Chronological History of the American Civil War

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Saturday, August 15, 1863 : A a very odd sea going vessel was delivered by two covered railroad flat cars to General P.G.T. Beauregard (CSA) today. As commander of the defenses of Charleston Harbor, Beauregard, had decided this contraption was his secret weapon against the Union fleet. The former ship's boiler was now the C.S.S. Hunley (pictured), one of the first submarines to be used for war. Propelled by seven men turning a crank to drive her propeller, and steered by an eighth, the Hunley had so far proved far more lethal to her crews than to Union warships. She killed nearly everyone who sets foot in her, including H.L. Hunley, the financier who had put up the money for her construction and may have contributed some ideas for the design. The Daily Times (Leavenworth, Kansas reported: “The Administration has finally determined to suspend all operations under the Conscription act in Nebraska and Dakota. There will be no draft in those Territories.” Sunday, August 16, 1863 : Major General William S. Rosecrans, commander of the Army of the Cumberland, (U.S.) launched a campaign to take Chattanooga, Tennessee. Col. John T. Wilder's (U.S.) brigade of the Union 4th Division, XIV Army Corps marched to a location northeast of Chattanooga, where the Confederates could see them, reinforcing General Braxton Bragg's (CSA) expectations of a Union attack on the town from that direction. Spencer rifle was to give the North’s infantrymen, a major advantage over the South’s. 60,000 were eventually supplied. The main problem with the gun, was the black powder used made such a cloud of smoke, it was difficult to see anything after a few shots were fired. Wednesday, August 19, 1863 : 450 men under the command of William Quantrill, popularly known as Quantrill's Raiders, leave Blackwater Creek, Missouri heading for Lawrence, Kansas. Quantrill’s army included such figures as Bloody Bill Anderson and future western outlaws as the Younger brothers, along with Frank and Jesse James. Some were regular Confederate soldiers and some just Missouri guerrillas. They were out to revenge for the deaths of their captured wives and sisters in Kansas City, Missouri. The building the women were being held in had collapsed, killing five. Near Franklin, West Virginia, Brig. General, William Woods Averell, (U.S.) orders the destruction of Confederate saltpeter-works. Saltpeter was used in the making of gunpowder. Thursday, August 20, 1863 : Col. Kit Carson, (U.S.) begins a four month campaign against the Navajo Indians in the New Mexico Territory. The Confederates' unsuccessful attempt to destroy the U.S. steamer, the U.S.S. New Ironsides , off Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, with a torpedo ship, as the Federals continue to bombard Fort Sumter for the 4th straight day. Friday, August 21, 1863 : After kidnapping 10 farmers in order to guide them to Lawrence, Kansas, Quantrill's Raiders murdered each of them. As Quantrill's men rode into Lawrence, they systematically hunted down every male over the age of 14 that they could find, eventually dragging out and killing some 182 men from their homes, many in front of their families; killing them in cold blood. Some women managed to save their husbands and sons, by hiding them in outbuildings, closets, under floors or in fields of tall crops. They burned 185 buildings in Lawrence, then rode back to Missouri with Union cavalry in hot pursuit. This incident incited the North, and led to even more killing by both sides along the Kansas- Missouri border. Monday, August 17, 1863 : 450 Union soldiers managed to move the 200-pounder Parrott gun to its base. It was nicknamed the “Swamp Angel” (pictured). All day, hundreds of men moved the required supplies to its base – gunpowder, shot, etc. Tuesday, August 18, 1863 : President Lincoln tried out the new “7 shot” Spencer Repeating Carbine. Suitably impressed, he gave it his approval. The rifle was more accurate than previous ones issued to Union troops and, correctly used, it could fire more bullets over the same period of time. The