Chronological History of the American Civil War

P a g e | 81

put down. Kate Neely (General Neely’s daughter) sent him a tucking comb saying he would need it. She was banished to the South for her temerity.” Wednesday, October 8, 1862 : One of the few major battles of the War to occur in Kentucky took place today, along the Chaplin Hills above Doctor’s Creek near the small town of Perryville. The Union army under Buell, battled the Confederate forces of Bragg. This battle led to heavy casualties on both sides. The North lost 916 killed, 2,943 wounded and 489 missing while the South lost 500 killed, 2,635 wounded and 251 missing out of their total of 16,000 men. The Confederacy never again tried to invade Kentucky. Thursday, October 9, 1862 : So soon after the Battle of Antietam, no one expected another invasion from the South, but James Ewell Brown Stuart (CSA) did today, leading his cavalrymen across the fords of the Potomac River into Union territory. By nightfall, he was at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. and cut all telegraph wires and stole every usable horse for their use. Then, he started burning public buildings and records. Friday, October 10, 1862 : Jefferson Davis requested to the Confederate Congress that 4,500 African Americans be drafted in to build defenses around Richmond. Saturday, October 11, 1862 : The Confederate Congress agreed with Davis but stipulated that anyone who owned twenty slaves or more was exempt from this call-up. This decision was not well received, and the less well-off slave owners in the Confederacy, started to comment that it was “a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight.” Sunday, October 12, 1862 : General James Ewell Brown (JEB) Stuart (CSA) had led his cavalrymen on yet another “ride around McClellan,” an event which was in danger of becoming a regular occurrence. In this case, he had crossed the Potomac and ridden straight for Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Arriving in that city, he had proceeded to confiscate every horse, burn public buildings, wreck everything that couldn’t be carried, and generally cause a nuisance. Realizing that he had perhaps overstayed his welcome, they departed for Maryland. Today, they crossed back over the Potomac to the safety of Virginia. At Arrow Rock, Missouri, a small Union force were suddenly attacked by Confederate guerrillas. The Confederates, were laying in an ambush waiting on the Federals. The Federals, were forced to withdraw after sustaining heavy casualties. In Mississippi, Major General Earl Van Dorn assumes command of Confederate troops. Monday, October 13, 1862 : Except for a single six-year term for the President, and references to the everlasting legality of the institution of slavery “The Constitution of the Confederate States of America” was written much like the U.S. Constitution. It also included the right of habeas corpus, the rule that persons could only be arrested on specific charges, and had the right to have these heard before a judge. The Congress today, renewed a law authorizing the suspension of these rights. Then, they adjourned the second session of the First Congress. Tuesday, October 14, 1862 : A number of midwestern states conducted their elections for members of the United States House of Representatives, today. The results seemed grim for Lincoln and the Republican Party, as the Democrats scored solid gains in the races in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania. The only source of support was, oddly enough, in Iowa, which voted solidly Republican. This shift in political parties was not enough to cost Lincoln his majority, but it was a source of hope in Richmond that perhaps the North was becoming tired of the war. While the Confederates had failed in Kentucky, they had taken vast amounts of booty, that was vital to their supplies. The Confederate press almost certainly exaggerated what was taken – the claim was that the wagon train was over 40 miles long – large amounts of barrelled pork and bacon were taken along with an estimated 1,500 horses and 8,000 cattle. Wednesday, October 15, 1862 : No big battles marred this day, but little ones popped up all over the landscape, from Fort Gibson in Indian Territory to the Apalachicola River in Florida, where a small flotilla of Union ships ran up the waterway to capture a blockade runner through a hail of gunfire from shore batteries. In between were actions, skirmishes, operations and general acts of violence in Tennessee near Neely’s Bend on the Cumberland River; Crab Orchard and Barren Mound, Kentucky, and near Carrsville, Virginia. Admiral David Farragut, (U.S.N)., reported to his superiors that Galveston, Corpus