In the fall of 1861, Captain Jesse Taylor accepted command of the artillery at Fort Henry, a Confederate garrison on the Tennessee River near the Kentucky–Tennessee border. The Tennessee flows from eastern Tennessee southwest into northern Alabama before turning north and returning to Tennessee. It empties into the Ohio River at Paducah, Kentucky, and was an important transportation route into the south. It was up to those at Fort Henry to keep Federal forces from using that route.
Upon arrival at his new post, Taylor was appalled at the poor location of the fort. “I found it placed on the east bank of the river in a bottom commanded by high hills rising on either side of the river, and within good rifle range” he recalled. Taylor also confirmed with local residents that the low lying area flooded every year. Nonetheless, Confederate authorities stuck with the location. Continue reading “The Capture of Fort Henry, Tennessee February 1862” »
Tags: 1862, andrew foote, fort donelson, fort henry, jesse taylor, lloyd tilghman, major battles, Ohio, ships, tennessee, ulysses grant
One of the more prominent socialites and colorful characters in Richmond society during the Civil War was displaced Marylander Hetty Cary. A descendant of Thomas Jefferson, Cary was born near Baltimore in 1836, and was living in that city when the Civil War began in 1861. Baltimore had a large number of Confederate sympathizers, and after the Baltimore Riot of April 19th, the Union Army took control. Despite the presence of a large number of Federal troops, Hetty defiantly flew a smuggled Confederate flag from her window.
Hetty and her sister Jennie, also an ardent southern sympathizer, sewed uniforms for Confederate soldiers and had completed several by late June of 1861. Federal authorities decided they’d had enough of the Cary clan and were about to arrest them, but the two escaped to Virginia with their brother. They smuggled out the uniforms, as well as drugs and medications for southern hospitals, and arrived in Richmond on July 9th. Continue reading “Magnificent Hetty Cary: Betsy Ross of the South” »
Tags: baltimore, hetty cary, john pegram, maryland, richmond, virginia, women
150 Years Ago in the Civil War
As the second year of the Civil War began, the main armies on both sides remained inactive for the most part. In Washington, President Abraham Lincoln continued to press for movement by the Federal armies under Major Generals Don Carlos Buel and Henry Halleck in Kentucky and Missouri, and Major General George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac near the Capitol, but the generals were in no hurry. It didn’t help matters that McClellan was seriously ill throughout the latter part of December and into January.
Although the larger armies were inactive, there were several movements by smaller forces on both sides. One general who did not remain in winter quarters was Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. On New Year’s Day, Jackson and his Confederates departed Winchester, Virginia and proceeded into the western part of the state. Jackson drove the Federals out of Romney, Virginia (now West Virginia) but was hampered by bad weather throughout this campaign that lasted most of the month. Far to the west, the approximately 2500 strong Confederate Army of New Mexico under the command of Brigadier General Henry H. Sibley left Fort Bliss, Texas, in the first week in January and assembled at Fort Thorn, New Mexico Territory. This was the beginning of an ambitious plan to expand the Confederacy and drive U.S. troops out of the southwest. Continue reading “Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky; Edwin M. Stanton Named Secretary of War: January 1862” »
Tags: 1862, edwin stanton, felix zollicoffer, george crittenden, george thomas, henry sibley, kentucky, mill springs, new mexico, simon cameron, stonewall jackson, tennessee, uss monitor, virginia
During the Civil War Sesquicentennial, the U.S. Postal Service is issuing two Civil War commemorative stamps each year from 2011-2105. Each stamp in the series commemorates a significant event that occurred 150 years ago from the year of the stamp’s issue. In 2011, stamps commemorating Fort Sumter and the First Battle of Bull Run were issued.
Continue reading “2012 Civil War Commemorative Stamps” »
Tags: antietam, david farragut, iron brigade, new orleans, sesquicentennial, stamps
Major General William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea was near an end in mid December 1864. After capturing Fort McAllister on the Ogeechee River below Savannah, Georgia on December 13th, there was just one objective left. That last objective was the capture of the city of Savannah itself.
The commander of the Confederate forces defending Savannah was Lieutenant General William Hardee. Hardee had about 9000 soldiers in his command, plus artillery, but his forces were no match for Sherman’s overwhelming numbers. Still, Sherman did not want to assault the city “as all former assaults had proved so bloody, I concluded to make one more effort to completely surround Savannah on all sides” he wrote in his memoirs.
Hardee’s commander, General Pierre Beauregard, ordered him to build a bridge across the Savannah River to provide an escape route out of the city and into South Carolina. The South needed all the men it could get, and the city was of less importance than the soldiers. The pontoon style bridge was completed on December 19th. Continue reading “William T. Sherman’s Christmas Gift of Savannah, Georgia” »
Tags: 1864, christmas, georgia, major battles, savannah, south carolina, william hardee, william sherman
Name Meaning
George is of Greek origin
meaning “farmer”
Vital Stats
Birthday: December 5th, 1839
Birth Name: George Armstrong Custer
Birthplace: New Rumley, Ohio
Date of Death: June 25th, 1876
Cause: Killed in action at
Battle of Little Bighorn
Place of Death: Little Bighorn
battlefield, SE Montana
Height: 5′ 11″
Nationality: American
Ancestry: German and English
Occupation before Civil War:
School teacher; student at U.S
Military Academy at West Point.
Occupation during Civil War: Cavalry
officer in Army of Potomac, rising
from 2nd Lieutenant (Regular Army)
to Major General of Volunteers
Occupation after Civil War:
Lieutenant Colonel in the
Regular U.S. Army, serving
on the Great Plains and west.
Continue reading “George A. Custer Quick Facts” »
Tags: george custer, stats
