Chronological History of the American Civil War

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Lieut. Col. Vincent A. Witcher’s (CSA) begins a 2 week expedition into West Virginia that will include skirmishes at Buckhannon, and as he visits Bulltown, Jacksonville, Westover, Buckhannon, Walkersville and Weston; he will destroy $1,000,000 worth of stores, capture 300 prisoners, and much needed 500 horses and 200 beef-cattle for the ragged Army of Northern Virginia. Sunday, September 18, 1864 : Major General Jubal Early moved part of his Confederate force north to the town of Martinsburg, Virginia. There, they encountered and drove off a group of Union cavalry. Later that night, the Confederates pull back to Bunker Hill. The daughter of a wealthy McMinnville, Tennessee lawyer and plantation owner, Lucy Virginia French writes in her diary: “Today is the day appointed by [Gov.] Andy Johnson, as the day of thanksgiving and rejoicing over … ‘success of the Federal arms;’—and the military are to be made to give thanks and rejoice at the point of a bayonet! How worthy of the famous, (or rather in-famous) Andy!—McClellan accepts the nomination of the Chicago Convention, but in his letter of acceptance clearly ‘shows his teeth’ in favor of war, viz. unless the South consents to return to the Union….” I am not sure how he planned to do this, but President Davis (CSA) in Virginia writes a letter to the Confederate Congressman today, saying that he thought Atlanta could be retaken and “Sherman’s army can be driven out of Georgia, perhaps be utterly destroyed.” Monday, September 19, 1864 : At Winchester, Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley, General Sheridan (U.S.) much larger Union force of 40,000 men attacks General Early’s (CSA) smaller force of 12,000 men. This will be known as the Third Battle of Winchester. While the casualties are about the same for both sides, Early is shaken by his lost of 3,921 men out of 12,000, while Union losses numbered 4,018 men out of 40,000 men. While General Sheridan, commander of the Union force that attacked Early could afford such losses, Early could not. Only a very skilled withdrawal by Early avoided a far greater number of losses. Major General Sterling Price’s (CSA) Confederate Cavalry column of 12,000 enters Missouri

from Arkansas. General Forrest is also on the move, crossing Bear Creek at Cherokee Station, in northwestern Alabama, camping for the night on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad and near the Tennessee River. Brig. General Stand Watie (pictured) leds his 800-man Confederate force of Cherokees, Creeks, and Seminole Indians in a coup. The area was just north of Fort Gibson at Cabin Creek, Oklahoma (Indian Territory). Assisting Watie is Col. Richard M. Gano’s brigade of 1,200 Texans. Together, they captured a Northern train of 300 government and sutler wagons from Fort Scott. They were loaded with $1,500,000 worth of food, clothing, boots, shoes, medicine, guns, ammunition, and other supplies for the soldiers and Indian refugees at Fort Gibson. At 3:00 a.m.,

the Confederates attacked the Union soldiers guarding the train. The fight scattered the Federals and the Confederates seize the wagons and 740 mules. After this, they take the newly acquired loot back to their camps. The Battle of Cabin Creek was the biggest Confederate victory in the Indian Territory. Tuesday, September 20, 1864 : General Early’s (CSA) army, bloodied by its defeat at “Third Winchester Battle” the day before is still being pursued by General Sheridan (U.S.). General Early (CSA) takes up a strong defensive position at Fisher’s Hill, south of Strasburg, Virginia. The Union surender Keytesville, Missouri, as Major General Sterling Price (CSA) presses on into the state to relieve pressure from Union advances in the south.