Posted on Dec 28, 2016
What was the most significant event on September 26 during the U.S. Civil War?
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In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln declared a day of national prayer and fasting. All offices and businesses are closed. Of course, the Confederacy ignored this act.
The impact of weather was significant during the civil war. Rains turned mud-roads into a molasses-like slurry. Lightning at night illuminated early battlefield scenes as the dead and dying were cast in a ghostly glow. Spring thaws would alternately turn creeks and rivers into swollen and dangerous water obstacles.
In 1861, the cold driving rains turned the dirt roads of western Virginia to a muddy morass which significantly affected CSA General Robert E. Lee’s Army of the Kanawha and Maj Gen Cox’s Union troops along Big Sewell Mountain.
The US Navy blockade of the southern ports had a heavy demand for coal. Sailing ships were near-to-useless on the open see as Confederate blockade runners could easily outrun them. Therefore, by late 1862 the Union gunned sailing ships were deployed in the mouths of the major rivers. The coal burning gunboats were deployed further out to sea because they were able to engage the blockade runners at speed. Keeping the cola burners supplied with coal was a challenge. Coal barges were slow moving but generally efficient. Admiral Samuel duPont wanted to be able to use 1,000 ton coal transport vessels to resupply the blockade ships.
In 1861, “General John C. Fremont’s plan to organize and move the Army of the West from various points in Missouri to Lexington was creating a plethora of logistical problems. [Maj Gen John] Pope, commanding the right wing of the army, wasn’t even in the state. He had been ordered by Fremont to Iowa to raise more troops. Fremont then ordered him to report to Booneville (Missouri) where two regiments were waiting for him. It would take Pope a few days to arrive.
General Hunter, commanding the left wing, received word of which regiments would be a part of his division. Fremont, however, neglected to note whether the regiments were to report directly to Hunter, and if so, where. Rations for Hunter’s Division, as well as other divisions, were also neglected.
While Hunter was at Jefferson City, one of his brigades was sixty-five miles south, at Rolla. There were rumors of 4,000 Rebels at Linn Creek, seventy miles west of Rolla. If Hunter’s troops were to come to him at Jefferson City, it would leave those Rebels to do what they pleased. Since Fremont appeared to be on the move in the direction of Rolla, Hunter offered up the idea that Fremont take command of the brigade and move on Linn Creek. Fremont may have been of the opinion that the division commanders would take care of the details of gathering, feeding and restoring to working order, all of the troops. His Army of the West, however, was spread out all over central Missouri and would take time to bring itself together. Time was a luxury that General Fremont didn’t have.”
In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln argues in favor of colonizing the freed slaves. “The Emancipation Proclamation would not immediately free all that many slaves. That did not mean, however, that it wouldn’t be one of the first steps in freeing all of them. In whatever way it was accomplished, something had to be done with the 3.5 million slaves living in the south.”
In 1863, at the “age of 70, Samuel "Sam" Houston dies in Huntsville, Texas. He was a nineteenth-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He is best known for his leading role in bringing Texas into the United States. In 1827, Houston was elected Governor of Tennessee, and was elected as the first and third President of the Republic of Texas, U.S. Senator for Texas after it joined the United States, and finally as a governor of the state. Houston became the only person to have become the governor of two different U.S. states through direct, popular election, as well as the only state governor to have been a foreign head of state. He never believed Texas should have left the Union.”
In 1864, CSA president Jefferson Davis arrived to set CSA General John Bell Hood straight. “Things were not going well for John Bell Hood. After taking the reigns of the Confederate Army of Tennessee from Joe Johnston after being sacked by Jefferson Davis, he continually dropped back, retreating through northern Georgia to Atlanta. Not too long after, Hood abandoned Atlanta and retired even farther south.
This relative lull following the retreat gave Hood time to reflect upon just which of his generals he wished to be removed. The choice was simple – since he had never liked William Hardee, it was William Hardee who must be relocated. While Hardee was grumpy that Hood had been promoted over his head, Hood blamed not only the loss of Atlanta on Hardee, but also the defeats at Peachtree Creek and Jonesboro.
Into this quagmire rode Jefferson Davis, called from Richmond by a few of Hood’s officers who were greatly worried about the army’s morale. Davis understood that he might, yet again, have to decide upon a replacement general to helm the western army. Since Johnston had been the last out, he was clearly not the choice – besides, Davis had personally seen to his dismissal, and it would seem too much like an admission of guilt.
Davis arrived at Hood’s headquarters in Palmetto on the 25th and would settle in with the army for three days. According to Hood, on the morning of this date, “we rode forth together to the front, with the object of making an informal review of the troops. Some brigades received the President with enthusiasm; others were seemingly dissatisfied, and inclined to cry out, ‘give us General Johnston.’ I regretted I should have been the cause of this uncourteous reception to His Excellency; at the same time, I could recall no offense save that of having insisted that they should fight for and hold Atlanta forty-six days, whereas they had previously retreated one hundred miles within sixty-six days.”
But William Hardee had also caught the President’s ear, telling him a much different history of the past 100 days. It was Hood who had urged Johnston to retreat again and again. He insisted that Hood be replaced, and suggested Johnston, probably knowing that Davis wasn’t going to bite. In the search for who would be the least-worst general, Davis’ mind had made an exasperated turn back to P.G.T. Beauregard. Hardee didn’t disagree. Mostly, however, Hardee wanted either himself or Hood gone from the army. It was not big enough for the both of them.
Through all of this, Hood wanted to actually do something with the army. Hood maintained that “our only hope to checkmate Sherman was to assume the offensive, cut the enemy’s communications, select a position on or near the Alabama line in proximity to Blue Mountain Railroad, and there give him battle. Should the enemy move south, I could as easily from that point as from Palmetto, follow upon his rear, if that policy should be deemed preferable.”
But Hood believed that a move to the Alabama line would actually force Sherman to leave Atlanta, causing him to divide his army, sending a portion back to Tennessee. Nearly certain that his enemy would do as he wanted, he was just a certain that he could destroy the portion sent back to protect Tennessee. Once vanquished, he would “regain our lost territory, reinspirit the troops, and bring hope again to the hearts of our people.”
An offensive, Hood continued, was just what the army need to improve morale. As it now stood the army “was totally unfit for pitched battle,” and his new plan “offered the sole chance to avert disaster.”
Davis would consider this, leaving in the meantime to visit other portions of Hood’s department. There was much to decide. Would it be Hardee and Beauregard? Hood minus Hardee? Or some other unthought of combination? Did he only chance of truly averting disaster really lie in a glorified raid into Tennessee? It would take Davis less than two days to come to a conclusion – not because the decision was so important, but because his choices were so few.”
http://civilwardailygazette.com/davis-arrives-to-set-hood-straight/
Pictures: 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign; coal barges; 1861-09-26 President Abraham Lincoln ordered this day to be a day of “fasting, humiliation and prayer; 1862-09-26 Membership certificate in the Colonization Society
A. 1861: A day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer. President Abraham Lincoln ordered this day to be a day of “fasting, humiliation and prayer.” This was a day for the people of the Union to offer “fervent supplications to Almighty God for the safety and welfare of these States, his blessings on their arms, and a speedy restoration to peace.” All Federal offices and businesses were closed. However, it was not a day of rest in the Confederacy, which resulting in fights and skirmishes in Fort Thorn, New Mexico Territory; Hunter’s Farm, near Belmont, Missouri; and at the mouth of the Muddy River in Kentucky.
B. 1862: The Dakota surrender and release their captives three days after the critical defeat of the Dakota forces at Battle of Wood Lake. Military commissions had been used earlier in the Civil War before their application in the aftermath of the Dakota War; in January 1862, General Halleck set up one such commission in the Department of Missouri.31 Just days before Sibley ordered the trials, newspapers across the country printed “Lincoln’s September 24th proclamation authorizing military commission trials of rebel insurgents and ‘their aiders and abettors.” Thus, in 1862, aided by the necessities of civil war, the military commission became the U.S. Army’s standard practice and Sibley’s chosen method to bring the Dakota to justice.
C. 1863: Relief operation for Chattanooga compromised. Although the move of Maj Gen Howard’s XI Corps and Maj Gen Slocum’s XII Corps from Virginia to Chattanooga was to be done with absolute secrecy, the New York Evening Post publishes, in complete detail, all the particulars of the movement of these troops to Chattanooga, even though neither corps had yet moved. A friend of President Abraham Lincoln’s reports that the President “was exceedingly angry.”
D. 1864: Federal Major General Phil Sheridan’s cavalry clashed with Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early’s cavalry around Port Republic, Weyer’s Cave and Brown’s Gap, Va., before they pulled out and left Early alone to restore his chaotic army. In Richmond, news of Early’s defeat gave rise to severe criticism of the Confederate government.
With Jubal Early damaged and pinned down, the Valley lay open to the Union. Sheridan pulled back slowly down the Valley and conducted a scorched earth campaign. The goal was to deny the Confederacy the means of feeding its armies in Virginia, and Sheridan's army did so aggressively, burning crops, barns, mills, and factories. The operation, conducted primarily from September 26 to October 8, has been known to locals ever since as "the Burning" or "Red October". It encompassed the area of Harrisonburg, Port Republic, Staunton and Waynesboro.
E. All the above; None of the above; or other [please explain] many other actions are mentioned in my response below.
FYI SGT Mark Anderson PO3 Edward Riddle Maj William W. 'Bill' Price COL (Join to see) SSgt David M.] SPC Maurice Evans SPC Jon O. SGT Jim ArnoldAmn Dale PreisachCW4 (Join to see) Sgt Jerry GenesioSSG (Join to see)LTC John Griscom LTC Thomas Tennant LTC David Brown LTC (Join to see) CWO3 (Join to see) SGT John " Mac " McConnell SFC (Join to see) CPL Ronald Keyes Jr
The impact of weather was significant during the civil war. Rains turned mud-roads into a molasses-like slurry. Lightning at night illuminated early battlefield scenes as the dead and dying were cast in a ghostly glow. Spring thaws would alternately turn creeks and rivers into swollen and dangerous water obstacles.
In 1861, the cold driving rains turned the dirt roads of western Virginia to a muddy morass which significantly affected CSA General Robert E. Lee’s Army of the Kanawha and Maj Gen Cox’s Union troops along Big Sewell Mountain.
The US Navy blockade of the southern ports had a heavy demand for coal. Sailing ships were near-to-useless on the open see as Confederate blockade runners could easily outrun them. Therefore, by late 1862 the Union gunned sailing ships were deployed in the mouths of the major rivers. The coal burning gunboats were deployed further out to sea because they were able to engage the blockade runners at speed. Keeping the cola burners supplied with coal was a challenge. Coal barges were slow moving but generally efficient. Admiral Samuel duPont wanted to be able to use 1,000 ton coal transport vessels to resupply the blockade ships.
In 1861, “General John C. Fremont’s plan to organize and move the Army of the West from various points in Missouri to Lexington was creating a plethora of logistical problems. [Maj Gen John] Pope, commanding the right wing of the army, wasn’t even in the state. He had been ordered by Fremont to Iowa to raise more troops. Fremont then ordered him to report to Booneville (Missouri) where two regiments were waiting for him. It would take Pope a few days to arrive.
General Hunter, commanding the left wing, received word of which regiments would be a part of his division. Fremont, however, neglected to note whether the regiments were to report directly to Hunter, and if so, where. Rations for Hunter’s Division, as well as other divisions, were also neglected.
While Hunter was at Jefferson City, one of his brigades was sixty-five miles south, at Rolla. There were rumors of 4,000 Rebels at Linn Creek, seventy miles west of Rolla. If Hunter’s troops were to come to him at Jefferson City, it would leave those Rebels to do what they pleased. Since Fremont appeared to be on the move in the direction of Rolla, Hunter offered up the idea that Fremont take command of the brigade and move on Linn Creek. Fremont may have been of the opinion that the division commanders would take care of the details of gathering, feeding and restoring to working order, all of the troops. His Army of the West, however, was spread out all over central Missouri and would take time to bring itself together. Time was a luxury that General Fremont didn’t have.”
In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln argues in favor of colonizing the freed slaves. “The Emancipation Proclamation would not immediately free all that many slaves. That did not mean, however, that it wouldn’t be one of the first steps in freeing all of them. In whatever way it was accomplished, something had to be done with the 3.5 million slaves living in the south.”
In 1863, at the “age of 70, Samuel "Sam" Houston dies in Huntsville, Texas. He was a nineteenth-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He is best known for his leading role in bringing Texas into the United States. In 1827, Houston was elected Governor of Tennessee, and was elected as the first and third President of the Republic of Texas, U.S. Senator for Texas after it joined the United States, and finally as a governor of the state. Houston became the only person to have become the governor of two different U.S. states through direct, popular election, as well as the only state governor to have been a foreign head of state. He never believed Texas should have left the Union.”
In 1864, CSA president Jefferson Davis arrived to set CSA General John Bell Hood straight. “Things were not going well for John Bell Hood. After taking the reigns of the Confederate Army of Tennessee from Joe Johnston after being sacked by Jefferson Davis, he continually dropped back, retreating through northern Georgia to Atlanta. Not too long after, Hood abandoned Atlanta and retired even farther south.
This relative lull following the retreat gave Hood time to reflect upon just which of his generals he wished to be removed. The choice was simple – since he had never liked William Hardee, it was William Hardee who must be relocated. While Hardee was grumpy that Hood had been promoted over his head, Hood blamed not only the loss of Atlanta on Hardee, but also the defeats at Peachtree Creek and Jonesboro.
Into this quagmire rode Jefferson Davis, called from Richmond by a few of Hood’s officers who were greatly worried about the army’s morale. Davis understood that he might, yet again, have to decide upon a replacement general to helm the western army. Since Johnston had been the last out, he was clearly not the choice – besides, Davis had personally seen to his dismissal, and it would seem too much like an admission of guilt.
Davis arrived at Hood’s headquarters in Palmetto on the 25th and would settle in with the army for three days. According to Hood, on the morning of this date, “we rode forth together to the front, with the object of making an informal review of the troops. Some brigades received the President with enthusiasm; others were seemingly dissatisfied, and inclined to cry out, ‘give us General Johnston.’ I regretted I should have been the cause of this uncourteous reception to His Excellency; at the same time, I could recall no offense save that of having insisted that they should fight for and hold Atlanta forty-six days, whereas they had previously retreated one hundred miles within sixty-six days.”
But William Hardee had also caught the President’s ear, telling him a much different history of the past 100 days. It was Hood who had urged Johnston to retreat again and again. He insisted that Hood be replaced, and suggested Johnston, probably knowing that Davis wasn’t going to bite. In the search for who would be the least-worst general, Davis’ mind had made an exasperated turn back to P.G.T. Beauregard. Hardee didn’t disagree. Mostly, however, Hardee wanted either himself or Hood gone from the army. It was not big enough for the both of them.
Through all of this, Hood wanted to actually do something with the army. Hood maintained that “our only hope to checkmate Sherman was to assume the offensive, cut the enemy’s communications, select a position on or near the Alabama line in proximity to Blue Mountain Railroad, and there give him battle. Should the enemy move south, I could as easily from that point as from Palmetto, follow upon his rear, if that policy should be deemed preferable.”
But Hood believed that a move to the Alabama line would actually force Sherman to leave Atlanta, causing him to divide his army, sending a portion back to Tennessee. Nearly certain that his enemy would do as he wanted, he was just a certain that he could destroy the portion sent back to protect Tennessee. Once vanquished, he would “regain our lost territory, reinspirit the troops, and bring hope again to the hearts of our people.”
An offensive, Hood continued, was just what the army need to improve morale. As it now stood the army “was totally unfit for pitched battle,” and his new plan “offered the sole chance to avert disaster.”
Davis would consider this, leaving in the meantime to visit other portions of Hood’s department. There was much to decide. Would it be Hardee and Beauregard? Hood minus Hardee? Or some other unthought of combination? Did he only chance of truly averting disaster really lie in a glorified raid into Tennessee? It would take Davis less than two days to come to a conclusion – not because the decision was so important, but because his choices were so few.”
http://civilwardailygazette.com/davis-arrives-to-set-hood-straight/
Pictures: 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign; coal barges; 1861-09-26 President Abraham Lincoln ordered this day to be a day of “fasting, humiliation and prayer; 1862-09-26 Membership certificate in the Colonization Society
A. 1861: A day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer. President Abraham Lincoln ordered this day to be a day of “fasting, humiliation and prayer.” This was a day for the people of the Union to offer “fervent supplications to Almighty God for the safety and welfare of these States, his blessings on their arms, and a speedy restoration to peace.” All Federal offices and businesses were closed. However, it was not a day of rest in the Confederacy, which resulting in fights and skirmishes in Fort Thorn, New Mexico Territory; Hunter’s Farm, near Belmont, Missouri; and at the mouth of the Muddy River in Kentucky.
B. 1862: The Dakota surrender and release their captives three days after the critical defeat of the Dakota forces at Battle of Wood Lake. Military commissions had been used earlier in the Civil War before their application in the aftermath of the Dakota War; in January 1862, General Halleck set up one such commission in the Department of Missouri.31 Just days before Sibley ordered the trials, newspapers across the country printed “Lincoln’s September 24th proclamation authorizing military commission trials of rebel insurgents and ‘their aiders and abettors.” Thus, in 1862, aided by the necessities of civil war, the military commission became the U.S. Army’s standard practice and Sibley’s chosen method to bring the Dakota to justice.
C. 1863: Relief operation for Chattanooga compromised. Although the move of Maj Gen Howard’s XI Corps and Maj Gen Slocum’s XII Corps from Virginia to Chattanooga was to be done with absolute secrecy, the New York Evening Post publishes, in complete detail, all the particulars of the movement of these troops to Chattanooga, even though neither corps had yet moved. A friend of President Abraham Lincoln’s reports that the President “was exceedingly angry.”
D. 1864: Federal Major General Phil Sheridan’s cavalry clashed with Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early’s cavalry around Port Republic, Weyer’s Cave and Brown’s Gap, Va., before they pulled out and left Early alone to restore his chaotic army. In Richmond, news of Early’s defeat gave rise to severe criticism of the Confederate government.
With Jubal Early damaged and pinned down, the Valley lay open to the Union. Sheridan pulled back slowly down the Valley and conducted a scorched earth campaign. The goal was to deny the Confederacy the means of feeding its armies in Virginia, and Sheridan's army did so aggressively, burning crops, barns, mills, and factories. The operation, conducted primarily from September 26 to October 8, has been known to locals ever since as "the Burning" or "Red October". It encompassed the area of Harrisonburg, Port Republic, Staunton and Waynesboro.
E. All the above; None of the above; or other [please explain] many other actions are mentioned in my response below.
FYI SGT Mark Anderson PO3 Edward Riddle Maj William W. 'Bill' Price COL (Join to see) SSgt David M.] SPC Maurice Evans SPC Jon O. SGT Jim ArnoldAmn Dale PreisachCW4 (Join to see) Sgt Jerry GenesioSSG (Join to see)LTC John Griscom LTC Thomas Tennant LTC David Brown LTC (Join to see) CWO3 (Join to see) SGT John " Mac " McConnell SFC (Join to see) CPL Ronald Keyes Jr
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Operational security in wartime is critical. In 1863 the New York Post published that troop movements were initiated to aid General Rosecrans in Chattanooga. Needless-to-say, President Abraham Lincoln and his advisors were furious at this breach of trust. Although the move of Maj Gen Howard’s XI Corps and Maj Gen Slocum’s XII Corps from Virginia to Chattanooga was to be done with absolute secrecy, the New York Evening Post published, in complete detail, all the particulars of the movement of these troops to Chattanooga.
“The New York Evening Post article was only one of several pieces of information that would eventually inform CSA Gen Robert E. Lee that the Army of the Potomac was diminished in number. Incredibly accurate reports from September 25th and 27th would make their way to Richmond by the 30th. “Recent information shows that two of Meade’s army corps are on the move,” reported a spy from Washington on the 25th, “large numbers of troops are at the cars, now loaded with cannon. There is no doubt as to the destination of these troops – part for Rosecrans, and perhaps for Burnside.”
It would not be until October 1st that Lee would claim to know for certain that the reports were true. Shortly after, he would make his next move.”
In 1864, after defeating CSA Lt Gen Jubal Early’s forces, Maj Gen Phil Sheridan began a campaign of burning out the Shenandoah Velley to deprive the confederacy. He made over 400 square miles of the Valley uninhabitable.
Thursday, September, 26, 1861: The cold, autumnal rains of Western Virginia. The cold Western Virginia rains fell in sheets upon both General Lee’s Army of the Kanawha and General Cox’s Union troops along Big Sewell Mountain. It was the rain that saw General Wise off on his trip to Richmond, effectively ending the feud and power struggle between him and General Floyd. With Wise gone, the entire Army could now act as a single unit under the command of General Lee.
The rains, however, stopped everything; turning roads to knee-deep mud and streams into rivers.
On the Union side, General Rosecrans, whose troops were still stuck on the wrong side of the swollen Gauley River at Carnifex Ferry, moved his command to Big Sewell. Being the commander of all Union forces in Western Virginia, he took direct command of Cox’s troops. It was here that General Rosecrans and General Lee stared each other down across a mile-wide valley. Each held a seemingly impregnable defensive position and each dared the other to attack.
Rosecrans came to the front in a hurry that beat his supply wagon by several days. He set up his headquarters, sharing a tent with General Cox. Accommodations being in short supply, Cox allowed Rosecrans to take his own cot, while Cox made a makeshift bed on the other side of the tent. Later that night, General Schenck, a brigade commander, arrived, and Cox made him feel at home with a bed consisting of several camp chairs lined up in a row. As Cox related: “Anything was better than lying on the damp ground in such a storm; but Schenck long remembered the aching weariness of that night, as he balanced upon the narrow and unstable supports which threatened to tumble him upon the ground at the least effort to change the position of stiffened body and limbs.” [1]
[1] Military Reminiscences of the Civil War, Volume 1 by Jacob Dolson Cox.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/the-confusion-of-fremonts-army/
Saturday, September 26, 1863: News Leak! Secretary of War Stanton raged like a lion, President Abraham Lincoln was exceedingly angry. “Following the battle of Chickamauga, the Union Army of the Cumberland, helmed by William Rosecrans, retreated back to Chattanooga, ducking behind the trenches and waiting for the Rebels to attack. General Braxton Bragg, commanding the Confederate Army of Tennessee, very slowly followed, while starting small wars with officers under his command.
To reinforce Rosecrans’ Army, Washington had undertaken a massive movement of troops. From the west, William Tecumseh Sherman was headed towards Chickamauga with 20,000. General Ambrose Burnside was supposed to be moving south from Knoxville with about that number, though he was tarrying far too long for anyone’s liking but his own. The most important and surprising movement, however, was that of the XI and XII Corps from the Army of the Potomac.
This required the rails to carry what would amount to 23,000 men (though there were only 15,000 at first) from Virginia, through Alexandria, to Harpers Ferry, through West Virginia, across Ohio, down Kentucky, to Nashville, where they would make their way to Chattanooga. This move was of utmost secrecy. While there were no major Confederate forces opposing either Sherman or Burnside, General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was faced off across the Rapidan River against the Army of the Potomac. It was feared that if Lee found out, he would take full advantage.
Here, Noah Brooks continues the story. Brooks was a reporter for the Sacramento Daily Union (though mostly, he was a close friend to Lincoln and a Washington socialite).
In spite of a rigorous censorship of the wires, military matters did sometimes get out of Washington in the most inexplicable manner, eluding the stern authority in the telegraph office. When it was decided to reinforce Rosecrans, in 1863, with the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps of the Army of the Potomac, an officer of the War Department went to every newspaper correspondent in the city, and requested them, at the special desire of the President and the Secretary of War, not to make any mention of the proposed movement. The correspondents all agreed to this, and telegraphed or wrote to their newspapers not to refer to the matter, should it come to their knowledge in any way.
But one night (September 26) everybody was astonished by news from New York that the “Evening Post,” an unconditional supporter of the Administration, had published full particulars of the reinforcement of Rosecrans by the Eleventh and Twelfth Army Corps under Hooker. The Washington Sunday morning papers copied the intelligence, and a Philadelphia paper, saying that the news was “contraband,” suggested that the editors of the New York “Evening Post” should breakfast in Fort Lafayette.
It is a curious illustration of the muddled condition of things at that time, that the Monday morning papers in Washington discreetly held their peace, and printed not a word of news or comment concerning the whole affair. The “Evening Post “explained its position by saying that its Washington correspondent was not responsible for the “rumors” which had appeared in its Saturday edition, and that the paper had been imposed upon by others. When this comical imbroglio began, the Washington correspondents were in despair. Stanton raged like a lion, and Lincoln, I am bound to say, was exceedingly angry.
Lincoln had every reason to be angry. For the most part, the troops had not yet left the station. The XI Corps was in Alexandria, while the XII was still near the Rappahannock River.
To the south, General Lee had already caught rumors of the troop movements, but mistook them for reinforcements coming to the Army of the Potomac. Over the next few days, he held to that belief. It wouldn’t be until the 28th that he began to doubt it. On the 30th, as we shall see, he became partially convinced due to information he received “under the date of the 26th of September,” that detailed the move.
The New York Evening Post article was only one of several pieces of information that would eventually inform Lee that the Army of the Potomac was diminished in number. Incredibly accurate reports from September 25th and 27th would make their way to Richmond by the 30th.
“Recent information shows that two of Meade’s army corps are on the move,” reported a spy from Washington on the 25th, “large numbers of troops are at the cars, now loaded with cannon. There is no doubt as to the destination of these troops – part for Rosecrans, and perhaps for Burnside.”
It would not be until October 1st that Lee would claim to know for certain that the reports were true. Shortly after, he would make his next move. [1]
[1] Sources: Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 29, Part 2, p758, 759, 768; Lincoln and the Press by Robert S. Harper; Washington in Lincoln’s Time by Noah Brooks.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/news-leak-stanton-raged-like-a-lion-lincoln-was-exceedingly-angry/
Below are several journal entries from 1861, 1862, 1863 and 1864 which shed light on what life was like for soldiers and civilians – the good, the bad and the ugly. … I am including journal entries from Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, "Crocker's Brigade," Sixth Division of the Seventeenth Corps, Army of the Tennessee for each year. I have been spending some time researching Civil War journals and diaries and editing them to fit into this series of Civil War discussions.
Thursday, September, 26, 1861: Journal of Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, "Crocker's Brigade," Sixth Division of the Seventeenth Corps, Army of the Tennessee. “We had no drill today. Instead of drilling all went to meeting. President Lincoln issued a proclamation asking that the day be observed as a day of fasting and prayer, and our company attended service twice today, in a body. The war has cast a gloom over the whole country; people are beginning to believe that it will be a long siege before it is over with.”
Friday, September 26, 1862: Journal of Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, "Crocker's Brigade," Sixth Division of the Seventeenth Corps, Army of the Tennessee. “I was on fatigue duty down in town today, helping to dismount the guns and load them with the ammunition upon the cars to be shipped to Corinth. We are preparing to leave Iuka as soon as possible, but it is slow work, as the railroad is in bad shape, and there is only one train a day.”
Saturday, September 26, 1863: Journal of Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, "Crocker's Brigade," Sixth Division of the Seventeenth Corps, Army of the Tennessee. “There is still some shaking with the ague among the boys, but the health of our regiment is gaining slowly. We have no drill in camp at present, but we are on duty almost every day, our routine running as follows : Picket duty every other day, and the alternating days on fatigue duty either in Vicksburg or in camp, and then, once a week for twenty-four hours at a time, we are on provost duty in Vicksburg.
Monday, September 26, 1864: Journal of Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, "Crocker's Brigade," Sixth Division of the Seventeenth Corps, Army of the Tennessee.”
Pictures: 1864-09 Sergeant Conrad Schmidt, Company K, born in Germany, rescues his regimental commander, Capt. Theophilus Rodenbough 19 September, 1864 at Winchester Virginia; 1864-09 MG Phil Sheridan’s cavalry scorched earth; 1862-09-26 Dakota War Map [Map by Philip Schwartzberg, courtesy Pond Dakota Heritage Society; “The Dakota Conflict--A Brief Chronology,” Minnesota’s Heritage, vol. 1 (January 2010)]; 1864 Major General Phil Sheridan on horseback
A. Thursday, September, 26, 1861: A day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer. President Abraham Lincoln ordered this day to be a day of “fasting, humiliation and prayer.” This was a day for the people of the Union to offer “fervent supplications to Almighty God for the safety and welfare of these States, his blessings on their arms, and a speedy restoration to peace.” All Federal offices and businesses were closed. However, it was not a day of rest in the Confederacy, which resulting in fights and skirmishes in Fort Thorn, New Mexico Territory; Hunter’s Farm, near Belmont, Missouri; and at the mouth of the Muddy River in Kentucky.
B. Friday, September 26, 1862: The Dakota surrender and release their captives three days after the critical defeat of the Dakota forces at Battle of Wood Lake. Military commissions had been used earlier in the Civil War before their application in the aftermath of the Dakota War; in January 1862, General Halleck set up one such commission in the Department of Missouri.31 Just days before Sibley ordered the trials, newspapers across the country printed “Lincoln’s September 24th proclamation authorizing military commission trials of rebel insurgents and ‘their aiders and abettors.” Thus, in 1862, aided by the necessities of civil war, the military commission became the U.S. Army’s standard practice and Sibley’s chosen method to bring the Dakota to justice.
C. Saturday, September 26, 1863: Relief operation for Chattanooga compromised. Although the move of Maj Gen Howard’s XI Corps and Maj Gen Slocum’s XII Corps from Virginia to Chattanooga was to be done with absolute secrecy, the New York Evening Post publishes, in complete detail, all the particulars of the movement of these troops to Chattanooga, even though neither corps had yet moved. A friend of President Abraham Lincoln’s reports that the President “was exceedingly angry.”
D. Monday, September 26, 1864: Federal Major General Phil Sheridan’s cavalry clashed with Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early’s cavalry around Port Republic, Weyer’s Cave and Brown’s Gap, Va., before they pulled out and left Early alone to restore his chaotic army. In Richmond, news of Early’s defeat gave rise to severe criticism of the Confederate government.
With Jubal Early damaged and pinned down, the Valley lay open to the Union. And because of Sherman's capture of Atlanta, Lincoln's re-election now seemed assured. Sheridan pulled back slowly down the Valley and conducted a scorched earth campaign that would foreshadow Sherman's March to the Sea in November. The goal was to deny the Confederacy the means of feeding its armies in Virginia, and Sheridan's army did so aggressively, burning crops, barns, mills, and factories. The operation, conducted primarily from September 26 to October 8, has been known to locals ever since as "the Burning" or "Red October". It encompassed the area of Harrisonburg, Port Republic, Staunton and Waynesboro.
Phil Sheridan made over 400 square miles of the Valley uninhabitable.
E. All the above; None of the above; or other [please explain] many other actions are mentioned in my response below.
1. Thursday, September, 26, 1861: The confusion of Major General John C. Fremont’s Army. “General John C. Fremont’s plan to organize and move the Army of the West from various points in Missouri to Lexington was creating a plethora of logistical problems. General Pope, commanding the right wing of the army, wasn’t even in the state. He had been ordered by Fremont to Iowa to raise more troops. Fremont then ordered him to report to Booneville (Missouri) where two regiments were waiting for him. It would take Pope a few days to arrive.
General Hunter, commanding the left wing, received word of which regiments would be a part of his division. Fremont, however, neglected to note whether the regiments were to report directly to Hunter, and if so, where. Rations for Hunter’s Division, as well as other divisions, were also neglected.
While Hunter was at Jefferson City, one of his brigades was sixty-five miles south, at Rolla. There were rumors of 4,000 Rebels at Linn Creek, seventy miles west of Rolla. If Hunter’s troops were to come to him at Jefferson City, it would leave those Rebels to do what they pleased. Since Fremont appeared to be on the move in the direction of Rolla, Hunter offered up the idea that Fremont take command of the brigade and move on Linn Creek. [1]
Fremont may have been of the opinion that the division commanders would take care of the details of gathering, feeding and restoring to working order, all of the troops. His Army of the West, however, was spread out all over central Missouri and would take time to bring itself together. Time was a luxury that General Fremont didn’t have.”
[1] Report of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, Part III, p236.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/the-confusion-of-fremonts-army/
2. Thursday, September, 26, 1861: Lucas Bend, Kentucky - On September 26, a Confederate force, commanded by Brig. Gen. Simon B. Buckner, arrived near Lucas Bend. At the mouth of the Muddy River, the Federals had controlled some river locks. The Federals abandoned their position after seeing that they were outnumbered. Buckner had his men destroy the locks.
http://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/1861s.html
3. Friday, September 26, 1862: Samuel duPont --yes, he was one of the Delaware duPont’s, of munitions-making and later chemical manufacturing fame had risen recently to the rank of rear admiral, had an idea of a floating fuel depot. He ordered a large “coal hulk” to be fitted with a hoist. When full, the ship would hold 1000 tons of coal. With the hoist, it was vastly easier for other ships to simply pull up to this vessel for refueling. The first of these ships went into service today off the coast of Charleston, S. C., greatly increasing efficiency for both the blockade and the several campaigns of attack on the harbor and town.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-b/part-seventy-six
4. Friday, September 26, 1862: President Abraham Lincoln argues in favor of colonizing the freed slaves. “The Emancipation Proclamation would not immediately free all that many slaves. That did not mean, however, that it wouldn’t be one of the first steps in freeing all of them. In whatever way it was accomplished, something had to be done with the 3.5 million slaves living in the south.
Since Lincoln took office, Cabinet meeting after Cabinet meeting had been held on this very topic. This was no mere idle banter. Congress, in April and July of 1862, appropriated $600,000 to find the freed slaves (and, in fact, all persons of color) a place to live, should they wish to leave. The only stipulation, it seems, was that it should be somewhere warm and not on American soil.
Lincoln did not back away from such talk. Quite the opposite, he had long been in favor of colonizing the black population. Long a follower of Henry Clay, Lincoln spoke highly of Clay’s plan of “returning to Africa her children.” Even in his 1860 Cooper Union speech, Lincoln called for the voluntary colonization of blacks so that their jobs could be filled by white laborers.
Before the war hardly got underway, an interesting plan had developed; one that, at first, seemed to have nothing to do with freed slaves. The idea was fostered by Philadelphia businessman Ambrose Thompson, and involved the area around Chiriqui, Panama, an area rich in coal. The government of Central America was apparently offering this land to the United States. This deal was one left over from the Buchanan administration. Secretaries Caleb Smith and Montgomery Blair both urged Lincoln to take Thompson up on the offer.
Naval Secretary Gideon Welles, who related much of this tale in his diary, was coaxed to enter into a coal contract with Thompson’s corporation. Welles considered it, but soon came to the conclusion that the whole deal was a scam. Smith, however, thought it a great idea and wanted the Navy to jump on the coal contract before some other nation did.
Lincoln thought so too, and even though it was brought up two or three times, nothing came of it. That is, until the Emancipation Proclamation forced all to try to figure out what to do with the freed slaves.
Caleb Smith was the first to combine the two. What if, proposed the Secretary of the Interior, the freed slaves were made miners in Central America? With Thompson on board, Gideon Welles was approached to offer up a paltry $50,000 as start up money.
Welles was a bit suspicious. $50,000 for coal not yet mined? Besides, nobody was really sure how many slaves would be freed or when they might be available for this new labor. The money, it seemed to Welles, was going directly into Thompson’s pockets with little promise of any return.
Most others in the Cabinet agreed with Welles. The idea wreaked of fraud. Nevertheless, Smith and the President both pushed it. As it turned out, the government of Costa Rica (who owned the land) was even less in favor of the Chiriqui plan than Welles. The deal fell through.
But the subject was not dropped. The day after the Emancipation Proclamation was released, Lincoln brought it up again. Lincoln hoped that some sort of treaty with Costa Rica or some other country could be struck. According to Welles, Lincoln “thought it essential to provide an asylum for a race which we had emancipated, but which could never be recognized or admitted to be our equals.”
Most in the Cabinet agreed. Attorney General Edward Bates took an even harder stance. Most, including Lincoln, wanted the deportation to be voluntary – if the freed slaves wanted to leave the United States, a place would be provided,ball of their fees paidpaid. If they wanted to stay, that was their right. Bates argued that nobody of African lineage would voluntarily agree to deportation. They would have to be forcibly removed – an idea he fully supported.
Secretary Chase was more or less against colonization, but thought it would be a good way to get a foothold in Central America. Seward, the Secretary of State, like the treaty idea – that was his nature. However, he thought that with all the land the United States has, the freed slaves could be used as much-needed laborers here at home.
Lincoln adamantly spoke out against compulsory deportation. It must be voluntary and at no expense to the black population, he believed. After he again brought up the idea of a treaty, Secretary Welles reminded all that there was no need for a treaty. Anybody who wanted to leave the United States could do so any time they wanted to.
When they met again, on this date, all but Welles and Chase were in favor of treating with some country to remove the black population. [1]
[1] Sources: Diary of Gideon Welles; Diary of Salmon P. Chase; The Real Lincoln by Thomas J. DiLorenzo (used VERY sparingly); Colonization After Emancipation: Lincoln and the Movement for Black Resettlement by Phillip W. Magness; “Lincoln’s Plan for Colonizing the Emancipated Negros” by Charles H. Wesley.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/lincoln-argues-in-favor-of-colonizing-the-freed-slaves/
5. Friday, September 26, 1862: After the morning Cabinet meeting, Lincoln turned to other, equally strange, matter. A member of General-in-Chief Henry Halleck’s staff, Major John Key, was reported to have said something treasonous.
Major Levi Turner, another Union officer, asked Key’s opinion on why the whole Rebel army wasn’t bagged after Antietam. “That is not the game,” a sarcastic Key replied. “The object is that neither army shall get much advantage of the other; that both shall be kept in the field till they are exhausted, when we will make a compromise and save slavery.”
Major Key was the brother of a member of General George McClellan’s staff. Lincoln feared that Key’s thought was just one example of treasonous beliefs held by a number of other officers. If true, an example would have to be made of Key.
Lincoln took up his pen and wrote to Major Key: “I shall be very happy if you will, within twenty-four hours from the receipt of this, prove to me, by Major Turner, that you did not, either literally or in substance, make the answer stated.”
Both Key and Turner would appear before the President the next morning. [2]
[2] Sources: Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. 5; President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman by William Lee Miller.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/lincoln-argues-in-favor-of-colonizing-the-freed-slaves/
6. Saturday, September 26, 1863: President Lincoln and members of his administration are distressed that troop movements aiding General Rosecrans in Chattanooga are published in the New York Post.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-c/week-128
7. Saturday, September 26, 1863: At the age of 70, Samuel "Sam" Houston dies in Huntsville, Texas. He was a nineteenth-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He is best known for his leading role in bringing Texas into the United States. In 1827, Houston was elected Governor of Tennessee, and was elected as the first and third President of the Republic of Texas, U.S. Senator for Texas after it joined the United States, and finally as a governor of the state. Houston became the only person to have become the governor of two different U.S. states through direct, popular election, as well as the only state governor to have been a foreign head of state. He never believed Texas should have left the Union.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-c/week-128
8. Monday, September 26, 1864: Now back fighting in Missouri, General Price (CSA) heads toward Fort Davidson, but his goal is to seize St. Louis for the Confederacy. The Union, today using “contraband labor” or freed slaves, started work digging a canal on the James Rivers to bypass fortified Confederate defenses at Richmond.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/1864/week-181
A Thursday, September, 26, 1861: A Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer. President Abraham Lincoln ordered this day to be a day of “fasting, humiliation and prayer.” This was a day for the people of the Union to offer “fervent supplications to Almighty God for the safety and welfare of these States, his blessings on their arms, and a speedy restoration to peace.”
http://civilwardailygazette.com/the-confusion-of-fremonts-army/
A+ Thursday, September, 26, 1861: Abraham Lincoln declared a day of national prayer and fasting. All offices and businesses are closed. However, it was not a day of rest in the Confederacy, which resulting in fights and skirmishes in Fort Thorn, New Mexico Territory; Hunter’s Farm, near Belmont, Missouri; and at the mouth of the Muddy River in Kentucky.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-a/part-twenty-four
B Friday, September 26, 1862: The Dakota surrender and release their captives three days after the critical defeat of the Dakota forces at Battle of Wood Lake. Military commissions had been used earlier in the Civil War before their application in the aftermath of the Dakota War; in January 1862, General Halleck set up one such commission in the Department of Missouri.31 Just days before Sibley ordered the trials, newspapers across the country printed “Lincoln’s September 24th proclamation authorizing military commission trials of rebel insurgents and ‘their aiders and abettors.” Thus, in 1862, aided by the necessities of civil war, the military commission became the U.S. Army’s standard practice and Sibley’s chosen method to bring the Dakota to justice.
http://ushistoryscene.com/article/civil-dakota-war/
C Saturday, September 26, 1863: President Lincoln and members of his Administration are distressed that troop movements aiding General Rosecrans in Chattanooga are published in the New York Post.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186309
C+ Saturday, September 26, 1863: Although the move of Howard’s XI Corps and Slocum’s XII Corps from Virginia to Chattanooga is to be done with absolute secrecy, the New York Evening Post publishes, in complete detail, all the particulars of the movement of these troops to Chattanooga, even though neither corps had yet moved. A friend of Lincoln’s reports that the President “was exceedingly angry.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=September+26%2C+1863
Monday, September 26, 1864: Major General Philip Henry Sheridan’s Union forces attacks General Early’s men in the Blue Ridge Mountains at Port Republic and Weyer's Cave, Virginia. Sheridan’s troops are burning barns, fields, houses, and anything of use to the South.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/1864/week-181
D Monday, September 26, 1864: Federal Major General Phil Sheridan’s cavalry clashed with Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early’s cavalry around Port Republic, Weyer’s Cave and Brown’s Gap, Va., before they pulled out and left Early alone to restore his chaotic army. In Richmond, news of Early’s defeat gave rise to severe criticism of the Confederate government.
http://www.kimballarea.com/newsx/local-history/39144-this-week-in-the-american-civil-war-sept-21-27-1864
D+ Monday, September 26, 1864: With Jubal Early damaged and pinned down, the Valley lay open to the Union. And because of Sherman's capture of Atlanta, Lincoln's re-election now seemed assured. Sheridan pulled back slowly down the Valley and conducted a scorched earth campaign that would foreshadow Sherman's March to the Sea in November. The goal was to deny the Confederacy the means of feeding its armies in Virginia, and Sheridan's army did so aggressively, burning crops, barns, mills, and factories. The operation, conducted primarily from September 26 to October 8, has been known to locals ever since as "the Burning" or "Red October". It encompassed the area of Harrisonburg, Port Republic, Staunton and Waynesboro.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cedar_Creek
D++ Monday, September 26, 1864: In September, Sheridan defeated Jubal Early’s smaller force at Third Winchester, and again at Fisher’s Hill. Then he began “The Burning” – destroying barns, mills, railroads, factories – destroying resources for which the Confederacy had a dire need. He made over 400 square miles of the Valley uninhabitable. “The Burning” foreshadowed William Tecumseh Sherman’s “March to the Sea”: another campaign to deny resources to the Confederacy as well as bring the war home to its civilians.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/phillip-sheridan.html
FYI GySgt Jack Wallace CWO4 Terrence Clark SMSgt Lawrence McCarter LTC Trent Klug SFC Bernard WalkoSSG Franklin Briant SSG Byron Howard Sr CPL Ronald Keyes Jr SFC William Farrell CMDCM John F. "Doc" Bradshaw SPC Lyle MontgomeryPO2 Marco MonsalveSPC Woody Bullard SSG Michael Noll SSG Bill McCoy SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTMSgt Christopher Collins SPC (Join to see) SPC Gary C. PO3 Lynn Spalding
“The New York Evening Post article was only one of several pieces of information that would eventually inform CSA Gen Robert E. Lee that the Army of the Potomac was diminished in number. Incredibly accurate reports from September 25th and 27th would make their way to Richmond by the 30th. “Recent information shows that two of Meade’s army corps are on the move,” reported a spy from Washington on the 25th, “large numbers of troops are at the cars, now loaded with cannon. There is no doubt as to the destination of these troops – part for Rosecrans, and perhaps for Burnside.”
It would not be until October 1st that Lee would claim to know for certain that the reports were true. Shortly after, he would make his next move.”
In 1864, after defeating CSA Lt Gen Jubal Early’s forces, Maj Gen Phil Sheridan began a campaign of burning out the Shenandoah Velley to deprive the confederacy. He made over 400 square miles of the Valley uninhabitable.
Thursday, September, 26, 1861: The cold, autumnal rains of Western Virginia. The cold Western Virginia rains fell in sheets upon both General Lee’s Army of the Kanawha and General Cox’s Union troops along Big Sewell Mountain. It was the rain that saw General Wise off on his trip to Richmond, effectively ending the feud and power struggle between him and General Floyd. With Wise gone, the entire Army could now act as a single unit under the command of General Lee.
The rains, however, stopped everything; turning roads to knee-deep mud and streams into rivers.
On the Union side, General Rosecrans, whose troops were still stuck on the wrong side of the swollen Gauley River at Carnifex Ferry, moved his command to Big Sewell. Being the commander of all Union forces in Western Virginia, he took direct command of Cox’s troops. It was here that General Rosecrans and General Lee stared each other down across a mile-wide valley. Each held a seemingly impregnable defensive position and each dared the other to attack.
Rosecrans came to the front in a hurry that beat his supply wagon by several days. He set up his headquarters, sharing a tent with General Cox. Accommodations being in short supply, Cox allowed Rosecrans to take his own cot, while Cox made a makeshift bed on the other side of the tent. Later that night, General Schenck, a brigade commander, arrived, and Cox made him feel at home with a bed consisting of several camp chairs lined up in a row. As Cox related: “Anything was better than lying on the damp ground in such a storm; but Schenck long remembered the aching weariness of that night, as he balanced upon the narrow and unstable supports which threatened to tumble him upon the ground at the least effort to change the position of stiffened body and limbs.” [1]
[1] Military Reminiscences of the Civil War, Volume 1 by Jacob Dolson Cox.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/the-confusion-of-fremonts-army/
Saturday, September 26, 1863: News Leak! Secretary of War Stanton raged like a lion, President Abraham Lincoln was exceedingly angry. “Following the battle of Chickamauga, the Union Army of the Cumberland, helmed by William Rosecrans, retreated back to Chattanooga, ducking behind the trenches and waiting for the Rebels to attack. General Braxton Bragg, commanding the Confederate Army of Tennessee, very slowly followed, while starting small wars with officers under his command.
To reinforce Rosecrans’ Army, Washington had undertaken a massive movement of troops. From the west, William Tecumseh Sherman was headed towards Chickamauga with 20,000. General Ambrose Burnside was supposed to be moving south from Knoxville with about that number, though he was tarrying far too long for anyone’s liking but his own. The most important and surprising movement, however, was that of the XI and XII Corps from the Army of the Potomac.
This required the rails to carry what would amount to 23,000 men (though there were only 15,000 at first) from Virginia, through Alexandria, to Harpers Ferry, through West Virginia, across Ohio, down Kentucky, to Nashville, where they would make their way to Chattanooga. This move was of utmost secrecy. While there were no major Confederate forces opposing either Sherman or Burnside, General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was faced off across the Rapidan River against the Army of the Potomac. It was feared that if Lee found out, he would take full advantage.
Here, Noah Brooks continues the story. Brooks was a reporter for the Sacramento Daily Union (though mostly, he was a close friend to Lincoln and a Washington socialite).
In spite of a rigorous censorship of the wires, military matters did sometimes get out of Washington in the most inexplicable manner, eluding the stern authority in the telegraph office. When it was decided to reinforce Rosecrans, in 1863, with the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps of the Army of the Potomac, an officer of the War Department went to every newspaper correspondent in the city, and requested them, at the special desire of the President and the Secretary of War, not to make any mention of the proposed movement. The correspondents all agreed to this, and telegraphed or wrote to their newspapers not to refer to the matter, should it come to their knowledge in any way.
But one night (September 26) everybody was astonished by news from New York that the “Evening Post,” an unconditional supporter of the Administration, had published full particulars of the reinforcement of Rosecrans by the Eleventh and Twelfth Army Corps under Hooker. The Washington Sunday morning papers copied the intelligence, and a Philadelphia paper, saying that the news was “contraband,” suggested that the editors of the New York “Evening Post” should breakfast in Fort Lafayette.
It is a curious illustration of the muddled condition of things at that time, that the Monday morning papers in Washington discreetly held their peace, and printed not a word of news or comment concerning the whole affair. The “Evening Post “explained its position by saying that its Washington correspondent was not responsible for the “rumors” which had appeared in its Saturday edition, and that the paper had been imposed upon by others. When this comical imbroglio began, the Washington correspondents were in despair. Stanton raged like a lion, and Lincoln, I am bound to say, was exceedingly angry.
Lincoln had every reason to be angry. For the most part, the troops had not yet left the station. The XI Corps was in Alexandria, while the XII was still near the Rappahannock River.
To the south, General Lee had already caught rumors of the troop movements, but mistook them for reinforcements coming to the Army of the Potomac. Over the next few days, he held to that belief. It wouldn’t be until the 28th that he began to doubt it. On the 30th, as we shall see, he became partially convinced due to information he received “under the date of the 26th of September,” that detailed the move.
The New York Evening Post article was only one of several pieces of information that would eventually inform Lee that the Army of the Potomac was diminished in number. Incredibly accurate reports from September 25th and 27th would make their way to Richmond by the 30th.
“Recent information shows that two of Meade’s army corps are on the move,” reported a spy from Washington on the 25th, “large numbers of troops are at the cars, now loaded with cannon. There is no doubt as to the destination of these troops – part for Rosecrans, and perhaps for Burnside.”
It would not be until October 1st that Lee would claim to know for certain that the reports were true. Shortly after, he would make his next move. [1]
[1] Sources: Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 29, Part 2, p758, 759, 768; Lincoln and the Press by Robert S. Harper; Washington in Lincoln’s Time by Noah Brooks.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/news-leak-stanton-raged-like-a-lion-lincoln-was-exceedingly-angry/
Below are several journal entries from 1861, 1862, 1863 and 1864 which shed light on what life was like for soldiers and civilians – the good, the bad and the ugly. … I am including journal entries from Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, "Crocker's Brigade," Sixth Division of the Seventeenth Corps, Army of the Tennessee for each year. I have been spending some time researching Civil War journals and diaries and editing them to fit into this series of Civil War discussions.
Thursday, September, 26, 1861: Journal of Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, "Crocker's Brigade," Sixth Division of the Seventeenth Corps, Army of the Tennessee. “We had no drill today. Instead of drilling all went to meeting. President Lincoln issued a proclamation asking that the day be observed as a day of fasting and prayer, and our company attended service twice today, in a body. The war has cast a gloom over the whole country; people are beginning to believe that it will be a long siege before it is over with.”
Friday, September 26, 1862: Journal of Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, "Crocker's Brigade," Sixth Division of the Seventeenth Corps, Army of the Tennessee. “I was on fatigue duty down in town today, helping to dismount the guns and load them with the ammunition upon the cars to be shipped to Corinth. We are preparing to leave Iuka as soon as possible, but it is slow work, as the railroad is in bad shape, and there is only one train a day.”
Saturday, September 26, 1863: Journal of Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, "Crocker's Brigade," Sixth Division of the Seventeenth Corps, Army of the Tennessee. “There is still some shaking with the ague among the boys, but the health of our regiment is gaining slowly. We have no drill in camp at present, but we are on duty almost every day, our routine running as follows : Picket duty every other day, and the alternating days on fatigue duty either in Vicksburg or in camp, and then, once a week for twenty-four hours at a time, we are on provost duty in Vicksburg.
Monday, September 26, 1864: Journal of Sergeant Alexander G. Downing, Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry, Third Brigade, "Crocker's Brigade," Sixth Division of the Seventeenth Corps, Army of the Tennessee.”
Pictures: 1864-09 Sergeant Conrad Schmidt, Company K, born in Germany, rescues his regimental commander, Capt. Theophilus Rodenbough 19 September, 1864 at Winchester Virginia; 1864-09 MG Phil Sheridan’s cavalry scorched earth; 1862-09-26 Dakota War Map [Map by Philip Schwartzberg, courtesy Pond Dakota Heritage Society; “The Dakota Conflict--A Brief Chronology,” Minnesota’s Heritage, vol. 1 (January 2010)]; 1864 Major General Phil Sheridan on horseback
A. Thursday, September, 26, 1861: A day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer. President Abraham Lincoln ordered this day to be a day of “fasting, humiliation and prayer.” This was a day for the people of the Union to offer “fervent supplications to Almighty God for the safety and welfare of these States, his blessings on their arms, and a speedy restoration to peace.” All Federal offices and businesses were closed. However, it was not a day of rest in the Confederacy, which resulting in fights and skirmishes in Fort Thorn, New Mexico Territory; Hunter’s Farm, near Belmont, Missouri; and at the mouth of the Muddy River in Kentucky.
B. Friday, September 26, 1862: The Dakota surrender and release their captives three days after the critical defeat of the Dakota forces at Battle of Wood Lake. Military commissions had been used earlier in the Civil War before their application in the aftermath of the Dakota War; in January 1862, General Halleck set up one such commission in the Department of Missouri.31 Just days before Sibley ordered the trials, newspapers across the country printed “Lincoln’s September 24th proclamation authorizing military commission trials of rebel insurgents and ‘their aiders and abettors.” Thus, in 1862, aided by the necessities of civil war, the military commission became the U.S. Army’s standard practice and Sibley’s chosen method to bring the Dakota to justice.
C. Saturday, September 26, 1863: Relief operation for Chattanooga compromised. Although the move of Maj Gen Howard’s XI Corps and Maj Gen Slocum’s XII Corps from Virginia to Chattanooga was to be done with absolute secrecy, the New York Evening Post publishes, in complete detail, all the particulars of the movement of these troops to Chattanooga, even though neither corps had yet moved. A friend of President Abraham Lincoln’s reports that the President “was exceedingly angry.”
D. Monday, September 26, 1864: Federal Major General Phil Sheridan’s cavalry clashed with Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early’s cavalry around Port Republic, Weyer’s Cave and Brown’s Gap, Va., before they pulled out and left Early alone to restore his chaotic army. In Richmond, news of Early’s defeat gave rise to severe criticism of the Confederate government.
With Jubal Early damaged and pinned down, the Valley lay open to the Union. And because of Sherman's capture of Atlanta, Lincoln's re-election now seemed assured. Sheridan pulled back slowly down the Valley and conducted a scorched earth campaign that would foreshadow Sherman's March to the Sea in November. The goal was to deny the Confederacy the means of feeding its armies in Virginia, and Sheridan's army did so aggressively, burning crops, barns, mills, and factories. The operation, conducted primarily from September 26 to October 8, has been known to locals ever since as "the Burning" or "Red October". It encompassed the area of Harrisonburg, Port Republic, Staunton and Waynesboro.
Phil Sheridan made over 400 square miles of the Valley uninhabitable.
E. All the above; None of the above; or other [please explain] many other actions are mentioned in my response below.
1. Thursday, September, 26, 1861: The confusion of Major General John C. Fremont’s Army. “General John C. Fremont’s plan to organize and move the Army of the West from various points in Missouri to Lexington was creating a plethora of logistical problems. General Pope, commanding the right wing of the army, wasn’t even in the state. He had been ordered by Fremont to Iowa to raise more troops. Fremont then ordered him to report to Booneville (Missouri) where two regiments were waiting for him. It would take Pope a few days to arrive.
General Hunter, commanding the left wing, received word of which regiments would be a part of his division. Fremont, however, neglected to note whether the regiments were to report directly to Hunter, and if so, where. Rations for Hunter’s Division, as well as other divisions, were also neglected.
While Hunter was at Jefferson City, one of his brigades was sixty-five miles south, at Rolla. There were rumors of 4,000 Rebels at Linn Creek, seventy miles west of Rolla. If Hunter’s troops were to come to him at Jefferson City, it would leave those Rebels to do what they pleased. Since Fremont appeared to be on the move in the direction of Rolla, Hunter offered up the idea that Fremont take command of the brigade and move on Linn Creek. [1]
Fremont may have been of the opinion that the division commanders would take care of the details of gathering, feeding and restoring to working order, all of the troops. His Army of the West, however, was spread out all over central Missouri and would take time to bring itself together. Time was a luxury that General Fremont didn’t have.”
[1] Report of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, Part III, p236.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/the-confusion-of-fremonts-army/
2. Thursday, September, 26, 1861: Lucas Bend, Kentucky - On September 26, a Confederate force, commanded by Brig. Gen. Simon B. Buckner, arrived near Lucas Bend. At the mouth of the Muddy River, the Federals had controlled some river locks. The Federals abandoned their position after seeing that they were outnumbered. Buckner had his men destroy the locks.
http://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/1861s.html
3. Friday, September 26, 1862: Samuel duPont --yes, he was one of the Delaware duPont’s, of munitions-making and later chemical manufacturing fame had risen recently to the rank of rear admiral, had an idea of a floating fuel depot. He ordered a large “coal hulk” to be fitted with a hoist. When full, the ship would hold 1000 tons of coal. With the hoist, it was vastly easier for other ships to simply pull up to this vessel for refueling. The first of these ships went into service today off the coast of Charleston, S. C., greatly increasing efficiency for both the blockade and the several campaigns of attack on the harbor and town.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-b/part-seventy-six
4. Friday, September 26, 1862: President Abraham Lincoln argues in favor of colonizing the freed slaves. “The Emancipation Proclamation would not immediately free all that many slaves. That did not mean, however, that it wouldn’t be one of the first steps in freeing all of them. In whatever way it was accomplished, something had to be done with the 3.5 million slaves living in the south.
Since Lincoln took office, Cabinet meeting after Cabinet meeting had been held on this very topic. This was no mere idle banter. Congress, in April and July of 1862, appropriated $600,000 to find the freed slaves (and, in fact, all persons of color) a place to live, should they wish to leave. The only stipulation, it seems, was that it should be somewhere warm and not on American soil.
Lincoln did not back away from such talk. Quite the opposite, he had long been in favor of colonizing the black population. Long a follower of Henry Clay, Lincoln spoke highly of Clay’s plan of “returning to Africa her children.” Even in his 1860 Cooper Union speech, Lincoln called for the voluntary colonization of blacks so that their jobs could be filled by white laborers.
Before the war hardly got underway, an interesting plan had developed; one that, at first, seemed to have nothing to do with freed slaves. The idea was fostered by Philadelphia businessman Ambrose Thompson, and involved the area around Chiriqui, Panama, an area rich in coal. The government of Central America was apparently offering this land to the United States. This deal was one left over from the Buchanan administration. Secretaries Caleb Smith and Montgomery Blair both urged Lincoln to take Thompson up on the offer.
Naval Secretary Gideon Welles, who related much of this tale in his diary, was coaxed to enter into a coal contract with Thompson’s corporation. Welles considered it, but soon came to the conclusion that the whole deal was a scam. Smith, however, thought it a great idea and wanted the Navy to jump on the coal contract before some other nation did.
Lincoln thought so too, and even though it was brought up two or three times, nothing came of it. That is, until the Emancipation Proclamation forced all to try to figure out what to do with the freed slaves.
Caleb Smith was the first to combine the two. What if, proposed the Secretary of the Interior, the freed slaves were made miners in Central America? With Thompson on board, Gideon Welles was approached to offer up a paltry $50,000 as start up money.
Welles was a bit suspicious. $50,000 for coal not yet mined? Besides, nobody was really sure how many slaves would be freed or when they might be available for this new labor. The money, it seemed to Welles, was going directly into Thompson’s pockets with little promise of any return.
Most others in the Cabinet agreed with Welles. The idea wreaked of fraud. Nevertheless, Smith and the President both pushed it. As it turned out, the government of Costa Rica (who owned the land) was even less in favor of the Chiriqui plan than Welles. The deal fell through.
But the subject was not dropped. The day after the Emancipation Proclamation was released, Lincoln brought it up again. Lincoln hoped that some sort of treaty with Costa Rica or some other country could be struck. According to Welles, Lincoln “thought it essential to provide an asylum for a race which we had emancipated, but which could never be recognized or admitted to be our equals.”
Most in the Cabinet agreed. Attorney General Edward Bates took an even harder stance. Most, including Lincoln, wanted the deportation to be voluntary – if the freed slaves wanted to leave the United States, a place would be provided,ball of their fees paidpaid. If they wanted to stay, that was their right. Bates argued that nobody of African lineage would voluntarily agree to deportation. They would have to be forcibly removed – an idea he fully supported.
Secretary Chase was more or less against colonization, but thought it would be a good way to get a foothold in Central America. Seward, the Secretary of State, like the treaty idea – that was his nature. However, he thought that with all the land the United States has, the freed slaves could be used as much-needed laborers here at home.
Lincoln adamantly spoke out against compulsory deportation. It must be voluntary and at no expense to the black population, he believed. After he again brought up the idea of a treaty, Secretary Welles reminded all that there was no need for a treaty. Anybody who wanted to leave the United States could do so any time they wanted to.
When they met again, on this date, all but Welles and Chase were in favor of treating with some country to remove the black population. [1]
[1] Sources: Diary of Gideon Welles; Diary of Salmon P. Chase; The Real Lincoln by Thomas J. DiLorenzo (used VERY sparingly); Colonization After Emancipation: Lincoln and the Movement for Black Resettlement by Phillip W. Magness; “Lincoln’s Plan for Colonizing the Emancipated Negros” by Charles H. Wesley.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/lincoln-argues-in-favor-of-colonizing-the-freed-slaves/
5. Friday, September 26, 1862: After the morning Cabinet meeting, Lincoln turned to other, equally strange, matter. A member of General-in-Chief Henry Halleck’s staff, Major John Key, was reported to have said something treasonous.
Major Levi Turner, another Union officer, asked Key’s opinion on why the whole Rebel army wasn’t bagged after Antietam. “That is not the game,” a sarcastic Key replied. “The object is that neither army shall get much advantage of the other; that both shall be kept in the field till they are exhausted, when we will make a compromise and save slavery.”
Major Key was the brother of a member of General George McClellan’s staff. Lincoln feared that Key’s thought was just one example of treasonous beliefs held by a number of other officers. If true, an example would have to be made of Key.
Lincoln took up his pen and wrote to Major Key: “I shall be very happy if you will, within twenty-four hours from the receipt of this, prove to me, by Major Turner, that you did not, either literally or in substance, make the answer stated.”
Both Key and Turner would appear before the President the next morning. [2]
[2] Sources: Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. 5; President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman by William Lee Miller.
http://civilwardailygazette.com/lincoln-argues-in-favor-of-colonizing-the-freed-slaves/
6. Saturday, September 26, 1863: President Lincoln and members of his administration are distressed that troop movements aiding General Rosecrans in Chattanooga are published in the New York Post.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-c/week-128
7. Saturday, September 26, 1863: At the age of 70, Samuel "Sam" Houston dies in Huntsville, Texas. He was a nineteenth-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He is best known for his leading role in bringing Texas into the United States. In 1827, Houston was elected Governor of Tennessee, and was elected as the first and third President of the Republic of Texas, U.S. Senator for Texas after it joined the United States, and finally as a governor of the state. Houston became the only person to have become the governor of two different U.S. states through direct, popular election, as well as the only state governor to have been a foreign head of state. He never believed Texas should have left the Union.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-c/week-128
8. Monday, September 26, 1864: Now back fighting in Missouri, General Price (CSA) heads toward Fort Davidson, but his goal is to seize St. Louis for the Confederacy. The Union, today using “contraband labor” or freed slaves, started work digging a canal on the James Rivers to bypass fortified Confederate defenses at Richmond.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/1864/week-181
A Thursday, September, 26, 1861: A Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer. President Abraham Lincoln ordered this day to be a day of “fasting, humiliation and prayer.” This was a day for the people of the Union to offer “fervent supplications to Almighty God for the safety and welfare of these States, his blessings on their arms, and a speedy restoration to peace.”
http://civilwardailygazette.com/the-confusion-of-fremonts-army/
A+ Thursday, September, 26, 1861: Abraham Lincoln declared a day of national prayer and fasting. All offices and businesses are closed. However, it was not a day of rest in the Confederacy, which resulting in fights and skirmishes in Fort Thorn, New Mexico Territory; Hunter’s Farm, near Belmont, Missouri; and at the mouth of the Muddy River in Kentucky.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/department-a/part-twenty-four
B Friday, September 26, 1862: The Dakota surrender and release their captives three days after the critical defeat of the Dakota forces at Battle of Wood Lake. Military commissions had been used earlier in the Civil War before their application in the aftermath of the Dakota War; in January 1862, General Halleck set up one such commission in the Department of Missouri.31 Just days before Sibley ordered the trials, newspapers across the country printed “Lincoln’s September 24th proclamation authorizing military commission trials of rebel insurgents and ‘their aiders and abettors.” Thus, in 1862, aided by the necessities of civil war, the military commission became the U.S. Army’s standard practice and Sibley’s chosen method to bring the Dakota to justice.
http://ushistoryscene.com/article/civil-dakota-war/
C Saturday, September 26, 1863: President Lincoln and members of his Administration are distressed that troop movements aiding General Rosecrans in Chattanooga are published in the New York Post.
http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186309
C+ Saturday, September 26, 1863: Although the move of Howard’s XI Corps and Slocum’s XII Corps from Virginia to Chattanooga is to be done with absolute secrecy, the New York Evening Post publishes, in complete detail, all the particulars of the movement of these troops to Chattanooga, even though neither corps had yet moved. A friend of Lincoln’s reports that the President “was exceedingly angry.”
http://civilwarsesquicentdaily-wolfshield.blogspot.com/search?q=September+26%2C+1863
Monday, September 26, 1864: Major General Philip Henry Sheridan’s Union forces attacks General Early’s men in the Blue Ridge Mountains at Port Republic and Weyer's Cave, Virginia. Sheridan’s troops are burning barns, fields, houses, and anything of use to the South.
https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardemancotn/departments/1864/week-181
D Monday, September 26, 1864: Federal Major General Phil Sheridan’s cavalry clashed with Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early’s cavalry around Port Republic, Weyer’s Cave and Brown’s Gap, Va., before they pulled out and left Early alone to restore his chaotic army. In Richmond, news of Early’s defeat gave rise to severe criticism of the Confederate government.
http://www.kimballarea.com/newsx/local-history/39144-this-week-in-the-american-civil-war-sept-21-27-1864
D+ Monday, September 26, 1864: With Jubal Early damaged and pinned down, the Valley lay open to the Union. And because of Sherman's capture of Atlanta, Lincoln's re-election now seemed assured. Sheridan pulled back slowly down the Valley and conducted a scorched earth campaign that would foreshadow Sherman's March to the Sea in November. The goal was to deny the Confederacy the means of feeding its armies in Virginia, and Sheridan's army did so aggressively, burning crops, barns, mills, and factories. The operation, conducted primarily from September 26 to October 8, has been known to locals ever since as "the Burning" or "Red October". It encompassed the area of Harrisonburg, Port Republic, Staunton and Waynesboro.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cedar_Creek
D++ Monday, September 26, 1864: In September, Sheridan defeated Jubal Early’s smaller force at Third Winchester, and again at Fisher’s Hill. Then he began “The Burning” – destroying barns, mills, railroads, factories – destroying resources for which the Confederacy had a dire need. He made over 400 square miles of the Valley uninhabitable. “The Burning” foreshadowed William Tecumseh Sherman’s “March to the Sea”: another campaign to deny resources to the Confederacy as well as bring the war home to its civilians.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/phillip-sheridan.html
FYI GySgt Jack Wallace CWO4 Terrence Clark SMSgt Lawrence McCarter LTC Trent Klug SFC Bernard WalkoSSG Franklin Briant SSG Byron Howard Sr CPL Ronald Keyes Jr SFC William Farrell CMDCM John F. "Doc" Bradshaw SPC Lyle MontgomeryPO2 Marco MonsalveSPC Woody Bullard SSG Michael Noll SSG Bill McCoy SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTMSgt Christopher Collins SPC (Join to see) SPC Gary C. PO3 Lynn Spalding
The Confusion of Fremont’s Army
Thursday, September 26, 1861 General John C. Fremont’s plan to organize and move the Army of the West from various points in Missouri to Lexington was creating a plethora of logistical proble…
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LTC Stephen F.
LTC Greg Henning - thanks. While I am a few months behind I try to put considerable research into my daily civil war questions. I started last April and hope to finish by next summer. I added your tag to my posts to make sure you see them in the future.
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President Lincoln was honoring God, and in mourning for the nation.
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1861 is my choice for most significant event on Sept 26th during the Civil War LTC Stephen F..
1861: A day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer. President Abraham Lincoln ordered this day to be a day of “fasting, humiliation and prayer.” This was a day for the people of the Union to offer “fervent supplications to Almighty God for the safety and welfare of these States, his blessings on their arms, and a speedy restoration to peace.” All Federal offices and businesses were closed. However, it was not a day of rest in the Confederacy, which resulting in fights and skirmishes in Fort Thorn, New Mexico Territory; Hunter’s Farm, near Belmont, Missouri; and at the mouth of the Muddy River in Kentucky.
1861: A day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer. President Abraham Lincoln ordered this day to be a day of “fasting, humiliation and prayer.” This was a day for the people of the Union to offer “fervent supplications to Almighty God for the safety and welfare of these States, his blessings on their arms, and a speedy restoration to peace.” All Federal offices and businesses were closed. However, it was not a day of rest in the Confederacy, which resulting in fights and skirmishes in Fort Thorn, New Mexico Territory; Hunter’s Farm, near Belmont, Missouri; and at the mouth of the Muddy River in Kentucky.
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