Sunday, August 18, 2024

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

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

On This Day in Confederate History, Aug. 18.

1862: President Davis spoke to the opening session of the Second Confederate Congress in Richmond, Va., highlighting the progress of the Confederates and the necessity of triumphing over the despotic North in its uncivilized war against the Southern people.

1863: General P.G.T. Beauregard gives the following report on the Siege of Charleston, S.C. in 1863: "On August 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23, the fierce bombardment of Fort Sumter was continued by the enemy, both from his land batteries and at intervals from his fleet. From the 17th to the 23d, inclusive, he fired against the fort a total of 5,643 shots, of which number 2,643 struck inside, 1,699 outside, and 1,301 missed. These projectiles varied in weight from 30 pounds to 300 pounds and were fired from Parrott and 15-inch smooth-bore guns. An average of 150 pounds per shot would give a weight of nearly 385 tons discharged against the walls of Fort Sumter during this period of seven days. At the end of this time, nearly all the guns remaining in the fort were unserviceable, and the damage to the gorge wall and the northwest face by the reverse fire was great; but the sand that had been placed on the outside of the gorge wall, in conjunction with the filling up of the barracks and casemates with cotton bales, and, above all, the crumbling of the masonry under the enemy’s fire, converted this portion of Fort Sumter into a mass of debris and rubbish on which the enemy’s powerful artillery could make but little impression. Throughout the siege, the unremitting exertions of the engineer corps hourly increased the defensive power of the work." Confederate General History, Aug. 18."

Captain William Powell, Co. A, 33rd Va. Inf.
Stonewall Brigade
Army of Northern Virginia
(Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

1864: The Battle of Globe Tavern south of Petersburg, Va. marks the fight for the important Weldon Railroad. The attacking force is under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren with his 20,000 men corps against about 14,000 troops under Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard and Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill. Warren's men in the morning begin ripping up railroad tracks until the afternoon when the first Confederates arrive, two brigades from Maj. Gen. Henry Heth's Division and push the bluecoats back to Warren's main line. Fighting begins at 2 p.m. and both sides funnel in reinforcements. 

Maj. Gen. Henry Heth

Confederate General Birthdays, Aug. 18.

None.

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