Posted on 12/29/2022 6:44:27 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson
ON BOARD STEAMER NORTH STAR, GULF OF MEXICO, Thursday, Dec. 11, 1862.
To-day completes exactly one week since, with mingled feelings of adventurous exultation at some grand but unknown career of good before us, and sad emotions at quitting the loved ones at home, we saw New-York fade away in the grey distance, as the staunch and gallant North Star, Capt. LEFEVRE, plowed its way majestically through the waters, freighted with its 650 souls, toward whose fate and destination the whole country is doubtless, at this moment, looking with such absorbing interest "Where are we going?" was the universal question on board, and one which seemed as far from solution there as it had been for the two last months on land, while the expedition was preparing. For once, Uncle Sam had managed to keep his own secret inviolable, and even those sagacious political ferrets -- newspaper correspondents -- were completely nonplused in the profound mazes of mystery that concealed everything. The few prominent officials on board, who might or might not be in possession of the facts of our destination, were all armed cap-a-pie against any intruders in the shape of questioners, and the remotest allusion to our probable or even possible course only drew forth a significant and tantalizing smile. The James River, Charleston, Mobile, New-Orleans, Galveston, and a dozen other places, all had their advocates among the uninitiated, each one brimfull of convincing proofs. I am not sure that some do not even fancy we are on our way to Japan, and, when we were a few days out -- within thirty miles of the coast of Cuba -- one intelligent old man whispered in my ear that he would "bet his life it was a design against Cuba after all."
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
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/4119353/posts
Highly Important: The Mystery of the Banks Expedition Cleared Up – 2-3
Proclamation of Jeff. Davis: The Retaliatory Policy Fully Inaugurated – 3-4
The Army of the Potomac: A Party of Rebel Cavalry Repulsed at Dumfries – 4
News from Washington: The Mexican Protest Against Supplying the French in Mexico – 4-5
The Newspaper Press and the War – 5
Editorial: The Banks Expedition – 5-6
Editorial: The Capture of the Ariel – 6
Editorial: The Black Flag – 6-7
Editorial: The Case of Mumford – The Occupation of New-Orleans – 7-8
General News – 8
Amusements – 8
News from Havana: The Alabama at Fort de France, Martinique – 8
Mississippi 1862 Engagements
| Date | Engagement | Military Units | Losses | Victor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 29 - May 30 | Corinth, MS | Union Army of the Mississippi (Halleck, Grant, Thomas, Buel ~120,000), Confederate Army of the Mississippi (Beauregard, Bragg, Van Dorn ~65,000) | Union 1,000+ total, Confederates 1,000+ total | USA |
| Sep 1 | Denmark, MS | Union Army of the Missippi, (Dennis ~1,000), Confederate Army of the West (Armstrong -4,000) | Union 108-total (8-killed), Confederates 288 total (11=killed) | CSA |
| Sep 19-20 | Iuka, MS | Union Army of Mississippi (Rosecrans, ~4,500), Confederate Army of the West (Price, ~3,179) | Union 790-total (144-killed), Confederates 1,516-total (263-killed) | USA |
| Oct 3-4 | Corinth, MS | Union Army of MS (Rosecran s, 12,000), Confederate Army of West TN (Van Dorn, Price ~22,000) | Union 2,520-total (355-killed), Confederates 4.233-total (473-killed) | USA |
| Dec 27-29 | Chickasaw Bayou, MS | Union Army of TN, MS Squadron (Sherman ~30,720), Confederate Dept of MS (Pemberton, SD Lee~13,792) | Union 1,776-total (208-killed), Confederates 187-total (57-killed) | CSA (CSA outnumbered |
Chickasaw Bayou was the war's 166th engagement, with numbers of engagements won & lost remaining remarkably even:
Summary of Civil War Engagements as of December 29, 1862:
Engagements in Confederate states:
| State | Union Victories | Confederate Victories | Inconclusive | Total Engagements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Virginia | 7 | 27 | 12 | 46 |
| North Carolina | 7 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Florida | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Louisiana | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Tennessee | 6 | 3 | 1 | 10 |
| Arkansas | 6 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| Georgia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mississippi | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Total Engagements in CSA | 38 | 37 | 17 | 92 |
Engagements in Union states/territories:
| State | Union Victories | Confederate Victories | Inconclusive | Total Engagements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| West Virginia | 9 | 3 | 2 | 14 |
| Missouri | 12 | 13 | 1 | 26 |
| New Mexico | 5 | 8 | 0 | 13 |
| Kentucky | 5 | 6 | 2 | 13 |
| Oklahoma | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Total Engagements in Union | 35 | 33 | 6 | 74 |
| Total Engagements to date | 73 | 70 | 23 | 166 |
Nearly 2,000 casualties bring the war's totals to over 267,000 casualties, including over 31,000 killed in action.
Editorial: The Banks Expedition – 5-6
After all his failures in Virginia, Banks is given another important command. Aside from being a reliable Republican, what has he done to justify that command?
They hanged the 38 condemned Sioux. One paragraph story of three sentences. After all the controversy, the NYT turns the story into a filler.
There will be a detailed account of the executions in the January 4 edition. I think there have also been a couple editorials on the subject.
I’m waiting for the big story then. Quite a thing to hang 38 on a single gallows.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.