Eric | May 11, 2013
May 11, 1863 (Monday) General Grant’s Army of the Tennessee snaked its way east along the Big Black River, consuming as it went. Entire farms were devoured as if descended upon by locusts. In fear of having to rely upon his potentially unreliable supply lines, Grant ordered his men to live off the land as [...]
Eric | May 10, 2013
May 10, 1863 (Sunday) “Tell Major Hawkes to send forward provisions to the men,” said General Jackson in a clear, steady voice. “Order A.P. Hill to prepare for action! Pass the infantry to the front!” But there was no Major Hawkes, just as there were no provisions. A.P. Hill was miles away, as was the [...]
Eric | May 9, 2013
May 9, 1863 (Saturday) Confederate General Joseph Johnston had commanded the Department of the West for five months. It had been a very trying time for him. Field command, such as he had during the Peninsula Campaign, suited him well. What amounted to a desk job where he played a gigantic game of chess with [...]
Eric | May 8, 2013
May 8, 1863 (Friday) When last we checked in with General Grant, he and two-thirds of his Army of Tennessee had landed on the eastern bank of the Mississippi and had an intense throwdown with Confederates at Port Gibson on May 1st. In the week that had since passed, he was not stagnant. What Grant [...]
Eric | May 7, 2013
May 7, 1863 (Thursday) President Lincoln had left Washington the previous afternoon, booking a steamer to take him down the Potomac to the Federal depot at Aquia Creek. Arriving in the morning, he, along with General-in-Chief Henry Halleck, took a special train consisting of but a locomotive and a single box car to Falmouth. They [...]
Eric | May 6, 2013
May 6, 1863 (Wednesday) Throughout the entirety of the long battle at Chancellorsville, General Hooker kept President Lincoln in the dark. This was a calculated effort, not to hide his machinations from the Executive in Chief, but to make sure that his movements were kept as closely guarded as possible. In Hooker’s estimation, Lincoln’s curiosity [...]
Eric | May 5, 2013
May 5, 1863 (Tuesday) General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, under General Joe Hooker, stared at each other through the thickly grown wilderness near Chancellorsville. Unknown to Lee, Hooker had decided that he would withdraw his troops across the Rappahannock River and return to his old camps near [...]
Eric | May 4, 2013
May 4, 1863 (Monday) Union General John Sedgwick was a fighting man. His VI Corps had been left behind at Falmouth, while the rest of the Army of the Potomac, under Joe Hooker, attempted to outflank General Lee. Over the past three days, of course, things didn’t go as planned and the bulk of the [...]
Eric | May 3, 2013
May 3, 1863 (Sunday) All through the long night into the dawn, General Joe Hooker completely reorganized his defenses at Chancellorsville. Stonewall Jackson’s flank attack had smashed his right flank and compressed his lines to a piece of high ground called Hazel Grove. John Reynold’s newly-arrived I Corps now held his fully refused right, while [...]
Eric | May 2, 2013
May 2, 1863 (Saturday) For General Joe Hooker, commanding the Union Army of the Potomac, the night had been one of preparation. His army had entrenched around the crossroads of Chancellorsville in hopes that General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia would attack, and expected one on his front, where Lee’s Army had spent the night. [...]
Eric on Big Black River Bridge – Pemberton’s Last Stand
Namuni Young on Big Black River Bridge – Pemberton’s Last Stand
Marc on You Must Ultimately Surrender – The Siege of Vicksburg Begins
AceGerard on You Must Ultimately Surrender – The Siege of Vicksburg Begins Namuni Young on Introducing the Project
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