Click 👉Today in History (general history) Nov. 1. 

On This Day in Confederate History, Nov. 1.

1862: On the second day of the Battle of Port Lavaca, Texas Lt. George E. Conklin, adjutant of the post, concluded his report on the battle. He wrote," On the next morning, November 1, they [the Federal gunboats Clifton and Westfield] again opened fire upon the town and batteries, but owing to their being entirely out of range of our guns we did not reply to them. At about 11 a. m. they ceased their fire and steamed down the bay in the direction of Indianola, having in tow the schooner Lecompte, which they had captured in the bay a few days before. One of the steamers went outside the bar and steered in the direction of Galveston, probably for a mortar boat or some other additional force to assist them. I am glad to report that no lives were lost on our side, but the enemy succeeded in doing considerable damage to the town, tearing up the streets and riddling the houses, and otherwise damaging the place. The enemy fired in all 252 shots and shells, 174 the first day and 78 the second, nearly all of them from 32 and 64-pounder rifled guns. Capt. H. Willke, acting ordnance officer, rendered very efficient service in keeping the batteries supplied with ammunition and freely exposing himself in the discharge of his duties.

Confederate artilleryman at work

(Library of Congress)

 Also, on this day in 1862, the following Confederate brigadier generals were appointed: George Thomas Anderson, Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb, John Rogers Cooke, George Pierce Doles, John Brown Gordon, Alfred Iverson Jr., James Henry Lane, Carnot Posey, Stephen Dodson Ramseur, Jerome Bonaparte Robertson, Edward Lloyd Thomas.

1863: The following skirmishes occurred on this day in 1863: Quinn and Jackson's Mill, Miss., Eastport, Tenn., Fayetteville, Tenn., Gila, New Mexico Territory, and at Catlett's Station, Va.

Confederate General Birthdays, Nov. 1.

Brigadier General Douglas Hancock Cooper was born on this day in 1815 in Amite County, Mississippi. Before the war, he served in the Mississippi House of Representatives and as a captain in the Mississippi Rifles Regiment under Colonel Jefferson Davis in the Mexican-American War. After the war, he was an Indian Agent in the Indian Territory, modern-day Oklahoma where he also led the militia made up of Choctaws and Chickasaws. In 1861, he raised the 1st Choctaws and Chickasaw Mounted Rifles. Coopers was promoted to brigadier general on May 2, 1862. He led a brigade in the battles of Round Mountain and Chusto-Talasah and won the Battle of Chustenahlah. Cooper then led the Indian Brigade in Maj. Gen. Sterling Price's 1864 Missouri and Kansas Raid. Following the war, he supported the Indian land claims to the Federal government and died on April 29, 1879, at Fort Washita, modern-day Bryan County, OKLA. and was buried in an unmarked grave there.

Brig. Gen. Douglas H. Cooper

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Brigadier General Joseph Benjamin Palmer was born on this day in 1811 in Rutherford County, Tennessee. Prior to the war he was a lawyer and served in the Tennessee General Assembly. Palmer organized a company of infantry in 1861 and served as its captain in the 18th Tennessee Infantry Regiment in the Confederate Army. He was elected colonel in June 1861 and was promoted to brigadier general on Nov. 15, 1864. His battles included Fort Donelson, Murfreesboro (wounded), Chickamauga (wounded), Jonesborough (wounded), Franklin, Nashville, and Bentonville where he was again wounded. Following the war, Palmer resumed his law practice and died Nov. 4, 1890, at Murfreesboro, Tenn., and was buried there in Evergreen Cemetery.

Brig. Gen. Joseph B. Palmer.

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