Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays/ January 22.

Click 👉Today in History (general history), Jan. 22.

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Jan. 22.

1861: The New Orleans Daily Crescent reports that delegates to the Louisiana Legislature and the Louisiana Secession Convention are pouring into Baton Rouge, where the convention will convene the next day. The newspaper reports that the general sentiment prevailing is for secession from the Union.

La. Gov. Thomas Overton Moore

led Louisiana out of the Union,

but former La. governor & U.S. Senator

Alexandre Mouton was the president of the

La. Secession Convention.

President Alexandre Mouton of the

Louisiana Secession Convention

(Library of Congress)

An Early Secession Banner

1862: The New Orleans Daily Crescent reports that the Louisiana Militia will have a grand celebration for the first anniversary of the secession from the Union by Louisiana. The militia order notes, "... this great and glorious event should be celebrated in a manner worthy of a chivalrous and patriotic people, who disenthralled themselves and their political connection with a government whose principles were diametrically averse to the guaranteed constitutional rights, and their domestic institutions."

Louisiana Republic flag.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Jan. 22.

Brigadier General Merriwether Jeff Thompson was born in 1826 in Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Before the war, he worked as a store clerk, and as a city engineer, was elected the Mayor of St. Joseph, Mo., and presided over the first Pony Express ride in 1860. He started out the war as a lieutenant colonel in the Missouri State Militia and led a battalion in partisan attacks, gaining them the nickname, "Swamp Fox of the Confederacy." He was promoted to brigadier general in the Missouri State Guard, led cavalry raids on the enemy, and was in several battles in Arkansas. He was captured in 1864. Exchanged, he participated in Major General Sterling Price's Missouri Expedition in 1864. Thompson fought in the battles of Westport, Mine Creek, and Newtonia. He surrendered on May 11, 1865. After the war, Jeff Thompson settled in New Orleans, where he worked as a civil engineer. He moved to St. Joseph, Mo., where he died Sept. 5, 1876, and was buried in Mount Mora Cemetery.

Brig. Gen. M. Jeff Thompson

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, January 21.

Click 👉Today in History (general history), Jan. 21.

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Jan. 21.

Lieutenant General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson was born on this day in 1824 in Clarksburg, Virginia. Of humble origins, Jackson was of Scotch-Irish heritage, and both of his parents, Julia Beckwith Neale Jackson and Jonathan Jackson, an attorney, were dead by the time he was seven. He was raised by an uncle, Cummins Jackson. Thomas was admitted to West Point and graduated with the Class of 1846, ranking 17th out of 56 cadets. Jackson was assigned as a second lieutenant in Co. K, 1st U.S. Artillery and compiled an outstanding record in the Mexican-American War, rising to the rank of brevet major. He fought at the Siege of Vera Cruz, and the battles of Contreras, Chapultepec, and Mexico City. After the war, he reverted to first lieutenant and served in the Second Seminole War and frontier duty. He resigned because he could not get along with his commanding officer. Jackson then got a professorship at the Virginia Military Institute. During this period, he married Elinor Junkin Jackson who died from childbirth along with the baby boy. His second wife, Martha Anna Morrison Jackson, had one child, Julia, who survived Jackson. After the War for Southern Independence started, his military genius soon became apparent, and he rose quickly from brigadier general to lieutenant general and commander of the Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia. Jackson gained his nickname "Stonewall" at First Manassas in 1861. Jackson then amazed the world with his victories, including the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862, the Seven Days Battles, Cedar Mountain, Second Manassas, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville in 1863, where he was mortally wounded. He died May 10, 1863, at Guinea Station, Virginia. Stonewall Jackson was buried in Lexington, Va. His fame is enduring, and his military tactics were admired and used by several World War II generals.

Lt. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson

1863: Confederate cotton-clad gunboats Uncle Ben and Josiah Bell, with Lt. Dick Dowling's artillery company, Co. F, 1st Texas Heavy Artillery, and Capt. George O'Brien's Company E, 11th Bn. Tex. Vols. as sharpshooters, chased two Federal blockaders, Morning Light and Velocity, for 30 miles in the Gulf of Mexico off Sabine Pass, Texas. A sharp sea battle was fought, and both Yankee ships were captured. This was the third battle won by the Confederates in Texas in January. The other two were the Battle of Galveston on Jan. 1, 1863, and the sea battle between the CSS Alabama commanded by Captain Raphael Semmes, and the USS Hatteras in the Gulf of Mexico near Galveston. 

Major Richard W. "Dicks" Dowling

(LLMVC, Hill Mem. Lib., LSU)

USS Morning Light captured

(Nav Source Online)

CLICK👉Dick Dowling and the Jefferson Davis Guard 

Among the most famous Texas heroes of the 19th Century were Lt. Richard W. Dowling and the Jefferson Davis Guard, officially known as Company F, 1st Texas Heavy Artillery, Confederate States of America. They were among Confederate forces that won the Battle of Galveston, battled Federal blockade ships in the Gulf of America, as well the blocking a whole Federal invasion of Texas at Sabine Pass with just 42 artillerymen. The book tells of his life as well as the background of some of his individual soldiers. An Irish immigrant, like many of his men, he was a Houston entrepreneur and a great combat leader. This is their story.

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthday, January 20.

 Click 👉 TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Jan. 20.

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Jan 20.

1861: The Mississippi state militia seized Fort Massachusetts, which is located on Ship Island in the Gulf of Mexico. The fort was as yet unfinished. It would become a major base for the Federal invasion of Louisiana. It was also an important port for refueling its blockaders in the Gulf of Mexico.

Early war Confederate with musket, side knife, and "Jeff Davis and the

South" sign, probably photographed.

in Corinth, Miss. (Library of Congress)

1862: The blockade-running ship J.W. Wilder is beached when prevented from entering Charleston Harbor by a sunken ship that the Federals put there. The Northerners tried to land to seize the ship but were prevented from doing so by Confederate troops.

1863: President Jefferson Davis made five general appointments on the day. He promoted Joseph "Fightin' Joe" Wheeler to major general. The president also appointed the following to brigadier general: Frank Crawford Armstrong, William Lewis Cabell, George Blake Cosby, and Marcellus Augustus Stovall.

1864: President Jefferson Davis appointed two men to brigadier general in the Confederate Army on this day: Nathaniel Harrison Harris and Clement Hoffman Stevens.

1865: President Jefferson Davis appointed William McComb as brigadier general in the Army of Northern Virginia. At Appomattox Courthouse, his brigade, in Heth's Division, consisted of the 2nd Battalion Maryland Infantry, 1st, 7th, 14th, 17th, 23rd, 25th, 44th, and 63rd Tennessee infantry regiments.

Brig. Gen. William McComb

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Jan. 20.

NONE.

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, January 19.

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ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Jan.19.

1807: Robert Edward Lee was born at Stratford Hall in Westmoreland County, Virginia, to Revolutionary War hero Henry Lee III and Anne Hill Carter Lee in 1807. He graduated from West Point in 1829, second in his class, with no demerits. He started his long military career in the U.S. Army with engineering assignments nationwide. Lee became a hero himself in the Mexican-American War, serving on Gen. Winfield Scott's staff as an engineer. He went on many dangerous assignments behind enemy lines, finding the best routes to Mexico City. Married to the granddaughter of Martha Washington, Mary Anna Randolph Custis, Lee began a long residence in Arlington House. The couple would have seven children, three boys and four girls. He became a Confederate general in 1861, and two of his sons also became Confederate generals, and the third a Confederate captain. Lee is widely considered one of the greatest military geniuses in world history and the embodiment of honor, duty, and integrity. After the war, he was the president of Washington College in Lexington, Va., and saved the college and put it on the road to being one of the great universities, now Washington and Lee University, in the nation. A devout Christian gentleman, he died on Oct. 12, 1870, at home at age 63. He is entombed in his family crypt under Lee Chapel, which he had built, on the university campus. Robert E. Lee is greatly revered by many people around the world, and his birthday is an official holiday in several Southern states.

General Robert E. Lee

(Cdv, M.D. Jones collection)

1861: Georgia becomes the fifth state to secede from the Union on this date. The vote to secede is 208-89. Georgia would furnish 120,000 men to the Confederate Army in the War for Southern Independence.

Co. K, 4th Ga. Inf. in April 1861 with a First

National Confederate flag. Click on the image to enlarge it.

(Library of Congress)

1862: There is minor skirmishing near Williamsburg and the Burnt Ordinary in Virginia.

1865: General Robert E. Lee is made General-In-Chief of all Confederate armies.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Jan. 19.

General Robert Edward Lee was born in 1807 at Stratford Hall, Westmoreland County, Virginia. See the above biography. 

Gen. Robert E. Lee

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Brigadier General George Blake Cosby was born on this day in 1830 in Louisville, Kentucky. He graduated from West Point in the class of 1852, 17th in a class of 42 cadets. Cosby was a 2nd Lt. in the U.S. Mounted Riflemen and was wounded fighting Indians at Lake Trinidad, Texas, on May 9, 1852. He also served 2nd U.S. Cav., taught at West Point, and had risen to captain by the time he resigned in 1861 and joined the Confederate Army. He served in various staff positions as a captain, major, and colonel and was captured in the surrender of Fort Donelson, Tenn. in Feb. 1862. He was then promoted to brigadier general. After being exchanged, he was promoted to brigadier general on Jan. 20, 1863, and was given command of a cavalry brigade in the Department of Miss. & E. La. He served in the Vicksburg Campaign under Gen. J.E. Johnston at Jackson, Miss., and later was in the Battle of Thompson Station, Tenn., and in 1864 in the Dept. of S.W. Va., and the Dept. of W. Va. He disbanded his brigade when he got news of the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse, Va. After the war, he moved out west and lived in California and Oregon, working as a sutler and in the California state government. He died June 29, 1909, at Oakland, Calif., and was buried in the City Cemetery in Sacramento, Calif.

Brig. Gen. George Blake Cosby

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Brigadier General Henry Gray was born on this day in 1816 in Laurens District, South Carolina. He was a graduate of South Carolina College in 1834 and had an outstanding career in law and politics in the states of Mississippi and Louisiana. He began the War for Southern Independence as a private in a Mississippi infantry company when his old friend, President Jefferson Davis, asked him to go back to Louisiana to raise a regiment that became the 28th Louisiana Infantry Regiment. His regiment fought in the Bayou Teche Campaign of 1863 and the Red River Campaign of 1864 in Louisiana. He personally led Mouton's Brigade, still a colonel, in the Battle of Mansfield, La. April 8, 1864, and again the next day in the Battle of Pleasant Hill, La. Gray was then elected to the Confederate Congress when in the closing days of the was promoted to brigadier general and commanded a cavalry brigade in Louisiana. After the war, he resumed his distinguished law career and was a popular orator around the state of Louisiana. He died at his daughter's house in Coushatta, La., on Dec. 11, 1892, and was buried in the Springville Cemetery near Coushatta.

Brig. Gen. Henry Gray

(Library of Congress)

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

Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Jan. 18. 

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Jan. 18.

1861: Lt. Adam J. Slemmer, commanding the small Federal garrison at Fort Pickens,  just off the coast of Pensacola, FL, refused a demand by Col. William H. Chase of the Florida militia to surrender. Florida had seceded on Jan. 10, 1861. Chase was commanding at Fort Barrancas on the mainland. The standoff continued.

Confederate artillery captain

(Painting by W.L. Sheppard, 1903)

1862: Former U.S. President and Confederate Congressman, John Tyler, died and was buried on this day in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Va., which was the capital of the C.S.A. Tyler was the 10th U.S. President, but the Virginia native sided with the Confederacy when Virginia left the Union. 

1864: Protest meetings occur in North Carolina over the Confederate conscription law. Men aged 18 to 45 are subject to military conscription. But only a small percentage of the Confederate Army and over 90 percent, are volunteers. The law was shortly expanded to ages 17 to 50. In the North, there was a major riot in New York City over the Federal conscription law. 

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Jan. 18.

Brigadier General Abraham Buford was born on this day in 1820 in Woodford County, Kentucky.  An 1841 graduate of West Point, Buford was a veteran of the Mexican-American War. Buford was on frontier duty afterward. He resigned in 1854 and was a farmer until the War for Southern Independence, when he became a brigadier general and commanded a brigade under Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest. His battles included Stones River, Champion Hill, Brice's Crossroads, Murfreesboro, Hood's Retreat, Richland Creek, Franklin, and Wilson's Raid. Following the war, he returned to farming and horse breeding in Kentucky. He died June 9, 1884, at Danville, Indiana, and was buried in Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, Ky.

Brig. Gen. Abraham Buford

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Brigadier General James Chesnut Jr. was born on this day in 1815 in Camden, South Carolina. He was a South Carolina aristocrat and politician who served in the U.S. Senate, the South Carolina Secession Convention was an aide to Gen. Beauregard in the firing on Fort Sumter in 1861 and at the First Battle of Manassas. He was appointed a colonel by President Davis and served as a military adviser to the President. Chestnut was the husband of Mary Chesnut, the famous Southern diarist. He was promoted to brigadier general in 1864 and commanded the South Carolina reserve forces. He was in the Battle of Tulifinny. After the war, he practiced law at Camden and formed the Conservative Party. Chesnut died Feb. 1, 1885, in Camden and was buried in the Chestnut Family Cemetery in Kershaw County, S.C.

Brig. Gen. James Chesnut Jr.

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Brigadier General Richard Caswell Gatlin was born on this day in 1809 in Lenoir, North Carolina. He was a 1832 graduate of West Point and ranked 35th in his class. Gatlin served in the Seminole War, on frontier duty, and defended Fort Brown, Texas, in the Mexican-American War. He then served in the Third Seminole War (1855-58), and in the Utah War (1857-58) of Gen. Albert Sydney Johnston. He was captured by Confederates at Fort Smith, Ark. in 1861, was paroled, resigned his commission in the U.S. Army, and served his state as adjutant general ofthe  N.C. militia with the rank of major general. He joined the Confederate Army and was made a colonel and assigned to coastal defense in N.C. Gatlin was promoted to brigadier general in August 1861 and assigned to command the Department of N.C. and coastal defenses. He was relieved from duty due to illness on March 19, 1862, and resigned in Sept. 1862, but later served as adjutant and inspector general of N.C. Following the war, he farmed in Sebastian County, Ark. In 1881, he moved to Fort Smith, Ark. He died at Mount Nebo, Ark., Sept. 8, 1896, and was buried at Fort Smith National Cemetery.

Brig. Gen. Richard C. Gatlin

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Brigadier General William Whann Mackall was born on this day in 1817 in Cecil County, Maryland. He was a 1837 graduate from West Point, where he ranked 8th in a class of 50 cadets. While serving as a 1st Lt. in the 1st U.S. Artillery Regiment, he was severely wounded on July 9, 1839, at River Inlet, Fla., during the Second Seminole War (1835-42). In the Mexican-American War, Mackall was in the battles of Monterey, Contreras, Churubusco, and Chapultepec, where he was wounded on Sept. 13, 1847. He resigned from the U.S. Army on July 3, 1861. He became adjutant general on Gen. A.S. Johnston's staff and commanded a brigade in the defenses of Island No. 10 in the Mississippi River, where he was taken prisoner. Mackall was exchanged on Aug. 15, 1862. He had a series of staff jobs and then commanded a brigade in Maj. Gen. J.H. Forney's division in the Dept. of Miss. & E. La. in 1863-64. Mackall then became chief of staff for Gen. Joseph E. Johnston in the Army of Tennessee. He refused to serve under Gen. John Bell Hood and remained inactive at Macon, Ga. His last duty in the war was commanding Confederate forces in South Georgia in March and April 1865. After the war, Mackall was in the real estate business and died on Aug. 12, 1891, on his farm in Fairfax County, Va., and was buried at Lewinsville Presbyterian Church Cemetery, McLean, Va.

Brig. Gen. William W. Mackall

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Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman was born on this day in 1816 in Claiborne County, Maryland. Tilghman graduated from West Point in the class of 1836 near the bottom of his class. Afterward, he served for only three months as a second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Dragoons and resigned. Tilghman then worked as a construction engineer, served as a volunteer in the artillery in the Mexican-American War, and in 1852 lived in Paducah, Ky. In the War for Southern Independence, he served as colonel of the 3rd Ky. Inf.  Tilghman was then appointed to construct defenses on the rivers in Gen. A.S. Johnston's western department. He was captured by the Federals at Fort Henry and exchanged on Aug. 15, 1862.  Tilghman became a brigade commander and fought at the Second Battle of Corinth. In the Vicksburg campaign, Tilghman was killed in action on May 16, 1863, at the Battle of Champion's Hill, Mississippi. His body was removed in 1902 to be buried next to his wife at Woodlawn Cemetery, The Bronx, New York City.

Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman

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Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, January 17.

Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Jan. 17. 

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Jan. 17.

1862: The Memphis Daily Appeal newspaper reports the Confederate Congress passed an act granting bonuses to all privates, musicians, and non-commissioned officers who volunteered for 12 months, will be paid a $50 bonus for reenlisting for three years or the end of the war, if sooner. A fleet of Federal gunboats attacked Confederate Fort Henry on the Tennessee River on this day as a prelude to a major advance along the river by the Federal Army. The Confederate bastion was a star-shaped fort 12 miles west of Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River. Fort Henry had 17 heavy artillery pieces, including a 10-inch Columbiad. 

1863: The Memphis Daily Appeal reports the casualties of the 5th Regiment Mississippi Volunteers for the Battle of Murfreesboro: Field and Staff--Wounds: Lieut. Col. W. K. Sykes, severely in the shoulder; Adj't W.M. Oglesby, slightly in the head; Acting Serg't-Major W.K. Meeks, killed. . . .

President Davis appointed three Confederate major generals and four brigadier generals on this day. The major generals were Daniel Smith Donelson, Jubal Anderson Early, and Isaac Ridgeway Trimble. The brigadier generals were Henry Lewis Benning, Robert Frederick Hoke, Samuel McGowan, and William Tatum Wofford.

Two unidentified Mississippi Confederates

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Jan. 17.

NONE.

CLICK👉The Tiger Rifles: The Making of a Louisiana Legend)

A history of Company B, 1st Special Battalion (Wheat's) Louisiana Volunteers in the War Between the States. The Tiger Rifles, Company B, of Wheat's Battalion became famous because of their flashy Zouave uniforms, their famous battalion commander, Major Roberdeau Wheat, and their heroics at First Battle of Manassas. Their nickname, Tigers, became attached, first to the battalion, and then to all Louisiana troops serving in the Army of Northern Virginia. The book tries to separate fact from myth with regards to the Tigers. The men became so notorious for their antics in camp, they got blamed for a lot of things they didn't do, although they did plenty on their own to deserve their reputation. Also examined is the possible real identity of their company commander, Captain Alexander White. His name is an alias but as far as is known, his real identity has been a mystery. The book focuses tightly on the men of the Tiger Rifles and brings them to life as much as the limited resources allows.

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, January 16.

Click 👉 TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Jan. 16.

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Jan. 16.

1863: CSS Florida slips out of Mobile Bay and past the blockade on this date to begin its naval campaign against Union commerce shipping. It was under the command of Lieutenant John Newland Maffitt. It was a sloop-of-war, 191 ft. long, 27.2 beams, 13 ft. draft, speed 9.5-knot speed, 1 46 crewmen. It had six, 6-inch rifled guns, two, 7-inch rifled guns, and one, 12-pounder boat howitzer.

1865: At the recently captured Fort Fisher, two drunken Federal soldiers foraging for loot enter with torches an ammunition magazine and blew up 13,000 pounds of gunpowder. Killed in the explosion were 25, and 66 were wounded. It was the largest Confederate fort and was manned by the entire 36th North Carolina Infantry. It also had numerous guns, including large-caliber, 8- and 10-inch Columbiads and other guns.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Jan. 16.

Major General George Edward Pickett was born on this day in 1825 in Richmond, Virginia. He graduated from West Point in 1846, the last in his class of 59 cadets. Pickett, a second lieutenant in the Mexican-American War, he fought in the Battle of Chapultepec, Mexico, and rose to the rank of captain. He participated Pig War of 1859. Resigning from the U.S. Army in 1861, he joined the Confederate Army and by January 1862 was a brigadier general. He led a brigade in the Peninsula Campaign, the Suffolk Campaign, the Battle of Gettysburg (most prominently in Pickett's Charge), the Second Battle of Petersburg, and finally the Appomattox Campaign and the Battle of Five Forks. Following the war, he moved to Canada and didn't return to Virginia in 1866. He died July 30, 1875, in Norfolk, Virginia, and was buried in Richmond, Virginia, at Hollywood Cemetery.

Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett

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Brigadier General James Phillip Simms was born on this day in 1837 in Covington, Georgia. Before the war, he practiced law in Covington, Ga., and was a brigadier general in the Georgia militia. Starting out the War for Southern Independence as a second lieutenant, he served in the 6th Georgia Militia, the 42nd Georgia Infantry, and worked his way up to a major in the 53rd Georgia Infantry and then colonel of the regiment. He was with this regiment at the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Battle of Salem Church, and the Battle of Gettysburg. He and his regiment were with Longstreet's Corps in the Chattanooga Campaign and the Knoxville Campaign in Tennessee, where he was wounded at the Battle of Fort Sanders. Simms commanded a brigade in Jubal Early's Valley Campaign of 1864 and distinguished himself at the Battle of Cedar Creek. He was promoted to brigadier general on Dec. 8, 1864, and was in the Siege of Petersburg and the Battle of Sayler's Creek on April 6, 1865. Captured at Sayler's Creek, he was released on July 24, 1865. Returning to Georgia, he resumed practicing law and served a term in the Georgia legislature. He died on May 30, 1887, at Covington, Ga., where he was buried in Southview Cemetery.

Brig. Gen. James P. Simms

Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, January 15.

Click 👉 TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Jan. 15.

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Jan. 15.

1861: SIEGE OF FORT PICKENS: On January 15, the militiamen of both Florida and Alabama at Fort Barrancas, Pensacola, Fla., demanded the surrender of Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island, but the Federal commander Lt. Adam J. Slemmer, refuses, and the standoff continues. 

The photograph shows Company B of the 9th Mississippi Infantry at Washington Navy Yard in Pensacola, Fla. in 1861. The cook is identified as Kinlock Falconer. (Information from the Image of War, 1981). Also depicted is Thomas A. Falconer of Holly Springs, Mississippi, holding a newspaper and James Cunningham standing at the center. (Source: Field, Ron. Silent Witness, 2017, page 43) (Library of Congress)

1865: Second Battle of Fort Fisher, North Carolina. Known as the "Gibraltar of the South," Federal land and sea forces attacked the Confederate bastion which was commanded by Major General H.C. Whiting and Colonel William Lamb and manned by soldiers from Major General Robert Hoke's North Carolina Division. Whiting was mortally wounded and Lamb wounded, so command was turned over to Major James Reilly. By 10 o'clock P.M., the fort was overwhelmed and surrendered. Confederates suffered 583 killed and wounded and the entire 1900-man garrison was captured. The Federal forces consisted of 9,632 soldiers, 2,261 sailors, and marines in 58 ships. Casualties of the Northerners were 111 killed, 540 wounded, and 13 missing, for the Army; and 88 killed, 271 wounded, and 34 missing for the Navy.

Col. William Lamb, wounded, second

in command to Gen. Whiting (mortally wounded)

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Jan. 15.

Major General John Cabell Breckinridge was born on this day in 1821 in Louisville, Kentucky.  Breckinridge had an impressive antebellum political career. He was in the Mexican American War briefly but the fighting was over before he got to the front. He was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives, and the U.S. Congress, was vice president under President Buchanan, and then was a U.S. Senator for Kentucky at the time the war began. He resigned from the Senate to join the Confederate Army. Although he had little military experience, he turned out to be one of the best of the many political generals. Commissioned a brigadier general, he led the Reserve Corps at the Battle of Shiloh and his performance there earned him a promotion to major general. He fought at the Battle of Baton Rouge, La. Aug. 5, 1862, the Battle of Perryville, Ky. Oct. 8, 1862, and then the very bloody Battle of Murfreesboro, Tenn. Dec. 31, 1862-Jan. 2, 1863. As part of the Vicksburg relief army, he was at the Battle of Jackson, Miss. in May 1863, then the Battle of Chickamauga in Sept. 1863, and then the battles for Chattanooga in Nov. 1863. After a falling out with Gen. Braxton Bragg, President Davis assigned him to Eastern Theater and gave him command of the Department of E. Tenn. and W. Va. where he won a major victory in the Battle of New Market, Va. May 15, 1864. He then led a division in the Battle of Cold Harbor, Va. where he was injured when his horse was hit by a cannonball and fell on him. While still recovering and unable to walk, he led his forces at the Battle of Lynchburg, Va., and saved the day for the Confederates. Breckinridge reorganized the Dept. of E. Tenn. & W. Va., and his troops successfully defended the Salt Works at the First Battle of Saltville. Later he was able to drive off another attack on that area. Breckinridge was appointed Confederate Secretary of War on Feb. 6, 1865. After Lee surrendered, he was in charge of the Confederate treasury, which had $150,000 worth of gold. With the capture of President Davis, some of his group surrendered but he escaped to Cuba after many adventures. After President Andrew Johnson proclaimed a general amnesty, Breckinridge returned to the U.S. He worked in the insurance business, received a professorship at Washington College, and served in several railroad positions. He died May 17, 1873, at age 54. He was buried in Lexington Cemetery.

Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge

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Major General Lafayette McLaws was born on this day in 1821 in Augusta, Georgia. He graduated from West Point in 1842, 48th in a class of 56 cadets. McLaws was an infantry officer in the Mexican-American War and served in the Utah War against the Mormons. He resigned from the U.S. Army in 1861 and became the colonel of the 10th Georgia Infantry in the Confederate Army. Promoted to brigadier general, he was in the Peninsular Campaign in 1862. He was promoted to major general on May 23, 1862, and led a division in the Army of Northern Virginia in the Seven Days Battles, the Second Battle of Manassas, Harper's Ferry, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Knoxville, after which he had a falling out with General Longstreet. McLaws was exonerated by a court-martial and was assigned to the defenses of Savannah, Ga. After the war, McLaws worked as a tax collector for the IRS, a postmaster in Savannah, and in various business ventures. He died in Savannah on July 24, 1897, and was buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws

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Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, January 14.

Click 👉 TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Jan. 14.

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Jan. 14.

1861: Fort Pike, which guards the Rigolets pass, which leads to Lake Borgne and the Gulf of Mexico, near New Orleans, Louisiana, is occupied by the Continental Guards, Co. B, Continental Reg't. La. Militia. Wearing tricorn hats was popular with some state militias and volunteer companies, both in the North and South, reminiscent of their Revolutionary War grandfathers. 

Some militia companies wore

uniforms inspired by the Revolutionary

War Continental Army uniforms. Pvt.

Albert B. Martin of the 3rd Co., 

The Washington Artillery of New Orleans

 is wearing a tri-corn hat.

1862: Three general officers were made on this day by President Jefferson Davis, including John Clifford Pemberton to Major General, John Ring Jackson, and George Edward Pickett, all brigadier generals.

1863: The CSS J.A. Cotton, commanded by Captain Emelius Woods Fuller, battled four Federal gunboats, the Calhoun, Diana, Estrella, and the Kinsman, as well as troops under Brig. Gen. Godfrey Weitzel in Bayou Teche, La., near Brashear City (modern-day Morgan City). Outgunned, the Cotton battles the enemy valiantly on the river while the bluecoats and Southern infantry in trenches battle onshore. The fight would continue into the next day.

1865: In Tupelo, Mississippi, General P.G.T. Beauregard takes temporary command of the Army of Tennessee. Later, Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor assumes command of the legendary Confederate Army and then Gen. Joseph E. Johnston is put in command for the remaining days of the war.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Jan. 14.

Brigadier General John Bullock Clark Jr. was born on this day in 1831 in Fayette, Missouri. He practiced law in Fayette until 1861, when he joined the Confederate Army as a lieutenant and was promoted successively to captain and major in the 6th Missouri Infantry. He fought in the battles of Springfield and Carthage, Mo., and was promoted to colonel and commanded a brigade at the Battle of Elk Horn Tavern, Ark. Clark was promoted to brigadier general on March 6, 1864, and fought in Price's Raid of 1864. After the war, Clark returned to practicing law in Fayette and was then elected to the U.S. Congress, where he served for 10 years. He then worked as the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives and remained in Washington, D.C. until his death on Sept. 7. 1903. He was buried in Rock Creek Cemetery in Clark, Mo. which was named in his honor.

Brig. Gen. John B. Clark

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Today in History (general history)/ Confederate General Birthday/ Confederate General Birthdays, January 13.

Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Jan. 13. 

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Jan. 13.

1861: President Buchanan receives envoys from South Carolina Gov. Francis W. Pickens and Major Robert Anderson, commander of Fort Sumter, to find a peaceful settlement of the standoff at Fort Sumter, Charleston, South Carolina. Buchanan refuses to surrender Fort Sumter. His efforts at compromise fail. While many modern historians rate Buchanan as the worst U.S. president, from a strict constitutionalist point of view, his approach was the correct approach. If his approach had been followed, a peaceful resolution may have eventually been found, hundreds of thousands of lives saved, and the country or countries may have had a much more peaceful and prosperous future.

President James Buchanan, the 15th U.S. President,

did not believe states had a right to secede.

He also believed that the federal government could not legally stop

a sovereign state from withdrawing from the Union. (Library of Congress)

1863: Confederate Major General Earl Van Dorn, leaving with his cavalry command at Tupelo, Miss., was ordered to move to Middle Tenn. and joined the Confederate Army of Tennessee in Middle Tenn. 

1865: U.S. Navy warships begin the bombardment of Fort Fisher, North Carolina in preparation for the landing of troops. The Confederate bastion is armed with 47 heavy artillery pieces and 2,000 crack troops to man the trenches and 6,000 more nearby. Federal General Alfred H. Terry successfully lands 8,000 troops north of the fort and dig in. 

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Jan. 13.

Brigadier General William Whedbee Kirkland was born on this day in 1833, in Hillsborough, North Carolina. He was appointed to West Point in 1852 but did not graduate and was commissioned a 2nd lt. in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1855. Kirkland participated in the Battle of Barrier Forts, China with a U.S. Navy and Marines detachment against Chinese forces in 1856. The Americans won. He resigned his commission in the U.S.M.C. in 1860. In 1861, Kirkland was elected colonel of the 21st N.C. Infantry. He was at the First Battle of Manassas, Va. but was not seriously involved in the fighting. He was seriously wounded at the First Battle of Winchester in 1862. While recovering Kirkland served on the staff of Gen. Patrick Cleburne at the Battle of Murfreesboro, Tenn. After returning to Virginia, he took part in the Battle of Gettysburg, Pa. with the 21st N.C. and was promoted to brigadier general in August. He was again wounded in action at the Battle of Bristoe Station and recuperated in time to take part in the Battle of the Wilderness and the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. Kirkland was wounded for the third time at the Battle of Cold Harbor. Transferred to Maj. Gen. Robert Hoke's Division, he took part in the defense of Fort Fisher at Petersburg, the defense of Fort Fisher, N.C., and the Battle of Bentonville, N.C. Kirkland moved to Savannah, Ga. after the war where he was in the commission business. Gen. Kirkland died May 12, 1915, and was buried at Elmwood Cemetery.

Brig. Gen. William W. Kirkland

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Brigadier General Humphrey Marshall was born on this day in 1812 in Frankfort, Kentucky. He graduated from West Point in 1832, took part in the Black Hawk War, and was breveted a 2nd lt. He resigned from the army in 1833 to study law but continued his military service in the Kentucky state militia. Marshall was a colonel of the 1st Kentucky Cavalry in the Mexican-American War and fought at the Battle of Buena Vista, Mexico. Afterward, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky after that war. In the War for Southern Independence, he was commissioned as a brigadier general in the Confederate Army and saw limited action in Western Virginia, including a loss at the Battle of Middle Creek. Marshall resigned in June 1862 but rejoined to take part in Bragg's Kentucky Campaign of 1862. Resigning again, he moved to Richmond, Va. to practice law. He was then elected to the Second Confederate Congress. After the war, Marshall moved to New Orleans, and then to Louisville, Ky. to practice law. He died there on March 28, 1872, and was buried in the State Cemetery in Frankfort, Ky.

Brig. Gen. Humphrey Marshall

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Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, January 12.

Click 👉 TODAY IN HISTORY (general History) Jan. 12.

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Jan. 12.

1861: After having occupied the abandoned Fort Barrancas at Pensacola, Florida, state troops demanded the surrender of the still Federal-held Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island, its barracks, Fort McCree, and the Warrington Naval Yard. This set up a long standoff situation.

A Confederate battery in one of the forts at Pensacola, Florida

1863: The third session of the Confederate Congress convened. In his address to Congress, President Davis spoke of his hopes for European recognition of the Confederacy. In concluding his speech, he gave this tribute to Southern womanhood: "In the homes of our noble and devoted women, without whose sublime sacrifices our success would have been impossible, the noise of the loom and of the spinning wheel may be heard throughout the land. With hearts swelling with gratitude, let us, then, join in returning thanks to God, and in beseeching the continuance of his protecting care over our cause and the restoration of peace with its manifold blessings to our beloved country."

President Jefferson Davis

(White House of the Confederacy)

Southern women supporting their Southern soldiers

(Library of Congress)

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Jan 12.

Major General Jones Mitchell Withers was born on this day in 1814 at Madison County, Alabama. He attended West Point and graduated with the class of 1835, 44th in class standing out of 56 cadets. Withers served one year in the U.S. Army and resigned to practice law in Alabama. He returned to the army for the Mexican-American War and served as a lieutenant colonel in the 13th Infantry and colonel of the 9th U.S. Infantry. Withers again resigned from the army on May 23, 1848, and entered politics, serving in the state legislature, U.S. House of Representatives, and as the mayor of Mobile, Ala. At the outbreak of war, he joined the Confederate Army as a colonel of the 3rd Alabama Infantry and was promoted to brigadier general in July 1861, and led a division at the Battle of Shiloh. He led his division at the Battle of Murfreesboro. He briefly resigned and then was restored as a major general and was given command of the Dept. of Ala., Miss., & E. La. Withers was paroled at the end of the war. After the war he was a cotton broker and became mayor of Mobile and editor of the Mobile Tribune newspaper. He died March 13, 1890, in Mobile and was buried at Magnolia Cemetery.

Maj. Gen. Jones M. Withers

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Brigadier General Joseph Robert Davis was born on this day in 1825 at Woodville, Mississippi. Before the war he practiced law. At the beginning of the War for Southern Independence, he served as a captain in the state militia, served as a lieutenant colonel of the 10th Mississippi Infantry, and then on the staff of President Jefferson Davis with the rank of colonel of cavalry. Davis was then commissioned a brigadier general Sept. 15, 1862. He then commanded a brigade at Gettysburg, the Wilderness, the Siege of Petersburg, and the Appomattox Campaign. After the war, he lived in Biloxi, Miss. died Sept. 15, 1896, and is buried in Biloxi Cemetery.

Brig. Gen. Joseph R. Davis

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Brigadier General Richard Waterhouse was born on this day in 1832 in Rhea County, Tennessee. As a youth, he ran away from home to join the army and fight in the Mexican-American War. Following that war he moved to San Augustin, Texas where he became a businessman. With the outbreak of war in 1861, he helped raise and was elected colonel of the 19th Texas Infantry in Walker's Texas Infantry Division, also called "Walker's Greyhounds" for their epic marching. Waterhouse fought at the Battle of Milliken's Ben, La., Battle of Mansfield, and the Battle of Pleasant Hill in La., the Jenkin's Ferry, Ark. during the Red River Campaign. He was appointed brigadier general by Dept. Cmdr. Gen. Kirby Smith to date from April 30, 1864, which was eventually confirmed by President Davis on March 18, 1865, and by the Confederate Senate on March 18, 1865. After the war, he lived in San Antonio and Jefferson, Texas, and was in the land business. Waterhouse died March 20, 1876, of pneumonia after a fall down some stairs two days earlier. He was buried in Jefferson, Texas.

Brig. General Richard Waterhouse

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