Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, July 27.

Click 👉Today in History (general history) July 27. 

On This Day in Confederate History, July 27.

1861: Fort Fillmore in New Mexico Territory was set on fire and abandoned by the Federals under Major Isaac Lynde two days after the First Battle of Mesilla, which they lost. The bluecoats retreated to Fort Stanton. But when the 500 retreating Yankees were confronted by 300 Confederates, they surrendered without a field. The Confederates, commanded by Lt. Col. John Baylor, had also won a victory at the First Battle of Mesilla

Unidentified soldier in Confederate pullover

hunting-style shirt with dark military-type

trim with double barrel shotgun, revolver,

and side knife (Liljenquist Collection/Library of Congress)

1864: The First Battle of Deep Bottom in Henrico County, Va. takes place as a diversionary maneuver by the Federals. Lt. Gen. U.S. Grant, planning to make a major attack on the Petersburg, Va. Confederate defenses on July 30, sends Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock's II Corps and two divisions from Maj. Gen.  Philip H. Sheridan's Cavalry Corps threatened Richmond, Va. Grant hopes Gen. Robert E. Lee will weaken his Petersburg defenses by forcing Confederates to send reinforcements to Richmond. Lee does send 16,500 reinforcements but things don't turn out like Grant wants at Petersburg. The battle started July 27 when Hancock advances with three divisions and takes up positions opposite Richmond's defenses. But Lee's reinforcements, commanded by Lt. Gen. Richard Anderson, including Maj. Gen. Henry Heth's Infantry Division, and Maj. Gen. W.H.F. "Rooney" Lee's Cavalry Division, strengthen Richmond's defenses. Local troops from Richmond will also man the trenches at Bailey's Creek from New Market Road to near Fussell's Mill. The battle will continue on July 28.

Click👉The Bloody 23rd Tennessee Infantry Regiment

This is the history of one of the hardest-fighting infantry regiments in the War for Southern Independence, the 23rd Tennessee Infantry. The regiment was raised predominantly from the Middle Tennessee counties, where there was considerable support for secession and Southern Independence. The men were overwhelmingly made up of yeoman farmers of predominantly Anglo-Celtic descent who were to face some of the largest, bloodiest, and most memorable battles of the war, both in the West and the East. They got their baptism of fire in the Battle of Shiloh, followed by the battles of Perryville, Murfreesboro, Hoover's Gap, Chickamauga, and Knoxville in the West with the famed Army of Tennessee. They were then transferred to the East, where they fought in the Bermuda Hundred Campaign in Virginia, under the legendary General P.G.T. Beauregard, and then in the famed Army of Northern Virginia in the Petersburg Campaign, and ended the war with the great General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Courthouse. The book covers the history of the regiment from letters, diaries, memoirs, and official records to cover both officers and men in a personal way. It also has an annotated roster of some 1,164 men who served in the regiment, as well as maps, photos, illustrations, bibliography, footnotes, and index.

In the Atlanta Campaign, both Gen. John Bell Hood's Confederate Army of Tennessee and Maj. Gen. W.T. Sherman's Federals maneuver to gain an advantage. Hood wants to catch an isolated Federal unit to attack and Sherman wants to cut Atlanta's last railroad link. The result will be the Battle of Ezra Church, Ga. the next day. Hood sends Lt. Gen. Stephen D. Lee's Corps to make the attack. 

Confederate General Birthdays, July 27.

Brigadier Thomas Lanier Clingman was born on this day in 1812 at Huntsville, Surry County, North Carolina. He was a prewar lawyer and politician. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1843, a U.S. Senator in 1858, and was expelled from the Senate in 1861 for supporting the Confederacy. Clingman became commander of the 25th North Carolina Infantry and was elevated to brigadier general. His battles and campaigns included the Peninsula Campaign, Goldsboro Bridge, Battery Wagner, Drewry's Bluff, Cold Harbor, Siege of Petersburg, Globe Tavern, Fort Fisher, and Bentonville near the end of the war. Following the war, he spent time exploring and measuring mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee. Clingman died July 27, 1897, in Morganton, North Carolina, and was buried at Riverside Cemetery there.

Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Clingman