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  • 1862 Sterling Price assumes command of the Confederate Army of the West

    1863

    At Vicksburg John Pemberton , commander of Confederate forces recognizes there is little chance of relief from Johnston’s forces at Jackson. As much as he hates it he asks Ulysses S. Grant for terms. Grant demands an unconditional surrender. Pemberton refuses. Late in the evening, Grant offers excellent terms and Pemberton accepts. Mississippi

    After an early morning assault on Culp’s Hill fails, the divisions of Pickett, Pettigrew and Trimble assault the center of the Federal line at Gettysburg. In a reverse of Fredericksburg from the previous December, the 2nd Corps stands behind a stone wall and stops the Confederate assault. Union artillery managed by Henry Hunt was instrumental in stopping the attack. An attempt by Stuart to lead a cavalry attack around to the rear of the AOP is stopped by an assault of the Wolverine Brigade led by George Custer. As the Confederates pull back to Seminary Ridge a heavy thunderstorm blankets the battlefield.

    1864 Jubal Early moves his army into the Lower Shenandoah Valley to threaten Winchester and Harpers Ferry and prepares to attack the B&O Railroad.

    A General Abandonment of the Road | Civil War Daily Gazette

    1867 House Select Committee on Reconstruction is appointed

    1926 Petersburg designated a National Military Park
    “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
    Mark Twain

    Comment


    • 1856 Under direct orders from President Franklin Pierce, General Edwin Vose Sumner leads 200 infantrymen into Topeka, Kansas, unlimbers his artillery and informs the Freestaters they may not hold a convention.

      1857 Sewanee, The University of the South is founded by Leonidas Polk at the top of Lookout Mountain

      1859 The Oregon Flag (33 Star) is introduced. It will be the first flag under which U. S. troops enter the Civil War.

      1861 The Kansas Flag (34 Star) is introduced.

      Leonidas Polk is put in charge of the Confederate Department Number 2.

      1862 John Hunt Morgan leads a Confederate raid into Kentucky

      1863 Morgan's men run into a contingent of federal troops in Columbus, Kentucky

      Ulysses S. Grant accepts the surrender of the second Confederate Army he has defeated, at Vicksburg Mississippi and the Army of the Tennessee marches into the city. Sherman begins to organize a force centered on his own XVth Corps and McPherson’s XVIIth Corps to head east towards Jackson to deal with Joe Johnston’s relief force.

      The spot where Grant & Pemberton met to discuss terms is marked today by this cannon.



      Apocryphally, the 4th of July would not be celebrated as a holiday in Vicksburg until 1944.

      The West Virginia flag (35 Star) is introduced. This is the final Union flag of the Civil War.

      As Lee’s army retreats from Gettysburg, Custer’s Brigade attacks the rear of the column at the Battle of Monetrey Pass. The line of wagons full of casualties in the ANV stretches 17 miles. Along a separate route, the line of wagons filled with plunder taken from Pennsylvania farms and towns stretches 20 miles.

      1864 "Retreating Joe" Johnston, as he is now called in the Richmond papers, withdraws to his previously prepared Chattahoochee Line Georgia.
      Battle of Helena Arkansas

      1868 North Carolina ratifies the 14th Amendment
      Attached Files
      “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
      Mark Twain

      Comment


      • Busy day, AR.
        To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato

        Comment


        • JAD, you could almost sense all were striving to make a mark due to the date.

          New stars are normally added on the 4th but the rest seemed to be circumstances.
          “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
          Mark Twain

          Comment


          • AR: Have you heard anything about this book?

            Here's what David Petraeus, chairman of KKR Global Institute and visiting professor of public policy at the City University of New York's Macaulay Honors College told Politico magazine: "I recommend the just-published Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman, by Robert O'Connell-a superb examination of the many facets of the iconic Union general who emerged as Ulysses S. Grant's most trusted battlefield commander. O'Connell's biography of Sherman brings to life an enigmatic, fascinating figure who emerged a brilliant strategist and a master of maneuver, and whose victories in 1864 helped to ensure Abraham Lincoln's re-election and ultimately turned the tide of the Civil War."
            To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato

            Comment


            • JAD, other than hearing about it at a seminar this spring that is the first.

              Need to add to my to do list.

              To today's events:

              1854 Franklin Pierce swears Andrew Reeder in as territorial governor of Kansas in Washington, D. C.

              1861 Skirmish at Laurel Hill, Virginia (now West Virginia).

              1862 Battle of Hill's Plantation, Arkansas

              1863 Federal troops sack Brierfield, the plantation home of Jefferson Davis in Mississippi

              Braxton Bragg completes his withdrawal from Tullahoma to Chattanooga

              1864

              Confederate forces are reported in western Maryland. Lew Wallace sends forces out trying to confirm reports

              http://civilwardailygazette.com/2014...e-forces-here/

              1865 Secretary of War Edwin Stanton orders Union troops to stand guard at Ford's Theater to prevent it from reopening following the assasination of President Lincoln.

              Conspirators Lewis Payne, George A. Atzerodt, David Herold and Mary Surratt are hung in Washington, D. C. for the assassination of President Lincoln.
              Last edited by Albany Rifles; 07 Jul 14,, 18:07. Reason: Posted wrong crap again!!!
              “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
              Mark Twain

              Comment


              • Here's what David Petraeus, chairman of KKR Global Institute and visiting professor of public policy at the City University of New York's Macaulay Honors College told Politico magazine: "I recommend the just-published Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman, by Robert O'Connell-a superb examination of the many facets of the iconic Union general who emerged as Ulysses S. Grant's most trusted battlefield commander. O'Connell's biography of Sherman brings to life an enigmatic, fascinating figure who emerged a brilliant strategist and a master of maneuver, and whose victories in 1864 helped to ensure Abraham Lincoln's re-election and ultimately turned the tide of the Civil War."
                that spawns another what-if in my mind; what if in Jul 1864, Davis, seeing the stalemate at Petersburg, sent Lee and his staff to fight Sherman while having Joe Johnston take over the defense of Richmond?

                i wonder given the constraints how much that would have made a difference. Lee would have been more aggressive than Johnston, that's for sure...and a lot better than Hood.
                There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

                Comment


                • In that scenario I see Petersburg & Richmond falling in the fall of 1864 and maybe Atlanta drawing out another month.

                  I can not imagine the officers and men of the ANV listening to any other leader than Marse Robert in 1864. And I do not believe Lee would agree to leave Virginia. He may have caused a Constitutional crisis within the Confederate government.

                  And Sherman had the forces to grind down the Army of Tennessee regardless of who was is command. Hardee may have worked better with Lee than Hood but the fact remained that the Army of Tennesse would have been ground down so far down to almost ineffective.
                  “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                  Mark Twain

                  Comment


                  • Originally posted by Albany Rifles View Post

                    1864

                    Congress appropriates $2 million for restoration of Ford's Theater
                    It's picky time. Several Civil War timeline sites have this appropriation happening in 1864, but in fact it happened on July 7, 1964. What raised my suspicion is that $2 million in 1864 would have built 10 Ford theaters. Ford himself renovated it for $10,000 several years before the fateful assassination.
                    To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by JAD_333 View Post
                      It's picky time. Several Civil War timeline sites have this appropriation happening in 1864, but in fact it happened on July 7, 1964. What raised my suspicion is that $2 million in 1864 would have built 10 Ford theaters. Ford himself renovated it for $10,000 several years before the fateful assassination.
                      Good catch...I thought I had deleated before posting....let me go fix that now.
                      “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                      Mark Twain

                      Comment


                      • Originally posted by Albany Rifles View Post
                        In that scenario I see Petersburg & Richmond falling in the fall of 1864 and maybe Atlanta drawing out another month.

                        I can not imagine the officers and men of the ANV listening to any other leader than Marse Robert in 1864. And I do not believe Lee would agree to leave Virginia. He may have caused a Constitutional crisis within the Confederate government.

                        And Sherman had the forces to grind down the Army of Tennessee regardless of who was is command. Hardee may have worked better with Lee than Hood but the fact remained that the Army of Tennesse would have been ground down so far down to almost ineffective.
                        And what's to say that Lee wouldn't have concluded that Johnston's tactics of stall and withdrawal was the only course given the imbalance in forces in Sherman's favor. Of course, the south didn't know Sherman's plans to cut through the underbelly of the south, but once it realized what was afoot, Johnston, on account of his cautious tactics, could have survived to try to disrupt Sherman's progress. That would have relieved pressure on Lee's backside. Hood's helter skelter bravado tore up some turf but frittered away his ability to harass Sherman. In this case, Davis blundered, probably in part because he loathed Johnston and in part because he let himself be swayed by public opinion.
                        To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato

                        Comment


                        • AR,

                          I can not imagine the officers and men of the ANV listening to any other leader than Marse Robert in 1864.
                          didn't realize ANV was -that- personality based! there was some grumbling with the AOP after Grant went to the Eastern Theater (even given Meade's nominal control), and the AOP had the harder job: attacking in pretty crappy terrain. hard to believe the ANV would have just given up the ghost if Davis explained that stopping Sherman from ripping apart the homeland was paramount.

                          In that scenario I see Petersburg & Richmond falling in the fall of 1864
                          because of the staff intolerance of Lee being sent away, or because of the respective performance gap in the generals? if the latter, i can't see Johnston being quite that bad. he was fairly competent given the cards he was dealt, and he "just" had to deal with being the defender of a siege.

                          and I do not believe Lee would agree to leave Virginia. He may have caused a Constitutional crisis within the Confederate government.
                          didn't Lee command the Dept of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida early in the war?

                          finally, sherman went on his March to the Sea primarily because he read his opponent accurately. i'm not sure he would have executed such a bold move knowing that Lee vice Hardee/Hood was there. i wonder what the "logical" option after the fall of Atlanta would have been.
                          There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

                          Comment


                          • Jad & Astralis,

                            The ANV was not quite a cult of personality but....

                            The ANV was kept together in the aftermath of the Overland by Lee's will. If Lee had left there may have been a wave of resignations amongst the ANV officer corps.

                            look at this a different way. We are about to celebrate the 150th of the Monocacy Campaign and then The Valley. Based on his previous experiences, do you think Joe Johnston would have allowed such an independent command to exist when he was desperate for Infantry? He wanted Pemberton to abandon Vicksburg after all. I believe he would have assuredly called Early back....which would have caused its own shitstorm. That would have given Grant, the 6th Corps, 8th Corps & 10th Corps to add to his combat power at Petersburg along with the Cavalry Corps.

                            That is a lot more striking power.

                            That is why I say Petersburg & Richmond fall sooner.

                            And if Lee is in Atlanta? After the Chattahoochee there is not very good terrain to use as defensive lines once you get to Atlanta and as your head east its taht way until you get intot eh swamps of the low country. Lee really would have had to stand and fight unless he wanted to pull back into the area around Augusta...but strategically how is that different than Nashville? Sherman still gets Atlanta. By the time Johnston is relieved he had taken 15,000-17,000 casualties...half of what the army would take in the campaign. Sherman still had about 105,000-110,000 to roughly 48,000. I admit Lee would have done better than Hood. But if Lee stayed in Atlanta Sherman could have surrounded the city (unlike P-burg`-Rich) and then its a siege.

                            And who wins a siege?
                            “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                            Mark Twain

                            Comment


                            • Originally posted by Albany Rifles View Post
                              Jad & Astralis,

                              The ANV was not quite a cult of personality but....

                              The ANV was kept together in the aftermath of the Overland by Lee's will. If Lee had left there may have been a wave of resignations amongst the ANV officer corps.

                              look at this a different way. We are about to celebrate the 150th of the Monocacy Campaign and then The Valley. Based on his previous experiences, do you think Joe Johnston would have allowed such an independent command to exist when he was desperate for Infantry? He wanted Pemberton to abandon Vicksburg after all. I believe he would have assuredly called Early back....which would have caused its own shitstorm. That would have given Grant, the 6th Corps, 8th Corps & 10th Corps to add to his combat power at Petersburg along with the Cavalry Corps.

                              That is a lot more striking power.

                              That is why I say Petersburg & Richmond fall sooner.
                              I don't know as much about Johnston, but one of the things that helped the ANV extend Petersburg operations was the culture of the aggressive counterattack instilled by Lee and demanded by him. Every Union operation at Petersburg was contested with a stiff counterattack that often stymied Union aims. While it eventually bled the ANV nearly dry, it certainly prevented the AoP and AoJ from cutting off the LOCs into Petersburg sooner. Remove that aggressiveness, and the Union cuts Petersburg by the fall if not the summer of 1864.
                              "So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand." Thucydides 1.20.3

                              Comment


                              • 1856 Grand jury indicts Preston Brooks for the assault on Charles Sumner. He pleads guilty and pays a $300 fine

                                1862 Abraham Lincoln visits with George McClellan at Harrison's Landing

                                1863 After crossing the Ohio River on captured steamboats, Morgan and his men loot Mauckport and Corydon, IN

                                1864 Army of the Ohio under General John Schofield [US] crosses the Chattahoochee River at Sope (Soap) Creek
                                “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                                Mark Twain

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