Chronological History of the American Civil War

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promoted to Major General. President Lincoln empowers General Meade (U.S.) to commute death sentences by court martial to imprisonment on Dry Tortugas, Florida, for duration of war. Federal expeditions leave from Fort Dalles, Oregon, and from Fort Walla Walla, Washington Territory of Southeastern Oregon, where they skirmish with Indians, Paiute and Shoshone (called the Snakes by white settlers.) The Federals destroy all their lodges, capture all their horses, etc., the Cayuse Indians are assisting the Yankees. These battles will continue in Oregon, Idaho, and California with the influx of new mines, as the Indians rebelled the white encroachment on their lands. Thursday, April 21, 1864 : In Bolivar, John Houston Bills of the Pillars, settler, planter and diarist writes: “Capt. Wheeler, Mr. Savage [Lt. Jefferson Casey Savage is my great-great- grandfather] and Mr. Street [Solomon] sleep at my house.” In Memphis, Confederate spy, Belle Edmondson after talking to a Union Capt. Woodward (U.S.) writes in her diary: “I was to be arrested and carried to Alton [Ohio prison] on first Boat that passed-for carrying letters through the lines, and smuggling, and aiding the Rebellion in every way in my power-he sent me word, I must not think of attending Jennie Eave's wedding, or go out of doors at all, he would be compelled to arrest me, if it came to him Officially, but as my Father was a Royal Arch Mason, and I, a Mason, he would take no steps, if I would be quiet.” On the Red River in Louisiana, Lt. Commander Phelps, (U.S.N.) ship U.S.S. Eastport was sunk by a torpedo nearly a week ago, but has managed to make it floating again. Now heading down river hangs up 8 times in 60 miles. Friday, April 22, 1864 : In response to Grant’s (U.S.) prisoner exchange orders, Confederate President Jefferson Davis sent out an order to Lieutenant General Polk (CSA) that any captured African-American soldier, who turned out to be an escaped slave had to be held, until recovered by his owner. Confederates under Brig. General Hamilton Bee (CSA) drive the Union rear guard back, as they withdrawal under Major General Nathaniel P. Banks (U.S.) from Grand Encore toward Alexandria, Louisiana along the Red River. Saturday, April 23, 1864 : At Monett’s Ferry on the Cane River crossing, General Banks’s advance party, commanded by Brig. General William H. Emory’s (U.S.) brigade found a ford, crossed, and attacked the Rebels in their flank. General Bee’s (CSA) men had to withdraw. Banks’s men lay pontoon bridges and, by the next day, had all crossed the river. The Confederates at Monett’s Ferry missed an opportunity to destroy or capture Banks’s army. Sunday, April 24, 1864 : General Sherman (U.S.) readies his troops for a march. No tents, and each man were to carry bacon for five days, bread for twenty, and a months’ worth of salt, sugar and coffee, besides the usual arms and ammunition. Monday, April 25, 1864 : Now in Jackson, Tennessee, Major General Forrest sends General Leonidas Polk (CSA) a message. It reads: “Much having been said in the Northern press in regard to the massacre at Fort Pillow, I shall forward you by next courier copies of all the correspondence in regard to the demand for surrender and a statement of all material facts; an extra copy of same will also be sent you, with a request to forward to the President. Capt. Young, the provost-marshal at Fort Pillow, now a prisoner, can corroborate all the facts, as he was the bearer of the enemy’s flag of truce, and it would be well to have him taken care of on that account.” Forrest also orders all deserters and draft dodgers, arrested and put into service. At Camden, Arkansas, the Federals lose another large wagon train near Mark’s Mills. This time, the loss forces Union General Frederick Steele to withdraw back to Little Rock. A Federal paymaster with over $175,000 in Greenbacks are among those captured at Mark’s Mills. The money fell into Confederate hands, and was supposedly used by Southern authorities in a futile