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

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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)

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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On This Day in Confederate History, March 1.

1861: President Jefferson Davis appointed Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard of Louisiana to the rank of brigadier general in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States of America. A graduate of West Point in the class of 1838, he ranked 2nd among the cadets and was assigned to the prestigious Army Corps of Engineers. He had an outstanding record in the Mexican-American War on the staff of General Winfield Scott in the Mexico City Campaign. He also worked closely with fellow staff member Captain Robert E. Lee. Beauregard was breveted a captain for his gallantry at Contreas, Churubusco, and Chapultepec where he was wounded. After the war, he served in many important engineering assignments and in 1861 was the superintendent at West Point. But his orders were revoked three days before Louisiana seceded. 

Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard

Also, in 1861, The Confederate government was given control of the military operations at Charleston Harbor, S.C., which includes Fort Sumter. Gen. Beauregard will be given command.

1862: Shiloh Campaign: Confederates with the 18th Louisiana and Miles Artillery drive 100 men from Company K, 32nd Illinois Infantry who were landed by a Federal gunboat at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee. First Lieutenant John T. Lavery of the 18th Louisiana was wounded in the thigh but rather than be evacuated, grabbed a Maynard carbine and fired it as rapidly as he could at the enemy. The Northerners suffered two killed and six wounded. Lavery recovered from his wound. Confederate casualties totaled 12 in killed and wounded. Colonel Alfred Mouton and his regiment were commended by generals Ruggles and Beauregard for their handling of the gunboat affair. 

Brig. Gen. Alfred Mouton

1864: Red River Campaign: The Federal Army of the Gulf in New Orleans was building a massive army and navy expedition up the Red River in Louisiana to invade Texas via Northwest Louisiana and confiscating as much cotton as they could for New England textile mills. General E. Kirby Smith and Major General Richard Taylor were preparing the Confederate Army of Western Louisiana by concentrating troops from Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri to repel the invasion.

Maj. Gen. Prince Camille Polignac

led a Texas brigade and then a division in

the Red River Campaign.

Confederate General Birthdays, March 1.

Major General James Fleming Fagan was born on this day in 1828 in Clark County, Kentucky. He gained some military experience in the Mexican American War serving with Company C, Arkansas Mounted Infantry Regiment, and fighting in the Battle of Buena Vista, Mexico. He was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. He started out the War for Southern Independence as a captain in the 1st Arkansas Infantry Regiment and when Arkansas seceded, was elected colonel of the regiment. Fagan was promoted to brigadier general Sept. 12, 1862, and to major general April 24, 1864. His battles included Shiloh, Corinth, Cane Hill, Prairie Grove, Helena, Marks' Mills, Pilot Knob and Mine Creek. He was paroled on June 29, 1865, and returned to farming. He was appointed a United States Marshal by President Grant in 1875. Fagan died Sept. 1, 1893, in Little Rock, Arkansas and was buried in Mount Holly Cemetery. 

Maj. Gen. James F. Fagan

👱

Brigadier General Hiram Bronson Granbury was born on this day in 1831 in Copiah County, Mississippi. He moved to Texas in the early 1850s and settled in Waco. After studying law at Baylor University, Granbury was admitted to the bar. He then became chief justice of McLennan County, Texas. When war came in 1861, he was elected a captain and then major of the 7th Texas Infantry Regiment. He was then promoted to colonel and was promoted to brigadier general Feb. 29, 1864. Granbury's battles were Raymond, Jackson, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Ringgold Gap, and Franklin, where he was killed in action on November 30, 1864. Granbury was eventually buried in Granbury, Texas, which is named in his honor. A statue of Gen. Granbury was erected at the Hood County Courthouse in Granbury.

Brig. Gen. Hiram B. Granbury

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

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THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Feb. 28.

1861: Missouri delegates assembled to meet in a convention in Jefferson City to consider the question of secession from the Union.

North Carolina's election to have a secession convention resulted in a narrow majority for not holding it. The vote was 46,603 against holding the convention to 46,409 for it. 

1862: At President Davis's request, a day of fasting is held throughout the Confederacy. Also on this day, federal forces occupy Charleston, Virginia.

1863: The Confederate privateer Rattlesnake (formerly the cruiser CSS Nashville), runs aground on the Ogeechee River in Georgia and is sunk by the USS Montauk, a single-turret ironclad. 

1864: Kirkpatrick-Dahlgren Raid: Confederate forces at Richmond, Virginia thwart an assassination attempt on President Davis and his cabinet. Federal Major General Judson Kilpatrick leads the ill-fated raid and Colonel Ulric Dahlgren, the son of Admiral Dahlgren, is killed and plans for the assassination are found on his body. Richmond home guardsman William Littlepage found the incriminating documents on Dahlgren's dead body.

An unidentified young Confederate taken

by Richmond, Va. photographer Charles Rees.

He is wearing the plain style uniform

similar to those issued to Richmond Home Guard

units. (Library of Congress)

1865: Carolinas Campaign: Confederate defenders battle with Sherman's unstoppable blue coats at Rocky Mount and Cheraw on their relentless campaign of destruction through South Carolina. 

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Feb. 28. 

Brigadier General John Creed Moore was born on this day in 1824 at Redbridge, Hawkins County, Tennessee. He graduated from West Point in 1849 and was 17th in his class. While serving as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, he participated in the Seminole War, and in various frontier posts until he resigned in 1855. Before the War for Southern Independence, Moore became a professor at Shelby College in Kentucky. After the war started, he joined the Confederate Army as a captain and then helped raise the 2nd Tex. Inf. Regiment and selected as its colonel. Moore led the regiment at the Battle of Shiloh and was promoted to brigadier general on May 26, 1862. He was in the Second Battle of Corinth, Miss., and was captured at the end of the Siege of Vicksburg. After the exchange, he was in the Chattanooga Campaign. He resigned in February after a dispute with Lt. Gen. William Hardee. Moore finished the war as a lieutenant colonel commanding arsenals in Savannah, Ga. and Selma, Ala. He resumed his education career following the war in Texas. Moore died on Dec. 31, 1910, and was buried in Osage Cemetery in Osage, Texas which is now a ghost town.

Brig. Gen. John C. Moore

👱

Brigadier General Matthew Duncan Ector was born on this day in 1822 in Putman County, Georgia. He was a lawyer and served one term in the Georgia legislature before moving to Henderson, Texas in 1851 where he also practiced law and served in the Texas legislature. Ector began the War for Southern Independence as a private in the 3rd Texas Cavalry before being elected a second lieutenant and serving on the staff of Brig. Gen. Joseph L. Hogg. When he was promoted to colonel of the 14th Texas Cavalry Regiment, he was then assigned to command a Texas infantry brigade in the Army of Tennessee which fought at the Battle of Murfreesboro, the Battle of Chickamauga, the Atlanta Campaign, and was wounded July 27, 1864, and had a leg amputated. Ector recovered enough to lead a brigade at the Battle of Spanish Fort, Mobile, Ala. at the end of the war. Following the war, he was elected to the Texas Court of Appeals in 1875 and died Oct. 29,1879 in Tyler, Texas, and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Marshall, Texas.

Brig. Gen. Matthew D. Ector

👋

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

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ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Feb. 27.

1861: President Davis tries to make peace with the Federal government and avoid war. He appoints three officials, Martin J. Crawford, John Forsyth, and A.B. Roman to go to Washington to open peaceful negotiations. At the same time, Governor Pickens of South Carolina urges the president to seize Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor for the safety of Charleston and honor. There was also a peace conference at the Willard Hotel in Washington and Virginia also proposed a peace conference. All of them failed.

1862: The Confederate Congress authorizes President Davis to suspend habeas corpus as a wartime measure. A writ of habeas corpus is part of the Constitution which protects an individual from illegal arrest by allowing the accused to force the government to show proof before a court. The Constitution also empowers Congress to suspend the writ during times of rebellion or invasion. Lincoln had suspended habeas corpus in the U.S. in April 1861.

1864: Confederate Camp Sumter at Andersonville, Georgia begins taking U.S. prisoners of war at the compound. The P.O.W. camp becomes necessary because the Yankee government cuts off prisoner exchanges. Captain Henry Wirz, a native of Switzerland and a Louisiana physician before the war, was put in command. He would become a scapegoat and the victim of an unjust military court at the end of the war.

Capt. Henry Wirz

👱

1865: Carolinas Campaign: Confederate forces contest Sherman's route of march at Mount Elon and at Cloud's House, South Carolina. There is also skirmishing between Confederates and Yankees at Spring Place, Georgia.

Burning of Columbia, S.C.  Feb. 17, 1865

by Sherman's bummers.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Feb. 27.

NONE.

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

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ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Feb. 26.

1861: Federal troops evacuate in Texas: Future Confederate General E. Kirby Smith, but still a major in the U.S. Army with the 2nd U.S. Cavalry and in command of Camp Colorado, Texas, abandoned the camp on this day. He had previously refused to surrender it to Texas State Troops under Colonel Benjamin McCulloch. Another future Confederate general, but then as a U.S. Army general, Gen. David E. Twiggs had agreed to the evacuation of all troops, and the surrender of all installations and property, to the Texas States Troops.

Unidentified Pvt. in the 1st Tex. Inf.

(Library of Congress)

1862: New Orleans Campaign: The "Committee of Safety" in New Orleans reports to President Davis that the Navy Department's finances are deplorable and inhibiting enlistments and the payment of debts that are owed by the government.

1863: Confederate partisans near Woodburn, Tennessee capture a federal supply train and confiscate 200 mules as well as commercial and military stores. They then burn the train.

1864: Private John S. Jackman of the 9th Kentucky Infantry in the famed "Orphan Brigade," writes in his diary that at Rocky Face Ridge, Georgia there is sharpshooting and skirmishing during the day, but otherwise it has been relatively quiet.

An unidentified Kentucky Confederate

with 2 revolvers. (Library of Congress)

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Feb. 26.

NONE.