Chronological History of the American Civil War

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W. J. Smith & Co., Grand Junction, Tenn. Also reported in the same paper: “Wanted at the Overton Hotel To-Day—Eight negro men to attend the rooms of the wounded. Please let me have them. Signed; J. M. Keller, Surgeon.” Monday, November 11, 1861 : Near Fort Monroe, at Hampton, Virginia off the southern tip of the

Virginia Peninsula, Professor Thaddeus Lowe makes history by raising a balloon from the deck of the specially fitted balloon boat G.W. Parke Custis, a coal barge built in the mid-1850s’. From here, Lowe could observe Confederate forces on the Virginia shore some 3 miles away. The Stonewall Jackson Brigade (CSA) marches from Strasburg to Winchester, Virginia. An accidental gun explosion in Columbus, Kentucky kills seven Confederate soldiers and wounds General Leonidas Polk, though not seriously. A torchlight parade in Washington celebrates the new General in Chief of the United States Army, General George B. McClellan. Tuesday, November 12, 1861 : McClellan announced a major shake-up of the Union command structure. The Department of the West was split into

three new departments – New Mexico, Kansas and Missouri. Previously one man had commanded all of these. Now, each new department had a new commander. Fingal (later CSS Atlanta ), purchased in England, entered Savannah laden with military supplies -- the first ship to run the blockade solely on Confederate government account. Wednesday, November 13, 1861 : Lincoln with his secretary John Hays, and the Secretary of War, William H. Seward came to call on General McClellan, but he was out, and assuming he would be home shortly, Lincoln, decided to wait for him. McClellan returned after about an hour, was told he had guests waiting, and went to his room. After waiting another half hour, a servant went to get McClellan and discovered that he had gone to bed. After this, when Lincoln wanted a meeting, he scheduled it for the White House. The Philadelphia Inquirer says that Union sympathizers in East Tennessee “have burned numbers of railroad bridges and telegraph wires to prevent the transportation of troops.” Parson Brownlow has been arrested and taken to Nashville to stand trial for treason against the Confederacy. The Tennessee Legislature authorizes Governor Harris to seize all private arms and call 10,000 additional men into service. Thursday, November 14, 1861 : The Memphis Daily Appeal reports: “Praiseworthy.—When sixty patients came down from Columbus on the steamboat Hill, Dr. Creighton, of Beal Street, was the only surgeon aboard, and he gave his care to the whole of them, dressing the wounds of many of them for the first time since they had been carried from the field. From the time the Doctor went up to Columbus, with fourteen other medical gentlemen of this city, on Thursday night, he got no sleep until after the Hill arrived here on Sunday morning. He also presented Dr. Woodward, for the 154 th regiment, with a handsome and expensive set of surgical instruments, such as are required in a campaign.” Friday, November 15, 1861 : Slidell and Mason, the Confederate commissioners that were taken by force from the ship “ Trent ” off the coast of Cuba, landed at Fortress Monroe, Virginia. Political bigwigs in Washington DC were quick to congratulate Captain Wilkes of the ‘USS San Jacinto ’ with some even suggesting that the ‘ Trent ’ itself should have been taken in as well. However, once the celebrations died down it became apparent that Wilkes had acted as he did in international waters against a ship belonging to the world’s greatest naval power. There was a fear that the United Kingdom would be pushed into supporting the Confederacy as a result of this. Postmaster-General Blair and Senator Sumner of Massachusetts called for Slidell and Mason to be released with due speed. Saturday, November 16, 1861 : Confederate Secretary of the Navy Mallory advertises for bids to build four ironclad ships for the Confederate Navy. Sunday, November 17, 1861 : The Anaconda Plan, as it had been called, was the overall Union strategy to win the Civil War. It would cut off the South from the West by controlling the Mississippi River and in the East along the coastlines. A blockade of all possible shipping from overseas or over land from the West would “starve” the South of supplies needed for war and living. The blockade’s effectiveness had