1862

  1862 Calendar

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February 2 1862 (Sunday)

The situation in and around Romney, (West) Virginia remains unsettled. Union General Frederick Lander proposes an attack on Romney. He expects to face 6,000 men and sends a message to General McClellan, "I shall take Romney or be defeated within 48 hours." McClellan warns Lander, "if you gain Romney look out for the return of Jackson, whom I know to be a man of vigor and nerve." Lander has his troops on the road on Tuesday and by Friday marches into undefended Romney. He tells McClellan, "our troops are again in possession of Romney." The fruits of Jackson's winter campaign are irretrievably lost.

General U.S. Grant issues General Order # 7 as he prepares to launch his assault on Fort Henry.

GENERAL ORDERS NO. 7. HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT OF CAIRO, Cairo, February 2, 1862. On the expedition now about starting from Smithland, Paducah, Cairo, Bird's Point, and Fort Holt the following orders will be observed: 1. No firing, except when ordered by proper authority, will be allowed. 2. Plundering and disturbing private property is positively prohibited. 3. Company officers will see that all their men are kept within camp, except when on duty. By order of Brig. Gen. U.S. Grant, commanding: JNO.A. Rawlins, Assistant Adjutant-General.
[Sunday] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday]

February 3 1862 (Monday)

General U.S. Grant's forces are ready to move on Fort Henry.

PADUCAH, February 3, 1862. Major-General Halleck, Saint Louis: Will be off up the Tennessee at 6 o'clock. Command, twenty-three regiments in all. U.S. GRANT, Brigadier-General.

General Joe Johnston writes a letter to Stonewall Jackson expressing his "profound regret" in Jackson's "asking to be relieved from...present command."

CENTRVILLE VA., February 3, 1862. Major-General Jackson: MY DEAR FRIEND: I have just read your letter...asking to be relieved from your present command . Let me beg you to reconsider this matter....The character of this war, the danger in which our very existence as an independent people lies, requires sacrifices from us all who have been educated as soldiers. Let us dispassionately reason with the Government on this subject of command....I have taken the liberty to detain your letter to make this appeal to your patriotism, not merely from warm feelings of personal regard, but from the official opinion which makes me regard you as necessary to the service of the country in your present position. Very truly, yours, J. E. JOHNSTON.

Judah Benjamin, Secretary of War, issues a call to the states for more troops as per the law entitled, "An act to authorize the President to call upon the Several States for troops to serve for three years or during the war." The quota each state is asked to fill is 6% of the entire white population. Benjamin further asks that the "troops (be) ready for the field by March 15."

On this date, General McClellan pens a letter to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton outlining his plan for a "movement to the Peninsula." Such a movement, McClellan asserts, will "compel the enemy to retire from his position at Manassas and free Washington from danger."

The King of Siam offers war elephants to help the Union cause. Lincoln declines the offer stating that the "weather does not reach a latitude so low as to favor the multiplication of the elephant".

[Sunday] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday]

February 4 1862 (Tuesday)

Grant lands half of his troops three miles below Fort Henry on the Tennessee River. Explains Grant, "not having sufficient transportation for all troops, the larger portion of the steamers have to return to Paducah for the remainder of the command." Grant wires Halleck, "I expect all the troops by 10 AM tomorrow. Enemy are represented as having re-enforced rapidly the last few days."

General Joe Johnston issues a call to arms to the twelve-months' troops under his command.

GENERAL ORDERS, No. 21 HDQRS. DEP'T OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, February 4, 1862. Soldiers! your country again calls you to the defense of the noblest of human causes. To the indomitable courage already exhibited on the battle-field you have added the rarer virtues of high endurance, cheerful obedience, and self sacrifice. The commanding general calls upon the twelve-months' men to stand by their brave comrades who have volunteered for the war, to revolunteer at once, and thus show to the world that the patriots engaged in this struggle for independence will not swerve from the bloodiest path they may be called to tread. The enemies of your country, as well as her friends, are watching your action with deep, intense, tremulous interest. You cannot, will not, draw back at this solemn crisis of our struggle, when all that is heroic in the land is engaged, and all that is precious hangs trembling in the balance. By command of General Johnston: A. P. MASON, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

[Sunday] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday]

February 5 1862 (Wednesday)

"The enemy is landing troops in large forces on this side of the river, within 3 miles of the fort." So writes Brigadier-General Lloyd Tilghman, commander of Fort Henry, to General Polk. In a message sent later in the day Tilghman writes, "If you can re-enforce strongly and quickly we have a glorious chance to overwhelm the enemy....Enemy said to be entrenching below. My plans are to concentrate in and under Henry." Tilghman ends his dispatch to Polk by saying, "don't trust Johnston's re-enforcing me. We need all. I don't want raw troops who are just organized; they are in my way. Act promptly, and don't trust any one."

Near Cumberland Gap, Lieutenant Colonel J.W. White, First Tennessee Cavalry, skirmishes with the "traitors of Scott and Morgan counties."

HEADQUARTERS FIRST TENNESSEE CAVALRY REGIMENT, Camp Schooler, Morgan County, Tenn., February 3, 1862. SIR: I have the honor to report that a portion of our regiment engaged the enemy on yesterday at about 12 o'clock 13 miles northwest of this place. A running fight for nearly an hour ensued in the mountains. The enemy's force is variously estimated from 100 to 300, armed with Minie muskets and rifles. We killed their captain, and, from the best information, 5 others; captured 4 horses, 2 fine Minie muskets, I Colt's navy pistol, a small quantity of ammunition, and 1 prisoner. I am satisfied that the Federal Army in force is approaching us; I think by way of Williamsburg, Ky., through Chitwood's Gap. J. W. WHITE, Lieutenant-Colonel, Commanding-First Tennessee Cavalry.

Queen Victoria lifts all restrictions against shipping guns, gunpowder, and ammunition from England. Southern profiteers are quick to take advantage.

[Sunday] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday]

February 6 1862 (Thursday)

General Henry Halleck reports, "Fort Henry is largely re-enforced....They intend to make a stand there. Unless I get more forces I may fail to take it....the gunboats are bombarding it. I am sending every available man from Missouri." Halleck needn't have worried. By the time his dispatch was read at 6:30 PM in Washington, Henry had fallen. General Tilghman had realized, upon seeing the forces Grant had arrayed against him, that Fort Henry could not be held. Accordingly he sent his troops overland to Fort Donelson and remained with fifty-six artillerists to hold off the Union gunboats as long as possible. Flag Officer Andrew Foote opened fire at noon and, despite a gallant effort by the swamped defenders of Henry, Tilghman ordered the flag struck at 2 o'clock. Henry had fallen to the Navy! It would be another hour before Grant arrived, his troops still mired in the mud and backwater sloughs of Panther Creek.

Burnside's armada has finally made it over the 'swash'. Brigadier General Henry A. Wise is notified that "the enemy is in full view and about 7 or 8 miles below (Ashby's) point....I have to report to you that the available force at my command...is only about 800 - 808 by last report. The enemy numbers 10,000 men probably."

Virginia Governor John Letcher has written to Stonewall Jackson in an attempt to persuade him to withdraw his resignation. To the relief of all involved, Governor Letcher is successful.

WINCHESTER, February 6, 1862. His Excellency JOHN LETCHER, Governor of Virginia: GOVERNOR: Your letter of the 4th instant was received this morning. If my retiring from the Army would produce that effect upon our country that you have named in your letter, I of course would not desire to leave the service, and if, upon the receipt of this note, your opinion remains unchanged, you are authorized to withdraw my resignation....My views remain unchanged, and if the Secretary persists in the ruinous policy complained of, I feel that no officer can serve his country better than by making his strongest possible protest against it, which, in my opinion, is done by tendering his resignation, rather than be a willful instrument in prosecuting the war upon a ruinous principle. Very truly, your friend, T. J. JACKSON.

General Joe Johnston is concerned about his extended lines in Northern Virginia. After seeing how quickly the Kentucky line was broken, Johnston broaches the subject of a withdrawal to a more defensible position along the Rappahannock River to President Davis. Davis gives conditional approval.

RICHMOND, February 6, 1862. General JOSEPH E. JOHNSTON: GENERAL: Notwithstanding the threatening position of the enemy I infer from your account of the roads and streams that his active operations must be for some time delayed, and thus I am permitted to hope that you will be able to mobilize your army by the removal of your heavy ordnance and such stores as are not required for active operations, so that whenever you are required to move it may be without public loss and without impediment to celerity. I was fully impressed with the difficulties which you presented when discussing the subject of a change of position to preserve the efficiency of your army....In the mean time, as I have heretofore advised you, I am making diligent effort to re-enforce your columns. It may still be that you will have the power to meet and repel the enemy, a course of action more acceptable certainly to both of us, but it is not to be disguised that your defective position and proximity to the enemy's base of operations do not permit us to be sanguine in that result....Please keep me fully and frequently advised of your condition and give me early information if there be anything in which I can aid your operations. Very respectfully, yours, JEFFERSON DAVIS.

[Sunday] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday]

February 7 1862 (Friday)

General Henry Halleck proudly announces the victory at Fort Henry.

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE MISSURI, Saint Louis, February 7, 1862. Major-General MCCLELLAN, Washington: Fort Henry is ours. The flag of the Union is re-established on the soil of Tennessee. It will never be removed. H.W. HALLECK, Major-General.

Grant quickly sends three wooden gunboats upriver to "cut the railroad bridges" over which A.S. Johnston could quickly send reinforcements. With control of the Tennessee River, the highway of invasion is clear.

Albert Sidney Johnston convenes a meeting today with generals Hardee and Beauregard to determine how to respond to the fall of Fort Henry.

BOWLING GREEN, KY., February 7, 1862. [Memorandum.] At a meeting held to-day at my quarters (Covington House) by Generals Johnston, Hardee, and myself it was determined that, Fort Henry, on the Tennessee River, having fallen yesterday into the hands of the enemy, and Fort Donel-son, on the Cumberland River, not being long tenable, preparations should at once be made for the removal of this army to Nashville, in rear of the Cumberland River, a strong point some miles below that city being fortified forthwith, to defend the river from the passage of gun-boats and transports. From Nashville, should any further retrograde movement become necessary, it will be made to Stevenson, and thence according to circumstances. It was also determined that the possession of the Tennessee River by the enemy, resulting from the fall of Fort Henry, separates the army at Bowling Green from the one at Columbus, Ky., which must henceforth act independently of each other until they can again be brought together...Island No. 10 and Fort Pillow will be defended to the last extremity. G. T. BEAUREGARD, General, C. S. Army.

General Stonewall Jackson files formal charges against Brigadier-General Loring for "neglect of duty and conduct subversive of good order and military discipline". In doing so Jackson proves as dangerous to his subordinate generals as he is to the Federal army.

Charges and specifications preferred by Maj. Gen. T. J. Jackson, P. A. C. S., against Brig. Gen. W. W. Loring, P. A. C. S. CHARGE I. Neglect of duty. Specification 1. In this, that Brig. Gen. W. W. Loring, P. A. C. S., did fail to be with his command and see that it was properly encamped and cared for on the evening of the 1st of January, 1862, near Pughtown, Va. Specification 2. In this, that when the command of Brig. Gen. W. W. Loring was met by a party of the enemy in the vicinity of Bath, Va., on the evening of the 3d of January, 1862, he neglected to attack and press forward with requisite promptness. Specification 3. In this, that Brig. Gen. W. W. Loring, P. A. C. S., having the advance in moving on the enemy at Bath, Va., on the 4th January, 1862, did permit the head of his column, without sufficient cause, repeatedly to halt and lose so much time as to induce Maj. Gen. T. J. Jackson, P. A. C. S., to order forward other troops of General Loring's command for the purpose of at least securing the town of Bath before night. Specification 4. In this, that Brig. Gen. W. W. Loring, P. A. C. S., permitted part of his command to become so demoralized as not to be in a condition for active service at Romney, Va., on the 18th of January, 1862, and thus, though the troops of other commanders were in a condition for active service, it was necessary to abandon an important expedition against the enemy in consequence of such inefficiency in Brig. Gen. W. W. Loring's command preventing his efficient co-operation. Specification 5. In this, that Brig. Gen. W. W. Loring, P. A. C. S., did permit officers of his command, in violation of the Army Regulations, to unite in a petition against their commands being required to pass the winter in the vicinity of Romney, notwithstanding the commanding general of the Valley District had directed that Brig. Gen. W. W. Loring's command should go into winter quarters in that vicinity. All this at or near Romney, Va., on or about the 17th of January, 1862. CHARGE II. Conduct subversive of good order and military discipline. Specification 1. In this, that when, on the 3d of January, 1862, a staff officer delivered a message from Maj. Gen. T. J. Jackson to Brig. Gen. W. W. Loring, near Unger's Store, Va., he did state in the hearing of said staff officer, "By God, sir, this is the damnedest outrage ever perpetrated in the annals of history, keeping my men out here in the cold without food," or words to that effect. Specification 2. In this, that Brig. Gen. W. W. Loring, P. A. C. S., did forward to the War Department, without disapproval, a petition which was united in by a number of officers of his command, notwithstanding said petition was in violation of the Army Regulations and subversive of good order and military discipline. All this at or near Romney, Va., on or about the 26th of January, 1862. T. J. JACKSON, Major-General, P. A. C. S.

At approximately 11:16 AM, Burnside commences firing on the Rebel battery at Pork Point on Roanoke Island. The "attack continuing in most gallant style until 6:30 PM", at which time "a position on land (was) secured."

HDQRS. FOURTH BRIGADE, DEPARTMENT NORFOLK, Camp at Nag's Head, February 7, 1862. Major-General HUGER, Commanding, &c. : At 16½ minutes past 11 o'clock of this day firing on Croatan Sound commenced, and from that time to the period of closing this dispatch from 250 to 300 guns have been heard, showing a furious battle to be ruing between our forces and the enemy. It is now 25 minutes past 12 o'clock, and the firing is very rapid and heavy. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, C. B. DUFFIELD, Assistant Adjutant-General. P. S.--1 o'clock p.m.--The firing still continues most furious. A cannon is heard every second.

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF NORTH CAROLINA, Roanoke. We weighed anchor early next morning and passed through the narrow channel at the entrance to Croatan Sound in single file, the head of the naval fleet arriving off Pork Point Battery at five minutes past 9 o'clock a.m., when the first gun was fired. By 10.30 o'clock the action became general, the attack continuing in most gallant style until 6.30 p.m....At 1 o'clock p.m., preparations were made for landing, sending a small boat with Lieutenant Andrews, of the Ninth Regiment New York Volunteers, and six of the Rhode Island Battalion, into Ashby's, to make soundings and examine the landings....The immediate point of landing at Ashby's Harbor in the original plan was Ashby's Landing, but on approaching it General Foster discovered an armed force in the woods in the rear of the landing, and very wisely directed his leading vessel to another point in the harbor. This armed force was soon dispersed by a few shell from the Delaware and Picket. In less than twenty minutes from the time the boats reached the shore 4,000 of our men were passing over the marshes at a double-quick and forming in most perfect order on the dry land near the house....A position on land having thus been secured, I went on board the commodore's vessel to consult with him in reference to the work of the next day....The battery at Pork Point was very formidable, and had not been entirely silenced; but...I informed him that the entire force would probably be landed that night, and that we proposed to adhere to the original plan of making an advance early in the morning upon the inland fort in the center of the island, taking it, if possible, and proceeding rapidly up the main road, thus getting in the rear of all the shore batteries. I have the honor to be, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant, A. E. BURNSIDE.

Willy Lincoln is critically ill with typhoid fever. He is the President's youngest son.

[Sunday] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday]

February 8 1862 (Saturday)

Judah Benjamin, alarmed at the rapidly deteriorating conditions along the Tennessee-Kentucky border, finally sends reinforcements to Albert Sidney Johnston.

WAR DEPARTMENT, C. S. A., Richmond, February 8, 1862. Maj. Gen. MANSFIELD LOVELL, New Orleans: SIR: The President desires that as soon as possible on receipt of this letter you dispatch 5,000 men to Columbus to re-enforce that point, sorely threatened by largely superior forces....New Orleans is to be defended from above by defeating the enemy at Columbus; the forces now withdrawn from you are for the defense of your own command, and the exigencies of the public defense allow us no alternative. Your obedient servant, J.P. BENJAMIN, Secretary of War. ----

- WAR DEPARTMENT, C. S. A., Richmond, Va., February 8, 1862. Maj. Gen. BRAXTON BRAGG, Mobile, Ala.: SIR: The President desires that you will as soon as possible send to Knoxville all the troops you can spare from your command without immediate danger, and he hopes that the number will be at least four regiments....General A. S. Johnston is so heavily outnumbered, that it is scarcely possible for him to maintain his whole line without large additional re-enforcements. We have ordered to his aid four regiments from Virginia and 5,000 men from New Orleans, and by thus subtracting something from other points, where the pressure is not so great, we hope to enable him to defend his lines until the new levies ordered from all the States shall be in condition to take the field....Please telegraph me what troops and what number you will dispatch to Knoxville as soon as you receive this letter. Your obedient servant, J.P. BENJAMIN, Secretary of War.

The success of Union ironclads at Fort Henry is deeply disturbing to the Confederate commanders. Brigadier-General Floyd, commanding at Fort Donelson, describes them as "nearly invulnerable." A.S. Johnston is equally pessimistic about the prospects of holding Fort Donelson.

HEADQUARTERS WESTERN DEPARTMENT, Bowling Green, Ky., February 8, 1862. Hon. J.P. BENJAMIN, Secretary of War: The capture of that fort by the enemy gives them the control of the navigation of the Tennessee River, and their gunboats are now ascending the river to Florence. Operations against Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland, are about to be commenced, and that work will soon be attacked. The slight resistance at Fort Henry indicates that the best open earthworks are not reliable to meet successfully a vigorous attack of iron-clad gunboats, and, although now supported by a considerable force, I think the gunboat of the enemy will probably take Fort Don-elson without the necessity of employing their land force in co-operation, as seems to have been done at Fort Henry....Should Fort Donelson be taken, it will open the route to the enemy to Nashville, giving them the means of breaking the bridges and destroying the ferry-boats on the river as far as navigable....Generals Beauregard and Hardee are, equally with myself, impressed with the necessity of withdrawing our force from this line at once. With great respect, your obedient servant, A. S. JOHNSTON, General, C. S. Army.

General U.S. Grant, flush with the success at Fort Henry, contemplates his next move.

HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT OF CAIRO, Fort Henry, Tenn., February 8, 1862. Brig. Gen. G. W. CULLUM, Cairo, Ill.: At present we are perfectly locked in by high water and bad roads, and prevented from acting offensively, as I should like to do. The banks are higher at the water's edge than farther back, leaving a wide margin of low land to bridge over before anything can be done inland. The bad state of the roads will then prevent the transportation of baggage or artillery. I contemplated taking Fort Donelson to-day with infantry and cavalry alone, but all my troops may be kept busily engaged in saving what we now have from the rapidly-rising waters....Yesterday my cavalry went to within a mile of Fort Donelson. All the enemy's pickets were driven in, but no definite information received of the number of the enemy. The force from here, however, had all joined the force at Fort Donelson, and if any re-enforcements were on the way for this place no doubt they have been or will go there also. U.S. GRANT, Brigadier-General.

In yet another blow in this black week for the confederacy, Roanoke Island falls in a single day.

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF NORTH CAROLINA, Roanoke Island, N. C., GENERAL: I have the honor to report that a combined attack upon this island was commenced on the morning of the 7th by the naval and military forces of this expedition, which has resulted in the capture of six forts, forty guns, over 2,000 prisoners, and upward of 3,000 small-arms. Among the prisoners are Colonel Shaw, commander of the island, and O. Jennings Wise, commander of the Wise Legion. The latter was mortally wounded and has since died. The whole work was finished on the afternoon of the 8th instant, after a hard day's fighting, by a brilliant charge on the battery in the center of the island and a rapid pursuit of the enemy to the north end of the island, resulting in the capture of the prisoners mentioned above. We have had no time to count them, but the number is estimated at near 3,000. Our men fought bravely, and have endured most manfully the hardships incident to fighting through swamps and dense thickets. I have the honor to be, General, your obedient servant, A. E. BURNSIDE, Brigadier-General, Commanding Department of North Carolina. -----

CURRITUCK COUNTY, N. C., GENERAL: By the gallant officers and brave men an unceasing and effective fire was kept up from 7 a.m. until 12.20, when, our artillery ammunition having been exhausted and our right flank having been turned by an overwhelming force of the enemy, I was compelled to yield the place....The entire available force of my command amounted to 1,434, rank and file....The enemy's force amounted to 15,000 men, with several pieces of artillery. With the very great disparity of forces, the moment the redoubt was flanked I considered the island lost. The struggle could have been protracted, and the small body of brave men which had been held in reserve might have been brought up into the open space to receive the fire of the overwhelming force on our flank, which was under cover of trees; but they would have been sacrificed without the smallest hope of a successful result. The mules and horses attached to the artillery had been killed during the action; the pieces had to be abandoned, and believing it utterly impossible to make a successful stand against such an overwhelming force, I deemed it my duty to surrender....A verified roll of the prisoners has gone to General Huger, through Major Allston, Provisional Army Confederate States. The number, I believe, is about 2,500. I cannot close this report without giving expression to the deep grief which I feel on account of the disaster which has befallen us, and at the same time expressing the earnest hope that the Great Being who holds the destinies of nations in the hollow of His hand will soon enable us to retrieve the losses we have sustained. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, H. M. SHAW, Colonel Eighth North Carolina State Troops.

And thats the way it was 136 years ago this week.

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