RE: Civil War 150th

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RE: Civil War 150th

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RE: Civil War 150th - 5/13/2013 4:54:22 AM

Capt. Harlock

Posts: 3656
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
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150 Years Ago Today:

Arriving at Jackson, Mississippi, Joseph Johnston set about gathering whatever troops he could to add to his meager force of three thousand. But he found he was critically short on time: scouts reported the advance of Grant's army after the Battle of Raymond, and Jonston knew unless something was done within a day or two, the city would fall to the Yankees. The only army that had a chance of stopping the Northerners was that under John Pemberton.

I therefore sent a note to that officer [General Pemberton] by Captain Yerger, who happened to be in Jackson and volunteered to bear it, informing him of the position of McPherson�s corps between us at Clinton; urging the importance of reestablishing his communications, that reenforcements might join his army, and ordering, �if practicable come up on his rear at once. To beat such a detachment would be of immense value. The troops here could cooperate. All the force you can quickly assemble should be brought. Time is all-important.�

-- Joseph E. Johnston, Narrative of Military Operations During the Civil War

Unluckily for Johnston, once again a battle plan found its way into enemy hands:

On the night of the 13th Johnston sent the following dispatch to Pemberton at Edward's Station:
"I have lately arrived, and learn that Major-General Sherman is between us with four divisions at Clinton. It is important to establish communication, that you may be reinforced. If practicable, come up in his rear at once. To beat such a detachment would be of immense value. All the troops you can quickly assemble should be brought. Time is all-important."

This dispatch was sent in triplicate, by different messengers. One of the messengers happened to be a loyal man who had been expelled from Memphis some months before by Hurlbut for uttering disloyal and threatening sentiments. There was a good deal of parade about his expulsion, ostensibly as a warning to those who entertained the sentiments he expressed; but Hurlbut and the expelled man understood each other. He delivered his copy of Johnston's dispatch to McPherson who forwarded it to me.

--The Personal Memoirs of General U. S. Grant

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)

Post #: 841

RE: Civil War 150th - 5/14/2013 8:39:14 PM

Capt. Harlock

Posts: 3656
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
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150 years Ago Today:

In Jackson, Mississippi, General Joe Johnston realized he wasn't going to get the help he needed in time. He had increased the size of his force from 3,000 men to 6,000, but many of the additions had little training. And there were two full Union corps marching towards him -- on the very roads that he had hoped would bring the Confederates under John Pemberton. (Those Confederates, incidentally, were not moving because Grant's third corps was threatening their position at Edward's Station.)

Johnston ordered the evacuation of his force, along with all the equipment and stores they could manage. He posted reargards on the two roads to slow down the oncoming Yankees. They were commanded by the luckless John Gregg, who had been beaten by many of the same Northern troops at Raymond. For a few hours the Rebels brought the bluecoats to a standstill, aided by a rain-storm which mde one Union commander reluctant to order his men to open their cartrige boxes and get their ammunition wet. But then a local black man reached Sherman's corps and informed the Northerners that the city had been evacuated, and there was only one battery of Southern guns firing to make a show.

Armed with this information, Sherman's men circled around and overran the battery from the rear, capturing men and guns. Sherman sent the good news to James McPherson, commanding the other Union corps. The news also reached the Confederate rearguard opposite McPherson's force, and before long they were flying in retreat or taken prisoner. Happily for Johnston, he had had enough time to make good his escape with the rest of his small army. The bad news was that he had lost several guns and about 850 men, roughly one-seventh of his force.

That evening, the Yankees camped in Jackson. Joe Johnston had not taken the precaution of destroying the liquor in the city, and a number of Union soldiers got drunk and helped themselves to civilian property as well as the military stores they were ordered to seize. There was little that could be done to stop them without turning Northern soldiers against each other, so Grant ignored the goings-on and set up his headquarters at Bowman House, which was where Johnston's headquarters had been. That night, the Union commander slept in what was very likely the same bed the Confederate commander had slept in the night before.

Map by Hal Jespersen, www.cwmaps.com

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)

Post #: 842

RE: Civil War 150th - 5/15/2013 5:12:48 AM

Capt. Harlock

Posts: 3656
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline

150 Years Ago Today:

Joe Johnston had managed to retreat his meager army north from Jackson, and still hoped to link up with John Pemberton's larger force. But Grant understood the situation fully as well as Johnston, and rather better than Pemberton. The Union commander ordered McPherson's XVII corps to march back out of Jackson after just one day, heading for Bolton Station. Also, he sent orders to McClernand's XII corps to march to Bolton directly. McClernand did so, evading the Confederate forces in the area with surprising skill for a political general. As for Sherman's XV corps:

Sherman was to remain in Jackson until he destroyed that place as a railroad centre, and manufacturing city of military supplies. He did the work most effectually. Sherman and I went together into a manufactory which had not ceased work on account of the battle nor for the entrance of Yankee troops. Our presence did not seem to attract the attention of either the manager or the operatives, most of whom were girls. We looked on for a while to see the tent cloth which they were making roll out of the looms, with "C. S. A." woven in each bolt. There was an immense amount of cotton, in bales, stacked outside. Finally I told Sherman I thought they had done work enough. The operatives were told they could leave and take with them what cloth they could carry. In a few minutes cotton and factory were in a blaze. The proprietor visited Washington while I was President to get his pay for this property, claiming that it was private.

--The Personal Memoirs of General U. S. Grant

Sherman's most important task was to completely wreck all the railways, making the city useless to the Confederates as a transport hub. The art of destroying rail lines had evolved as the Civil War went on. At first, the rails were simply heaved up, and thrown to one side. However, when the other side re-occupied the area, with enough men it was a simple matter to fetch the rails back and hammer them into place again. When this was realized, the invaders would build a bonfire, heat a small section of the rails, and bend them. But blacksmiths were common at that time, and with another fire, the rails could be unbent, sighting down the length to ensure straightness, and returned to service.

Therefore, a third technique began to be employed. The invaders now heated a larger section of the rails, carried them over to a tree or telegraph pole by the ends, and wrapped them fully around, often twisting the ends. There is reason to believe that Stonewall Jackson's men actually invented this refinement. For Northern railways it was a problem: the rails could not be used again until they had been sent to a rolling mill to make them sufficiently straight, and it was generally easier just to get new rails. But for the Southern lines, it was an all but insurmountable obstacle. There simply was not any spare mill or foundry capacity. If it was vital to repair the line, a smaller line would have to be "cannibalized" for the neded rails. It was likely here that Sherman's men first used the time-consuming but effective work on a large scale, and from then on the twisted rails would be known as "Sherman Neckties".

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)

Post #: 843

RE: Civil War 150th - 5/16/2013 4:41:17 AM

Capt. Harlock

Posts: 3656
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
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150 Years Ago Today:

The most important Civil War battle that is not a famous name was fought at Champion's Hill, Mississippi. So far, everything had been going well for Grant's army, but he was still in a very high-stakes gamble. As long as his men kept moving, they took food from the local farms, but if they stopped they would soon exhaust what was available. More, now that they had abandoned their supply lines, there was only enough artillery ammunition for one day of serious battle. And they were about to finally meet the main body of Confederates under John Pemberton.

Early in the morning, the two sides made the initial contact:

Smith's division on the most southern road was the first to encounter the enemy's pickets, who were speedily driven in. Osterhaus, on the middle road, hearing the firing, pushed his skirmishers forward, found the enemy's pickets and forced them back to the main line. About the same time Hovey encountered the enemy on the northern or direct wagon road from Jackson to Vicksburg. McPherson was hastening up to join Hovey, but was embarrassed by Hovey's trains occupying the roads. I was still back at Clinton. McPherson sent me word of the situation, and expressed the wish that I was up. By half-past seven I was on the road and proceeded rapidly to the front, ordering all trains that were in front of troops off the road. When I arrived Hovey's skirmishing amounted almost to a battle.

McClernand was in person on the middle road and had a shorter distance to march to reach the enemy's position than McPherson. I sent him word by a staff officer to push forward and attack. These orders were repeated several times without apparently expediting McClernand's advance.

--The Personal Memoirs of General U. S. Grant

In the late morning, one Northern division (Hovey's) managed to push back the Southerners opposing them, and capture a number of guns and several hundred prisoners. But the attack was not coordinated with the rest of the army, and a Confederate counter-attack pushed them back and recaptured the guns (for the moment). The battle continued to rage, and the Union division would lose a full third of its strength before the day ended. The issue was very much in the balance.

But in the afternoon, the Confederate position began to crumble. Why this happened is not really clear: the Northerners had the edge in numbers, but only by about three to two, which was generally not enough to overcome a good defensive set-up. Possibly the weight of Federal artillery made itself felt, or possibly Pemberton was showing weakness as a battlefield commander, while Grant's active presence encouraged his men. Whatever the cause, a Union charge using the troops from Sherman's corps that had just come up to the field broke through the Rebel line, and in Grant's words, "the enemy fled precipitately".

Pemberton ordered retreat, assigning a brigade under Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman as a rearguard. Interestingly, the escape route had been blocked for a time by Northern troops, but Grant had pulled them away to reinforce a badly mauled unit elsewhere. The Confederate rearguard managed to hold the road open, but at the cost of a number of casualties including Brigadier Tilghman himself, killed by artillery fire. The retreat soon degenerated into a rout.

Map by Hal Jespersen, www.cwmaps.com

The Battle of Champion's Hill was the biggest battle of Grant's Vicksburg Campaign. It was also the most decisive. The tally of casualties was bad enough for the Rebels; they had lost 381 killed, 1,018 wounded, and 2,441 missing or captured, while the Union losses were 410 killed, 1,844 wounded, and 187 missing. But the actual cost was greater than that, for Southerners had abandoned a good deal of equipment, and a full division had retreated the wrong way. (It eventually marched all the way back to Jackson, effectively out of the campaign.) Most of all, their unit cohesion had been broken, and they needed time to re-group. It was time that Grant had no intention of giving them. He pushed the pursuit as hard as he could, until it became too dark for men to see the roads they marched on.

In the meantime, back at the city of Jackson, Sherman and his corps had been completing the job of destruction. He had already sent one division on the road, which reached Champion Hill just in time, when he received orders to hurry the rest of his command to Grant's force. Sherman's men hastily finished their work:

Just as I was leaving Jackson, a very fat man came to see me, to inquire if his hotel, a large, frame building near the depot, were doomed to be burned. I told him we had no intention to burn it, or any other house, except the machine-shops, and such buildings as could easily be converted to hostile uses. He professed to be a law-abiding Union man, and I remember to have said that this fact was manifest from the sign of his hotel, which was the "Confederate Hotel;" the sign "United States" being faintly painted out, and "Confederate" painted over it! I remembered that hotel, as it was the supper-station for the New Orleans trains when I used to travel the road before the war. I had not the least purpose, however, of burning it, but, just as we were leaving the town, it burst out in flames and was burned to the ground.

--Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman

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< Message edited by Capt. Harlock -- 5/16/2013 4:50:45 AM >

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)

Post #: 844

RE: Civil War 150th - 5/17/2013 3:47:24 AM

Capt. Harlock

Posts: 3656
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
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150 Years Ago Today:

Grant's army resumed the pursuit of the defeated Confederates from Champion Hill. It didn't take long to find them, at a key bridge on the road to Vicksburg:

As I expected, the enemy was found in position on the Big Black. The point was only six miles from that where my advance had rested for the night, and was reached at an early hour.

--The Personal Memoirs of General U. S. Grant

Grant quickly placed his men in position for an assault. There was, however, just time for a little disobedience of orders:

While the troops were standing as here described an officer from [Nathaniel] Banks' staff came up and presented me with a letter from General Halleck, dated the 11th of May. It had been sent by the way of New Orleans to Banks to be forwarded to me. It ordered me to return to Grand Gulf and to co-operate from there with Banks against Port Hudson, and then to return with our combined forces to besiege Vicksburg. I told the officer that the order came too late, and that Halleck would not give it now if he knew our position. The bearer of the dispatch insisted that I ought to obey the order, and was giving arguments to support his position when I heard great cheering to the right of our line and, looking in that direction, saw Lawler in his shirt sleeves leading a charge upon the enemy. I immediately mounted my horse and rode in the direction of the charge, and saw no more of the officer who delivered the dispatch; I think not even to this day. . .

The assault was successful. But little resistance was made. The enemy fled from the west bank of the river, burning the bridge behind him and leaving the men and guns on the east side to fall into our hands. Many tried to escape by swimming the river. Some succeeded and some were drowned in the attempt. Eighteen guns were captured and 1,751 prisoners. Our loss was 39 killed, 237 wounded and 3 missing. The enemy probably lost but few men except those captured and drowned. But for the successful and complete destruction of the bridge, I have but little doubt that we should have followed the enemy so closely as to prevent his occupying his defences around Vicksburg.

--The Personal Memoirs of General U. S. Grant

Map by Hal Jespersen, www.cwmaps.com

Although Sherman and his men were marching rapidly, they would not arrive in time for the day's action. They did, however, find themselves in a surprising place:

Just beyond Bolton there was a small hewn-log house, standing back in a yard, in which was a well; at this some of our soldiers were drawing water. I rode in to get a drink, and, seeing a book on the ground, asked some soldier to hand it to me. It was a volume of the Constitution of the United States, and on the title-page was written the name of Jefferson Davis. On inquiry of a negro, I learned that the place belonged to the then President of the Southern Confederation.

--Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman

The Yankees had overrun Brierfield, the plantation of Jefferson Davis, where he had received the word that the Montgomery Convention had selected him as President.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Capt. Harlock -- 5/19/2013 12:11:13 AM >

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)

Post #: 845

RE: Civil War 150th - 5/18/2013 4:41:56 AM

Capt. Harlock

Posts: 3656
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline

150 Years Ago Today:

In twenty-four hours, Grant's men had built not just one but two bridges across the Big Black River to replace the what the Rebels had burned. Further north, Sherman's force had laid a pontoon bridge, for Sherman had wisely moved the wagons carrying the pontoons to front of his columns. The Northerners streamed across, but their first objective was not the city of Vicksburg.

The memoirs of Grant and Sherman are oddly contradictory here. Grant claimed that he and Sherman both personally rode with their advanced skirmishers, and were among the first at Hayne's Bluff, overlooking the Mississippi River to the north. Sherman, however, does not mention Grant as being in the area, and wrote that he sent cavalry to occupy the ground, rather than going himself.

But the bottom line is that the Federals had seized what Stephen Ambrose has described as "the most important single piece of real estate in the Confederate States of America." It was the key to Vicksburg, and Vicksburg was the key to the Mississippi. It was also the spot needed for Grant to re-establish a supply line.

In the vicinity of Jackson, General Joe Johnston had already realized this:

...my fourth order to Lieutenant-General Pemberton was dispatched. It was this: �If Haynes�s Bluff is untenable, Vicksburg is of no value and cannot be held; if, therefore, you are invested in Vicksburg you must ultimately surrender. Under such circumstances, instead of losing both troops and place, we must, if possible, save the troops. If it is not too late, evacuate Vicksburg and its dependencies, and march to the northeast.�

--Joseph E. Johnston, Narrative of Military Operations During the Civil War

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)

Post #: 846

RE: Civil War 150th - 5/19/2013 3:53:03 AM

Capt. Harlock

Posts: 3656
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
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150 Years Ago Today:

All three corps of Grant's army were now in contact with the defenses of Vicksburg. They spent the morning spreading out, blocking all the roads leading out of the city. Confederate commander John Pemberton had called a council of war to discuss the evacuation of his army, and the general agreement was no. The heavy artillery and the large amounts of stores in the city could not be brought out, and the impact on morale would be devastating. And though it was the order of Joseph Johnston, it was against the instructions of the War Department in Richmond. Even as the council broke up, they heard the sounds of Yankee cannon: it was too late in any case. The Southern troops would stay and fight. And fight they did:

On the supposition that the garrison of Vicksburg was demoralized by the defeats at Champion Hills and at the railroad crossing of the Big Black, General Grant ordered an assault at our respective fronts on the 19th. My troops reached the top of the parapet, but could not cross over. The rebel parapets were strongly manned, and the enemy fought hard and well. My loss was pretty heavy, falling chiefly on the Thirteenth Regulars, whose commanding officer, Captain Washington, was killed, and several other regiments were pretty badly cut up. We, however, held the ground up to the ditch till night, and then drew back only a short distance, and began to counter-trench. On the graveyard road, our parapet was within less than fifty yards of the rebel ditch.

--Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman

The Rebels had had a day and a morning to pull themselves together after the defeats of Champion Hill and Big Black River, and they had made it count. Now they could fight behind solid fortifications, and thanks to much stockpiling, they had all the ammunition they could ask for.

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)

Post #: 847

RE: Civil War 150th - 5/21/2013 7:43:47 PM

t001001001

Posts: 138
Joined: 4/30/2009
Status: offline

Sorry for my post a few months back, Harlock. I didn't mean at all that your posts are dishonest. I think your thread is awesome I hope it's one day put into book form.

The drunken point I was trying to make

is that I trust Sherman's account of what happened regarding any particular event. Mostly b/c he wrote about all the mistakes he made and flaws of his character. He didn't give a crap about making himself 'look good', it seems he just wrote down what, to the best of his knowledge, had actually happened. For whatever reason that causes me to trust his thoughts over other ppl who were there at the time.

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)

Post #: 848

RE: Civil War 150th - 5/21/2013 8:40:32 PM

Capt. Harlock

Posts: 3656
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline

150 Years Ago Today:

Though he and (most) of his men had escaped from Jackson, there was now no chance for Joseph Johnston to combine his force with the Confederate army at Vicksburg. To put together a relief force, he would need men from elsewhere. And he would need a lot: Grant had opened up a new supply route for his Union Army of the Tennessee, and more bluecoats were coming in to make good his losses. Johnston decided that the best source was the garrison of Port Hudson, about 7,500 men. He sent orders to the commander, General Franklin Gardner, to evacuate and join him.

But, after their remarkable raid across the South, Benjamin Grierson and his Federal cavalry had joined Nathaniel Banks' army advancing on Port Hudson (which Grant had originally been ordered to join). On this date, the Union troopers encountered Confederate forces in East Baton Rouge Parish. Both sides quickly sent back for reinforcements. The Northern infantry arrived first, causing the Southerners to retreat. The fighting died down for a time, until the Southern reinforcements arrived, and succeeded in gaining back some of the lost ground. But the Union commander rallied his troops and sent them forward again. This time the Confederates had to fall back all the way to the outer defenses of Port Hudson.

Casualties of this Battle of Plains Store were light: about 150 on the Union side and 100 on the Confederate side. But the potential strategic impact was immense. The Rebel garrison now had no escape route from Port Hudson. Johnston would have to look elsewhere for his troops, and there was no good place to get them.

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to t001001001)

Post #: 849

RE: Civil War 150th - 5/22/2013 4:54:39 AM

Capt. Harlock

Posts: 3656
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
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150 Years Ago Today:

Neither Grant nor his men were willing to accept the failure to storm the Vicksburg defenses on the 19th. Regular rations had begun to arrive from the Northern supply ships on the Mississippi, and there was now a feeling that with proper set-up and artillery preparation, the Rebel entrenchments could be overrun. The plans had been made, and both Grant's cannon and those on Admiral Porter's gunboats began pounding away early in the morning.

But for once Sherman seems to have made a serious error. He had decided to focus his men's attack on a narrow part of the Confederate line, and selected a cut through a nearby hill that would allow his troops to approach within 150 yards (130 m) before they could be fired on. But the cut was narrow, allowing only a limited number, and it meant that instead of a "human wave" attack, there would be more of a stream. In fairness, the terrain had numerous ravines and other features that made it difficult to mount a charge elsewhere.

When the attack was launched at 10:00 a.m., the firepower of rifled muskets and artillery focused in a narrow zone proved lethal. Sherman's men were cut down without being able to reach the Southern ramparts. Along the rest of the line, the Yankees were faring little better. McPherson's XVII Corps was also unable to advance all the way through the rain of Rebel lead and iron, and McClernand's XIII Corps could only take two outlying lunettes. And it might have been better if they could not, for once inside they could neither advance nor retreat without being exposed to the lethal Confederate fire.

McClernand called for reinforcements, and for renewed attacks along the line to relieve the pressure on his troops. This led to a controversy, for McClernand apparently exaggerated his men's advance and claimed to have captured an entire fort, leading to the hope that one more push would achieve the breakthrough that would give the Northerners Vicksburg. The attacks were renewed, but in Grant's words, they "served merely to increase our losses without giving any benefit whatever." The survivors of McClernand's assault managed to evacuate when darkness finally fell.

The day cost the Union 502 killed, 2,550 wounded, and 147 missing or captured, more that the Battle of Champion Hill. As not infrequently happened, no reliable tally of Confederate casualties exists, but it is estimated less than 500 men were lost. It was now clear to all on the Northern side that Vicksburg would have to be taken by siege.

Map by Hal Jespersen, www.cwmaps.com

Footnote: as a demonstration of how inexact a science history can be, Stephen Ambrose wrote an account that is quite different than the memoirs of either Sherman or Grant. According to Ambrose, McClernand's claim of success was accurate, and "He was the only corps commander who really made an effort that day; if Sherman and McPherson had attacked with the same energy, the assault would probably have worked." Your humble amateur historian has a skeptical view of this, since Union losses seem to have been about equally distributed among the three corps of the army. This also would have involved outright lies from Grant, both in his memoirs and his report to the War Department.

Attachment (1)

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)

Post #: 850