What was the most significant event on June 21 during the U.S. Civil War?

On this day in 1863 during the Civil War there were cavalry battles in the west in LaFourche, Louisiana and in the east in Upperville, Virginia. The action in LA was part of the Siege of Port Hudson while the battle in Virginia was a screening action of JEB Stuart’s cavalry to prevent the Federal cavalry from determining where Robert E; Lee’s infantry and artillery were heading.
In 1862 one of many joint Federal Army and navy amphibious operations was taking place in South Carolina at Simmons Bluff. The Federal Army and navy generally worked well together in both the eastern and western theaters of operations. Every now and then, there would be issues of who was in command – especially in the western riverine operations.
Below are a number of journal entries from 1862 and 1863 which shed light on what life was like for soldiers and civilians – the good, the bad and the ugly.
Saturday, June 21, 1862: Pennsylvanian James D. Chadwick began writing a long letter to his parents from a Union camp near Richmond, Virginia. From Headquarters Third Brigade, P. R. C. Camp in sight of spires of Richmond.
Dear Father and Mother: “The last letter I wrote you was from Fredericksburg and in it I told you that our Division was on its way to Richmond and promised an account of my trip which I will endeavor to give now. I had not heard from you for two weeks until last night when I received yours of May 21st and of June 10th and one also from Frank.
Owing to unavoidable delays I did not embark until Friday afternoon, June 13th, about 2:00 P. M. We dropped down the river a short distance and anchored until morning of June 14th when we started at sunrise and got four miles below Tappahannock when we grounded and lay all night. June 15th, the tide carried us off the shoals and after going about ten miles further grounded again and had to wait four hours until high tide. Finally got adrift again and steamed down to a little bay at Windmill Point at the mouth of the Rappahannock where we anchored, staying all night and until noon the next day on account of the rough sea out on the bay. June 16th, started at noon and steamed down the bay and up the York River to Yorktown where we lay at anchor all night. June 17th, we coaled and started up the river for White House where we landed at 4 P.M. June 18th, started to join the rest of the Division which occupies the extreme right of the army before Richmond. Marched to Gaines’ Mill and encamped for the night. June 19th, joined the Division near Mechanicsville and are now within five miles of Richmond. We can see the rebels in numbers and hear the music of their bands, even now I hear their drums beating as if for dress parade. We are not across the Chicahominy but our piquets are on one side and the rebels on the other. At Meadow Bridge ours stands on one end and the rebel piquets on the other end. They have made an agreement not to shoot at one another but woe betide the officer who shows himself for he is sure to be shot at. There has been but little firing to-day, but yesterday the artillery kept up a constant roar. There was one shell, an eight-inch one, thrown which came directly over the headquarters and fell about 150 feet from us, exploding and shattering the limbs of the trees in a terrific way. It was thrown from a large gun about a mile and a half from us. They shelled the Second Brigade yesterday and they had to move further back to get out of the way of the rebel gunners. The music which a shell eight or ten inches in diameter makes in flying through the air is not very enchanting you may be sure. I picked up a piece of the one thrown so near us yesterday. It was thrown from a sixty-four pounder.
There are three or four balloons with this army which go up daily and make observations. They can see down into the streets of Richmond and all the army of the enemy, their positions, etc. I can give you no idea of when we will have a general engagement.
I saw Everill Chadwich [Chadwick] yesterday but Sylvanus is with that part of the “Bucktails” who are with Shields or Ord. Everill saw Cousin (?) Ingram, who is now Captain of the company in the 84th which Merrick Housler had. The last Everill heard of Penrose, he was at the General Hospital in Philadelphia, shot through the ankle or leg.
The 4th Cavalry will be with us in a day or so. It is now dark and I will close for the night and finish to-morrow or the next day. I will close, remaining, Your affectionate son, James”
Sunday, June 21, 1863 — Eldredge B. Pratt, an artilleryman in the 2nd Connecticut Light Artillery, writes home from Virginia to his sister Adelah (whose pet name is apparently Emogene). It is interesting to note the non-standard grammar and phonetic spelling (not to mention syntax). And, from this we also see the stir and bustle of the Army of the Potomac finally moving out in pursuit of Lee and his Rebel army, far to the north and west. But we also note a brother’s heart-felt anxiety about what is happening back home, and a soldier’s powerlessness to do anything about it: Wolfun Shoals; Dear Sister Adelah. As it is Sunday and got the day to myself I will write a few lines to you I got your leter of the 14th last Wednesday 17th glad to hear from you and hear that our folks are well and I hope they will remain so but I hope Fathers sholdier is beter. Wee still enjoy good health. Wee have changed our Camp about a mile north of our old one in a very pleasant place but we hant got such good quaters we didant have bunks to sleep in last night nor such a good stockade but we will have in to or three dais if we are going to stay hear long but we may move in 2 or 3 days again we cant tell one day what is going to be done the next sence Hokers army has moved if you wanted to see an army move you had ought to ben hear. I have seen a bagage train nearly 50 miles long and a string of infantry about 10 miles long and 32 baterys and they all pased clost by our camp I tell you it was a sight to look at. I tell you they is a fight going on somwhare in the diretion of bullrun we hurd it some this morning but we thought it was only a skirmish but it grow heavyer and faster and I tell you the way they are going it now is not slow they is a stedy roar of canon all the while you will probly hear of it in the papers in a day or to I hope that the rebs will get enough out there this time but I cant write much more about that. I have hurd news that I am surprised at. I have hurd that you thought of geting mared to a man about 40 years old. now Emogene they is one thing I want to have you do that is to take an advice from your Father and Mother and not go to geting mared without your Fathers and Mothers concent you dont know what feelings it will make I hurd that it wored our folks awfully about it nowif you think any think of your folks dont get mared yet you are to young you have not seen as many years as Father and Mother has and therefore I want to have you mind them now Emogene take my advice and dont mary without thear concent. I cant write any more this time so good by. From your true friend and Brother E. B. Platt. Write soon: yours Truly
Sunday, June 21, 1863: Osborn H. Oldroyd, serving in the 20th Ohio Infantry, currently laying siege to Vicksburg, notes in his journal the effect of letters from home, especially from sweethearts and wives: “When notice of this inspection was given, or rather an order to prepare for it, one of our boys remarked, "This must be Sunday;" and he added, "I guess I won’t wait for this inspection,—I’ll take my girl to church." If his girl had been here the whole company would doubtless have wanted to go to church, too. "Though lost to sight, to memory dear." We can talk to the sweet creatures only through the dear letters exchanged; but a love letter brings a very bright smile to a warrior’s face, and the sunshine that prevails in camp after the reading of the mail from home, is quite noticeable. Dear girls, do not stop writing; write letters that are still longer, for they are the sweetest of war’s amenities, and are the only medicine that has kept life in the veins of many a homesick soldier. When the mail comes I cannot help wishing everybody may get a letter; but alas! some must miss hearing their names read, and oh! the sadness that creeps over them when the last name has been called and the last letter handed out to someone else. They are sadder than if wounded by a bullet. If wounded, a surgeon may prescribe; but what prescription for the failure of a letter from home?”
Sunday, June 21, 1863: William Raleigh Clack, a Rebel soldier in the 43rd Tennessee Volunteers, writes glumly in his journal about the prospects of Vicksburg being relieved by an attack by Gen. Joe Johnston and his army: “Another Sabbath morning has rolled around and found us still confined to the neighboring hill of Vicksburg without any better prospects of our deliverance. It is reported that Johns[t]on has attacked the enemy but I doubt it. Sharp shooters are pecking away as usual this morning. Warm firing was kept up all day. WRC”
Pictures: 1863-06-21 Battle for Upperville, Virginia; USS Crusader; Trans-Mississippi Department Civil War.jpg; 1863-06-21 In Memory of the 39 memebers of Coa A, 20th Texas Cav who fell at the battle of LaFouche Crossing

A. Saturday, June 21, 1862: Amphibious Battle for Simmon’s Bluff, near Meggett, South Carolina. Union victory. A 55th Pennsylvania shore detachment under the command of Lieutenant Alexander C. Rhind, landed from the USS gunboat Crusader and the USS Planter near Simmon’s Bluff on Wadmelaw Sound with orders to cut the Charleston & Savannah Railroad. They surprised and burned an encampment of the 16th South Carolina Infantry commanded by CSA Col. James McCullough. The Confederates scattered, and the Federals returned to their ships. Despite this minor victory, the Federals abandoned their raid on the railroad. Although a bloodless raid, this engagement typified scores of similar encounters that occurred along the South Carolina coastline.
Background: Charleston, South Carolina had been placed under a siege by Union troops, the only supplies coming in on a local railroad.
B. Sunday, June 21, 1863: The Battle of Upperville, Virginia. The Union cavalry under Maj Gen Alfred Pleasonton tried unsuccessfully to penetrate CSA Maj Gen J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry screen and find out where CSA Gen Robert E. Lee's infantry was and where they were headed.
Union cavalry commander Alfred Pleasonton, frustrated by Stuart's excellent usage of dismounted cavalry hiding behind stone walls, on June 20 asked for and received infantry support from Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's V Corps. Pleasonton had still not located Lee's main body, a task that the War Department continued to prod him to accomplish. Trying to maneuver Stuart out of position, Pleasonton sent Judson Kilpatrick's brigade along the Ashby's Gap Turnpike, supported by Col. Strong Vincent's brigade of infantry, with David McM. Gregg's cavalry division in reserve. John Buford's division would try to turn the flank. John Buford's Federal column had detoured to attack the new Confederate left flank near Upperville, while J. Irvin Gregg's and Judson Kilpatrick's brigades advanced from the east along the Ashby's Gap Turnpike. Buford soon encountered CSA Col William E. "Grumble" Jones and CSA Col John R. Chambliss's Confederate cavalry brigades, escorting Stuart's supply train just north of Upperville, and attacked. Meanwhile, Kilpatrick's troopers attacked CSA Brigadier General Wade Hampton's and CSA Brigadier General Beverly Robertson 's brigades on a ridgeline east of Upperville known as Vineyard Hill. Some of the Union cavalrymen made it as far as the village before being repulsed.
After furious mounted fighting, Stuart finally withdrew to take a strong defensive position in Ashby's Gap, even as Confederate infantry began crossing the Potomac River into Maryland. As cavalry skirmishing diminished in the next few days, Stuart made the fateful decision to strike east and make a circuit of the Union army as it marched toward Gettysburg.
Upperville was significant in that Stuart's successful delaying tactics prevented Pleasonton from making an accurate assessment of the location of Lee's infantry divisions, thereby depriving the Federals of much valued intelligence of their enemy's whereabouts and objectives.
C. Sunday, June 21, 1863: The Battle of LaFourche Crossing [June 20-21, 1863], Louisiana. Union Victory. The 2nd Texas Mounted Rangers cavalry commanded by CSA Col. James P. Major advanced on the crossing but was driven back. After the Union artillery commanded by Lt. Col. Albert Stickney fired a few rounds, the Confederates withdrew in the direction of Thibodeaux. In the late afternoon of the 21st, Confederate soldiers engaged the Union pickets, and fighting continued for more than an hour before the Rebels retired.
About 6:30 P.M., the Confederates reappeared in force, started an artillery duel, and charged the Union lines at 7:00 P.M. An hour later, the Confederates disengaged and retired toward Thibodeaux. The battle ended in a Union victory, but it served the Confederate purpose by keeping Union forces from reinforcing Brashear City. The Union held the field. Despite the defeat, Major's raiders continued on to Brashear City.
Federal Forces Killed Wounded Captured
838 8 40 -
Confederate Forces Killed Wounded Captured
53 150 -
Background: By June 1863, the only remaining Confederate strongholds on the Mississippi River were at Vicksburg and Port Hudson. Port Hudson, approximately 20 miles north of Baton Rouge, had been occupied by Union forces under command of Maj. Gen Nathaniel Banks since May 22. The longest military siege on the North American continent had begun. If Port Hudson fell to the Federals, total Union control of the River would be one step closer to reality.
In order to divert Union attention away from Port Hudson, Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor planned an offensive into the LaFourche district. The district, which included the parishes southwest of New Orleans and south of the Mississippi River, had been occupied by Union forces since late October, 1862. Many of the Union troops had been diverted to Port Hudson in May, when the siege of that Confederate strong-hold began. If Taylor could reoccupy the LaFourche district, he could then threaten New Orleans and force Banks to divert his army at Port Hudson, in order to protect the Union occupied Crescent City.
Taylor's plans called for a 2-prong invasion of the LaFourche district. His primary mission was to seize control of Brashear city, and the capture of the large military stores within the village. With that accomplished, Taylor could then threaten New Orleans.
Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor sent an expedition under Col. James P. Major to break Union supply lines, disrupt Union activities and force a Union withdrawal from Brashear (Morgan) City and Port Hudson. Major set out from Washington, Louisiana, on Bayou Teche, heading south and east. While marching, his men conducted raids on Union forces, boats, and plantations and in the process captured animals and supplies and liberated slaves.
Brig. Gen. William H. Emory, commanding the defenses of New Orleans, assigned Lt. Col. Albert Stickney to command in Brashear City and to stem the Confederate raid if possible. Emory informed Stickney of Major's descent on LaFourche Crossing and ordered him to send troops. Feeling that no threat to Brashear City existed, Stickney, himself, led troops off to LaFourche Crossing, arriving on the morning of the 20th.
That afternoon, Stickney's scouts reported that the enemy was advancing rapidly. The Rebel forces began driving in Stickney's pickets around 5:00 P.M.
D. Tuesday, June 21, 1864: The Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road, Virginia. Union gained ground in the Petersburg Campaign. The Union II Corps, supported by the VI Corps, attempted to cut the Weldon Railroad, one of the major supply lines into Petersburg. The movement was preceded by Wilson’s cavalry division which began destroying tracks.
The Second Corps and Sixth Corps of the Army of the Potomac were quietly pulled out of the lines facing Petersburg from the east, and sent south and west. Army of the Potomac commander George Meade ultimately hoped to completely circle the Confederates defending Petersburg by placing Union troops on the Appomattox River west of the city, a result which would prove elusive not only over the following few days, but over nine long months.
The Second Corps was to extend the former Union far left, manned by the Fifth Corps, and the Sixth would then latch on to the Second Corps and extend even further left. The Second Corps, temporarily under division commander Birney because Winfield Scott Hancock had experienced a flair-up of his Gettysburg wound, slowly but surely moved into a position on the left of the Fifth Corps, but the going was difficult due to the (lack of a) road network. Birney left the divisions of Mott and Gibbon along the Jerusalem Plank Road south of the Fifth Corps’ lines, and sent Barlow out with his division to reconnoiter the ground he wished to eventually place the entire Second Corps on. Barlow skirmished with Confederate cavalry and infantry during the advance. Birney eventually got cold feet when a Confederate force was reported to be moving across the front of the Second Corps and ordered Barlow back to the Jerusalem Plank Road. The divisions of Gibbon, Mott, and Barlow, in that order from left to right, extended the Union line down the Jerusalem Plank Road from the Fifth Corps lines. Barlow’s left rested near the road which led west from the Jerusalem Plank Road to Globe Tavern on the all-important Weldon Railroad, one of Lee’s supply lines.
Meanwhile, the Sixth Corps struggled to extricate itself from the Union fortifications east of Petersburg, coping with a Confederate artillery bombardment when the Rebels discovered the movement of so many men. As a result, two of the Sixth Corps divisions under Wheaton and Russell never made it into position on the left of the Second Corps until the following day. Only Ricketts and his division were able to entrench to the left of Barlow’s Second Corps division and extend the line even more down the Jerusalem Plank Road.
The stage was set for June 22, 1864, where the Federals hoped to move west and strike the Weldon Railroad. Would they succeed? Only time would tell…
Forces Engaged: Corps; Estimated Casualties: 4,000 total

1. June 21, 1848: The Ohio Mass Free Territory Convention dissolves the Liberty Party and agrees to join a Freesoil Convention in Buffalo.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/date/June_21
2. Friday, June 21, 1861: North Carolina Secession Convention votes to unfurl a new flag, a blue field with red and white bars with an insignia and two dates: May 20th, 1775 (Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence) and May 20th, 1861 (Secession from the United States).
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186106
3. Friday, June 21, 1861: CSS Sumter nearly ready for sea. For several weeks Commander Raphael Semmes had been struggling with the inefficiency of the New Orleans port facilities, trying to get his new command, the CSS Sumter, ready for action. The Sumter was a fully-rigged steamship of 500 tons displacement and she was being converted into a commerce raider. Sumter would use her sails for long-range cruising and her steam engine to maneuver against enemies. The greatest obstacle was obtaining the armament for his vessel along with the necessary gun carriages and the copper gunpowder tanks for storing the Sumter's ammunition. Semmes had thought he would be ready for sea at the beginning of June 1861, but he was unable to complete the work before June 21, 1861. As he put the finishing touches on his ship, Semmes also kept a wary eye on the Union blockade of the entrances to the Mississippi River, knowing that he would have to run the blockade on his way out to the high seas. This would involve a certain amount of risk, which might explain why Semmes was having difficulty in locating a pilot to take him down the river.
Practiced the crew at division quarters in the morning and at general quarters in the afternoon and tried a couple of shell with the Borman fuse. Just at nightfall I received the following dispatch: “HEADQUARTERS FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP, CAPTAIN: I am desired by the commanding officer to state that the Ivy [a privateer] reports that the Powhatan has left in pursuit of two ships, and that he has received a telegram from Pass a l'Outre to the effect that a boat from the Brooklyn had put into the river and was making for the telegraph station, where she was expected to arrive in a few minutes.
Got up steam and steamed down to the Head of the Passes, where we came to at 10:30 p. m. Dispatched a boat to the lighthouse to procure a pilot, but the keeper knew nothing of the pilots and was unwilling to come on board, though requested. Sent a boat also on board the Ivy, privateer, with a request either that she would supply us with a pilot or go down to the Southwest Pass and procure one.
As finally completed, the CSS Sumter was armed with one 8-inch shell gun and four 32-pounder guns. Semmes mentions an important new technology in his report: the Bormann fuse, a Belgian invention that allowed much better control over the time delay of explosive shells.”
http://www.civilwar-online.com/search?q=June+21%2C+1861
4. Saturday, June 21, 1862: Ulysses S. Grant ordered to Memphis, Tennessee to become district commander.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186206
5. Saturday, June 21, 1862: Pennsylvanian James D. Chadwick began writing a long letter to his parents from a Union camp near Richmond, Virginia. From Headquarters Third Brigade, P. R. C. Camp in sight of spires of Richmond.
Dear Father and Mother: “The last letter I wrote you was from Fredericksburg and in it I told you that our Division was on its way to Richmond and promised an account of my trip which I will endeavor to give now. I had not heard from you for two weeks until last night when I received yours of May 21st and of June 10th and one also from Frank.
Owing to unavoidable delays I did not embark until Friday afternoon, June 13th, about 2:00 P. M. We dropped down the river a short distance and anchored until morning of June 14th when we started at sunrise and got four miles below Tappahannock when we grounded and lay all night. June 15th, the tide carried us off the shoals and after going about ten miles further grounded again and had to wait four hours until high tide. Finally got adrift again and steamed down to a little bay at Windmill Point at the mouth of the Rappahannock where we anchored, staying all night and until noon the next day on account of the rough sea out on the bay. June 16th, started at noon and steamed down the bay and up the York River to Yorktown where we lay at anchor all night. June 17th, we coaled and started up the river for White House where we landed at 4 P.M. June 18th, started to join the rest of the Division which occupies the extreme right of the army before Richmond. Marched to Gaines’ Mill and encamped for the night. June 19th, joined the Division near Mechanicsville and are now within five miles of Richmond. We can see the rebels in numbers and hear the music of their bands, even now I hear their drums beating as if for dress parade. We are not across the Chicahominy but our piquets are on one side and the rebels on the other. At Meadow Bridge ours stands on one end and the rebel piquets on the other end. They have made an agreement not to shoot at one another but woe betide the officer who shows himself for he is sure to be shot at. There has been but little firing to-day, but yesterday the artillery kept up a constant roar. There was one shell, an eight-inch one, thrown which came directly over the headquarters and fell about 150 feet from us, exploding and shattering the limbs of the trees in a terrific way. It was thrown from a large gun about a mile and a half from us. They shelled the Second Brigade yesterday and they had to move further back to get out of the way of the rebel gunners. The music which a shell eight or ten inches in diameter makes in flying through the air is not very enchanting you may be sure. I picked up a piece of the one thrown so near us yesterday. It was thrown from a sixty-four pounder.
There are three or four balloons with this army which go up daily and make observations. They can see down into the streets of Richmond and all the army of the enemy, their positions, etc. I can give you no idea of when we will have a general engagement.
I saw Everill Chadwich [Chadwick] yesterday but Sylvanus is with that part of the “Bucktails” who are with Shields or Ord. Everill saw Cousin (?) Ingram, who is now Captain of the company in the 84th which Merrick Housler had. The last Everill heard of Penrose, he was at the General Hospital in Philadelphia, shot through the ankle or leg.
The 4th Cavalry will be with us in a day or so. It is now dark and I will close for the night and finish to-morrow or the next day. I will close, remaining, Your affectionate son, James”
http://www.civilwar-online.com/search?q=June+21%2C+1862
6. Sunday, June 21, 1863 — The Gettysburg Campaign. General Lee issues orders on the march to the effect that soldiers are not to molest the people or their property, nor seize any goods, fodder, food, or other material without authorization or payment in Confederate scrip. Quartermaster, commisary, medical and ordnance troops were the designated foragers. However---Lee also gives orders that if any Pennsylvanian deliberately tries to put his goods beyond the reach of the Confederates, that their property would be summarily seized.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=June+21%2C+1863
7. Sunday, June 21, 1863 — There is heavy skirmishing between Lee’s troops and those of Hooker near Upperville and Haymarket, Virginia. There is also a clash between Southern troops and Union troops near Frederick, Maryland.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=June+21%2C+1863
8. Sunday, June 21, 1863 — Eldredge B. Pratt, an artilleryman in the 2nd Connecticut Light Artillery, writes home from Virginia to his sister Adelah (whose pet name is apparently Emogene). It is interesting to note the non-standard grammar and phonetic spelling (not to mention syntax). And, from this we also see the stir and bustle of the Army of the Potomac finally moving out in pursuit of Lee and his Rebel army, far to the north and west. But we also note a brother’s heart-felt anxiety about what is happening back home, and a soldier’s powerlessness to do anything about it: Wolfun Shoals; Dear Sister Adelah. As it is Sunday and got the day to myself I will write a few lines to you I got your leter of the 14th last Wednesday 17th glad to hear from you and hear that our folks are well and I hope they will remain so but I hope Fathers sholdier is beter. Wee still enjoy good health. Wee have changed our Camp about a mile north of our old one in a very pleasant place but we hant got such good quaters we didant have bunks to sleep in last night nor such a good stockade but we will have in to or three dais if we are going to stay hear long but we may move in 2 or 3 days again we cant tell one day what is going to be done the next sence Hokers army has moved if you wanted to see an army move you had ought to ben hear. I have seen a bagage train nearly 50 miles long and a string of infantry about 10 miles long and 32 baterys and they all pased clost by our camp I tell you it was a sight to look at. I tell you they is a fight going on somwhare in the diretion of bullrun we hurd it some this morning but we thought it was only a skirmish but it grow heavyer and faster and I tell you the way they are going it now is not slow they is a stedy roar of canon all the while you will probly hear of it in the papers in a day or to I hope that the rebs will get enough out there this time but I cant write much more about that. I have hurd news that I am surprised at. I have hurd that you thought of geting mared to a man about 40 years old. now Emogene they is one thing I want to have you do that is to take an advice from your Father and Mother and not go to geting mared without your Fathers and Mothers concent you dont know what feelings it will make I hurd that it wored our folks awfully about it nowif you think any think of your folks dont get mared yet you are to young you have not seen as many years as Father and Mother has and therefore I want to have you mind them now Emogene take my advice and dont mary without thear concent. I cant write any more this time so good by. From your true friend and Brother E. B. Platt.
Write soon: yours Truly from The Civil War Day by Day, Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/civilwar/
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=June+21%2C+1863
9. Sunday, June 21, 1863 — Osborn H. Oldroyd, serving in the 20th Ohio Infantry, currently laying siege to Vicksburg, notes in his journal the effect of letters from home, especially from sweethearts and wives: “When notice of this inspection was given, or rather an order to prepare for it, one of our boys remarked, "This must be Sunday;" and he added, "I guess I won’t wait for this inspection,—I’ll take my girl to church." If his girl had been here the whole company would doubtless have wanted to go to church, too. "Though lost to sight, to memory dear." We can talk to the sweet creatures only through the dear letters exchanged; but a love letter brings a very bright smile to a warrior’s face, and the sunshine that prevails in camp after the reading of the mail from home, is quite noticeable. Dear girls, do not stop writing; write letters that are still longer, for they are the sweetest of war’s amenities, and are the only medicine that has kept life in the veins of many a homesick soldier. When the mail comes I cannot help wishing everybody may get a letter; but alas! some must miss hearing their names read, and oh! the sadness that creeps over them when the last name has been called and the last letter handed out to someone else. They are sadder than if wounded by a bullet. If wounded, a surgeon may prescribe; but what prescription for the failure of a letter from home?”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=June+21%2C+1863
10. Sunday, June 21, 1863 — William Raleigh Clack, a Rebel soldier in the 43rd Tennessee Volunteers, writes glumly in his journal about the prospects of Vicksburg being relieved by an attack by Gen. Joe Johnston and his army: “Another Sabbath morning has rolled around and found us still confined to the neighboring hill of Vicksburg without any better prospects of our deliverance. It is reported that Johns[t]on has attacked the enemy but I doubt it. Sharp shooters are pecking away as usual this morning. Warm firing was kept up all day. WRC”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=June+21%2C+1863
11. Sunday, June 21, 1863 — Dora Richards Miller, a pseudonym for a Unionist woman in Vicksburg, writes in her diary of the harrowing effects on civilians living in a war zone like Vicksburg: “I had gone upstairs to-day during the interregnum to enjoy a rest on my bed and read the reliable items in the "Citizen," when a shell burst right outside the window in front of me. Pieces flew in, striking all round me, tearing down masses of plaster that came tumbling over me. When H. rushed in I was crawling out of the plaster, digging it out of my eyes and hair. When he picked up beside my pillow a piece as large as a saucer, I realized my narrow escape. The window-frame began to smoke, and we saw the house was on fire. H. ran for a hatchet and I for water, and we put it out. Another (shell) came crashing near, and I snatched up my comb and brush and ran down here. It has taken all the afternoon to get the plaster out of my hair, for my hands were rather shaky.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=June+21%2C+1863
12. Sunday, June 21, 1863 — In the developing campaign in central Tennessee, Rosecrans’ Army of the Cumberland spars with Bragg’s Confederates in the area of Tullahoma, which has been Bragg’s main base for several months.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=June+21%2C+1863
13. Tuesday, June 21, 1864: New Castle Road, Virginia - On June 21, Brig. Gen. John McClausl and attacked the Union trains and artillery at New Castle Road. The Union trains belonged to Brig. Gen. David Hunter. The Confederates took 3 guns and spiked 5 guns. They then left the area.
http://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/1864s.html
14. Tuesday, June 21, 1864: Battle of Meade Station, Virginia [June 21 – 22, 1864]
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186406

A Saturday, June 21, 1862: Simmon’s Bluff; Campaign: Operations against Charleston (June 1862)
Principal Commanders: Lt. A.C. Rhind [US]; Col. James McCullough [CS]
Forces Engaged: Regiments
Estimated Casualties: None
Description: In June, the Federals besieging Charleston mounted an amphibious expedition to cut the Charleston & Savannah Railroad. On June 21, troops of the 55th Pennsylvania landed from the gunboat Crusader and transport Planter near Simmon’s Bluff on Wadmelaw Sound, surprising and burning an encampment of the 16th South Carolina Infantry. The Confederates scattered, and the Federals returned to their ships. Despite this minor victory, the Federals abandoned their raid on the railroad. Although a bloodless raid, this engagement typified scores of similar encounters that occurred along the South Carolina coastline.
Result(s): Union victory
https://www.nps.gov/abpp/battles/sc003.htm
A+ Saturday, June 21, 1862: Battle for Simmon’s Bluff, near Meggett, South Carolina. The Battle of Simmon’s Bluff fought June 21st 1862 near Meggett, South Carolina, produced no casualties.
Charleston, South Carolina had been placed under a siege by Union troops, the only supplies coming in on a local railroad. The 55th Pennsylvania under the command of Lieutenant A C Rhind, were sent amphibiously on June 21st 1862, coming on shore near Simmon’s Bluff at Wadmelaw Sound with orders to cut the Charleston & Savannah Railroad. The 55th quickly came upon the camp of the 16th South Carolina under the command of Colonel James McCullough and engaged the Confederate soldiers. The Confederates scattered without putting up any kind of a fight.
After this short encounter the Union troops gave up on the railroad and returned to their ship.
http://lifeofthecivilwar.blogspot.com/2012_06_01_archive.html
A++ Saturday, June 21, 1862: Charleston, South Carolina - In June, the Federals besieging Charleston mounted an amphibious expedition to cut the Charleston & Savannah Railroad. On June 21, troops of the 55th Pennsylvania landed from the gunboat Crusader and transport Planter near Simmon's Bluff on Wadmelaw Sound, surprising and burning an encampment of the 16th South Carolina Infantry. The Confederates scattered, and the Federals returned to their ships. Despite this minor victory, the Federals abandoned their raid on the railroad. Although a bloodless raid, this engagement typified scores of similar encounters that occurred along the South Carolina coastline.
http://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/1862s.html
B Sunday, June 21, 1863: The Battle of Upperville, Virginia. The Union cavalry under Alfred Pleasonton tried unsuccessfully to penetrate J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry screen and find out where Robert E. Lee's infantry was and where they were headed.
http://www.civilwar-online.com/search?q=June+21%2C+1863
B+ Sunday, June 21, 1863: The Battle of Upperville, Virginia. John Buford's Federal column had detoured to attack the new Confederate left flank near Upperville, while J. Irvin Gregg's and Judson Kilpatrick's brigades advanced from the east along the Ashby's Gap Turnpike. Buford soon encountered "Grumble" Jones and Chambliss's Confederate brigades, escorting Stuart's supply train just north of Upperville, and attacked. Meanwhile, Kilpatrick's troopers attacked Hampton and Robertson on a ridgeline east of Upperville known as Vineyard Hill. Some of the Union cavalrymen made it as far as the village before being repulsed.
After furious mounted fighting, Stuart finally withdrew to take a strong defensive position in Ashby's Gap, even as Confederate infantry began crossing the Potomac River into Maryland. As cavalry skirmishing diminished in the next few days, Stuart made the fateful decision to strike east and make a circuit of the Union army as it marched toward Gettysburg.
Upperville was significant in that Stuart's successful delaying tactics prevented Pleasonton from making an accurate assessment of the location of Lee's infantry divisions, thereby depriving the Federals of much valued intelligence of their enemy's whereabouts and objectives.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Upperville
B++ Sunday, June 21, 1863: The Battle of Upperville, Virginia. Location: Loudoun County. Campaign: Gettysburg Campaign (June-August 1863)
Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton [US]; Brig. Gen. Wade Hampton and Brig. Gen. Beverly Robertson [CS]; Forces Engaged: Divisions; Estimated Casualties: 400 total
Description: On June 21, Union cavalry made a determined effort to pierce Stuart’s cavalry screen. Hampton’s and Robertson’s brigades made a stand at Goose Creek, west of Middleburg, and beat back Gregg’s division. Buford’s column detoured to attack the Confederate left flank near Upperville but encountered William E. “Grumble” Jones’s and John R. Chambliss’s brigades while J.I. Gregg’s and Kilpatrick’s brigades advanced on the Upperville from the east along the Little River Turnpike. After furious mounted fighting, Stuart withdrew to take a strong defensive position in Ashby Gap, even as Confederate infantry crossed the Potomac into Maryland. As cavalry skirmishing diminished, Stuart made the fateful decision to strike east and make a circuit of the Union army as it marched toward Gettysburg.
Result(s): Inconclusive
https://www.nps.gov/abpp/battles/va038.htm
C Sunday, June 21, 1863 — Confederate troops are moving toward La Forche Crossing in southern Louisiana, and engage the Yankees in skirmished for two days.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=June+21%2C+1863
C+ Sunday, June 21, 1863: The Battle of LaFourche Crossing [June 20-21, 1863], Louisiana. Union Victory
Union Forces Commanded by: Lt. Col. Albert Stickney
Forces Killed Wounded Captured
838 8 40 -
Confederate Forces Commanded by: Col. James P. Major
Forces Killed Wounded Captured
53 150 -
By June 1863, the only remaining Confederate strongholds on the Mississippi River were at Vicksburg and Port Hudson. Port Hudson, approximately 20 miles north of Baton Rouge, had been occupied by Union forces under command of Maj. Gen Nathaniel Banks since May 22. The longest military siege on the North American continent had begun. If Port Hudson fell to the Federals, total Union control of the River would be one step closer to reality.
In order to divert Union attention away from Port Hudson, Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor planned an offensive into the LaFourche district. The district, which included the parishes southwest of New Orleans and south of the Mississippi River, had been occupied by Union forces since late October, 1862. Many of the Union troops had been diverted to Port Hudson in May, when the siege of that Confederate strong-hold began. If Taylor could reoccupy the LaFourche district, he could then threaten New Orleans and force Banks to divert his army at Port Hudson, in order to protect the Union occupied Crescent City.
Taylor's plans called for a 2-prong invasion of the LaFourche district. His primary mission was to seize control of Brashear city, and the capture of the large military stores within the village. With that accomplished, Taylor could then threaten New Orleans.
Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor sent an expedition under Col. James P. Major to break Union supply lines, disrupt Union activities and force a Union withdrawal from Brashear (Morgan) City and Port Hudson. Major set out from Washington, Louisiana, on Bayou Teche, heading south and east. While marching, his men conducted raids on Union forces, boats, and plantations and in the process captured animals and supplies and liberated slaves.
Brig. Gen. William H. Emory, commanding the defenses of New Orleans, assigned Lt. Col. Albert Stickney to command in Brashear City and to stem the Confederate raid if possible. Emory informed Stickney of Major's descent on LaFourche Crossing and ordered him to send troops. Feeling that no threat to Brashear City existed, Stickney, himself, led troops off to LaFourche Crossing, arriving on the morning of the 20th.
That afternoon, Stickney's scouts reported that the enemy was advancing rapidly. The Rebel forces began driving in Stickney's pickets around 5:00 P.M. Confederate cavalry then advanced but was driven back. After the Union troops fired a few rounds, the Confederates withdrew in the direction of Thibodeaux. In the late afternoon of the 21st, Confederate soldiers engaged the Union pickets, and fighting continued for more than an hour before the Rebels retired.
About 6:30 P.M., the Confederates reappeared in force, started an artillery duel, and charged the Union lines at 7:00 P.M. An hour later, the Confederates disengaged and retired toward Thibodeaux. The battle ended in a Union victory, but it served the Confederate purpose by keeping Union forces from reinforcing Brashear City. The Union held the field. Despite the defeat, Major's raiders continued on to Brashear City.
http://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/630620b.html
D Tuesday, June 21, 1864: The Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road, Virginia [June 21 – 24, 1864] Other Names: First Battle of Weldon Railroad Campaign: Richmond-Petersburg Campaign (June 1864-March 1865)
Principal Commanders: Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade [US]; Gen. Robert E. Lee [CS]
Forces Engaged: Corps; Estimated Casualties: 4,000 total
Description: On June 21, the Union II Corps, supported by the VI Corps, attempted to cut the Weldon Railroad, one of the major supply lines into Petersburg. The movement was preceded by Wilson’s cavalry division which began destroying tracks. On June 22, troops from Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill’s corps led by Brig. Gen. William Mahone counterattacked, forcing the II Corps away from the railroad to positions on the Jerusalem Plank Road. Although the Federals were driven from their advanced positions, they were able to extend their siege lines farther to the west.
Result(s): Union gained ground
Summary: The Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road, Day 1: June 21, 1864
Brief Summary: After the disappointing outcome for the Union Army at the Second Battle of Petersburg, Grant decided a siege was in order, and the Union army dug trenches to consolidate the ground they had gained from June 15-18, 1864. On June 21, 1864, Grant’s Second Offensive against Petersburg got underway. The Second Corps and Sixth Corps of the Army of the Potomac were quietly pulled out of the lines facing Petersburg from the east, and sent south and west. Army of the Potomac commander George Meade ultimately hoped to completely circle the Confederates defending Petersburg by placing Union troops on the Appomattox River west of the city, a result which would prove elusive not only over the following few days, but over nine long months.
The Second Corps was to extend the former Union far left, manned by the Fifth Corps, and the Sixth would then latch on to the Second Corps and extend even further left. The Second Corps, temporarily under division commander Birney because Winfield Scott Hancock had experienced a flair-up of his Gettysburg wound, slowly but surely moved into a position on the left of the Fifth Corps, but the going was difficult due to the (lack of a) road network. Birney left the divisions of Mott and Gibbon along the Jerusalem Plank Road south of the Fifth Corps’ lines, and sent Barlow out with his division to reconnoiter the ground he wished to eventually place the entire Second Corps on. Barlow skirmished with Confederate cavalry and infantry during the advance. Birney eventually got cold feet when a Confederate force was reported to be moving across the front of the Second Corps and ordered Barlow back to the Jerusalem Plank Road. The divisions of Gibbon, Mott, and Barlow, in that order from left to right, extended the Union line down the Jerusalem Plank Road from the Fifth Corps lines. Barlow’s left rested near the road which led west from the Jerusalem Plank Road to Globe Tavern on the all-important Weldon Railroad, one of Lee’s supply lines.
Meanwhile, the Sixth Corps struggled to extricate itself from the Union fortifications east of Petersburg, coping with a Confederate artillery bombardment when the Rebels discovered the movement of so many men. As a result, two of the Sixth Corps divisions under Wheaton and Russell never made it into position on the left of the Second Corps until the following day. Only Ricketts and his division were able to entrench to the left of Barlow’s Second Corps division and extend the line even more down the Jerusalem Plank Road.
The stage was set for June 22, 1864, where the Federals hoped to move west and strike the Weldon Railroad. Would they succeed? Only time would tell…
http://www.beyondthecrater.com/resources/bat-sum/petersburg-siege-sum/second-offensive-summaries/the-battle-of-jerusalem-plank-road-summary/
D+ Tuesday, June 21, 1864: Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road, Virginia.
As the Union troops were rearranging their lines on June 21 in preparation for their mission against the railroad, they received a surprise visitor, President Abraham Lincoln, who had traveled by water and landed at City Point, Grant's newly established headquarters. He told Grant, "I just thought I would jump aboard a boat and come down and see you. I don't expect I can do any good, and in fact I'm afraid I may do some harm, but I'll just put myself under your orders and if you find me doing anything wrong just send me right away." After discussing strategy with Grant, Lincoln visited some of the VI Corps troops who would participate in the upcoming battle.
Battle: On June 21, elements of the II Corps probed toward the railroad and skirmished with Confederate cavalry. The plan of attack was that both the II and VI Corps would cross the Jerusalem Plank Road and then pivot northwest about 2 miles (3.2 km) to reach the railroad. Difficult terrain—swamps and thickets—slowed their advance and by the morning of June 22, a gap opened up between the two corps.
Background: After the assaults on Petersburg the previous week failed to capture the city, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant reluctantly decided on a siege of Petersburg, defended by Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. The Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade (although closely supervised by his superior, Grant), entrenched east of the city, running from near the Jerusalem Plank Road (present-day U.S. Route 301, Crater Road) to the Appomattox River.
Grant's first objective was secure the three remaining open rail lines that served Petersburg and the Confederate capital of Richmond: the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad; the South Side Railroad, which reached to Lynchburg in the west; and the Weldon Railroad, also called the Petersburg and Weldon Railroad, which led to Weldon, North Carolina, and the Confederacy's only remaining major port, Wilmington, North Carolina. Grant decided on a wide-ranging cavalry raid (the Wilson-Kautz Raid) against the South Ride and Weldon railroads, but he also directed that a significant infantry force be sent against the Weldon closer to his current position. Meade selected the II Corps, temporarily commanded by Maj. Gen. David B. Birney while Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock was suffering from his lingering wound incurred at Gettysburg, and the VI Corps, commanded by Maj. Gen. Horatio G. Wright. The positions in the trench lines occupied by these two corps were to be filled in by units of the Army of the James that would be moved from Bermuda Hundred.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jerusalem_Plank_Road
Tuesday, June 21, 1864: President Lincoln paid a visit to the Army of the Potomac. Grant enlivened the command of the army by appointing new generals. He hoped that new blood would invigorate the way the Army of the Potomac is led. One of his appointments was General David Birney who was given the command of II Corps.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/the-american-civil-war/american-civil-war-june-1864/

FYI SPC Michael Duricko, Ph.D MAJ Roland McDonald SSG Franklin BriantCPO William Glen (W.G.) Powell1stSgt Eugene Harless PO3 (Join to see)MSG Greg Kelly CPT (Join to see) LTC Thomas Tennant GySgt Jack Wallace LTC David BrownLTC (Join to see) SFC Eric Harmon SSG Bill McCoySPC (Join to see) MAJ Byron Oyler SSG (Join to see) Sgt Axel HastingA1C Pamela G Russell

The feats of arms from the Civil War were tremendous and remembered in the annals of the military historians so as to teach the next generation of warriors. The ethos gained & demonstrated in the long fight at Gettysburg christened the largest battle in our western hemisphere. May the Lord God bless us with peace but most of all may He grant safety from the many who would damage our land. Even so, come Lord Jesus.

Great history in Civil War today LTC Stephen F., I went with 1863.