Chronological History of the American Civil War

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We are contending with an enemy who . . . drives every able bodied man he can reach, into his ranks, very much as a butcher drives bullocks into a slaughter-pen. . . It produces an army with a rapidity not to be matched on our side . . . My purpose is to be just and constitutional; and yet practical." Saturday, August 8, 1863 : General Robert E Lee (CSA) (pictured) offered his resignation to

Confederate President Jefferson Davis and took full responsibility for the disaster at Gettysburg. On no occasion did he try to blame a subordinate officer – a problem in the Union’s Army of the Potomac that created many divisions among senior generals, who could never be totally sure who they could trust. Davis refused Lee’s offer. Sunday, August 9, 1863 : The debate had gone on for long before the war, about what the proper role for blacks should be in American society. Almost no one, North or South, advocated full equality with whites. Today, President Lincoln, writes to General Ulysses S. Grant (U.S.) and lobbies for the enlisting of black soldiers. Lincoln writes,

"Gen. [Lorenzo] Thomas has gone again to the Mississippi Valley, with the view of raising colored troops. I have no reason to doubt that you are doing what you reasonably can upon the same subject. I believe it is a resource which, if vigorously applied now, will soon close the contest. It works doubly, weakening the enemy and strengthening us." Monday, August 10, 1863 : President Lincoln meets with former slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Among the topics discussed are the treatment and pay of black soldiers in the U. S. Army. Black soldiers received less pay than white soldiers. Most of African-American soldiers were being assigned to perform non-combat, support duties as cooks, laborers, and teamsters. African-American soldiers were paid $10 per month, from which $3 was deducted for clothing. White soldiers were paid $13 per month, from which no clothing allowance was deducted. If captured by the Confederate Army, African-American soldiers confronted a much greater threat than did their white counterparts. In the South a Confederate private in most cases, made eleven dollars a month, but often went long stretches with no pay at all. Tuesday, August 11, 1863 : In Charleston Harbor, where the Civil War had begun, the battle was nowhere near over. The guns of Fort Sumter roared today, joined by other firepower from James Island and Battery Wagner. They were firing on Union positions on Morris Island where they were digging trenches for a siege. The cannon fire slowed, but did not stop, the digging. Major, John S. Mosby, (CSA) captures another 19 wagons belonging to the Union near Annandale, Fairfax County, Virginia. The Weekly Columbus (Georgia) Enquirer reported: “The drafting proceeded quietly in Philadelphia on the 21 st , and 2,000 men were drafted. It was decided that a negro substitute may go in for a drafted negro, but not for a white man.” The Daily Times, in Leavenworth, Kansas printed: “If I'm drafted I'll go!” The last seen of the individual who made this remark he was going—to Canada.” Wednesday, August 12, 1863 : Union gunships arrived off Charleston to give the Union engineers more cover from Confederate artillery attacks. In particular the 10-inch guns at Battery Wagner (CSA) were proving a real concern. Battery Wagner was at the far seaward end of Morris Island and had originally been built to defend the harbor entrance into Charleston. Battery Wagner’s guns were in easy range of the Union engineers still constructing their platform, but also now very open to a naval assault by Union gunships. Thursday, August 13, 1863 : The Confederates at Battery Wagner continue to fire their cannons at the Union controlled end of Morris Island. Union troops there are busy building a platform to support a huge cannon called "Swamp Angel", with enough range to do damage on Charleston. Friday, August 14, 1863 : Various skirmishes, actions, expeditions and other nastiness occurred in West Point, Arkansas, and numerous places in Missouri, including Sherwood, Wellington, and in the area of Jack’s Ford.