Historical Wargaming

145 Years Ago March 1865

by James W. Durney

• The Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac continue the siege at Petersburg.  Sherman’s army is advancing in South Carolina.
• On March 2, at Waynesboro, George Custer takes 1,600 prisoners, 17 flags, 11 cannon and 200 wagons in a short battle.  This victory ends Confederate resistance in the Shenandoah Valley.
• On March 3: In response to a request from R.E. Lee, Grant is instructed to not meet and talk about peace until Lee surrenders.  Congress authorizes the Bureau for Relief of Freedmen and Refugees, better known as The Freedmen’s Bureau.
• Union forces start an expedition against St. Marks Fort near Tallahassee, Florida.
• Lincoln is inaugurated for a second term on March 4.  His address becomes one of America’s most cherished speeches.  Vice President Andrew Johnson makes a fool of himself during his address.  Many observers think the Vice President is drunk.
• On March 5, the Union expedition finds Confederate forces strongly posted on the St. Marks River near Newport FL.  Detaching a small holding force, the command marches toward the “Natural Bridge”, where the river runs underground.
• On March 6, Confederate General William Miller defeats General John Newton at the Battle of Natural Bridge.  After several attacks, Newton withdraws to the coast having lost 148 men.  This victory prevents the Union from capturing state capital at Tallahassee.  Newton maintains that Tallahassee was never the expedition’s objective but almost no one believes him.
• The same day, General Joseph E. Johnston formally takes charge of all CSA forces in North Carolina.
• On March 8, the CSA Senate authorizes slaves to enter the army as armed soldiers.
• Sherman’s army crosses into North Carolina.  Judson Kilpatrick, commanding Sherman’s cavalry, sets a trap for Wade Hampton in the area of Monroe’s Cross Roads.
• On March 10, Wade Hampton attack Kilpatrick at Monroe’s Cross Roads.  Kilpatrick manages to rally his command and counter attack.  Hampton withdraws in good order having inflicted substantial causalities on Kilpatrick’s command.
• Jefferson Davis signs the “Negro Soldier Law” on March 13.  This allows slaves to serve in Confederate armies.  The law implies that these slaves will be freed later with the permission of their owner and the state legislatures.
• On March 14, Lord Palmerston tells Confederate envoy James M. Mason that England expects the war to end in a matter of weeks.
• On March 15, after resting his army and destroying anything of use, Sherman leaves Fayetteville.
• P.G.T. Beauregard becomes J.E. Johnston’s second in command.  Alexander P. Stewart takes command of the Army of Tennessee on the 16^th.
• The Battle of Averasboro between forces under Lafayette McLaws and the XX Corps under Henry W. Slocum results in a separation of right & left wing Sherman’s army.
• On the 18^th, Johnston starts to concentrate his forces at Bentonville against Sherman’s left wing.  He deploys 21,000 men in an arc with Bragg on the left, Hardee in the center and Stewart on the right.
• March 19, the Battle of Bentonville.  Sherman’s left wing under Slocum runs into Johnston’s army.  Neither side is able to gain a real advantage in a day of hard fighting.
• March 20 is a day of hard marching or digging as both sides prepare to continue the battle.  Sherman reunites the wings of his army as Johnston plans a defensive battle, trying to inflict crippling losses on Sherman.
• On the 21^st, Sherman’s numbers cannot be fully brought to bear.  Johnston manages to maintain his position in hard fighting but cannot continue.  That night the Confederates withdraw toward Smithville.
• The largest cavalry force ever fielded in American history under the command of General James H. Wilson advances on Selma Alabama on the 22^nd.  13,500 men, armed with the latest repeating rifles, organized into three divisions under the command of Edward M. McCook. Eli Long and Emory Upton advance in close support.
• On the 23^rd, Johnston facing Sherman’s combine army of 100,000 tells Robert E. Lee “I can do no more than annoy him.”  Sherman has advanced 425 miles in 50 days and is reaching a point where he can support Grant in Virginia.
• On the 25^th, John B. Gordon captures Fort Stedman, Batteries X, XI and XII.  Nearby Fort Haskell and Battery IX hold the break until General Hartman and 4,000 fresh troops retake the fort.  This is the last Confederate hope to hold Petersburg, forcing Lee to prepare to evacuation plans.  The battle occurs while Lincoln, Grant and Sherman are meeting at City Point.
• The next day, Sheridan reaches Grant’s army bringing his strength to 122,000.  This is about twice the size of Lee’s army.  Lee informs Davis that he cannot sit still and wait for Sherman to pin him against Grant.
• Starting on March 29, Sheridan’s cavalry, Humphrey’s II Corps and Warren’s V Corps start operations against Fitzhugh Lee and George Picket on the extreme right, starting the Appomattox campaign.

150 Years Ago March 1860

The political parties are working toward their conventions.  Candidates are maneuvering to capture their parties’ nomination.  The Democrats, facing a sectional breakup, schedule their convention in Charleston for late April.  The Republican Party plans their convention in Chicago for mid-May.  Remnants of the American and Whig parties find common cause in the Constitutional Union Party.  They schedule a convention for Baltimore in early May.  Stephen Douglas, John Breckinridge, William H. Seward and Montgomery Blair are leading contenders for the nomination.

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The Civil War 145 Years Ago: March 1865

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1. The Civil War 145 Years Ago: February 1865
2. The Civil War 145 Years Ago: November 1864
3. The Civil War 145 Years Ago: December 1864

145 Years Ago February 1865

By James W. Durney

• Illinois becomes the first state to ratify the 13^th Amendment abolishing slavery on the first.

• Sherman’s army of 62,000 starts north from Savannah.  O.O. Howard and Henry W. Slocum command a wing.  Hugh Kilpatrick commands the cavalry.

• On the third, Abraham Lincoln and Secretary William H. Seward meet with Confederate Vice-President Alexander H. Stevens, John A. Campbell and Robert M. T. Hunter meet on a ship in Hampton Roads to discuss peace.  Lincoln will only consider surrender and Stevens will only consider independence as the meeting falls apart.

• Starting on the fifth, Grant’s forces attack along the Boydton Plank Road in an effort to extend the line westward cutting vital supply lines.

• In Richmond, John C. Breckinridge is the new Secretary of War and Robert E. Lee becomes General in Chief.

• On the ninth, President Davis enacts a pardon for any deserter who reports to their unit within 30 days.

• John M. Schofield’s XXIII Corps deploys at Fort Fisher and starts operations in that area.

• On the 11^th, Sherman’s army has cut the railroad between Augusta and Charleston reinforcements cannot reach the city.  William J. Hardee is convinced that Charleston is Sherman’s objective.

• On February 12, 1865, the Electoral College elects Abraham Lincoln President 212 to 21.  The last President to be reelected was Andy Jackson in 1836.

• England expresses “unease” over the American naval buildup on the Great lakes.  The government says is in response to the St. Albans raid mounted from Canada.

• On the 14^th, Sherman’s army crosses the Congaree River advancing on Columbia, the city surrenders on the 17th.  Two-thirds of the city is destroyed in a fire set by retreating CSA and advancing USA forces.

• On the 18^th, forces under Alexander Schimmelfenning occupy Charleston.

• On the 20^th, the Confederate House of Representatives approves the enlistment of slaves as soldiers.  Opposition will delay this measure.  Having completed the destruction of military targets in Columbia, Sherman makes Goldsborough his next objective.

• Braxton Bragg orders Willington evacuated on the 21^st as Union troops reach the southwestern edge of the city.  On the same day, Robert E. Lee informs Richmond that maintaining communications with the army facing Sherman is the priority.  If necessary, he will abandon the city.

• On the 25^th, Joseph T. Johnston resumes command of the approximately 25,000 men that make up the Army of Tennessee.

• Philip H. Sheridan and Wesley Merritt take 10,000 men into the Shenandoah Valley to cut the Virginia Central Railroad and the James River Canal.

• Nathan Bedford Forrest is promoted to lieutenant general on the 28^th.

150 Years Ago January 1860

• Congress is contentious!  After 44 ballots, the Democrats elect William F. Pennington Speaker of the House.  This only happens when John Sherman withdraws his candidacy.

• In the Senate Jefferson Davis introduces resolutions defending slavery in the states and in the territories.  This is in addition to guarantees the return of fugitive slaves to their owners.

• Speaking at Cooper Union, in New York City, Abraham Lincoln sets forth his position on popular sovereignty, slavery and the expansion of slavery.  Lincoln tries to be conciliatory and reassuring toward Southerners.  Lincoln’s Copper Union Address is a major step toward his nomination.

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The Civil War 145 Years Ago: February 1865

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2. The Civil War 145 Years Ago: December 1864
3. The Civil War 145 Years Ago: October 1864

145 Years Ago December 1864

By James Durney

• On the first, following the Battle Franklin, the XXIII Corps withdraws to defensive positions at Nashville.  George Thomas assumes command of the Union forces defending the city.
• Hood’s Army of Tennessee reaches Nashville on the second.  Hood has about 24,000 men and Forrest’s experienced cavalry.  On the same day, CSA General Sterling Price reaches Laynesport, AK ending all hope of retaking Missouri.  His command has marched almost 1,500 miles fighting 43 engagements while losing 4,000 men.  Most of his losses are to desertion.  Judson Kilpatrick, acting under Sherman’s orders commences offensive operations designed to drive Joe Wheeler’s cavalry away from the main columns.  For the next three or four days these forces will fight a series of skirmishes forcing Wheeler back toward Augusta.
• On the third, armed parties from the USS Nita, Stars and Stripes, Ariel and Two Sisters destroy a large saltworks at Rocky Point in Tampa.
• On the fifth, the second session of the 38^th Congress convenes in Washington.  Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles reports that the US Navy contains 671 ships of which 62 are ironclads, mounting 4,600 cannon.
• On the sixth, Lincoln appoints Radical Republican and sometime Presidential candidate Salmon P. Chase as the fifth Chief Justice.
• General Robert L. Milroy attacks and defeats General Nathan Forrest outside of Murfreesboro on the seventh.  Hood detached Forrest’ command from his Nashville lines releasing him to raid.
• On the tenth, General Sherman, with 60,000 men, reaches the outskirt of Savannah.  William Hardee has 18,000 men to defend the city.  He orders the rice fields flooded reducing the approaches to the city.
• On the 13^th, in Montreal, the authorities release the St Albans raiders.  The United States formally notifies the British government they will nullify the Rush-Bagot Agreement of 1817 and in one year fortify the border with Canada.  The 2^nd Division, XV Corps capture Fort McAllister outside of Savannah, establishing contact with the Navy and reopening Sherman’s supply lines.
• Over a week after receiving orders to attack, after ignoring a number of pointed inquires with his replacement in route on the 15^th, George Thomas attacks.  The Battle of Nashville is a disaster for Hood, in two days of battle his army is driven from every position and loses most of his artillery.  N.B. Forrest forms the rear guard as the badly defeated army flees south.  Almost 6,000 men, the majority captured are lost at the Battle of Nashville.  Union loses are 3,057.
• On the 18^th, Lincoln calls for 300,000 more men to rebuild the Union army’s ranks.
• William Hardee evacuates the city of Savannah saving his army but losing 250 heavy cannon on the 20th.  The same day, Admiral David G. Farragut concludes his naval career at the New York Naval Yard.
• On the 22^nd, General Stoneman concludes his ten-day raid departing Saltville, VA.
• On the 23^rd, David G. Farragut becomes the first American vice admiral, the equivalent of a lieutenant general.  This required congressional legislation and Lincoln’s approval.
• Also on the 23^rd, 65,000 men and 5 ships arrive off Fort Fisher outside of Wilmington.  Fort Fisher is an earthwork fort, 480 yards long, 60 feet high with a garrison of 1,500 protecting the last major open port in the CSA.  On the 24^th, the USS Louisiana packed with explosives detonates near the fort.  The explosions expected to level a wall but the ship is at least 250 yards from the fort and accomplishes nothing.  Facing the failure of the operation, Admiral David D. Porter orders a massive bombardment of the fort.  On Christmas day, 2,200 men from the Army of the James land an attack.  They are unable to get closer than 50 yards to the walls.  General Benjamin Butler orders a withdrawal and cancels the entire operation.  Butler’s withdrawal strands 700 men on the beach for two days until rescued.
• On the 26^th, John B. Hood’s army crosses the Tennessee River heading for Tupelo, MS.  The crossing is possible as low water at Great Mussel Shoals at strands Union gunboats.
• Butler’s conduct enrages Grant, who tells Lincoln that the entire operation is a complete fiasco.  On the 30^th, Lincoln, secure in his election victory, relieves Benjamin F. Butler as commander of the Army of the James.
• The same day, Francis P. Blair suggests to Jefferson Davis a meeting to “explain the view I entertain in reference to the state of affairs of our Country.”
• On the 31^st, the 110,000 men of the Army of the Potomac are in their siege lines outside Petersburg and Richmond.  Facing them are the 66,000 man Army of Northern Virginia trying to hold 35 miles of lines.

The prospects of victory have never appeared brighter in the North.

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The Civil War 145 Years Ago: December 1864

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145 Years Ago

November 1864

• The biggest news is the election of Lincoln & Johnson on the eighth.  The popular vote was almost 500,000 higher for Lincoln, about one out of eight votes, but the Electoral College cast 212 votes for Lincoln and 21 for McClellan.  This victory ends any hope of the war ending in anything but a Confederate defeat.

• On the second, Secretary of State Seward tells the mayor of New York that Confederate agents are planning to burn the city.

• On the fifth, General N.B. Forrest ends a very successful raid into Tennessee.  The Union Army lost equipment having a value of over $6.7 million.  Forrest ends the raid to join J.B. Hood in what will become the Nashville Campaign.

• In Chicago, on the sixth, authorities arrest over 100 Copperheads and CSA sympathizers.  They are part of a plot to disrupt the coming election and burn the city.  None of those arrested are even tried.

• On the 12^th, a landing party from the USS Hedrick Hudson & Nita attack salt works near Tampa, FL.  Cavalry manage to drive the party away prior to the destruction of the salt works.

• On the 14^th, President Lincoln accepts General George B. McClellan’s resignation from the army.  Philip H. Sheridan becomes a Major General.

• Sherman departs Atlanta on the 15^th, starting his famous March to the Sea.  O.O. Howard commands the right wing (XIV & XX Corps), Henry W. Slocum commands the left wing (XV &XVII Corps) with the cavalry under Judson Kilpatrick.

• As Sherman heads toward Savannah, on the 16^th, J.B. Hood’s army starts marching toward Tennessee.

• Jefferson Davis instructs General Howell Cobb to use the Georgia militia to oppose Sherman on the 18^th.  The next day, John Brown orders all men between 16 & 45 to join the militia.  General William J. Hardee commands this “force”.

• On the 22^nd, the Georgia legislature flees Milledgeville as Slocum approaches.  At Griswoldville, showing more bravery than good sense, the Georgia militia attacks Kilpatrick’s cavalry.  The militia suffers over 600 casualties while inflicting only about 100 on Kilpatrick.  This is the biggest battle of the March to the Sea.  In Tennessee, Schofield marches northward to escape Hood’s approaching army.

• On the 25^th, New York has ten fires set in hotels by CSA agents that entered from Canada.  One agent is captured, tried and executed.  In Texas, Colonel Kit Carson is defeated at the battle of Adobe Wells.  He manages to withdraw his command to safety without undue losses.  This is the largest Indian battle in Texas.

• In Tennessee, Hood forces Schofield to withdraw from the Duck River after several days of maneuvering.  Schofield finds Hood has most of his army North of the river and in position to cut him off from Nashville.  On the 28^th, preparations to withdraw begin.  On the 29^th, Schofield marches his army past Hood at Spring Hill reaching safety in Franklin.  What happened, who is responsible, why this happened are still hot topics and “The Spring Hill Affair” enters into history.

• November 30^th, Hood angered at the failure to trap Schofield orders the largest charge of the Civil War.  About 4 PM, three divisions charge over two miles of open ground at entrenched Union veterans.  Six Confederate Generals are killed, six other badly wounded along with over 6,200 solders.  The Union line holds and that night Schofield withdraws to Nashville.  He suffered just over 2,300 causalities in the Battle of Franklin.  The Confederate Army of Tennessee never recovers from this battle.  Among those killed is CSA General Patrick Cleburne, the Stonewall of the West, leading his division at the focal point of the attack.

• November is almost the close of the active campaign season.  Sherman is marching through Georgia.  Grant & Lee remain locked together at Petersburg.  Hood is badly battered but advancing on Thomas entrenched at Nashville.  Lincoln’s election indicates the North’s resolve to see things through to total victory.  Jefferson Davis is insisting that the CSA will accept no terms but independence and that no vital area is conquered.  This is starting to ring hollow as desertions from the army and desperation at home take a larger toll.  The war is not over and will not end in April 1865 either.

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The Civil War 145 Years Ago: November 1864

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145 Years Ago

October 1864

• This is a difficult time for the North but victory is starting to look closer.  Hood is probing for a weak spot in Sherman’s armies.  Grant continues to dig and extend his lines forcing Lee into a static defensive campaign.  Sterling Price is advancing in Missouri, trying to reclaim his state for the Confederacy.  Jefferson Davis is returning to Richmond from his trip to Atlanta.  At several locations, he makes speeches predicting Sherman’s defeat and a Confederate victory

• On the first, the battle of Cinch Mountain occurs.  This Union “victory” has a causality rate almost 50% higher than the “defeated” fore.

• The Confederate spy Rose O’Neal Greenhow drowns off Port Fisher, NC.  Several Union general officers are grief stricken at the news.

• With little choice, Jefferson Davis appoints PGT Beauregard commander of the Division of the West.  Beauregard is to coordinate the efforts of Generals Taylor and Hood.

• The inspiration for the stirring hymn “Hold the Fort, For We Are Coming” is the defense of Allatoona Pass by Union General John M. Corse on the fifth.  This small action is part of Hood’s effort to cut Sherman’s line of communications.  Sherman sent General Thomas back to Tennessee, on the third, with orders to curtail Hood’s campaign.

• On the seventh, the AoNV makes a major effort to recapture Fort Harrison.  After suffering heavy casualties, including General John Gregg, the attack is called off.  Lee recognizes that he has to entrench closer to Richmond.

• Union General Phil Sheridan is advancing down the Shenandoah Valley destroying everything in his path.  CSA General Early can do little but watch Sheridan go.  His cavalry, under General Thomas L. Rosser can only harass Sheridan in a series of small skirmishes.

• The CSS Florida attacked in a Brazilian harbor and forced to surrender.  This violation of Brazilian neutrality causes diplomatic problems.  The British ship Sea King sails and will be renamed the CSS Shenandoah.

• October 9 is “The Woodstock Races” aka the Battle of Tom’s Brook.  Generals Custer and Merritt cause 350 causalities capturing 11 cannon and many wagons while pushing the CSA cavalry back 26 miles.

• Elections in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana show strong support for President Lincoln.  In 1864, there is no national election day.  States will hold elections until November when they chose.

• Chief Justice Roger B. Taney dies in Washington DC.

• By only 374 votes, Maryland abolishes slavery.  As a loyal state, the Emancipation Proclamation that took effect January 1, 1863 did not affect them.

• Hood’s army seizes Resaca, cutting Sherman’s line of communications to Tennessee.  Hood has been probing for weeks and is moving toward Alabama.

• Sterling Price issues an appeal to Missourians to rally round the flag.  Very few people pay attention as Union forces consolidate.

• Colonel Chester Harding commanding a garrison of 750 militia and Federal troops holds Glasgow Missouri for several hours.  His garrison inflicts over 100 causalities and destroys all weapons prior to surrendering.  Paroled at once, the destruction of the weapons renders the victory useless.

• On the 17^th, James Longstreet, recovered from his Wilderness wound, resumes command of the I Corps AoNV.  The same day, Sterling Price starts marching on Lexington Missouri, occupying the town on the 19^th.  Hood stops operations against Sherman’s communications and marches west.

• October 19^th is Sheridan’s Ride!  Early attacks at Cedar Creek and almost routes Sheridan’s army.  Sheridan returning from a conference in Washington commences a 12-mile ride, rallies his men and breaks Early’s army.  Early suffers 2,800 causalities losing 43 cannon and 300 wagons in the route.  Among those killed is CSA General Stephen D. Ramseur.

• On the 21^st, General Sherman halts all pursuit of the Army of Tennessee.

• Sterling Price begins trying to fight free of Union Generals Curtis, Pleasonton and Blunt.  While badly defeated on the 22^nd, dissension with the Union command allows him to escape with his supply train.  The invasion of Missouri is over with the last major battle of the Trans-Mississippi.  These are the Little Blue River, Independence II and the Big Blue River.  On the 25^th, CSA General John S. Marmaduke is captured along with a third of the supply train.

• “Bloody Bill” Anderson is killed near Richmond Missouri on the 26^th.

• On the 27^th & 28^th, Grant attacks the South Side Railroad and the Boydton Plank Road in the last offensive of 1864, after bloody fighting the operations fail and the army goes into winter quarter under siege conditions.

• As October ends, John B. Hood leads the Army of Tennessee back home expecting Sherman to follow.  General George Thomas has started concentrating Federal troops at Pulsaski.

• William S. Rosecrans recalls all but 3,500 cavalry under Samuel R. Curtis allowing Sterling Price to escape from Missouri.

• Nevada becomes the nation’s 36^th state.  The two new senators provide the votes needed for the Senate to pass the 13^th Amendment, abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for a crime.

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The Civil War 145 Years Ago: October 1864

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September 1864

• “Atlanta is ours and fairly won”; these words are in a telegram sent to President Lincoln on the second. This is the first tangible victory since the summer began and the North rejoices. September fifth is declared a day of national celebration and prayer.

• The famous raider John Hunt Morgan is killed at Greeneville, Tennessee as his last command is largely destroyed.

• Wade Hampton raids the Union cattle corral at Coggins Point VA., fights some small skirmishes and returns to CSA lines with 2,486 head of cattle.

• Two tons of cotton are captured by the USS Ariel near Tampa, cotton, sugar & salt are being called ―white gold at this point in the war.

• On the 19th, after weeks of skirmishing and maneuvers, General Sheridan attacks Jubal Early at Winchester in the Shenandoah Valley. In a day of hard fight, CSA General Robert Rodes is killed and Early forced back 20 miles to Fisher Hill. On the 22nd, at The Battle of Fisher Hill, Early is completely defeated and flees the Valley. Sheridan is free to implement actions that destroy the area as a source of supplies for Lee’s Army and as a raiding path to the north.

• General Sterling Price after almost two years is back in Missouri. Leading about 12,000 men, many unarmed and untrained, he hopes to reclaim the state for the CSA. On the 26th, Price fights a small battle at Fort Davidson. Union General Thomas Ewing slips through Prices lines that night and escapes. This is an empty victory that Price cannot afford to replicate.

• In Centralia, MO ―Bloody Bill Anderson, not operating with Sterling Price kills 116 Union soldiers many are unarmed or have surrendered when killed. This is one of the worst guerilla actions in the war.

• Confederate agents, operating out of Canada, overpower a ship on Lake Eire attempting to raid the POW camp on Johnson Island. They fail and flee back to safety in Canada.

• President Jefferson Davis visits the Army of Tennessee in Georgia. At stops along the way, Davis makes a series of speeches designed to rise moral. At Palmetto, due to problems between John B. Hood and William J. Hardee, Hardee is relieved of command. Davis reviews Hood’s army and confers with Hood about the future. Davis approves Hood’s strategy to invade Tennessee and pull Sherman north. Hardee’s new command is the Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Hood starts moving toward the Western and Atlantic Railroad on the 29th.

• September ends with major battles on the Petersburg/Richmond front. On the 29th three Union Corps, attack New Markey Heights and Chaffin’s Bluff. General Charles Paine USCT division is awarded 14 Medals of Honor during this action. On the 30th, Lee launches eight brigades to recapture the lost positions. Four determined attacks fail forcing the Confederates to adjust their lines.

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The Civil War 145 Years Ago: September 1864

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