What was the most significant event on August 14 during the U.S. Civil War?

10 escaped slaves became freedmen in 1861; in 1862, Nicaragua is looked at as a place to relocate freed slave families; in 1863 the Kansas City women’s prison collapsed killing 20 young confederate women and girls
In 1861, ten escaped slaves are granted protection on the U.S.S. Union [John Smith, Prophet Washington, Silas Smith, Iris Grevins, and her daughter Catherine (about 3 years old)] and U.S.S Mount Vernon [Manuel Blackwell, Solomon Blackwell, and Moses Marsh, Henry Burr, and Caxter Braxton]
In 1862, during the Second Manassas Campaign General Robert E. Lee left three divisions to protect Richmond and went to Gordonsville with the rest of his army to join Jackson. Lee had concentrated his army against Pope in the area of Gordonsville, which meant that only 30,000 troops protected Richmond from McClellan’s 81,000-man Army of the Potomac. McClellan likes the odds and travels to Fortress Monroe to personally beg General Halleck to let him relieve General Pope by attacking Richmond. Halleck’s reply: “There is no change of plans! You will send up your troops as rapidly as possible.”
Emancipation discussions with freedmen in 1862 include relocation of freed slaves to central America in what is now Nicaragua: although he has the Emancipation Proclamation waiting for the next Union battlefield victory, President Lincoln proposes to the “Deputation of Negroes” he has invited to the White House that blacks living in America could voluntarily relocate to a Central American country, explaining, “You and we are different races. We have between us a broader difference than exists between almost any other two races. Whether it is right or wrong I need not discuss, but, this physical difference is a great disadvantage to us both, as I think your race suffer very greatly, many of them by living among us, while ours suffer from your presence. In a word we suffer on each side.” “The delegation withdrew, and we are unable to discover any information regarding the reply. Evidently the group of men never returned to make reply to the appeal of the President.” However, the Lincoln Log reports that the group’s chairman, E. M. Thomas, was again interviewed on the 17th or 18th.
In 1863 in response to a letter charging that the Marine Brigade engaged in “foraging activities .. has devolved into sacking and pillaging,” Maj Gen US Grant gives order to “beach” the Marine Brigade [Army troops who operate Brig. Gen. Ellet’s curious squadron of river gunboats] and to turn their boats over to the transport service. Grant adds that he believes it “highly probable the charges brought against the Marine Brigade are exaggerated. But that this conduct is bad, and their services but very slight in comparison to the great expense they are to Government and the injury they do, I do not doubt.
In 1863, the Women’s Prison in Kansas City collapsed killing least ten incarcerated women or girls, all under the age of 20, when the building collapsed. “In a bid to put down the Missouri guerrilla raiders operating in Kansas, General Thomas Ewing, Jr. issued in April 1863 "General Order No. 10," which ordered the arrest of anyone giving aid or comfort to Confederate guerrillas. This meant chiefly women or girls who were relatives of the guerrillas. Ewing confined those arrested in a series of makeshift prisons in Kansas City. The women were sequentially housed in two buildings which were considered either too small or too unsanitary, before being moved to an empty property at 1425 Grand. This structure was part of the estate of the deceased Robert S. Thomas, George Caleb Bingham's father-in-law. In 1861 Bingham and his family were living in the structure, but in early 1862 after being appointed treasurer of the state of Missouri, he and his family relocated to Jefferson City. Bingham had added a third story to the existing structure to use as a studio.”

Below are a number of journal entries from 1861, 1862, 1863 and 1864 which shed light on what life was like for soldiers and civilians – the good, the bad and the ugly

Wednesday, August 14, 1861: U.S.S. MINNESOTA, Hampton Roads. “SIR: I have the honor to inform the Department of the arrival of the U.S.S. Union yesterday afternoon, leaking very badly in her upper works and decks, so that it was impossible to keep her free the night before when it was blowing hard.
I have therefore ordered her to proceed to Baltimore to be calked as soon as possible, and to return to this point with all dispatch, as her services are much needed.
I enclose copy of report of the officers of the Union in reference to qualifications, etc.
I have the honor to inform the Department that about 11 o'clock of the evening of August 12 there came alongside the Minnesota in a small open boat, demanding food and protection, the following five negroes, viz: John Smith and Prophet Washington, the property of Doctor Tabb, of Mathews, Va., and Silas Smith, Iris Grevins, and her daughter Catherine (about 3 years old), the property of Mrs. Roy, of same place. Also by the reports of the Mount Vernon, Commander O.S. Glisson, dated August 11 and 12, I have to inform the Department of the presence on that vessel (having come to her also for protection) the following five negroes: Manuel Blackwell, Solomon Blackwell, and Moses Marsh, all owned by William K. Lee, of Lancaster County, Va.; also Henry Burr, owned by Elizabeth Palmer, and Caxter Braxton, owned by Richardson Slaughter, both of Middlesex County, Va.
I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter directing boats from Boston, per Joseph Whitney, steamer, to be sent to Washington, which will be done by the steamer Baltimore.
I herewith enclose orders for Midshipman C. E. McKay, he having gone to New York with a prize from the Wabash. Respectfully, your obedient servant, S.H. STRINGHAM, Flag-Officer, Atlantic Blockading Squadron.”
Thursday, August 14, 1862: Lieut. Charles Wright Wills of the 8th Illinois Infantry Regiment, writes home from camp in Tuscumbia, in northern Alabama, where his regiment is engaged in confiscating Rebel cotton: “People here are considerably scared about the free and easy way we are gobbling up their little all. We are raking in about 100 bales of cotton per day and could get more if we had the transportation. It makes the chivalry howl, which is glorious music in our ears, and the idea of considering these confederacies something else than erring brothers is very refreshing. But I can'ttalk the thing over with them with any pleasure, for they all pretend so much candor and honesty in their intentions, and declare so cheerfully, and (the women) prettily, that they will do nothing opposed to our interest, and express so much horror and detestation of guerrillas and marauders of all kinds, that one can’t wish to do them any harm or take and destroy their property. But the murders of Bob McCook, a dozen of men in this command, and hundreds in the army, all tend to disipate such soft sentiments, for we are satisfied that citizens do ten-elevenths of such work; and nothing less than the removal of every citizen beyond our lines, or to north of the Ohio river, will satisfy us.”
Thursday, August 14, 1862: George Michael Neese, Confederate artilleryman in Chew’s Horse Artillery, writes in his journal some deep thoughts—and hilarious observations—about necessity, mortality, and corn shucks: “When the comforts, conveniences, and luxuries of life are few and far between, necessity is ever ready to step in like a kind mother, making gracious suggestions for the amelioration of man’s condition under adverse circumstances and discomforting situations. Yesterday evening I hearkened to the kind and motherly admonitions of the grandmother of inventions, and gathered up all the green corn shucks that were scattered around our kitchen, with the gratifying anticipation of indulging in the exquisite luxury of a soft, downy shuck pillow for at least one night. The partly wilted shucks made a good, sweet pillow, as the women would say, and it served the purpose splendidly till about midnight, when I was awakened by something on the order of a blacksmith’s bellows blowing in my ear. I thought perhaps some of Pope’s Yanks were after me with a blowing machine, but when I raised my head to make observations I saw an old cow standing right by my head pulling corn shucks from my pillow. I saw some cows in the field when I retired, but had no idea that the fools would come and eat my pillow from under my head. The mother of inventions would have done very well this time if the old dame had kept the cow away, for I had a very good pillow until midnightwhen the old cow ate it.
The foregoing incident caused some philosophical reflections on the utility and economy of nature and its pertaining affairs to creep through my brain. Yesterday morning the shucks that I used for a pillow last night shielded the juicy corn from the obnoxious depredations of birds and the direful effects of raw sunshine and rain. Last night they supplied me with a pillow until an old cow ate them, and perhaps by to-morrow we will eat the cow; and anyhow by day after to-morrow General Pope would like to make fertilizer out of us suitable for raising corn; that would be but a short journey from corn to corn and shucks to shucks. However, it would require a little metaphysical analysis to trace the ramifications of the process of transformation.
Friday, August 14, 1863: A Mr. A. T. Bowie writes to Gen. Ransom of the behavior of Union forces on the lower Mississippi River, telling of the depredations of the “Marine Brigade”---Army troops who operate Brig. Gen. Ellet’s curious squadron of river gunboats which had won the naval Battle of Memphis the preceding year. Apparently, the foraging activities of these men has devolved into sacking and pillaging: “That on or about the 21st of July a company of marine cavalry (styling themselves of the authority of the United States, and whose play was their booty) landed at Judge Perkins’, or Ashwood Landing, La., dashed around Lake St. Joseph, inquiring for Mr. John Routh. On reaching his plantation demanded from him, first, his arms, which were given them. They then burst open a barrel of whisky, made all of the negroes drunk, and in that way learned where his valuables were, consisting of silver-ware, liquors, meats, clothes, table and house linen, and even scuffled with him for his purse. They took the amount of $25,000 worth of property-$15,000 of silver-ware,and perhaps the largest and most valuable private collection of table and house linen in the southern country.
Mr. Routh is an old man of nearly seventy years; had his house, gin, barn stables, and everything burned last spring at the [time the] others on the lake had lost their property. These marines also threatened to take him prisoner; did take his grandson, Mr. Andrew S. Routh, prisoner, who is now, it is said, in jail at Vicksburg. Andrew had not been in jail at Vicksburg. Andrew had not been in the army since last April; has been with his grandfather assisting him in taking care of his property. He had been ordered back to Colonel Harrison’s regiment, but determined to put in a substitute, in order that he might remain with his grandfather, and this was his position at the time he was taken off by Ellet’s marines. Mr. Routh is all alone, and wishes Andrew to live with him.”
General Grant is informed of the incident, and in a letter to his adjudant-general, gives order to “beach” the Marine Brigade and to turn their boats over to the transport service. Grant adds that he believes it “highly probable the charges brought against the Marine Brigade are exaggerated. But that this conduct is bad, and their services but very slight in comparison to the great expense they are to Government and the injury they do, I do not doubt.”
Friday, August 14, 1863: Ephraim Shelby Dodd, of Co. D of Terry’s Texas Rangers (8th Texas Cavalry Regiment), writes in his diary of life in camp in Georgia, as part of Bragg’s Army of Tennessee: “Thursday, 6th, to Friday, 14th—Nothing but roll call, inspection, dress parades and drill. We are living high on peach pie. I have made a few acquaintances, but don’t find the hospitality that we did in Tennessee.”

Friday, August 14, 1863: Captain Josiah Marshall Favill, a young English immigrant in the Union army, now serves on the staff of Gen. Caldwell, who commands a division in the Army of the Potomac. Favill is given the post of the division’s judge advocate, and all criminal cases are tried before him. Here, in his diary, he details the proceedings of the courts, and describes the melancholy details of a military execution: “I entered upon the duties of division judge advocate immediately, and soon became fascinated. All courts martial sitting in the division, are detailed and organized through my office. I make the selection of officers and the adjutant general details them. We have now three courts in operation, one of which I serve as judge advocate. . . . It is surprising how many delinquents there are in the army. The Irish brigade is a great sinner in this respect. . . . A military execution is a very solemn and impressive pageant. The doomed man marches to his own funeral, to the solemn music of the band, in presence of the whole command. In the two cases mentioned above, the utmost pomp and display was made, to render the executions as impressive as possible. The whole division paraded in full dress, and in column of division, marched upon the ground following the prisoner, led by the band, playing the “Dead march” in Saul. A squad of men from the provost guard immediately followed, then four men carrying the coffin on their shoulders, with the prisoner walking close behind, his buttons and regimental insignia stripped from his clothing; a few files of men with muskets loaded, and bayonets fixed, marched directly in rear of him, the firing party under command of the provost marshal. Then follows with arms reversed, the entire command, marching in step to the solemn cadence of the music. Arriving upon the field, the troops form three sides of a square, while the band, prisoner and provost guard march directly forward to the unoccupied side of the square, halting before a grave already dug. The bands wheel out of line, the bearers of the coffin place it on the ground, close by the new made grave, the prisoner is marched up and seated on the coffin, while the firing party halt a few paces in rear. Then the adjutant general advances and reads the proceedings of the trial, the sentence, and the confirmation of the general-in-chief. Immediately afterwards the prisoner is blindfolded, still sitting on his coffin, and the command is given to “Aim! Fire!” and the lifeless body of the unfortunate soldier falls over, invariably dead. It is certainly an awful and solemn duty, yet necessary for the safety of the forces. The execution over, the bands strike up a lively air, and at a quick step the troops march back to their camps.”
Sunday, August 14, 1864: The Diary of Mary Boykin Chesnut. Mary Boykin Chesnut's new home in Columbia, South Carolina was on the route between Richmond and Atlanta and show frequently entertained officers traveling back and forth between the two fronts, and in doing so, she got firsthand war news. “August 14th. - We have conflicting testimony. Young Wade Hampton, of Joe Johnston's staff, says Hood lost 12,000 men in the battles of the 22d1 and 24th, but Brewster, of Hood's staff, says not three thousand at the utmost. Now here are two people strictly truthful, who tell things so differently. In this war people see the same things so oddly one does not know what to believe.
Brewster says when he was in Richmond Mr. Davis said Johnston would have to be removed and Sherman blocked. He could not make Hardee full general because, when he had command of an army he was always importuning the War Department for a general-in-chief to be sent there over him. Polk would not do, brave soldier and patriot as he was. He was a good soldier, and would do his best for his country, and do his duty under whomever was put over him by those in authority. Mr. Davis did not once intimate to him who it was that he intended to promote to the head of the Western Army.
Brewster said to-day that this "blow at Joe Johnston, cutting off his head, ruins the schemes of the enemies of the government. Wigfall asked me to go at once, and get Hood to decline to take this command, for it will destroy him if he accepts it. He will have to fight under Jeff Davis's orders; no one can do that now and not lose caste in the Western Army. Joe Johnston does not exactly say that Jeff Davis betrays his plans to the enemy, but he says he dares not let the President know his plans, as there is a spy in the War Office who invariably warns the Yankees in time. Consulting the government on military movements is played out. That's Wigfall's way of talking. Now," added Brewster, "I blame the President for keeping a man at the head of his armies who treats the government with open scorn and contumely, no matter how the people at large rate this disrespectful general."

Pictures: 1862-08 Sword of Virginia -Manassas; USS Marmora; Situation in Virginia, evening of Aug. 14, showing Burnside's progress to reinforce Pope and Lee's progress to join Jackson; 1862 The Ellets Go to War. In early 1862

A. Wednesday, August 14, 1861: The USS Minnesota encounters contrabands. Flag Officer Silas H. Stringham reported that two of his ships had picked up a total of escaped slaves fleeing their masters in Virginia. Ten escaped slaves are granted protection on the U.S.S. Union [John Smith, Prophet Washington, Silas Smith, Iris Grevins, and her daughter Catherine (about 3 years old)] and U.S.S Mount Vernon [Manuel Blackwell, Solomon Blackwell, and Moses Marsh, Henry Burr, and Caxter Braxton]. Just the year before, the military forces of the United States would have been obligated to capture such escaped slaves and return them to their masters, but with the coming of war the U.S. Army and Navy became safe havens for escaping slaves.
B. Thursday, August 14, 1862: Confederate Heartland Offensive: L&N work crews return to work with a military escort and start repairing bridges. Morgan’s men attack again, killing a carpenter and chasing the rest down toward Nashville, not to return. General Nathan Bedford Forrest returns to his cavalry unit in Sparta, having been promoted by General Bragg in Chattanooga. The Federal cavalry in pursuit of Forrest’s cavalry is also near Sparta, and there are daily skirmishes over the next several days as Forrest begins to shift his force first to Smithville and then to Woodbury, in the Federal rear. Meanwhile, having sent a large force to watch the Union garrison at the Cumberland Gap, CS General Kirby Smith heads north from Chattanooga with the 12,000-man Army of East Tennessee.
C. Friday, August 14, 1863: Union victory at the confluence of the Little Red River with the White River.
The flotilla divided on the morning of August 14 upon reaching the confluence of the Little Red River with the White River. Lieutenant George Bache, captain of the USS Lexington, believed the Confederate steamboats to be farther up the Little Red and sent the USS Cricket in that direction, commanded by Lieutenant A. R. Langthorne. The USS Marmora and Lexington continued north and disembarked at Augusta (Woodruff County) but found no Rebels nearby and returned to the mouth of the Little Red. The Cricket had not returned by this time, so the Lexington headed upriver in pursuit.
The Cricket, meanwhile, discovered the Kaskaskia and Thomas Sugg on the Little Red at Searcy, as well as a pontoon bridge being used by Marmaduke to cross his cavalry. The two steamboats were captured, apparently without incident, and the infantry confiscated several bales of cotton after burning the pontoon bridge, leaving some of Marmaduke’s division stranded on the east side of the Little Red. The Union men prudently used the cotton bales to construct bullet-resistant breastworks aboard the ships in anticipation of a Confederate reprisal on the return trip down the river.
Confederate pickets along the Little Red were alerted by the passage of the Cricket, and a contingent of Shelby’s Iron Brigade, then commanded by Colonel Gideon Thompson, hastily planned an assault to retake the boats during its return trip. About 500 cavalrymen took position on a high bank at a bend along the Little Red at West Point (White County), which anticipated support by a battery of artillery that did not arrive in time for the battle. A lead regiment commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Charles Gilkey rushed to the riverbank as the boats passed and opened fire.
The ensuing battle was furious and lasted about twenty minutes, with infantry on the boats and cavalry on the shore firing at a distance of about thirty yards. The pilot of the Kaskaskia was wounded twice before being incapacitated; the ship floundered, but the Cricket did manage to get the Kaskaskia back under tow before it could be boarded. Regarding this part of the battle, a Sergeant Boyd of the Thirty-second Iowa wrote, “the stream being very narrow, the limbs on both sides would brush the boats and swing them against the bank, and the enemy [was] only prevented from boarding [the Kaskaskia] at the point of the bayonet.” Boyd also credited the cotton breastworks with their invaluable protection during the firefight. Union forces sustained two killed, at least six (possibly seven) wounded; the Confederates suffered seven or eight men wounded, including a mortally wounded Col. Gilkey. The Confederates fell back, and the Cricket, with its prizes in tow, continued down the river. By the time some remnants of the Iron Brigade managed to intercept the Cricket a second time, it had already united with the Lexington; salvos from both gunboats quickly dispersed the remaining Confederates.
Background: The Little Rock Campaign involved the movement of two Union columns: a division led by Brigadier General John Davidson moving down Crowley’s Ridge from Missouri, and another from Helena led by Major General Frederick Steele. The two columns were to rendezvous before marching west toward the capital. A cavalry division commanded by Major General John Marmaduke at Jacksonport (Jackson County) was the only Confederate force that could oppose Davidson’s southward advance, and Marmaduke was encouraged by Price to observe and impede Davidson’s progress. Marmaduke instead opted to move south and camp near Searcy (White County) to avoid being cut off from other Confederate units in central Arkansas. Davidson had apparently anticipated this movement and halted his march upon reaching Clarendon (Monroe County), where he awaited the arrival of Steele’s infantry.
Four days after Davidson’s arrival in Clarendon, the gunboats Cricket, Marmora, and Lexington, along with a detachment from the Thirty-second Iowa, were dispatched up the White River toward Jacksonport to determine the whereabouts of Marmaduke’s cavalry and capture the Kaskaskia and Tom Sugg, two Confederate steamboats in use on the river. Early on August 13, the flotilla set out, pausing at Des Arc (Prairie County), where the Union force gathered intelligence, burned a warehouse containing corn meal, and destroyed local telegraph lines.
D. Sunday, August 14, 1864: Second Battle of Dalton, Georgia, Location: Whitfield County. Date(s): August 14-15, 1864
Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. James B. Steedman [US]; Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler [CS]
Forces Engaged: District of Etowah [US]; Wheeler’s cavalry force [CS]
D+ Description: Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler and his cavalry raided into North Georgia to destroy railroad tracks and supplies. They approached Dalton in the late afternoon of August 14 and demanded the surrender of the garrison. The Union commander, Col. Bernard Laibolt, refused to surrender and fighting ensued. Greatly outnumbered, the Union garrison retired to fortifications on a hill outside the town where they successfully held out, although the attack continued until after midnight. Skirmishing continued throughout the night. Around 5:00 am, on the 15th, Wheeler retired and became engaged with relieving infantry and cavalry under Maj. Gen. James B. Steedman’s command. Eventually, Wheeler withdrew. The contending forces’ reports vary greatly in describing the fighting, the casualties, and the amount of track and supplies captured and destroyed. This engagement was inconclusive, but since the Confederates withdrew, it may be termed a Union victory.
Result(s): Union victory (The Confederates withdrew.)

1. Wednesday, August 14, 1861: The President and Colonization: The Experiment to be tried in Central America. This afternoon, the President of the United States gave audience to a Committee of colored men at the White House. Having all been seated, the President, after a few preliminary observations, in formed them that a sum of money had been appropriated by Congress, and placed at his disposition, for the purpose of aiding the colonization in some country of the people, or a portion of them, of African descent, thereby making it his duty, as it had for a long time been his inclination, to favor that cause. Whether it is right or wrong, I need not discuss; but this physical difference is a great disadvantage to us both, as I think. Your race suffers very greatly, many of them, by living among us, while ours suffer from your presence. In a word, we suffer on each side. Lincoln proposed a relocation of freed blacks to Central America. A new colony would be established there such has been in Liberia in West Africa for freed former African-American slaves. The Chairman of the delegation briefly replied that "they would hold a consultation and in a short time give an answer." The President said, "Take your full time -- no hurry at all." The delegation then withdrew.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-a/part-eighteen
2. Wednesday, August 14, 1861: U.S.S. MINNESOTA, Hampton Roads. “SIR: I have the honor to inform the Department of the arrival of the U.S.S. Union yesterday afternoon, leaking very badly in her upper works and decks, so that it was impossible to keep her free the night before when it was blowing hard.
I have therefore ordered her to proceed to Baltimore to be calked as soon as possible, and to return to this point with all dispatch, as her services are much needed.
I enclose copy of report of the officers of the Union in reference to qualifications, etc.
I have the honor to inform the Department that about 11 o'clock of the evening of August 12 there came alongside the Minnesota in a small open boat, demanding food and protection, the following five negroes, viz: John Smith and Prophet Washington, the property of Doctor Tabb, of Mathews, Va., and Silas Smith, Iris Grevins, and her daughter Catherine (about 3 years old), the property of Mrs. Roy, of same place. Also by the reports of the Mount Vernon, Commander O.S. Glisson, dated August 11 and 12, I have to inform the Department of the presence on that vessel (having come to her also for protection) the following five negroes: Manuel Blackwell, Solomon Blackwell, and Moses Marsh, all owned by William K. Lee, of Lancaster County, Va.; also Henry Burr, owned by Elizabeth Palmer, and Caxter Braxton, owned by Richardson Slaughter, both of Middlesex County, Va.
I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter directing boats from Boston, per Joseph Whitney, steamer, to be sent to Washington, which will be done by the steamer Baltimore.
I herewith enclose orders for Midshipman C. E. McKay, he having gone to New York with a prize from the Wabash. Respectfully, your obedient servant, S.H. STRINGHAM, Flag-Officer, Atlantic Blockading Squadron.”
http://www.civilwar-online.com/search?q=August+14%2C+1861
3. Wednesday, August 14, 1861: Also this day, the Memphis Daily Appeal (Memphis, TN), “Appeal to the Ladies of Tennessee.” The military and financial board of this State suggested that each lady in Tennessee shall prepare goods for one suit of clothing and knit two pairs of stockings. If this shall be done, every soldier will be amply clothed and provided against the sufferings of a winter's campaign. In Richmond, meanwhile, Jefferson Davis ordered the banishment of all foreign nationals whose home countries did not recognize the Confederate government. In St. Louis, US Maj. Gen. John Charles Fremont declared marshal law. In Washington, the 79th New York volunteer regiment mutinies when its request for furlough is denied. Several of the ring leaders are arrested. Twenty-one members of the 79th who were considered to be the ringleaders of the revolt were sent to the hell of the Dry Tortugas prison, Florida.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-a/part-eighteen
4. Thursday, August 14, 1862: Barry, Missouri - On August 14, a Union force was near Barry when they encountered a group of Confederate guerrillas. The Confederates were forced to retreat. Afterwards, the Federals burned certain suspected guerrillas' homes.
http://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/1862s.html
5. Thursday, August 14, 1862: Manassas/Second Manassas Campaign: General Lee leaves three divisions to protect Richmond and goes to Gordonsville with the rest of his army to join Jackson. Now that Lee has concentrated his army against Pope in the area of Gordonsville, some 30,000 troops are all that protect Richmond from McClellan’s 81,000-man Army of the Potomac. McClellan likes the odds and travels to Fortress Monroe to personally beg General Halleck to let him relieve General Pope by attacking Richmond. Halleck’s reply: “There is no change of plans! You will send up your troops as rapidly as possible.”
https://bjdeming.com/2012/09/24/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-august-13-19-1862/
6. Thursday, August 14, 1862: Emancipation: Although he has the Emancipation Proclamation waiting for the next Union battlefield victory, President Lincoln proposes to the “Deputation of Negroes” he has invited to the White House that blacks living in America could voluntarily relocate to a Central American country, explaining, “You and we are different races. We have between us a broader difference than exists between almost any other two races. Whether it is right or wrong I need not discuss, but, this physical difference is a great disadvantage to us both, as I think your race suffer very greatly, many of them by living among us, while ours suffer from your presence. In a word we suffer on each side.” “The delegation withdrew, and we are unable to discover any information regarding the reply. Evidently the group of men never returned to make reply to the appeal of the President.” However, the Lincoln Log reports that the group’s chairman, E. M. Thomas, was again interviewed on the 17th or 18th.
https://bjdeming.com/2012/09/24/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-august-13-19-1862/
7. Thursday, August 14, 1862: President Lincoln meets with a "committee of colored men," to whom he proposes a program by which blacks living in America would voluntarily relocate to a Central American country. Lincoln explains, "You and we are different races. We have between us a broader difference than exists between almost any other two races. Whether it is right or wrong I need not discuss, but, this physical difference is a great disadvantage to us both, as I think your race suffer very greatly, many of them by living among us, while ours suffer from your presence. In a word, we suffer on each side."
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-b/part-seventy
8. Thursday, August 14, 1862: Pres. Abraham Lincoln meets with several leaders of the free black community in Washington to propose his idea for Colonization—still a pet idea of his: that the black man can never find justice or equality in this country run by white men. He gives these men his ideas:
Your race are suffering, in my judgment, the greatest wrong inflicted on any people. But even when you cease to be slaves, you are yet far removed from being placed on an equality with the white race. You are cut off from many of the advantages which the other race enjoy. . . . You and we are different races. We have between us a broader difference than exists between almost any other two races. Whether it is right or wrong I need not discuss, but this physical difference is a great disadvantage to us both, as I think your race suffer very greatly, many of them by living among us, while ours suffer from your presence. In a word we suffer on each side. If this is admitted, it affords a reason at least why we should be separated. . .
Lincoln acknowledges, however, the lack of incentive for freemen, especially, to leave and settle elsewhere—for instance, in Central America, where he proposes establishing this colony [in what is now Nicaragua]:
I suppose one of the principal difficulties in the way of colonization is that the free colored man cannot see that his comfort would be advanced by it. You may believe you can live in Washington or elsewhere in the United States the remainder of your life, perhaps more so than you can in any foreign country, and hence you may come to the conclusion that you have nothing to do with the idea of going to a foreign country. . . .
The practical thing I want to ascertain is whether I can get a number of able-bodied men, with their wives and children, who are willing to go, when I present evidence of encouragement and protection. Could I get a hundred tolerably intelligent men, with their wives and children, to "cut their own fodder," so to speak? Can I have fifty? If I could find twenty-five able-bodied men, with a mixture of women and children, good things in the family relation, I think I could make a successful commencement.
The President asks the delegation to take some time to consider his proposal, with the hopes of getting their endorsement. The five men agreed to take the idea to their people for consideration.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=August+14%2C+1862
9. Thursday, August 14, 1862: Lieut. Charles Wright Wills of the 8th Illinois Infantry Regiment, writes home from camp in Tuscumbia, in northern Alabama, where his regiment is engaged in confiscating Rebel cotton: “People here are considerably scared about the free and easy way we are gobbling up their little all. We are raking in about 100 bales of cotton per day and could get more if we had the transportation. It makes the chivalry howl, which is glorious music in our ears, and the idea of considering these confederacies something else than erring brothers is very refreshing. But I can'ttalk the thing over with them with any pleasure, for they all pretend so much candor and honesty in their intentions, and declare so cheerfully, and (the women) prettily, that they will do nothing opposed to our interest, and express so much horror and detestation of guerrillas and marauders of all kinds, that one can’t wish to do them any harm or take and destroy their property. But the murders of Bob McCook, a dozen of men in this command, and hundreds in the army, all tend to disipate such soft sentiments, for we are satisfied that citizens do ten-elevenths of such work; and nothing less than the removal of every citizen beyond our lines, or to north of the Ohio river, will satisfy us.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=August+14%2C+1862
10. Thursday, August 14, 1862: George Michael Neese, Confederate artilleryman in Chew’s Horse Artillery, writes in his journal some deep thoughts—and hilarious observations—about necessity, mortality, and corn shucks: “When the comforts, conveniences, and luxuries of life are few and far between, necessity is ever ready to step in like a kind mother, making gracious suggestions for the amelioration of man’s condition under adverse circumstances and discomforting situations. Yesterday evening I hearkened to the kind and motherly admonitions of the grandmother of inventions, and gathered up all the green corn shucks that were scattered around our kitchen, with the gratifying anticipation of indulging in the exquisite luxury of a soft, downy shuck pillow for at least one night. The partly wilted shucks made a good, sweet pillow, as the women would say, and it served the purpose splendidly till about midnight, when I was awakened by something on the order of a blacksmith’s bellows blowing in my ear. I thought perhaps some of Pope’s Yanks were after me with a blowing machine, but when I raised my head to make observations I saw an old cow standing right by my head pulling corn shucks from my pillow. I saw some cows in the field when I retired, but had no idea that the fools would come and eat my pillow from under my head. The mother of inventions would have done very well this time if the old dame had kept the cow away, for I had a very good pillow until midnightwhen the old cow ate it.
The foregoing incident caused some philosophical reflections on the utility and economy of nature and its pertaining affairs to creep through my brain. Yesterday morning the shucks that I used for a pillow last night shielded the juicy corn from the obnoxious depredations of birds and the direful effects of raw sunshine and rain. Last night they supplied me with a pillow until an old cow ate them, and perhaps by to-morrow we will eat the cow; and anyhow by day after to-morrow General Pope would like to make fertilizer out of us suitable for raising corn; that would be but a short journey from corn to corn and shucks to shucks. However, it would require a little metaphysical analysis to trace the ramifications of the process of transformation.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=August+14%2C+1862
11. Thursday, August 14, 1862: G.A. Mahoney, editor of the Dubuque, Iowa Herald, is arrested by a U.S. Marshal for disloyalty and trying to discourage military enlistments.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=August+14%2C+1862
12. Thursday, August 14, 1862: On this date, Gen. McClellan orders two whole corps of infantry be loaded on transport steamers at Harrison’s Landing and shipped north.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=August+14%2C+1862
13. Thursday, August 14, 1862: On this date, certain that McClellan was leaving, Gen. Lee issues orders for the remainder of his army to begin leaving Richmond and heading west to join Jackson opposition to Pope’s army. He leaves Gen. G.W. Smith in command of two divisions of infantry and a brigade of cavalry to guard Richmond. Longstreet’s corps—ten brigades amounting to about 20,000 troops—is already on the move, traveling by rail to Gordonsville. Hood and his two brigades are proceeding on foot.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=August+14%2C+1862
14. Thursday, August 14, 1862: Rumors fly in central Tennessee that Col. Morgan is on the move again, with his light brigade of cavalry, heading to Nashville with the intent of attacking the Yankee garrison in that occupied city, in concert with Gen. Bragg’s movements.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=August+14%2C+1862
15. Thursday, August 14, 1862: "Jackson's Capture of Harper's Ferry" While McClellan pursued Lee through the passes over South Mountain, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was completing his capture of the exposed Union garrison at Harper's Ferry. Confederate Major General John G. Walker was an eyewitness to the fall of Harper's Ferry to Jackson's corps.
"Jackson's Capture of Harper's Ferry" By John G. Walker, Major-General, C.S.A.
WHEN General Lee began his campaign against Pope, I was in command of a division (of three brigades) which was not a part of either of the two corps of the Army of Northern Virginia. I was left on the James for the defense of Richmond, but after the evacuation of Harrison's Landing by McClellan's army [August 14th to 20th], the Confederate capital being no longer threatened, I was ordered by the Secretary of War to leave one of my brigades at Richmond and proceed with the other two to join General Lee in the field. Leaving Daniel's brigade on the James, I marched northward with my old brigade, the strongest and the one which had seen most service, at that time commanded by Colonel Van H. Manning, and with the brigade of General Robert Ransom.
It was our hope that we should overtake General Lee in time to take part in the fight with Pope; but when we reached the field of Bull Run we found it strewn with the still unburied dead of Pope's army, and learned that Lee was pushing for the fords of the Upper Potomac. Following him rapidly, on the night of the 6th of September my division reached the vicinity of Leesburg, and the next morning crossed the Potomac at Cheek's Ford, at the mouth of the Monocacy, and about three miles above White's Ford, where Stonewall Jackson had crossed.
At Cheek's Ford I overtook G. B. Anderson's brigade of D. H. Hill's division and crossed into Maryland with it. The next day we reached the neighborhood of Frederick. I went at once to General Lee, who was alone. After listening to my report, he said that as I had a division which would often, perhaps, be ordered on detached service, an intelligent performance of my duty might require a knowledge of the ulterior purposes and objects of the campaign.
"Here," said he, tracing with his finger on a large map, " is the line of our communications, from Rapidan Station to Manassas, thence to Frederick. It is too near the Potomac, and is liable to be cut any day by the enemy's cavalry. I have therefore given orders to move th the Valley of Virginia, by way of Staunton, Harrisonburg, and Winchester, entering Maryland at Shepherdstown.
"I wish you to return to the mouth of the Monocacy and effectually destroy the aqueduct of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal. By the time that is accomplished you will receive orders to cooperate in the capture of Harper's Ferry, and you will not return here, but, after the capture of Harper's Ferry, will rejoin us at Hagerstown, where the army will be concentrated. My information is that there are between 10,000 and 12,000 men at Harper's Ferry, and 3,000 at Martinsburg. The latter may escape toward Cumberland, but I think the chances are that they will take refuge at Harper's Ferry and be captured.
"Besides the men and material of war which we shall capture at Harper's Ferry, the position is necessary to us, not to garrison and hold, but because in the hands of the enemy it would be a break in our new line of communications with Richmond.
"A few days' rest at Hagerstown will be of great service to our men. Hundreds of them are barefooted and nearly all of them are ragged. I hope to get shoes and clothing for the most needy. But the best of it will be that the short delay will enable us to get up our stragglers --- not stragglers from a shirking disposition, but simply from inability to keep up With their commands. ^^ I believe there are not less than from eight to ten thousand of them between here and Rapidan Station. Besides these we shall be able to get a large number of recruits who have been accumulating at Richmond for some weeks. I have now requested that they be sent forward to join us. They ought to reach us at Hagerstown. We shall then have a very good army, and, 'he smilingly added, "one that I think will be able to give a good account of itself.
"In ten days from now," he continued, "if the military situation is then what I confidently expect it to be after the capture of Harper's Ferry, I shall concentrate the army at Hagerstown, effectually destroy the Baltimore and Ohio road, and march to this point,"placing his finger at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. "That is the objective point of the campaign. You remember, no doubt, the long bridge of the Pennsylvania railroad over the Susquehanna, a few miles west of Harrisburg. Well, I wish effectually to destroy that bridge, which will disable the Pennsylvania railroad for a long time. With the Baltimore and Ohio in our possession, and the Pennsylvania railroad broken up, there will remain to the enemy but one route of communication with the West, and that very circuitous, by way of the Lakes. After that I can turn my attention to Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Washington, as may seem best for our interests."
I was very much astonished at this announcement, and I suppose he observed it, for he turned to me and said: "You doubtless regard it hazardous to leave McClellan practically on my line of communication, and to march into the heart of the enemy's country?" I admitted that such a thought had occurred to me.
"Are you acquainted with General McClellan?" he inquired. I replied that we had served together in the Mexican war, under General Scott, but that I had seen but little of him since that time.
"He is an able general but a very cautious one. His enemies among his own people think him too much so. His army is in a very demoralized and chaotic condition, and will not be prepared for offensive operations ---or he will not think it so---for three or four weeks. Before that time I hope to be on the Susquehanna."
Our conversation was interrupted at this point by the arrival of Stonewall Jackson, and after a few minutes Lee and Jackson turned to the subject of the capture of Harper's Ferry. I remember Jackson seemed in high spirits, and even indulged in a little mild pleasantry about his long neglect of his friends in "the Valley," General Lee replying that Jackson had "some friends" in that region who would not, he feared, be delighted to see him.
The arrival of a party of ladies from Frederick and vicinity, to pay their respects to Lee and Jackson, put an end to the conversation, and soon after I took my departure.
Retracing our steps toward the Potomac, at 10 P. M. of the 9th my division arrived at the aqueduct which conveys the waters of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal across the Monocacy. The attempted work of destruction began, but so admirably was the aqueduct constructed and cemented that it was found to be virtually a solid mass of granite. Not a seam or crevice could be discovered in which to insert the point of a crow-bar, and the only resource was in blasting. But the drills furnished to my engineer were too dull and the granite too hard, and after several hours of zealous but ineffectual effort the attempt had to be abandoned. Dynamite had not then been invented, so we were foiled in our purpose, and about 3 o'clock A. M. of the 10th went into bivouac about two miles and a half west of the Monocacy.
Late in the afternoon a courier from General Lee delivered me a copy of his famous "Special Orders No. 191," directing me to cooperate with Jackson and McLaws in the capture of Harper's Ferry. That order contained the most precise and detailed information respecting the position of every portion of the Confederate army,---where it would be during the next five or six days at least,---and inferentially revealed the ulterior designs of the Confederate commander. Possessed of the information it contained, the Federal general would be enabled to throw the weight of his whole force on that small portion of the Confederate army then with Lee, before Jackson, McLaws, and Walker could affect the capture of Harper's Ferry and go to its assistance.
General McClellan did get possession, on the 13th of September, of a copy of this order, addressed to General D. H. Hill. In what manner this happened is not positively known. General Bradley T. Johnson says that there is a tradition in Frederick that General Hill was seen to drop a paper in the streets of that town, which was supposed to be the order in question. The Comte de Paris says it was found in a house in Frederick which had been occupied by General Hill. But General Hill informed me, two years after the war, that he never received the order, and never knew of its existence until he read it in McClellan's report.
To whatever circumstance General McClellan owed its possession, it certainly enabled him to thwart General Lee's designs for the invasion of Pennsylvania, or a movement upon Washington. But that he obtained all the advantages he might have done will hardly be contended for by General McClellan's warmest admirer. By the exercise of greater energy he might easily have crushed Lee on the afternoon of the 15th or early on the 16th, before the arrival of Jackson from Harper's Ferry. On receiving my copy of the order I was so impressed with the disastrous consequence which might result from its loss that I pinned it securely in an inside pocket. In speaking with General Longstreet on this subject afterward, he remarked that the same thought had occurred to him, and that, as an absolutely sure precaution, he memorized the order and then "chewed it up."
Informed of the presence of a superior Federal force at Cheek's Ford, whd to pass the Potomac, and learning that the crossing at the Point of Rocks was practicable, I moved my division to that place and succeeded in landing everything safe on the Virginia shore by daylight of the 11th.
About the same time a heavy rain set in, and as the men were much exhausted by their night march, I put them into bivouac. I would here remark that the Army of Northern Virginia had long since discarded their tents, capacious trunks, carpet-bags, bowie-knives, mill-saw swords, and six- shooters, and had reduced their "kits" to the simplest elements and smallest dimensions.
Resuming our march on the morning of the 12th, we reached Hillsboro, and halted for the night. During the night I was sent for from the village inn by a woman who claimed my attendance on the ground that she was just from Washington, and had very important information to give me. Answering the call, I found seated in the hotel parlor a young woman of perhaps twenty-five, of rather prepossessing appearance, who claimed to have left Washington the morning before, with important information from "our friends" in the Federal capital which she could communicate only to General Lee himself, and wished to know from me where he could be found. I saw at once that I had to do with a Federal spy; but as I did not wish to be encumbered with a woman prisoner, I professed ignorance of General Lee's whereabouts and advised her to remain quietly at the hotel, as I should, no doubt, have some information for her the next morning. Before resuming our march the next day I sent her under guard to Leesburg, directing the provost marshal at that place to hold her for three or four days and then release her.
Resuming the march at daylight on the 13th, we reached the foot of Loudoun Heights about 10 o'clock. Here I was joined by a detachment of signal men and Captain White's company of Maryland cavalry. I detached two regiments,---the 27th North Carolina and 30th Virginia,---under Colonel J. R. Cooke, directing him to ascend Loudoun Mountain and take possession of the heights, but, in case he found no enemy, not to reveal his presence to the garrison of Harper's Ferry, I sent with him the men of the Signal Corps, with orders to open communication if possible with Jackson, whose force ought to be in the neighborhood, coming from the west. I then disposed of the remainder of the division around the point of the mountain, where it abuts on the Potomac.
About 2 P. M. Colonel Cooke reported that he had taken unopposed possession of Loudoun Heights, but that he had seen nothing of Jackson, yet from the movements of the Federals he thought he was close at hand. By 8 o'clock the next morning five long-range Parrott rifles were on the top of the mountain in a masked position, but ready to open fire. About half-past 10 o'clock my signal party succeeded in informing Jackson of my position and my readiness to attack.
At a reunion of the Association of the Army of Northern Virginia held at Richmond on October 23d, 1884, in an address delivered by General Bradley T. Johnson, occurs this passage: “"McLaws, having constructed a road up Maryland Heights and placed his artillery in position during the 14th, while fighting was going on at Crampton's Gap and Turner's Gap, signaled to Jackson that he was ready; whereupon Jackson signaled the order both to McLaws and Walker ---'Fire at such positions of the enemy as will be most effective.'"
I am, of course, ignorant of what Jackson may have signaled McLaws, but it is certain that I received no such order. On the contrary, as soon as he was informed that McLaws was in possession of Maryland Heights, Jackson signaled me substantially the following dispatch: "Harper's Ferry is now completely invested. I shall summon its commander to surrender. Should he refuse I shall give him twenty-four hours to remove the non-combatants, and then carry the place by assault. Do not fire unless forced to."
Jackson at this time had, of course, no reason to suspect that McClellan was advancing in force, and doubtless supposed, as we all did, that we should have abundant leisure to rejoin General Lee at Hagerstown. But about noon I signaled to Jackson that an action seemed to be in progress at Crampton's Gap, that the enemy had made his appearance in Pleasant Valley in rear of McLaws, and that I had no doubt McClellan was advancing in force.
To this message Jackson replied that it was, he thought, no more than between Stuart and Pleasonton. It was now about half-past 12 and every minute the sound of artillery in the direction of South Mountain was growing louder, which left no doubt on my mind of the advance of the whole Federal army. If this were the case, it was certain that General Lee would be in fearful peril should the capture of Harper's Ferry be much longer delayed. I thereupon asked permission to open fire, but receiving no reply, I determined to be "forced." For this purpose I placed the two North Carolina regiments under Colonel (afterward Major-General, and now U. S. Senator) M. W. Ransom, which had relieved those under Cooke, in line of battle in full view of the Federal batteries on Bolivar Heights. As I expected, they at once opened a heavy, but harmless, fire upon my regiments, which afforded me the Wished-for pretext. Withdrawing the infantry to the safe side of the mountain, I directed my batteries to reply.
It is possible that some of my military readers may question the propriety of my course, and allege that it amounted virtually to disobedience of orders.
This I freely admit, but plead the dire urgency of the case. Had Jackson compromised himself by agreeing to allow the Federal commander twenty-four hours, as he proposed, General Lee would undoubtedly have been driven into the Potomac before any portion of the Confederate force around Harper's Ferry could have reënforced him. The trouble was that Jackson could not be made to believe that McClellan's whole army was in movement.
I never knew whether or not Jackson actually made a formal demand for the surrender of the Federal garrison, but I had his own word for it that he intended to do so. Besides, such a course was in harmony with the humanity of his generous nature, and with his constant practice of doing as little harm as possible to non-combatants.
About an hour after my batteries opened fire those of A. P. Hill and Lawton followed suit, and about 3 o'clock those of McLaws. But the range from Maryland Heights being too great, the fire of McLaws's guns was ineffective, the shells bursting in mid-air without reaching the enemy. From my position on Loudoun Heights my guns had a plunging fire on the Federal batteries a thousand feet below and did great execution. By 5 o'clock our combined fire had silenced all the opposing batteries except one or two guns east of Bolivar Heights, which kept up a plucky but feeble response until night put a stop to the combat.
http://www.civilwar-online.com/search?q=August+14%2C+1862
16. Friday, August 14, 1863: "The blockade trade" A surprisingly large amount of the supplies that ran the blockade into the Confederacy came from the North, and not from overseas. Even after the outbreak of war, a considerable amount of illicit and licit trade continued across the new border. Many so-called "blockade runners" were simply people with a wagon who knew the back roads well enough to slip across the lines undetected, carrying gold and cotton north and return with small but valuable cargos of medicine, salt, foodstuffs, and even some arms. In the Chesapeake Bay, the trade was carried on with small boats that slipped between Virginia and Maryland, which stayed in the Union but had many Southern sympathizers.
http://www.civilwar-online.com/search?q=August+14%2C+1863
17. Friday, August 14, 1863: Another way that northern supplies found their way into the Confederacy was through the blockade running ports of Bermuda and Nassau. Speculators could afford to outbid U.S. Commissaries and buy up large quantities of bacon in the North. This bacon would then be shipped perfectly legally to Bermuda or Nassau where the speculators could then sell it to Confederate commissaries for four or more times what they had paid for it. By the end of the war, Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was subsisting on shipments of "Bermuda Bacon"--which often became rancid during transport--run through the Blockade at Wilmington, North Carolina. Thus the South paid four times what the Union paid for bacon, a critical part of the Civil War soldier's daily ration.
On this day 150 years ago, the Daily Dispatch complained about how blockade running drained gold out of the Confederate economy. The blockade trade. The Sentinel, of yesterday, while congratulating itself upon the prohibition of the introduction of goods from the enemy's country within our military lines, states that "the powers of the Executive are not adequate to the correction of the evil of blockade running where it exists in its chief strength," viz.: by the sea going vessels arriving at our ports. It further says that "Congress has authorized trade with neutral countries, and it is not for the President to forbid it."
That the trade carried on directly through the border with the enemy, has been very demoralizing in its effects, and that it has been the means of transmission of much information detrimental to the South, there can be no doubt. The drain of gold to the enemy's country by that way has been considerable, and has been disadvantageous to us and beneficial to him. To stop this trade is a desideratum, and it is to be hoped that the Government will be successful in its effort for that purpose. It has a strong cooperation in the increased perils of the enterprise; for as the trade was lawless, and those who pursued it sought hidden routes and did much of their business in the obscurity of night, they have become the game of another class, whose calling is favored by like circumstances. One of the blockade runners is known to have been murdered and robbed, and the route has become infested with the land sharks, who think they have immunity in preying upon the contraband fish who pursue it.
It is true, indeed, that the main trade from without is through the blockade-running ships. Nevertheless, a smart traffic was carried on through our frontier lines. The checking of the latter will only stimulate to some extent the former; and little can be accomplished in the effort to exclude Yankee goods from the Confederacy until the laws are so amended as to take effect upon the contraband commerce of the ocean.
It is well known that the great bulk of the goods entered at Charleston and elsewhere are from Yankee land. There is no mistaking them. Everybody knows them. As cotton or gold has been paid for these goods, a large drain has been kept up upon our resources for the benefit of Yankee industry and capital.--The enemy has been strengthened and we weakened by it.
The question will be whether the introduction of the fabrics of the enemy, whom we hate and with whom we desire to have nothing to do, can be excluded as long as we have any foreign trade whatever? Is there any mode by which they are certainly to be known and effectually interdicted? It is hard to say. They will resort to every expedient of change and imitation necessary to evade law and elude vigilance. If they cannot be shut out without shutting out all commerce, or at least confining the foreign trade to Government vessels, the next question is can either or both these latter expedients be put in operation? They are questions of difficulty, and will exercise the wisdom of Congress not a little.
http://www.civilwar-online.com/search?q=August+14%2C+1863
18. Friday, August 14, 1863: A Mr. A. T. Bowie writes to Gen. Ransom of the behavior of Union forces on the lower Mississippi River, telling of the depredations of the “Marine Brigade”---Army troops who operate Brig. Gen. Ellet’s curious squadron of river gunboats which had won the naval Battle of Memphis the preceding year. Apparently, the foraging activities of these men has devolved into sacking and pillaging: “That on or about the 21st of July a company of marine cavalry (styling themselves of the authority of the United States, and whose play was their booty) landed at Judge Perkins’, or Ashwood Landing, La., dashed around Lake St. Joseph, inquiring for Mr. John Routh. On reaching his plantation demanded from him, first, his arms, which were given them. They then burst open a barrel of whisky, made all of the negroes drunk, and in that way learned where his valuables were, consisting of silver-ware, liquors, meats, clothes, table and house linen, and even scuffled with him for his purse. They took the amount of $25,000 worth of property-$15,000 of silver-ware,and perhaps the largest and most valuable private collection of table and house linen in the southern country.
Mr. Routh is an old man of nearly seventy years; had his house, gin, barn stables, and everything burned last spring at the [time the] others on the lake had lost their property. These marines also threatened to take him prisoner; did take his grandson, Mr. Andrew S. Routh, prisoner, who is now, it is said, in jail at Vicksburg. Andrew had not been in jail at Vicksburg. Andrew had not been in the army since last April; has been with his grandfather assisting him in taking care of his property. He had been ordered back to Colonel Harrison’s regiment, but determined to put in a substitute, in order that he might remain with his grandfather, and this was his position at the time he was taken off by Ellet’s marines. Mr. Routh is all alone, and wishes Andrew to live with him.”
General Grant is informed of the incident, and in a letter to his adjudant-general, gives order to “beach” the Marine Brigade and to turn their boats over to the transport service. Grant adds that he believes it “highly probable the charges brought against the Marine Brigade are exaggerated. But that this conduct is bad, and their services but very slight in comparison to the great expense they are to Government and the injury they do, I do not doubt.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=August+14%2C+1863
19. Friday, August 14, 1863: The Women’s Prison in Kansas City collapses.
https://bjdeming.com/2013/08/12/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-august-12-18-1863/
20. Friday, August 14, 1863: The Women’s Prison in Kansas City collapses. In a bid to put down the Missouri guerrilla raiders operating in Kansas, General Thomas Ewing, Jr. issued in April 1863 "General Order No. 10," which ordered the arrest of anyone giving aid or comfort to Confederate guerrillas. This meant chiefly women or girls who were relatives of the guerrillas. Ewing confined those arrested in a series of makeshift prisons in Kansas City. The women were sequentially housed in two buildings which were considered either too small or too unsanitary, before being moved to an empty property at 1425 Grand. This structure was part of the estate of the deceased Robert S. Thomas, George Caleb Bingham's father-in-law. In 1861 Bingham and his family were living in the structure, but in early 1862 after being appointed treasurer of the state of Missouri, he and his family relocated to Jefferson City. Bingham had added a third story to the existing structure to use as a studio.
At least ten women or girls, all under the age of 20, were incarcerated in the building when it collapsed August 13, 1863, killing four: Charity McCorkle Kerr, Susan Crawford Vandever, Armenia Crawford Selvey, and Josephine Anderson—the 15-year-old sister of William T. "Bloody Bill" Anderson. A few days later, Nannie Harris died from her wounds. Survivors of the collapse included: Jenny Anderson (crippled by the accident), Susan Anne Mundy Womacks, Martha "Mattie" Mundy, Lucinda "Lou" Mundy Gray, Elizabeth Harris (later married to Deal), and Mollie Grindstaff. Anderson's 13-year-old sister, who was shackled to a ball-and-chain inside the jail, suffered multiple injuries including two broken legs. Rumors circulated (later promulgated by Bingham who held a personal grudge against Ewing and who would seek financial compensation for the loss of the building) that the structure was undermined by the guards to cause its collapse. However, a 1995 study of the events and affidavits surrounding the collapse concludes this is "the least plausible of the theories." Instead, testimony indicated that alterations to the first floor of the adjoining Cockrell structure for use as a barracks caused the common wall to buckle. The weight of the third story on the former Bingham residence contributed to the resultant collapse.
Even before the collapse of the jail, the arrest and planned deportation of the girls had enraged Quantrill's guerillas; George Todd left a note for General Ewing threatening to burn Kansas City unless the girls were freed. While Quantrill's raid on Lawrence was planned prior to the collapse of the jail, the deaths of the guerrillas' female relatives undoubtedly added to their thirst for revenge and blood lust during the raid.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_massacre#Collapse_of_the_Women.27s_Prison_in_Kansas_CityFriday, August 14, 1863: Gen. Meade confers upon Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren the command of the II Corps of the Army of the Potomac, due to the severe wounding of Winfield S. Hancock at Gettysburg.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=August+14%2C+1863
21. Friday, August 14, 1863: Ephraim Shelby Dodd, of Co. D of Terry’s Texas Rangers (8th Texas Cavalry Regiment), writes in his diary of life in camp in Georgia, as part of Bragg’s Army of Tennessee: “Thursday, 6th, to Friday, 14th—Nothing but roll call, inspection, dress parades and drill. We are living high on peach pie. I have made a few acquaintances, but don’t find the hospitality that we did in Tennessee.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=August+14%2C+1863
22. Friday, August 14, 1863: Captain Josiah Marshall Favill, a young English immigrant in the Union army, now serves on the staff of Gen. Caldwell, who commands a division in the Army of the Potomac. Favill is given the post of the division’s judge advocate, and all criminal cases are tried before him. Here, in his diary, he details the proceedings of the courts, and describes the melancholy details of a military execution: “I entered upon the duties of division judge advocate immediately, and soon became fascinated. All courts martial sitting in the division, are detailed and organized through my office. I make the selection of officers and the adjutant general details them. We have now three courts in operation, one of which I serve as judge advocate. . . . It is surprising how many delinquents there are in the army. The Irish brigade is a great sinner in this respect. . . . A military execution is a very solemn and impressive pageant. The doomed man marches to his own funeral, to the solemn music of the band, in presence of the whole command. In the two cases mentioned above, the utmost pomp and display was made, to render the executions as impressive as possible. The whole division paraded in full dress, and in column of division, marched upon the ground following the prisoner, led by the band, playing the “Dead march” in Saul. A squad of men from the provost guard immediately followed, then four men carrying the coffin on their shoulders, with the prisoner walking close behind, his buttons and regimental insignia stripped from his clothing; a few files of men with muskets loaded, and bayonets fixed, marched directly in rear of him, the firing party under command of the provost marshal. Then follows with arms reversed, the entire command, marching in step to the solemn cadence of the music. Arriving upon the field, the troops form three sides of a square, while the band, prisoner and provost guard march directly forward to the unoccupied side of the square, halting before a grave already dug. The bands wheel out of line, the bearers of the coffin place it on the ground, close by the new made grave, the prisoner is marched up and seated on the coffin, while the firing party halt a few paces in rear. Then the adjutant general advances and reads the proceedings of the trial, the sentence, and the confirmation of the general-in-chief. Immediately afterwards the prisoner is blindfolded, still sitting on his coffin, and the command is given to “Aim! Fire!” and the lifeless body of the unfortunate soldier falls over, invariably dead. It is certainly an awful and solemn duty, yet necessary for the safety of the forces. The execution over, the bands strike up a lively air, and at a quick step the troops march back to their camps.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=August+14%2C+1863
23. Friday, August 14, 1863: Arkansas and Missouri operations: “Various skirmishes, actions, expeditions and other nastiness occurred in West Point, Arkansas, and numerous places in Missouri including Sherwood, Wellington, and the greater metropolitan area of Jack’s Ford.”
https://bjdeming.com/2013/08/12/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-august-12-18-1863/
24. Friday, August 14, 1863: Various skirmishes, actions, expeditions and other nastiness occurred in West Point, Arkansas, and numerous places in Missouri including Sherwood, Wellington, and in the area of Jack’s Ford.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-c/week-122
25. Sunday, August 14, 1864: The Diary of Mary Boykin Chesnut. Mary Boykin Chesnut's new home in Columbia, South Carolina was on the route between Richmond and Atlanta and show frequently entertained officers traveling back and forth between the two fronts, and in doing so, she got firsthand war news. “August 14th. - We have conflicting testimony. Young Wade Hampton, of Joe Johnston's staff, says Hood lost 12,000 men in the battles of the 22d1 and 24th, but Brewster, of Hood's staff, says not three thousand at the utmost. Now here are two people strictly truthful, who tell things so differently. In this war people see the same things so oddly one does not know what to believe.
Brewster says when he was in Richmond Mr. Davis said Johnston would have to be removed and Sherman blocked. He could not make Hardee full general because, when he had command of an army he was always importuning the War Department for a general-in-chief to be sent there over him. Polk would not do, brave soldier and patriot as he was. He was a good soldier, and would do his best for his country, and do his duty under whomever was put over him by those in authority. Mr. Davis did not once intimate to him who it was that he intended to promote to the head of the Western Army.
Brewster said to-day that this "blow at Joe Johnston, cutting off his head, ruins the schemes of the enemies of the government. Wigfall asked me to go at once, and get Hood to decline to take this command, for it will destroy him if he accepts it. He will have to fight under Jeff Davis's orders; no one can do that now and not lose caste in the Western Army. Joe Johnston does not exactly say that Jeff Davis betrays his plans to the enemy, but he says he dares not let the President know his plans, as there is a spy in the War Office who invariably warns the Yankees in time. Consulting the government on military movements is played out. That's Wigfall's way of talking. Now," added Brewster, "I blame the President for keeping a man at the head of his armies who treats the government with open scorn and contumely, no matter how the people at large rate this disrespectful general."
http://www.civilwar-online.com/search?q=August+14%2C+1864
26. Sunday, August 14, 1864: Fighting continues along the James River crossing at Deep Bottom Run that threatens Richmond as Major General Winfield Scott Hancock (US) troops closes in on New Market Heights, while the II Corps (US) extended the Federal line to the right along Bailey’s Creek. During the night, the X Corps (US) was moved to the far right flank of the Union line near Fussell’s Mill. Confederate lines are holding. This causes General Lee to move some troops, by the time Grant moves his men again, the heat was so bad, units moved suffered numerous deaths from heat stroke.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/1864/week-175
27. Sunday, August 14, 1864: Back in Mississippi, at Lamar, just north of Holly Springs, U.S. General A. J Smith found what he was looking for… General Forrest, but this time Forrest fought his own fight and hit Smith hard and gone before he knows what hit him. In Georgia, Confederate General Joe Wheeler raids and besieges the town of Dalton, Georgia. This sends the few Union soldiers into their fort and Wheeler looting and destroying railroad tracks.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/1864/week-175
28. Sunday, August 14, 1864: Mississippi operations: Skirmishing is ongoing in the Hurricane Creek area. General Forrest reports to his superiors that he is facing 18,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry under US Generals Washburn, Smith and Grierson and has been forced back to Oxford.
https://bjdeming.com/2014/08/10/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-august-11-17-1864/
29. Sunday, August 14, 1864: Georgia operations, Wheeler’s Raid: Second Battle of Dalton.
https://bjdeming.com/2014/08/10/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-august-11-17-1864/


A Wednesday, August 14, 1861: The USS Minnesota encounters contrabands. On August 14, 1861, Flag Officer Silas H. Stringham reported that his flagship had picked up five escaped slaves fleeing their masters in Virginia. Just the year before, the military forces of the United States would have been obligated to capture such escaped slaves and return them to their masters, but with the coming of war the U.S. Army and Navy became safe havens for escaping slaves.
http://www.civilwar-online.com/search?q=August+14%2C+1861
B Thursday, August 14, 1862: Confederate Heartland Offensive: L&N work crews return to work with a military escort and start repairing bridges. Morgan’s men attack again, killing a carpenter and chasing the rest down toward Nashville, not to return. General Nathan Bedford Forrest returns to his cavalry unit in Sparta, having been promoted by General Bragg in Chattanooga. The Federal cavalry in pursuit of Forrest’s cavalry is also near Sparta, and there are daily skirmishes over the next several days as Forrest begins to shift his force first to Smithville and then to Woodbury, in the Federal rear. Meanwhile, having sent a large force to watch the Union garrison at the Cumberland Gap, CS General Kirby Smith heads north from Chattanooga with the 12,000-man Army of East Tennessee.
https://bjdeming.com/2012/09/24/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-august-13-19-1862/
C. Friday, August 14, 1863: Engagement at …, Arkansas Union victory
The Little Rock Campaign involved the movement of two Union columns: a division led by Brigadier General John Davidson moving down Crowley’s Ridge from Missouri, and another from Helena led by Major General Frederick Steele. The two columns were to rendezvous before marching west toward the capital. A cavalry division commanded by Major General John Marmaduke at Jacksonport (Jackson County) was the only Confederate force that could oppose Davidson’s southward advance, and Marmaduke was encouraged by Price to observe and impede Davidson’s progress. Marmaduke instead opted to move south and camp near Searcy (White County) to avoid being cut off from other Confederate units in central Arkansas. Davidson had apparently anticipated this movement and halted his march upon reaching Clarendon (Monroe County), where he awaited the arrival of Steele’s infantry.
Four days after Davidson’s arrival in Clarendon, the gunboats Cricket, Marmora, and Lexington, along with a detachment from the Thirty-second Iowa, were dispatched up the White River toward Jacksonport to determine the whereabouts of Marmaduke’s cavalry and capture the Kaskaskia and Tom Sugg, two Confederate steamboats in use on the river. Early on August 13, the flotilla set out, pausing at Des Arc (Prairie County), where the Union force gathered intelligence, burned a warehouse containing corn meal, and destroyed local telegraph lines. The flotilla divided on the morning of August 14 upon reaching the confluence of the Little Red River with the White River. Lieutenant George Bache, captain of the Lexington, believed the Confederate steamboats to be farther up the Little Red and sent the Cricket in that direction, commanded by Lieutenant A. R. Langthorne. The Marmora and Lexington continued north and disembarked at Augusta (Woodruff County) but found no Rebels nearby and returned to the mouth of the Little Red. The Cricket had not returned by this time, so the Lexington headed upriver in pursuit.
The Cricket, meanwhile, discovered the Kaskaskia and Thomas Sugg on the Little Red at Searcy, as well as a pontoon bridge being used by Marmaduke to cross his cavalry. The two steamboats were captured, apparently without incident, and the infantry confiscated several bales of cotton after burning the pontoon bridge, leaving some of Marmaduke’s division stranded on the east side of the Little Red. The Union men prudently used the cotton bales to construct bullet-resistant breastworks aboard the ships in anticipation of a Confederate reprisal on the return trip down the river.
Confederate pickets along the Little Red were alerted by the passage of the Cricket, and a contingent of Shelby’s Iron Brigade, then commanded by Colonel Gideon Thompson, hastily planned an assault to retake the boats during its return trip. About 500 cavalrymen took position on a high bank at a bend along the Little Red at West Point (White County), which anticipated support by a battery of artillery that did not arrive in time for the battle. A lead regiment commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Charles Gilkey rushed to the riverbank as the boats passed and opened fire.
The ensuing battle was furious and lasted about twenty minutes, with infantry on the boats and cavalry on the shore firing at a distance of about thirty yards. The pilot of the Kaskaskia was wounded twice before being incapacitated; the ship floundered, but the Cricket did manage to get the Kaskaskia back under tow before it could be boarded. Regarding this part of the battle, a Sergeant Boyd of the Thirty-second Iowa wrote, “the stream being very narrow, the limbs on both sides would brush the boats and swing them against the bank, and the enemy [was] only prevented from boarding [the Kaskaskia] at the point of the bayonet.” Boyd also credited the cotton breastworks with their invaluable protection during the firefight. Union forces sustained two killed, at least six (possibly seven) wounded; the Confederates suffered seven or eight men wounded, including a mortally wounded Col. Gilkey. The Confederates fell back, and the Cricket, with its prizes in tow, continued down the river. By the time some remnants of the Iron Brigade managed to intercept the Cricket a second time, it had already united with the Lexington; salvos from both gunboats quickly dispersed the remaining Confederates.
http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=6702
D Sunday, August 14, 1864: Dalton II, Location: Whitfield County. Date(s): August 14-15, 1864
Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. James B. Steedman [US]; Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler [CS]
Forces Engaged: District of Etowah [US]; Wheeler’s cavalry force [CS]
D+ Description: Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler and his cavalry raided into North Georgia to destroy railroad tracks and supplies. They approached Dalton in the late afternoon of August 14 and demanded the surrender of the garrison. The Union commander, Col. Bernard Laibolt, refused to surrender and fighting ensued. Greatly outnumbered, the Union garrison retired to fortifications on a hill outside the town where they successfully held out, although the attack continued until after midnight. Skirmishing continued throughout the night. Around 5:00 am, on the 15th, Wheeler retired and became engaged with relieving infantry and cavalry under Maj. Gen. James B. Steedman’s command. Eventually, Wheeler withdrew. The contending forces’ reports vary greatly in describing the fighting, the casualties, and the amount of track and supplies captured and destroyed. This engagement was inconclusive, but since the Confederates withdrew, it may be termed a Union victory.
Result(s): Union victory (The Confederates withdrew.)
https://www.nps.gov/abpp/battles/ga020.htm
FYI GySgt Jack Wallace CWO4 Terrence Clark SPC Michael Oles SRSMSgt Lawrence McCarter A1C Pamela G RussellLTC Trent KlugPO2 Russell "Russ" Lincoln SFC Bernard Walko SFC Stephen King SFC Ralph E Kelley SSG Franklin Briant MSgt Robert C AldiSSG Byron Howard Sr Cpl Samuel Pope Sr CPL Ronald Keyes Jr SFC William Farrell CMDCM John F. "Doc" Bradshaw SPC Lyle MontgomeryDeborah GregsonSPC Miguel C.

I love these posts LTC Stephen Ford! So much to read and learn.

Thats some ship LTC Stephen F., for some reason it doesn't look sea worthy!

LTC Stephen F. Thanks for my daily Civil War fix

I found today's read to be very enlightening LTC Stephen F.. I found the battle in 1863 especially interesting to read, so that is the choice I have decided to go with.

Another great history share, thank you.