Chickasaw Bluff
 1862 Calendar
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Dec 28 1862 (Sunday)

Completing their ten mile journey up the Yazoo, well short of the torpedo infested part of the river, Sherman debarks his men at Johnson's Farm. Despite the name, Johnson's is "little more than a patch of cleared ground in the midst of swampy woods." The Union position is bounded by the Old River Bayou on the right, and the Chickasaw Bayou on the left. To reach the Yazoo City Road, Sherman must cross the old river bed of the Yazoo and attack fortified Confederate positions on the overlooking Walnut Hills. To make matters worse, General M.L. Smith's defending force has been reinforced by 6,000 additional soldiers. "I have ordered...Maury's division to move direct to Vicksburg." In Memphis, a disappointed John McClernand arrives only to find "the empty docks his men had departed from, ten days ago under Sherman."

MEMPHIS, TENN., December 28, 1862. - Maj. Gen. U.S. GRANT, Commanding, &c., Holly Springs: I avail myself of the first moment to communicate the accompanying papers. No. 1 is the order to the Secretary of War recognizing the Mississippi expedition and assigning me to the command of it....This order, while giving to me the immediate command of the expedition, makes it a part of your general command....General Hurlbut informs me that General Sherman left Helena last Tuesday....I have much that I would like to communicate to you. Much valuable information could be obtained by you at once here respecting the operations of your command....I shall anxiously watch events upon the river until I hear from you. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, JOHN A. McCLERNAND, Major-General.

Braxton Bragg decides to make a stand near Murfreesboro, Tennessee, despite the fact that his defensive line will be bisected by the Stone's River. "The line of battle will be in front of Murfreesboro; half of the army, left wing in front of Stone's River; right wing in the rear of the river." Bragg also sends out Joe Wheeler's cavalry to harass and delay the advance of William Rosecrans' advancing army.

HEADQUARTERS THIRD KENTUCKY INFANTRY, Stewart's Creek, Tenn., December 28, 1862. - Capt. EDMUND R. KERSTETTER, Assistant Adjutant-General. - Sir: My regiment was ordered forward to relieve the Fifty-eighth Indiana....These companies has no sooner taken their positions and commenced to advance than they were met by a galling fire from the rebels, ambuscaded behind a dense thicket of cedar. Their fire was promptly returned with such effect as to drive the enemy at once in confusion from their hiding place....Driven from one shelter they quickly sought another, but at no point tarried longer than to receive one or two rounds from their pursuers....We were enabled to steadily [press] forward, though the ground over which we had to pass was a continuous succession of dense thickets and soft corn ground, both rendered almost entirely impassable...by a drenching rain, which fell upon us in torrents....During the advance the enemy were dislodged from not less than five or six of their hiding places....On approaching Stewart's Creek..., the skirmishers discovered that the retreating rebels had...fired the bridge; the flames were already reaching high in the air....The moment was critical....Without hesitation, Major Collier's entire line...rushed forward, and in a moment extinguished the flame and saved the bridge, all escaping unhurt....Very respectfully, SAM. McKEE, Colonel, Commanding Third Kentucky Infantry.

Thomas Hindman's disappointment in losing the battle at Prairie Grove and subsequently watching much of his army melt away in mass desertions and straggling is increased when Union cavalry attack Van Buren, Arkansas, and destroy all the supplies of corn and bacon gathered to protect his army from starvation. "We bearded the tricky rebel, General Hindman in his den....We pushed the cavalry into Van Buren without halting....It is a good joke on Hindman. He is across the river, 5 miles from here....We claim the whole country to the Arkansas River."

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE FRONTIER, Van Buren, Ark., December 28, 1862. - Maj. Gen. SAMUEL R. CURTIS. - GENERAL: The Stars and Stripes now wave in triumph over Van Buren....At 10 o'clock this morning my advance came upon two regiments of rebel cavalry at Dripping Springs....Dashing upon them with 3,000 cavalry..., a brisk running fight took place, which was kept up into the town, resulting in the capture of all their transportation...; four steamers and the ferry-boat were also captured....Quite a number of the enemy have been killed during the day's operation....JAS. G. BLUNT, Brigadier-General.

John Morgan's cavalry raiders continue to destroy the bridges and trestles of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Near Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Morgan reports: "The stockades, trestles, and a quantity of army stores were destroyed. About 700 prisoners were taken."

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE OHIO, Cincinnati, Ohio, December 28, 1862--11:45 a.m. - Major-General GRANGER, Lexington, Ky.: Fighting going on at Muldraugh's Hill. Morgan's force larger that reported. Can't you send troops at once to Louisville? If you do not, we may lose that place....H. G. WRIGHT, Major-General, Commanding.

Secretary of War Edwin Stanton reacts quickly to Jefferson Davis' proclamation by informing Lieutenant-Colonel Ludlow: "You will not make any exchange of commissioned officers until further instructions."

FORT MONROE, December 28, 1862. - Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War: In view of the recent proclamation of Jeff Davis directing that no commissioned officer of the United States taken prisoner shall be released on parole before exchange until General Butler is punished shall not all Confederate commissioned officers taken prisoners be detained instead of being forwarded as usual for exchange...? WM. H. LUDLUM, Lieutenant-Colonel and Agent for Exchange of Prisoners.


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Dec 29 1862 (Monday)

Ulysses Grant's order expelling all Jews from his department has generated "enormous outrage" from many influential Jewish spokesmen. House Democrats have even introduced a resolution condemning the action. President Lincoln explains to Henry Halleck that while he has no qualms with expelling dishonest traders, he cannot uphold an order which "proscribed a whole class, some of whom are fighting in our ranks."

PADUCAH, KY., December 29, 1862. - Hon. ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States: General orders, No. 11, issued by General Grant...commands all post commanders to expel all Jews, without distinction...from his entire department. The undersigned, good citizens of the United States and residents of this town for many years, engaged in legitimate business as merchants, feel greatly insulted and outraged by this inhuman order....We respectfully ask your immediate attention to this enormous outrage on all law and humanity, and pray for your effectual and immediate interposition....D. WOLFF & BROS., C.F. KASKELL, J.W. KASWELL.

Both Joe Johnston and President Davis have implored Theophilus Holmes to send reinforcements to Vicksburg from the Trans-Mississippi region. While refraining from issuing a direct order to Holmes to release the much needed troops, they are dismayed to receive Holmes' dispatch detailing the reasons he is unable to comply with their request.

HEADQUARTERS TRANS-MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT, Little Rock, Ark., December 29, 1862. - General JOSEPH E. JOHNSTON, Commanding Department of the West: - GENERAL: Fully concurring...as to the great importance of holding Vicksburg..., you can understand how inexpressibly painful it has been to me to have failed...to render the desired assistance, and how imperative I considered it to retain all my small force for the defense of the valley of the Arkansas....It seems very certain that any force I can now send from here would not be able to reach Vicksburg, and if at all not before such a re-enforcement would be useless, while such a diversion would enable the enemy to penetrate those portions of the Arkansas Valley where the existence of supplies of subsistence and forage would afford them leisure to overrun the entire State and gradually reduce the people to a dependence upon the Federal Government. I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant, TH. H. HOLMES, Lieutenant-General, Commanding Department.

Surviving the "misidentification of objectives" and an almost continuous "countermarching of columns," Sherman readies his army for an assault on the fortified hills near Chickasaw Bayou. Examining his lines, "Cump" is reassured by General George W. Morgan, "General, in ten minutes after you give the signal I'll be on those hills."

Reports of Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, U. S. Army, commanding Expedition. - HDQRS. RIGHT WING, ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE, Camp, Milliken's Bend, La. - Col. JOHN A. Rawlins, Assistant Adjutant-General to General Grant: My plan was by a prompt and concentrated movement to break the center near Chickasaw Creek, at the head of a bayou of the same name, and once in position to turn to the right (Vicksburg) or left (Drumgould's Bluff)....Not one word could I hear from General Grant, who was supposed to be pushing south, or from General Banks, supposed to be ascending the Mississippi. Time being everything to us, I determined to assault the hills in front of Morgan....All the troops were massed as close as possible, and all our supports were well in hand....I have the honor to be, your obedient servant, W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General, Commanding.

While the army makes "a show of attack along the whole front," General De Courcey's brigade advances across a dry sand bar on the right, and General Blair pushes his men across a mile away on the left. Once across, they are hit by a "savage artillery crossfire," and the men who survive are forced to cling to the base of the bluff and "scoop out burrows" in the hillside in a vain attempt to seek cover from the devastating fire from above.

Reports of Col. John F. De Courcy, Sixteenth Ohio Infantry. - December 29, 1862. - SIR: At ten minutes before 12 o'clock the order to advance was given and the Twenty-second and Forty-second Regiments found themselves immediately engaged under a hot fire....[The] attack...began in splendid style, and nearly accomplished their object, notwithstanding the immense and fearfully-destructive fire which poured in from front, left, right, and even rear....In a short time...the bayou was passed over, and the head of the column emerged on the open ground....The brave men...nearly crossed the large open space of more than half a mile which lay stretched out before them in glacis fashion, when the enemy increased his fire of small arms and grape to such a degree as to render further advance impossible....Your respectfully, JOHN F. DE COURCY, Colonel, Commanding Third Brigade.

Realizing that his loss has been "pretty heavy" and that his army had accomplished "nothing, and had inflicted little loss on our enemy," Sherman puts an end to the disastrous attack. The Confederate fire is so hot however, that the men could not be recalled until after dark, "and then one at a time."

Report of Maj. Gen. Martin L. Smith, C. S. Army, commanding forces in front of Vicksburg. - HEADQUARTERS, Vicksburg, Miss. - Lieut. Col. J. R. WADDY, Asst. Adjt. Gen., Dept. of Miss. and East La., Jackson, Miss. - COLONEL: The arrival of three brigades...added greatly to our strength and confidence. These troops were moved promptly forward and by daylight were in position....The assaulting force--estimated at 6,000---moved from their concealed position in the woods, advanced rapidly on an open space of say 400 yards, and made a determined attack upon...[the] entrenched position. Taken in flank by the artillery and met in front by a withering sheet of musketry fire, the enemy struggled up to within a short distance of our line, when he wavered, stopped, and soon fled in irretrievable panic and confusion, strewing the ground with his dead and wounded....Five different times did they attempt to storm...[the] most advanced work, each time repulsed with loss, and from daylight until sunset the troops were under as severe a fire of musketry and artillery as it was practicable for an enemy almost enveloping them to pour into the work....I am, colonel, very respectfully, your obedient servant, M. L. SMITH, Major-General, Commanding.

Casualties for the day: Union 1,776 Confederate 207.


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Dec 30 1862 (Tuesday)

Despite the horrible pounding his army absorbed yesterday, "Cump" Sherman is hesitant to call off the expedition. "The three divisions will occupy the ground now held....All but the pickets and supports will retire..., stack arms and rest....Men may make fires in hollows 500 yards back of the picket lines." Struggling to find and alternate plan, Sherman seeks the advice of Admiral David Dixon Porter.

CAMP, December 30, 1862. - Admiral DAVID D. PORTER: - DEAR SIR: After a close personal reconnaissance..., I am satisfied to cross the bayou through the narrow paths and abatis will be fatal to a large proportion of my command....I think there must be a point of disembarkation for troops this side of Haines' bluff, from which that battery could be stormed without the exposure that marks all the crossing places here. If you concur, and permit all the iron-clads to ascend and engage the battery, I will order 10,000 of my best troops to embark by night..., and proceed to attack that battery by assault....Unless Grant be near at hand, I cannot promise success in a direct assault on Vicksburg....I am, &c, W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General, Commanding.

After successfully delaying the Union army until Braxton Bragg can concentrate his force at Murfreesboro, "Fighting" Joe Wheeler leads his cavalrymen on a raid around "Old Rosy's" advancing army, seeking to disrupt his communication and supply lines. Leaving shortly after midnight, Wheeler's men reach Jefferson, Tennessee, where they fall upon an unsuspecting brigade supply train.

HEADQUARTERS CAVALRY, Six miles from Murfreesborough. - Col. GEORGE WILLIAM BRENT, Assistant Adjutant-General. - GENERAL: We attacked vigorously, drove off the guards, and destroyed the train, baggage, and equipage, &c....We then proceeded to La Vergne, and...soon overtook and captured a small foraging train....We arrived in La Vergne and found it filled with soldiers and large trains....We immediately charged in three columns, completely surprising the guards, who made but slight resistance. We immediately paroled the prisoners...and destroyed immense trains and stores, amounting to many hundred thousands of dollars....Very respectfully, colonel, your obedient servant, JOS. WHEELER, Major-General and Chief of Cavalry.

In the stillness of the night, the military bands from both sides begin playing. Because of the close proximity of the lines, the music becomes "something of a contest." "Yankee Doodle" is answered by "Dixie," until the Union bandsmen begin playing "Home Sweet Home." "Immediately a Confederate band caught up the strain, then one after another until all the bands of each army were playing "Home Sweet Home."" While the music is playing, Rosecrans and Bragg issue orders for the following day. By some incredible coincidence, both generals settle upon the same strategy; forces on the left will concentrate for a slashing flank attack, in a grand left wheel pinning the opposing army against the rising Stone's River and cutting them off from their base of supplies. In "Old Rosy's" army, "General Crittenden's corps will cross the river and take Murfreesborough, and attack any force...that falls in front of him." Rosecrans explains the plan to General McCook, who is charged with holding the Rebels at bay on the right, "You know the ground; you have fought over it; you know its difficulties. Can you hold your...position for three hours?" The general responds: "Yes, I think I can." Unbeknownst to McCook, Bragg's main assault force is poised to attack his lines at dawn.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF TENNESSEE, Murfreesborough, December 30, 1862--1.50 p.m. - [Major-General WITHERS:] - GENERAL: The general commanding directs that a vigorous assault be made by our left on the right of the enemy to-morrow morning as early as it is light enough to see. Your right will remain stationary, and be the pivot on which the movement will be made. Your left will swing around and correspond with the movement of General McCown's division on your left. In making this movement, the general desires that your attack shall be vigorous and persistent. In so doing, keep up the touch of elbows to the right, in order that the line may be unbroken....Very respectfully, GEORGE WM. BRENT, Assistant Adjutant-General.


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Dec 31 1862 (Wednesday) New Years Eve

The rumors coming from Memphis are promising, "All confirm the taking of Vicksburg by Sherman....General McClernand...chartered the Tigress and started for Vicksburg yesterday." Facing the ugly spectacle of ignominious defeat, Sherman orders General Steele's division to embark on transports for an attack on Haines' Bluff, further up the Yazoo River. To aid in the movement, Alfred Ellet has designed a 45 foot beam, attached to the steam-ram Lioness, to clear the river of torpedoes. "As there would be at least 45 feet of water between the point of explosion and the bow of the vessel I anticipated no damage would be done [to] the boat....The design was to obviate the necessity of sending men out in small boats to fish for the torpedoes."

SPECIAL ORDERS NO. 40. - HDQRS. RIGHT WING, 13TH ARMY CORPS, December 31, 1862. General Steele's division...will constitute the force designed to co-operate with the fleet of gunboats in the assault on the battery at Haines' Bluff....The utmost silence and secrecy must be preserved. As soon as night sets in the regiments will march to the river, keeping bayonets unfixed, with muskets at a trail or right-shoulder, so as not to be observed by the enemy's lookout; Steele's division to embark at the mouth of Chickasaw Bayou....All should be aboard and asleep by 9 p.m....Regimental officers must accept the steamers assigned without a murmur, and not take exceptions to the crowd, as time is material. By order of W. T. Sherman, major-general: J. H. HAMMOND, Assistant Adjutant-General.

The three brigades of Brigadier-General Jere Sullivan have been chasing Nathan Bedford Forrest's raiders for the past week with little success. At Parker's Crossroads, Tennessee, Forrest encounters one of Sullivan's brigades and launches an attack. The "raw...and imperfectly drilled" Union troops quickly break. "Some officer came down...and gave an order..., 'Rally to the rear....' The regiment...mistook the command for an order to retreat and commenced breaking to the rear."

BRIGADE HEADQUARTERS, Clifton, Tenn. - Lieut. Co. GEORGE WILLIAM BRENT, Assistant Adjutant-General. - GENERAL: I...dismounted a portion of my cavalry to support my artillery and attack in front while I could flank them on each side....We drove them through the woods with great slaughter and several white flags were raised in various portions of the woods and the killed and wounded were strewn over the ground. Thirty minutes more would have given us the day, when to my surprise and astonishment a fire was opened on us in our rear and the enemy in heavy force under General Sullivan advanced on us....I could not believe that they were Federals until I rode up myself into their lines....I am, general, very respectfully, your most obedient servant, N. B. FORREST, Brigadier-General, Commanding Brigade.

With white flags fluttering, Forrest is caught off guard by a sudden attack by the rest of Sullivan's force. Quickly regaining composure, Forrest issues orders to, "Charge both ways!" Finding his command "exposed to fire from both front and rear," Forrest is "compelled to withdraw."

PARKER'S CROSS-ROADS, BETWEEN LEXINGTON AND HUNTINGDON, December 31, 1862--6 o'clock p.m. - Major-General GRANT: We have achieved a glorious victory. We met Forrest, 7,000 strong. After a contest of four hours, completely routed him with great slaughter. We have captured six guns, over 300 prisoners, over 350 horses, a large number of wagons and teams, and large quantity of small-arms....JER. C. SULLIVAN, Brigadier-General.

At Murfreesboro, William Rosecrans attack is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m., giving his men time to cook and eat breakfast. Dispensing with such amenities, Bragg's men attack at dawn. They "swooped down on those Yankees like a whirl-a-gust of woodpeckers in a hail storm." The assault begins at "6:20 on the morning," when Union outposts are "driven in by an overwhelming force of infantry." The brigades of Generals Willich and Kirk open upon the advancing columns, but it is soon apparent "that to fall back was a 'military necessity'....The troops of this division for the first time were compelled to yield the field."

HEADQUARTERS SECOND DIVISION, SMITH'S CORPS, Shelbyville, Tenn. - Maj. T. B. ROY, Assistant Adjutant-General: At the dawn of day...I moved....upon the enemy in my front....As I advanced, my right flank received a galling fire...from both infantry and artillery. My men advanced steadily, reserving their fire until they were but a short distance from the enemy's position. A volley was delivered, and their position and batteries taken with the bayonet, leaving the ground covered with his dead and wounded....The enemy made several attempts to rally, but failed, being closely pressed by my men, their defeat becoming almost a rout. The enemy was pressed near a mile....The surprise was complete, and the enemy fell back in considerable disorder....Yours, &c., J.P. McCOWN, Major-General, Commanding.

After the divisions of Richard Johnson and Jefferson C. Davis are swept away by the onrushing gray tide, the Confederates run up against the men of Philip Henry Sheridan. Unlike most of his compatriots, Sheridan had his men "assembled under arms at 4 o'clock" in the morning. His men are aided by huge outcroppings of limestone and cedar thickets that run "straight up into the air so near together that the sunlight [is] obscured." The initial Rebel attacks are rebuffed until Patrick Cleburne's division joins the assault. "I pressed on, continuing the difficult wheel under fire....The left of...[the] line stretched through a cedar brake....In many parts...the enemy found natural breastworks of limestone rock."

HDQRS. THIRD DIV., RIGHT WING, FOURTEENTH A. C., Camp on Stone's River, Tenn. - Maj. J. A. CAMPBELL, Asst. Adjt. Gen., Right Wing, Fourteenth Army Corps. - MAJOR: The enemy...continued to advance until they had reached nearly the edge of the timber....For a short time they withstood the fire, wavered, then broke and ran....At this time the enemy...made an attack on the extreme right of our wing...and the two divisions on my right were retiring in great confusion, closely followed by the enemy, completely turning my position and exposing my line to a fire from the rear....In this position I was immediately attacked, when one of the bitterest and most sanguinary contests of the day occurred....Heavy masses of the enemy, with three batteries of artillery, advanced over the open ground....The contest then became terrible. The enemy made three attacks, and were three times repulsed....There was no sign of faltering with the men, the only cry being for more ammunition, which unfortunately could not be supplied....I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, P. H. SHERIDAN, Brigadier-General, Commanding.

Sheridan conducts a textbook fighting withdrawal until a lack of ammunition forces him to retreat to the Nashville Pike, buying time for William Rosecrans to organize a new defensive line. The Union attack is canceled and the divisions of John Palmer, Thomas Wood, and Horatio Van Cleve are sent to reinforce the frazzled right. George Thomas, an island of calm in a sea of Union confusion, patches together a line anchored by a "tree choked patch of rocky earth" called the Round Forest. Thomas assigns the brigade commanded by William Hazen to defend what quickly becomes known as "Hell's Half-Acre."

HDQRS. 19TH BRIGADE, ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND, SECOND BRIGADE, SECOND DIVISION, LEFT WING, - Camp near Murfreesborough, Tenn. - ASSISTANT ADJUTANT GENERAL, Fourth Div., Army of the Cumberland, Second Div., Left Wing. - SIR: Upon this point, as a pivot, the entire army oscillated from front to rear....As the position I held could not be given up..., [I] gave orders to...fix...bayonets and to...hold the ground at all hazards....A sharp fight was kept up from this position....At about 4 p.m. the enemy...advanced upon my front in two lines. The battle had hushed, and the dreadful splendor of this advance can only be conceived, as all description must fall vastly short. His right was even with my left, and his left was lost in the distance. He advanced steadily, and as it seemed, certainly to victory....I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. B. HAZEN, Colonel, Comdg. 19th Brig., Second Brig., Second Div., Left Wing.

The Confederate advance sputters to a halt at the Round Forest. Repeated attacks fail to dislodge the stubborn defenders and Braxton Bragg sends word to General Breckinridge to cross the river with his division and reinforce the attack. Despite some initial confusion, the brigades of Generals Preston and Palmer are "moved by flank toward the ford." Upon reaching the field, Lieutenant-General Polk directs them "to advance across the plain." Breckinridge's men are thrown forward against the Round Forest in the "most daring, courageous, and best executed attack" of the day. Aided by thunderous artillery support, the final charge is repulsed and, after eleven hours of fierce fighting, "a mutual hush [falls] over the glades and copses." Generals Hardee and Breckinridge survey the situation. "We went forward together to the edge of the field....We had no artillery, the nature of the ground forbidding its use. It was deemed reckless to attack with the force present. Night was now approaching."

HEADQUARTERS PRESTON'S BRIGADE, BRECKINRIDGE'S DIVISION, ARMY OF TENNESSEE. - Col. T. O'HARA, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General. - COLONEL: The brigade advanced rapidly and steadily under a destructive fire from the artillery....The two central regiments found great difficulty in pressing through the ruins and strong inclosures of the farm-house, and, retarded by these obstacles and by a fire from the enemy's sharpshooters in front, and a very fierce cannonade, partially enfilading their lines, were for a moment thrown into confusion at the verge of the wood. They halted and commenced firing, but, being urged forward, they responded with loud shouts and gained the cedars. The enemy turned upon the wood a heavy fire from many pieces of artillery, across a field 400 or 500 yards distant, and, though we lost some valuable lives, the brigade maintained its position with firmness in the edge of the wood. I remain, colonel, with great respect, your obedient servant, W. PRESTON, Brigadier-General.


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Jan 01 1863 (Thursday) New Year's Day

Earlier in the week, Colonel Isaac Burrell landed a small occupying force at Galveston, Texas. Not having enough men, Burrell can only control the city during the day, "at night, owing to our small force..., I am obliged to draw in the pickets to the wharf on which we are quartered." Taking advantage of the situation, "Prince John" Magruder launches a combined land and sea attack, utilizing two cotton-clad steamers and his newly trained "marine cavalry."

HDQRS. FORTY-SECOND MASSACHUSETTS MILITIA, In Camp at Carrollton, La. - GENERAL: About 3 o'clock on the morning..., soon after the moon had gone down, our pickets were driven in by the enemy....We instantly formed in line on the wharf behind our barricades, and at the same time we signalized the gunboats that the enemy were upon us....Our quarters had been a wooden building on the wharf, which we had barricaded on the inside....I have the honor to remain, general, respectfully, your obedient servant, CHAS. A. DAVIS, Adjutant Forty-second Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers.

Magruder, "leading the center assault in person," runs into difficulty, despite catching the Union garrison unprepared. "The water was deep, the wharf proving higher that anticipated, and the scaling ladders...were found to be too short to enable the men to accomplish their object." With Colonel Burrell's men barricaded inside their quarters on the edge of the wharf, Magruder's cotton-clads attack the Union fleet in the harbor.

HDQRS. DIST. or TEXAS, NEW MEXICO, AND ARIZONA, Galveston, - General S. COOPER, Adjutant and Inspector General, Richmond, Va. - SIR: The light of the stars enabled us to see the Federal ships. The enemy did not hesitate long in replying to our attack. He soon opened on us from his fleet with a tremendous discharge of shell, which was followed with grape and canister....After an obstinate contest the infantry were directed to cover themselves and fire from the buildings nearest this wharf....But at this moment...our gunboats came dashing down the harbor and engaged the Harriet Lane, which was the nearest of the enemy's ships, in the most gallant style, running into her, one on each side, and pouring on her deck a deadly fire of rifles and shot-guns....The Bayou City...drove her prow into the iron wheel of the Harriet Lane, thus locking the two vessels together. Followed by the officers and men of the heroic volunteer corps, Commodore Leon Smith leaped to the deck of the hostile ship, and after a moment of feeble resistance she was ours....Commodore Smith then sent a flag to Commodore Renshaw..., demanding the surrender of the whole fleet, and giving three hours' time to consider....When the...truce expired the enemy's ships under our guns, regardless of the white flags still flying at their mast-heads, gradually crept off....We thus captured one fine steamship, two barks, and one schooner. We ran ashore the flag-ship of the commodore, drove off two war steamers, and sunk another..., and took 300 or 400 prisoners....I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, J. BANKHEAD MAGRUDER, Major-general, Commanding.

Earlier in the week, Ambrose Burnside issued orders for his troops to "be held in readiness to move on twelve hours notice." Fearing that "Old Burn" planned another crossing of the Rappahannock River, Major-General William B. Franklin approves short term passes for two of his brigadiers. John Newton and former congressman John Cochrane plan to take a tale of near mutiny in the army to Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson, chairman of the Senate Military Committee, in hopes of derailing the planned movement. Finding Congress in recess, they instead see the Secretary of State. William Seward takes the two generals directly to President Lincoln who listens to their pleas that if the Army of the Potomac is committed to battle in its present discouraged state it would be an "utter disaster." Even though he is dismayed at the disloyalty shown by Newton and Cochrane, Lincoln sends an urgent message to their army commander: "I have good reason for saying that you must not make a general movement without first letting me know of it." Burnside is called to Washington for a New Year's Day conference with the President. After listening to Burnside's description of the condition of his army, Lincoln orders Henry Halleck to make a personal visit to Falmouth to "gather all the elements for forming a judgment of your own, and then tell General Burnside that you support or disapprove his plan. Your military skill is useless to me if you do not do this." Halleck, unwilling to accept the responsibility for such a decision, defers and asks to be relieved of command. Lincoln withdraws the order, noting that it was "considered too harsh by General Halleck." Burnside, disheartened by the lack of support shown to him by the President and furious with the "traitors" operating within his army, pens his own resignation request.

WASHINGTON, D. C., January 1, 1863. - HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Since leaving you this morning, I have determined that it is my duty to place on paper the remarks which I made to you....The Secretary of War has not the confidence of the officers and soldiers, and I feel sure that he has not the confidence of the country....The same opinion applies with equal force in regard to General Halleck. It seems to be the universal opinion that the movements of the army have not been planned with a view to co-operation and mutual assistance....I am convinced...that the army ought to make another movement..., but I am not sustained in this by a single grand division commander in my command....Doubtless this difference of opinion between my general officers and myself results from a lack of confidence in me. In this case it is highly necessary that this army should be commanded by some other officer, to whom I will most cheerfully give way....In the struggle now going on... the interests of no one man are worth the value of a grain of sand, and no one should be allowed to stand in the way of accomplishing the greatest amount of public good....It is my belief that I ought to retire to private life....I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, A. E. BURNSIDE, Major-General, Commanding Army of the Potomac.

Along the banks of the Stone's River, the men in both armies spend the day burying the dead and scavenging for food to eat. Rosecrans takes advantage of the lull by conducting a "careful examination" of the battlefield and conducting a "free consultation with [the] corps commanders," General George Thomas speaks last, "Gentlemen, I know of no better place to die than right here." Bolstered by Thomas, Rosecrans decides to remain in his present position and "await the enemy's attack." To consolidate his lines, the Round Forest is abandoned and Van Cleve's division is sent across the river to occupy the hill Breckinridge had held on the previous day. Hearing reports that "well guarded Federal trains [are] in motion on the roads leading back to Nashville," Braxton Bragg is confident that he has secured a battlefield victory. With the imminent prospect of a complete Union withdrawal, Bragg prepares to pounce on the tail of his beaten foe.

MURFREESBOROUGH, January 1, 1863. The enemy has yielded his strong position and is failing back. We occupy whole field and shall follow him....We secured several thousand stand small-arms. The body of General Sill was left on the field and three others are reported killed. God has granted us a happy New Year. BRAXTON BRAGG, General, Commanding.


[Sunday] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday]
Jan 02 1863 (Friday)

After meeting with Ambrose Burnside and attending the obligatory New Year's White House reception, President Lincoln retires to his upstairs office for the day's, "or some would say the century's," most important business--the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. He has spend many hours re-writing the document, "I know very well that the name connected to this document will never be forgotten." As he dips his pen, and prepares to sign, he looks up and says, "I never in my life felt more certain that I was doing right, than I do signing this paper." After Lincoln adds his signature, Secretary of State Seward signs the document, "And the great seal is affixed." Today, the Emancipation Proclamation is published for the whole world to see.

GENERAL ORDERS NO. 1. - WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERAL'S OFFICE, Washington, January 2, 1863. - The following proclamation by the President is published for the information and government of the Army and all concerned: BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: - A PROCLAMATION. That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever, free....And I further declare and make known that such persons...will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service....Done at the city of Washington this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh. [L. S.] ABRAHAM LINCOLN, By the President: WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State. By order of the Secretary of War: L. THOMAS, Adjutant-General.

Riding hard, Nathan Bedford Forrest's troopers reach the Tennessee River at Clifton. With Union cavalry hot on their trail, Forrest has several sunken flat boats re-floated and is across the icy river before dawn. Although he was surprised and beaten at Parker's Crossroads, Forrest's men have destroyed $3,000,000 worth of Federal installations, captured 10,000 rifles, and nearly one million badly needed cartridges.

CORINTH. - Major-General GRANT. - GENERAL: Forrest escaped across the river at Clifton...having traveled all the time since his fight....[My cavalry] kept him from the river until night, when they found they were surrounded by a very heavy force and two pieces of artillery. They cut their way out down river and got into his rear next morning. Forrest commenced crossing..., his men on rafts, his horses swam....This morning he had everything across by 10 o'clock. I could not reach him with my forces; but sent forward all the mounted men I could raise....G. M. DODGE, Brigadier-General.

John Hunt Morgan's raid is also coming to a successful conclusion. Losing only 2 killed and 24 wounded, Morgan has taken 1,887 prisoners and destroyed $2,000,000 worth of Federal property.

LOUISVILLE, January 2, 1863. - Major-General WRIGHT: Morgan passed through Columbia at 9 o'clock yesterday....Morgan burned Green River Bridge, but did not delay Colonel Hoskins, who, from last accounts, is pressing Morgan. Morgan abandoned his train and caissons. Green River Bridge, on Columbia pike, is important. Shall I have it rebuilt? J. T. BOYLE, Brigadier-General.

After waiting an entire day, Braxton Bragg comes to the grim conclusion that Rosecrans' army has no intention of retreating. To make matters worse, the Union advance onto the hill east of Stone's River threatens the right flank of his army. Accordingly, Bragg orders General Breckinridge to retake the hill, in preparation for another attack on the main Union line. To the former Vice-president, the hill looks impregnable; despite the fact that the assault is to be made less than an hour before sundown, hopefully giving the Federals "no time to reorganize or bring up reinforcements before dark."

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF TENNESSEE, Tullahoma, Tenn. - General S. COOPER, Adjutant [and Inspector] General, Richmond, Va. - SIR: Reconnaissances by several staff officers soon developed the fact that a division had quietly crossed unopposed and established themselves on and under cover of an eminence...from which Lieutenant-General Polk's line was both commanded and enfiladed. The dislodgment of this force or the withdrawal of Polk's line was an evident necessity....Orders were accordingly given for the concentration of the whole of Major-General Breckinridge's division in front of the position to be taken....He was informed of the forces placed at his disposal, and instructed with them to drive the enemy back, crown the his, intrench his artillery, and hold the position....General Breckinridge at 3.30 p.m. reported he would advance at 4 o'clock....I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, BRAXTON BRAGG, General, Commanding.

Breckinridge's initial assault is successful. "The contest was short and severe; the enemy was driven back and the eminence gained." The men in Colonel Samuel Beatty's division are thrown back. "Overpowered by numbers, [we] were compelled to retire....Attempts were made to rally the men..., but it was impossible." The victorious Confederates press on to the river, "a few...men in their ardor actually crossed over," until they are hit by the combined fire of fifty-eight artillery pieces stationed on a hill overlooking the river.

HDQRS. LEFT WING, FOURTEENTH ARMY CORPS. - Maj. LYNE STARLING, Assistant Adjutant-General. - MAJOR: The general asked me if I could not do something to relieve Colonel Beatty with my guns....I ordered Lieutenant Parsons to move a little forward and open with his guns; then rode back to bring up Lieutenant Estep, with his Eighth Indiana Battery....I rode to Lieutenant Stevens, and directed him to change front, to fire to the left...; and then to Captain Standart, and directed him to move to the left with his pieces; and he took position covering the ford....During this terrible encounter of little more than an hour in duration, forty-three pieces of artillery, belonging to the left wing, the Board of Trade Battery of six guns, and the batteries of General Negley's division, about nine guns, making a total of about fifty-eight pieces, opened fire upon the enemy. The enemy soon retired....I am, major, very respectfully, your most obedient servant, JOHN MENDENHALL, Captain Fourth Artillery, Chief of Artillery.

The double-shotted Federal cannons fire more than one hundred rounds a minute "against the flank of the butternut mass across the way." The Rebel infantrymen "reeling and broken," quickly change front and retreat back to their original position. The attack lasts just seventy minutes, before General Breckinridge sees his men "come stumbling back through the dusk." With tears in his eyes, Breckinridge exclaims, "My poor orphans! My poor orphans!"

HEADQUARTERS BRECKINRIDGE'S DIVISION, January --, 1863. - Maj. T. B. ROY, Assistant Adjutant-General: We were compelled to fall back....It now appeared that the ground we had won was commanded by the enemy's batteries, within easy range, on better ground, upon the other side of the river. I know not how many guns he had. He had enough to sweep the whole position from the front, the left, and the right, and to render it wholly untenable by our force present of artillery and infantry....Respectfully, your obedient servant, JOHN C. BRECKINRIDGE, Major-General, Commanding.

Casualties at Stone's River: Union 12,906 Confederate 11,739.

General Officer Fatalities Resulting from Stone's River Battle:

James Edward Rains, (1833-1862), Tennessee. Born in Nashville, Rains was an attorney prior to the war. He enlisted as a private in the 11th Tennessee, but within a month was promoted to colonel. Promoted to brigadier-general in November, Rains was killed by a musket ball while leading a charge during the fighting on the left of the line on December 31st.

Roger Weightman Hanson, (1831-1863), Kentucky. Served in the Kentucky state legislature as a conservative Democrat, Hanson was commissioned colonel of the 2nd Kentucky (Confederate) and was captured at Fort Donelson. After being exchanged, he was promoted to brigadier-general and assigned to command a brigade in Breckinridge's division. Leading a charge on January 2nd, Hanson was mortally wounded and died two days later in a nearby farmhouse.

Joshua Woodrow Sill, (1831-1862), Ohio. Sill graduated from West Point in 1833 and became colonel of the 33rd Ohio shortly after the war started. He was promoted to brigadier-general in July 1862 and given command of a division in the Army of the Ohio. After Rosecrans' took command of the army, Sill became a brigade commander, serving under former classmate Phil Sheridan. Sill was wearing Sheridan's coat when he was killed during the first Confederate assault on December 31st and died shortly after being carried to Sheridan's tent.

Edward Needles Kirk, (1828-1863), Ohio-Illinois. Kirk was a Quaker and a lawyer before the war. He raised and became colonel of the 34th Illinois and was wounded at Shiloh. Returning to duty, he was promoted to brigadier-general two days before the battle and was severely wounded early in the first day's fighting. Permanently disabled, Kirk was transported to his home in Sterling, Illinois where he succumbed to his wounds on July 29th.


[Sunday] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday]
Jan 03 1863 (Saturday)

"Cump" Sherman's attempt to advance up the Yazoo River and take the battery at Haines' Bluff is thwarted by fog as thick as pea soup. When the fog is followed by heavy rain, Sherman is forced to call off the entire operation. Seeing "no good reason for remaining in so unenviable a position any longer," Sherman re-embarks his soldiers and heads back to Milliken's Bend. "Rain-drenched and disconsolate," Sherman is consoled by David Dixon Porter after telling the admiral, "Those infernal reporters will publish...their ridiculous stories about Sherman being whipped." Porter responds, "Pshaw....thats nothing; simply an episode of the war. You'll lose 17,000 before the war is over and think nothing of it....Steward! Bring us punch."

HDQRS. RIGHT WING, ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE, Camp, Milliken's Bend, La., January 3, 1863. - Col. JOHN A. RAWLINS, Assistant Adjutant-General to General Grant. - SIR: Not one word could I hear from General Grant, who was supposed to be pushing south, or of General Banks, supposed to be ascending the Mississippi....We could hear their cars coming and departing all the time, and large re-enforcements were doubtless arriving....I was forced to the conclusion that it was not only prudent but proper that I should move my command to some other point....My mind had settled down on this point when...I learned from Admiral Porter that General McClernand had arrived at the mouth of the Yazoo....I then proceeded to...land my command at Milliken's Bend....I attribute our failure to the strength of the enemy's position, both natural and artificial, and not to his superior fighting; but as we must all in the future have ample opportunities to test this quality it is foolish to discuss it....I have the honor to be, your obedient servant, W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General, Commanding.

Braxton Bragg is awakened at 2 a.m., and given a letter written by two of his division commanders and endorsed by Lieutenant-General Leonidas Polk. "We deem it our duty to say to you frankly that in our judgment, this army should be promptly put in retreat." Although Bragg is determined to "maintain our position at every hazard," he is persuaded to retreat after papers captured from McCooks headquarters, indicating the strength of the Union army to be 70,000, are brought to his attention. At 10 a.m., Bragg sends for Generals Polk and Hardee and issues orders for a retrograde motion. "Common prudence and the safety of my army, upon which even the safety of our cause depended, left no doubt on my mind as to the necessity of my withdrawal from so unequal a contest."

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF TENNESSEE, Tullahoma, Tenn. - General S. COOPER, Adjutant [and Inspector] General, Richmond, Va. - SIR: On Saturday morning...our forces had been in line of battle for five days and nights, with but little rest, having no reserves; their baggage and tents had been loaded and the wagons were 4 miles off; their provisions, if cooked at all, were most imperfectly prepared, with scanty means; the weather had been severe from cold and almost constant rain, and we had no change of clothing, and in many places could not have fires. The necessary consequence was great exhaustion of officers and men....During the whole of this day the rain continued to fall with little intermission, and the rapid rise in Stone's River indicated it would soon be unfordable....The only question with me was, whether the movement should be made at once or delayed for twenty-four hours, to save a few more of our wounded. As it was probable we should lose by exhaustion as many as we should remove of the wounded, my inclination to remain was yielded. The whole force, except the cavalry, was put in motion at 11 p.m., and the army retired in perfect order....I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, BRAXTON BRAGG, General, Commanding.

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