Response by LTC Stephen F. made May 4 at 2016 7:22 PM

2016-05-04T19:22:33-04:00

1862 Siege warfare. Peninsula Campaign - Siege of Yorktown. Over cautiousness of George B. McClellan and resourcefulness of his opponents Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder and later overall force commander General Joseph E. Johnston tied up the Army of the Potomac for over a month.
1863: Col Benjamin Henry Grierson’s Raid – After fighting running battles with Southern cavalry over the last two days, Grierson’s troopers finally reach Sandy Creek, where they capture and destroy a Confederate camp, and move on. They pause and rest at Woodward’s plantation, where the troopers get the first sleep they have had in two days. Col. Grierson played a piano concert for the Woodward family while his men rested. At 3:00 PM, Grierson’s men make contact with Union troops at Baton Rouge, who are shocked to find a column of blue cavalry arrive. They ride into the city, having traveled more than 600 miles in 16 days, captured more than 500 Confederates and killed (or wounded) another 100. They wrecked over 50 miles of railroad and telegraph line and confiscated or destroyed over 3,000 stands of arms and many thousands of dollars’ worth of military supplies. They have captured more than 1,000 mules and horses. They had all of Gen. Pemberton’s cavalry chasing them at a time when he needed them most, in addition to nearly a third of his infantry and much of his artillery, combing the countryside for the elusive Yankees. All this was accomplished at a cost of only three dead and seven wounded. Five men too sick to continue had been left behind, and nine men, presumed stragglers, were missing. The 7th Illinois’ surgeon and sergeant major stayed behind with a mortally wounded officer at Wall’s Bridge. Added to Hatch’s losses, the casualties numbered 36, only about 2 percent of the total command. Grierson was quite justified when he later remarked, ‘The Confederacy is a hollow shell.’
1863: After two weeks of chasing, attacking, and harassing raid into northern Alabama, Gen. Nathan B. Forrest brings Col. Abel Streight’s mule-mounted cavalry raiders to bay at Cedar Bluffs, near Black Creek, Alabama. Nearly 1,400 Union troopers surrender to Forrest, who actually has only 400 men with him. Col Streight’s raid ended well short of his goal to raid Rome, Georgia.
1865 Finally at his hometown, Mr. Lincoln’s body would lie in state in the State House's Hall of Representatives (the same room in which he gave his famous "House Divided" speech). Mr. Lincoln's face had become further discolored, and Thomas Lynch, an undertaker, using rouge chalk and amber restored the face to near normal color. Shortly after 10:00 A.M. the doors were opened to the long line of mourners. Additionally, hundreds of people gathered around Mr. Lincoln's home where his horse, Old Bob, now 16 years old, and his dog, Fido, had been brought back for the day.
Pictures: 1862 Siege of Yorktown; 1862 Yankee mortars at Yorktown; 1863 Grierson’s raid; 1861 Blockhouse Near Aqueduct Bridge - Arlington Heights, VA
Since RallyPoint truncates survey selection text I am posting events that were not included and then the full text of each survey choice below:
A. Saturday, May 3, 1862: Eastern Theater, Peninsula Campaign - Siege of Yorktown. Gen. McClellan, still unaware that only Johnston’s 57,000 men are facing him at Yorktown, sets tomorrow, May 4, as the date for the devastating bombardment to begin, now that he has all of his siege artillery in prepared and fortified positions. He and the engineers of the Army of the Potomac have spent almost exactly a month in siege operations and construction of the works, since the fortified Yorktown is the only "dry" road to Richmond, the Warwick River slanting across nearly the whole width of the peninsula. (See map.) Gen. Johnston, writing to Gen. Lee concerning the initial Union movements against Yorktown, and how Gen. Magruder paraded his men around and around by a break in the forest screen to convince the Yanks that he had many more troops, says, "No one but McClellan would have hesitated to attack."
Saturday, May 3, 1862—This evening, Gen. Joseph Johnston gives orders to his troops to pull out of Yorktown entrenchments—all 26 brigades and 36 field batteries—a nearly impossible task for 57,000 to do without alerting the opposing army. Reports by runaway "contrabands" affirm that the Rebels are pulling out and heading away up the Peninsula, but McClellan refuses to believe it, because Allen Pinkerton’s spies have reported nearly 200,000 Rebels in the trenches before them. In the evening, Confederate artillery opens fire in a bombardment all along the line, to mask with withdrawal of the infantry. The Southern troops leave quietly in the late hours of the night, leaving the fortifications all across the Peninsula empty.
B. Sunday, May 3, 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia Day 3: The day after Stonewall Jackson’s dramatic smashing of the Union right flank, Gen. Hooker has re-arranged his lines, putting Howard’s shattered corps out on the left, and putting Reynolds’ fresh I Corps and Meade’s V Corps to bolster the right flank. The Union position now looks a bit like a squashed letter "U", with the salient apex perilously and bulbously extended, and threatened with being pinched off from the rest of the army. This apex is defended by Sickles’ III Corps facing Jackson’s Corps to the west (now under Stuart’s command), Slocum’s XII Corps facing Anderson’s division south and southeast, and Couch’s II Corps facing McLaw’s division to the east. Hazel Grove, a large, flat bluff area clearer of trees than usual, and elevated, becomes the foundation for Hooker’s decision to place his lines there. But this is where the "pinch" is, and it seems to invite the Confederates to push at that very spot. So, this morning, against Sickles’ protests, he orders his troops off the bluff and shortens his lines even more.
As the Confederates roll up to Hazel Grove, they encounter a small rear guard. As Stuart (with Jackson’s corps) surges up onto this plateau, Stuart immediately calls for Col. E. Porter Alexander to bring up his artillery, and places 30 guns on the Hazel Grove plateau, with a fine field of fire along the Federal lines. Along with 20 more guns on the Plank Road, Alexander opens fire on the exposed Yankees.
Stuart launches his attack as the Southern guns’ open fire in perhaps the finest performance of Confederate artillery in the war. Meade and Reynolds both see that, as Stuart attacks, he has exposed his left flank to a potential counterattack. A shot strikes the pillar of the house where Hooker is staying, splitting the post and knocking Hooker to the ground. He is afflicted with concussion, and cannot aptly command. He turns over command to Couch, but forbids Couch to launch a counterattack, or to allow Reynolds or Meade to launch any. The Confederate attack continues on and destroys the last of the Union salient, and the Union lines contract even more back toward protecting the United States Ford. Casualties are so high, this day ranks as the second bloodiest day in the Civil War. Lee’s victory at Chancellorsville is complete. Confederate Victory.
Losses: Killed Wounded Captured/Missing Total
Union 1,606 9,672 5,919 17,197
Confederate 1,665 9,081 2, 018 13,303
C. Sunday, May 3, 1863: Grierson’s Raid – After fighting running battles with Southern cavalry over the last two days, Grierson’s troopers finally reach Sandy Creek, where they capture and destroy a Confederate camp, and move on. They pause and rest at Woodward’s plantation, where the troopers get the first sleep they have had in two days. Col. Grierson plays a piano concert for the Woodward family while his men rest. At 3:00 PM, Grierson’s men make contact with Union troops at Baton Rouge, who are shocked to find a column of blue cavalry arrive. They ride into the city, having traveled more than 600 miles in 16 days, captured more than 500 Confederates and killed (or wounded) another 100. They wrecked over 50 miles of railroad and telegraph line and confiscated or destroyed over 3,000 stands of arms and many thousands of dollars’ worth of military supplies. They have captured more than 1,000 mules and horses. They had all of Gen. Pemberton’s cavalry chasing them at a time when he needed them most, in addition to nearly a third of his infantry and much of his artillery, combing the countryside for the ellusinve Yankees. Grierson’s total casualties were merely 36. All of this in a 15-day ride through the length of Mississippi on very little rest or sleep.
The men reached their limit just six miles short of Baton Rouge. Grierson called a halt, letting them sleep alongside the road. Grierson himself wound down by playing a piano found in a nearby plantation house, but was interrupted by a picket shouting that they were about to be overrun by Rebels coming at them from the west.
Grierson guessed the identity of the approaching men and rode out to meet them. As he suspected, they were Union cavalry from Baton Rouge, riding out to meet the raiders. Grierson’s exhausted and filthy troops rode into the Louisiana capital at 3 p.m., greeted by cheering soldiers and civilians alike. They paraded around the public square, then found a magnolia grove south of town where they could simply collapse and catch up on two weeks’ worth of sleep.
Grierson’s raiders had traveled more than 600 miles in 16 days, virtually without rest and often limited to one hastily eaten meal per day. One hundred Confederates had been killed or wounded and another 50 had been captured (most of whom were later paroled). The raiders destroyed more than 50 miles of railroad and telegraph, 3,000 stand of arms and thousands of dollars’ worth of supplies and property. A thousand mules and horses were also captured. In addition, they had tied up virtually all of Pemberton’s cavalry, one-third of his infantry, and at least two regiments of artillery.
All this was accomplished at a cost of only three dead and seven wounded. Five men too sick to continue had been left behind, and nine men, presumed stragglers, were missing. The 7th Illinois’ surgeon and sergeant major stayed behind with a mortally wounded officer at Wall’s Bridge. Added to Hatch’s losses, the casualties numbered 36, only about 2 percent of the total command. Grierson was quite justified when he later remarked, ‘The Confederacy is a hollow shell.’
D. Wednesday, May 3, 1865: President Abraham Lincoln’s Funeral Train arrived at Springfield, Illinois, its final destination. Mr. Lincoln would lie in state in the State House's Hall of Representatives (the same room in which he gave his famous "House Divided" speech). Mr. Lincoln's face had become further discolored, and Thomas Lynch, an undertaker, using rouge chalk and amber restored the face to near normal color. Shortly after 10:00 A.M. the doors were opened to the long line of mourners. Additionally, hundreds of people gathered around Mr. Lincoln's home where his horse, Old Bob, now 16 years old, and his dog, Fido, had been brought back for the day.
1. Friday, May 3, 1861: General Winfield Scott orders troops to seize Arlington Heights, Virginia overlooking Washington D. C. The assault would take place later in the month.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186105
2. Sunday, May 3, 1863 --- Vicksburg Campaign: The Union engineers with Grant’s army build a bridge across Bayou Pierre in records time, and Gen. James McPherson, with his XVII Corps, crosses the bridges in pursuit of Gen. Bowen’s retreating Rebels. Bowen orders the evacuation of the entire fortress at Grand Gulf. Grant’s push for Vicksburg now takes to the road.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+3%2C+1863
3. Saturday, May 3, 1862 --- Part of Halleck’s large expeditionary force strikes tents and marches 8 miles toward Corinth. There is some skirmishing along the way between Rebel pickets and the Union vedettes.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+3%2C+1862
4. Saturday, May 3, 1862 --- Tennessee: Near Crump’s Landing, local planters ask Gen. Lew Wallace of the Union Army to help them protect their cotton. Confederate orders are that all cotton be burned in order to deprive the Yankees of any profit. The planters, however, are more in the mood to sell it to the Yankees, and so ask Wallace’s help to keep their own army from torching the precious fiber.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+3%2C+1862
5. Saturday, May 3, 1862 --- George Templeton Strong, a New York lawyer engaged in the U.S. Sanitary Commission and its causes, has made a trip to Virginia with other USSC officials to inspect the army camps and to visit. On April 30k, he and his group set out on the steamer Daniel Webster down the Potomac and up the York River, close to the fortified lines between Federal and Confederate forces there. They land, and the next morning are up exploring the camps and witnessing hospital conditions that are appalling: "Men are lying on bare hospital floors and perishing of tyhpoid who could be saved if they had a blanket or a bed, or appropriate food. . . . " Strong goes closer to the front lines for a look: I ascended a high tree by a very edubious ladder and had a veiw of Yorktown and rebel batteries about a mile off. They were throwing shell every three minutes or thereabouts, but their practice was bad. They shells burst in the air generally about forty-five degrees up. Only one did well, and that burst in a wood on our left, where it no doubt damaged the forest growth of Virginia but accomplished nothing more. McClellan’s staff in the best of spirits, confident of success. They say our batteries when tghey open will be heavier than those arraed against Sebastopol [Crimean War], and that one of them, No. 1 on York River, on our extreme right, will be the heaviest ever mounted.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+3%2C+1862
6. Sunday, May 3, 1863: Nathan Bedford Forrest ends Abel Streight's Raid on Rome, Georgia, in heavy skirmishing at Cedar Bluffs, Alabama.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186305
7. Sunday, May 3, 1863 --- After two weeks of chasing, attacking, and harassing Col. Abel Streight’s mule-mounted cavalry raid into northern Alabama, Gen. Nathan B. Forrest brings the Yankee riders to bay near Black Creek, Alabama. Nearly 1,400 Union troopers surrender to Forrest, who actually has only 400 men with him.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+3%2C+1863
8. Sunday, May 3, 1863 --- General Robert E. Lee sends a telegram to Richmond with news about fallen officers, including Brig. Gen. Elisha Franklin Paxton (See April 27, 1863 blog entry.): The enemy was dislodged from all his positions around Chancellorsville and driven back towards the Rappahannock, over which he is now retreating. We have to thank Almighty God for a great victory. I regret to state that Gen’l Paxton was killed, Gen’l Jackson severely and Gen’l Heath and D. H. Hill slightly wounded. (Signed) R. E. Lee, Gen’l Commdg.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+3%2C+1863
9. Tuesday, May 3, 1864 --- William Meade Dame, a Southern artilleryman in the Richmond Howitzers, writes in his memoirs many years later of this time in the Army of Northern Virginia, and of the privations endured by Lee’s men—including the minutiae of the private soldier’s life and handling of his gear: For some days we had seen great volumes of smoke rising, in various directions, across the river, and heard bands playing, and frequent volleys of firearms, over in the Federal Camp. Everybody knew what all this meant, so we had been looking for that courier.
Soon after we reached the Captain’s tent, orders were given to pack up whatever we could not carry on the campaign, and in two hours, a wagon would leave, to take all this stuff to Orange Court House; thence it would be taken to Richmond and kept for us, until next winter.
This was quickly done! . . . It did not take long to roll all the “extras” into bundles, strap them up and pitch them into the wagon. And in less than two hours after the order was given the wagon was gone, and the men left in campaign “trim.”
This meant that each man had, left, one blanket, one small haversack, one change of underclothes, a canteen, cup and plate, of tin, a knife and fork, and the clothes in which he stood. When ready to march, the blanket, rolled lengthwise, the ends brought together and strapped, hung from left shoulder across under right arm, the haversack,—furnished with towel, soap, comb, knife and fork in various pockets, a change of underclothes in one main division, and whatever rations we happened to have, in the other,—hung on the left hip; the canteen, cup and plate, tied together, hung on the right; toothbrush, “at will,” stuck in two button holes of jacket, or in haversack; tobacco bag hung to a breast button, pipe in pocket. In this rig,—into which a fellow could get in just two minutes from a state of rest,—the Confederate Soldier considered himself all right, and ready for anything; in this he marched, and in this he fought. Like the terrapin—“all he had he carried on his back”—this all weighed about seven or eight pounds.
The extra baggage gone, all of us knew that the end of our stay here was very near, and we were all ready to pick up and go; we were on the eve of battle and everybody was on the “qui vive” for decisive orders. They quickly came! . . .
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+3%2C+1864
10. Tuesday, May 3, 1864 --- General George G. Meade, commander of the Army of the Potomac, writes home to his wife on the eve of the campaign, and adds this personal admonition: I beg of you to be calm and resigned, to place full trust in the mercy of our heavenly Father, who has up to this time so signally favored us, and the continuance of whose blessing we should earnestly pray for. Do not fret, but be cheerful, and go about and do just as if nothing was going on, and above all things don’t anticipate evil; it will come time enough. Give my love to all the dear children. I shall think a great deal of you and them, notwithstanding the excitement of my duties. I feel quiet and determined, satisfied I have ever striven to do my duty to the best of my ability, and believing that in time posterity will do justice to my career.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+3%2C+1864
11. Tuesday, May 3, 1864 --- At midnight tonight, Meade’s troops step off, marching east and south.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+3%2C+1864
12. Tuesday, May 3, 1864: The last Winter Encampment diary entry by Colonel Charles S. Wainwright as he was getting ready for a trip into the Wilderness: “Everything is packed, and we only wait the hour of midnight in order to start. Orders have been coming in thick and fast all day; an army is bad as a woman starting on a journey, so much to be done at the last moment….
It seems notwithstanding General Meade’s appeal to their honour, there are a number of men inclined to be fractious under the idea that their term of service is already out; he now sends notice that all such be shot without trial if they do not step out to the music….
I found yesterday that General Warren, I suppose by order, was building several redoubts on the heights south of the town, and rode around to see them, thinking that I might be called upon to have something to do with them, especially as the General asked me to examine whether the parapets were too high for light guns. I thought to meet him there but did not. I, however, came across General Wadsworth. The old gentleman was talkative as usual, and said that he did not know very much about engineering, though he did claim to be otherwise pretty well up in military matters. I agreed with him perfectly as to his ignorance of engineering, and thought he would be wiser not to attempt to use terms belonging thereto….
This afternoon General Warren had his division commanders and myself at his quarters, shewed us his orders, and explained tomorrow’s move. This Fifth Corps leads off, followed by the Sixth; we are to cross at Germanna Ford again and go as far as the Old Wilderness Tavern tomorrow. The Second Corps, all the heavy trains, and also the Reserve crosses at Ely’s Ford and goes to Chancellorsville; the Ninth Corps does not move until the next day. We are to try and get around Lee, between him and Richmond, and so force him to fight on our own ground. My batteries, with two forage waggons each, start at midnight, pass through Stevensburg, and then follow in rear of the First and Third Divisions. The ammunition and all the rest of the waggons, together with half of the ambulances, move off to Chancellorsville and we are warned that we shall not see them again for five days. The night is soft but cloudy, with some signs of rain; now the roads are capital. Our general officers, that I have talked with, are very sanguine; Grant is said to be perfectly confident. God grant that their expectations be more realized.
When I reached Warren’s quarters Wadsworth only was there. He insisted on having my opinion as to which way we were to move, whether around Lee’s right or left; and when I told him I had no opinion, having nothing to found one on, declared I must be a regular, I was so non-committal. Would that it were characteristic of all regulars never to give an opinion on subjects they knew nothing about; and if the people at home, newspaper editors and correspondents, and also the politicians at Washington, would take a leaf out of the same book, it would save the country millions of money, and many a poor fellow in our army his life. During the interview I could see that Warren paid especial deference to Griffin, whom he evidently fears. I do not wonder much at it except that Griffin has no influence; but then, he is such an inveterate hater, and so ugly in his persecutions. I was gratified at being summoned with the division commanders….”
https://markerhunter.wordpress.com/2014/05/03/wainwright-may-3-1864/
13. Tuesday, May 3, 1864 --- The President asks his Cabinet—each member--to prepare a statement concerning what they would recommend for what action or response that the Government should take in response to the massacre of black troops at Fort Pillow.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+3%2C+1864
14. Tuesday, May 3, 1864 Baptists and the American Civil War: With cold weather retreating, soldiers in the North Carolina 1st Infantry Regiment are gearing up for the spring campaign after wintering near the Rapidan and doing picket duty along the river at Mitchell’s Ford during the late fall and winter of 1863-64.
Amongst them is Baptist William Robert Gwaltney, 27, a native of Alexander, North Carolina, who, along with others, would surely miss the relative safety and calm of now familiar quarters. During their stay there he had been a source of solace and encouragement to his fellow soldiers.
“Rev. W. R. Gwaltney, chaplain of the regiment, wrought a good work here,” wrote one who knew. “A large chapel was constructed, in which regular services were held for the soldiers. He also established a school for them, which did much to improve their condition in every way.”
The young man with big blue eyes had also been known to console the injured in medical wards. While in Richmond’s General Hospital #9, Gwaltney wrote of the spiritual experiences in this “receiving” hospital near the Virginia Central Railroad depot. He called it by its name from pre-war days when the building was a city-owned public warehouse established initially by John Seabook. The hospital was designed to hold 900 patients and employed about 150. Medical and religious personages met soldiers arriving mangled and fresh from battle.
“The Lord is with us at Seabrooks’ hospital,” wrote Gwaltney, probably that summer as North Carolina’s finest checked in and out. “We have a great revival of religion here. A greater one I scarcely ever witnessed. Rarely a day passes but I find one or more new converts. The number in our hospital is being rapidly reduced, many being transferred to other places, and many having died; but the religious element in our midst is by no means dying out. A large number are yet enquiring, ‘What must we do to be saved?’ Those who have professed a hope in Christ seem to be in the full enjoyment of faith.” Seabrook’s took in and transferred out thousands of wounded and sick patients. Some died, some were furloughed, some were treated and sent back to fight again. Soldiers were treated by physicians, nurses, community volunteers, and chaplains.
Born to Howell L. and Alcy Elsie Hendren Gwaltney on 10 September 1835, William had become a young man of intelligence and ability. He entered Wake Forest College in 1860, left when the war took its toll on the educational facility, enlisted with the 1st North Carolina in December 1862, and was then ordained in 1863. Following the war, William returns to Wake Forest and finishes his degree in 1867. He marries during that time and after graduation takes his first pastorate at Hillsboro, North Carolina.
At his death in December 1907, great lamentation arose, mingled with praise for his worthy life. “Dr. Gwaltney was known as the ‘great church builder of the State,’ among the brethren of his day,” read a Biblical Recorder death notice. “His venerable appearance, approaching our conception of that of the patriarch, will ever be fresh in our memory and we shall miss him in the service of his Master, but we shall be cheered for generations yet to come by the fruit of his labors.” Gwaltney was a dependable trustee of his alma mater and promoter and trustee of Thomasville Orphanage.
But 150 years ago today all that is another generation down the road. On this day, Gwaltney gathers his belongings to step out towards an enemy he and the others will meet on the first day of the Battle of the Wilderness. On this day William R. Gwaltney has much before him.
Contributed by Arlette Camp Copeland, Mercer University Tarver Library Special Collections, Macon, GA.
http://civilwarbaptists.com/thisdayinhistory/1864-may-03/
15. Wednesday, May 3, 1865: Joseph "Joe" Brown, Governor of Georgia, calls a meeting of the state legislature when word reaches him of Joe Johnston's surrender.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186505
16. Wednesday, May 3, 1865: By daylight, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and what remained of his Cabinet crossed the Savannah River, moving to Washington, Georgia. Reluctantly, Davis accepted the resignation of Secretary of the Navy S.R. Mallory, one of the two Cabinet members who had served in the same post since the founding of the Confederacy. Judah Benjamin also departed and eventually escaped to Britain.
http://thisweekinthecivilwar.com/?p=2111
17. Wednesday, May 3, 1865: Skirmishing continued on the Missouri River near Booneville, and near Pleasant Hill, both in Missouri.
http://thisweekinthecivilwar.com/?p=2111
A Saturday, May 3, 1862: Eastern Theater, Peninsula Campaign - Siege of Yorktown. Gen. McClellan, still unaware that only Johnston’s 57,000 men are facing him at Yorktown, sets tomorrow, May 4, as the date for the devastating bombardment to begin, now that he has all of his siege artillery in prepared and fortified positions. He and the engineers of the Army of the Potomac have spend almost exactly a month in siege operations and construction of the works, since the fortified Yorktown is the only "dry" road to Richmond, the Warwick River slanting across nearly the whole width of the peninsula. (See map.) Gen. Johnston, writing to Gen. Lee concerning the initial Union movements against Yorktown, and how Gen. Magruder paraded his men around and around by a break in the forest screen to convince the Yanks that he had many more troops, says, "No one but McClellan would have hesitated to attack."
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+3%2C+1862
A+ Saturday, May 3, 1862 --- This evening, Gen. Joseph Johnston gives orders to his troops to pull out of Yorktown entrenchments—all 26 brigades and 36 field batteries—a nearly impossible task for 57,000 to do without alerting the opposing army. Reports by runaway "contrabands" affirm that the Rebels are pulling out and heading away up the Peninsula, but McClellan refuses to believe it, because Allen Pinkerton’s spies have reported nearly 200,000 Rebels in the trenches before them. In the evening, Confederate artillery opens fire in a bombardment all along the line, to mask with withdrawal of the infantry. The Southern troops leave quietly in the late hours of the night, leaving the fortifications all across the Peninsula empty.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+3%2C+1862
B+ Sunday, May 3, 1863: Second Battle of Fredericksburg. John Sedgwick drives Jubal Early south past the city of Fredericksburg. The following day, as Early prepares to counterattack he finds the city empty. Sedgwick had followed the river west to aid the Army of the Potomac at Chancellorsville
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186305
Sunday, May 3, 1863: Battle of Salem Church, Virginia
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186305
B Sunday, May 3, 1863 --- Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia Day 3: The day after Stonewall Jackson’s dramatic smashing of the Union right flank, Gen. Hooker has re-arranged his lines, putting Howard’s shattered corps out on the left, and putting Reynolds’ fresh I Corps and Meade’s V Corps to bolster the right flank. The Union position now looks a bit like a squashed letter "U", with the salient apex perilously and bulbously extended, and threatened with being pinched off from the rest of the army. This apex is defended by Sickles’ III Corps facing Jackson’s Corps to the west (now under Stuart’s command), Slocum’s XII Corps facing Anderson’s division south and southeast, and Couch’s II Corps facing McLaw’s division to the east. Hazel Grove, a large, flat bluff area clearer of trees than usual, and elevated, becomes the foundation for Hooker’s decision to place his lines there. But this is where the "pinch" is, and it seems to invite the Confederates to push at that very spot. So, this morning, against Sickles’ protests, he orders his troops off the bluff and shortens his lines even more.
As the Confederates roll up to Hazel Grove, they encounter a small rear guard. As Stuart (with Jackson’s corps) surges up onto this plateau, Stuart immediately calls for Col. E. Porter Alexander to bring up his artillery, and places 30 guns on the Hazel Grove plateau, with a fine field of fire along the Federal lines. Along with 20 more guns on the Plank Road, Alexander opens fire on the exposed Yankees.
Stuart launches his attack as the Southern guns open fire in perhaps the finest performance of Confederate artillery in the war. Meade and Reynolds both see that, as Stuart attacks,, he has exposed his left flank to a potential counterattack. A shot strikes the pillar of the house where Hooker is staying, splitting the post and knocking Hooker to the ground. He is afflicted with concussion, and cannot aptly command. He turns over command to Couch, but forbids Couch to launch a counterattack, or to allow Reynolds or Meade to launch any. The Confederate attack continues on and destroys the last of the Union salient, and the Union lines contract even more back toward protecting the United States Ford. Casualties are so high, this day ranks as the second bloodiest day in the Civil War. Lee’s victory at Chancellorsville is complete. Confederate Victory.
Losses: Killed Wounded Captured/Missing Total
Union 1,606 9,672 5,919 17,197
Confederate 1,665 9,081 2, 018 13,303
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+3%2C+1863
B+ Sunday, May 3, 1863 --- Second Battle of Fredericksburg: Gen. John Sedgwick, in command of the huge VI Corps of the Army of the Potomac, numbering nearly 27,000 men, finally (at Hooker’s orders) launches an assault up Marye’s Heights again, facing only one brigade of Mississippi riflemen, under Gen. William Barksdale. Even so, it takes several tries before the Federals smash through the tough defenses at the top of that bloody rise. To Barksdale’s right, Jubal Early’s division is broken up by the Federal attack, and begins to fall back. Sedgwick is striving to put in effect Hooker’s plan of punching through, marching west to Chancellorsville, and taking Lee’s army in the rear. As Sedgwick pushes west, McLaw’s division of Confederates comes marching eastward to intercept him. In addition, Wilcox’s brigade attacks his columns from the right. Early begins to rally his division, and follows.
Wilcox gets in front of Sedgwick and defends a bit of high ground by Salem Church. Joined by McLaw’s three brigades, and another brigade from Anderson, they form a line of 10,000 infantry. At about 3:30 PM, Sedgwick launches an attack against this line, but with only Brooks’ division. After some success at bending back McLaws’ line, the Yankee troops pull back around dark.
Union artillery and cavalry in action in Virginia. Artist: William Henry Shelton
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+3%2C+1863
C Sunday, May 3, 1863 Col Benjamin Henry Grierson’s Raid: After fighting running battles with Southern cavalry over the last two days, Grierson’s troopers finally reach Sandy Creek, where they capture and destroy a Confederate camp, and move on. They pause and rest at Woodward’s plantation, where the troopers get the first sleep they have had in two days. Col. Grierson plays a piano concert for the Woodward family while his men rest. At 3:00 PM, Grierson’s men make contact with Union troops at Baton Rouge, who are shocked to find a column of blue cavalry arrive. They ride into the city, having traveled more than 600 miles in 16 days, captured more than 500 Confederates and killed (or wounded) another 100. They wrecked over 50 miles of railroad and telegraph line and confiscated or destroyed over 3,000 stands of arms and many thousands of dollars worth of military supplies. They have captured more than 1,000 mules and horses. They had all of Gen. Pemberton’s cavalry chasing them at a time when he needed them most, in addition to nearly a third of his infantry and much of his artillery, combing the countryside for the ellusinve Yankees. Grierson’s total casualties were merely 36. All of this in a 15-day ride through the length of Mississippi on very little rest or sleep.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+3%2C+1863
C+ Sunday, May 3, 1863: The men reached their limit just six miles short of Baton Rouge. Grierson called a halt, letting them sleep alongside the road. Grierson himself wound down by playing a piano found in a nearby plantation house, but was interrupted by a picket shouting that they were about to be overrun by Rebels coming at them from the west.
Grierson guessed the identity of the approaching men and rode out to meet them. As he suspected, they were Union cavalry from Baton Rouge, riding out to meet the raiders. Grierson’s exhausted and filthy troops rode into the Louisiana capital at 3 p.m., greeted by cheering soldiers and civilians alike. They paraded around the public square, then found a magnolia grove south of town where they could simply collapse and catch up on two weeks’ worth of sleep.
Grierson’s raiders had traveled more than 600 miles in 16 days, virtually without rest and often limited to one hastily eaten meal per day. One hundred Confederates had been killed or wounded and another 50 had been captured (most of whom were later paroled). The raiders destroyed more than 50 miles of railroad and telegraph, 3,000 stand of arms and thousands of dollars’ worth of supplies and property. A thousand mules and horses were also captured. In addition, they had tied up virtually all of Pemberton’s cavalry, one-third of his infantry, and at least two regiments of artillery.
All this was accomplished at a cost of only three dead and seven wounded. Five men too sick to continue had been left behind, and nine men, presumed stragglers, were missing. The 7th Illinois’ surgeon and sergeant major stayed behind with a mortally wounded officer at Wall’s Bridge. Added to Hatch’s losses, the casualties numbered 36, only about 2 percent of the total command. Grierson was quite justified when he later remarked, ‘The Confederacy is a hollow shell.’ Rebels in Mississippi, as everywhere else in the South, were spread too thin to do their jobs.
Grierson suddenly and uncomfortably discovered he was a hero. ‘I, like Byron,’ he wrote his wife, Alice, ‘have had to wake up one morning and find myself famous.’ He was sent by steamboat to New Orleans, where he encountered ‘one continuous ovation.’ His picture was featured on the covers of Harper’s Weekly and Leslie’s Illustrated. He was breveted to brigadier general and later major general of volunteers.
Following the raid, Grant continued to advance eastward. Joined by Sherman’s division, he now had 40,000 men in Mississippi. Pemberton had 30,000, but many of them were scattered across the state and he lacked time to concentrate his forces. Bowen was forced to abandon Grand Gulf, and Grant was virtually unopposed as he marched to Jackson, burning that city, and then swung west to besiege Vicksburg. He advanced with a supply line–Grierson had helped to demonstrate that troops could live off the land, appropriating food from farms and plantations as they progressed. It was a lesson dramatically learned and daringly taught–that others would study in the flame-darkened days to come.
http://www.historynet.com/griersons-raid-during-the-vicksburg-campaign.htm
D Wednesday, May 3, 1865: President Abraham Lincoln’s Funeral Train arrived at Springfield, Illinois, its final destination.
http://thisweekinthecivilwar.com/?p=2111
D+ Wednesday, May 3, 1865: Mr. Lincoln's hometown was reached the next morning, and the train pulled into the Chicago and Alton depot on Jefferson Street. Mr. Lincoln would lie in state in the State House's Hall of Representatives (the same room in which he gave his famous "House Divided" speech). Mr. Lincoln's face had become further discolored, and Thomas Lynch, an undertaker, using rouge chalk and amber restored the face to near normal color. Shortly after 10:00 A.M. the doors were opened to the long line of mourners. Additionally, hundreds of people gathered around Mr. Lincoln's home where his horse, Old Bob, now 16 years old, and his dog, Fido, had been brought back for the day.
http://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln51.html
FYI CSM Charles Hayden SGT Tiffanie G. SGT Mary G.CPL Ronald Keyes Jr SPC Michael Duricko, Ph.D MAJ Roland McDonald SSG Franklin Briant CPO William Glen (W.G.) Powell 1stSgt Eugene Harless PO3 Private RallyPoint MemberMSG Greg KellyMSG Joseph Christofaro]CPL Ronald Keyes Jr LTC Greg Henning CPT Private RallyPoint Member SGT John " Mac " McConnell LTC John Griscom LTC Thomas Tennant MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca SFC George Smith

Civil War Timeline / Chronology for May 1861

What was the most significant event on May 3 during the U.S. Civil War?

What was the most significant event on May 3 during the U.S. Civil War?

Response by LTC Stephen F. made May 4 at 2016 7:22 PM

Response by SP5 Mark Kuzinski made May 4 at 2016 7:26 PM

Response by SFC William Farrell made May 4 at 2016 10:33 PM

Response by SSgt Robert Marx made May 5 at 2016 12:26 AM

Response by COL Mikel J. Burroughs made May 5 at 2016 11:11 AM