The Civil War Day By Day Sesquicentennial Thread

[farmersdaughter]

April 4 1862 —General Burnside at Newbern, N. C, issued the following order: —
Dr. J. H. Thompson, Brigade Surgeon, First division, is hereby relieved from duty with the First division, and will report without delay to the Surgeon-General at Washington, with the recommendation to the President of the United States that he be dismissed the service as an alarmist.
It is expected that all important and reliable information should be duly reported through proper channels, but the stern realities of active warfare rob the soldier of quite sufficient of his rest and sleep without the aggravations of senseless rumors and imaginary dangers, and those who create or report them will be at once expelled from this department
—Gen. Magruder, in command of the rebel lines near Lee’s Mills, Va., issued the following general orders, to be read to each command in his army: “The enemy is before us—our works are strong—our cause is good—we fight for our homes, and must be careful. Every hour we hold out, brings us reenforcements.”—Richmond Whig, April 10.
—At Cincinnati, Ohio, a public reception was given to Parson Brownlow, who was introduced to the audience by Joseph C. Butler, President of the Chamber of Commerce, in a few appropriate remarks.
Mr. Brownlow, in reply, made a speech thanking the vast audience for their warm and friendly reception, relating his experience of the operations of the rebellion in East-Tennessee, and giving an account of the sufferings of himself and of other Union men while he was imprisoned at Knoxville. Speeches were also made by General S. F. Carey and Lieutenant-Governor Fisk, of Kentucky, and resolutions were adopted demanding a vigorous and unceasing prosecution of the war, and the punishment of traitors. — Cincinnati Times, April 5.
—The War Department of the United States this day ordered:
First. That the portion of Virginia and Maryland lying between the Mountain Department and the Blue Ridge shall constitute a military department, to be called the Department of the Shenandoah, and be under the command of Major-General Banks.
Second. That the portion of Virginia east of the Blue Ridge and west of the Potomac, and the Fredericksburgh and Richmond railroad, including the District of Columbia and the country between the Potomac and the Patuxent, shall be a military district, to be called the Department of the Rappahannock, and be under the command of Major-General McDowell.
—This morning the gunboats Benton, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh, with three boats, opened and continued for more than an hour a fire on the rebel heavy floating battery at Island No. Ten, when the latter, having received several shells from the rifles and mortars, cut loose from her moorings and drifted two or three miles down the river. The shells were thrown from the flotilla into different parts of the island, and into the rebel batteries lining the Tennessee shore. The return fire produced no effect on the National squadron. No more men than were actually necessary to man the batteries were visible.—Com. Foote’s Despatch.
—At Pittsburgh Landing, Tenn., this evening, the National troops were attacked by two regiments of rebel infantry, with two pieces of artillery and a strong force of cavalry. The Nationals immediately got into line of battle, when the rebels fired one volley and commenced to retreat The Nationals returned the fire, killing several and taking ten prisoners. The Union loss was one killed.—Chicago Tribune, April 1.
—A successful expedition was this day made from Ship Island to Pass Christian,[1] Miss., by the National gunboats New-London, Jackson, and Lewis. When off Pass Christian they were attacked by the rebel steamers Oregon, Pamlico, and Carondelet, but succeeded in driving them off, seriously damaging them.—(Doc. 117.)
—The schooner Resolution, having on board a party of rebels, attempting to escape into the confederate lines, was captured in Back River, Md., this day.—Baltimore American.
—This morning a spirited cannonade took place between some of the Union batteries near Point Pleasant, Mo., and a rebel one on the opposite shore. After an hour’s firing, a shell fell inside a large warehouse near the confederate battery, and the building was soon wrapped in flames. The rebels then ceased answering from their guns, and after shelling the position awhile, the Point Pleasant batteries stopped also.—St. Louis Republican.
—Governor Curtin issued a general order congratulating the Eighty-fourth and One Hundred and Tenth Pennsylvania regiments for gallant conduct at Winchester, Va., and directed that Winchester be inscribed on their flags, and the order be read at the head of all Pennsylvania regiments.
—Lieut. Fitz-James O’Brien, of Gen. Lander’s staff, died at Cumberland, Md., from the effects of the wound received in the fight at Blooming Gap, Va.— Baltimore American, April 7.
—A battle between the National gunboat Kinco and the flag-ship of the rebel flotilla, a few miles above the Passes of the Mississippi River, resulting in the defeat of the rebel vessel. —(Doc. 118.)
—At New-Orleans, La., all masters of steamboats engaged in trade were inhibited from taking white men as deck-hands, and were required to discharge at once such as might be employed by them. The captains, clerks, mates, carpenters, pilots, and engineers were the only white men to be employed on such boats.—New-Orleans Delta, April 4.
[1] Pass Christian is a post-village of Harrison County, Mississippi. It is located on a pass of its own name, near the entrance to St. Louis Bay. It la situated one hundred and sixty-five miles to the south-south-east of Jackson. It is fifty miles from New Orleans, thirteen miles from Mississippi City, and twenty-five miles from Biloxi. It is thirty miles from the eastern portion of Ship Island, and eighty miles from the mouth of Pass-a-l’Outre of the Mississippi River.

[farmersdaughter]

April 5 1862—The United States gunboat Carondelet, Capt. Walke, arrived at New-Madrid, Mo., this morning at one o’clock, having passed the fortifications at Island Number Ten, and the batteries upon the mainland opposite, and now lies moored safely to the shore, under the guns of the upper fort at New-Madrid.
The Carondelet left the fleet last evening at ten o’clock, during a terrific thunder-storm, and having taken a barge in tow, laden with hay and coal, to serve as a protection from the enemy’s balls, extinguished her lights, put on steam, and rapidly sailed down the river. The first intimation the rebels had of the attempt to run the blockade was the fire which issued from the burning chimney of the gunboat, and immediately thereafter it was greeted with a shower of balls from the infantry stationed at the upper battery, the same which was so effectually spiked a few days since by Col. Roberts.
A signal rocket was then sent up, and in an instant the entire line of batteries were a blaze of flame. Four batteries on the Kentucky shore and on the point of the island fired in quick succession, but the Carondelet passed them all in safety, and, unmindful of the leaden and iron hail which fell around, passed down through the fiery ordeal unhurt; not a man was injured, and excepting a few musket-balls which struck the ironplated sides of the gunboat, she was untouched.
The floating-battery, located three miles below the island, bestowed a parting shower of blazing compliments as the Carondelet glided quietly by. The Hollins ram Manassas did not open fire. The National officers and men acquitted themselves with admirable courage and fidelity. — (Doc. 116.)
—The schooner A. J. Wills, of Philadelphia, was captured by a squad of Government police in Nabb’s Creek, a stream running from Stony Creek, Va. On board the vessel was found a large quantity of provisions designed for the use of the rebels who were captured yesterday in the schooner Resolution.—Baltimore American, April 8.
—The following order was issued from the War Department this day: —
Col. D’Utassy, of the Garibaldi Guard, New York Volunteers, and all the officers of General Blenker’s division who are now under arrest, are hereby released from arrest, and will join their regiments without delay, and resume their respective commands.—New-York Herald, April 6.
A Resolution passed the Wisconsin Assembly this day, tendering to the President of the United States an unqualified approval of his course, from the day of his inauguration to the present time. There was but one vote against it.—Philadelphia Press, April 15.
—That portion of the Army of the Potomac, recently concentrated at Old Point, Va., advanced yesterday, moving in the direction of Yorktown, twenty-four miles distant. The right was assigned to Gen. Morrill’s brigade, of Gen. Porter’s division, two companies of the Third Pennsylvania cavalry, and a portion of Berdan’s sharpshooters acting as skirmishers. Nothing of interest took place until their arrival at Big Bethel, twelve miles distant, where they met the outer pickets of the rebels. The troops were delayed here two hours in reconstructing a bridge which had been destroyed.
The rebels retreated before the advance of the National skirmishers to Howard’s Creek, where they had some abandoned earthworks. Four shots were fired here by the rebels from two field-pieces, which were soon silenced by the Fourth Rhode Island battery, when the rebels beat a hasty retreat, taking their pieces with them. The main body of the army here rested for the night, while Gen. Morrill’s brigade advanced three miles to Buckleville, and six miles from Yorktown, and then encamped. By seven o’clock this morning, the column was again in motion, and at ten o’clock was in front of the enemy’s works at Yorktown.
The first shot fired was by the rebels, the shells passing over the heads of Qen. Porter and staff without exploding. The batteries of Griffin, Third and Fourth Rhode Island, and Fifth Massachusetts were now placed in position, replying to every shot sent by the rebels. The cannonading continued with but slight intermission until dark. About four hundred shots were fired by both parties during the day. The Union loss was six killed and sixteen wounded.—(Doc. 119.)

[farmersdaughter]

April 6 1862—Colonel Duffield, at Murfreesboro, Tenn., captured a mail direct from Corinth, Miss., with upward of one hundred and fifty letters, many containing valuable information regarding the strength and position of the rebels. From these letters Gen. Dumont learned that a number of spies were at Nashville and Edgefield, Tenn., and had them arrested.—National Intelligencer, April 10.
—The National gunboat Carondelet under the command of Capt Walke, having on board Gen. Granger, Col. Smith, of the Forty-third regiment of Ohio Volunteers, and Capt Lewis H. Marshall, Aid to Gen. Pope, made a reconnoissance to Tiptonville, Mo., the object being to draw the fire from the masked batteries of the rebels along the Mississippi River. On her way up the river the Carondelet attacked a battery, and Capt Marshall, accompanied by a party of soldiers of the Twenty-seventh Illinois regiment, landed, spiked the guns, destroyed the carriages, and threw the ammunition into the river.—N. Y. Commercial, April 9.
—Yesterday an expedition from General Mitchel’s command, consisting of two companies of the Fourth Ohio cavalry, and a piece of artillery from Loomis’s battery, in charge of Lieut. C. H. O’Riordan, the whole in command of Colonel Kennett, left Shelbyville, Tenn., marched to Decherd, and proceeding this morning to the University grounds, near where the main road sends off a branch toward some coal-mines, among the mountains, captured there a locomotive and a train of freight-cars. Thirty rebel soldiers were on the train at the time, waiting for the locomotive to get up steam. As soon as these fellows saw the Union troops, they took to their heels, scattering in all directions. A wild chase ensued, resulting in the overhauling and capture of fifteen of the fugitives.
Ascertaining that a largely superior force of the enemy was stationed at the tunnel, nine miles below Decherd, the expedition returned to camp. — Cincinnati Gazette.
—This day a party of rebel cavalry made a dash at the pickets of Gen. Wallace’s division, in the neighborhood of Adamsville, Tenn. Lieut. Murray, of the Fifth Ohio cavalry, made a suitable disposition of the forces at his command, but the enemy outnumbered him three to one, and his pickets were compelled to fall back. Three of his men fell into the enemy’s hands—Sergeant E. F. Cook, privates Wm. Ledwell and John Pilley, all of Co. I, Fifth Ohio cavalry. With regard to the fate of these men, the official report says: “When Sergt Cook was last seen, he was riding among the rebels, fighting them hand to hand. It is not known if he was wounded before being taken prisoner. Ledwell is supposed to be badly wounded or killed, as his saddle was covered with blood. Pilley is a prisoner, and supposed to be unharmed.”
—Snip Point, Va., was captured by the forces of Gen. McClellan.

[farmersdaughter]

April 7 1862—Yesterday and to-day the battle of Pittsburgh Landing, Tenn., (by the confederates called the battle of Shiloh,) was fought, by the National forces under Major-General Grant, and the rebels under Beauregard. Early yesterday morning four hundred men of Gen. Prentiss’s division were attacked by the rebels, half a mile in advance of the National lines, when the men fell back on a Missouri regiment, closely pursued by the rebels. Further resistance was made, but without success, and all finally retreated to the lines of the Second division. At six o’clock the fire had become general along the whole line. Gen. Sherman’s division were compelled to fall back, and seek support of the troops immediately in their rear. At one o’clock both sides were fully engaged, and the most terrible fighting ensued, resulting in the National troops being slowly driven in the direction of the river. The National gunboat Tyler then came up, and aided greatly in forcing the rebels back. At five o’clock there was a short cessation in the fire of the enemy, their lines falling back for nearly half a mile, when they suddenly wheeled, and threw their whole force upon the left wing of the Union troops. The battle then raged fiercely, and the rebels would probably have succeeded in their object of cutting the Union army in two, had not General Wallace, who had taken a circuitous route from Crump’s Landing, appeared suddenly on their right wing. This move compelled the rebels to desist from their operations on the left, and they soon withdrew from the attack, and oncamped for the night. The advance regiments of Gen. Buell now appeared on the opposite side of the river, and all night long were crossing to the relief of Gen. Grant’s army. The battle was renewed this morning, at seven o’clock. The rebels commenced the attack from the Corinth road, and soon the engagement became general along the entire line. They endeavored, by massing troops at different positions, and hurling them on the weakest points, to break through, and cut off the different divisions from communication and support. But everywhere they were met by new and unwearied troops, in numbers too large to contend against. Both wings of the Union army were turned upon the enemy, and the whole line advanced to the charge, while shot and shell from the batteries rained death at every point. The rebels then fell slowly bank, keeping up a fire from their artillery and musketry along their whole column as they retreated. They were pursued by Gen. Sherman’s forces.—(Doc. 114.)
—The bridge over Stony Creek, Va., was completed yesterday, and to-day, while the National troops were crossing, the rebel battery of Ashby opened on them, but was soon silenced, and its position occupied by the Nationals.—N. Y. World, April 8.
—A large meeting of the Union men of Montgomery county, Md., was held in Rockville this day, at which resolutions, deprecating the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, and calling upon the President of the United States to “interpose his veto and protect the rights of property,” in the event of the passage of “the Act” by both houses of Congress, were unanimously adopted.—National Intelligencer, April 12.
—In the rebel House of Representatives, at Richmond, Va., the action of yesterday at Pittsburgh Landing, Tenn., was announced, and the following resolutions introduced:
Resolved, That Congress have learned, with feelings of deep joy and gratitude to the Divine Ruler of nations, the news of the recent glorious victory of our arms in Tennessee.
Resolved, That the death of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, the commander of our forces, while leading his troopsto victory, cannot but temper our exultation with a shade of sadness at the loss of so able, skilful, and gallant an officer.
Resolved, That, in respect to the memory of Gen. Johnston—the Senate concurring—Congress do now adjourn until twelve o’clock to-morrow. —Richmond Whig, April 8.
—A skirmish took place at Lawrenceburgh, Tenn., between two companies of Federal and rebel cavalry, the latter being put to flight with a loss of four men wounded. Four horses were captured, and carried into the Union lines late in the evening. One of the horses belonged to a Lieut. Polk, of Columbia, Tenn., the left side of the saddle being covered with blood.—Brig.-Gen. Lucius J. Polk, C. S. A., gave himself up to Gen. Negley, in command at Columbia, Tenn. He was released on parole.
—At Edenburg, Va., to-day, the rebels opened fire upon the National pickets, but were soon dispersed by a rapid cannonade from Capt Huntington’s battery.—N. Y. Times, April 8.
—The gunboat Pittsburgh ran the blockade of Island Number Ten, last night, under a terrific fire from the rebel batteries. Four steam transports and five barges were also got through the Slough, from Phillips’s Landing, above the Island, to New-Madrid, by Col. Bissell’s corps of engineers.
This morning, under the fire of the Union gunboats, which silenced one of the rebel batteries, a company, under Capts. Lewis and Marshall, crossed the Mississippi at New-Madrid and spiked the guns. Another force took three other batteries, spiked the guns, and threw the ammunition into the river.
At eleven o’clock, in the face of the fire of the remaining rebel batteries, Gen. Paine, with four regiments and a battery of artillery, crossed the Mississippi Subsequently the divisions of Gens. Hamilton and Stanley crossed; also Gen. Granger with his cavalry. They are now strongly posted, ready for any emergency.—(Doc. 116.)

[farmersdaughter]

Battle of Shiloh
Date April 6, 1862 – April*7,*1862
Location Hardin County, Tennessee
Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union) CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Ulysses S. Grant
Don Carlos Buell Albert Sidney Johnston*†
P. G. T. Beauregard
Units involved
Army of the Tennessee
Army of the Ohio[1] Army of Mississippi[1]
Strength
66,812 44,699
Casualties and losses
13,047[2]
(1,754 killed
*8,408 wounded
*2,885 captured/missing)
10,699[3]
(1,728 killed
*8,012 wounded
*959 captured/missing)
[show] v t e
Federal Penetration up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union Army under Major General Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and was encamped principally at Pittsburg Landing on the west bank of the river. Confederate forces under Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and P. G. T. Beauregard launched a surprise attack on Grant there. The Confederates achieved considerable success on the first day, but were ultimately defeated on the second day.
On the first day of the battle, the Confederates struck with the intention of driving the Union defenders away from the river and into the swamps of Owl Creek to the west, hoping to defeat Grant's Army of the Tennessee before the anticipated arrival of Major General Don Carlos Buell's Army of the Ohio. The Confederate battle lines became confused during the fierce fighting, and Grant's men instead fell back to the northeast, in the direction of Pittsburg Landing. A position on a slightly sunken road, nicknamed the "Hornet's Nest", defended by the men of Brigadier Generals Benjamin M. Prentiss's and W. H. L. Wallace's divisions, provided critical time for the rest of the Union line to stabilize under the protection of numerous artillery batteries. General Johnston was killed during the first day of fighting, and Beauregard, his second in command, decided against assaulting the final Union position that night.
Reinforcements from General Buell and from Grant's own army arrived in the evening and turned the tide the next morning, when the Union commanders launched a counterattack along the entire line. The Confederates were forced to retreat from the bloodiest battle in United States history up to that time, ending their hopes that they could block the Union advance into northern Mississippi.


information: Confederate order of battle, and Union order of battle
After the losses of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in February 1862, Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston withdrew his forces into western Tennessee, northern Mississippi, and Alabama to reorganize. In early March, Union Major General Henry W. Halleck, then commander of the Department of the Missouri, responded by ordering Grant to advance his Army of West Tennessee (soon to be known by its more famous name, the Army of the Tennessee) on an invasion up the Tennessee River. Halleck then ordered Grant to remain at Fort Henry and turn field command of the expedition over to a subordinate, C.F. Smith, just nominated as a major general. Various writers assert that Halleck took this step because of professional and personal animosity toward Grant. However, Halleck shortly restored Grant to full command, perhaps influenced by an inquiry from President Abraham Lincoln.[4] By early April, Grant had five divisions at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, and a sixth nearby. Meanwhile, Halleck's command was enlarged and renamed the Department of the Mississippi. Now having command over Buell's Army of the Ohio, Halleck ordered Buell to concentrate with Grant. Buell duly commenced a march with much of his army from Nashville toward Pittsburg Landing. Halleck intended to take the field in person and lead both armies in an advance south to seize the Memphis & Charleston Railroad, a vital supply line between the Mississippi River Valley, Memphis, and Richmond.[5]

Maj. Gen.
Ulysses S. Grant, USA


Maj. Gen.
Don Carlos Buell, USA


Gen.
Albert Sidney Johnston, CSA


Gen.
P. G. T. Beauregard, CSA
Grant's army of 48,894 men consisted of six divisions, led by Major Generals John A. McClernand and Lew Wallace, and Brig. Gens. W. H. L. Wallace (replacing Charles Ferguson Smith, disabled by a leg injury), Stephen A. Hurlbut, William T. Sherman, and Benjamin M. Prentiss.[1] By early April, all six of the divisions were encamped on the western side of the Tennessee River, Lew Wallace's at Crump's Landing and the rest farther south at Pittsburg Landing. Grant developed a reputation during the war for being more concerned with his own plans than with those of the enemy.[6] His encampment at Pittsburg Landing displayed his most consequential lack of such concern—his army was spread out in bivouac style, many around the small log church named Shiloh (the Hebrew word that means "place of peace"),[7] spending time waiting for Buell with drills for his many raw troops, without entrenchments or other awareness of defensive measures. In his memoirs, Grant reacted to criticism of his lack of entrenchments: "Besides this, the troops with me, officers and men, needed discipline and drill more than they did experience with the pick, shovel and axe. ... under all these circumstances I concluded that drill and discipline were worth more to our men than fortifications."[8] Lew Wallace's division was 5 miles (8*km) downstream (north) at Crump's Landing, a position intended to prevent the placement of Confederate river batteries and to strike out at the railroad line at Bethel Station.[9]
On the eve of battle, April 5, the first of Buell's divisions, under the command of Brigadier General William "Bull" Nelson, reached Savannah; Grant instructed Nelson to encamp there rather than cross the river immediately. The rest of Buell's army was still marching toward Savannah, and only portions of four of his divisions, totaling 17,918 men, would reach the area in time to have any role in the battle, almost entirely on the second day. The other three divisions were led by Brigadier Generals Alexander M. McCook, Thomas L. Crittenden, and Thomas J. Wood, but Wood's division appeared too late even to be of much service on the second day.[10]


Western Theater in early 1862
**Confederate
**Union
On the Confederate side, Johnston named his newly assembled force the Army of Mississippi.[11] He concentrated almost 55,000 men around Corinth, Mississippi, about 20 miles (30*km) southwest of Grant's position. Of these, 44,699[1] departed from Corinth on April 3, hoping to surprise Grant before Buell arrived to join forces. They were organized into four large corps, commanded by:
Major General Leonidas Polk, with two divisions under Brigadier General Charles Clark and Major General Benjamin F. Cheatham
Major General Braxton Bragg, with two divisions under Brigadier Generals Daniel Ruggles and Jones M. Withers
Major General William J. Hardee, with three brigades under Brigadier Generals Thomas C. Hindman, Patrick Cleburne, and Sterling A. M. Wood
Brigadier General John C. Breckinridge, in reserve, with three brigades under Colonels Robert Trabue and Winfield S. Statham, and Brigadier General John S. Bowen, and attached cavalry[12]
On the eve of battle, Grant's and Johnston's armies were of comparable size, but the Confederates were poorly armed with antique weapons, including shotguns, hunting rifles, pistols, flintlock muskets, and even a few pikes. However, some regiments, notably the 6th and 7th Kentucky Infantry, had Enfield rifles.[13] They approached the battle with very little combat experience; Braxton Bragg's men from Pensacola and Mobile were the best trained. Grant's army included 32 out of 62 infantry regiments who had combat experience at Fort Donelson. One half of his artillery batteries and most of his cavalry were also combat veterans.[14]
Johnston's second in command was P. G. T. Beauregard, who urged Johnston not to attack Grant. He was concerned that the sounds of marching and the Confederate soldiers test-firing their rifles after two days of rain had cost them the element of surprise. Johnston refused to accept Beauregard's advice and told him that he would "attack them if they were a million." Despite General Beauregard's well-founded concern, the Union forces did not hear the sounds of the marching army in its approach and remained blissfully unaware of the enemy camped 3 miles (4.8*km) away.[15]
In the struggle tomorrow we shall be fighting men of our own blood, Western men, who understand the use of firearms. The struggle will be a desperate one.
P.G.T. Beauregard[16]
Johnston's plan was to attack Grant's left and separate the Union army from its gunboat support (and avenue of retreat) on the Tennessee River, driving it west into the swamps of Snake and Owl Creeks, where it could be destroyed. Johnston's attack on Grant was originally planned for April 4, but the advance was delayed 48 hours. As a result, Beauregard again feared that the element of surprise had been lost and recommended withdrawing to Corinth. But Johnston once more refused to consider retreat.[17]
Battle, April 6

Early morning attack
At 6:00 a.m. on April 6, Johnston's army was deployed for battle, straddling the Corinth Road. In fact, the army had spent the entire night bivouacking undetected in order of battle just two miles (3*km) away from the Union camps. Their approach and dawn assault achieved almost total strategic and tactical surprise. The Union army had virtually no patrols in place for early warning. Grant telegraphed to Halleck on the night of April 5, "I have scarcely the faintest idea of an attack (general one) being made upon us, but will be prepared should such a thing take place." Grant's preparedness proved to be overstated. Sherman, the informal camp commander at Pittsburg Landing, did not believe that the Confederates were anywhere nearby; he discounted any possibility of an attack from the south, expecting that Johnston would eventually attack from the direction of Purdy, Tennessee, to the west. When an Ohio colonel warned Sherman that an attack was imminent, the general said, "Take your damned regiment back to Ohio. There is no enemy nearer than Corinth." Early that morning Colonel Everett Peabody, commanding Prentiss's 1st Brigade, had sent forward part of the 25th Missouri Infantry on a reconnaissance, and they engaged Confederate outposts at 5:15 a.m. The spirited fight that ensued did help a little to get Union troops better positioned, but the command of the Union army did not prepare properly.[18]
The confusing alignment of the Confederate troops helped to reduce the effectiveness of the attack since Johnston and Beauregard had no unified battle plan. Johnston had telegraphed Confederate President Jefferson Davis that the attack would proceed as: "Polk the left, Bragg the center, Hardee the right, Breckinridge in reserve."[19] His strategy was to emphasize the attack on his right flank to prevent the Union Army from reaching the Tennessee River, its supply line and avenue of retreat. He instructed Beauregard to stay in the rear and direct men and supplies as needed, while he rode to the front to lead the men on the battle line. This effectively ceded control of the battle to Beauregard, who had a different concept, simply to attack in three waves and push the Union Army straight eastward into the Tennessee River.[20] The corps of Hardee and Bragg began the assault with their divisions in one line, almost 3 miles (5*km) wide.[21] As these units advanced, they became intermingled and difficult to control. Corps commanders attacked in line without reserves. Artillery could not be concentrated to effect a breakthrough. At about 7:30 a.m. from his position in the rear, Beauregard ordered the corps of Polk and Breckinridge forward on the left and right of the line, diluting their effectiveness. The attack therefore went forward as a frontal assault conducted by a single linear formation, which lacked both the depth and weight needed for success. Command and control in the modern sense were lost from the onset of the first assault.[22]

Grant and Sherman rally
The assault, despite some shortcomings, was ferocious, and some of the numerous inexperienced Union soldiers of Grant's new army fled for safety to the Tennessee River. Others fought well but were forced to withdraw under strong pressure and attempted to form new defensive lines. Many regiments fragmented entirely; the companies and sections that remained on the field attached themselves to other commands. During this period, Sherman, who had been so negligent in preparation for the battle, became one of its most important elements. He appeared everywhere along his lines, inspiring his raw recruits to resist the initial assaults despite staggering losses on both sides. He received two minor wounds and had three horses shot out from under him. Historian James M. McPherson cites the battle as the turning point of Sherman's life, which helped to make him one of the North's premier generals.[23] Sherman's division bore the brunt of the initial attack, and despite heavy fire on their position and their right flank crumbling, they fought on stubbornly. The Union troops slowly lost ground and fell back to a position behind Shiloh Church. McClernand's division temporarily stabilized the position. Overall, however, Johnston's forces made steady progress until noon, rolling up Union positions one by one.[24] As the Confederates advanced, many threw away their flintlock muskets and grabbed rifles dropped by the fleeing Union troops.[25]
General Grant was about ten miles (16*km) down river at Savannah, Tennessee, that morning. On April 4, he had been injured when his horse fell and pinned him underneath. He was convalescing and unable to move without crutches.[26] He heard the sound of artillery fire and raced to the battlefield by boat, arriving about 8:30 a.m. He worked frantically to bring up reinforcements that seemed near enough to arrive swiftly: Bull Nelson's division from Savannah and Lew Wallace's division from Crump's Landing. However, he would wait almost all day before the first of these reinforcements (from Nelson's division) arrived. Wallace's slow movement to the battlefield became particularly controversial.[27]

Lew Wallace's lost division
Wallace's group had been left as reserves near Crump's Landing at a place called Stoney Lonesome to the rear of the Union line. At the appearance of the Confederates, Grant sent orders for Wallace to move his unit up to support Sherman. Wallace took a route different from the one Grant intended (claiming later that there was ambiguity to Grant's order). Wallace arrived at the end of his march to find that Sherman had been forced back and was no longer where Wallace thought he was. Moreover, the battle line had moved so far that Wallace now found himself in the rear of the advancing Southern troops. A messenger arrived with word that Grant was wondering where Wallace was and why he had not arrived at Pittsburg Landing, where the Union was making its stand. Wallace was confused. He felt sure he could viably launch an attack from where he was and hit the Confederates in the rear; after the war he claimed that his division might have attacked and defeated the Confederates if his advance had not been interrupted.[28] Nevertheless, he decided to turn his troops around and march back to Stoney Lonesome. Rather than realign his troops so that the rear guard would be in the front, Wallace chose to march the troops in a circle so that the original order was maintained, only facing in the other direction. Wallace marched back to Stoney Lonesome and then to Pittsburg Landing, arriving at Grant's position about 6:30 or 7 p.m., when the fighting was practically over. Grant was not pleased, and his endorsement of Wallace's battle report was negative enough to damage Wallace's military career severely.[29] Today, Wallace is best remembered not as a soldier, but as the author of Ben-Hur.
[edit]Hornet's Nest



On the main Union defensive line, starting at about 9:00 a.m., men of Prentiss's and W. H. L. Wallace's divisions established and held a position nicknamed the Hornet's Nest, in a field along a road now popularly called the "Sunken Road," although there is little physical justification for that name.[30] The Confederates assaulted the position for several hours rather than simply bypassing it, and they suffered heavy casualties during these assaults—historians' estimates of the number of separate charges range from 8 to 14.[31] The Union forces to the left and right of the Nest were forced back, and Prentiss's position became a salient in the line. Coordination among units in the Nest was poor, and units withdrew based solely on their individual commanders' decisions. This pressure increased with the mortal wounding of Wallace,[32] who commanded the largest concentration of troops in the position. Regiments became disorganized and companies disintegrated. However, it was not until the Confederates assembled over 50 cannons[33] to blast the line at close range that they were able to surround the position, and the Hornet's Nest fell after holding out for seven hours. Surrounded on three sides, General Prentiss surrendered himself and the remains of his division to the Confederates. A large portion of the Union survivors, numbering from 2,200 to 2,400 men, were captured, but their sacrifice bought time for Grant to establish a final defense line near Pittsburg Landing.[34]
While dealing with the Hornet's Nest, the South suffered a serious setback in the death of their commanding general. Johnston was mortally wounded at about 2:30 p.m. while leading attacks on the Union left through the widow Bell's cotton field against the Peach Orchard when he was shot in his left leg. Deeming the leg wound to be insignificant, he had sent his personal surgeon away to care for some wounded captured Union soldiers, and in the doctor's absence, he bled to death within an hour, his boot filling with blood from a severed popliteal artery.[35] This was a significant loss for the Confederacy. Jefferson Davis considered Albert Sidney Johnston to be the most effective general they had. (This was two months before Robert E. Lee emerged as the pre-eminent Confederate general.) Johnston was the highest-ranking officer from either side to be killed in combat during the Civil War. Beauregard assumed command, but from his position in the rear he may have had only a vague idea of the disposition of forces at the front.[36] He ordered Johnston's body shrouded for secrecy to avoid damaging morale in the army and then resumed attacks against the Hornet's Nest. This was likely a tactical error. The Union flanks were slowly pulling back to form a semicircular line around Pittsburg Landing, and if Beauregard had concentrated his forces against the flanks, he might have defeated the Union Army and then reduced the Hornet's Nest salient at his leisure.[37]
Defense at Pittsburg Landing
The Union flanks were being pushed back, but not decisively. Hardee and Polk caused Sherman and McClernand on the Union right to retreat in the direction of Pittsburg Landing, leaving the right flank of the Hornet's Nest exposed. Just after the death of Johnston, Breckinridge, whose corps had been in reserve, attacked on the extreme left of the Union line, driving off the understrength brigade of Colonel David Stuart and potentially opening a path into the Union rear area and the Tennessee River. However, they paused to regroup and recover from exhaustion and disorganization, and then chose to follow the sound of the guns toward the Hornet's Nest, and an opportunity was lost. After the Hornet's Nest fell, the remnants of the Union line established a solid three-mile (5*km) front around Pittsburg Landing, extending west from the Tennessee and then north up the River Road, keeping the approach open for the expected belated arrival of Lew Wallace's division. Sherman commanded the right of the line, McClernand the center, and on the left, remnants of W. H. L. Wallace's, Hurlbut's, and Stuart's men mixed in with the thousands of stragglers[38] who were crowding on the bluff over the landing. One brigade of Buell's army, Colonel Jacob Ammen's brigade of Bull Nelson's division, arrived in time to be ferried over and join the left end of the line.[39] The defensive line included a ring of over 50 cannons[40] and naval guns from the river (the gunboats USS Lexington and USS Tyler).[41] A final Confederate charge of two brigades, led by Brig. Gen. Withers, attempted to break through the line but was repulsed. Beauregard called off a second attempt after 6 p.m., with the sun setting.[42] The Confederate plan had failed; they had pushed Grant east to a defensible position on the river, not forced him west into the swamps.[43]
Evening lull
The evening of April 6 was a dispiriting end to the first day of one of the bloodiest battles in American history. The pitiful cries of wounded and dying men on the fields between the armies could be heard in the Union and Confederate camps throughout the night. A thunderstorm passed through the area and rhythmic shelling from the Union gunboats made the night a miserable experience for both sides. A famous anecdote encapsulates Grant's unflinching attitude to temporary setbacks and his tendency for offensive action. As the exhausted Confederate soldiers bedded down in the abandoned Union camps, Sherman encountered Grant under a tree, sheltering himself from the pouring rain. He was smoking one of his cigars while considering his losses and planning for the next day. Sherman remarked, "Well, Grant, we've had the devil's own day, haven't we?" Grant looked up. "Yes," he replied, followed by a puff. "Yes. Lick 'em tomorrow, though."[44]
If the enemy comes on us in the morning, we'll be whipped like hell.

Beauregard sent a telegram to President Davis announcing "A COMPLETE VICTORY" and later admitted, "I thought I had General Grant just where I wanted him and could finish him up in the morning." Many of his men were jubilant, having overrun the Union camps and taken thousands of prisoners and tons of supplies. But Grant had reason to be optimistic, for Lew Wallace's division and 15,000 men of Don Carlos Buell's army began to arrive that evening, with Buell's men fully on the scene by 4 a.m., in time to turn the tide the next day.[46] Beauregard caused considerable historical controversy with his decision to halt the assault at dusk. Braxton Bragg and Albert Sidney Johnston's son, Colonel William Preston Johnston, were among those who bemoaned the so-called "lost opportunity at Shiloh." Beauregard did not come to the front to inspect the strength of the Union lines but remained at Shiloh Church. He also discounted intelligence reports from Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest (and the bluster from prisoner of war General Prentiss[47]) that Buell's men were crossing the river to reinforce Grant. In defense of his decision, his troops were simply exhausted, there was less than an hour of daylight left, and Grant's artillery advantage was formidable. He had also received a dispatch from Brigadier General Benjamin Hardin Helm in northern Alabama, indicating that Buell was marching toward Decatur and not Pittsburg Landing.[48]
[edit]Battle, April 7




On April 7, the combined Union armies numbered 45,000 men. The Confederates had suffered as many as 8,500 casualties the first day. Because of straggling and desertion, their commanders reported no more than 20,000 effectives (Buell disputed that figure after the war, claiming that there were 28,000). The Confederates had withdrawn south into Prentiss's and Sherman's former camps, and Polk's corps retired all the way to the April 5 Confederate bivouac, 4 miles (6.5*km) southwest of Pittsburg Landing. No line of battle was formed, and few if any commands were resupplied with ammunition. The soldiers were consumed by the need to locate food, water, and shelter for a much-needed night's rest.[49]
Beauregard, unaware that he was now outnumbered, planned to continue the attack and drive Grant into the river. To his surprise, Union forces started moving forward in a massive counterattack at dawn; Grant and Buell launched their attacks separately; coordination occurred only down at the division level. Lew Wallace's division was the first to see action, at the extreme right of the Union line, crossing Tilghman Branch around 7 a.m. and driving back the brigade of Colonel Preston Pond. On Wallace's left were the survivors of Sherman's division, then McClernand's, and W. H. L. Wallace's (now under the command of Colonel James M. Tuttle). Buell's divisions continued to the left: Bull Nelson's, Crittenden's, and McCook's. The Confederate defenders were so badly commingled that little unit cohesion existed above the brigade level. It required over two hours to locate General Polk and bring up his division from its bivouac to the southwest. By 10 a.m., Beauregard had stabilized his front with his corps commanders from left to right: Bragg, Polk, Breckinridge, and Hardee.[50] In a thicket near the Hamburg-Purdy Road, the fighting was so intense that Sherman described in his report of the battle "the severest musketry fire I ever heard."[51]
On the Union left, Nelson's division led the advance, followed closely by Crittenden's and McCook's, down the Corinth and Hamburg-Savannah Roads. After heavy fighting, Crittenden's division recaptured the Hornet's Nest area by late morning, but Crittenden and Nelson were both repulsed by determined counterattacks launched by Breckinridge. The Union right made steady progress, driving Bragg and Polk to the south. As Crittenden and McCook resumed their attacks, Breckinridge was forced to retire, and by noon Beauregard's line paralleled the Hamburg-Purdy Road.[52]
In early afternoon, Beauregard launched a series of counterattacks from the Shiloh Church area, aiming to ensure control of the Corinth Road. The Union right was temporarily driven back by these assaults at Water Oaks Pond. Crittenden, reinforced by Tuttle, seized the road junction of the Hamburg-Purdy and East Corinth Roads, driving the Confederates into Prentiss's old camps. Nelson resumed his attack and seized the heights overlooking Locust Grove Branch by late afternoon. Beauregard's final counterattack was flanked and repulsed when Grant moved Colonel James C. Veatch's brigade forward.[53]
Realizing that he had lost the initiative and that he was low on ammunition and food and with over 10,000 of his men killed, wounded, or missing, Beauregard knew he could go no further. He withdrew beyond Shiloh Church, using 5,000 men under Breckinridge as a covering force, massing Confederate batteries at the church and on the ridge south of Shiloh Branch. These forces kept the Union forces in position on the Corinth Road until 5 p.m., when the Confederates began an orderly withdrawal back to Corinth. The exhausted Union soldiers did not pursue much past the original Sherman and Prentiss encampments; Lew Wallace's division advanced beyond Shiloh Branch but, receiving no support from other units, halted at dark and returned to Sherman's camp. The battle was over. For long afterwards, Grant and Buell quarreled over Grant's decision not to mount an immediate pursuit with another hour of daylight remaining. Grant cited the exhaustion of his troops, although the Confederates were certainly just as exhausted. Part of Grant's reluctance to act could have been the unusual command relationship he had with Buell. Although Grant was the senior officer and technically was in command of both armies, Buell made it quite clear throughout the two days that he was acting independently.[54]
[edit]Fallen Timbers, April 8

On April 8, Grant sent Sherman south along the Corinth Road on a reconnaissance in force to ascertain if the Confederates had retreated, or if they were regrouping to resume their attacks. Grant's army lacked the large organized cavalry units that would have been better suited for reconnaissance and for vigorous pursuit of a retreating enemy. Sherman marched with two infantry brigades from his division, along with two battalions of cavalry, and they met up with Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Wood's division of Buell's army. Six miles (10*km) southwest of Pittsburg Landing, Sherman's men came upon a clear field in which an extensive camp was erected, including a Confederate field hospital, protected by 300 troopers of Confederate cavalry, commanded by Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest. The road approaching the field was covered by fallen trees for over 200 yards (180*m).[55]
As skirmishers from the 77th Ohio Infantry approached, having difficulty clearing the fallen timber, Forrest ordered a charge, producing a wild melee with Confederate troopers firing shotguns and revolvers and brandishing sabers, nearly resulting in the capture of Sherman. As Colonel Jesse Hildebrand's brigade began forming in line of battle, the Southern troopers started to retreat at the sight of the strong force, and Forrest, who was well in advance of his men, came within a few yards of the Union soldiers before realizing he was all alone. Sherman's men yelled out, "Kill him! Kill him and his horse!" A Union soldier shoved his musket into Forrest's side and fired, striking him above the hip, penetrating to near the spine. Although he was seriously wounded, Forrest was able to stay on horseback and escape; he survived both the wound and the war. The Union lost about 100 men, mostly captured during Forrest's charge, in an incident that has been remembered with the name "Fallen Timbers". After capturing the Confederate field hospital, Sherman encountered the rear of Breckinridge's covering force and, determining that the enemy was making no signs of renewing its attack, withdrew back to camp.[56]
[edit]Aftermath

In the immediate aftermath of the battle, Northern newspapers vilified Grant for his performance during the battle on April 6. Reporters, many far from the battle, spread the story that Grant had been drunk, falsely alleging that this had resulted in many of his men being bayoneted in their tents because of a lack of defensive preparedness. Despite the Union victory, Grant's reputation suffered in Northern public opinion. Many credited Buell with taking control of the broken Union forces and leading them to victory on April 7. Calls for Grant's removal overwhelmed the White House. President Lincoln replied with one of his most famous quotations about Grant: "I can't spare this man; he fights." Sherman emerged as an immediate hero, his steadfastness under fire and amid chaos atoning for his previous melancholy and his defensive lapses preceding the battle. Today, however, Grant is recognized positively for the clear judgment he was able to retain under the strenuous circumstances, and his ability to perceive the larger tactical picture that ultimately resulted in victory on the second day.[57]


the original church building did not survive the battle. The present-day structure is a reconstruction erected in 2003 on the historical site by the Tennessee Sons of Confederate Veterans organization.[58]
Nevertheless, Grant's career suffered temporarily in the aftermath of Shiloh. Henry W. Halleck combined and reorganized his armies, relegating Grant to the powerless position of second-in-command. In late April and May the Union armies, under Halleck's personal command, advanced slowly toward Corinth and captured it, while an amphibious force on the Mississippi River destroyed the Confederate River Defense Fleet and captured Memphis. Halleck was promoted to be general in chief of all the Union armies, and with his departure for the East, Grant was restored to command. Grant eventually pushed on down the Mississippi to besiege Vicksburg. After the surrender of Vicksburg and the fall of Port Hudson in the summer of 1863, the Mississippi River was under Union control and the Confederacy was cut in two. Command of the Army of Mississippi fell to Braxton Bragg, who was promoted to full general on April 6. In the fall of 1862, he led it on an unsuccessful invasion of Kentucky, culminating in his retreat from the Battle of Perryville.[59]
The two-day battle of Shiloh, the costliest in American history up to that time,[60] resulted in the defeat of the Confederate army and frustration of Johnston's plans to prevent the joining of the two Union armies in Tennessee. Union casualties were 13,047 (1,754 killed, 8,408 wounded, and 2,885 missing); Grant's army bore the brunt of the fighting over the two days, with casualties of 1,513 killed, 6,601 wounded, and 2,830 missing or captured. Confederate casualties were 10,699 (1,728 killed, 8,012 wounded, and 959 missing or captured).[61] The dead included the Confederate army's commander, Albert Sidney Johnston; the highest ranking Union general killed was W. H. L. Wallace. Both sides were shocked at the carnage. None suspected that three more years of such bloodshed remained in the war and that eight larger and bloodier battles were yet to come.[62] Grant came to realize that his prediction of one great battle bringing the war to a close was probably not destined to happen. The war would continue, at great cost in casualties and resources, until either the Confederacy or the Union was successful. Grant also learned a valuable personal lesson on preparedness that (mostly) served him well for the rest of the war

[Hoosier_Vol]

Just wanted to say that this is one of my favorite VN threads and I appreciate the work that goes into it...keep it up!

[farmersdaughter]

Originally Posted by Crazed Vol

Just wanted to say that this is one of my favorite VN threads and I appreciate the work that goes into it...keep it up!

thanks, I really enjoy helping it along

[farmersdaughter]

April 8 1862

—Island Number Ten, on the Mississippi River, with the neighboring rebel works on the Tennessee shore, having surrendered yesterday, was taken possession of by the United States gunboats and troops under the command of Gen. Buford. Seventeen rebel officers and five hundred soldiers, including the sick and those on board transports, were taken prisoners. Seven rebel steamers, including the gunboat Grampus, were captured or sunk, and large quantities of military stores and ammunition were taken.— (Doc. 120.)
—General Halleck at St Louis, Mo., telegraphed to Secretary Stanton as follows: “Brigadier-Gen. W. M. Makall, late of the United States Adjutant-General’s Department, and two thousand of the rebel forces, have surrendered to Gen. Pope, and it is expected that many more will be captured to-day. Immense quantities of artillery and supplies have fallen into our hands.
“Later.—Gen. Pope has captured three generals, six thousand prisoners of war, one hundred siege pieces, and several field batteries, with immense quantities of small arms, tents, wagons, horses and provisions. Our victory is complete and overwhelming. We have not lost a single man.”
—The guerrillas in Western Virginia are still troublesome. Two secessionists belonging on the Valley River, in the upper end of Marion County, were shot this day by a detachment of Capt. Showalter’s company. Their names were Sack Barker and Levi Ashcraft. A band of guerrillas (supposed to belong to the same gang from which Riblet and Conway were captured) had taken prisoners a couple of young men, soldiers in Capt. Showalter’s company, and their comrades in rescuing them captured the two guerrillas above named, and killed them on their attempting to escape. This took place near Texas, on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.— N. Y. Tribune, April 15.
—Jefferson Davis proclaimed martial law over the department of East-Tennessee, under the command of Major-Gen. E. K. Smith, and the suspension of all civil jurisdiction, except in certain courts, and also the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. The distillation and sale of spirituous liquors was also prohibited. —(Doc. 141.)
—At Providence, Rhode Island, by order of Lieut. Gov. Arnold, a national salute was fired on the great bridge this afternoon, in honor of the National success at Island No. Tea—N. Y. Times, April 9.
—Gen. Milroy occupied Monterey, Va., this afternoon. The rear-guard of the enemy is at McDowell, and their mounted scouts were driven in on Wednesday, by a scouting party of Gen. Milroy’s command. Both Monterey and McDowell are in Highland County, Va.

[farmersdaughter]

April 9 1862

—Brigadier-Gen. Doubleday, in command of the military defences of the Potomac, issued a circular to the regiments in his brigade, forbidding the commanders from delivering up negroes, unless the claimants show authority from him.—N. Y. Evening Post, April 10.
—At Poughkeepsie, New-York, this day, all the bells of the city were rung and cannon fired, amidst great rejoicing, on account of the recent victories of the National troops.—Albany Statesman, April 10.
—This evening, Col. Wright, of the Sixth Missouri cavalry, returned to Cassville, Mo., having made a successful expedition with four companies of his command, through the south-west corner of the State. All jayhawking bands in that locality were dispersed. Several skirmishes took place, which resulted in the death of several prominent rebels. One hundred and twenty-five prisoners were captured, all of whom, except the leaders and twenty-five intractable ones, were released on taking the oath of allegiance. A number of horses were captured, together with one hundred and twenty-two head of cattle, three hundred and twenty-seven bushels of wheat, and four thousand five hundred pounds of bacon. All rebel gangs not captured were driven by Col. Wright down to Standwaith, a point on the line of the Indian territory, twenty-five miles below Neosho.—Missouri Democrat, April 12.
—Throughout the loyal States, large sums of money were raised for the relief of the wounded at the battle of Pittsburgh Landing, and tenders of surgical aid were made from various portions of the States.—National Intelligencer, April 11.
—A skirmish occurred at Whitemarsh Island, near Savannah, Ga., between some companies of the Thirteenth Georgia regiment and a Michigan regiment, resulting in the repulse of the latter, with the loss of about twenty. The confederates’ loss in killed and missing was five; slightly wounded, seven.—Savannah News, April 16.
—The Conscription Bill passed the rebel Congress this day.—Richmond Despatch, April 10. —(Doc. 123.)
—Governor Andrew Johnson, at Nashville, Tennessee, issued a proclamation, declaring vacant the offices of mayor, and most of the city councilmen, who refused to take the oath of allegiance to the United States, and appointed other persons to serve pro tempore, until a new election could be held by the people.—Nashville Banner, April 9.
—Jacksonville, Florida, was evacuated by the National troops this day. General Wright, the commander of the National forces, took possession of the schooners Anna C. Leverett and Magnum Bonum, belonging to private individuals, and the Government schooner James G. Still and steamers Cosmopolitan and Belvidere, and embarked fifteen hundred troops, with all their stores, two sections of Ransom’s battery, with fifty or sixty horses, thirty guns captured along the river from the rebels, and about one hundred loyal families, with such of their effects as could be readily brought away when the fleet set sail.—(Doc. 124.)
—Secretary of War Stanton issued an order that the chaplains of every regiment in the armies of the United States shall, on the first Sunday after the receipt of the order, give thanks to the Almighty for the great victories recently achieved by our armies, and invoking the continuance of his aid; and also tendering the thanks and congratulations of the department to Major-General Malleck for the signal ability and success that have distinguished all the military operations of his department, and to the army under his command for their spirit and courage, and to Generals Curtis, Sigel, Grant, Buell, and Pope, and the soldiers under their command, for their gallant and meritorious services.
The Secretary of the Navy sent a congratulatory despatch to Commodore Foote, tendering him and the officers and men under his command the thanks of the department for his recent brilliant success.
—General Prentiss and two thousand three hundred and eighty-six Union prisoners passed through Memphis, Tenn., this day. The men were in good spirits, and kindly treated by the inhabitants, particularly the Irish and German women. The citizens contented themselves with waving handkerchiefs and looking the interest which they dared not openly express. Gen. Prentiss made a Union speech to his men, and the citizens cheered him. The Provost-Marshal, L. D. McKissock, bade him remain silent Prentiss told him he had four to one more friends in Memphis than he, (McKissock,) and said to the citizens: “Keep quiet for a few weeks, and you will have an opportunity to cheer the old flag to your heart’s content.” The Union soldiers sang the Star-Spangled Banner, Red, White and Blue, Happy Land of Canaan, and Old John Brown, as they were starting on the cars for Tuscaloosa, Ala.—New-York Tribune, May 2.
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[farmersdaughter]

Battle of Albuquerque

Date April 8, 1862–April*9,*1862
Location Albuquerque, New Mexico
Result Union victory[1]

Edward R. S. Canby Henry Hopkins Sibley
Strength
~1,150 ~850
Casualties and losses

Sibley's New Mexico Campaign

The Battle of Albuquerque was a small engagement of the American Civil War in April 1862 between General Henry Hopkins Sibley's Army of New Mexico and a Union Army under Edward R. S. Canby.
[edit]Battle

The Confederates were on the retreat from New Mexico Territory after the Battle of Glorieta Pass. On April 8, Sibley's force occupied Albuquerque for a second time as they made their way south back to Confederate Arizona. Colonel Canby moved his army up from Fort Craig to ascertain the strength of the Confederates in Albuquerque.
Canby's artillery opened fire at long range from the edge of town for two days. The Union artillery ceased firing when a local citizen informed Canby the Confederates would not permit the civilians to seek shelter. Canby felt he had accomplished his mission; he knew the Rebels were still willing to put up resistance. The Union demonstration also caused Colonel Tom Green to hastily pull out of Santa Fe and move to Sibley's aid, hoping to counter attack in the morning. Under cover of darkness Canby's forces slipped away without the rebels' knowledge.[1]
Lacking the resources to take a large force captive, Canby hoped the Confederates would concentrate their forces together and move out of New Mexico in one unit. The rebels did indeed end their occupation of Albuquerque a few days later on April 12. Sibley left behind the sick and wounded along with eight mountain howitzers, buried near the edge of town.[2]

[farmersdaughter]

April 10 1862—In the rebel Senate at Richmond, Va., a bill was passed authorizing the issue of five millions of Treasury-notes of the denomination of one dollar and two dollars.—A joint resolution from the House, expressing the thanks of Congress to the patriotic women of the country for their contributions to the army, was concurred in.
The House of Representatives adopted resolutions of thanks to Gen. Sibley, his officers and men, for the victory in New-Mexico, and to the officers and men of the Patrick Henry, Jamestown, Teazer, and other vessels engaged in the naval battle at Hampton Roads, for their gallantry on the occasion.
Bills regulating the fees of Clerks, Marshals, and District-Attorneys, were passed. The maximum annual salary of District-Attorneys was fixed at five thousand dollars. The report of Capt. Buchanan of the naval battle at Hampton Roads was received, and two thousand five hundred copies of it ordered to be printed. Being a very lengthy document, its publication was necessarily deferred to a future day.—Richmond Whig, April 11.
—President Lincoln issued a proclamation recommending the people of the United States, on the next day of worship occurring after its reception, to give thanks to Almighty God for the recent victories, and to implore spiritual consolation for those who have been brought into affliction by the casualties and calamities of sedition and civil war.— (Doc. 127.)
—Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War of the United States, issued the following orders this day to the Military Supervisor of Telegraphs: “You are directed to stop all telegraphic communications to the Philadelphia Inquirer, until satisfactory proof is furnished to this department that the recent publication respecting operations by the army at Yorktown were duly authorized.
You will proceed to Fortress Monroe and make arrangements to enforce the orders of this department.
Ordered—That all applications for passes by newspaper editors or correspondents be referred to Col. Edwards S. Sanford, Military Supervisor of Telegraphs, etc., and be subject to such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by this department.”
The editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer states that the despatch deemed objectionable by the Secretary of War was countersigned by General Wool on the letter itself, and on the envelope, and feels confident of making a satisfactory explanation to the Government Meanwhile the editor requests that the order of Secretary Stanton be withheld from publication, or, if published, to be accompanied by this note of explanation.
—A Reception was given this evening, at the Academy of Music in New-York City, to the heroes of the frigates Cumberland and Congress, destroyed by the Merrimac in Hampton Roads. The Academy was crowded in every available part, and the most enthusiastic greeting was given to the men-o’-war’s men. Pelatiah Perit presided, and speeches were made by Professor Hitchcock, William M. Evarts, George Bancroft, and William E. Dodge. Descriptions of the fight and songs were given by the crew.—(Doc. 128.)
—Resolutions were unanimously adopted in both branches of the Massachusetts Legislature to-day, in furtherance of the suggestions of the Secretary of War, inviting the citizens of the Commonwealth to join, on Sunday next, in a general Te Deum in honor of the recent victories, and congratulating the Western States upon the valiant deeds of their soldiers in the Valley of the Mississippi.
Gov. Andrew ordered a salute of one hundred guns to be fired to-morrow, at noon, in honor of the recent victories.—Boston Courier, April 11.
—The police of St Louis, Mo., broke up an extensive counterfeiting establishment in that city, and seized about twenty-five thousand dollars in counterfeit United States Treasury Notes. —St. Louis News, April 11.
—Two fine batteries of rifled guns were this day found in the woods near the Mississippi river, below Island Number Ten.—Cincinnati Commercial, April 12.
—Humphrey Marshall, whose head-quarters were at Lebanon, Russell Co., Va., called out the militia of Russell, Washington, Scott, Wise, and Lee, to drive back the National troops threatening to advance by way of Pound Gap.—New York World.

[farmersdaughter]

April 11 1862

—Fort Pulaski surrendered to the National arms. Yesterday morning the preparations for its bombardment, under Brig.-Gen. Gilmore, were completed, and a communication under a flag of truce was forwarded to Col. Olmstead, the commander of Fort Pulaski, demanding the unconditional surrender of the place. To this Col. Olmstead replied in a very gentlemanly and witty note, stating that he was placed there “to defend, not to surrender the Fort.” Upon receipt of this, the batteries on Tybee opened fire. After firing a few rounds from the several batteries, a chance shot carried away the halliards on Pulaski, and the confederate flag fell to the earth. At this point the fire slackened, the Nationals not knowing but that the occupants of the Fort had concluded to succumb. Presently, instead of the white flag, the stars and bars were once more seen waving from a temporary flag-staff on the parapet. The batteries on Tybee recommenced with redoubled vigor, and the firing continued without cessation during the remainder of the day. Toward night, Gen. Gilmore being satisfied, from the effects of the Parrott guns and James’s projectiles during the day, of the practicability of breaching the Fort, again slackened the firing, in order to make arrangements for the planting of more guns at the Goat Point batteries, that point being the nearest to Pulaski, distance one thousand six hundred and eighty-five yards. From sunset till twelve o’clock, midnight, no firing was heard; from then until daylight an occasional shot was fired, and this morning two small breaches were visible at the distance of two miles, on the south-east face of the Fort. By twelve o’clock M., these, under the heavy and well-directed firing from the Goat Point batteries, had assumed most wonderful proportions, and at eighteen minutes past two P.m., the confederate flag was hauled down and a white flag displayed. A boat was then sent to Pulaski, and a surrender of the Fort was made. Col. Olmstead stated that it was impossible to hold out any longer, as the rifle shots were fast working their way into the magazines, and a goodly number of his guns were disabled, and ha was therefore compelled to comply with General Hunter’s demand; accordingly, the Seventh Connecticut, colonel Terry, was thrown into the Fort, and the munitions of war, provisions, etc., were turned over to the credit of the Union. Union loss—one killed and one wounded slightly. Confederate loss—three wounded. Amputation necessary, and performed in each case. Prisoners, three hundred and eighty-five, including officers. —(Doc. 126.)

—The Bill to emancipate slaves in the District of Columbia was passed by the House of Representatives of the United States. During the debate upon it, John J. Crittenden, of Kentucky, made a powerful speech, entering, in the name of his constituents, a protest not only against the bill, but against any measure calculated to agitate the question of slavery.

—Lieut. J. G. Baker, U.S.N., with an armed crew, on board the rebel prize schooner Bride, captured the rebel sloop Wren, at Shark’s Point, Va., after a chase of over two hours. The crew escaped.—Baltimore American, April 14.

—Huntsville,[1] Alabama, was this day occupied by the National forces under the command of Gen. Mitchel, without much resistance. Gen. Mitchcl’s official despatch says: “After a forced march of incredible difficulty, leaving Fayetteville yesterday at twelve, noon, my advanced guard, consisting of Turchin’s Brigade, Kennett’s cavalry, and Simonson’s battery, entered Huntsville this morning at six o’clock. The city was completely taken by surprise, no one having considered the march practicable in the time. We have captured about two hundred prisoners, fifteen locomotives, a large amount of passenger and box-platform cars, the telegraph apparatus and office, and two Southern mails. We have, at last, succeeded in cutting the great artery of railway communication between the Southern States.”—(Doc. 129.)

—The Adams Army Express carried away from Newbern, N. C, four hundred and thirty thousand dollars, the contributions of Burnside’s soldiers to their families at the North.—Newbern Progress, April 11.

—The Nashville (Tenn.) Union of this date has the following: “For several days the office of Governor Johnson, in the capital, has been thronged with secession men and women from the city and adjacent country, earnestly interceding for their sons who have been or are now in the rebel army, and expressing the utmost willingness and even anxiety to take the oath of allegiance to the good old Government, and faithfully discharge the duties of law-abiding and loyal citizens. Some of these distressed parents, for whom we feel the deepest sympathy, say that their sons were virtually forced into the rebel service by taunts and menaces, others that their pride led them to volunteer lest they should be subjected to the degradation of the draft, and others from various malign influences so hard to be resisted by the thoughtless adventurers and ambitious young men. Many instances of the most affecting nature could be adduced, but we forbear to intrude upon the sanctity of private grief “The improvement in the state of the public mind is most gratifying, and will be hailed with rapture by every patriotic heart. The work of restoration progresses most cheeringly. The spell of treason is broken, and the demon of enchantment lies powerless at the feet of our country’s genius.”

—The rebel iron-clad steamer Merrimac made her second appearance in Hampton Roads, Va., this day, in company with six smaller vessels, two of which were the Jamestown and Yorktown. After manœuvring in the Roads, and capturing three small vessels belonging to Unionists, the rebel fleet returned to Elizabeth River.—(Doc. 130.)

—The Secretary of War makes public acknowledgment to the Governors of Massachusetts, Indiana, and Ohio, and the Board of Trade of Pittsburgh, Pa., for their prompt offers of assistance for the relief of the officers and soldiers wounded in the late great battle on Tennessee River. Their offers have been accepted. It is understood that similarly humane and patriotic service has been rendered by other city and State authorities, and which have not been reported to the department, but are thankfully acknowledged. —War Order.

—To-day, while the Twelfth New-York volunteers, in command of Major Barnum, were on picket-duty in front of the enemy’s works near York River, Va., a regiment of rebels came out from under cover and advanced in line of battle. The Major rallied about three hundred of his men to receive them at musket-range, pouring in a deadly fire of Minie-balls, when the enemy retired, leaving behind their dead and wounded, which they afterwards removed in ambulances. Later in the day the rebels advanced in considerable force from another point, drove in the National pickets, and burnt a dwelling used by the Federal troops. During both these skirmishes the Unionists had three men slightly wounded. The Fifty-seventh and Sixty-third Pennsylvania regiments had also a brisk skirmish with the rebels near Yorktown, Va., in which we had two men killed and four wounded. The killed were E. Cross and James Thompson, company A, Sixty-third Pennsylvania regiment The wounded are Thomas Brooks, company C, Sixty-third regiment; D. R Lynch, company E, Sixty-third regiment; Sergt. Samuel Merunie, company E, Fifty-seventh regiment, and John Cochrane, company F, same regiment —Baltimore American, April 14.

—Grave complaints against Assistant-Surgeons Hewitt and Skipp having reached the War Department, they were suspended from duty, and ordered to report themselves. A negligent or inhuman surgeon is regarded by the department as an enemy of his country and of his race, and will be dealt with according to the utmost rigor of military law. —Secretary Stanton’s Order. [1]

Huntsville is the shire town of Madison County, Alabama. It is on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, one hundred and fifty miles north north-east from Tuscaloosa, and one hundred and sixteen miles in a southerly direction from Nashville. The town contains many handsome buildings, and a court-house which cost forty-five thousand dollars, and a bank building which, cost eighty thousand dollars. The town contains six churches, a federal land office, three newspaper offices, and two female seminaries. It is in the midst of a fine farming region, and among the south-western spurs of the Alleghany range.

[farmersdaughter]

Originally Posted by JTrainDavis

April 12, 1861-South Carolina secessionists under P.G.T. Beaureguard, assisted by future Confederate Corps commander Stephen D. Lee, commence a bombardment of Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor.

The Rubicon has been crossed, though nobody knows the cost.

One year later .......



April 12 1862

—The Nineteenth Regiment of South Carolina volunteer State troops, reached Augusta, Ga., to-day, on their way to the West. After reaching the Georgia Railroad depot, a large number of them—variously stated at one to three hundred—refused to proceed further, alleging that they were enlisted to serve the State of South Carolina, and were willing to fight in her defence, but that they would not go out of the State. Some declared that they would have gone if they had been consulted before starting, but that their officers had not notified them that they were to leave the State. Others had furloughs, and desired to see their families. The officers urged in vain the stigma that would rest upon them for refusing to go where their country most needed their services, and the reproach they would bring upon the State of South-Carolina, which had been foremost in the work of resistance. Their appeals were unavailing, and the malcontents returned to the Carolina depot Some of the officers telegraphed to Adjt-Gen. Gist for instructions, and that his reply was: “Arrest them— they are deserters of the worst character.” Gen. Ripley sent similar instructions. About thirty of the mutinists belonged to the command of Capt Gregg, Graniteville. He was proceeding to execute the order of Gen. Gist, when many of his men and others that refused to go on in the morning, took the evening train which conveyed the Tenth regiment, Col. Manigault. “We deem it proper to make this statement of the facts of this unfortunate affair,” says the Constitutionalist, “leaving the press and public sentiment of South-Carolina to assign the proper position to all parties concerned. It was at best a melancholy spectacle to see the sons of our gallant sister State turning their backs upon the region threatened by the invader’s tread, and if there is any circumstance to palliate their conduct which we have not stated, we shall be glad to make it public.”—Augusta Constitutionalist, April 13.

—Lowry’s Point batteries on the Rappahannock River, Va., were evacuated by the rebels this day.—New-York Commercial, April 18.

—The Nassau (N. P.) Guardian of this day contains a “complete list” of all the arrivals at that place from confederate ports since the commencement of the National blockade. “It is not with the view of expatiating on the effectiveness of the blockade,” says the Guardian, “that we have compiled this table, but to show to our merchants the importance of the trade that has recently grown up, and which, if properly fostered, may attain much wider proportions. The majority of the vessels mentioned have again run the blockade into confederate ports, but of these we need not present a record. “It is a notable circumstance that the arrivals from the Southern States are far more numerous than those from the North, with which our intercourse is free and unrestrained.”—(Doc. 131.)

—At Fort Pulaski, Ga., this day, the following general order was issued by command of Major-Gen. David Hunter, U.S.A.: “All persons of color lately held to involuntary service by enemies of the United States, in Fort Pulaski and on Cockspur Island, Ga., are hereby confiscated and declared free, in conformity with law, and shall hereafter receive the fruits of their own labor. Such of said persons of color as are able-bodied, and may be required, shall be employed in the Quartermaster’s Department, at the rate heretofore established by Brig.-Gen. W. T. Sherman.” Gen. Hunter also addressed to Mr. Pierce, the Treasury Agent in charge of the Sea Island plantations, a letter asking for “the names of the former owners, and the number of persons formerly held to involuntary service,” in charge of the Government agents. On receiving this information, it is the intention of Gen. Hunter to afford said owners a reasonable time to prove their fealty to the Government, and then in case of their failure to do so, and upon sufficient proof of their treason, he will at once restore these slaves to freedom.—Cincinnati Gazette, April 23.

—Pocahontas, Ark., was taken possession of by a body of Indiana cavalry, under the command of Capt. G. P. Deweese.— (Doc. 137.)

—This morning two expeditions were started from Huntsville, Ala., in the cars captured by Gen. Mitchel yesterday. One under Col. Sill, of the Thirty-third Ohio, went east to Stevens, the junction of the Chattanooga with the Memphis and Charleston Railroads, at which point they seized two thousand of the enemy, who were retreating, without firing a shot, and captured five locomotives and a large amount of rolling stock. The other expedition, under Col. Turchin, of the Nineteenth Illinois regiment, went west, and arrived at Decatur in time to save the railroad bridge, which was in flames. General Mitchell now holds a hundred miles of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad.—Philadelphia Press, April 15.

—Commodore Foote, with the Western flotilla and mortar-boats, en route for Fort Pillow, left New-Madrid, Mo., accompanied by a large body of National troops.—New-York World, April 16.

—Four companies of the Connecticut Eighth Regiment had a skirmish this day with a force of rebels of one hundred and fifty men that made a sortie from Fort Macon, the rebels driving in the Union pickets. After a sharp engagement the rebels were driven back to the Fort. Capt. Schaffer and one private of company II, of the Eighth Connecticut, were severely wounded. The rebels were seen to take four of their men into the Fort, one of them supposed dead. During the engagement Fort Macon fired seventy shots at the engaging forces.—New- York Herald.

—This day a party of Union soldiers sent from Kansas City in search of Quantrel’s band of outlaws,came upon them near the Little Blue River, in Jackson County, Mo., and after a hard fight, succeeded in killing five, and capturing seventeen of them. Quantrel had his horse shot from under him, and made his escape by swimming the Missouri River.—St. Louis News, April 17.

—Brig.-Gen. Shields, at Woodstock, Va., issued the following general order: “The General commanding the division directs that the special thanks of himself and command be tendered to Capt Ambrose Thompson, Division Quartermaster, for the energy, industry, and efficiency with which he has conducted the affairs of his Department previous to and during the battle of Winchester, and in his untiring and successful efforts since to employ every means which judgment and activity could devise to furnish this division with every thing required to render it efficient in the field. This order will be published to the command as an assurance of our appreciation of his ability, and a copy of the same will be furnished Capt. Ambrose Thompson.”

—The United States revenue steamer Reliance arrived at Baltimore, Md., this morning, with four prize vessels —the schooners Hartford, Bride, Whig and Two Brothers—all captured in Wicomico River, between the mouths of the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers, Va. They had all been landing coffee, salt, flour, flannel and whiskey for the rebels.—New-York Herald, April 13.

—Near Monterey, Va., the rebels about one thousand strong, with cavalry companies and two pieces of artillery, attacked the National pickets this morning about ten o’clock, and drove them some two miles. Gen. Milroy sent out reenforcements consisting of two companies of the Seventy-fifth Ohio, two companies of the Second Virginia, two companies of the Thirty-second Ohio, one gun of Capt. Hyman’s battery, and one company of cavalry, all under Major Webster. The skirmishing was brisk for a short time, but the rebels were put to flight with considerable loss. The casualties on the National side were three men of the Seventy-fifth badly wounded. The men behaved nobly.—Gen. Milroy’s Despatch.

[farmersdaughter]

April 13 1862

—The United States steamer Hercules, under the command of Lieut. Thomas S. Dungan, captured the rebel sloop Velma, this day. On searching the vessel there was found a large mail, many of which were addressed to persons in Baltimore, and a larger number to persons in various parts of Maryland. On searching the crew there was also found two thousand dollars in old Virginia Bank notes. The Velma had some time previously been cleared from Baltimore for Pokomoke Sound, Va., with a cargo consisting of provisions of various kinds. This cargo, instead of being discharged in a Maryland port, was taken over to Great Wicomico River and there discharged within the boundaries of Virginia. The sloop in ballast was coming back to get a new cargo. The rebel captain, Samuel D. Lankford, previous to being captured, burned his commission in the fire, the remnants of which being found among the ashes, he acknowledged the fact, and also that he had been engaged in the battle of Manassas, and before he would take the oath of allegiance he would rot in prison.— Baltimore American, April 14.

—In general orders Gen. Halleck thanked the officers and men of the United States army for the heroism displayed in the two days’ battles at Pittsburgh Landing, Tenn.— (Doc. 139.)

—A force of four thousand men on five transports left Pittsburgh Landing, Tenn., last night, accompanied by the gunboats Tyler and Lexington, and proceeded up the Tennessee River to a point near Eastport, Miss., where they landed this morning, and proceeded inland to Bear Creek Bridge, and destroyed the two bridges on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, one measuring one hundred and twenty-one and the other two hundred and ten feet in length. A cavalry force of one hundred and fifty men was found there, who, after having four killed, made good their retreat The expedition returned to-night, without having lost a man.—National Intelligencer, April 17.

—In Baltimore, Md., at all the Roman Catholic churches, special prayers were recited by order of the Most Reverend Archbishop Kenrick, in accordance with the request of the President of the United States, and were responded to with very general unanimity.—Balt. American, April 14.

—A Gunboat fight took place this day at Needham’s Cut Off, on the Mississippi River, forty-five miles below New-Madrid, Mo., between the National flotilla, under the command of Commodore Foote, and five rebel gunboats,in which the latter were compelled to retire.—Louisville Journal.

—Lieut. Shoemaker, of company H, Fourth Ohio cavalry, on an reconnoitring expedition, this day, with a small body of men,about fifteen miles west of Decatur, Ala., came upon sixteen rebel cavalry, who immediately fled to a swamp and, dismounting, left their horses and plunged into the thicket Ordering his men to dismount, Lieut. Shoemaker followed the rebels on foot, killing one, capturing five, and returning to camp with his prisoners and a dozen extra horses.—Cincinnati Gazette.

—Major-General Halleck, in a despatch to Secretary Stanton, dated Pittsburgh, Tenn., said: “It is the unanimous opinion here that Brig.-Gen. W. T. Sherman saved the fortune of the day on the sixth, and contributed largely to the glorious victory of the seventh. He was in the thickest of the fight on both days, having three horses killed under him, and being wounded twice. I respectfully request that he be made a Major General of volunteers, to date from the sixth instant”

[farmersdaughter]

April 14 1862

—This day the Potomac flotilla visited the town of Urbana, Va. A boat’s crew was sent ashore there, but when within a few yards of the beach, they were fired upon from the rifle-pits. No one was injured. The boat received several bullets in her hull. The Jacob Bell being the nearest in, immediately opened fire upon the rebels, which scattered them in every direction. After this, the flotilla proceeded on its voyage toward Fredericksburgh. Arriving opposite Lowry’s Point batteries, they commenced from the whole fleet to shell the works and fortifications, driving out the pickets who had occupied it since its evacuation.
After the shelling, the boats’ crews landed and proceeded to burn some one hundred and fifty plank and log houses, used by the rebels as quarters, which were entirely consumed. After which, the boats returned to their ships, loaded with blankets, quilts, medicines, and muskets, left by the rebels in their flight.
The fleet thence proceeded to the town of Tappahannock, about two miles above Fort Lowry, arriving off which, a blank cartridge was fired and a flag of truce hoisted, which was responded to by the people of the town, by displaying a number of white flags. The commander of the flotilla landed, where he was met at the beach by a large concourse of persons of all colors, and received with great demonstrations by the colored population.
The American flag was run up over one of the largest houses in the town, when it was hailed with enthusiastic cheering by the crews of the National gunboats. Subsequently the commander was informed that some of the people of the place had said that as soon as the National fleet left, it would be torn down. He then politely told them if it was he would give them six hours to leave the town before he burnt it
Information was given by the contrabands that four large schooners and other obstructions had been placed in the narrow channel of the river five miles below Fredericksburgh, to prevent approach to that place, where lie the steamers St Nicholas, Eureka, and Logan, the former mounted with two guns.—(Doc. 132.)
—This day, below Pollocksville, near Kingston, N. C, a skirmish took place between a detachment of the Second North-Carolina cavalry regiment and the Yankee pickets. Lieut.-Col. Robinson, who commanded, is probably a prisoner. Capt. Turner was hurt by a fall from his horse. Two privates were seriously injured, and five wounded with gun – shots. — Richmond Whig, April 17.
—The issue at Yorktown is tremendous. When the battle does come off it will be a fearful one, for the stake is enormous, being nothing less than the fate of Virginia. Having taken months to prepare, having assembled such a force as the world has not seen since Napoleon advanced into Russia, McClellan feels that to him defeat would be ruin, while confederate soldiers and leaders feel that not only their fate, but the fate of their country, is staked upon the issue, and they cannot afford to be defeated. The contest cannot long be deferred. The news of a terrible battle may startle us at any moment. We trust that our people arc prepared, not only to call upon God to defend the right, but, under God, to defend it themselves, with brave hearts, strong arms, and sufficient numbers.
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Wave, Richmond! all thy banners wave,
And charge with all thy chivalry!
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For not only the fate of the temporary seat of Government, but of Eastern Virginia, and even more than that, trembles in the balance. We presume that President Davis himself will be on the field, as he has intimated. He will share the fate of his soldiers in life or in death, in victory or defeat.— Wilmington Journal, April 14.
—The bombardment of Fort Pillow, on the Mississippi, was this day begun by the mortar-boats of Flag-Officer Foote.—Official Despatch.