American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)

March 2, 1863 Monday
Skirmishing occurred at Eagleville and Petersburg, Tennessee; Neosho, Missouri; and Aldie, Virginia. There was a two-day Federal scout from La Grange, Tennessee to Hudsonville and Salem, Mississippi and Saulsbury, Tennessee. Federals began an expedition from New Orleans to the mouth of the Rio Grande that lasted until the twentieth.

C.S.S. Alabama, commanded by Captain Semmes, captured and burned at sea ship John A. Parks, after transferring on board Alabama provisions and stores. Semmes remarked- that this capture threw Alabama's carpenter into "ecstacies" since the cargo included white pine lumber; if I had not put some restraint on my zealous officer of the adze and chisel, I believe he would have converted the Alabama into a lumberman."

The Federal Congress confirmed the appointment of four major and nine brigadier generals for the Regular Army, as well as forty major and two hundred brigadier generals of volunteers. Thirty-three U.S. Army officers, found guilty by court-martial of various charges, were dismissed from the service.

_________________
Gen Ned Simms
2/XVI Corps/AotT
Blood 'n Guts hisself, a land lovin' pirate. Show me some arty tubes and we'll charge 'em.
VMI Class of '00

March 3, 1863 Tuesday
President Lincoln signed “An Act for enrolling and calling out the National Forces, and for other purposes.” This, the first effective Federal draft, imposed liability on all male citizens between twenty and forty-five with the exception of the physically or mentally unfit, men with certain types of dependents, those convicted of a felony, and various high Federal and state officials. Draft quotas for each district would be set by the President on the basis of population and the number of men already in the service from each district. A drafted man could hire another as a substitute or purchase his way out for $300. Despite its many defects, the measure increased volunteering. For the entire war only 162,535 men, or about 6 per cent, were raised by the draft. Of these 46,347 were held to personal service and 116,188 furnished substitutes. An additional 86,724 paid commutation. The first draftee selected was Mr Ernie Sands from Massachusetts.

Other acts approved by the President as Congress neared the end of a session were: an act to prevent and punish frauds on revenue; an act to turn over to the Treasury in trust all captured and abandoned cotton, sugar, rice, and tobacco in states in insurrection; a loan to the government authorizing $300,000,000 for 1863, and $600,000,000 for 1864; an act fixing the number of Supreme Court justices at ten; authorization for the President to suspend the privilege of writ of habeas corpus in any necessary case during the war; issuance of not more than $50,000,000 in fractional currency to replace postage stamp currency; a measure making Idaho a territory; and one naming Jay Cooke as government agent to direct the campaign to popularize the sale of U.S. bonds. The U. S. Government creates the Idaho Territory from an area previously part of the Washington Territory.

Ironclads U.S.S. Passaic, Nahant, and Patapsco, with three mortar boats and gunboats U.S.S. Seneca, Dawn, and Wissahickon, under Captain Drayton, again engaged Fort McAllister at Savannah, Georgia for 6 hours. Rear Admiral Du Pont held that the series of engagements was vital "before entering upon more important operations . . ."--the assault on Charleston. Du Pont wanted to subject the ironclads to the stresses and strains of battle, as well as give the crews additional gunnery practice.

Boat crew under Acting Master's Mate George Drain from U.S.S. Matthew Vassar destroyed a large boat at Little River Inlet, North Carolina. Proceeding up the western branch of the river to destroy salt works, the boat grounded and the crew was captured by Confederate troops. Confederates raided Granby, Missouri and there was skirmishing near Bear Creek, Tennessee. Federal expeditions operated for six days each from Murfreesboro to Woodbury, Tennessee and from Belle Plain to Coan River and Machodoc Creek, Virginia. Still another Union expedition, of four days, was from Concord Church to Chapel Hill, Tennessee.

_________________
Gen Ned Simms
2/XVI Corps/AotT
Blood 'n Guts hisself, a land lovin' pirate. Show me some arty tubes and we'll charge 'em.
VMI Class of '00

March 4, 1863 Wednesday
The Federal Congress adjourned. There was fighting at Unionville, Tennessee and at Independent Hill in Prince William County, Virginia. Federal forces from Franklin moved toward Thompson’s Station or Spring Hill, Tennessee. Surrounded by Van Dorn and Forrest, the Federal cavalry escaped, but the Union infantry was forced to surrender on March 5 after a heavy engagement ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_ ... 7s_Station and http://www.nytimes.com/1863/03/15/news/ ... lburn.html and http://civilwartalk.com/threads/march-5 ... tion.7358/ ). The same day a ten-day Federal expedition from Murfreesboro began operating in the same area, with several skirmishes. U.S.S. James S. Chambers, commanded by Acting Master Luther Nickerson, seized blockade running Spanish sloop Relampago and schooner Ida. The schooner, beached at Sanibel Island, Florida, when she could not escape, was destroyed by the crew of James S. Chambers. Robert Brank Vance, CSA, was appointed to Brigadier General.

_________________
Gen Ned Simms
2/XVI Corps/AotT
Blood 'n Guts hisself, a land lovin' pirate. Show me some arty tubes and we'll charge 'em.
VMI Class of '00

March 5, 1863 Thursday
Federals continued digging a canal opposite Vicksburg despite occasional shells thrown in that direction by the Confederate batteries in the city. Federal soldiers acting on their own badly damaged the offices of the allegedly pro-Southern Columbus, Ohio, Crisis.

There was a skirmish opposite Fort Smith, Arkansas. March 5-12 a Federal expedition operated from Helena up the St Francis and Little rivers with a skirmish at Madison, Arkansas. Another Federal operation was carried out March 5-13 in Newton and Jasper counties, Missouri.

The Yazoo Pass expedition neared the junction of the Coldwater and Tallahatchie Rivers. Lieutenant Commander W. Smith reported: "The river is clearer, and we make better speed. If we reach the Tallahatchie this evening, which our advance may do, our total distance from Delta will be but 50 miles, not 6 miles per day. . . . I hope to make better speed from this time through." The next evening found Smith's forces some 12 miles down the Tallahatchie, where he was compelled to leave U.S.S. Petrel because of damage to her wheel; Petrel was reported once again "in line" on the 10th after rapid repairs.

Captain Sands, U.S.S. Dacotah, reported the appearance at New Inlet, on the Cape Fear River, of a Confederate ironclad. "I would feel somewhat more at ease," he wrote Rear Admiral S. P. Lee, "if we had an ironclad at each of these main inlets to Cape Fear River, to fend off an attack upon the wooden vessels by this Confederate ram, although, without such aid, we will do our best to prevent its success. But without some such assistance the blockade may be at any time broken by even this single yet formidable (because ironclad) ram." Sands later reported that the ram had had to return inside the Cape Fear River "because she could not stand the sea."

U.S.S. Lockwood returned to New Bern, North Carolina, from an expedition up the Pungo River where a bridge was destroyed, "which the enemy had built to facilitate the removal of the products from that section into the interior," and some arms, stores, and a small schooner were captured.

U.S.S. Aroostook, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Samuel R. Franklin, chased blockade running sloop Josephine, forced her aground near Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay, and, with U.S.S. Pocahontas, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Gamble, destroyed her by gunfire.

_________________
Gen Ned Simms
2/XVI Corps/AotT
Blood 'n Guts hisself, a land lovin' pirate. Show me some arty tubes and we'll charge 'em.
VMI Class of '00

March 6, 1863 Friday
A skirmish on the White River, Arkansas and three expeditions featured a quiet day. March 6-8 there were forays by Federals from New Berne to Trenton and Swansborough, North Carolina and also demonstrations on Kinston, North Carolina. March 6-10 troops operated from Helena to Big and Lick creeks, Arkansas. In the evening President Lincoln sees Gen Fremont by appointment and promises to tell him something definite about a new command. C.S.S. Florida, commanded by Lieutenant Maffitt, captured and fired ship Star of Peace bound from Calcutta to Boston with cargo of saltpeter and hides.

_________________
Gen Ned Simms
2/XVI Corps/AotT
Blood 'n Guts hisself, a land lovin' pirate. Show me some arty tubes and we'll charge 'em.
VMI Class of '00

March 7, 1863 Saturday
On the Mississippi River Gen Banks’ Federal force moved north from New Orleans to Baton Rouge and toward Port Hudson in its operations to cooperate with Grant’s activities against Vicksburg to the north. For the Confederacy, Lieut Gen E. Kirby Smith assumed command of all forces west of the Mississippi River. There was a skirmish at Green Spring Run, West Virginia. Expeditions, scouts, and reconnaissance continued at accelerated pace. March 7-9 there was a Federal reconnaissance from Suffolk to near Windsor, Virginia; March 7-10 from Newport Barracks to Cedar Point, North Carolina; and March 7-14 an expedition from New Berne to Mattamuskeet Lake, North Carolina.

In Baltimore the Federal army forbade the sale of “secession music” and confiscated all such song sheets.

The capture of blockade runners caused Rear Admiral S. P. Lee, commanding the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, a shortage of officers. "Owing to the increase of blockade runners off the coast of North Carolina, and frequent captures made of them, I would request that six officers capable of taking charge of prizes may be ordered to this squadron. The vessels blockading off Cape Fear are greatly in want of them, owing to the number they have heretofore sent away in prizes, which leaves our vessels very deficient in officers."

_________________
Gen Ned Simms
2/XVI Corps/AotT
Blood 'n Guts hisself, a land lovin' pirate. Show me some arty tubes and we'll charge 'em.
VMI Class of '00

March 8, 1863 Sunday
It was a quiet night at Fairfax County Court House, Virginia where Brig Gen E.H. Stoughton ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_H._Stoughton ) and his garrison lay in bed. Twenty-nine men under Capt John S. Mosby ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_S._Mosby )stealthily entered the town, reached the general’s headquarters and his bedroom. The startled general, himself looking for the “rebel guerrilla” Mosby, was captured ignominiously in bed. The loot of the daring raid included Gen Stoughton, two captains, thirty other prisoners, fifty-eight horses of high quality, and arms and equipment. Mosby’s band and his captures evaded numerous Federal outposts and camps on their departure from Fairfax County Court House. A chagrined North and a jubilant South saw this adventure of war in different lights. http://dclawyeronthecivilwar.blogspot.c ... irfax.html

Two four-day Federal expeditions operated from La Grange to near Covington, and from Collierville, Tennessee. March 8-16 Confederate forces operated against New Berne, North Carolina with several skirmishes, but were driven off. U.S.S. Sagamore, commanded by Lieutenant Commander English, captured sloop Enterprise bound from Mosquito Inlet, Florida, to Nassau with cargo of cotton.

_________________
Gen Ned Simms
2/XVI Corps/AotT
Blood 'n Guts hisself, a land lovin' pirate. Show me some arty tubes and we'll charge 'em.
VMI Class of '00

March 9, 1863 Monday
In Charleston, South Carolina James Louis Petigru died at seventy-four. Admired and known throughout the country as a jurist, a loyal unionist in the midst of secession, Petigru was the outstanding pro-Northern advocate in the Confederacy. Full of pithy and sarcastic statements, Petigru nevertheless maintained the respect and friendship of Charlestonians despite his political views.

At Vicksburg a second “Quaker” or fake ironclad made of logs with pork barrels for funnels drifted down past the city and was subjected to fire from the Confederate batteries. There was a skirmish at Hazle Green, Kentucky; a skirmish near St Augustine, Florida; an affair at Fairfax Court House, Virginia; and skirmishes on the Comite River at Montesano Bridge near Port Hudson, Louisiana. A Federal expedition operated March 9-15 from Bloomfield, Missouri to Chalk Bluff, Arkansas and to Gum Slough, Kennett, Hornersville, Missouri; while in Tennessee from this day to the fourteenth a Union reconnaissance operated from Salem to Versailles.

U.S.S. Bienville, under Commander J. R. Madison Mullany, captured schooner Lightning south of Port Royal with cargo of coffee and salt. U.S.S. Quaker City, under Commander Frailey, seized British blockade runner Douro bound from Wilmington to Nassau with cargo of cotton, turpentine, and tobacco.

_________________
Gen Ned Simms
2/XVI Corps/AotT
Blood 'n Guts hisself, a land lovin' pirate. Show me some arty tubes and we'll charge 'em.
VMI Class of '00

March 10, 1863 Tuesday
Federal troops, mainly Negro, reoccupied Jacksonville, Florida without difficulty. There was a skirmish near Murfreesboro, Tennessee; and three days of fighting near Plymouth, North Carolina; as well as, March 10-16, a Federal scout to La Fayette and Moscow, Tennessee.

President Lincoln issued a proclamation of amnesty to soldiers absent without leave if they reported before April 1; otherwise they would be arrested as deserters. President Davis questioned Gen Pemberton at Vicksburg over Federal progress.

U.S.S. Chillicothe, commanded by Lieutenant Commander James P. Foster, destroyed a large bridge, a sawmill, and a flat-bottomed boat on the Tallahatchie River above Fort Pemberton, Mississippi. Earlier that afternoon Confederate steamer Thirty-fifth Parallel was destroyed to prevent her capture by the Union forces. According to Commander I. N. Brown, CSN, former commander of C.S.S. Arkansas who had been on board the steamer, Thirty-fifth Parallel, "from the extreme narrowness of the stream, ran into the woods and disabled herself, so that, to save falling into the hands of the enemy, I ordered her burned, which was done as the enemy came in sight."

U.S.S. Gem of the Sea, commanded by Acting Lieutenant Irvin B. Baxter, captured and destroyed sloop Petee attempting to run the blockade at Indian River Inlet, Florida, with cargo of salt.

_________________
Gen Ned Simms
2/XVI Corps/AotT
Blood 'n Guts hisself, a land lovin' pirate. Show me some arty tubes and we'll charge 'em.
VMI Class of '00

March 11, 1863 Wednesday
Federal gunboats and troops moved through the tangle of bayous and overgrown waterways from Yazoo Pass off the Mississippi River to the Yalobusha River, ninety miles from Vicksburg. But Pemberton had sent Maj Gen W.W. Loring to construct Fort Pemberton near Greenwood. The Yazoo Pass expedition's first attack on Fort Pemberton, Mississippi, on the Tallahatchie River commenced. Pemberton was a cotton and earthwork mounting a heavy Whitworth rifle, four other cannon, and several field pieces. U.S.S. Chillicothe, commanded by Lieutenant Commander J. P. Foster, was damaged by two shots from the fort, which was engaged at a range of 800 yards. Late in the afternoon, Chillicothe renewed the engagement, followed by U.S.S. Baron De Kalb, commanded by Lieutenant Commander J. G. Walker. Under heavy fire, the vessels were compelled to withdraw once again. Chillicothe had one gun crew "rendered perfectly useless, 3 men being killed outright, I mortally wounded, and 10 others seriously wounded, while the other 5 of the gun's crew had their eyes filled with powder. This occurred in this way: One of the enemy's largest shell penetrated the port slide (3 inches thick) and struck the tulip of the Chillicothe's port gun, and, exploding, ignited her shell just after it was in the muzzle of her port gun, and it not being home exploded at or about the muzzle, carrying away the two forward port slides, weighing 3,200 pounds, and a portion of the turret's backing, and tearing the bolts out of a large space of the armor, besides setting the cotton on fire that had been placed forward. of the turret after the reconnaissance of the morning." Finding it difficult to bring more than one vessel's guns to bear on the fort, in front of which C.S.S. St. Philip (formerly steamer Star of the West) had been sunk as an obstruction, Lieutenant Commander W. Smith had a 30 pound Parrott gun moved on shore from U.S.S. Rattler "to annoy the rebel's best gun at about 600 yards. . . ." The following day was spent in repairing Chillicothe and readying an additional Parrott gun ashore. By March 16 the Federals were forced to withdraw. Another of Grant’s efforts against Vicksburg had come to an end, foiled by geography and the Confederates.

There was a mild affair near Paris, Kentucky. In Baltimore a Federal commander prohibited the sale of pictures of Confederate generals and statesmen. George Jerrison Stannard, USA, was appointed to Brigadier General.

_________________
Gen Ned Simms
2/XVI Corps/AotT
Blood 'n Guts hisself, a land lovin' pirate. Show me some arty tubes and we'll charge 'em.
VMI Class of '00

March 12, 1863 Thursday
The Federal force under Gordon Granger that had been operating to the Duck River in Tennessee returned to Franklin, after several skirmishes. March 12-16 Northern troops scouted from Camp Piatt through Boone, Wyoming, and Logan counties of West Virginia; and March 12-20 there was a Federal expedition from Columbus, Kentucky to Perryville, Tennessee. President Lincoln transmits to the Senate a treaty with chiefs and headmen of Chippewa Indians. Henry Baxter, USA, was appointed to Brigadier General. U.S.S. Kittatinny, commanded by Acting Master Charles W. Lamson, captured D. Sargent bound from Galveston to Honduras with cargo of cotton.

_________________
Gen Ned Simms
2/XVI Corps/AotT
Blood 'n Guts hisself, a land lovin' pirate. Show me some arty tubes and we'll charge 'em.
VMI Class of '00

March 13, 1863 Friday
U.S.S. Chillicothe, commanded by Lieutenant Commander P. Foster, and U.S.S. Baron De Kalb, commanded by Lieutenant Commander. G. Walker, and a mortar schooner, reengaged the Confederate works at Fort Pemberton as the Yazoo Pass expedition attempted to move down the Tallahatchie River to Greenwood, Mississippi. In action described by Walker as "severe," Chillicothe sustained 38 hits in an exchange of fire lasting about an hour and a half. Her ammunition exhausted, Chillicothe retired; De Kalb continued to engage the fort some 3 more hours before withdrawing. Lieutenant Colonel James H. Wilson, USA, remarked: "The rebel position is a strong one by virtue of the difficulties of approach. The gunboats were unable to bring their full fire power to bear on the works, and the Army was unable to render effective assistance. Thus, though the fort was damaged by the attack, the follow up operations could not be pressed to force withdrawal.

C.S.S. Florida, commanded by Lieutenant Maffitt, captured and burned ship Aldebaran, from New York, near 29º N., 51º W., with cargo of provisions and clocks.

U.S.S. Huntsville, commanded by Acting Lieutenant William C. Rogers, seized blockade running British schooner, Surprise off Charlotte Harbor, Florida, bound for Havana with cargo of cotton.

U.S.S. Octorara, under Commander Collins, seized blockade running British schooner Florence Nightingale with cargo of cotton in the North East Providence Channel, Bahama Islands.

Confederate troops launched a surprise night attack against Fort Anderson on the Neuse River, North Carolina. Union gunboats U.S.S. Hunchback, Hetzel, Ceres, and Shawsheen, supported by a revenue cutter and an armed schooner, forced the Confederates to break off their heavy assault and withdraw.

There was a skirmish at Rover and an affair near Charlotte, Tennessee. An explosion at the Confederate Ordnance Laboratory in Richmond killed or injured sixty-nine, including sixty-two women. A friction primer accidentally ignited.

President Lincoln receives Mrs Winston from Tennessee and permits her to remove her wounded son from prison in Fort McHenry, Maryland ( http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/te ... oln6%3A292 ).

The following appointments were made to Brigadier General: Thomas Ewing, Jr., USA; Abner Clark Harding, USA; Robert Brown Potter, USA; and Hugh Thompson Reid, USA.

_________________
Gen Ned Simms
2/XVI Corps/AotT
Blood 'n Guts hisself, a land lovin' pirate. Show me some arty tubes and we'll charge 'em.
VMI Class of '00

March 14, 1863 Saturday
During the night, Admiral Farragut in his flagship Hartford led his Union squadron up the Mississippi River past the batteries of Port Hudson, Louisiana. Hartford and Albatross succeeded in getting through, but the ships Monongahela and Richmond were damaged and had to drop back. The ship Mississippi ran aground and was under severe fire. She was set ablaze and abandoned, soon exploding in the river. Confederate batteries were deadly accurate and for a time threatened to destroy the entire flotilla. Meanwhile, Gen Banks’ troops carried out demonstrations on the land side of Port Hudson. There was a skirmish at Davis’ Mill, Tennessee. Thomas Greely Stevenson, USA, was appointed to Brigadier General.

_________________
Gen Ned Simms
2/XVI Corps/AotT
Blood 'n Guts hisself, a land lovin' pirate. Show me some arty tubes and we'll charge 'em.
VMI Class of '00

March 15, 1863 Sunday
There were skirmishes at Hernando, Mississippi; Rover, Tennessee; an affair near Dumfries, Virginia and a Federal scout from Harper’s Ferry to Leesburg, Virginia. In San Francisco authorities seized the schooner J.M. Chapman, about to depart with twenty alleged secessionists and six Dahlgren guns. The British Britannia successfully ran the blockade into Wilmington, North Carolina but all along the coasts this spring interception of blockade-runners had been increasing. C.S.S. Alabama, commanded by Captain Semmes, captured and released on bond ship Punjaub, from Calcutta for London, northeast of Brazil.

_________________
Gen Ned Simms
2/XVI Corps/AotT
Blood 'n Guts hisself, a land lovin' pirate. Show me some arty tubes and we'll charge 'em.
VMI Class of '00

March 16, 1863 Monday
While the Yazoo Pass expedition was ending at Fort Pemberton on the Yalobusha River north of Vicksburg, Grant and Porter launched another effort against the city via Steele’s Bayou. The plan was to move through some two hundred miles of tortuous, twisting bayous from the Yazoo River to Steele’s Bayou and thence behind the fortress. Eleven vessels were supported by Sherman’s infantry. Confederates, ready for such an effort, had obstructed the narrow waterways even more than nature already had, making progress laborious and slow.

There was also a Federal expedition from Jackson to Trenton, Tennessee. Philip Henry Sheridan, USA, was appointed to Major General. The following appointments were made to Brigadier General: Joseph Andrew Jackson Lightburn, USA; Joseph Anthony Mower, USA; and Thomas Church Haskell Smith, USA. The Confederate Cavalry commands of Major General Earl Van Dorn, CSA, and Brigadier General Joseph Wheeler, CSA, are combined and designated the Cavalry Corps, Confederate Army of Tennessee. U.S.S. Octorara, under Commander Collins, seized sloop Rosalie and schooner Five Brothers with cargo of cotton at sea east of Florida.

_________________
Gen Ned Simms
2/XVI Corps/AotT
Blood 'n Guts hisself, a land lovin' pirate. Show me some arty tubes and we'll charge 'em.
VMI Class of '00