Posted on May 29, 2016
What was the most significant event on May 27 during the U.S. Civil War?
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Joint Naval gunboat and ground artillery barrage against Port Hudson, Louisiana 1863: Admiral David D. Porter had been placed in command of the Mississippi Squadron in October of 1862. He was assigned the task of aiding General John A. McClernand in opening up the upper Mississippi. “As Gen. Sherman is anchoring the right flank of his lines on the Yazoo River, his troop movements are bedeviled by a couple of well-placed heavy guns. Sherman asks Admiral Porter to send around a gunboat to take them out. As the USS Cincinnati arrives, the Rebel guns’ open fire on her. Porter, on a tugboat, directs the fire of a few mortar boats in support, but lost sight of the ironclad as the vessel turned into a bayou. But several telling shots sank the ironclad, losing 25 men.”
Ground assault against Port Hudson, Louisiana 1863 “officer casualties became heavier:” “…General William J. Dwight, who had assumed command over the colored troops on the far Federal right earlier in the day, sought to create a diversion for Weitzel by ordering Colonel John A. Nelson, with his two Negro regiments, to move against the extreme Confederate left where the line bent southward toward the river. This portion of the battle had the distinction of being the first engagement of any magnitude between white and Negro troops in the war. Just a few more than 1,000 Negroes, without support, were ordered to take one of the strongest natural positions along the entire line. The 1st Louisiana Native Guards were made up of free Negroes of French extraction and the 3rd Louisiana Native Guards were composed of former slaves. The 3rd Regiment barely got into action, so about 500 men bore the brunt of the battle. Among these were 308 casualties….
To divert a Confederate concentration on Weitzel’s front, Grover sent his three regiments against the west face of the bastion at the northernmost point of the finished Confederate line (note: this was "Fort Desperate", defended by the 15th Arkansas). Men took cover wherever they could find it, realizing that their isolated efforts were fruitless. A lull then came. Grover joined Weitzel for a conference, and the two decided to wait until Augur assaulted the center or Sherman moved against the left before they renewed their drive on the right. Augur was ready. His men waited for a command which would be issued as soon as Sherman put in his men. Banks was unable to understand the delay, rode to Sherman’s headquarters and found the general and his staff calmly eating lunch. Banks was enraged. By 2:15 p.m., Sherman moved out. Beall, in command of the Confederate center, began to detect signs of an imminent attack. Beall called upon Colonel Miles on his right for assistance. When the Federal advance got within range, Beall’s artillery ran its guns into position and opened up a shower of grape, shot, and canister. One of the first casualties was General Sherman. One of his legs was shattered. When he fell wounded, the command of the left wing should have been assumed by Neal Dow, but before he learned of Sherman’s injury, he himself suffered a similar fate. He was struck by a spent ball, and his arm became so swollen that he could not handle his horse. He proceeded on foot and was struck in the left thigh by a rifle ball and had to be helped to a hospital. Colonel Frank S. Nickerson, next in order of command, inherited the title, but in the heat of battle, no one bothered to notify him. Consequently, for a long period, there was no commander to assume complete control. As the afternoon wore on, officer casualties became heavier….
At five o’clock, all firing ceased. A stick topped with a white handkerchief mysteriously arose from one of the ravines within the abatis [a defensive obstacle formed by felled trees with sharpened branches facing the enemy]. It was soon discovered that the flag had been raised by a colonel from one of the New York regiments who found himself in a precarious position to the front of the rest of the troops. Upon hearing this, the Confederates resumed their fire and kept it up until dark. With night coming, the medical corps and details from various regiments began to roam the abatis and look for the wounded. A fire broke out in the abatis and the wounded who had not been carried from the field were in the danger of being roasted alive. Slipping out of their works, the Confederates extinguished the fires, partly out of humanity and partly to preserve their own abatis. Surgeons worked feverishly all night with the wounded.”
Pictures: 1864 Battle of Pickett’s Mill May-27 Map; 1864 Battle of Pickett's Mill depicts the first volley from Granbury's Texas Brigade into the advancing troops of Gen. William B. Hazen; 1863 Naval gunboats firing before the army ground assault on Port Hudson; 1863 Assault of the 2nd Louisiana Colored Regiment at Port Hudson, Louisiana
FYI CWO4 Terrence Clark MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. MSG Roy Cheever Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. SMSgt Lawrence McCarter PO3 Edward Riddle MAJ Roland McDonald SSG Byron Hewett CMDCM John F. "Doc" Bradshaw COL (Join to see) SPC Michael Terrell COL Lisandro Murphy SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL] MAJ Ken Landgren LTC Trent Klug CWO3 Dennis M. CPT Kevin McComasKim Bolen RN CCM ACM
Ground assault against Port Hudson, Louisiana 1863 “officer casualties became heavier:” “…General William J. Dwight, who had assumed command over the colored troops on the far Federal right earlier in the day, sought to create a diversion for Weitzel by ordering Colonel John A. Nelson, with his two Negro regiments, to move against the extreme Confederate left where the line bent southward toward the river. This portion of the battle had the distinction of being the first engagement of any magnitude between white and Negro troops in the war. Just a few more than 1,000 Negroes, without support, were ordered to take one of the strongest natural positions along the entire line. The 1st Louisiana Native Guards were made up of free Negroes of French extraction and the 3rd Louisiana Native Guards were composed of former slaves. The 3rd Regiment barely got into action, so about 500 men bore the brunt of the battle. Among these were 308 casualties….
To divert a Confederate concentration on Weitzel’s front, Grover sent his three regiments against the west face of the bastion at the northernmost point of the finished Confederate line (note: this was "Fort Desperate", defended by the 15th Arkansas). Men took cover wherever they could find it, realizing that their isolated efforts were fruitless. A lull then came. Grover joined Weitzel for a conference, and the two decided to wait until Augur assaulted the center or Sherman moved against the left before they renewed their drive on the right. Augur was ready. His men waited for a command which would be issued as soon as Sherman put in his men. Banks was unable to understand the delay, rode to Sherman’s headquarters and found the general and his staff calmly eating lunch. Banks was enraged. By 2:15 p.m., Sherman moved out. Beall, in command of the Confederate center, began to detect signs of an imminent attack. Beall called upon Colonel Miles on his right for assistance. When the Federal advance got within range, Beall’s artillery ran its guns into position and opened up a shower of grape, shot, and canister. One of the first casualties was General Sherman. One of his legs was shattered. When he fell wounded, the command of the left wing should have been assumed by Neal Dow, but before he learned of Sherman’s injury, he himself suffered a similar fate. He was struck by a spent ball, and his arm became so swollen that he could not handle his horse. He proceeded on foot and was struck in the left thigh by a rifle ball and had to be helped to a hospital. Colonel Frank S. Nickerson, next in order of command, inherited the title, but in the heat of battle, no one bothered to notify him. Consequently, for a long period, there was no commander to assume complete control. As the afternoon wore on, officer casualties became heavier….
At five o’clock, all firing ceased. A stick topped with a white handkerchief mysteriously arose from one of the ravines within the abatis [a defensive obstacle formed by felled trees with sharpened branches facing the enemy]. It was soon discovered that the flag had been raised by a colonel from one of the New York regiments who found himself in a precarious position to the front of the rest of the troops. Upon hearing this, the Confederates resumed their fire and kept it up until dark. With night coming, the medical corps and details from various regiments began to roam the abatis and look for the wounded. A fire broke out in the abatis and the wounded who had not been carried from the field were in the danger of being roasted alive. Slipping out of their works, the Confederates extinguished the fires, partly out of humanity and partly to preserve their own abatis. Surgeons worked feverishly all night with the wounded.”
Pictures: 1864 Battle of Pickett’s Mill May-27 Map; 1864 Battle of Pickett's Mill depicts the first volley from Granbury's Texas Brigade into the advancing troops of Gen. William B. Hazen; 1863 Naval gunboats firing before the army ground assault on Port Hudson; 1863 Assault of the 2nd Louisiana Colored Regiment at Port Hudson, Louisiana
FYI CWO4 Terrence Clark MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. MSG Roy Cheever Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. SMSgt Lawrence McCarter PO3 Edward Riddle MAJ Roland McDonald SSG Byron Hewett CMDCM John F. "Doc" Bradshaw COL (Join to see) SPC Michael Terrell COL Lisandro Murphy SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL] MAJ Ken Landgren LTC Trent Klug CWO3 Dennis M. CPT Kevin McComasKim Bolen RN CCM ACM
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May 27, 1862: Katherine Prescott Wormeley, a Sanitary Commission nurse on board a hospital vessel in the York River near the Richmond front, complains about the troops detailed to assist with the sick and wounded, based upon their wardrobe: “This vessel (‘Knickerbocker’) is full of Zouaves, detailed to the Commission for nurses. I can’t endure them. It might be all very well, and in keeping, to get up a regiment of negroes en Turcos; but for an American citizen to rig himself as an Arab is demoralizing.”
Wednesday, May 27 1863: Lt. Col. Arthur Fremantle of Her Majesty’s Coldstream Guards, writes in his journal of his progress on the long, drawn-out journey through the South: “Arrived at Montgomery, the capital of Alabama, at daylight, and left it by another railroad at 5.30 A.M. All State capitals appear to resemble one another, and look like bits cut off from great cities. One or two streets have a good deal of pretension about them; and the inevitable “Capitol,” with its dome, forms the principal feature. A sentry stands at the door of each railway car, who examines the papers of every passenger with great strictness, and even after that inspection the same ceremony is performed by an officer of the provost-marshal’s department, who accompanies every train. The officers and soldiers on this duty are very civil and courteous, and after getting over their astonishment at finding that I am a British officer, they do all they can to make me comfortable. They ask all sorts of curious questions about the British army, and often express a strong wish to see one of our regiments fight. They can hardly believe that the Coldstream is really dressed in scarlet. To-day they entered gravely into a discussion amongst themselves, as to whether British troops would have taken the position at Fredericksburg. The arguments on both sides were very amusing, and opinion was pretty evenly divided.”
Pictures: 1862 Battle of Hanover Court House map; 1862 Cannon from Latham's battery, captured during the battle of Hanover Court House; 1863 Sketch map of the eastern Port Hudson Fortifications and Sherman's afternoon attack, May 27; 1864 Picketts Mill may 27 hazen.
Since RallyPoint truncates survey selection text I am posting events that were not included and then the full text of each survey choice below:
A. Tuesday, May 27, 1862: Battle of Hanover Court House, Virginia. Union victory. On May 27, 1862, elements of Union Brigadier General Fitz John Porter's V Corps extended north to protect the right flank of General McClellan's Union army that now straddled the Chickahominy River. Porter's objective was to cut the railroad and to open the Telegraph Road for Union reinforcements under Major General Irvin McDowell that were marching south from Fredericksburg. Brigadier General Lawrence O'B. Branch’s Confederate forces, attempting to prevent this maneuver, were defeated just south of Hanover Courthouse after a stiff fight. The Union victory was moot, however, for McDowell's reinforcements were recalled to Fredericksburg upon word of Banks's rout at First Winchester.
Estimated Casualties: 1,327 total (US 397; CS 930)
B. Wednesday, May 27, 1863: First Assault on the Confederate works at Port Hudson, Louisiana. Brigadier General Richard Arnold commanded the reserve artillery to open fire at dawn on the well-established Confederate works. As daylight came, the Federal artillery opened up all along the line. General Franklin Gardner’s guns answered the cannonade but soon slowed down to conserve ammunition. From the river, the guns of the navy joined in hurling shot and shell toward the water batteries and into Port Hudson itself. Forming his men in columns of brigades, General Godfrey Weitzel advanced through the magnolia forest toward the front. With regimental banners held high, the blue-coated troops marched out of the shadows of the forest into the sunlight.
The ravines and woods in front of the Confederate works were occupied by Isaiah Steedman’s outpost and skirmishers under Lieutenant Colonel M. B. Locke. As soon as the enemy came within range, the fighting became severe. Running, sliding and slipping down the embankments, Weitzel’s and Paine’s men entered the broken ground and maze of fallen timber, forcing the Confederates back. After more than an hour of furious fighting, Locke was forced to retire his men behind the main works. As soon as the skirmishers had reached safety, the four guns on Commissary Hill opened fire on Weitzel’s men. Thomas’s brigade moved ahead of Van Zandt. Deploying his men in a regimental line, Thomas moved forward. Thomas found his advance slowed to a snail’s pace. Inching their way through brush-choked ravines, hills and fallen tree limbs, they found it impossible to keep ranks. Weitzel finally reached and held a ridge some 200 yards from Steedman’s works. Several charges against the works were tried by individual units, but they were driven back with fearful loss. Colonel Fearing of Paine’s division ordered his front line to charge, but their line was soon broken and scattered. The second line swept forward over their fallen comrades and succeeded in driving the enemy skirmishers from their outer fortifications. When support failed to come up, Fearing’s most advanced troops were forced to retreat to a more sheltered position. Here they continued to fire for the rest of the day whenever a Confederate gunner or rifleman showed his head.
C. Friday, May 27, 1864: Battle of Pickett's Mill, Georgia Frida. Confederate defensive tactical victory. On the morning of May 27, Union Fourth Corps commander Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard informed Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Wood that his division had been chosen for the "arduous and dangerous task...to find the extreme right of the enemy's position, turn it, and attack him in flank." Supporting the assault would be Brig. Gen. Richard Johnson's division of the Fourteenth Corps.
Marching east with his troops, Howard discovered that the Rebels' flank would be hard to turn, as they were extending their line and digging in. Joseph Johnston, aware of the Federals' intent, pulled Patrick Cleburne's division from William J. Hardee's sector and placed it on the extreme right of the Confederate line, near a farm and gristmill owned by the widow Martha "Fanny" Pickett, whose husband was killed at Chickamauga. A late morning reconnaissance reveled the Federal troops marching across his front. Cleburne knew to expect an attack.
At 3:35pm, Howard jotted a note to Gen. William T. Sherman, stating he could not be sure that his troops had reached the enemy flank. An impatient Sherman ordered him to attack anyway. Wood told Howard, "We will put in Hazen and see what success he has." Wood thus has arranged his troops with Brig. Gen. William B. Hazen's brigade in front; its charge would be supported by Col. William H. Gibson's and Col. Frederick Knefler's brigades.
Hazen's assault began around 5:00pm. For a time, the Federals threatened to overlap the Confederate right, but Cleburne shuttled troops to extend his line, held by Brig. Gen. John Kelly's cavalry. Brig. Gen. Hiram Granbury's troops did not have time to entrench when the Yankees charged. "Ah, damn you, we have caught you without your logs now," some Federals yelled. Yet, even without entrenchments, the Confederates bloodily repulsed Hazen's brigade before Gibson's and Knefler's joined the attack. Col. Benjamin Scribner's brigade of Johnson's division also advanced, driving Kelly's troopers back into the Southern infantry line, but was stopped there. By 7:00pm, Wood and Howard concluded that further assaults were pointless.
The Confederates had won a comparatively easy defensive victory at Pickett's Mill. To Ambrose Bierce, an officer on Hazen's staff, the Union attack on May 27 was a "crime"; it had gained nothing. Union casualties were 230 killed, 1,016 wounded and 319 missing, for a total of 1,580 (Hazen lost almost a third of them). Cleburne counted 85 dead and 383 wounded; most of these were in Granbury's brigade, fighting without "logs." Probably 200 of Kelly's troopers also fell, making the total Southern loss 648 men.
1. Tuesday, May 27, 1862: Battle of Hanover Court House, Virginia
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186205
2. May 27, 1862 --- Gen. Halleck, still outside Corinth, Mississippi, reports that his armies are making progress towards the Rebel fortifications. There has been sharp skirmishing on the front lines.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+27%2C+1862
3. May 27, 1862 --- Gen Stonewall Jackson has sent Gen. Winder and the Stonewall Brigade to Charles Town, Virginia. The rest of his force is at Winchester still, but he contemplates pushing to Harper’s Ferry, which is lightly defended.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+27%2C+1862
4. May 27, 1862 --- Katherine Prescott Wormeley, a Sanitary Commission nurse on board a hospital vessel in the York River near the Richmond front, complains about the troops detailed to assist with the sick and wounded, based upon their wardrobe: “This vessel (‘Knickerbocker’) is full of Zouaves, detailed to the Commission for nurses. I can’t endure them. It might be all very well, and in keeping, to get up a regiment of negroes en Turcos; but for an American citizen to rig himself as an Arab is demoralizing.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+27%2C+1862
5. Wednesday, May 27 1863: First Assault on the Confederate works at Port Hudson, Louisiana. The Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana, was the final engagement in the Union campaign to liberate the Mississippi in the American Civil War.
http://historyindates.com/27-may-1863/
6. Wednesday, May 27 1863: Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana. After attempting to storm the walls of Port Hudson, Nathaniel Banks digs in for a siege.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186305
7. Wednesday, May 27 1863 --- Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles writes in his journal about the internal politics in the government and the impact of the Vicksburg campaign on the mind of the public: “No decisive news from Vicksburg. The public mind is uneasy at the delay, yet I am glad to see blame attaches to no one because the place was not taken at once. There have been strange evidences of an unreasonable people on many occasions during the War. Had Halleck shown half the earnestness and ability of Farragut, we should have had Vicksburg in our possession a year ago.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+27%2C+1863
8. Wednesday, May 27 1863 --- Lt. Col. Arthur Fremantle of Her Majesty’s Coldstream Guards, writes in his journal of his progress on the long, drawn-out journey through the South: “Arrived at Montgomery, the capital of Alabama, at daylight, and left it by another railroad at 5.30 A.M.
All State capitals appear to resemble one another, and look like bits cut off from great cities. One or two streets have a good deal of pretension about them; and the inevitable “Capitol,” with its dome, forms the principal feature. A sentry stands at the door of each railway car, who examines the papers of every passenger with great strictness, and even after that inspection the same ceremony is performed by an officer of the provost-marshal’s department, who accompanies every train. The officers and soldiers on this duty are very civil and courteous, and after getting over their astonishment at finding that I am a British officer, they do all they can to make me comfortable. They ask all sorts of curious questions about the British army, and often express a strong wish to see one of our regiments fight. They can hardly believe that the Coldstream is really dressed in scarlet. To-day they entered gravely into a discussion amongst themselves, as to whether British troops would have taken the position at Fredericksburg. The arguments on both sides were very amusing, and opinion was pretty evenly divided.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+27%2C+1863
9. Friday, May 27, 1864 --- The Army of the Potomac moves swiftly south to the crossings over the Pamunkey River near Hanovertown. Sheridan’s cavalry troopers arrive first, and pontoon bridges are laid down over the Pamunkey River is short order. They occupy Hanovertown on the south bank, and later in the day, the infantry formation of the Army of the Potomac file across the bridges.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+27%2C+1864
10. Friday, May 27, 1864 --- In Cleveland, the Radical Republicans, those opposed to Lincoln, begin a convention to nominate another team to oppose Lincoln for the elections. The convention decides to label this movement The Radical Democracy.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+27%2C+1864
11. Friday, May 27, 1864: Battle of Pickett's Mill, Georgia
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186405
12. Friday, May 27, 1864 --- Atlanta Campaign: Battle of Picketts Mill – Sherman orders Gen. Thomas of the Army of the Cumberland to send Gen. Oliver O. Howard’s IV Corps forward to strike the Rebels at the right flank of their line at Pickett’s Mill. Brig. Gen. William B. Hazen’s brigade bears the brunt of the attack, as they sweep forward to find that the position is already strongly fortified. Also, the promised reinforcements do not show, and 1,500 Federals are shot down in a very short amount of time. Many officers blame Howard for poor planning. Confederate Victory
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+27%2C+1864
A Tuesday, May 27, 1862: Battle of Hanover Court House, Virginia. Union victory. On May 27, 1862, elements of Union Brigadier General Fitz John Porter's V Corps extended north to protect the right flank of General McClellan's Union army that now straddled the Chickahominy River. Porter's objective was to cut the railroad and to open the Telegraph Road for Union reinforcements under Major General Irvin McDowell that were marching south from Fredericksburg. Brigadier General Lawrence O'B. Branch’s Confederate forces, attempting to prevent this maneuver, were defeated just south of Hanover Courthouse after a stiff fight. The Union victory was moot, however, for McDowell's reinforcements were recalled to Fredericksburg upon word of Banks's rout at First Winchester.
Estimated Casualties: 1,327 total (US 397; CS 930)
http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/va/va013.html
B+ May 27, 1862: Battle of Hanover Court House. Union Victory. At Hanover Court House, Virginia, just beyond McClellan’s right flank north of Richmond, Gen. FitzJohn Porter, commanding the Federal V Corps, sends troops---in fact, a rather large division of 12,000 men---to probe what is feared to be a Confederate attempt to lap the Federal flank. Facing the Federals is Gen. Lawrence O’Bryan Branch of North Carolina with a brigade of infantry, which has been marching toward Richmond from Charlottesville. Branch’s men attack a Union regiment and drive them back, but then spy a much larger force coming in on their right, with artillery. Branch cagily retreats from Hanover. Porter marches his division onward, unknowingly passing Branch’s camp. Seeing an advantage, the Confederates advance and strike Porter’s column after the bulk of his troops have passed by, and there is a stiff firefight for over an hour, until the rest of Porter’s force doubles back to join the battle, and Branch then realizes that he is facing a much larger force. As he withdraws, he loses some men to capture, but stings Federal attempts to strike at his column retreating.
Losses: U.S. 62 killed 233 wounded 70 captured.
C.S. unknown 700 captured
Unaccountably, Gen. McClellan claims the victory to be “one of the handsomest things of the war, both in itself and in its results . . . a glorious victory over superior numbers.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+27%2C+1862
C Wednesday, May 27 1863: First Assault on the Confederate works at Port Hudson, Louisiana. On the night of May 26, Banks called together his division commanders to plan the assault of the next day. Brigadier General Richard Arnold was assigned command of the reserve artillery and was to open fire at dawn on the Confederate works. As daylight came, the Federal artillery opened up all along the line. Gardner’s guns answered the cannonade but soon slowed down to conserve ammunition. From the river, the guns of the navy joined in hurling shot and shell toward the water batteries and into Port Hudson itself. Forming his men in columns of brigades, Weitzel advanced through the magnolia forest toward the front. With regimental banners held high, the blue-coated troops marched out of the shadows of the forest into the sunlight.
The ravines and woods in front of the Confederate works were occupied by Isaiah Steedman’s outpost and skirmishers under Lieutenant Colonel M. B. Locke. As soon as the enemy came within range, the fighting became severe. Running, sliding and slipping down the embankments, Weitzel’s and Paine’s men entered the broken ground and maze of fallen timber, forcing the Confederates back. After more than an hour of furious fighting, Locke was forced to retire his men behind the main works. As soon as the skirmishers had reached safety, the four guns on Commissary Hill opened fire on Weitzel’s men. Thomas’s brigade moved ahead of Van Zandt. Deploying his men in a regimental line, Thomas moved forward. Thomas found his advance slowed to a snail’s pace. Inching their way through brush-choked ravines, hills and fallen tree limbs, they found it impossible to keep ranks. Weitzel finally reached and held a ridge some 200 yards from Steedman’s works. Several charges against the works were tried by individual units, but they were driven back with fearful loss. Colonel Fearing of Paine’s division ordered his front line to charge, but their line was soon broken and scattered. The second line swept forward over their fallen comrades and succeeded in driving the enemy skirmishers from their outer fortifications. When support failed to come up, Fearing’s most advanced troops were forced to retreat to a more sheltered position. Here they continued to fire for the rest of the day whenever a Confederate gunner or rifleman showed his head.
General William J. Dwight, who had assumed command over the colored troops on the far Federal right earlier in the day, sought to create a diversion for Weitzel by ordering Colonel John A. Nelson, with his two Negro regiments, to move against the extreme Confederate left where the line bent southward toward the river. This portion of the battle had the distinction of being the first engagement of any magnitude between white and Negro troops in the war. Just a few more than 1,000 Negroes, without support, were ordered to take one of the strongest natural positions along the entire line. The 1st Louisiana Native Guards were made up of free Negroes of French extraction and the 3rd Louisiana Native Guards were composed of former slaves. The 3rd Regiment barely got into action, so about 500 men bore the brunt of the battle. Among these were 308 casualties.
To divert a Confederate concentration on Weitzel’s front, Grover sent his three regiments against the west face of the bastion at the northernmost point of the finished Confederate line (note: this was "Fort Desperate", defended by the 15th Arkansas). Men took cover wherever they could find it, realizing that their isolated efforts were fruitless. A lull then came. Grover joined Weitzel for a conference, and the two decided to wait until Augur assaulted the center or Sherman moved against the left before they renewed their drive on the right. Augur was ready. His men waited for a command which would be issued as soon as Sherman put in his men. Banks was unable to understand the delay, rode to Sherman’s headquarters and found the general and his staff calmly eating lunch. Banks was enraged. By 2:15 p.m., Sherman moved out. Beall, in command of the Confederate center, began to detect signs of an imminent attack. Beall called upon Colonel Miles on his right for assistance. When the Federal advance got within range, Beall’s artillery ran its guns into position and opened up a shower of grape, shot, and canister. One of the first casualties was General Sherman. One of his legs was shattered. When he fell wounded, the command of the left wing should have been assumed by Neal Dow, but before he learned of Sherman’s injury, he himself suffered a similar fate. He was struck by a spent ball, and his arm became so swollen that he could not handle his horse. He proceeded on foot and was struck in the left thigh by a rifle ball and had to be helped to a hospital. Colonel Frank S. Nickerson, next in order of command, inherited the title, but in the heat of battle, no one bothered to notify him. Consequently, for a long period, there was no commander to assume complete control. As the afternoon wore on, officer casualties became heavier.
As soon as Augur had heard the noise of Sherman’s attack on the left, he put forward his division. All was quiet until the advance had completely emerged from the woods along the road. The main columns left the woods and advanced over the small smooth area to broken ground. The Confederates increased their fire and dozens of blue-coated men went down in the dust. The fire became so severe that soon the main line, including the officers, began to drop behind every available shelter in the shallow ravines. The Confederates slackened their fire, and about an hour later, Colonel James O’Brien sprang up waving his sword and ordering his men to charge. Less than a dozen men responded and in a half minute, O’Brien fell dead. This was the last attempt to storm the works on May 27. At five o’clock, all firing ceased. A stick topped with a white handkerchief mysteriously arose from one of the ravines within the abatis [a defensive obstacle formed by felled trees with sharpened branches facing the enemy]. It was soon discovered that the flag had been raised by a colonel from one of the New York regiments who found himself in a precarious position to the front of the rest of the troops. Upon hearing this, the Confederates resumed their fire and kept it up until dark. With night coming, the medical corps and details from various regiments began to roam the abatis and look for the wounded. A fire broke out in the abatis and the wounded who had not been carried from the field were in the danger of being roasted alive. Slipping out of their works, the Confederates extinguished the fires, partly out of humanity and partly to preserve their own abatis. Surgeons worked feverishly all night with the wounded.
Out of an effective force of 13,000 men, the Union had suffered 1,995 casualties. By comparison, Gardner had suffered little from the assault. He had lost only 235 out of 4,000.
The bloody repulse of May 27 convinced Banks that he must resort to siege tactics and dig or construct gradual approaches toward the breastworks.
http://pth.thehardyparty.com/battle_desc.htm
C+ Wednesday, May 27 1863: The Disjointed Union attack against Port Hudson. It had been two days since the Union Army of the Gulf, under General Nathaniel Banks and 35,000-strong, invested Port Hudson, Louisiana, held by 5,000 or so Confederates. He knew that he must make short work of the Southern bastion and quickly move up the Mississippi River to aid General Grant at Vicksburg. With this in mind, he wanted to attack the works as soon as possible, preferably in the immediate.
The problem was his underlings, specifically General Christopher Auger, who thought that putting it off for a couple of days might give them time to reconnoiter the enemy position. Thomas Sherman, also one of Banks’ division commanders, agreed. Besides, he asserted, couldn’t they use those couple of days to bombard the Confederate works with heavy artillery? The enemy’s supply lines had been cut – it was only a matter of time before they were starved into submission, he reminded Banks.
But no, Banks did not agree. First off, Confederates under Richard Taylor, still lurking in the wilds of Western Louisiana, could take this opportunity to attack the sort of defenseless New Orleans, which had been kind of abandoned by Sherman’s troops who were now at Port Hudson. Additionally, the numbers within the Army were soon to drop as the terms of enlistment were up. Banks ended the council by saying something like “the people of the North demand blood, sir!” And with that rather silly argument, Banks decided to attack the next day (meaning, this day, the 27th).
The plans were simple, though hardly straight forward. First, Union gunboats on the Mississippi and field artillery to the east of Port Hudson would open upon the Rebel works at dawn. At that time, Generals Sherman and Auger on the left and center would move their troops into position and wait for the right moment to, as Banks called it, “take instant advantage of any favorable opportunity.” If such a favorable opportunity arose, they were to, “if possible, force the enemy works at the earliest moment.” The Union right, under the de facto command of General Godfrey Weitzel, was to do much the same, but only after he saw Sherman and Auger gaining some sort of success.
At first, things seemed to go according to plan. Though Weitzel couldn’t wheel his artillery into position due to the bad ground. The Naval gunboats, as well as Sherman’s and Auger’s artillery were blasting away at daybreak.
The Confederates, under General Franklin Gardner, had established a fine defensive position, but had still placed quite a large number of troops outside of the fortifications. This was to allow the entrenchments to be improved while holding back any advancing Yankees. This was especially true on Col. I. G. W. Steedman’s front, facing off against Weitzel.
Since Weitzel wasn’t supposed to make a move before seeing that Sherman and Auger were successful, this should not have been an issue. But Weitzel decided not to wait, and formed his troops into columns and advanced upon the Rebel works, running right into Col. Steedman’s advance troops. The Rebels gave ground, but the Federals drifted right and were sent into a general disarray by the uneven and horrible ground. By the time Weitzel’s boys got to within sight of the fortress itself, they were exhausted.
Still, they made their attack, hitting a salient of the Rebel line, hoping it might be the weakest spot. All that did, however, was place them in the crossfire between two Confederate lunettes. With the fight at a standstill, around 10am, reinforcements came in the shape of the Corps d’Afrique, the black troops who, until this moment, had been allowed to do little more than dig trenches and guard roads. They attacked under the leadership of Captain Andre Cailloux, and were, like the rest of the Federals, basically slaughtered.
To make matters worse, nobody seemed to know why Sherman and Auger hadn’t yet stepped off.
It was around noon when Banks rode over to the Union left to see what was up. What he found was General Sherman seated at his headquarters about to enjoy a very lovely lunch with a bit of fine wine. Banks, rather furiously, asked why Sherman had not attacked, and Sherman replied that it would be suicide to attempt such an assault.
Banks completely (and understandably) lost it. He fired Sherman on the spot and ordered his chief of staff, General George Andrews, to take his place. Banks went back to his own headquarters, and, at 1:30, when Andrews arrived to relieve Sherman, he found the General at the head of his Division, leading them into battle (some sources claim that Sherman was drunk). Since Sherman was now doing as commanded, Andrews let him go about his business, declining to relieve him.
Sherman’s men advanced and were hit hard by a Rebel volley that killed a good many of them and dehorsed Sherman himself. Undaunted, he continued leading his division forward, towards the Confederate works, until he was hit in the thigh by a ball and had to be carried off the field. The attack continued, but with no real success.
In the Union center, like Sherman, General Auger failed to advance. He cited Banks’ incredibly vague orders as the reason. Though he heard fighting on his right through most of the morning and, more recently, fighting on his left, he still declined to go in unless Banks ordered him to do so. Banks seemed to have forgotten all about Auger until well after Sherman’s attack was about to fail.
As Sherman’s men were tumbling back, Banks sent Auger towards the Rebel fortifications. No longer having much to do on their left or right, the Confederates concentrated most of their men in the center to meet Auger’s blow. The numbers nearly even, the Rebels were able to brutally repulse the most recent of Federal attacks.
The only thing Banks had left was a brigade of reserves under General Curvier Grover. Around 3:30, they went into battle and, like their comrades, were unsupported and easily beaten. Sporadic skirmishing rippled here and there until around 5:30 when an officer from New York took it upon himself to raise a white flag. Word of this spread up and down the lines and, though unofficial, it was mostly honored, both sides apparently agreeing to disagree. The Federals, trapped up against the Rebel lines, scurried back quickly, while the Confederates bettered their positions.
That evening, out of ideas, Banks ordered up muskets for the rest of the black troops, who had, prior to the battle, been serving as ditch diggers.
Confederate General Gardner prepared his men for what he assumed would be Banks’ next attack to come the following morning. None, however, would come. Banks’ failure created a long, drawn out stalemate. The Federal losses were dear, costing Banks 450 killed and over 1,500 wounded. The Confederates lost around 50 killed, a 200 wounded
http://civilwardailygazette.com/the-disjointed-union-attack-against-port-hudson/
Wednesday, May 27 1863 --- Assault on Port Hudson – Gen. Nathaniel Banks orders his army of 30,000 to attack the Rebel fortifications at Port Hudson, Louisiana. Admiral Farragut brings up his gunboats and mortar boats, which lob shells into the fort. Banks’ attack is poorly coordinated, however, and assault forces under Grover, Weitzel, Augur, and Thomas Sherman are sent forward at different times, so that the Rebel commander, Franklin Gardner, is able to shift forces to strengthen the line being attacked. In the morning, Weitzel and Grover strike the northern side of the fortress, but their attack bogs down. The Confederate line has salient that can bring crossfire to almost any spot. A combined regiment of black soldiers---the 1st and 3rd Louisiana Native Guards, , are sent in where there was a strong salient, and the white soldiers had gotten bogged down. Three Arkansas regiments defend here. The 1st Regiment, led by a negro commander, Captain Andre Cailloux, rushes forward, passing up the bogged-down white regiments, and reach the wall of the salient; however, without supports, they are unable to hold the position---and when their commander Capt. Cailloux is killed by a cannon round, they fall back. Over 300 of the 1,000 black soldiers were shot down in the attack. Later in the day, Augur and Sherman’s divisions were to go forward against the southeastern and southern faces of the Port Hudson lines. However, Augur is ready before Sherman is, and he waits. Gen. Banks finds Sherman and his staff sitting down to lunch. Angrily, he fires Sherman---but Sherman places himself at the head of his column anyway. Sherman himself is badly wounded, as are both of his successors, and this assault bogs down. Augur’s men meet a similar fate. Out of the 13,000 men who partake in the assaults this day, nearly 2,000 of them are shot down. Rebel losses amount to about 250. Gen. Banks settles into a regular siege after this. Confederate Victory.
Losses: U.S. 1,950+ C.S. 250
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+27%2C+1863
D Friday, May 27, 1864: Battle of Pickett's Mill, Georgia. Confederate defensive tactical victory. On the morning of May 27, Union Fourth Corps commander Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard informed Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Wood that his division had been chosen for the "arduous and dangerous task...to find the extreme right of the enemy's position, turn it, and attack him in flank." Supporting the assault would be Brig. Gen. Richard Johnson's division of the Fourteenth Corps.
Marching east with his troops, Howard discovered that the Rebels' flank would be hard to turn, as they were extending their line and digging in. Joseph Johnston, aware of the Federals' intent, pulled Patrick Cleburne's division from William J. Hardee's sector and placed it on the extreme right of the Confederate line, near a farm and gristmill owned by the widow Martha "Fanny" Pickett, whose husband was killed at Chickamauga. A late morning reconnaissance reveled the Federal troops marching across his front. Cleburne knew to expect an attack.
At 3:35pm, Howard jotted a note to Gen. William T. Sherman, stating he could not be sure that his troops had reached the enemy flank. An impatient Sherman ordered him to attack anyway. Wood told Howard, "We will put in Hazen and see what success he has." Wood thus has arranged his troops with Brig. Gen. William B. Hazen's brigade in front; its charge would be supported by Col. William H. Gibson's and Col. Frederick Knefler's brigades.
Hazen's assault began around 5:00pm. For a time, the Federals threatened to overlap the Confederate right, but Cleburne shuttled troops to extend his line, held by Brig. Gen. John Kelly's cavalry. Brig. Gen. Hiram Granbury's troops did not have time to entrench when the Yankees charged. "Ah, damn you, we have caught you without your logs now," some Federals yelled. Yet, even without entrenchments, the Confederates bloodily repulsed Hazen's brigade before Gibson's and Knefler's joined the attack. Col. Benjamin Scribner's brigade of Johnson's division also advanced, driving Kelly's troopers back into the Southern infantry line, but was stopped there. By 7:00pm, Wood and Howard concluded that further assaults were pointless.
The Confederates had won a comparatively easy defensive victory at Pickett's Mill. To Ambrose Bierce, an officer on Hazen's staff, the Union attack on May 27 was a "crime"; it had gained nothing. Union casualties were 230 killed, 1,016 wounded and 319 missing, for a total of 1,580 (Hazen lost almost a third of them). Cleburne counted 85 dead and 383 wounded; most of these were in Granbury's brigade, fighting without "logs." Probably 200 of Kelly's troopers also fell, making the total Southern loss 648 men.
Having beaten the enemy attack on the 27th, that night Johnston planned one of his own on the next day. The afternoon's fighting had established the left of Sherman's position. Johnston planned a flank march and attack in the same sector. As at Resaca and Cassville, he called on Gen. John Bell Hood to direct it. hood's troops started marching before dawn on May 28. At daylight, Hood discovered that the Federals had pulled back to a safer position during the night and were entrenched too formidably to be attacked. He sent word of this back to Johnston who, disappointed, ordered Hood back to his place in line.
http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/pickettsmill.html?tab=facts
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 John Griscom LTC Thomas Tennant SPC Michael TerrellSPC Robert Treat GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad GySgt Jack Wallace PO1 Sam Deel LTC David Brown LTC (Join to see) SFC Eric Harmon SSG Bill McCoySPC (Join to see)
Wednesday, May 27 1863: Lt. Col. Arthur Fremantle of Her Majesty’s Coldstream Guards, writes in his journal of his progress on the long, drawn-out journey through the South: “Arrived at Montgomery, the capital of Alabama, at daylight, and left it by another railroad at 5.30 A.M. All State capitals appear to resemble one another, and look like bits cut off from great cities. One or two streets have a good deal of pretension about them; and the inevitable “Capitol,” with its dome, forms the principal feature. A sentry stands at the door of each railway car, who examines the papers of every passenger with great strictness, and even after that inspection the same ceremony is performed by an officer of the provost-marshal’s department, who accompanies every train. The officers and soldiers on this duty are very civil and courteous, and after getting over their astonishment at finding that I am a British officer, they do all they can to make me comfortable. They ask all sorts of curious questions about the British army, and often express a strong wish to see one of our regiments fight. They can hardly believe that the Coldstream is really dressed in scarlet. To-day they entered gravely into a discussion amongst themselves, as to whether British troops would have taken the position at Fredericksburg. The arguments on both sides were very amusing, and opinion was pretty evenly divided.”
Pictures: 1862 Battle of Hanover Court House map; 1862 Cannon from Latham's battery, captured during the battle of Hanover Court House; 1863 Sketch map of the eastern Port Hudson Fortifications and Sherman's afternoon attack, May 27; 1864 Picketts Mill may 27 hazen.
Since RallyPoint truncates survey selection text I am posting events that were not included and then the full text of each survey choice below:
A. Tuesday, May 27, 1862: Battle of Hanover Court House, Virginia. Union victory. On May 27, 1862, elements of Union Brigadier General Fitz John Porter's V Corps extended north to protect the right flank of General McClellan's Union army that now straddled the Chickahominy River. Porter's objective was to cut the railroad and to open the Telegraph Road for Union reinforcements under Major General Irvin McDowell that were marching south from Fredericksburg. Brigadier General Lawrence O'B. Branch’s Confederate forces, attempting to prevent this maneuver, were defeated just south of Hanover Courthouse after a stiff fight. The Union victory was moot, however, for McDowell's reinforcements were recalled to Fredericksburg upon word of Banks's rout at First Winchester.
Estimated Casualties: 1,327 total (US 397; CS 930)
B. Wednesday, May 27, 1863: First Assault on the Confederate works at Port Hudson, Louisiana. Brigadier General Richard Arnold commanded the reserve artillery to open fire at dawn on the well-established Confederate works. As daylight came, the Federal artillery opened up all along the line. General Franklin Gardner’s guns answered the cannonade but soon slowed down to conserve ammunition. From the river, the guns of the navy joined in hurling shot and shell toward the water batteries and into Port Hudson itself. Forming his men in columns of brigades, General Godfrey Weitzel advanced through the magnolia forest toward the front. With regimental banners held high, the blue-coated troops marched out of the shadows of the forest into the sunlight.
The ravines and woods in front of the Confederate works were occupied by Isaiah Steedman’s outpost and skirmishers under Lieutenant Colonel M. B. Locke. As soon as the enemy came within range, the fighting became severe. Running, sliding and slipping down the embankments, Weitzel’s and Paine’s men entered the broken ground and maze of fallen timber, forcing the Confederates back. After more than an hour of furious fighting, Locke was forced to retire his men behind the main works. As soon as the skirmishers had reached safety, the four guns on Commissary Hill opened fire on Weitzel’s men. Thomas’s brigade moved ahead of Van Zandt. Deploying his men in a regimental line, Thomas moved forward. Thomas found his advance slowed to a snail’s pace. Inching their way through brush-choked ravines, hills and fallen tree limbs, they found it impossible to keep ranks. Weitzel finally reached and held a ridge some 200 yards from Steedman’s works. Several charges against the works were tried by individual units, but they were driven back with fearful loss. Colonel Fearing of Paine’s division ordered his front line to charge, but their line was soon broken and scattered. The second line swept forward over their fallen comrades and succeeded in driving the enemy skirmishers from their outer fortifications. When support failed to come up, Fearing’s most advanced troops were forced to retreat to a more sheltered position. Here they continued to fire for the rest of the day whenever a Confederate gunner or rifleman showed his head.
C. Friday, May 27, 1864: Battle of Pickett's Mill, Georgia Frida. Confederate defensive tactical victory. On the morning of May 27, Union Fourth Corps commander Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard informed Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Wood that his division had been chosen for the "arduous and dangerous task...to find the extreme right of the enemy's position, turn it, and attack him in flank." Supporting the assault would be Brig. Gen. Richard Johnson's division of the Fourteenth Corps.
Marching east with his troops, Howard discovered that the Rebels' flank would be hard to turn, as they were extending their line and digging in. Joseph Johnston, aware of the Federals' intent, pulled Patrick Cleburne's division from William J. Hardee's sector and placed it on the extreme right of the Confederate line, near a farm and gristmill owned by the widow Martha "Fanny" Pickett, whose husband was killed at Chickamauga. A late morning reconnaissance reveled the Federal troops marching across his front. Cleburne knew to expect an attack.
At 3:35pm, Howard jotted a note to Gen. William T. Sherman, stating he could not be sure that his troops had reached the enemy flank. An impatient Sherman ordered him to attack anyway. Wood told Howard, "We will put in Hazen and see what success he has." Wood thus has arranged his troops with Brig. Gen. William B. Hazen's brigade in front; its charge would be supported by Col. William H. Gibson's and Col. Frederick Knefler's brigades.
Hazen's assault began around 5:00pm. For a time, the Federals threatened to overlap the Confederate right, but Cleburne shuttled troops to extend his line, held by Brig. Gen. John Kelly's cavalry. Brig. Gen. Hiram Granbury's troops did not have time to entrench when the Yankees charged. "Ah, damn you, we have caught you without your logs now," some Federals yelled. Yet, even without entrenchments, the Confederates bloodily repulsed Hazen's brigade before Gibson's and Knefler's joined the attack. Col. Benjamin Scribner's brigade of Johnson's division also advanced, driving Kelly's troopers back into the Southern infantry line, but was stopped there. By 7:00pm, Wood and Howard concluded that further assaults were pointless.
The Confederates had won a comparatively easy defensive victory at Pickett's Mill. To Ambrose Bierce, an officer on Hazen's staff, the Union attack on May 27 was a "crime"; it had gained nothing. Union casualties were 230 killed, 1,016 wounded and 319 missing, for a total of 1,580 (Hazen lost almost a third of them). Cleburne counted 85 dead and 383 wounded; most of these were in Granbury's brigade, fighting without "logs." Probably 200 of Kelly's troopers also fell, making the total Southern loss 648 men.
1. Tuesday, May 27, 1862: Battle of Hanover Court House, Virginia
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186205
2. May 27, 1862 --- Gen. Halleck, still outside Corinth, Mississippi, reports that his armies are making progress towards the Rebel fortifications. There has been sharp skirmishing on the front lines.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+27%2C+1862
3. May 27, 1862 --- Gen Stonewall Jackson has sent Gen. Winder and the Stonewall Brigade to Charles Town, Virginia. The rest of his force is at Winchester still, but he contemplates pushing to Harper’s Ferry, which is lightly defended.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+27%2C+1862
4. May 27, 1862 --- Katherine Prescott Wormeley, a Sanitary Commission nurse on board a hospital vessel in the York River near the Richmond front, complains about the troops detailed to assist with the sick and wounded, based upon their wardrobe: “This vessel (‘Knickerbocker’) is full of Zouaves, detailed to the Commission for nurses. I can’t endure them. It might be all very well, and in keeping, to get up a regiment of negroes en Turcos; but for an American citizen to rig himself as an Arab is demoralizing.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+27%2C+1862
5. Wednesday, May 27 1863: First Assault on the Confederate works at Port Hudson, Louisiana. The Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana, was the final engagement in the Union campaign to liberate the Mississippi in the American Civil War.
http://historyindates.com/27-may-1863/
6. Wednesday, May 27 1863: Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana. After attempting to storm the walls of Port Hudson, Nathaniel Banks digs in for a siege.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186305
7. Wednesday, May 27 1863 --- Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles writes in his journal about the internal politics in the government and the impact of the Vicksburg campaign on the mind of the public: “No decisive news from Vicksburg. The public mind is uneasy at the delay, yet I am glad to see blame attaches to no one because the place was not taken at once. There have been strange evidences of an unreasonable people on many occasions during the War. Had Halleck shown half the earnestness and ability of Farragut, we should have had Vicksburg in our possession a year ago.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+27%2C+1863
8. Wednesday, May 27 1863 --- Lt. Col. Arthur Fremantle of Her Majesty’s Coldstream Guards, writes in his journal of his progress on the long, drawn-out journey through the South: “Arrived at Montgomery, the capital of Alabama, at daylight, and left it by another railroad at 5.30 A.M.
All State capitals appear to resemble one another, and look like bits cut off from great cities. One or two streets have a good deal of pretension about them; and the inevitable “Capitol,” with its dome, forms the principal feature. A sentry stands at the door of each railway car, who examines the papers of every passenger with great strictness, and even after that inspection the same ceremony is performed by an officer of the provost-marshal’s department, who accompanies every train. The officers and soldiers on this duty are very civil and courteous, and after getting over their astonishment at finding that I am a British officer, they do all they can to make me comfortable. They ask all sorts of curious questions about the British army, and often express a strong wish to see one of our regiments fight. They can hardly believe that the Coldstream is really dressed in scarlet. To-day they entered gravely into a discussion amongst themselves, as to whether British troops would have taken the position at Fredericksburg. The arguments on both sides were very amusing, and opinion was pretty evenly divided.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+27%2C+1863
9. Friday, May 27, 1864 --- The Army of the Potomac moves swiftly south to the crossings over the Pamunkey River near Hanovertown. Sheridan’s cavalry troopers arrive first, and pontoon bridges are laid down over the Pamunkey River is short order. They occupy Hanovertown on the south bank, and later in the day, the infantry formation of the Army of the Potomac file across the bridges.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+27%2C+1864
10. Friday, May 27, 1864 --- In Cleveland, the Radical Republicans, those opposed to Lincoln, begin a convention to nominate another team to oppose Lincoln for the elections. The convention decides to label this movement The Radical Democracy.
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+27%2C+1864
11. Friday, May 27, 1864: Battle of Pickett's Mill, Georgia
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186405
12. Friday, May 27, 1864 --- Atlanta Campaign: Battle of Picketts Mill – Sherman orders Gen. Thomas of the Army of the Cumberland to send Gen. Oliver O. Howard’s IV Corps forward to strike the Rebels at the right flank of their line at Pickett’s Mill. Brig. Gen. William B. Hazen’s brigade bears the brunt of the attack, as they sweep forward to find that the position is already strongly fortified. Also, the promised reinforcements do not show, and 1,500 Federals are shot down in a very short amount of time. Many officers blame Howard for poor planning. Confederate Victory
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+27%2C+1864
A Tuesday, May 27, 1862: Battle of Hanover Court House, Virginia. Union victory. On May 27, 1862, elements of Union Brigadier General Fitz John Porter's V Corps extended north to protect the right flank of General McClellan's Union army that now straddled the Chickahominy River. Porter's objective was to cut the railroad and to open the Telegraph Road for Union reinforcements under Major General Irvin McDowell that were marching south from Fredericksburg. Brigadier General Lawrence O'B. Branch’s Confederate forces, attempting to prevent this maneuver, were defeated just south of Hanover Courthouse after a stiff fight. The Union victory was moot, however, for McDowell's reinforcements were recalled to Fredericksburg upon word of Banks's rout at First Winchester.
Estimated Casualties: 1,327 total (US 397; CS 930)
http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/va/va013.html
B+ May 27, 1862: Battle of Hanover Court House. Union Victory. At Hanover Court House, Virginia, just beyond McClellan’s right flank north of Richmond, Gen. FitzJohn Porter, commanding the Federal V Corps, sends troops---in fact, a rather large division of 12,000 men---to probe what is feared to be a Confederate attempt to lap the Federal flank. Facing the Federals is Gen. Lawrence O’Bryan Branch of North Carolina with a brigade of infantry, which has been marching toward Richmond from Charlottesville. Branch’s men attack a Union regiment and drive them back, but then spy a much larger force coming in on their right, with artillery. Branch cagily retreats from Hanover. Porter marches his division onward, unknowingly passing Branch’s camp. Seeing an advantage, the Confederates advance and strike Porter’s column after the bulk of his troops have passed by, and there is a stiff firefight for over an hour, until the rest of Porter’s force doubles back to join the battle, and Branch then realizes that he is facing a much larger force. As he withdraws, he loses some men to capture, but stings Federal attempts to strike at his column retreating.
Losses: U.S. 62 killed 233 wounded 70 captured.
C.S. unknown 700 captured
Unaccountably, Gen. McClellan claims the victory to be “one of the handsomest things of the war, both in itself and in its results . . . a glorious victory over superior numbers.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+27%2C+1862
C Wednesday, May 27 1863: First Assault on the Confederate works at Port Hudson, Louisiana. On the night of May 26, Banks called together his division commanders to plan the assault of the next day. Brigadier General Richard Arnold was assigned command of the reserve artillery and was to open fire at dawn on the Confederate works. As daylight came, the Federal artillery opened up all along the line. Gardner’s guns answered the cannonade but soon slowed down to conserve ammunition. From the river, the guns of the navy joined in hurling shot and shell toward the water batteries and into Port Hudson itself. Forming his men in columns of brigades, Weitzel advanced through the magnolia forest toward the front. With regimental banners held high, the blue-coated troops marched out of the shadows of the forest into the sunlight.
The ravines and woods in front of the Confederate works were occupied by Isaiah Steedman’s outpost and skirmishers under Lieutenant Colonel M. B. Locke. As soon as the enemy came within range, the fighting became severe. Running, sliding and slipping down the embankments, Weitzel’s and Paine’s men entered the broken ground and maze of fallen timber, forcing the Confederates back. After more than an hour of furious fighting, Locke was forced to retire his men behind the main works. As soon as the skirmishers had reached safety, the four guns on Commissary Hill opened fire on Weitzel’s men. Thomas’s brigade moved ahead of Van Zandt. Deploying his men in a regimental line, Thomas moved forward. Thomas found his advance slowed to a snail’s pace. Inching their way through brush-choked ravines, hills and fallen tree limbs, they found it impossible to keep ranks. Weitzel finally reached and held a ridge some 200 yards from Steedman’s works. Several charges against the works were tried by individual units, but they were driven back with fearful loss. Colonel Fearing of Paine’s division ordered his front line to charge, but their line was soon broken and scattered. The second line swept forward over their fallen comrades and succeeded in driving the enemy skirmishers from their outer fortifications. When support failed to come up, Fearing’s most advanced troops were forced to retreat to a more sheltered position. Here they continued to fire for the rest of the day whenever a Confederate gunner or rifleman showed his head.
General William J. Dwight, who had assumed command over the colored troops on the far Federal right earlier in the day, sought to create a diversion for Weitzel by ordering Colonel John A. Nelson, with his two Negro regiments, to move against the extreme Confederate left where the line bent southward toward the river. This portion of the battle had the distinction of being the first engagement of any magnitude between white and Negro troops in the war. Just a few more than 1,000 Negroes, without support, were ordered to take one of the strongest natural positions along the entire line. The 1st Louisiana Native Guards were made up of free Negroes of French extraction and the 3rd Louisiana Native Guards were composed of former slaves. The 3rd Regiment barely got into action, so about 500 men bore the brunt of the battle. Among these were 308 casualties.
To divert a Confederate concentration on Weitzel’s front, Grover sent his three regiments against the west face of the bastion at the northernmost point of the finished Confederate line (note: this was "Fort Desperate", defended by the 15th Arkansas). Men took cover wherever they could find it, realizing that their isolated efforts were fruitless. A lull then came. Grover joined Weitzel for a conference, and the two decided to wait until Augur assaulted the center or Sherman moved against the left before they renewed their drive on the right. Augur was ready. His men waited for a command which would be issued as soon as Sherman put in his men. Banks was unable to understand the delay, rode to Sherman’s headquarters and found the general and his staff calmly eating lunch. Banks was enraged. By 2:15 p.m., Sherman moved out. Beall, in command of the Confederate center, began to detect signs of an imminent attack. Beall called upon Colonel Miles on his right for assistance. When the Federal advance got within range, Beall’s artillery ran its guns into position and opened up a shower of grape, shot, and canister. One of the first casualties was General Sherman. One of his legs was shattered. When he fell wounded, the command of the left wing should have been assumed by Neal Dow, but before he learned of Sherman’s injury, he himself suffered a similar fate. He was struck by a spent ball, and his arm became so swollen that he could not handle his horse. He proceeded on foot and was struck in the left thigh by a rifle ball and had to be helped to a hospital. Colonel Frank S. Nickerson, next in order of command, inherited the title, but in the heat of battle, no one bothered to notify him. Consequently, for a long period, there was no commander to assume complete control. As the afternoon wore on, officer casualties became heavier.
As soon as Augur had heard the noise of Sherman’s attack on the left, he put forward his division. All was quiet until the advance had completely emerged from the woods along the road. The main columns left the woods and advanced over the small smooth area to broken ground. The Confederates increased their fire and dozens of blue-coated men went down in the dust. The fire became so severe that soon the main line, including the officers, began to drop behind every available shelter in the shallow ravines. The Confederates slackened their fire, and about an hour later, Colonel James O’Brien sprang up waving his sword and ordering his men to charge. Less than a dozen men responded and in a half minute, O’Brien fell dead. This was the last attempt to storm the works on May 27. At five o’clock, all firing ceased. A stick topped with a white handkerchief mysteriously arose from one of the ravines within the abatis [a defensive obstacle formed by felled trees with sharpened branches facing the enemy]. It was soon discovered that the flag had been raised by a colonel from one of the New York regiments who found himself in a precarious position to the front of the rest of the troops. Upon hearing this, the Confederates resumed their fire and kept it up until dark. With night coming, the medical corps and details from various regiments began to roam the abatis and look for the wounded. A fire broke out in the abatis and the wounded who had not been carried from the field were in the danger of being roasted alive. Slipping out of their works, the Confederates extinguished the fires, partly out of humanity and partly to preserve their own abatis. Surgeons worked feverishly all night with the wounded.
Out of an effective force of 13,000 men, the Union had suffered 1,995 casualties. By comparison, Gardner had suffered little from the assault. He had lost only 235 out of 4,000.
The bloody repulse of May 27 convinced Banks that he must resort to siege tactics and dig or construct gradual approaches toward the breastworks.
http://pth.thehardyparty.com/battle_desc.htm
C+ Wednesday, May 27 1863: The Disjointed Union attack against Port Hudson. It had been two days since the Union Army of the Gulf, under General Nathaniel Banks and 35,000-strong, invested Port Hudson, Louisiana, held by 5,000 or so Confederates. He knew that he must make short work of the Southern bastion and quickly move up the Mississippi River to aid General Grant at Vicksburg. With this in mind, he wanted to attack the works as soon as possible, preferably in the immediate.
The problem was his underlings, specifically General Christopher Auger, who thought that putting it off for a couple of days might give them time to reconnoiter the enemy position. Thomas Sherman, also one of Banks’ division commanders, agreed. Besides, he asserted, couldn’t they use those couple of days to bombard the Confederate works with heavy artillery? The enemy’s supply lines had been cut – it was only a matter of time before they were starved into submission, he reminded Banks.
But no, Banks did not agree. First off, Confederates under Richard Taylor, still lurking in the wilds of Western Louisiana, could take this opportunity to attack the sort of defenseless New Orleans, which had been kind of abandoned by Sherman’s troops who were now at Port Hudson. Additionally, the numbers within the Army were soon to drop as the terms of enlistment were up. Banks ended the council by saying something like “the people of the North demand blood, sir!” And with that rather silly argument, Banks decided to attack the next day (meaning, this day, the 27th).
The plans were simple, though hardly straight forward. First, Union gunboats on the Mississippi and field artillery to the east of Port Hudson would open upon the Rebel works at dawn. At that time, Generals Sherman and Auger on the left and center would move their troops into position and wait for the right moment to, as Banks called it, “take instant advantage of any favorable opportunity.” If such a favorable opportunity arose, they were to, “if possible, force the enemy works at the earliest moment.” The Union right, under the de facto command of General Godfrey Weitzel, was to do much the same, but only after he saw Sherman and Auger gaining some sort of success.
At first, things seemed to go according to plan. Though Weitzel couldn’t wheel his artillery into position due to the bad ground. The Naval gunboats, as well as Sherman’s and Auger’s artillery were blasting away at daybreak.
The Confederates, under General Franklin Gardner, had established a fine defensive position, but had still placed quite a large number of troops outside of the fortifications. This was to allow the entrenchments to be improved while holding back any advancing Yankees. This was especially true on Col. I. G. W. Steedman’s front, facing off against Weitzel.
Since Weitzel wasn’t supposed to make a move before seeing that Sherman and Auger were successful, this should not have been an issue. But Weitzel decided not to wait, and formed his troops into columns and advanced upon the Rebel works, running right into Col. Steedman’s advance troops. The Rebels gave ground, but the Federals drifted right and were sent into a general disarray by the uneven and horrible ground. By the time Weitzel’s boys got to within sight of the fortress itself, they were exhausted.
Still, they made their attack, hitting a salient of the Rebel line, hoping it might be the weakest spot. All that did, however, was place them in the crossfire between two Confederate lunettes. With the fight at a standstill, around 10am, reinforcements came in the shape of the Corps d’Afrique, the black troops who, until this moment, had been allowed to do little more than dig trenches and guard roads. They attacked under the leadership of Captain Andre Cailloux, and were, like the rest of the Federals, basically slaughtered.
To make matters worse, nobody seemed to know why Sherman and Auger hadn’t yet stepped off.
It was around noon when Banks rode over to the Union left to see what was up. What he found was General Sherman seated at his headquarters about to enjoy a very lovely lunch with a bit of fine wine. Banks, rather furiously, asked why Sherman had not attacked, and Sherman replied that it would be suicide to attempt such an assault.
Banks completely (and understandably) lost it. He fired Sherman on the spot and ordered his chief of staff, General George Andrews, to take his place. Banks went back to his own headquarters, and, at 1:30, when Andrews arrived to relieve Sherman, he found the General at the head of his Division, leading them into battle (some sources claim that Sherman was drunk). Since Sherman was now doing as commanded, Andrews let him go about his business, declining to relieve him.
Sherman’s men advanced and were hit hard by a Rebel volley that killed a good many of them and dehorsed Sherman himself. Undaunted, he continued leading his division forward, towards the Confederate works, until he was hit in the thigh by a ball and had to be carried off the field. The attack continued, but with no real success.
In the Union center, like Sherman, General Auger failed to advance. He cited Banks’ incredibly vague orders as the reason. Though he heard fighting on his right through most of the morning and, more recently, fighting on his left, he still declined to go in unless Banks ordered him to do so. Banks seemed to have forgotten all about Auger until well after Sherman’s attack was about to fail.
As Sherman’s men were tumbling back, Banks sent Auger towards the Rebel fortifications. No longer having much to do on their left or right, the Confederates concentrated most of their men in the center to meet Auger’s blow. The numbers nearly even, the Rebels were able to brutally repulse the most recent of Federal attacks.
The only thing Banks had left was a brigade of reserves under General Curvier Grover. Around 3:30, they went into battle and, like their comrades, were unsupported and easily beaten. Sporadic skirmishing rippled here and there until around 5:30 when an officer from New York took it upon himself to raise a white flag. Word of this spread up and down the lines and, though unofficial, it was mostly honored, both sides apparently agreeing to disagree. The Federals, trapped up against the Rebel lines, scurried back quickly, while the Confederates bettered their positions.
That evening, out of ideas, Banks ordered up muskets for the rest of the black troops, who had, prior to the battle, been serving as ditch diggers.
Confederate General Gardner prepared his men for what he assumed would be Banks’ next attack to come the following morning. None, however, would come. Banks’ failure created a long, drawn out stalemate. The Federal losses were dear, costing Banks 450 killed and over 1,500 wounded. The Confederates lost around 50 killed, a 200 wounded
http://civilwardailygazette.com/the-disjointed-union-attack-against-port-hudson/
Wednesday, May 27 1863 --- Assault on Port Hudson – Gen. Nathaniel Banks orders his army of 30,000 to attack the Rebel fortifications at Port Hudson, Louisiana. Admiral Farragut brings up his gunboats and mortar boats, which lob shells into the fort. Banks’ attack is poorly coordinated, however, and assault forces under Grover, Weitzel, Augur, and Thomas Sherman are sent forward at different times, so that the Rebel commander, Franklin Gardner, is able to shift forces to strengthen the line being attacked. In the morning, Weitzel and Grover strike the northern side of the fortress, but their attack bogs down. The Confederate line has salient that can bring crossfire to almost any spot. A combined regiment of black soldiers---the 1st and 3rd Louisiana Native Guards, , are sent in where there was a strong salient, and the white soldiers had gotten bogged down. Three Arkansas regiments defend here. The 1st Regiment, led by a negro commander, Captain Andre Cailloux, rushes forward, passing up the bogged-down white regiments, and reach the wall of the salient; however, without supports, they are unable to hold the position---and when their commander Capt. Cailloux is killed by a cannon round, they fall back. Over 300 of the 1,000 black soldiers were shot down in the attack. Later in the day, Augur and Sherman’s divisions were to go forward against the southeastern and southern faces of the Port Hudson lines. However, Augur is ready before Sherman is, and he waits. Gen. Banks finds Sherman and his staff sitting down to lunch. Angrily, he fires Sherman---but Sherman places himself at the head of his column anyway. Sherman himself is badly wounded, as are both of his successors, and this assault bogs down. Augur’s men meet a similar fate. Out of the 13,000 men who partake in the assaults this day, nearly 2,000 of them are shot down. Rebel losses amount to about 250. Gen. Banks settles into a regular siege after this. Confederate Victory.
Losses: U.S. 1,950+ C.S. 250
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=May+27%2C+1863
D Friday, May 27, 1864: Battle of Pickett's Mill, Georgia. Confederate defensive tactical victory. On the morning of May 27, Union Fourth Corps commander Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard informed Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Wood that his division had been chosen for the "arduous and dangerous task...to find the extreme right of the enemy's position, turn it, and attack him in flank." Supporting the assault would be Brig. Gen. Richard Johnson's division of the Fourteenth Corps.
Marching east with his troops, Howard discovered that the Rebels' flank would be hard to turn, as they were extending their line and digging in. Joseph Johnston, aware of the Federals' intent, pulled Patrick Cleburne's division from William J. Hardee's sector and placed it on the extreme right of the Confederate line, near a farm and gristmill owned by the widow Martha "Fanny" Pickett, whose husband was killed at Chickamauga. A late morning reconnaissance reveled the Federal troops marching across his front. Cleburne knew to expect an attack.
At 3:35pm, Howard jotted a note to Gen. William T. Sherman, stating he could not be sure that his troops had reached the enemy flank. An impatient Sherman ordered him to attack anyway. Wood told Howard, "We will put in Hazen and see what success he has." Wood thus has arranged his troops with Brig. Gen. William B. Hazen's brigade in front; its charge would be supported by Col. William H. Gibson's and Col. Frederick Knefler's brigades.
Hazen's assault began around 5:00pm. For a time, the Federals threatened to overlap the Confederate right, but Cleburne shuttled troops to extend his line, held by Brig. Gen. John Kelly's cavalry. Brig. Gen. Hiram Granbury's troops did not have time to entrench when the Yankees charged. "Ah, damn you, we have caught you without your logs now," some Federals yelled. Yet, even without entrenchments, the Confederates bloodily repulsed Hazen's brigade before Gibson's and Knefler's joined the attack. Col. Benjamin Scribner's brigade of Johnson's division also advanced, driving Kelly's troopers back into the Southern infantry line, but was stopped there. By 7:00pm, Wood and Howard concluded that further assaults were pointless.
The Confederates had won a comparatively easy defensive victory at Pickett's Mill. To Ambrose Bierce, an officer on Hazen's staff, the Union attack on May 27 was a "crime"; it had gained nothing. Union casualties were 230 killed, 1,016 wounded and 319 missing, for a total of 1,580 (Hazen lost almost a third of them). Cleburne counted 85 dead and 383 wounded; most of these were in Granbury's brigade, fighting without "logs." Probably 200 of Kelly's troopers also fell, making the total Southern loss 648 men.
Having beaten the enemy attack on the 27th, that night Johnston planned one of his own on the next day. The afternoon's fighting had established the left of Sherman's position. Johnston planned a flank march and attack in the same sector. As at Resaca and Cassville, he called on Gen. John Bell Hood to direct it. hood's troops started marching before dawn on May 28. At daylight, Hood discovered that the Federals had pulled back to a safer position during the night and were entrenched too formidably to be attacked. He sent word of this back to Johnston who, disappointed, ordered Hood back to his place in line.
http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/pickettsmill.html?tab=facts
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 John Griscom LTC Thomas Tennant SPC Michael TerrellSPC Robert Treat GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad GySgt Jack Wallace PO1 Sam Deel LTC David Brown LTC (Join to see) SFC Eric Harmon SSG Bill McCoySPC (Join to see)
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1stSgt Eugene Harless
Interesting Quote:
“This vessel (‘Knickerbocker’) is full of Zouaves, detailed to the Commission for nurses. I can’t endure them. It might be all very well, and in keeping, to get up a regiment of negroes en Turcos; but for an American citizen to rig himself as an Arab is demoralizing.”
The history of Zouaves in the US military is interesting. As in a lot of our Military tradition, the phrases, tactics, etc we borrowed heavily from the French. The French had North African Zoauves in their Colonial Armies and adopted the mode of dress for their own use in some units.
Elmer E Ellsworth, a friend of Abraham Lincoln formed a militia unit before the war that was a crack drill team. They would tour and drill and train other militias, who in turn would adopt the dress of Zouaves. When the War started several Zouave units formed Regiments and fought with distiction Throught the war.
“This vessel (‘Knickerbocker’) is full of Zouaves, detailed to the Commission for nurses. I can’t endure them. It might be all very well, and in keeping, to get up a regiment of negroes en Turcos; but for an American citizen to rig himself as an Arab is demoralizing.”
The history of Zouaves in the US military is interesting. As in a lot of our Military tradition, the phrases, tactics, etc we borrowed heavily from the French. The French had North African Zoauves in their Colonial Armies and adopted the mode of dress for their own use in some units.
Elmer E Ellsworth, a friend of Abraham Lincoln formed a militia unit before the war that was a crack drill team. They would tour and drill and train other militias, who in turn would adopt the dress of Zouaves. When the War started several Zouave units formed Regiments and fought with distiction Throught the war.
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LTC Stephen F.
1stSgt Eugene Harless - Yes and COL Elmer E Ellsworth was the first Union officer killed in the Civil War in May 1861 in Alexandria, VA
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I hope everybody is able to endure this memorial day weekend with periods of joyful memories. I meant to click all of the above on my own post but I selected other which I had just created for this discussion. Anyway this gives me chance to post some more pictures.
1863 Sketch Map of Port Hudson Morning Attack One;1863 May 27 Assault on Port Hudson; USS-Indianola
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 John Griscom LTC Thomas Tennant SPC Michael TerrellSPC Robert Treat GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad GySgt Jack Wallace PO1 Sam Deel LTC David Brown LTC (Join to see) SFC Eric Harmon SSG Bill McCoySPC (Join to see)
1863 Sketch Map of Port Hudson Morning Attack One;1863 May 27 Assault on Port Hudson; USS-Indianola
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 John Griscom LTC Thomas Tennant SPC Michael TerrellSPC Robert Treat GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad GySgt Jack Wallace PO1 Sam Deel LTC David Brown LTC (Join to see) SFC Eric Harmon SSG Bill McCoySPC (Join to see)
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SFC William Farrell
Will do my usual thing at City Hall LTC Stephen F. paying my respects. The flag pole at my house is at half staff in memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Best to you all.
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LTC Stephen F.
Than you my friend SFC William Farrell for letting us know that you honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice by lowering the national colors to half mast on Memorial Day.
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