Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, July 18.

  Click 👉Today in History (general history) July 18. 

On This Day in Confederate History, July 18.

1861: The Battle of Blackburn's Ford, Va. took place in the Manassas Campaign which was a preliminary engagement to the major battle that occurred three days later. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard was in command of 22,000 Confederates and Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell commanded the 35,000 Federals. McDowell sent a division under Brig. Gen. Daniel Tyler to probe Confederate defenses. The probes were repulsed by Brig. Gen. James Longstreet's brigade and backed up by Col. Jubal Early's Brigade. There were 68 Confederate casualties and 83 on the Federal side. The victory bolstered the morale of the raw Confederate recruits. Meanwhile, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's 18,000-man army is en route to reinforce Beauregard by railroad.

Cpl. John Wesley Edmunds, Co. B,

"Southern Guards," 11th Va. Inf.

In Longstreet's Brigade at the Battle

of Blackburn's Ford, Va.

(Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

1863: The Second Battle of Fort Wagner, S.C. scores another victory by the Confederates guarding Charleston. Gen. Beauregard is in overall command of the Charleston defenses and the fort is guarded by 1,800 Confederates. The fort also had one 10-inch seacoast mortar, two 32-pounder carronades, two 8-inch shell guns, two 32-pounder howitzers a 42-pounder carronade, and an 8-inch seacoast mortar. There were also two heavy artillery pieces outside the fort to provide enfilading fire on attackers. The Federals of Brig. Gen. Quincy Gillmore's command, numbering 5,000 men, is backed up by a massive preliminary bombardment of the fort by six ironclad warships. Three Federal brigades made the frontal attack on the fort. Each charge by the bluecoats was bloodily repulsed. Among the dead was Brig. Gen. George Crockett Strong, mortally wounded, brigade commander Col. Haldimand S. Putnam, Col. John Lyman Chatfield of the 6th Conn. Inf., and Col. Robert Gould  Shaw, 54th Mass. Inf. Federal casualties totaled 1,515, including 246 killed, 880 wounded, and 389 missing or captured. The Confederate casualties totaled 174, including 36 killed, 133 wounded, and 5 missing or captured.

Confederate General Birthdays, July 18.

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