What was the most significant event on September 23 during the U.S. Civil War?

2016-12-07T18:56:24-05:00

Despot in Missouri in 1861. Charles Fremont closed the presses and had the editor thrown in jail because the St. Louis Evening News reported on his failings to its readers.
In 1862, piracy by guerillas on the Ohio River, the steamer USS Emma was plundered by guerilla forces at Foster’s Landing.
Summary execution for what would be considered crimes against humanity today. In 1864, John Mosby’s men who were captured were executed on the spot for their murderous killing sprees. “Such is the fate of all of Mosby’s men. Though Philip Sheridan’s Army of the Valley was undeniably the victor of the previous day’s battle at Fisher’s Hill, the dawn of this morning found him in an undeniably foul mood. While his infantry had been battling the Rebels for the hill, his cavalry was backing away from a fight in the parallel Luray Valley.
Sheridan had planned for his cavalry to race down the Luray and circle round to cut off the Confederate retreat. At the close of the previous day, he wired General Grant that “if they push on vigorously to the main valley, the result of this day’s engagement will be more signal.”
Alfred Torbert, commanding the Federal Cavalry, brought with him the divisions of Wesley Merritt and James Wilson, and found the Rebels in their front fading toward the south. With some pursuit, they found them digging in near Milford. The Confederate cavalry’s position was a fine one, anchored on one flank by a mountain and on the other, a creek.
There was at first an attempt by the Federal artillery to feel out the enemy position, and soon skirmishers added their ginger to the air. But that was all. Brig Gen Alfred Thomas Archimedes Torbert, believing the position unassailable, held back. There was, of course, some movements on the flanks – this was cavalry, after all, but in the end, Torbert decided to see that better part of valor, and began to withdraw north, unknowing of the Federal victory at Fisher’s Hill.
On the morning of this date, Torbert was still retiring toward the main body. The ambulances he had placed in the front of the column, supposing the enemy to be in his rear. As they neared Front Royal, they were set upon by 120 men under John Singleton Mosby, though the Ranger himself was recuperating away from the action.
They were led by Sam Chapman, who had espied only the wagons, taking notice of the columns of cavalry when it was too late. As he turned to flee into the Blue Ridge Mountains, Lt. Charles McMaster of the 2nd US Cavalry, who had been guarding the ambulances, gave chase.
According to Mosby’s men, McMaster rode in front of them, dismounted and tried to halt them with nothing but his saber. They shot him and rode over his body, unable to get out of the way. But according to nearby Federals, McMaster was not attempting to stop them, but feeling he was surrounded, to surrender. If so, the Rebels had murdered a prisoner of war and then rode over the body. One Confederate woman corroborated this story in her diary, writing that McMaster had surrendered and was even begging for his life when he was shot with his own pistol.
Though McMaster was not dead, he was mortally wounded, and would linger some weeks longer. Believing that he was or would soon be dead, the Federals rounded up as many prisoners as they could find to enact their revenge.
They found first Thomas Anderson and after taking him prisoner, murdered him under a tree. Then came Lucian Love and David Jones, who were both murdered in a graveyard. But the killing that stood most in the minds of the Federals as well as the citizens was that of Henry Rhodes. The seventeen-year-old boy was not officially a member of Mosby’s Rangers, but stole away on a borrowed horse as they passed through Front Royal hours earlier. Upon capture, he was tied behind two horses and dragged as if on parade back into town.
His widowed mother begged the Federals to spare her wayward son, but the men of George Armstrong Custer’s brigade refused. He was taken to a hillside and the executioner emptied his side arm into him.
The Federals, however, were not yet finished. William Overby and a man who went only by the name of Carter were captured by the 2nd US Cavalry and brought before General Torbert. He offered to spare them their lives if only they might tell him where Mosby made his headquarters. Both refused to reveal anything and they were turned over to the provost marshal, Theodore Bean, for further interrogation. When he could coax nothing more out of the men but their names, Torbert ordered them to be hanged for not betraying their commander.
Seven were now dead, murdered as were gild for one. There would be more blood, more reckoning, but not on this day. Mosby, who would learn of the murders in a few days, blamed Custer. Though there’s little evidence that Custer was involved, the hands of his men were most certainly bloody.
Sheridan hardly paid the executions any mind. But Torbert was chastised for not brushing aside the Rebels in the Luray Valley. He also turned his wrath toward William Averell, who he never cared for. Sheridan relieved Averell for failing to round up prisoners following the battle the day before. Unburdened, Sheridan would take up a formal pursuit of the Rebels the next morning.” [1]
[1] Sources: Gray Ghost by James A. Ramage; Mosby’s Rangers by Jeffry D. Wert; Rebel by Kevin Siepel; From Winchester to Cedar Creek by Jeffry D. Wert; Personal Memoirs by Philip Sheridan.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/such-is-the-fate-of-all-of-mosbys-men/
In 1862, the Northern newspapers and politicians react to the Emancipation Proclamation largely along party lines. Republicans generally in favor and democrats opposed. “President Lincoln’s preliminary Emancipation Proclamation was released to the world on this date, appearing verbatim in the morning papers. The edict wasn’t actually anything new, merely a restating of two previous military Acts concerning slaves. The tone, however, was different. Lincoln had warned the Southern slave states that it was coming and now he was delivering.
The papers had little time to comment on it. Commentary would follow, to be sure, but any paper worth its salt printed the Proclamation on its front page. Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune, which had called the President out on this very subject, printed the banner “GOD BLESS ABRAHAM LINCOLN” in bold.
Another paper that had been critical of Lincoln, the Boston Advertiser, suddenly adored the man, while the Washington Daily National Intelligencer, once little more than the mouthpiece of the administration, jumped ship. “Where we expect no good,” went the editorial, “we shall be only too happy to find that no harm has been done by the present declaration of the Executive.”
The Washington Evening Star, having most of the day to mull it over, simply declared the Proclamation to be “void of practical effect.”
In Congress, as usual, the reaction was split down party lines. The oft-forgotten Vice-President Hannibal Hamlin wrote Lincoln, gushing with thanks and gratitude for writing the Proclamation, telling him that “it will stand as the great act of the age.”
Some Radical Republicans believed it did not go far enough, that the language was too legalistic. They denounced it for not actually freeing a single slave. Other Radicals saw it as “an epoch of an unheard-of magnitude.” Charles Sumner exclaimed that “the skies are brighter and the air is purer, now that slavery has been handed over to judgment.” Some of the more radical, like Thaddeus Stevens, as he would later write, hoped that the slaves would be “incited to insurrection and give the rebels a taste of real civil war.”
While the radicals wanted squads of Federal cavalry to raid into the South, distributing the Proclamation and guns to the slaves, the less radical Republicans were worried that such a thing might just happen. The “problem” was the promise to “recognize and maintain the freedom” of the slaves. Recognizing was one thing, but just what was this maintaining business?
A friend of Sumner’s wrote that he was frightened that the abolitionists literally meant for the slaves to “be made free by killing or poisoning their masters and mistresses.”
The following day, the Washingtonian pro-slavery advocate, (and aptly named) William Owner, wrote in his diary that the abolitionist and pro-Lincoln papers were only happy because they saw “the prospect that it will inaugurate a negro insurrection in the South.” He believed it to be little more than “a broad hint to the nigs to cut their masters throats, and those of the women and children.”
While the Republican State Convention in Lincoln’s Illinois fully endorsed the Proclamation, the largely Democratic press railed against the Rail Splitter. Papers from Chicago, Joliet, and even Springfield wrote bitterly of Lincoln’s pronouncement. The Macomb Eagle, however, spelled it out in plainer terms, predicting that Lincoln and his ilk “will go flaming with the grand object of hugging niggers to their bosoms,” adding in sarcastic closure, “Hoop de-dooden-do! The niggers are free!” [1]
[1] Sources: Lincoln’s Darkest Year by William Marvel; Lincoln and the Press by Robert S. Harper; Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation by Allen C. Guelzo; Abraham Lincoln and the Road to Emancipation by William Klingman; Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/northern-press-and-politicians-react-to-emancipation-proclamation/

Pictures: 1863-09 Wartime view of Chattanooga in 1863; 1863 USS Emma; 1863-09 to 10 Chattanooga and Vicinity, 1863 - Opening the Gateway map; 1863-09 Federal troops camped inside CHATTANOOGA after the battle

A. 1861: In Missouri, Maj Gen John Charles Fremont lost favor with many of his supporters. His orders had enraged half of Missouri, which included the emancipation of slaves and threats to confiscate the property of, and then execute Confederate sympathizers. Then, he got the Union supporters just as angry, by playing politics instead of going in support of the Irish Guard in Lexington. Today the St. Louis Evening News pointed out some of these facts to their readership. Fremont's response was to padlock the presses and have the editor thrown in jail.
B. 1862: USS Eugene attacked on the Mississippi River. The USS Eugene was traveling on the Mississippi River when it neared the town of Randolph in Tipton County near Randolph, Tennessee. Once there, Confederate troops fired on and attacked the ship. It managed to get away after suffering some damage. When the Union force nearby learned of the attack on the Eugene, Maj Gen William T Sherman ordered to destroy Randolph, leaving one house to mark the place" as punishment for “harboring rebels.”
C. 1863: Confederate Siege of Chattanooga. The Tennessee River walled the Federal forces in on the north, although a pontoon bridge and two ferries offered escape possibilities. Lookout Mountain blocked the way on the west, and Missionary Ridge to the east and south, now held by the Confederates, completed the circle. Maj Gen William Rosecrans informed President Lincoln that he could not hold Chattanooga unless he had more men. Lincoln, believing that Chattanooga had to be held, ordered that 20,000 extra men should be sent there and he ordered the 11th and 12th Corps to Stevenson, Alabama to relieve the Army of the Cumberland surrounded in Chattanooga.
D. 1864: Front Royal, Virginia. Confederate raider, Lt. Col. John S. Mosby and his 43rd Virginia Cavalry Battalion were terrorizing the Federals all throughout Maj. Gen. Phil Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign. Mosby's men were near Front Royal when they ran into a Union cavalry brigade. The two sides clashed with each other. The Federals managed to capture 6 Confederates and brought them to Front Royal. The Federals shot 2 men behind a Methodist church, 2 more were shot later, and the last 2 Confederates were strangled. They dead Confederates were left at Front Royal with a placard on one of the Confederates' chest that said, "Such is the fate of all Mosby's men." Mosby would soon learn that his 6 men were murdered by Sheridan's troops and immediately sought retribution.

FYI PV2 Larry Sellnow LTC Trent Klug SFC Ralph E Kelley PO3 Edward Riddle Maj William W. 'Bill' Price SSgt David M.] SPC Maurice Evans SPC Jon O. SPC Gary C. SGT Jim Arnold Amn Dale Preisach SSG Private RallyPoint Member LTC John Griscom LTC Thomas Tennant LTC David Brown Maj John Bell MAJ Private RallyPoint Member MAJ Private RallyPoint Member Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D.

Colonel John S. Mosby's Confederate Cavalry Rangers - A Civil War History
The 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, also known as Mosby's Rangers, Mosby's Raiders, or Mosby's Men, was a battalion of partisan cavalry in the Confederate army during the American Civil War. Noted for their lightning strike raids on Union targets and their ability to consistently elude pursuit, the Rangers disrupted Union communications and supply lines. By the summer of 1864, Mosby's battalion had grown to six cavalry companies and one artillery company, comprising about 400 men. The battalion never formally surrendered, but was disbanded on April 21, 1865 - after Lee’s Surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2PdsXT-4mg

Such is the Fate of All of Mosby’s Men

September 23, 1864 (Friday) Though Philip Sheridan’s Army of the Valley was undeniably the victor of the previous day’s battle at Fisher’s Hill, the dawn of this morning found him…

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Dec 7 at 2016 6:59 PM

2016-12-07T18:59:01-05:00

Regulars, guerillas, partisans, Indian uprisings and revenge of all sorts took place each week or month throughout the Civil War. Soldiers and civilians were killed or died of their wounds or disease while others recovered and children were born sometimes with fathers off engaged in fighting and other times by their wife’s side.
In 1862, battles were still being raged across the western and eastern lands as an “Indian uprising” was still simmering in the Dakota Territory, with fighting near Fort Abercrombie.
Wednesday, September 23, 1863: No Such Good Luck For General Meade. Hooker: Hey guys! I brought my own sword! “General George Meade arrived in Washington late the previous night. He had been called to the capital by General-in-Chief Henry Halleck, who made the matter seem rather casual. “The business,” wrote Halleck on the 22nd, “is not so pressing as to require your immediate presence if you are wanted there [with the Army of the Potomac].”
Meade had been trying to get someone in Washington to tell him what they wanted his army to do. Was he to attack Lee? Was he to stand still? He was told by Halleck to act in accordance to his own judgment on the matter, which helped him little.
So when he arrived in Washington, he figured he was there to discuss some forward movement. But by the morning of this date, Lincoln and Halleck had already been won over by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, who authored the plan to reinforce William Rosecrans’ Army of the Cumberland in Chattanooga, Tennessee with at least two corps from Meade’s Army of the Potomac.
Going into the meeting, Meade believed that he was about to be chastised for not attacking Lee. In a letter the following day (the 24th), he explains what actually happened.
“I told the President and General Halleck that if they thought I was too slow or prudent, to put some one else in my place. Halleck smiled very significantly, and said he had no doubt I would be rejoiced to be relieved, but there was no such good luck for me.”
Lincoln and Halleck went on to explain that since no offensive seemed to be in the works, the Army of the Potomac was now officially on the defensive. The problem was that it was simply too large a force for such a task, which is when Lincoln proposed to take a portion away from it. To this, Meade raised an understandable objection, giving reasons why it would be an incredibly bad idea.
To Meade, Lincoln seemed satisfied with his reasoning. Perhaps Meade believed that it was a thinly-veiled threat, an attempt to coax him into attacking Lee’s army, which had been weakened by the departure of James Longstreet’s troops.
The meeting broke up at 1pm, and Meade returned to his headquarters along the Rappahannock River and continued to plan some sort of offensive against General Lee. The message had been received, and soon a plan would be in place and his troops would begin moving.
After Meade left town, Secretary of War Stanton called together Secretaries Salmon Chase and William Seward, along with Halleck and Lincoln. It was a continuation of the meeting they had the previous day, but this time all were in agreement.
In the last meeting, Lincoln and Halleck were both against sending troops from Meade’s Army. Now, however, it was a different story. Both had talked to Meade and left the general believing that he had convinced them to let him keep his force in tact, and for the first part of the meeting, they lightly clung to that idea. Washington, after all, had to be protected. The meeting wore on past midnight before anyone came to any sort of agreement.
Finally, Lincoln relented, but only with some kind of compromise. He would allow Stanton to transfer two corps out of Meade’s ranks, but they would have to make do with the XI and XII Corps – the two smallest in the army, numbering around 11,500. Furthermore, they would both be under the command of General Joe Hooker, who had been summarily dismissed right before Gettysburg.
Hooker had gone to Baltimore after being dismissed. Following the battle, Lincoln asked Meade if he would take Hooker as a corps commander. Meade made it clear that he had no interest at all in such a venture. While Hooker languished in Baltimore, Washington tried to figure out what to do with him. Perhaps Fortress Monroe could use a new commander. Maybe the chaotic Department of Missouri would benefit from Hooker’s fine organizational skills. But now things seemed to be falling into place. Hooker could command the XI and XII Corps. Sure, nobody would really want him, but at least it would give him something to do.
And so it was decided. When the meeting broke up, well after midnight, Henry Halleck wired General Meade, who had himself just returned to his army. “Please answer if you have positively determined to make any immediate movement,” began Halleck. “If not, prepare the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps to be sent to Washington, as soon as cars can be sent to you.” The troops should have five days’ cooked provisions. Cars will probably be there by the morning of the 25th.”
Meade received it in the pre-dawn and would reply almost immediately.” [1]
[1] Sources: Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 29, Part 1, p146; Part 2, p220; The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade, Vol. 2; The Bristoe Campaign by Adrian Tighe; The Great Task Remaining by William Marvel; Fighting Joe Hooker by Walter H. Hebert.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/no-such-good-luck-for-general-meade/

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.
Monday, September 23, 1861: Journal of Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, "Crocker's Brigade," Sixth Division of the Seventeenth Corps, Army of the Tennessee. “The boys are beginning to enlist quite fast. A goodly number enrolled today, and we now have our company almost full. We drill twice a day. We drilled today in "double quick'' through the streets of Tipton.”
Tuesday, September 23, 1862: Journal of Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, "Crocker's Brigade," Sixth Division of the Seventeenth Corps, Army of the Tennessee. “We moved out of the old camp in the woods and went into bivouac in a large field. We are obliged to form a line of battle every morning at 2 o'clock and remain in line until after sunrise. A few of the rebel cavalry are still watching us in this vicinity. Our entire division is at this place, but it is thought that we shall soon leave for Corinth, as Iuka is not a very important point to hold, but Corinth, because of its two rail-road lines, is very important.”
Tuesday, September 23, 1862: Pres. Jefferson Davis of the Confederacy condemns in unrestrained terms the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation: that Lincoln’s idea would "debauch the inferior race by promising indulgence of the vilest passions” with what he calls “the most execrable measure recorded in the history of guilty man.” He authorizes capital punishment for Union officers captured while leading negro troops: “that they may be dealt with in accordance with the laws of those States, providing for the punishment of criminals engaged in exciting servile insurrections.
Tuesday, September 23, 1862: Union Army surgeon Alfred L. Casteman writes in his journal: “23rd.—Hung around, and did not get into motion till to 2 P. M. Marched four or five miles down the river and bivouaced. The pain in my finger grows more severe and extends to the scapula. It is a sickening pain and proves to be the result of a scratch by a spiculum of bone, whilst I was examining a gangrenous wound at Antietam (dissecting wound). I cannot say that I apprehend danger from it, but I wish it were well.”
Wednesday, September 23, 1863: Journal of Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, "Crocker's Brigade," Sixth Division of the Seventeenth Corps, Army of the Tennessee. “The weather is quite cool and the boys are beginning to fix up for winter by siding up the tents and building chimneys. There is some prospect of our brigade having to remain here for the winter. The Second Brigade of our division is still at Natchez. We are raising our tents and bunks about twenty-four inches from the ground. The openings around the tents we close up with boards torn from buildings, and having the wedge tent which accommodates four, we build our bunks for two men, one on either side, with the fireplace and chimney in the rear between the bunks. This makes a pretty good house for winter quarters.”
Wednesday, September 23, 1863: Gideon Welles muses on the current situation---that is, how Rosecrans is getting bottled up in Chattanooga, and Meade is not moving forward in Virginia, even though everyone knows that Lee is weakened to the tune of at least two of his best divisions---and how the General-in-Chief, Henry W. Halleck, appears to be doing nothing: “No offensive movements here; no assistance has been rendered Rosecrans. For four weeks the Rebels have been operating to overwhelm him, but not a move has been made, a step taken, or an order given, that I can learn. Halleck has done nothing, proposed nothing, and is now just beginning to take measures to reinforce Rosecrans. Has he the mind, energy, or any of the qualities or capabilities for the important position assigned him?”
Wednesday, September 23, 1863: In New York City, George Templeton Strong records his reactions to the news of Chickamauga: “News Monday night that Rosecrans had been badly defeated at “Chickamauga Creek,” if that’s its name, and had fallen back on Chattanooga, after a two-days’ battle. It looked like a grave disaster and perhaps it is, but later news looks better. He has certainly had a severe fight, suffered heavy loss, and encountered a serious check. But rebel dispatches speak in subdued tone. It was probably a desperate but decisive conflict, and every battle in which the rebels come short of complete victory is equivalent to a rebel defeat just now.”
Friday, September 23, 1864: Journal of Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, "Crocker's Brigade," Sixth Division of the Seventeenth Corps, Army of the Tennessee. “I helped to move the field hospital into town this morning. Most of the wounded able to go, have been sent home on thirty-day furloughs, and some of the sick will also go soon. There is no news from Grant's army. I received a letter this morning from Miss G . I received my knapsack and equipments and bidding good-by, left for Atlanta, Georgia. There was a squad of one hundred and seventy-five of us and we started at noon, going as far as Kingston, where we lay awaiting a train from the North. We left Kingston soon after dark.”

A. Monday, September 23, 1861: In Missouri, Maj Gen John Charles Fremont lost favor with many of his supporters. His orders had enraged half of Missouri, which included the emancipation of slaves and threats to confiscate the property of, and then execute Confederate sympathizers. Then, he got the Union supporters just as angry, by playing politics instead of going in support of the Irish Guard in Lexington. Today the St. Louis Evening News pointed out some of these facts to their readership. Fremont's response was to padlock the presses and have the editor thrown in jail.
B. Tuesday, September 23, 1862: USS Eugene attacked on the Mississippi River. The USS Eugene was traveling on the Mississippi River when it neared the town of Randolph in Tipton County near Randolph, Tennessee. Once there, Confederate troops fired on and attacked the ship. It managed to get away after suffering some damage. When the Union force nearby learned of the attack on the Eugene, Maj Gen William T Sherman ordered to destroy Randolph, leaving one house to mark the place" as punishment for “harboring rebels.”
C. Wednesday, September 23, 1863: Confederate siege of Chattanooga begins. “Following the Battle of Chickamauga, General George H. Thomas remained in position at Rossville throughout the September 21, 1863, but it was evident that the Confederates could turn his right flank and cut him off from Chattanooga. He suggested to Rosecrans that the Union Army concentrate at Chattanooga. In anticipation of receiving an order to withdraw to the town, Thomas instructed his officers to prepare their commands for the movement. Rosecrans adopted the suggestion and that evening Thomas withdrew the Union forces to Chattanooga. All wagons, ambulances, and surplus artillery had already departed for Chattanooga during the day. By morning of September 22, all Union troops were in position in the town.
The situation in which the men in blue found themselves in Chattanooga was not pleasant. The Tennessee River walled them in on the north, although a pontoon bridge and two ferries offered escape possibilities. Lookout Mountain blocked the way on the west, and Missionary Ridge to the east and south, now held by the Confederates, completed the circle.
Bragg issued orders for the pursuit of the Army of the Cumberland, then countermanded them. Instead, the Confederate troops began to take up siege positions around Chattanooga. In these positions, the Confederates dominated the Union lines. Braggs’ men controlled all the railroads leading into the town; Confederate batteries and sharpshooters commanded the Tennessee River, and river traffic ceased; they controlled the roads on the south side of the river and kept under fire the one road north of the river leading to Bridgeport, the nearest Union supply base. Only the road over Walden’s Ridge and down through Sequatchie Valley to Bridgeport was open to General Rosecrans.
Reinforcement for the Besieged Army.
As early as September 13, General in Chief Halleck ordered reinforcements sent to Rosecrans. His dispatches on September 13, 14, and 15 to Major General Hurlbut at Memphis and Grant and Sherman at Vicksburg directed the troop movements. These dispatches, however, were delayed for several days en route from Cairo to Memphis and, in the meantime, the Battle of Chickamauga was fought. Grant received the orders on the 22nd and immediately instructed four divisions under Sherman to march to Chattanooga.
One division of the Seventeenth Corps, already in transit from Vicksburg to Helena, Ark., was ordered to proceed on to Memphis. General Sherman quickly brought three divisions of his Fifteenth Army Corps from the vicinity of the Big Black River in Vicksburg, where they embarked as fast as water transportation could be provided. By October 3, all of the movement of 17,000 men was under way.
The route of travel was by boat to Memphis, then by railroad and overland marches to Chattanooga. From Memphis, the troops followed closely the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, which Sherman was ordered to repair as he advanced. By November 15, the troops were at Bridgeport, Ala., having traveled a distance of 675 miles.
When the War Department in Washington received word that the Army of Cumberland was besieged in Chattanooga, it considered the situation so critical that President Lincoln was called out of bed late at night to attend a council meeting. This meeting occurred on the night of September 23, and is described by Nicolay and Hay: “ Immediately on receipt of Rosecrans’ dispatch, Mr. Stanton sent one of the president’s secretaries who was standing by to the Soldier’s home, where the President was sleeping. A little startled by the unwonted summons --for this was “the first time” he said, Stanton had ever sent for Him, -- the President mounted his horse and rode in through the moonlight to the War Department to preside over an improvised council to consider the subject of reinforcing Rosecrans. There were present General Halleck, Stanton, Seward and Chase of the Cabinet; P. H. Watson and James A. Hardie of the War Department, and General D. C. McCallum, Superintendent of Military Transportation. After a brief debate, it was resolved to detach the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps from the Army of the Potomac. General Hooker to be placed in command of both . . .”
The movement of the Eleventh and Twelfth Army Corps from the Army of the Potomac to Tennessee eclipsed all other such troop movements by rail up to that time. It represented a high degree of cooperation between the railroads and the government and was a singular triumph of skill and planning. It also shows the great importance the War Department attached to the Chattanooga campaign.
The troops began to entrain at Manassas Junction and Bealton Station, VA., on September 25, and 5 days later on September 30 the first trains arrived at Bridgeport, Ala. The route traveled was by way of Washington, D. C.; Baltimore, Md,; Bellaire and Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis, Ind.; Louisville, Ky,; Nashville, Tenn,; and Bridgeport, Ala. Several major railroad lines, including the Baltimore and Ohio, Central Ohio, Louisville and Nashville and Nashville and Chattanooga were involved.
Not all troops, however, made such good time as the first trains, and for the majority of the infantry the trip consumed about 9 days. The movement of the artillery, horses, mules, baggage, and impedimenta was somewhat slower, but by the middle of October, all were in the vicinity of Bridgeport ready to help break the siege.
D. Friday, September 23, 1864: Front Royal, Virginia - Infamous Confederate raider, Lt. Col. John S. Mosby and his 43rd Virginia Cavalry Battalion were terrorizing the Federals all throughout Maj. Gen. Phil Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had ordered Sheridan to "hang without trial" any of Mosby's men who might be captured.
On September 23, Mosby's men were near Front Royal when they ran into a Union cavalry brigade. The two sides clashed with each other. The Federals managed to capture 6 Confederates and brought them to Front Royal. The Federals shot 2 men behind a Methodist church, 2 more were shot later, and the last 2 Confederates were strangled. They dead Confederates were left at Front Royal with a placard on one of the Confederates' chest that said, "Such is the fate of all Mosby's men."
Mosby would soon learn that his 6 men were murdered by Sheridan's troops and immediately sought retribution.

Pictures: 1864-04 Capt. John Jackson Dickison confederates attack USS Columbine on St John's River, Florida; Mosby (Paul Strain); 1865-Cartoon_Mosby-Wheeler-Forrest Old Glory at the Crossroads by Rick Fletcher Reading Eagle_May21965; 1864-09-24 Mosby's Men Monument

1. Wednesday, September 23, 1857: Raid on federal artillery and infantry at Pacific Springs in the Utah War.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/date/September_23
2. Tuesday, September 23, 1862: Battles are still being raged across our land with an “Indian uprising” was still simmering in the Dakota Territory, with fighting near Fort Abercrombie.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-b/part-seventy-six
3. Tuesday, September 23, 1862: On the Ohio River. the steamer Emma was plundered by guerilla forces at Foster’s Landing.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-b/part-seventy-six
4. Tuesday, September 23, 1862: Pres. Lincoln is alternately praised and attacked in the northern Press for the Emancipation Proclamation. But the Washington Evening Star pronounces it “void of practical effect.” Similarly, many Radical Republicans criticize it for not freeing a single slave. Although some Radicals, such as Sen. Charles Sumner, greet its advent by saying that “the skies are brighter and the air is purer, now that slavery has been handed over to judgment.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=September+23%2C+1862
5. Tuesday, September 23, 1862: Pres. Jefferson Davis of the Confederacy condemns in unrestrained terms the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation: that Lincoln’s idea would "debauch the inferior race by promising indulgence of the vilest passions” with what he calls “the most execrable measure recorded in the history of guilty man.” He authorizes capital punishment for Union officers captured while leading negro troops: “that they may be dealt with in accordance with the laws of those States, providing for the punishment of criminals engaged in exciting servile insurrections.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=September+23%2C+1862
6. Tuesday, September 23, 1862: Union Army surgeon Alfred L. Casteman writes in his journal: “23rd.—Hung around, and did not get into motion till to 2 P. M. Marched four or five miles down the river and bivouaced. The pain in my finger grows more severe and extends to the scapula. It is a sickening pain and proves to be the result of a scratch by a spiculum of bone, whilst I was examining a gangrenous wound at Antietam (dissecting wound). I cannot say that I apprehend danger from it, but I wish it were well.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=September+23%2C+1862
7. Tuesday, September 23, 1862: Lincoln's Emancipation is published in Northern Newspapers.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-b/part-seventy-six
8. Tuesday, September 23, 1862: Newspapers in the North print the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186209
9. Wednesday, September 23, 1863: Gideon Welles muses on the current situation---that is, how Rosecrans is getting bottled up in Chattanooga, and Meade is not moving forward in Virginia, even though everyone knows that Lee is weakened to the tune of at least two of his best divisions---and how the General-in-Chief, Henry W. Halleck, appears to be doing nothing: “No offensive movements here; no assistance has been rendered Rosecrans. For four weeks the Rebels have been operating to overwhelm him, but not a move has been made, a step taken, or an order given, that I can learn. Halleck has done nothing, proposed nothing, and is now just beginning to take measures to reinforce Rosecrans. Has he the mind, energy, or any of the qualities or capabilities for the important position assigned him?”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=September+23%2C+1863
10. Wednesday, September 23, 1863: In New York City, George Templeton Strong records his reactions to the news of Chickamauga: “News Monday night that Rosecrans had been badly defeated at “Chickamauga Creek,” if that’s its name, and had fallen back on Chattanooga, after a two-days’ battle. It looked like a grave disaster and perhaps it is, but later news looks better. He has certainly had a severe fight, suffered heavy loss, and encountered a serious check. But rebel dispatches speak in subdued tone. It was probably a desperate but decisive conflict, and every battle in which the rebels come short of complete victory is equivalent to a rebel defeat just now.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=September+23%2C+1863
11. When the War Department in Washington received word that the Army of Cumberland was besieged in Chattanooga, it considered the situation so critical that President Lincoln was called out of bed late at night to attend a council meeting. This meeting occurred on the night of September 23, and is described by Nicolay and Hay: “ Immediately on receipt of Rosecrans’ dispatch, Mr. Stanton sent one of the president’s secretaries who was standing by to the Soldier’s home, where the President was sleeping. A little startled by the unwonted summons --for this was “the first time” he said, Stanton had ever sent for Him, -- the President mounted his horse and rode in through the moonlight to the War Department to preside over an improvised council to consider the subject of reinforcing Rosecrans. There were present General Halleck, Stanton, Seward and Chase of the Cabinet; P. H. Watson and James A. Hardie of the War Department, and General D. C. McCallum, Superintendent of Military Transportation. After a brief debate, it was resolved to detach the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps from the Army of the Potomac. General Hooker to be placed in command of both . . .”
http://www.hctgs.org/Military/siege_of_chattanooga.htm
12. Friday, September 23, 1864: General Early’s (CSA) weakened army embarked on a rapid withdrawal. They were not vigorously pursued.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/1864/week-180
13. Friday, September 23, 1864: To please Radical Republicans before the Election of 1864, Lincoln asks Montgomery Blair to resign as Postmaster General, which he does later in the day.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186409
14. Friday, September 23, 1864: To please Radical Republicans before the Election of 1864, Lincoln asks Montgomery Blair to resign as Postmaster General, which he does later in the day. Blair was also a leader of the moderate faction of the Democratic Party, which made him very awkward to have around for the Radical Republican Party and to Lincoln’s campaign.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/1864/week-180

A Monday, September 23, 1861: In Missouri, John Charles Fremont (US) loses favor with many of his supporters. His orders had enraged half of Missouri, which included the emancipation of slaves and threats to confiscate the property of, and then execute Confederate sympathizers. Then, he got the Union supporters just as angry, by playing politics instead of going in support of the Irish Guard in Lexington. Today the St. Louis Evening News pointed out some of these facts to their readership. Fremont's response was to padlock the presses and have the editor thrown in jail.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-a/part-twenty-four
B Tuesday, September 23, 1862: And on the Mississippi River, the ship Eugene was attacked in Tipton County, near Randolph, Tennessee. The ship was able to escape with minimal damage, but Union troops burned much of the town of Randolph as punishment for “harboring rebels.” General Sherman (US) ordered to "destroy the place, leaving one house to mark the place". And more skirmish at Wolf Creek Bridge, near Memphis, Tenn.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-b/part-seventy-six
B+ Tuesday, September 23, 1862: Randolph, Tennessee - On September 23, the USS Eugene was traveling on the Mississippi River when it neared the town of Randolph. Once there, Confederate troops fired on and attacked the ship. It managed to get away after suffering some damage.
When the Union force nearby learned of Eugene's attack, they went to Randolph and took revenge by burning the town.
http://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/1862s.html
C Wednesday, September 23, 1863: Confederate siege of Chattanooga begins. General Rosecrans (US) informed President Lincoln that he could not hold Chattanooga unless he had more men. Lincoln, believing that Chattanooga had to be held, ordered that 20,000 extra men should be sent there.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-c/week-128
C+ Wednesday, September 23, 1863: Battle for Chattanooga. President Lincoln orders the 11th and 12th Corps to Stevenson, Alabama to relieve the Army of the Cumberland surrounded in Chattanooga.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186309
C++ Wednesday, September 23, 1863: The Siege of Chattanooga. “Following the Battle of Chickamauga, General George H. Thomas remained in position at Rossville throughout the September 21, 1863, but it was evident that the Confederates could turn his right flank and cut him off from Chattanooga. He suggested to Rosecrans that the Union Army concentrate at Chattanooga. In anticipation of receiving an order to withdraw to the town, Thomas instructed his officers to prepare their commands for the movement. Rosecrans adopted the suggestion and that evening Thomas withdrew the Union forces to Chattanooga. All wagons, ambulances, and surplus artillery had already departed for Chattanooga during the day. By morning of September 22, all Union troops were in position in the town.
The situation in which the men in blue found themselves in Chattanooga was not pleasant. The Tennessee River walled them in on the north, although a pontoon bridge and two ferries offered escape possibilities. Lookout Mountain blocked the way on the west, and Missionary Ridge to the east and south, now held by the Confederates, completed the circle.
Bragg issued orders for the pursuit of the Army of the Cumberland, then countermanded them. Instead, the Confederate troops began to take up siege positions around Chattanooga. In these positions, the Confederates dominated the Union lines. Braggs’ men controlled all the railroads leading into the town; Confederate batteries and sharpshooters commanded the Tennessee River, and river traffic ceased; they controlled the roads on the south side of the river and kept under fire the one road north of the river leading to Bridgeport, the nearest Union supply base. Only the road over Walden’s Ridge and down through Sequatchie Valley to Bridgeport was open to General Rosecrans.
Reinforcement for the Besieged Army.
As early as September 13, General in Chief Halleck ordered reinforcements sent to Rosecrans. His dispatches on September 13, 14, and 15 to Major General Hurlbut at Memphis and Grant and Sherman at Vicksburg directed the troop movements. These dispatches, however, were delayed for several days en route from Cairo to Memphis and, in the meantime, the Battle of Chickamauga was fought. Grant received the orders on the 22nd and immediately instructed four divisions under Sherman to march to Chattanooga.
One division of the Seventeenth Corps, already in transit from Vicksburg to Helena, Ark., was ordered to proceed on to Memphis. General Sherman quickly brought three divisions of his Fifteenth Army Corps from the vicinity of the Big Black River in Vicksburg, where they embarked as fast as water transportation could be provided. By October 3, all of the movement of 17,000 men was under way.
The route of travel was by boat to Memphis, then by railroad and overland marches to Chattanooga. From Memphis, the troops followed closely the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, which Sherman was ordered to repair as he advanced. By November 15, the troops were at Bridgeport, Ala., having traveled a distance of 675 miles.
When the War Department in Washington received word that the Army of Cumberland was besieged in Chattanooga, it considered the situation so critical that President Lincoln was called out of bed late at night to attend a council meeting. This meeting occurred on the night of September 23, and is described by Nicolay and Hay: “ Immediately on receipt of Rosecrans’ dispatch, Mr. Stanton sent one of the president’s secretaries who was standing by to the Soldier’s home, where the President was sleeping. A little startled by the unwonted summons --for this was “the first time” he said, Stanton had ever sent for Him, -- the President mounted his horse and rode in through the moonlight to the War Department to preside over an improvised council to consider the subject of reinforcing Rosecrans. There were present General Halleck, Stanton, Seward and Chase of the Cabinet; P. H. Watson and James A. Hardie of the War Department, and General D. C. McCallum, Superintendent of Military Transportation. After a brief debate, it was resolved to detach the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps from the Army of the Potomac. General Hooker to be placed in command of both . . .”
The movement of the Eleventh and Twelfth Army Corps from the Army of the Potomac to Tennessee eclipsed all other such troop movements by rail up to that time. It represented a high degree of cooperation between the railroads and the government and was a singular triumph of skill and planning. It also shows the great importance the War Department attached to the Chattanooga campaign.
The troops began to entrain at Manassas Junction and Bealton Station, VA., on September 25, and 5 days later on September 30 the first trains arrived at Bridgeport, Ala. The route traveled was by way of Washington, D. C.; Baltimore, Md,; Bellaire and Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis, Ind.; Louisville, Ky,; Nashville, Tenn,; and Bridgeport, Ala. Several major railroad lines, including the Baltimore and Ohio, Central Ohio, Louisville and Nashville and Nashville and Chattanooga were involved.
Not all troops, however, made such good time as the first trains, and for the majority of the infantry the trip consumed about 9 days. The movement of the artillery, horses, mules, baggage, and impedimenta was somewhat slower, but by the middle of October, all were in the vicinity of Bridgeport ready to help break the siege.
These two corps under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, comprising 20,000 troops and more than 3,000 horses and mules, traveled 1,157 miles. Differences in the railroad gauges hampered the movement, but most of the changes in gauge occurred at river crossings, which had no bridges, and the troops had to detrain at these points anyway.
Confederate cavalry raids, bent on destroying the railroad bridges and otherwise interfering with the reinforcing effort, imposed a more serious difficulty, but, except for the delaying the latter part of the movement a few days, the raids were ineffective.
At the beginning of the siege, the Union Army had large supply trains in good condition and transporting supplies seemed feasible. But early in October, rain began to fall and the roads became almost impassable. To make the situation more critical Bragg sent Wheeler to harass and destroy the Union supply trains as they moved over Walden’s Ridge on their trips to and from Bridgeport. Wheeler destroyed hundreds of wagons and animals and it was not long before the Union soldier received less and less food. Wagon horses and mules and artillery horses were on a starvation diet and many died each day.
Command of the two hostile armies had undergone a considerable change during the siege period. Grant received orders to meet “an officer of the “War Department” at Louisville, Ky. He proceeded by rail to Indianapolis Ind., and just as his train left the depot there en route to Louisville, it was stopped. A message informed Grant that Secretary of War Stanton was coming into the station and wished to see him. This was the “officer” from the War Department who gave Grant command of the newly organized Military Division of the Mississippi. Thomas replaced Rosecrans. McCook and Crittenden had previously been relieved of their commands and their corps consolidated into the Fourth Corps under command of Granger. Stanton accompanied Grant to Louisville and there the two spent a day reviewing the situation.
In Bragg’s camp, Polk was relieved of his command, and Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee rejoined the army. Bragg’s army was reorganized into three corps commanded by Longstreet, Hardee, and Breckinridge.
When Grant reached Chattanooga on October 23, he found a plan already drawn up to open a new supply line for the besieged army. This plan of necessity was conditioned upon the terrain and the configuration of the river between Bridgeport, the railhead, and base of supplies for the Union Army, and Chattanooga. (After the Tennessee River passes the city, it flows southward for some 2 miles until it strikes Lookout Mountain where, after a short westerly course, it curves northward. This elongated loop of the river is called Moccasin Bend.)
The plan called for 1,500 men on pontoons to float down the river from Chattanooga during the night of October 26-27 while another force-marched across Moccasin Point to support the landings of the river borne troops. Grant ordered the plan executed. The pontoon-borne troops quickly disembarked upon striking the west bank at Brown’s Ferry, drove off the Confederate pickets, and threw up breastworks. The troops marching across the neck of land came up to the east side of the ferry, joined this group, and constructed a pontoon bridge.
Hooker’s advance from Bridgeport coincided with this action. He marched by the road along Raccoon Mountain into Lookout Valley. There he met the advance post of a Confederate brigade and drove it back. Maj. Gen. O. O. Howard’s Eleventh Corps moved to within 2 miles of Brown’s Ferry, while Brig. Gen. John W. Geary of the Twelfth Corps remained at Wauhatchie to guard the road to Kelley’s Ferry.
The Confederates made a night attack against Geary, which the latter repulsed, but both sides lost heavily. After this action, the short line of communication with Bridgeport by way of Brown’s and Kelley’s Ferries was held by Hooker without further trouble.
With the successful seizure of Brown’s Ferry and construction of a pontoon bridge across the Tennessee River there, and Hooker’s equally successful advance from Bridgeport and seizure of the south side of the river at Raccoon Mountain and in Lookout Valley, the way was finally clear for the Union Army to reopen a short line of supply and communication between Chattanooga and Bridgeport, the rail end of it’s supply line. This “Cracker Line” ran by boat up the Tennessee River from Bridgeport to Kelley’s Ferry. Above Kelley’s Ferry the swift current made the stream unnavigable at certain points to boats then available. Accordingly, at Kelley’s Ferry, the “cracker line” left the river and crossed Raccoon Mountain by road to Brown’s Ferry. There it crossed the river on the pontoon bridge, thence across Moccasin Point, and finally across the river once more into Chattanooga.
Early in November, Bragg ordered Longstreet to march against Burnside in East Tennessee with Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaw’s and Maj. Gen. John B. Hood’s Divisions of Infantry. Col E. Porter Alexander’s and Maj. A. Leyden’s battalions of artillery, and five brigades of cavalry under Maj. Gen Joseph Wheeler—about 15,000 men in all. This movement caused great anxiety in Washington and the authorities urged Grant to act promptly to assist Burnside. Grant felt that the quickest way to aid him was to attack Bragg and force the latter to recall Longstreet. On November 7, Thomas received Grant’s order to attack Bragg’s right. Thomas replied that he was unable to move a single piece of artillery because of the poor condition of the horses and mules. They were not strong enough to pull artillery pieces. In these circumstances, Grant could only answer Washington dispatches, urge Sherman forward, and encourage Burnside to hold on.”
http://www.hctgs.org/Military/siege_of_chattanooga.htm
Wednesday, September 23, 1863: Colonel Henry Sibley defeats the Sioux at Wood Lake, ending the Great Sioux Uprising.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186309
Friday, September 23, 1864: Athens, Alabama - A Confederate raid had been ordered by President Jefferson Davis and Lt. Gen. John B. Hood. The purpose was to enter northern Alabama and middle Tennessee and disrupt the Union operations. Maj. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest was to lead this raid. The purpose was to harass Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's supply line during his Atlanta Campaign.
On September 23, Forrest and his men entered Athens, surprising the local Union garrison. They managed to capture about 600 Federals.
http://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/1864s.html
D Friday, September 23, 1864: Front Royal, Virginia - Infamous Confederate raider, Lt. Col. John S. Mosby and his 43rd Virginia Cavalry Battalion were terrorizing the Federals all throughout Maj. Gen. Phil Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had ordered Sheridan to "hang without trial" any of Mosby's men who might be captured.
On September 23, Mosby's men were near Front Royal when they ran into a Union cavalry brigade. The two sides clashed with each other. The Federals managed to capture 6 Confederates and brought them to Front Royal. The Federals shot 2 men behind a Methodist church, 2 more were shot later, and the last 2 Confederates were strangled. They dead Confederates were left at Front Royal with a placard on one of the Confederates' chest that said, "Such is the fate of all Mosby's men."
Mosby would soon learn that his 6 men were murdered by Sheridan's troops and immediately sought retribution. This was part of Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign
http://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/1864s.html
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

No Such Good Luck for General Meade

September 23, 1863 (Wednesday) General George Meade arrived in Washington late the previous night. He had been called to the capital by General-in-Chief Henry Halleck, who made the matter seem rath…

Response by SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL made Dec 7 at 2016 7:08 PM

2016-12-07T19:08:35-05:00

LTC Stephen F. a solid/read and share I chose: 1863: Confederate Siege of Chattanooga. The Tennessee River walled the Federal forces in on the north, although a pontoon bridge and two ferries offered escape possibilities. Lookout Mountain blocked the way on the west, and Missionary Ridge to the east
Very strategic to escape and evade!

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Dec 8 at 2016 6:50 AM

2016-12-08T06:50:52-05:00

Superb history share, thank you.

Response by SP5 Mark Kuzinski made Dec 8 at 2016 7:08 AM

2016-12-08T07:08:53-05:00

Good morning and thanks for the morning read.