Chronological History of the American Civil War

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The Mobile Register and Advertiser, ran this in the newspaper today: “Tullahoma, Tenn., May 23d, 1863. . . A Lieutenant in our brigade is in arrest, and will be tried by court martial, for hugging and kissing a woman on the cars in the presence of other folks—of both sexes.” Sunday, May 31, 1863: Col. John S. Mosby and his Confederate raiders, had arrived at Grapewood Farm located 2 miles from Greenwich, Virginia. The Union forces had been pursuing the Confederates and Mosby decided to make a stand here. He placed a rear guard and a howitzer at the entrance to the farm. The gun, was placed on a knoll beside the farm lane, the gun facing the old post road, which the Federals would have to come through. Fences lined both sides of the road, creating an avenue of fire for the Confederates. When the Federals, turned a bend in the post road, the howitzer opened up on them. The Federals started a charge up the road, towards the Confederate position. When they were within 10 yards of it, the howitzer fired again on them with grapeshot canister. This leveled the first rank and part of the second rank of the Union column. The Federals halted to regroup, and made another charge. Once again, the howitzer fired on them at close range. This time, the Federals did not stop, but continued to move forward. Hand-to hand combat quickly ensued. The Federals gained the upper hand, and forced the Confederates to withdraw. They captured a number of prisoners, and the howitzer. Afterwards, they headed back to the Union lines at Kettle Run. The month of May had been a costly month to both North and South, with 32,999 casualties . Monday, June 1, 1863 : The Constitution of the United States had not been abided by many during the long and terrible war. President Abraham Lincoln had suspended the right of habeas corpus in several instances, then done damage to the concept of judicial review by ignoring orders from the Supreme Court, to cut this behavior out. Today, it was Ambrose Burnside turn with the First Amendment, as he closed the Chicago "Times" for allegedly publishing statements of questionable loyalty. So much for freedom of the press! commenced. Because I would not fight the people of Missouri, my native state, the Yankees sought my life, but failed to get me. Revenged themselves by murdering my father, destroying all my property, murdered one of my sisters, and have kept the other two in jail for 12 months. But I, have fully glutted my vengeance. I have killed many, I am a guerilla. I have never belonged to the Confederate Army, nor do my men.” By the way, he taught Jessie James how to be an outlaw and Jessie was one of Bloody Bill’s gang. Tuesday, June 2, 1863 : Charles Vallandigham, formerly a member of the House of Representatives and a Democrat from Ohio, had been arrested for treason, when his anti-war agitation had become too annoying for Union authorities in the Midwest to cope with. He would have been sent to prison, but Lincoln intervened to send him into exile in the South. There was just one problem--today, President Davis ordered him sent to Wilmington, North Carolina, and confined as an “enemy alien”. Wednesday, June 3, 1863 : General Robert E. Lee, (CSA) begins to move his force of 75,000 Confederates out of Fredericksburg, Virginia west and northward. Joseph “Fighting Joe” Hooker’s Army of the Potomac (U.S.) was 120,000 strong. Hooker also had the advantage of intelligence as two Confederate deserters had given themselves up to Union forces and had told them about the planned movements of Lee’s army. The drive North have been endlessly debated, but high on Lee’s list were taking the war out of beleaguered Virginia and perhaps alarming the Union into suing for peace. Thursday, June 4, 1863 : Rationing was introduced in Vicksburg for the besieged population – soldiers and civilians, and things were not any better down river at Port Hudson siege either. Col. John P. Baird (U.S.) and the 85th Indiana Infantry arrived at Franklin, Tennessee and was attacked by Brig. General At Waverly, Missouri, Confederate guerrillas, under William Quantrill and William T. Anderson (Bloody Bill Anderson) (pictured) ambushes the Federals from the thick brush. Bloody Bill one of the deadliest and most brutal pro- Confederate guerrilla leaders in the American Civil War. He was once quoted as saying, “I have chosen guerilla warfare to revenge myself for the wrongs that I could not honorably avenge otherwise. I lived in Kansas, when the war