What was the most significant event on September 6 during the U.S. Civil War?

LTC Stephen F. — Sat, 22 Oct 2016 18:49:17 -0400

Even though the Confederacy had the advantage of internal lines of communication, many within the leadership wanted to take the war to the northern states. Many sought to inflict revenge while others were focused on drawing forces away from the south to defend the north – following the military adage - the best defense is a good offense. In 1862, Robert E. Lee invaded Maryland which was a slave state in part because he hoped of turning the state towards the Confederacy which would mean that Washington, DC would made vulnerable from all sides.
In 1861, in his first Civil War campaign, Brig Gen Ulysses S. Grant took Paducah, Kentucky unopposed.
In 1862, CSA General made his first foray into the northern states with the Army of Northern Virginia as they crossed the Potomac into Maryland and made their way through Frederick on the way to Antietam.
In 1863, CSA Brig Gen Lucius M. Walker felt that he had been unjustly accused of cowardice in the Battle at Reed’s Bridge, Arkansas. He challenged CSA Brig. Gen John S. Marmaduke to a formal duel. At dawn, both fired and missed. Marmaduke then re-cocked and fired a second time, mortally wounding Walker in the right side, just above the beltline. Walker forgave Marmaduke when the latter offered his assistance.
In 1864, Maj Gen William T. Sherman recognized the Atlanta campaign was at an end. He gave orders which allowed his forces to rest and be refitted before continuing on. Sherman ordered the Army of the Cumberland to Atlanta proper, while the Army of Tennessee was to hold the railroad junction of East Point, south of the city. The Army of the Ohio was to garrison Decatur.
Brig Gen Ulysses S. Grant took Paducah, Kentucky unopposed in 1861: Brig Gen Ulysses S. Grant had heard, through a spy, that Confederates under General Pillow were advancing from Columbus, Kentucky to Paducah, a strategic town on the Ohio River. If the Rebels seized the town, it would be their first foothold on land bordering Illinois.
From his headquarters at Cairo, IL, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, Grant resolved to capture Paducah first. The previous day he had planned it and late that night, he, along with two regiments of infantry and a battery of artillery was aboard five ships (two gunboats and three steamers). By 8:30am, the Union force arrived at the docks off Paducah.
The town was clearly awash in secessionist sentiment. Confederate flags flew over the buildings and the streets were buzzing with news of 3,600 Rebel soldiers, sixteen miles away, marching from Columbus. As Grant’s force was preparing to disembark, a local Rebel Brigadier-General and a company of militia, knowing they were greatly outnumbered, boarded a train, taking all of the rolling stock with them.
Though Grant believed that General Pillow’s men were en route to Paducah, it was not actually the case. No Confederate troops had left Columbus. Nevertheless, rumors of such a march gave let for the Federals to occupy an even more strategic town than Columbus. Paducah not only covered the Ohio River, it was near the mouth of the Tennessee River. Control of the Tennessee meant control of the center of Kentucky.
Even before Grant landed, the Rebel flags had disappeared. He ordered United States flags to be run up in their stead. In town, he found enough Confederate rations to feed his troops, and took control of the railroad and the telegraph office. During his short stay, he composed and had printed a “Proclamation, To The Citizens of Paducah!”
“I have come among you, not as an enemy,” began General Grant, “but as your friend and fellow-citizen, not to injure or annoy you, but to respect the rights, and to defend and enforce the rights of all loyal citizens.” The Confederates, “an enemy, in rebellion against our common Government,” had invaded Kentucky and were “moving upon your city.”
Grant was there to “defend you against this enemy… and maintain the authority and sovereignty of your Government and mine.”
After issuing the proclamation, Grant returned to Cairo where he found Fremont’s order, written in Hungarian, to invade Paducah. General Eleazer A. Paine was appointed commander of the two regiments already in the town and another on the way. Grant ordered Paine to take “special care and precaution that no harm is done to inoffensive citizens.” The plundering of private property was also explicitly prohibited. However, Grant also ordered Pained to seize all of the money in the banks and place it aboard one of the gunboats for safe keeping if an enemy attack was thought imminent.”
http://civilwardailygazette.com/grant-takes-paducah-floyd-and-wise-continue/
Maj Gen George B. McClellan Reorganized the Army of the Potomac while Maj Gen John Pope was exiled to Minnesota in 1862: “With the Rebels crossing the Potomac about twenty miles upstream from Washington, even General George B. McClellan knew something had to be done. With General-in-Chief Henry Halleck urging him to move as quickly as possible, McClellan did what came naturally to him: organizing.
The Armies of the Potomac and Virginia had been mashed together as John Pope retreated back to Washington following the debacle of Second Manassas. Even before he was officially relieved of command, McClellan began the task of putting together a new Army of the Potomac; a fine fighting outfit comprised of units picked by the General himself.
The corps and divisions chosen by McClellan were enlarged, bringing the army’s total to 85,000 men in five corps. Only six of the sixteen divisions were with him on the Virginia Peninsula. The rest came from operations in Western Virginia, the coast of North Carolina, and Pope’s Army of Virginia.
To defend Washington, he left 72,500 men – more than adequate for the task. He seemed to have learned some very valuable lessons since his excursion to the Peninsula.
McClellan also wanted the charges against Generals Porter, Franklin, and Griffin to be suspended. All three were accused of disobeying John Pope’s orders during the battle of Second Manassas. In fact, one of the main reasons Pope was given for his dismissal from command was so he could testify against the three questionable Generals.
McClellan wrote to both Lincoln and Halleck, in hopes of getting his way, that the charges against them be “suspended until I have got through with the present crisis.” He had already passed this by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. Lincoln handed off the decision to Halleck, who allowed Porter, Franklin and Griffin to resume their old commands.
The release of these three Generals left Washington without a reason to keep General John Pope around. In the Cabinet meeting, Lincoln spoke highly of him. Pope was brave, said Lincoln, patriotic. He had done his duty. The problem wasn’t Pope, resolved the President, but “army prejudice against him.” It was because of this that he had to leave.
Out in the West, the Dakota Sioux Uprisings weren’t going away. Governors from Wisconsin and Minnesota were both urging Washington to send back the troops they had given to the armies in the east. What the situation needed was a fine general. And here was John Pope, with a calendar as wide open as the West itself. “You will receive herewith an order of this Department constituting you commander of the Department of the Northwest,” came the orders from Secretary of War Stanton. Pope was to leave immediately and establish his headquarters at St. Paul, Minnesota. Stanton wanted him to “take such prompt and vigorous measures as shall quell the hostilities and afford peace, security, and protection to the people against Indian hostilities.”
The wording of the order gushed praise and admiration. Stanton opined that the situation required “the attention of some military officer of high rank, in whose ability and vigor the Government has confidence.”
But Pope could easily see through Stanton’s inane platitudes. He was being exiled to the West. That evening, he retired to Willard’s Hotel to drown his grief. He would leave for St. Paul three days later.
While Pope packed his bags, McClellan shifted his new Army of the Potomac to the northern defenses of Washington. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was almost entirely on the northern side of the Potomac River, establishing itself in Frederick. Presently, their line formed along the banks of the Monocacy River. Aside from some cavalry, they had no brushes at all with the Federal forces.”
http://civilwardailygazette.com/mcclellan-reorganizes-while-pope-exiled-to-the-west/

Pictures: 1862 ca_Battery_of_Light_Artillery_en_Route_Wm_T_Trego_1882; 1862-09 Army blacksmith and forge, Antietam, Md.; 1862-09-06 Antietam Campaign Map; 1862-09-06 Battery Wagner, Charleston

A. 1861: Brig Gen U.S. Grant’s federal forces captured Paducah, Kentucky unopposed and no bloodshed. This town gave the Union a large measure of control over the river systems that were vital to the region.
B. 1862: Antietam Campaign. CSA Gen Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia entered Frederick, Maryland after crossing the Potomac River. As Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia invades Maryland, they have several political and military goals. The hope is that a Southern victory on Northern soil---and even threatening an industrial center such as Baltimore or Washington---would demonstrate the viability of the Confederacy, at the tail of a string of impressive victories, and perhaps prompt one of the European powers to weigh in with an alliance and a call for a mentored peace process. Lee and Pres. Davis also see that taking the war to the North will give Virginia a rest right at harvest time from the famished hordes of three armies. Lee also hopes that such an invasion and a convincing battlefield victory for the South would sway Maryland, a slave state, to join the Confederate cause, and allow recruiting as well as isolate Washington.
C. 1863: Siege of Charleston Harbor: Knowing that they would not be able to withstand a Federal assault, General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, commander of the Confederate defenses around Charleston, realized that the situation at Battery Wagner and nearby Battery Greg were hopeless. He ordered the two forts and Morris Island evacuated after a 59-day siege. It is done overnight.
CSA Col. Lawrence Keitt, commander at Fort Wagner, lost 100 men to the heavy Federal bombardment on Sept. 5. With the concurrence of Gen. Beauregard’s headquarters, Keitt and his troops abandoned Fort Wagner and Battery Gregg after dark. The next day, Union troops enter the fortifications only to find that their quarry has fled.
D. 1864: Maj Gen William T. Sherman concentrates his Armies in defensive positions around Atlanta and Decatur, Georgia to allow them to rest and be refitted before conducting further offensive operations. Sherman ordered the Army of the Cumberland to Atlanta proper, while the Army of Tennessee was to hold the railroad junction of East Point, south of the city. The Army of the Ohio was to garrison Decatur. CSA Gen John Bell Hood focused on keeping the 40,000 or so Federal prisoners in Andersonville, GA from being freed by Federal cavalry.

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

Grant Takes Paducah; Floyd and Wise Continue

Friday, September 6, 1861 General Ulysses S. Grant had heard, through a spy, that Confederates under General Pillow were advancing from Columbus, Kentucky to Paducah, a strategic town on the Ohio R…

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Oct 22 at 2016 6:53 PM

LTC Stephen F. — Sat, 22 Oct 2016 18:53:09 -0400

In 1864 after the fall of Atlanta, CSA Gen Braxton Bragg was concerned that William T. Sherman’s forces would free the prisoners at Andersonville, Georgia POW camp. He recognized that the 40,000 or so Federal prisoners could be an additional Army for the North and he did his best to prevent that from happening – even while those prisoners suffered because of poor facilities which were overcrowded and underfunded.
In 1862, Col. William Quantrill and his Confederate guerilla force entered the town of Olathe, Kansas at dawn. They surprised the 125-man Union garrison and captured them all. The town was looted and the community newspaper, the Mirror, was destroyed and murdered several civilians in the process. The Union soldiers were quickly paroled as the Confederates left town.
In 1863, CS General P. G. T. Beauregard ordered Forts/Batteries Gregg and Wagner and Morris Island evacuated. “Since resuming their push towards Batteries Wagner and Gregg, the Federal troops had gotten to within earshot of the Rebel forts on Morris Island, guarding the way to Charleston Harbor. They had dug their trenches, and crept ever closer to the besieged works. Fearing the inevitable, Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard, commander of the Southern troops at Charleston, had begun slipping his men off the island on the 2nd. It wasn’t a general withdrawal, he was merely trying to limit casualties. If the batteries were taken, he would lose men to not only bullets, but the white flag as well.
The Federal Navy had been continuously bombarding Wagner and Gregg for days now. And for days, it was clear that something big was in the planning. The Union troops under General Quincy Gillmore had twice assaulted Wagner, and had twice been defeated. Now, however, if they tried a third attack, it might well end differently.
It was true, General Gillmore had been planning a third assault, not only against Wagner, but against Battery Gregg, a mile to the north, as well. He hoped that on September 4th, a strong bombardment would send the Rebels running for cover and allow his trenches to be dug right up to the moat at Wagner. As for Gregg, he wanted to land troops to cut off the garrison from receiving any reinforcements. It was a good enough plan, but required the Navy to place one of its ironclads in a fairly precarious spot. Admiral John Dahlgren declined the offer, and so Gillmore gave up on Wagner, deciding to focus on Gregg instead.
This attempt, late on the night of the 4th, failed when the Federals stumbled upon an unsuspected Rebel craft. The attack was postponed to the following day, when all of Gillmore’s artillery pounded away at both Wagner and Gregg. Soon, the play was joined by the USS New Ironsides and an ironclad monitor here and there. Meanwhile, the trenches drew ever closer to Wagner, and the attack on both was scheduled for the 6th.
It wasn’t just the flurry of activity that tipped the Rebels off to a probable Federal assault. A message written by General Gillmore to Admiral Dahlgren was intercepted on the 5th. The dispatch concerned the assault upon Battery Gregg. Immediately, Col. Lawrence Keitt, Confederate commander on Morris Island, sent a full regiment and some artillery from Wagner to Gregg. The attack never materialized, though one was still in the planning.
Gillmore was determined to hit Wagner on September 7th, and spent all of this date (the 6th) readying his troops. Meanwhile, the Confederate officers in Charleston were preparing to order Col. Keitt to fully evacuate Morris Island. They reached a decision on the 4th, but never bothered to tell Keitt, who continued to do the best he could with his dwindling garrisons.
By the time he read the intercepted message, he knew Wagner and Gregg were destined to fall. His men could no longer fight back. The bombardment was so heavy that it all but ignored any resistance put forward by the Rebels. Col. Keitt lost around 100 men on the 5th and was wondering what, if any, plans General Beauregard had for Morris Island.
“The whole fort is much weakened,” he wrote on the 5th. “A repetition tomorrow of today’s fire will make the fort almost a ruin.” At a loss, he had to ask: “Is it desirable to sacrifice the garrison? To continue to hold it is to do so.”
The next day (that is to say, on this date), Keitt realized that the Federal trenches were so close that the enemy could be up and over the walls before his own men could reach them. Shortly after dawn, several Yankee ironclads had joined in the heavy bombardment. While the men huddled in the bombproofs, Keitt sent the slaves behind the fort, into the sand dunes for safety.
In response to Keitt’s message of the previous day, two Confederate officers arrived from Charleston to assess the situation. Swiftly, they saw what Keitt saw and sent word back to Charleston that Morris Island must be evacuated. The message took its time in reaching Battery Wagner, and he was forced to inquire how plans were coming along.
“Will boats be here tonight for garrison?” he asked. “If so, at what time?” Not wanting to seem like he was itching to get off the island, Col. Keitt played the willing martyr card. “And if our sacrifice be of benefit, I am ready. Let it be said so, and I will storm the enemy’s works at once, or lose every man here.”
While Keitt was awaiting orders to abandon the island, Union General Gillmore was making the final preparations for his third assault, which was to kick off at 9am the next morning. Keitt would receive his orders before that, but it would take time to empty the works, leave the island, and destroy the batteries. In that time, if all went according to plan, the Federals would attack.
Of course, things rarely go according to plan. The next day (we are now peering a day into the future!), the attack had to be postponed for a few hours. In that time, Confederate deserters would make their way into the Union lines, telling everyone they could that the batteries and island were being evacuated. The curious Yankees would investigate later that day, and find the Rebel works abandoned. The guns were spiked, and there was a long lit fuse burning its way toward the magazine. With the fuse snuffed, the forts and island fell into Federal hands.
General Gillmore and Admiral Dahlgren would now turn their full attention to the capture of Fort Sumter.”
http://civilwardailygazette.com/confederates-abandon-battery-wagner/
Tuesday, September 6, 1864: Hood: ‘Sherman Continues His Retreat.’ “The enemy withdrew from my front in the direction of Jonesborough last night,” wrote John Bell Hood to Braxton Bragg in Richmond. But this was only true in a very literal sense. Following Hood’s retreat from Atlanta, Sherman’s forces gave chase, though slightly. It was not long before he ordered a slow but steady withdrawal to the confines of the city.
Since then, he had ordered the Army of the Cumberland to Atlanta proper, while the Army of Tennessee was to hold the railroad junction of East Point, south of the city. The Army of the Ohio was to garrison Decatur. The campaign was at an end and Sherman saw little need to continue on without rest and refitting.
General Hood, however, knew nothing of Sherman’s mind. “Sherman continues his retreat beyond Jonesborough,” he wrote to Secretary of War James Seddon. But again, that wasn’t quite the truth.
Hood also composed two letters addressed to Jefferson Davis. The first relayed the news that Sherman’s troops had withdrawn, and by now he figured that they would occupy Atlanta, East Point and Decatur. While Sherman needed to prepare for another campaign, Hood was also looking forward.
“I am making, and shall still make, every possible effort to gather the absentees of this army,” he wrote. “Shoes and clothing are much needed.” Hood vowed to “interrupt as much as possible the communications of the enemy,” and hoped that Richard Taylor’s Arkansas troops could soon join his own. “I would be glad if yourself or General Bragg would visit the army.”
His second letter was less full of platitudes and one more of logistics. He would do what he could to keep the Union cavalry from operating south of Atlanta, just as he would try to play upon their lines of supply to the north.
“I deem it important that the prisoners at Andersonville should be so disposed of as not to prevent this army from moving in any direction it may be thought best,” Hood continued. As many as 40,000 Federal soldiers were held at Andersonville prison, 130 miles south. He feared that if he left the place uncovered that Sherman’s troopers would storm the camp and free a literal Union army. He had proposed before that the entire camp be moved and seemed to expect it to be done as soon as possible.
“According to all human calculations we should have saved Atlanta had the officers and men of the army done what was expected of them. It has been God’s will for it to be otherwise. I am of good heart and feel that we shall yet succeed. The army is much in need of a little rest.”
But looking ahead, Hood went on. “After removing the prisoners from Andersonville, I think we should, as soon as practicable, place our army upon the communications of the enemy, drawing our supplies from the West Point and Montgomery Railroad. Looking to this, I shall at once proceed to strongly fortify Macon.”
At this point, Hood planned to drop farther south to Macon, eighty miles southeast of Atlanta. But this was only to refit his command. Once ready, he was prepared to march north. Perhaps this would pry Sherman from Georgia and even throw him back to Chattanooga.
“Please do not fail to give me advice at all times,” Hood concluded. “It is my desire to do the best for you and my country. May God be with you and us.”
http://civilwardailygazette.com/hood-sherman-continues-his-retreat/
Below are a number of journal entries from 1862 and 1864 which shed light on what life was like for soldiers and civilians – the good, the bad and the ugly. In 1864, Maj Gen William T. Sherman wrote in his journal about operations in Georgia.
Saturday, September 6, 1862: Captain Walter Waightstill Lenoir, a Confederate officer in Company A of the 37th North Carolina Infantry Regiment, writes home to his brother Rufus Lenoir of his wounds at the Battle of Chantilly: “I lost my right leg below the knee in the heavy skirmish on Monday 1st inst. and am now at Middleburg, Loudoun County, Va. at the residence of Mr. Richie, a methodist minister, who lives not far from the Episcopal Church where the Hospital of Branch’s Brigade has been established under charge of Dr. Gibbon. The Drs. say my wound is doing just right, and I can say that I feel a perceptible improvement in my condition but Oh Brother I have had a hard fight with death, and my vital & nervous energies are for the present almost overcome. I can say now, though, that I hope to recover, though I feel how slight a cause might prevent it. Tom Norwood is with me, shot through the [heel?] with a minie ball. He fought as only heroes fight, firing twenty firm rounds after he was wounded. My company had dwindled to 15 going into action of wherein only three came out without being wounded, none was killed.”
Tuesday, September 6, 1864: Mississippi operations: CS President Davis to General Richard Taylor, his brother-in-law, who is the Confederacy’s commander-in-chief: “General Forrest telegraphed me, on the 5th instant, that, if permitted to select from his present command four thousand men and six pieces of artillery, he thought he could, in middle and west Tennessee, disturb the enemy’s communications and recruit his command. If circumstances permit it, I think it would be well to employ him in operations on the enemy’s lines of communication, as well as to interfere with the transportation of supplies and reinforcements to General Sherman’s army. Of this you must inform yourself and freely exercise your judgment.”
Tuesday, September 6, 1864: Entries from Maj Gen William T. Sherman’s Journal written after war. “The army still remained where the news of success had first found us, viz., Lovejoy's; but, after due refection, I resolved not to attempt at that time a further pursuit of Hood's army, but slowly and deliberately to move back, occupy Atlanta, enjoy a short period of rest, and to think well over the next step required in the progress of events. Orders for this movement were made on the 5th September, and three days were given for each army to reach the place assigned it, viz.: the Army of the Cumberland in and about Atlanta; the Army of the Tennessee at East Point; and the Army of the Ohio at Decatur.
Personally I rode back to Jonesboro on the 6th, and there inspected the rebel hospital, full of wounded officers and men left by Hardee in his retreat. The next night we stopped at Rough and Ready, and on the 8th of September we rode into Atlanta, then occupied by the Twentieth Corps (General Slocum). In the Court-House Square was encamped a brigade, embracing the Massachusetts Second and Thirty-third Regiments, which had two of the finest bands of the army, and their music was to us all a source of infinite pleasure during our sojourn in that city. I took up my headquarters in the house of Judge Lyons, which stood opposite one corner of the Court-House Square, and at once set about a measure already ordered, of which I had thought much and long, viz., to remove the entire civil population, and to deny to all civilians from the rear the expected profits of civil trade. Hundreds of sutlers and traders were waiting at Nashville and Chattanooga, greedy to reach Atlanta with their wares and goods, with, which to drive a profitable trade with the inhabitants. I gave positive orders that none of these traders, except three (one for each separate army), should be permitted to come nearer than Chattanooga; and, moreover, I peremptorily required that all the citizens and families resident in Atlanta should go away, giving to each the option to go south or north, as their interests or feelings dictated. I was resolved to make Atlanta a pure military garrison or depot, with no civil population to influence military measures. I had seen Memphis, Vicksburg, Natchez, and New Orleans, all captured from the enemy, and each at once was garrisoned by a full division of troops, if not more; so that success was actually crippling our armies in the field by detachments to guard and protect the interests of a hostile population.
I gave notice of this purpose, as early as the 4th of September, to General Halleck, in a letter concluding with these words: “If the people raise a howl against my barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is war, and not popularity-seeking. If they want peace, they and their relatives most stop the war.”
I knew, of course, that such a measure would be strongly criticised, but made up my mind to do it with the absolute certainty of its justness, and that time would sanction its wisdom. I knew that the people of the South would read in this measure two important conclusions: one, that we were in earnest; and the other, if they were sincere in their common and popular clamor "to die in the last ditch," that the opportunity would soon come.
Soon after our reaching Atlanta, General Hood had sent in by a flag of truce a proposition, offering a general exchange of prisoners, saying that he was authorized to make such an exchange by the Richmond authorities, out of the vast number of our men then held captive at Andersonville, the same whom General Stoneman had hoped to rescue at the time of his raid. Some of these prisoners had already escaped and got in, had described the pitiable condition of the remainder, and, although I felt a sympathy for their hardships and sufferings as deeply as any man could, yet as nearly all the prisoners who had been captured by us during the campaign had been sent, as fast as taken, to the usual depots North, they were then beyond my control. There were still about two thousand, mostly captured at Jonesboro, who had been sent back by cars, but had not passed Chattanooga. These I ordered back, and offered General Hood to exchange them for Stoneman, Buell, and such of my own army as would make up the equivalent; but I would not exchange for his prisoners generally, because I knew these would have to be sent to their own regiments, away from my army, whereas all we could give him could at once be put to duty in his immediate army. Quite an angry correspondence grew up between us, which was published at the time in the newspapers, but it is not to be found in any book of which I have present knowledge, and therefore is given here, as illustrative of the events referred to, and of the feelings of the actors in the game of war at that particular crisis, together with certain other original letters of Generals Grant and Halleck, never hitherto published.”

Pictures: 1863-09 -Some of the guns in Battery Stevens that pounded away at Fort Sumter; 1862-09-06 Crossing the Potomac into Maryland; 1863-09 Battery Hays 8-inch cannon; 1864-09 Ringgold, Ga., battery at drill

A. Friday, September 6, 1861: Brig Gen U.S. Grant’s federal forces captured Paducah, Kentucky unopposed and no bloodshed. This town gave the Union a large measure of control over the river systems that were vital to the region.
B. Saturday, September 6, 1862: Antietam Campaign. CSA Gen Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia entered Frederick, Maryland after crossing the Potomac River. As Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia invades Maryland, they have several political and military goals. The hope is that a Southern victory on Northern soil---and even threatening an industrial center such as Baltimore or Washington---would demonstrate the viability of the Confederacy, at the tail of a string of impressive victories, and perhaps prompt one of the European powers to weigh in with an alliance and a call for a mentored peace process. Lee and Pres. Davis also see that taking the war to the North will give Virginia a rest right at harvest time from the famished hordes of three armies. Lee also hopes that such an invasion and a convincing battlefield victory for the South would sway Maryland, a slave state, to join the Confederate cause, and allow recruiting as well as isolate Washington.
C. Sunday, September 6, 1863: Siege of Charleston Harbor: Knowing that they would not be able to withstand a Federal assault, General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, commander of the Confederate defenses around Charleston, realized that the situation at Battery Wagner and nearby Battery Greg were hopeless. He ordered the two forts and Morris Island evacuated after a 59-day siege. It is done overnight.
CSA Col. Lawrence Keitt, commander at Fort Wagner, lost 100 men to the heavy Federal bombardment on Sept. 5. With the concurrence of Gen. Beauregard’s headquarters, Keitt and his troops abandoned Fort Wagner and Battery Gregg after dark. The next day, Union troops enter the fortifications only to find that their quarry has fled.
D. Tuesday, September 6, 1864: Maj Gen William T. Sherman concentrates his Armies in defensive positions around Atlanta and Decatur, Georgia to allow them to rest and be refitted before conducting further offensive operations. Sherman ordered the Army of the Cumberland to Atlanta proper, while the Army of Tennessee was to hold the railroad junction of East Point, south of the city. The Army of the Ohio was to garrison Decatur. CSA Gen John Bell Hood focused on keeping the 40,000 or so Federal prisoners in Andersonville, GA from being freed by Federal cavalry.

1. Friday, September 6, 1861: Union forces captured Paducah without bloodshed. This town gave the Union a large measure of control over the river systems that were vital to the region.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/the-american-civil-war/american-civil-war-september-1861/
2. Saturday, September 6, 1862: Gen. Pope is issued orders to proceed to Minnesota and take care of the Dakota uprising that is still sowing panic in Minnesota.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=September+6%2C+1862
3. Saturday, September 6, 1862: A committee of prominent Kentuckians in Congress calls upon Pres. Lincoln to address concerns about the Confederate invasion of Kentucky and protecting loyal citizens.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=September+6%2C+1862
4. Saturday, September 6, 1862: At Capacon Bridge, Virginia, Confederate troops under Col. John Imboden attack troops under a Col. McReynolds, who put the rebels to flight and capture their artillery and vehicles.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=September+6%2C+1862
5. Saturday, September 6, 1862: Olathe, Kansas is sacked and raided by William Quantrill and his guerillas, resulting in several civilians being murdered.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=September+6%2C+1862
6. Saturday, September 6, 1862: Within just four days, McClellan managed to get together an army of 90,000 men to defend the capital. This feat confirmed to Lincoln his excellent administrative skills. However, McClellan was known to lack tactical ability and someone was needed to command these men in a decisive manner. Lee was well aware of McClellan’s failings as a commander.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-b/part-seventy-three
7. Saturday, September 6, 1862: Olathe, Kansas - On September 6, Col. William Quantrill and his Confederate guerilla force entered the town of Olathe at dawn. They surprised the 125-man Union garrison and captured them all. The town was looted and the community newspaper, the Mirror, was destroyed. The Union soldiers were quickly paroled as the Confederates left town.
http://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/1862s.html
8. Saturday, September 6, 1862: Captain Walter Waightstill Lenoir, a Confederate officer in Company A of the 37th North Carolina Infantry Regiment, writes home to his brother Rufus Lenoir of his wounds at the Battle of Chantilly: “I lost my right leg below the knee in the heavy skirmish on Monday 1st inst. and am now at Middleburg, Loudoun County, Va. at the residence of Mr. Richie, a methodist minister, who lives not far from the Episcopal Church where the Hospital of Branch’s Brigade has been established under charge of Dr. Gibbon. The Drs. say my wound is doing just right, and I can say that I feel a perceptible improvement in my condition but Oh Brother I have had a hard fight with death, and my vital & nervous energies are for the present almost overcome. I can say now, though, that I hope to recover, though I feel how slight a cause might prevent it. Tom Norwood is with me, shot through the [heel?] with a minie ball. He fought as only heroes fight, firing twenty firm rounds after he was wounded. My company had dwindled to 15 going into action of wherein only three came out without being wounded, none was killed.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=September+6%2C+1862
9. Saturday, September 6, 1862: Meanwhile, Gen. McClellan puts his troops into shape to move west to intercept Lee. His return to command is controversial amongst capital circles. Lincoln offers this argument in favor of reinstating Little Mac: “"We must use what tools we have. There is no man in the Army who can man these fortifications and lick these troops of ours into shape half as well as he. If he can't fight himself, he excels in making others ready to fight." The Young Napoleon organizes six corps made up of 16 divisions, most of which come from Pope’s army and other smaller theater troops, making altogether about 86,000 men; he leaves over 70,000 to guard the defenses of Washington. Charges brought by Pope against Generals Porter, Franklin, Griffin, and others are suspended for the present crisis.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=September+6%2C+1862
10. Sunday, September 6, 1863: East Tennessee operations/Chickamauga Campaign: US General William. B. Hazen is anxious about a raid by Forrest. US Colonel Robert Minty and his cavalry brigade are notified that a raid by Forrest across the Tennessee is likely. A deserter from Forrest’s bodyguard and tells US forces that Forrest is up in East Tennessee.
None of these reports are true. As for the deserter, Wyeth says that “Forrest’s escort were picked men, selected for their devotion to him and their fearlessness, and were always ‘coming in’ [deserting] to give themselves up, with such ‘untruthful’ reports.”
Forrest is actually at Ringgold, Georgia, today, with Bragg’s right flank, but hears that General Stanley is making a move on the rail line that Bragg depends on for supplies. Forrest heads down to Alpine, Georgia, over 40 miles away, to meet him.
https://bjdeming.com/2013/09/02/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-september-2-8-1863/
11. Sunday, September 6, 1863: In the meantime, General Bragg, uninformed about events in the field and getting conflicting reports from his scouts, calls off the withdrawal from Chattanooga. Skirmish at Stevens’ Gap and Summerville, Georgia.
https://bjdeming.com/2013/09/02/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-september-2-8-1863/
12. Sunday, September 6, 1863: The citizens at Chattanooga, Tennessee are evacuated on the orders of General Bragg (CSA). Just 12 days after their defeat in Arkansas at Reed’s Bridge, Brigadier General Lucius M. Walker (CSA) felt that he had been unjustly accused of cowardice and challenged Brig. General John S. Marmaduke to a formal duel. At dawn, both fired and missed. Marmaduke then recocked and fired a second time, mortally wounding Walker in the right side, just above the beltline. Walker forgave Marmaduke when the latter offered his assistance.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-c/week-126
13. Sunday, September 6, 1863: P. G. T. Beauregard orders Battery Wagner and Morris Island evacuated. The evacuation is accomplished that night.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186309
14. Tuesday, September 6, 1864: Mississippi operations: CS President Davis to General Richard Taylor, his brother-in-law, who is the Confederacy’s commander-in-chief: “General Forrest telegraphed me, on the 5th instant, that, if permitted to select from his present command four thousand men and six pieces of artillery, he thought he could, in middle and west Tennessee, disturb the enemy’s communications and recruit his command. If circumstances permit it, I think it would be well to employ him in operations on the enemy’s lines of communication, as well as to interfere with the transportation of supplies and reinforcements to General Sherman’s army. Of this you must inform yourself and freely exercise your judgment.”
https://bjdeming.com/2014/09/01/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-september-1-7-1864/

A Friday, September 6, 1861: Grant takes Paducah, Kentucky unopposed.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186109
A+ Friday, September 6, 1861: Union forces captured Paducah without bloodshed. This town gave the Union a large measure of control over the river systems that were vital to the region. https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-a/part-twenty-one
B Saturday, September 6, 1862: Army of Northern Virginia enters Frederick, Maryland.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186209
B+ Saturday, September 6, 1862: Eastern Theater, Maryland Campaign - As Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia invades Maryland, they have several political and military goals. The hope is that a Southern victory on Northern soil---and even threatening an industrial center such as Baltimore or Washington---would demonstrate the viability of the Confederacy, at the tail of a string of impressive victories, and perhaps prompt one of the European powers to weigh in with an alliance and a call for a mentored peace process. Lee and Pres. Davis also see that taking the war to the North will give Virginia a rest right at harvest time from the famished hordes of three armies. Lee also hopes that such an invasion and a convincing battlefield victory for the South would sway Maryland, a slave state, to join the Confederate cause, and allow recruiting as well as isolate Washington.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=September+6%2C+1862
C Sunday, September 6, 1863: Siege of Charleston Harbor: Knowing that they will not be able to withstand a Federal assault, CS General P. G. T. Beauregard orders Forts/Batteries Gregg and Wagner and Morris Island evacuated. It is done overnight.
https://bjdeming.com/2013/09/02/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-september-2-8-1863/
C+ Sunday, September 6, 1863: Battle of Charleston Harbor -- Heavy shelling of Charleston and he surrounding harbor continues. Col. Lawrence Keitt, commander at Fort Wagner, loses 100 men to the Federal bombardment on Sept. 5, and with the concurrence of Gen. Beauregard’s headquarters, Keitt and his troops abandon Fort Wagner and Battery Gregg after dark. The next day, Union troops enter the fortifications only to find that their quarry has fled.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=September+6%2C+1863
C++ Sunday, September 6, 1863: Morris Island protected the southern rim of the harbor, at Charleston, South Carolina. Today after a 59-day siege, General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, commander of the Confederate defenses around Charleston, realized that the situation at Battery Wagner and nearby Battery Greg were hopeless. He ordered the two forts evacuated. Although the Yankees would capture Morris Island, Charleston was still beyond their grasp.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-c/week-126
Tuesday, September 6, 1864: Mississippi operations: CS President Davis to General Richard Taylor, his brother-in-law, who is the Confederacy’s commander-in-chief: “General Forrest telegraphed me, on the 5th instant, that, if permitted to select from his present command four thousand men and six pieces of artillery, he thought he could, in middle and west Tennessee, disturb the enemy’s communications and recruit his command. If circumstances permit it, I think it would be well to employ him in operations on the enemy’s lines of communication, as well as to interfere with the transportation of supplies and reinforcements to General Sherman’s army. Of this you must inform yourself and freely exercise your judgment.”
https://bjdeming.com/2014/09/01/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-september-1-7-1864/
Tuesday, September 6, 1864: A skirmish at Readyville, Tennessee as Col. Thomas Jordan, 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, routs a much larger Confederate force, taking 130 prisoners. Most of the railroad tracks damaged by Wheeler’s forces is repaired. Near Brunswick, Missouri, a band of Yankees are captured by guerrillas are stripped and robbed. Federal forces begin another bombardment of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/1864/week-178
FYI GySgt Jack Wallace CWO4 Terrence Clark SMSgt Lawrence McCarter LTC Trent Klug SFC Bernard Walko SFC Stephen King SSG Franklin Briant SSG Byron Howard Sr CPL Ronald Keyes Jr SFC William Farrell CMDCM John F. "Doc" Bradshaw SPC Lyle Montgomery Deborah Gregson PO2 Marco Monsalve SPC Woody Bullard SSG Michael Noll SSG Bill McCoy MSgt Private RallyPoint Member SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTM Sgt Christopher Collins

Confederates Abandon Battery Wagner

September 6, 1863 (Sunday) Since resuming their push towards Batteries Wagner and Gregg, the Federal troops had gotten to within earshot of the Rebel forts on Morris Island, guarding the way to Cha…

Response by SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL made Oct 22 at 2016 6:59 PM

SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL — Sat, 22 Oct 2016 18:59:58 -0400

LTC Stephen F. thanks for the read and share, you always have a define way of Civil War history and know my friend you are special. My recommendation would be to teach it at a University.
1863: Siege of Charleston Harbor: Knowing that they would not be able to withstand a Federal assault, General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, commander of the Confederate defenses around Charleston, realized that the situation at Battery Wagner and nearby Batter

Response by SFC George Smith made Oct 22 at 2016 8:42 PM

SFC George Smith — Sat, 22 Oct 2016 20:42:53 -0400

thanks for the history...

Response by TSgt Joe C. made Oct 22 at 2016 9:05 PM

TSgt Joe C. — Sat, 22 Oct 2016 21:05:05 -0400

LTC Stephen F. good Civil War read this morning. My choice was 1861: Brig Gen U.S. Grant’s federal forces captured Paducah, Kentucky unopposed and no bloodshed. This town gave the Union a large measure of control over the river systems that were vital to the region.

Response by 1stSgt Eugene Harless made Oct 23 at 2016 5:39 AM

1stSgt Eugene Harless — Sun, 23 Oct 2016 05:39:39 -0400

I'm going with the Sharpsburg campaign. While the battle itself was a tactical draw that could have been a catastrophic defeat if McClellan had been more aggressive the South failed to win a victory and had to withdraw. It also failed to push Maryland. a border state. into the folds of the Confederacy and gave Lincoln, if not an overwhelming victory, a reason to release the Emancipation Proclamation.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Oct 23 at 2016 6:17 PM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Sun, 23 Oct 2016 18:17:15 -0400

Great job on the history today. Thanks for sharing this great material.