Thursday, August 24, 2023

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, Aug. 24.

Click πŸ‘‰Today in History (general history) Aug. 24.

On This Day in Confederate History, Aug. 24.

1861: The Trent Affair: President Davis appointed the new Confederate commissioners to Europe, John Slidell to France, James Mason to Great Britain, and Pierre Rost to Spain. 

1862: Second Manassas Campaign: General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson is with his 24,000-man wing of the Army of Northern Virginia on a soon-to-be-famous march around Maj. Gen. John Pope's army was tied down on the Rappahannock River by General Lee. Jackson moves his men to the upper Rappahannock and continues through Amissville, Orlean, Salem, across the Bull Run Mountains at Thoroughfare Gap, and gets in Pope's rear. The Second Battle of Manassas will completely befuddle Pope.

First Lieutenant Daniel J. Hatter of Co. I, 
23rd Alabama Infantry Regiment
 and probably his brother, Thomas A. Hatter
 of Co. C, 15th Alabama Cavalry Regiment
 in uniform.
(Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

1863: At the Siege of Charleston, S.C., General Beauregard reports on this day: "On the 24th, the fire on Fort Sumter lessened considerably; not more than 150 shots were thrown against it in the course of the day. Every endeavor was made to retard the approach of the besiegers to Battery Wagner. His working parties were fired on from the battery, but this had to be discontinued and embrasures closed in order to prevent our pieces from being dismounted."

Confederate General Birthdays, Aug. 24.

Brigadier General Thomas Fenwick Drayton was born on this day in 1808 in Charleston, South Carolina. He graduated from West Point in 1828 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 6th U.S. Infantry. He resigned in 1832 and became a civilian engineer in railroad construction in South Carolina, served in the state militia, and the S.C. legislature, and was a supporter of States' Rights. During the War for Southern Independence, Drayton was appointed a brigadier general in September 1861 and took part in the battles of Port Royal, Thoroughfare Gap, Second Manassas, South Mountain, and Sharpsburg. He was transferred to the Trans-Mississippi Department and given administrative duties. Following the war, Drayton moved to Georgia and governed a plantation, then to North Carolina where he sold insurance and became president of the South Carolina Immigrant Society. He died Feb. 18, 1891, in Florence, S.C., and was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Charlotte, N.C.

Brig. Gen. Thomas F. Drayton
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Brigadier General Benjamin Grubb Humphreys was born on this day in 1808 in Claiborne County, Mississippi. He was admitted to West Point but was expelled in 1826 for misconduct. Humphreys returned to Mississippi and became a politician. He was elected to the state senate in 1844 and ran a cotton plantation. During the War Between the States, Drayton became the colonel of the 21st Mississippi Infantry and was then promoted to brigadier general in 1863. His battles included Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, the Overland Campaign, the Siege of Petersburg, and the Appomattox Campaign. Following the war, he was elected governor of Mississippi in 1865, re-elected in 1868, and was removed by the Radical Republican Reconstruction government. He then made a living in the insurance business and died Dec. 20, 1882, in Jackson, Miss., and was buried in the Wintergreen Cemetery in Port Gibson, Miss.

Brig. Gen. Benjamin G. Humphreys
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Brigadier General George Earl Maney was born on this day in 1826 at  Franklin, Tennessee. He served in the Mexican-American War as a second lieutenant in the 1st Tennessee Volunteers. Maney then joined the U.S. Army as a first lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. Dragoons and was in Scott's Campaign to Mexico City. After that war, became a lawyer in Tennessee and served in the Tennessee legislature. During the War for Southern Independence, he became colonel of the 1st Tennessee Infantry and was promoted to brigadier general on April 16, 1862. His battles included Cheat Mountain, the Kentucky Campaign, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, the Chattanooga Campaign, the Atlanta Campaign, and the Carolinas Campaign. Following the war, Maney became president of the  Tennessee and Pacific Railroad, became a Republican, was an ambassador in South America, and died Feb. 9, 1901, in Washington, D.C., and was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville, Tenn.

Brig. Gen. George E. Maney
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Brigadier General George Hume Steuart was born on this day in 1828 in Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated from West Point in 1848, ranking 37th in his class, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 2nd Dragoons. He was stationed on the frontier fighting Indians. During the War for Southern Independence, he became the colonel of the 1st Maryland Infantry, CSA, and was promoted to brigadier general on March 6, 1862. His battles included the First Battle of Manassas, First Winchester, Cross Keys, Gettysburg, Mine Run, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, Petersburg, Five Forks, Sayler's Creek, and Appomattox Court House. Following the war, Steuart returned to Maryland and farmed, commanded the Maryland Division of the United Confederate Veterans, lived in a hotel in  Baltimore,  and died Nov. 22, 1903, in South River, Maryland, and was buried in Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore, Md.

Brig. Gen. George H. Steuart
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Brigadier General Walter Husted Stevens was born on this day in Penn Yan, New York. He graduated from West Point in 1848, 4th in his class, and became a second lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers. He served mainly in Louisiana and Texas and married a Louisiana girl, the sister of Brig. Gen. Louis Hebert. Stevens resigned from the U.S. Army on March 2, 1861, and served in the Confederate Army as an engineer in Florida and then in Virginia. He was promoted to brigadier general on Aug. 28, 1864. His battles include First Manassas, the Peninsula Campaign, Seven Pines, the Richmond Defenses, Petersburg, and Appomattox. Following the war, Stevens moved to Mexico and was an engineer for the Mexican Imperial Railroad, and died of yellow fever at Vera Cruz, on Nov. 12, 1867. Stevens was buried in Hollywood Cemetery, on April 9, 1865. 


Brig. Gen. Walter H. Stevens
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