American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)

August 25, 1861 Sunday
Skirmishing occurred near Piggot’s Mill, western Virginia, and near Fort Craig, New Mexico Territory, while there was a Federal scout from Great Falls, Maryland into Virginia. Aug 25 – Sep 8 there were operations by Confederates against the Indians about Fort Staunton, New Mexico Territory.

President Lincoln, Secretary of State William Seward, and Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles join the 2nd New Hampshire Regiment for Sunday services. Afterward, Lincoln inspects the rest of General Joseph Hooker's Brigade. Lincoln also reviews the California Regiment, also known as the 71st Pennsylvania Regiment. Lincoln's long-time friend and U.S. Senator from Oregon, Colonel Edward D. Baker, commands the 71st Pennsylvania.

_________________
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

August 26, 1861 Monday
Moderately severe fighting broke out at Cross Lanes near Summerville ( http://www.americancivilwar.com/statepic/wv/wv004.html ) and there was skirmishing at Wayne Court House and at Blue’s House, western Virginia. King Kamehameha IV of the Hawaiian Islands proclaimed the neutrality of his country in the war.

President Lincoln countermands order of Gen. Fremont: "Intelligent gentlemen at Louisville say the presence of [Col. Lovell H.] Rousseau's regiment is needed there. Pardon us for countermanding your order to him to join your department."

Colonel Benjamin L. Beall, 1st U.S. Dragoons, USA, is assigned command of the District of Oregon.

Squadron under Flag Officer Stringham, U.S.S. Minnesota, Wabash, Monticello, Pawnee, Revenue Cutter Harriet Lane, U.S. tug Fanny, and two transports carrying about 900 troops under Major General Butler, departed Hampton Roads (later joined by U.S.S. Susquehanna and Cumberland) for Hatteras Inlet, N.C., for first combined amphibious operation of the war. Hatteras Inlet was the main channel into Pamlico Sound and the most convenient entrance for blockade runners bringing supplies to the Confederate Army in Virginia. The Navy early recognized the strategic importance of the inlet and invited the Army to cooperate in its capture. The operation was designed to check Confederate privateering and to begin the relentless assault from the sea that would divert a large portion of Confederate manpower from the main armies.

Captain A. H. Foote ordered to relieve Commander J. Rodgers in command of the Army's gunboat flotilla on the western rivers. Rodgers had done well, but there had been personality clashes.

U.S.S. Daylight, under Commander Lockwood, re-captured brig Monticello in Rappahannock River.

The Confederate Congress approved an expenditure of $420,000 for the construction of three gunboats to protect the coast and rivers 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

August 27, 1861 Tuesday
On the wind-whipped beaches of the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Cape Hatteras the Confederates had erected two sand and wood fortifications to protect Hatteras Inlet, an important waterway for blockade-runners. On Aug 26 a Federal navy and army expedition under Commodore Silas H. Stringham and Gen B.F. Butler, numbering 8 ships and 900 army men, headed for Cape Hatteras. Flag Officer Stringham's Squadron commenced bombardment of Forts Hatteras and Clark; Marines and troops were landed from surf boats above the Forts under cover of naval gunfire. The ship's heavy cannonade forced the Confederates to evacuate Fort Clark. Commodore Samuel Barron, CSN, with 2 small vessels joined the defenders that evening.

There was skirmishing at Antietam Iron Works in Maryland, north of the Potomac, and at Ball’s Cross Roads, Virginia. President Lincoln directs Gen Scott to state what can be done toward supplying officers for New Jersey regiments. President Lincoln and Secretary Cameron sign order for purchase of mules at $8 each. Gen Meigs objects to price as being too high.

_________________
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

August 28, 1861 Wednesday
After suffering severe damage, Hatteras Inlet was secured as Forts Hatteras and Clark surrendered unconditionally to Flag Officer Stringham and General Butler although casualties were very light on both sides. The Union triumph sealed off commerce raiding and blockade running from Pamlico Sound. Hatteras Inlet became a coal and supply depot for the blockading ships. Of this most successful joint operation Admiral D. D. Porter later wrote: "'This was our first naval victory, indeed our first victory of any kind, and should not be forgotten. The Union cause was then in a depressed condition, owing to the reverses it had experienced. The moral effect of this affair was very great, as it gave us a foothold on Southern soil and possession of the Sounds of North Carolina if we chose to occupy them. It was a death-blow to blockade running in that vicinity, and ultimately proved one of the most important events of the war." http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/nc/nc001.html and http://thewashingtongrays.homestead.com/index.html

Elsewhere there was a skirmish at Ball’s Mills, Missouri and at Bailey’s Cross Roads, Virginia. Gen Nathaniel Lyon, killed at Wilson’s Creek, received impressive funeral ceremonies in St Louis. Commander Dahlgren, Commandant of Washington Navy Yard, sent 400 seamen on steamboat Philadelphia to Alexandria, to report to Brigadier General William B. Franklin for the defense of Fort Ellsworth. This timely naval reinforcement strengthened the Fort's defenses and consequently that of the Nation's Capital. U.S.S. Yankee, under Commander T. T. Craven, captured schooner Remittance near Piney Point, Virginia.

_________________
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

August 29, 1861 Thursday
There was minor skirmishing at Lexington and Morse’s Mills, Missouri while Federals were completing their cleanup operations at Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina. “Peace” meetings at Middletown, New Jersey and Newton on Long Island failed to come off. U.S.S. R. R. Cuyler, commanded by Captain Francis B. Ellison, seized and burned Confederate ship Finland, which was prepared to receive cargo of cotton and run the blockade, off Apalachicola, 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

August 30, 1861 Friday
In the early morning hours in his luxurious St Louis headquarters, Maj Gen John Charles Fremont wrote and then issued his famous unauthorized emancipation proclamation and order of confiscation ( http://www.civilwarinteractive.com/Docs ... ialLaw.htm ). Declaring martial law throughout Missouri, he further confiscated all property of “those who shall take up arms against the United States” and added that “their slaves, if any they have, are hereby declared free men.” All persons found in the Union-controlled zone with guns in their hands would be shot if found guilty by military court-martial. The order also applied to all those who were “proven to have taken an active part with their enemies in the field.” Fremont declared he did this because of the “disorganized condition, helplessness of civil authority and total insecurity of life” in Missouri. The cry against the order was immediate and largely unanimous, although there were a few then and later who supported it. But the consensus seems to agree with President Lincoln, who termed it “dictatorial.”

Confederate tug Harmony attacked U.S.S. Savannah, commanded by Captain Joseph B. Hull, at Newport News, inflicting damage before withdrawing.

_________________
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

August 31, 1861 Saturday
In Richmond the Confederate Congress adjourned and the government announced the appointment of five full generals in order of seniority: Samuel Cooper dating from May 16; Albert Sidney Johnston from May 28; Robert E. Lee from June 14; Joseph E. Johnston from July 4; and P.G.T. Beauregard from July 21. There was a skirmish at Munson’s Hill or Little River Turnpike, Virginia.

The following appointments were made to Brigadier General: John Joseph Abercrombie, USA; Silas Casey, USA; Abram Duryee, USA; George Gordon Meade, USA; John Sedgwick, USA; and Charles Ferguson Smith, USA.

C.S.S. Teaser shelled Newport News. U.S.S. George Peabody, commanded by Lieutenant Lowry, captured brig Henry C Brooks in Hatteras Inlet. U.S.S. Jamestown, under Commander Green, captured British blockade running schooner Aigburth off Florida coast.

The Seward family calls on President Lincoln in his office. Kittens given the President by Seward are playing in hall. "Mr L. seems quite fond of them. Says they climb all over him." The President "looks sick, and is I fear threatened with intermitting fever—the room was awfully hot with gas and a wood fire." Asst Sec of Navy Gustavus V. Fox and Gen Butler awaken President late at night to inform him of capture of Forts Hatteras and Clark, N.C.

_________________
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

September 1, 1861 Sunday
Minor skirmishing occupied the day at Blue Creek, Boone Court House, and Burlington, western Virginia, as well as at Bennight’s Mills and in Jefferson County, Missouri and near Fort Scott, Kansas. Brig Gen U.S. Grant assumed command in southeastern Missouri at Cape Girardeau and southern Illinois, a relatively unimportant event at the time. Almost daily there were actions on the waters framing the Confederacy. Captures, recaptures, failures were common on both sides. Gen Butler, invited by President Lincoln to cabinet meeting at 10 A.M., describes capture of forts at Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina. Thomas Leonidas Crittenden, USA, was appointed to Brigadier General. U.S.S. Dana, commanded by Acting Master's Mate Ely, captured blockade running schooner T. J. Evans off Clay Island, Maryland, with a cargo including blankets, surgical instruments, and ordnance supplies.

_________________
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

September 2, 1861 Monday
President Lincoln requested Maj Gen Fremont to "modify" his proclamation of Aug 30 which had ordained freedom for slaves of rebellious owners, threatened the death penalty for certain secessionists and confiscated their property. "It is therefore my order that you allow no man to be shot, under the proclamation [issued by Fremont August 30], without first having my approbation or consent. Secondly, . . . in relation to the confiscation of property, and the liberating slaves . . . Allow me . . . to ask, that you will . . . modify that paragraph so as to conform to the . . . act of Congress, . . . approved August 6th, 1861." Lincoln felt that the proclamation "will alarm our Southern Union friends, and turn them against us - perhaps ruin our rather fair prospect for Kentucky." Lincoln was gently attempting to restore the prerogatives of the civilian government which had been pre-empted by Fremont. Kentucky was foremost in Lincoln's mind these days, and even though the new pro-Union legislature this day ordered the Stars and Stripes raised above the State House at Frankfort, he realized that the situation remained precarious.

Maj Gen Leonidas Polk, commanding Confederate Department Number 2 along the Mississippi River and in Tennessee, was also given control over Arkansas and Missouri.

The fighting picked up in western Virginia with skirmishing at Hawk's Nest, Worthington, and Beller's Mill near Harper's Ferry ( http://www.wvculture.org/history/sesqui ... 0902a.html ). There was action at Dry Wood Creek ( http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/mo/mo005.html ), toward Columbia and Iberia, and at Dallas, Missouri.

James McKinstry, USA, was appointed to Brigadier General.

The third issue of CSA currency occurred today ( http://www.csacurrency.com/csacur/cs113138.htm ).

_________________
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

September 3, 1861 Tuesday
Confederate forces under Gideon Pillow on orders of Gen Leonidas Polk entered Kentucky from Tennessee en route to Hickman and Columbus on the Mississippi River. This action ended the “neutrality” of Kentucky and created one continuous front from the Atlantic Ocean to Kansas and the frontier. Polk feared that if he did not move, the Federals themselves would seize Columbus, as there had been light action in the Belmont, Missouri area across the river and erroneous reports of a Federal build-up. In fact, Fremont had indicated to Gen Grant that he intended to enter Kentucky. The Confederate action had many repercussions. At first Polk was ordered by the Secretary of War to withdraw, but President Davis overruled the pullback. The move buttressed pro-Union feeling, which had been increasing in many sections, and opened an all-out contest for military control of Kentucky. On the other hand, secessionists in the state rejoiced that the issue was now clarified.

There was a skirmish at Gauley Bridge, western Virginia ( http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/ba ... ridge.html ).

An interesting description of CSA prisons and their prisoners in Richmond, Virginia as of this date is located at http://www.mdgorman.com/Written_Account ... 931861.htm .

The following appointments were made to Brigadier General: Joseph Anderson, CSA; Ebenezer Dumont, USA; Oliver Otis Howard, USA; Charles Davis Jameson, USA; Alexander McDowell McCook, USA; Robert Huston Milroy, USA; Elezear Arthus Paine, USA; Daniel Edgar Sickles, USA; and Lewis Wallace, 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

September 4, 1861 Wednesday
C.S.S. Yankee (also known as C.S.S. Jackson) and Confederate batteries at Hickman, Kentucky, fired on U.S.S. Tyler, under Commander J. Rodgers, and U.S.S. Lexington, under Commander Stembel, as the Confederates began strengthening their strategically important position on the bluffs of the Mississippi at Columbus. Gen U.S. Grant arrived at Cairo, where he established his headquarters and faced the problem of a fast-changing military situation.

There were skirmishes at Great Falls, Maryland and Shelbina, Missouri. Gen Polk at Columbus, Kentucky proclaimed that the Federal government had disregarded the neutrality of Kentucky by establishing camps and depots for armies, by organizing troops, and by an alleged build-up in Missouri “evidently intended to cover the landing of troops for the seizure” of Columbus. Colonel Henry Eustace McCulloch, 1st Texas Rifles, CSA, assumes command of the Department of Texas, by order of Brigadier General Earl Van Dorn, CSA.

U.S.S. Jamestown, under Commander Green, captured Confederate schooner Colonel Long, removed her cargo, and scuttled her off the coast of Georgia.

_________________
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

September 5, 1861 Thursday
In Washington President Lincoln met with Gen Scott to discuss the military situation in the West and the future of Gen Fremont. At Cairo Grant learned of the Confederate invasion of Kentucky. He immediately saw the importance of Paducah, located at the juncture of the Tennessee and Ohio rivers and near the mouth of the Cumberland. To counteract the Confederate occupation of Columbus, Grant prepared an expedition to leave that night for Paducah. Captain A. H. Foote reported at St. Louis, Missouri, to relieve Commander J. Rodgers in command of naval operations on the western rivers.

In addition there was a skirmish at Papinsville, Missouri. The Charleston Mercury cried out against what it called the “masterly inactivity” of the Confederate army in Virginia, which it said had been stationary for six weeks with the capital at Washington nearly in sight. The paper called for an offensive to force the United States “to defend themselves.” Major General John C. Fremont issued an order creating the Western Sanitary Commission. The commission played an important role protecting the well being of thousands of Civil War soldiers. It established a 500-bed hospital and started a home for orphans.

_________________
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

September 6, 1861 Friday
In the morning a small squadron of two wooden gunboats (U.S.S. Tyler, under Commander J. Rodgers, and U.S.S. Lexington, under Commander Stembeland) and a few transports landed Federal troops at Paducah, forestalling an obviously planned Confederate move from Columbus to the strategic Kentucky city at the mouth of the Tennessee. There were no fighting and no casualties. It was U.S. Grant’s first major victory and it was bloodless. Captain Foote, newly designated naval commander in the west, participated in the operation. By seizing Paducah, and later nearby Smithland at the mouth of the Cumberland, Grant had prevented Confederate forces from claiming the entire state of Kentucky and planting their northern line on the Ohio River. The move also foreshadowed the river campaign of the coming year. Federal Brig Gen C.F. Smith was assigned to command in western Kentucky as Grant returned to Cairo. There were skirmishes at Rowell’s Run, western Virginia and Monticello Bridge, Missouri.

U.S. consul in London reported purchase by Confederates of steamers Bermuda, Adelaide, and Victoria.

_________________
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

September 7, 1861 Saturday
In the North Union meetings continued during these days in some cities, while in others peace and pro-secessionist elements mustered their forces. There were occasional arrests for alleged pro-rebellion activity, and suppression, or threat of suppression, of the press. The people were beginning to take sides more firmly and to evaluate their personal stands. In the South the issue of Kentucky had been decided, and here, too, people were declaring themselves. In the mountains of east Tennessee and Kentucky the pro-Union feeling was congealing. On this quiet day there were modest operations around Big Springs, Missouri and a skirmish involving Indians near Santa Ana Canyon, California.

Russian minister, Baron Edouard de Stoeckl, has audience with President Lincoln and reads friendly letter from Emperor. Lincoln describes message as "the most loyal manifestation of friendship" shown by any European government.

The following appointments were made to Brigadier General: Daniel Butterfield, USA; Willis Arnold Gorman, USA; and Charles Mynn Thruston, 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

September 8, 1861 Sunday
President Davis, concerned over the many areas of the military front that demanded attention, wrote Gen Joseph E. Johnston at Manassas, “The cause of the Confederacy is staked upon your army…. I have felt, and feel, that time brings many advantages to the enemy, and wish we could strike him in his present condition; but it has seemed to me involved in too much probability of failure to render the movement proper with our present means. Had I the requisite arms, the argument would soon be changed.”

In Missouri there were Federal operations against guerrillas and a reconnaissance from Cairo by the Federals with an engagement at Lucas Bend, Missouri Sept 8-10. Four blockade runners were taken off Cape Hatteras by Federals.

President stays execution of Pvt. William Scott, Co. K, 3d Vermont Volunteers, ordered to be shot for sleeping on guard duty at Chain Bridge. Gen McClellan wrote "Mr. Lincoln came this morning to ask me to pardon a man that I had ordered to be shot, suggesting that I could give as a reason in the order that it was by request of the Lady President [Mrs. Lincoln]."

_________________
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