THE WAR IN THE SOUTHWEST: Commodore Foote and Gen. Pope at Fort Pillow; The Gunboats and Mortars Ready to Open Fire (4/17/1862)

New York Times - Times Machine ^ | 4/17/1862

[Homer_J_Simpson]

WASHINGTON, Wednesday, April 16.

The Secretary of the Navy has received the following:

CAIRO, Ill., Tuesday, April 15.

The flotilla has been within three-quarters of a mile of Fort Pillow, and then returning, took up a position two miles further up. The rebel gunboats escaped below the fort. Ten mortar boats were in position, and had opened fire. This is up to 6 o'clock last evening. Gen. POPE's command was occupying the Arkansas side of the river.

PHILADELPHIA, Wednesday, April 16.

A special dispatch from Washington to the Bulletin, says that a dispatch was received by the Navy Department, this morning, from Commodore FOOTE, saying that he is ready to attack Fort Pillow, having succeeded in getting a position for his gunboats in the river below the Fort. He has no doubt of success.

The following letter of thanks has been issued from the Navy Department, addressed to Flag-officer FOOTE:

NAVY DEPARTMENT, April 12 1862.

SIR: The Department desires to convey to the commander, HENRY WALKE, and the officers and men of the Carondelet, also to Acting First Master HOEL, of the Cincinnati, who volunteered for the occasion, its thanks for the gallant and successful service rendered in running the Carondelet past the rebel batteries on the night of the 4th inst. It was a daring and heroic act, well executed, and deserving of special recognition. Commendation is also to be extended to the officers and crew of the Pittsburgh, who in like manner, on the night of the 7th inst., performed a similar service. These fearless acts dismayed the enemy, enabled the army under Gen. POPE to cross the Mississippi, and eventuated in the surrender to yourself of Island No. 10, and finally to the capture by Gen. POPE of the forts on the Tennessee shore, and the

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Free Republic University, Department of History presents U.S. History, 1861-1865: Seminar and Discussion Forum
The American Civil War, as seen through news reports of the time and later historical accounts

First session: November 21, 2015. Last date to add: May 2025.
Reading: Self-assigned. Recommendations made and welcomed.

Posting history, in reverse order

https://www.freerepublic.com/tag/by:homerjsimpson/index?tab=articles

To add this class to or drop it from your schedule notify Admissions and Records (Attn: Homer_J_Simpson) by reply or freepmail.

Link to previous New York Times thread

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4055557/posts

[Homer_J_Simpson]

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[Homer_J_Simpson]

The War in the Southwest: Commodore Foote and Gen. Pope at Fort Pillow – 2
The Pittsburgh Landing Battle: Gen. Grant’s Official Report with the Accompanying Documents – 2-6
The Battle of Apache Pass: Report to the War Department – 6
Important from Washington: The Abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia – 6-7
Editorial: End of Slavery in the District of Columbia – 7
Editorial: Gen. Sidney Johnston’s Report – 7-8
Gen. Grant’s Official Report of the Battle at Pittsburgh – 8
The War in the Far West – 8-9
Editorial: Delaying Our Defences – 9

[bigbob]

Putting the names of the wounded on the front page seems bizarre by modern standards, but you can imagine family members who were hungry for news poring over this page.

[bigbob]

Putting the names of the wounded on the front page seems bizarre by modern standards, but you can imagine family members who were hungry for news poring over this page.

[BrexitBen]

If Lincoln, Wilson, LBJ, and Biden had not been elected, we would’ve avoided four, terrible, bloody, unnecessary wars.

But, the propagandists will never acknowledge it.

[sauropod]

Bkmk

[BroJoeK]

BrexitBen: "If Lincoln, Wilson, LBJ, and Biden had not been elected, we would’ve avoided four, terrible, bloody, unnecessary wars."

In 1856 Democrats united behind Doughfaced Northerner James Buchanan and so kept Republicans as the minority party.
In 1860 Democrat Fire Eaters made certain that could not happen again, split their majority Democrat party and so gave victory to Lincoln's minority "Black Republicans".
Democrats then used Lincoln's election as their excuse for secession and war against the United States.

In 1912 the situation was reversed -- Teddy Roosevelt split his majority Republican party and so elected Southern Democrat Woodrow Wilson.
Wilson stayed out of the First World War as long as he could, but arguably, had Wilson remained neutral, then Germany would have won that war and so likely there would be no Second World War, certainly not with Corporal Hitler in charge.

But is that really the world you'd want -- Confederate slavers rule over the Southern Golden Circle, while the old Kaiser-Reich rules over continental Europe?

Finally, in 1964 Republicans effectively split over civil rights, giving a landslide victory to Texas Democrat Lyndon Johnson.
Johnson, responding to Republican criticisms of "weak on Communism" in Vietnam expanded the American military role there.
It's not at all clear that, had Goldwater won in 1964, he would have done substantially different than Johnson did in terms of numbers of troops, though perhaps with somewhat different tactics.

[x]

Wilson (and Hughes who ran against him in 1916) had grandparents who were born in the British Isles. Many other Americans had similar attachments to the UK. Maybe if that hadn't been the case we could have been more neutral and avoided the war, but financial and sentimental ties were probably too close to prevent that.

TR was a lot more warlike than Wilson and was eager to go over and fight and even command troops in battle himself. I have no idea what he would have done if he'd been elected. Because Wilson seemed to many people to have been a patient man, he probably got more support when he finally did go to war than an impulsive Roosevelt would have gotten.