Chronological History of the American Civil War

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finally as a governor of the state. Houston became the only person to have become the governor of two different U.S. states through direct, popular election, as well as the only state governor to have been a foreign head of state. He never believed Texas should have left the Union. Sunday, September 27, 1863 : In the Confederate military a class of operators classified as cavalrymen, but they did not perform the usual functions of cavalry in the military sense of the day--scouting ahead of, or the movements of enemy infantry. These men were usually referred to as “raiders”, and their role was to move quickly to harass, cut lines of communication, pick off stragglers from Union marches, and gather supplies. One of these raiders, Joseph (Joe) O. Shelby (CSA) (pictured), worked in the Trans-Mississippi Theater, (West of the Mississippi River) and less known than some like Moseby and Forrest. Today, Shelby attacked Moffat’s Station in Franklin County, Arkansas. Over the next couple of months, Shelby's Missourian, Iron Brigade will travelled 1,500 miles through Missouri, inflicting over 1,000 casualties on Union forces, and capturing or destroying an estimated $2 million worth of Federal supplies and property. He was promoted to brigadier general on December 15, 1863, at the successful conclusion of his raid. Monday, September 28, 1863 : As Major General William S. Rosecrans, (U.S.) blames his subordinates for the Union defeat at Chickamauga, Tennessee, Major Generals, Alexander McDowell McCook, and Thomas L. Crittenden are relieved of command of their respective U.S. Army Corps and ordered to Indianapolis, Indiana, where a Court of Inquiry will look into their conduct at Chickamauga. Conditions in Chattanooga, were becoming worse as food was in short supply. Word of Northern reinforcements on the move South, reach Chattanooga besieger, General Braxton Bragg, (CSA) in the form of a telegram from Jefferson Davis. Tuesday, September 29, 1863 : Following the Union defeat at Sabine Pass earlier in the month, Major General Nathaniel P. Banks (U.S.) intended to occupy important locations in Texas. He decided to send troops up the Bayou Teche, disembark them on the plains and march overland to Texas. At Stirling’s Plantation in Western Louisiana, Brig. General Tom Green (CSA) defeated this Union force handily, but it did not deter Banks from his intended move. General Grant (U.S.) was ordered to direct towards Chattanooga as many men as he could spare. Grant had pre-empted this command and sent a force led by Sherman. Wednesday, September, 30, 1863 : After being ordered to turn his command over to Confederate Major General Joseph Wheeler (CSA), Nathan Bedford Forrest (CSA) is transferred to the West Tennessee / Mississippi area to raise another command. General Wheeler (CSA) then raids Rosecrans’ (U.S.) lines of communication. The month of September 1863 proves to be very costly to both North and South, with a total of 22,505 casualties. Thursday, October 1, 1863 : President Lincoln set forth duties of General Schofield (U.S.) in command in Missouri: 1. Advance efficiency of military establishment. 2. Arrest individuals and suppress newspapers when they are working injury to military. 3. Remove inhabitants en masse at own discretion. 4. Do not engage in returning fugitive slaves nor in enticing slaves from their homes.

5. Allow no one to enlist Negro troops except upon orders. 6. Allow no one to confiscate property except upon orders. 7. Allow only those qualified under Missouri laws to vote. 8. So far as practicable, expel guerrillas, marauders, and murderers.

President Lincoln’s nephew, John Todd Grimsley, fails to meet entrance requirements at the Naval Academy. Rosecrans (U.S.) ordered the building of flat-bottomed boats that would be able to navigate the Tennessee River. The collapse of a stairway in Nashville’s unfinished Maxwell House Hotel, which is