Chronological History of the American Civil War

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fire and forced them into the broken prairie, where they fled in confusion. The mounted troops, with some of the infantry and artillery following, set out in pursuit. A running battle ensued for the rest of the day. Saturday, July 25, 1863 : Confederates begin their expedition from Holly Springs, Mississippi, to Bolivar and Jackson, Tennessee, as Col. Joseph Wheeler's Cavalry (CSA) penetrates 70 miles behind Union lines burning bridges, etc. Sunday, July 26, 1863 : For more than a week, John Hunt Morgan (CSA) and his troops spent 21 hours per day in the saddle, but today was the end of the road for them. He had set forth with 1,200 troops on July 8 on a raid into southern Indiana and Ohio, hoping to be supported by Confederate sympathizers, and raise morale in the South, after the fall of Vicksburg and loss at Gettysburg. Support did not materialize, his retreat was blocked by Union gunboats, and he had had to flee, losing men every day. Finally, trapped near Salineville, Ohio, he and his remaining 364 officers and men surrendered today. In the end, only 400 of Morgan's troopers made it safely back to the South. Those captured were scattered around Northern prison camps. Morgan and his officers were sent to the newly opened Ohio State Penitentiary. He and his men tunneled out on November 27, 1863; however, Morgan would be killed in battle a year later. Union Brig. General Henry Hastings Sibley and his men march 23 miles to engage the Sioux Indians at Dead Buffalo Lake in the Dakotas. After a short skirmish the Indians retreat and keep moving on the run.

Monday, July 27, 1863 : Confederate William Lowndes Yancey (pictured) dies of kidney disease in Montgomery, Alabama. His ambition was always to be President of a Southern Confederacy, but he was too radical, even for them and was passed over in favor of Jefferson Davis. When the war broke out, Yancey headed a diplomatic mission to Great Britain and France to secure recognition of the Confederate States of America. These efforts were unsuccessful. His sudden death silenced one of the strongest voices of states' rights. John Houston Bills, Hardeman County settler, planter, and diarist writes: “The Turnpike Road Bridge is set on fire this afternoon by some unknown

persons. Patrick, Ferrell and Smith so far extinguish it as to pass a wagon & horses over. Watson & others of us try to put out the remnant of fire but fail. It continues to smoke & must burn up. We fear harm may result from it & no possible good to either party.” Tuesday, July 28, 1863 : The trouble with stealing something big, it takes time to move it, so you don’t lose it back to whom you stole it from. Major John S. Mosby's Confederate Mosby’s Raiders today, near Fairfax Court-House, captures a number of sutlers, (civilian merchants who sells provisions to an army in the field) and skirmishes with Union troops near Aldie, Virginia, as the Federals follow and recapture all the wagons. Wednesday, July 29, 1863 : Union Brig. General Henry Hastings Sibley was still chasing the Sioux Indians, until they crossed the Missouri River. Sibley proclaimed his expedition a success, as he had pushed the Sioux westward across the Missouri River, far from the settlements in Minnesota and eastern Dakota territory. He claimed, to have killed and wounded 150 Indians in the three battles at a loss to his own forces of six men killed. The Santee chief, Standing Buffalo, however, claimed that only 13 Indians had been killed. Thursday, July 30, 1863 : Lincoln clashed with Jefferson Davis. The head of the Confederacy had announced that any captured African-Americans fighting for the Unionists, would be “handed over to the state authorities.” Within the South, it was a capital offense for an African-American to bear arms so the fate of any African-American, caught by the South was obvious. Lincoln retaliated by announcing that any African-American executed would be met by the execution of one Southern prisoner-of-war. He also stated that any captured African-American returned to slavery would result on one Southern POW being put to hard labor. John Houston Bills, wrote again in his diary, “Early this morning I see a large number of Rebels passing South through town. Richardson & Neely’s Command, supposed to be 700 to 800 badly armed men.” A small skirmish is reported later this day at Grand Junction, Tennessee.