What was the most significant event on July 11 during the U.S. Civil War?

2016-07-15T17:59:58-04:00

In the steamy month of July, military campaigns were being waged and battles were being fought in the border area and along the east coast and the areas to the east of the Mississippi River. Then as does now politics and demagoguery tend to bring out the worst in some people on hot summer days and nights. In the days before instant communication, handbills and daily papers were the way to sway opinion.
The military draft lottery begins quietly in New York City on Saturday July 11, 1863. Two days the draft riots broke out as many, but not most, New Yorkers were furious about the draft. In June northern “Democratic Party leaders raised the specter of a New York deluged with southern blacks in the aftermath of the Emancipation Proclamation. White workers compared their value unfavorably to that of southern slaves, stating that "[we] are sold for $300 [the price of exemption from war service] whilst they pay $1000 for negroes." In the midst of war-time economic distress, they believed that their political leverage and economic status was rapidly declining as blacks appeared to be gaining power. “
Following Federal victories and Gettysburg, the President is in a good mood in 1863: John Hay, one of Lincoln’s secretaries, notes in his journal: "The President seemed in specially good humor today, as he had pretty good evidence that the enemy were still on the north side of the Potomac, and Meade had announced his intention of attacking them in the morning."
Confederate forces seriously threaten the US capital for the only time in 1864: “Jubal Early’s Confederate forces did what no other Southern men accomplished during the entire War: he invaded at least the suburbs of Washington D.C. Silver Spring, MD, suffered the brunt of the attack, with particular attention to what might seem like an unusual military target, the home of the Postmaster General. Nearly forgotten today, Montgomery Blair was an immensely powerful man in the Washington of those times. Both in his own right and through several sons, sons-in-law and nephews he had fingers in a great number of pies, even to St. Louis Mo. Defending the city was Gen. Lew Wallace, better known today as the author of the novel “Ben-Hur”. He was not doing well with his cobbled-together army of cripples and new recruits, and was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Sixth Corps regulars from City Point, Va.”
The reinforcements sent by General Grant – veteran troops from the US VI Corps – arrived in time to reinforce the Home Guards, clerks and convalescent soldiers who have been the US capital’s only defense.
As Jubal Early received reports from his scouts he realized he had no hopes of taking Washington, D.C. and he backed off to the suburbs instead of pressing the attack.

Pictures: 1864-07 Fort Stevens field guns and soldiers; 1861 western Virginia Map; 1864-07 battle of Fort Stevens Map; 1865_6_DraftWheel_1

A. 1861: The Battle of Rich Mountain in western Virginia resulted in a Union victory. It was the bloodiest engagement to date with 71 killed – 11 Union troops and 60 Confederates. Brig. Gen. William S. Rosecrans led a reinforced brigade by a mountain path to seize the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike in Lt. Col. John Pegram’s rear. About 2:30 P.M., the Union column encountered Confederate skirmishers on top of Rich Mountain. The surprised 310 men at the Confederate outpost at the pass took cover behind rocks and trees and, with the help of their 1 cannon, held off the Union attack for over 2 hours. Badly outnumbered, they eventually gave way, and Rosecrans' troops took possession of the field. Pegram, realizing that the Confederates were in his rear, ordered the withdrawal of his remaining forces from Camp Garnett during the night.
B. 1863, the first lottery of the conscription law was held. For twenty-four hours the city remained quiet. The military draft selection process begins in New York City. The New York Times reports on the beginning of the draft lottery, and gamely asserts, on the street, “that the almost universal expression is that of satisfaction and acquiescence in the wisdom and propriety of the measure.” On Monday, July 13, 1863, between 6 and 7 A.M., the five days of mayhem and bloodshed that would be known as the Civil War Draft Riots began.
C. 1863: First Battle of Fort Wagner, South Carolina. Federal assault repulsed. Brig. Gen. George C. Strong's brigade of force of four battalions—four companies each of the 7th Connecticut, the 76th Pennsylvania, and the 9th Maine attacked at dawn and advanced through a thick fog along a narrow strip of beach attempting to seize Fort Wagner. Although the men of the 7th Connecticut Infantry overran a line of rifle pits, in a very few minutes, mounting casualties force the Federal force back, even though the Connecticut men had gained the top of the wall. they were repulsed by the 1,770-man force under Confederate Col. Robert F. Graham. Heavy artillery fire from Fort Wagner prevented other units from joining the attack. and in a very few minutes, mounting casualties force the Federal force back, even though the Connecticut men had gained the top of the wall. The Federals suffer 339 (49 killed, 123 wounded, 167 missing) casualties, and the Rebels in the fort suffer only 12.
Gen. Strong and his brigade are directed to launch an attack at Fort Wagner, and so Strong sends forward a force of four battalions—four companies each of the 7th Connecticut, the 76th Pennsylvania, and the 9th Maine.
D. 1864: Battle of Fort Stevens. CSA Jubal Anderson Early reaches Washington D. C. suburbs with 8,00 of his 10,000 soldiers and small artillery guns. During the night, the reinforcements sent by General Grant – veteran troops from the US VI Corps – arrive to reinforce the Home Guards, clerks and convalescent soldiers who have been the US capital’s only defense. Commanding the Union forces are Generals Quincy Gillmore and Horatio Wright. More than 20,000 Union soldiers from various commands have arrived to defend the city.
The delay at the River Monocacy was vital for the defenders as it allowed a force of 20,000 to gather in the city and to build more defences. Scouts informed Early as to what he faced and he decided to abandon his original plan to assault the capital. In fact, Jubal Early did the opposite – he ordered his men to withdrew from their positions.

FYI MSG Roy Cheever Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. PO3 Edward Riddle SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL Maj William W. 'Bill' Price COL Private RallyPoint Member COL Lisandro Murphy SSgt David M. MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. SPC Maurice Evans SPC Jon O. SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth SSG Trevor S.PO3 Phyllis Maynard SPC Miguel C. 1SG Steven Imerman SSgt Charles Ankner SGM Steve Wettstein SGT Jim Arnold

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Jul 15 at 2016 6:02 PM

2016-07-15T18:02:51-04:00

Amphibious campaigns got off to rough starts early in the war; but by 1862 and certainly 1862 the Federal Army and Navy were working well together. The blockade off the southern coasts was successful and many blockade runners were intercepted
Below are a number of journal entries from 1862 and 1863 which shed light on what life was like for soldiers and civilians – the good, the bad and the ugly.
Friday, July 11, 1862: In a letter home to his mother, Lt. Col. Rutherford B. Hayes, with his regiment in the mountains of western Virginia, writes of how his men take care of themselves in this peaceful theater of the war: “The men are healthy, contented, and have the prettiest and largest bowers over the whole camp I ever saw. They will never look so well or behave so well in any settled country. Here the drunkards get no liquor, or so little that they regain the healthy complexion of temperate men. Every button and buckle is burnished bright, and clothes brushed or washed clean. I often think that if mothers could see their boys as they often look in this mountain wilderness, they would feel prouder of them than ever before. We have dancing in two of the larger bowers from soon after sundown until a few minutes after nine o’clock. By half-past nine all is silence and darkness. At sunrise the men are up, drilling until breakfast. . . .”
Saturday, July 11, 1863: C. Chauncy Burr, publisher of an anti-war magazine called the Old Guard in New York, writes an editorial on the impending military draft: “A new phrase has lately appeared in this country, very much as Satan’s face first appeared in Paradise.-It is “the war power,” as something above the Constitution, which is declared to be “the supreme law of the land.” It is a new doctrine in America. It was one of the reasons our fathers gave for rebelling against the King of England …
What is now by ignorant or designing people called the war power, or military law, is simply the absence of all law, and rests upon the same moral basis, as what is called Lynch law, or mob law. They depend upon the same arbitrary usurpation of power, in opposition to Constitution and statute. It depends solely on the will or caprice of the party by whom it is proclaimed and enforced. Until Mr. Lincoln’s election , no man imagined that it was ever to be put in force outside of the military camp …”
Saturday, July 11, 1863: George Templeton Strong of New York City notes in his journal the improved picture of what happened at Gettysburg: “From negative evidence in appears that Lee’s retreat was no rout. He shews a firm front at Williamsport and Hagerstown, seeking to recross the Potomac now in high freshet. Meade is at his heels, and another great battle is expected. . . . I observe that the Richmond papers are in an orgasm of brag and bluster and bloodthirstiness beyond all historical precendent even in their chivalric columns. That’s an encouraging sign. Another is the unusual number of stragglers and deserters from Lee’s army. Rebel generals, even when defeated, have heretofore kept their men well in hand.”

Pictures: 1861-07-11 Battle of Rich Mountain image; 1863-07 Fort Wagner, SC Map; 1861-07-11 The Battle of Rich Mountain, Randolph County; 1864-07-11 Confederate troops looting the Blair Mansion, near Washington, DC, July 11,1864

A. Thursday, July 11, 1861: The Battle of Rich Mountain in western Virginia resulted in a Union victory. It was the bloodiest engagement to date with 71 killed – 11 Union troops and 60 Confederates. On the morning of July 11, the force at the pass consisted of 310 men and one cannon. Brig. Gen. William S. Rosecrans led a reinforced brigade by a mountain path to seize the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike in Pegram’s rear. About 2:30 P.M., the Union column encountered Confederate skirmishers on top of Rich Mountain. The surprised Confederate outpost at the pass took cover behind rocks and trees and, with the help of their 1 cannon, held off the Union attack for over 2 hours. Badly outnumbered, they eventually gave way, and Rosecrans' troops took possession of the field. Pegram, realizing that the Confederates were in his rear, ordered the withdrawal of his remaining forces from Camp Garnett during the night.
At nearby Laurel Mountains, an attack by Union troops forced the Confederates based there to withdraw.
Background: Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan assumed command of Union forces in western Virginia in June 1861. On June 27, he moved his divisions from Clarksburg south against Lt. Col. John Pegram’s Confederates, reaching the vicinity of Rich Mountain on July 9. Meanwhile, Brig. Gen. T.A. Morris’s Union brigade marched from Philippi to confront Brig. Gen. R.S. Garnett’s command at Laurel Hill. Confederate Lt. Col. John Pegram was in command of Camp Garnett with about 1,300 men and 4 cannons. He sent a small party to protect his rear at the Joseph Hart homestead at the pass where the Pike crossed the summit of Rich Mountain.
B. On Saturday, July 11, 1863, the first lottery of the conscription law was held. For twenty-four hours the city remained quiet. The military draft selection process begins in New York City. The New York Times reports on the beginning of the draft lottery, and gamely asserts, on the street, “that the almost universal expression is that of satisfaction and acquiescence in the wisdom and propriety of the measure.” On Monday, July 13, 1863, between 6 and 7 A.M., the five days of mayhem and bloodshed that would be known as the Civil War Draft Riots began.
C. Saturday, July 11, 1863: First Battle of Fort Wagner, South Carolina. Federal assault repulsed. Brig. Gen. George C. Strong's brigade of force of four battalions—four companies each of the 7th Connecticut, the 76th Pennsylvania, and the 9th Maine attacked at dawn and advanced through a thick fog along a narrow strip of beach, attempting to seize Fort Wagner. Although the men of the 7th Connecticut Infantry overran a line of rifle pits, they were repulsed by the 1,770-man force under Confederate Col. Robert F. Graham. Heavy artillery fire from Fort Wagner prevented other units from joining the attack. The approach to the fort is a narrow strip of beach, and in a very few minutes, mounting casualties force the Federal force back, even though the Connecticut men had gained the top of the wall. The Federals suffer 339 (49 killed, 123 wounded, 167 missing) casualties, and the Rebels in the fort suffer only 12.
Gen. Strong and his brigade are directed to launch an attack at Fort Wagner, and so Strong sends forward a force of four battalions—four companies each of the 7th Connecticut, the 76th Pennsylvania, and the 9th Maine.
Background: In early June 1863, Union Brig. Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore replaced Maj. Gen. David Hunter as commander of the Department of the South. Gillmore, an Army engineer, had successfully captured Fort Pulaski in April 1862. He began preparations for capturing Morris Island and parts of James Island, which dominated the southern approaches to Charleston Harbor. If Union artillery could be placed in those locations, they could assist in the bombardment of Fort Sumter, whose guns prevented the U.S. Navy from entering the harbor.
On July 10, Union artillery on Folly Island (which had been occupied in April 1863) and naval gunfire from Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren's four ironclad warships bombarded the Confederate defenses protecting the southern end of Morris Island. This provided cover for the landing of Brig. Gen. George C. Strong's brigade, which crossed Lighthouse Inlet and landed at the southern tip of the island. Strong's troops advanced, capturing several batteries, moving about three miles to within range of Fort Wagner. Also known as Battery Wagner, it was a heavily gunned redoubt that covered nearly the entire width of the northern end of Morris Island, facing Sumter. Strong's report described the advance: “The two columns now moved forward, under a lively discharge of shell, grape, and canister, converging toward the works nearest the southern extremity of the island, and thence along its commanding ridge and eastern coast, capturing successively the eight batteries, of one heavy gun each, occupying the commanding points of that ridge, besides two batteries, mounting, together, three 10-inch seacoast mortars.”
D. Monday, July 11, 1864: Battle of Fort Stevens. CSA Jubal Anderson Early reaches Washington D. C. suburbs with 8,00 of his 10,000 soldiers and small artillery guns. During the night, the reinforcements sent by General Grant – veteran troops from the US VI Corps – arrive to reinforce the Home Guards, clerks and convalescent soldiers who have been the US capital’s only defense. Commanding the Union forces are Generals Quincy Gillmore and Horatio Wright. More than 20,000 Union soldiers from various commands have arrived to defend the city.
The delay at the River Monocacy was vital for the defenders as it allowed a force of 20,000 to gather in the city and to build more defences. Scouts informed Early as to what he faced and he decided to abandon his original plan to assault the capital. In fact, Jubal Early did the opposite – he ordered his men to withdrew from their positions.
Details: From Rockville on Monday morning, Early’s army took what is now Veirs Mill Road into Wheaton — then called Leesborough — and turned south onto the Seventh Street Pike, now known as Georgia Avenue, according to histories by B.F. Cooling and Marc Leepson. Some cavalry took a different route, down what is now Old Georgetown Road and Wisconsin Avenue toward Fort Reno near Tenleytown.
By noon, Early was in the District within sight of Fort Stevens. Many of the Confederates were eager to take revenge on the “vile miscreants living there,” Pvt. William Stringfellows of North Carolina wrote in his diary. But Early decided that his bedraggled force, spread out for miles behind him, was in no condition yet to attack.
The Confederates probed the defenses, moving through a landscape then consisting of farms and orchards, and skirmished sharply with federal troops. From Fort Stevens and Fort DeRussy — where joggers now run past remaining earthworks in the wooded hills of Rock Creek Park — Union batteries hammered at the invaders.
Even as more Confederates moved down Seventh Street, more Sixth Corps troops had arrived by steamboat at the Washington wharf and were marching up the same road from the opposite direction, cheered by jubilant crowds.
The unmistakable long and lanky figure of Lincoln appeared on the Fort Stevens parapet at least once during the fighting, and when fire from Confederate sharpshooters zeroed in, Union officers — but probably not, despite the oft-repeated claim, Capt. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., the future Supreme Court Justice — called in strong language for the president to get down.
Early made his headquarters that evening in Maryland near the District line at Silver Spring, in the long-since-demolished mansion belonging to the Blair family that would give the surrounding community its name. Over cigars and wine from the Blair cellar, Old Jube and his commanders contemplated their next step.

1. Thursday, July 11, 1861: Battle of Rich Mountain, West Virginia. George McClellan; William S. Rosecrans
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186107
2. Thursday, July 11, 1861: Sterling Price, Confederate governor Claiborne Jackson, Nathaniel Lyon, and Francis Blair meet at Planters' House in St. Louis to discuss a truce. Lyon was quoted as saying "This means war" after the talks end abruptly.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186107
3. Friday, July 11, 1862: General Halleck was appointed General-in-Chief of the Federal Armies.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/the-american-civil-war/american-civil-war-july-1862/
4. Friday, July 11, 1862: President Abraham Lincoln names Henry Halleck General-in-Chief. http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186207
5. Friday, July 11, 1862: Ulysses S. Grant [US] ordered to assume command of the Army of the Tennessee, Army of the Mississippi and other western troops.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186207
6. Friday, July 11, 1862: Morgan’s First Kentucky Raid: Fight at Rolling Fork Bridge and capture of Lebanon, Kentucky. Ellsworth learns that no Union troops are anywhere close and Morgan has time to thoroughly ransack and destroy Union supplies. On the way to their next target, Ellsworth sends another bogus message, directing the Union troops away from Morgan’s route. Somewhere around this time, Morgan also sends General Jeremiah Boyle, the US commander of Kentucky, a taunting message: “Good morning, Jerry. This telegraph is a great institution. You should destroy it as it keeps me posted too well. My friend Ellsworth has all your dispatches since July 10 on file. Do you want copies?”
https://bjdeming.com/2012/07/09/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-9-15-1862the-western-theater/
7. Friday, July 11, 1862: President Lincoln makes General Halleck general-in-chief of all US land forces, a position that has been vacant since March (Halleck will assume this command when he gets to Washington). He also telegraphs Halleck that Military Governor Andrew Johnson in Nashville is “in trouble and great anxiety about a raid into Kentucky,” and asks Halleck to look into it before he comes to Washington. General Halleck orders General Grant to report to Corinth.
https://bjdeming.com/2012/07/09/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-9-15-1862the-western-theater/
8. Friday, July 11, 1862: General Forrest’s cavalry picks up 300 more men at a point about 10 miles northeast of Sparta, Tennessee.
https://bjdeming.com/2012/07/09/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-9-15-1862the-western-theater/
9. Friday, July 11, 1862 --- On this date, Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck, otherwise known as “Old Brains” in the service, is given the post of General-in-Chief of Union armies and summoned to Washington. Halleck seems to be the obvious choice, since he was in command over the armies in the West which had enjoyed so much success. Gen. McClellan, in his recent “strong and frank letter” to Lincoln, had suggested with a transparent lack of tact, that he was available to take up his old post again and thus save the country, but Lincoln apparently does not take the bait. The sidelined Grant, being Halleck’s second-in-command, is made chief over the western departments.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+11%2C+1862
10. Friday, July 11, 1862 --- Pleasant Hill, Missouri: A company of State militia clashes with a company of Rebel bushwhackers, resulting in the defeat of the Rebels, with six killed and five wounded.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+11%2C+1862
11. Friday, July 11, 1862 --- A similar clash takes place in New Hope, Kentucky, between Federal cavalry and Rebel mounted guerillas, resulting in the guerillas’ rout.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+11%2C+1862
12. Saturday, July 11, 1863: Meade decided that his men were sufficiently rested after Gettysburg and decided that the Army of the Potomac had to become more proactive. The last thing that Meade wanted was for Lee’s men to cross the Potomac River.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/the-american-civil-war/american-civil-war-july-1863/
13. Friday, July 11, 1862 --- In a letter home to his mother, Lt. Col. Rutherford B. Hayes, with his regiment in the mountains of western Virginia, writes of how his men take care of themselves in this peaceful theater of the war: “The men are healthy, contented, and have the prettiest and largest bowers over the whole camp I ever saw. They will never look so well or behave so well in any settled country. Here the drunkards get no liquor, or so little that they regain the healthy complexion of temperate men. Every button and buckle is burnished bright, and clothes brushed or washed clean. I often think that if mothers could see their boys as they often look in this mountain wilderness, they would feel prouder of them than ever before. We have dancing in two of the larger bowers from soon after sundown until a few minutes after nine o’clock. By half-past nine all is silence and darkness. At sunrise the men are up, drilling until breakfast. . . .”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+11%2C+1862
14. Saturday, July 11, 1863 --- C. Chauncy Burr, publisher of an anti-war magazine called the Old Guard in New York, writes an editorial on the impending military draft: “A new phrase has lately appeared in this country, very much as Satan’s face first appeared in Paradise.-It is “the war power,” as something above the Constitution, which is declared to be “the supreme law of the land.” It is a new doctrine in America. It was one of the reasons our fathers gave for rebelling against the King of England …
What is now by ignorant or designing people called the war power, or military law, is simply the absence of all law, and rests upon the same moral basis, as what is called Lynch law, or mob law. They depend upon the same arbitrary usurpation of power, in opposition to Constitution and statute. It depends solely on the will or caprice of the party by whom it is proclaimed and enforced. Until Mr. Lincoln’s election , no man imagined that it was ever to be put in force outside of the military camp …”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+11%2C+1863
15. Saturday, July 11, 1863 --- George Templeton Strong of New York City notes in his journal the improved picture of what happened at Gettysburg: “From negative evidence in appears that Lee’s retreat was no rout. He shews a firm front at Williamsport and Hagerstown, seeking to recross the Potomac now in high freshet. Meade is at his heels, and another great battle is expected. . . . I observe that the Richmond papers are in an orgasm of brag and bluster and bloodthirstiness beyond all historical precendent even in their chivalric columns. That’s an encouraging sign. Another is the unusual number of stragglers and deserters from Lee’s army. Rebel generals, even when defeated, have heretofore kept their men well in hand.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+11%2C+1863
16. Saturday, July 11, 1863 --- John Hay, one of Lincoln’s secretaries, notes in his journal: "The President seemed in specially good humor today, as he had pretty good evidence that the enemy were still on the north side of the Potomac, and Meade had announced his intention of attacking them in the morning."
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+11%2C+1863
17. Saturday, July 11, 1863 --- Gen. Lee concentrates his army around Falling Waters, near the Potomac, in anticipation of a Federal all-out assault. There is continual skirmishing at all points of the line, as Meade probes to find a weak spot in the Rebel lines. Rains continue.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+11%2C+1863
18. Saturday, July 11, 1863: Battle of Fort Wagner, South Carolina. Quincy A. Gillmore; P. G. T. Beauregard
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186307
19. Monday, July 11, 1864: “Jubal Early’s Confederate forces did what no other Southern men accomplished during the entire War: he invaded at least the suburbs of Washington D.C. Silver Spring, MD, suffered the brunt of the attack, with particular attention to what might seem like an unusual military target, the home of the Postmaster General. Nearly forgotten today, Montgomery Blair was an immensely powerful man in the Washington of those times. Both in his own right and through several sons, sons-in-law and nephews he had fingers in a great number of pies, even to St. Louis Mo. Defending the city was Gen. Lew Wallace, better known today as the author of the novel “Ben-Hur”. He was not doing well with his cobbled-together army of cripples and new recruits, and was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Sixth Corps regulars from City Point, Va.”
https://bjdeming.com/2014/07/06/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-7-13-1864/
20. Monday, July 11, 1864: Lincoln to Grant: “Cypher” United States Military Telegraph, Lieut. Gen. Grant War Department, Washington, City-Point, Va July 11. 1864 [8 A.M.] “Yours of 10:30 P.M. yesterday received, and very satisfactory. The enemy will learn of Wright’s arrival, and then the difficulty will be to unite Wright and Hunter, South of the enemy before he will re-cross the Potomac. Some firing between Rockville and here now. A. LINCOLN”
https://bjdeming.com/2014/07/06/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-7-13-1864/
21. Monday, July 11, 1864: Jubal Anderson Early reaches Washington D. C. suburbs. In the past few days, however, more than 20,000 Union soldiers from various commands have arrived to defend the city. Commanding the Union forces are Generals Quincy Gillmore and Horatio Wright.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186407
22. Monday, July 11, 1864: Battle of Fort Stevens begins when Jubal Early reaches Washington’s suburbs. During the night, the reinforcements sent by General Grant – veteran troops from the US VI Corps – arrive to reinforce the Home Guards, clerks and convalescent soldiers who have been the US capital’s only defense.
https://bjdeming.com/2014/07/06/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-7-13-1864/
23.

A Thursday, July 11, 1861: Two small Union forces in West Virginia advance on Confederate bases at Laurel Mountain, forcing them to retreat, and at Rich Mountain, trapping the Confederate garrison and forcing a surrender.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+11%2C+1861
A+ Thursday, July 11, 1861: The Battle of Rich Mountain in western Virginia was fought resulting in a Union victory over the Confederates. It was the bloodiest engagement to date with 71 killed – 11 Union troops and 60 Confederates. At nearby Laurel Mountains, an attack by Union troops forced the Confederates based there to withdraw.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/the-american-civil-war/american-civil-war-july-1861/
A++ Thursday, July 11, 1861: Battle of Rich Mountain, Western Virginia. Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan assumed command of Union forces in western Virginia in June 1861. On June 27, he moved his divisions from Clarksburg south against Lt. Col. John Pegram’s Confederates, reaching the vicinity of Rich Mountain on July 9. Meanwhile, Brig. Gen. T.A. Morris’s Union brigade marched from Philippi to confront Brig. Gen. R.S. Garnett’s command at Laurel Hill.Confederate Lt. Col. John Pegram was in command of Camp Garnett with about 1,300 men and 4 cannons. He sent a small party to protect his rear at the Joseph Hart homestead at the pass where the Pike crossed the summit of Rich Mountain.
On the morning of July 11, the force at the pass consisted of 310 men and one cannon. Brig. Gen. William S. Rosecrans led a reinforced brigade by a mountain path to seize the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike in Pegram’s rear. About 2:30 P.M., the Union column encountered Confederate skirmishers on top of Rich Mountain. The surprised Confederate outpost at the pass took cover behind rocks and trees and, with the help of their 1 cannon, held off the Union attack for over 2 hours. Badly outnumbered, they eventually gave way, and Rosecrans' troops took possession of the field. Pegram, realizing that the Confederates were in his rear, ordered the withdrawal of his remaining forces from Camp Garnett during the night.
http://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/610711.html
B On Saturday, July 11, 1863, the first lottery of the conscription law was held. For twenty-four hours the city remained quiet. On Monday, July 13, 1863, between 6 and 7 A.M., the five days of mayhem and bloodshed that would be known as the Civil War Draft Riots began.
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/317749.html
B+ Saturday, July 11, 1863 --- On this date, the military draft selection process begins in New York City. The New York Times reports on the beginning of the draft lottery, and gamely asserts, on the street, “that the almost universal expression is that of satisfaction and acquiescence in the wisdom and propriety of the measure.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+11%2C+1863
C Saturday, July 11, 1863: Battle of Fort Wagner, South Carolina. Brig. Gen. George C. Strong's brigade attacked at dawn and day, advancing through a thick fog, attempting to seize Fort Wagner. Although the men of the 7th Connecticut Infantry overran a line of rifle pits, they were repulsed by the 1,770-man force under Confederate Col. Robert F. Graham. Heavy artillery fire from Fort Wagner prevented other units from joining the attack.
Background: In early June 1863, Union Brig. Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore replaced Maj. Gen. David Hunter as commander of the Department of the South. Gillmore, an Army engineer, had successfully captured Fort Pulaski in April 1862. He began preparations for capturing Morris Island and parts of James Island, which dominated the southern approaches to Charleston Harbor. If Union artillery could be placed in those locations, they could assist in the bombardment of Fort Sumter, whose guns prevented the U.S. Navy from entering the harbor.
On July 10, Union artillery on Folly Island (which had been occupied in April 1863) and naval gunfire from Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren's four ironclad warships bombarded the Confederate defenses protecting the southern end of Morris Island. This provided cover for the landing of Brig. Gen. George C. Strong's brigade, which crossed Lighthouse Inlet and landed at the southern tip of the island. Strong's troops advanced, capturing several batteries, moving about three miles to within range of Fort Wagner. Also known as Battery Wagner, it was a heavily gunned redoubt that covered nearly the entire width of the northern end of Morris Island, facing Sumter. Strong's report described the advance: “The two columns now moved forward, under a lively discharge of shell, grape, and canister, converging toward the works nearest the southern extremity of the island, and thence along its commanding ridge and eastern coast, capturing successively the eight batteries, of one heavy gun each, occupying the commanding points of that ridge, besides two batteries, mounting, together, three 10-inch seacoast mortars.”
Aftermath: Union casualties were 339 (49 killed, 123 wounded, 167 missing), Confederate 12. The First Battle of Fort Wagner was followed on July 16 by assaults on James Island and on July 18 by the famous, but also unsuccessful, charge of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry on July 18 in the Second Battle of Fort Wagner.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wik/First_Battle_of_Fort_Wagner
C+ Saturday, July 11, 1863 --- First Battle of Fort Wagner, South Carolina – Gen. Strong and his brigade are directed to launch an attack at Fort Wagner, and so Strong sends forward a force of four battalions—four companies each of the 7th Connecticut, the 76th Pennsylvania, and the 9th Maine. The approach to the fort is a narrow strip of beach, and in a very few minutes, mounting casualties force the Federal force back, even though the Connecticut men had gained the top of the wall. The Federals suffer 338 casualties, and the Rebels in the fort suffer only 12.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+11%2C+1863
D Monday, July 11, 1864: Battle of Fort Stevens. Confederate troops commanded by General Jubal Early arrived on the outskirts of the capital. However, the impact of the summer heat had reduced the number he commanded from 10,000 to 8,000. Early was also lightly armed with small artillery guns. The delay at the River Monocacy was vital for the defenders as it allowed a force of 20,000 to gather in the city and to build more defences. Scouts informed Early as to what he faced and he decided to abandon his original plan to assault the capital. In fact, Jubal Early did the opposite – he ordered his men to withdrew from their positions.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/the-american-civil-war/american-civil-war-july-1864/
D+ Monday, July 11, 1864: Battle of Fort Stevens. From Rockville on Monday morning, Early’s army took what is now Veirs Mill Road into Wheaton — then called Leesborough — and turned south onto the Seventh Street Pike, now known as Georgia Avenue, according to histories by B.F. Cooling and Marc Leepson. Some cavalry took a different route, down what is now Old Georgetown Road and Wisconsin Avenue toward Fort Reno near Tenleytown.
By noon, Early was in the District within sight of Fort Stevens. Many of the Confederates were eager to take revenge on the “vile miscreants living there,” Pvt. William Stringfellows of North Carolina wrote in his diary. But Early decided that his bedraggled force, spread out for miles behind him, was in no condition yet to attack.
The Confederates probed the defenses, moving through a landscape then consisting of farms and orchards, and skirmished sharply with federal troops. From Fort Stevens and Fort DeRussy — where joggers now run past remaining earthworks in the wooded hills of Rock Creek Park — Union batteries hammered at the invaders.
Even as more Confederates moved down Seventh Street, more Sixth Corps troops had arrived by steamboat at the Washington wharf and were marching up the same road from the opposite direction, cheered by jubilant crowds.
The unmistakable long and lanky figure of Lincoln appeared on the Fort Stevens parapet at least once during the fighting, and when fire from Confederate sharpshooters zeroed in, Union officers — but probably not, despite the oft-repeated claim, Capt. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., the future Supreme Court Justice — called in strong language for the president to get down.
Early made his headquarters that evening in Maryland near the District line at Silver Spring, in the long-since-demolished mansion belonging to the Blair family that would give the surrounding community its name. Over cigars and wine from the Blair cellar, Old Jube and his commanders contemplated their next step.
Background: It was a decisive rebel victory — a rout, even, by some Confederate descriptions — but it had come with a heavy price, and not only the 900 Confederate casualties. The Union troops, at the cost of 1,300 casualties, had delayed Early’s attack on Washington by an entire day — critical time, it would turn out.
(Following the defeat, Wallace was relieved of command, but after learning details of the brave Union stand at Monocacy, Grant had him reinstated. Wallace would achieve lasting fame for his novel “Ben-Hur,” published in 1880.)
After camping on the battlefield, the exhausted Confederates resumed their march to Washington on Sunday morning, July 10, but they made limited progress in beastly heat. That night they camped spread out between Gaithersburg and Rockville.
At Lee’s behest, Early dispatched cavalry dashing across the state to free thousands of Confederate prisoners held at Point Lookout, where the Potomac empties into the Chesapeake Bay. The mission was ultimately aborted, but not before cavalry wreaked havoc between Baltimore and Washington, looting and cutting communications.
In Washington, worries were growing about the city’s defenses, manned primarily by 100-Days Men, recuperating wounded soldiers, and even — as the Confederates advanced — government clerks. “We have five times as many generals here as we want but are greatly in need of privates,” complained Maj. Gen. Henry Halleck, Grant’s chief of staff.
Within hours of the Union defeat at Monocacy, Grant ordered two more Sixth Corps divisions to board transports and sail immediately for Washington.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/for-gen-jubal-early-a-raid-north-nearly-led-to-the-capture-of-washington/2014/04/23/bb5b8fe4-c961-11e3-95f7-7ecdde72d2ea_story.html
Monday, July 11, 1864: On July 11, Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early’s exhausted Confederates reached the outskirts of Washington near Silver Spring. Skirmishers advanced to feel the fortifications which at the time were manned only by Home Guards, clerks, and convalescent troops. During the night, veteran units from the Union VI Corps disembarked from troop transports and marched north through the streets of Washington to bolster the defenses. On July 12, Early was finally in position to make a strong demonstration, which was repulsed by the veteran Union troops. In the afternoon, VI Corps units sortied against the Confederate skirmishers, driving them back from their advanced positions in front of Forts Stevens and DeRussy. President Lincoln watched the action from Fort Stevens and came under fire from Confederate sharpshooters. Recognizing that the Union Capital was now defended by veterans, Early abandoned any thought of taking the city. Early withdrew during the night, marching toward White’s Ford on the Potomac, ending his invasion of Maryland. “We didn’t take Washington,” Early told his staff officers, “but we scared Abe Lincoln like Hell.”
http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/fort-stevens.html
Monday, July 11, 1864: Mississippi operations: S. D. Lee, now in overall command, sends dismounted cavalry out from Okolona to entrench at Prairie Mound. The US troops break camp at sunrise and move out cautiously and slowly, pushing back the S.D. Lee’s men until they reach a strong Confederate position at Pinson’s Hill, 2 miles south of Pontotoc, where the Federal advance stops at sunset. S. D. Lee orders Chalmers to keep up skirmishing and attempt to delay further advance on Okolona for two days, until the Confederates there are ready.
https://bjdeming.com/2014/07/06/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-7-13-1864/
FYI SPC Deb Root-White Lt Col Charlie Brown CWO2 John HeinzlGySgt Jack Wallace SPC Diana D. CWO4 Terrence Clark SPC Michael Oles SR [SPC Michael Terrell TSgt David L. CPL Ronald Keyes Jr PO1 John Johnson SPC Private RallyPoint Member SMSgt Lawrence McCarter SP5 Dave (Shotgun) Shockley SFC Randy Purham MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca Maj Kim Patterson SSG Ed Mikus PFC Eric Minchey TSgt George Rodriguez

Civil War Timeline / Chronology for July 1861

Response by Kim Bolen RN CCM ACM made Jul 15 at 2016 6:14 PM

2016-07-15T18:14:13-04:00

The reinforcements sent by General Grant – veteran troops from the US VI Corps – arrived in time to reinforce the Home Guards, clerks and convalescent soldiers who have been the US capital’s only defense.

Response by SFC William Farrell made Jul 15 at 2016 6:43 PM

2016-07-15T18:43:30-04:00

Interesting post LTC Stephen F., as always thank you. I loved the picture of the lottery drum!

Response by Maj William W. 'Bill' Price made Jul 15 at 2016 7:18 PM

2016-07-15T19:18:36-04:00

Sticking with Monocracy/Ft Stevens again, LTC Stephen F.. What could be termed a success gave the Confederacy false hopes. And the Federal maneuvers saved the Capitol.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Jul 15 at 2016 7:25 PM

2016-07-15T19:25:35-04:00

I think I have more of a connection with the Battle of Rich Mountain having been in the Mountain Goat Navy 4 years Naval Security Group Detachment Sugar Grove, WV.

Response by SSgt Robert Marx made Jul 15 at 2016 7:40 PM

2016-07-15T19:40:19-04:00

The use of a lottery draft system is fair but the ability to pay for someone else to take your place is very unfair.

Response by SP5 Mark Kuzinski made Jul 15 at 2016 7:42 PM

2016-07-15T19:42:20-04:00

Thank you for the fantastic read for the night LTC Stephen F.

Response by SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL made Jul 15 at 2016 7:44 PM

2016-07-15T19:44:13-04:00

LTC Stephen F. great solid read and share on Civil War history. I am going with:
1864: Battle of Fort Stevens. CSA Jubal Anderson Early reaches Washington D. C. suburbs with 8,00 of his 10,000 soldiers and small artillery guns. During the night, the reinforcements sent by General Grant – veteran troops from the US VI Corps – arrive to
The significance of President Abraham Lincoln viewing the war as CINC.

Response by TSgt Joe C. made Jul 15 at 2016 11:54 PM

2016-07-15T23:54:28-04:00

Thanks for sharing this day in Civil War history LTC Stephen F.! All is my vote.