Posted on Jul 21, 2016
What was the most significant event on July 16 during the U.S. Civil War?
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USS Wyoming and the Battle of Shimonoseki Straits
July of 1863 represented a significant turning point in the American Civil War. The capture of Vicksburg represented final victory in the campaign in the wes...
In 1862 Maj Gen U.S. Grant given significant responsibilities in the western theater of operations. In 1862 Brig Gen McDowell marches toward Manassas, Virginia. In 1863, Federal troops with experience in riot control quash the draft riot in NY City. In 1864 Jubal early leaves Loudoun County and moves into the Shenandoah Valley.
Biased account from the Confederate Lexington Rifles in 1862: “But, aware that his regiment was in danger from pursuing Federals, COL Morgan left Harrodsburg and marched his men swiftly, using deceptive turns and passes to avoid the enemy. During the time Morgan’s men were riding through the bluegrass country, Federal forces were in such a state of panic that it caused the despot Lincoln to wire a message to U.S. GEN Halleck at Corinth, Mississippi, saying: "They are having a stampede in Kentucky. Please see to it."
After leaving Harrodsburg, Morgan's men moved through Lawrenceburg and Versailles, making a feint toward Frankfort. With Lexington occupied by Federal troops, the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry swung north to Georgetown. The regiment arrived there late on July 16 and encamped for a long, much needed rest stop. In the meantime, efforts were made in earnest for one of the prime purposes of this raid --- recruiting.”
USA versus Japan in a naval battle in 1863: Shimonoséki Straits, Japan: The USS Wyoming has been patrolling the seas, looking for the CSS Alabama. Today, for a number of local reasons unrelated to the war back home, the Wyoming will take on most of the Japanese navy and a number of shore batteries in the first US-Japan naval battle.
Lengthy first-hand account of the Shimonoséki Straits battle: 1863: Shimonoséki Straits, Japan. “At five o'clock on the morning of July 16, Wyoming weighed anchor and steamed toward the Strait of Shimonoséki. She went to general quarters at nine, loaded her pivot guns with shell, and cleared for action. Heco provides a first-person description of events: “The weather was clear with not a cloud to be seen in the whole sky. About 5 a.m. we weighed anchor and steamed slowly onward in search of the vessel that had fired on the Pembroke. We zigzagged from one side of the Suwo Nada to the other hoping to meet her, but without success. So at length we changed our course from the Bungo to the Suwo side, and from there we made towards Shimonoséki. In case we failed to find the vessel, we meant to proceed to Hagi, the old Capital of Chôshiu.”
By nine o'clock the sun in a cloudless sky had waxed scorching. There was not a breath of wind, the sea smooth as a tank of oil with not a ripple on its surface save that made by our own motion as we churned onwards. The deck was strewn with fire-arms and cutlasses ready for use at a moment's notice. About this time the Captain ordered the men to haul in the big guns and to cover up the ports with tarpaulins, so as to make us look like a merchant-man. About 10 a.m. we were within a few miles of the Eastern entrance of the Straits of Shimonoséki. The Lieutenant in the forecastle called out that he sighted two square-rigged vessels and a steamer at anchor close in to the town.
The warship entered the strait at 10:45 and beat to quarters. Her entry was announced by signal guns on shore, and as soon as she came in range she was fired upon by the batteries. She made no reply, however, until she reached the narrowest part of the straits. At that point the larger shore batteries concentrated their fire; beyond, in more open water lay three armed merchantmen, all heavily manned, and with their crews yelling defiance. Oddly enough, these were all American vessels – the bark Daniel Webster (six guns), the brig Lanrick (Kosei, with ten guns), and the steamer Lancefield (Koshin, of four guns) -- which had been purchased by the Chôshiu clansmen. In the land batteries, too, were five 8-inch Dahlgren guns which had recently been presented to Japan by the United States. McDougal judged the greater threat to be the three warships and was pleased to see that all were still at anchor. He could engage them first, hoping to catch them before their cables were slipped and they made for deep water. The bark lay anchored close to the town on the northern shore, the brig was about fifty yards outside and a little beyond, while the steamer lay further ahead and outside, that is, nearer mid-channel. As McDougal approached the narrows, he noticed a line of stakes which he rightly guessed had been used by the Japanese to gauge their aim. Accordingly, he avoided the middle of the channel and steered close under the batteries. This shrewdness probably was the salvation of the Wyoming, for the batteries at once opened a tremendous cannonade which would have sunk a dozen vessels in mid-channel, but which only tore through her rigging. In an instant, the Stars and Stripes were raised and the challenge answered with shells from the Wyoming’s two 11-inch Dahlgrens. Wyoming ran through the fire of the shore batteries with no injuries and only minor damage. She soon cleared the narrows and bore out into the open water where her guns could reply.
While Dr. Dambey, Mr. Benson and I were standing on the quarterdeck the report of a big gun suddenly thundered in our ears. On looking up we saw smoke issuing from the wooded bluff on the mainland on our right as we were bearing down towards Shimonoséki. I at once hurried to the Captain on the bridge and told him that I fancied that this gun was a signal for battle. And on my way back to the quarter-deck a second report rang out from a second battery, further within the Straits. And in a few more seconds, yet another broke the silence and rolled rumbling about along the hill-sides. This was from the innermost battery of all on a lofty height right behind the town. A few seconds later, a tongue of fire leapt from the place where the first shot had been fired, and before the smoke had begun to float upwards I heard a hurtling screech, and a column of water spurted up and fell back with a splash just about twenty feet astern of where we were standing talking on the quarter-deck. The gunners on shore clearly meant business.
Commander McDougal then gave orders to "go in between those vessels and take the steamer." The Yokohama pilots protested loudly, but the American had made up his mind to take the chances of shallow water and headed for the three ships. Heco records , "When we heard this, everybody on board, I noticed, became excited and some of the men became quite pale -- for it was no easy matter to take an enemy's vessel without a hand-to-hand fight, and many of the crew I was told had never been under fire."
As Wyoming narrowed the distance to the Japanese ships, Orderly Sergeant Abel Clegg ordered his twelve Marines to load their muskets and prepare to fire. McDougal intended to run his ship right between the enemy vessels, engaging the bark and the brig to starboard and the steamer to port. When he did, the Marines were to demonstrate their prowess as marksmen and pick off the enemy gunners. Wyoming would pass so close to Prince Chôshiu’s ships that even the poorest shot in the guard would not have an excuse for missing his target. Immediately a fresh battery of four guns opened a raking fire, but the Wyoming answered with a single shell so accurately aimed that it tore the entire battery to pieces. Dashing ahead, she passed abreast the bark and the brig (Kosei) at close quarters and exchanged broadsides with both.
At precisely 10.50 a.m. we ran right in between the three Chôshiu vessels, and treated them to a salute from our two Dahlgren guns. After delivering our broadside we steamed slowly out and crossing the bow of the steamer Lancefield , we worked towards the channel pounding away at the enemy all the while. Meanwhile the enemy kept up an unflagging fire from ships and batteries alike But their aim was wild; we noticed that the guns on shore were all fired and trained upon the channel, and we passed so close under them that their shot mostly went ten or fifteen feet overhead. But it was not at all nice or comfortable to hear them whizzing and screaming aloft among our rigging. And the worst of it all was that there was no chance of falling back to the rear, for in a fight on ship-board there is no such convenient thing as the rear to fall back to.
The firing was so close that the long guns of the Wyoming seemed almost to touch the muzzles of the enemy, and it was in these few minutes at close quarters that the greater part of the American loss occurred. The forward gun division suffered most on account of its exposed position, sustaining, in fact, all the casualties of the day except three. When the smoke had cleared, six men from the crew of Wyoming’s forward broadside gun were down, one of them dead. Elsewhere on the ship, a marine was struck dead by a piece of shrapnel. Damage was extensive, but McDougal remained undaunted. The Japanese handled their guns so rapidly that the brig alone managed to pour three broadsides into the Wyoming. Nonetheless her port battery, targeting the steamer Koshin, let loose two rifled shells. After passing through the Japanese gunboats, Wyoming rounded the bow of the steamer and made a looping turn to port, intending to make another dash at the enemy. The brig was already settling, but the Daniel Webster, in spite of the great holes in her side, still kept up a steady fire, and six land batteries now reopened with the Wyoming as a fair target. The steamer, meanwhile, weighed anchor and, moving to the opposite side, seemed to be getting ready to ram or board the American. At this critical moment the rushing tides sent the Wyoming's bow aground, but after some minutes her engines succeeded in backing her off. Wyoming swung around, and, bringing her port battery to bear, fired on the approaching steamer. A second salvo exploded Koshin’s boilers and she began to sink; her crew abandoned her and took to the water.
The steamer seemed to have some dignitaries on board, as we saw that she had purple awnings with the Prince's crest. As soon as we crossed the Lancefield's bows she slipped her cable and essayed to run for refuge into the inner harbor. At this instant the Captain called out to the gunner at the 11 inch Dahlgren to fire. But the gunner seemed to pay no attention until the Captain had given the order for the third or fourth time. At last he did as he was told, and "Bang" went the gun with an ear-splitting crash. And as the smoke of the discharge drifted aside we saw a great volume of smoke and steam hissing and pouring from the Lancefield's deck, and at the same time she slewed slowly round and heeled over on one side, and in a minute or two down she went into the waters. When we saw the steam pouring out of her, our tars gave three rousing cheers, fancying that the 11-inch shell had burst within her. And they heartened up wonderfully and went into the fight with all their soul and with all their strength and with all their mind. This lucky shot struck just at the right moment, for by this time several of our men had been laid low or disabled by shot and flying bolts and splinters. The reason why the Captain of the gun did not let loose at the first word of command was that he was taking aim at the exact water-line. And when he did fire he hit the spot to a hair's-breadth. He finished the vessel by that single well-directed shot. It tore through one side of the hull, ripped through the boilers, out at the other side, and drove ashore and lodged there without ever bursting. This I learned from the Chôshiu officers afterwards.
McDougal then fired into the Japanese bark and the Kosei, sending the latter to the bottom. Then, ignoring the shore batteries and the Daniel Webster, McDougal opened fire with his two 11-inch Dahlgren pivot guns on the brig Kosei. Both shells took effect in her hull; another from the forward pivot tore through her boiler, and in a cloud of smoke and steam the vessel went down. Meanwhile, the bark Daniel Webster had been firing as fast as the guns could be loaded, and the six shore batteries were a continuous line of smoke and flame. McDougal now trained his guns to reply. In a few minutes the bark was wrecked, and then one shore battery after another was silenced. When satisfied that he had destroyed everything within range, he turned and steamed slowly back. On his return he was practically unmolested.
Thus we fought 6 batteries, a barque, a brig and a steamer. We silenced all the batteries, and as for the brig and the steamer we sank them. And all this was done in a little more than one short hour. We ceased firing at 20 m. after 12 p.m.
From our observation it appeared that all the guns were trained on the channel, and placed so as to rake the course usually taken by foreign vessels in passing the Straits. Had it not been for the Captain's clever maneuver of running right close inshore under their batteries, every shot they fired would have hulled us. But as it was they all screeched harmlessly over us. The only punishment we received we got from the vessels.
During the engagement we fired 53 shot and shell in all, with the result I have above mentioned. The Chôshiu men discharged 130 rounds in all, of which 22 did us actual damage. These hit our rigging, smoke-stack and hull, and killed 5 and wounded 7 of our men.
This action had lasted one hour and ten minutes, in the course of which the Wyoming had been hulled ten times, her rigging had been badly cut, her smokestack perforated, and she had lost five killed and seven wounded. The battle had been won by the coolness and nerve of the American commander, and a fine feature of the story is that while most of the Wyoming's crew had never before been under fire, even when the ship was aground and the pilots were paralyzed with terror the bluejackets stood by their guns like veterans. Those were the days, too, when a white man caught by the insurgents endured the unspeakable death of the "torture cage," and the men knew that their commander had ordered that if the ship became helpless by grounding or by shot she was to be blown up with all on board. Although Wyoming was significantly cut up, Prince Chôshiu’s forces took the worst of the battle. McDougal had served notice that hostile action against Americans would result in punitive action. As Commander McDougal wrote in his report to Gideon Welles on 23 July, "the punishment inflicted (upon the daimyo) and in store for him will, I trust, teach him a lesson that will not soon be forgotten."
Pictures: 1863-07-16 McDougal then fired into the Japanese bark and the Kosei, sending the latter to the bottom; 1863-07-16 Spurring wagon train and encampment; 1863-07-16 Shimonoséki Battle Map; 1863-07-16 Battle of Grimball’s Landing map
A. 1862: Battle of Boteler's Ford, western Virginia. Brig. Gen. David McM. Gregg's cavalry advanced toward Kearneysville where they were met by the Confederate cavalry brigades of Brig. Gens. Fitzhugh Lee and John R. Chambliss, supported by Col. Milton J. Ferguson's brigade. The hilly and rocky ground was ill-suited for effective cavalry combat, so both Union and Confederate horsemen dismounted and fought. The line of battle extended a mile and a half on both the North and South sides of the road. Townspeople could hear heavy cannonading from the severe fight. The Federal troops held up in Butler's Woods, where they remained until midnight and then retreated in the direction of Harper's Ferry. During this battle, Col. James Drake of the 1st Virginia Cavalry was killed, which led to Shepherdstown soldier William Morgan's promotion to colonel.
B. 1863: Shimonoséki Straits, Japan: Although USS Wyoming was significantly cut up, Japanese Prince Chôshiu’s forces took the worst of the battle. The USS Wyoming has been patrolling the seas, looking for the CSS Alabama. For a number of local reasons unrelated to the war back home, the Wyoming will take on most of the Japanese navy and a number of shore batteries in the first US-Japan naval battle. This action had lasted one hour and ten minutes, in the course of which the Wyoming had been hulled ten times, her rigging had been badly cut, her smokestack perforated, and she had lost five killed and seven wounded. The battle had been won by the coolness and nerve of the American commander, and a fine feature of the story is that while most of the Wyoming's crew had never before been under fire, even when the ship was aground and the pilots were paralyzed with terror the bluejackets stood by their guns like veterans. Those were the days, too, when a white man caught by the insurgents endured the unspeakable death of the "torture cage," and the men knew that their commander had ordered that if the ship became helpless by grounding or by shot she was to be blown up with all on board. Although Wyoming was significantly cut up, Prince Chôshiu’s forces took the worst of the battle.
C. 1863: Draft riots in New York City end. “The 7th Regiment returns: Troops experienced at riot control arrived at 4:40 in the morning. Police escorts: Hundreds of black New Yorkers were ferried to refuge on Blackwell’s Island. East Side battles: Munitions factories and dockyards were under continual attack, culminating in the afternoon battle of Gramercy Park with room-by-room fighting with insurgents. Downtown and the West Side remained quiet all day. Late night quiet: Police patrols, though attacked by snipers sporadically, establish control of the East Side.”
D. 1863: The Confederates were duped by Brig. Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore feint and attacked Maj Gen Alfred Terry 's camp at Grimball's Landing. Because of incomplete reconnaissance of the difficult, marshy ground, the disorganized Confederate attack was soon aborted. Their mission accomplished, Union troops withdrew from the island on July 17. This battle was the first engagement of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, in which it suffered 43.
USS Wyoming and the Battle of Shimonoseki Straits
July of 1863 represented a significant turning point in the American Civil War. The capture of Vicksburg represented final victory in the campaign in the west, cementing Union control of the Mississippi river, while victory at Gettysburg shifted the momentum of the war in the east. Given the importance, and staggering costs, of these battles, it should be no surprise that the nation has largely forgotten a much smaller, yet still important battle the same month, nearly seven thousand miles away from the US capitol.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l43XaAQErnA
FYI Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. PO3 Edward Riddle SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL Maj William W. 'Bill' Price COL (Join to see)SSgt David M. SPC Maurice Evans SGT David A. 'Cowboy' GrothSGT Jim ArnoldRyan CallahanAmn Dale Preisach MGySgt Rick Tyrrell PVT Mark Whitcomb PO2 Marco Monsalve SrA Ronald Moore PO2 Tom Belcher PO1 John Johnson
Biased account from the Confederate Lexington Rifles in 1862: “But, aware that his regiment was in danger from pursuing Federals, COL Morgan left Harrodsburg and marched his men swiftly, using deceptive turns and passes to avoid the enemy. During the time Morgan’s men were riding through the bluegrass country, Federal forces were in such a state of panic that it caused the despot Lincoln to wire a message to U.S. GEN Halleck at Corinth, Mississippi, saying: "They are having a stampede in Kentucky. Please see to it."
After leaving Harrodsburg, Morgan's men moved through Lawrenceburg and Versailles, making a feint toward Frankfort. With Lexington occupied by Federal troops, the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry swung north to Georgetown. The regiment arrived there late on July 16 and encamped for a long, much needed rest stop. In the meantime, efforts were made in earnest for one of the prime purposes of this raid --- recruiting.”
USA versus Japan in a naval battle in 1863: Shimonoséki Straits, Japan: The USS Wyoming has been patrolling the seas, looking for the CSS Alabama. Today, for a number of local reasons unrelated to the war back home, the Wyoming will take on most of the Japanese navy and a number of shore batteries in the first US-Japan naval battle.
Lengthy first-hand account of the Shimonoséki Straits battle: 1863: Shimonoséki Straits, Japan. “At five o'clock on the morning of July 16, Wyoming weighed anchor and steamed toward the Strait of Shimonoséki. She went to general quarters at nine, loaded her pivot guns with shell, and cleared for action. Heco provides a first-person description of events: “The weather was clear with not a cloud to be seen in the whole sky. About 5 a.m. we weighed anchor and steamed slowly onward in search of the vessel that had fired on the Pembroke. We zigzagged from one side of the Suwo Nada to the other hoping to meet her, but without success. So at length we changed our course from the Bungo to the Suwo side, and from there we made towards Shimonoséki. In case we failed to find the vessel, we meant to proceed to Hagi, the old Capital of Chôshiu.”
By nine o'clock the sun in a cloudless sky had waxed scorching. There was not a breath of wind, the sea smooth as a tank of oil with not a ripple on its surface save that made by our own motion as we churned onwards. The deck was strewn with fire-arms and cutlasses ready for use at a moment's notice. About this time the Captain ordered the men to haul in the big guns and to cover up the ports with tarpaulins, so as to make us look like a merchant-man. About 10 a.m. we were within a few miles of the Eastern entrance of the Straits of Shimonoséki. The Lieutenant in the forecastle called out that he sighted two square-rigged vessels and a steamer at anchor close in to the town.
The warship entered the strait at 10:45 and beat to quarters. Her entry was announced by signal guns on shore, and as soon as she came in range she was fired upon by the batteries. She made no reply, however, until she reached the narrowest part of the straits. At that point the larger shore batteries concentrated their fire; beyond, in more open water lay three armed merchantmen, all heavily manned, and with their crews yelling defiance. Oddly enough, these were all American vessels – the bark Daniel Webster (six guns), the brig Lanrick (Kosei, with ten guns), and the steamer Lancefield (Koshin, of four guns) -- which had been purchased by the Chôshiu clansmen. In the land batteries, too, were five 8-inch Dahlgren guns which had recently been presented to Japan by the United States. McDougal judged the greater threat to be the three warships and was pleased to see that all were still at anchor. He could engage them first, hoping to catch them before their cables were slipped and they made for deep water. The bark lay anchored close to the town on the northern shore, the brig was about fifty yards outside and a little beyond, while the steamer lay further ahead and outside, that is, nearer mid-channel. As McDougal approached the narrows, he noticed a line of stakes which he rightly guessed had been used by the Japanese to gauge their aim. Accordingly, he avoided the middle of the channel and steered close under the batteries. This shrewdness probably was the salvation of the Wyoming, for the batteries at once opened a tremendous cannonade which would have sunk a dozen vessels in mid-channel, but which only tore through her rigging. In an instant, the Stars and Stripes were raised and the challenge answered with shells from the Wyoming’s two 11-inch Dahlgrens. Wyoming ran through the fire of the shore batteries with no injuries and only minor damage. She soon cleared the narrows and bore out into the open water where her guns could reply.
While Dr. Dambey, Mr. Benson and I were standing on the quarterdeck the report of a big gun suddenly thundered in our ears. On looking up we saw smoke issuing from the wooded bluff on the mainland on our right as we were bearing down towards Shimonoséki. I at once hurried to the Captain on the bridge and told him that I fancied that this gun was a signal for battle. And on my way back to the quarter-deck a second report rang out from a second battery, further within the Straits. And in a few more seconds, yet another broke the silence and rolled rumbling about along the hill-sides. This was from the innermost battery of all on a lofty height right behind the town. A few seconds later, a tongue of fire leapt from the place where the first shot had been fired, and before the smoke had begun to float upwards I heard a hurtling screech, and a column of water spurted up and fell back with a splash just about twenty feet astern of where we were standing talking on the quarter-deck. The gunners on shore clearly meant business.
Commander McDougal then gave orders to "go in between those vessels and take the steamer." The Yokohama pilots protested loudly, but the American had made up his mind to take the chances of shallow water and headed for the three ships. Heco records , "When we heard this, everybody on board, I noticed, became excited and some of the men became quite pale -- for it was no easy matter to take an enemy's vessel without a hand-to-hand fight, and many of the crew I was told had never been under fire."
As Wyoming narrowed the distance to the Japanese ships, Orderly Sergeant Abel Clegg ordered his twelve Marines to load their muskets and prepare to fire. McDougal intended to run his ship right between the enemy vessels, engaging the bark and the brig to starboard and the steamer to port. When he did, the Marines were to demonstrate their prowess as marksmen and pick off the enemy gunners. Wyoming would pass so close to Prince Chôshiu’s ships that even the poorest shot in the guard would not have an excuse for missing his target. Immediately a fresh battery of four guns opened a raking fire, but the Wyoming answered with a single shell so accurately aimed that it tore the entire battery to pieces. Dashing ahead, she passed abreast the bark and the brig (Kosei) at close quarters and exchanged broadsides with both.
At precisely 10.50 a.m. we ran right in between the three Chôshiu vessels, and treated them to a salute from our two Dahlgren guns. After delivering our broadside we steamed slowly out and crossing the bow of the steamer Lancefield , we worked towards the channel pounding away at the enemy all the while. Meanwhile the enemy kept up an unflagging fire from ships and batteries alike But their aim was wild; we noticed that the guns on shore were all fired and trained upon the channel, and we passed so close under them that their shot mostly went ten or fifteen feet overhead. But it was not at all nice or comfortable to hear them whizzing and screaming aloft among our rigging. And the worst of it all was that there was no chance of falling back to the rear, for in a fight on ship-board there is no such convenient thing as the rear to fall back to.
The firing was so close that the long guns of the Wyoming seemed almost to touch the muzzles of the enemy, and it was in these few minutes at close quarters that the greater part of the American loss occurred. The forward gun division suffered most on account of its exposed position, sustaining, in fact, all the casualties of the day except three. When the smoke had cleared, six men from the crew of Wyoming’s forward broadside gun were down, one of them dead. Elsewhere on the ship, a marine was struck dead by a piece of shrapnel. Damage was extensive, but McDougal remained undaunted. The Japanese handled their guns so rapidly that the brig alone managed to pour three broadsides into the Wyoming. Nonetheless her port battery, targeting the steamer Koshin, let loose two rifled shells. After passing through the Japanese gunboats, Wyoming rounded the bow of the steamer and made a looping turn to port, intending to make another dash at the enemy. The brig was already settling, but the Daniel Webster, in spite of the great holes in her side, still kept up a steady fire, and six land batteries now reopened with the Wyoming as a fair target. The steamer, meanwhile, weighed anchor and, moving to the opposite side, seemed to be getting ready to ram or board the American. At this critical moment the rushing tides sent the Wyoming's bow aground, but after some minutes her engines succeeded in backing her off. Wyoming swung around, and, bringing her port battery to bear, fired on the approaching steamer. A second salvo exploded Koshin’s boilers and she began to sink; her crew abandoned her and took to the water.
The steamer seemed to have some dignitaries on board, as we saw that she had purple awnings with the Prince's crest. As soon as we crossed the Lancefield's bows she slipped her cable and essayed to run for refuge into the inner harbor. At this instant the Captain called out to the gunner at the 11 inch Dahlgren to fire. But the gunner seemed to pay no attention until the Captain had given the order for the third or fourth time. At last he did as he was told, and "Bang" went the gun with an ear-splitting crash. And as the smoke of the discharge drifted aside we saw a great volume of smoke and steam hissing and pouring from the Lancefield's deck, and at the same time she slewed slowly round and heeled over on one side, and in a minute or two down she went into the waters. When we saw the steam pouring out of her, our tars gave three rousing cheers, fancying that the 11-inch shell had burst within her. And they heartened up wonderfully and went into the fight with all their soul and with all their strength and with all their mind. This lucky shot struck just at the right moment, for by this time several of our men had been laid low or disabled by shot and flying bolts and splinters. The reason why the Captain of the gun did not let loose at the first word of command was that he was taking aim at the exact water-line. And when he did fire he hit the spot to a hair's-breadth. He finished the vessel by that single well-directed shot. It tore through one side of the hull, ripped through the boilers, out at the other side, and drove ashore and lodged there without ever bursting. This I learned from the Chôshiu officers afterwards.
McDougal then fired into the Japanese bark and the Kosei, sending the latter to the bottom. Then, ignoring the shore batteries and the Daniel Webster, McDougal opened fire with his two 11-inch Dahlgren pivot guns on the brig Kosei. Both shells took effect in her hull; another from the forward pivot tore through her boiler, and in a cloud of smoke and steam the vessel went down. Meanwhile, the bark Daniel Webster had been firing as fast as the guns could be loaded, and the six shore batteries were a continuous line of smoke and flame. McDougal now trained his guns to reply. In a few minutes the bark was wrecked, and then one shore battery after another was silenced. When satisfied that he had destroyed everything within range, he turned and steamed slowly back. On his return he was practically unmolested.
Thus we fought 6 batteries, a barque, a brig and a steamer. We silenced all the batteries, and as for the brig and the steamer we sank them. And all this was done in a little more than one short hour. We ceased firing at 20 m. after 12 p.m.
From our observation it appeared that all the guns were trained on the channel, and placed so as to rake the course usually taken by foreign vessels in passing the Straits. Had it not been for the Captain's clever maneuver of running right close inshore under their batteries, every shot they fired would have hulled us. But as it was they all screeched harmlessly over us. The only punishment we received we got from the vessels.
During the engagement we fired 53 shot and shell in all, with the result I have above mentioned. The Chôshiu men discharged 130 rounds in all, of which 22 did us actual damage. These hit our rigging, smoke-stack and hull, and killed 5 and wounded 7 of our men.
This action had lasted one hour and ten minutes, in the course of which the Wyoming had been hulled ten times, her rigging had been badly cut, her smokestack perforated, and she had lost five killed and seven wounded. The battle had been won by the coolness and nerve of the American commander, and a fine feature of the story is that while most of the Wyoming's crew had never before been under fire, even when the ship was aground and the pilots were paralyzed with terror the bluejackets stood by their guns like veterans. Those were the days, too, when a white man caught by the insurgents endured the unspeakable death of the "torture cage," and the men knew that their commander had ordered that if the ship became helpless by grounding or by shot she was to be blown up with all on board. Although Wyoming was significantly cut up, Prince Chôshiu’s forces took the worst of the battle. McDougal had served notice that hostile action against Americans would result in punitive action. As Commander McDougal wrote in his report to Gideon Welles on 23 July, "the punishment inflicted (upon the daimyo) and in store for him will, I trust, teach him a lesson that will not soon be forgotten."
Pictures: 1863-07-16 McDougal then fired into the Japanese bark and the Kosei, sending the latter to the bottom; 1863-07-16 Spurring wagon train and encampment; 1863-07-16 Shimonoséki Battle Map; 1863-07-16 Battle of Grimball’s Landing map
A. 1862: Battle of Boteler's Ford, western Virginia. Brig. Gen. David McM. Gregg's cavalry advanced toward Kearneysville where they were met by the Confederate cavalry brigades of Brig. Gens. Fitzhugh Lee and John R. Chambliss, supported by Col. Milton J. Ferguson's brigade. The hilly and rocky ground was ill-suited for effective cavalry combat, so both Union and Confederate horsemen dismounted and fought. The line of battle extended a mile and a half on both the North and South sides of the road. Townspeople could hear heavy cannonading from the severe fight. The Federal troops held up in Butler's Woods, where they remained until midnight and then retreated in the direction of Harper's Ferry. During this battle, Col. James Drake of the 1st Virginia Cavalry was killed, which led to Shepherdstown soldier William Morgan's promotion to colonel.
B. 1863: Shimonoséki Straits, Japan: Although USS Wyoming was significantly cut up, Japanese Prince Chôshiu’s forces took the worst of the battle. The USS Wyoming has been patrolling the seas, looking for the CSS Alabama. For a number of local reasons unrelated to the war back home, the Wyoming will take on most of the Japanese navy and a number of shore batteries in the first US-Japan naval battle. This action had lasted one hour and ten minutes, in the course of which the Wyoming had been hulled ten times, her rigging had been badly cut, her smokestack perforated, and she had lost five killed and seven wounded. The battle had been won by the coolness and nerve of the American commander, and a fine feature of the story is that while most of the Wyoming's crew had never before been under fire, even when the ship was aground and the pilots were paralyzed with terror the bluejackets stood by their guns like veterans. Those were the days, too, when a white man caught by the insurgents endured the unspeakable death of the "torture cage," and the men knew that their commander had ordered that if the ship became helpless by grounding or by shot she was to be blown up with all on board. Although Wyoming was significantly cut up, Prince Chôshiu’s forces took the worst of the battle.
C. 1863: Draft riots in New York City end. “The 7th Regiment returns: Troops experienced at riot control arrived at 4:40 in the morning. Police escorts: Hundreds of black New Yorkers were ferried to refuge on Blackwell’s Island. East Side battles: Munitions factories and dockyards were under continual attack, culminating in the afternoon battle of Gramercy Park with room-by-room fighting with insurgents. Downtown and the West Side remained quiet all day. Late night quiet: Police patrols, though attacked by snipers sporadically, establish control of the East Side.”
D. 1863: The Confederates were duped by Brig. Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore feint and attacked Maj Gen Alfred Terry 's camp at Grimball's Landing. Because of incomplete reconnaissance of the difficult, marshy ground, the disorganized Confederate attack was soon aborted. Their mission accomplished, Union troops withdrew from the island on July 17. This battle was the first engagement of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, in which it suffered 43.
USS Wyoming and the Battle of Shimonoseki Straits
July of 1863 represented a significant turning point in the American Civil War. The capture of Vicksburg represented final victory in the campaign in the west, cementing Union control of the Mississippi river, while victory at Gettysburg shifted the momentum of the war in the east. Given the importance, and staggering costs, of these battles, it should be no surprise that the nation has largely forgotten a much smaller, yet still important battle the same month, nearly seven thousand miles away from the US capitol.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l43XaAQErnA
FYI Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. PO3 Edward Riddle SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL Maj William W. 'Bill' Price COL (Join to see)SSgt David M. SPC Maurice Evans SGT David A. 'Cowboy' GrothSGT Jim ArnoldRyan CallahanAmn Dale Preisach MGySgt Rick Tyrrell PVT Mark Whitcomb PO2 Marco Monsalve SrA Ronald Moore PO2 Tom Belcher PO1 John Johnson
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In the east in 1862 “untried Union army under Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, 35,000 strong, marched out of the Washington defenses to give battle to the Confederate army, which was concentrated behind Bull Run beyond Centreville and around the vital railroad junction at Manassas.”
In the western theater in 1862 “General Halleck has been called by Lincoln to Washington to be general-in-chief. Before leaving, Halleck gives General Grant command of the districts of Cairo and Mississippi, the Army of the Mississippi, and the Army of the Tennessee, as well as the District of West Tennessee.”
Below are a number of journal entries from 1863 and xx which shed light on what life was like for soldiers and civilians – the good, the bad and the ugly.
Thursday, July 16, 1863: George Templeton Strong, writes of the trouble in the streets on this day and the effect of events on political sentiment in the city: “Rather quiet downtown. No trustworthy accounts of riot on any large scale during the day. General talk downtown is that the trouble is over. We shall see. It will be as it pleases the scoundrels who are privily engineering the outbreak---agents of Jefferson Davis, permitted to work here in New York. . . . Coming uptown tonight I find Gramercy Park in military occupation. Strong parties drawn up across Twentieth Street and Twenty-first Streets at the east end of the Square. . . .
Never knew exasperation so intense, unqualified, and general as that which prevails against these rioters and the political knaves who are supposed to have set them going, Governor Seymour not excepted. Men who voted for him mention the fact with contrition and self-abasement. . . . But we shall forget all about it before next November. Perhaps the lesson of the last four days is still to be taught us still more emphatically, and we have got to be worse before we are better. It is not clear that the resources of the conspiracy are yet exhausted. The rioters of yesterday were better armed and organized than those of Monday, and their inaction today may possibly be meant to throw us off our guard. . . . They are in full possession of the western and eastern sides of the city, from Tenth Street upward, and of a good many districts beside. I could not walk four blocks eastward from this house this minute without peril. The outbreak is spreading by concerted action in many quarters. Albany, Troy, Yonkers, Hartford, Boston, and other cities have each their Irish anti-conscription Nigger-murdering mob, of the same type with ours. It is a grave business, a jacquerie that must be put down by heroic doses of lead and steel.
Thursday, July 16, 1863: John Beauchamp Jones, a senior clerk at the Confederate War Department, writes gloomily in his journal concerning the recent reverses for the South: “JULY 16TH. —This is another blue day in the calendar. Nothing from Lee, or Johnston, or Bragg; and no news is generally bad news. But from Charleston we learn that the enemy are established on MorrisIsland, having taken a dozen of our guns and howitzers in the sand hills at the lower end; and that the monitors had passed the bar, and doubtless an engagement by land and by water is imminent, if indeed it has not already taken place. Many regard Charleston as lost. I do not. . . .
Mr. Secretary Seddon, who usually wears a sallow and cadaverous look, which, coupled with his emaciation, makes him resemble an exhumed corpse after a month’s interment, looks to-day like a galvanized corpse which had been buried two months. The circles round his eyes are absolutely black! And yet he was pacing briskly backward and forward between the President’s office and the War Department. He seems much affected by disasters.”
Pictures: 1863 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment; 1862-07-16 Boteler's Ford location Map; 1864 Atlanta campaign Map; Southern Volunteer cartoon
A. Thursday, July 16, 1863: Battle of Boteler's Ford, western Virginia. The following day, July 16, the Federals advanced toward Kearneysville where they were met by mounted Confederate forces, which drove the Federals back to within a mile of Shepherdstown.
The hilly and rocky ground was ill-suited for effective cavalry combat, so both Union and Confederate horsemen dismounted and fought. The line of battle extended a mile and a half on both the North and South sides of the road. Townspeople could hear heavy cannonading from the severe fight.
The Federal troops held up in Butler's Woods, where they remained until midnight and then retreated in the direction of Harper's Ferry.
During this battle, Col. James Drake of the 1st Virginia Cavalry was killed, which led to Shepherdstown soldier William Morgan's promotion to colonel.
On July 16, Brig. Gen. David McM. Gregg's cavalry approached Shepherdstown where the brigades of Brig. Gens. Fitzhugh Lee and John R. Chambliss, supported by Col. Milton J. Ferguson's brigade, held the Potomac River fords against the Union infantry. Fitzhugh Lee and Chambliss attacked Gregg, who held out against several attacks and sorties, fighting sporadically until nightfall when he withdrew.
B. Thursday, July 16, 1863: Shimonoséki Straits, Japan: The USS Wyoming has been patrolling the seas, looking for the CSS Alabama. Today, for a number of local reasons unrelated to the war back home, the Wyoming will take on most of the Japanese navy and a number of shore batteries in the first US-Japan naval battle. This action had lasted one hour and ten minutes, in the course of which the Wyoming had been hulled ten times, her rigging had been badly cut, her smokestack perforated, and she had lost five killed and seven wounded. The battle had been won by the coolness and nerve of the American commander, and a fine feature of the story is that while most of the Wyoming's crew had never before been under fire, even when the ship was aground and the pilots were paralyzed with terror the bluejackets stood by their guns like veterans. Those were the days, too, when a white man caught by the insurgents endured the unspeakable death of the "torture cage," and the men knew that their commander had ordered that if the ship became helpless by grounding or by shot she was to be blown up with all on board. Although Wyoming was significantly cut up, Prince Chôshiu’s forces took the worst of the battle.
C. Thursday, July 16, 1863: Draft riots in New York City end. “The 7th Regiment returns: Troops experienced at riot control arrived at 4:40 in the morning. Police escorts: Hundreds of black New Yorkers were ferried to refuge on Blackwell’s Island. East Side battles: Munitions factories and dockyards were under continual attack, culminating in the afternoon battle of Gramercy Park with room-by-room fighting with insurgents. Downtown and the West Side remained quiet all day. Late night quiet: Police patrols, though attacked by snipers sporadically, establish control of the East Side.”
D. Thursday, July 16, 1863: On July 16, the Confederates attacked Terry's camp at Grimball's Landing. Because of incomplete reconnaissance of the difficult, marshy ground, the disorganized Confederate attack was soon aborted. Their mission accomplished, Union troops withdrew from the island on July 17.
Thursday, July 16, 1863: To divert Confederate reinforcements from a renewed attack on nearby Fort Wagner, Brig. Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore designed two feints. An amphibious force ascended Stono River to threaten the Charleston & Savannah Railroad bridge. A second force, consisting of Alfred Terry's division, landed on James Island on July 8. Soon, Terry demonstrated against the Confederate defenses, but did not launch a major attack. On July 16, the Confederates attacked Terry's camp at Grimball's Landing. Because of incomplete reconnaissance of the difficult, marshy ground, the disorganized Confederate attack was soon aborted. Their mission accomplished, Federal troops withdrew from the island on July 17.
From a renewed attack on Fort Wagner, Gen. Gillmore designed two feints. An amphibious force ascended Stono River to threaten the Charleston & Savannah Railroad bridge. A 2nd force, consisting of 3,800 men in Terry's division, landed on James Island on July 8. Terry demonstrated against the 3,000 Confederate defenses. This battle was the first engagement of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, in which it suffered 43
1. Wednesday, July 16, 1862: On July 16, 1862, the untried Union army under Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, 35,000 strong, marched out of the Washington defenses to give battle to the Confederate army, which was concentrated around the vital railroad junction at Manassas. The Confederate army, about 22,000 men, under the command of Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard, guarded the fords of Bull Run Creek.
http://civilwarwiki.net/wiki/Battle_of_Blackburn's_Ford
2. Wednesday, July 16, 1862: McDowell’s army began its move out towards Manassas.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/the-american-civil-war/american-civil-war-july-1861/
3. Wednesday, July 16, 1862: Northern Virginia Campaign - sometimes just called the Virginia Campaign. [July 16 - September 1]
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186207
4. Wednesday, July 16, 1862: Western Theater: General Halleck has been called by Lincoln to Washington to be general-in-chief. Before leaving, Halleck gives General Grant command of the districts of Cairo and Mississippi, the Army of the Mississippi, and the Army of the Tennessee, as well as the District of West Tennessee.
https://bjdeming.com/2012/07/20/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-16-22-1862/
5. Wednesday, July 16, 1862: We are coming, Father Abraham, Three Hundred Thousand More appears in the Saturday Evening Post. Written by James Sloan, the marching song was intended to help raise volunteers following Lincoln's request to Congress that it increase the size of the army to 500,000 men.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186207
6. Wednesday, July 16, 1862: CSA Col Morgan’s first raid into Kentucky. But, aware that his regiment was in danger from pursuing Federals, Col Morgan left Harrodsburg and marched his men swiftly, using deceptive turns and passes to avoid the enemy. During the time Morgan’s men were riding through the bluegrass country, Federal forces were in such a state of panic that it caused the despot Lincoln to wire a message to U.S. GEN Halleck at Corinth, Mississippi, saying: "They are having a stampede in Kentucky. Please see to it."
After leaving Harrodsburg, Morgan's men moved through Lawrenceburg and Versailles, making a feint toward Frankfort. With Lexington occupied by Federal troops, the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry swung north to Georgetown. The regiment arrived there late on July 16 and encamped for a long, much needed rest stop. In the meantime, efforts were made in earnest for one of the prime purposes of this raid --- recruiting.
http://www.lexingtonrifles.com/1862.htm
7. Wednesday, July 16, 1862: John Hunt Morgan wires Kirby Smith "Lexington and Frankfurt ... are garrisoned with Home Guard. The bridges between Cincinnati and Lexington have been destroyed. The whole country can be secured and 25,000 to 30,000 men with join you at once.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186207
8. Wednesday, July 16, 1862: Morgan’s First Kentucky Raid: CS General John Hunt Morgan wires General E. Kirby Smith: “Lexington and Frankfurt … are garrisoned with Home Guard. The bridges between Cincinnati and Lexington have been destroyed. The whole country can be secured and 25,000 to 30,000 men with join you at once.”
https://bjdeming.com/2012/07/20/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-16-22-1862/
9. Thursday, July 16, 1863 --- New York Draft Riots: The New York Times reports on the horrendous destruction of the day in the city streets: “A Morning Riot in Thirty-Second-Street.
THE MILITARY FIRE UPON THE MOB.
Late on Tuesday night a raid was made by the mob on a number of negro dwellings situate on Thirty-second-street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues; these buildings were almost entirely demolished and several attempts were made to fire the whole vicinity.
An unfortunate negro, who made an attempt to fly for his life from the fury of these persecutors, was caught and severely beaten with stones and bludgeons; the infuriated mob not satisfied with thus brutally mangling their victim, slipped a rope around his neck and hung him to a tree in the neighborhood, where he remained until quite an early hour this morning.
About 9 o’clock yesterday morning, Capt. Morr, of the United States artillery, having been sent with a strong force to cut down the unfortunate negro, was met by the mob with the most persistent opposition. After requesting them to disperse, and being still menaced by the crowd, he ordered his men to fire; three rounds of grape were poured into them with fearful effect. When they dispersed, it was ascertained that upward of twenty-five had been killed and a number seriously wounded.
Another negro was also hung by the mob in the forenoon, in Thirty-sixth-street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+16%2C+1863
10. Thursday, July 16, 1863 --- George Templeton Strong, writes of the trouble in the streets on this day and the effect of events on political sentiment in the city: “Rather quiet downtown. No trustworthy accounts of riot on any large scale during the day. General talk downtown is that the trouble is over. We shall see. It will be as it pleases the scoundrels who are privily engineering the outbreak---agents of Jefferson Davis, permitted to work here in New York. . . . Coming uptown tonight I find Gramercy Park in military occupation. Strong parties drawn up across Twentieth Street and Twenty-first Streets at the east end of the Square. . . .
Never knew exasperation so intense, unqualified, and general as that which prevails against these rioters and the political knaves who are supposed to have set them going, Governor Seymour not excepted. Men who voted for him mention the fact with contrition and self-abasement. . . . But we shall forget all about it before next November. Perhaps the lesson of the last four days is still to be taught us still more emphatically, and we have got to be worse before we are better. It is not clear that the resources of the conspiracy are yet exhausted. The rioters of yesterday were better armed and organized than those of Monday, and their inaction today may possibly be meant to throw us off our guard. . . . They are in full possession of the western and eastern sides of the city, from Tenth Street upward, and of a good many districts beside. I could not walk four blocks eastward from this house this minute without peril. The outbreak is spreading by concerted action in many quarters. Albany, Troy, Yonkers, Hartford, Boston, and other cities have each their Irish anti-conscription Nigger-murdering mob, of the same type with ours. It is a grave business, a jacquerie that must be put down by heroic doses of lead and steel.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+16%2C+1863
11. Thursday, July 16, 1863 --- John Beauchamp Jones, a senior clerk at the Confederate War Department, writes gloomily in his journal concerning the recent reverses for the South: “JULY 16TH. —This is another blue day in the calendar. Nothing from Lee, or Johnston, or Bragg; and no news is generally bad news. But from Charleston we learn that the enemy are established on MorrisIsland, having taken a dozen of our guns and howitzers in the sand hills at the lower end; and that the monitors had passed the bar, and doubtless an engagement by land and by water is imminent, if indeed it has not already taken place. Many regard Charleston as lost. I do not. . . .
Mr. Secretary Seddon, who usually wears a sallow and cadaverous look, which, coupled with his emaciation, makes him resemble an exhumed corpse after a month’s interment, looks to-day like a galvanized corpse which had been buried two months. The circles round his eyes are absolutely black! And yet he was pacing briskly backward and forward between the President’s office and the War Department. He seems much affected by disasters.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+16%2C+1863
12. Thursday, July 16, 1863: Gettysburg campaign/Williamsport/Falling Waters. CS generals Fitzhugh Lee (Robert’s son) and John Chambliss hold the Potomac River fords against US infantry and attack US General Gregg. Fighting continues sporadically until nightfall, when Gregg withdraws.
https://bjdeming.com/2013/07/21/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-15-21-1863
13. Thursday, July 16, 1863: Shimonoséki Straits, Japan. “At five o'clock on the morning of July 16, Wyoming weighed anchor and steamed toward the Strait of Shimonoséki. She went to general quarters at nine, loaded her pivot guns with shell, and cleared for action. Heco provides a first-person description of events: “The weather was clear with not a cloud to be seen in the whole sky. About 5 a.m. we weighed anchor and steamed slowly onward in search of the vessel that had fired on the Pembroke. We zigzagged from one side of the Suwo Nada to the other hoping to meet her, but without success. So at length we changed our course from the Bungo to the Suwo side, and from there we made towards Shimonoséki. In case we failed to find the vessel, we meant to proceed to Hagi, the old Capital of Chôshiu.”
By nine o'clock the sun in a cloudless sky had waxed scorching. There was not a breath of wind, the sea smooth as a tank of oil with not a ripple on its surface save that made by our own motion as we churned onwards. The deck was strewn with fire-arms and cutlasses ready for use at a moment's notice. About this time the Captain ordered the men to haul in the big guns and to cover up the ports with tarpaulins, so as to make us look like a merchant-man. About 10 a.m. we were within a few miles of the Eastern entrance of the Straits of Shimonoséki. The Lieutenant in the forecastle called out that he sighted two square-rigged vessels and a steamer at anchor close in to the town.
The warship entered the strait at 10:45 and beat to quarters. Her entry was announced by signal guns on shore, and as soon as she came in range she was fired upon by the batteries. She made no reply, however, until she reached the narrowest part of the straits. At that point the larger shore batteries concentrated their fire; beyond, in more open water lay three armed merchantmen, all heavily manned, and with their crews yelling defiance. Oddly enough, these were all American vessels – the bark Daniel Webster (six guns), the brig Lanrick (Kosei, with ten guns), and the steamer Lancefield (Koshin, of four guns) -- which had been purchased by the Chôshiu clansmen. In the land batteries, too, were five 8-inch Dahlgren guns which had recently been presented to Japan by the United States. McDougal judged the greater threat to be the three warships and was pleased to see that all were still at anchor. He could engage them first, hoping to catch them before their cables were slipped and they made for deep water. The bark lay anchored close to the town on the northern shore, the brig was about fifty yards outside and a little beyond, while the steamer lay further ahead and outside, that is, nearer mid-channel. As McDougal approached the narrows, he noticed a line of stakes which he rightly guessed had been used by the Japanese to gauge their aim. Accordingly, he avoided the middle of the channel and steered close under the batteries. This shrewdness probably was the salvation of the Wyoming, for the batteries at once opened a tremendous cannonade which would have sunk a dozen vessels in mid-channel, but which only tore through her rigging. In an instant, the Stars and Stripes were raised and the challenge answered with shells from the Wyoming’s two 11-inch Dahlgrens. Wyoming ran through the fire of the shore batteries with no injuries and only minor damage. She soon cleared the narrows and bore out into the open water where her guns could reply.
While Dr. Dambey, Mr. Benson and I were standing on the quarterdeck the report of a big gun suddenly thundered in our ears. On looking up we saw smoke issuing from the wooded bluff on the mainland on our right as we were bearing down towards Shimonoséki. I at once hurried to the Captain on the bridge and told him that I fancied that this gun was a signal for battle. And on my way back to the quarter-deck a second report rang out from a second battery, further within the Straits. And in a few more seconds, yet another broke the silence and rolled rumbling about along the hill-sides. This was from the innermost battery of all on a lofty height right behind the town. A few seconds later, a tongue of fire leapt from the place where the first shot had been fired, and before the smoke had begun to float upwards I heard a hurtling screech, and a column of water spurted up and fell back with a splash just about twenty feet astern of where we were standing talking on the quarter-deck. The gunners on shore clearly meant business.
Commander McDougal then gave orders to "go in between those vessels and take the steamer." The Yokohama pilots protested loudly, but the American had made up his mind to take the chances of shallow water and headed for the three ships. Heco records , "When we heard this, everybody on board, I noticed, became excited and some of the men became quite pale -- for it was no easy matter to take an enemy's vessel without a hand-to-hand fight, and many of the crew I was told had never been under fire."
As Wyoming narrowed the distance to the Japanese ships, Orderly Sergeant Abel Clegg ordered his twelve Marines to load their muskets and prepare to fire. McDougal intended to run his ship right between the enemy vessels, engaging the bark and the brig to starboard and the steamer to port. When he did, the Marines were to demonstrate their prowess as marksmen and pick off the enemy gunners. Wyoming would pass so close to Prince Chôshiu’s ships that even the poorest shot in the guard would not have an excuse for missing his target. Immediately a fresh battery of four guns opened a raking fire, but the Wyoming answered with a single shell so accurately aimed that it tore the entire battery to pieces. Dashing ahead, she passed abreast the bark and the brig (Kosei) at close quarters and exchanged broadsides with both.
At precisely 10.50 a.m. we ran right in between the three Chôshiu vessels, and treated them to a salute from our two Dahlgren guns. After delivering our broadside we steamed slowly out and crossing the bow of the steamer Lancefield , we worked towards the channel pounding away at the enemy all the while. Meanwhile the enemy kept up an unflagging fire from ships and batteries alike But their aim was wild; we noticed that the guns on shore were all fired and trained upon the channel, and we passed so close under them that their shot mostly went ten or fifteen feet overhead. But it was not at all nice or comfortable to hear them whizzing and screaming aloft among our rigging. And the worst of it all was that there was no chance of falling back to the rear, for in a fight on ship-board there is no such convenient thing as the rear to fall back to.
The firing was so close that the long guns of the Wyoming seemed almost to touch the muzzles of the enemy, and it was in these few minutes at close quarters that the greater part of the American loss occurred. The forward gun division suffered most on account of its exposed position, sustaining, in fact, all the casualties of the day except three. When the smoke had cleared, six men from the crew of Wyoming’s forward broadside gun were down, one of them dead. Elsewhere on the ship, a marine was struck dead by a piece of shrapnel. Damage was extensive, but McDougal remained undaunted. The Japanese handled their guns so rapidly that the brig alone managed to pour three broadsides into the Wyoming. Nonetheless her port battery, targeting the steamer Koshin, let loose two rifled shells. After passing through the Japanese gunboats, Wyoming rounded the bow of the steamer and made a looping turn to port, intending to make another dash at the enemy. The brig was already settling, but the Daniel Webster, in spite of the great holes in her side, still kept up a steady fire, and six land batteries now reopened with the Wyoming as a fair target. The steamer, meanwhile, weighed anchor and, moving to the opposite side, seemed to be getting ready to ram or board the American. At this critical moment the rushing tides sent the Wyoming's bow aground, but after some minutes her engines succeeded in backing her off. Wyoming swung around, and, bringing her port battery to bear, fired on the approaching steamer. A second salvo exploded Koshin’s boilers and she began to sink; her crew abandoned her and took to the water.
The steamer seemed to have some dignitaries on board, as we saw that she had purple awnings with the Prince's crest. As soon as we crossed the Lancefield's bows she slipped her cable and essayed to run for refuge into the inner harbor. At this instant the Captain called out to the gunner at the 11 inch Dahlgren to fire. But the gunner seemed to pay no attention until the Captain had given the order for the third or fourth time. At last he did as he was told, and "Bang" went the gun with an ear-splitting crash. And as the smoke of the discharge drifted aside we saw a great volume of smoke and steam hissing and pouring from the Lancefield's deck, and at the same time she slewed slowly round and heeled over on one side, and in a minute or two down she went into the waters. When we saw the steam pouring out of her, our tars gave three rousing cheers, fancying that the 11-inch shell had burst within her. And they heartened up wonderfully and went into the fight with all their soul and with all their strength and with all their mind. This lucky shot struck just at the right moment, for by this time several of our men had been laid low or disabled by shot and flying bolts and splinters. The reason why the Captain of the gun did not let loose at the first word of command was that he was taking aim at the exact water-line. And when he did fire he hit the spot to a hair's-breadth. He finished the vessel by that single well-directed shot. It tore through one side of the hull, ripped through the boilers, out at the other side, and drove ashore and lodged there without ever bursting. This I learned from the Chôshiu officers afterwards.
McDougal then fired into the Japanese bark and the Kosei, sending the latter to the bottom. Then, ignoring the shore batteries and the Daniel Webster, McDougal opened fire with his two 11-inch Dahlgren pivot guns on the brig Kosei. Both shells took effect in her hull; another from the forward pivot tore through her boiler, and in a cloud of smoke and steam the vessel went down. Meanwhile, the bark Daniel Webster had been firing as fast as the guns could be loaded, and the six shore batteries were a continuous line of smoke and flame. McDougal now trained his guns to reply. In a few minutes the bark was wrecked, and then one shore battery after another was silenced. When satisfied that he had destroyed everything within range, he turned and steamed slowly back. On his return he was practically unmolested.
Thus we fought 6 batteries, a barque, a brig and a steamer. We silenced all the batteries, and as for the brig and the steamer we sank them. And all this was done in a little more than one short hour. We ceased firing at 20 m. after 12 p.m.
From our observation it appeared that all the guns were trained on the channel, and placed so as to rake the course usually taken by foreign vessels in passing the Straits. Had it not been for the Captain's clever maneuver of running right close inshore under their batteries, every shot they fired would have hulled us. But as it was they all screeched harmlessly over us. The only punishment we received we got from the vessels.
During the engagement we fired 53 shot and shell in all, with the result I have above mentioned. The Chôshiu men discharged 130 rounds in all, of which 22 did us actual damage. These hit our rigging, smoke-stack and hull, and killed 5 and wounded 7 of our men.
This action had lasted one hour and ten minutes, in the course of which the Wyoming had been hulled ten times, her rigging had been badly cut, her smokestack perforated, and she had lost five killed and seven wounded. The battle had been won by the coolness and nerve of the American commander, and a fine feature of the story is that while most of the Wyoming's crew had never before been under fire, even when the ship was aground and the pilots were paralyzed with terror the bluejackets stood by their guns like veterans. Those were the days, too, when a white man caught by the insurgents endured the unspeakable death of the "torture cage," and the men knew that their commander had ordered that if the ship became helpless by grounding or by shot she was to be blown up with all on board. Although Wyoming was significantly cut up, Prince Chôshiu’s forces took the worst of the battle. McDougal had served notice that hostile action against Americans would result in punitive action. As Commander McDougal wrote in his report to Gideon Welles on 23 July, "the punishment inflicted (upon the daimyo) and in store for him will, I trust, teach him a lesson that will not soon be forgotten."
http://www.navyandmarine.org/ondeck/1863shimonoseki.htm
14. Thursday, July 16, 1863: Siege of Jackson: CS General Joseph Johnston withdraws from Jackson, ending any threat to US forces in Vicksburg.
https://bjdeming.com/2013/07/21/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-15-21-1863
15. Thursday, July 16, 1863 --- Sec. of the Navy Gideon Welles writes in his journal about the Draft riots: “July 16, Thursday. It is represented that the mob in New York is about subdued. Why it was permitted to continue so long and commit such excess has not been explained. Governor Seymour, whose partisans constituted the rioters, and whose partisanship encouraged them, has been in New York talking namby-pamby. This Sir Forcible Feeble is himself chiefly responsible for the outrage.
Then, concerning the escape of Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia back to friendly soil, Welles adds these doubts about Gen. Halleck’s relative capacities: “Lee’s army has recrossed the Potomac, unmolested, carrying off all its artillery and the property stolen in Pennsylvania. When I ask why such an escape was permitted, I am told that the generals opposed an attack. What generals? None are named. Meade is in command there; Halleck is General-in-Chief here. They should be held responsible. There are generals who, no doubt, will acquiesce without any regrets in having this war prolonged.
In this whole summer’s campaign I have been unable to see, hear, or obtain evidence of power, or will, or talent, or originality on the part of General Halleck. He has suggested nothing, decided nothing, done nothing but scold and smoke and scratch his elbows. Is it possible the energies of the nation should be wasted by the incapacity of such a man?”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+16%2C+1863
16. casualties (14 killed, 17 wounded, and 12 captured).
17. Thursday, July 16, 1863: General Sherman, fresh from his success at Vicksburg, advanced on Jackson, Mississippi. The Confederate forces there, commanded by General Johnston, withdrew.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/the-american-civil-war/american-civil-war-july-1863/
18. Thursday, July 16, 1863 --- Second Battle of Jackson, Mississippi – After two days of sporadic fighting, Sherman invests the city, preparing for a siege, and places over 200 cannon for that purpose. Gen. Joseph Johnston decides that the city cannot be held, and decides to pull out, leaving behind the seriously wounded, 23,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, 1,400 muskets, and three large siege guns. The Confederates, as they leave, destroy much of the city. What is left is pillaged by Sherman’s troops as they enter. Union Victory.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+16%2C+1863
19. Thursday, July 16, 1863 --- On this day, Pres. Abraham Lincoln issues a proclamation establishing a national “day of thanksgiving” for the recent victories at Vicksburg and Gettysburg: “Now, therefore, be it known that I do set apart Thursday, the 6th day of August next, to be observed as a day for national thanksgiving, praise, and prayer, and I invite the people of the United States to assemble on that occasion in their customary places of worship, and, in the forms approved by their own consciences, render the homage due to the Divine Majesty for the wonderful things He has done in the nation’s behalf, and invoke the influence of His Holy Spirit to subdue the anger which has produced and so long sustained a needless and cruel rebellion, to change the hearts of the insurgents, to guide the counsels of the Government with wisdom adequate to so great a national emergency, and to visit with tender care and consolation throughout the length and breadth of our land all those who, through the vicissitudes of marches, voyages, battles, and sieges have been, brought to suffer in mind, body, or estate, and finally to lead the whole nation through the paths of repentance and submission to the Divine Will back to the perfect enjoyment of union and fraternal peace.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+16%2C+1863
20. Saturday, July 16, 1864: General Jubal Early [CS] leaves Leesburg and heads west to the Shenandoah Valley.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186407
21. Saturday, July 16, 1864: Shenandoah Valley operations, Early’s Raid: Heaton’s Crossroads/Purcellville Wagon Raid.
https://bjdeming.com/2014/07/13/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-14-20-1864/
22. Saturday, July 16, 1864: Mississippi operations: S. D. Lee breaks off the pursuit of Smith’s column. The Federals head back to Memphis by way of Holly Springs.
https://bjdeming.com/2014/07/13/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-14-20-1864/
23. Saturday, July 16, 1864: Grant warns Sherman that Confederate reinforcements might be sent to Georgia after the failure of the raid against Washington.
https://bjdeming.com/2014/07/13/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-14-20-1864/
24. Saturday, July 16, 1864: July 16th: Sherman started his advance on Atlanta.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/the-american-civil-war/american-civil-war-july-1864/
25. Saturday, July 16, 1864: CS General Joe Johnston to President Davis after Davis’s request for Johnston’s plan of operations: “[It] must depend upon that of the enemy…We are trying to put Atlanta in condition to be held by the Georgia militia, that army movements may be freer and wider.”
https://bjdeming.com/2014/07/13/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-14-20-1864/
26. Monday, July 16, 1866: Congress overrides Andrew Johnson's veto of the Freedman's Bureau bill.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/1866
27.
A Thursday, July 16, 1863: Battle of Boteler's Ford, western Virginia. The following day, July 16, the Federals advanced toward Kearneysville where they were met by mounted Confederate forces, which drove the Federals back to within a mile of Shepherdstown.
The hilly and rocky ground was ill-suited for effective cavalry combat, so both Union and Confederate horsemen dismounted and fought. The line of battle extended a mile and a half on both the North and South sides of the road. Townspeople could hear heavy cannonading from the severe fight.
The Federal troops held up in Butler's Woods, where they remained until midnight and then retreated in the direction of Harper's Ferry.
During this battle, Col. James Drake of the 1st Virginia Cavalry was killed, which led to Shepherdstown soldier William Morgan's promotion to colonel.
http://articles.herald-mail.com/2008-03-23/news/25085506_1_shepherdstown-1st-virginia-cavalry-confederate-veterans
A+ Thursday, July 16, 1863: On July 16, Brig. Gen. David McM. Gregg's cavalry approached Shepherdstown where the brigades of Brig. Gens. Fitzhugh Lee and John R. Chambliss, supported by Col. Milton J. Ferguson's brigade, held the Potomac River fords against the Union infantry. Fitzhugh Lee and Chambliss attacked Gregg, who held out against several attacks and sorties, fighting sporadically until nightfall when he withdrew.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Williamsport
B Thursday, July 16, 1863: Shimonoséki Straits, Japan: The USS Wyoming has been patrolling the seas, looking for the CSS Alabama. Today, for a number of local reasons unrelated to the war back home, the Wyoming will take on most of the Japanese navy and a number of shore batteries in the first US-Japan naval battle.
https://bjdeming.com/2013/07/21/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-15-21-1863
C Thursday, July 16, 1863: Draft riots, New York City end.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186307
Thursday, July 16, 1863 --- On this day, President Jefferson Davis of the Confederate States issues a decree that calls up all white men for military service: “all white men, residents of said States, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, not legally exempted from military service.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+16%2C+1863
C+ Thursday, July 16, 1863: New York City draft riots: “The 7th Regiment returns: Troops experienced at riot control arrived at 4:40 in the morning.
Police escorts: Hundreds of black New Yorkers were ferried to refuge on Blackwell’s Island.
East Side battles: Munitions factories and dockyards were under continual attack, culminating in the afternoon battle of Gramercy Park with room-by-room fighting with insurgents. Downtown and the West Side remained quiet all day.
Late night quiet: Police patrols, though attacked by snipers sporadically, establish control of the East Side.”
https://bjdeming.com/2013/07/21/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-15-21-1863/
D Thursday, July 16, 1863: Charleston and James Island, South Carolina - To divert Confederate reinforcements from a renewed attack on Fort Wagner, Gen. Gillmore designed two feints. An amphibious force ascended Stono River to threaten the Charleston & Savannah Railroad bridge. A 2nd force, consisting of 3,800 men in Terry's division, landed on James Island on July 8. Terry demonstrated against the 3,000 Confederate defenses.
On July 16, the Confederates attacked Terry's camp at Grimball's Landing. Because of incomplete reconnaissance of the difficult, marshy ground, the disorganized Confederate attack was soon aborted. Their mission accomplished, Union troops withdrew from the island on July 17.
http://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/1863s.html
D+ Thursday, July 16, 1863: To divert Confederate reinforcements from a renewed attack on nearby Fort Wagner, Brig. Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore designed two feints. An amphibious force ascended Stono River to threaten the Charleston & Savannah Railroad bridge. A second force, consisting of Alfred Terry's division, landed on James Island on July 8. Soon, Terry demonstrated against the Confederate defenses, but did not launch a major attack. On July 16, the Confederates attacked Terry's camp at Grimball's Landing. Because of incomplete reconnaissance of the difficult, marshy ground, the disorganized Confederate attack was soon aborted. Their mission accomplished, Federal troops withdrew from the island on July 17.
This battle was the first engagement of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, in which it suffered 43
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Grimball%27s_Landing
FYI SPC Deb Root-WhiteLt Col Charlie Brown CWO2 John HeinzlGySgt Jack Wallace SPC Diana D. CWO4 Terrence Clark SPC Michael Oles SR SPC Michael Terrell TSgt David L. CPL Ronald Keyes Jr PO1 John Johnson SPC (Join to see) SMSgt Lawrence McCarter SP5 Dave (Shotgun) Shockley SGT Paul Russo[~1757912"LTC Keith L Jackson] A1C Pamela G RussellLTC Trent KlugMSG Roy CheeverPO2 Russell "Russ" Lincoln
In the western theater in 1862 “General Halleck has been called by Lincoln to Washington to be general-in-chief. Before leaving, Halleck gives General Grant command of the districts of Cairo and Mississippi, the Army of the Mississippi, and the Army of the Tennessee, as well as the District of West Tennessee.”
Below are a number of journal entries from 1863 and xx which shed light on what life was like for soldiers and civilians – the good, the bad and the ugly.
Thursday, July 16, 1863: George Templeton Strong, writes of the trouble in the streets on this day and the effect of events on political sentiment in the city: “Rather quiet downtown. No trustworthy accounts of riot on any large scale during the day. General talk downtown is that the trouble is over. We shall see. It will be as it pleases the scoundrels who are privily engineering the outbreak---agents of Jefferson Davis, permitted to work here in New York. . . . Coming uptown tonight I find Gramercy Park in military occupation. Strong parties drawn up across Twentieth Street and Twenty-first Streets at the east end of the Square. . . .
Never knew exasperation so intense, unqualified, and general as that which prevails against these rioters and the political knaves who are supposed to have set them going, Governor Seymour not excepted. Men who voted for him mention the fact with contrition and self-abasement. . . . But we shall forget all about it before next November. Perhaps the lesson of the last four days is still to be taught us still more emphatically, and we have got to be worse before we are better. It is not clear that the resources of the conspiracy are yet exhausted. The rioters of yesterday were better armed and organized than those of Monday, and their inaction today may possibly be meant to throw us off our guard. . . . They are in full possession of the western and eastern sides of the city, from Tenth Street upward, and of a good many districts beside. I could not walk four blocks eastward from this house this minute without peril. The outbreak is spreading by concerted action in many quarters. Albany, Troy, Yonkers, Hartford, Boston, and other cities have each their Irish anti-conscription Nigger-murdering mob, of the same type with ours. It is a grave business, a jacquerie that must be put down by heroic doses of lead and steel.
Thursday, July 16, 1863: John Beauchamp Jones, a senior clerk at the Confederate War Department, writes gloomily in his journal concerning the recent reverses for the South: “JULY 16TH. —This is another blue day in the calendar. Nothing from Lee, or Johnston, or Bragg; and no news is generally bad news. But from Charleston we learn that the enemy are established on MorrisIsland, having taken a dozen of our guns and howitzers in the sand hills at the lower end; and that the monitors had passed the bar, and doubtless an engagement by land and by water is imminent, if indeed it has not already taken place. Many regard Charleston as lost. I do not. . . .
Mr. Secretary Seddon, who usually wears a sallow and cadaverous look, which, coupled with his emaciation, makes him resemble an exhumed corpse after a month’s interment, looks to-day like a galvanized corpse which had been buried two months. The circles round his eyes are absolutely black! And yet he was pacing briskly backward and forward between the President’s office and the War Department. He seems much affected by disasters.”
Pictures: 1863 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment; 1862-07-16 Boteler's Ford location Map; 1864 Atlanta campaign Map; Southern Volunteer cartoon
A. Thursday, July 16, 1863: Battle of Boteler's Ford, western Virginia. The following day, July 16, the Federals advanced toward Kearneysville where they were met by mounted Confederate forces, which drove the Federals back to within a mile of Shepherdstown.
The hilly and rocky ground was ill-suited for effective cavalry combat, so both Union and Confederate horsemen dismounted and fought. The line of battle extended a mile and a half on both the North and South sides of the road. Townspeople could hear heavy cannonading from the severe fight.
The Federal troops held up in Butler's Woods, where they remained until midnight and then retreated in the direction of Harper's Ferry.
During this battle, Col. James Drake of the 1st Virginia Cavalry was killed, which led to Shepherdstown soldier William Morgan's promotion to colonel.
On July 16, Brig. Gen. David McM. Gregg's cavalry approached Shepherdstown where the brigades of Brig. Gens. Fitzhugh Lee and John R. Chambliss, supported by Col. Milton J. Ferguson's brigade, held the Potomac River fords against the Union infantry. Fitzhugh Lee and Chambliss attacked Gregg, who held out against several attacks and sorties, fighting sporadically until nightfall when he withdrew.
B. Thursday, July 16, 1863: Shimonoséki Straits, Japan: The USS Wyoming has been patrolling the seas, looking for the CSS Alabama. Today, for a number of local reasons unrelated to the war back home, the Wyoming will take on most of the Japanese navy and a number of shore batteries in the first US-Japan naval battle. This action had lasted one hour and ten minutes, in the course of which the Wyoming had been hulled ten times, her rigging had been badly cut, her smokestack perforated, and she had lost five killed and seven wounded. The battle had been won by the coolness and nerve of the American commander, and a fine feature of the story is that while most of the Wyoming's crew had never before been under fire, even when the ship was aground and the pilots were paralyzed with terror the bluejackets stood by their guns like veterans. Those were the days, too, when a white man caught by the insurgents endured the unspeakable death of the "torture cage," and the men knew that their commander had ordered that if the ship became helpless by grounding or by shot she was to be blown up with all on board. Although Wyoming was significantly cut up, Prince Chôshiu’s forces took the worst of the battle.
C. Thursday, July 16, 1863: Draft riots in New York City end. “The 7th Regiment returns: Troops experienced at riot control arrived at 4:40 in the morning. Police escorts: Hundreds of black New Yorkers were ferried to refuge on Blackwell’s Island. East Side battles: Munitions factories and dockyards were under continual attack, culminating in the afternoon battle of Gramercy Park with room-by-room fighting with insurgents. Downtown and the West Side remained quiet all day. Late night quiet: Police patrols, though attacked by snipers sporadically, establish control of the East Side.”
D. Thursday, July 16, 1863: On July 16, the Confederates attacked Terry's camp at Grimball's Landing. Because of incomplete reconnaissance of the difficult, marshy ground, the disorganized Confederate attack was soon aborted. Their mission accomplished, Union troops withdrew from the island on July 17.
Thursday, July 16, 1863: To divert Confederate reinforcements from a renewed attack on nearby Fort Wagner, Brig. Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore designed two feints. An amphibious force ascended Stono River to threaten the Charleston & Savannah Railroad bridge. A second force, consisting of Alfred Terry's division, landed on James Island on July 8. Soon, Terry demonstrated against the Confederate defenses, but did not launch a major attack. On July 16, the Confederates attacked Terry's camp at Grimball's Landing. Because of incomplete reconnaissance of the difficult, marshy ground, the disorganized Confederate attack was soon aborted. Their mission accomplished, Federal troops withdrew from the island on July 17.
From a renewed attack on Fort Wagner, Gen. Gillmore designed two feints. An amphibious force ascended Stono River to threaten the Charleston & Savannah Railroad bridge. A 2nd force, consisting of 3,800 men in Terry's division, landed on James Island on July 8. Terry demonstrated against the 3,000 Confederate defenses. This battle was the first engagement of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, in which it suffered 43
1. Wednesday, July 16, 1862: On July 16, 1862, the untried Union army under Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, 35,000 strong, marched out of the Washington defenses to give battle to the Confederate army, which was concentrated around the vital railroad junction at Manassas. The Confederate army, about 22,000 men, under the command of Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard, guarded the fords of Bull Run Creek.
http://civilwarwiki.net/wiki/Battle_of_Blackburn's_Ford
2. Wednesday, July 16, 1862: McDowell’s army began its move out towards Manassas.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/the-american-civil-war/american-civil-war-july-1861/
3. Wednesday, July 16, 1862: Northern Virginia Campaign - sometimes just called the Virginia Campaign. [July 16 - September 1]
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186207
4. Wednesday, July 16, 1862: Western Theater: General Halleck has been called by Lincoln to Washington to be general-in-chief. Before leaving, Halleck gives General Grant command of the districts of Cairo and Mississippi, the Army of the Mississippi, and the Army of the Tennessee, as well as the District of West Tennessee.
https://bjdeming.com/2012/07/20/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-16-22-1862/
5. Wednesday, July 16, 1862: We are coming, Father Abraham, Three Hundred Thousand More appears in the Saturday Evening Post. Written by James Sloan, the marching song was intended to help raise volunteers following Lincoln's request to Congress that it increase the size of the army to 500,000 men.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186207
6. Wednesday, July 16, 1862: CSA Col Morgan’s first raid into Kentucky. But, aware that his regiment was in danger from pursuing Federals, Col Morgan left Harrodsburg and marched his men swiftly, using deceptive turns and passes to avoid the enemy. During the time Morgan’s men were riding through the bluegrass country, Federal forces were in such a state of panic that it caused the despot Lincoln to wire a message to U.S. GEN Halleck at Corinth, Mississippi, saying: "They are having a stampede in Kentucky. Please see to it."
After leaving Harrodsburg, Morgan's men moved through Lawrenceburg and Versailles, making a feint toward Frankfort. With Lexington occupied by Federal troops, the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry swung north to Georgetown. The regiment arrived there late on July 16 and encamped for a long, much needed rest stop. In the meantime, efforts were made in earnest for one of the prime purposes of this raid --- recruiting.
http://www.lexingtonrifles.com/1862.htm
7. Wednesday, July 16, 1862: John Hunt Morgan wires Kirby Smith "Lexington and Frankfurt ... are garrisoned with Home Guard. The bridges between Cincinnati and Lexington have been destroyed. The whole country can be secured and 25,000 to 30,000 men with join you at once.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186207
8. Wednesday, July 16, 1862: Morgan’s First Kentucky Raid: CS General John Hunt Morgan wires General E. Kirby Smith: “Lexington and Frankfurt … are garrisoned with Home Guard. The bridges between Cincinnati and Lexington have been destroyed. The whole country can be secured and 25,000 to 30,000 men with join you at once.”
https://bjdeming.com/2012/07/20/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-16-22-1862/
9. Thursday, July 16, 1863 --- New York Draft Riots: The New York Times reports on the horrendous destruction of the day in the city streets: “A Morning Riot in Thirty-Second-Street.
THE MILITARY FIRE UPON THE MOB.
Late on Tuesday night a raid was made by the mob on a number of negro dwellings situate on Thirty-second-street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues; these buildings were almost entirely demolished and several attempts were made to fire the whole vicinity.
An unfortunate negro, who made an attempt to fly for his life from the fury of these persecutors, was caught and severely beaten with stones and bludgeons; the infuriated mob not satisfied with thus brutally mangling their victim, slipped a rope around his neck and hung him to a tree in the neighborhood, where he remained until quite an early hour this morning.
About 9 o’clock yesterday morning, Capt. Morr, of the United States artillery, having been sent with a strong force to cut down the unfortunate negro, was met by the mob with the most persistent opposition. After requesting them to disperse, and being still menaced by the crowd, he ordered his men to fire; three rounds of grape were poured into them with fearful effect. When they dispersed, it was ascertained that upward of twenty-five had been killed and a number seriously wounded.
Another negro was also hung by the mob in the forenoon, in Thirty-sixth-street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+16%2C+1863
10. Thursday, July 16, 1863 --- George Templeton Strong, writes of the trouble in the streets on this day and the effect of events on political sentiment in the city: “Rather quiet downtown. No trustworthy accounts of riot on any large scale during the day. General talk downtown is that the trouble is over. We shall see. It will be as it pleases the scoundrels who are privily engineering the outbreak---agents of Jefferson Davis, permitted to work here in New York. . . . Coming uptown tonight I find Gramercy Park in military occupation. Strong parties drawn up across Twentieth Street and Twenty-first Streets at the east end of the Square. . . .
Never knew exasperation so intense, unqualified, and general as that which prevails against these rioters and the political knaves who are supposed to have set them going, Governor Seymour not excepted. Men who voted for him mention the fact with contrition and self-abasement. . . . But we shall forget all about it before next November. Perhaps the lesson of the last four days is still to be taught us still more emphatically, and we have got to be worse before we are better. It is not clear that the resources of the conspiracy are yet exhausted. The rioters of yesterday were better armed and organized than those of Monday, and their inaction today may possibly be meant to throw us off our guard. . . . They are in full possession of the western and eastern sides of the city, from Tenth Street upward, and of a good many districts beside. I could not walk four blocks eastward from this house this minute without peril. The outbreak is spreading by concerted action in many quarters. Albany, Troy, Yonkers, Hartford, Boston, and other cities have each their Irish anti-conscription Nigger-murdering mob, of the same type with ours. It is a grave business, a jacquerie that must be put down by heroic doses of lead and steel.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+16%2C+1863
11. Thursday, July 16, 1863 --- John Beauchamp Jones, a senior clerk at the Confederate War Department, writes gloomily in his journal concerning the recent reverses for the South: “JULY 16TH. —This is another blue day in the calendar. Nothing from Lee, or Johnston, or Bragg; and no news is generally bad news. But from Charleston we learn that the enemy are established on MorrisIsland, having taken a dozen of our guns and howitzers in the sand hills at the lower end; and that the monitors had passed the bar, and doubtless an engagement by land and by water is imminent, if indeed it has not already taken place. Many regard Charleston as lost. I do not. . . .
Mr. Secretary Seddon, who usually wears a sallow and cadaverous look, which, coupled with his emaciation, makes him resemble an exhumed corpse after a month’s interment, looks to-day like a galvanized corpse which had been buried two months. The circles round his eyes are absolutely black! And yet he was pacing briskly backward and forward between the President’s office and the War Department. He seems much affected by disasters.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+16%2C+1863
12. Thursday, July 16, 1863: Gettysburg campaign/Williamsport/Falling Waters. CS generals Fitzhugh Lee (Robert’s son) and John Chambliss hold the Potomac River fords against US infantry and attack US General Gregg. Fighting continues sporadically until nightfall, when Gregg withdraws.
https://bjdeming.com/2013/07/21/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-15-21-1863
13. Thursday, July 16, 1863: Shimonoséki Straits, Japan. “At five o'clock on the morning of July 16, Wyoming weighed anchor and steamed toward the Strait of Shimonoséki. She went to general quarters at nine, loaded her pivot guns with shell, and cleared for action. Heco provides a first-person description of events: “The weather was clear with not a cloud to be seen in the whole sky. About 5 a.m. we weighed anchor and steamed slowly onward in search of the vessel that had fired on the Pembroke. We zigzagged from one side of the Suwo Nada to the other hoping to meet her, but without success. So at length we changed our course from the Bungo to the Suwo side, and from there we made towards Shimonoséki. In case we failed to find the vessel, we meant to proceed to Hagi, the old Capital of Chôshiu.”
By nine o'clock the sun in a cloudless sky had waxed scorching. There was not a breath of wind, the sea smooth as a tank of oil with not a ripple on its surface save that made by our own motion as we churned onwards. The deck was strewn with fire-arms and cutlasses ready for use at a moment's notice. About this time the Captain ordered the men to haul in the big guns and to cover up the ports with tarpaulins, so as to make us look like a merchant-man. About 10 a.m. we were within a few miles of the Eastern entrance of the Straits of Shimonoséki. The Lieutenant in the forecastle called out that he sighted two square-rigged vessels and a steamer at anchor close in to the town.
The warship entered the strait at 10:45 and beat to quarters. Her entry was announced by signal guns on shore, and as soon as she came in range she was fired upon by the batteries. She made no reply, however, until she reached the narrowest part of the straits. At that point the larger shore batteries concentrated their fire; beyond, in more open water lay three armed merchantmen, all heavily manned, and with their crews yelling defiance. Oddly enough, these were all American vessels – the bark Daniel Webster (six guns), the brig Lanrick (Kosei, with ten guns), and the steamer Lancefield (Koshin, of four guns) -- which had been purchased by the Chôshiu clansmen. In the land batteries, too, were five 8-inch Dahlgren guns which had recently been presented to Japan by the United States. McDougal judged the greater threat to be the three warships and was pleased to see that all were still at anchor. He could engage them first, hoping to catch them before their cables were slipped and they made for deep water. The bark lay anchored close to the town on the northern shore, the brig was about fifty yards outside and a little beyond, while the steamer lay further ahead and outside, that is, nearer mid-channel. As McDougal approached the narrows, he noticed a line of stakes which he rightly guessed had been used by the Japanese to gauge their aim. Accordingly, he avoided the middle of the channel and steered close under the batteries. This shrewdness probably was the salvation of the Wyoming, for the batteries at once opened a tremendous cannonade which would have sunk a dozen vessels in mid-channel, but which only tore through her rigging. In an instant, the Stars and Stripes were raised and the challenge answered with shells from the Wyoming’s two 11-inch Dahlgrens. Wyoming ran through the fire of the shore batteries with no injuries and only minor damage. She soon cleared the narrows and bore out into the open water where her guns could reply.
While Dr. Dambey, Mr. Benson and I were standing on the quarterdeck the report of a big gun suddenly thundered in our ears. On looking up we saw smoke issuing from the wooded bluff on the mainland on our right as we were bearing down towards Shimonoséki. I at once hurried to the Captain on the bridge and told him that I fancied that this gun was a signal for battle. And on my way back to the quarter-deck a second report rang out from a second battery, further within the Straits. And in a few more seconds, yet another broke the silence and rolled rumbling about along the hill-sides. This was from the innermost battery of all on a lofty height right behind the town. A few seconds later, a tongue of fire leapt from the place where the first shot had been fired, and before the smoke had begun to float upwards I heard a hurtling screech, and a column of water spurted up and fell back with a splash just about twenty feet astern of where we were standing talking on the quarter-deck. The gunners on shore clearly meant business.
Commander McDougal then gave orders to "go in between those vessels and take the steamer." The Yokohama pilots protested loudly, but the American had made up his mind to take the chances of shallow water and headed for the three ships. Heco records , "When we heard this, everybody on board, I noticed, became excited and some of the men became quite pale -- for it was no easy matter to take an enemy's vessel without a hand-to-hand fight, and many of the crew I was told had never been under fire."
As Wyoming narrowed the distance to the Japanese ships, Orderly Sergeant Abel Clegg ordered his twelve Marines to load their muskets and prepare to fire. McDougal intended to run his ship right between the enemy vessels, engaging the bark and the brig to starboard and the steamer to port. When he did, the Marines were to demonstrate their prowess as marksmen and pick off the enemy gunners. Wyoming would pass so close to Prince Chôshiu’s ships that even the poorest shot in the guard would not have an excuse for missing his target. Immediately a fresh battery of four guns opened a raking fire, but the Wyoming answered with a single shell so accurately aimed that it tore the entire battery to pieces. Dashing ahead, she passed abreast the bark and the brig (Kosei) at close quarters and exchanged broadsides with both.
At precisely 10.50 a.m. we ran right in between the three Chôshiu vessels, and treated them to a salute from our two Dahlgren guns. After delivering our broadside we steamed slowly out and crossing the bow of the steamer Lancefield , we worked towards the channel pounding away at the enemy all the while. Meanwhile the enemy kept up an unflagging fire from ships and batteries alike But their aim was wild; we noticed that the guns on shore were all fired and trained upon the channel, and we passed so close under them that their shot mostly went ten or fifteen feet overhead. But it was not at all nice or comfortable to hear them whizzing and screaming aloft among our rigging. And the worst of it all was that there was no chance of falling back to the rear, for in a fight on ship-board there is no such convenient thing as the rear to fall back to.
The firing was so close that the long guns of the Wyoming seemed almost to touch the muzzles of the enemy, and it was in these few minutes at close quarters that the greater part of the American loss occurred. The forward gun division suffered most on account of its exposed position, sustaining, in fact, all the casualties of the day except three. When the smoke had cleared, six men from the crew of Wyoming’s forward broadside gun were down, one of them dead. Elsewhere on the ship, a marine was struck dead by a piece of shrapnel. Damage was extensive, but McDougal remained undaunted. The Japanese handled their guns so rapidly that the brig alone managed to pour three broadsides into the Wyoming. Nonetheless her port battery, targeting the steamer Koshin, let loose two rifled shells. After passing through the Japanese gunboats, Wyoming rounded the bow of the steamer and made a looping turn to port, intending to make another dash at the enemy. The brig was already settling, but the Daniel Webster, in spite of the great holes in her side, still kept up a steady fire, and six land batteries now reopened with the Wyoming as a fair target. The steamer, meanwhile, weighed anchor and, moving to the opposite side, seemed to be getting ready to ram or board the American. At this critical moment the rushing tides sent the Wyoming's bow aground, but after some minutes her engines succeeded in backing her off. Wyoming swung around, and, bringing her port battery to bear, fired on the approaching steamer. A second salvo exploded Koshin’s boilers and she began to sink; her crew abandoned her and took to the water.
The steamer seemed to have some dignitaries on board, as we saw that she had purple awnings with the Prince's crest. As soon as we crossed the Lancefield's bows she slipped her cable and essayed to run for refuge into the inner harbor. At this instant the Captain called out to the gunner at the 11 inch Dahlgren to fire. But the gunner seemed to pay no attention until the Captain had given the order for the third or fourth time. At last he did as he was told, and "Bang" went the gun with an ear-splitting crash. And as the smoke of the discharge drifted aside we saw a great volume of smoke and steam hissing and pouring from the Lancefield's deck, and at the same time she slewed slowly round and heeled over on one side, and in a minute or two down she went into the waters. When we saw the steam pouring out of her, our tars gave three rousing cheers, fancying that the 11-inch shell had burst within her. And they heartened up wonderfully and went into the fight with all their soul and with all their strength and with all their mind. This lucky shot struck just at the right moment, for by this time several of our men had been laid low or disabled by shot and flying bolts and splinters. The reason why the Captain of the gun did not let loose at the first word of command was that he was taking aim at the exact water-line. And when he did fire he hit the spot to a hair's-breadth. He finished the vessel by that single well-directed shot. It tore through one side of the hull, ripped through the boilers, out at the other side, and drove ashore and lodged there without ever bursting. This I learned from the Chôshiu officers afterwards.
McDougal then fired into the Japanese bark and the Kosei, sending the latter to the bottom. Then, ignoring the shore batteries and the Daniel Webster, McDougal opened fire with his two 11-inch Dahlgren pivot guns on the brig Kosei. Both shells took effect in her hull; another from the forward pivot tore through her boiler, and in a cloud of smoke and steam the vessel went down. Meanwhile, the bark Daniel Webster had been firing as fast as the guns could be loaded, and the six shore batteries were a continuous line of smoke and flame. McDougal now trained his guns to reply. In a few minutes the bark was wrecked, and then one shore battery after another was silenced. When satisfied that he had destroyed everything within range, he turned and steamed slowly back. On his return he was practically unmolested.
Thus we fought 6 batteries, a barque, a brig and a steamer. We silenced all the batteries, and as for the brig and the steamer we sank them. And all this was done in a little more than one short hour. We ceased firing at 20 m. after 12 p.m.
From our observation it appeared that all the guns were trained on the channel, and placed so as to rake the course usually taken by foreign vessels in passing the Straits. Had it not been for the Captain's clever maneuver of running right close inshore under their batteries, every shot they fired would have hulled us. But as it was they all screeched harmlessly over us. The only punishment we received we got from the vessels.
During the engagement we fired 53 shot and shell in all, with the result I have above mentioned. The Chôshiu men discharged 130 rounds in all, of which 22 did us actual damage. These hit our rigging, smoke-stack and hull, and killed 5 and wounded 7 of our men.
This action had lasted one hour and ten minutes, in the course of which the Wyoming had been hulled ten times, her rigging had been badly cut, her smokestack perforated, and she had lost five killed and seven wounded. The battle had been won by the coolness and nerve of the American commander, and a fine feature of the story is that while most of the Wyoming's crew had never before been under fire, even when the ship was aground and the pilots were paralyzed with terror the bluejackets stood by their guns like veterans. Those were the days, too, when a white man caught by the insurgents endured the unspeakable death of the "torture cage," and the men knew that their commander had ordered that if the ship became helpless by grounding or by shot she was to be blown up with all on board. Although Wyoming was significantly cut up, Prince Chôshiu’s forces took the worst of the battle. McDougal had served notice that hostile action against Americans would result in punitive action. As Commander McDougal wrote in his report to Gideon Welles on 23 July, "the punishment inflicted (upon the daimyo) and in store for him will, I trust, teach him a lesson that will not soon be forgotten."
http://www.navyandmarine.org/ondeck/1863shimonoseki.htm
14. Thursday, July 16, 1863: Siege of Jackson: CS General Joseph Johnston withdraws from Jackson, ending any threat to US forces in Vicksburg.
https://bjdeming.com/2013/07/21/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-15-21-1863
15. Thursday, July 16, 1863 --- Sec. of the Navy Gideon Welles writes in his journal about the Draft riots: “July 16, Thursday. It is represented that the mob in New York is about subdued. Why it was permitted to continue so long and commit such excess has not been explained. Governor Seymour, whose partisans constituted the rioters, and whose partisanship encouraged them, has been in New York talking namby-pamby. This Sir Forcible Feeble is himself chiefly responsible for the outrage.
Then, concerning the escape of Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia back to friendly soil, Welles adds these doubts about Gen. Halleck’s relative capacities: “Lee’s army has recrossed the Potomac, unmolested, carrying off all its artillery and the property stolen in Pennsylvania. When I ask why such an escape was permitted, I am told that the generals opposed an attack. What generals? None are named. Meade is in command there; Halleck is General-in-Chief here. They should be held responsible. There are generals who, no doubt, will acquiesce without any regrets in having this war prolonged.
In this whole summer’s campaign I have been unable to see, hear, or obtain evidence of power, or will, or talent, or originality on the part of General Halleck. He has suggested nothing, decided nothing, done nothing but scold and smoke and scratch his elbows. Is it possible the energies of the nation should be wasted by the incapacity of such a man?”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+16%2C+1863
16. casualties (14 killed, 17 wounded, and 12 captured).
17. Thursday, July 16, 1863: General Sherman, fresh from his success at Vicksburg, advanced on Jackson, Mississippi. The Confederate forces there, commanded by General Johnston, withdrew.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/the-american-civil-war/american-civil-war-july-1863/
18. Thursday, July 16, 1863 --- Second Battle of Jackson, Mississippi – After two days of sporadic fighting, Sherman invests the city, preparing for a siege, and places over 200 cannon for that purpose. Gen. Joseph Johnston decides that the city cannot be held, and decides to pull out, leaving behind the seriously wounded, 23,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, 1,400 muskets, and three large siege guns. The Confederates, as they leave, destroy much of the city. What is left is pillaged by Sherman’s troops as they enter. Union Victory.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+16%2C+1863
19. Thursday, July 16, 1863 --- On this day, Pres. Abraham Lincoln issues a proclamation establishing a national “day of thanksgiving” for the recent victories at Vicksburg and Gettysburg: “Now, therefore, be it known that I do set apart Thursday, the 6th day of August next, to be observed as a day for national thanksgiving, praise, and prayer, and I invite the people of the United States to assemble on that occasion in their customary places of worship, and, in the forms approved by their own consciences, render the homage due to the Divine Majesty for the wonderful things He has done in the nation’s behalf, and invoke the influence of His Holy Spirit to subdue the anger which has produced and so long sustained a needless and cruel rebellion, to change the hearts of the insurgents, to guide the counsels of the Government with wisdom adequate to so great a national emergency, and to visit with tender care and consolation throughout the length and breadth of our land all those who, through the vicissitudes of marches, voyages, battles, and sieges have been, brought to suffer in mind, body, or estate, and finally to lead the whole nation through the paths of repentance and submission to the Divine Will back to the perfect enjoyment of union and fraternal peace.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+16%2C+1863
20. Saturday, July 16, 1864: General Jubal Early [CS] leaves Leesburg and heads west to the Shenandoah Valley.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186407
21. Saturday, July 16, 1864: Shenandoah Valley operations, Early’s Raid: Heaton’s Crossroads/Purcellville Wagon Raid.
https://bjdeming.com/2014/07/13/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-14-20-1864/
22. Saturday, July 16, 1864: Mississippi operations: S. D. Lee breaks off the pursuit of Smith’s column. The Federals head back to Memphis by way of Holly Springs.
https://bjdeming.com/2014/07/13/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-14-20-1864/
23. Saturday, July 16, 1864: Grant warns Sherman that Confederate reinforcements might be sent to Georgia after the failure of the raid against Washington.
https://bjdeming.com/2014/07/13/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-14-20-1864/
24. Saturday, July 16, 1864: July 16th: Sherman started his advance on Atlanta.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/the-american-civil-war/american-civil-war-july-1864/
25. Saturday, July 16, 1864: CS General Joe Johnston to President Davis after Davis’s request for Johnston’s plan of operations: “[It] must depend upon that of the enemy…We are trying to put Atlanta in condition to be held by the Georgia militia, that army movements may be freer and wider.”
https://bjdeming.com/2014/07/13/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-14-20-1864/
26. Monday, July 16, 1866: Congress overrides Andrew Johnson's veto of the Freedman's Bureau bill.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/1866
27.
A Thursday, July 16, 1863: Battle of Boteler's Ford, western Virginia. The following day, July 16, the Federals advanced toward Kearneysville where they were met by mounted Confederate forces, which drove the Federals back to within a mile of Shepherdstown.
The hilly and rocky ground was ill-suited for effective cavalry combat, so both Union and Confederate horsemen dismounted and fought. The line of battle extended a mile and a half on both the North and South sides of the road. Townspeople could hear heavy cannonading from the severe fight.
The Federal troops held up in Butler's Woods, where they remained until midnight and then retreated in the direction of Harper's Ferry.
During this battle, Col. James Drake of the 1st Virginia Cavalry was killed, which led to Shepherdstown soldier William Morgan's promotion to colonel.
http://articles.herald-mail.com/2008-03-23/news/25085506_1_shepherdstown-1st-virginia-cavalry-confederate-veterans
A+ Thursday, July 16, 1863: On July 16, Brig. Gen. David McM. Gregg's cavalry approached Shepherdstown where the brigades of Brig. Gens. Fitzhugh Lee and John R. Chambliss, supported by Col. Milton J. Ferguson's brigade, held the Potomac River fords against the Union infantry. Fitzhugh Lee and Chambliss attacked Gregg, who held out against several attacks and sorties, fighting sporadically until nightfall when he withdrew.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Williamsport
B Thursday, July 16, 1863: Shimonoséki Straits, Japan: The USS Wyoming has been patrolling the seas, looking for the CSS Alabama. Today, for a number of local reasons unrelated to the war back home, the Wyoming will take on most of the Japanese navy and a number of shore batteries in the first US-Japan naval battle.
https://bjdeming.com/2013/07/21/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-15-21-1863
C Thursday, July 16, 1863: Draft riots, New York City end.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186307
Thursday, July 16, 1863 --- On this day, President Jefferson Davis of the Confederate States issues a decree that calls up all white men for military service: “all white men, residents of said States, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, not legally exempted from military service.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=July+16%2C+1863
C+ Thursday, July 16, 1863: New York City draft riots: “The 7th Regiment returns: Troops experienced at riot control arrived at 4:40 in the morning.
Police escorts: Hundreds of black New Yorkers were ferried to refuge on Blackwell’s Island.
East Side battles: Munitions factories and dockyards were under continual attack, culminating in the afternoon battle of Gramercy Park with room-by-room fighting with insurgents. Downtown and the West Side remained quiet all day.
Late night quiet: Police patrols, though attacked by snipers sporadically, establish control of the East Side.”
https://bjdeming.com/2013/07/21/the-american-civil-war-150th-anniversary-july-15-21-1863/
D Thursday, July 16, 1863: Charleston and James Island, South Carolina - To divert Confederate reinforcements from a renewed attack on Fort Wagner, Gen. Gillmore designed two feints. An amphibious force ascended Stono River to threaten the Charleston & Savannah Railroad bridge. A 2nd force, consisting of 3,800 men in Terry's division, landed on James Island on July 8. Terry demonstrated against the 3,000 Confederate defenses.
On July 16, the Confederates attacked Terry's camp at Grimball's Landing. Because of incomplete reconnaissance of the difficult, marshy ground, the disorganized Confederate attack was soon aborted. Their mission accomplished, Union troops withdrew from the island on July 17.
http://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/1863s.html
D+ Thursday, July 16, 1863: To divert Confederate reinforcements from a renewed attack on nearby Fort Wagner, Brig. Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore designed two feints. An amphibious force ascended Stono River to threaten the Charleston & Savannah Railroad bridge. A second force, consisting of Alfred Terry's division, landed on James Island on July 8. Soon, Terry demonstrated against the Confederate defenses, but did not launch a major attack. On July 16, the Confederates attacked Terry's camp at Grimball's Landing. Because of incomplete reconnaissance of the difficult, marshy ground, the disorganized Confederate attack was soon aborted. Their mission accomplished, Federal troops withdrew from the island on July 17.
This battle was the first engagement of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, in which it suffered 43
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Grimball%27s_Landing
FYI SPC Deb Root-WhiteLt Col Charlie Brown CWO2 John HeinzlGySgt Jack Wallace SPC Diana D. CWO4 Terrence Clark SPC Michael Oles SR SPC Michael Terrell TSgt David L. CPL Ronald Keyes Jr PO1 John Johnson SPC (Join to see) SMSgt Lawrence McCarter SP5 Dave (Shotgun) Shockley SGT Paul Russo[~1757912"LTC Keith L Jackson] A1C Pamela G RussellLTC Trent KlugMSG Roy CheeverPO2 Russell "Russ" Lincoln
Battle of Blackburn's Ford - CivilWarWiki
The Battle of Blackburn's Ford was a skirmish that took place near Manassas, Virginia, in July, 1862. On July 16, 1862, the untried Union army under Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, 35,000 strong, marched out of the Washington defenses to give battle to the Confederate army, which was concentrated around the vital railroad junction at Manassas. The Confederate army, about 22,000 men, under the command of Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard,...
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Excellent read and share today LTC Stephen F.; I chose to go with 1863: The Confederates were duped.
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LTC Stephen F.
You are very welcome, my friend and brother-in-Christ TSgt Joe C. and thanks for letting us know you consider the July 15, 1863 'The Confederates were duped by Brig. Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore feint and attacked Gen Alfred Terry 's camp at Grimball's Landing. Because of incomplete reconnaissance of the difficult, marshy ground, the disorganized Confederate attack was soon aborted' to be the most significant event on July 15 during the US Civil war.
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