Click 👉Today in History (general history) June 8.
On This Day in Confederate History, June 8.
1861: Tennessee voters ratify a decision by the state legislature to secede from the Union and join the Confederacy. The vote was 104,914 to 47,238 for secession.
1862: Stonewall Jackson's Army of the Valley scores another victory at the Battle of Cross Keys, Va. over the Federal forces under Maj. Gen. John C. Fremont with some 11,500 men. The bluecoats were opposed by Maj. Gen. Richard S. Ewell's 5,800-man division. Confederates suffered 42 killed, 230 wounded, and 15 missing. The Federals lost 114 killed, 443 wounded, and 127 missing. The last battle of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862 will be the next day.
1863: Major Samuel Lockett, head of the Confederate engineers at Siege of Vicksburg, Miss., reports on the night of June 8 the Confederates in the Stockade Redan and Third Louisiana stopped the Yankee sap-roller, which was a huge sugar cane bundle protecting the men digging the approach trench, by firing pieces of port-fire and cotton-balls steeped in turpentine into it from muskets.
At the Siege of Port Hudson, La., Col. William R. Miles reports, "ON THE FIELD, June 8, 1863. Late yesterday evening, after writing my report, I had 1 man killed by the enemy's sharpshooters. Between 1 and 2 o'clock this morning, the enemy in force made an advance on my left and center. He was handsomely repulsed and did not renew the attack. During the night, two pieces of artillery were placed in position near Hunt's house, and have saluted us several times since. My scouts sent out in the woods between the Troth road and the river, report a strong force of the enemy there and say they are engaged in digging rifle pits and throwing up earthworks. Should you desire to send any one outside the lines for information, the two young men who acted for me, I think, would successfully accomplish the mission. The fleet shelled us, as usual, during the night. I am, major, very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. R. MILES, Col.
1864: Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan's Confederate cavalry at the Battle of Mount Sterling, Ky. attack a Federal garrison there and capture the bluecoats and the town. Four Federals were Killed and 10 wounded. Morgan loses 8 men killed and 13 wounded. In addition, 380 prisoners are taken, and $59,000 from the Farmers' Bank there. The next day a Federal force outnumbering the Confederates drive them off.
Confederate General Birthdays, June 8.
Brigadier General William Montgomery Gardner was born on this day in 1824 in Augusta, Georgia. He was an 1846 graduate of West Point and served in the Mexican-American War. Wounded at the battles of Churubusco and Contreras, Gardner resigned from the U.S. Army on Jan. 19, 1861. Lt. Col. Gardner was wounded at the First Battle of Manassas, Va. with the 8th Georgia Infantry. And when the colonel of that regiment was killed, he became the colonel. However, his severe wound disabled him from further field service. He served in various staff positions. Following the war, Gardner lived in Georgia and Tennessee and died June 16, 1901, in Memphis. He was buried at Elmwood Cementer in Memphis, Tenn.
Brigadier General Gideon Johnson Pillow was born on this day in 1806 in Williamson County, Tennessee. He was a prewar lawyer and politician who served as a brigadier general in the Mexican-American War and was wounded at the Battle of Cerro Gordo. After the war he resumed his law and political careers and rose to senior major general in the Tennessee Militia. During the War for Southern Independence, he was appointed a brigadier general. His battles included Belmont, Fort Donelson, and Murfreesboro, after which he served in various staff jobs. Following the war, he went bankrupt but rebuilt his law practice in Memphis, Tennessee. He died Oct. 8, 1878, near Helena, Arkansas, and was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis.
No comments:
Post a Comment