Eric | February 20, 2013
February 20, 1863 (Friday) Union General Nathaniel Banks did not have an easy job in his command at New Orleans. While it was true that he could hardly do a more damaging job than his predecessor, Benjamin “The Beast” Butler, he understood that it was a thin line upon which he walked. In November, Banks [...]
Eric | February 19, 2013
February 19, 1863 (Thursday) When last we left Confederate General Joe Johnston, headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, he wanted to take command of an army, any army. As it stood, he was the commander of the huge and unwieldy Department of the West. This behemoth encompassed Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama, including their coastal defenses. Two large [...]
Eric | February 9, 2013
February 9, 1863 (Monday) The Confederate Department of the Trans-Mississippi had been for quite some time now, more or less, without an overall commander. The department itself was huge, encompassing nearly 600,000 square miles. It consisted of Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Indian Territory (Oklahoma), Texas and Confederate Arizona Territory (southern New Mexico and Arizona). The Department [...]
Eric | January 29, 2013
January 29, 1863 (Thursday) Following the Battle of Stones River, Tennessee, nearly a month in the past, Confederate General Braxton Bragg retreated forty-five miles south to Tullahoma in defeat. Fortunately for him, Union commander William Rosecrans declined to follow. The defeat and withdrawal did nothing to bolster Bragg’s standing in the opinion of his men [...]
Eric | January 12, 2013
January 12, 1863 (Monday) Jefferson Davis was a man of letters. These letters made up words, and there were many, many words. His address was part State of the Union (or, rather, State of the Dis-Union) and part stump speech. Since the Confederate Congress had last met, much had happened, and Davis was reviewing, extolling [...]
Eric | December 16, 2012
December 16, 1862 (Tuesday) Joe Johnston’s job wasn’t getting any easier. Nearly two weeks had passed since he arrived in Chattanooga to take command of the Department of the West. Hot on his heels was President Jefferson Davis, who had popped in to see how things were going. The President made his appearance on December [...]
Eric | November 12, 2012
November 12, 1862 (Wednesday) When Confederate General Joe Johnston was taken to the rear during the battle of Seven Pines, it seemed almost certain that he was soon to die. Even President Jefferson Davis, never Johnston’s biggest fan, set aside his outward feelings to express true, heartfelt regret that the commander of the Army of [...]
Eric | October 31, 2012
October 31, 1862 (Friday) Braxton Bragg not only wanted to put the Kentucky Campaign behind him, he wanted others to forget about it too. However, soldiers and the public alike were calling for Joseph Johnston or P.G.T. Beauregard to take command. Even Bragg’s wife was critical of his performance during the past month. After chastising [...]
Eric | October 2, 2012
October 2, 1862 (Thursday) In Kentucky, things weren’t going so well for General Braxton Bragg. He, along with Kirby Smith, had invaded the Union-held state, threatened both Cincinnati and Louisville, but had been unable to win any kind of decisive victory that would wrest the state from Federal hands. Bragg and Smith’s Rebel forces had [...]
Eric | September 27, 2012
September 27, 1862 (Saturday) The first Conscription Act of the war came from the national government most remembered for its anti-Federal and “small government” ways. In April of 1862, the Confederate States of America decreed that all able-bodied, white men between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five be drafted into the army. Conscription is never [...]
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George from NJ on Pleasonton Looks for Lee – Finds Stuart Instead
Dave Boyes on Confederate Cavalry Rounds Up Pennsylvania Blacks, Free and Slave
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