Featured article – “Conversations with Gen. Thomas”. Secretary of War Stanton ordered Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas to make an inspection tour of the western theater. This is his story. Read it on pages 6-8 or here => https://www.nytimes.com/1863/07/20/archives/conversations-with-gen-thomas-the-negro-regiments-in-the.html?searchResultPosition=1
Condition of the City: A Quiet Sunday – 2
Change of Commanders in the Department of the East – 2
Later from New-Orleans: Further Particulars of the Capture of Port Hudson – 2-3
Operations Against Charleston: Interesting Letter from Our Special Correspondent – 3-4
The War in Tennessee: Sharp Cavalry Skirmish at Jackson – 4
Rebel Reports from Charleston: A Skirmish on James Island – 4
News from Washington: Our Special Washington Dispatches – 4-6
Conversations with Gen. Thomas: The Negro Regiments in the Mississippi Valley – 6-8
Editorial: The Enforcement of the Draft – 8-9
Editorial: The New Attempt on Charleston – 9
Editorial: Militiamen as Soldiers-Their Value and Defects – 9-10
The Destitute Blacks – 10
Who Are Exempt from the Draft? – 10
The Draft – 10
Brooklyn News – 10
In Oklahoma (then Indian Territory), for the first and possibly only time in US history, the majority of troops on both sides were non-white.
Outnumbered Union troops included their Native American allies (Creeks, Seminoles, Delaware, Kickapoo, Quapaw, Seneca, and Shawnee, Osage & Cherokee) and the 1st Kansas Colored regiment.
Confederate troops included Confederate Indian allies (Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws & Creeks), plus Texas Cavalry.
Oklahoma 1861 - '63 Engagements
| Date | Engagement | Military Units | Losses | Victor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 19, 1861 | Round Mountain, OK | Union: Creeks & Seminoles (Opothleyahola ~1,700) & Confederate Cavalry (Cooper, ~1,400) | Union 110-total (unkwn-killed), Confederates 10-total (6-killed) | CSA (CSA outnumbered) |
| Dec 9 | Chusto-Talasah, OK | Union Creek & Seminole allies (Opothleyahola ~2,500) & Confederate Texas cavalry + Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek & Cherokee allies (Cooper ~1,300) | Union 500-total (9-killed), Confederates 467-total (30-killed) | CSA (CSA outnumbered) |
| Dec 26 | Chustenahlah, OK | Union Creek & Seminole allies (Opothleyahola ~1,700) & Confederate Texas Cavalry (McIntoxh, Stand Watie ~1,380) | Union 430-total (2,000 later starved), Confederates 49-total (9-killed) | CSA (CSA outnumbered) |
| Oct 22, 1862 | Old Fort Wayne, OK | Union Army of the Frontier, 1st Division -- Kansas, Indiana, Cherokee regiments (Blunt, 3,500), Confederate Army of Trans-Mississippi, 1st Brigade -- Cherokee, Chawktaw, Chickasaw, Creek (Cooper ~1,500) | Union 14-total (2-killed?), Confederates 150-total (15-killed) | USA |
| July 1-2 | Cabin Creek, OK | Union elements from 9 units, Colorado, Wisconsin, Kansas Colored and Indian Home Guard (Williams ~2,000?), Confederate Cherokee & Texas Cavalry (Stand Watie ~1,500?) | Union 145total (including ~15-killed), Confederates ~150? total (including 65-killed) | USA |
| July 17 | Honey Springs, OK | Union District of the Frontier, incl. 1st Kansas Colored, 1st Indian Home Guard (Blunt ~3,000), Confederate 1st Indian Brigade, Texas Cavalry (Cooper, Cabell ~6,000) | Union 200?-total (including 30?-killed), Confederates 500?-total (including 75?-killed) | USA (Union outnumbered -- majority of troops on both sides werfe non-white) |
In South Carolina, at the 2nd Battle of Fort Wagner, greatly outnumbered Confederates behind fortifications defeated the attacking Union X Corps, which again included the 54th Massachusetts, recognized for its heroism.
South Carolina 1861 - '63 Engagements
| Date | Engagement | Military Units | Losses | Victor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 12-14, 1861 | Fort Sumter, SC | Confederate artillery (Beauregard), Union garrison (Anderson) | None | CSA |
| April 15 | Evacuation of Fort Sumter, SC | Union garrison | Two Union soldiers killed, four wounded by accidental explosion | N.A. |
| Nov 3-7 | Port Royal, SC | Union: Blockading Squadron (DuPont, TW Sherman -12,653 77 vessels) & Confederate SC Dept (RE Lee, Frazier -3,077 4 gunboats) | Union 31-total (8-killed), Confederates 63-total (11-killed) | USA |
| June 16, 1862 | Secessionville, Charleston, SC | Union Dept of the South (Benham ~6,000), Confederate SC 2nd District (Evans ~2,000) | Union 685-total (100?-killed), Confederates 204-total (30?-killed) | CSA (CSA outnumbered) |
| June 21 | Simon's Bluff, SC | Union 2-river boats, 55th PA Inf (Rhind ~500), Confederate SC 16th Inf (McCullough ~500) | no casualties reported | USA |
| Apr 7, 1863 | 1st Charleston Harbor, SC | Union S Atlantic Blockaid Squadron (DuPont 7-ships), Confederate 1st Mil District of SC (Beauregard 2-ships 385 land arty) | Union 22-total (1-killed, 1 ship sunk), Confederates 13-total (unkwn-killed) | CSA |
| July 10-11 | 1st Fort Wagner, SC | Union X Corps, 2nd Div (Gillmore ~4,000), Confederate Fort Wagner garisson (PGT Beauregard 1,770) | Union 339-total (including 12-killed), Confederates 12-total (including 2-killed) | CSA |
| July 16 | Gimball's Landing, SC | Union X Corps, Dept of the South, Stone River Flotilla (Terry, Balch ~3,800), Confederate 1st Mil Dist, SC (Hagood ~3.000) | Union 45-total (including 14-killed), Confederates 18-total (including 3-killed) | CSA (CSA outnumbered) |
| July 18 | 2nd Fort Wagner, SC | Union X Corps, Dept of the South (Gillmore ~5,000), Confederate Dept of SC, GA & FL (Beauregard ~1,800) | Union 1,515-total (including 246-killed), Confederates 174-total (including 36-killed) | CSA (CSA outnumbered -- Union assaulted fortified positions) |
In Ohio, Confederate John Morgan's raid into Indiana and Ohio was nearly surrounded & defeated at Buffington Island, on the Ohio River.
Ohio 1863 Engagements
| Date | Engagement | Military Units | Losses | Victor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 19 | Buffington Island, OH | Union XIII Corps Cavalry Brigades ( ~3,000), Confederate Morgan's Kentucky Cavalry (Morgan ~1,930) | Union 55-total (including 25-killed), Confederates 902-total (including 52-killed) | USA |
Summary of Civil War Engagements as of July 20, 1863:
Engagements in Confederate states:
| State | Union Victories | Confederate Victories | Inconclusive | Total Engagements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | 2 | 6 | 1 | 9 |
| Virginia | 11 | 33 | 14 | 58 |
| North Carolina | 8 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Florida | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Louisiana | 10 | 2 | 1 | 13 |
| Tennessee | 11 | 7 | 1 | 19 |
| Arkansas | 9 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
| Georgia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Mississippi | 11 | 5 | 0 | 16 |
| Texas | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Alabama | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total Engagements in CSA | 66 | 57 | 21 | 144 |
Engagements in Union states/territories:
| State | Union Victories | Confederate Victories | Inconclusive | Total Engagements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| West Virginia | 9 | 3 | 2 | 14 |
| Missouri | 14 | 13 | 1 | 28 |
| New Mexico | 5 | 8 | 0 | 13 |
| Kentucky | 5 | 6 | 2 | 13 |
| Oklahoma | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Pennsylvania | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Indiana | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Ohio | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total Engagements in Union | 43 | 36 | 11 | 90 |
| Total Engagements to date | 109 | 93 | 32 | 234 |
Casualties for the three engagements totaled 3,346 including 464 killed in action.
These bring the war's totals, by my count, to nearly 480,000 casualties, including over 53,000 killed in action.