What was the most significant event on August 8 during the U.S. Civil War?

In 1863 Robert E. Lee tried to resign following the Confederate losses at Gettysburg. He wrote a letter to CSA President Jefferson Davis citing recent defeats, and the fact that “no matter what may be the ability of the officer, if he loses the confidence of his troops disaster must sooner or later ensue.” With his characteristic humility, Lee proceeds to “in all sincerity, request Your Excellency to take measures to supply my place. I do this with the more earnestness because no one is more aware than myself of my inability for the duties of my position.”
“Several days later, on August 11, Davis answers Lee’s request. And, with his characteristic gallantry and poise, Davis gently refuses Lee’s resignation: “To ask me to substitute you by someone in my judgment more fit to command, or who would possess more of the confidence of the army, or of reflecting men in the country, is to demand an impossibility.”

Below are a number of journal entries from 1862 and 1863 which shed light on what life was like for soldiers and civilians – the good, the bad and the ugly. The full text of Robert E. Lee’s 1863 resignation letter is below.
Friday, August 8, 1862: As the officers of the now-destroyed CSS Arkansas come to visit the Morgan girls and their friends, Sarah Morgan relates this amusing incident: “Those girls did me the meanest thing imaginable. Mr. Talbot and I were planning a grand combined attack on Baton Rouge, in which he was to command a fleet and attack the town by the river, while I promised to get up a battalion of girls and attack them in the rear. We had settled it all, except the time, when just then all the others stopped talking. I went on: "And now, it is only necessary for you to name the day —" Here the girls commenced to giggle, and the young men tried to suppress a smile; I felt annoyed, but it did not strike me until after they had left, that I had said anything absurd. What evil imaginations they must have, if they could have fancied I meant anything except the battle!”
Friday, August 8, 1862: Charles Wright Wills continues his log of events and people, with some unfortunately uncomplimentary—but alas, very common and characteristic—reflections on the negroes: “My pet negro got so lazy and worthless I was compelled to ship him. I’ll take back, if you please, everything good that I ever said of free negroes. That Beauregard nigger was such a thief that we had to also set him adrift. He stole our canned fruit, jellies and oysters and sold some of them and gave parties at the cabins in the vicinity. This was barely endurable but he was a splendid, smart fellow and the colonel would have kept him, but he got to stealing the colonel’s liquor. That of course, was unpardonable, when the scarcity of the article was considered. . . . Orders have been given us to put every woman and child (imprison the men) across the line that speaks or acts secesh, and to burn their property, and to destroy all their crops, cut down corn growing, and burn all the cribs. That is something like war. ‘Tis devilish hard for one like me to assist in such work, but believe it is necessary to our course. Having been very busy preparing reports and writing letters all day, feel deuced little like writing you. People here treat us the very best kind, although they are as strong Rebels as live. Bring us peaches and vegetables every day. I can’t hardly think the generals will carry out the orders as above, for it will have a very demoralizing effect upon the men. I’d hate like the deuce to burn the houses of some secesh I know here, but at the same time don’t doubt the justice of the thing.”
Saturday, August 8, 1863: George Templeton Strong offers his rather prophetic perspective on the discussion in the newspapers (and in the halls of power) about whether the war is nearly won, and about possible Unionist sentiments in Southern states: “Newspapers brag far too loudly about our having “broken the backbone” of the rebellion and about the development of Union feeling in Tennessee, Mississippi, and North Carolina. The vertebrae of Southern treason still cohere, as we may yet learn to our terrible cost, especially if Lee reinforce himself with the debris of rebellion from the Southwest. And I would not give tenpence for all the loyalty that can be extracted from any slaveholding state except Maryland, Missouri, and Kentucky.”
Saturday, August 8, 1863: Just over a month after the Battle of Gettysburg--General Robert E. Lee wrote to Confederate President Jefferson F. Davis and offered to resign as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia.
From Camp Orange, August 8, 1863 To His Excellency Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States. Mr. President, Your letters of July 28 and August 2 have been received, and I have waited for a leisure hour to reply, but I fear that will never come. I am extremely obliged to you for the attention given to the wants of this army, and the efforts made to supply them. Our absentees are returning, and I hope the earnest and beautiful appeal may stir up the virtue of the whole people; and that they may see their duty and perform it. Nothing is wanted but their fortitude should equal their bravery to insure the success of our cause. We must expect reverses, even defeats. They are sent to teach us wisdom and prudence, to call forth greater energies and to prevent our falling into greater disasters. Our people have only to be true and united, to bear manfully the misfortunes incident to war, and all will come right in the end.
I know how prone we are to censure and how ready to blame others for the non-fulfillment of our expectations. This is unbecoming in a generous people, and I grieve to see its expression. The general remedy for the want of success in a military commander is his removal. This is natural, and in many instances, proper. For, no matter what may be the ability of the officer, if he loses the confidence of his troops disaster must sooner or later ensue.
I have been prompted by these reflections more than once since my return from Pennsylvania to propose to Your Excellency the propriety of selecting another commander for this army. I have seen and heard of expression of discontent in the public journals at the result of the expedition. I do not know how far this feeling exends in the army. My brother officers have been too kind to report it, and so far the troops have been too generous to exhibit it. It is fair, however, to suppose that it it does exist, and success is so necessary to us that nothing should be risked to secure it. I therefore, in all sincerity, request Your Excellency to take measures to supply my place. I do this with the more earnestness because no one is more aware than myself of my inability for the duties of my position. I cannot even accomplish what I myself desire. How can I fulfill the expectations of others? In addition I sensibly feel the growing failure of my bodily strength. I have not yet recovered from the attack I experienced the past spring. I am becoming more and more incapable of exertion, and am thus prevented from making the personal examinations and giving the personal supervision to the operations of the field which I feel to be necessary. I am so dull that in making use of the eyes of others I am frequently misled. Everything, therefore, points to the advantages to be derived from a new commander, and I the more anxiously urge the matter upon Your Excellency from my belief that a younger and abler man than myself can readily be attained. I know that he will have as gallant and brave an army as ever existed to second his efforts, and it would be the happiest day of my life to see at its head a worthy leader -- one that would accomplish more than I could perform and all that I have wished. I hope Your Excellency will attribute my request to the true reason, the desire to serve my country, and to do all in my power to insure the success of her righteous cause.
I have no complaints to make of any one but myself. I have received nothing but kindness from those above me, and the most considerate attention from my comrades and companions in arms. To Your Excellency I am specially indebted for uniform kindness and consideration. You have done everything in your power to aid me in the work committed to my charge, without omitting anything to promote the general welfare. I pray that your efforts may at length be crowned with success, and that you may long live to enjoy the thanks of grateful people.
With sentiments of great esteem, I am, very respectfully and truly, yours, R.E. Lee, General”

Pictures: 1862 Don Troiani artwork Stonewall Jackson rallying the troops; 1861 "Morning Mustering of the 'Contraband' at Fortress Monroe, on Their Way to Their Day's Work; 1864-08-08 hand drawn map from the Library of Congress showing Mobile Bay Defenses; Rebel Prison at Florence, SC

A. Thursday, August 8, 1861: For weeks now, Gen. Benjamin Butler had been sending increasingly urgent telegrams from his post at Fort Monroe, VA to Washington, asking what he was supposed to do with the Negroes who were flocking into his camp. Some were freed when Union troops took control of the area where they had lived; some had run away from further South. Under the letter of the Fugitive Slave Law Butler was supposed to send them back to slavery. Today Secretary of War Simon Cameron wrote that slaves from areas in insurrection were to be considered free and Butler could do what he liked with them.
B. Friday, August 8, 1862: Bull Run Campaign. CSA Gen. Stonewall Jackson’s troops advance northward, along the line of the Orange & Alexandria Railroad, approaching Barnett’s Ford over the Rapidan River. The CSA advance is slow and disorderly, however, as A.P. Hill’s division is late. General Ewell’s in front only travels about 8 miles this day, and Hill’s only 2. Maj Gen Pope’s Army of Virginia (Union) is about to collide with part of the Army of Northern Virginia (Confederate). Confusing nomenclature. Union cavalry under Gen. George Dashiell Bayard skirmishes with advancing Confederates as the two armies make contact. Bayard and Buford, with cavalry, and Crawford with his brigade of infantry, constitute the Union advance force. A.P. Hill’s division is the Confederate advance force. Since the skirmishing is happening on this front, near a hill called Cedar Mountain, Pope orders Banks and Sigel to converge at Culpepper, north of the mountain, with their corps. Gen. Rufus King near Fredericksburg prepares to march west to reinforce Pope.
C. Saturday, August 8, 1863: General Robert E Lee (CSA) offered his resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis and took full responsibility for the disaster at Gettysburg. On no occasion did he try to blame a subordinate officer – a problem in the Union’s Army of the Potomac that created many divisions among senior generals who could never be totally sure who they could trust. Davis refused Lee’s offer.
D. Monday, August 8, 1864: Fort Gaines, Alabama at the entrance to Mobile Bay, surrenders. Admiral David G. Farragut's fleet seemingly had accomplished the impossible: racing past the forts, skillfully navigating the torpedo mines, and capturing the Confederacy's most powerful ship. But before the Union could declare a complete victory, Forts Morgan and Gaines had to be captured. That task fell to Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger's infantry division. In a combined offensive, Farragut's ships and Granger's artillery began bombarding Fort Gaines, and on August 8 at 9:30 a.m., Col. Charles Anderson of the Confederate Army surrendered the fort. The Union Army took possession of 800 prisoners. Brig. Gen. Richard Page, commanding officer of Fort Morgan, remained determined to hold fast, however. When Union forces demanded his surrender, Morgan replied, "I am prepared to sacrifice life and will only surrender when I have no means of defense." Union guns began bombarding the fort on August 22, and on the following day Page, determining that he no longer had a "means of defense," surrendered the fort, along with 600 men. The Union captured about 100 total pieces of artillery from the Confederate forts.
Background: Admiral David G. Farragut's fleet seemingly had accomplished the impossible: racing past the forts, skillfully navigating the torpedo mines, and capturing the Confederacy's most powerful ship. Farragut's successful offensive into the bay cost him 315 casualties, compared with only 32 casualties among Confederate sailors.
Aftermath: Farragut's capture of Mobile Bay was a decisive strategic victory for the Union. His success was the first significant victory in the Union's 1864 offensives and provided a much-needed boost to northern morale. Although the city of Mobile remained in Confederate hands until the final days of the war, the port was closed to Confederate blockade runners, thus cutting off supply lines. On March 24, 1865, Maj. Gen. Dabney Herdon Maury and the remnants of his army evacuated Mobile, and the city surrendered on April 12, exactly four years after the start of the Civil War at Fort Sumter.

1. Thursday, August 8, 1861: "Iron-Plated vessels" in 1861 Richmond's Daily Dispatch carried the following article speculating on the possible use of iron-plated vessels. “The sheathing of ships-of-war with iron is a subject which has engaged of late the profound attention of European Governments.--Although the discussion of the merits of such vessels has not ceased in naval circles, they can no longer be considered an experiment.-- Louis Napoleon, whose fertile genius availed itself of the hints and efforts of former projectors in this line, has the credit of being the first to put them in successful execution. The public cannot have forgotten the mortifying shortcomings of the English Navy in the Crimean war. If there is anything that England justly prides herself on it is her Navy, and never was it more powerful and efficient than in the beginning of the Russian contest — Such a fleet as Sir Charles Napier took to the Baltic, to say nothing of the squadron in the Black Sea, the world had never before seen. We doubt whether the combined navies of the world could have held the ocean an hour in the presence of such an enemy. But the English Navy did literally nothing in the Crimean war.--The small Russian navy kept very prudently under the protection of its fortresses, and those the fleets dared not attack. Sir Chas. Napier invited the Russian Admiral to come out, and the Commandant of Cronstadt invited Sir Charles to come in invitations which neither was in a hurry to accept.--Whenever a ship ventured to attack even a small land battery, it was invariably worsted. These results prompted Louis Napoleon to try the experiment of sheathing gunboats with iron, which was accomplished in time to enable a number of them to engage in the attack upon the Russian fortifications of Kinburm, which resulted in complete success, the fortifications being silenced, and the gunboats, though often struck by the enemy's balls, being scarcely injured at all. The next experiment of the Emperor was sheathing large ships in the same manner, the frigate La Gloire being the first attempt, and it is claimed entirely successful. Although never tested in battle, she has made several cruises one in rough weather, which showed that her qualities as a sea-boat were not impaired by the iron sheathing. It is believed that this vessel, thus protected, could whip a small squadron of frigates of her own size. At any rate, the Emperor is so satisfied of it that he has had a dozen more constructed in the same manner, and the English Government is following his example. It is true, the old seamen of the British service, who opposed the introduction of steam and every other innovation upon established usages, scout the iron sheathed vessels, but the significant fact remains that England, not withstanding the enormous expense she has already incurred by converting her whole sailing navy into a steam navy, is building one vessel on this new plan for every one that is built at the French dockyards. In France, where iron is not as accessible as in England, the vessels are wooden vessels, sheathed with iron; in England, iron is preferred, we believe, for the whole vessel. Under these circumstances, the construction of one or two iron of steel-plated vessels by the Confederate Government would seem to be the dictate of true policy. We have little doubt that a single vessel of this kind would sink the whole blockading squadron in Hampton Roads, and assist materially in the reduction of the fortress. The subject is worthy the grave consideration and the prompt action of the Government.” Although the author of this article didn't seem to realize it, the Confederacy was already working on at least one iron-clad vessel. The wreck of the USS Merrimack had been salvaged and was undergoing conversion to an iron-clad in Gosport navy yard.
http://www.civilwar-online.com/search?q=August+8%2C+1861
2. Friday, August 8, 1862: As the officers of the now-destroyed CSS Arkansas come to visit the Morgan girls and their friends, Sarah Morgan relates this amusing incident: “Those girls did me the meanest thing imaginable. Mr. Talbot and I were planning a grand combined attack on Baton Rouge, in which he was to command a fleet and attack the town by the river, while I promised to get up a battalion of girls and attack them in the rear. We had settled it all, except the time, when just then all the others stopped talking. I went on: "And now, it is only necessary for you to name the day —" Here the girls commenced to giggle, and the young men tried to suppress a smile; I felt annoyed, but it did not strike me until after they had left, that I had said anything absurd. What evil imaginations they must have, if they could have fancied I meant anything except the battle!”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=August+8%2C+1862
3. Friday, August 8, 1862: Charles Wright Wills continues his log of events and people, with some unfortunately uncomplimentary—but alas, very common and characteristic—reflections on the negroes: “My pet negro got so lazy and worthless I was compelled to ship him. I’ll take back, if you please, everything good that I ever said of free negroes. That Beauregard nigger was such a thief that we had to also set him adrift. He stole our canned fruit, jellies and oysters and sold some of them and gave parties at the cabins in the vicinity. This was barely endurable but he was a splendid, smart fellow and the colonel would have kept him, but he got to stealing the colonel’s liquor. That of course, was unpardonable, when the scarcity of the article was considered. . . . Orders have been given us to put every woman and child (imprison the men) across the line that speaks or acts secesh, and to burn their property, and to destroy all their crops, cut down corn growing, and burn all the cribs. That is something like war. ‘Tis devilish hard for one like me to assist in such work, but believe it is necessary to our course. Having been very busy preparing reports and writing letters all day, feel deuced little like writing you. People here treat us the very best kind, although they are as strong Rebels as live. Bring us peaches and vegetables every day. I can’t hardly think the generals will carry out the orders as above, for it will have a very demoralizing effect upon the men. I’d hate like the deuce to burn the houses of some secesh I know here, but at the same time don’t doubt the justice of the thing.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=August+8%2C+1862
4. Friday, August 8, 1862: On this date, Sec. of War Stanton issues two orders: One that prevents anyone eligible for military service from leaving the country, and another that suspends the writ of Habeas Corpus for persons arrested for disloyal activity, especially discouraging men from joining the army.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=August+8%2C+1862
5. Friday, August 8, 1862: President directs secretary of war to issue order for arrest of persons engaged in draft dodging enlistments. It seems people were moving and not leaving foreword addresses.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-b/part-sixty-nineSaturday, August 8, 1863: Robert E. Lee offers his resignation to Jefferson Davis. Davis refuses the offer.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186308
6. Saturday, August 8, 1863: Lee Resigns--or Tries To: “On this date, Gen. Robert E. Lee resigns his command over the Army of Northern Virginia, citing recent defeats, and the fact that “no matter what may be the ability of the officer, if he loses the confidence of his troops disaster must sooner or later ensue.” With his characteristic humility, Lee proceeds to “in all sincerity, request Your Excellency to take measures to supply my place. I do this with the more earnestness because no one is more aware than myself of my inability for the duties of my position.” Several days later, on August 11, Davis answers Lee’s request. And, with his characteristic gallantry and poise, Davis gently refuses Lee’s resignation: “To ask me to substitute you by someone in my judgment more fit to command, or who would possess more of the confidence of the army, or of reflecting men in the country, is to demand an impossibility.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=August+8%2C+1863
7. Saturday, August 8, 1863: Just over a month after the Battle of Gettysburg--General Robert E. Lee wrote to Confederate President Jefferson F. Davis and offered to resign as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia.
From Camp Orange, August 8, 1863 To His Excellency Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States. Mr. President, Your letters of July 28 and August 2 have been received, and I have waited for a leisure hour to reply, but I fear that will never come. I am extremely obliged to you for the attention given to the wants of this army, and the efforts made to supply them. Our absentees are returning, and I hope the earnest and beautiful appeal may stir up the virtue of the whole people; and that they may see their duty and perform it. Nothing is wanted but their fortitude should equal their bravery to insure the success of our cause. We must expect reverses, even defeats. They are sent to teach us wisdom and prudence, to call forth greater energies and to prevent our falling into greater disasters. Our people have only to be true and united, to bear manfully the misfortunes incident to war, and all will come right in the end.
I know how prone we are to censure and how ready to blame others for the non-fulfillment of our expectations. This is unbecoming in a generous people, and I grieve to see its expression. The general remedy for the want of success in a military commander is his removal. This is natural, and in many instances, proper. For, no matter what may be the ability of the officer, if he loses the confidence of his troops disaster must sooner or later ensue.
I have been prompted by these reflections more than once since my return from Pennsylvania to propose to Your Excellency the propriety of selecting another commander for this army. I have seen and heard of expression of discontent in the public journals at the result of the expedition. I do not know how far this feeling exends in the army. My brother officers have been too kind to report it, and so far the troops have been too generous to exhibit it. It is fair, however, to suppose that it it does exist, and success is so necessary to us that nothing should be risked to secure it. I therefore, in all sincerity, request Your Excellency to take measures to supply my place. I do this with the more earnestness because no one is more aware than myself of my inability for the duties of my position. I cannot even accomplish what I myself desire. How can I fulfill the expectations of others? In addition I sensibly feel the growing failure of my bodily strength. I have not yet recovered from the attack I experienced the past spring. I am becoming more and more incapable of exertion, and am thus prevented from making the personal examinations and giving the personal supervision to the operations of the field which I feel to be necessary. I am so dull that in making use of the eyes of others I am frequently misled. Everything, therefore, points to the advantages to be derived from a new commander, and I the more anxiously urge the matter upon Your Excellency from my belief that a younger and abler man than myself can readily be attained. I know that he will have as gallant and brave an army as ever existed to second his efforts, and it would be the happiest day of my life to see at its head a worthy leader -- one that would accomplish more than I could perform and all that I have wished. I hope Your Excellency will attribute my request to the true reason, the desire to serve my country, and to do all in my power to insure the success of her righteous cause.
I have no complaints to make of any one but myself. I have received nothing but kindness from those above me, and the most considerate attention from my comrades and companions in arms. To Your Excellency I am specially indebted for uniform kindness and consideration. You have done everything in your power to aid me in the work committed to my charge, without omitting anything to promote the general welfare. I pray that your efforts may at length be crowned with success, and that you may long live to enjoy the thanks of grateful people.
With sentiments of great esteem, I am, very respectfully and truly, yours, R.E. Lee, General”
http://www.civilwar-online.com/search?q=August+8%2C+1863
8. Saturday, August 8, 1863: George Templeton Strong offers his rather prophetic perspective on the discussion in the newspapers (and in the halls of power) about whether the war is nearly won, and about possible Unionist sentiments in Southern states: “Newspapers brag far too loudly about our having “broken the backbone” of the rebellion and about the development of Union feeling in Tennessee, Mississippi, and North Carolina. The vertebrae of Southern treason still cohere, as we may yet learn to our terrible cost, especially if Lee reinforce himself with the debris of rebellion from the Southwest. And I would not give tenpence for all the loyalty that can be extracted from any slaveholding state except Maryland, Missouri, and Kentucky.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=August+8%2C+1863

A Thursday, August 8, 1861: For weeks now, Gen. Benjamin Butler had been sending increasingly urgent telegrams from his post at Fort Monroe, VA to Washington, asking what he was supposed to do with the Negroes who were flocking into his camp. Some were freed when Union troops took control of the area where they had lived; some had run away from further South. Under the letter of the Fugitive Slave Law Butler was supposed to send them back to slavery. Today Secretary of War Simon Cameron wrote that slaves from areas in insurrection were to be considered free and Butler could do what he liked with them.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-a/part-seventeen
Thursday, August 8, 1861: Influenced by Gen. Butler’s legal arguments (he was a lawyer as a civilian), Sec. Cameron of the U.S. War Department authorizes Butler to keep the escaped slaves as "contraband of war."
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=August+8%2C+1861
B Friday, August 8, 1862: Manassas/Second Manassas Campaign: Jackson crosses the Rapidan and advances, driving the Union cavalry back. The CS advance is slow and disorderly, however, as A.P. Hill’s division is late. General Ewell’s in front only travels about 8 miles this day, and Hill’s only 2. Meanwhile, General Pope reaches Culpeper around midday, and to meet Jackson, orders Banks and Sigel to hasten to Culpeper Court House and Crawford’s brigade of Banks’ force to Cedar Run to support Bayard.
https://bjdeming.com/2012/09/17/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-august-6-12-1862/
B+ Friday, August 8, 1862: Eastern Theater, Bull Run Campaign - Gen. Stonewall Jackson’s troops advance northward, along the line of the Orange & Alexandria Railroad, approaching Barnett’s Ford over the Rapidan River. Pope’s Army of Virginia (Union) is about to collide with part of the Army of Northern Virginia (Confederate). Confusing nomenclature. Union cavalry under Gen. George Dashiell Bayard skirmishes with advancing Confederates as the two armies make contact. Bayard and Buford, with cavalry, and Crawford with his brigade of infantry, constitute the Union advance force. A.P. Hill’s division is the Confederate advance force. Since the skirmishing is happening on this front, near a hill called Cedar Mountain, Pope orders Banks and Sigel to converge at Culpepper, north of the mountain, with their corps. Gen. Rufus King near Fredericksburg prepares to march west to reinforce Pope.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=August+8%2C+1862
C Saturday, August 8, 1863: General Robert E Lee (CSA) offered his resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis and took full responsibility for the disaster at Gettysburg. On no occasion did he try to blame a subordinate officer – a problem in the Union’s Army of the Potomac that created many divisions among senior generals who could never be totally sure who they could trust. Davis refused Lee’s offer.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-c/week-121
Saturday, August 8, 1863: A Federal force tries to surprise Confederates under Colonel Dibrell near Sparta, but fails, taking heavy losses. (Some sources say the fight happened on the 9th, others that it was a two-day affair running from the 8th to the 9th.) Samuel “Champ” Ferguson shows up with some guerrillas to help the Confederate soldiers. Ferguson’s nemesis, David “Tinker David Beaty, apparently was not there.: “civilian inhabitants of an area. It usually lasts throughout the duration of conflict and, if a part of a civil war, pits neighbor against neighbor. The men involved are not disciplined troops and as a result should not be held to the same standards of conduct that would be required of regular forces. Additionally, the distinction between non-combatant and combatant is usually lost. The hate that is generated for the family of an individual who one blames for the death of one’s own family member can result in what others will call atrocities. Leaders of Guerilla movements are also usually given credit for any offense against those who are opposed to their cause. Simple robbery and assault are not considered to exist.
There is no doubt that innocent people were killed on both sides during the Civil War. There is also no doubt that both Champ Ferguson … and “Tinker Dave” ordered and carried out the execution of enemy soldiers after capture.
https://bjdeming.com/2013/08/05/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-august-5-11-1863/
D Monday, August 8, 1864: Alabama operations, Mobile Bay: Fort Gaines surrenders.
https://bjdeming.com/2014/08/03/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-august-4-10-1864/
D+ Monday, August 8, 1864: Fort Gaines, Alabama at the entrance to Mobile Bay, surrenders.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186408
D+ Monday, August 8, 1864: Fort Gaines, Alabama at the entrance to Mobile Bay, surrenders. Farragut's fleet seemingly had accomplished the impossible: racing past the forts, skillfully navigating the torpedo mines, and capturing the Confederacy's most powerful ship. Farragut's successful offensive into the bay cost him 315 casualties, compared with only 32 casualties among Confederate sailors. But before the Union could declare a complete victory, Forts Morgan and Gaines had to be captured. That task fell to Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger's infantry division. In a combined offensive, Farragut's ships and Granger's artillery began bombarding Fort Gaines, and on August 8 at 9:30 a.m., Col. Charles Anderson of the Confederate Army surrendered the fort. The Union Army took possession of 800 prisoners. Brig. Gen. Richard Page, commanding officer of Fort Morgan, remained determined to hold fast, however. When Union forces demanded his surrender, Morgan replied, "I am prepared to sacrifice life and will only surrender when I have no means of defense." Union guns began bombarding the fort on August 22, and on the following day Page, determining that he no longer had a "means of defense," surrendered the fort, along with 600 men. The Union captured about 100 total pieces of artillery from the Confederate forts.
Farragut's capture of Mobile Bay was a decisive strategic victory for the Union. His success was the first significant victory in the Union's 1864 offensives and provided a much-needed boost to northern morale. Although the city of Mobile remained in Confederate hands until the final days of the war, the port was closed to Confederate blockade runners, thus cutting off supply lines. On March 24, 1865, Maj. Gen. Dabney Herdon Maury and the remnants of his army evacuated Mobile, and the city surrendered on April 12, exactly four years after the start of the Civil War at Fort Sumter.
http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1257
FYI GySgt Jack Wallace CWO4 Terrence Clark SPC Michael Oles SRSMSgt Lawrence McCarter A1C Pamela G RussellLTC Trent KlugPO2 Russell "Russ" Lincoln SFC Bernard Walko SFC Stephen King SFC Ralph E Kelley SSG Franklin Briant MSgt Robert C AldiSSG Byron Howard Sr Cpl Samuel Pope Sr CPL Ronald Keyes Jr SFC William Farrell CMDCM John F. "Doc" Bradshaw SPC Lyle Montgomery

Great history, you always out do yourself LTC Stephen F.

Good evening LTC Stephen F. and thanks for another great read.