Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, Oct. 9.

Click 👉Today in History (general history) Oct. 9.

On This Day in Confederate History, Oct. 9.

1862: Stuart's Raid on Md. & Pa.: Gen. Robert E. Lee ordered Maj. Gen. James Ewell Brown Stuart on an expedition to Maryland and Pennsylvania to gather intelligence on the Army of the Potomac and wreak havoc on Federal property following the Battle of Sharpsburg.  It was his second complete ride around the Federal Army led by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan.

Private John Poole Sellman of Co. K, 1st Virginia Cavalry
 Regiment and Co. A, 1st Maryland Cavalry 
Regiment in uniform with Maryland state seal buttons.
(Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

1863: skirmish at Bristoe Station, Va. marked the beginning of Gen. Robert E. Lee's attempt to outflank Maj. Gen. George Meade's Army of the Potomac. There is hard fighting at James City, Brandy Station, Jeffersonton, and Auburn.

1864: The Battle of Tom's Brook, Va. on this day was between Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas L. Rosser's 3,500 cavalrymen and Brig. Gen. Alfred Torbert's 6,300 Federal cavalrymen resulted in a clear victory for the Northerners. There are 57 Federal casualties and 350 for the Confederates.

Confederate General Birthdays, Oct. 9.

Brigadier General Samuel McGowan was born on this day in 1819 in Laurens District, South Carolina. Educated at South Carolina College and studied the law, McGowan gained military experience in Mexican-American War in the Palmetto Regiment. He was commended for gallantry near Mexico and achieved the rank of captain. He was appointed a brigadier general in the South Carolina Militia in 1860 and was present at the firing on Fort Sumter in 1861. In the Confederate Army, he rose from lieutenant colonel of the 14th South Carolina to brigadier general on Jan. 17, 1863, and led a brigade. His battles included Fort Sumter, First Manassas, the Seven Days battles, Second Manassas, Chancellorsville, and Spotsylvania Court House. He suffered four wounds including one in his last battle at Spottsylvania Court House. After the war, he served in the U.S. Congress and was elected associate justice in the South Carolina Supreme Court. He was married to Susan Caroline Wardlaw McGowan. He died August 9, 1897, in Abbeville, South Carolina, and is buried in Upper Long Cane Cemetery.

Brig. Gen. Samuel McGowan







 

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