What was the most significant event on April 25 during the U.S. Civil War?

Saturday, April 25, 1863: Col. Benjamin Grierson and his cavalrymen finish destroying Confederate stores and property in Newton Station.
Monday, April 25, 1864 --- Stephen Minot Weld, a Union officer, writes in his journal about his regiment’s arrival in Washington, D.C. and their chance to march before the review of President Lincoln: We started about 7 A.M. and forded the stream at Bladensburg. Marched on to Camp Barry [near Washington], where we halted some time. Here we formed in platoons and marched in review by the President, who was on the balcony at Willard’s Hotel. He looked ten years older than when I saw him last. Saw Frank Balch.
1864 Arkansas in the Camden Expedition: the killings of the black soldiers at Poison Spring, paired with the large number of black freedmen killed at the Action at Marks’ Mills, enraged many in the Union army. As a result, the First Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment exacted revenge upon Confederate combatants and wounded at the Engagement at Jenkins’ Ferry, amplifying the legacy of racial atrocities in the Camden Expedition.
Pictures: 1863 Map Showing Griersons Raid; 1861 Winfield Scott seated by Brady in 1861; 1861 Maryland Governor Thomas Holliday Hicks
Since RallyPoint truncates survey selection text I am posting events that were not included and then the full text of each survey choice below:
A. Thursday, April 25, 1861: Lincoln writes to Winfield Scott - let the Maryland legislature meet
After carefully considering his options, President Abraham Lincoln had decided to let the Maryland legislature meet and deal with the consequences afterwards. The fate of Maryland, and possibly the Union, now lay in the hands of Maryland's Governor Thomas H. Hicks. Lincoln sent instruction to GEN Winfield Scott to let the Maryland legislature meet.
From President Abraham Lincoln to GEN Winfield Scott
My dear Sir: The Maryland Legislature assembles tomorrow at Anapolis [Annapolis]; and, not improbably, will take action to arm the people of that State against the United States-- The question has been submitted to, and considered by me, whether it would not be justifiable, upon the ground of necessary defence, for you, as Commander in Chief of the United States Army, to arrest, or disperse the members of that body-- I think it would not be justifiable; nor, efficient for the desired object. First, they have a clearly legal right to assemble; and, we cannot know in advance, that their action will not be lawful, and peaceful. And if we wait until they shall have acted, their arrest, or dispersion, will not lessen the effect of their action—
Secondly, we cannot permanently prevent their action-- If we arrest them, we cannot long hold them as prisoners; and when liberated, they will immediately re-assemble, and take their action-- And, precisely the same if we simply disperse them. They will immediately re-assemble in some other place—
I therefore conclude that it is only left to the Commanding General to watch, and await their action, which, if it shall be to arm their people against the United States, he is to adopt the most prompt, and efficient means to counteract it, even, if necessary, to the bombardment of their cities -- and of course in the extreme necessity, the suspicion suspension of the writ of habeas corpus—Your Obedient Servant. Abraham Lincoln.
Background: In late April 1861, Abraham Lincoln was dealing with the problem of the border states. While four of the border states: Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina seemed bent on secession, Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and to a lesser extent Delaware, seemed balanced on the razor's edge. Maryland in particular was a priority for Lincoln, since reinforcements for Washington, DC had to cross Maryland to reach the nation's capital. Lincoln had been carefully negotiating with Thomas H. Hicks, the governor of Maryland. Hicks was a bundle of contradictions: he was pro-southern, but anti-secession. Hicks himself had been walking a tightrope, trying to tamp down secessionist feelings in Maryland, putting off calling the legislature into session, where they might pass an ordinance of secession.
Lincoln had also performed a difficult balancing act, trying to work with Hicks as much as he possibly could, but not hesitating to drop the boom on him when necessary. Hicks had suggested bring the British ambassador into the mix as a neutral party who could help negotiate a settlement. On April 22, 1861 Lincoln had Seward sternly notify Hicks that "no domestic contention whatever, that may arise among the parties of this Republic, ought in any case to be referred to any foreign arbitrament, least of all to the arbitrament of a European monarchy." The message was clear: Lincoln would work with Hicks, but there would be no appeal to a foreign power--the United States would settle its own disputes just as long as Abraham Lincoln was president.
B. Friday, April 25, 1862: Impressment of horses. The Richmond Daily Dispatch publishes this patriotic editorial about the Confederate government’s practice of impressing (confiscating) privately owned horses for use by the Army: –The people of Lynchburg are groaning over the fact that the agents of the Government have been twice in that region impressing and buying up all the serviceable horses to be found.–Richmond has never been "afflicted" in this way, and our mountain neighbors are unable to perceive the justice of the reason for the immunity hitherto granted her. They are right, and we trust that the next haul will be made from the surplus stock of horses in this region. We learn that some public back owners do not now permit their horses to be used, because Gen. Winder [provost marshal] has intimated that they shall conform in their charges to the rates prescribed by the city ordinances. This is not the time for horses or any other animals to be standing idle, therefore let the Government take not only them, but the carriage and private riding horses, if they can be made to contribute to the welfare of the Republic.
C. During the night of 24 April, Col. Benjamin Grierson contemplated his next move. Aware that Rebel forces were converging to block his escape through northern Mississippi, he decided to feint westward and then proceed south slowly, resting his men and animals, collecting food, and gathering information. He would then make up his mind whether to return to La Grange by way of Alabama, or to drive south and try to join with Union forces on the Mississippi River.
The band spent April 25 on the march, stopping near nightfall. Grierson learned from informants that a Rebel force was en route from Mobile to intercept the Yankee raiders. To verify the report and further confuse the enemy, Grierson sent Samuel Nelson, one of Surby’s resourceful scouts, to cut telegraph wires near Forest Station on the Southern Railroad and perhaps destroy a railroad bridge or trestle. Slipping out of camp around midnight, Nelson approached within seven miles of the railroad, where he stumbled upon a regiment of Confederate horsemen on the trail of Grierson’s column. With his benign disguise enhanced by a slight stutter, Nelson passed himself off as an unwilling guide for the Yankee cavalry. He told the Rebels they faced a unit that was 1,800 strong and headed east toward the Mobile & Ohio Railroad. Satisfied with Nelson’s story, the Confederates released him and headed off in pursuit of the phantom force.
In fact, Grierson had decided to continue southwest and strike the New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern Railroad at Hazelhurst, disrupting the movement of troops and supplies between Vicksburg and Port Hudson. Following a good night’s rest and with a full supply of forage and provisions, Grierson’s raiders broke camp at 6:00 a.m. on April 26.
D. D Monday, April 25, 1864: The Action at Marks’ Mills took place on April 25, 1864, when Confederate troops ambushed a Union supply train, capturing all the wagons and artillery and most of the troops. Confederate soldiers were accused of massacring African Americans at this battle.
After the April 18 defeat at the Engagement at Poison Spring, Union forces under the command of Major General Frederick Steele continued to hold Camden (Ouachita County) while Confederate Major General Sterling Price maintained pressure on Steele from the countryside. With supplies dwindling, the acquisition of rations became important to the Union troops. The arrival of provisions from Pine Bluff (Jefferson County) on April 20 convinced Steele that more materials could be obtained there. Three days later, he dispatched Lieutenant Colonel Francis Drake with more than 1,200 infantrymen, several pieces of artillery, and cavalry support with 240 wagons to obtain supplies at Pine Bluff. An unknown number of white civilians and 300 black civilians accompanied the Union force to safety. On the morning of April 25, 150 cavalrymen from Pine Bluff met Drake, increasing the Union column to nearly 1,800 combatants, with 520 troops trailing the column at some distance.
Learning of Drake’s departure from Camden, Confederate Brigadier General James F. Fagan positioned his more than 2,000 cavalrymen near the juncture of the Camden-Pine Bluff Road with the Warren Road, cutting off Drake’s route. Setting an ambush, Fagan ordered Brigadier General Joe Shelby’s division to the east on the Camden-Pine Bluff Road to block possible escape toward Pine Bluff, and Brigadier General William L. Cabell’s division was to attack from the southwest. Early on April 25, Cabell’s division began a poorly planned piecemeal attack on Drake’s column. Sending one brigade into combat before the second was positioned, Cabell’s troops won the wagons but exposed themselves to intense counterfire. The Forty-third Indiana and the Thirty-sixth Iowa regiments took advantage of this error and slowed the Confederate attack until Union reinforcements helped stop his advance. Cabell’s division lost its momentum and found it difficult to regain it. Nonetheless, the Union units slowly began to lose control of the battle because of the overwhelming Confederate numbers.
Shelby, attacking from the east, hammered the unsuspecting Union left. Caught off guard and with Drake seriously wounded, the Union troops capitulated after nearly five hours of engagement. Hearing the sounds of battle in front of them, 500 men from the First Iowa Cavalry, on furlough and trailing at a distance, sped forward to help by engaging the enemy to the west of Marks’ Mills. The First Iowa eventually broke off its attack to escape the large Confederate numbers. Cabell’s command suffered 293 casualties (41 killed, 108 wounded, 144 missing), while Union casualty estimates range from 1,133 to 1,600, with most being captured and an estimated 100 killed. The Confederates captured about 150 black freedmen and are believed to have killed more than 100 others.
The defeat of Drake’s command had a significant impact upon Steele’s position at Camden. Coupled with the defeat at Poison Spring, the loss at Marks’ Mills prevented Steele from obtaining much-needed supplies for his army. Already on reduced rations and with reports of Lieutenant General Edmund Kirby Smith’s command marching northward from Louisiana, Steele’s position became untenable. With all possibility of supporting Banks’s campaign on the Red River gone, the Union army silently slipped over the Ouachita River on the night of April 26, abandoning Camden and beginning a desperate race back to Little Rock (Pulaski County), which resulted in the Engagement at Jenkins’ Ferry. Furthermore, the killings of the black soldiers at Poison Spring, paired with the large number of black freedmen killed at the Action at Marks’ Mills, enraged many in the Union army. As a result, the First Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment exacted revenge upon Confederate combatants and wounded at the Engagement at Jenkins’ Ferry, amplifying the legacy of racial atrocities in the Camden Expedition.
1. Thursday, April 25, 1861: New York's 7th Regiment arrives in Washington, having around Baltimore by boat.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186104
2. Thursday, April 25, 1861: In a daring nighttime operation Illinois troops steam from Alton, Illinois to St. Louis, Missouri and remove 10,000 muskets with the help of federal troops in the armory.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186104
3. Thursday, April 25, 1861: General Edwin Vose Sumner relieves Albert Sidney Johnston as Commander, Department of the Pacific in California.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186104
4. Friday, April 25, 1862: After a duel with Confederate ships at English Turn, Commodore David Farragut's fleet weighs anchor at New Orleans, Louisiana and demands the surrender of the largest city and most important port in the South. By the time Farragut arrives the city was partially on fire.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186204
5. Friday, April 25, 1862: George Thomas promoted to major general
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186204
6. Friday, April 25, 1862: General John C. Parke [US] bombards Fort Macon, near Beaufort, following a month-long siege of the fort. Colonel Moses White had no choice but to surrender.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186204
7. Friday, April 25, 1862 --- New Orleans, Louisiana - During the night of the 24th, crowds run wild in the streets as property is burned and looted. Orders for anything useful to the Yankees to put to the torch (food, arms, ships–and 30,000 bales of cotton, a fortune in cotton) quickly turns into a mass melee. George Washington Cable, age 13 at the time, records: I shall not try to describe the day the alarm-bells told us the city was in danger and called every man to his mustering-point. The children poured out from the school-gates and ran crying to their homes, meeting their sobbing mothers at their thresholds. The men fell into ranks. I was left entirely alone in charge of the store in which I was employed. Late in the afternoon, receiving orders to close it, I did so, and went home. But I did not stay. I went to the river-side. There until far into the night I saw hundreds of drays carrying cotton out of the presses and yards to the wharves, where it was fired. . . .
Whoever could go was going. The great mass, that had no place to go to or means to go with, was beside itself. "Betrayed ! betrayed !" it cried, and ran in throngs from street to street, seeking some vent, some victim for its wrath. . . . The junior of the firm was within. I called him to look toward the river. The masts of the cutter Washington were slowly tipping, declining, sinking---down she went. The gun-boat moored next to her, began to smoke all over and then to blaze. My employers lifted up their heels and left the city---left their goods and their affairs in the hands of one mere lad (no stranger would have thought I had reached fourteen) and one big German porter. I closed the doors, sent the porter to his place in the Foreign Legion, and ran to the levee to see the sights.
What a gathering! The riff-raff of the wharves, the town, the gutters. Such women---such wrecks of women! And all the juvenile rag-tag. The lower steamboat landing, well covered with sugar, rice, and molasses, was being rifled. The men smashed; the women scooped up the smashings. The river was overflowing the top of the levee. A rain-storm began to threaten. "Are the Yankee ships in sight?" . . . Ah, me! I see them now as they come slowly round Slaughterhouse Point into full view, silent, grim, and terrible; black with men, heavy with deadly portent; the long-banished Stars and Stripes flying against the frowning sky. . . .
At about 1:00 PM, the U.S. Navy squadron arrives at the port waterfront, as the hulk of the CSS Mississippi, burning, drifts on the rolling river: The crowds on the levee howled and screamed with rage. The swarming decks answered never a word; but one old tar on the Hartford, standing with lanyard in hand beside a great pivot-gun, so plain to view that you could see him smile, silently patted its big black breech and blandly grinned.
And now the rain came down in sheets. About 1 or 2 o'clock in the afternoon (as I remember), I being again in the store with but one door ajar, came a roar of shoutings and imprecations and crowding feet down Common street. "Hurrah for Jeff Davis! Hurrah for Jeff Davis! Shoot them! Kill them! Hang them! " I locked the door on the outside, and ran to the front of the mob, bawling with the rest, " Hurrah for Jeff Davis! " About every third man there had a weapon out. Two officers of the United States navy were walking abreast, unguarded and alone, looking not to right or left, never frowning, never flinching, while the mob screamed in their ears, shook cocked pistols in their faces, cursed and crowded, and gnashed upon them. So through the gates of death those two men walked to the City Hall to demand the town's surrender. It was one of the bravest deeds I ever saw done.
Mayor Monroe of the city refuses to surrender the town, and the mob outside are threatening to lynch the two USN officers. Gen. Mansfield Lovell, in command of the Confederate Army there, also refuses to surrender the city, and he immediately takes his leave and marches his 4,000 troops out of the city. The two naval officers are smuggled out the back of city hall. Soon, a landing party of sailors and Marines take possession of the city. The Confederate flag and the Louisiana state flag are lowered and replaced by the Stars and Stripes.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=April+25%2C+1862
8. Friday, April 25, 1862 --- Fort Macon, North Carolina, near the port city of Beaufort, surrenders to troops under Gen. Burnside and naval forces under Flag Officer Goldsborough, after a long siege.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=April+25%2C+1862
9. Friday, April 25, 1862 --- Kate Cumming, Confederate nurse at Corinth, records this shocked observation of wartime morals and romance: This morning, while at breakfast, I was not a little astonished to hear a very pretty widow say that she had never enjoyed herself so much as she had since she had been here; that, when she left home, she was told that she must try to catch a beau—and she had succeeded. The doctors, I thought, looked amazed, that any woman, at such a time, and in such a place, should be guilty of such heartlessness. Enjoyed herself! when it was impossible to look one way or the other without seeing the most soul-harrowing scenes that it has ever been the lot of mortals to witness; and at that moment the groans of the suffering and dying were entering the room. I looked at the sentinels who were at the door; they, I thought, looked as shocked as we. I trust that such women are very rare.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=April+25%2C+1862
10. Saturday, April 25, 1863 --- The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that "the War Committee waited on President Lincoln to induce him to inform England that the letting loose of the ten iron-clad war vessels now building in her harbors for the rebels will be considered a declaration of war upon us, and that, unless steps are taken at once to prevent further operations in that line, Lord Lyons be furnished his passports and that Charles Francis Adams be recalled.
It is urged upon the President that English vessels are now under the Rebel flag, sweeping our commerce from the seas, and that in less than ninety days a fleet of English iron-clad steamers, of most formidable character, will sweep away our blockading squadrons and open Rebel ports. Secretary Seward, however, hopes to settle the whole matter amicably, and fears that something may be done to offend England if we do not act with great caution and deliberation.
The President is incensed that Lord Lyons should have been plotting treason with the leaders of the opposition to the Government here in the National Capital, and unless something unforeseen occurs, the next four days will bring forth some of the most important movements in the whole history of the rebellion, as some deliberate policy must be adopted at once."
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=April+25%2C+1863
11. Saturday, April 25, 1863 --- Lt. Col. Arthur Fremantle, of the Royal Army, writes in his journal of his trip across Texas: San Antonio is prettily situated on both banks of the river of the same name. It should contain about 10,000 inhabitants, and is the largest place in Texas, except Galveston.
The houses are well built of stone, and they are generally only one or two storeys high. All have verandahs in front.
Before the war San Antonio was very prosperous, and rapidly increasing in size; but trade is now almost at a complete stand-still. All the male population under forty are in the military service, and many necessary articles are at famine prices. Coffee costs $7 a lb. . . .
I dined with McCarthy and young Duff at 3 P.M. The latter would not hear of my paying my share of the expenses of the journey from Brownsville. . .
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=April+25%2C+1863
12. Monday, April 25, 1864 --- Stephen Minot Weld, a Union officer, writes in his journal about his regiment’s arrival in Washington, D.C. and their chance to march before the review of President Lincoln: We started about 7 A.M. and forded the stream at Bladensburg. Marched on to Camp Barry [near Washington], where we halted some time. Here we formed in platoons and marched in review by the President, who was on the balcony at Willard’s Hotel. He looked ten years older than when I saw him last. Saw Frank Balch. Crossed Long Bridge and camped in front of Fort Scott. Men marched well. Day pleasant though hot. Made about 16 miles.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=April+25%2C+1864
13. Monday, April 25, 1864 --- David L. Lane, a soldier in the 17th Michigan Infantry Regiment, writes in his journal about the preparations for the upcoming campaign, with Burnside’s IX Corps, to go with the Army of the Potomac: Our brigade was in the rear the second day, and I had an opportunity to see for myself. Before the second day had passed many had thrown away everything, not even keeping a change of shirts. I saw several poor fellows apparently in the agonies of death from sunstroke.
These first marches, after a long rest, are nearly as fatal as a hard-fought battle. In passing through Washington we were reviewed by the President and General Burnside.
This looks like a saving of time. Our ambulances are now filing past and going into camp. Our artillery is ready and awaiting us. Also a supply train. The Ninth Corps will soon be in working order, and, of course, at work. I would not have it otherwise. Where we are to work is not apparent. It matters little to old solders where.
The impending struggle is close upon us. It will, doubtless, be fierce and terrible. Let us hope it will be short and decisive.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=April+25%2C+1864
A. Thursday, April 25, 1861: Lincoln writes to Winfield Scott - let the Maryland legislature meet
After carefully considering his options, President Abraham Lincoln had decided to let the Maryland legislature meet and deal with the consequences afterwards. The fate of Maryland, and possibly the Union, now lay in the hands of Maryland's Governor Thomas H. Hicks. Lincoln sent instruction to GEN Winfield Scott to let the Maryland legislature meet
From President Abraham Lincoln to GEN Winfield Scott
My dear Sir: The Maryland Legislature assembles tomorrow at Anapolis [Annapolis]; and, not improbably, will take action to arm the people of that State against the United States-- The question has been submitted to, and considered by me, whether it would not be justifiable, upon the ground of necessary defence, for you, as Commander in Chief of the United States Army, to arrest, or disperse the members of that body-- I think it would not be justifiable; nor, efficient for the desired object. First, they have a clearly legal right to assemble; and, we cannot know in advance, that their action will not be lawful, and peaceful. And if we wait until they shall have acted, their arrest, or dispersion, will not lessen the effect of their action—
Secondly, we cannot permanently prevent their action-- If we arrest them, we cannot long hold them as prisoners; and when liberated, they will immediately re-assemble, and take their action-- And, precisely the same if we simply disperse them. They will immediately re-assemble in some other place—
I therefore conclude that it is only left to the Commanding General to watch, and await their action, which, if it shall be to arm their people against the United States, he is to adopt the most prompt, and efficient means to counteract it, even, if necessary, to the bombardment of their cities -- and of course in the extreme necessity, the suspicion suspension of the writ of habeas corpus—Your Obedient Servant. Abraham Lincoln.
Background: In late April 1861, Abraham Lincoln was dealing with the problem of the border states. While four of the border states: Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina seemed bent on secession, Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and to a lesser extent Delaware, seemed balanced on the razor's edge. Maryland in particular was a priority for Lincoln, since reinforcements for Washington, DC had to cross Maryland to reach the nation's capital. Lincoln had been carefully negotiating with Thomas H. Hicks, the governor of Maryland. Hicks was a bundle of contradictions: he was pro-southern, but anti-secession. Hicks himself had been walking a tightrope, trying to tamp down secessionist feelings in Maryland, putting off calling the legislature into session, where they might pass an ordinance of secession.
Lincoln had also performed a difficult balancing act, trying to work with Hicks as much as he possibly could, but not hesitating to drop the boom on him when necessary. Hicks had suggested bring the British ambassador into the mix as a neutral party who could help negotiate a settlement. On April 22, 1861 Lincoln had Seward sternly notify Hicks that "no domestic contention whatever, that may arise among the parties of this Republic, ought in any case to be referred to any foreign arbitrament, least of all to the arbitrament of a European monarchy." The message was clear: Lincoln would work with Hicks, but there would be no appeal to a foreign power--the United States would settle its own disputes just as long as Abraham Lincoln was president.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:u4SCCxCp0wUJ:http://www.civilwar-online.com/2011/04/april-25-1861-lincoln-writes-to.html+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
B. Friday, April 25, 1862 --- Impressment of horses. The Richmond Daily Dispatch publishes this patriotic editorial about the Confederate government’s practice of impressing (confiscating) privately owned horses for use by the Army: –The people of Lynchburg are groaning over the fact that the agents of the Government have been twice in that region impressing and buying up all the serviceable horses to be found.–Richmond has never been "afflicted" in this way, and our mountain neighbors are unable to perceive the justice of the reason for the immunity hitherto granted her. They are right, and we trust that the next haul will be made from the surplus stock of horses in this region. We learn that some public back owners do not now permit their horses to be used, because Gen. Winder [provost marshal] has intimated that they shall conform in their charges to the rates prescribed by the city ordinances. This is not the time for horses or any other animals to be standing idle, therefore let the Government take not only them, but the carriage and private riding horses, if they can be made to contribute to the welfare of the Republic.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=April+25%2C+1862
C. Saturday, April 25, 1863: Grierson’s Raid. During the night of 24 April, Col. Benjamin Grierson contemplated his next move. Aware that Rebel forces were converging to block his escape through northern Mississippi, he decided to feint westward and then proceed south slowly, resting his men and animals, collecting food, and gathering information. He would then make up his mind whether to return to La Grange by way of Alabama, or to drive south and try to join with Union forces on the Mississippi River.
The band spent April 25 on the march, stopping near nightfall. Grierson learned from informants that a Rebel force was en route from Mobile to intercept the Yankee raiders. To verify the report and further confuse the enemy, Grierson sent Samuel Nelson, one of Surby’s resourceful scouts, to cut telegraph wires near Forest Station on the Southern Railroad and perhaps destroy a railroad bridge or trestle. Slipping out of camp around midnight, Nelson approached within seven miles of the railroad, where he stumbled upon a regiment of Confederate horsemen on the trail of Grierson’s column. With his benign disguise enhanced by a slight stutter, Nelson passed himself off as an unwilling guide for the Yankee cavalry. He told the Rebels they faced a unit that was 1,800 strong and headed east toward the Mobile & Ohio Railroad. Satisfied with Nelson’s story, the Confederates released him and headed off in pursuit of the phantom force.
In fact, Grierson had decided to continue southwest and strike the New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern Railroad at Hazelhurst, disrupting the movement of troops and supplies between Vicksburg and Port Hudson. Following a good night’s rest and with a full supply of forage and provisions, Grierson’s raiders broke camp at 6:00 a.m. on April 26.
http://www.historynet.com/americas-civil-war-colonel-benjamin-griersons-cavalry-raid-in-1863.htm
Monday, April 25, 1864 --- Gen. Sherman is anxious about his missing two divisions, still with Banks in the Red River Valley, and corresponds with Gen. Halleck and Gen. Grant about the problem. Washington is getting reports that Banks’ army panicked and retreated in disorder after the Battle of Pleasant Hill, and so an argument is made to leave A.J. Smith and the two divisions to protect the rest of Banks’ army. Admiral Porter argues that if Smith is withdrawn, Banks would retreat still further, as they have fallen back all the way to Alexandria. Grant is inclined to leave Smith there for the meantime, although he plans to sideline Banks in New Orleans as soon as possible. As General-in-Chief, he issues orders to terminate the campaign.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=April+25%2C+1864
D Monday, April 25, 1864: The Action at Marks’ Mills took place on April 25, 1864, when Confederate troops ambushed a Union supply train, capturing all the wagons and artillery and most of the troops. Confederate soldiers were accused of massacring African Americans at this battle.
After the April 18 defeat at the Engagement at Poison Spring, Union forces under the command of Major General Frederick Steele continued to hold Camden (Ouachita County) while Confederate Major General Sterling Price maintained pressure on Steele from the countryside. With supplies dwindling, the acquisition of rations became important to the Union troops. The arrival of provisions from Pine Bluff (Jefferson County) on April 20 convinced Steele that more materials could be obtained there. Three days later, he dispatched Lieutenant Colonel Francis Drake with more than 1,200 infantrymen, several pieces of artillery, and cavalry support with 240 wagons to obtain supplies at Pine Bluff. An unknown number of white civilians and 300 black civilians accompanied the Union force to safety. On the morning of April 25, 150 cavalrymen from Pine Bluff met Drake, increasing the Union column to nearly 1,800 combatants, with 520 troops trailing the column at some distance.
Learning of Drake’s departure from Camden, Confederate Brigadier General James F. Fagan positioned his more than 2,000 cavalrymen near the juncture of the Camden-Pine Bluff Road with the Warren Road, cutting off Drake’s route. Setting an ambush, Fagan ordered Brigadier General Joe Shelby’s division to the east on the Camden-Pine Bluff Road to block possible escape toward Pine Bluff, and Brigadier General William L. Cabell’s division was to attack from the southwest. Early on April 25, Cabell’s division began a poorly planned piecemeal attack on Drake’s column. Sending one brigade into combat before the second was positioned, Cabell’s troops won the wagons but exposed themselves to intense counterfire. The Forty-third Indiana and the Thirty-sixth Iowa regiments took advantage of this error and slowed the Confederate attack until Union reinforcements helped stop his advance. Cabell’s division lost its momentum and found it difficult to regain it. Nonetheless, the Union units slowly began to lose control of the battle because of the overwhelming Confederate numbers.
Shelby, attacking from the east, hammered the unsuspecting Union left. Caught off guard and with Drake seriously wounded, the Union troops capitulated after nearly five hours of engagement. Hearing the sounds of battle in front of them, 500 men from the First Iowa Cavalry, on furlough and trailing at a distance, sped forward to help by engaging the enemy to the west of Marks’ Mills. The First Iowa eventually broke off its attack to escape the large Confederate numbers. Cabell’s command suffered 293 casualties (41 killed, 108 wounded, 144 missing), while Union casualty estimates range from 1,133 to 1,600, with most being captured and an estimated 100 killed. The Confederates captured about 150 black freedmen and are believed to have killed more than 100 others.
The defeat of Drake’s command had a significant impact upon Steele’s position at Camden. Coupled with the defeat at Poison Spring, the loss at Marks’ Mills prevented Steele from obtaining much-needed supplies for his army. Already on reduced rations and with reports of Lieutenant General Edmund Kirby Smith’s command marching northward from Louisiana, Steele’s position became untenable. With all possibility of supporting Banks’s campaign on the Red River gone, the Union army silently slipped over the Ouachita River on the night of April 26, abandoning Camden and beginning a desperate race back to Little Rock (Pulaski County), which resulted in the Engagement at Jenkins’ Ferry. Furthermore, the killings of the black soldiers at Poison Spring, paired with the large number of black freedmen killed at the Action at Marks’ Mills, enraged many in the Union army. As a result, the First Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment exacted revenge upon Confederate combatants and wounded at the Engagement at Jenkins’ Ferry, amplifying the legacy of racial atrocities in the Camden Expedition.
http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=1135
D+ Monday, April 25, 1864 --- Battle of Mark’s Mill, Arkansas: Gen. Frederick Steele’s Federal Army of Arkansas, having fought a running battle throughout its march through the southern part of the state, finds itself in Camden, but unable to move forward. It is supplied by wagon trains by a long route from Pine Bluff. Gen. Kirby-Smith of the CSA orders his cavalry under Fagan and Jo Shelby to play havoc with the Yankee supply lines. On this date, near Mark’s Mill, James Fagan, with 5,000 men in two small divisions of Rebel cavalry, attacks a column of wagons escorted by a brigade of Federal troops under Lt. Col. Francis Drake, and delivers them a stunning defeat. Although the Federals fought hard, they were attacked from several sides by a superior force. For the forces engaged, and the brief duration of the fight, the fight was a bloody one: over 500 Federals were killed or wounded, and over 1,300 captured. Gen. Fagan adds, that he also captured “their entire train of 300 wagons, a large number of ambulances, very many small-arms, and 150 negroes.” Gen. Steele decides that, given the complete loss of his supply train, that remaining in Camden is untenable.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=April+25%2C+1864
FYI CSM Charles Hayden LTC (Join to see) MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. SSG Franklin Briant SGT Tiffanie G. SGT Mary G.CPL Ronald Keyes Jr SFC William Farrell SPC Michael Terrell SPC Michael Duricko, Ph.D MAJ Roland McDonald SFC William Farrell SSG Franklin Briant SSG William Jones SSG Michael Noll MCPO Hilary Kunz MAJ Wayne WickizerSGM Hilbert ChristensenCPO William Glen (W.G.) Powell1stSgt Eugene Harless

LTC Stephen F. I like : 1863: Grierson’s Raid. Col. Benjamin Grierson learned from informants that a Rebel force was en route from Mobile to intercept the Yankee raiders. To verify the report and further confuse the enemy, Grierson sent Samuel Nelson, one of Surby’s resourceful

Sir, you should have been a history teacher, it's great to see your post every day LTC Stephen F.