What was the most significant event on October 9 during the U.S. Civil War?

LTC Stephen F. — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 23:51:41 -0500

Amphibious assaults along the Atlantic seaboard tended to be executed by the Federal Army and Navy; but particularly in Florida the Confederates had opportunity to launch an amphibious assault. In 1861, the CSA conducted an amphibious assault on Santa Rosa Island. The action was a retaliatory attack for a raid on the Confederate privateer Judah by sailors and marines from the U.S.S. Colorado. Rowing into the bay under cover of darkness, a boat party had surprised and torched the Judah in September of 1861 before Southern troops could drive them off. Determined to retaliate for the bold raid, General Braxton Bragg reviewed his options and decided to launch an attack on the outer camps and batteries of Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island.
October 9 is the date that both I am wife were born on. Therefore, this particular day holds a special meaning for me in recent and more distant history.
In 1862, CSA Maj Gen J.E.B. Stuart led a hand-picked brigade of 1,00 cavalry troopers on an expedition through Maryland into Pennsylvania to interdict the supply lines of the Army of the Potomac and to wreak havoc on the populace of the north. His men
In 1863, CSA General Robert E. Lee deceived his intentions so that Maj Gen George Meade believed the Army of Northern Virginia was in full retreat instead of what they doing was threatening his flank. Robert E. lee was as sly as a fox and as shrewd as an owl - to mix metaphors.
Wednesday, October 9, 1861 “Confederate General Braxton Bragg’s plan to surprise and capture Fort Pickens near Pensacola, Florida had taken shape. The 1,200 troops had landed on Santa Rosa Island, four miles east of the fort and had driven in a few Union pickets. Union Col. Harvey Brown, commanding at Pickens, had received and dismissed a warning about the landing.
Leading the invasion was Mexican War veteran, General Richard H. Anderson, who devised to split his command into three prongs. The First Battalion was to quickly march along the north beach, while the Second was to move along the south beach, never more than a mile from each other. The Third Battalion was to take the middle where the island grew wider as they drew closer to the fort.
Following in the rear was a demolition crew ordered to inflict whatever destruction they could upon captured works, batteries, buildings and camps.
The Battalions marched through unforgiving and difficult sand for two hours before coming upon a Union picket who fired a wild, harmless shot at the advancing Rebels. This unfortunate soldier was quickly brought down by someone in the First Battalion.
With the element of surprise gone, Anderson ordered the Third Battalion to cover the ground between the First and Second. On the north side of the island, the invaders met more resistance from pickets of the 6th New York Zouaves, camped a mile east of the fort.
As they drove the pickets in or shot them down, they soon came to the camp itself, which had contained nearly 300 Union soldiers. Without the support of the other two Battalions, the First charged, bayonets drawn, but found the camp almost deserted. The tents and buildings were soon in flames.
Meanwhile at the fort, Col. Brown had received word of musket fire from the camp and ordered Major Israel Vogdes to hurry to the camp with two companies of men. He also ordered the artillery facing east to be manned to turn back the Rebels.
Despite the fire from the torched camp, the night was incredibly dark. Major Vogdes command of 100 US Regulars marched from the fort in the direction of the camp. As they approached, a company was deployed as skirmishers, but was soon lost in the darkness. Vogdes himself, riding in front of his men, became lost and captured. A Rebel officer called to the Union troops to surrender as their commander had been taken prisoner. A few shots were taken at the officer as the Union force took up a defensive position behind a hill of sand. Greatly outnumbered, they were forced back into an exposed position where the Rebel fire cut them down.
By this time, the entire Confederate force had gathered at the old Zouave camp. General Anderson, noticing that dawn was soon on the horizon, realized that he couldn’t take the batteries between the camp and the fort, let alone the fort itself. He called for his Rebels to return to the boats. The men helping the wounded at the field hospital, however, never heard the call.
Fearing that all was not going well, Col. Brown at Fort Pickens, ordered two more companies of Regulars, under Major Lewis Arnold, to aid Major Vogdes. They arrived on the scene of the fight as the Confederates were pulling back. Shielding their movements, they (probably through a bit of luck) found themselves at the Rebel disembarkation point. There, a large rowboat was quickly being filled with Confederate soldiers. The two Union companies opened fire upon the floating Rebels with little effect.
Soon, news reached Major Arnold that the Rebels were heading for two steamships farther up the island. Beating them to the punch, he hid his command in some thicket to await their approach. As they came in range, Arnold’s men opened upon the Confederates, but, being greatly outnumbered, they were driven back. Still, as the Rebels boarded their ships, the Union men were able to take potshots at them. When one of the ships broke down, forcing the other to tow it to safety, the Rebels crowded on the desks received several volleys from the Union men behind sand embankments.
Finally, General Anderson and his men got away, leaving behind 18 killed, 39 wounded and 30 captured (most of the captured were tending to the wounded at the field hospital and did not hear the call to retire). Col. Brown’s Union troops lost 14 killed, 29 wounded and 24 captured, including Major Vogdes. [1]
[1] Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 6, p438-463.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/surprise-attack-at-santa-rosa-island/
In 1863, Maj Gen George Meade believed the Rebels to be in full retreat. “Just what it was all about, General George Meade could not yet tell. He had ridden to Cedar Mountain, hoping the clear morning skies would give him some idea where Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was moving. He had expected a march. His scouts and intelligence told him as much. But which direction they took, he could not tell. While he was there, reports came in from his cavalry picketing Meade’s right flank along the Rapidan River.
Though Meade did not move infantry to bolster his right, he called upon David Gregg’s Cavalry Division to reinforce Judson Kilpatrick’s, who had issued the warnings along the river. The third division, under John Buford, Meade planned to send forward with orders to cross the river and scout the remnants of the former Rebel camps. Buford was to communicate with John Newton’s I Corps, who had also been ordered to cross. Together, they were to follow what Meade believed to be the Confederate retreat. Buford would not receive the instructions until the following day.
From lookout posts on the Northern side of the Rapidan, only part of the puzzle could be solved. “Whether they are falling back or concentrating to our right, or moving for the Shanandoah, of course, I have no means of judging,” reported Lysander Cutler, leading the First Divsion of the I Corps. Everything seemed to be moving southwest. Further reports placed the Confederaets at Madison Court-House, northwest of their former positions along the Rapidan.
This was all true. Lee had backed his entire army away from the Rapidan, taking it southwest to Orange Court-House, before turning it northwest in the direction of Madison. They crossed the river using several different fords well beyond Meade’s right flank. Separating the marching columns of Rebels was Robertson’s River, which flowed into the Rapidan. Kilpatrick’s Federal cavalry picketed one side, while the Rebels picketed the other, acting as a screen.
Sparks flew where the edges of the two great armies nearly touched. From fords along the Rapidan firing could be heard, but for the most part it was scattered and was of little consequence. By nightfall, the two Rebel corps made their camps just south of Madison. It had been a comparatively easy march, but the men were worn from the distance. Most had tramped twenty miles in as many hours.
Though the Federal signal stations could plainly see that the Rebels were massing on the army’s right, Meade was still unsure what Lee was about. Just as General Cutler could not judge where the Rebels had gone, the signal stations could not see the entire enemy army at once. In fact, the cavalry on the ground reported that only a single division of Confederate infantry was at Madison. Everything else they witnessed was Jeb Stuart’s Cavalry.
In Meade’s mind, it might be a retreat. Perhaps Lee was falling back on Gordonsville. If so, leaving cavalry and an infantry division behind made sense. Along with Buford’s Cavalry and Newton’s I Corps, Meade dispatched John Sedgwick’s VI Corps to cross the Rapidan and aid those that were to cross the following day. As before, they were to follow the enemy. If the Rebels were retreating south, they were to move south with them. If they were going to Madison, they were come after.
A little while later, he ordered the V Corps, helmed by George Sykes, to move to the Rapidan near Raccoon ford and cross if needed by either the I or VI Corps. The rest of his army, now divided with a major river between the halves, was ordered to be at the ready. But the day had slipped by and any movement would have to wait until the following day.
But by the end of the day, Meade may have been second guessing his assumption that the Rebels were in retreat. First, he sent General-in-Chief Henry Halleck a message indicating that Lee’s army might be falling back, but he neglected to mention that he was throwing as many as three corps across the Rapidan in pursuit. By 11pm, he was in full “wait and see” mode. General Newton of the I Corps was told that his orders were “based upon the supposition that the enemy is retiring from the Rapidan. This supposition may prove to be erroneous.” If it was, Meade urged Newton to “exercise prudence in the operations to be conducted by your, and not make unnecessary sacrifice in attempting to cross the river should the enemy show himself in strong force….”
Through the night, Meade hoped for a clearer dawn. General Lee could hope for more. His army had made it to Meade’s right. Another day’s march and they would be behind their enemy, who would have no choice but to fall back north across the Rappahannock River. With three Federal corps poised to move south, however, this might not prove so easy. [1]
[1] Sources: Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 29, Part 1, p230, 347; Part 2, p269, 274-275, 276; The Bristoe Campaign by Adrian Tighe.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/meade-believes-the-rebels-to-be-in-full-retreat/

Pictures: 1864-10-09 Battle of Tom's Brook, Virginia, Map; 1864-10-09 Custer’s Bow at Toms Brook by Waud; 1864-10-09 Tom's Brook Map - Phil Sheridan watches from Round Hill; 1861-10-09 Battle of Fort Pickens sketch

A. 1861: CSA Retaliatory Raid on Santa Rosa Island, Florida. Bloodshed on the White Sand at Santa Rosa Island. Confederate forces launched a surprise attack on the Union camps and outposts at Fort Pickens near Pensacola, Florida. Although it is often stated that General Braxton Bragg hoped to capture the fort, his real goal seems to have been to destroy the camp of the 6th New York Volunteers.
Commanded by William Wilson, a rough and tumble former politician from New York, the 6th New York Volunteers was commonly known as Billy Wilson's Zouaves. Many of the men in the regiment were toughs from the docks and streets of New York and Bragg's troops were anxious for a chance at them.
Commanded by Brigadier General Richard H. "Dick" Anderson, 1,100 Confederate soldiers were moved across Pensacola Bay by boat and barge shortly after midnight on the night of October 9, 1861. Coming ashore on Santa Rosa Island about four miles east of Fort Pickens, they moved west down the island in three columns.
Commanding the individual battalions were Colonel James R. Chalmers, Colonel Patton Anderson and Colonel John K. Jackson, all three of whom would serve with distinction in the Confederate cause.
Chalmers' column, moving down the bay or north beach of the island, stumbled into Wilson's pickets at around 3:30 a.m. The alarm was sounded and Wilson began to form his men on the camp's parade ground. The column under Colonel Jackson, however, attacked with bayonets fixed.
As rebel yells broke out in the darkness, Wilson's Zouaves broke and ran before the oncoming Confederates. Southern soldiers looted and set fire to the camp, spiking a number of Union cannon in the process.
Realizing that the Federal troops from Fort Pickens were coming out for a counterattack, General Anderson reformed his men and began to move back down the island. Intense and confused fighting followed, but the Confederates made it to their boats and returned across the bay.
Southern losses were 18 killed, 39 wounded and 30 captured. Bragg reported that 11 of the dead were executed by Federal soldiers after being wounded. Union losses were 14 dead, 29 wounded and 24 captured.
B. 1862: CSA Maj Gen James Ewell Brown Stuart’s raid into Maryland. Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, Robert E. Lee’s cavalry commander, was given orders yesterday to conduct a raid deep behind enemy lines. Gen. Lee orders Stuart to destroy key bridges on the Cumberland Valley Railroad, to gain intelligence about McClellan’s army and their intentions, and to arrest any civilians who might" give information to the enemy"---and to capture any civil or government officials to hold as hostages.
Stuart received the orders on the 8th and attended one more night of visiting and dancing with the fine ladies of the area. At 1am, Stuart was found in the accompaniment of a banjo and bones as he performed a farewell concert for his hosts. When Stuart found time to sleep is hard to fathom. By dawn of this date, he was preparing his picked brigade of 1,800 men for the expedition.
By afternoon, the force assembled at Darkesville, several miles south of Martinsburg. From there, they rode towards Williamsport and the Potomac River, encamping for the night at Hedgesville. At dawn, they made their crossing at McCoy Ford.
The raid would last until October 12, 1862 as Stuart’s cavalry rode around the forces of Maj Gen George B. McClellan Army of the Potomac for the second time.
C. 1863: Lee attempts to outflank Meade in the Bristoe, VA Campaign. CSA Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia crossed the Rapidan River in an attempt to outflank Major General George G. Meade to get to Washington, DC, since the Army of the Potomac had been weakened by sending troops to Chattanooga, TN. Lee sent Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill and the Third Corps of his army on a quick march, crossing the Rapidan River west of Orange Court House, and then turning north. Hill marches quickly, at some distance west of the Orange & Alexandria railroad line, heading toward Centreville. At first, only the II Corps of the Army of the Potomac gave chase, under Maj Gen. G.K. Warren.
D. 1864: Union cavalry in the Shenandoah Valley dealt a humiliating defeat to their Confederate counterparts at Tom’s Brook, Virginia. Philip Sheridan took command in August 1864 but spent over a month gathering his force before moving against Early. He quickly turned the tables on the Confederates, scoring major victories at Winchester and Fischer’s Hill in September. Early’s battered force sought refuge in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, while Sheridan began systematically destroying the Shenandoah’s rich agricultural resources.
At dawn on October 9, George Custer and Wesley Merritt and their respective forces attacked the two wings of the Confederate cavalry. Merritt’s 3,500 Yankees overwhelmed General Lunsford Lomax’s 1,500 troopers, but Custer had more difficulty. His 2,500 men faced 3,000 men under the command of Rosser, who was, coincidentally, a close friend of Custer’s at West Point before the war. Custer observed that the Rebels were protected by the high bank of Tom’s Creek, so he sent three of his regiments around Rosser’s flank. Both groups of Confederates broke in retreat. The Yankees pursued the defeated Confederates for over 20 miles, a flight called the Woodstock Races. The chase ended only when the Confederates reached the safety of Early’s infantry.
The Yankees captured 350 men, 11 artillery pieces, and all of the cavalry’s wagons and ambulances. Nine Union troopers were killed, and 48 were wounded. It was the most complete victory of Union cavalry in the eastern theater during the entire war.
FYI SGT Mark Anderson PO3 Edward Riddle Maj William W. 'Bill' Price COL Private RallyPoint Member SSgt David M.] SPC Maurice Evans SPC Jon O. SGT Jim Arnold Amn Dale Preisach CW4 Private RallyPoint Member Sgt Jerry Genesio SSG Private RallyPoint Member LTC John Griscom LTC Thomas Tennant LTC David Brown LTC Private RallyPoint Member CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member SGT John " Mac " McConnell SFC Private RallyPoint Member CPL Ronald Keyes Jr

Surprise Attack at Santa Rosa Island!

Wednesday, October 9, 1861 Confederate General Braxton Bragg’s plan to surprise and capture Fort Pickens near Pensacola, Florida had taken shape. The 1,200 troops had landed on Santa Rosa Isl…

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Mar 9 at 2017 11:56 PM

LTC Stephen F. — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 23:56:00 -0500

Reconnaissance, screening actions and raids were the domain of cavalry in general in the 19th century. In 1862, JEB Stuart launched a cavalry raid into Pennsylvania to interdict the communication and supply lines of the Army of the Potomac and Washington, DC to an extent. In 1863 Confederate cavalry attacked a major Union supply column bound for Chattanooga. Hundreds of supply wagons – along with their contents – were lost.

In 1864, ‘Merely A Question Of The Endurance Of Horseflesh’ – A Day At The Woodstock “Alfred Torbet had had enough. For days, the Confederate cavalry had dogged his own as he played rear guard for Philip Sheridan’s army moving north from the upper Shenandoah Valley. But the previous night it was decided – Both George Armstrong Custer’s Division and that of Wesley Merritt would be enjoined and attack the outnumbered Rebels.
Wesley knew the merits of horseflesh.
While Merritt had encamped near Tom’s Brook along the Valley Pike, Custer was on the parallel running Back road six miles away. At dawn, his division would move south to join their comrades. If resistance was met along the way, he was to attack. And as Custer trotted south, Merritt was to place one brigade on the Pike and his other two to the right between the two roads to link with Custer.
The first strike was dealt by Merritt’s Reserve Brigade moving along the Valley Pike and helmed by Col. Casper Crowninshield. They were ordered by Merritt to march south and, if no enemy was met, wheel right in an attempt to gain the enemy’s rear. After a quarter-mile, they met the Rebels, under the command of Lunsford Lomax, formed a skirmish line and connected with the brigade on their right.
“The enemy opened with artillery and simultaneously charged our skirmish line,” wrote Crowninshield, “driving it back a short distance, when effectually routing the enemy, they were forced to retire. We again advanced….”
As Crowninshield skirmished, Custer’s Division was in the thick of it. He had moved south upon the Back Road “to attack and whip the enemy,” as he wrote in his report. Near Mount Olive, they met the Rebels, “and drove them back upon their reserves at a trot.”
They skirmished for quite a while, but pushed their enemies back upon their main line. “This position was well adapted for defense,” Custer continued, “being a high and abrupt ridge of hills running along the south bank of Tom’s Run [Brook]. Near the base of this ridge the enemy had posted a strong force of dismounted cavalry behind stone fences and barricades of rails, logs, &c., while running along near the summit was a second and stronger line of barricades, also defended by dismounted cavalry. On the crest of the ridge the enemy had placed six guns in position, strongly supported by columns of cavalry.”
The Confederates before Custer numbered upwards of 3,500-strong, under the command of Thomas Rosser. They outnumbered Custer by a thousand men.
As legend remembers it (thanks greatly to the pen of Custer’s comrade-in-arms/biographer, Frederick Whittaker of the 6th New York Cavalry), out rode Custer “far in advance of the line, his glittering figure in plain view of both armies. Sweeping off his broad sombrero, he threw it down to this knee in a profound salute to his honorable foe. It was like the action of a knight in the lists. A fair fight and no malice.
“On the ridge before him he had seen Rosser, his classmate at the academy, with whom he had held many a wordy contest in days of old, and who had been his great rival at ‘the Point.’ Rosser had but just come to the valley and was already hailed as its savior. He saw Custer and turned to his staff, pointing him out, ‘You see that officer down there,’ said he. ‘That’s General Custer, the Yankees are so proud of, and I intend to give him the best whipping today that he ever got. See if I don’t.’
“And he smiled triumphantly as he looked round at his gallant Southern cavaliers.”
Bluster and ridiculousness aside, Custer’s artillery opened upon that of the Rebels. “Owing to the extreme defectiveness of the ammunition used,” recalled Custer, “but little execution was done, except to create considerable confusion among the led horses of he enemy and to compel a change in their position.”
Seeing this change, Custer reacted, throwing forward a strong line of skirmishers and even his own artillery. With those moving forward, he positioned another brigade to attack. From the ridge above, the Rebels could espy the entire thing, and their artillery fire was accurate and their shells not defective. “One shot from the enemy’s guns killed or disabled all the cannoneers of one piece,” Custer reported. After still more fire, and even though their ammunition was below par, the Federals managed to disable a Rebel gun and push the other pieces off the ridge.
Meanwhile, on the Union left, Wesley Merritt was hotly engaged with Lomax’s Rebels, his flank nipping at the Rebels’ own. He had managed to slip a battery into a position which allowed it to enfilade the entire line in his front. This, combined with the pressure applied by his troopers, the enemy began to break.
For Custer on the right, a frontal attack was simply out of the question, and so Custer ordered three regiments to attack the Rebel left, taking them in the flank. The rest of his division would attack as well, pinning down the bulk of Rosser’s command. Through trick of geography, the three flanking regiments were able to spring upon the Rebels with little notice, turning their flank almost immediately.
“The enemy,” Custer continued, “seeing his flank turned and his retreat cut off, broke in the utmost confusion and sought safety in headlong flight. The pursuit was kept up at a gallop by the entire command for a distance of nearly two miles, where a brigade of the enemy was formed to check our farther advance.”
The Rebels before both Merritt and Custer were in full retreat. “Not a moment’s delay now occurred,” wrote Merritt in his report, “the enemy was pressed at every step.”
“Hearing the firing on General Rosser’s front retiring rapidly,” wrote Lunsford Lomax, “and stragglers coming from his command with the statement that his force was broken, I withdrew my force slowly, the enemy pressing. As long as the country was broken and wooded my commanded retired in good order and check the enemy from making a rapid pursuit. […] On reaching the open and unbroken country at Woodstock the enemy charged Johnson’s brigade, which was completely broken. I was unable to rally this command.”
“The success of the day was now merely a question of the endurance of horseflesh,” wrote Merritt, “and let it be here stated that no more splendid commentary could be made on the soldierly qualities of the troopers of this division than the fact that their horses , with but few exceptions, endured a run of nearly twenty miles and were found the next day in condition for a reasonable march.
“Tom’s Creek [Brook] was left far in the rear, Maurertown was passed. The enemy’s opposition was fitful; each time our troopers came in view they would rush on the discomfited rebels with their sabers, and send them howling in every direction; numbers fled to the mountains.”
The command did not halt until reaching the foot of Mount Jackson, and “fragments of the enemy’s column could be seen flying miles in advance; where they stopped the terror-stricken wretches could scarcely tell themselves, I cannot.”
Before these poor Rebels could return to their camp, words was sent to their commander, Jubal Early, though their rout was hidden from him. “I have not heard definitely from Rosser,” he wrote to General Lee that afternoon, “but he is, I understand, falling back in good order, having rallied his command, which is on what is called the Back Road, which is west of the pike; but Lomax’s command, which was on the [Valley] pike, came back to this place in confusion.”
While Rosser was able to gather his strength, it was not enough to impress Custer, who pushed him ever back. Once, when the Rebels rallied enough to make a stand, Custer attacked.
“The whole line moved forward at a charge. Once more he was compelled to trust his safety to the fleetness of his steed rather than the metal of his saber. His retreat soon became a demoralized rout. Vainly did the most gallant of this affrighted herd endeavor to rally a few supports around their standards and stay the advance of their eager and exulting pursuers, who, in one overwhelming current, were bearing down everything before them.
“Never since the opening of this war had there been witnessed such a complete and decisive overthrow of the enemy’s cavalry. The pursuit was kept up vigorously for nearly twenty miles, and only relinquished then from the complete exhaustion of our horses and the dispersion of our panic-stricken enemies.”
Though this was a disaster for Early’s cavalry, he was more focused on the enemy’s infantry. Continuing his letter to General Lee, he informed him that Sheridan had moved from Fisher’s Hill and it did not appear as if he would be making a return visit to the upper valley. His next move was, however, a mystery. Would he send part of his force to General Grant before Petersburg and Richmond, or would he remain to the north, guarding the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.
Early concluded that if Sheridan remained in the Valley, he would muster his Rebels and attack him, “and I think I can defeat his infantry and thwart his movements….” But if Sheridan joined Grant, Early’s next move would be up to Lee.
A more pressing problem, however, was supplies. “He has laid waste nearly all of Rockingham and Shenandoah [Counties], and I will have to rely on Augusta for my supplies, and they are not abundant there. Sheridan’s purpose, under Grant’s orders, has been to render the Valley untenable by our troops by destroying the supplies.”
Along with destroying supplies, Sheridan was amassing quite a collection of Confederate artillery. Custer had captured six guns, while Merritt today held five. “The eleven pieces of artillery captured today make thirty-six pieces captured in the Valley since the 19th of September. Some of the artillery captured was new and never had been fired before.”
That night, in Custer’s encampment, the spoils of the battle were inventories. Custer himself found not only General Rosser’s coat, but his pet squirrel. Being of different sizes, the jacket was a poor fit, but Custer thought his old classmate could help. Taking up pen and paper, he wrote to Rosser asking him if he might not recommend a tailor to shorten the coattails a bit. [1]
[1] Sources: Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 43, Part 1, p431, 447, 491-492, 520-521, 559, 612; A Memoir of the Last Year of the War For Independence by Jubal A. Early; A Complete Life of Gen. George A. Custer by Frederick Whittaker; Glorious War: The Civil War Adventures of George Armstrong Custer by Thom Hatch.

In 1862 Jeb Stuart began his raid into Pennsylvania. “Both armies were taught a valuable lesson about war, killing, and dying at the Battle of Antietam. Following the bloodletting, both took time to sort things out. That is not to say that either side wasn’t still itching for a fight. General Lee, commanding the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, had contemplated a push into Pennsylvania immediately following the battle. These hopes were quickly dashed by his own returns. And while General McClellan, commanding the Federal Army of the Potomac, had absolutely no desire to move his army, President Lincoln had been urging him for weeks to chase down the Rebels – even making a personal visit to illustrate his point.
But neither army moved. That is, except for a brigade in Stonewall Jackson’s Corps. The Confederates had retired to the vicinity of Winchester. There, Lee tasked Jackson with destroying the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, something Jackson would probably have done anyway. The B&O had played a pivotal roll thus far in the war. Jackson had destroyed and tried to destroy large parts of it, but was only marginally successful ad the Federals were always quick with repairs.
On their way to Antietam, the Confederates sacked the line from Point of Rocks to the Monocacy Bridge. All bridges and rolling stock were put to the torch. Jackson’s foray to Harpers Ferry netted the Rebels even greater success as they destroyed track in and around Martinsburg. But the whole affair had been necessarily rushed. The object wasn’t to destroy the railroad, but to invade the north.
With the invasion put on indefinite hold, Lee thought it was time to give the B&O the attention it needed. Jackson dispatched Col. James Lane, leading a brigade in A.P. Hill’s Division, to the undertaking. Lane was, to put it mildly, very thorough.
Lane’s men pulled up the rails and toasted them over a bonfire built of crossties until the iron was white hot. The men then quickly picked them up and wrapped them around a tree. Later in the war, William Tecumseh Sherman would order his men to do likewise in Georgia – they would be called “Sherman’s neckties.” While the Union got the honor of the name, Jackson’s men seem have come up with the design. Some enthusiastic Rebels wrapped the rails around the tree several times, creating a collar for the trunk. This was the rule of the day for nearly forty miles of track either side of Martinsburg.
In Martinsburg itself, the engine house, the round house, the machine shops, warehouse, ticketing and telegraph offices, the B&O hotel, coal bins, blacksmith shop, tool houses and pump houses were all annihilated. The telegraph lines were not forgotten, either. Jackson’s men dismantled nearly ninety miles of wire, chopping down poles and setting them ablaze. It wouldn’t be until November that the destruction would end.
Through all of this, both infantries remained otherwise still. The cavalry, however, did not. In early October, Union cavalry under Alfred Pleasanton captured Martinsburg while embarrassing Confederate cavalry commander Jeb Stuart, whose pickets had fled from the town.
Stuart had known Pleasanton from their days together at West Point. He never liked the man, finding him less than pleasant. This raid did the relationship no favors. Stuart immediately ordered his men to retake the town, which they did almost as quickly as it was ordered.
A week passed with little more than the ladies and their soirees and balls for Stuart and his staff to attend to. But that all changed on the 8th when General Lee figured out something more pressing for Stuart to accomplish. There was a railroad bridge along the Cumberland Valley line that spanned Conococheague Creek just north of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Lee wanted it to be destroyed. Stuart had been pushing for a raid into McClellan’s rear and Lee found a reason to acquiesce.
The Cumberland Valley Railroad was an important link with the Pennsylvania Railroad and Pittsburgh, with her iron and armories, to Washington and McClellan’s Army. Disrupting that line was of vital importance, especially considering that nobody would be using the B&O for the time being.
Along the way, Lee tasked Stuart “to gain all information of the position, force, and probable intention of the enemy which you can.” This raid was to be executed in absolute secrecy. Stuart was to “arrest all citizens that may give information to the enemy.” Should Stuart happen to bump into any Pennsylvania politicians or government workers, they were to be kidnapped and brought back to Virginia “that they may be used as hostages, or the means of exchanges for our own citizens that have been carried off by the enemy.” Lee reminded Stuart that such persons were to be treated “with all the respect and consideration that circumstances will admit.”
Stuart received the orders on the 8th and attended one more night of visiting and dancing with the fine ladies of the area. At 1am, Stuart was found in the accompaniment of a banjo and bones as he performed a farewell concert for his hosts. When Stuart found time to sleep is hard to fathom. By dawn of this date, he was preparing his 1,800 men for the expedition.
By afternoon, the force assembled at Darkesville, several miles south of Martinsburg. From there, they rode towards Williamsport and the Potomac River, encamping for the night at Hedgesville. At dawn, they would make their crossing at McCoy Ford. [1]
[1] Sources: The Baltimore and Ohio in the Civil War by Festus P. Summers; War Years with Jeb Stuart by William Willis Blackford; Riding in Circles by Arnold M. Pavlovsky; Life and Campaigns of General Robert E. Lee by James Dabney McCabe; History of Franklin County, Pennsylvania published by Warner, Beers & Co.; Bold Dragoon by Emory Thomas.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/jeb-stuart-begins-his-raid-into-pennsylvania/

Below are several 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. … I am including journal entries from Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, "Crocker's Brigade," Sixth Division of the Seventeenth Corps, Army of the Tennessee for each year. I have been spending some time researching Civil War journals and diaries and editing them to fit into this series of Civil War discussions.
In 1862, (a) Maj Gen. Ulysses S. Grant sent a letter to Pres. Lincoln; (b) John Beauchamp Jones, a clerk in the Confederate War Department, writes in his journal concerning the rising of prices in Richmond; and (c) James Keen Munnerlyn, Jr., of the 2nd South Carolina Cavalry Regiment, wrote home about a skirmish between his regiment and the Yankees before the Battle of Antietam.
In 1863, (a) Quartermaster General Montgomery Meigs wrote to Washington with details of the Army of the Cumberland’s plight and their desperate lack of supplies, particularly forage for the horses and draft animals, which would hamper the army’s ability to move and (b) John Camden West, Jr., a Confederate soldier serving in the 4th Texas Infantry Regiment with Lee’s army, wrote home to his wife about the suffering of the soldiers on campaign.

Wednesday, October 9, 1861: Journal of Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, “Crocker's Brigade,” “Drill twice a day and dress parade at 5 p.m. New recruits are daily coming into camp.”
Thursday, October 9, 1862: Journal of Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, “Crocker's Brigade,” “We have received no rations today and the boys have been pitching pretty freely into the cattle and hogs in this locality. The rebels are reported to be at Holly Springs, Mississippi. We moved on nearer Ripley and are three miles east of town. It is very warm and dusty; water is scarce along the way.”
Thursday, October 9, 1862: Maj Gen. Ulysses S. Grant sends this letter to Pres. Lincoln as a report on the Battle of Corinth: From U. S. GRANT, Major-General to ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States. “JACKSON, TENN., October 9, 1862. Your dispatch received. Cannot answer it so fully as I would wish. Paroled now 813 enlisted men and 43 commissioned officers in good health; 700 Confederate wounded already sent to Iuka paroled; 350 wounded paroled still at Corinth. Cannot tell the number of dead yet. About 800 rebels already buried. Their loss in killed about nine to one of ours. The ground is not yet clear of their unburied dead. Prisoners yet arriving by every road and train. This does not include casualties where Ord attacked in the rear. He has 350 well prisoners, besides two batteries and small-arms in large numbers. Our loss there was between 400 and 500. Rebel loss about the same. General Oglesby is shot through the breast and the ball lodged in the spine. Hopes for his recovery. Our killed and wounded at Corinth will not exceed 900, many of them slightly.”
Thursday, October 9, 1862: John Beauchamp Jones, a clerk in the Confederate War Department, writes in his journal concerning the rising of prices in Richmond: “My wife has obviated one of the difficulties of the blockade, by a substitute for coffee, which I like very well. It is simply corn meal, toasted like coffee, and served in the same manner. It costs five or six cents per pound-coffee, $2.50.”
Thursday, October 9, 1862: James Keen Munnerlyn, Jr., of the 2nd South Carolina Cavalry Regiment, writes home about a skirmish between his regiment and the Yankees before the Battle of Antietam: “As our rear guard was passing through the streets of Fredrick City the Yankee Cavalry appeared within a few hundred yards of them, the gallant Col. Buttler of the 2nd So. Ca. Cavalry who was in command gave the order "by fours right about wheel, Charge"! Notwithstanding the danger from pistol & carbine Balls, the windows were crowded with women & men cheering and waving their handkerchiefs to the Yankees. Our men made at them at full speed they turned to run but they could not escape our men who were exasperated by the people cheering and determined to chastise them in their presence. Our men got into their ranks and did good work with their sabres. . . . We fell back fighting to Boonsboro where we met our infantry and there was fought the Battle of Boonsboro when our men were badly whipped Why the enemy did not follow us up that night and take all our artillery I dont know. I suppose it was because they did not know how badly whipped we were.”
Friday, October 9, 1863: Journal of Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade “Crocker's Brigade,” “The rebels have made no attempt at a raid into Vicksburg, but seem to be at their old trick of making our officers believe that they are in this vicinity in large force. Our officers, however, are on their guard, and are not to be caught napping. They continue a strong support of the pickets. The Eleventh and the Thirteenth again exchanged places, our boys coming from picket. A report came that Rosecrans had been whipped at Chattanooga, by Bragg's army. [1]
[1] In fact, Rosecrans with his army in Chattanooga had been surrounded by Bragg, who had possession of the railroad, and Rosecrans' army had to depend upon long hauls by wagon for their supplies. — A. G. D.”
Friday, October 9, 1863: Quartermaster General Montgomery Meigs writes to Washington with more details of the Army of the Cumberland’s plight and their desperate lack of supplies, particularly forage for the horses and draft animals, which would hamper the army’s ability to move: HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE CUMBERLAND, Chattanooga, Tenn., October 9, 1863. To Ho. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War: “Communication has been interrupted. I have not written since the 5th. Forage grows scarce. Many horses are unserviceable and some have died. Foragers must go far, and require heavy guards. I have advised sending for supplies all teams except the artillery and ammunition; to let these do the work of the post. Forage should be pushed forward from Nashville, where there is ample supply in depot. A little interchange of artillery fire yesterday afternoon’ ineffective on both sides. Hooker has orders to forage below Stevenson. Rosecrans thinks he will thus obtain much. Forage from Nashville appears to me more important than men just now, as without it what we have may be unable to follow the enemy should he cross the river above in force. If the artillery and ammunition horses give out the army cannot move. A few days’ rations for itself it could carry without wagons, and once on the march with these animals it could find forage. Chief quartermaster, Colonel Hodges, is at Nashville, fitting out trains for Hooker’s troops. I have not lately been able to communicate with him.
M. C. MEIGS, Quartermaster-General.”
Friday, October 9, 1863: John Camden West, Jr., a Confederate soldier serving in the 4th Texas Infantry Regiment with Lee’s army, writes home to his wife, and reveals much about the suffering of the soldiers on campaign: Letter No. XIX. Camp Near Chattanooga, October 9th, 1863.
My Precious Wife: “Your letters of 16th and 26th of July, enclosing one from Mrs. Carter, reached me three days ago, but I was sent out on picket, immediately on receiving it and had to use spade and pick all day yesterday on a redan, which prevented me from answering sooner. . . .
Tell Stark that I cannot love him if he does not say his lessons and obey you and tell little blue eyes she must be smart and beat her brother reading. I am glad you were thinking of me in those hot July days, for from the 15th of June until the 27th of July was one constant march or manouver, while we were parched with thirst, pinched with hunger, foot-sore and weary. . . . I hope you have received all these letters, and I regret to see you so desponding about our cause. The loss of Port Hudson and Vicksburg are small affairs, and did not cause me a night’s uneasiness except as cutting off communications from you, which has all the time been so doubtful that I do not consider the coming of letters as a matter of course, but only as delightful luxuries to be enjoyed "few and far between." I have had only two in six months, in which you speak of others which have never come. You must not despond about me—what if I do suffer a little—better men have died in a worse cause. I have passed through trials of endurance and of my courage to which I thought myself uneqaul, but the hollow of an Almighty hand has been over me, and the trials of yesterday I can smile at to-day. Suppose we did pass seven days and nights soaking wet, marching, eating no meat and having bread without salt? What if we marched for days through briar fields, with worn-out low-quartered shoes until our ankles were a mass of blood? What difference is it now that we frowned and groaned with pain, when the soles of our feet were one great bruise? What boots all this if we returned from the campaign stronger and in better health than we ever were before? Now, when God brings us safely through all these difficulties and saves us amid a shower of bullets, when inside the Yankee line stricken down amid the dead and wounded of the foe, exposed to a torrent of shell and grape which literally tore up the earth about us, shall we not take courage and be grateful?
We have eaten corn-bread half done, made with unsifted meal, accompanied with bacon raw or broiled on a stick, for three weeks at a time—yet I am well, perfectly well. Verily I believe that God has guarded and preserved me every hour. I firmly believe that he will save me harmless through this dread day of our country’s danger, or He will answer my constant prayer that I may be taken, if die I must, in the very midst of my country’s foes, and that my spirit may ascend amid the smoke of battles, a fit offering to liberty and truth, and my body rest among the brave where the dead lie thickest, and here let me emphasize what I have said before, you must not cherish a hope of recovering my body if I am lost in battle. It will be the merest accident if you do so. You must not be troubled in mind continually. I can excuse some uneasiness when you hear of a battle, but do not be worried all the time. Of course there is great danger every time we go into battle. It seems to me it must be the utmost stretch of divine power to save one in the thickest of a fight. The rescue of Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego was no more a miracle than the preservation of some of us on the afternoon of Saturday, the nineteenth of September, at Chickamauga. Don’t have the blues. Study your Latin, your music and your children, and leave the result to God. Kisses for the children, and love to Mrs. Carter.
Your husband, faithfully ever, John C. West.”
Sunday, October 9, 1864: Journal of Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, “Crocker's Brigade,” “We were routed early this morning and left for Big Shanty, and arriving there in the afternoon went into bivouac. The Fifteenth and Seventeenth Army Corps were sent here to put the railroad track in repair. The rebels tore up about nine miles of track, burning the ties and twisting the rails. The engineers have to get out new ties and large details of our men are put to work cutting down trees and hewing the ties. It is reported that the rebels are going to the North.”

A. Wednesday, October 9, 1861: Battle of Santa Rosa Island, Florida. Bloodshed on the White Sand at Santa Rosa Island. Confederate forces launched a surprise attack on the Union camps and outposts at Fort Pickens near Pensacola, Florida. Remembered today as the Battle of Santa Rosa Island, the encounter was the first major Civil War battle on Florida soil.
The action was a retaliatory attack for a raid on the Confederate privateer Judah by sailors and marines from the U.S.S. Colorado. Rowing into the bay under cover of darkness, a boat party had surprised and torched the Judah in September of 1861 before Southern troops could drive them off.
Determined to retaliate for the bold raid, General Braxton Bragg reviewed his options and decided to launch an attack on the outer camps and batteries of Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island. Although it is often stated that Bragg hoped to capture the fort, his real goal seems to have been to destroy the camp of the 6th New York Volunteers.
Commanded by William Wilson, a rough and tumble former politician from New York, the unit was commonly known as Billy Wilson's Zouaves. Many of the men in the regiment were toughs from the docks and streets of New York and Bragg's troops were anxious for a chance at them.
Commanded by Brigadier General Richard H. "Dick" Anderson, 1,100 Confederate soldiers were moved across Pensacola Bay by boat and barge shortly after midnight on the night of October 9, 1861. Coming ashore on Santa Rosa Island about four miles east of Fort Pickens, they moved west down the island in three columns.
Commanding the individual battalions were Colonel James R. Chalmers, Colonel Patton Anderson and Colonel John K. Jackson, all three of whom would serve with distinction in the Confederate cause.
Chalmers' column, moving down the bay or north beach of the island, stumbled into Wilson's pickets at around 3:30 a.m. The alarm was sounded and Wilson began to form his men on the camp's parade ground. The column under Colonel Jackson, however, attacked with bayonets fixed.
As rebel yells broke out in the darkness, Wilson's Zouaves broke and ran before the oncoming Confederates. Southern soldiers looted and set fire to the camp, spiking a number of Union cannon in the process.
Realizing that the Federal troops from Fort Pickens were coming out for a counterattack, General Anderson reformed his men and began to move back down the island. Intense and confused fighting followed, but the Confederates made it to their boats and returned across the bay.
Southern losses were 18 killed, 39 wounded and 30 captured. Bragg reported that 11 of the dead were executed by Federal soldiers after being wounded. Union losses were 14 dead, 29 wounded and 24 captured.
B. Thursday, October 9, 1862: CSA Maj Gen James Ewell Brown Stuart’s raid into Maryland. Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, Robert E. Lee’s cavalry commander, was given orders yesterday to conduct a raid deep behind enemy lines. Gen. Lee orders Stuart to destroy key bridges on the Cumberland Valley Railroad, to gain intelligence about McClellan’s army and their intentions, and to arrest any civilians who might" give information to the enemy"---and to capture any civil or government officials to hold as hostages.
Stuart received the orders on the 8th and attended one more night of visiting and dancing with the fine ladies of the area. At 1am, Stuart was found in the accompaniment of a banjo and bones as he performed a farewell concert for his hosts. When Stuart found time to sleep is hard to fathom. By dawn of this date, he was preparing his picked brigade of 1,800 men for the expedition.
By afternoon, the force assembled at Darkesville, several miles south of Martinsburg. From there, they rode towards Williamsport and the Potomac River, encamping for the night at Hedgesville. At dawn, they made their crossing at McCoy Ford.
The raid would last until October 12, 1862 as Stuart’s cavalry rode around the forces of Maj Gen George B. McClellan Army of the Potomac for the second time.
C. Friday, October 9, 1863: Lee attempts to outflank Meade in the Bristoe, VA Campaign. CSA Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia crossed the Rapidan River in an attempt to outflank Major General George G. Meade to get to Washington, DC, since the Army of the Potomac had been weakened by sending troops to Chattanooga, TN. Lee sent Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill and the Third Corps of his army on a quick march, crossing the Rapidan River west of Orange Court House, and then turning north. Hill marches quickly, at some distance west of the Orange & Alexandria railroad line, heading toward Centreville. At first, only the II Corps of the Army of the Potomac gave chase, under Maj Gen. G.K. Warren.
D. Sunday, October 9, 1864: Battle of Tom's Brook, Virginia. Union cavalry in the Shenandoah Valley deal a humiliating defeat to their Confederate counterparts at Tom’s Brook, Virginia. Confederate General Jubal Early’s force had been operating in and around the Shenandoah area for four months. Early’s summer campaign caught the attention of Union General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant, who was laying siege to Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia. Grant was determined to neutralize Early and secure the Shenandoah for the North. He dispatched one of his best generals, Philip Sheridan, to pursue the Rebels there.
Sheridan took command in August 1864 but spent over a month gathering his force before moving against Early. He quickly turned the tables on the Confederates, scoring major victories at Winchester and Fischer’s Hill in September. Early’s battered force sought refuge in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, while Sheridan began systematically destroying the Shenandoah’s rich agricultural resources. Sheridan used his cavalry, under the command of General Alfred Torbert, to guard the foot soldiers as they burned farms and mills and slaughtered livestock. Confederate cavalry chief General Thomas Rosser nipped at the heels of the marauding Yankee force, but Torbert refused to allow his generals, George Custer and Wesley Merritt, to counterattack. He insisted they continue to stick close to the Union infantry. Sheridan heard of this and demanded that Torbert attack.
At dawn on October 9, Custer and Merritt and their respective forces attacked the two wings of the Confederate cavalry. Merritt’s 3,500 Yankees overwhelmed General Lunsford Lomax’s 1,500 troopers, but Custer had more difficulty. His 2,500 men faced 3,000 men under the command of Rosser, who was, coincidentally, a close friend of Custer’s at West Point before the war. Custer observed that the Rebels were protected by the high bank of Tom’s Creek, so he sent three of his regiments around Rosser’s flank. Both groups of Confederates broke in retreat. The Yankees pursued the defeated Confederates for over 20 miles, a flight called the Woodstock Races. The chase ended only when the Confederates reached the safety of Early’s infantry.
The Yankees captured 350 men, 11 artillery pieces, and all of the cavalry’s wagons and ambulances. Nine Union troopers were killed, and 48 were wounded. It was the most complete victory of Union cavalry in the eastern theater during the entire war.
.
Pictures: 1861-10-09 battle of Santa Rosa Island between the Sixth New York Volunteers (Wilson's Zouaves) and Confederate; 1864-10-09 Battle of Tom's Brook, Virginia, Map pursuit to Mount Jackson; 1861-10-09 Fort Pickens, Florida Map; xx

1. Thursday, October 9, 1862: Gen. Ulysses S. Grant sends this letter to Pres. Lincoln as a report on the Battle of Corinth: From U. S. GRANT, Major-General to ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States. “JACKSON, TENN., October 9, 1862. Your dispatch received. Cannot answer it so fully as I would wish. Paroled now 813 enlisted men and 43 commissioned officers in good health; 700 Confederate wounded already sent to Iuka paroled; 350 wounded paroled still at Corinth. Cannot tell the number of dead yet. About 800 rebels already buried. Their loss in killed about nine to one of ours. The ground is not yet clear of their unburied dead. Prisoners yet arriving by every road and train. This does not include casualties where Ord attacked in the rear. He has 350 well prisoners, besides two batteries and small-arms in large numbers. Our loss there was between 400 and 500. Rebel loss about the same. General Oglesby is shot through the breast and the ball lodged in the spine. Hopes for his recovery. Our killed and wounded at Corinth will not exceed 900, many of them slightly.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=October+9%2C+1862
2. Thursday, October 9, 1862: John Beauchamp Jones, a clerk in the Confederate War Department, writes in his journal concerning the rising of prices in Richmond: “My wife has obviated one of the difficulties of the blockade, by a substitute for coffee, which I like very well. It is simply corn meal, toasted like coffee, and served in the same manner. It costs five or six cents per pound-coffee, $2.50.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=October+9%2C+1862
3. Thursday, October 9, 1862: James Keen Munnerlyn, Jr., of the 2nd South Carolina Cavalry Regiment, writes home about a skirmish between his regiment and the Yankees before the Battle of Antietam: “As our rear guard was passing through the streets of Fredrick City the Yankee Cavalry appeared within a few hundred yards of them, the gallant Col. Buttler of the 2nd So. Ca. Cavalry who was in command gave the order "by fours right about wheel, Charge"! Notwithstanding the danger from pistol & carbine Balls, the windows were crowded with women & men cheering and waving their handkerchiefs to the Yankees. Our men made at them at full speed they turned to run but they could not escape our men who were exasperated by the people cheering and determined to chastise them in their presence. Our men got into their ranks and did good work with their sabres. . . . We fell back fighting to Boonsboro where we met our infantry and there was fought the Battle of Boonsboro when our men were badly whipped Why the enemy did not follow us up that night and take all our artillery I dont know. I suppose it was because they did not know how badly whipped we were.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=October+9%2C+1862
4. Thursday, October 9, 1862: So soon after the Battle of Antietam, no one expected another invasion from the South, but James Ewell Brown Stuart (CSA) did today, leading his cavalrymen across the fords of the Potomac River into Union territory. By nightfall, he was at Chambersburg, Pa. and cut all telegraph wires and stole every usable horse for their use. Then, he started burning public buildings and records.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/part-seventy-eight
5. Friday, October 9, 1863: Quartermaster General Montgomery Meigs writes to Washington with more details of the Army of the Cumberland’s plight and their desperate lack of supplies, particularly forage for the horses and draft animals, which would hamper the army’s ability to move: HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE CUMBERLAND, Chattanooga, Tenn., October 9, 1863. To Ho. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War: “Communication has been interrupted. I have not written since the 5th. Forage grows scarce. Many horses are unserviceable and some have died. Foragers must go far, and require heavy guards. I have advised sending for supplies all teams except the artillery and ammunition; to let these do the work of the post. Forage should be pushed forward from Nashville, where there is ample supply in depot. A little interchange of artillery fire yesterday afternoon’ ineffective on both sides. Hooker has orders to forage below Stevenson. Rosecrans thinks he will thus obtain much. Forage from Nashville appears to me more important than men just now, as without it what we have may be unable to follow the enemy should he cross the river above in force. If the artillery and ammunition horses give out the army cannot move. A few days’ rations for itself it could carry without wagons, and once on the march with these animals it could find forage. Chief quartermaster, Colonel Hodges, is at Nashville, fitting out trains for Hooker’s troops. I have not lately been able to communicate with him.
M. C. MEIGS, Quartermaster-General.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=October+9%2C+1863
6. Friday, October 9, 1863: John Camden West, Jr., a Confederate soldier serving in the 4th Texas Infantry Regiment with Lee’s army, writes home to his wife, and reveals much about the suffering of the soldiers on campaign: Letter No. XIX. Camp Near Chattanooga, October 9th, 1863.
My Precious Wife: “Your letters of 16th and 26th of July, enclosing one from Mrs. Carter, reached me three days ago, but I was sent out on picket, immediately on receiving it and had to use spade and pick all day yesterday on a redan, which prevented me from answering sooner. . . .
Tell Stark that I cannot love him if he does not say his lessons and obey you and tell little blue eyes she must be smart and beat her brother reading. I am glad you were thinking of me in those hot July days, for from the 15th of June until the 27th of July was one constant march or manouver, while we were parched with thirst, pinched with hunger, foot-sore and weary. . . . I hope you have received all these letters, and I regret to see you so desponding about our cause. The loss of Port Hudson and Vicksburg are small affairs, and did not cause me a night’s uneasiness except as cutting off communications from you, which has all the time been so doubtful that I do not consider the coming of letters as a matter of course, but only as delightful luxuries to be enjoyed "few and far between." I have had only two in six months, in which you speak of others which have never come. You must not despond about me—what if I do suffer a little—better men have died in a worse cause. I have passed through trials of endurance and of my courage to which I thought myself uneqaul, but the hollow of an Almighty hand has been over me, and the trials of yesterday I can smile at to-day. Suppose we did pass seven days and nights soaking wet, marching, eating no meat and having bread without salt? What if we marched for days through briar fields, with worn-out low-quartered shoes until our ankles were a mass of blood? What difference is it now that we frowned and groaned with pain, when the soles of our feet were one great bruise? What boots all this if we returned from the campaign stronger and in better health than we ever were before? Now, when God brings us safely through all these difficulties and saves us amid a shower of bullets, when inside the Yankee line stricken down amid the dead and wounded of the foe, exposed to a torrent of shell and grape which literally tore up the earth about us, shall we not take courage and be grateful?
We have eaten corn-bread half done, made with unsifted meal, accompanied with bacon raw or broiled on a stick, for three weeks at a time—yet I am well, perfectly well. Verily I believe that God has guarded and preserved me every hour. I firmly believe that he will save me harmless through this dread day of our country’s danger, or He will answer my constant prayer that I may be taken, if die I must, in the very midst of my country’s foes, and that my spirit may ascend amid the smoke of battles, a fit offering to liberty and truth, and my body rest among the brave where the dead lie thickest, and here let me emphasize what I have said before, you must not cherish a hope of recovering my body if I am lost in battle. It will be the merest accident if you do so. You must not be troubled in mind continually. I can excuse some uneasiness when you hear of a battle, but do not be worried all the time. Of course there is great danger every time we go into battle. It seems to me it must be the utmost stretch of divine power to save one in the thickest of a fight. The rescue of Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego was no more a miracle than the preservation of some of us on the afternoon of Saturday, the nineteenth of September, at Chickamauga. Don’t have the blues. Study your Latin, your music and your children, and leave the result to God. Kisses for the children, and love to Mrs. Carter.
Your husband, faithfully ever, John C. West.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=October+9%2C+1863
7. Friday, October 9, 1863: Tipton, Missouri - On October 9, the Confederate cavalry, commanded by Col. Jo Shelby, surrounded the town of Tipton. Tipton was located just west of Jefferson City. Inside the town was 100 local Union militia. The Confederates drove out the militia and captured the town.
While at Tipton, the Confederates destroyed a nearby railroad bridge at La Mine Bridge. They then headed off towards Syracuse.
http://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/1863s.html
8. Friday, October 9, 1863: The Confederate cavalry, commanded by Col. Jo Shelby, surrounded the town of Tipton, Missouri. Tipton was located just west of Jefferson City. Inside the town was 100 local Union militia. The Confederates drove out the militia and captured the town. While at Tipton, the Confederates destroyed a nearby railroad bridge at La Mine Bridge. They then headed off towards Syracuse.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-c/week-130
9. Friday, October 9, 1863: Confederate cavalry attacked a major Union supply column bound for Chattanooga. Hundreds of supply wagons – along with their contents – were lost.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-c/week-130
10. Friday, October 9, 1863: Robert E. Lee [CS] and the Army of Northern Virginia crosses the Rapidan River in an attempt to outflank the Army of the Potomac.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186310
11. Friday, October 9, 1863: President Davis speaks in Marietta, Georgia.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186310
12. Sunday, October 9, 1864: Eastport, Mississippi - On October 10, a Union force was taken upstream on the Tennessee River to Eastport. They were planning to make an attack against the Confederate force there, commanded by Lt. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest. Confederate gunfire damaged the gunboat USS Undine and disabled two transport ships. The transport ships pulled away, leaving most of the troops. The abandoned Union troops were able to make their escape back to friendly lines.
http://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/1864s.html
13. Sunday, October 9, 1864: Major General Sterling Price (CSA) is making a sweep through Missouri, capturing the towns of Boonville, California, and Russellville.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/1864/week-183
14. Sunday, October 9, 1864: A Confederate battery near Freeman’s wharf on Mobile Bay opens fire on side-wheeler USS Sebago; after a hour of return cannon fire, reports 5 casualties.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/1864/week-183
15. Sunday, October 9, 1864: In the Shenandoah Valley at Tom’s Brook, near Strasburg, Virginia, General Phil Sheridan (US) orders his cavalry generals, Alfred T. Torbert, George Armstrong Custer, and Wesley Merritt to attack a detachment of Confederate cavalry under Brig. General Thomas L. Rosser (CSA) that had been harassing his infantry column. The Yankees pursue the defeated Confederates for over 20 miles, a fight the North will call the “Woodstock Races.” The Yankees capture 350 men, 11 artillery pieces, and all of the cavalry’s wagons and ambulances. Nine Union troopers are killed, and 48 wounded.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/1864/week-183

A Wednesday, October 9, 1861: Santa Rosa Island is a 40-mile barrier island located in Florida, 30 miles from the Alabama state border, at the western end stood Fort Pickens. Under the command of General Richard H. Anderson (CSA) 1,000 Confederate troops land and assault Union batteries at Santa Rosa Island, in Pensacola Bay, Florida. Union reinforcements from Fort Pickens force the Confederates to withdraw.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-a/part-twenty-six
A+ Wednesday, October 9, 1861: Bloodshed on the White Sand at Santa Rosa Island. Confederate forces launched a surprise attack on the Union camps and outposts at Fort Pickens near Pensacola, Florida. Remembered today as the Battle of Santa Rosa Island, the encounter was the first major Civil War battle on Florida soil.
The action was a retaliatory attack for a raid on the Confederate privateer Judah by sailors and marines from the U.S.S. Colorado. Rowing into the bay under cover of darkness, a boat party had surprised and torched the Judah in September of 1861 before Southern troops could drive them off.
Determined to retaliate for the bold raid, General Braxton Bragg reviewed his options and decided to launch an attack on the outer camps and batteries of Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island. Although it is often stated that Bragg hoped to capture the fort, his real goal seems to have been to destroy the camp of the 6th New York Volunteers.
Commanded by William Wilson, a rough and tumble former politician from New York, the unit was commonly known as Billy Wilson's Zouaves. Many of the men in the regiment were toughs from the docks and streets of New York and Bragg's troops were anxious for a chance at them.
Commanded by Brigadier General Richard H. "Dick" Anderson, 1,100 Confederate soldiers were moved across Pensacola Bay by boat and barge shortly after midnight on the night of October 9, 1861. Coming ashore on Santa Rosa Island about four miles east of Fort Pickens, they moved west down the island in three columns.
Commanding the individual battalions were Colonel James R. Chalmers, Colonel Patton Anderson and Colonel John K. Jackson, all three of whom would serve with distinction in the Confederate cause.
Chalmers' column, moving down the bay or north beach of the island, stumbled into Wilson's pickets at around 3:30 a.m. The alarm was sounded and Wilson began to form his men on the camp's parade ground. The column under Colonel Jackson, however, attacked with bayonets fixed.
As rebel yells broke out in the darkness, Wilson's Zouaves broke and ran before the oncoming Confederates. Southern soldiers looted and set fire to the camp, spiking a number of Union cannon in the process.
Realizing that the Federal troops from Fort Pickens were coming out for a counterattack, General Anderson reformed his men and began to move back down the island. Intense and confused fighting followed, but the Confederates made it to their boats and returned across the bay.
Southern losses were 18 killed, 39 wounded and 30 captured. Bragg reported that 11 of the dead were executed by Federal soldiers after being wounded. Union losses were 14 dead, 29 wounded and 24 captured.
http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/santarosa.html
B Thursday, October 9, 1862: J. E. B. Stuart "rides around McClellan's Army" for a second time until October 12, 1862.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186210
B+ Thursday, October 9, 1862: STUART’S RAID - Maj. Gen. James Ewell Brown (Jeb) Stuart, Lee’s cavalry commander, is given orders yesterday to conduct a raid deep behind enemy lines. Gen. Lee orders Stuart to destroy key bridges on the Cumberland Valley Railroad, to gain intelligence about McClellan’s army and their intentions, and to arrest any civilians who might" give information to the enemy"---and to capture any civil or government officials to hold as hostages. This evening, Stuart and a picked brigade of 1,800 men set out from near Martinsburg, Virginia and ride to the Potomac, camping for the remainder of the night, and plan to cross the river at McCoy ford.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=October+9%2C+1862
C Friday, October 9, 1863: Virginia: Bristoe Station Campaign. From Clark’s Mountain near the south bank of the Rapidan River, Gen. Lee sends Gen. A.P. Hill and the Third Corps of his army on a quick march, crossing the Rapidan west of Orange Court House, and turning north. Hill marches quickly, at some distance west of the Orange & Alexandria railroad line, heading toward Centreville. At first, only the II Corps of the Army of the Potomac gives chase, under Gen. G.K. Warren.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=October+9%2C+1863
C+ Friday, October 9, 1863: In Virginia, Robert E. Lee (CSA) and the Army of Northern Virginia crossed the Rapidan River in an attempt to outflank Major General George G. Meade, (US) to get to Washington, DC, since the Army of the Potomac (US) has been weakened by sending troops to Chattanooga, TN.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-c/week-130
D Sunday, October 9, 1864: Battle of Tom's Brook, Virginia. Phil Sheridan ordered his cavalry to attack a detachment of Confederate cavalry that had been harassing his column. After a battle that covered almost 10 miles the Union cavalry stopped, having captured 300 Confederates.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186410
D+ Sunday, October 9, 1864: Battle of Tom's Brook, Virginia. Union cavalry in the Shenandoah Valley deal a humiliating defeat to their Confederate counterparts at Tom’s Brook, Virginia. Confederate General Jubal Early’s force had been operating in and around the Shenandoah area for four months. Early’s summer campaign caught the attention of Union General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant, who was laying siege to Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia. Grant was determined to neutralize Early and secure the Shenandoah for the North. He dispatched one of his best generals, Philip Sheridan, to pursue the Rebels there.
Sheridan took command in August 1864 but spent over a month gathering his force before moving against Early. He quickly turned the tables on the Confederates, scoring major victories at Winchester and Fischer’s Hill in September. Early’s battered force sought refuge in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, while Sheridan began systematically destroying the Shenandoah’s rich agricultural resources. Sheridan used his cavalry, under the command of General Alfred Torbert, to guard the foot soldiers as they burned farms and mills and slaughtered livestock. Confederate cavalry chief General Thomas Rosser nipped at the heels of the marauding Yankee force, but Torbert refused to allow his generals, George Custer and Wesley Merritt, to counterattack. He insisted they continue to stick close to the Union infantry. Sheridan heard of this and demanded that Torbert attack.
At dawn on October 9, Custer and Merritt and their respective forces attacked the two wings of the Confederate cavalry. Merritt’s 3,500 Yankees overwhelmed General Lunsford Lomax’s 1,500 troopers, but Custer had more difficulty. His 2,500 men faced 3,000 men under the command of Rosser, who was, coincidentally, a close friend of Custer’s at West Point before the war. Custer observed that the Rebels were protected by the high bank of Tom’s Creek, so he sent three of his regiments around Rosser’s flank. Both groups of Confederates broke in retreat. The Yankees pursued the defeated Confederates for over 20 miles, a flight called the Woodstock Races. The chase ended only when the Confederates reached the safety of Early’s infantry.
The Yankees captured 350 men, 11 artillery pieces, and all of the cavalry’s wagons and ambulances. Nine Union troopers were killed, and 48 were wounded. It was the most complete victory of Union cavalry in the eastern theater during the entire war.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-toms-brook

FYI GySgt Jack Wallace CWO4 Terrence Clark SMSgt Lawrence McCarter LTC Trent Klug SFC Bernard WalkoSSG Franklin Briant SSG Byron Howard Sr CPL Ronald Keyes Jr SFC William Farrell CMDCM John F. "Doc" Bradshaw SPC Lyle Montgomery PO2 Marco Monsalve SPC Woody Bullard SSG Michael Noll SSG Bill McCoy SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTM Sgt Christopher Collins SPC Private RallyPoint Member SPC Gary C. PO3 Lynn Spalding

Jeb Stuart Begins His Raid into Pennsylvania

October 9, 1862 (Thursday) Both armies were taught a valuable lesson about war, killing, and dying at the Battle of Antietam. Following the bloodletting, both took time to sort things out. That is …

Response by SFC George Smith made Mar 10 at 2017 12:00 AM

SFC George Smith — Fri, 10 Mar 2017 00:00:50 -0500

thanks for the Information and link to The History of the civil war...

Response by SFC Giovanni Bennett made Mar 10 at 2017 1:54 AM

SFC Giovanni Bennett — Fri, 10 Mar 2017 01:54:27 -0500

I love American Civil War history and this showed me some stuff I hadn't seen about it yet. Thanks for the post.

Response by SFC William Farrell made Mar 10 at 2017 2:07 AM

SFC William Farrell — Fri, 10 Mar 2017 02:07:17 -0500

Just got back from 9 days in Florida LTC Stephen F. thanks for the reports from the front!

Response by 1stSgt Eugene Harless made Mar 10 at 2017 2:41 AM

1stSgt Eugene Harless — Fri, 10 Mar 2017 02:41:48 -0500

The Confederate raid on Santa Rosa Island was interesting, as it was pretty much like amphibious raids conducted later, but with a larger force than "special operations" use today.
Of real interest is how they mentioned the "spiking of cannons" by Rebel Forces to disable them. Spiking was simply forcing a metal spike into the touch hole at the breech of the cannon, making it impossible to insert a fuze to ignite a powder charge. It was a common practice to spike your own cannons to prevent use by the enemy if captured. It was also done to captured enemy cannons that you couldn't remove to your lines. The effects were sometimes temporary, and although it was hard to remove a spike it could be done and the piece put into action. Other times the spike was so firmly inserted that the cannon was simply removed and melted down.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Mar 10 at 2017 6:14 AM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Fri, 10 Mar 2017 06:14:18 -0500

Thank you for all this great Civil War history shared. Have a great morning and day.