Chronological History of the American Civil War

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Tuesday, November 10, 1863 : Captain Raphael Semmes, Confederate States Navy, and his C.S.S. Alabama, had been the terror of U.S.-flag shipping all over the Atlantic Ocean from the Caribbean to the Arctic waters. So many Union ships were now hunting him there. that the Captain suggested a change of venue, so he had shifted operations to the Pacific. Now sailing off the coast of Indonesia, in the Gaspar Strait, Semmes sights the clipper ship The Cutter bound from Japan to New York. The Cutter found herself in Semmes’ grasp, and after the crew had been taken off, the ship was sunk. The Weekly Columbus (Georgia) Enquirer reports: “The Lawyers are the only profession, as a class, that we know of, who have not and are not making money during our political struggle. They may, and doubtless do, when they get a case, charge more than they ever did before, but they get so few cases that, after all, they make comparatively nothing. People will get sick, and must necessarily take medicine, and a doctor is indispensable to administer it, and the doctors are charging three or four times the old prices for visits. The mechanics are getting a large advance on former prices, and pay their laborers much higher wages. The merchants have all turned speculators, and nearly all of them have made their fortunes. Whiskey sellers are asking and find ready sale for their foul decoctions at ten times the old prices. But the poor lawyers get nothing to do, however industrious and constant they are at their post.” Wednesday, November 11, 1863 : The Union League of Loyal Women for Memphis (U.L.L.W.) is founded in the city. They sponsor concerts, suppers, raffles, and a Sanitary Fair to benefit sick and wounded soldiers of the city and to help the poor. A Confederate raid occurs in Suffolk, Virginia, where a company of cavalry dashes through the town, capturing 1 wagon, 8 horses and 7 prisoners. Thursday, November 12, 1863 : Lieut. General James Longstreet's Confederate Corps along with Major General Joseph Wheeler’s Cavalry Command arrives at Loudon, Tennessee, for a combined assault on Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, (U.S.) at Knoxville. After a couple quiet days but still under siege, federal shelling of Fort Sumter (CSA) resumes in Charleston, South Carolina harbor. Friday, November 13, 1863 : With his army on constant move, General Lee (CSA) sends a telegram from Orange Court House, Virginia, to Jefferson Davis in Richmond today, imploring him to find a supply of food for the animals, saying that they had had only three pounds of corn per day per horse for the last five days. Davis ordered other supplies delayed, until corn could be shipped in. The Daily Times in Leavenworth, Kansas prints: “The proprietors of some of the Staffordshire potteries have forbidden the use of crinoline (dress hoops) during work hours, in consequence of its great inconvenience. In one shop alone, hoops are chargeable with the loss of $1,000 a year for breakage. The girls have submitted with a good grace, and now appear like pretty Greek statues in their collapsed working attire.” Saturday, November 14, 1863 : General Sherman (U.S.) arrives at Bridgeport, Alabama at the head of 17,000 men. His men had covered 675 miles in just fourteen days. At Bridgeport, Sherman was briefed by Grant as to the state of play at Chattanooga. Sherman was told not to expect any help from the Army of the Cumberland (U.S.), as it would maintain its defensive position rather than an offensive one. In the South, Brig. General Nathan Bedford Forrest (CSA) is assigned to command of West Tennessee. The Confederate Government ordered the use of force in its efforts to collect taxes. This included the confiscation of property and was primarily directed at farmers in North Carolina, who were refusing to pay their taxes. Sunday, November 15, 1863 : Accepting General U. S. Grant’s (U.S.) advice at Chattanooga, General Sherman (U.S.) started his campaign to rescue Chattanooga. Sherman viewed the role of the Army of the Cumberland to be solely defensive in the city. Union efforts to retake Charleston Harbor began on April 7, 1863, 2,328 shells had been thrown at the dilapidated pile of masonry just since this past Thursday, but the fort still stands in the middle of the harbor under the Confederate flag. This siege will continue for a long time. Monday, November 16, 1863 : Today, General James Longstreet (CSA) was at the little town of Campbell’s Station, Tennessee just west of Knoxville. General Burnside’s (U.S.) forces were nearby, and if Confederate intelligence had been just a little better, or if the army could have moved just a little faster, events could have been greatly different. Longstreet, however, did not move quite fast enough to cut off