Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Feb. 7.
ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Feb. 7.
1861: The Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma) declared itself free and independent and became allies with the Confederacy on the basis of state sovereignty and other issues. Robert M. Jones, a Choctaw and cotton planter, served as the nation's non-voting representative in the Confederate Congress. Albert Pike was appointed the Confederacy's envoy to the Choctaw Nation. The First Choctaw and Chickasaw Mounted Rifles served in the Confederate Army in the Trans-Mississippi as well as the First Choctaw Cavalry Battalion, First Chocktaw (Battice's) Cavalry Battalion, First Choctaw (McCurtain's) Cavalry Battalion, First Choctaw War Regiment, First Choctaw Regiment, Second Choctaw Regiment, Third Choctaw Regiment as well as a number of other companies.
1862: Brigadier General Bushrod Rust Johnson was appointed commander of Fort Donelson at a crucial time when it was coming under a major attack by Federal forces. However, Brig. Gen. Gideon Pillow, who outranked Johnson, arrived and took command just a few hours after Johnson became commander. Johnson then became a division commander. Later in the war, he commanded a Tennessee brigade and a division with distinction in the Army of Tennessee and the Army of Northern Virginia.
1863: Confederate troops at Williamsburg, Virginia fire on Federal cavalry, killing and wounding 11 of the Yankee troopers.
Also, on this day in 1863, three Confederate Navy raiders run the Federal blockade and enter the port at Charleston, South Carolina. In Texas, Confederate Major General John Magruder declares the ports at Galveston and Sabine Pass to be open. The action followed naval victories off Texas in January.
1864: Meridian Campaign: Lieutenant General Leonidas Polk's Confederate continue their strategic withdrawal as Sherman's bluecoats continue their advance to Meridian, Mississippi. Skirmishing occurs at Brandon, Morton, and Sataria, Mississippi.
1865: Carolinas Campaign: Confederates skirmish with Sherman's Federal Army at Blackville, South Carolina during the Carolina Campaign.
CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Feb. 7.
Brigadier General Leroy Pope Walker was born on this day in 1817, in Huntsville, Alabama. Walker was a prewar lawyer, circuit judge, and active secessionist. At the beginning of the war, he promoted Jefferson Davis as the president of the new Confederacy. After Davis became president, the president appointed him the first Secretary of War in spite his not having any military experience. Walker resigned in September 1861 after a disagreement with President Davis. However, the day after he resigned, Davis appointed him a brigadier general and he was given command of army garrisons at Mobile and Montgomery. Walker resigned from the army in March 1862. In 1864, Walker returned to the Confederate Army as a colonel to serve as a military judge. Following the war, he practiced law and at one time represented Jesse James as a defense lawyer on a robbery charge and won the case. In 1875, Walker was made president of the Alabama Constitutional Convention which ended Reconstruction in the state. He died Aug. 23, 1884, and was buried in Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville.
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