederate "Gibraltar" of the Confederacy, Vicksburg, Mississippi. It then finished the war at one of the South's last great cities and ports, Mobile, Alabama. In each case the First Louisiana Heavies were involved in some of the most critical and desperate fight for the Southerner's valiant struggle to establish their Southern Republic among the nations of the world.

Captain David B. Harris

Confederate Engineer

(Library of Congress)

Outside of Port Hudson, La., the Federals launch an expedition under Col. Benjamin Grierson to destroy the Confederate cavalry under Colonel John Logan between June 3-8, but fail miserably. Grierson is ambushed near Clinton, Louisiana, by the Mississippi cavalry of Colonel Thomas R. Stockdale, and is then outflanked by Colonel John Logan, and the bluecoats are badly cut up. Logan reports the Confederates had 20 killed and wounded, while the Federal losses are 30 killed, 50 wounded, and 40 prisoners taken. Grierson is forced to retreat.

1864: At the Battle of Cold Harbor, Va., trench warfare continues after the Federal disaster of June 3. Grant initially refuses to call for a truce to recover his wounded from the between lines and allows many of the bluecoats to die before he finally does call for one.

Confederate General History, June 4.

Brigadier General Alexander William Campbell was born on this day in 1828 in Nashville, Tennessee.  A prewar lawyer and mayor in Jackson, Tennessee, Campbell enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private but rose through the ranks and then colonel of the 33rd Tennessee Infantry and then brigadier general on March 1, 1865. He was severely wounded leading his regiment at the Battle of Shiloh, was appointed inspector general for Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk, was captured in July 1863 at Lexington, Tennessee, and was exchanged in February 1865. He then commanded a brigade in Brig. Gen. W.H. Jackson's division in Lt. Gen. N.B. Forrest's Corps. Following the war, Campbell resumed his law practice in Jackson, Tennessee. He died June 13, 1893, at Jackson and was buried there in Riverside Cemetery.

Brig. Gen. Alexander W. Campbell

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Brigadier General Gabriel James Rains was born on this day in 1803 in Craven County, North Carolina. He graduated from West Point in 1827 and served in the Seminole Wars, Mexican American War, and various frontier commands. Rains resigned from the U.S. Army and joined the Confederate Army, and was commissioned a brigadier general. He was wounded in the Battle of Seven Pines. After recovering, Rains was assigned to the conscription bureau and torpedo bureau in Richmond, Va. He organized mines, then called torpedoes, to protect harbors in Charleston, Savannah, Mobile, as well as other port cities. He also invented a type of land mine. Following the war, Rains was employed as a chemist in Augusta, Georgia, and a civilian clerk for the U.S. Army in Charleston, S.C. He died on August 6, 1881, in Aiken, S.C., and was buried in St. Thaddeus Cemetery.

Brig. Gen. Gabriel J. Rains

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Brigadier General Paul Jones Semmes was born on this day in 1815 in Wilkes County, Georgia. Gen. Semmes was mortally wounded in the wheat field on July 2, 1863, leading his command. He died July 10, 1863, of his wound at Martinsburg, Virginia. A prewar banker and planter in Wilkes County, Georgia, Semmes was active in the Georgia Militia. He was also the quartermaster general for the state militia and a brigadier general in the Knights of the Golden Circle. During the war, Semmes was appointed colonel of the 2nd Georgia Infantry and was promoted to brigadier general on March 11, 1862. His battles included South Mountain, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Salem Church, and Gettysburg, where he was mortally wounded in the Wheatfield and died July 10 in Martinsburg, [W.] Va. Semmes was buried in Linwood Cemetery in Columbus, Georgia.

Brig. Gen. Paul J. Semmes

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

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

On This Day in Confederate History, June 3.

1861: The Battle of Philippi, Va., took place on this day, the first land battle of the war. By later standards, it would only be considered a skirmish. A 3,000-man contingent of six Federal regiments overwhelmed 800 new Confederates in 5 battalions and regiments. The Confederates were caught by surprise while still sleeping, and after firing a few shots, they were routed. The Confederates lost 26 men killed and wounded, and the Federals suffered 4 killed or wounded.

1862: General Robert E. Lee plans his first great offensive of the war, which will be called the Seven Days Battles. Lee uses every source available to learn the strengths and positions of the enemy and relies heavily on Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry was to gather that information. Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson's Army of the Valley is also causing a big distraction for the Federals.

1863: Confederate garrisons in Vicksburg, Miss., and Port Hudson, La., continue to put up strong resistance to the Federals' efforts to dig approach trenches to the Confederate lines, dig tunnels for mines, and continue bombardments and sniping. At Vicksburg, the Federals are focusing on the Third Louisiana Redan and the Stockade Redan. The Third Louisiana Infantry Regiment was organized at Camp Walker in New Orleans, La., on May 11, 1861. Its field officers were Col. Louis Hebert, Lt. Col. Samuel M. Hyams, and Maj. William F. Tunnard. The regiment's battles were Oak Hill (Wilson's Creek), Elk Horn Tavern (Pea Ridge), Corinth, Iuka, Corinth, & Vicksburg. Hebert was promoted to brigadier general and was in command of the Third Louisiana Redan at Vicksburg. The Stockade Redan was under the command of Brig. Gen. Francis A. Shoup and his Louisiana Brigade.

General Lee also starts his Army of Northern Virginia on a movement north from Fredericksburg, Va., that eventually results in the Battle of Gettysburg, Pa.

1864: General Lee wins one of his greatest victories at the Battle of Cold Harbor, Va., and General Grant suffers possibly his worst defeat of the war. Grant has apparently still not learned his lesson about the futility of frontal assaults on Confederate trenches. Lee has proven to be a master of such fortifications. It has been estimated that as many as 7,000 blue coats were cut down within about 20 minutes. The two combatant armies continued the face-off along that line for nine more days, but there were no more such bloody, suicidal frontal attacks.

Confederate General Birthdays, June 3.

President Jefferson Davis, commander-in-chief of all the Confederate armies, was born on this day at Fairview, Kentucky, in 1808. He is the baby of the family is the last born of 10 children to Revolutionary War veteran Samuel Emory Davis and his wife Jane Cook. The family first moved to St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, in 1811 and then, in the same year, to Wilkinson County, Mississippi. He was a graduate of West Point, took part in the Black Hawk War, and Mexican-American War, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, U.S. Secretary of War, President of the Confederacy, and died Dec. 6, 1889, in New Orleans, La. and buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Va.

President Jefferson Davis

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Brigadier General Martin Edwin Green was born on this day in 1815 in Fauquier County, Virginia. Green was a county judge in Lewis Co., Mo., and a leading secessionist. During the War for Southern Independence, he helped form the 1st Northeast Missouri Cavalry and served as its lieutenant colonel. He was promoted to brigadier general on July 21, 1862. His battles included Athens, First Lexington, Elk Horn Tavern, Iuka, Second Corinth, Champion Hill, and the Siege of Vicksburg, where he was killed in action on June 27, 1863, and was buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Vicksburg.

Brig. Gen. Martin E. Green

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Brigadier General Otto French Strahl was born on this day in 1831 at McConnelsville, Ohio. He was killed in action on Nov. 30, 1862, at the Battle of Franklin, Tenn. He was a supporter of states' rights and moved to Tennessee, where he became a lawyer in Somerville. At the beginning of the war, he raised a company of infantry that became part of the 4th Tennessee Infantry Regiment. He rose through the ranks and was commissioned a brigadier general on July 28, 1863. His battles included Shiloh, Corinth, Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Atlanta, and Franklin, where he was killed in action on Nov. 30, 1863, and was buried in Old City Cemetery in Dyersburg, Tennessee.

Brig. Gen. Otto F. Strahl

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CLICK👉1st Louisiana Zouaves

This is the story of one of the most unique and famed Louisiana units in the War for Southern Independence, the 1st Louisiana Zouaves. Made up largely of foreigners from many countries, the men wore the gaudy French Zouave uniform and fought with a fierce determination for the new Southern Republic.

 CLICK👉Today in History, June, general history.

On This Day in Confederate History:

1861: The Richmond Daily Dispatch

June 1, 1861
     The arrival of these two distinguished gentlemen in Richmond, one the Chief Magistrate of the Confederacy, and the other the hero of the first battle in behalf of Southern Rights, is not only opportune as regards the momentous crisis through which we are passing, but important in its moral effect upon our people. Their presence will give a tone to public affairs and to public men, and impart vigor, impetus, and activity in both the Civil and Military Departments of our Government. Our troops will be inspired with fresh confidence, though it has never been wanting in the leaders we have already in the field; and we shall probably at once begin to experience the results of that vigorous policy which has in a few short months consolidated the Southern States in one of the strongest Governments of the world. We shall have a fight, and we shall conquer. The providence which has thus far blessed every movement that has been made in behalf of Southern Rights, will not desert us in the trying hour of our destiny, and with such instruments in the field as President Davis, Toombs, Wigfall, Beauregard, Lee, Johnston, Bonham, Huger, Wise, and the host of brave men gathered around them, we cannot but triumph over all opposition.
     There are now upon the soil of Virginia some of the best blood and talent of our country; men who have adorned the fireside, forum and the field; men who have staked "their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor;" men who will never turn their backs upon the enemy until he has been driven from the State. South Carolina has sent her Manning, Preston, and Huger; Louisiana her Beauregard; Georgia her Toombs, and Texas her Wigfall. Other States have likewise contributed their brightest and best names to the galaxy, hundreds of whom are in the ranks as private soldiers, while every family in old Virginia that ever had a position has sent its representative men to do their share in the coming conflict. With such leaders and such followers, we are invincible, and though, in the language of the brave Tatnall, "blood is thicker than water," the soil will soak with the contents of the hearts of the men of the Old Dominion, before they yield one jot to the treacherous foe who are now within our borders.

1862: The Battle of Seven Pines entered its second day. The Federals were pushed back but did not buckle on the first day. The most important result was the wounding of General Johnston and the appointment of General Robert E. Lee as the commander of the Confederate Army of the Potomac, soon to be the Army of Northern Virginia. On this day, further Confederate assaults were thrown back, and the battle was over by the end of the morning. The Confederate casualties totaled about 5,000 men killed, wounded, and missing. The Federals lost about 6,100 men from all causes. General Johnston said of the battle, "The shot that struck me down was the best ever fired for the Confederacy, for I possessed in no degree the confidence of the government, and now a man that does enjoy it will succeed me." From the Northern viewpoint, Joe Cook, a war correspondent for the Philadelphia Press, wrote that the bullet that struck Johnston was "the saddest shot fired during the war. It changed the entire rebel tactics. It took away incompetence, indecision, and dissatisfaction and gave skillful generalship, excellent plans, and good discipline."

General Robert E. Lee

Appointed commander of the Army of

Northern Virginia. (CDV M.D. Jones Collection)

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.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS:

General John Bell Hood was born on this day in 1831 in Owingsville, Kentucky.

General John Bell Hood

Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan was born on this day in 1825 in Huntsville, Alabama.

Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan

Brig. Gen. Cullen Andrews Battle was born on this day in 1829 in Powelton, Georgia.

Brig. Gen. Cullen A. Battle

Brig. Gen. John Buchanan Floyd was born on this day in 1806 in Montgomery County, Virginia.

Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd

Brig. Gen. James Edwin Slaughter was born on an unknown June day in 1827 in Cedar Mountain, Virginia.

Brig. Gen. James E. Slaughter

 

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, May 31.

Click 👉Today in History (general history) May 31. 

On This Day in Confederate History, May 31.

1861: Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard was put in command of the Army of the Potomac, which was renamed the Army of Northern Virginia in the future. Beauregard organized the army into six brigades, which he referred to as the "First Corps." This army, along with Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's Army of the Shenandoah, would fight the first large battle of the war, the First Battle of Manassas.

1862: The Battle of Seven Pines, Va. started on this day and was a major turning point in the war because Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston was severely wounded and General Robert E. Lee replaced him. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia numbered about 39,000 men, and the Federal Army of the Potomac about 34,000. It is an attempt by Johnston to go on the offensive against Maj. Gen. George McClellan. The Yankee general has pushed his Federal Army up the Yorktown Peninsula to the outskirts of Richmond. Johnston is wounded on the first day of the battle, and initially, Major General G.W. Smith is supposed to assume command but is incapacitated. President Davis gave General Lee command of the Army of Northern Virginia the next day, June 1.

Click👉The Second Louisiana Infantry

Capt. Albert Rennolds, Co. F, 55th Virginia Infantry

He was commended for his actions at Mechanicville, where he received

his first wound. Rennolds was also severely wounded at Chancellorsville,

the Wilderness, and Weldon Railroad. Captured at Sayler's Creek, he was

incarcerated at Johnson's Island, Ohio, and finally released on June 19, 1865.

(VMI Archives)

1863: At the Siege of Vicksburg, Miss. Confederate engineers continue their constant work to repair and strengthen the entire Confederate defense line. The breach in the redan on the left of Jackson Road is filled up, and the parapet is repaired with sandbags. Confederate and Federal engineers played important roles in the siege.

1864: Skirmish in Georgia and Virginia: Maneuvering and constant skirmishing continue both in Georgia and in Northern Virginia between the Blue and the Gray. Sherman is battling Johnston in Georgia, and Grant versus Lee in Virginia. All the armies have learned the value of fortifying their lines.

Confederate General Birthdays, May 31.

Major General William Henry Fitzhugh "Rooney" Lee was born on this day in 1837 at Arlington, Virginia to General Robert E. Lee and Mary Custis Lee. Unlike his older brother, George Washington Custis Lee who was at the top of the class at West Point, Rooney Lee received a civilian education at Harvard College. However, Rooney received a commission as a second lieutenant in the 6th U.S. Infantry Regiment in 1857 and resigned his commission in 1859 to operate the plantation he inherited from his grandfather, White House Plantation in Virginia. At the outbreak of war in 1861, Rooney Lee received a commission as a captain in the Confederate cavalry and worked his way up through merit to major general in the course of the war. He suffered a severe wound to the thigh in the Battle of Brandy Station in 1863 and was captured by the enemy. Lee was finally released on Feb. 25, 1865, in exchange for Federal Brig. Gen. Neal S. Dow. He then continued his outstanding record in the cavalry. His battles and campaigns included Wester Virginia, Shenandoah, Romney, the Seven Days Battles, Catlett's Station, South Mountain, Sharpsburg, the Chambersburg Raid, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Brandy Station, the Wilderness, Todd's Tavern, Spotsylvania, Petersburg, Sappony Church, First Ream's Station, Second Deep Bottom, the Beefsteak Raid, Boydton Plank Road, Namozine Church, and Appomattox. Following the war, he had a distinguished career in farming rather than in politics when he was elected to the Virginia State Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. Lee died  Oct. 15, 1891, in Alexandria, Va., and was entombed in the Lee family tomb in the University Chapel on the campus of Washington and Lee University.

Maj. Gen. William H.F. Lee

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Major General Stephen Dodson Ramseur was born on this day in Lincolnton, North Carolina. He graduated from West Point in 1860 and served in the 3rd and 4th U.S. Artillery. Rameur resigned from the U.S. Army in 1861 and joined the Confederate Army in Alabama. He then became a lieutenant colonel in the 3rd North Carolina Infantry. Ramseur was elected colonel of the 49th North Carolina Infantry on April 12, 1862, brigadier general on November 1, 1862, and major general in 1863. His battles included the Seven Days Battles, Malvern Hill, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, Opequon, and Cedar Creek. Severely wounded at the Battle of Malvern Hill on July 1, 1862, Ramseur was mortally wounded at the Battle of Cedar Creek on October 19, 1864, and died the next day near Middletown, Virginia. He is buried in his hometown of Lincolnton. 

Maj. Gen. Stephen D. Ramseur

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Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, May 30.

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

On This Day in Confederate History, May 30.

1862: CORINTH CAMPAIGN: General P.G.T. Beauregard successfully evacuated his Army of the Mississippi from Corinth, Miss., as Federal Maj. Gen. Henry Halleck slowly moved to besiege the city and completely capture the Confederate Army there. The Confederates go into a much better camp at Tupelo, Miss., and will be able to fight the enemy for years to come.

1863: Siege of Vicksburg: Here's Colonel Samuel H. Lockett, chief Confederate engineer at Vicksburg's report for this day's activity in 1863: "On the 30th, but little work was done on the line under Captain Robinson’s charge, excepting along General Lee’s front, and during the whole siege our works, from Fort Garrott to the right, were but little injured, the enemy is kept at a considerable distance by a line of pickets kept in protected places along the ridge in front of our main line, excepting on the Hall’s Ferry road. Captain Winter and his assistants were kept constantly busy putting obstructions on the Yazoo Valley and other roads, repairing the embrasures of batteries, and thickening the parapets, which had begun to show the effects of the enemy’s continual battering. The new battery in the rear of General Moore’s center was commenced by running a covered approach to the position selected. On this day I also started a number of excavations on the Baldwin’s Ferry road, in a deep cut, for the purpose of scattering our ammunition, which was much exposed to the enemy’s fire at the depot magazine.  

Col. Samuel H. Lockett

1864: Colonel George T. Madison's 3rd Texas Cavalry Regiment, numbering just 200 men, camped along the Atchafalaya River in Louisiana, is attacked by a large force of Federals. The Federals, including 6,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalrymen, were sent to the area, called the Morganza Expedition, to disperse what they were told was a large force of Confederates crossing the river, but only found Madison's men. The Confederates are at first dispersed, but after retreating to Bayou Lafourche, the Texas cavalrymen succeed in pushing the Federals back toward Morganza. The report of Federal Maj. Gen. W.H. Emory claims the bluecoats killed 20 or 30 Confederates and captured 10. No Federal casualties are given.

Click👉Fighting for Southern Independence

History of the 11th Texas Infantry Regiment

This is the story of a regiment of Southern patriots fighting in defense of their homes and families in the War for Southern Independence. Most of them were ordinary East Texas farmers who performed great feats of physical endurance, fought in some of the bloodiest battles of the war and became one of the premier fighting regiments of the legendary Walker's Texas Division of the Confederate Army. These Texans helped turn back major Federal Army invasions in Louisiana at the Battle of Bayou Bourbeau, the Battle of Mansfield, the Battle of Pleasant Hill and the Battle of Jenkin's Ferry, thus saving their home state of Texas from the kind of death and destruction visited on so many other Southern states.

Confederate General Birthdays, May 30.

Brigadier General George Doherty Johnston was born on this day in 1832 in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Prior to the war, he was the mayor of Marion, Alabama, and when war came he joined the Confederate Army as a second lieutenant in Co. G, 4th Alabama Infantry Regiment. After fighting in the First Battle of Manassas, Va., Johnston was promoted to major in the 25th Alabama Infantry and took part in every battle of the Army of Tennessee from Shiloh to Bentonville. He was promoted to colonel in September 1863 and was wounded in the leg at the Battle of Ezra Church and promoted to brigadier general in 1864. Following the war, he served as commandant of cadets at the University of Alabama. During the administration of President Grover Cleveland, he was appointed to U.S. Civil Service Commissioner. Johnston was also elected to the Alabama State Senate. Johnston died Dec. 10, 1910, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery there.

Brig. Gen. George D. Johnston