Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, July 23.

  Click 👉Today in History (general history) July 23.

On This Day in Confederate History, July 23.

1862: The Army of the Mississippi under Confederate Lt. Gen. Braxton Bragg moves to Chattanooga, Tenn., and the army that would later be renamed the Army of Tennessee. Bragg was commencing his Heartland Offensive. This was an offensive by the Confederacy to recover lands lost to the Federals earlier that year. While Bragg was going on the offensive in Tennessee and Kentucky, Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia was going on the offensive in Virginia to drive the Yankees out of Northern Virginia.

An unidentified Confederate soldier in

battle shirt, holding a bayonet, posing with

the famous "Jeff Davis and the South" sign.

Many pictures with this sign have shown up

but it is a mystery as to who the photographer was.

It is associated with soldiers in units with the

Army of Tennessee.

(Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

1863: The Battle of Manassas Gap,  Va. ends the Gettysburg Campaign with a Confederate victory. Gen. Robert E. Lee left Maj. Gen. Richard Anderson's Division at Manassas Gap to thwart the Federal Army of the Potomac, under Maj. Gen. George Meade from attacking Lee's army while it is returning from Pennsylvania. Meade sent in the division of Maj. Gen. William H. French's III Corps to clear the gap of the Confederates. French sends in Brig. Gen. Francis Spinola's New York Excelsior Brigade initially pushed back Col. Edward J. Walker commanding Wright's Georgia Brigade. However, Anderson reinforces Walker with the brigade of Col. Edward A. O'Neal with Col. Thomas H. Carter's artillery and stops the Federal's pursuit. Lee then moved into the Luray  Valley and beyond Federal pursuit. Total casualties for both sides in the battle were about 440.

Confederate General Birthdays, July 23

Brig. Gen. Gabriel Colvin Wharton was born on this day in 1824 in Culpepper, Virginia. He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1847 as a "distinguished graduate." In the pre-war years, Wharton worked as a civil engineer and moved to Arizona Territory. During the War for Southern Independence, he served as a major in the 45th Virginia Infantry and as colonel of the 51st Virginia Infantry. He was promoted to brigadier general on July 8, 1863. Wharton's battles included Fort Donelson, Knoxville, New Market, Cold Harbor, Monocacy, Cedar Creek, and Waynesboro. Following the war, Wharton was elected to the Virginia General Assembly and became a mining engineer. He died May 12, 1906, in Radford, Va., and was buried in the Radford Family Cemetery in Radford.

Brig. Gen. Gabriel C. Wharton