Posted on 02/10/2023 4:49:42 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson
PORT ROYAL, Monday, Feb. 2, 1863.
We have startling news from the blockading fleet off Charleston. On Saturday last, the 31st ultimo, in the quiet, hazy atmosphere of early morning, two iron-clad rams, of whose existence we have often heard, sallied out of Charleston harbor, and dashed madly around among the gunboats, attempting to repeat the affair of the Merrimac at Hampton Roads with the ill-starred Congress and Cumberland. Coming down the main ship channel, the rams first attacked the Mercedita, and with such sudden fury that her crew were unable to fire a shot, and were forced to surrender the vessel. Her consort, the Keystone State, next received the brunt of the encounter, as, attracted by the firing, she bore gallantly down to the scene of the affray, and returned the fire vigorously, only to find, however, that her adversary was invulnerable, and herself was getting smashed to pieces. The unwonted tumult soon brought the Housatonic, Quaker City, Memphis, and other vessels from their various stations along the 13 miles' stretch of bar to the place of conflict, and the action was becoming general, when the rebel craft withdrew, retiring toward the city through Swash Channel -- those on board doubtless in a state of exultation at the brief morning's work, and imagining, in the dim, uncertain light, that they had wrought more disaster than had actually resulted. The visit, however, was certainly disastrous enough. Our casualty list foots up 24 killed and 23 wounded, and we lose, besides, the services of the Mercidita's officers and crew, who were captured and paroled.
Misfortunes, too, never come singly. The advent of the rams was preceded on Friday afternoon by the capture of the gunboat Isaac Smith, and her officers and crew, in the Stono River, by shore batteries,
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
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From the South Carolina Coast: Onslaught of the Rebel Rams at Charleston on the Blockaders– 2-4
The Official Reports: The Affair Off Charleston – 4-5
The Loss of the Isaac Smith: Report of Admiral Dupont – 5
News from New-Orleans: Important Military Movements Expected Soon – 5-6
From the Army of the Potomac: A Successful Reconnoissance on the Right Wing – 6
The War in Florida: Negro Troops Against the Rebels – 6-7
Important from Washington: Defeat of the Illinois and New-York Canal Bill – 7-8
Editorial: Our Work at Charleston – 8-9
Reorganization of the Army – 9
The Blacks in Battle – 9
Editorial: Another Napoleonic Idea – 9
Bureau of Navigation – 9
Charleston - when Abner Doubleday and his crew began the war by occupying the defenses, burning supplies and spiking the cannons, all the time while Southern representatives were meeting in Washington DC negotiating a peaceful turnover of the forts.
So, not only did Abner Doubleday invent baseball, he started the Civil War, even after Lincoln gave his word that the forts would be left alone until after the negotiations were finished
Idaho 1863 Engagements
| Date | Engagement | Military Units | Losses | Victor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 29 | Bear River, ID | Union 3rd California (Connor ~200), Shoshoni tribe (Bear Hunter~300 +families) | Union 67-total (21-killed), Shoshone 410-total (250-killed) | USA |
On February 3, the Battle of Dover, Tennessee, the war's 174th engagement, where the outnumbered Union garrison fought off repeated Confederate attacks, thus demonstrating again the value of prepared defenses.
Tennessee 1862- '63 Engagements
| Date | Engagement | Military Units | Losses | Victor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 6 | Fort Henry, TN | Union Army of TN + West Flotilla (Grant, Foote ~15,000) & Confederate Army of Cent KY (Tilghman ~3,200) | Union 40-total, Confederates 79-total (15 killed) | USA |
| Feb 14-16 | Fort Donelson, TN | Union Army of the Tennessee + Mississippi River Squadron (Grant, Foote 24,531) & Confederate Army of Central KY + garrison (Floyd, Pillow, Buchner 16,171) | Union 2,691-total (507-killed), Confederates 13,846-total (327-killed) | USA |
| April 6-7 | Shiloh, TN | Union Army of West Tennessee (Grant, Buell ~63,000) & Confederate Army of Mississippi (AS Johnson, Beauregard ~40,335) | Union 13,047-total (1,754-killed), Confederate 10,699-total (1,728-killed) | USA |
| April 14 | Fort Pillowi, TN | Union mortor boats bombard Fort Pillow | none | CSA |
| May 10 | Plum Run Bend, TN | Union MS River Squadron (7-river ironclads), Confederate River Defense Fleet (9-wooden steamboats) | none recorded | CSA |
| June 6 | Memphis, TN | Union MS Flotilla (Davis, Ellet+), Confederate River Defense Fleet (Montgomery, Thompson) | Union 1- total, Confederates 250-total (~35-killed) | USA |
| June 7-8 | Chattanooga, TN | Union Army of OH (Negley 1 division), Confederate Army of KY (EK Smith) | Union 23-total, Confederates 65-total | USA |
| July 13 | Murfreesboro, TN | Union hospital & PA cavalry (Crittended ~900, Confederate Cavalry (Forrest ~1,400) | Union 890-total (0-killed), Confederates ~150-total (0-killed) | CSA |
| Aug 30 | Bolivar, TN | Union Army of the MS, (Leggett ~1,000), Confederate Army of the West (Armstrong -1,000) | Union unknown, Confederates unknown | Inconclusive |
| Oct 5 | Hatchie's Bridge, TN | Union Army of MS (Ord, Hurlbut, 12,000), Confederate Army of West TN (Van Dorn, Price ~20,000) | Union 500-total (75?-killed), Confederates 400-total (60?-killed) | USA |
| Dec 7 | Hartville, TN | Union XIV Corps (Moore ~2,400), Confederate Cavalry (John Hunt Morgan ~1,300) | Union 2,096-total (unknwn-killed), Confederates 139-total (unkwn-killed) | CSA (CSA outnumbered, Union surrender) |
| Dec 30 | Parker's Cross Roads, TN | Union Army of TN (Sullivan ~3,000), Confederate Army of TN (Nathan Bedford Forrest~1,600) | Union 237-total (31-killed?), Confederates 500-total (75?-killed) | CSA? (CSA outnumbered) |
| Dec 31-Jan 2, 1863 | Murfreesboro / Stones River, TN | Union Army of the Cumberland (Rosecrans ~43,400), Confederate Army of TN (Bragg ~35,000) | Union 13,906-total (1,677-killed?), Confederates 11,739-total (1,294-killed) | USA |
| Feb 3 | Dover, TN | Union garrison (Connor ~800), Confederate Army of TN (Wheeler ~2,500) | Union 126-total (19?-killed), Confederates 670-total (100?-killed) | USA (Union outnumbered) |
Summary of Civil War Engagements as of February 3, 1863:
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 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 14 |
| Arkansas | 8 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| Georgia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Mississippi | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Texas | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total Engagements in CSA | 41 | 40 | 17 | 98 |
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 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 28 |
| New Mexico | 5 | 8 | 0 | 13 |
| Kentucky | 5 | 6 | 2 | 13 |
| Oklahoma | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Total Engagements in Union | 37 | 33 | 6 | 76 |
| Total Engagements to date | 78 | 73 | 23 | 174 |
These bring total casualties to date, by my count, to over 302,000 including nearly 35,000 killed in action.
And so, the Lost Cause nonsense just never stops, does it?
Where to begin?
Well, first of all, Capt. Doubleday commanded one of two artillery companies under overall command of Maj. Robert Anderson.
On December 26, 1860, Anderson acted on written orders from the treasonous US Secretary of War, Virginian John Floyd, and moved his command from one Union fort (Moultrie) to another Union fort he considered more defensible (Sumter).
There is no record saying Maj Anderson asked for Capt. Doubleday's advice, or what advice Doubleday may have given.
We might suppose if Anderson had asked for Doubleday's advice, Doubleday would have advised the actions Anderson immediately took.
However, the information we have says Anderson's decision to relocate to Fort Sumter came as a surprise to Doubleday.
Maj. Anderson ordered Capt. Doubleday to command the first group of troops (presumably Doubleday's E Battery) to row to Fort Sumter.
So, Doubleday was not in Fort Moultrie to spike its guns.
And, so far as we know, despite reports that Anderson had Moultrie's guns spiked and carriages burned, when Confederates then seized Fort Moultrie, they captured 56 guns, which we are told they immediately repaired and used, along with other captured Union weapons, to set up dozens of new batteries & positions around Charleston harbor.
In December 1860, there were no "Southern representatives" -- none, zero nada -- "meeting in Washington DC negotiating a peaceful turnover of the" Union forts in & around Charleston harbor.
There were only pretenders demanding surrender from US President Buchanan, which Buchanan always refused.
There were no, and could be no, "negotiations" because, for starters, President Buchanan had no Constitutional authority to arbitrarily give away Federal properties.
That authority is constitutionally deligated to Congress, and nobody, no one, no person, no "representative" ever approached the US Congress about disposing of Federal properties in secession states.
MMusson: "So, not only did Abner Doubleday invent baseball, he started the Civil War, even after Lincoln gave his word that the forts would be left alone until after the negotiations were finished"
And here the historical nonsense turns into mind-boggling stupidity, beginning with the fact that President-elect Lincoln had nothing to do with -- zero, nada, zilch, nil, nought -- December 1860 events related to Fort Sumter.
President Buchanan did say he would not "immediately" occupy Fort Sumter, but on December 11, the treasonous Secretary of War Floyd had ordered Anderson to move his command,
Thanks Bro, but I’m going to pile on and say Doubleday had nothing to do with inventing baseball.
Reorganization of the Army – 9
I don’t think the states will easily give up the patronage jobs that creating new regiments provides.
The Blacks in Battle – 9
TW Higginson was in his glory here. A radical abolitionist and one of the Secret Six that funded John Brown’s Harpers Ferry raid. I read his book “Army Life in a Black Regiment”. It seems the only action they saw was fighting a few guerillas here and there and looting and burning defenseless southern villages.
Sherman is one of my favorite people. South Carolina got what it deserved
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