What was the most significant event on April 3 during the U.S. Civil War 2017 update?

2017-04-14T16:49:34-04:00

In April 1861 Fort Sumter, South Carolina was in peril. By April 1865 the CSA President, cabinet and staff had fled their capital of Richmond, Virginia and arrived in Danville, Virginia.
In 1861, some vessels at sea were unaware that southern states were rebelling or that Fort Sumter was being besieged. The captain of the Boston-home-port vessel Rhoda H. Shannon was making his way to Charleston, SC when CSA batteries began to fire across his bow. [details below]
In 1863, ironically the Confederate governor of Arkansas supported centralized government of Richmond more than states’ rights.
In 1865. fighting would continue in other parts of the Confederacy as news traveled slowly and some decided not to concede even though the CSA President and many military commanders had surrendered.
Many were honorable but some became bandits. In any event, nobody desires to be the last soldier killed in a conflict or to be killed after the war has been ended.
Wednesday, April 3, 1861: The unhappy story of the Rhoda H. Shannon. “Major Anderson was nearly out of supplies. His command was receiving some dwindling amount from Charleston, but that appeared to be tapering off. He wrote to Washington asking yet again for instructions. Was he to be starved out? What was he to do once his provisions were exhausted? [1]
But then, for a moment, he thought he might have his answer.
At half-past two in the afternoon, a guard ran into the mess hall. A schooner flying the stars and stripes was in the harbor! The Confederate batteries on Morris Island had her under fire!
Anderson immediately ordered several guns to be readied.
Captain Joseph Marts, skipper of the Rhoda H. Shannon, a private ship out of Boston, hardly followed the news. He had heard of some trouble in Charleston and maybe something of a few Southern states making their own nation, but rumors and nothing more than that.
What he did know was that the Rhoda H. Shannon had a 180-tons of rice to deliver to Savannah. What he thought he knew was that he had arrived at his destination. Charleston’s lighthouse guided him into what he believed was Tybee Roads, off Savannah.
Marts believed he saw a pilot boat waiting to guide him to the docks. Ignorantly, he ran up the United States flag in the fore rigging as a signal to be lead ashore. Seeing no response after a few minutes, he began to bring his vessel into the harbor.
He guided the schooner past what he believed to be Tybee Island, but was actually Morris Island, where, unknown to him, multitudes of heavy artillery were pointed directly at the Rhoda H. Shannon.
A shot rang out from the island and a ball streaked across the sky and over his bow.
Whispers of a possible attempt to resupply Fort Sumter had been in the air as much as the rumors of surrender. The Confederate officers expected Sumter’s reinforcement as much as they expected its abandonment.
When the Confederate gunners saw an unidentified ship, flying no colors, passing before Morris Island to enter the main ship channel, a mile away from Fort Sumter, they followed orders (and tradition) to fire a single shot over the bow of the ship.
Marts took this shot as a warning to show his colors. Following these suspected orders, the stars and stripes were run up to his gaff peak. The Confederates, having also the orders to fire upon any ship flying those colors, lobbed several more shots over her bow.
Captain Marts had no idea what they wanted or what to do. He would continue on his course.
Marts, the unfortunate schooner’s captain lowered his colors and continued on his way. The firing continued as well. None of the shots struck his vessel, but when one ball tore through the mainsail, passing just two feet from the boom, he turned her about to put out to sea.
Even with this “retreat,” at least one battery continued to fire upon him until he was out of their range. He anchored in the Swash Channel, away from Morris Island, but just inside the bar.
Captain Marts welcomed a small boat sent from the nearby Fort Sumter by Major Anderson, needing to know what the ship was about and why she was fired upon. The men from Sumter gathered information and informed the Captain exactly where he was.
The ship was in some rough water, so they advised him to either anchor farther out to sea or continue on to Savannah.
Having enough, Captain Marts took the Rhoda H. Shannon and guided her back out to sea, wanting nothing more to do with whatever was going on in Charleston. [2]
[1] Official Records, Series I, Vol. 1, p234.
[2] Official Records, Series I, Vol. 1, p236 – 240. Some help was given by Allegiance by David Detzer, who had access to a few sources I did not. However, the bulk of this story comes from the Official Records.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/the-unhappy-story-of-the-rhoda-h-shannon/
Friday, April 3, 1863: Unable to feed the hungry in Richmond, Jefferson Davis tried to reassure Arkansas. “While the women of Richmond again threatened to protest and riot over food shortages in the city, President Jefferson Davis turned to matters he could better understand: the importance of the Mississippi River. At the start of the war, the South controlled (or at least had access to) pretty much the entire stretch from Cairo, Illinois south to New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico. Two years later, all that was left was Port Hudson and Vicksburg, both on the eastern bank.
That is not to say that Confederate forces didn’t have some control over other portions on the western bank. The Red River, including Fort Taylor, for example, was wide open (though Union Admiral Farrugut was threatening to blockade it).
With this in mind, President Davis took up his pen and wrote to Arkansas Governor Harris Flanagin. Governor Flanagin was a Northern by birth. He grew up in New Jersey, attending a Quaker school before moving to Pennsylvania, where he became a mathematics professor. In Illinois, he established his own school and soon after became a lawyer. For the two decades prior to the war, however, he lived in Arkansas, where he entered politics. That only lasted till the early 1850s, when he gave it up for a more local home life.
When the war broke out, he was, at first, a Unionist, but when Arkansas seceded, he did as well, and joined the Confederate army. Following the battles of Wilson’s Creek and Pea Ridge, he was promoted to colonel of an Arkansas Mounted Regiment. A year later, while serving in the Army of Tennessee, he was nominated for the position of Arkansas’ Governor. He surprisingly won, beating out incumbent, Henry Massie Rector, who was threatening to secede from the Confederacy.
What really set him apart from the previous governor was that he was completely fine with Richmond’s usurpation of states rights. He did not oppose the draft, and, like Davis, was in favor of a strong central government.
He had written Davis on January 5th, but the President could not find the time to reply until this date, three months later. “The defense of the Mississippi River on both banks has been considered by me as of primary importance,” wrote Davis, “and I can assure you that you cannot estimate more highly than I do the necessity of maintaining an unobstructed communication between the States that are separated by the river.” This necessity for “unobstructed communication,” of course, didn’t mean that Arkansas would always get a timely reply.
Davis then went on to explain his strategy for keeping the Mississippi open, deeming Port Hudson and Vicksburg indispensable. “If we succeed, as I have confidence we shall, in maintaining these two positions,” continued Davis, assuming quite a lot, “we preserve the ability to furnish the munitions and ordnance stores necessary for the supply of the troops on the west bank, and to throw across the river adequate forces for meeting the enemy, if he should transfer his campaign from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama to Arkansas and Louisiana.”
Davis figured that since Port Hudson and Vicksburg could not be taken by the Federals, they would next invade Arkansas and Louisiana. Governor Flanagin had requested more troops, specifically those from Arkansas and Missouri, to be sent back to his state, where the Confederates were greatly outnumbered.
The President responded, telling him that “we are sadly outnumbered on all our lines of defense.” Nevertheless, “it will be found that the disproportion between the opposing forces has been more largely against us on the eastern than on the western side.”
…
When Flanagin wrote Davis in January, he asserted that there were only forty regiments in the entire state. Davis, with new information at hand, had to break the news that actually the number was quite a bit closer to twenty-four. He tried to soften the blow by telling him that the numbers might be a bit off if one took into account Arkansas troops from regiments sent to other states that had deserted and fled back to their homes, quite possibly joining up with other Arkansas Regiments. but probably not.
What this all boiled down to was Flanagin’s (and others’) complaints that Arkansas and Missouri troops were being taken out of their home state to fight elsewhere. “Our safety, our very existence,” expounded Davis, “depends on the complete blending of the military strength of all the States into one united body that is to be used anywhere, everywhere, as the exigencies of the contest may require for the good of the whole.”
Flanagin, being a supporter of a more centralized government, probably understood this well. There had been pressure from Arkansas politicians to push this agenda with Richmond. Still, Davis explained the philosophy behind it: “The discipline and efficiency of our armies have been found to be far greater when the troops were separated from their homes, and thus delivered from the constant temptation to absent themselves from duty presented by proximity to their families.” It was almost like Davis was admitting that many of the soldiers didn’t support the cause.
In closing, Davis assured him that he would make an effort to make sure there were enough troops “to protect your State to the utmost extent of our ability.” He reminded him of the recent command change placing General Kirby Smith at the head of the Department of the Trans-Mississippi, and hoped it would have a “good effect in satisfying the good people of your State, and supplies of arms and munitions will be constantly forwarded as rapidly as our resources and means of transportation will permit.” [1]
[1] Sources: The Confederate Governors edited by Buck Yearns; Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 53, p865-866.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/unable-to-feed-the-hungry-davis-tries-to-reassure-arkansas/

Pictures: 1861-04-03 Approach to Fort Sumter by the Rhoda H. Shannon map; 1865-04-03 in Petersburg, Lincoln met Grant for the final time during the campaign at the Wallace House; 1865-04-03 Union Troops enter Richmond VA Leslie's Illustrated; 1865-04-03 US officers scrambled to the top of the Confederate state house–a building designed by Thomas Jefferson–and raised the Stars and Stripes atop the building. The officer responsible, Johnson de Peyster, hailed from New York

A. 1862: CSA Gen A.S. Johnson and Maj Gen U.S. Grant converge their forces towards Shiloh Church, [alternately known as Pittsburg Landing] Tennessee. CSA Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston had planned to piecemeal defeat the Union forces before the various Union units in Kentucky and Tennessee consolidated. U.S. Grant had 40,000 men at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, and Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell was on his way from Nashville with 35,000 men. Johnston started his army in motion on April 3, 1862, intent on surprising Grant's force as soon as the next day, but they moved slowly due to their inexperience, bad roads and lack of adequate staff planning. Due to the delays, as well as several contacts with the enemy, Johnston's second in command, P. G. T. Beauregard, felt the element of surprise had been lost and recommended calling off the attack.
B. 1863: Engagement at Snow Hill, Tennessee. A Union detachment of 1,500 infantry and cavalry, commanded by Brig. Gen. David S. Stanley, was sent on a scouting expedition toward the area of Snow Hill. The Confederate force in the area was commanded by Col. Richard M. Gano. Gano learned of the Union approach and stationed his men at Snow's Hill. Snow's Hill was a series of level-topped ridges and deep ravines sloping westward from a plateau into the valley where Liberty was located. Gano deployed his 2 brigades in a defensive line midway down the ridges.
At daylight, Stanley fired on the Confederate line with his artillery. This had a devastating effect on the Confederates. Next, the Union infantry charged the Confederate line while the Union cavalry advanced up a dry creek bed on the Confederate left flank. Surrounded, the Confederate force was soon routed.
C. 1864: Major General Banks began his preliminary deployments for the Red River campaign, ironclads USS Eastport, USS Mound City, USS Osage, USS Ozark, USS Neosho, USS Chillicothe, USS Pittsburgh, and USS Louisville and steamers USS Fort Hindman, USS Lexington, and USS Cricket convoyed Major General A. J. Smith’s corps from Alexandria to Grand Ecore, Louisiana. The troops disembarked (with the exception of a division under Brigadier General T. Kilby Smith) and marched to join banks at Natchitoches for the overland assault on Shreveport, to be supported by ships of the Mississippi Squadron.
D. 1865: The US flag is flown over the towns of Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia, by the Union forces. It is made official that Brig. General Godfrey Weitzel and the Army of the James formally accepted the city of Richmond’s surrender. Meanwhile, Confederate President Davis and his cabinet arrived in Danville, Virginia.
The Union cavalry entered Richmond. By 7:15 Monday morning, April 3, two guidons of the Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry flew over the capitol building. Not long after, two officers of the 13th New York Artillery took down the little triangular flags and ran up the great United States flag. Union General Godfrey Weitzel sent a telegram to General Grant: "We took Richmond at 8:15 this morning. I captured many guns. The enemy left in great haste. The city is on fire in two places. Am making every effort to put it out. The people received us with enthusiastic expressions of joy."
Weitzel ordered his troops to put out the fire. The city's two fire engines worked, bucket brigades were formed. Threatened buildings were pulled down to create firebreaks. Five hours later the wind finally shifted, and they began to bring it under control. All or part of at least 54 blocks were destroyed, according to Furgurson. Weitzel wrote "The rebel capitol, fired by men placed in it to defend it, was saved from total destruction by soldiers of the United States, who had taken possession." And the city rested

The Unhappy Story of the Rhoda H. Shannon

Wednesday, April 3, 1861 Major Anderson was nearly out of supplies. His command was receiving some dwindling amount from Charleston, but that appeared to be tapering off. He wrote to Washington ask…

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Apr 14 at 2017 4:52 PM

2017-04-14T16:52:42-04:00

In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln shrewdly recognized that George B. McClellan’s calculation for the defense of Washington was no accurate as the latter puffed up the numbers. Accordingly, President Lincoln charged Secretary Stanton with picking either Maj gen Irvin McDowell’s First Corps or Maj Gen Edwin Sumner’s Second Corps to be plucked from the Army of the Potomac and stationed near Washington. Stanton selected McDowell’s Corps.
In 1863, second straight day of food shortage protests in Richmond, VA. A group of Richmonders gathers to protest food shortages, but is discouraged from rioting.
1864 Report from Richmond, VA: The James River is very high, and all the streams are so much swollen that no military operations in the field are looked for immediately. … So no diminution of prices is yet experienced. It is now a famine.
1865 Richmond authorities, after learning of reports of looting by Union soldiers in other southern cities which fell worked to burn the supplies of tobacco and destroy the liquor supplies. The burning tobacco caused fires which union forces helped put out the following day. Liquor was dumped into the gutters but the smell attracted too many wannabe drinkers who filled their hats up with whiskey and/or lapped it from the gutters.
Thursday, April 3, 1862: Lincoln finds no need for George B. McClellan’s mathematical fuzziness, He keeps a Corps for his own. “President Lincoln had added up General McClellan’s fuzzy math, which left less than 30,000 troops in the vicinity of Washington (and Manassas), even though he (McClellan) assured him that there were over twice that number.
Most of McClellan’s Army of the Potomac was already in the vicinity of Fortress Monroe on the Virginia Peninsula. Still in the Washington area were General Irvin McDowell’s First Corps and General Edwin Sumner’s Second Corps. Before leaving Washington, McClellan had ordered Sumner’s Corps to leave first and for McDowell’s not to leave the capital until the rest of the army was before Richmond.
Lincoln’s main fear was that without the Army of the Potomac at its gates, Washington could easily fall to a Rebel attack. McDowell assured Lincoln that he and his corps would still be around until it was certain that the Confederates had pulled back all the way to Richmond.
When McDowell called his division commanders together, informing them that they would pull out of Washington around the 8th or the 9th. Pulling longtime confidant, General William Franklin, aside, he revealed that he suspected Lincoln was about to make some big changes to McClellan’s plans.
Secretary of War Edwin Stanton wished to speak to McDowell, which probably tipped off the latter that something was up. When he finally met with him, it was clear that Lincoln wasn’t the only one worried about Washington.
General James Wadsworth, in command of the garrison troops about the city, had complained about McClellan’s fuzzy math. Other officers even stated that McClellan had disobeyed Presidential orders by not leaving Washington secure. [7] Disregarding the logic that if the Rebel army was protecting Richmond, it couldn’t possibly attack Washington, Lincoln charged Secretary Stanton with picking either McDowell’s First Corps or Sumner’s Second Corps to be plucked from the Army of the Potomac and stationed near Washington. [8]
Stanton selected McDowell’s Corps. The specific orders, and perhaps a few changes here and there, would be made out the following day.
[7] Army of the Potomac; McClellan’s First Campaign by Russel Beatie, Savas Beatie, 2007.
[8] Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Volume 5. p179.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/rebels-prepare-to-attack-grant-mcclellan-loses-his-first-corps/
Sunday April 3, 1864: ‘An almost impenetrable thicket’ – skirmishing through the Arkansas hills. “General Frederick Steele and his small army weren’t exactly surrounded, though the Confederates under John Marmaduke were doing the best they could. Both forces in southern Arkansas were woefully under staffed and exhausted from well over a week’s worth of hard marching. Steele had descended from Little Rock, while Marmaduke’s three brigades emerged from their winter quarters at Camden.
By the 1st, (as we covered), Steele had made it past Arkadelphia, and Marmaduke was scrambling his dispersed troops to hit him in his front, flank and rear. On the 2nd, the Rebels made their move. General Joseph Shelby, commanding a brigade under Marmaduke, scrambled from Arkadelphia, hitting the Federal rear guard. There was some tough scrapes, but the Confederates were eventually repulsed. Steele’s cavalry, riding well to the front of the southern-moving column, scouted for Marmaduke’s two other brigades under Colton Green and William Cabell.
Steele had his choice of roads, and quickly sent the cavalry around the Rebel flank, seizing Elkin’s Ferry on the Little Missouri River, and later fortifying it with a brigade of infantry. With the road to Washington more or less secure, Steele could once more focus upon his rear, where the Rebels under Shelby were reorganizing for an attack.
In some attempt to throw the Confederates off their trail, Steele sent cavalry and infantry under Adolph Engelmann forward on the main road, while the rest of his command headed for Elkin’s Ferry. Engelmann’s Brigade went into camp near Okolono, just upriver from the rest of the army.
“We had but just arrived, at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, at Okolona, a small village of only few houses,” wrote Adolph Dengler of the 43rd Illinois, “when we were attacked by the enemy. Companies E, F, H, and K were deployed as skirmishers, but the enemy quickly retired, Company K alone coming up with his skirmishers, exchanging several hundred shots with him without any casualties on our side.”
With that, the men of Engelmann’s Brigade bedded down for the evening, sleeping little as the Rebels hovered around their lines.
On the morning of this date, the skirmishing commenced almost immediately. Continuously, Engelmann’s troops were engaged as they marched back towards Spoonville. They had been sent back north by General Steele to find out something – anything – about the column of troops from Fort Smith commanded by General John Thayer.
Thayer’s troops had taken a detour on their way to Arkadelphia, where they were supposed to meet with Steele on the 1st. Thayer had not bothered to tell Steele about it, and so confusion was the rule of the day. It was hoped that since Thayer would be coming down behind the Confederates nipping at Steele’s rear, he might be able to brush them aside.
But first, Engelmann’s Brigade had to brush away the Rebels at Okolona.
“At 9 a.m., as the brigade was about ready to start back to Spoonville, a sharp fight was opened on our picket-line. My regiment was ordered into line by direction of Colonel Engelmann, commanding brigade. […] Advancing a short distance, they met the enemy in the brush and behind logs, and by a few well-directed shots drove them back, following cautiously and firing as opportunity offered. About noon the enemy made a strong effort to advance and compelled Captain Campbell [of Company B] to fall back a little toward the foot of the hill in a rather unfavorable position. The enemy poured upon our lines a heavy fire at this time, and Private Samuel S. Roberts, Company B, was wounded – shot in the left side, ball passing through and lodging in his knapsack.”-Col. John Garrett of the 40th Iowa
Engelmann’s Federals gathered their strength, brought in their reserves, and advanced, driving the enemy before them. Col. Garrett believed that his troops might have shot a Rebel or two, but couldn’t be certain.
Another regiment, the 27th Wisconsin, drove the Confederates to their front as well. “I ordered a forward movement,” wrote Col. Conrad Krez. “We cleared the rise of the ground, which was covered with an almost impenetrable thicket of hawthorn. The enemy fell back to the other side of a clearing on high ground, and the ravine dividing that clearing from another hill running parallel with the road, where they maintained a heavy fire immediately in front of the three companies deployed by me, and at that time opened with artillery and threw grape and canister to the right of Company G.” Two from that company fell dead before “a heavy thunder-storm broke out and interrupted further operations.”
In all, three men were killed and seven were wounded. Engelmann believed that the Rebels loss “was by far more severe than our own.” When the rains let up, and rations were issued, it was around 4pm. Engelmann’s Brigade finally advanced.
The brigade found the roads to be in a horrible condition, and it was dark before they even reached the main road between Washington and Arkadelphia. There, they again encountered the enemy, though only a thin skirmish line. He formed his brigade into a line of battle, but nothing came of it. Almost in their lines, they bivouacked for the night, expecting to be attacked come dawn.
General Marmaduke spent the day with General Cabell at Antoine, on the main road between Washington and Arkadelphia. Until the afternoon, he had little clue as to the location of Steele’s main body. There was skirmishing here and there, all along the Little Missouri, but it provided no assurance. Around 2pm, he learned of the skirmish at Okolona, and for a short time believed that to be where Steele’s forces were concentrated. But shortly after, his pickets that were stationed at Elkin’s Ferry scurried back to his headquarters, telling him that a small force of Yankees where there. But this only led to his further confusion. By evening, he placed Cabell’s and Greene’s Brigades near Elkin’s Ferry, but spread them out to sufficiently cover any of the river crossings Steele might use the following day. [1]
[1] Sources: Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 34, Part 1, p674, 720-721, 727, 732, 738, 742, 823.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/an-almost-impenetrable-thicket-skirmishing-through-the-arkansas-hills/
Below are several journal entries from 1862, 1863, 1864 and 1865 which shed light on what life was like for soldiers and civilians – the good, the bad and the ugly. … I am including journal entries from Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, "Crocker's Brigade," Sixth Division of the Seventeenth Corps, Army of the Tennessee for each year. I have been spending some time researching Civil War journals and diaries and editing them to fit into this series of Civil War discussions.
In 1862, (a) Julian C. Ruffin, of the Confederate Army, writes home to his wife Lottie, and shares an interesting dilemma with southern Quaker draftees in the army and (b) CSA General Albert Sidney Johnson issues an order to the soldiers of the Army of the Mississippi: I have put you in motion to offer battle to the invaders of your country
In 1863, (a) In Richmond, President Jefferson Davis exchanges letters with Governor Harris Flanagin of Arkansas who was complaining that too much assistance was going to the other side of the Mississippi River; (b) The New York Times publishes a notice for a public rally against “Copperheadism” (c) James Henry Gooding, a soldier in the new 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the first black regiments, writes to a Boston-area paper about camp life and the training of the men; and (d) James Kendall Hosmer, of the Union Army, writes of his experiences in southern Louisiana, and of the other-worldly paradise that must have moved many a Yankee to such rhapsodies.
In 1864, John Beauchamp Jones of Richmond records his thoughts in his journal
In 1865, many letters focused on Richmond, Virginia as it fell to the Federal troops
Thursday, April 3, 1862: Journal of Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, “Crocker's Brigade,” “We had drill as usual today and also general review, by General McClernand. We have no guard duty at this camp, but the troops of the front camps have to keep out a strong picket line.”
Thursday, April 3, 1862: Julian C. Ruffin, of the Confederate Army, writes home to his wife Lottie, and shares an interesting dilemma with southern Quaker draftees in the army–who believe neither in war nor slavery: There are some Methodists here from Dinwiddie, who have prayer meetings at night_ sometimes they only sing. I have been around to their rooms on several such occassions. There are also some Quakers brought from Southampton. You know that it is contrary to their religion to fight. They are determined not to do anything to help on the war. They say they won’t stand up in line for drill, nor will they answer to their names. They will not even cut the food provided by government for our subsistence. I understand that the Commandant says that they shall be held up in the ranks by a man on each side if they will not stand up. It would be much better to let them go home. Religious persecution never did any good.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=April+3%2C+1862
Thursday, April 3, 1862: HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE MISSISSIPPI, Corinth, Miss., April 3, 1862
Soldiers of the Army of the Mississippi: I have put you in motion to offer battle to the invaders of your country. Remember the precious stake involved; remember your mothers, your wives, your sisters, your children depend on the result; remember the fair, abounding land of ours, the happy homes that would be desolated by your defeat.
The eyes and hopes of eight million people rest on you. Show yourselves worthy of your race, worthy of the women of the South. With such incentives as these, your general will lead you to the combat, assured of success.
A.S. JOHNSTON, General
http://americancivilwar.com/authors/Joseph_Ryan/150-Year-Anniversary/April-1862/April-1862-War-In-The-West/April-1862-War-West.html
Friday, April 3, 1863: Journal of Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade “Crocker's Brigade,” “The Eleventh Iowa signed the pay rolls for four months' pay. Boats loaded with troops are passing down the river every hour of the day. Our entire division is again drilling four hours a day. We have a fine drill ground.”
Friday, April 3, 1863: In Richmond, President Jefferson Davis exchanges letters with Governor Harris Flanagin of Arkansas who was complaining that too much assistance was going to the other side of the Mississippi River. “If we lose control of the Eastern side, the Western must almost inevitably fall into the power of the enemy,” Davis wrote.
Governor Harris Flanagin had written Davis on January 5th, but the President could not find the time to reply until this date, three months later. “The defense of the Mississippi River on both banks has been considered by me as of primary importance,” wrote Davis, “and I can assure you that you cannot estimate more highly than I do the necessity of maintaining an unobstructed communication between the States that are separated by the river.” This necessity for “unobstructed communication,” of course, didn’t mean that Arkansas would always get a timely reply.
Davis then went on to explain his strategy for keeping the Mississippi open, deeming Port Hudson and Vicksburg indispensable. “If we succeed, as I have confidence we shall, in maintaining these two positions,” continued Davis, assuming quite a lot, “we preserve the ability to furnish the munitions and ordnance stores necessary for the supply of the troops on the west bank, and to throw across the river adequate forces for meeting the enemy, if he should transfer his campaign from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama to Arkansas and Louisiana.”
When Flanagin wrote Davis in January, he asserted that there were only forty regiments in the entire state. Davis, with new information at hand, had to break the news that actually the number was quite a bit closer to twenty-four. He tried to soften the blow by telling him that the numbers might be a bit off if one took into account Arkansas troops from regiments sent to other states that had deserted and fled back to their homes, quite possibly joining up with other Arkansas Regiments. but probably not.
What this all boiled down to was Flanagin’s (and others’) complaints that Arkansas and Missouri troops were being taken out of their home state to fight elsewhere. “Our safety, our very existence,” expounded Davis, “depends on the complete blending of the military strength of all the States into one united body that is to be used anywhere, everywhere, as the exigencies of the contest may require for the good of the whole.”
Flanagin, being a supporter of a more centralized government, probably understood this well. There had been pressure from Arkansas politicians to push this agenda with Richmond. Still, Davis explained the philosophy behind it: “The discipline and efficiency of our armies have been found to be far greater when the troops were separated from their homes, and thus delivered from the constant temptation to absent themselves from duty presented by proximity to their families.” It was almost like Davis was admitting that many of the soldiers didn’t support the cause.
In closing, Davis assured him that he would make an effort to make sure there were enough troops “to protect your State to the utmost extent of our ability.” He reminded him of the recent command change placing General Kirby Smith at the head of the Department of the Trans-Mississippi, and hoped it would have a “good effect in satisfying the good people of your State, and supplies of arms and munitions will be constantly forwarded as rapidly as our resources and means of transportation will permit.” [1]
[1] Sources: The Confederate Governors edited by Buck Yearns; Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 53, p865-866.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/unable-to-feed-the-hungry-davis-tries-to-reassure-arkansas/

Friday, April 3, 1863: The New York Times publishes a notice for a public rally against “Copperheadism” -that is, Northerners who tended to favor the South and oppose the Union war efforts: UNION MEETING TO-NIGHT.
The Young Men’s Republican Central Committee inaugurate to-night a series of Anti-Copperhead meetings at their headquarters, corner Broadway and Twenty-third-street. E. DELAFIELD SMITH, United States District Attorney, and other well-known speakers, will address the audience.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=April+3.+1863
Friday, April 3, 1863: James Henry Gooding, a soldier in the new 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the first black regiments, writes to a Boston-area paper about camp life and the training of the men: Camp Meigs, Readville, Messrs. Editors: The 54th progresses daily. This week past the men who have been in camp the longest time have been practicing in the manual of arms. It really makes one’s heart pulsate with pride as he looks upon those stout and brawny men, fully equipped with Uncle Sam’s accoutrements upon them, to feel that these noble men are practically refuting the base assertions reiterated by copperheads and traitors that the black race are incapable of patriotism, valor or ambition. Officers of distinction, whose judgements are not warped by prejudice, pronounce this regiment to be the nucleus of an army equaling in discipline and material the Imperial Hosts of Europe. I, for one, hope their liberal assumptions will in the end prove true—and it is merely a question of time to make it so. Our first dress parade took place this afternoon, and those who know say the men behaved admirably, for so short a period in drilling. . . .
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=April+3.+1863
Friday, April 3, 1863: James Kendall Hosmer, of the Union Army, writes of his experiences in southern Louisiana, and of the other-worldly paradise that must have moved many a Yankee to such rhapsodies: Seldom does an army march under circumstances so delightful. The miles were not weary ones; for the same really remarkable conditions made our progress comparatively easy from first to last, — a bright sky and sun, but a cool northern breeze, and a road, for the most part, in perfect condition to receive the soldier’s foot-fall. On one side rose the slope of the Levee; ten or twelve feet high from the road, two or three from the water on the other side. When the column halted, we could run up the slope, then stoop to the cool bayou to drink, or to wash face, hands, and feet. On our right, as we marched, we passed, now houses of moderate size, bare of elegance — sometimes even squalid in appearance; now, again, mansions of comfortable look; and, not unfrequently, beautiful seats, set up high to preserve them from danger in case-of a crevasse, with colonnades ornamented tastefully with orange-groves and the glorious live-oak, with trees full of roses instead of bushes.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=April+3.+1863
Sunday, April 3, 1864: Journal of Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, “Crocker's Brigade,” “I went to our church again this morning, it being the day for preaching. In -the evening I went to see a young lady friend.”
Sunday April 3, 1864: John Beauchamp Jones of Richmond records his thoughts in his journal: The snow has disappeared; but it is cloudy, with a cold northwest wind. The James River is very high, and all the streams are so much swollen that no military operations in the field are looked for immediately. It is generally believed that Grant, the Federal lieutenant-general, will concentrate an immense army for the capture of Richmond, and our authorities are invoked to make the necessary dispositions to resist the attempt. . . .
So no diminution of prices is yet experienced. It is now a famine, although I believe we are starving in the midst of plenty, if it were only equally distributed. But the government will not, it seems, require the railroads to bring provisions to the exclusion of freight for the speculators. Certain non-combating officers of the government have abundance brought them by the Southern Express Co., and the merchants have abundance of goods brought hither by the same company for the purposes of speculation. Well, we shall see the result! One is almost ready to believe that the government declines to fill the depots here, harboring the purpose of abandoning the city. That would be abandonment of the cause. Nearly all who own no slaves would remain citizens of the United States, if permitted, without further molestation on the part of the Federal authorities, and many Virginians in the field might abandon the Confederate States army. The State would be lost, and North Carolina and Tennessee would have an inevitable avalanche of invasion precipitated upon them. The only hope would be civil war in the North, a not improbable event. What could they do with four millions of negroes arrogating equality with the whites?
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=April+3%2C+1864
Monday, April 3, 1865: Journal of Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, “Crocker's Brigade,” “Fine weather continues, and camp routine the same. We are enjoying our fine camp ground, and to prevent our becoming stale, we have to keep up regular drill for our next campaign.”

From the memoirs of Sallie A. Brock: “As the sun rose on Richmond, such a spectacle was presented as can never be forgotten by those who witnessed it. To speed destruction, some malicious and foolish individuals had cut the hose in the city. The fire was progressing with fearful rapidity. The roaring, the hissing, and the crackling of the flames were heard above the shouting and confusion of the immense crowd of plunderers who were moving amid the dense smoke like demons, pushing, rioting and swaying with their burdens to make a passage to the open air. From the lower portion of the city, near the river, dense black clouds of smoke arose as a pall of crape to hide the ravages of the devouring flames, which lifted their red tongues and leaped from building to building as if possessed of demoniac instinct, and intent upon wholesale destruction. AH the railroad bridges, and Mayo’s Bridge, that crossed the James River and connected with Manchester, on the opposite side, were in flames.
The most remarkable scenes, however, were said to have occurred at the commissary depot. Hundreds of Government wagons were loaded with bacon, flour and whiskey, and driven off in hot haste to join the retreating army. In a dense throng around the depot stood hundreds of men, women and children, black and white, provided with anything in which they could carry away provisions, awaiting the opening of the doors to rush in and help themselves. A cascade of whiskey streamed from the windows. About sunrise the doors were thrown open to the populace, and with a rush that seemed almost sufficient to bear off the building itself, they soon swept away all that remained of the Confederate commissariat of Richmond.
By this time the flames had been applied to or had reached the arsenal, in which several hundred car loads of loaded shell were left. At every moment the most terrific explosions were sending forth their awful reverberations, and gave us the idea of a general bombardment. All the horrors of the final conflagration, when the earth shall be wrapped in flames and melt with fervent heat, were, it seemed to us, prefigured in our capital.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/all-the-horrors-of-the-final-conflagration-the-federals-enter-richmond/

Monday, April 3, 1865: Capt. Warren M. Kelley, of the Tenth New Hampshire Regiment: “I immediately rode along the picket-line and gave the order as I received it. Early daylight was near 4 o’clock at that time of year in Virginia. We had seen the rebel picket fires during the night, showing them still at their posts, but the boys, all old veterans, were ready to obey the order.
We held nearly one half-mile of line along the rebel front, and as we advanced toward the enemy’s pickets, we saw in the direction of Richmond, a light, and heard a rumbling sound. As we came near the rebel line, their fires were still burning, but no soldiers could be seen around or near them. We soon came to their breastworks, and Fort Gilmer, which was near the centre of our line, but found all vacated by the rebels, who had left their tents and cannon behind them, and everything indicated a hasty retreat.
From here we marched rapidly on, the boys all eager to gain the rebel capital, about seven miles distant, as soon as possible. We met with no opposition nor received any orders from any one. The first soldiers I saw were a colored guard coming up in our rear, that belonged to General Weitzel’s command. At this point we entered the main road, and I called my men from skirmish line to column of fours. We soon neared the outskirts of the city, and entered it near where two roads crossed, marching through what was called “The Rocketts,” which seemed to be a kind of landing place for rebel gun-boats and other craft. From this place we saw in the distance some negroes unrolling something. As we neared them, we saw it was an old United States flag. I brought my command to a halt, which was the first I had made since we started.
I had about two hundred men when I gave the order to advance, but nearly fifty had fallen out, as we marched nearly half the way on a “double-quick.” I requested the negroes to go upon the top of the building, which had a flat roof, and raise the old flag, which they immediately did. I then commanded my men to give the flag three cheers, which being done with a will, we marched on, going up Main street, passing the State House and grounds.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/all-the-horrors-of-the-final-conflagration-the-federals-enter-richmond/

Monday, April 3, 1865: From a post-war letter by General Godfrey Weitzel: “When we entered Richmond we found ourselves in a perfect pandemonium. Fires and explosions in all directions, whites and blacks either drunk or in the highest state of excitement, running to and fro on the streets, apparently engaged in pillage, or in saving some of their scanty effects from the fire. It was a yelling, howling mob. Major Graves had reconnoitered up to the Capitol square in the city. Outside the city he had been met by Mayor Mayo and others of Richmond, and received its surrender.
When the mob saw my staff and myself, they rushed around us, hugged and kissed our legs and horses, shouting “Hallelujah!” and “Glory!” I escaped considerable of this disagreeable infliction by an amusing circumstance. Maj. William V. Hutchings, of Roxbury, Mass., rode by my side. He was dressed in full uniform, except epaulettes, and had the regulation equipments, etc., on his horse. He had quite a venerable and handsome appearance. I was in undress uniform. The mob naturally supposed Hutchings to be the general, and he received the bulk of kisses and attentions. Colonel Adams asked, as a special favor, to be allowed to march his regiment through the city, and I granted it. I was told that this fine regiment of colored men made a very great impression on those citizens who saw it.”
http://civilwardailygazette.com/all-the-horrors-of-the-final-conflagration-the-federals-enter-richmond/

Monday, April 3, 1865: From A Virginia Girl in the Civil War - Sallie A. Brock: “It was not a very large body, they rode slowly, and passed just beneath my window. Exactly at eight o’clock the Confederate flag that fluttered above the Capitol came down and the Stars and Stripes were run up. We knew what that meant! The song ” On to Richmond!” was ended— Richmond was in the hands of the Federals. We covered our faces and cried aloud. All through the house was the sound of sobbing. It was as the house of mourning, the house of death.
Soon the streets were full of Federal troops, marching quietly along. The beautiful sunlight flashed back everywhere from Yankee bayonets. I saw negroes run out into the street and falling on their knees before the invaders hail them as their deliverers, embracing the knees of the horses, and almost preventing the troops from moving forward. It had been hard living and poor fare in Richmond for negroes as well as whites; and the negroes at this time believed the immediate blessings of freedom greater than they would or could be.
The saddest moment of my life was when I saw that Southern Cross dragged down and the Stars and Stripes run up above the Capitol. I am glad the Stars and Stripes are waving there now. But I am true to my old flag too, and as I tell this my heart turns sick with the supreme anguish of the moment when I saw it torn down from the height where valor had kept it waving for so long and at such cost.
At an early hour in the morning, the Mayor of the city, to whom it had been resigned by the military commander, proceeded to the lines of the enemy and surrendered it to General Godfrey Weitzel, who had been left by General Ord, when he withdrew one-half of his division to the lines investing Petersburg, to receive the surrender of Richmond.
As early as eight o’clock in the morning, while the mob held possession of Main street, and were busily helping themselves to the contents of the dry goods stores and other shops in that portion of the city, and while a few of our cavalry were still to be seen here and there in the upper portions, a cry was raised: “The Yankees! The Yankees are coming!” Major A. H. Stevens, of the Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry, and Major E. E. Graves, of his staff, with forty cavalry, rode steadily into the city, proceeded directly to the Capitol, and planted once more the “Stars and Stripes”—the ensign of our subjugation—on that ancient edifice. As its folds were given to the breeze, while still we heard the roaring, hissing, crackling flames, the explosions of the shells and the shouting of the multitude, the strains of an old, familiar tune floated upon the air—a tune that, in days gone by, was wont to awaken a thrill of patriotism. But now only the most bitter and crushing recollections awoke within us, as upon our quickened hearing fell the strains of “The Star Spangled Banner.” For us it was a requiem for buried hopes.
As the day advanced, Weitzel’s troops poured through the city. Long lines of negro calvary swept by the Exchange Hotel, brandishing their swords and uttering savage cheers, replied to by the shouts of those of their own color, who were trudging along under loads of plunder, laughing and exulting over the prizes they had secured from the wreck of the stores, rather than rejoicing at the more precious prize of freedom which had been won for them. On passed the colored troops, singing, “John Brown’s body is mouldering in the grave,” etc.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/all-the-horrors-of-the-final-conflagration-the-federals-enter-richmond/

Monday, April 3, 1865: Mrs. Mary A. Fontaine, Richmond, Va: Then the Infantry came playing ‘The Girl I left behind me,’ that dear old air that we heard our brave men so often play; then the negro troops playing ‘Dixie,’ and they certainly were the blackest creatures I ever saw. I am almost inclined to the belief that they were a direct importation from Africa.
Then our Richmond servants were completely crazed, they danced and shouted, men hugged each other, and women kissed, and such a scene of confusion you have never seen. Imagine the streets crowded with these wild people, and troops by the thousands, some loaded with plunder from the burning stores, whole rolls of cloth, bags of corn, etc., chairs, one old woman was rolling a great sofa; dozens of bands trying to drown each other it seemed; gorgeously dressed officers galloping furiously about, men shouting and swearing as I never heard men do before; the fire creeping steadily nearer to us, until houses next to us caught and we prepared to leave; and above all, inconceivably terrible, the 800,000 shells exploding at the laboratory. I say imagine, but you cannot; no one who was not here will ever fully appreciate the horrors of that day.”
http://civilwardailygazette.com/all-the-horrors-of-the-final-conflagration-the-federals-enter-richmond/

Monday, April 3, 1865: Chester Morris, black reporter for the Philadelphia Press: “Richmond has never before presented such a spectacle of jubilee. What a wonderful change has come over the spirit of Southern dreams.”
http://civilwardailygazette.com/all-the-horrors-of-the-final-conflagration-the-federals-enter-richmond/

A. Thursday, April 3, 1862: CSA Gen A.S. Johnson and Maj Gen U.S. Grant converge their forces towards Shiloh Church, [alternately known as Pittsburg Landing] Tennessee. CSA Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston had planned to piecemeal defeat the Union forces before the various Union units in Kentucky and Tennessee consolidated. U.S. Grant had 40,000 men at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, and Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell was on his way from Nashville with 35,000 men. Johnston started his army in motion on April 3, 1862, intent on surprising Grant's force as soon as the next day, but they moved slowly due to their inexperience, bad roads and lack of adequate staff planning. Due to the delays, as well as several contacts with the enemy, Johnston's second in command, P. G. T. Beauregard, felt the element of surprise had been lost and recommended calling off the attack. Johnston decided to proceed as planned, stating "I would fight them if they were a million." His army was finally in position within a mile or two of Grant's force, and undetected, by the evening of April 5, 1862.
B. Friday, April 3, 1863: Engagement at Snow Hill, Tennessee. A Union detachment of 1,500 infantry and cavalry, commanded by Brig. Gen. David S. Stanley, was sent on a scouting expedition toward the area of Snow Hill. The Confederate force in the area was commanded by Col. Richard M. Gano. Gano learned of the Union approach and stationed his men at Snow's Hill. Snow's Hill was a series of level-topped ridges and deep ravines sloping westward from a plateau into the valley where Liberty was located. Gano deployed his 2 brigades in a defensive line midway down the ridges.
At daylight, Stanley fired on the Confederate line with his artillery. This had a devastating effect on the Confederates. Next, the Union infantry charged the Confederate line while the Union cavalry advanced up a dry creek bed on the Confederate left flank. Surrounded, the Confederate force was soon routed.
C. Sunday, April 3, 1864: Major General Banks began his preliminary deployments for the Red River campaign, ironclads USS Eastport, USS Mound City, USS Osage, USS Ozark, USS Neosho, USS Chillicothe, USS Pittsburgh, and USS Louisville and steamers USS Fort Hindman, USS Lexington, and USS Cricket convoyed Major General A. J. Smith’s corps from Alexandria to Grand Ecore, Louisiana. The troops disembarked (with the exception of a division under Brigadier General T. Kilby Smith) and marched to join banks at Natchitoches for the overland assault on Shreveport, to be supported by ships of the Mississippi Squadron.
D. Monday, April 3, 1865: The US flag is flown over the towns of Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia, by the Union forces, it is made official that Brig. General Godfrey Weitzel and the Army of the James formally accepts the city of Richmond’s surrender. Meanwhile, Confederate President Davis and his cabinet arrived in Danville, Virginia.
The Union cavalry entered Richmond. By 7:15 Monday morning, April 3, two guidons of the Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry flew over the capitol building. Not long after, two officers of the 13th New York Artillery took down the little triangular flags and ran up the great United States flag. Union General Godfrey Weitzel sent a telegram to General Grant: "We took Richmond at 8:15 this morning. I captured many guns. The enemy left in great haste. The city is on fire in two places. Am making every effort to put it out. The people received us with enthusiastic expressions of joy."
Weitzel ordered his troops to put out the fire. The city's two fire engines worked, bucket brigades were formed. Threatened buildings were pulled down to create firebreaks. Five hours later the wind finally shifted, and they began to bring it under control. All or part of at least 54 blocks were destroyed, according to Furgurson. Weitzel wrote "The rebel capitol, fired by men placed in it to defend it, was saved from total destruction by soldiers of the United States, who had taken possession." And the city rested.
Background: Evening of Sunday April 2, 1865: Richmond, VA. Despite every effort made on the part of the few remaining Confederate soldiers and the city's officials, chaos ruled Richmond that night. Knowing that the Union army was about to enter the town, and having heard how badly the city of Columbia, South Carolina had fared when Union soldiers discovered the stores of whisky, Richmond's officials ordered all liquor to be destroyed. In the need for haste, however, those men charged with going through the stocks of every saloon and warehouse found the most expedient way was to smash the bottles and pour the kegs into the gutters and down the street drains. The stench attracted crowds. They gulped the whisky from the curbstones, picked it up in their hats and boots, and guzzled it before stooping for more. So the action taken to prevent a Union army rampage started a rampage by the city's own people.
Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, Richmond's military commander, was also under orders to destroy the city's tobacco, cotton, and foodstuffs before the Yankees got to them. To destroy the tobacco, Ewell had it moved to buildings that he believed could burn without setting the rest of the city on fire and asked the fire department to stand by to keep the fire from spreading.
In a city that had been suffering from scarcity, where high officials held "Starvation Balls," no one believed there could be much food left to destroy. But they were wrong. "The most revolting revelation," wrote LaSalle Pickett, "was the amount of provisions, shoes and clothing which had been accumulated by the speculators who hovered like vultures over the scene of death and desolation. Taking advantage of their possession of money and lack of both patriotism and humanity, they had, by an early corner in the market and by successful blockade running, brought up all the available supplies with an eye to future gain, while our soldiers and women and children were absolutely in rags, barefoot and starving." The crowd, seeing the commissaries filled with smoked meats, flour, sugar, and coffee, became ugly.
Enraged, they snatched the food and clothing and turned to the nearby shops to loot whatever else they found. They were impossible to stop. Ewell tried, but he had only convalescent soldiers and a few army staff officers under his command at this point. Not nearly enough men to bring order back to the streets. The fires, though, grew out of control, burning the center of the city and driving the looters away.
Embers from the street fires of official papers and from the paper torches used by vandals drifted. The wind picked up. Another building caught fire. The business district caught fire. Worse, as Admiral Raphael Semmes wrote, "The Tredegar Iron Works were on fire, and continual explosions of loaded shell stored there were taking place....The population was in a great state of alarm." Lawley reported that as he walked toward the railroad station he saw a column of dense black smoke. Semmes had set his ironclads on fire to keep them out of Union hands. Moments later, the warships' arsenals exploded blowing the windows out for two miles around, overturning tombstones, and tearing doors from their hinges.

Pictures: 1864-04-03 Battle of Elkin's Ferry sketch; USS Chillicothe; 1864-04-03 Battle of Elkin's Ferry, Arkansas Map; USS Pittsburgh (1861)

1. Sunday, April 3, 1861: A "test vote" in the Virginia convention shows a 2-1 margin against secession
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186104
2. Thursday, April 3, 1862: A.S. Johnston and Beauregard get the Army of the Mississippi moving late in the day, but the snarl of traffic in Corinth and lack of coordination amongst the corps commanders result in little progress. The generals move the march time back 24 hours. Meanwhile, Johnston drafts new marching orders, and orders for battle deployment when the army reaches the battlefield: an unusual formation, with the three main corps in column, rather than spread over a wider front. He issues orders to his army: Soldiers of The Army of the Mississippi: I have put you in motion to offer battle to the invaders of your country, with the resolution and discipline and valor becoming men, fighting, as you are, for all worth living or dying for. You can but march to a decisive victory over agrarian mercenaries sent to subjugate and despoil you of your liberties, property and honor.
Remember the precious stake involved, remember the dependence of your mothers, your wives, your sisters, and your children, on the result Remember the fair, broad, abounding lands, the happy homes, that will be desolated by your defeat. The eyes and hopes of eight million people rest upon you. You are expected to show yourselves worthy of your valor and courage, worthy of the women of the South, whose noble devotion in this war has never been exceeded in any time. With such incentives to brave deeds, and with the trust that God is with us, your general will lead you confidently to the combat, assured of success.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=April+3%2C+1862
3. Thursday, April 3, 1862: —On this date, Pres. Lincoln issues orders that, contrary to Gen. McClellan’s wishes, his I Corps, under command of Gen. Irwin McDowell, is to be detached from the Army of the Potomac to remain in protection of Washington, and not to go to the Peninsula.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=April+3%2C+1862
4. Thursday, April 3, 1862: THE PRESIDENT, Richmond, General Buell is in motion, Buell moving rapidly from Columbia to Savannah, leaving a division of 10,000 moving toward Decatur. Confederate forces, 40,000, ordered forward to offer battle near Pittsburg. Hope engagement before Buell can form junction. A.S. JOHNSTON
http://americancivilwar.com/authors/Joseph_Ryan/150-Year-Anniversary/April-1862/April-1862-War-In-The-West/April-1862-War-West.html
5. Thursday April 3, 1862: General Albert Sidney Johnston’s army set out in pursuit of Grant’s army but delays forced a postponement of the planned April 4 attack. Despite Federal gunboats on patrol from Savannah, Tennessee; Eastport, Mississippi; and Chickasaw, Alabama; and a small skirmish near Monterey, Tennessee near Pittsburg Landing, the Federal forces at Pittsburg Landing were unaware of the Confederate advance.
http://thisweekinthecivilwar.com/?p=1114
6. Thursday April 3, 1862: Discovering that fewer than 20,000 troops were left in Washington, President Lincoln held back Brigadier General Irvin McDowell’s corps, despite protests from Major General George B. McClellan.
http://thisweekinthecivilwar.com/?p=1114
7. Thursday April 3, 1862: The U.S. Senate voted 29 to 14 in favor of abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia.
http://thisweekinthecivilwar.com/?p=1114
8. Friday April 3, 1863: Battle of Washington, North Carolina [March 30 – April 20, 1863] Inconclusive: Hill unable to take North Carolina town from Union forces.
The Battle of Washington took place from March 30 to April 19, 1863, in Beaufort County, North Carolina, as part of Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's Tidewater operations during the American Civil War. This battle is sometimes referred to as the Siege of Little Washington.
Background
After the culmination of Burnside's North Carolina Expedition little attention had been given to North Carolina by the Confederate Army. In December 1862 a Union expedition from New Berne destroyed the railroad bridge at Goldsboro, N.C. along the vital Wilmington and Weldon Railroad. This expedition caused only temporary damage to the railroad, but did prompt Confederate authorities to devote more attention to the situation along the coast of Virginia and North Carolina.
Following the Confederate victory at Fredericksburg, General Robert E. Lee felt confident enough to dispatch a large portion of his army to deal with Union occupation forces along the coast. The whole force was put under the command of Lt. Gen. James Longstreet. While Longstreet personally operated against Suffolk, Maj. Gen. D. H. Hill led a column which moved against Federal garrisons at New Berne and Washington, North Carolina.
Maj. Gen. John G. Foster, commanding the Department of North Carolina, was responsible for the overall defense of the Union garrisons along the North Carolina coast. After Hill's attack against New Berne failed, Foster arrived in Washington to take personal command of the garrison.
Siege
Foster, a West Point trained Army engineer, put his skills to good use improving the town's defenses as well as employing the use of three gunboats in the defense. By March 30, the town was ringed with fortifications, and Brig. Gen. Richard B. Garnett's brigade began the investment of Washington. Meanwhile, Hill established batteries as well as river obstructions along the Tar River to impede reinforcements. He also posted two brigades south of Washington to guard for any relief efforts coming overland from New Bern. The Confederates sent a reply to Foster demanding surrender. Foster replied saying "If the Confederates want Washington, come and get it." Despite this defiance, Foster lacked the strength to dislodge the besiegers, and Hill was under orders to avoid an assault at the risk of sustaining heavy casualties. Thus, the engagement devolved into one of artillery, and even so the Confederates limited their bombings to conserve their ammunition. In time both sides were running low on supplies, and conditions grew miserable in the rain and mud. Despite the lack of progress against Washington, Hill was accomplishing a vital objective in the form of foraging parties so long as the Federals were pinned down.
Relief Efforts
A Federal relief column under Brig. Gen. Henry Prince sailed up the Tar River. Once Prince saw the Rebel batteries, he simply turned the transports around. A second effort under Brig. Gen. Francis Barretto Spinola moved overland from New Bern. Spinola was defeated along Blount's Creek and returned to New Bern. Foster decided that he would escape Washington and personally lead the relief effort leaving his chief-of-staff, Brig. Gen. Edward E. Potter in command at Washington. On April 13, the USS Escort braved the Confederate batteries and made its way into Washington. The Escort delivered supplies and reinforcements in the form of a Rhode Island regiment. It was aboard this ship on April 15 that Foster made his escape. The ship was badly damaged and the pilot mortally wounded, but Foster made it out.
Raising the Siege
About the same time Foster made an escape, Hill was faced with numerous reasons that ultimately led to his withdrawal: the completion of his foraging efforts, Union supplies reaching the Federal garrison, and finally a message arrived from Longstreet requesting reinforcements for an assault on Suffolk. Hill broke off the siege on April 15 and began to withdraw Garnett's brigade fronting Washington's defenses.
Meanwhile, Foster had made it back to New Bern and immediately began organizing a relief effort. He ordered General Prince to march along the railroad towards Kinston to hold off Confederates in the vicinity of Goldsboro, while Foster personally led a second column north from New Bern towards Blount's Creek where General Spinola had earlier been turned back. On April 18, Foster ordered Spinola to drive the Confederates from their road block at Swift Creek guarding the direct road from Washington to New Bern. At the same time, General Henry M. Naglee attacked the Confederate rear guard near Washington capturing several prisoners and a regimental battle flag. On April 19 Foster returned to the Washington defenses and by April 20 the Confederates had completely withdrawn from the area.
9. Friday, April 3, 1863: For the second straight day, a group of Richmonders gathers to protest food shortages, but is discouraged from rioting. The previous day, the City Battalion had threatened violence against protesters.
http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/richmond_during_the_civil_war
10. Friday, April 3, 1863: Lincoln visits General Hooker (US) and pressured him into an attack on Richmond. In response Hooker put in for 1.5 million ration packs.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-c/part-one-hundred-three
11. Sunday April 3, 1864: On this date, as Gen. Frederick Steele’s Army of Arkansas (U.S.) marches southeast towards Shreveport, Rebels from the command of Gen. John Marmaduke march west from Camden and strike at several places along Steele’s column, in a series of confused skirmishing that accomplishes little and leaves both commanders with little idea of the enemy’s locations.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=April+3%2C+1864
12. Sunday, April 3, 1864: In West Tennessee, Col. George Waring (US) in a message to Brig. General Grierson (US), “My advance guard, Nineteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, learned from citizens and negroes that the enemy was stationed in heavy force in the swamps between Leak’s and Oakland, also that from 3,000 or 5,000 rebels under Neely and McCulloch were encamped from 3 to 6 miles east of Oakland on the Somerville road.” Col. Neely (CSA) tried to pull them into a fight but Waring backed away to Raleigh, Tennessee.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/1864/week-156
13. Monday, April 3, 1865: Confederate President Davis and his cabinet arrive in Danville, Virginia. There is fighting outside Tuscaloosa, Alabama and at Mount Pleasant, Tennessee.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/1865/week-208
14. Monday, April 3, 1865: Hillsville, North Carolina - On April 3, Brig. Gen. George Stoneman and his Union raiders entered the town of Hillsville. He detached columns of his men from the main Union body to cause as much destruction as possible. They managed to capture and burn a Confederate train of 22 wagons that was destined for Gen. Robert E. Lee's army in Petersburg.
https://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/1865s.html
15. Monday, April 3, 1865: Willicomack Creek, Virginia - On April 3, Col. William Wells was leading a Union cavalry brigade when he came upon a group of Confederate cavalry at Willicomack Creek. The Confederates, commanded by Brig. Gen. Rufus Barringer, was attacked by the Federals and chased up the creek to Namozine Church.
https://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/1865s.html

Thursday, April 3, 1862: The Senate outlawed slavery in the District of Columbia with a vote of 29 to 14. This was seen to set the precedent that slavery should be abolished in any area over which the Federal government had jurisdiction. There were only 63 slaves in the District but the act set the wheels in motion for the abolition of slavery in all areas controlled by the Federal government. Encouraged by Union successes, US Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton today closed all US Recruiting Offices, thinking the North had enough manpower to bring the war to a successful end. They would not remain closed for long.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-b/part-fifty-one
A Thursday, April 3, 1862: Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston (CSA) was supposed to be leading an army towards the Tennessee River hamlet of Pittsburg Landing. Their mission: destroy the Union army under the suddenly dangerous Gen. U. S. Grant. Unfortunately, as was often the case in attempts to move large numbers of men, supplies, weapons, ammunition, horses and suchlike items, delays of one sort or another delayed the entire army. Johnston feared that he was losing the element of surprise. Skirmishes occurred near a building called Shiloh Church.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-b/part-fifty-one
A+ CSA Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston had planned to piecemeal defeat the Union forces before the various Union units in Kentucky and Tennessee under Grant with 40,000 men at nearby Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, and the now Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell on his way from Nashville with 35,000 men, could unite against him. Johnston started his army in motion on April 3, 1862, intent on surprising Grant's force as soon as the next day, but they moved slowly due to their inexperience, bad roads and lack of adequate staff planning. Due to the delays, as well as several contacts with the enemy, Johnston's second in command, P. G. T. Beauregard, felt the element of surprise had been lost and recommended calling off the attack. Johnston decided to proceed as planned, stating "I would fight them if they were a million." His army was finally in position within a mile or two of Grant's force, and undetected, by the evening of April 5, 1862.
A+ Thursday, April 3, 1862: Rebels prepared to attack U.S. Grant. “There is no need of haste,” wrote General Ulysses S. Grant to the vanguard of his reinforcements, “come on by easy marches.” The Union armies of Generals Grant and Buell were about to unite after weeks of waiting. Grant and his command occupied Pittsburg Landing, along the Tennessee River, while Buell’s forces were on the march from Columbia, a distance of nearly 100 miles.
Grant had addressed this dispatch to the “Officer in Command of the Advance of Buell’s Army.” That officer was General William Nelson, commanding a division two days’ out from Savannah, where he expected to meet Grant. [1] Nelson had been hurrying his men night and day since crossing the Duck River at Columbia. This dispatch from Grant must have seemed otherworldly. If there was no need for haste, why had he rushed at all?
It was strange for Grant to even write such a thing. Just four days prior, he had written his wife that “a big fight may be looked for some place before a great while which it appears to me will be the last in the West.” [2]
The Confederate Army of Mississippi, commanded by Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and P.G.T. Beauregard, by this time, was fully consolidated. Johnston had retreated from Nashville, while Beauregard, along with General Braxton Bragg, readied their troops in and around Corinth, Mississippi, twenty-five miles up the Tennessee River from Grant at Pittsburg Landing.
Before dawn on this date, Beauregard received a telegram from an advance division in Bethel. When he read it, he learned two things: First, Grant had apparently divided his forces and was planning on striking towards Memphis. Second, Buell’s army was quickly coming to reinforce him. Passing the message along to Johnston, he added “Now is the moment to advance and strike the enemy at Pittsburg Landing.” [3]
Beauregard did not accompany the message, and when Johnston read it, he was unsure what to do, so he took it to General Bragg to get his opinion. Bragg agreed with Beauregard, if Grant was divided and if Buell was not yet up, now was indeed time to attack. Waiting even a day might bring less than glorious results. At first, Johnston disagreed, believing the Army of Mississippi unready to engage the foe. With some coaxing, however, he caved. By 1:30am (that is, technically, on the 3rd), orders went out to the various corps commanders. [4]
For clarification, around 10am, Johnston and Beauregard called the corps commanders together and divulged the entire plan. The 40,000 troops were supposed to be on the move by noon. First, General Hardee’s Corps was to march along Ridge Road, north to a farm owned by the Michie Family, where they would camp for the night. General Bragg was to take his corps along a different road, also arriving at Michie’s by nightfall. Polk, whose corps was divided, was to follow an hour after Hardee with one division, allowing the other division (at Bethel) to meet them on the field of battle.
The Union position at Pittsburg Landing was eight or so miles away from Michie’s, so, if all went according to plan, they would fall upon Grant in the evening of the 4th. Things, however, did not go according to plan. [5]
Getting through Corinth was a nightmare, its streets clogged with wagons and troops trying to find their commands. Beauregard blamed General Polk, whose troops were sitting in front of Hardee’s, but Polk blamed Hardee, who was supposed to move first. To make matters worse, both Beauregard and Johnston had different ideas on the plan of attack. Johnston wanted to line the corps up, three abreast, while Beauregard wanted to stack two corps up, one behind the other, with another corps on the left and a division of reserves on the right. Later, President Davis would accuse Beauregard of changing Johnston’s plans. For now, however, due to the delay, Beauregard pushed everything back by twenty-four hours. [6]
[1] A Narrative of Military Service by William Babcock Hazen, 1885.
[2] Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862 by O. Edward Cunningham, Savas Beatie, 2007.
[3] P.G.T. Beauregard; Napoleon in Gray by T. Harry Williams, Louisiana State University, 1955.
[4] Army of the Heartland; The Army of Tennessee 1861-1862 by Thomas Lawrence Connelly, Louisiana State University, 1967.
[5] The Army of Tennessee by Stanley F. Horn, University of Oklahoma Press, 1941.
[6] P.G.T. Beauregard; Napoleon in Gray by T. Harry Williams, Louisiana State University, 1955.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/rebels-prepare-to-attack-grant-mcclellan-loses-his-first-corps/
B Friday, April 3, 1863: Snow's Hill, Tennessee - On April 3, a Union detachment of 1,500 infantry and cavalry, commanded by Brig. Gen. David S. Stanley, was sent on a scouting expedition toward the area of Snow Hill. The Confederate force in the area was commanded by Col. Richard M. Gano. Gano learned of the Union approach and stationed his men at Snow's Hill. Snow's Hill was a series of level-topped ridges and deep ravines sloping westward from a plateau into the valley where Liberty was located. Gano deployed his 2 brigades in a defensive line midway down the ridges.
At daylight, Stanley fired on the Confederate line with his artillery. This had a devastating effect on the Confederates. Next, the Union infantry charged the Confederate line while the Union cavalry advanced up a dry creekbed on the Confederate left flank. Surrounded, the Confederate force was soon routed.
https://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/1863s.html
C Sunday, April 3, 1864: Major General Banks (US) began his preliminary deployments for the Red River campaign, ironclads USS Eastport, USS Mound City, USS Osage, USS Ozark, USS Neosho, USS Chillicothe, USS Pittsburgh, and USS Louisville and steamers USS Fort Hindman, USS Lexington, and USS Cricket convoyed Major General A. J. Smith’s (US) corps from Alexandria to Grand Ecore, Louisiana. The troops disembarked (with the exception of a division under Brigadier General T. Kilby Smith) and marched to join banks at Natchitoches for the overland assault on Shreveport, to be supported by ships of the Mississippi Squadron.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/1864/week-156
D Monday, April 3, 1865: When the US flag is flown over the towns of Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia, by the Union forces, it is made official that Brig. General Godfrey Weitzel (US) and the Army of the James formally accepts the city’s surrender. President Abraham Lincoln visits Petersburg as the majority of the city is spared from being burned by the fleeing Confederates. Lincoln’s decision to go there is criticized by many news editors, who feel he is putting himself in harm’s way. At 5 P.M. President Lincoln telegraphs Sec. of War, Stanton from City Point: “Yours received. Thanks for you caution; but I have already been to Petersburg, staid with Gen. Grant an hour & a half and returned here. It is certain now that Richmond is in our hands, and I think I will go there to-morrow. I will take care of myself.”
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/1865/week-208
D+ Monday, April 3, 1865: Richmond, Virginia. The Union cavalry entered town. By 7:15 Monday morning, April 3, two guidons of the Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry flew over the capitol building. Not long after, two officers of the 13th New York Artillery took down the little triangular flags and ran up the great United States flag. Union General Godfrey Weitzel sent a telegram to General Grant: "We took Richmond at 8:15 this morning. I captured many guns. The enemy left in great haste. The city is on fire in two places. Am making every effort to put it out. The people received us with enthusiastic expressions of joy."
Weitzel ordered his troops to put out the fire. The city's two fire engines worked, bucket brigades were formed. Threatened buildings were pulled down to create firebreaks. Five hours later the wind finally shifted, and they began to bring it under control. All or part of at least 54 blocks were destroyed, according to Furgurson. Weitzel wrote "The rebel capitol, fired by men placed in it to defend it, was saved from total destruction by soldiers of the United States, who had taken possession." And the city rested.
Background: Evening of Sunday April 2, 1865: Richmond, VA. Despite every effort made on the part of the few remaining Confederate soldiers and the city's officials, chaos ruled Richmond that night. Knowing that the Union army was about to enter the town, and having heard how badly the city of Columbia, South Carolina had fared when Union soldiers discovered the stores of whisky, Richmond's officials ordered all liquor to be destroyed. In the need for haste, however, those men charged with going through the stocks of every saloon and warehouse found the most expedient way was to smash the bottles and pour the kegs into the gutters and down the street drains. The stench attracted crowds. They gulped the whisky from the curbstones, picked it up in their hats and boots, and guzzled it before stooping for more. So the action taken to prevent a Union army rampage started a rampage by the city's own people.
Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, Richmond's military commander, was also under orders to destroy the city's tobacco, cotton, and foodstuffs before the Yankees got to them. To destroy the tobacco, Ewell had it moved to buildings that he believed could burn without setting the rest of the city on fire and asked the fire department to stand by to keep the fire from spreading.
In a city that had been suffering from scarcity, where high officials held "Starvation Balls," no one believed there could be much food left to destroy. But they were wrong. "The most revolting revelation," wrote LaSalle Pickett, "was the amount of provisions, shoes and clothing which had been accumulated by the speculators who hovered like vultures over the scene of death and desolation. Taking advantage of their possession of money and lack of both patriotism and humanity, they had, by an early corner in the market and by successful blockade running, brought up all the available supplies with an eye to future gain, while our soldiers and women and children were absolutely in rags, barefoot and starving." The crowd, seeing the commissaries filled with smoked meats, flour, sugar, and coffee, became ugly.
Enraged, they snatched the food and clothing and turned to the nearby shops to loot whatever else they found. They were impossible to stop. Ewell tried, but he had only convalescent soldiers and a few army staff officers under his command at this point. Not nearly enough men to bring order back to the streets. The fires, though, grew out of control, burning the center of the city and driving the looters away.
Embers from the street fires of official papers and from the paper torches used by vandals drifted. The wind picked up. Another building caught fire. The business district caught fire. Worse, as Admiral Raphael Semmes wrote, "The Tredegar Iron Works were on fire, and continual explosions of loaded shell stored there were taking place....The population was in a great state of alarm." Lawley reported that as he walked toward the railroad station he saw a column of dense black smoke. Semmes had set his ironclads on fire to keep them out of Union hands. Moments later, the warships' arsenals exploded blowing the windows out for two miles around, overturning tombstones, and tearing doors from their hinges.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/warfare-and-logistics/warfare/richmond.html

Response by Maj Marty Hogan made Apr 14 at 2017 5:02 PM

2017-04-14T17:02:43-04:00

1865: The US flag is flown over the towns of Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia. Why because anytime you fly the flag- it means victory. We are the United States- a Union. Not divided.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Apr 14 at 2017 5:26 PM

2017-04-14T17:26:28-04:00

Great to see all the history shared here, thank you.

Response by SP5 Robert Ruck made Apr 14 at 2017 5:40 PM

2017-04-14T17:40:03-04:00

Certainly the fall of Richmond was a momentous event. It was all over except for the shouting. Terrible that anyone else had to die.